border :・゚✧ Got As Far As The Door | Territory Tour 彡✧.*

AMBERHAZE
HE/HIM SHADOWCLAN LEAD WARRIOR

Amberhaze's stomach heaved as the knots in his gut grew all that much tighter the closer he guided Lostpaw to the Thunderclan border. After recent events, he found himself wishing the whole clan would simply vanish the same way all of his clanmates- all of his leaders- seemed to have done. Disappearing without a trace, without orders, without leave...if only it happened to those who actually posed a real threat to them. He didn't dislike Thunderclan, not truly...but he could not ignore the sense of boreboding that grew all that much more unbearable with each passing day. They had successfully taken back control over a piece of land Shadowclan had held onto for an admittedly short amount of time- but they had grasped victory nonetheless- now that they knew just how weak Shadowclwn was, who's to say they wouldn't try their luck further inwards? If not for the sake of their own survival, then for the much more simple reason being revenge. He tried not to think about it, swallowing his worries with great effort for the sake of his new apprentice, Lostpaw.

"Um...T-This is the Th-Thunderclan border...I suppose you know q-quite a bit about th-them already, due to- um." He cleared his throat, turning away from the expectant gaze of the little molly as he choked out the words. "...R-Recent events. Take a moment t-to breathe in th-their scent. Memorize it, so that y-you don't forget where they reside a-and who they are should t-they approach before you see them. Your nose is- it's y-your greatest asset. Uh- O-One of them, anyways." He stood on high alert as she did as she was told, the seconds ticking by feeling like an eternity.

Furrowed brows and a taut jaw distorted his features into something ugly, stance tense and his claws flexing into the earth. He refused to take his attention off the treeline. "I d-don't want to linger h-here for long...Whoever we encounter w-won't be pleased with our c-company." And he wouldn't be pleased with theirs.

ooc:
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Amberhaze is a black oriental shorthair crossed with a cornish rex. He has a sickly looking build with a rat-like tail and unnaturally wide ocher eyes.

npc x npc / sibling to wormwatcher / other kin unknown
mentored by wormwatcher / mentoring lostpaw
20 moons old as of 02/21/2025
penned by sloane

 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- he stays quiet during the patrol. it's... weird for him, or rather maybe it's weird for those around him, for him to be this quiet but he just keeps thinking about other things. mostly, how it felt to see the dead look in myrtlepaw's lifeless eyes. it haunts him, like many of the dead that he's seen in his life, and it hurts so badly he feels sick. he's deciding to not make it all that known– he let others see a side to him he never wanted to reveal. sadness. he's never felt so lost, before, and he wouldn't let anyone ever see him like that. so, even quiet, he still smiles when cats look at him. he won't let them see him any other way.

what he doesn't expect to see a familiar tom cat and what seems like his apprentice. he never got his name, and yet there is not a single time since the battle that he leaves his thoughts. he was up close and personal, looking right at that face as death nearly claimed him. it is a face burned in his memory. a face without a name. his heart hammers against his chest when he sees him, and he can't tell if it's fear alone, or something else entirely. he looks briefly to the apprentice, twitching his ears before looking over at the bigger cat, though not all that large given he was a rather famished looking cat, and he does the one thing he knows how to do– smiles. he gives a nervous, toothy, and wide smile with a wave to the other. he knows. it's stupid. shadowclanners probably hate them, and he knows thunderclanners hate them right back, but... he can't do that.

 
their next destination brings a fair bit of anxiety to the new apprentice, but she simply nods and trots after amberhaze without hesitation. she'd be a pretty lame warrior if she couldn't even face going to their border, after all. and being young as she is, life has not yet fully beat caution into her -- she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious about the clan that had received most of shadowclan's vitriol in recent moons.

amberhaze doesn't quiz her here as he did at their previous stop, looking eager to leave at a moment's notice. lostpaw can sympathize, even standing here brings tension, even as she raises her head and sniffs cautiously, taking in the scent and committing it to memory. it's distinctive, earthy and musty in an entirely different way from shadowclan's.

