ShadowClan Camp

Minkfur nervously shuffled her paws as she waited for Nightstar to continue. She was so anxious, she almost failed to notice the pup behind her until she caught his scent. Turning her head, she offered the youngster a kind smile, dipping her head. "Oh, hi Sleetpup!" she woofed before looking over him. "You're getting quite big now. I won't be surprised if you become an apprentice here soon!" She gave the pup a playful nudge before flinching at an oddly-accented voice. Whipping her head around, she protectively moved in front of Sleetpup, shielding him from the strange yet small dog. She was about to comment before the words sunk in. Minkfur let out a flustered woof, looking away before glaring at the small dog. Inhaling, she narrowed her eyes somewhat before growling, "Leave me alone, dog. I'm not interested. Go woo someone else. Preferably your own height and/or breed." With that, she turned her attention to Nightstar, perking up her ears. So the loners were named Val - that must be the female - and the small dog was the White Demon. 'Certainly... Unique,' she mused. She doubted that this 'Val' would win the attack, however- she was rather... petite. Didn't look like she ever got into a fight in her life.
As Nightstar continued on, Minkfur raised her head as the deputy was announced. 'Dragonsteel...?' she thought, fur fluffing. She knew the male was vicious in battle- too much so for Minkfur's liking. However, she supposed he was a... decent choice. In all honesty, she'd prefer Blackwidow to take back her leadership. She'd even be more than happy if Barkclaw was named the new deputy! But Minkfur wouldn't complain. Dragonsteel was the new deputy, and that was that.

Val turned her attention to the canine she recognized to be a bichon frise, flicking her ears at his words. Smiling, she dipped her head with a soft chuckle, looking back towards the brown she-wolf who had cast a dirty look towards the pair. "Of course," she purred, her ear swiveling in amusement as she watched the male approached the larger she-wolf. Val snickered slightly whilst watching her response- the brown female was evidently flustered. She deserved the mischief caused by the Frenchman- Val hadn't missed the amount of contempt in the wolf's glare. Sighing, she directed her icy gaze towards the leader despite barely being able to see him. Her eyes widened, however, as he stated she'd go through an attack. 'What?! I'll have to fight...?!' she thought, shifting slightly and casting her gaze to her paws. What if she lost the fight? Would she be sent on her way? Would she be kept as a prisoner? A broodmare? Or would she simply be killed? Was it a fight to the death? 'Merde... Ancestors help me...' she thought with a shiver. She had only spent a little more than a month as a rogue- she hated it. It was lonely and unsafe. She knew she relied on other wolves- back in the pack that kept her captive, she was... fit enough, and pretty well-liked by at least a few of the members. Val had no need to fight, as she was strictly confined to the camp, and rarely ever needed to defend herself. She never did anything to provoke anyone, either. 'The only experience I have is what Winter taught me...' she thought with a shudder.

The Medicine Wolf nosed briefly in her stores, beginning to hum to herself quietly. Tremblepup had left the den and Ivyshade figured she had just gone out to check on the other pups. Sniffing her plants silently, she took a step back and sighed wearily. "The sun's disappearance and a strange mist. What on earth could it all mean?" She had received no sign from Starclan about all of this, yet the unsettling nature of this event could only spell suffering for Shadowclan. She could only hope that Nightstar would listen to her advice, though she knew well that the male could be quite bull-headed when it came to most matters.
There was a burst of snarling and whimpering. Ivyshade paused and frowned, her expression quickly changing to one of annoyance. "Oh yes, thank you for attacking someone five seconds after I told you to keep everyone calm!" She thought frustratingly, padding to the entrance of her den and peering out. Thankfully, it wasn't a member of their clan that Nightstar had gone after, but a strange she-wolf who had the misfortune of wandering in. There was literally be no other clan that she could think of that was as hard on trespassing loners as Shadowclan. "Quite the bad luck there." She blinked in surprise when Dragonsteel offered to help the fay, quickly leading her away from the camp. Ivyshade had originally had thought the fierce warrior to be no more cruel then Nightstar, so seeing him helping a loner out was quite an interesting turn of events. "Perhaps I've misjudged him."
She had gone back into her den again when Nightstar called a gathering of the clan. The Medicine Wolf turned back around and slowly ambled out, staying on the edges of the crowd when the leader bellowed his announcements. Her eyes fell on two strange canines that had joined them in their clan gatherings, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "They surely look too petite for Nightstar's liking. I'm surprised he gave them a chance." After what he did to the other loner that had wandered in, she didn't think that two small canids would be in the leader's taste. Not surprisingly, he ordered the smaller wolf to be attacked, something that Medicine Wolf couldn't agree on, yet knew that there would hardly be anyone to change his mind. "Better get some healing herbs ready for that..." She mused.
As predicted, Dragonsteel was selected deputy of Shadowclan. And while Ivyshade had her doubts about the powerful warrior, she knew that he was a good choice for the male, especially since he was the only being Nightstar really listened to besides her.

