dna || riverclan patrol

[ashpaw!]

Assigned to tag along with Apricotflower — not Pebbleskip, the girl thinks with relief — Ashpaw trots along happily behind the patrol. Sometimes border patrols still scare her — flashes of a cinnamon calico body submerged, rended apart by spidery claws —

but Smokethroat and Apricotflower and Iciclepaw were going on this one so she really, really wanted to come with them. Besides, these things are uneventful. Usually. So along behind Apricotflower she walks, occasionally piping up to chatter about things: the surprise of a sunny day, the rustle of prey nearby that turns out to just be wind, the state of Iciclepaw's fur (perfect and beautiful; this comment is delivered via whisper).

They're passing a narrower section of river when she spots him.

A boy across the frozen water. He is black and white. He is her own age.

A WindClan apprentice. Something about him seems —

She doesn't know.

Upon second glance, there are more cats. A larger one, really large, with long orange fur like Ashpaw's; he looms over the little black-and-white tom. She finds her paws rooted to the spot, averts her gaze, though she doesn't know why.

"Oh. Uh. WindClanners," she says aloud. Somehow she hadn't — expected a proper encounter? Green eyes flick to the warriors who lead the patrol, Smokethroat's vicious amber gaze, Apricotflower's familiar pelt — what will they do? Not fight. Yeah, probably not fight. No one wants a fight, Ashpaw reminds herself.

Well. Smokethroat might, on second thought. Ashpaw shakes her head, tries to clear it. That boy... what is it about him?



​

—— " i found gold in the wreckage "

✦ ooc ✦ character information ✦ recent events

• noticing @slatepaw and lynxtooth but of course this is open to all windclanners!
  
  tagging the rest of the patrol: @apricotflower @Smokethroat @iciclepaw
  
  
• - 6 month old orange tabby with green eyes
  - apprenticed to lead warrior willowroot
  - happy-go-lucky, mischievous, hardworking
  - very friendly, but defensive of riverclan!
  - "speech"
• - disclosed being physically and psychologically abused by Spiderfall, who was exiled & who then killed her best friend
  
  - temporarily apprenticed to npc pebbleskip due to willowroot moving into the nursery
  

​

 

[strawmoon]

Oh no... It looks like Strawpaw is the first one on scene... They blink up to Skymoon, their mentor, and their mentors face is even as he flicks his tail for Straw to follow suite. Straw bounces to the border and blinks slowly, spotting an orange pelt in the crowd. Straw doesn't exactly know what they're supposed to do but Skymoon just seems to be watching... "Hello... Are you a worm?" they call across, head tilting in curiosity.

Part of them wonders if they're supposed to fling themselves across the river and tear in to the others but they don't... Know... Skymoon remains watching. Which means Strawpaw watches too. If they step over it, though... Then Strawpaw will fight... But the little orange one is pretty. Strawpaw wonders how old they are and if they're their age, maybe Strawpaw could have a friend? "Whats... your name...?" Straw moves to go shuffle their feet against the ground. Skymoon hushes them with a slap on the back with a tail. Strawpaws mouth promptly shuts.​

"speech"​

 

[Badgermoon]

Encountering another Clan's patrol whilst patrolling yourself was a tiresome occurrence, Badgermoon felt, unless it was a particularly friendly encounter. And those, of course, were hard to come by. The tension of encountering a group of cats from beyond your border, the importance put on every word, the latent risk of violence; it stressed him out, really, and he had little patience for unnecessary stressors in his life. Thus when he caught sight of the RiverClanners he felt his chest tighten - half irritation, half alarm, especially since Strawpaw had beaten him to it. He pressed his paws against a stone on the WindClan side of the border, knowing his scent glands would mark the rock's rough surface, and attempted to bump his shoulder lightly against the calico's. "C'mon, Strawpaw. We've work to do." as much as he thought it would be nice, someday, for apprentices to be friendly with one another ... it was not the time nor the place for that, what with recent events. Badgermoon nodded to the RiverClanners and kept walking, hoping his Clanmates would follow him.​

