The Work Will Pay Off... Soon

Scarlet continued to watch the two apprentices scramble to defeat each other, relying on their brains and brawn. She commented regularly with Duststripe, noting on their mistakes or cleverness.
"They will make fascinating warriors." Duststripe nodded towards them, no doubt in his voice.
"Of course, though they still have much to learn." She agreed, purring.

~*~

"Have you set a date, yet?" Icestar grumbled as he bit into a stringy vole. Prey was beginning to return to the forest, thankfully. But he knew he wasn't out of the dark yet. And he certainly wasn't about to send out more patrols just because it was newleaf.

"Soon. This moon, of course. We cannot wait any longer. StellarClan may become stronger, and more capable." He muttered, pacing around the leader's den, his muscles rippling beneath his pelt.

"Are you doubting my warriors? We could very well defeat that Clan right now." Icestar growled defensively, rising from his spot. "Remember who the leader here is, Jet. I have taken your group in, and I could certainly take them out." He lashed his tail, blue eyes blazing.

"Yes. Of course." Jet paused, dipping his head in a surprisingly calm behavior. "I would never mistaken myself as the one in command." Leaning towards the entrance of the den, he meowed, "May I?"

"Yes. You are dismissed." The silver tabby said gruffly, begrudgingly placing himself back in his nest. "Send out a hunting patrol. There hasn't been one today." He returned to his meal, crunching the bones between his teeth, waving his tail towards the lithe black cat. Nodding, the deputy swept out - the shaking of the moss the only proof that he was ever there. 

~*~

"What did he say?" Copper muttered, shaking his wiry pelt next to his leader. "When are we fighting?"

"Hush! Others might hear you. I plan on our battle taking place in 5 sunrises." He reported, retracting his claws in and out, over and over again.

"And...? The deed?" Cliff questioned, eyes lighting up.

"Ah, yes. 'The deed'." Jet purred. "1 sunrise before the fight. The Clan cats won't have anyone to rely on then... Except for me, of course." His eyes twinkled, and his pelt spiked with anticipation. "Tell no one of this. None of the Clan cats must know of this. If they do, it's all over."

~*~

"Clan cats! Rogues! Listen to me. As you know, we have been preparing for a special day for quite some time. And let me tell you, that day is soon to be upon us." Cats murmured below, some still with doubt in their mews, others nervousness mixed with excitement. "We will attack StellarClan 3 sunrises from now! Please make use of this time - use it wisely to practice and hone your skills. I'll be waiting to see how you all do."Jet purred, pouncing off the Oak Branch to land beside Icestar. "You are dismissed!"

Danger Coming

The sky was beginning to darken, shades of pink and red rubbing against the sky. Scarlet was just beginning to head back from the training session, with Ravenpaw and Firepaw in tow. Firepaw was still squabbling about how he managed to pin the gray apprentice down, triumph in his mew and he proclaimed he could now beat any warrior. The ginger-furred she-cat tried her best to block out her friend's apprentice.
"Why don't you battle me, Scarlet?" Firepaw meowed, eyes wide with excitement as he bounded up to her. Though he was annoying, the warrior couldn't stay mad at him forever.
"Save that for another time. You still have a lot to go before you're ready for us big cats." She joked, waving her tail. "Now what did we learn again today?" She asked, and before she could even pause, Firepaw rushed on.
"How to defend yourself while being pinned down!" He boasted, shooting a I'm-smarter-than-you look at  Ravenpaw.
"Right, but how?" She countered, and Ravenpaw answered this time.
"By clawing at their exposed spots. Most likely their belly." He said calmly and refined, as always.
"Great job. Now go and get your share of food. Remember, you can have mine and Amber's tonight." She purred. She was used to this kind of hunger. Though she had a big band of rogues, food was still hard to come by.
"Thanks!" They murmured, Firepaw already spreading the story of how he pinned Ravenpaw. Deciding that it was better to not dwell on her thoughts of prey, she receded to the warriors den, where Amber was. "Feeling better?" She muttered as she curled into her own nest, just a few away from her friends.
"Yeah." Amber said, her paws curling over her nest nervously. Scarlet sighed, knowing there was something Amber wasn't telling her.
"Spit it out." She said, drawing a paw over her ear.
"Icestar's been acting weird. He kept on muttering something like, "Oh, you'll all know soon." And he's been acting like Jet is running the Clan now. What's happening? What is Jet planning?!" Her voice trailed a little at the end, and it looked as if she was mostly talking to herself.
"Amber, I already told you, don't worry about it. Icestar is surely the leader of this Clan, and Jet is surely the deputy. If anything is happening, they can handle it perfectly fine." Though she could tell Amber didn't believe her, she quickly dismissed the so called 'problem' and nested her head on her paws, willing sleep to take her. But before it could, a yowl sounded outside the den. Someone was calling a meeting. Amber's head shot up, much more faster than Scarlet's. "Come on, let's see what's happening." But Amber was already out of the den, trotting to the Oak Branch.
"I have an announcement to make." It was Jet, as usual. He was the one making the meeting's now. "I have decided that this territory has proven to be too small for our growing Clan, and we should begin to expand it." Before he could continue, Goldenbreeze called out from the crowd.
"And how do you plan to do that?" She challenged, and many cats murmured in agreement, waiting for the answer.
"We plan on attacking StellarClan." Before cats could cause an uproar, he continued. "They would be too focused on DuskClan, and I'd say it's getting rather tiring have them two bicker all the time. It would be for the best, and most beneficial towards us." There were many yowls of disapproval, but a fair share was agreeing with the rogue leader.
"It would make sense. Why do we need them around here anyways?" Shadowsplash called out, and many nodded towards her. Goldenbreeze's fur was ruffled on her shoulders, and she looked towards Icestar.
"You agree with this, then?" She meowed, anger in her voice.
"Yes, fully." He meowed, as if he expected nothing else. The golden tabby opened and closed her mouth, for that was not the cat she had once knew.
"Fine. Though I do not agree with this." She challenged, and Jet's eyes flared.
"You don't have to." He growled. "But I am deputy of this Clan; and what I say goes." He raised his head. "Though I do wish to get this over with, we must still train until we are ready. The time will come soon, but for now, I want the day to be focused on training for battles, and nothing more. A patrol can be sent out and moon-high for hunting, I suppose." He waved his tail, and that was it.