Darker then Black

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When the larger tom approached her, a little closer than what Flightwhisker would have preferred, she felt her face grow hot at the proximity. It made her a bit twitchy and uncomfortable to see his intense eyes and sneering smile just a whisker length away. But the she-cat pushed that away, and met his gaze firmly.

"Perfect," she mewed at his response, working at the earth with her claws. It was high time. But perhaps it was for the best. With leaf-bare here, the cold would only agitate the leaders more. They would really feel the invisible force close in around them.

But now, the ideas. What should they do to ThunderClan? With Foxflight in her own Clan, he could already have an idea. But she still wanted to pitch her own. "In ThunderClan, we could infest the leader's fresh-kill with crowfood. Maybe the medicine cat's, too."

~~~~~

Badgerstep curled his tail around his paws, but his face was very flat and grim. The black and white tom had a few ideas of his own. And, strangely, no guilt plagued his mind this time around. "For WindClan, we already have a case of greencough going around. So if a sign from StarClan was staged, perhaps a false prophecy about this being Foxstar's fault, I think her old pessimistic mind would return and believe it."

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The white and red warrior moved back to take in everyone in his gaze. It was not smart to keep all his attention to one particular cat in this time of circumstance.

As he settled on the grass, his eyes glittered as Flightwhisker and Badgerstep both agreed through words or body language. Flightwhisker instantly launched into a proposal. Foxflight considered it with a thingy of his head. "The only problem with that is that this can happen any time. Perhaps we can follow a hunting party and while they are away, we can get some maggots into the flesh. Then when the party comes back we can be the ones to suggest that certain prey should go to the leader and medicene cat. This way it looks as if everything is fine, except for the leader and medicene cat's food." He was glad Flightwhisker had come up with the idea. With both of them part of it, it should be easy to figure out the details more on.

Badgerstep instantly caught his attention. Foxflight listened to the proposal and nodded. This one would be a bit harder to do for they would have to think carefully about what kinds of signs would make the most impact. "Badgerstep, what do you have in mind for the omen or sign? It's a wonderful idea since greencough is already there, sorry by the way...never good that stuff is, but we need a thing to represent exactly what is needed."

Foxflight's eyes narrowed as he thought, hoping the male would know of a particular thing of significance for the medicene cat to interpret that greencough was because of Foxstar.

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The black and white tom, listening to Foxflight's reasoning, felt his ears fall back a little at the congratulations about the greencough in the camp. Yes, it could help them now. But that was probably why... What had caused Moonspirit to... His amber eyes flashed with bitter sorrow for a heartbeat before clearing. This would all be for her, in the end. This was what the leaders deserved for going by rules that had made his love live in secrecy for so long. It was all there fault. Everything was on their paws. And they would indeed pay for it. But not just yet.

Badgerstep narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment. "This does not exactly go along with the greencough proposal, but perhaps we could agitate a fox? They're hiding in their dens for the most part, now, but perhaps a couple of us could draw it out. Then if we could also have gotten Swiftbreeze out there at the same time, we could lure the fox toward him. We would make sure not to let it hurt him, but scare him enough before we send it running back." The tom worked the cold ground with his claws. That idea probably wouldn't work, though. Foxes weren't predictable enough. But he might as well say it. "But back to greencough, I don't really know specific things that could be done. I haven't been able to put the pieces together very well."

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Foxflight's eyes gleamed at the new proposal Badgerstep had made. It was pure genius! A fox for Foxstar, but a running fox in front of Swiftbreeze seemed too normal. They would have to juice it up more. His mind raced as Badgerstep finished. Catmint was used for greencough so that could be a signal of it. An idea finally sprung wedged into his thoughts.