"I d-don't want to linger h-here for long...Whoever we encounter w-won't be pleased with our c-company."

she nodes in acknowledgement, breathing in the scent one last time as she glances up and down the border, taking it in, before turning back to amberhaze. "i think i got it -- we can move on?" she said, tone lilting upwards into a question at the end.

before amberhaze can respond, her eyes catch movement and her attention darts back to the border, shifting nervously as a large orange tabby appears. a thunderclanner? she wonders, then mentally hits herself. of course, a thunderclanner. but he doesn't say anything, just stands there and looks at them and -- smiles? it's a disturbing smile, more tooth than anything, and then he waves.

instinctively, stupidly, lostpaw smiles and waves back, then freezes as she catches herself and turns back to amberhaze. "er -- do you, uh, know him?"

  • ooc.
  • LOSTPAW (she/her) is a six moon old shadowclan apprentice with shorthair cream tabby fur with low white and blue-green eyes. she is the gen1 daughter of two rogue npc's and is being mentored by amberhaze.

    TAGS. penned by riyue. dm me on discord (xriyue) for plots.

 
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ a certain smugness accompanies nightbird like an annoying shroud. how could she feel anything else? shadowclan paid the price for biting off more than they could chew. maybe if the clan weren't so starved from picking scraps off carrion, they'd finally learn some temperance. it was about time. all that loathing honed could be something formidable. but, she supposed it would take a strong leader to forge - or at least one that stuck around through a whole cycle of seasons.

her high spirits are, per usual, short lived. orangeheart, who not long ago stood shaken over poor myrtlepaw's corpse, stood smiling at the duo. maybe he was stronger than them all to be doing so. it was either a great diplomat or a fool who grinned at those who took a friend's life too soon. the jury may still be out for the young warrior. nightbird knows if she were in his paws, the only way her teeth would be shown was through a snarl.

"quickly," she mutters to her own patrol. "monsters enjoy throwing snow at unsuspecting patrols. no need to give them an easy target." the lead warrior adds with a huff, tail tapping briefly to orangeheart's shoulder before she sends a glance back to her apprentices. she was less worried about slush thrown at their faces and more about orangeheart becoming rooted to the spot if he didn't keep moving, but hopefully the former was enough of a motivator. her pale gaze rakes over amberhaze and lostpaw dismissively before she bids them off with a small tilt of her head.
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  • OOC ─ @TWILIGHTPAW @Honeypaw
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  • NIGHTBIRD ───‎ ⋆ SHE/HER, TC LEAD WARRIOR, 40 ☾'s
    a small, feathery black smoke molly with one white paw and pale silver eyes. she is mates with RACCOONSTRIPE and has recently left the nursery after raising their five kits; BAYINGPAW, TWILIGHTPAW, TIGERPAW, STORMPAW, and BERRYPAW. nightbird is currently mentoring HONEYPAW and TWILIGHTPAW. her former apprentices include LIGHTSTRIKE †, DUSKBIRD †, and PALEFIRE.​
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking ↛ battle info
    penned by vayle@vayl3 on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 
RACCOONSTRIPE
HE / HIM ◆ THUNDERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR

Raccoonstripe steps close to Nightbird's flank, letting his banded pelt brush against her smoke for just a heartbeat. "We're not afraid of a little slush, are we, Stormpaw?" His breath is like a silver veil, steaming from a slightly-parted jaw. The smell of the Thunderpath is almost subdued by the cold, though there's no real way, he finds, to take the stench from a ShadowClan cat's pelt. Two sets of eyes peer back at them from across the border, one blown-out and orange and the other round and blue. He recognizes the lead warrior, all lank and angles and chattering teeth, but the pale she-cat beside him looks fresh from the nursery; she still has her kitten fluff.

What an opportunity for her, he thinks with amusement. "Amberhaze, isn't it? I believe we've met at least once." The tabby's tail curl inwards; he takes little notice of Orangeheart's almost blank smile, of Nightbird's taciturn efficiency. He takes his pleasure where he can, on these inane border patrols. "It's a shame we didn't get to lock claws on the battlefield, but I'm sure your time will come." He wouldn't be Raccoonstripe if he didn't take a moment to remind the ebony-pelted cat about his Clan's recent loss, would he?

