and it drives me wild -open

[Johnnyflame]

MY WORLDS ON FIRE, HOW 'BOUT YOURS?
THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT AND I NEVER GET BORED."​

---

Johnny was in a great mood that morning. Hell, he’d been practically bouncing on his toes ever since Silversmoke agreed to accompany him on his morning run, a warm-up the bobtail had initially begun when he’d first joined in order to toughen up his pawpads. In those earlier days of his Skyclan career they’d been prone to getting poked by fallen pine needles due to their softness, leaving him sore or with little slivers. Thistleback had even had him coating them in sap, letting it dry to create a harder surface that protected his feet.

Nowadays, it was just a healthy habit he’d kept up with, finding it a good way to stretch his muscles and wake him up in the mornings. Typically he’d take his usual route in twolegplace before meeting up with the other daylight warriors to head to camp but he’d made a special exception today. Instead they’d done a lap in the territory before calling it quits near the border with Riverclan.

The two were currently sat along the river getting a well deserved drink, when Johnny glanced toward the larger tom with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Wordlessly, he reached down to try and sneakily fling a paw full of water at his fellow lead.

OOC- @SILVERSMOKE , temporarily closed to others! Please don't post until it's open :)

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[SILVERSMOKE]

Even for someone who trained as a hobby, it was easy to take the ability to run for granted. A half-moon spent in the medicine cat's den had been a humble reminder to appreciate what he could do, so doing exercise with Johnnyflame had been a no-brainer when the chimera asked him about it (even if being around the Daylight Warrior raised his heartrate enough already). Muscles burned as Silversmoke leaned down to take a drink, lapping at the river as if it came from StarClan itself. The cool droplets on his tongue were a sweet respite from the heat of Greenleaf on his maine coon fur, and though his peer lacked the same thick coat, he imagined he could relate. He glanced towards the other, catching remnants of mischief within his gaze. That was too familiar, too indicative that the other was plotting something so devious even the snakes would be impressed. Suspicion immediately entered his heart, but before he could tell Johnnyflame that he was onto him, cold water caught his whiskers.

The tom immediately reacted by jumping... and jumping high. Claws out and limbs splayed in different directions, four paws soon landed squarely on the ground a hare's length away, his fur frazzled to twice its length as he cast an accusatory glare toward the other. Hairs pressed sodden against his cheek and neck, the shock of water touching his skin enough to leave him dead silent. Instinct told him to push the Daylight Warrior in, as he would've done with any combatant. It would serve the chimera right for spooking him, but common sense took over before he accidentally drowned his friend. Instead, he aimed to shove his entire weight into Johnnyflame, hoping to knock the Lead Warrior over. Just as quickly as Silversmoke fled water, he then dipped a white forepaw into it with such an intensity it was like he was one with the waves. How easy it was to forget one's discomfort when one's thoughts were fuelled with a desire for revenge. There, he aimed to splash Johnnyflame multiple times before he could get up from the spotted tabby's tackle. "This isn't a fight you'll win." he mewed, a grin unknowingly settled upon the tabby's maw.

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[Johnnyflame]

MY WORLDS ON FIRE, HOW 'BOUT YOURS?
THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT AND I NEVER GET BORED."​

---

Johnny had always liked to test his luck. One of life's greatest pleasures was the thrill of a rush, adrenaline forged at the hands of a gamble. The bobtail had always believed in the old saying ‘the greater the risk, the greater the reward’, but he was also aware that not every bet paid off- sometimes the risk only led to a disappointment just as great. It was all about the willingness to accept your loss- whatever it may be. In this particular instance, Johnny figured he had about a fifty/fifty shot at not getting pushed into the river. Most cats wouldn’t like those odds, but the bobtail knew he was a strong swimmer thanks to a long history of kiddy pools kitty pools and backyard ponds he’d helped himself to in the past.

Granted, none of those had much of a current, but if the riverclan cats could power through it then he was confident in his own ability to do so as well.

Luckily though, fortune seemed to be on his side- no swim in the river today. He yowled in surprise as he was shoved over and then let out a laugh as water began raining down on him. Squinting through the water droplets flying at him, he found his gamble paying off in the form of a grin directed his way. Had he ever seen Silversmoke smile like that before? He didn’t think so.

