The Fate of [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], a Warriorcats Reboot

"All right, let's go," Emberstorm said, pushing past Hollyfoot toward the camp entrance.

Hollyfoot followed her former mentor, a little puzzled by her brisk tone. She was so puzzled by this that she hardly even heard the majestic cry of not one, but two hawks overhead.

Suddenly, she felt air rush by her tail tip and heard two shrill, plot-irrelevant wails. She spun around to see one gray and one flat shape becoming smaller and smaller in the distance as twin hawks drew higher into the sky with their stolen bounty.

She blinked in puzzlement. "What was that all about?" she murmured. She shook her head and followed Emberstorm. It had puzzled her when the deputy had asked her to go on a patrol alone. Usually, patrols brought more cats along, but perhaps the deputy wanted a chance to confer with her?

Hollyfoot's fur fluffed up in pride at the thought and she followed Emberstorm out of camp.

Icestar looked up from his position in the Leader's Den. The hawk cry split the air, leaving a sour taste in the leader's mouth. Not because two shapes— one squashed and one singed— are being carried away to aerie of the great bird but because the cry reminded him of his warrior ceremony. Being taken to a great height by a roc would be enough to scar the memory of most cats. And Icestar was more prone to mnemonic scaring than most. Yet, the trauma of that day was overshadowed by the pride of being a warrior. Of standing in front of the clan that had begrudgingly welcomed him— standing in front of Treestar, the noble (if a little eccentric leader), and reciting the warrior pledge.

do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?

even at the cost of your life

Saying I do was the easiest thing in the world. How could he have said anything else? Not with the clan watching. It would not have ended well. If only he had lived up to that promise. Now with the clans on the brink of total conflict. What would Treestar think of him now?

"Is there something you wanted to ask me?" Hollyfoot ventured.

The forest was quiet for a few seconds, save for the whisper of their paws over the soft ground.

"The warrior code says that you don't have to kill to win a battle," the deputy finally said. Her voice sounded unusually stony to the younger warrior's ears.

"Yes?" Hollyfoot replied, puzzled. What was Emberstorm talking about? No one had been killed in the last battle, to her recollection. Darkriver and Squirrel tail had both recovered and were back to their warrior duties.

"What does it say about a warrior who kills?" Emberstorm asked, only it didn't sound like a question. It sounded more like a condemnation. Though, of who?

"Well," Hollyfoot said carefully. "I suppose if it's in defense of your clan, and you didn't have any other choice..."

"Didn't I?" Emberstorm said.

Hollyfoot's ears perked up. "Huh?" Had she heard that right?

Emberstorm paused to shake out her pelt, then continued through the woods at a more brisk pace. "Nevermind. We have borders to reinforce."

"Do you think we can stay here?"
One shadowy figure said to another as they scampered their way across a shiny metal fence. One in front of the other
"Will you cut it out with the rhetorical questions? It's not a question of can it's a question of safety-- it's a question of food"
The leader figure paused for a moment and stared off into the forest and considered this response
"I thought that was implied"
"True, it might have been. But do you really insist on prattling on? You're getting on my brass monkey with that insufferable line of questions"

The two figures sat in silence for a moment as the waning gibbous peaked out from behind the clouds.
"Let's stay here"
The leader whispered before dropping clumsily down from the fence
"I guess it's time to meet our new neighbors"
The other muttered, as its striped tail was swallowed by the shadows of the forest.

Hollyfoot raised her muzzle into the air, searching for scents. All she could smell was the stink of the thunder path. "No sign of Shadowclan," she reported brightly.

The only acknowledgement Emberstorm gave was a grunt. She kept her head down as they walked along the side of the thunderpath.

Hollyfoot had to quicken her pace to keep up with the deputy. "That's good, right? We have enough trouble from Riverclan."

Emberstorm stopped suddenly, all her fur standing on end.

Hollyfoot stiffened and looked around, trying to spot whatever threat the deputy had spotted, but there was nothing. The air still reeked, but she didn't pick up any scents of badger, fox, or other threats. Even the thunderpath was quiet.

"We should go back to camp," Emberstorm said suddenly.

"What? But-"

"Icestar will be wondering where we are," Emberstorm argued. She turned around and started back toward camp.

Hollyfoot looked in the direction of twolegplace. If they didn't keep the border marked, kittypets would start wandering in like they owned the place! But she wasn't about to disobey her deputy and former mentor.

For a second, she picked up a strange scent, and almost changed her mind. "Probably just two leg stink," she mumbled to herself. She chased after Emberstorm. "Wait up!"

"Emberstorm has had some troubles recently" mewed Icestar, suddenly aware of the fact he hadn't bathed in two days. did any of Cornfur's blood get on my face

"I think it's best you give her some room. Take Longpelt. He hasn't been on a patrol and I'm sure he could stretch his legs"

Hollyfoot gave a small sigh. She didn't fancy the idea of trecking around the whole territory again when they'd just covered a fourth of it. Maybe she could take Longpelt around the Riverclan way and turn back near the twolegplace.

"Yes, Icestar," she said. She found Longpelt beside the warriors den and gestured for him to follow her out of camp.

"Why would Icestar have his two best warriors go on a simple patrol" yawned Longpelt and he padded behind Hollyfoot

"I was just in the middle of the first good sleep I've had since Riverclan attacked"

"Maybe he wants to make sure Riverclan isn't starting trouble again," Hollyfoot guessed. "Does he seem...nervous to you, lately?" She'd noticed Icestar looking a little unkempt, but she didn't want to say that outright. Besides, it was probably just worry over the battle, right?

