| when everybody's caught up in the night / in-camp plot #3

[Daisyflight]

"SUREFIRE, YEAH, THE SETTING SUN WANTS COMPANY"​

Okay! The final thread for this side of the plot is here. This takes place a few minutes after the last, in the quiet after the incursion. Feel free to use this thread to have your characters come to terms with what has happened, talk with others and/or volunteer for the final leg. @BATSHRIEK @REDSTORM ! @BAGUETTE. @HUCKLEBERRY @BUGPAW @~Deersong~

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The faintest shade of dawn was crawling up the horizon, milky rays washing away the depth of night. Daisyflight flit between the members of the clan, asking after their health. The dogs had been chased out, but they still had no idea if they had left the territory. Whatsmore, the narrow passages into camp had prevented the full force of the pack from entering. Not all of them had felt the cut of their claws- what if they came to finish what the others had started?

A puff of white webbed across the air before her, frost frustration condensed in the sigh. Now scabbed over, the wounds along her side and scruff still stung. Thankfully, a plan was beginning to form in her mind, but she'd need volunteers. High Branch, tall and gnarled as always, splayed its shadow atop the disturbed earth of the clearing. After a moment of hesitation, Daisyflight leapt onto it. A motion she had seen Blazestar many times now- one she had been hoping to avoid replicating so soon.

"May all those able and old enough to catch their own prey gather!" Formalities were a comfort of hers, but laying out their leader's words pricked at her pelt. "All of you, the speed and power of your response in fighting off those mutts, I couldn't have asked for more. The so-called... fragility of kittypets and the like has been disproven once again tonight." A medley of pride and bitterness coated her words, the thought of Windclan's invidious sentiments never far.

"It's not over yet, however. I need any who are well enough to aid me in a final push. A few of those dogs refrained from entering camp, and may still be lingering at the fringes of our territory. I have a plan- loose- that requires volunteers." Fern-flint eyes roamed those gathered, hope pinned in the lilt of her tone.

"We'll scout using the tree cover, running atop the pines' branches to stay out of reach. Once we locate the hounds, we will knock whatever we can onto their group. Dead branches, pine cones, anything we can get our paws on." Punctuating her speech with an off-kilter nod, the tired deputy shed the structure from her silhouette. Daisyflight knew that any direct attack on the remaining pack would only result in more injuries that they couldn't afford. Dawnglare, unhelpful as he was, was still gone, and their numbers were diminished. ​

✿ ✿ ✿​

 

[~Deersong~]

A soulmate who wasn't meant to be​

---

Deersong was breathing heavily after the whole ordeal, but she would turn to Coyotekit with her usual content expression, "You fought so well, Youngblood. Those yappers didn't stand a chance against us."

Her rear right flank was still bleeding, and she was holding her leg up to prevent any weight from being placed on it, but when Daisyflight called out her plan and requested volunteers, the cream and mocha molly would limp forward. "I'll go, Daisyflight." Her voice had returned to its whimsical state, but there was clear determination weaved into it as well.

Deersong wanted to end this one and for all, especially after seeing the kittens in danger. She knew she was hurt, but Dawn was not here to heal her, and with clanmates missing with Blazestar she knew that Daisyflight would need whoever she could get. Unless one of her loved ones stepped forward to stop her, Deersong was ready to go. ​

 

[Coyotecrest]

I won't apologize for being who I am

Coyotekit's ears perked at the call of skyclan's second in command. Quietly he listened to her grand master plan to push the remainder of the small dogs off of skyclan territory. He knew that he was still too small to go and that he would not be allowed but it couldn't hurt to ask anyway. Right? "Daisyflight...could I go?" There were a lack of apprentices and she needed all the paws she could get. Frosty mint eyes focused upon Deersong as she complimented him on his bravery, earning a small smile from the young tom. But his smile soon gave way to a thoughtful frown. Yes, he had been brave. But his miscalculation in body placement, coupled with momentary hesitation when fighting the dog is what caused Deersong to feel obligated to protect him from a bite that would have been his own. "Yeah...but your leg is hurt." Coyote's voice trails off before picking back up again in a soft tone. "If I were faster that wouldn't have happened...I'm sorry Deersong."​

Tryna throw shade on me say a lot 'bout you​

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[BATSHRIEK]

"GUESS WHAT, I'M THE DEVIL HERSELF"​

Batshriek is tired; she doesn’t think she’s ever been this tired before. Her exhaustion feels as though it’s seeped into her very bones, to make its home there and never leave. She’s seen dogs before, of course, had to run from them, but she’s never had to fight them.

