Warriors: Clockwise

<------ Chapter Twenty-One --->

"The majority of our cats will make up the first unit, and will be storming the South District through the city itself. We'll need to clear the North District first, but our attack will be more efficiently executed than theirs, and we should have the advantage."

Hero stood completely still, trying to remain patient as the brown tabby she-cat helped him to fasten the intricate straps and buckles attached to the set of armor that had been retrieved from the East Faction's camp. Neither of them had spoken the entire time, and it was clear that neither of then intended to.

The bands tightened around his chest with a satisfying 'click', and silent as ever, the she-cat padded off to assist the next cat in line. Hero stepped towards the basin of water by the side of the tracks, hopping up onto the edge to peer down at himself on the surface of the water. His form blotted out the reflection of the moon, creating a silver contour on the edges of his fur.

His own armor was primarily leather, as opposed to the clanking metal plates that many of the other cats he'd seen were clad in. It would help him move stealthily - the leather was black or dark brown, and the only metal fixtures were the blades that slid out of gauntlets, a special set of weaponry courtesy of Tags - though he doubted his soundless movements would be much protection against an army of enemy cats.

"The second unit, compromised mostly of Clan cats, will be entering through the water treatment plant and along the riverbank beneath the bridges. This will be a much smaller group, but they will hold the element of surprise."

Hero slipped his watch back over his neck, he had removed it to be fitted. He breathed deeply, listening to the ticking of the watch against the thrumming of his heart. He turned, about to step off the edge of the basin when he heard a crunching on the gravel behind him. 

"You should really wear that," Lilypool suggested, nodding towards the odd, vaguely skull-shaped metal contraption lying a few feet away.

"I don't like it. It makes me feel like the enemy," he murmured.

Still, he remaining motionless as Lilypool picked it up, hopping up onto the side of the basin next to him. "Hush, you," she scolded gently, "If it prevents you from getting killed, it's worth it."

"Right," he mumbled, and an emotion that he couldn't quite decipher briefly flitted across Lilypool's features before she lifted the helmet and set it over his head. It certainly did resemble a skull; the metal plating covered most of his head, with holes for his ears and larger ones for his eyes that would not inhibit his vision, and two sharpened metallic fangs stretching from the muzzle and down over Hero's own. Lilypool fastened the two straps beneath his chin, securing it in place, and paying no mind to the daunting appearance it gave him.

"My nose itches," he complained.

Lilypool rolled her eyes. "Come on, Timekeeper. We've got a war to win."

Hero didn't bother to correct her, and the two trotted off towards the distant crowd of cats, who had begun to arrange themselves in battle formation. He took a deep breath, listening only to the ticking of his watch, and secretly wishing he could be so unfalteringly precise.

"We have three separate teams on covert missions. One, comprised of medicine cats and those with similar healing abilities will be our backup team of war medics, will be led by Fawnsoul and dedicated to removing injured cats from the battlefield and help to fix up the ones who aren't hurt too badly."

The movements of the cats around Hero became a blur. He couldn't focus, and yet he couldn't seem not to. The world faded in and out of his vision in a whirl of color and sound, whispers travelled among the cats as they glimpsed the ominous helmet adorning Hero's head.