Too many feelings hit him all at once then- nervous excitement, a sense of having accomplished something, a fierce desire to want to make it happen again after this. And then again after that.

”Oh~, you want a fight? I was just trying to help you cool down after that run, like any good friend would, but if it’s a war you're looking’ for...” came his fux-innocent reply as he righted himself and began to splash the other back with a newfound enthusiasm.

Truth be told, he didn’t give a mousetail about ‘winning’ so long as Silversmoke was looking at him like that.

Once he was confident that they’d both exchanged their fair share of splashes in, he abandoned the river and made to pounce at the larger tom with a playful growl in an attempt to initiate a playfight. More gambles, more risks, more payoffs or disappointment. But Johnny couldn’t help himself. He’d been on a winning streak with Silversmoke for a while now and every reward was only a further incentive to keep pushing and toeing those lines to see where they truly fell. How close was he allowed to get? How much was too much? Or was he.. Just allowed to do these things?

---

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[SILVERSMOKE]

"It wouldn't be a war, I'd win in a heartb— hey!" Interrupted by another assault on his senses, the spotted tabby retaliated with as much force as his broad paws could muster, oblivious to everything but the chimera in front of him. He didn't have feelings on the fact he was playing, or that his guard was lowered; with no words to remind him, he forgot what he was supposed to be like... what the clan expected of him. It was less a respite from duty and more an admission of love that he could be himself around Johnnyflame - he didn't even realise he was doing it. Movements that may have been awkward had someone admitted it was recreation were as natural as breathing, as if an instinct long suppressed by time and trauma had returned. When he looked back on the aftermath of the run, he would not be able to find any training opportunity in splashing

Johnnyflame repeatedly but for now, he would enjoy it fully. Johnnyflame paused and Silversmoke twisted his head towards him, adamant the chimera had not yet conceded defeat. Both cats were stubborn, so stubborn he'd imagined the river fight to last until sunset if the time escaped them. He was right to be cautious. Johnnyflame jumped towards him and, crouched over the river, the spotted tabby couldn't get away in time.Forepaws collided into his shoulders as he turned and Silversmoke rolled with the momentum, aiming to hold onto the other's shoulders and hook his hindpaws beneath Johnnyflame's belly to flip him over his head. The spotted tabby aimed to keep a grip on the other as they somersaulted, hoping it would end with himself on top of the other. It was a different instinct that replied this time, something more honed and prepared as if it were a real battle the Daylight Warrior was engaging him in. Black claws flexed and were promptly reminded to stay hidden as the other's scent reached his nostrils. "Stick to splashing, otter-heart," he taunted, an all-too-competitive bite to his words.

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[Johnnyflame]

MY WORLDS ON FIRE, HOW 'BOUT YOURS?
THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT AND I NEVER GET BORED."​

---

This time last year Johnnyflame would have ripped his own fur out before he willingly let Silversmoke put him on his back in a fight. But a lot had changed since he first joined. Even more had changed since that day along the twolegplace border. The other tom had gone from a walking red flag, to the cat Johnnyflame spent most of his private time with, and somewhere between tricking Silversmoke into playing dumb games with him and openly worrying about each others well being, there’d been room for other feelings to grow. And trust was very much among them, right alongside admiration, fondness, and a nearly impulsive desire to protect.

”Stick to splashing, otter-heart.”

On his back with a larger cat looming over him, and Johnny still had a cockiness about him as he leaned up to go face-to-face with Silver, sunny eyes ablaze with the happiness and thrill he felt in that moment. ”Aye? Or what- you’re gonna drown me with all this water your dripping on me?” came his challenging retort, lips still pulled into a smirk.

As if to accentuate his point, a droplet of water chose that exact moment to drip off Silvers cheek and splash onto his. He huffed, and before it could happen again he turned to lick the offending drop from the other cats cheek.

