CASTLES MADE OF WINTER \ windclan patrol

[WEASELCLAW]

Where the moorland meets their forested neighbor, Weaselclaw leads a small patrol of cats, his eyes heavily-lidded and burning with barely-concealed anger. Once, ThunderClan had been a neutral, inoffensive party to the stirring conflicts in the forest. Howlingstar had made it clear where her interests lie, however—she’d refused WindClan entry through ThunderClan’s territory, and, somehow, SkyClan had been able to cancel their ambush out from the trees.

The tabby’s lip curls as he nears the border. “Leave nothing unmarked,” he orders his companions hotly. “If they want their territory so well guarded, we should make sure to respect that, shouldn’t we?” There’s a leer in his eyes and a snap in his voice that cracks with sarcasm.

After a moment, he turns to the young cat padding at his side. Weaselclaw exhales softly. “This is the ThunderClan border,” he explains. “They live in forest, like SkyClan, but their forest is denser. Remember this scent well—if you ever find it on WindClan territory, you know there’s an issue.” His tail flicks as he surveys the undergrowth.

// @GHOSTWAIL @Morningsong~ @HOLLYPAW. patrol members tag your apprentices if you have them per Badgermoon’s orders!

no need to wait for WindClan!

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — weasel . weaselclaw
  — he/him ; lead warrior of windclan
  — heterosexual ; taken by Sootstar
  — short-haired chocolate tabby with white and blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Oliver

​

 

[BURNSTORM]

"SPEECH"
WindClan. His opinion on the moorland creatures is not one that is particularly high. He knows how they feel about his father, his family, and while he does his best to pretend like he doesn't care about his kin that reside in kittypetclan there is a small part of him that still says 'but that's your father, your brother, your sister' and there is still a part of him that remembers when he had been a kit and he had vowed to protect all of them because one day he would be the greatest warrior ever.

He oftentimes wonders about WindClan's ways, however. Their children were made warriors young, their lead warriors and deputies scarred and their leader very obviously not in the right mind. And yet they continued to follow her. It makes him think, if his grandmother did much of the same would he still follow her? It is an interesting thought, as he can't imagine Howlingstar comitting such atrocities ever but if she did, he would imagine she would have good reason. He trusted her.

The newly named warrior follows along with his patrol to the WindClan border but it seems that the cats of the moors had already beaten them there. As he parts through the tall grass to step into the sunlight his eyes find the other cats, though he does not say anything he does nod his head in a polite but guarded greeting before going to mark his own side of the border.
​

 

[STORMYWING]

The smell of moorland cats has Stormywing’s claws itching with irritation. She doesn’t want to see them here, but there is a part of her always hoping she does run into an unruly warrior….it would be nice to kick some WindClanner’s tail back to their side if any ever stepped too close. She pulls up beside Burnstorm, a tongue swiping across her muzzle casually. “You won’t have to worry about us, Weaselclaw,” The she-cat comments with a smirk, thick tail waving behind her. “We’re not the clan who likes taking shortcuts through others’ territory!” He probably doesn’t even know who she is, but she knows every other clan’s lead warriors’ names. With confidence dripping off of her smile, she moves to rub her pelt against a nearby rock, always keeping a side-eye on the wiry moor-dwellers.​

 

[GENTLESTORM]

( ❄ ) Hailstorm follows the patrol with attentiveness and his ears moving forward to notice that Windclan was near their border, his eyes straying and locking onto the scar on Weaselclaw's chest though he says nothing and parts it away without a word. He could imagine how aggravated they must've been about Howlingstar sending out a patrol to warm Skyclan, an ear flicked carefully keeping an eye on the Windclanners though his attention wavered when Stormywing spoke up before proceeding to mark a rock. He had to stifle a soft snort and make sure that he had some semblance of a serious expression on his face, the snowy warrior keeping his words to himself currently until someone else from the opposite patrol would speak or simply react to his clanmates boldness. He admired her confidence and that itself was enough to make a ghost of a smile appear on his maw. ​

( O SOL PEDIU A ; LUA EM CASAMENTO )

 

[HOLLYPAW---]

☽༺♰༻☾​

hollypaw moves quickly to keep up with weaselclaw, remains close to the tabby's side as they reach the border. out of all of the clans, the forest cats seemed the most elusive. they weren't spoken about nearly as often as riverclan or skyclan, it made her curious about why. she might even have believed sootstar was in good terms with them if not for a fierce remark from her mentor to the patrol.

the apprentice nod's along to the explanation granted to her, taking note of the denseness of the forest. how were they supposed to run with all that growth tangling their path. a narrowed gaze examines it as the opposite patrol comes into view, paws edging for a closer look.

the shout of words has her drawing to a quick stop, feisty was the grey warrior who spit them. tufted ears twitch as the thunderclanner receives a quick pointed glance. "do you know her?" she asks weaselclaw with a passive, yet inquisitive tone. the loud one seemed to know him, calling him out by name across the border while the rest of her patrol just stared. it was odd. were they supposed to know the thunderclan warriors too?
​

 

[GHOSTWAIL]

Hollypaw's inquiry triggers an ear twitch, a quiet acknowledgement of the girl's naivety. The cats of the forest talked a lot on how they knew WindClan, how they knew of lechery and terror, how they knew of WindClan's temperament. Oh yes, the cats of the forest knew everything, oh so conveniently, like how SkyClan knew of their covet raid. How... interesting it was...