His gaze wanders, lighting on the innocent little she-cat beside Amberhaze. "Make sure you show her every inch of your new border," he meows, his teeth flashing. "Do yourself a favor and get a refresher, while you're at it. I know it'll take some getting used to."

ooc:
apprentice tag @STORMPAW.
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Raccoonstripe is a lead warrior of ThunderClan. He has thick, silken black tabby fur interrupted by a stark white chin, chest, and belly. One ear is ripped to shreds; the paired eye is missing and scarred over. The other eye blazes golden-brown in direct sunlight. Two near-vertical scars slash across a milky chest. One forepaw is ivory; the rest are dark.

Gray Wolf x Howlingstar / sibling to Hollow Tree, Little Wolf, Cobwebtail, Lily Pad, Graystorm, Jackdawflight, and Berryheart / mate to Nightbird / father to Bayingpaw, Twilightpaw, Tigerpaw, Stormpaw, and Berrypaw
mentored by none / previously mentored Wildheart, Moonwhisper, Scarletdust / mentoring Stormpaw
50 moons old as of 02/05/2025
penned by Marquette

 
AMBERHAZE
HE/HIM SHADOWCLAN LEAD WARRIOR


It was one thing to see Thunderclanners approaching the border- expected, even- but it was another thing entirely for them to greet any Shadowclanner with anything other than unveiled hostility. But what made this even worse was the fact the one to extend such rare courtesy- a display of kindness- was that it was someone Amberhaze recognized. It was a fresh memory, an unpleasant one. The visions of war and agony once again threatening to suffocate him despite it being past, beyond this...the look of terror and desperation in the tearful eyes that now stared back at him with tenderness. He thought it couldn't get any worse, and yet reality was always so cruel, it was foolish for him to hope for anything more. The smile which cast warmth amidst chilled abyss made Amberhaze sick, and he would swallow thickly in an attempt to ward off the bile which threatened to spew out of a twitching maw.

"Er -- Do you, uh, know him?" He nearly missed his apprentice's question entirely, shock still leaving him frozen in place as his mind spun rapidly in an attempt to reason with himself and what he was now forced to face head on...again. "Uh-" An angular head whipped around to stare anxiously into Lostpaw's eyes, battling between the option of being honest with her, or simply lying. The latter was simpler, surely? Much easier than explaining everything that had happened during a skirmish she wasn't even a part of. Then again, he was never the best at twisting the truth. "N-No...No! Um, I've never s-seen him b-before in my life." But he had, up close and personal. The vacant space where a fully intact ear used to be would solidify that moment forever.

It was almost a relief when Nightbird and Raccoonstripe followed closely behind their orange companion just moments later- almost. Their backhanded comments made Amberhaze's pelt twitch with renewed nervousness, but at least it gave him a good enough reason not to look in the direction of Orangeheart again. The formidable tabby tom who held himself with an almost pretentious amount of confidence would address Amberhaze by name, and whether or not his statement was a lighthearted jab or a genuine threat...well, he couldn't be sure. Regardless of his intentions, it was certainly not friendly. "Y-Yeah...Thanks, we'll do that." His tone was etched with annoyance, and he would quickly herd Lostpaw back into the cover of dense pine trees and marshland shrubbery.

With a sigh, Amberhaze would attempt to steady himself, claws flexing as they dug tiny holes into the peaty earth. "D-Don't pay them any m-mind...That's j-just Thunderclan. Gloating is w-what they d-do best...If we ever h-had to fight them u-using nothing b-but our words, the w-whole clan would be wiped out." A teasing glint sparked within his eye, but his jaw was still set in an unbearably tense position. "C-Come on...Let's g-get going."

ooc:
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Amberhaze is a black oriental shorthair crossed with a cornish rex. He has a sickly looking build with a rat-like tail and unnaturally wide ocher eyes.

npc x npc / sibling to wormwatcher / other kin unknown
mentored by wormwatcher / mentoring lostpaw
20 moons old as of 02/21/2025
penned by sloane

 
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