 

[slatepaw]

---

slatepaw
6 moons - windclan apprentice - speech​

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ☾ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮



to say that slatepaw was unpleased to be on today's patrol with his father was an extreme understatement. his mind was swarming with 'what if's: what if they ran into a riverclan patrol? what if the riverclan patrol was trespassing and they had to fight? what if he didn't fight hard enough alongside lynxtooth? he was uncomfortable at the idea of conflict with his father/mentor present. while his father was training him well, at least in lynxtooth's eyes, daily trainings demonstrating the brutality of battle, slatepaw still somehow fell short of the mark. he'd always be in lynxtooth's and gravelpaw's shadows. getting into a real battle would highlight that.

so, the black-and-white apprentice begrudgingly brought the rear of the patrol headed towards the riverclan border. he was silent the whole way, listening to the quiet conversations of his clanmates. his gaze remained glued to the ground ahead of his paws, occasionally flicking to the trail behind them to make sure no enemies lurked at their flank - as was his duty as the patrol's rear.

his eyes lay strictly ahead of him, that is, until the patrol slowed their steps and a strong scent began to fill the air. this was when he finally looked up, wary and tired, his eyes meeting those of a riverclan she-cat his age.

immediately, his breath hitched in his throat. the firey orange of her fur, those ears, those eyes. the riverclanner's traits mimicked lynxtooths' exactly. almost instantly, he knew who he was looking at; he could recognize her anywhere, even after this long. "ash!" he called with a meek voice, disbelief shrouding his gaze. for a moment, his worries seemed to melt away. no longer was he aware of his cruel father next to him, or the conflicts between windclan and riverclan. in this moment, the only thought swirling through his mind was that his sister was alive. but would she remember him as quickly he remembered her?


╰── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ☾ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

༶•┈┈⛧┈★ just a castaway, an island lost at sea

---

 

[SOOTSTAR]

Sootstar is a weary member of the patrol, with all that was going on in her clan she had little desire to exchange hostilities with the bordering clan. Yet here she was, and though her presence was known she was incredibly quiet as she pads through the snow.

RiverClan most certainly is present, Sootstar opts to ignore them but the apprentices of her clan don’t seem to know better. They jump to greetings and friendly chatter, the innocence of youth, the blue smoke sighs. A brow raises when Slatepaw recognizes Ashpaw from across the border, she expects more friendly chatter to commence but folds her ears. It was unlike her to allow this, but perhaps a friendly interaction between the apprentices would be enough distraction to walk away without a fight and borders marked.​

---

Spoiler: TAGS ★ 12/18

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ★ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· SOOTSTAR, female — she / her
╰ ‣ 34 moons . pisces. ages on the first
╰ ‣ windclan leader . marsh-born . believes in starclan
╰ ‣ former soldier of the marsh group

╰ ★ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells like heather and wet dirt , status — 100%
╰ ‣ blue smoke . scarred chest, difficult to see through fur . green eyes

╰ ★ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ESTJ-A ❝ EXECTUTIVE ❞ , Slytherin, Lawful Evil
╰ ‣ Cunning, brash, fierce, confident, self-reliant, envious & selfish
╰ ‣ finds great difficulty in relating to others . can be cruel, usually shows mercy to those she can find sympathy with
╰ ‣ sole key to her heart is loyalty, if you have her trust, she often shows a completely different side of herself. Aggression tends to manifest from her extreme paranoia
╰ ‣ Appreciates titles such as "miss, m'am" etc

╰ ★ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· SOOT CLAW x PEBBLE BREEZE, sister to Pebblenose
╰ ‣ heterosexual. mate to Weaselclaw
╰ ‣ mother to Windpaw & Sootpaw
╰ ‣ mentor to Sootpaw & Coyotepaw
╰ ‣ average fighter . skilled hunter .
╰ ‣ will start fights . unlikely to flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.​

​

​

 

[GHOSTSTRIKE]

---

The unpredictability of encounters like these was something Ghost was well used to, a staple in his life that was as commonplace as the birds flying overhead. Back in the Coalition, before he'd joined the Rogues and then Windclan, the borders had been guarded viciously by the cats who made them. Living in the overcrowded city of strays -both feline and canine alike- had left resources spread thin and each group desperate to protect what they already had laid claim to. It wasn't unusual for fights to break out between patrols who would run into one another like this, either as a display of intentional dominence or as a pissing match taken too far between groups with bad blood.