"HAC" said Longpelt, stifling a laugh "Icestar? Nervous? Unkempt? Aren't those synonyms?"
They walked in silence, making their way towards the two-leg place and Longpelt reconsidered his words.
"Look. I love Icestar. he was my mentor after all. but have you *ever* seen him well put together? He looked his best at the height of the redcough season and that was only relative. I thought you were smarter than that Hollyfoot"

Hollyfoot's fur stood on end. "Well, there's no need to be a rude badger about it. I just meant he seemed even more nervous than usual." She paused to lick her ruffled fur flat. "I suppose you're right, though. I'm probably just imagining things." She sighed. "Come on, then. Let's finish the patrol."

"Do you smell something strange" Longpelt muttered, after a long patrol of cocksure descriptions Riverclan cats Hollyfoot was pretty sure didn't exist, this new tone was a departure.

"It's like two-leg but not two-leg. And it's coming from just over there" Longpelt gestured with a shaking tail.
"Perhaps I should run back and warn the camp"

Hollyfoot parted her jaws to scent the air. The air smelled overwhelmingly of twoleg rubbish. She struggled to break out any individual scent.

But if Longpelt was worried, it was probably worth making a fuss over. She nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. If twolegs are pushing into our territory, it could be trouble. I'll poke around and see if I can figure out what's making that weird smell."

"Okay, I'll be on guard in case something bad happens" Longpelt stated, hoping his shaking voice didn't betray his fear.

Hollyfoot made her way towards the two-leg place-- towards the origin of the smell. Longpelt followed, constantly digging his paws into the soft earth, ready at a moment's notice to dash off.

The tall pines on the edge of the tree-cut place were eerie on the best of days. It may have been on the edge of Thunderclan territory but it was contested territory. The two-legs were moving in. As they walked forward, fantasms of two-let kits appeared at the edge of their vision and evaporated when they turned to face them. The dappled light did the two Thunderclan cats no favors.

"Good libations to you"
Said a voice, rough and nassaly.
"Are you our new neighbors?"

Hollyfoot spun to face the voice, her fur standing on end. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

"Calm down Kit-Kat" whined a large grey creature with a black mask and a striped tail. "We're here to meet you not to meat you"

Longtail and Hollyfoot stood in shock. This was quite unlike any creature either of the two warriors had ever seen. It appeared to be the amalgamation of many creatures into one. It had the face of a fox, the body of a cat, and most unnerving of all: the paws of a two-leg"
"Some call me raccoon; some call me Polonius. But she calls me Loudmouth. And that's really all that matters"

"I don't care what you're called!" Hollyfoot exclaimed, bristling. "You're on Thunderclan territory! Leave, before we make you!" She didn't want these strange-smelling creatures that sounded a little too much like cats and looked a little too much like giant rats with twoleg paws hanging around any longer.

"Loudmouth?" murmered Longpelt, "I once met a Longpaw at a Gathering. Hollyfoot you don't think they are a member of a clan?"

Before she got a chance to respond, Loudmouth flashed a fearsome set of teeth and made a huffing noise. The two warriors shared a glance, unsure for a moment what the creature was doing.

"Territory? HUH HUH HUH HUH." Loudmouth shook as if wracked by a fearsome cough "territory is area controlled by the dormant power in the region, and you two scrawny Kit-Kats are clearly in no cognition to fight off aggressors. Even if me and my associate were not present, the humus could put you down without a second thought."

"Humans?" Now that was a word Hollyfoot had never heard. It didn't matter. "We're trained warriors," she said. "We could take a couple of rogues like you with our eyes closed." There was no way these weirdos were a part of a clan. What clan would take in... Whatever they were!

She unsheathed her claws and prepared to spring at the closest intruder.

"oh I wouldn't do that if I were you" Loudmouth sighed "she's not going to like that."
Hollyfoot heard a gasp of air from where Longpelt had once stood. She stole a glace over and saw that the Thunderclan warrior  lay on his back. The other amalgamation had its paws fastened around Longpelt's throat and was starting to squeeze. Longpelt's eyes started to bulge and he desperately tried to cry for help.
"You move, he dies" the attacker whined in a scratchy high pitched whine of a voice that did not match its aggression.

Hollyfoot froze in horror. Maybe she could pull the creature off Longpelt, but if she failed, her clanmate could die. "Okay! Let him go!" she pleaded.

Some instantaneous look passed between the two amalgamations that was undecipherable to the clan cats. Then Loudmouth said in a lilting legato "Now that wasn't so hard. After all, we're just here to talk. So let's take it back from the top. Some call me raccoon; some call me Polonius. But she calls me Loudmouth. And that's really all that matters. And that" Loudmouth continued, gripping four of his claw-like appendages in and directing the fifth at the creature gently throttling Longpelt "is Deadfall"

"How many of you are here" Deadfall screeched

"I-I don't know!" Hollyfoot stammered. "Fifteen cats in ThunderClan, maybe?" she hadn't taken the time to count, but the clan felt so small after redcough. Now it felt even smaller. "With the other clans... I-... I can't count that high! Please let him go!"

"Fifteen of you?" murmured Loudmouth, for the first time surprised by the Hollyfoot's response "That's more than we expected"

A moment of awkward silence enveloped the clearing. Only punctuated by Longpelt's labored breathing

"Who is your representation? Who is your leader? I assume you are in no position to speak for their wishes"

"Tree-" Hollyfoot started to say. Then she corrected herself. "Icestar," she said. "He's back at camp. I could get him, but you have to let my clanmate go."