Extra: Thunderclan
Tansystep took a deep breath as she met Quailbrook's gaze, her bruised chest aching as she did so, she knew that sooner or later, she would have to explain what she and Waspvenom had done. They had passed the night in near silence after leaving Toadstar's body by the edge of the Thunderpath. Now, she hoped quietly that the younger cat would let her do the talking.
"Toadstar is gone. We took him to the Shadowclan border and let him go." She left out the part about taking another life from him- it wasn't important.
"Shadowclan is badly beaten. We don't think they'll attack again." She paused here, thinking back to what Blackstar had told her after the battle. She steeled herself, trying to sound authoritative as she added, "But if they do, we will take responsibility. We will stay here and defend your camp as if it were our own." She did her best to phrase in such a way as to leave little room for argument. With Toadstar gone from the camp, Windclan might decide there was no reason to keep the Thunderclan cats around. But if Tansystep could convince them it was in their best interest, perhaps there was a chance.
Quailbrook stood stiffly, holding her tail straight behind her, and making an effort not to show the pain she felt from her own wounds. The chill in the air nipped at her as she faced the Thunderclan cats. It was true that they had saved Windclan, but Quailbrook was not willing to forgo her dignity.
"You should have consulted with us," she said coldly. She would not reduce herself to unthinking anger, even though she did not agree with the decision to release Toadstar. "Shadowclan has hounded us for moons, and we have no reason to think they'll give up this easily." She thought over the offer that Tansystep was making- if one could call it an offer at all. Windclan was still suffering badly from the attack, and if Shadowclan mounted another, they would not be able to fend it off. By letting Toadstar go, Thunderclan had made themselves indispensible. The thought of being manipulated made Quailbrook angry, but she refused to let her pride cause her to make a foolish decision.
"Stay here for now. I'll speak to Clawstar about this. I expect she'll want to work out the details with your leader." Quailbrook turned and stalked away, to finish sorting out the patrols before speaking to Clawstar.
Waspvenom suppressed a growl and settled for shooting Quailbrook a nasty look as she walked away.
"Shadowclan's not going to do anything. How many lives did Toadstar lose in that fight? Three? They'd have to be maggot-brained to come back here." She paused and considered this. "Then again, they were foolish enough to keep fighting as long as they did. Anything is possible."
Like nearly every cat in the camp, Waspvenom was injured as well, but she barely seemed to notice. She had snapped at Flintheart earlier when he tried to treat her injuries. Granted, he had snapped back just as fiercely.
She looked over to Quailbrook, frowning. "Why did Clawstar make her deputy anyway? Her own mother! I bet it was just an excuse to get to tell her what to do." Waspvenom had not yet been born when Clawstar became the leader of Windclan and selected Quailbrook as her deputy. She wondered how it had felt, and if Quailbrook ever felt jealous of her daughter. Waspvenom herself often felt envy toward her mother, Clawstar, and it seemed like the positions being flipped would only make that feeling worse.