The towering tomcat made his approach with the others, dark amber eyes taking in the opposing patrol, taking note of how many there were and what their individual threat levels may be before he went about remarking Windclans side of the border. He kept the Thunderclan patrol visible in his periferals as he worked, never one to trust an enemy so easily. From the looks of it his fellow Windclanners didn't either, and he was glad to see they at least had the sense to show wariness in the presence of potentially hostile cats.

​

---

rogue - male - 25 months - single - a very tall, muscular tabby with dark gray fur and white markings. heavily scarred with dark amber eyes

 

[Firefang]

Firepaw holds not even a shred of mirth for the other clans, they were a danger to Windclan at worst and a utter annoyance at best and she truly wanted nothing more then to rake her claws through their fleabitten pelts and show them who the strongest clan in the forest was. Out of all the clans however she understands Riverclan the least, they were a bunch of plump fish-eating good for nothings whos claws were soft and dull compared to theirs. Why any cat would choose a life within the water was beyond her it just felt so wrong, they were meant to run on windblown grass staring up at the stars above not bathe in bitter waters that could take them down to their graves with one accidental breath. Her tail lashes as she follows behind Badgermoon, quickening her pace to stand defensively next to Strawpaw a low growl of warning already rumbling in the depths of her throat at she stares down the riverclanners, to her it didn't matter if she and many of her clan were small in comparison to them - it just put them closer to their vital and she's sure in a fight she'd overtake any slow moving fiend of the water.

Her ears swivel gaze flicking momentarily to Slatepaw who's posture seemed opposite of hers as he stares towards a young Riverclanner who he blurts out towards uncharacteristically; she felt she hardly heard the tom speak at all, he seemed to lack much of a spine compared to his father but not enough of one to prevent him from calling out to this stranger on their border. She wonders how exactly he even knows a Riverclanner and why he'd greet one with any manner of kindness much less recognition and the closest thing she can approximate to happiness coming from him (and even that she feels is debatable). Her tail lashes and though Sootstar says nothing letting the exchange go by uninterrupted a low hiss finally croaks out of her. ❝Why dun' you run back to your mommy fishkisser! You look way to young to be out here❞ she singles out the slightly younger she-cat and though the temptation to draw closer to her to intimidate her crosses her mind she opts not to - not with so many warriors around both from her clan and on the other side of the border.

No harm no foul in just some banter. ​

( PLACE ME IN MY CASKET TONIGHT ; BECAUSE IM ALREADY DYING INSIDE )

 

[SMOKESTEP]

TAGS — It is not common for Smokepaw to attend border patrols, but today his mentor had insisted on just that. Not that he really minds- he'll do whatever he needs to do in order to be a good, well-rounded WindClanner -it's just that he's much more used to the tunnels, enough that he feels almost clumsy aboveground. And he is certainly clumsy compared to everyone else. Sootstar's footfalls make hardly a sound, but Smokepaw feels like each individual snowflake is out to betray him, determined to make the most amount of noise possible beneath his small paws. He cringes, hoping that Sootstar and Badgermoon wouldn't notice- or that maybe they would forgive his incompetence.

There's already a lot for him to not expect, but he is truly surprised when a RiverClan patrol finds themselves just past the WindClan border. Frankly, he's ready to ignore them in favor of continuing to improve his lacking stealth- but Strawpaw is quick to greet them, and so is Firepaw (albeit not so kindly), and... Slatepaw, too. Smokepaw's ears twitch. "You know her?" the Tunneler apprentice queries, overcome by his genuine curiosity long enough to forget whether the question might be appropriate or not. He holds his gaze to the younger apprentice for a moment longer before casting it to the RiverClanners, attempting to assess them from this distance. There's a young molly with bright orange fur- not unlike that of Lynxtooth's, though he doesn't make the connection -a pale cat, a tortoiseshell cat, a black cat that looks not not entirely unlike him (though he figures the resemblance is simply by virtue of their dark pelts).

