ENLIGHTENMENT | shadowclan border patrol

[FERNDANCE]

She couldn't believe she was back here again so soon. Ferndance had to wonder if it was some sort of ploy by their Deputy to get WindClan really riled up because, for some reason unknown to the ticked tabby, the moor-runners didn't seem to like her very much. Kit after kit had disrespected her previous leader and threatened her with some level of violence and, for what? Talking about WindClanners getting murdered? The realisation clicked as the long-limbed tabby skirted through the grasses near the Thunderpath, the Lead Warrior coming to a complete halt a mere tail-length away from where the gravelly death run began. "Wow. It's just occurred to me that cats don't like to be told they're going to die." She tilted her head and gawked towards the floor, her tail slowly swaying as the breeze caught beneath it. "Or maybe... they don't like the idea of a gruesome death. Old age? Bad belly? Sure. Murdered by the Star-Killer? Ooooh, vicious. Eaten by Smogmaw? Expected but understandably very upsetting. Hmm..." Ferndance muttered more beneath her breath, feeling as if she'd just cracked a very peculiar code.

Their Deputy had said to offend to their heart's content but to disregard any words they said (what a peculiar reminder, she thought, why wouldn't they believe Smogmaw anyways?). A fair smile graced the tabby's features as her attention settled back onto the ShadowClanners present, her eyes glinting just a little longer on her apprentice and nephew. A white paw brushed down the mud-slicked fur on her chest as she addressed them all. "Ok, today we are not going to threaten with violent murder. We are going to threaten with kind murder, alright? Ask if they would like to be smothered in a bed of roses or peacefully drown at the bottom of a busy gorge." Her orders were hardly spoken as such, as soft as feathers and as prim as a kittypet's words. But, she meant them: she felt enlightened by her new discovery and wanted to test its limitations. WindClan, with their little legs and child warriors, was the perfect target. Her ears shot upwards in remembrance. "Be thorough with marking as well, please. We knew WindClan don't have very good senses of smell, we have to make it easy for them, alright?"

[ patrol tags! feel free to post before: @Wolfpaw. @silkbreath @BLOODHOUND., @RAGGEDPAW., @GRAVESTRIDE., @BARKBREATH. ]

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[Badgermoon]

Badgermoon was a patient cat, and he usually let the irritation that accompanied border patrols' interaction with one another simply flow off his broad shoulders. He fervently wished for today to be no different, though there was something about the loudmouthed ticked tabby she-cat that was getting on his nerves. Presumably with @SNAKEPAW in tow, as well as a handful of his Clanmates, the bicolor tom pressed his white-tipped ears against his head as Ferndance's voice drifted across the Thunderpath. It feels like a woodpecker against my skull. he reflected morosely, brushing his cheeks against a wind-bedraggled shrub and staring at the ShadowClan patrol. Not too terribly long ago, they were hailing one another as friends; now his jaw was tight and his speckled paws itched with a restlessness which typically foretold dark, violent things. "Snakepaw, look here." he flicked his inky tail towards a heap of flattened crow-food on the Thunderpath; it was mashed essentially to the point of being unrecognizable, its meat-scent shot through with rot and monster-stench. "You see how this is repugnant to us, yes? What you must understand is that, for ShadowClanners, that's the best piece of prey they've seen in moons. Try not to be too shocked if they race onto the Thunderpath to gobble it up." ​

 

[TIGERFROST]

TIGERFROST ♂

0/9

WINDCLAN / LEAD WARRIOR
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH

HEALTH: ████████████████████​

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He follows dutifully after his deputy, with @MOORPAW alongside them. Tigerfrost is not thrilled to be visiting the ShadowClan border, but he understands why, given the other clan's habits of trespassing, and then lying about it, apparently. The Lead Warrior is content to simply get their business done and leave, to mark the scent lines and perhaps point out a monster or two to his apprentice. They don't get that relative peace, though. A ShadowClan patrol lingers on the other side of the thunderpath, clearly on their own little patrol. Tigerfrost stares at them for a few moments, ire glistening within his hellish eyes. He snorts in response to the deputy's words toward Snakepaw. ShadowClan deserved every pointed barb sent their way, as far as Tigerfrost is concerned. ​

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[Minkbreeze]

☽ MY MIND IS PLAYING TRICKS ON ME ☾​

A pretty chocolate sepia would follow behind the others, a whip-like tail swishing behind her nonchalantly as a light-hearted hum floated from her throat into the sky. She had been delighted to hear that she was going on a border patrol, and that delight only increased when she heard they were heading to the Shadowclan border.

