<And the Night fell> Closed [Seasle, Cindy]

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Darkheart blinked, pulling a curtain over his emerald eyes. He opened them again, and faced his deputy. His tail flicked back and forth, a never-resting pendulum, showing the passage of time in little manageable bits of stillness, that infinitely small moment when the pendulum stops at the top of its path, as high as it will go, just before returning to its swinging rhythm. It wasn't an annoyed movement, just one that pointed out that day would come and they didn't have all night.

"Shall we return to the topic at hand?" Darkheart did not wait for an answer to his rhetorical question. "We were discussing how to find a perfect time for attack. We want Touslepelt to be as alone as possible, and we need to figure out when that would be. Is there any good way to spy, or will we have to operate blind?" His tone was wary and reserved. Usually he tried to keep tones of worry out of his voice, but Moon was a good enough deputy to deal with the painful truth: Darkheart was not a perfect decision-maker, nor was he as young or quick-witted as he had once been. He was the wise and cautious leader now, though his public face hadn't changed.

[.Whitey.]

ooc: I'm rushing about the house atm, I have to catch a trian to London in about two hours :S I shall post most probably tomorrow!

[//Cindy// l u n a]

ooc; alrighty! have fun there.

[.Whitey.]

The rogue deputy listened silently to his leader, tail flicking every few heartbeats. No, I don't think it owuld be a good idea to attack blindly. If we go in blindly, we're more likely to be wiped out of existance and any survivors who retreat back here will be crushed by Touslepelt's rogues before we havea chance to regain control. he gave his opinion not stopping to let any concern slip into his voice. My best idea's would be to send someone in to their ranks and feed information so we can intercept any decisions Touslepelt makes... he paused, opal eyes closing momentarily.

If what you say is correct, then it won't be very long before Touslepelt feels we're no longer needed and in turn we'll be wiped out too. Moon stopped, his yellow eyes looking up into Darkhearts. It may come to the point where we seek help from the Clans to wipe out our threat. he stopped, there was a flaw in his plan. If they did suceed in destroying Touslepelt's land, then ShadowClan would surely retake their old land. It was a win to loss plan, but was there any other?

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Darkheart couldn't help but chuckle. Moon was brilliant of course, but so idealistic. He was almost kittenish in his belief that everything could be done. With a sarcastic smile, Darkheart drawled, "You'll have to know sooner or later: I'm no god. Spying is much easier said than done. And you may or may not have realized that the Clans don't exactly adore us." Reverting to a more serious and respectful tone, the dark leader continued, "But your point is a good one. We have to act fast and strategically; Touslepelt's forces are bigger than ours, so we must use surprise to our advantage before he uses it to his." The slight smile on the leader's face showed that a bit of a plan was coming together. I just need someone who can spy. I could try to get one of our apprentices... but no cat would be able to trick Touslepelt. Better if we got someone already on Touslepelt's side to join with us. But how would we know that they're not just double-crossing, too? As Darkheart waited for his deputy's response, he ran through questions in his head. He was so glad to have a young, fresh mind working with him at last.

[.Whitey.]

Moon returned his leader's cool and collective smile, You seem to be forgetting, Darkheart, if you put the Clans into a position where we seem the only viable option to help then they will. His tail flicked as he remembered the tales the elders used to tell him, where the Clans were in danger and their only choice of a good idea was taking help of an enemy. He gazed at his leader. My enemies enemy is my friend. his tail flicked slightly, though his LEader had a good point, technically thinking, if the Clans were as desperate as they were led to believe, then they would seek help in those that haven't sought damage to them, although, the whole attack on the Shadowclan Camp had been fueled by RogueClan, Touslepelt had led the attack, so, surely, of all the idea's to think of a spy was needed more. However, you may be right, Touslepelt isn't the one I would imagine to fall for some one new joining his clan, not unless.. he hesitated, thinking carefully, We could somehow lead Touslepelt to believe RogueClan has been disabled by something, then again thats just a fools dream...

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Darkheart was nodding vaguely through his deputy's stream of ideas. The cat's intelegent. But idealistic - the Clans will help whoever they think is right, and would have a hard time trusting us. And still no ideas about spying. But a good point about putting the Clans in a position... although we're too small to really hurt them anyway. They could easily chase us out along with Touslepelt, and that would be a disaster. Darkheart thought about all of Moon's words, but it was really the last idea that was the stroke of brilliance. "Tricking Touslepelt into thinking there's something wrong with RougeClan... now that's an idea. It would take surprise to the next level if we could pull it off right. But we still have the spying problem. Is there any way to learn Touslepelt's plan and not let him learn ours? We need to figure this out perfectly, or he'll be a step ahead of us the entire time."