She’s dragging her feet when she responds to Daisyflight’s call, keeping her massive ears pinned to her skull. She managed to escape the fighting with only minimal injuries, but some others haven’t been so lucky. Settling heavily onto her haunches, Batshriek turns her mismatched gaze up to look at the deputy in the tree. "I will go," they say with a nod. The plan doesn’t sound too solid, but they trust the calico deputy. And besides, it’s a better plan than they could have come up with.
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✦ ★ ✦​

 

[Daisyflight]

"SUREFIRE, YEAH, THE SETTING SUN WANTS COMPANY"​

She slipped from the branch, crimson still twisting her normally neat pelt into knots. Her stained chin dipped in acceptance with every offer to join, glad to have her clan beside her until Coyotekit spoke up. Doleful, Daisyflight hunkered down to his level and gave the little tom a knowing look. "Thank you. I need you here in camp however, we still don't know how many dogs there are and without proper training, you can't follow along."

Of course, he couldn't come- she couldn't stand the idea of a kit out of camp in the current circumstances. The want to help was understandable though and tipped off his potential as a warrior. "We still need capable cats to bring cobwebs from Dawnglare's den. I trust you to look after those who need it. Don't touch anything you don't recognise." A flinty warning touched the end of her words. She didn't want to return to find a poisoned kit. The deputy glanced across the remaining cats, giving any a nod to oversee Coyotekit.

Tempered paces drew Daisyflight towards the entrance, the archway knocked into an oval after the dogs fled. "Those able to, let us be off. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can sleep." Sympathy soaked her countenance, but the calico's stance held firm. They couldn't stay here and wait for the dogs to return. Whiskers wide with unease, she led them out of the bramble tunnel. Its thorns brushed their ears, the uneven canopy unfamiliar now.

Taut legs pushed the deputy up the nearest tree. Once the patrol was securely tucked between the needle-scent of the canopy, Daisyflight led them forward. Thankfully, the riotous pack had left an obvious path in their wake. A few pauses, filled with pointers, let them track the dogs quickly. "Fan out, look for any loose branches- the bigger the better." Whispering, the warning to 'be careful' implied with her bristled spine, she gave the command.

Beneath them was a clutter of canines, their sour pelts mottled between pine boughs and fern. A full dozen, more than they had faced in the camp, was settled beside a rotting tree trunk. The landmark placed them not far from the rockpile, a fact that brought her relief. It meant they could chase them from the clan territories as a whole, instead of into another clan's land

/still open to any cats not on the twoleg patrol to join! absolutely make a thread for those remaining in camp if anyone wants (not sure of the interest level) :)
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✿ ✿ ✿​

 

[FIGFEATHER]

THERES MAGIC IN YOUR EYES, TEQUILLA SUNRISE​

Still shake-y from her own encounter with a dog, Figkit stumbles out of the nursery after the commotion ends to listen in on the warriors. The dogs were gone, but not banished from the territory in its entirety. Mom still needed to lead one last siege on the mutts, and the confident Figkit knows SkyClan will succeed. Though there were knots in her stomach, fearful for anything that could happen to her mom...

Blazestar had made her deputy for a reason though! She was one of- if not the best warriors in SkyClan, that's practically what being deputy meant, right? She'd do great, and they'd all return home within the night. In the morning she'd have to get mom to tell her the story of SkyClan's triumph against the dogs.

She grimaces as Coyotekit offers to go and she notes Deersong's comment torwards him. A bitter feeling pools up within her and jealousy causes her brows to furrow. Figkit had done her part too! Mom turns him away as Figkit half-expected, but Blazestar and her have done crazier things, like welcoming WindClanner's into their home to begin with.

It made no sense to her young kit mind, all she's heard growing up were terror stories about WindClan and their barbaric, vicious ways. She was just a scared, little girl, who didn't understand.

She can be found silently observing her mother's patrol depart from camp, her orange eyes seemingly calm despite the turmoil of emotions that occured within.​

 

[~Deersong~]

A soulmate who wasn't meant to be​

---

Deersong would look to Coyotekit and smile warmly at his next display of bravery, though she softly nodded in agreement to Daisyflight. As her deputy began to lead the way out of camp, Deer would stay behind for just a moment to limp over to the tom kit and lightly touch her nose to his cheek, "Do not apologize, star child." She would coo softly her affectionate nickname for the children of the clan, "I protected you because I wanted to and not any reason less. Keep the others safe for us, yea?"

She would not be able to wait for an answer before turning and, ignoring the burning pain in her flank, would push herself to run after Daisyflight. She would fall into step beside Batshriek, but she made a mental note that once this was all finally over go straight to Dawnglare for the healing she would surely need. But for now, she would do her best to shove the pain to the back of her mind and power through it.

She would clench her teeth as she bunched her hindlegs and bound up the trunk of the same tree Daisyflight had climbed, claws digging into the bark harder than usual to ensure that even if her leg gave out she would not fall. At her Daisyflights' orders, she would get to work, grabbing a few pinecones as well for good measure, but the fur along her shoulder would spike up in adrenaline. She was lightly panting now, actions that were usually so normal to her now seemed sluggish with her wound.

Once she was satisfied with her pile, Deersong would perch on her selected branch with ears alert for the signal to rain chaos down onto their attackers. ​