Meeting, BarkClaw and Shadetail

[WildHeart]

Barkclaw had left the camp, the apprentices test didn't interest him very much. He never liked the idea of being a mentor and figured if he did get an apprentice it would have to be one that didn't question him in the slightest.

Heavy paws fell on the pine needle strewn ground, his thick fur slightly damp from slipping between the wet leaves of the underbrush. Opening his mouth slightly he took in the scents around him, trying to detect the slightest hint of prey.

He huffed when the stale scent of a fox invaded his scent glands, the smell was sour. He moved on, striped coat helping him blend in perfectly with the shadows as he slunk along silently.

After a while he decided to take a break and perched on top of a low stone that was lit up by a patch of sun breaking through the leaves of the tree's. The warm surface took the chill from his paws as he stared into the forest with a faraway look.

[Hawktalon]

Shadetail had been hunting in the area. When he caught Barkclaw's scent, he decided to follow it being careful to be silent. When Barkclaw stopped He leaped in front of him with a spring and spun around trying to scare him. Not waiting to see his reaction, Shadetail looked down and said. "Hello Barkclaw."

[WildHeart]

Barkclaw gave the slightest of twitches along his spine when Shadetail appeared out of nowhere. He resisted the urge to growl and just flicked his ear at Shadetail.

"Hello Shadetail." He said with a dignified air. "What brings you to this part of the forest? I would think you would be watching the apprentices being tested." He said, pulling a a burr from his heavily furred paw.

Burrs were a plague to the fluffy Maine coon, the ones he missed got stuck and formed large mats of fur that had be be carefully removed by the medicine cat. Barkclaw detested doing this, it always made his coat stick up at odd angles in strange places afterwards.

[Hawktalon]

"Don't put me together with the rest of them. So interested in the development of apprentices they forget about the other members of the clan." Shadetail hissed. His eyes narrowed. He tensed up, about to lunge, but then he remembered he was talking to a clanmate. He made a show of relaxing and calming down. But deep inside he was angry. "So Barkclaw I might as well ask what your doing here? I'm just...... Well I wouldn't want to bother you with the details." Shadetail stopped himself. He had more self control than most of his clan thought. Though his anger wasn't as hidden.

[WildHeart]

Barkclaw was a little taken back with Shadetails sudden anger, his own fur bristling when he saw the other warrior tense up, he stopped the deep warning growl building up in his chest when the other warrior relaxed.

"I have no use in camp." He said simply, still sitting very erect on his perch. "Though, You must know, you were an apprentice once and this clan would be nothing but aging warriors without them." Barkclaw said, pretty sharply.

"Without them there would never be any new warriors." he huffed "I am not fond of the young ones either, but soon they will become warriors that I can tolerate."

He shook his massive head slightly and gazed off into the forest, testing the air a little, but there was still no scent of prey. He could feel Shadetail's anger and turned back to the other tom, his whiskers twitching with curiosity.

'Why would he speak so brazenly about the clan?' he thought to himself.

[Hawktalon]

Shadetail, paused stopping himself from rushing to respond. "You have a point Barkclaw. I used to be an apprentice, but Shadowclan isn't as strong as it used to be." Shadetail said. He though it through. "Why do I even bother talking. You won't understand." He growled to Barkclaw as he turned around and started to walk away slowly.

[WildHeart]

"Then explain it to me." Barkclaw called out to him, his tail twitching in irritation. Yes, Shadowclan wasn't as strong as it could be, but the fate of the clan depended on the apprentices becoming warriors.

Shadetails temper was getting on his nerves and he turned around and smoothed the hair on his back with his tongue to calm himself. The last thing the clan needed was a scuffle between two warriors.

[Hawktalon]

Shadetail turned around. "Okay Barkclaw I'll explain. See the way I see it is we should take advantage of the other clans. That way we would have more territory and if we did it right, they wouldn't even know we were taking it. We could pit them against each other." Shadetail said. He knew this was risky but it was just an idea. Ideas never hurt any cat after all, Shadetail figured.

[WildHeart]

Barkclaw thought about his comment for a moment, really mulling it over in his head before he spoke, his voice calm. "How would you suggest pitting them against one another?" He said, standing up and stalking over to sit in front of Shadetail.

