border devil on your shoulder ☠ Contemplating

[Bonechill.]

*+:｡.｡ Bonepaw was made for fighting, not stealth. He can't even place the blame on his pale fur - there are a surprising number of shadowclanners with coats cursed with the kiss of frost and yet have traversed the dark swamp with little hindrance. No, it isn't his fur that caught the marsh rabbit's attention, with rather his bulky steps. Although the young man could be compared more easily to a phantom than a cat, quiet and unblinking as he is, his paws tell all the stories his mouth will not. Large and heavy, with claws always a little unsheathed, ready to tear into flesh at the drop of withered petal...catching on every damned root and snapping every rotten leaf in his starclan-forsaken path. Worse yet, Bonepaw lacks the agility to outrun his mistakes, leading to a humiliating race across the marsh where success is as futile as his ability to catch his breath.

All that is to say, Bonepaw watches from the reeds as the marsh rabbit crosses into Thunderclan's land. The rotten thing is so confident Bonepaw will not follow, that it lingers amongst the grasses on the other side of the Thunder-path, catching its own breath. Each wheeze he can hear from across the carrion-reeking stone river makes Bonepaw's blood boil. Claws that long to unsheathe do so easily, scraping harshly against the unnatural material of the Thunderpath as he kneads the surface, a war taking place behind his dull green eyes.

He should just get it.

Run across, catch the vermin while it's trapped in its own arrogance, and ensure his family rests tonight with full bellies. Waht's to stop him, after all? Smogstar is gone and Mirepurr has devolved into a wreck no better than the mice that scurry into their burrows when danger is near. Gaze sweeping left, then right, he notices the lack of Thunderclan cats, and with that his paws itch even more to race across.

The clan is in chaos, one leader dying right after the other, perhaps it's an omen of Shadowclan's imminent decline? Perhaps Snowypaw had it right - perhaps leaving was a good idea. Either way, Bonepaw's sole priority would always be his family, so to hell with the codes...and to hell with that fucking rabbit...

His paw twitches before he sets his weight down upon the Thunderpath...

*+:｡.｡ Updated 9/21/24

• // tl;dr, Bonepaw debates crossing the border to catch a rabbit - what could go wrong with the clan in chaos?
  
  
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  GENERAL:
  ☠ Shadowclan — apprentice
  ☠ DMAB— He/Him — Unsure
  ☠ 12 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
  ☠ Son to Ferndance x Needledrift
  ☠ Littermates with Bloodpaw, Shadepaw, Splashdance
  ☠ Half-brother to Gigglepaw, Morelpaw, Branchpaw
  ☠ Apprenticed to Nightwhisper
  
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ☠Physically easy | mentally hard
  ☠ Attack in bold #738171
  injuries: None currently

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[SALAMANDERSNAP]

As fate would have it, it seemed as if one of the most strict warriors about the warrior code would have stumbled upon the young apprentice, paws set upon the Thunderpath. He's not seriously considering crossing is he? We're having no problems finding food in Shadowclan.... what is he thinking? "You're not seriously considering crossing are you?" The woman rumbles as she emerges from the marshy shadows, her eyes narrowed as she looks down at the apprentice. Tail flicking softly behind her, she awaits his response. He knew better, didn't he? He wouldn't seriously go across just to do it.

I AM THICK TAR ON THE INSIDE BURNING ☽｡⋆ DO YOU REMEMBER ME

• ooc. — ​

• 

• SALAMANDERSNAP
  ↪ salamandersnap / cisgender female (she/her)
  ↪ 24 moons / ages realistically on the 19th
  ↪ shadowclan warrior
  ↪ lh black smoke
  ↪ "speech" / thoughts
  ↪ peaceful/healing actions may be powerplayed / attack in underline & @/account
  ↪ note: all thoughts/actions are based off ic opinions only !!
  ↪ penned by halimede
  ​

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[SHARPSHADOW]

Sharpshadow understands it. He understands starving. He understands marveling at how far into Leaf-fall other clans could stay looking plump and glossy-furred ( RiverClan ) While ShadowClan's skeletons are already showing. How was it that prey was so stupid, but somehow not stupid enough to burrow their way into ShadowClan's marshes. Not unless you were a frog or lizard — slimy delicacy of Smogstar's... ( And if for no other reason, he'd hope he shows up again to stuff carrion down his gullet. She could pretend it looked somewhat appetizing then... ) On top of that, it seemed like so much of the little prey ShadowClan had just loved to run across borders, too. Clearly, hares were unperturbed by the Thunderpath...

