before you saw the devil | thunderclan patrol

[Hollow Tree]

Her paws crunch against the snowy ground and her pelt was damp from the frost bitten air. Dusk was cold and it was only going to get worse now that the sun was going down. She had lost some weight during this leaf-bare. Prey was scarce everywhere and all the clans were struggling. Hollow Tree hadn’t been at the previous gathering but she had heard from her clan mates that it seemed everyone was having a hard time. All she could do was pray to Starclan that Thunderclan would be okay.

“Here we are.” she says softly, looking back at her patrol. Raccoonstripe and Sunfreckle had surely been out here plenty of times. But this was probably the apprentices first. The warrior thought borders were one of the more important first lessons. She never wanted another apprentice to have the same fate as Morningpaw. “Windclan are moorland cats and excellent rabbit hunters.” Hollow comments before getting back to the task of border patrol. Keeping an eye out for any Windclanners that may appear.

// this takes place before the snow in <3
feel free to post before the other thunderclanners
@RACCOONSTRIPE @Sunfreckle
apprentice tag: @hollypaw ​

[ you fall through the trees . tags ]​

 

[TIGERFROST]

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He looks grim as he trudges through the snow, flakes of sparkling ice dusting his muzzle. Tigerfrost had no fondness for such bitter cold, but life did not stop regardless. His patrol heads toward the ThunderClan border, a routine duty of any good warrior. He doesn't expect to see another group, though. ThunderClan, no less. Did they really have to schedule their patrols at the same time as WindClan's? It was foolish to be annoyed at that, Tigerfrost thinks. ThunderClan could not read the minds of their neighbors. Still, there's a grumpy glint in his eyes as he goes about his business, saying not a word to the ThunderClan cats. At the very least, they weren't SkyClan, so there was a blessing in that. So long as no cat started drama, everything should work out fine on both sides of the border.​

 

[GRAVELSNAP]

The black and white apprentice slinks along after their mentor, who is following a few tail-lengths behind Tigerfrost. Gravelpaw isn’t sure why they’re going to the ThunderClan border, since the scarred-up tom is already going there, but they don’t complain. The older cats know what is best. And perhaps it’s best that more than one cat patrols the border, in case of an attack or an ambush. The moorland is relatively safe, but that doesn’t mean the rare wintertime fox or badger isn’t out prowling.

It isn’t long before they spot strange cats on the other side of the border—a patrol, it seems. Tigerfrost says nothing to them, offers no greeting, so Gravelpaw keeps to himself, pretends he doesn’t see them. It’s much simpler this way, to act as though their neighbors don’t even exist.
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[ DEATH OF A DREAM ]​

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[Sunfreckle]

Surprisingly he isn't struggling as bad through the snow on three legs like he expected he would, the height of it almost worked like support to help him move without losing his balance so his paws were swifter and his stance stronger; Sunfreckle was more than a little pleased over it all. Not that he struggled much before, but he was always worried about managing in poor weather and to his delight leaf-bare had not impeded him yet. The red tabby was all smiles as he followed after Hollow Tree, glancing to @SHALLOWPAW with him to ensure his own apprentice was still keeping up before raising his head to peer out across the moorland area that did not actually touch their territory but scraped by into nomans land. For a brief moment his green eyes land on Tigerfrost in alarm, thinking the tom had half a head but the white snow behind him only caused his pale markings to blend into the surroundings-how scary though at first! The darker spots on the apprentice present with the moorland cat were much easier to see.
"Hello! Poor weather for hunting isn't it? Best of luck!" His tail raised in a hello, with his lack of forepaw he could not raise one of those to wave or he'd face going face first into the snowbank. His words were cheerful, sincere, even if they might have come across as callous given the circumstances he was unaware of.
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[SNAILSTRIDE]

It was not always exciting to see cats beyond the borders, not after the last encounter with RiverClan, but the patrolling marble tabby found an exception as they gazed towards the ThunderClanners. There was no familiarity with the woodland group, in a time where everyone seemed to be at someone's throat for something, Snailpaw found comfort in strangers. Deep blue eyes were kept fixated on the opposite patrol, almost bumping into a clanmate or two when they didn't watch where they were going (why would they? Other felines were much more interesting than snow, snow, and more snow). Instead of apologising for such clumsiness, they kept as silent as the rest of the patrol, feeling a growing awkwardness the more that the elephant in the room went unaddressed - why weren't their clanmates talking to ThunderClan? Snailpaw wanted to ask, though, it wasn't like the ThunderClanners were acting like the epitome of friendliness either. 'Is every border patrol going to be like this now?' They thought about how many friends WindClan had, and felt their throat grow starchy when they believed it to be a big fat zero. Fine, if no one else was going to be cordial, then Snailpaw would take the reigns.

