And the storm blows on / Riverclan patrol

[Snakeblink]

Keep your wits about you.

Buckgait's directive was perhaps more needed than Snakeblink is ready to admit. He's tired and anxious, both feelings feeding on each other and leaving him unbearably on edge. The gorge makes for an impenetrable border, but the ever-present danger of a fall makes him eager to leave it behind; downstream, the ice still coating parts of the river has him feeling oddly exposed to Windclan incursions while standing on the other shore. Really, he'll be glad when they're finished and safe on their way home.

Except what is home, right now? Certainly not their precarious, temporary respite near the gorge. Not the drowned remnants of their previous shelter, either. Nowhere feels safe enough. At this point, though, he'll take anywhere that's safer than here, a fox length away from hostile territory.

That's hoping that no trouble comes from this side of the border instead. Having these two warriors at his back and knowing that they can hold their own (and his!) in a fight is a comfort, but he's seen how Redpath operates. If she gets it in her mind to finish up an old fight, he can only hope Houndsnarl is prepared to stop her before she jumps clean across. He makes up for his unease by meticulous and somewhat pointless scent-marking – it's not like the moor-crawlers have proved particularly respectful of borders in the past.

Stars, this patrol can't be over soon enough.
​

ooc. information.

• ooc: @HOUNDSNARL. @Redpath + obligatory apprentice tag @frogpaw but you're welcome to post before them!
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 37 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[Firefang]

The roar of the gorge had stilled with time, no longer did the water churn so ravenously beneath the steppes of the moors. Much of it had stilled if not frozen over with frost as the leafbares winds touched it once more. She wonders how far those rapids went, if they'd been strong enough to wash Riverclan away now wouldn't that be something, it's wishful thinking something many Windclanner had hoped but evidently wasn't the case their scent still infected that part of the territory like a sickness. Making her angrier everytime she passes by this border. She still can't believe skyclan's cowardice nor Riverclan's gall to stick their nose in affairs that weren't their own, the fish munchers should just stick to their own drowned territory rather then throwing their weight around and playing savior to the tree climbing bastards that were Skyclan. Her tail lashes irritably, she sticks close to her patrol but her glare is focused so dangerously on the Riverclanners who mirror their steps. She hasn't seen them since, but seeing them now reignites that not so old flame of hatred she harbors for them.

❝Look who it is! The fat ole' fish eaters showin' their faces on this border!❞ she sneers ire so evident in every syllable she snarls, if it weren't for them they wouldn't have had to retreat more skyclan blood could've been shed! Maybe they'd have been able to properly avenge Sunsetbreeze and force their enemy to bury far more bodies then they had to, but alas that didn't happen they were outnumbered because these fish sucking little foxhearts showed up. She'd shred them one day, feel their fishy blood on her tongue and underneath her claws. She'd make up for her failure to do much more then scar some lousy unimportant apprentice, she'd be a great warrior one of the strongest in Windclan she had to be. And she'd leave a path of destruction for all her enemies, she'd beat the snot out of Riverclan the moment she was allowed to. For now she settles on taunting them.

❝How'd the blizzard treat ya huh? Must'a sucked not to be able to catch your nasty little minnows for a few days, so sad. Maybe if ya ate real prey you wouldn't have to worry about water freezin' over❞ she remarks, unknowing that was the least of their problems.

( PLACE ME IN MY CASKET TONIGHT ; BECAUSE IM ALREADY DYING INSIDE )​

 

[Redpath]

Best behavior, best behavior, gotta behave, be nice, don't kill anyone.... Easy! Nothing she couldn't handle!

She was padding along just fine with her pals.... Her buddies... Snakeblink and Houndsnarl.

She had to keep it together for them. For the clan.

She could do that!

She was just getting to work, marking their territory when a little Windclan brat started speaking.

Okay. Stay cool! Stay cool!

OKAY. HOLD IT IN....

She looked at Firepaw. It was a look accompanied by a dangerous smile. The only thing saving her was the border. She could snap her neck with such ease, stop that grating voice from ever speaking out again-

Ah. She is speaking again. And this time, the fire is lit.

"What bold words coming from a little rat, I didn't know those things could speak cat....." She said.

"Life is full of surprises!"

She was already failing at behaving.... Okay... She won't be egged on anymore. Get it together.