Her claws were itching for a fight, at a chance to knock those swamp breathes down a peg or two for all the trouble they've caused her beloved home. Almost as if gifted by Starclan themselves, a patrol would materialize before them and Minkbreeze lifted a paw as if to lazily high the laugh that flowed from her at Badgermoons' words. "You praise them too highly, Badgermoon." She would coo as she moved smoothly to mark a part of the border that, a smirk of condescension and mockery aimed at the Shadowclanners on the otherside, "Not even the crows would gobble down what they call food."

Another laugh would bubble from her as she finished her marking and trotted back over to her clanmates and now smiled at the shadowclanners, eager to hear whatever retort they came up with; if they bothered to come up with one at all.

---

speech ✩ windclan ✩ warrior ✩ tags​

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[WEASELCLAW]

Weaselclaw isn't far behind Badgermoon, @sparkpaw. at his side. He wrinkles his nose visibly at the stench of ShadowClan, and snorts with laughter at his Clanmates' comments. His sneering is open and inviting as he flicks scathing blue eyes over the carrion-eating mud cats. "Here to trespass again, or do you only attack cats when they are alone?" His claws itch. What he wouldn't give to teach every impudent swamp cat what a true warrior's claws feel like.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Firefang]

She always had a inkling Shadowclan were mousebrained. no sane cat gobbled down frogs and happily stood ankle deep in mud and were proud of it other then a bunch of carrion-munching good for nothing underhanded bunch of frog-licking no life's. How they were ever allies is beyond her but that olive branch had been burned and smashed to embers so now she has no reason to hold a inkling of care or respect for them anymore. It's a feeling of dislike that many of her clanmates share after the whole Smogmaw incident, she doesn't expect to see them so soon marking their borders. She believed them to be cowards and nothing more but evidently they were still trying to ruffle feathers, which was fine by her Firefang's feathers were almost always ruffled to begin with and she was happy to oblige to shit-talking and making threats if it didn't come to exchanging blows.

She follows behind Badgermoon and his worse replacement for an apprentice while the much more gifted @HARRIERPAW likely stepped close behind her own paws. She doesn't mean for the chuckle to come purring out of her at her former mentors words but it does and she does her best to silence it letting it grow into a growl before she throws her own harsh out her voice joining in with her clanmates like this was all some game and not a matter of pride. ❝Thank the stars we have a Thunderpath between us cause if we didn't we'd surely catch the same disease as you bunch of flea infested mongrels!❞ she mocks ❝Even your apprentices look like sacks of rotten mean on sticks for legs! Guess you're all born lookin' like the crowfood you slurp down!❞ she laughs haughtily gesturing to the splattered remains Badgermoon had already pointed out. ​

( ✦ )

 

[FERNDANCE]

That... had been rather quick. She wasn't wrong to call WindClan rodents in Smogmaw's company, one by one they approached the Thunderpath with hackles raised and taunts spitting from their mouths like an adder's venom. It made 'threatening with kind murder' rather hard when all she could think about was watching them expire for breaking ShadowClan's trust. She was quite a bit further ahead than the rest of her patrol but Ferndance's demeanor did not change, the Thunderpath was both ShadowClan's worst enemy and its greatest friend. It was a wall when no others existed between the two groups and ones fate upon the stony road was firmly out of their paws. An exhilarating game of chance, yet many wouldn't take it. "I haven't decided yet," she impudently mewed to Weaselclaw, briefly falling back on her haunches. Was it bad she'd still eat the crowfood they were mocking? It was something, and pride was not worth it if it meant they would be as tiny and frail as WindClanners. Firefang's voice was the most grating, escalating their dance of taunts into something far more deadly. She stood up again and tasted the air, acrid as it was with their enemy's stench lingering so close by.

