BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT (thunderclan patrol)

[HOWLINGSTAR]

// @Sloepaw @nightbird @sunspirit Feel free to post before the ThunderClanners!

After a rather uneventful walk along the border of the pine forest, the group of ThunderClanners takes to the river. Howling Wind's eyes are downcast, watching the current laze by as she walks further up the bank. Along the way, she rubs her cheeks against trees, rocks, and shrubs, renewing her clan's scent with her warriors and apprentice at her side. Like the patrol down SkyClan's border, it's quiet. Quiet is good. But ears flick at the sounds of chatter from up ahead. There's a group of RiverClanners across the river, lounging on Sunningrocks, and the deputy casts a glance towards her clanmates. "They're on the rocks. Just mark the border around them and keep going," She idly reminds them, knowing full well they already know the drill. They do this day in and day out, but it still brings her comfort to give instruction.​

 

[BUCKGAIT.]

MY NAME IS BRUTUS AND MY NAME MEANS HEAVY ✧​

the fleeting warmth is helpful enough to calm her worries, although she knows that this will not remain. the sun will make way for the cold, and riverclan will experience their first no leaf on the water territory. those new will have the river born to guide them, and soon teach them the habits of survival.

her eyes land upon the patrolling thunderclan, and she fears that she will never be calm around a patrol. they happen so often, and yet buck is still so uncomfortable. she doesn't like others so close, even if they stay on their territory. buck is only aware of the thunderclan deputy, a respectable molly. she's heard enough about her to enjoy her, even if they had lacked any real form of communication. she was okay with that. the others, buck had no hope in recognizing.

she does not call out to them, does not greet them the same way cicada does. just continues to exist idly by them, and that enough is a declaration of peace. a flicked ear in a silent greeting, but her attention is more on the riverclanners beside her. it is still strange to group herself with them, but atleast she feels like less of an outsider by them. they can greet the patrol for all she cares, but buck was here to relax. and the stars forbid if something keeps her from calming her nerves.
​

 

[GLOOMPAW]

If Gloompaw was aware of any clan matters, she didn't act like it. Her scope of life within one of these groups remained restricted by RiverClan's borders, and frankly, it might've been better that way. It made her naive to the struggles other clans faced, but it also kept her from making unnecessary enemies or getting into dangers.

She's been taught enough about manners to keep herself from a repeat of her first day in the territories, but she still can't exist so peacefully alongside them like Buck. It was difficult not to look over the rocks at the other cats, huge amber eyes and short ears all that were visible of her to the patrol. Her walk was learned, cautious, like someone playing out written instructions on this interaction, before laying the worm that was dangling in her jaws down.

Scooting it closer so that'd it wriggle slowly off towards them, she grinned toothily at the ThunderClanners, mind full of questions. Hopefully, this offering would allow the gateway to asking them to open.​

 

[CRAPPIEPATCH]

The sunning rocks are a nice place to sunbathe, on the rare day that the mostly-white apprentice feels well enough to venture this far out of camp. But they’re with a few other clanmates, so taking a sun-soaked nap sounds like a great idea. The fear that a murderer may still be out there hunting children tugs at the back of their mind, but they’re with clanmates, so they don’t feel too unsafe.

The ThunderClanners who approach would be easy to scent if they weren’t so congested—they swipe at their runny nose with a paw, ignoring the tender feeling when they touch their nose. They stare at the ThunderClanners but say nothing—Buckgait hasn’t greeted them, so Crappiepaw sees no reason to, either. It’s not unfriendliness, they simply don’t have anything to say. So they fix the fluffy tabby she-cat with a bright green gaze and just watch.
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[ FORTUNE LOVES THE BOLD ]​

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[BOARPAW]

The quiet girl looks down at the water, thick orange and black fur drying from the swim she did to get over to the rocks. She hasn't said anything for the majority of the day and it is less likely she will say anything at all even when she sees the Thunderclan patrol. The burly apprentice merely chuffs around thick teeth as she examines them. Not knowing much about the other clans that exist beside that of Riverclan. The clan that her now mother took her too so that she could be safe. Tilting her head she watches Gloomkit but only because of the worm the other carries. Really she doesn't think much of the other clans at the moment. Finding them to currently be irrelevant to the grand scheme of her home and the Riverclanners that took her in.

So she doesn't move from her spot and in fact begins to slowly lay down. The masculine molly closes her poisonous colored eyes and tries to let the sun warm her before she wants to head back to camp.​

 

[nightbird]

nightbird was not particularly happy with being assigned a patrol while the sun still raged down upon them, but she knew better than to complain. the dark molly followed quite distantly behind the deputy, but mimicked the tabby's actions of marking the scent of thunderclan along the way. her ears pricked at the sounds of riverclanners chatting just beyond the border and listened to howling wind's instructions. she simply verified them with a dip of her head, too tired to conversate. she was even too tired to get lightpaw up for the patrol. in her defence she did tell him they were heading out, if he tagged along or not was up to the apprentice.

as they arrived to the shared border, she could practically feel their eyes as they watched the patrol. night let out a small huff of annoyance. as silver eyes moved over the small group, she noticed a younger looking riverclanner sporting a wide grin in their direction. just staring and smiling. what was going on? she watched intently as gloompaw pushed something wiggly with her paw, though she couldn't make out what it was from where she stood. a confused expression washed over nightbirds features, but she quickly returned her face to a blank stare as she returned to marking the borders around the sunning rocks.

@LIGHTPAW . ​

[ RETURN FIRE WITH SUPERIOR FIRE ]​

 

[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ ————————————
Had he wanted to come? Well, he was still figuring that bit out. He supposed it was more along the lines of he wanted to leave camp, not be dragged around. Something like that, at least. Okay, it was probably a mixture of things, like Nightbird hardly looking like she had wanted to go either, which he thought was a little funny. Or the fact that Howling Wind was leading the patrol. Probably grounds for a scolding if he didn't show up.

Here he was, then, trailing behind his mentor and gazing around at the forest as they walked, crushing leaves damp with moisture under each step. Lightpaw hadn't been on many patrols yet, and despite his occasional attitude, his eyes still held that kit-like wonder each time he took in the territory of ThunderClan. His territory. It was surreal to think about, even as he followed the lead of the others and rubbed his scent onto surfaces that he passed.

The sound of water perked his tufted ears, Lightpaw standing a little straighter as if it would help him see it before they got closer to the source. This was the RiverClan border, the place they were meant to patrol and mark. Sunningrocks. Having not yet recognized the figures laying on the stones as foreign before his deputy mentioned to pay them no mind, foresty eyes returned their stares, expression perhaps a little more judgmental than he'd intended.

One of them in particular had caught his attention, specifically the one grinning at them with a dumb look. Was that a... worm? Without quite realizing, he had stopped in his tracks. Were all RiverClanners like this? "What?" he finally asked out loud, meeting the other apprentice's gaze. It had come out more disgruntled than the challenge he'd intended it to be, but he supposed it worked all the same. If anything, he was confused and, maybe deeper down, curious.

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

———————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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[HOWLINGSTAR]

It's going smoothly enough. The two groups have acknowledged each other as the ThunderClanners continue their marking. Howling Wind catches sight of one young cat, who shoves a worm seemingly towards them with a big grin upon her face. Her brow rises curiously, but it isn't long before Lightpaw steps forward with a challenging-sounding demand. The deputy's response is quick. Her face snaps towards the new RiverClan second-in-command, a smile immediately upon her face as she trills, "Buckgait, I haven't had the chance to congratulate you yet. I'm sure it's well earned." She flicks her tail, eager to move attention away from the disgruntled apprentice of her clan.​