The guilt in Marauderpup's chest swelled as he watched Tremble give him and siblings wide berth before approaching Sleetpup as he performed his duties. You shouldn't feel bad. You didn't put those maggots in her nest. Jesterpup did. But deep down he knew that he and his sister were somewhat to blame. He wasn't sure exactly whether Tremblepup believed the tale that Jesterpup had spun to the rest of the Clan, but her hasty departure after aiding the other pup hinted that she didn't want any more to do with him. Sleetpup continued to badger Tremblepup, much to his own frustration, but Nightstar quickly sorted him out, ordering him back to his cleaning duties. He snickered boldly at that, watching the pup skulk back into the warriors' den, defeated.
But as seemed to be happening a lot today, another two unfamiliar canines grabbed his attention as they waltzed boldly into the camp, accompanied by Dragonsteep and Nightstar himself. He wondered why Nightstar was doing this. They were meant to be protecting the Clan from strangers, not inviting them into the very heart of their territory. One of them - the smaller white dog - spoke with the most peculiar accent and mannerisms, which spoke volumes about how much of a stranger to the Clans he really was. Marauderpup didn't like them. Didn't trust them. But kept himself well back from them, nonetheless. He was just a pup, after all. When he became a warrior he'd have the strength and authority to make his thoughts heard, but for now anything he had to say would just fade into the background.
Nightstar let out a booming call to summon the wolves for a meeting. The words of the summons specifically excluded pups from gathering around the rock, but that didn't stop him from exiting the entrance of the den and making himself comfortable so that he could listen. He wanted to know what the strangers were doing here. Val and The White Demon? Their odd names only added to Marauderpup's growing intrigue. The two didn't seem overly threatening - especially the small white one - but the way that Nightstar challenged anyone to question The White Demon's fighting skills hinted at a more ferocious side to the dog that Marauderpup could not see.
With the announcement of Dragonsteep being made deputy, the meeting was abruptly disbanded. Marauderpup found himself a little disappointed. He and his siblings had approached the correct age now to be named apprentices, but such an announcement had been omitted from the meeting's agenda. He wanted desperately to begin his training, wanted more than anything to throw his energy into tasks that would build him up to become a formidable warrior. But until Nightstar allowed it, all he could do was wait, lounging around the camp and performing petty pranks to keep himself and his siblings occupied.
But that small ounce of guilt was still eating away at his mind. Casting his gaze to the medicine den that he'd seen Tremble retreat into earlier, Marauderpup picked himself up and sauntered over, stopping at the entrance to peek inside. "Tremblepup?" he called softly, unable to see her small frame until his eyes adjusted to the change in light. "Ah, there you are." Spotting her in the depths of the den Marauderpup began to trot briskly forward before he caught himself, stopping for a moment before continuing at a slower pace. He didn't want to scare Tremblepup by barging in - after all, she probably thought that he and his siblings had defiled her nest - and not entirely sure that pups were allowed to just wonder into the medicine den. He suspected that they weren't, but he wasn't here to cause mischief on this occasion. He was here to apologise. He sat himself down a little way away from Tremblepup, eager to give her plenty of space and not make her feel uncomfortable. "I... um... I just came here to... well... apologise..." Marauderpup wasn't big on apologies. He usually took the consequences of whatever havoc he'd caused on the nose, and to apologise for something that he hadn't actually done was a difficult thing for him to do. "The prank was aimed at Jesterpup. It was his bed that we put the crow food in, but he used it to torment you instead." He felt too awkward to look Tremblepup in the eye and his tail swished nervously back and forth along the dirt of the ground. He didn't know whether Tremblepup would accept his apology or not, but that didn't really matter to him. He just needed to say this and then it would be off his chest. "I'm.. No, we're sorry."