The phantom slides past the apprentice to continue the stated task of the patrol, her fur bristling only slightly at the jabs thrown towards her clan-mate. She can still feel the pinpricks of kitty-pet claws in her back, that god-forsaken collar clink-clink-clinking in her ear. Humiliation burns hotter than devil's fire in her belly, hotter than the fire of her phoenix queen's gaze after the ambush. She snorts, addressing the dark-furred apprentice: "They're no better than kitty-pets," the association is enough to mingle the two in her mind. Kitty-pets, kitty-pet lovers, pitiers of soft-hearted fools and pithy pretend kings, they were all the same. "If course Weaselclaw doesn't know it. WindClan warriors don't associate with cats who love collars more than their commitment to the stars." If ThunderClan were to deny Sootstar (StarClan's true queen, then clearly they were denying StarClan as well. Heretics, the lot of them.​

- you call for peace when it suits you​

 

[WEASELCLAW]

The ThunderClan warriors who begin to part the undergrowth are, for the most part, warily quiet. Weaselclaw recognizes the broad-shouldered black-pelted tom as kin to Howlingstar; another, fluffy and short-tailed, he does not know. The silvery-blue tabby beside him, though, opens her mouth, and her taunt is raucous, daring. Weaselclaw’s eyes narrow as though she’s shown him her claws, and the fur along his shoulders begins to needle. “Is that right?” His angry gaze meets twinkling golden eyes. “Howlingstar has shown where her interests lie, if nothing else.”

Hollypaw looks up to him, asking if he knows the warrior. Weaselclaw’s lift lips mockingly. “No. This is some cat who’s barely managed to squeeze past apprenticeship, if I had to guess. ThunderClan loves to talk loudly and boldly, but when they come face to face with WindClan without their borders to protect them, they react with fear.” His temper is flaring now, and though Ghostwail’s words are inflammatory, he does nothing to curb them. He gives her comment a snort of amusement before continuing on. “Kittypets or not, they sure love to defend them, don’t they?”

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — weasel . weaselclaw
  — he/him ; lead warrior of windclan
  — heterosexual ; taken by Sootstar
  — short-haired chocolate tabby with white and blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Oliver

​

 

[STORMYWING]

The brash young warrior continues to leer at Weaselclaw, enjoying the rush of adrenaline the act gives her. She’s a warrior now, she doesn’t need to watch her tongue towards lead warriors like she did as an apprentice! Her naive mind tricks her into thinking this does indeed make her cool, it makes her a loyal, brave warrior and she smirks with glee. However, the comment about kittypets has her smirk falling into a teeth-bared snarl. “What did you say?” She challenges, fur bristling. ThunderClan? Kittypets? “You’ll have a hard time finding a collar in the oak forest, hare-breath!” Her growl is stunted, youthful in its scratchiness, but her narrowed hazel eyes betray her anger. These cats knew they were talking to ThunderClan, not SkyClan, right? Any kittypet would be chased out of here under Howlingstar’s rule.

As she stalks up to the edge of the border and throws her wrinkled snout in the ivory warrior’s face, she herself feels the phantom weight of a now-unfamiliar cyan collar around her neck. It is gone, buried long ago, but the hot shame she feels for her origins manifests in a frustrated, throaty snarl. The WindClanners were certainly successful in pinching a nerve. Unless a clanmate holds her back by the tail, it is likely she’ll let a claw or two fly.

// giving permission for a thunderclanner to indeed hold her back by the tail LOL​

 

[Morningsong~]

Ah... Border patrols.... They always get so tense, don't they. Morningsong couldn't say he enjoyed the back and forth, it was tiring and pointless. Though on other days he found it fun. There was no rhyme or reason to it, and he didn't care to make either.

Rubbing his face on particularly tall blades of grass, he kept his ears perked as he listened to the conversation and watched for any paws that may cross either side of the border. With each string of venom thrown, he felt it was certainly a possibility.

His eyes locked onto Stormywing as he paused his marking.

"My, what a temper." He comments. "Do keep in mind that should even a paw cross that border, you will be returning home without it~"

These patrols were so exhausting. He needs a nap. A mental nap.​

 

[BURNSTORM]

The kittypet jeers do not affect him the way they used to. He had since proven that he had overcome such pointed jeers, had become a cat of his own merit. He was, after all, a forest cat by birth right. There was nothing in his blood that would change the fact that he had never known soft blankets or a bowl full of dry hard pellets was like outside of the stories his father had told him. It is only when the flea-bags across the border start insulting his clan - his friend - that he swings his shaded head around to affix Ghostwail, Morningsong, and Weaselclaw with a cold stare.

"C'mon and cross it then" he snarls, coming to stand next to Stormywing with claws unsheathed and his hair on the back of his neck ruffled. If they wanted a fight he was happy to give them one. If Weaselclaw was looking for fear he would not find it in those golden eyes. Burnstorm had been itching for a fight, and here they were, handing him one on a silver platter, but he would not be the one to cross the border first. He knew better than to incur his grandmothers wrath in such a way, so soon after receiving his warrior name too.
​

 

[GHOSTWAIL]

"I don't need to see a collar to recognize the stink of softness." She thinks of Blazestar who - despite his size and grandeur, despite all his talk of SkyClan's strength - bled out by a more suitable leader's claws. Blazestar did not sport a collar, no, but his soul still jingled the same sad chorus around his neck. Even Sootstar's talons could not rid him of that burden. "If you listen closely, you can almost hear a faint tinkling whenever you see a cat who doesn't belong in the forest."

She trains her burning gaze on the bristling gray tabby. "But Howlingstar is not above deception, clearly." Meddling in clan affairs that she had no business in... there was no other way SkyClan would have known of the attack without the help of a certain forest-dwelling neighbor. "Who's to say that she isn't also harboring some daylight warriors of her own, illustrious soldiers by day that dream of their Twoleg nests when they think nobody else is watching."​

- you call for peace when it suits you​