---

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[SILVERSMOKE]

He tilted his head downwards to meet Johnnyflame's eyes, locked on them for moments before staring at the space between his ears instead. The spotted tabby was no less competitive despite his aversion to eye contact, his legs practically twitching in anticipation of a counterattack from Johnnyflame - a relaxed mindset so quickly turning to a sparring one it was as if he'd been waiting for it all along. Even if he knew the Daylight Warrior to be a competent opponent, there was no greater enemy to Silversmoke than the desire to prove he could defeat SkyClan's strongest. "Maybe I will," he huffed, voice low with sardonic challenge. He wanted Johnnyflame to fight back so they could dance about the territory until one of them claimed defeat, but the chimera had a different strategy. Silversmoke should've known better than to underestimate the guile of a wildcard, instead, as Johnnyflame leaned upwards, the Lead Warrior found himself unable to move.

The rasp of his tongue felt like electric in the spotted tom's veins, sending static up and down his fur that left it puffed out. It was what he wanted. To be close to the chimera, close enough to feel comfortable sharing tongues and personal space, but to dream and to experience it were two different extremes. Now that a threshold had been crossed and Johnnyflame had proved it possibility, Silversmoke's limbs froze. His expression froze too, caught in a wide-eyed, shock-parted maw of nothingness as his mind turned blank. All he could do was stare down at the other, heart beating a mile a minute, mouth dry and throat full of ash. 'I'll get you back for that,' he wanted to say, but the words were nothing on a tongue that could not move for all the metaphorical sand he felt it was buried in. He tried shaking his fur out, if only to cause more droplets to fly out onto Johnnyflame, again, he could not budge. To an outsider, it would look as if the Lead Warrior had bluescreened, so stunned that all emotion had fled from him into the river - instead, he felt too much, and a brain unused to being overwhelmed could do nothing to help him counter it.

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[DOEBLAZE]

The day is as average as her mood, seemingly . . . neither good nor bad as the peony - blushed sun begins to burn off dawn's dew, slanting golden rays just touching the landscape as they filtered through greenleaf - thick boughs. Times like these she rather misses having an apprentice . . . a smaller shape ( or bigger, towards the tail end ) by her side to instruct or poke with questions about the shiny - pelted residents of the territory across the border she was now approaching. It's the perfect season for an apprentice, long sunny days made for territory tours and climbing lessons to watch dawn's mist sprawling across the land . . . of course, after the mess that'd been made of Blazingpaw's apprenticeship ( one that's wholly her fault ), she'd be surprised if Orangestar ever granted her another.

A sigh weighs down her thin chest as she lopes easily towards RiverClan's border, idly pursuing the telltale scent of blackbird . . . it'd be the perfect treat for Lupinesong, if she could track the damn thing down, of course. In recent sunrises, she's been trying her best to haul back little presents like that for her older kits, as though tiny gifts would make up for her failures . . . she flicks the thought away as water off a duck's back, though she knows it's a temporary banishment. The tabby drops into an easy crouch, building muscle rippling in her shoulders—her appetite isn't what it once was, but it's made little strides out of necessity, if nothing else, and the slight improvement shows. A sprawling pounce and the bird's hers, snatched clean out of the air where it'd just begun to take flight. She's contemplating whether to make for camp or try for another when . . .

" Snrk— " The snort that escapes her at the sight that greets her when she follows the sound of mrrows and laughter is only a precursor of what's to come . . . that being laughter so raucous the freshly dead blackbird drops from her open jaws to slide down a white chest to the pine - carpeted earth. The sight of Silversmoke, thick pelt puffed out and eyes so wide they looked to pop out of his skull, looking as though there wasn't a thought in his head . . . to say nothing of the fact that he's perched over Johnnyflame, of all cats . . . it's hilarious, frankly.

" Having fun there? " Bobbie remarks a touch sharply once her laughter bubbles down and ceases, a single white paw nudging the blackbird back to its place by her paws. On the one paw, it's . . . good, to see cats so happy, even if the sound of bright laughter and the sight of unabashed grins brings back memories that are now painful to the touch. On the other paw . . . Silversmoke? Really, Johnnyflame?