When Firepaw pipes up, he finds himself feeling similarly, although he wishes his sister would learn to keep her maw shut. The RiverClanners aren't really worth their time- and he's surprised that Sootstar even allows the ambling conversation to continue. He blinks at Badgermoon, finding himself as eager as the bicolor tom to just move on. He would hate to make a fool of himself in front of all of the warriors present (not to mention the leader and deputy of their clan) by trying to engage in the petty banter that Firepaw throws out, and he is similarly displeased by the idea of trying to be friendly with these foreign cats. Smokepaw's tail flicks irritably behind him, the sole indication of the emotion beneath his placid surface. For now, he simply looks pointedly to Slatepaw, waiting for the younger tom's answer.
​

​

 

[apricotflower]

Apricotflower really doesn't want to go to WindClan (they're scary), but if it's on a patrol with a group like this it's less of an issue for the fluffy she-cat. The three are good company, and she gets some silent amusement from the way Ashpaw's eyes stray to Iciclepaw every so often. She doesn't know exactly what's happening between the two young she-cats - her assumption is a crush, which is so sweet - but it's fun to watch from afar. The only issue she can think of with this group is that Smokethroat is with them, and while she loves their ornery lead warrior like a littermate the last time he'd encountered WindClan one of them had ripped his eye out.

Across the border a patrol appears, and Ashpaw stops in her tracks. Apricotflower's long tail brushes the ground, but the look she fixes the apprentice with is friendly as usual. She jerks hear head towards the border. "Yep, sure is. Happens when they live on their side of the border, c'mon."

A few at a time, more WindClanners appear - including Sootstar herself, uncharacteristically quiet and non-antagonistic. Cicadastar would love that, and the ginger-and-white warrior makes a mental note to tell him when they returned to camp. Apricotflower makes a derisive noise at Firepaw's remark, her only acknowledgement of the WindClanners' words, unwilling to snap at an apprentice clearly trying to rile them up when it's the middle of leaf-bare but shooting a gold-eyed glare to the brat.
​

ooc ✧ info ✧

•  
• ✦ apricotflower, warrior of riverclan
  — no apprentice.
  ✦ 25 moons, she/her
  ✦ fluffy white and ginger cat with gold eyes. big scar on her left shoulder, little scars on her paws.
  ✦ bi, single. @ on discord for plots.
  ✦ "speech" — thoughts

​

 

[SMOKESTAR]

"Ashpaw, do not run ahead."
This patrol was a gift to him specifically, and they said Buckgait didn't like him-HA. How did you explain this? Unless she was expecting him to cause trouble and give her a reason to scream at him, but frankly that horrid woman could find a reason to scream about anything if she let it simmer enough in her fool head. This was why he hated she-cats, if they weren't emotionally driven and stubborn they were picking fights for no reason; you didn't see toms engaging in this kind of behavior, if he killed a WindClanner today it would have been because they deserved it and crossed a line and not because they shot some petty comment in his direction. He was not so easily riled up as the tabby bastard Sootstar held so highly. Speaking of Sootstar...

Seeing her small ashen form among the WindClanner's present was also a gift on its own and the smile that formed gave Apricotflower plenty of reason to be concerned but he said nothing. He had not started the fight over that rabbit, Weaselclaw had struck first and if his hide was too frail to handle a few choice words tossed his way then he deserved his shredded ear and then some. The dark tom leaned carefully into the sunset spotted she-cat next to him, a quiet assurance. He was not here to trifle with them, only make a show of it all. One eye down but still standing, three of them couldn't even kill one RiverClanner; it was a victory if he had ever seen one and he wallowed in the delight of it.