A smile appeared on their maw, wide with a Cheshire cat glee. "Hi ThunderClan!" They yelled over the scent marker, stop-starting their rapid gait to try and keep parallel with the other clan's warriors. "Wow, you all look skinnier than snakes!" Wide eyes settled on Sunfreckle as he spoke, mentioning poor weather that had plagued WindClan too. It was difficult to tell under the mass of long fur, but Snailpaw was not at their fittest either. Fatigue plagued each step they took in leaf-bare, worse than any sort of tiredness they'd felt in the summer. Today's patrol would be enough to knock them out for the rest of the day, for now, after a long yawn, they were willing to break up the monotony of duty with a conversation. "Same to you! Say... don't you lot eat squirrels? Wouldn't it make sense to hunt squirrels closer to the trees? That's where they live!" They offered some advice to the ThunderClanners, offering no indication of malice in their cheery tone. Their ears suddenly shot up with a new idea. "Ooooh, or are there weird, ground squirrels we don't know about? ThunderClan! Are there ground squirrels?"



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[Firefang]

Thunderclan was only slightly better then Skyclan and that wasn’t saying much. Their scent wasn’t as foul as that of Riverclan’s thankfully but the unfamiliarity with it still makes her scrunch up her nose as she comes padding alongside her own patrol, tail held high and eyes pointed and glaring towards the cats opposite of them. They were larger then most of them, far more built then the lithe cats of Windclan but she doubted that meant they were stronger no clan was stronger then them! Her tail lashes irritably an insult just on the tip of her tongue, but she never hisses it not like she so easily did against the Riverclan apprentice just days ago. Her ears swivel as she hears the mraow of one of them; a ginger Tom with a noticeable lack of one of his paws who doesn’t hiss their way but instead… wishes them luck? What was wrong with this Tom? Her eyes narrow at him trying to discern if he was being serious or twisting his claws into them and their current issue of finding much of anything on the frozen moor. They can’t possibly know of that unless some mouseheart was off telling tales to the other clans which she doubts, Sootstar would have anyones tail if they did something so treacherous.

She lets it go in favor of a burning curiosity that lights in her as she can’t help but linger on the lack of the toms paw. It’s not something she’s seen before, had it been bitten off by a badger, a dog perhaps? ❝Hey thunderclanner, what happened to your leg?❞ her question is blunt and whilst not tactful it’s not malicious either she’s genuinely curious, expecting to hear a terrifying story of survival or something along those lines. But she’s quickly distracted by the meows of her beloathed peer, if only Snailpaw could keep their mouth shut like Gravelpaw did. She groans as they start bursting at the seams with questions of their own, really really stupid questions. Did they ever think what they were saying before they just spouted it out of their stupid little mouth. She whips around attempting to bap the other apprentice on the nose with a sheathed paw. ❝They’re not hunting right now mousebrain they’re on patrol like us! Use your mouse pellet of a brain!❞ if wasn’t a hard thing to get on her nerves; they however had a knack more then any other for it. ​

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

 

[SMOKESTEP]

TAGS — He'd been patrolling the tunnels when a commotion had drifted in from a nearby burrow. Smokepaw's ears twitch and angle as he tries to gauge what's going on, but he doesn't have to guess for long before the pine-coated scent of ThunderClan hits his nose. He shouldn't leave the tunnels, but reigning in curiosity had never been Smokepaw's strong suit. He pops aboveground a short distance away from the patrol, grateful that the sun was already setting. It's easier on his eyes this way. The tunneler trots over and stills at Firepaw's side, ears twitching as he absorbs the tail end of Snailpaw's comments, and then his littermate's own.

"Ground squirrels...?" he echoes with a grimace. "StarClan, you're hopeless." Did Snailpaw really have a brain beneath their skull? Between this and getting stuck in the tunnels not long ago, he's beginning to doubt it. When Firepaw whips around on them, though, Smokepaw lets out a rare sharp breeze of a laugh. They may fight more often than not, and the fraught nature of their relationship is undeniable- but they're still siblings at the end of the day. Aren't they?

In any case, Smokepaw casts his gaze across the border, flicking his scrutiny across each ThunderClanner. They were definitely kittypet-coddlers; maybe less so than SkyClan, but he still finds it reprehensible. And yet, he's still curious enough about them to leave the tunnels, even briefly. The apprentice's tail flicks contemplatively. What he's most interested in is Sunspeckle's missing limb- but Firepaw had already asked about it, albeit in her own blunt way, so Smokepaw is content to stay quiet and listen.​

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[Hollow Tree]

Her yellow eyes look over each Windclanner that appeared. Leaf-bare was hard on every cat but it seemed Windclan was still standing strong. She wondered if it was harder to hunt on the moor since they had no trees to cover them. But she supposed the adapted to their territory. While she couldn’t imagine endless open fields of white. She thinks it would make her a little dizzy. Hollow Tree also takes note of how many apprentice sized cats came up. Maybe Windclan had grown larger since her last encounter with the felines.

