border get what you want! // joining

[mint julep]

𓆝 . ° ✦ Mint Julep had not really expected the past three days to go as they had. He had been getting along just fine, life alone in the forest, away from twolegs and the only cats he'd known. Better than expectations of what being kicked out would bring of him. His father had trained him well, perhaps too well for a runt who had finally grown into himself. That was why he was cast into exile, wasn't it?—himself, that was, not his father. Why his father had left clan life for a life of lounging around without any hint of excitement, he hadn’t a clue despite constant pestering on the subject. But he supposed that being cast off, cast aside, separated from a mentor for showing off the skills he had learnt, could bring things full circle. His hunting had come along well enough that he was really in no danger of starvation, he didn't think (though he felt a pang of hunger as he thought it). And certainly his skills in combat were honed enough for self-defense should the need arise. He was still young, he knew that, but youth was no reason for him to lack confidence in himself.

That said, there was a huge weakness he had discovered in himself. Mint Julep was dearly, dearly lonely. He would have loved having even one person to talk to, and with each passing hour realized that this whole “going-it-alone” business was no business for him. Coming full-circle indeed, he mused. Well, he still needed to find a clan. And with any luck, they'd see his skills and welcome him in. Or… perhaps he'd best not show his cards too soon. He wouldn't want another incident, another time with no place to go. He'd show just enough, that was it. Enough to be underestimated if need be. Perhaps he could find other trades. Ignore how heavily his abandonment left him. He didn't mean to hurt anybody, really. Yes, he'd make sure that he could be the sort of personality that could be swept under the rug. Nothing memorable about ol’ Julep, they'd say. No, that wasn't quite right, he could think of something better—too many other memorable things, and all of them positive, so why focus on specifics? Or maybe he just needed to hear something, have any kind of reputation at all.

For all his musings, they were still just fiction. Plans that had no real sense to them, that couldn't really be put into motion. Plans that failed to account, he thought to himself as he walked, for the potential that he could have been recognized as his father's son. He… doubted that was possible, given how many clans there were and how nobody would even know his father sired kits, and he didn't even know the fellow's clan name so there was no way of him bringing up the subject of whatever exile must have happened to lead to his father even being a kittypet at all. Perhaps he even lied about the whole thing, and there wasn't a worry at all. Maybe it had been a lie and everything Julep had learned and built up was completely useless—though he doubted that was entirely possible given the mice he'd been eating over the past few days. But it was still something unaccounted for. As he walked, perhaps not initially taking in his surroundings as he should've, he noticed a distinct shift in smell. “Ah—” he gasped to himself. Here he was, on the edge of his very own frontier. Whichever clan he had stumbled upon, whichever it was, would finally give him a taste of the life he'd really been craving.

✧　°　.　✶　.　°　✧​

ooc info

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  MINT JULEP — HE/HIM ･ 10 MOONS ･ APPRENTICE OF SKYCLAN ･ PENNED BY PUZZLES

  chocolate lynx point with dark blue eyes. a haughty, naive former runt. stronger and smarter than he lets on, but too weak and stupid for it to matter. former kittypet.

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[Chickbloom]

Egshell and Mint Julep couldn’t be more different. He was no great fighter or hunter, and the closest thing the coward had to real parents were the twolegs who kept him for as long as he could remember. However, the one thing the two seemed to have in common was that same pang of loneliness. It was what drove Eggshell to join Skyclan, and was why a complete stranger was standing at the border.

In this moment, the daylight warrior was thankful he was part of a patrol. If the butter-stained boy was by himself, Mint Julep would’ve likely seen a white-and-yellow blotch of fur running back into the undergrowth instead of slowly padding forwards. Why was he padding forwards? Starclan knew yolk-drenched paws wanted to remain rooted in place, but the boy wanted to be at least a little useful. If that meant just saying hello, then so be it.

“Er, w-welcome to Sky-Skyclan. Can I….can I h-help you?” Eggshell sounded more like a waiter at a restaurant than a border guard, but the boy was not one for intimidation, evidenced by him being a good two fox-lengths away from Mint Julep (and any potential harm).​

 

[Ekat]

It was a funny game that fate seemed to play, placing two of SkyClan's most nerve-wracked members at the edge of the patrol that approached the border from which Mint Julep enters. While the young tomcat ponders if he'd be recognized for his exiled lineage, if there might be unforeseen dangers awaiting him at the precipice of an entirely new life — Eggshell and Ekat, the first to greet him at their border, feel the quick sinking of nerves at the sight of a stranger, the urge to run.

Since the daylight warrior speaks first, a decision for which Ekat is all too grateful — the she-cat is able to remain silent where she stops beside Eggshell, cautiously examining Mint Julep standing across from them. It was nearly two moons ago when she stood at the border herself alongside her father, although it still doesn't seem all that long ago to Ekat. She has yet to undergo her assessment, the threat of which looming over her head as she waits for the verdict of whether she'll be called a real warrior of SkyClan. Until then, she certainly has no business making decisions like allowing a stranger into their territory, and so Ekat stays wordless — merely watching the tomcat and hoping he isn't planning to attack the patrol.​

 

[CLOVERJAW]

❪ TAGS ❫ — ."Hello." Cloverjaw mewed, observing Mint Jelp through passive, amber eyes. The tom was not particularly afraid or apprehensive of the other tom, though he was intreged. It was his first time meeting a cat on the border, he wasn't sure what the proper way to go about this was. Eggshell spoke first, leaving a bit to be desired on delievery, but a welcome lead nonetheless. Cloverjaw's eyes passed over the newcomer, not finding anything particularly threatening about him, though still finding him intresting. He didn't smell of any other clan. The silver tom closed the space between Eggshell and the new cat, sitting near the edge of the border. He was relaxed, and kept his facial expressions passive but friendly. He decided he would follow Eggshell's lead for now, and not talk, but make it clear through his size alone that this was not a clan to be trifled with. ​