​

 

[WOLFSONG]

──⇌•〘 INFO 〙 He loves a good round of banter, but he's found that –thus far– his appetite is poorly sated. Wolfsong misses rowdy gatherings of friends hurling insults while bumping shoulders jovially, and then later wrestling when someone's pride is bruised more than they can handle. There's been plenty of threats and slights between clans, yes, but Wolfsong has tired quickly of the flavor. Does that mean he intends to leave Firepaw to call across the Gorge on her own?

No. My curiosity has gotten the better of me. And he pursues it while keeping the pretense of animosity.

"So it is!" Wolfsong agrees cheerfully, his rasping voice raised to carry as he stands near the apprentice. "None more surprised than your mother when she birthed you out her arse!"
​

 

[HOUNDSTRIDE.]

He's not so cautious in this venture as Snakeblink may be– though he's come with an order to behave, it's as difficult as anything to make him mind his tongue. Perhaps it's the wandering, or the good company. Should anyone ask, it's only that Firepaw struck first. Without the jeering of that mirrored patrol 'cross the water, he might've gone about the whole thing without so much as a word. Right up to this moment, he's been silent as the frozen ice, nothing more than an ominous grumble off his tongue. But stars above, he thinks that he had been needing this. The company and the bitter-joy words both.

Despite himself, and despite their loyalties lyin' on opposite sides of this roaring water, Wolfsong's cheer brings a fiery grin to the chocolate tom's own maw. "Ah but why bother seein' it as a surprise? Face like that one's, any rat'd be driven from their burrow," he calls back, joyous and bright in its edge. It's not half bad, in truth; he cannot help but their scars are near matched, though his dances just below the eye and off towards his throat. No great loss– he assumes that the WindClanner's eye was just that, though he cannot see a color. It'd be a pretty one, he can guess.

﹥ˏˋ〘  OOC NOTES INFORMATION 〙ˊˎ﹤

• ooc: —
• ──── houndsnarl. trans male, he/him pronouns.
  ──── approximately 30 moons old, or 2.5 years.
  ──── bisexual with firm male preference; single.
  
  ──── a chocolate tabby with ( stylized ) low white and intense lime eyes. lean and lanky,  with whiplike musculature and a long, quick stride. hound's notable features include his impressive height, the long scar across the left side of his face from nose to jaw, his very deep, dense fur, and the confident manner with which he conducts himself.
• "speech"

​

 

[GRAVELSNAP]

RiverClanners are among the worst of the other clans. SkyClan is selfish, cruel, stupid; willing to allow WindClan to suffer all on the whim of their fool of a healer and their jester of a leader. And RiverClan, Cicadastar, their greatest supporters. They’re allies, even. The minnow-brained idiots may as well have had a paw in killing Sunsetbreeze and even Shortstorm, for all they aided in SkyClan’s greed.

Firepaw’s steps are echoed by Gravelpaw’s, their head down and only halfway paying attention as they trail behind the other apprentice. They have half a mind to curl their lip, to sneer cruelly at the enemy warriors just as Firepaw does. "Fish breaths," the monochrome apprentice mutters instead, tilting their chin up. They may not have the stature of a warrior, but they can look down their nose at these cats all the same.
​

[ DEATH OF A DREAM ]​

​

 

[frogpaw]

Frogpaw is crouched low, away from the roaring water's edge with a bit of fear biting into his heart. He's been here before– it's part of any apprentice's teaching, of course, and their temporary home is oh so close. But...he doesn't know what to do with it, really. It is not something that he can control and that is growing to be a thing of terror in his mind. Was it Snakeblink that taught him that? Or had it always rested in the pit of his stomach to be awakened later? To soothe the wounded bones of pride (or anxiety), each paw step is careful, each breath slowly chosen. He watches how his mentor moves about the foliage to brush his pelt alongside everything, and then he follows. That's exactly what they're supposed to do. That's all they're supposed to do.

And WindClan, as they are so likely to do, ruins that. The first apprentice's words have his head snapping up with foggy blue eyes widened. Fat, she calls them, and quiet rage bubbles up. Fat, she says, about their rumbling bellies. Fat, she calls the helpless wanderers living outside their own home. Though he bites his tongue and ducks his head again, Redpath and Houndsnarl have said what he so desperately wanted to. Well, sort of. Neither of them take a logical approach, turning towards hurling insults back, so Frogpaw takes the moment to instead step closer to Snakeblink. "Why does WindClan have such a problem with us? If they hadn't been so–" With a bitten, frustrated sigh, he ends his quiet sentence and shakes his head.