Her tail spun like a turbine winding down, unsheathed claws softly poking at the ground below. "The Warrior Code was updated to protect cats like you from cats like me, please don't forget that so soon." She purred, her pupils slit like a snake's. The Gathering made it clear that opinion was split on who was to blame, but if there wasn't a mouselength of doubt in the WindClanner's minds that their leader was responsible, then she would let them choke on that poisonous thought. A paw was delicately placed onto the gravel path but went no further than the edge of ShadowClan's scentline. An invitation for WindClan to prove ShadowClan was right, as inconsequential as clan politics were to the Lead Warrior, it would certainly be funny to see them reel at the next gathering. "But if you need a reminder, then you're more than welcome to step onto the Thunderpath and try me. We'll just have to see how fast you can run, little rabbits." Cowards, or Codebreakers? She squared her paws and flattened her body to the earth in anticipation for one of them to take her challenge, smiling softly at those who'd first offered the threats.
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[SNAKEHISS]

❪ TAGS ❫ — The deputy's apprentice proudly stalked along WindClan's border with ShadowClan, an arrogant glare casting toward the marsh-dwellers through piercing emerald eyes. It wasn't until recently that they had to keep an eye on ShadowClan, but considering what their deputy did to Sootstar and the apparent threats that were made, it was utterly necessary.

He frowns, listening to Badgermoon as he explains the rotten kill on the Thunderpath; a lesson not-so-subtly disguised as a diss toward the group across the way. It reeked; quite fitting for those swamp cats, Snakepaw would say. "StarClan mustn't favor them, surely, if all they're left to eat are slimy toads and crowfood." That was why WindClan was StarClan's favorite. They were the closest to the stars, with no trees or overgrowth to obscure their view of Silverpelt. Plenty of juicy hares and mice scampered along the hills each day, supplying WindClan with more than enough food for their clan. Based on what he's heard at the latest gatherings, ShadowClan hadn't been so lucky in the last season. Hm.

Snakepaw scoffs at the gall that this ShadowClanner possessed. Here she stands, acting like ShadowClan wasn't the biggest offender of trespassing onto other clan territories. He doesn't give a damn if it isn't his place to speak. "Oh we haven't forgotten, toad-licker. Need we remind you that your deputy attacked Sootstar on our own land? Huh! Slimy liars and thieves, the lot of you. Let's see how long ShadowClan can actually follow the rule that they suggested." Probably not for long if their dung-headed deputy was so reckless.

His hackles began to bristle as the cinnamon-hued molly squared herself up, as if preparing for combat. Snakepaw wonders how Badgermoon would react to this; would he fight her? What about Weaselclaw? While this could be an opportunity to prove WindClan's strength, he wondered if walking away would be the smarter idea.​

 

[BLOODHOUND.]

WHO IS THE LAMB AND WHO IS THE KNIFE? ☽⁺₊⋆
Bloodhound had been pleased at first, to come along on this patrol. They had decided not to jeer, only to observe, to offer aid in the event of a skirmish, to help scentmark the border.

Unfortunately, all the jeering now is giving the pale bengal a headache. When the voices die down, for just a moment, Bloodhound speaks up, confident and loud.

"You all have big mouths. Letting Sootstar do the work for you. Cowards. You have not lived in hunger or uncertainty. Your bellies are full like those of kittypets."

The hybrid eyes the WindClanners, tail lashing, more irritated than offended. Gaze boring into each of them, like they were hunting prey and hadn't yet decided which bird would face their claws.

They were proud of their home, their clan.

"If any of you want to back up those words, the Thunderpath calls, and my claws await you. We will see what the code really means."

Their challenge echoes Fendance's. The large bengal glowers at the group, ears pinned back. They aren't pleased at their own outburst, thinking they were above petty jabs, but they weren't going to back down now.

[☾]​

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[WOLFSONG]

──⇌•〘 INFO 〙 He glances at Badgermoon, pleased by his barbs, and he thinks he's seeing an improvement in WindClan's banter. Of course, he isn't quite as moved by the mentions of StarClan, but a good effort has been made; it's markedly better than some of their past exchanges, and he spends some time in silence merely observing his fellows. It is not so great a shame that ShadowClan has cast themselves off; during the harsher months, it is clear they are a weight around any ally's neck, and he is unconvinced that their survival is testament to little more than a lack of sense to know when to die.

