Clan War

Trespassers

~Ciaran~

I walked to the tallest tree that I could find and started my climb. As I reached the top platform, I found Andy already there. He seemed to be concentrated on the horizon as Concern slowly creased his brow. I knock on the platform alerting him of my presence. He doesn't break his concentration as he throws up a hand in acknowledgement to me.

"What are you looking at?" I asked after a few minutes.

"We aren't the only ones who got hit." He responded by getting up and changing his view.

"What do you mean?" I asked, getting a growing sense of fear.

"I mean I have looked at all of the other clans' areas from here and they all had plumes of smoke."

"But that could mean thousands of things! It could be a trick that they employed."

"All of them? Unlikely. They hate each other as much as they hate us. No this is something different."

"Well what are the chances they all just decided to light a fire? Like a big bonfire?"

"Around the same time as us? As probable as them uniting." Andy scoffed.

"Well then what..."

A cacophony of whispers flowed through the air around us. Andy seemed to tense up as I strained to listen for any signs of life below us. At first, nothing seemed out of place. Then it was there. A silence that seemed abnormal in a forest filled with animals. Caution seemed to make me move forward and look down. As if straight out of a horror scene, two bodies moved quickly underneath us. I stared after them in confusion at their attire.

"Andy...ANDY!!" I whispered harshly

"What?" He asked writing something down

"We've got intruders."

"What?! Where?" He asked peering over the edge.

"They just went by. They came from the North though." I replied

"Oh come on dude! Why would Northerners come this far from the border?"

"... We should still check it out. It could be the burners."

Andy sighed in submission and we split up so we appeared in front and behind the suspects. I nodded to Andy and on cue, we dropped into the forest. It seemed the intruders had a signal because the next thing I knew, the intruders split up and ran in opposite directions. I didn't have enough time to see which one Andy was going after and chased after the one closest to me. Their cloak flapping wildly behind them as they ran. The person seemed to be flying over the ground but also seemed to stumble where roots grew.

An Idea grew in my head and I started herding the runner towards where the trees grew densest. However, the runner didn't seem to want to go the way I was planning. Instead, they turned sharply and started to head towards where the trees thinned out and I grew concerned.

"Hey! Stop right there!" I called out in hopes they would listen.

They continued on their way increasing their speed.. I groaned and silently cursed them. I pursued them until they stopped suddenly. I approached warily as the person kept their back towards me.

"Who are you?" I called out.

They briefly glanced back but refused to answer. I caught a glimpse of hair but couldn't be sure. They continued to stare out in front of them. I had a feeling they were trying to decide where to go next. There was a rather steep drop in front of them and an enemy behind them. A smirk rose to my lips. I had them cornered.