˗ˏˋ〚  OOC NOTES REFERENCE INFORMATION 〛´ˎ˗

• ooc: —
• 
• FROGPAW. APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN. EIGHT MONTHS OLD
  —— npc x npc, has several npc siblings. mentored by snakeblink.
  —— loyal to riverclan, but somewhat uncertain of his place there.
  —— unknown sexuality. single, not actively looking or interested.
  
  a lanky, slender black smoke with low white and soft blue eyes. his ears are gently curled, and each paw has at least one extra toe, making them seem broader and larger than a typical cat's.
• "speech"

​

 

[HOUNDTHISTLE]

"YOU'RE NOT A PART TIME GOD"​

His nicked ears flicked as he listened to the different insults as he approached, amber eyes unfeeling as he gazed across at the others, silent in his words and satisfied to allow Wolfsong, Firepaw, and Gravelpaw to banter between the neighbors, and taking to standing back, running his tongue across his teeth. A cold chuckle emanates quietly from his chest as he glances in good humor at Wolfsong, the golden tabby's words having tickled his humor.

Instead of engaging with them, his eyes scanned for weakness and, as movement catches them, he sees the hesitance in Frogpaw's body language, way the water-oriented-clan-cat avoids the roaring edge like it'll open up any moment. "Real sweet comin' from a clan made by traitors of others. Guess the river carries everyone else's trash to where it belongs afterall," He commented loud enough to be heard, clicking his tongue, "Hope they can all stand wit' you when ya need 'em." The unspoken part of that glimmered on his fangs, smirking as he looked at the warriors on the patrol. How many cats that left their homes went to seek shelter in Riverclan now? Abandoning their homes and turning tail when the going gets tough?
​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[WOLFSONG]

──⇌•〘 INFO 〙 Is eating fish truly so terrible? Wolfsong has a fondness for it, but it's made to be an insult by his fellow WindClanners on multiple occasions. He glances at Gravelpaw and wonders whether the apprentice has ever eaten any themselves. If they have lived within the confines of WindClan, I doubt it.

He blinks and gazes back over the Gorge, watching as a large, dark-furred RiverClanner raises his voice loud enough to be heard. Delighted, he laughs, though he is keenly aware that this is not intended to be amusing and he should endeavor to seem less so. Sootstar might mistake it for friendliness. Houndthistle's insult carries on a sharper edge than his own had, and one of his ears flick. Is it more unusual that a clan should name many traitors or that another clan should accept them?

"Aye, they are! They scurry out to be eaten by birds, and I once watched an owl vomit the bones and fur in a little clump. I will think of you when I find another sack of refuse." His own voice, raised as it is, pads the line between flirtatious and disparaging.
​

 

[Redpath]

Redpath cackled. Oh, these cats were funny!

"Good to see Windclan at least has a sense of humor!" She said, her head held high.

She looked at the cats gathered on the other side. A brute, a rat, and a cat. Silly little things. She couldn't wait to kill them.

"Oh, they will fight with us..." She started again. " But you know, it's no wonder we have cats from Windclan and Shadowclan. You are both so putrid and vile.... So selfish and entitled.... Why, you even thought you were entitled Skyclans herbs! If I were in a clan of stuck up pricks like you, I'd leave too~"

"So sorry about the sickness by the way. Disease is common among rats~" she said with a little chuckle afterwards.

She was slowly losing herself to the aggression and bloodthirst that lurked inside, and it was probably best she left, but.....
​

 

[Snakeblink]

He knows, the second he notices the Windclan patrol, that things will not go as smoothly and quickly as he had been praying they would. The first insult flung across the river is from the other side, which is both typical and a relief: at least if a fight breaks out, it won’t be their fault—

And then Redpath responds in kind and they’re off to the races.

Snakeblink can almost feel his pelt going white prematurely as jeers fly back and forth over the water. He has to admit some of them are a little funny — Redpath’s rat comment has him smirking, and he ducks his head to cover his mirth at the exchange between Houndsnarl and the golden tom on the other side. Buckgait’s words echo in his mind like birdsong: keep your wits, keep your wits, keep your wits.