Big mouths, the ShadowClanner accuses, and Wolfsong does not deign to muffle his full-chested laugh. "Such envy!" He grins broadly and dips into a deep stretch, sighing. Ah, but he wishes these ShadowClanners were opponents as worthy as they believe themselves to be. "You must wish your jaws were larger so RiverClan's swollen teat would not prod your brains when you suckle."
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[TIGERFROST]

TIGERFROST ♂

0/9

WINDCLAN / LEAD WARRIOR
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH

HEALTH: ████████████████████​

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He should have guessed it would come down to this after Badgermoon tossed the first barb. Tigerfrost has never been one for talk on border patrols, but he finds that he does not truly care in this matter. While he might have thought it petty in the past, now he feels only a cold satisfaction. Tigerfrost had always been a grumpy tom with an icy demeanor, but recent events were making him bitter. First the traitors, then RiverClan, and now this? ShadowClan trespassing on the moors, and then running back to cry about it in their camps when their deputy gets what was deserved. It's no wonder the other clan feasted upon crow-food. They were more akin to corvids than cats. Now, the other patrol seemed to be trying to goad WindClan over the thunderpath. The Lead warrior scoffs. What a bunch of rabbit-brains.

"None of us are going to cross the thunderpath to fight your little patrol." He practically sighs, and he can't help the frigid condescension that marks his tone. "We're not like ShadowClan. We've got more important things to do than trespass." He shrugs a bit, flicking his tail through the air behind him. "Have you ever stopped to wonder why our bellies are full? Perhaps your clan should dedicate more time to hunting instead of trespassing. I suppose the next code Chilledstar will pass will be after another incident of ShadowClan disregarding the borders." His eyes are cold, despite the fire that raged within. His vocals are smooth, chilling. He does not even bother to raise his voice in fury. No, there is only a frigid scorn to his every word. He was tired. Tired of cats who walked all over WindClan, using them as the forest scapegoat, the reason for every other clan's problems.

"I can hear it now. Cats of all clans, we of ShadowClan have decided to add another line to the Warrior Code. All clans must allow us to hunt on their territories. It is not considered trespassing in our case, because ShadowClan has never respected borders, and never will. Therefore, we in ShadowClan proclaim ourselves exempt from trespassing. Please hand over your freshkill now." Tigerfrost snorts, his rather horrid imitation of Chilledstar nearly enough to amuse the white-faced brute. At the very least, he could find humor in the recent situations that have been poisoning his heart and mind. Yes, humor in mocking the cats who bullied and blamed WindClan out of pride or perhaps even fear. Whatever disaster happened to ShadowClan next, Tigerfrost is certain they will deserve every second of it.​

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[silkbreath]

TAGS — Silkbreath squints against the shapeless sunlight, ears twitching as he mulls over the musings Ferndance had hummed at the start of their patrol. The WindClanners and ShadowClanners caw at each other from across the thunderpath, and he supposes he ought to join in, but... well, he just can't stop thinking about it. Cats don't like being told that they're going to die. Why not? They all knew that they'd go to StarClan after they shed this body, didn't they? Silkbreath's plumy tail waves thoughtfully behind him; his pink lips purse together pensively.

He's not good for races, and he may be worse for jeering, but Silkbreath eventually comes to stand at his aunt's side, sightless gaze peering towards the WindClanners across the thunderpath. A part of him wonders what might happen should his paws guide him across it-- but he's not looking to join StarClan's ranks so early, nor is he keen on provoking these WindClanners more than Ferndance already has. Why all this banter, anyway? Silkbreath is fairly certain that they are riled enough just looking at a ShadowClanner, especially after Sootstar had taken her licks. It's just... not that interesting, he supposes. Beneath him, maybe. Petty.

Silkbreath presses a paw into the border, marking it with ShadowClan scent, tall ears twitching as he follows the conversation. "O perfect angels who have done no wrong, forgive such transgressions as marking our border," the long-furred tom laments, grinning wide, though his tone is less than impressed. These WindClan pups have their own dirty laundry, and he is sure that they know as much-- their lies about Smogmaw fall on deaf ears. Boring. This is boring. Silkbreath flicks his attention up to the other patrol now, squinting at the shapeless form across the way. His soft pink smile still rests on his maw, split only by the glint of white teeth behind the lips. "Hey," he calls out to Ferndance, tail flicking, "which of these bunnies is smallest? I wonder if they'd fit in those frog-eating plants back home...."​

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