CLIMB BACK UP | skyclanners on border

[Orangestar]

"Careful, there's a ridge here." Orangeblossom warns Silverlightning as they approach the border, stepping down the small ledge ahead of their impromptu guest to show it isn't too steep of a drop. The scent markers are just up ahead, comingling in the air, and Orangeblossom ushers the patrol close. Not enough to step over, but just alongside SkyClan's side. The river rumbles along to their left, though they're a little further away than usual for Silverlightning's comfort. He'd already survived a swim today, there was no need to toss him back in.

"Any ThunderClanners around?" She calls out, ears pricking, searching for the sound of a cat moving through the undergrowth. She has no idea how close ThunderClan's camp is, but highly doubts the warrior could make it that far without an escort. It had been a long day, and she needed to talk to Blazestar about this after they'd parted ways ... The two apprentices, no doubt, were about to start complaining about their aching paws. To the rest of her group, she adds, "We'll head home after this."

— info

• takes place a couple of hours after silverlightning went missing! from falling into the river! skyclan's basically slathered him in cobwebs and brought him home.
  
  @Silverlightning @SILVERSMOKE @CHRYSALISPAW @eveningpaw
• 
  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

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[SILVERSMOKE]

The apprentices may have been the ones to complain about aching paws but internally, Silversmoke was complaining about everything else. From the inconveniences the ThunderClanner's swim had caused to the fact that they shared a part of their names, the onslaught of surly thoughts had left the warrior's fur disheveled from how much it had bristled on the journey. His frown was only placated by the alertness in his heterochromatic eyes, an idle curiosity for the world around him stopping this from being a complete waste of time. Aside from the journey to the gathering, he seldom had the chance to observe other territories. ThunderClan's wasn't too different, yet it was still enough for the tabby to make mental notes of oddly coloured trees and the muskier smells of a forest unplagued by kittypets. He hopped down from the ridge with a noticeable gusto, looking over his shoulder to make sure that Silverlightning wouldn't take another tumble. Satisfied after too few seconds spent watching, he flicked his tail and carried on, up to the point where Orangeblossom called out into unknown territory. Black-tipped ears arced forwards, listening to any signs of felines beneath the dry foliage.

He thought briefly about what needed to be done when he re-entered camp and gave a sharp nod of his head at Orangeblossom's assurance. The day would not end when this patrol did, it was a perpetual business that kept him alive (and very, very grumpy). "We have one of your own!" He called out after the Deputy, hoping it would incite any in the vicinity to hurry up. Speaking with a tight jaw and monotonous voice, Silversmoke paused to consider how confrontational he sounded. It was the other Silver's fault for not watching his footing but... it would still be ideal to avoid conflict when SkyClan did not arrive on aggressive terms. Those alert ears quickly grew hot as he was forced to backtrack, his tone less stalwart than before. "We found him looking like a wet rat on a riverbed. Please come and collect him." Did that make it sound like Silverlightning was dead? Great StarClan, he hated talking sometimes.



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[Silverlightning]

War weighin' on my heart but I can't fall

The way the clans in general healed their injured still fascinated him. Back in the mountains knowledge of herbs, salves, and bindings like cobwebs were certainly not in practice. Silvery webbing coated his sides where his wounds were heaviest, surprisingly still adhering to his moderately wet coat. Grey paws carefully maneuvered throughout the terrain, following Orangeblossom's lead. With adrenaline long gone, Silverlightning began to feel every nick and bruise in full force, earning a set jaw and pursed lips from the tom. The molly warns of a ridge just up ahead and he peers over to gauge the distance. "Ah, thank you." He is noticeably favoring his right leg by now as he carefully descends the lowered slab of earth. The shivering was less violent now, but still just as frequent as his fur stood in stiff gunmetal peaks from skyclan's rapid grooming session.