Minkfur was very open about her distaste of the white dog, looking away and sticking her nose into the air. She did her best to ignore him, instead shooting the male a glare and curling her lip to reveal a fang before turning her attention to Nightstar. She was a little surprised he didn't promote any pups to apprentices- they seemed to be old enough. It was a bit of a pity- she figured they'd be rather eager to become apprentices, as Minkfur was when she was a pup. She could barely even wait- it was rather boring to be stuck inside the camp all day and night. Her eyes flicked towards the nursery as she thought, still ignoring the male dog. There were plenty pups... Would Minkfur get to mentor one? She felt she was ready for another- she thought she did a good enough job with Forsakensoul, despite his fate. 'I'll have to see how he's doing sometime... Maybe at the next gathering, whenever that is...' she thought. She doubted he'd be there, though. Perhaps she'd just talk to a RiverClanner.
As the meeting was dismissed, Minkfur got to her paws and glanced down towards Sleetpup. Raising a brow, she tilted her head slightly with a murmur, "You look exhausted. What have you been doing all day...?" He didn't necessarily seem all that happy, either. Were the other pups giving him a hard time, or did he just play too much? Was it even possible for a pup to play too much?!

Minkfur flinched upon hearing the cold voice of the leader. Ears flicking, she turned her gaze to the brown male, apprehension quite evident in her eyes. His words directed towards Sleetpup answered her question- he had the pup working. Curious, she sent a rather questioning glance towards the pup. What had he done to earn a punishment from the leader...? Minkfur always thought the pup was reasonably well behaved. Perhaps she just hadn't been around him too much, but she figured he was one of the more gentler pups. It was Cheshire's offspring that concerned her the most- especially Jesterpup. She pitied whoever would mentor him, as it seemed only his mother could handle the pup. Nonetheless, all the siblings, including Jesterpup, were quite mischievous. Hopefully they would straighten themselves out as they got older. If not, they'd be... quite a handful. Classic ShadowClan canines, nonetheless.
She ended up snapping herself out of her thoughts, dipping her head towards Nightstar. "Of course," she woofed, before glancing towards Sleetpup and giving him a friendly smile. With that, she got to her paws and padded after the leader, concern shining in her eyes. What would this be about...? Had she done something wrong? Whatever it was, she hoped it was nothing too serious. She desired no forms of punishment dealt by the leader. Minkfur was a prideful wolf, wanting no such humiliation.
Standing before the male, she tilted her head and awaited his words. After he had spoken, her eyes widened slightly and she averted her gaze. What should she say...? She knew Nightstar would punish Bramblerose for breaking the Warrior Code- however, as much as Minkfur didn't want to admit it, her friend may deserve it. She knew full and well that falling in love with another wolf- a ThunderClanner especially- was taboo. Clearing her throat, the brown she-wolf looked back towards her leader with a growl, "I noticed she had left the territory so Thrushheart and I went to look for her. It turns out she was meeting with a ThunderClan male in loner territory... I believe that she may have fallen for him." She then closed her eyes, remembering the events she had witnessed. "But we saw the male being killed by a two-leg. I left with Thrushheart before we could be hurt too, but I assume Bramblerose went to take the body of the ThunderClanner back to their camp," she then continued, flicking an ear. She worried the leader would scold her for not retrieving Bramblerose- however, Minkfur felt that it was right for her friend to bring the male back to ThunderClan, enemy territory or not. Especially if she was in love with him- it'd be basic respect to not just leave him there for the two-legs.

Blackwidow had been the last to arrive to camp from the fire swamp and had gotten there just in time to hear the announcement that Nightstar had made. So he also let a female join, yet he would be putting her to a test. Just from looks alone the female named Val didnt seem like she had ever really gotten in a fight. She didnt seem like she had any scars on her and her eyes didnt seem like that were harden from battle but she did see something else there. She couldnt put her paw on it but this female looked like she had been through something horrible. She hoped for her sake that she passed whatever test Nightstar put her through. Just looking at the female made Blackwidow think of her own horrible past. She scratched at the scars on her hind leg. Remembering the horrible thing she did in deserving them. Maybe being in a clan like this was actually where she belonged. She didnt deserve to be in a fun loving clan like Thunderclan or Sunclan. Blackwidow hated her name, it wasnt a name she picked out herself. It was given to her when she was apart of Shield. One that she had earned and due to her actions she guessed that it was a fitting name. Especially cuz she was a cold blooded killer but she wouldn't show that side of her ever she was apart of a clan now. Though she was sure that Nightstar would maybe like her more if he knew she hated that part of her and if the clan thought her weak then so be it. Shaking her head to try and forget her thoughts she made her way to the fresh kill pile, it was looking super low but when she saw that Dragonsteel after being made deputy left the clan she had assumed that he was going hunting. She thought about doing the same thing but she had been out in that mist for awhile now and just wanted to eat something and relax a bit. She grabbed a lizard off the pile and went a laid down to eat.