His tail flicked in excitement. "Badgerstep, you have something there. A fox to represent Foxstar is perfect and keeping Swiftbreeze safe is also a plus. For the greencough you wish to incorporate, how about adding catmint to it along the lines of having it on the fox all torn up and in the way of the brute. We don't want to kill off the herb in the area, so we can get some from the loner lands," he mewed with slitted eyes as he thought over this. These cats that were part of the group were very quick witted and he was glad for their help.

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Batwing clawed the ground. His mind was racing, trying to think of possible plans they could use but nothing came to mind. He wanted to help, but he couldn't.

"But how would we lure the fox out?" The black tom called. "We'd run the risk of getting hurt ourselves."

He thought about it for a bit, then said, "Perhaps we could leave a trail of prey leading to wherever Swiftbreeze is?"

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His eyes swept towards Batwing quickly. The tom had a point, but either way it was going to be dangerous no matter what they did. Leaving a trail of prey was something Tigerstar of the past had done, but it was efficient enough. A sly smile played upon his features as soon as he snagged the tendril of other ideas.

"You have an excellent point there Batwing. How about we lure the fox out with a trail of fresh blood. It would go after that and whoever was last to drag the bleeding prey, would have plenty of time to get out of there if we found a sleeping fox," he said thoughtfully. Appreciation for Batwing's thoughts shone in his eyes. The less danger the better. No cat should be threatened by such a monstrosity as a fox. "To keep the fox away from Swiftbreeze would be hard though if he is a the end of the blood trail. Any thoughts?," he asked with a tail flick.

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After listening to the words of both Foxflight and Batwing, Badgerstep swished his tail in thought. Then, once he had come up with an idea, he lay it flat again out behind him. "How about we set out the plan for when a patrol heads out? If we time this carefully enough, we could arrange for the patrol to attack and fight off the fox before it gets too close to Swiftbreeze." The black and white tom grimaced. It was that timing that would be the trick, and doing it just so wouldn't be easy. "If I led the patrol, I think the plan would work out best. I would actually know where to go and when. And I could tell the patrol that I had seen a fox around that area so it wouldn't arouse their suspicions if I took a different path than usual."

A patrol would be needed for this particular plan to ensure that there was no harm done to Swiftbreeze. He was the key to the whole operation. "And perhaps some other cat could tip Swiftbreeze off about a patch of catmint where we set the trap."

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((OOC: Hey, if anyone has any ideas for Riverclan and Shadowclan post them here so I can redo this post to fit appropriately. I would like as many cats as we can allow to be involved in this that have claimed to want to. Thanks! ))

Foxflight mewed in accent to Badgerstep's plan. "Alright, it seems we shall start with Windclan and Thunderclanin this scheme because apparently no others have any ideas for the other two. All cats are to cause fright with shadows and sorts. It may help if prey was killed off and then put into a river that many go to drink at, thus the scent would be gone and give the sign that the clans are dying and going off course. Anything creative really, that won't lead a trail straight to us," he mused quickly.

It was time to act and they would start at Windclan for their first major plan then start the crying of the others. His eyes gleamed with feriocity at what he was about to unleash. A whole tirade of cats were about to step in as Starclan, with their blessing, and get the message out: the clans were corrupted and leaders needed to change over. A new generation would commence, one without sniveling leaders who were too weak to think of their clanmates appropriately. They were to take things calmly and collectively, but they only lead warriors to their suicidal deaths.

The white and reddish orange cat sprung to the tree branch once more and took in all the cats. If any didn't show up later on, they'd be taken care of because if any others found out about this they would all be in perile of the contamination. His eyes blazed as he stood as high as he could. "We start immediatly. Badgerstep, Batwing, and I will do what we can in Windclan. Flightwhisker you will be working with other Thunderclan that are here to deliver our present. Everyone, we will meet on the next quarter moon and assess the situation from there. Do not let anything leak. Any plans for Riverclan and Shadowclan should be brought to my attention immediatly and we will put them into action after that meeting. Let Starclan guide your paws. Meeting adjourned," he meowed. The willow's leaves lifted a bit as if it too approved of the plans.

Foxflight jumped off the branch with fur puffed up with excitement.