Falling silent once more he allow his mind to wander back to the safety of thunderclan. Had they prevailed over the dogs by the river? What about the one that managed to breech camp? So many variables left open ended and unsolved much to his displeasure. Silver stares ahead, peering though the forest for any signs of movement. The only thing that manages to break his search are the words that fumble from Silversmoke's lips. Grey eyes narrow ever so slightly, the movement hardly visible as he continues to look ahead. Although internally he fretted over the other tom's words. "Heavens...was I truly that unsightly?" He supposed it were possible, given how he felt. Although he would not use that particular choice of words to describe someone else in his paws. ​

Seekin' shelter from the storm on this blank road​

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[CHRYSALISWING]

Chrysalispaw trailed with a lazing gait at the tail end of the patrol, lagging behind like the stray ribbon at the end of a ball of yarn, a tousle of twilight before the night. He allowed the deputy and his mentor to lead the charge, and for once, he knew his place. Still, even if he stuck out like a lone jutting twig on a bird's nest, he still stuck close to the others. The chimaera-coated cat was careful not to step on nettle and pine eager to scrape at his pawpads, as if traps lie underfoot of Thunderclan's labyrinthine forest, and the unfamiliar woodlands would swallow him whole in jaws of long shadow. Unknown territories proved gluttonous and quick to engulf those of a fool's wit. The quicker they could get out of here, the better. A gaunt sneer seeped on his face at the acrid scent of the oaken trees, as the gloom clung to his countenance and the pitch upon his pelt, for he had gotten more acclimated to the shade than he knew. Heterochromatic gaze glittered with an unreadable expression, embalmed in the graceful veil of gloaming.

"Thunderclan had better come quickly. They should know better than to keep one of their own warriors waiting." Chrysalis stared at the silver-pelted tom with cobwebs strewn haphazard and clumsy along his wounds, as though the Skyclanners had rushed to get the cat out of their territory as fast as they could. He couldn't deny that that wasn't true, though. The apprentice wondered, for a momentary blink in time, what could have happened to wound Silverlightning and send him to the rivers. What gave him such a laceration that made deep scarlets well up? Surely, it was not the river. He shivered at the thought of what monster could have pursued the older warrior. Maybe it lived in the water? Then, he was grateful not to have been born a Riverclanner.​

 

[MOUSENOSE]

She scents SkyClan in the forest, Silverlightning's training reverberating in her mind. The piney layers beneath a general strange othering scent cause her to pucker her nose. Mousepaw leaves the cats she's accompanied on patrol, curiosity getting the better of her. Surely they aren't here to cause more trouble, right? She feels ThunderClan has had all the trouble it can take and more.

She sees the ginger-patched SkyClan deputy, accompanied by a big silver warrior and a strange-looking mismatched apprentice. Mousepaw's fur bristles. What are they saying? They'd brought someone back dead?

After a moment, her tunnel vision clears. Silverlightning. Blood seeping into cobweb swaths, limping, fur spiked with river water and SkyClan tongues, but he's alive. He's alive, and she had been resigned to his fate.

"Oh my StarClan!" Her gasp catches in her throat. "It's really you! You're back!" Her voice rises in pitch, sounding like a squeal. With unbridled energy, Mousepaw rushes toward her mentor and leaps like a kit at him, disregarding his injuries in her excitement.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Sunfreckle]

"Silverlightning!"
Not too far behind his daughter the red tabby ambles forward with eyes wide in both confusion and delight. When he heard the pale tom had been swept away in the river he feared the worst, that he was lost to them now and they would never get him back. Seeing him once again was a momentuous relief and the three-legged warrior did not hesitate to let it be shown as he sighed and ambled forward to greet the SkyClan patrol and their returned warrior. While nowhere near the enthusiasm of Mousepaw, he moves forward to give a gentle and friendly touch to the temple with his nose before sweeping a tail over the tortie apprentice to stall her antics, "Careful, dear, he's had quite the trip."
And he looked it indeed, bloody streaks through silver fur, a tired and haggard expression; it was a wonder he was alive at all.
"Take it easy now you, come sit for a moment. We'll have Berryheart check you as soon as possible." That great plume of a sunset-colored tail raised and flicked, encouraged Silverlightning to rest for a moment before they went about getting him back to camp.
There was something in the air still, not animosity but guarded caution and he regarded the treeclimbing cats with a tentative smile. Silversmoke and Chrysalispaw's callous comments were ignored, he chose to not acknowledge them because despite their abrasiveness they had done a kindness he was most grateful for. He wasn't going to nitpick manners at a time like this. Green eyes flitted from the warrior and apprentice to SkyClan's own deputy; he had only seen her in passing at gatherings and she crossed him as a good cat if not a little on the rougher side of things. Funny enough, it reminded him of Howlingstar in a way. A calculating and stoic woman but very obviously she cared deeply for her clan.
"Orangeblossom was it? Thank you for escorting him back here safely."
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[Silverlightning]

