#tt tansystar

[sp1resong]

the warmonger, the peacemaker, the lovers, and the revolutionary.

(ft. Ploverstep, Alderstar, Copperstar, Tansystar, and Ternstar)

look at this. it's a little bit unpolished but uhh. i sure did make it!

(ft. Ploverstep, Alderstar, Copperstar, Tansystar, and Ternstar. song is Beneath the Brine by The Family Crest.)

[sp1resong]

mediocre fight cat writing. but i listened to hnoc and have brainrot

alt. title: ploverstep tries to negotiate peace, and it goes... about how you'd expect, given that turning tides is a tragedy in a trenchcoat and groucho glasses (the disguise of being just a fun little warrior cats roleplay/fanfiction)

More than anything else, Ploverstep wanted peace.

This war had gone on for far too long--or, rather, it had gone on at all. Alderstar should have just given BrushClan independence and let it go. Or she could have at least tried to settle it peacefully.

But of course she didn't. Of course she was too greedy to let them go.

But, if Ploverstep had it her way, the war would last no more than a year. She could not undo what had been done, but she could at least try to prevent any more bloodshed.

She'd never been a very assertive type, but this--this couldn't go on.

So she made a deal.

She'd meet BrushClan's leaders at moonhigh behind Alderstar's back and negotiate peace. She was sure that, given the option, given the knowledge that their deputy was against this war, almost none of TideClan's warriors would continue fighting.

Ploverstep slunk out of the warriors' den on the night of the full moon--a night that was traditionally a time of community and peace, a night where every Clan cat maintained an unspoken truce. Even during the war, there were few battles under the full moon--Alderstar was far too superstitious to break the moon-truce.

Or so Ploverstep thought, at the very least, as she stepped out into the silver moonlight. She stretched, padding over to what had once been the fresh-kill pile and picking up the body of a scrawny rabbit. Raising her head, she glanced around. The camp was empty, save for the two guards just outside the entrance. The forest was eerily silent.

Ploverstep left through a small gap in the camp's surrounding bushes.

She did not notice as Alderstar (who had perhaps never been asleep in the first place) silently got to her paws and awakened a couple of other warriors. Nor did she notice as they followed her out of camp, silent as shadows.

She walked through the woods for what felt like an eternity. She paused for a moment before crossing the BrushClan border--Tidestar had said to meet them near the BrushClan camp, so they could call reinforcements if necessary.

Finally she reached the clearing where she was to meet the other Clan's leaders. They had arrived first; of course--the meeting place was just outside their camp, after all.

Ternstar sat front and center, with Tansystar and Copperstar to his right and left respectively. All three of them were eyeing Ploverstep warily.

She dropped the rabbit on the ground. "As I've--as I said, I'm here to negotiate peace. I'm sure I speak for all of TideClan when I say this war can't go on any longer."

Tansystar snorted. "Alderstar seems to disagree."

Ploverstep sighed. "You--you're right. But the rest of us don't. We're fighting a common enemy. It's not you, it's not us--shades, it isn't even Alderstar. The--we're fighting the war. I--I see cats die or suffer almost every day, be they yours or mine. I've probably killed some. And stars know I hate to think about that. This has to end."

"We agree, of course," Ternstar said after a moment of silence. "But can you really do anything about it? Can you sway your Clan's opinions? You are not TideClan's leader."

"No," Ploverstep admitted, "I'm not. But I'm their deputy, and I--I think most of them understand that Alderstar is in the wrong here. I trust that they'd stand with me, especially if I had you on my side."

"Trust doesn't mean much at times like this." Copperstar narrowed his eyes.

"But--in this case. In this case, I think--they're suffering. You're suffering. We're suffering. The only reason this war is still going is because of Alderstar's greed and stubbornness." Ploverstep met each of the BrushClan leaders' eyes in turn. "I trust them to want to change that. I trust them to want a better life for themselves and for their descendants. I trust you not to kill me where I stand. Do you trust me?"

Ternstar hesitated, glancing at each of his lovers before turning back to Ploverstep. "I do. Meet us tomorrow at sunhigh, by the birch grove. We will discuss the exact terms of this treaty then. With luck, this war will be over by nightfall."

Ploverstep let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "It's a deal."

And that could have been where it ended.

But just then, one of Alderstar's cats (they had been waiting, silently, to see if the situation warranted an attack) accidentally brushed against a bush.

All three BrushClan leaders stiffened, pricking their ears.

Copperstar sniffed the air, eyes widening. "Alderstar!"

Ternstar rounded on Ploverstep, snarling. "TRAITOR!"

She barely managed to dodge the following attack before Alderstar's patrol burst from the bushes and all hell broke loose.