He sees the shuffling of his paws, and as a Lead Warrior, or whatever, Sharpshadow ought to say something... He would, surely... but as Bonepaw contemplates, Sharpshadow does just the same. If Smogstar were here, Bonepaw would be a warrior now, wouldn't he?

It's not until Salamandersnap speaks up that Sharpshadow perks too. Agitation creeps its way upon her back. " ...Must've forgotten that we're the most well-fed clan in the entire forest... Oh wait. " A frenzied gaze glances to the other side of the border, accusation clear... Well, maybe RiverClan muddied the waters, somewhat... But Sharpshadow hasn't been forced to breathe in RiverClan's fish-stink and watch them frolic in their forests for her entire damned life.

...Past the anger, though. Past the rage, past the jealousy past how scary everything is without Smogstar here to always know), Sharpshadow can bite her lip. " But um... m-maybe you shouldn't, Bonepaw. " It's a weak suggestion, but a suggestion nonetheless. If Bonepaw were to make a dash for it and get caught, she could tell ThunderClan she'd told him no. Now, if he didn't get caught... Sharpshadow wouldn't be too upset about it.​

 

[Snowlark.]

[ ༻❄༺ ] With leaf-bare just nearing the corner and prey coming more scarce, he didn't blame Bonepaw's temptation to cross the border to steal what had been on their territory. Yet, Snowlark shook his head before approaching the others with a flick of his stubby tail. "Crossing into Thunderclan's side of the border just for a hare will just make us look desperate" he quipped. Well, obviously in some ways... it wasn't wrong. With how scarce their prey was getting. Still, a twinge of disappointment lingered in Snowlark's chest witnessing Bonepaw's temptation to cross into another's clan.

His gaze drifted to the Lead Warrior who weakly suggested not to cross the border and he hummed with a slight frown on his lips, Salamandersnap had called out on Bonepaw's attempt, and now he wondered would the boy go through with it. "There's always another chance we'll find something on our hunt. Breaking the code isn't worth it" Snowlark said with a gentle tone. There will always be another chance at something else, even if they're beginning their struggles, they shouldn't allow a rabbit to make them seem weak to their fellow clans.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── Where I am going is right where I am ──┐‎

• 
  "speak""Thoughts"
  
• 
  Snowlark ❄ He/Him, warrior of Shadowclan, 13 moons.
  ⭃ Lithe long hair blue lynx sepia with high white, and yellow eyes. Stubby tail, permanent resting bitch face
  ⭃ Hailfreckle x Mudsplash
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted (ask first) / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by Ryn ↛ @/Rynnaro on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[FERNDANCE]

It is a standoff against the lapine, all that separates them from it is a grey river and a myriad of moral choices. The pinch of hunger in ShadowClan's belly was just a few short moons away, and even before Smogstar's disappearance, Ferndance knew the clan's following of the code was flimsy at best. She moved closer, prey blood splattered across her lips from a kill long since buried, and found a place by her boy's side. Salamandersnap admonished him, Sharpshadow suggested against it on... principle? As did Snowlark, who spoke to Bonepaw as if they were as fragile as his namesake within a bird.

The thinning of ShadowClan's ranks wasn't the reason for her next choice. She'd never needed an excuse to do what she wanted, only enough hubris and whimsy to see it through to the end.

Ferndance took a step forward, knowing she threatened losing a paw to a monster if she lingered too long in this state. "I can get it, Bonepaw," she offered her son, the only compromise she would allow him. He believed he needed this, perhaps would protest against his mama doing it for him, but the sharpness in Fern's eyes left little room for protest - it was this, or the marsh rabbit would get to live another day. She truly, utterly doubted the others would discourage a trespass from her as readily as they would an apprentice. "I'm a better liar... if I get caught, I'll say it is a gift or... that I'm nose-blind." She blinked vacantly in search of other fibs. "It'll be fine."

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