He focuses on his apprentice rather than imagining Buckgait’s reaction to their report. Frogpaw has been excellent so far, cautious and deliberate as they walked along the gorge: he expected nothing less from such a quick study. But now the adolescent looks out of sorts, and his words are tinged with frustration.

”Cats so sure of their superiority do not take kindly to being faced with those who are actually their betters,” he explains calmly to his apprentice, his normal speaking tone just loud enough to carry across the border. His whiskers twitch as he realizes his carelessness and, hoping his words were drowned out by Redpath’s renewed threats, adds in a quieter voice, ”Which is most of the forest these days. Windclan’s situation is not very stable, nor sustainable. It’s easier to be angry at us than at themselves or their leader, especially after fighting us in skirmishes and losing twice over.”

He glances away towards Redpath, who looks even more agitated than before. Remembering his duty as patrol leader, he draws back and jerks his head towards their route. ”I hate to cut your fun short, but we really must continue,” he tells the fiery molly. Hoping to sway her by appealing to her own argument, he adds, ”We’re not Shadowclan: we ought not concern ourselves with the business of rats.”

​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 37 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[HOUNDSTRIDE.]

All at once they're not the vile creatures they're meant to be. WindClan's made the worst of choices, driven the good ones from their borders, and yet as they stand there and shout insults back and forth, they're not...beastly. He thinks back to the pine group, to Rain, and his heart sinks a little lower in his chest. That they've fallen back to this so soon– he looks away from the others, finally, something complicated flickering across his scarred face. Maybe that the gathering there'll be peace, and he can ask for that golden tom's name. Or maybe there'll be a fight before that point, and he'll learn something else about him entirely. He knows that they're not meant to be friends.

Life would've been somethin' better if they could all get along, but he won't make peace with cruelty.

As Snakeblink turns to gather their friend, Houndsnarl does the same. He places himself towards the middle of her vision, trying to curtain off the gorge and all that lies beyond it. He's still chuckling at Snakeblink's turn of words. "There'll be time enough for a hunt," he tacks on lowly. "But not today." He gently shoulders at Redpath, trying to push her further from the edge and the growing conflict. Should he struggle against him too much, he'd grab the warrior's scruff. From his place still at her side, he looks back. Even across the roaring water, his white teeth bared to a grin must be visible to the WindClanners that gather. "Think of me, then! Often and fondly, love." Though it crosses the line towards a clear flirtation, it is with the bite of violent amusement.

﹥ˏˋ〘  OOC NOTES INFORMATION 〙ˊˎ﹤

• ooc: —
• ──── houndsnarl. trans male, he/him pronouns.
  ──── approximately 30 moons old, or 2.5 years.
  ──── bisexual with firm male preference; single.
  
  ──── a chocolate tabby with ( stylized ) low white and intense lime eyes. lean and lanky,  with whiplike musculature and a long, quick stride. hound's notable features include his impressive height, the long scar across the left side of his face from nose to jaw, his very deep, dense fur, and the confident manner with which he conducts himself.
• "speech"

​

 

[SNAILSTRIDE]

There was an otherworldly gleam to the apprentice's eye, like a magpie spotting a shiny trinket or a child that had just stepped foot in its first candy shop. It was not a priority to bounce up to a breadth away from enemies when they lacked the safety of a gathering, but with jabs thrown left and right, Snailpaw was invigorated. Left and right their head swiveled, looking between the parties that warred with words. He winced at some comments and let out little 'oooohs' at others, bouncing on damp paws with an energy that they'd never been able to put into clan life. Until claws came out and comments turned overtly threatening, it was like a game to the apprentice, one that they were content not to play despite how fun it was to watch. A suggestion was offered to a RiverClanner, by another RiverClanner, that caused the tabby's hushed murmurings to increase in volume. "Oh haha, ouch! Someone call the medicine cat, I've just witnessed a burn!" They placed a white leg to their chest as if their very heart had been wounded. Their gesture displayed nothing but the purest of sincerity as if the WindClan pessimism had refused to taint their humour.

