The.x G-r-a-n-d [T]ou[r]

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel padded through her camp, enjoying the feeling of the soft, sandy earth beneath her white paws. Only half of the camp was in sunlight at this time; the two massive boulders and the rock walls that sheltered the camp also cast dark shadows.

She glanced back to where RisingClan's to-be medicine cat hopefully walked. Waving her paw, she meowed, "Welcome to RisingClan camp...?" She paused, the added, "I don't believe we have fully introduced ourselves. I am Kestrel, leader of RisingClan."

^I'm alive

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[Brighteye]

Juniper of the Sun hobbled into the rock-sheltered camp. Her gait was odd and swinging. Juney would put her front paws forward and lift her deformed legs by their haunches, the front end pulling them forward and her back placing them unde her to support her at least partially.

Juniper liked the camp; it's open, but not unsheltered, feel catered to her tastes. She looked back at Old Tom; he was O.K. She answed Kestrel's question. My name is Juniper... she stopped. Why should she be "of the Sun"? She wasn't in the Prince's service any more, and it was kind of a mouthful. ..but you can call me Juney. The Old Tom says he doesn't have a name.

I don't,Old Tom said. I have no buisness taking up the name of the six-moon scrap of fur I was before I got turned into a monster. You may call me, I suppose.... Dogclaw.

All right then, Juniper said, But you're not a monster. She turned to Kestrel, effectively cutting off protest from Dogclaw. So you do want me to be your medicine cat? She liked the way the RisingClan leader got down to buisness, and she intented to follow suit.

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel nodded, getting right down to business. She had always valued directness, and this cat's bluntness pleased her.

"Yes," she said baldly. There was no other way to say it. "It has become out business to defeat BoneClan, and that cannot be done without bloodshed. We need a medicine cat to take care of our wounded warriors."

The RisingClan leader pointed with her tail, meowing, "There-" -she motioned to a small cave in the side of a rock wall, close to the ground and strung with spider and cobwebs- "-will be your den. I'm sure the webs there will come in handy, once you gather them up. I know they stop bleeding, and that place collects cobwebs.

Over there-" -a tunnel leading beneath one of the huge boulders cat-dug- "-is my den. There-" -a roomy cleft in the rock surrounded by a wall of thick brush, with a narrow, sheltered entrance- "-is the main den, and that-" -this time it was a smaller cave higher up on the rock wall- "is where th nursery will be. The apprentices stay there." She gestured toward another den.

She glanced back at Juniper, waiting to see if she had taken in any or all of that information.

^I'm alive

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[Juniper]

Juniper listened intently as Kestrel showed her around her new home. Good, she said, it all seems to be satisfactory. Do you have any herbs stored? Juney was mentally going through a list of a basic herbs and those that would be more necessary for what sounded like a war with this "BoneClan." Poppyseeds for pain, burdock for infection, broom for broken bones, ragwort for fevers... she smiled. And juniper for bellyaches!

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel shook her head ruefully. "No, you'll find that the den is completely empty."
She flicked her tail toward the entrance of the camp. "There's a small creek there; you can drink the water there, it's actually quite clear and clean."

She turned her brilliant mismatched gaze to the horizon. "When dusk arrives, a cat can run straight toward the sun," she told her new medicine cat, not shifting her eyes from the distant rolls of hills. "At the western edge of our territory, there is a place called he Oasis. There is no shelter there, but a deep pool of fresh water feeds a growth of plants you won't find anywhere else on the territory. Go there or send another cat to find herbs that need water."

It was quite a beautiful place, Kestrel recalled. She had not journeyed there since early in the making of RisingClan, but surely it was still there. There were tall trees there, and plants with the greenest leaves...
But Kestrel's heart belonged forever to the rolling hills and open skies of her homeland; though the Oasis that lay on the edge of her boundries was beautiful, it did not call her like the skies over her camp did.

^I'm alive

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[Juniper]

I'll escort you later, if you'd wish. Dogclaw said.

Duly noted on both counts, Juniper said with a respectful nod to both. She would have to eat and rest first. But before that, she needed information. What is BoneClan, and what is the situation regarding it? Juney paused. More importantly, are they hygienic? She considered that statement, and continued in a dramatic voice. What I mean is, will you be coming home from battle woefully hurt with infectious diseases in the wounds?

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

Kestrel tilted her head back, pondering the question. After a short while, she meowed uncertaintly, "Bane never seemed to me to be the kind of cat who would wallow in filth. It was my opinion that he prefers to look more sophisticated. But I can't say if all of his clan feel the same."

She looked back down, meeting Juniper's gaze. Her mismatched eyes were dancing with an inner fire. "BoneClan," she said, her voice just short of a snarl. "It is a Clan concived by the black tom Bane, born alongisde RisingClan. Not far from here, a circular patch of bare earth marks the very place where Bane and I stood, face to face, and marked our borders.
I knew from the very start that Bane was corrupt, but it seems I underestimated him.
BoneClan's rise to power has been dark and twisted; marked with the blood of innocent cats. Rape, murder, the devouring of kits-- all carried out by Bane's warriors. At the beginning, I had sworn to keep out of his business, but as time pressed on I could no longer ignore the black clouds growing ominously over his land.
And so I set myself and strengthening Clan against him, secretly, but now the time has come to draw it all out into the open. I have plans, my medicine cat, plans for the future of RisingClan...and BoneClan."
Her voice was strong and steady, weaving a tapestry of emotion: passion and pride, fury and contempt, dislike, fear, confidence. Somehow, each was entertwined in the RisingClan leader's equolent words.
Her eyes flashed, and she fell silent. She did not lust for power; she was not like Bane, or indeed like any corrupt cat who had ever served his own ambitions. She meant only to put an end to BoneClan, and to protect the Clan she had built with her own paws.

^I'm alive

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[Tragedy]

In that stirring speech, Juniper saw just how great a leader Kestrel was. She inspired pride for RisingClan in Juniper, even though she had just joined.

But Juney didn't like the sound of BoneClan at all. Where she had come from, everything had been controlled by the council. But this was something else. It was one thing to oppress with power; it was entirely another to so ruthlessly abuse.

Damn fine words, said Dogclaw. Juney nodded. No matter what happens, Kestrel, she said, We're with you.

[Kestrel]

You'll never ^take _me alive

The hard look in Kestrel's eyes softened at the words. A small smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you," she meowed. "I will fight BoneClan to the last breath, but without my Clan I am nothing. I am glad you are here." Her words were honest. She looked almost ordinary again; unlike Bane, who seemed to carry his menacing aura pretty much everywhere, when Kestrel relaxed, she seemed much less intimidating.

^I'm alive

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[Juniper]

Juniper smiled back. I'm glad we're here too.

OOC: Sorry for the uber-shortness. I just came back from the Eragon movie; it has DRAINED MY BRAIN!! And now my OOC is longer than my IC.