I won't fall to the ground ( thunderclan patrol )

[Flamestar]

The sun was probably already setting by the time the patrol made it to the Thunderpath. However, it was hard to tell from the clouds that had picked up during the day. What should be a beautiful, orange hued sky, was replaced by dark grey storm clouds. A decent rain had begun just before they made it to the border. The red molly's ears were slightly pulled back, hinting that she was already irritated. She didn't mind light rain, but this was enough to drench their thick coats if they left the areas that the trees did not cover. As she emerged through the undergrowth, she would stick close to the bases of the trees, her pelt twitching each time it got wet. She would mark the closest tree, then turn to face her apprentice. "What can you tell me about Shadowclan?" she would ask, as she started to walk to another tree to mark. Hopefully the rain would detour the other clan from taunting them across the border. She wouldn't hold her breath however...they always seemed to go out of their way to tease and taunt the patrols...childish behavior in her opinion.

//
@Dewfang @crowflower @Cloudypaw

[₊⋆]​

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[crowflower]

Crowflower doesn’t mind the rain. Only a torrential downpour or prolonged exposure is enough to penetrate her dense fur and the full canopy of Newleaf provides enough cover. Even so, she sort of enjoys getting rained on. The skunk-furred cat often entertains herself by splashing in puddles and searching for salamanders on days like this, which usually means she returns to camp cakes in a crusty layer of mud and soaked to the bone.

She is quiet as Flamewhisker talks to Cloudypaw, content to mark the trees and search for bugs when her clanmates aren’t looking. Every once in a while she turns her mossy gaze to the border in search of any nearby Shadowclan cats. Crowflower knows to be cautious, though she cannot deny her curiosity about them. She wonders what secrets their territory hides and what they do for fun. She wonders if they are much different from Thunderclan. In a perfect world, she thinks she could befriend them, but this is not a perfect world. So she stays on her side and hopes they stay on theirs.

@Cherrypaw ​

 

[GRANITEPELT]

Granitepaw is on a hunting patrol with @DOGFUR , but due to the nature of their territory, every inch must be crawled for fresh-kill. The gray tom finds himself close to the Thunderpath, and he scents a ThunderClan patrol through the fumes. He flicks an ear. After the most recent Gathering, Granitepaw has to have an almost begrudging respect for them. They'd pinpointed RiverClan's weakness and stolen a prime bit of territory from them. Even the gray tom had to admit it was ballsy and shrewd. Emberstar, Howlingstar is not.

He hides among the foliage, scraping emerald eyes over the pelts of the cats at the border. He recognizes the lead warrior, her fur like fire as she murmurs to a curly-pelted apprentice at her side. There's a fluffy black and white warrior too -- she seems a little more nervous.

Granitepaw lowers the salamander in his jaws and scrapes leaf mold over it before rising to his full height. "ThunderClan." His tone is flat and cool, and only his eyes glitter with hostility. He waits for Dogfur and the rest of his patrol to catch up. When he's a warrior, he will be bolder, can be bolder, but for now... well, ShadowClan is now enemy to WindClan. No reason to rile these territory-thieves up without cause, in his eyes.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Dewfang]

Prey-stealers. Code-breakers. Dewfang's bitten ears twitch as the stench of ShadowClan rises up from the Thunderpath. The broad-shouldered point picked up his pace, moving closer behind Flamewhisker with his two apprentices in two. He waved his tail protectively over them and nodded his head for them to open their senses to the Thunderpath. He hated this part of the territory—too deadly, but they had to learn.

"What Flamewhisker says, this is ShadowClan." He says to the two of them."ShadowClan is full of brain-rotting cats. They often send their most.... unique specimens to the border to greet us." He snorted.

