Yarrowheart begrudgingly walked, her wounds still burning from the fight yesterday, cold rain was drizzling. "Must we really go on a second patrol today? We already went on a dawn patrol, what good is a noon patrol?" she meowed annoyedly.
"With Crow having just attacked Flurry, we must be careful. We never know when they're going to attack, and who." He meowed, with a surprising lack of disdain toward Yarrowheart.
She sighed and turned to Branchtrot. "Lucky. You didn't have to come on dawn patrol." she meowed, Branchtrot rolled his eyes jokingly, and cuffed her over the ear. She stifled a chuckle, and batted him in the nose with her paw. "Stop playing." Tuftedpounce meowed gruffly.
Nothing's been wrong, I really don't think we have anything to worry about . . . Yarrowheart thought to herself, as they passed the Gentle Current border.
Tuftedpounce paused, sniffing the air. Branchtrot followed suit. Curious, Yarrowheart did aswell, and scented an odd smell. It had a light tang, but not one of Pale Ones. It smelt of stale grass, and the air was unusually crisp. "What is that?" she meowed. Tuftedpounce meowed, "Is that . . Snow?"
A few moments later, as they approached the Flurry border, the scent grew and grew, until they found the source. The rock was soaking wet, and the grass was too. Yarrowheart meowed "What the . . . Why is it so-" but was cut off by a large amount of snow bowling her over into the grass. Tuftedpounce leaped back, but Branchtrot got the same treatment, rolling over ontop of Yarrowheart.
She stared up at him, then huffed and roughly pushed him off, and launched herself over to where Tuftedpounce sat, in safety, before licking her pelt. "The snow is melting." Tuftedpounce hissed. Branchtrot warily padded over, his fur flattened to his sides. "Well, yeah, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out," he hissed.
"Shall we continue the patrol?" Yarrowheart meowed, "Yes, yes." Tuftedpounce replied, then stood, and curved, avoiding the side of the hill.
Nothing else was wrong with either the Flurry or Honey border.
"See? Nothing was wrong." Yarrowheart meowed. Tuftedpounce looked around suspiciously. "We should look in our own territory then."
She saw Branchtrot glare at him, but he didn't say anything, and followed him as he started to walk into the forest. She followed aswell.
Yarrowheart screwed up her mouth, holding back a gag as they walked along the Blackpath. "Why do we have to check the Blackpath? There's no cats here."
"There could be." Tuftedpounce meowed.
"Has any cat gone . . . past the Blackpath before?" Branchtrot meowed suddenly. Tuftedpounce looked back at him, and paused, a little too long for comfort "Past the blackpath?" he meowed, "Who would do that? Nothing interesting's over there." he finished. "Surely there is." Branchtrot responded, but was met with a look of . . Disappointment? Curiousity? It was hard to read his expression. "I'm curious," Yarrowheart cut in, "There could be mountains of prey-" "-Or disease." Tuftedpounce interrupted.
Yarrowheart was barely paying attention as she walked, when she was suddenly alerted by Branchtrot touching her shoulders with his tail. She turned to look at him, meowing "Huh?". He gestured across the Blackpath, and her gaze followed. There, she spotted another cat. It was a black tom with a fox-orange tail. She stopped and stared at the cat, who turned and stared back. "Tuftedpounce," she meowed, "Tuftedpounce, there's a cat over there . . ."
Tuftedpounce turned and looked, stopping. He stared for an uncomfortably long time. "It's probably a rogue." he turned and continued walking. "Well, then shouldn't we be concerned about the fact they're crossing the Blackpath?" Branchtrot meowed. Tuftedpounce paused, and slowly turned back to the cat, before being bowled over by them. Branchtrot and Yarrowheart's fur bristled in shock, ready to pounce on the attacker.
"Whitespeckle!" the cat meowed, causing Yarrowheart and Branchtrot to pause. They both looked at eachother, their confusion mirrored.
"Get off of me, Foxtail!" Tuftedpounce hissed, shoving the stranger off to the side, before climbing to his paws, fur bristling in rage, and a hint of panic. "Where have you been!?" The cat meowed excitedly. "Uh, excuse me," Branchtrot cut in, "Who are you . . . ?" the tom turned to Branchtrot, "I'm Foxtail." the cat meowed happily. "Uh, who's Whitespeckle?" Yarrowheart meowed. "Her," Foxtail meowed, gesturing toward Tuftedpounce with his tail, who was glaring at the tom, fur bristling. "That's Tuftedpounce" Branchtrot meowed confusedly.
Foxtail stared confusedly, then turned to look at Tuftedpounce. "You should leave. You're in Fringe territory." Tuftedpounce meowed, voice dripping with panic and anger. "Why are you being so mean, Whitespeckle?" Foxtail sounded confused, and Tuftedpounce flung his paw at his face, claws sheathed, bowling the cat over onto his side. "Leave. Now." Tuftedpounce hissed, "Or next time, my claws wont be sheathed."