[centre]Nightstars gaze became even colder at Minkfurs words and a soft growl rumbled from his chest. It went quiet however when he was informed the unknown male had been killed by two-legs. He didn't speak as he mulled over the information as his head slowly turned taking in the camp until they paused on Blackwidow. "I want you to go hunting again. I'll send Blackwidow with you go to shades outlook." he told the female by his side suddenly. He didn't give her a chance to respond before he was on his paws and heading for the red and black female who was about to eat. Reaching her his large paw flashed out to knock the lizard out of her reach gently as he looked down on her. "Your going hunting with Minkfur. She is waiting to go." he told her icily. He picked the lizard up and carried it back over to the fresh kill pile before making his way to Barkclaw. [color:6e1a=d3d3d3]"Barkclaw I want you to take Val out to the Fire Swamp and conduct her hunting assessment." he told the male with his face neither warm or cold in his tone.[/centre]

Blackwidow got really angry when Nightstar took her prey away and told her that she was going hunting. No she wasnt goingto go she had been out all day plus she had went hunting that morning and all she wanted was a bite to eat she didntreally mind going hunting again but shewas going to eat first and she didnt care what he said. "I have been out all day and have not had anything to eat. I und i understand the kill pile is low. But what good am i if i die from starvation. So im going to eat first then hunt with Minkfur. I get that your the leader but. Caring about the well being of your warriors is good is it not." Blackwidow didnt say it in a threatening way. She was really just hungry and very tired but Nightstar seemed to think she was just made of energy. If anybody really looked at the female they would be able to tell that she was tired.

Minkfur nodded at Nightstar's words, watching him go towards Blackwidow before he knocked the lizard away from the she-wolf. That caused the large brown warrior to narrow her eyes. It was rather rude; the older warrior had already been out and about. Could she not get at least some time to relax? Minkfur's dislike for Nightstar had increased slightly. He was so disrespectful; yes, he was the leader, but leaders should have respect towards their clanmates as well. Nonetheless, the young warrior kept her mouth shut, only to inhale sharply as Blackwidow snapped at the leader. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and she shrank away. Minkfur knew the leader had a nasty temper- she doubted he'd tolerate such an attitude from any of his subordinates... Even if Blackwidow had once been the leader.
Swiveling her ears, obviously uncomfortable, the warrior approached the two wolves, dipping her head. Clearing her throat, she cast her anxious gaze towards Blackwidow before looking back towards Nightstar. "It's okay, Nightstar, I'll just go find Dragonsteel and hunt with him..." she murmured, before hurrying off before the leader could protest. In all truth, she just wanted to get out of the camp before Nightstar punished the older she-wolf. Minkfur worried about what he'd do, knowing his anger and viciousness. Quickly, she followed Dragonsteel's scent, trotting at a quick pace with a soft whine. She didn't fancy going out into the mist alone, but she had a good nose. She'd find the deputy eventually- perhaps she could convince him to come back and talk sense into Nightstar before he'd tear Blackwidow apart.
~Silver Forest~

He was tearing into the females form when a sudden force slammed into his side as he was between bites sending him stumbling away from the red and black pelt that was suffering under his fangs. Blood coated the ground and dripped off his now red fangs as he snarled at the intruder. However the voice managed to push through the haze of bloodlust with the words of wisdom that Dragonsteel gave him. "Yes it is so she can join her mate." He mumbled, "Not that he wants her anyway." He laughed venomously as he sat down with his still swirling eyes and he watched as Blackwidow limped away. "What to do with you?" he asked as his deputy came back. Even in his current state he knew attacking was a bad idea and humiliation didn't work on the male. "What to do? What to do?" he asked chackling softly. He looked at the male with narrowed eyes humming. "What should your punishment be Dragonsteel?" he asked the grey brute suddenly.