The gaggle of apprentices speaking of worms and hurling childish insults was ignored, his lone orange gaze sweeping across the other cats and his ear flicking curiously at the sound of Ashpaw's name; a gathering friend perhaps. Finally his glance settled on Badgermoon and then Ghoststrike, the only other two warriors present with the moorland queen and he sized them up quickly. Badgermoon looked soft, like claws could cut through butter-the other seemed more hardened but hardly a threat. WindClan's warriors were quite scrawny weren't they? A pity. If only they had an extra rabbit to pad out their weight.

"A good day for rabbit hunting, isn't it?"

​

 

[ashpaw!]

Strawpaw is funny.

"Um... I'm Ashpaw. Hi." She tilts her head, grinning at the question. Is she a worm? That's so silly. She didn't expect one of her WindClan peers to be so... adorable. "Uh, I don't think I'm a worm, but—"

She's stopped when the black-and-white boy calls out to her.

He uses her name.

Ashpaw's stomach flip-flops.

Not Ashpaw — just Ash. A friendly derivative? Like Willowroot calls her sometimes, like her little baby siblings call her. But they aren't friends, she doesn't know this boy, and —

How does he even know her name at all? They've never met. Cicadastar kept her off of border patrols after—well, after, and she's only ever been to two gatherings and never gotten friendly with any WindClanners at them, how could — ?

"Do I know y..." she starts, then trails off, eyes widening. He is black and white. He called her Ash — the name her mothers gave her, the short and simple name she had when her life was short and simple, when she had a family.

When she had two brothers.

"Slate," she whispers, just to herself, hardly distinguishable from a ragged breath.

"Slate," she says again, louder. It can't be. It can't be, Slate and Gravel are dead —

The interruption from another apprentice — Firepaw, though Ashpaw doesn't know her name — has her bristling, train of thought interrupted. Wow! This one's an asshole! Yup, WindClan is still terrible.

Why don't you run back to your mommy, fishkisser? You look way too young to be out here.

"Firstly, because my mom is dead," Ashpaw says. "And secondly, you look smaller than me." Something mean comes over her then, and the little red tabby grins, green eyes narrow as she follows Smokethroat's lead: "Or maybe that's just cause you're so scrawny. You guys might want to catch more rabbits."

​

—— " i found gold in the wreckage "

✦ ooc ✦ character information ✦ recent events

• ooc text goes here
  
  
• - 6 month old orange tabby with green eyes
  - apprenticed to lead warrior willowroot
  - happy-go-lucky, mischievous, hardworking
  - very friendly, but defensive of riverclan!
  - "speech"
• - disclosed being physically and psychologically abused by Spiderfall, who was exiled & who then killed her best friend
  
  - temporarily apprenticed to npc pebbleskip due to willowroot moving into the nursery
  

​

 

[Firefang]

A reaction she got; she can feel the harsh glare of one of the warriors on her as she glowers at the youngest of their patrol who doesn't ignore her words who meets her gaze evenly and fires back without much recourse. It'd be impressive if it didn't serve to aggravate the temperamental apprentice, her tail lashes behind her but she doesn't let her rage manifest in any more physical ways even if she'd be happy to show her that size meant little for Windclan. She'd easily knock this mousebrain on her tail if only she got the chance, she's sure to remember her her memories always been a steel trap for better or for worse. She'd be bigger after newleaf came, they all would a advantage to having more then scraps to eat every couple of days. She would let out a growl as she watches her preparing her scathing words in return. Ones she wanted to stick with the apprentice for a long time to come, she'd make her remember her just as she remembers Slatepaw (something she wanted to ask the tom about himself, what connection did he have with this riverclan molly?).