 

[mint julep]

𓆝 . ° ✦ Well, that was a rather unexpected response to his mere existence. Out of the patrol that came around, the one that spoke seemed more scared of Mint Julep than the other way around—and Julep was the one outnumbered. How strange. It wasn't exactly the picture he had in his mind of a proud sort of folk, but he supposed the pictures that were in his mind very well could have been complete and utter bunk. At least one of them seemed like the kind of cat he expected, though, so perhaps he had just gotten an interesting hand of cards. He was going into this with an open mind, and he was surely self-sufficient enough to be fine if things didn't go the way he hoped. Perhaps the reasons his father left clan-life behind was because of this sort of thing, or perhaps it was for some other more interesting reason. Ah, he wished he had badgered him more when he had the chance.

He didn't let himself think on it too long; after all, he had people waiting. Can I help you? the especially nervous tom asked, and he was almost in disbelief. At least he mentioned where exactly he was. "Yes. Yes, you can, actually," he said, nodding as he spoke as if to buy time. "My name is Julep—Mint Julep, rather—I was sort of... wondering, about quitting the ol' loner life, as it were. Is there, perhaps, some sort of way for me to... I don't know, join your Skyclan?" Each word was enunciated well, perhaps too well, as if he were trying too hard to sound cool, collected, and above all else, knowledgeable. Which he was. Not in any of the positive traits he was striving for, but in trying too hard.

✧　°　.　✶　.　°　✧​

ooc info

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  MINT JULEP — HE/HIM ･ 10 MOONS ･ APPRENTICE OF SKYCLAN ･ PENNED BY PUZZLES

  chocolate lynx point with dark blue eyes. a haughty, naive former runt. stronger and smarter than he lets on, but too weak and stupid for it to matter. former kittypet.

​

 

[SLATE]

SkyClan was an amalmagation of differing backgrounds and upbringings that ranged far wider than one would expect. Some cats grew up entirely sheltered in the den of their twolegs, their first venture into the outdoors landing them upon SkyClan's doorstep. Some cats were clanborn, on the other paw, not knowing a life outside of the forest. Then there were cats like him, who had a taste of seemingly every walk of life there was. From a purebred kittypet to feral Twolegplace rogue and now to a clan cat, Slate had seemingly lived through it all. And, yet, he was more intolerant of outsiders than most SkyClanners. Hypocritical, it appeared, especially to his clanmates who knew him as a former rogue taken in by Blazestar. However, if anything, he knew more than most cats that rogues like him tended to be selfish and deceptive for their own gain. He remained wary of them, far more than the lost and wide-eyed kittypets who were only seeking the thrill of adventure.

The hulking charcoal-pelted tom pads to his brother's side, matching amber hues glowering toward the curious lynx point. Looking the tom up and down, gauging him based on appearance alone, he catches a stale whiff of the Twolegplace. Hmph. A city stray, perhaps?

Seeing as Slate possessed the highest authority here, he supposed he would be tasked with explaining the joining process to Mint Julep. There were many new recruits; an overwhelming amount, in his opinion, and of course he wasn't totally confident that all of them would be cut out for the life. However, Orangestar would for sure have his hide if he turned a potential warrior away. "The life of a loner 'n the life of a clan cat are completely different things." Slate meows, narrowing his irses toward this "Mint Julep". "You gotta learn our ways, how to hunt 'n fight, 'n lay down your life if you must." He observes for a reaction from the stranger.

"Does that sound like somethin' you could handle?"

₊ ⋆ * ⊹ ₊ ☾ —— 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐜𝐞

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  ₊ ⋆ * ⊹ ₊ ☾

  slate
  

  — he/him; lead warrior of skyclan
  — a hulking, scarred charcoal-black colored maine coon with amber eyes
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — link to full tags; @ on discord or dm @beaaats for plots!​

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[mint julep]

𓆝 . ° ✦ The next fellow to come up was much more like what Julep had anticipated out of clan cats, and made sense aside the calm silver tom. He was big, perhaps a little scary to someone lesser than Julep (which was to say, he tried his best to seem markedly unimpressed by Slate's scars). He listened intently as his amber gaze inspected him through to his very soul, or at least that's what it felt like. Was he willing to lay down such possible sacrifices as his very own life? To help people he didn't even know, albeit people he'd soon be spending every day with.

He considered for a moment that he really didn't have much of a choice, especially since he'd come to the forest specifically so he could be in a clan. Hearing it phrased like that was only jarring for a moment, and after a deep breath, he found himself quite sure of himself. After all, why should a little question, about things he already knew about, dissuade him? "Of course it is," he said, nodding to seem more confident. Besides, he could fight and hunt just fine already, or at least he was pretty sure he could. Adjusting to clan life wouldn't be too bad. "So, ah, is there anything else I've got to do? I mean— obviously, that isn't all, of course." He just wanted to cover his bases.

✧　°　.　✶　.　°　✧​

ooc info

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• 
  
  

  MINT JULEP — HE/HIM ･ 10 MOONS ･ APPRENTICE OF SKYCLAN ･ PENNED BY PUZZLES

  chocolate lynx point with dark blue eyes. a haughty, naive former runt. stronger and smarter than he lets on, but too weak and stupid for it to matter. former kittypet.

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