It had, by the very Stars, it had. But, around the other clans, the marbled feline felt joy, the reputation that shadowed them non-existent in the eyes of outsiders. Their excitement abated momentarily as the RiverClanners began to usher their clanmates away. Sticking to their own side of the border, they lunged to the parallel of the moving patrol, paws clumsy but quick. "Hey hey hey hey wait, I wanna get involved to! Go on fishies, give it your best shot! Make my self-esteem fall faster than a RiverClanner off a cliff? Geeeet it? Cause you dive? Off cliffs? Right that is something that you do isn't it? Seems kinda silly if you ask me but heeeey I'm not judging! Anyways, insult me!" They held their head high and their grin wide. Unless a clanmate pulled them back, they were liable to try and follow the others to the edge of their shared border until the request was fulfilled. They'd never fight, even if their clan tried to force them to Snailpaw never saw a world where they'd attend a raid, so a verbal spar was the next best way to let off steam.




​

 

[Firefang]

These cats seemed easier to rile up then even they did, a real shocker honestly Firepaw delights in it the way they desperately try to gain the upperheand verbally to try and look better like it wasn't common knowledge being in Riverclan was the worst kind of insult someone could hit them with, well second worst but it was pretty neck and neck to being called a Skyclanner. It's easy to roll her eyes there way and sneer knowingly lime watching a bunch of kits mewl from the other side of the border so desperate to be heard, they didn't have the same roar to there voices didn't hold the same power in their paws and certainly a bunch of water lovers wouldn't have Starclan's faith like they did. It's not until the first she-cat to throw a hiss back her way speaks again that she can feel a twinge of anger light in her chest, she made a jab at their sickness and it takes a moment of planting her claws in the ground to keep her from wanting to leap over to her to slash open her shit-eating face. ❝Ah you dun' know what you're talkin about ya dumb river-bitch! If that was the case your entire clan would've been wiped out moons ago❞ she snarls, ire trickling into every inflection.

The Riverclan patrol begins already to move away and she spits at them once more "Quick to flee huh? Must not feel your odds are favorable even in a verbal attack huh, scared Skyclan isn't here to lick your paws and make ya feel big and strong❞ she mocks, they could totally take them if they came to blows but sadly it didn't seem today was that day unless she can rile that one red-furred bastard up more. Before she can snarl anything else however she's bemused by Snailpaw who tries to follow them from their own place across the border telling them to of all things insult them. They were insane, completely and utterly insane! She knew that already so it shouldn't be a surprise to her, they were always doing this sorta thing she can still remember them trying to talk with those wretched Skyclan apprentices during the gathering this wasn't much different. She wonders if they can even understand the difference between teasing remarks and insults, apparently not as they enjoyed her company.

She would quicken her pace until she's behind them leaning her head down to quickly attempt to nip at their tail not to hurt them but to get their attention in a less then kind manner ❝Knock that off fuzzbrain, what're you even sayin' why in Starclans name are you lookin' to be insulted!❞ she hisses ❝Just shut up and rejoin the patrol! Stop steppin out of line❞ but wasn't she doing that by chasing after them?​

( PLACE ME IN MY CASKET TONIGHT ; BECAUSE IM ALREADY DYING INSIDE )

 

[HOUNDTHISTLE]

"BECAUSE COWBOY DAN'S A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE COWBOY SCENE"​

Houndthistle's ears perk and a pleased look falls upon his features, rumbling lightly as he watches the Riverclan cat get riled up by his words. They'll fight with them, they say, but for how long? Hyacinthbreath was one of Sootstar's most trusted advisors and she, too, turned into a traitor, claws that once were used for Windclan's purpose having turned toward Windclan themselves and the mere reason enough to leave Houndthistle chuffing. Same with Shadowclan's medicine cat, having turned tail after their clan fell on hard times, it would be a logical step for anyone to wonder how long before Riverclan fell upon such times and those same cats turned their backs on them. Fickle loyalty was something that, now, they all knew Starclan looked down upon and as the days grew warmer, seemed more and more cats were outed to have such and more and more of their faces appeared by Riverclan's banks.

"Guess you shall see when Riverclan falls on such times how many of those cats who came seeking shelter turn to others for the same," He responds pointedly, "A group built upon cats who have fickly loyalty sure should wonder who they can trust." Finality sets in his words and he looks to Wolfsong, nodding for their own patrol to continue before Snailpaw begins huffing after the Riverclan patrol, egging on for an insult himself. The brute feels a snap upon his teeth but Firepaw grabs the other and sets him straight, taking many words right out of Houndthistle's mouth. "Listen to Firepaw and let's go. The other borders need refreshing before long," He states simply to the gray tabby, short tail giving a flick.
​

✦ ★ ✦​