Foxtail looked hurt - emotionally - then stood, looked left to right, then launched over the Blackpath. "Who was that?" Branchtrot meowed, and got no answer as Tuftedpounce continued walking. "Nobody. A rogue. We should check the Roundthing next." Branchtrot went to meow something else, but Yarrowheart covered his mouth with her tail, silencing him, then continued walking. Branchtrot huffed, and followed suit.
Yarrowheart was happy for the short break from the scent of Blackpath, but the break was only momentary, as the scent flooded her senses approaching the roundthing. She licked her jaws, annoyed at the scent. "Why do we have to check the roundthing? What could possibly be wrong with it?" she meowed, "A cat could be hiding here." Tuftedpounce meowed. "What cat would hide near the Roundthing?" Branchtrot meowed. Tuftedpounce turned and meowed, "A smart cat, trying to hide their scent. Fur-brains." Tuftedpounce went up to the Roundthing and looked around it, climbing up ontop of it to look in the center of the shiny hard center.
Yarrowheart paused. "What's that sound?" she meowed, a strange hissing sound coming from the Roundthing. Tuftedpounce looked down at it, then launched himself off of it, fur bristling, and climbed a tree. Branchtrot looked up at him confused, but Yarrowheart, sensing something was off, bowled him over into the bushes. "What are you-" Branchtrot was cut off by a loud BANG as the Roundthing suddenly erupted, flinging hot, disgusting, black pieces hard enough to snap a cat in half.
The branch Tuftedpounce had been on crashed down to the ground, Tuftedpounce rolled on the ground, and rose to his paws, with minimal injuries. Yarrowheart slowly raised her head above the bushes. "What the . . . Why did it explode!?" she meowed panicked.
She gagged as the sudden sent of burning mixed with the awful Blackpath scent filled her nose. She coughed and sputtered, all three cats quickly rushing away from the thing. Coughing and sputtering, Tuftedpounce meowed "W-we should . . . R-report this to Cloudystar immediately." Yarrowheart stumbled and spit, then turned away from Branchtrot, vomitting roughly into the bushes. "A-agreed." she meowed.
The patrol cats walked into the camp. Yarrowheart laid roughly onto the ground next to the Stoneclaw den's opening, Branchtrot went to the Herbclaw den, and Tuftedpounce went to Cloudystar, who was sitting next to the Talltree, cleaning his paw.
Yarrowheart watched as Cloudystar's expression went from calm to shocked in a matter of seconds. Cloudystar stared at him for a moment, then climbed the Talltree. He sat on the branch, and yowled, "May every cat capable of climbing a tree gather here for a group meeting!"
Tuftedpounce sat at the base of the tree, as Yarrowheart got up and sat in the center of the camp. Snailback came out of the Stoneclaw's den yawning, and sat next to Yarrowheart. Branchtrot and a brown and white tabby she-cat came out of the Herbclaw den. Branchtrot sat next to Yarrowheart, opposite to Snailback. The she-cat sat a few tail-lengths away. The old brown and white tabby she-cat and the younger brown and white tom sat next to Tuftedpounce.
Cloudystar meowed, "It has come to my attention that the Roundthing has posed a serious question for our group. The Roundthing, has exploded. We do not know why, but we know that if any more Roundthings show up in our territory, we should be immediately aware to keep far away from it. This concludes this meeting." Then climbed back down the Talltree.
The brown and white tabby she-cat walked back to the Herbclaw den. Snailback turned and walked out of the camp - probably going hunting. Branchtrot walked to the Stoneclaw's den.
Yarrowheart spotted that Cloudystar was alone now, and padded over to him. "Hey, Cloudystar." she meowed. He turned and looked at her, "Yes, Yarrowheart?" She glanced around, spotting no other cats. "Uh, something else interesting happened during today's patrol," "Hm?"
She meowed, "A black tom rogue - I assume he was a rogue atleast - came over the blackpath and tackled Tuftedpounce." Cloudystar's eyes filled with shock, "then, he called Tuftedpounce 'Whitespeckle'. Tuftedpounce then brushed him off, hissed at him, and called him 'Foxtail'. Any idea what that was?"
Cloudystar stared back, astonished, then meowed "No, I have no clue. I'll have to ask him about it." "wait," Yarrowheart meowed, "Maybe we should hold back asking him for now, so we can investigate." Cloudystar paused and thought.
She meowed "Very well. You may investigate across the Blackpath. Take Branchtrot since he was the other cat to witness it." Yarrowheart meowed, "Okay," and turned to walk to the Stoneclaw den.