[.Whitey.]

Moon remained silent, taking in Darkheart's words. His stared at his paws suggestively, the claws unsheathing and sheathing in thoughtfulness. What if we acted upon a cat, they'd have to agree of course, someone loyal enough to be taken in by Touslepelt... perhaps, we could feign aggresiveness on a member, so it would appear they weren't part of our clan, leaving Touslepelt no suspicions; he'd be left with no real proof that we were conspiring against him.. he paused for a moment. We need to be mad enough to do something risky, to achieve what we need. Though, it wouldn't be that much of a risk, thopugh if we were to attack someone too make touslepelt believe they are no longer in our ranks, it would need to be either you or me, having an apprentice attack a warrior and somehow winning isn't the best idea in the world, especially if it were to happen in front of Touslepelt's 'Clan.' he explained drawing to a halt at 'Clan.'If we're going to do something this risky, we need to be prepared in alll ways, not just a simple step by step plan.. he pondered the thought conspicuously.

[.Whitey.]

Cindy?

[//Cindy// l u n a]

"But is there a feasible way that this could work? Something that doesn't require perfect acting and timing and that everyone be in the right place at the right time?" Darkheart doubted that any of their so-far proposed plans would work at all. Only the simplest version had any chance of success - just straight-out attacking. And even that would take some luck to keep the death rate down. "We just need to take out Touslepelt. Is there a way we could organize a small crew to sneak in and isolate him from the loners he commands? They all live in different lands, except one or two. We could probably get only a couple of them all alone, and if we have a group of around six warriors it wouldn't be difficult to take them out."

[.Whitey.]

The black cat tilted his head as he listened to the old tom in front of him. Yes, however, Touslepelt isn't Leader of "New ShadowClan" for nothing. I somehow think that the sly tom will be able to wiggle his way out of it, even if it is just by chance. he paused a moment, thinking Darkhearts plan through his head. It would be stupid for just a small group of cats to waltz in, for all they knew, Touslepelt kept a hidden band of cats that no one knew about however the angle of this plan dawned on Moon. Perhaps... he started slowly. To make sure things go effectively you could lead an attack? A band of six disorientated Warriors won't do the trick, they'll end up being beaten to a pulp or their minds played at until they resign from their task... he mrowed blinking every so often, his tail curling around his sleek jet black paws.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Darkheart nodded slowly. Of course he would lead the attack - he was the most experienced fighter in all of RogueClan. A long-forgotten fight came to his mind, and he smiled. The power of his own limbs... he hated to kill, but he longed for the rush of battle. At the same time, that would put him in the most danger. He would have to have some cat stay home... some one who would be able to lead the Clan if all went badly. It couldn't be Moon. Moon would have to fight beside him. Darkheart narrowed his emerald eyes into slits that glowed in the dark cave. "We need to figure out who else will go and who will stay behind. You should come with me, and we should bring one fast apprentice in case we need someone to run back for more warriors. We need someone... able to lead to stay here because we can't count on success. Who could that be?"

[*Simply Seasle*]

OOC: Now, I won't post in here....with a charrie. But I have to say, I liked the spy idea. Mostly because if you chose Sky, I'd love to play her as a spy.

But this new plan sounds interesting too....who would be left in charge, anyway? There aren't too many active RougeClan warriors...

[.Whitey.]

ooc: if you mean when the rogues go to fight, we have no idea, but when Darkheart gets killed, Moon becomes leader.

The Deputy let out a long withheld sigh. His mind ran through the list of cats in the clan, and none were entirely suitable for the job as LEader. His tail flicked impatiently in the silence as he stared into space, his yellow eyes narrowed in thought. Then a thought came across him, Werewolf would be a good Leader, if not feared by the other Clans. he murmured eventually, though the words violent, dangerous and deadly flew across his mind. Did they really need a goodie two shoes leader?

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Darkheart nodded. Werewolf would make a fearsome leader, but Darkheart's throat clenched up a bit when he though about how many cats would die. He hated the idea of that. Deal with it. RogueClan won't be peaceful for long after you're gone. The cats won't be content with little fights anymore. But if there was a way he could at least suggest the idea of another silent force like Darkheart? Moon would be good at that. Perhaps he would be a tad less secretly sympathetic than his predecessor - but no, Darkheart wasn't sympathetic. He was ready enough to laugh at any weakling, taunt the injured and the sick. But death was different. It was so much grander. There was no way of undoing it. Once you killed you couldn't go back and say sorry. There was no one left to apologize to.

"Perhaps... Libido is too young, isn't he? But you're right. Werewolf would be a good leader. Would he keep the others put? I don't think that would work to well - I know my Clan, and everyone will want to join us."