❝How sad, you must be hopin' to reunite with her early huh?❞ her implication is one that's hard to miss, it's a threat spoken with a smirk. ❝I dare ya to take a step on our territory one day fish-breath! catchin' some Riverclan mousebrain sounds much more enticing then any rabbit❞ she'd continue to pad along following after her own patrol but the corner of her gaze would stay squarely focused on Ashpaw as she continued on ahead.
​

( PLACE ME IN MY CASKET TONIGHT ; BECAUSE IM ALREADY DYING INSIDE )

 

[slatepaw]

---

slatepaw
6 moons - windclan apprentice - speech​

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ☾ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮



sootstar's approach would normally make slatepaw nervous, but he was far too focused on the she-cat across the border to care. ashpaw's sudden reappearance in his life lifted a weight off his shoulders, like he now wasn't entirely alone in this world. it didn't occur to him yet that she might be just like his brother and father, a loyalist to the end, a fighter with a walled-off heart. any negatives in this situation flew right over the stricken tom's head. this was his sister - how could anything go wrong?

he didn't blame smokepaw for being curious- it'd be odd to anyone how such a reclusive young apprentice came to know their clan's enemy. "i do know her," he replied simply - any extra information wouldn't be given so easily. not with his father and sootstar watching him.

when ashpaw finally seemed to recognize him, he felt his heart jump with joy. she remembered! suddenly, he wished he had this moment alone with her, to find out how she survived, what her life is like now. why she didn't come find him. she didn't know i was alive this whole time either, he realized. all this was short-lived when firepaw just had to pipe up. bewildered at her comments, he whipped around to glare at her. "how in starclan's name could you say something so insensitive?" he demanded, shocked- firepaw was a pain in everyone's tail in his eyes, but her way of taunting ashpaw was low, even for her. "you should know that not everyone has the privilege of having a mother." he sniffed, glancing away again as his ears burnt. he was stepping out of line, abnormally speaking out, acting sporadically. it was no secret that his own mother was dead, and he'd feign that as a reason for his second-hand hurt, not because firepaw was indirectly insulting his mother's name through insults thrown at ashpaw.



╰── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ☾ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

༶•┈┈⛧┈★ just a castaway, an island lost at sea

---

 

[SNAILSTRIDE]

This was the first time they had seen RiverClanners, and sadly, they did not think it would be the last. Idle at the back of the patrol until threats were exchanged, Snailpaw tentatively shuffled past his clanmates to see what was going on. They noticed the strong stench of RiverClan's fur first, a salty musk that the tabby could only blame on RiverClan's diet. His ears flattened against his skull as he watched them, wide eyes curious at first at the apparent familiarity that Slatepaw and Ashpaw shared. The adults did not interest him as much, there was an untold story right in front of their faces and they wanted to be the first to learn it! Sadly, their curiosity would not be satiated today. Firepaw spoke up again, louder and more voracious for conflict than ever before, and instinctively, their head ducked between their shoulders until they remembered it wasn't him she was angry at. They listened to Slatepaw's response, cast a surprised glance to the adults for help, and when things weren't done with a speed they liked, they interjected. "Pssst.... pssst... hey... hey..." He whispered loudly to the RiverClan apprentice, trying to snap her attention away from Firepaw.

"You should step back. She bites, and if anyone should get bitten... it's probably that cat, not you." They pointed with their nose towards a random RiverClanner, older than Ashpaw, old enough to be bitten by Firepaw and not cared enough about by WindClan to cause a feud between apprentices. They spoke with an urgency that suggested conflict was just around the corner, Snailpaw did not want to be caught up in the backlash when the warriors intervened either. Already, his paws itched with a desire to flee, tippy-tapping against the snow like a seagull doing a rain dance. "Not that anyone should be bitten here I mean, we want to avoid conflict right? Right?" Wrong, very very wrong. They thought about the ferocity of their clanmates and had to stomach the fact that claws could be exchanged with the parallel patrol if calmer heads didn't prevail. A weary smile was offered to Ashpaw, then slowly, he offered the same expression to the adult RiverClanners, silently pleading that they would move along more quickly or back away from the borders altogether. Their clanmates wouldn't be the ones to back down, and with how many injured or sick were currently occupying the camp, they weren't sure they expected them to either.

StarClan, what a mess.



​