Warrior Cats: The Four Clans

Nightfang was preparing herself mentally for the long journey ahead of her. She would have to hurry around the lake, a two day journey for those who wanted to be well rested and fed. However, Darkstar's army did not have two days to lolly-gag. They were to be there when the moon turned red. They would not have time to rest, sleep or eat. Nightfang would have even less time to warn the other clan. She was wrapped up in these thoughts when Bearfur approached her. She had nearly brushed off his words, intent on what she was about to do. Yet, when the words 'I love you' hung in the air her mind froze. She would have said 'I love you too' in that way that friends do, but she heard a deeper meaning behind his words. Her amber eyes turned to where the tom had gone. Nightfang's jaw fell open. She knew that Bearfur loved her, just not the way he had meant for her to hear it. A pressure settled on to her chest and her heart beat faster. She couldn't have been mistaken about what she had heard right?
Bearfur was her best friend, the one she trusted above all others. She knew that he would always love Silverdream, but was it possible for him to love her too? A giddy smile began to turn the she-cat's astonished look in to that of a disbelieving mask. She looked away, a laugh pushing past her mouth. It was only now, when she was confronted by the thought, that she realized that she loved him too. There was no other cat she could see herself beside other than him. A long dead feeling of happiness flickered to life within her. Nightfang turned back toward Bearfur and called out, not caring if anyone heard her, "You better not die out there Bearfur. If you do, I won't ever forgive you. You won't ever rest in peace!" The cats of Lionclan all turned to look at her, some amused, others confused and some not really caring. Nightfang didn't mind though, she only cared that the tom she loved was going in to battle. As if to answer her hidden fears of the battle to come, Darkstar let out a loud yowl, "Tigerclan! Its time to move!" With that all the cats began to leave the camp, they were marching to war.

OOC: Not yet, we have a few things we need to move our cats out of camp and then I will skip us to the battle :)

Tossing a grin her way, he nodded softly, though a voice in the back of his mind screamed at him. "Don't make unsure promises, Bearfur -- don't be so naive," it hissed. And as he strolled beside the others, out of sight from Nightfang, he let his inner turmoil finally rear its ugly head and reveal everything he had missed. What he had become all those years ago was fading away again. Joking around -making light of a serious situation to make others feel better - these skills had slowly begun to fade the moment he stepped into the TigerClan camp. The dark aura of the opposing clan was like a sponge. Soaking up and taking away everything good and drawing forth verything bad - but stopping just in time to leave the bad there. And as he continued to spend his time with the black-souled leader, Bearfur felt all sanity slowly slide from his grip, leaving him a thing lacking everything everyone knew him for. The light at the end of his tunnel seemed so far away - so out of his grasp and so farfarfar that he thought in the back of his mind that maybe, maybe he didn't deserve the light, and that it was a gift for the others: the ones he had come to care about. But at the same time, he knew he was only being dragged back by guilt, sadness and undecided emotions. So, he decided to let go. Let go of all his guilt -let go of the guilt of watching Silverdream walk away and disappear. The guilt of having no power to change anything. He let go of his sadness, deciding it better to die with a heart with ignorance -for it is bliss - rather than a heart heavy with the burden of sadness. And finally, he had decided to go of the worry of coming to terms of what he felt. Love. (And the ugly little thing rears its head again, straight into Bearfur's gut, though he ignores it.) He feels more than mentally challenged for not realizing it sooner. That, somewhere along the lines, he fell in love with his best friend. That he fell in love with her - and everything that came along with her. The friendly teasing, the past, the present, and whatever laid in their future. And he wasn't scared anymore. He was ready to fight with a new sense of strength and fight to get back to het because, he thought, what was the point in confessing to her, just to die? And a part of him is still scared of that chance of death, but he locks it away so he will fight for his true clan with no abandon. That he will come out alive and have the chance to see nobody but her when he first walks back from the fight. That he will live and live happy for ever after, no matter how cliche it is. Maybe that is his only wish going into battle. A small smile touches his lips as he walks. Yes, he thinks to himself, that is my only wish.