War weighin' on my heart but I can't fall

Grey ears swivel at the faintest of sounds, zeroing in on the tell tale signs of someone approaching. Out steps the blue tortie, his apprentice releasing a gasp of surprised exclamation. Before he has time to speak she flings herself at him, colliding with his weakened form as he wavers unsteadily for a moment on his paws but remains upright all the same. Silver's eyes trail down to rest upon Mousepaw, gaze softening at her glittering excitement. The faintest of smiles touches the warrior's lips as he leans down to touch his nose to her temple. "Yes little Mouse, I'm back. I trust that you diligently looked after camp in my stead?" He questions, straightening himself out once more in time to see Sunfreckle approach from dense foliage. Silverlightning gives the lead warrior a respectful nod of his head.

He was fully prepared to make the return trip back to camp, to push himself further if need be, But Sunfreckle's invitation to sit and rest caused Silver to hold his gaze a fraction longer. Despite the brief excitement upon seeing his return their tone nor body language gave away an urge to get back to the dogs terrorizing their lands. "So they were successful then..." He sighs softly at the mental revelation, relieved that the plan worked. Shivering limbs bring him across the border, where he can finally take a moment to relax in good conscious. "Of course. Hopefully I did not raise too much alarm." Lowering his haunches Silver took a seat. ​

Seekin' shelter from the storm on this blank road​

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[Orangestar]

A little calico darts from the bushes and Orangeblossom barely has time to step aside before she barrels into their guest, obviously relieved that he was home and alive. She swaps a glance with Eveningpaw, or looks at her own apprentice from the corner of her eye if she doesn't return it. A small, self-indulgent image pops into her mind; if she and Silverlightning's positions were reversed, would her apprentice leap to her so?

Another ThunderClanner arrives, one who Orangeblossom doesn't know the name of, but she recognises the three-legged tom from past border patrols. She nods, confirming his assumption of her name. Despite having been deputy for a couple of moons, she's still not quite used to the way every other cat in the Clans seemed to recognise her. "Of course. We would have kept him longer to let him get some strength back up, but he was adamant on returning as soon as possible. Something about a pressing matter?"

— info

•  
• 
  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

The dogs are gone, both from Sunningrocks and from their camp. ThunderClan had succeeded with minimal casualties, evident when the battle patrol returned to camp to find it splattered in blood, but the cats within it very much alive. The most heavily injured were immediately sent to the medicine den, and Howlingstar with some of the more fit cats immediately departed out to find their missing warrior who had sacrificed himself to distract the dogs and lead them up the sloping stony formation.

Her heart races within her chest as the patrol searches up and down the riverbank, beside herself as she imagines the worst. It's when she hears voices from across the border that she perks up, sudden hope resurfacing within her. They said they found a warrior! She watches as Mousepaw and Sunfreckle hurry off, and she's right behind them, eyes already teary with relief. As soon as she sees him, she practically deflates, a feeling of solace overtaking the once-panicked woman. "You're alive," She croaks, a smile breaking across her features as she strides forward to touch her nose to the young warrior's shoulder. She never would have forgiven herself if he had died, and she knowingly made the decision to continue fighting the dogs instead of chase him downstream. "Thank StarClan...."

Her attention is pulled towards the SkyClan deputy and she straightens herself, sending a genuine nod towards her. "Thank you for helping him. SkyClan has our appreciation." Her tone is sincere, and she regards the other she-cat with a respect befitting of her position. She says nothing in regard to her own new role in the clan; everyone will find out soon enough at the Gathering anyhow.​