(AF) Dogwoodstar and Cowcaller

Dogwoodstar was sitting in her nest. She was going over the whole boathouse incident. She couldn’t wrap her head around why Mangrove would attack them in neutral territory, much less aim for her AND Blackberrywhistle. It was ridiculous! It seemed like that cat…what was their name…Inkpool! Inkpool had some sort of grudge against their own little Peachcutter, but why involve the rest of the patrol?

A familiar scent came in on the breeze and Dogwood immediately knew who it was. Her most trusted deputy. This clan would’ve fallen apart if it wasn’t for his help.

“Dogwoodstar? Are you here? I wanted to talk about what happened.” His voice called from the entryway.

“Oh I’m here Cow dearie, but I was about to take a walk. Come with me, hm?”

Without waiting for his response, Dogwood stood and left her den, stepping into the sunshine. The brightness hurt her still good eye. The wounds from the battle still fresh and blocking her vision, for now. She would repay this insult in due time. Though somewhere in Dogwood's mind, appreciated the scar, it made her more intimidating as a leader.

“Tell me, my dearest Cowie, why do you think this happened? We’ve shown no aggression in the past, but they’ve in turn threatened and harassed us on the border. What I’m asking is this, do you think Witherstar planned this?” Dogwoodstar’s voice came out in a whisper, making sure she couldn’t be overheard.

Cowcaller’s face scrunched up, he was thinking, “I…I don’t know Dogwood. I don’t want to say it was because that could spell disaster for the future. I want to hope it was just a misunderstanding. Most of the cats there seemed to have eyes for Peachcutter. Maybe…No never mind. It had to be a misunderstanding”.

Dogwood hummed with uncertainty. Cowcallers words did nothing to assuage her thoughts. War was looming on the horizon and it seemed inevitable. But worrying about Mangrove can take a backseat, they had to worry about the infighting.

“Cowcow, my dear, what's the word around camp? Has the fighting gotten better? Is Saltwhisker still angry with Blackberrywhistle? Is Hazelswipe still at Wormwood's throat? Are you still chittering with Palmpetal?” Dogwood’s last question came out more like a statement. She wasn’t going to make fun of her deputy but she did notice Cowcaller spending more time with the molly.

Cowcaller blushed, “Well I mean…uh…Yes! I mean no, I uh…” Cowcaller huffed and gathered his words, “Some of the fighting is still there. It seems like Saltwhisker is tolerating Blackberrywhistle. Hazelswipe and Wormwood…well those two are…those two. With Palmpetal…Well yeah, we’d been spending more time together, we’re just good friends.” Cowcaller nodded, agreeing with himself.

Dogwoodstar chuckled and sat, the two of them having made it a decent distance from camp. It was rare, peaceful days like this. She didn’t realize how pent up she’d been from sitting in camp and stewing over the fight. Camp was tense all the time, sitting here on the beach reminded her of when she was younger, when she wasn’t a leader.

“Cow. Tell me, what do you think of the stars? They seem so close yet so far. They shine in the sky like pebbles under the waves. It’s always interested me.” Dogwood cast her eyes up, drinking in the sky. Though it was daytime, she swears she could see them, twinkling beyond the vast blue of the sky..

Cowcaller sat beside his leader and also looked up, “That’s a huge question Dogwood. I know some of our clan believe them to be our ancestors. I don’t know what to think, I just think they are beautiful”.

Dogwoodstar nodded. She guessed that made sense but a creeping thought wormed its way into her brain, “If they took the Boathouse, what's to stop them from claiming all the rest of neutral territory? Or stopping Blackberrywhistle and Coalpaw from gathering herbs? We must meet with Witherstar soon or else, I fear we’ll have no choice but to send out patrols with the idea that they will be attacked. I certainly don’t want our clanmates fearing for their lives every time they step out. Maybe you take a small patrol to the Boathouse and wait. Send a message to Witherstar that we should meet on neutral ground. Her and I, maybe you and the deputy over there, to discuss the future of the clans and if…well if war is indeed, inevitable".

Dogwoodstars mouth worked back and forth, as if chewing on some hard to swallow prey. She didn’t like the idea of war but knew her clan could protect itself well enough.

Cowcaller sighed and padded the sand anxiously, “I’ll round up those that weren’t at the boathouse and we’ll go to the border”.

Dogwoodstar nodded and stood, walking back toward camp, “I’m going back home Cowie dear. If you need me, just call.” With that, Dogwoodstar flicked her tail and strode off, hoping for the best but readying for the worst.