She feels a small amount of relief as Sunfreckle was the first to speak. He always seemed to do while with pleasant greetings. While the other side seemed a little tense. Hollow Tree assumes it’s because they were hungry. They were all hungry. Or, maybe, Windclan wasn’t hungry and that’s why their apprentices seemed so lively. Watching the apprentices interact gave her time to think. Looking to Sunfreckle. Hoping that he didn’t mind such a blunt question.

“It’s true we aren’t a hunting patrol. Just checking on the border.” Hollow Tree confirms. As for ground squirrels, she genuinely thinks about it for a moment. She wasn’t sure if she had ever seen a ground squirrel. But she had seen squirrels go into swallow dens in the forest floor before. Did that make them a ground squirrel? “We do eat squirrels.” she says awkwardly, shuffling in her spot for a moment. “Though, I prefer vole personally.” would that answer the talkative apprentice? ​

[ you fall through the trees . tags ]​

 

[Sunfreckle]

An excitable apprentice returned his greeting, enemy clan or not they seemed fine and he was not one to start trouble if it could be avoided; none of the cheerfully prattled questions were anything in poor spirit. They were a little confused on the fact this was a patrol but he wasn't going to comment on it outside a smile and gentle correction but another apprentice arrived alongside them to chide them in his stead.
If he was to be truthful the brutal bluntness of the question was much preferred to the way cats sometimes danced around the topic or refused to look at his missing appendage as if it were contagious or something. Firepaw's inquiry, rude as it might seem, was much more welcomed than she'd think.
He caught Hollow Tree's look at the question and offered her a complacent smile, he didn't mind but it was nice she felt concerned enough to check. Raising his stumped limb up so it was more visible the red tabby gave a quiet, horrified whisper of, "The ground squirrels got me." Sunfreckle let his eyes go wide, expression blank but after a moment he couldn't hold it anymore and laughed, serious facade crumbling, "I was born without it! I'm afraid I don't know the details or how or why but it's never really bothered me!" And it was true-he'd never had the limb so he couldn't miss it. He'd managed well enough without, if anything he considered the four-legged cats to be the weird ones, how did you decide which paw to lead with when you walked? The large tom's tail swept upward in a silent greeting, a third apprentice arriving-that made four of them with one warrior. He wondered if the fellow was put on watch duty with them or if they had all just come across this path on their own. Reminded him of the nursery...
"What is a vole if not a squirrel on the ground?" Prey was prey after all-birds could be flying squirrels! Frogs could be slimy squirrels. "Prefer birds myself~! But maybe one day I'll get to try a rabbit, though I don't think my mate would be fond of the idea given he shares the name."
Rabbitnose eating a rabbit would be funny if you asked him.
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[TIGERFROST]

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Tigerfrost isn't interested in chatter. He goes about his business, renewing the marks as the apprentices converse with the patrol across the border. They should learn ThunderClan scent, the tabby thinks, so long as they don't get too friendly with the other side. The brute keeps to himself, though he does not wander too far from the gossiping youths. A sharp click of his teeth finally foreshadows thunderous speech from the tom, as he cuts in a moment after one of those ThunderClan cats mentions tasting rabbit.

"So long as the rabbit you hunt is on your side of the border, and not ours." A foreboding warning from the scarred chimera, before he returns to his duty.​

 

[ELKSKULL]

He is a hidden figure in the snow. Watchful, curious, odd. He stands there as if he is not a part of the patrol. Having lingered in the back as he drifted off into his own world, thinking on when the horrid wailing of leafbare will be over and they can see green again. But now the talking has brought him back to the forefront of his mind. He start to walk closer and tilts his head slightly when he hears something about ground squirrels. "Aren't they sometimes on the ground? Those squirrels?" He has seen them skitttering here and there. Back and forth before racing up the nearest tree to eat a seed. His gaze then glances to Tigerfrost and he can't help the giggle that leaves his throat. "So sharp, not a dull side there." He is clearly amused by the way the warrior sounded and he then backs away from the border in confidence.

