BURNING THE MIDNIGHT [ leopardtongue ]

[batwing]

Another night, another run course.

He wouldn't stop just because Nightbird chewed the truth out of him, not because other's looked at him strangely. They wouldn't believe it if a bird pooped on them, forget Batwing telling them the truth. Despite the pain and ache in his limbs, he was out running again. It was the smell of oak sap in the air that drove him forward- it wasn't the forest. No, it was his father, hanging over his shoulder and peering down from high above as Batwing traveled the ground.

Get up, Bat. They're on the ground. His father's voice echoed in his ears. Batwing shook his head, panting heavily as the scent burned his nostrils. The Boar. They still clung to their forest like flies on dung, and Batwing was just about over it. He growled, leaping up a tree- branch, to branch, higher and higher. His paws drummed on bark now, instead of pine needles, leaping from branch to branch. Heated breaths didn't turn white in the greenleaf air- no, it was too warm now. Batwing had a thought in the back of his mind that he was blessed to not have long fur.

Stuck in his head, he failed to notice someone else's scent near him, then below him, then behind him. Batwing continued to run, eyes set forward on the rest of the forest.

@leopardtongue ​

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"speech"​

 

[leopardtongue]

☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ── | Ever since the boars had come into ThunderClan territory, Leopardtongue had been on high alert. Too many had been injured or worse, and she didn't want to be part of those that had negative things happen to them due to the creatures. They seemed to be more docile at night, but of course there wasn't the guarantee that they would stay within their own spots when the moon was up, so she had decided to spend a couple of nights out in the territory keeping watch, hoping to be able to catch them moving somewhere else, hoping that she'd be able to warn patrols at least a little bit of where they would be so they could steer clear of specific areas with a ton of them.

At the moment, she was in a tree, laying down on one of the lower branches. She was low enough in the tree to not have too much foliage beneath her to block her view, but high enough where she wouldn't be noticed by any of the boars that roamed the territory. She didn't want to catch their attention and then be stuck in the tree for hours. That was why she was being so quiet, and why she was caught off guard when Batwing came barreling through the tree, jumping from branch to branch until he was suddenly gone. Standing up, the rosette feline let her fur smooth down as she calmed before watching where Batwing was going. For a brief moment she contemplated letting him be, leaving him alone and hoping he didn't fall - he didn't notice her and seemed to be in his own world after all - but she eventually began jumping after him.

"Batwing!" She whisper-hissed out, trying to grab his attention without getting anyone else's. Whether or not it worked she kept jumping after him, trying to catch up to him. If she managed that, Leopardtongue would slow down and look around to see if there were any alerted boars before looking back towards the other warrior and offering a small smile, "What are you doing running around so late?" She'd ask, curious.​

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[batwing]

Batwing had little idea that others were, well, out and about like he was. Normally, it was just the evening watch, and he slipped past them pretty easy. In afterthought, of course there would be other people out and about. After all, the boars were a.. extraneous situation for the clan. His breathing was heavy, continuing to fly across the branches over head. His name echoed in his ears- but it wasn't his father's voice, no. The tone wasn't even his mothers, who hardly visited him in these running visions.

Batwing slid to a stop, turning his head to see Leopardtongue following him. He blinked, almost incredulously, before cocking his head. A huff left him, shaking out his fur before twitching his ear. They were still on the lower branches, but the scent of boar was far from them. They had started to head along the borders, where Batwing made his normal nightly course. Seriously, did this guy ever sleep? "I.. I could ask you the same, Leopardtongue." His ears twitched, finally regarding the other warrior in serious. He paused, then shifted his gaze back towards her eyes. He blinked, confusion written on his face, before he remembered he has been asked a question.

"Ah.. I.. couldn't sleep. Decided to spend my time terrorizing the forest." He joked lightly- a tease, of course. Why he really did it, he hoped he didn't have to explain again. Batwing's ears twitched, slowly relaxing the longer they were stopped. He glanced over his shoulder, as if looking for danger. He spoke again, standing up straight. "No, seriously, what are you doing out here on your own? It's dangerous." What a hypocrite. ​

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"speech"​

 

[leopardtongue]

Coming to a stop by Batwing, Leopardtongue sat down on the branch they both occupied, grateful for the opportunity to catch her breath before she watched him speak. A small chuckle left the female's throat as he mentioned how the question could be asked towards her as well, before she nod her head in response to the answer to her own question. She'd take it for now, but knowing the other she knew there was likely another reason, and she hadn't been there for him talking with others about why he ran in the trees to know what that was. It wasn't her business though, and she would let it be until a later time when he felt more comfortable saying something.

She paused a moment when he asked her own question back at her, looking at her paws quickly before glancing back up. "I was watching for boars, just in case. I like to know where to go to avoid them." Keep herself - and others - safe. It's why she always went out on her own first when she was asked to lead a patrol of some kind, she didn't want something to go wrong and for one to be alerted somehow on accident. "Which, by the way, there's none here to hear you smashing through the branches." It was a joke, and she let it be known by the large smile on her face.

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[ooc]

info appearance

• "speaking" // thinking // action
  Leopardtongue - 32 moons - she/her - ThunderClan - warrior
  MEDIUM physically // MEDIUM mentally
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[batwing]

Batwing shook out his fur again- it just wouldn't lay right, despite how short it was. In that time, she had sat down to catch her breath, so Batwing warily mirrored her. It wasn't so bad to just hang out on a branch, in the middle of the forest, in the middle of the night, just the two of them. He stared for a moment longer at the pret- the, uh, right, my clanmate. His thoughts quickly grew jumbled, but he kept his cool on the exterior. Good job, Batwing. Now, don't fumble the save.

Her quick glance caused him to relax. She was telling the truth, after all. No need to repeat what's happened to other's already, so he could commend her for that. "On your own?" He responded. Hypocrite, you were. He shook the thought off, hopefully like water on a duck feather. He was just fine on his own, most of the time. Didn't hurt to have someone to talk to during the night, though. No, this wasn't bad at all. A laugh left him, quiet as it was, as she mentioned his.. running habit.

He responded, voice warm and tail swaying. "Aw, c'mon, I'm not that loud.. it was you making all the racket, you know." A grin lit up his face- a jest in turn, now that they were just relaxing on a branch together. In the middle of the woods. At night. Just them. He would have reached up to smack himself in the face just to get rid of that thought. Just clanmates, brain! Leave it alone.​

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"speech"​