OOC : —

♥︎

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[SLATE]

〔✦〕Ah, foxdung. There goes his catch, chirping out in surprise and flapping away into the sun to escape certain death. Empty-handed, jaws parted as he caught his breath, Slate proceeded to snort in frustration and turn away from the scene of his failed hunt. Birds were not his strong suit... at least not the smaller ones. Maybe he'd have better luck searching for critters near the river.

However, on his way toward the water's edge, he is stopped in his tracks as he witnesses a familiar chimera pinned under a familiar tabby. Johnnyflame was loud and boisterous, not to mention extremely competitive in a friendly sense, so it was not surprising to see the other lead warrior engaged in play. Silversmoke, however, was an entirely different story. "Uh..." Were he and Bobbie witnessing something extraordinary, or was it that he really didn't know the silver tabby well at all? Then again, the two hadn't really interacted outside of professional matters, not since Slate had started gaining more of a grip on clan life. Was Silversmoke actually a tom who secretly liked to indulge in playful fights as opposed to serious, stone-faced combat spars? It wasn't anything that Slate would have ever guessed in his life, especially not with the likes of Johnnyflame. The chimera was a decent warrior—even for a kittypet—but Slate had thought that Silversmoke's opinion of the other was... well, prejudiced. Something had changed, clearly.

The Maine Coon flicks his shredded ear twice—an indication of an awkward tension twisting in his chest. He feels as if he's stumbled upon something intimate. He does not usually care to involve himself in the personal matters of his clanmates, especially not Silversmoke's. "I think... we're interruptin' somethin'." The scarred male rumbles toward Bobbie, who he also does not particularly get along with. However, surely she could see that they were not meant to witness this bizarre display.

oh no, ive said too much ( i havent said enough ) //

• ooc.
  
• SLATE —— lead warrior of skyclan , mentoring coffeepaw ✦ penned by beatles
  ✦ cismale / he/him pronouns / 39 moons & ages every 1st
  ✦ single / bisexual & monogamous / closed to romance
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— hard combat difficulty & weak to agile, quick fighters / will start fights, will kill if necessary
  
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, all opinions are ic
  ✦ biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  
• 
  
  

  a scarred longhaired maine coon with amber eyes. a large, 20lb tom with thick locks of fur. his chest and underbelly is ruddy from sun exposure. notable scars decorate his face and his ears are both torn with one being folded over.

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[Johnnyflame]

MY WORLDS ON FIRE, HOW 'BOUT YOURS?
THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT AND I NEVER GET BORED."​

---

Normally, Johnny tried to do his best to respect Silversmokes preference for space. He’d toe and push at the line at every chance he got of course, but it was all in good fun, with the easy acceptance that it likely wouldn’t get him very far. With other cats he might have been keen to push just that little bit more, but it’d taken so much time to get where he was with Silversmoke that a part of the bobtail was constantly aware of the progress that would be lost if he ever overstepped. Along with the profound sense of loss he would feel if the other chose to truly retract themselves from his life. To go back to how things used to be between them- Johnny would avoid that at nearly any cost.

But these days, it felt so natural to do things like this that half the time, Johnny was engaging before he even realized it- splashing him with water, chasing him around, licking water off his cheek- there was barely time to consider the repercussions when it all just came so naturally these days. When was the last time he was swatted away or hissed at? He could hardly even remember.

Watching Silversmoke bluescreen above him though was a good enough reminder of the precarious line he was walking. Had Johnny gone too far just now?

”Does that mean I win-” ”Having fun there?”

Sunny eyes widened in surprise as he turned to find Bobbie and Slate (together???) standing there watching them. It was such an odd duo that for a moment, Johnny completely forgot about how weird his own company must seem from their perspective, and he shot the two a look of confusion.

”More than you two, probably.” he mused with a smirk before casually slipping out from under Silversmoke and shaking out his ruffled, damp fur. ”I was just helping Silversmoke cool off since he’s got all that fur heatin’ him up. You two could probably benefit from a good splash too.” he said, eying their fluff pointedly and with no shortage of amusement as he imagined the pair in their own splashfight- who would try and drown who first, in that scenario, he wondered? Slate was a mountain of a cat for sure, but his prey was on Bobbie.

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