"I hope your border patrol goes well. Despite the...wailing of the snow." May they habe prey too. Because he wants prey. He wants to run after rabbits again but everything is under this cold ice and it's annoying.​

 

[SNAILSTRIDE]

Snailpaw had enough time to register that a paw was coming to their nose, but not enough time to dodge it. They fell back as the paw connected, rolling around in the snow for a few moments like a Looney Tune's character before looking back up their clanmate. Thick layers of snow had attached themselves to the marbled tabby as a result of their dramatic display, but unperturbed after their skit, they hopped back up their paws. "Well I'm just saying, maybe they should be hunting more! They're really skinny, I mean, they're starting to look like some of us fast cats!" He replied to Firepaw, lowering his voice as to not offend the border patrol further. They flinched momentarily at Smokepaw's words and eventually rolled their shoulders, the snow stuck to them cracking like dry earth. ThunderClan interjected on the apprentices' antics and his attention was back to them in a flash, ears perked forwards attentively in hopes of hearing about their prey. Genuine surprise entered their sapphire eyes at the mention of a ThunderClanner preferring vole to squirrel - wouldn't that be like a WindClanner preferring to eat doves? There were certain staples the clans were known for, they'd never associated voles with the forest clan (though perhaps they should've).

A ripple rolled down the apprentice's fur as Sunfreckle discussed the vicious maiming ground squirrels could cause, but before they had the chance to exclaim 'by StarClan, they're real!', he laughed it off. Snailpaw laughed along with them, nervous at first before the joke was completely unravelled and their confidence returned. They liked this tom. "Ooooh you have a Rabbit in your clan too? We have a warrior called Bunnywhisker, she's the best! I think she's alright about eating rabbits, maybe you should try it anyways! Food's food, right?" A quick glance was offered to Tigerfrost, and the apprentice awkwardly tucked his head in between his shoulders. "Food's food... as long as it's on your side of the border. Whoopsies. My name's Snailpaw by the way! I'm not named after food... unless of course...." They paused for dramatic effect, wiped off some flakes that weighed down the end of their whiskers, and leaned in. "Snails are just squirrels with a den on their backs." They'd wink if they could, a great mystery about prey resolved in one easygoing conversation. They nodded in agreement with Elkpaw, and grew silent to contemplate the actual definition of a ground squirrel.



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[SHALLOW]

Shallowpaw had been standing by his mentor side while being forced to listen to this conversation the apprentices from windclan was having. They really talked a lot and not in a thoughtful way either. Especially they were quite disrespectful when asking Sunfeckle about his missing leg. That made his eyes grow smaller. Of course he has been curious about that as well but he would never ask it as bluntly like this apprentices did. Much to his own suprisement though Sunfreckle did not seemed bother when he told them after making a joke about it first. Born with it...just like him then. Huh. Shallowpaw cast a side glance at his mentor as this new information had been given to him. One day, he wondered if he could be just as careless when talking about his missing leg too. For now though he would hide it underneath his tail in hope these noisy windclanners wouldn't direct their annoying questions to him. Lacking interest to interact with this cats though who not had done a good first impression with him, the dark blue tom glanced off in a different direction, and he wondered if they could leave soon. This was his first time out to meet one of the other clans and....he was not a fan.


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[Firefang]

Firepaw and Smokepaw share one similar thought and that was a lot of the other apprentices were completely mousebrains. Especially Snailpaw, sure she can do without Smokepaw shadowing her like a lost kit but at least he doesn’t try and be combative with her or say something to further embarrass them in front on the Thunderclanners like Snailpaw had. It’s easy for her to pretend like he’s not there, her attention still pointed at the cats across the border, ears twitching as one of them confirms they’re just on patrol and she’ll say she’s relieved about that even if it’s more then expected. Though it’d be a funny sight to see these bulky cats try and brave the moors and chase after rabbits, they’d trip over themselves in an instant if they didn’t get their big ole paws stuck in a burrow. Hopefully like her they were satisfied with their side of the borders pickings, she certainly had no desire to go out of her way to try squrriel. Unless one ran over the border she’d likely never get the chance, there weren’t many trees on the moor after all save for the borders.

Finally she hears the response of the three-legged warrior, her ears perk and she’d listen. For a moment he has her in disbelief as mousebrained as it seemed, a squirrel taking it wasn’t more then slightly more far fetched then a rabbit besting a cat in combat something she’d seen. Rainpaw was living proof. If he hadn’t added “ground” into there she would’ve been inclined to believe for a moment longer before her brow quirks quizzically before he gives her the full truth. It’s not impressive it wasn’t what she wanted to hear and she frowns ❝That’s lame❞ she blurts out bluntly. She doesn’t mean any harm by it she just truly likes battle stories. She’d continue on padding along listening to both the Thunderclanners are her own clanmates and it’s very different then the normal patrols she’s used to. It’s almost peaceful, if not very boring for her.

It’s not until Snailpaw pipes up again that she snaps once more. A squirrel with a home on its back? ❝What in Starclan’s name does that even mean?❞

(Mobile)​

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