"This is no easy task you speak of." He said "If any of them even catch the slightest whiff of us doing anything in another territory Shadowclan will be run down." Barkclaw said, ears flicking slightly.

"We cannot afford much of a fight right now." He sighed.

[Hawktalon]

"Oh that's easy. We don't tell the clan and stay withing the shared territory of the lake the whole time. I then would earn friends in the clans and get them to say things about the other clans so that I wouldn't be lying if I told the other clans." Shadetail began. He paced back and forth his short tail not even touching the ground. "Well it would take moons of planning to be sure." He concluded. "Why the sudden curiosity?" He finally asked.

[WildHeart]

"How can you be so sure that the clan cats would befriend you so easily?" Barkclaw said, seriously doubting this plan. "It would definitely take time for them to even begin to trust us, Shadowclan does not have the best reputation among the other clans." He said, shaking his wide head.

"Why?" Barkclaw said, thinking for a moment. "Not really sure, some part of me really wishes to see those other clans squashed." He said, a growl rumbling deep in his throat.

[Hawktalon]

"I'm not all knowing, or anything I just know that if they don't agree to help they'll regret it. I know someone who can make them help. Plus there's so much planning involved. What would you do about turning them agaisnt one another?" Shadetail asked. So much skill he had and no one saw it. Except them. Those cats were the only ones worthy. He would help them if they helped him. Shadetail glanced up at the sky wondering if they were listening.

[WildHeart]

"I havn't the slightest idea." Barkclaw said, pulling another burr from his paw, feeling a little confused. "I fight, and do as I am told." he said, settling his tail around his wide paws.

"Who is this someone that can help?" Barkclaw said, noticing Shadetails glance and the sky, his own eyes turning in that same direction, but seeing nothing of concern the returned to the tom infront of him.

"I think to do it we would need more than two cats." He said, he knew that much. Plus, the likely hood of a clan cat befriending them was very slim, especially if they were trespassing on their territory.

[Hawktalon]

Shadetail ignored Barkclaw's first question and sat down and tilted his head to the left as he thought. "True, the ideal amount would be quite a few. However everyone except us has to be disposable. So I would feel pretty unsettled to use our clanmates. Though, what if we found some cats outside the clan who would be willing to help. Meanwhile to distract our own clan we need to do something." Shadetail concluded. Barkclaw is stronger than me so he can't be gotten rid of until the end. He thought to himself. "I've got it! Now this could hurt but I think we should find allies as far from the clans as possible..... How about we find a loner or rouge. Even a kittypet would be useful in unnerving the clans." Shadetail didn't dare say what had dawned upon him. It's to far away anyways to many falls.

[WildHeart]

Barkclaw listened to what shadetail had to say, his mind trying to run through all that was being said. "Yes, I wouldn't want anyone in the clan getting hurt." He said slowly, a small feeling of unease crawling across his skin.

"We would have to find a very foolish kittypet, or a very power hungry rougue." Barkclaw said, after a moment of thought. "Getting either is going to be difficult." He shook his head, seeing much folly in this plan.

What if it didn't work? What if the clans figured them out? Then what? Barkclaw did not want to be shunned by his clan, let alone cast out. This chance meeting with Shadetail was setting his mind reeling.

[Hawktalon]

"You'd be suprised what a calm voice and a few words of choice can do." Shadetail said. He knew he should be a little more honest but there wouldn't be time for that. "How about we look for a enemy of the clans who would want revenge?" Shadetail said trying to get Barkclaw to figure out the next step on his own.

[WildHeart]

Shadetail was confusing Barkclaw, which wasn't very hard to do depending on how much Barkclaw really cared about the subject. "I'm still lost Shadetail." he said, his shoulder twitching slightly when a fly tried to land on him.

He didn't much care for bugs of any sort, though he would never tell any cat that. A brave warrior, terrified of bugs. It was laughable. He shook his head, really trying to think but was drawing up a blank. "Not all smooth talk can win cats over, you should try to keep that in mind before you get your eyes clawed out by some other clan cats."