Nightfang watched with a heavy heart as the cats left Tigerclan camp. Each of the fellow servants sat beside her, their eyes melancholy for having been left behind. Sablepaw beside her slumped lowly.
"This is the end of it, isn't it Nightfang?" he murmured. The small tabby she-cat looked down at her young cousin.
A grin of determination appeared on her face, "It most certainly is not the end of everything!" The other servants looked at her, confused. "We aren't servants, we are warriors, no matter what Darkstar has to say about it. He thinks he can abandon all traditions and make us in to something that were not. He thinks fear will get him to where he needs to be." The she-cat snorted in disgust, she figured she was putting on a good show to the rest of the servants, "He thinks he can abandon us as well. I say that he doesn't know who he's dealing with. Those tests were and sparring matches don't determine who is a good warrior. I say that I'm as good as any Sentinel." Beeflight, Kirby, Fluffy and Sablepaw all looked at her with wide round eyes. The first three a little surprised at her sudden spirit, and the last shocked with horror at what she was saying. Gently she touched the tip of her tail to the young black cat's side, as if to tell him that it was only a show.
Beeflight narrowed her eyes at Nightfang, "Oh, and how do you plan on showing Darkstar that you're as good as them? He just left."
Nightfang puffed out her chest at the other small tabby, "Im going to go fight."
Kirby's eyes went round, "You mean actually follow them? He'll kill you for disobeying!"
Nightfang snorted heavily, "Pah, I'm not a mouse-brain. I'm not going to waltz up to him and challenge him. I will meet them at the battlefield and prove that I am as good as any warrior that has ever lived." Beeflight scoffed at Nightfang's show and trotted away, tired of the darker tabby's ramblings.
Kirby and Fluffy exchanged worried glances. The long furred white she-cat turned to Nightfang, "We don't really want to go ourselves. We hated the training Darkstar put us through."
Nightfang tilted her head, "Then why did you join him?"
Fluffy shook a little, "Because he promised me that if I stayed with Tigerclan I would be protected. I've had more scratches put on me by this clan than anyone outside." The she-cat looked down, fear in her eyes. Kirby pressed against her side, the two servants had gotten very close to one another during their servitude. They had become friends by now, possibly more. Nightfang's eyes filled with sympathy for them. She turned her eyes toward where Beeflight had gone but the she-cat was out of range.
Nightfang really hoped that Kirby and Fluffy could be trusted, "Listen you two, I'm not leaving here to go fight. To be honest I hate it here. Darkstar can choke on a piece of prey for all I care, but I have to get out of this camp and warn Lionclan." The two former rogues stared at her as if she had lost her mind.
"Are you serious?!" Kirby nearly shouted.
"Shhh!" Nightfang attempted to silence him. The brown tom fell silent, he was scared but also curious. "Look, I don't want to have to do anything to you two. Now that Darkstar is on the march, he won't have anyone here to stop us if we leave." Kirby tossed a hopeful look at Fluffy. "I need to go, but I want you two to do something for me. I need you two escape, get out of here and never come back. Start a life or something, but not just that. I need you to go and steal the kit in the nursery that the apprentices stole. The queens will be asleep and if you're careful they won't notice you. Get him back to his mom. He deserves that much."
Fluffy's eyes softened and she nodded slowly, "Nightfang... I don't know why you're doing this, but I'll do it. If Kirby won't I will." The brown tom beside her tilted his head to the side.
He snorted a laugh, "Of course I'll help you Fluffy. I'm not letting you do this alone."
Nightfang smiled at them, "Thank you both. Be careful."
Fluffy smiled back, "This is the first chance in a long time that I've had the ability to decide my own fate."
Nightfang turned her amber eyes to her young cousin, "Sablepaw, I want you to help them." Sablepaw opened his mouth to protest but Nightfang silenced him, "I can't take you with me. We haven't really had a chance to teach you how to fight, you might get killed. Do this and be the hero to that kit." Sablepaw lowered his eyes but nodded slowly. Nightfang pressed her nose to the top of his head, "Good boy. You're father would be proud."
With that she turned from the three cats, "Good luck," she whispered to them.
"Good luck," they whispered back. With that Nightfang slipped out of the back of the camp. She took a moment to breath deeply before bursting full sprint around the Windclan-side border of the lake. Darkstar was heading through Shadowclan's old territory, the trees would provide the cover that the moors lacked. The ambush would be easier on that side. The she-cat moved with all her strength and speed, she had to get there before they did.

OOC: You guys can do another round of posts if you want, or you can skip to the Lionclan camp. If you do the latter then have them get there, but there is no one in Lionclan's camp :)

Wait.  I don't want this to be hovering over my pelt as I go into battle, no. Shaking her head gently, the troublesome thoughts seemed to fade into the hazy fog that covered her mind. Instead they were instantly replaced by battle stratagies and fighting techniques, which she had come up with specifically for TigerClan.  During her duration at the foreign clan, the she-cat begun to plan out different ways of approaching the Sentinels, Gaurdians, and Footmen of the war party. Thank StarClan that Junipertail taught me how to fight properly before she became an elder. Sighing, she continued on pondering her thoughts. Oh, man. I miss that sarcastic grin and her wise words. A genuine smile appeared as Petaldancer reminised silently about Junipertail, a wonderful mentor and mother-like figure to the she-cat after her own mother passed away. What a wonderful note to end on before anything else happens.  I think she would be pleased of my choice of tom, now wouldn't she? She looked ahead proudly, her confidence restored enough to know that something good always comes from something bad.