// @B A S I L P A W , @skypaw

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[FERNDANCE]

Out on patrol with @Wolfpaw., the ticked tabby's lessons had decreased in capacity the older the smokey cat got - there were only so many things she could say about the Thunderpath before it became obvious that it should not be crossed. With her hunts today more successful than seasons prior, she poked her head out of the swampy foliage, eyes widening in glee at the sight of the enemy's daily patrol. It was a game at this point, her words were not like sharp claws, instead, they were like the cuffs of a heavy paw. Intended to confuse but not to hurt, with her animosity towards ThunderClan fading after each moon of peace, it was easier to maintain such a philosophy. Rising to her full height, the cinnamon-ticked tabby offered a curtsy nod and bob of her body in greetings. Friendly, but not warm. A cinnamon-tinted ear twitched as the ThunderClan warrior spoke the patrol leader's name, her muzzle twisting as if trying to hold back a smile.

"I knew a cat named Flamewhisker once." Ferndance looked up to the grey sky, reminiscing about a precious memory, her tail coiling around her legs. Her vision snapped back to the distant cats. "He died." Poor, poor, fictitious Flamewhisker. A life had been made up for the cat already in Ferndance's head, he had been a dashing rogue with fur like curdled milk and eyes as green as rotten fruit. Perhaps he had met his end by being cannibalised, as most made-up cats seemed to be in the Lead Warrior's head. She doubted the orange cat before her had to worry about that same fate unless she chose to cross the Thunderpath onto dangerous territory. She craned her neck a little, calling out to the strangers, "Hey ThunderClan!" There was no hostility to the Lead Warrior's tone as she drew her forepaws together. She figured their interaction would not last long, but she felt as if she had to say something first. "May your flesh go uneaten and your tails remain attached! Bye-bye."

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[CHITTERTONGUE]

જ➶ Brain-rotting? Ouch. And here he thought or rather had thought they could be friends. Well, maybe being kinds friends with one Thunderclanner is enough. He has no reason to go out of his way to be nice to them if they were keen on saying such things about them in turn. Still he wonders what it is like to be territory stealers. To hit a clan when they are already at their lowest. Thunderclan is very underhanded for their tactics that much is certain. A cackle leaves his muzzle as he steps along the thunderpath. Eyes casted upon Granitepaw for just a moment before he looks back to the gathered patrol. His ears angle back just a bit as he picks up on what Ferndance says and he can't help another chortle leaving his throat. His smile still pulls tight at his lips before he waves his tail toward the Thunderclan patrol
"Keheha! Hellooo Thunderclan. Hope things are well on your side of the border." He muses with mild delight as he turns and starts to make their side. ​

 

[Ravenwatcher.]

So I walk alone down the darkest roads​

---

Thunderclan, self-righteous little rats they were, not that it bothered Ravenwatcher of course, yet perhaps they should learn to hold their tongue when speaking to their apprentices and using childish names onto them. Of course Granitpaw and Dogfur were the first to spot them, next came Ferndance saying her silly little antics and the... the blunt Ravenwatcher appeared her blue eyes darkening onto the forms of the others while her fluffy tail swished a bit to look at them. "Rather have uniqueness than to be boring such as yourself, dear friend" cold yet monotone words slip from her maw before she shift to look at Ferndance with a quizzical look on her face before shaking her head and pausing.

"Anyways, fine day, yes? Don't you enjoy feeling the rain droplets on your fur?" she asked coolly, while a toothly grin dance onto Ravenwatchers maw as her tail thumped onto the ground. Of course, when you live in such a place as Shadowclan, mud was a normal thing as well as being slightly soaked so the rain was something that did not bother the warrior at all. ​

"speak""Thoughts"​

 

[BASILWHISKER]

The pointed tom's paws carefully maneuvered in the mud, perhaps with too much thought as he was lagging behind the patrol. Basilpaw was hardly a fan for the texture of gritty mud between the pads of his paws. The rain was hardly a bother though it did soak his coat, he only wished they could get somewhere with dryer ground so he could scrape the muck off his paws. It would appear the Thunderpath would be just the thing. The scent of monsters and wet cement brought the apprentice back to his stay in Twolegplace. The loud sputtering roars of the beasts, sometimes spitting gravel in their wake. When they reached closer he took the moment to use the rough surface rub his pads against.

Basilpaw didn't really have much of a care for the ShadowClanners that appeared. Though his wide gaze did focus on the 'leader' of their little pack- Ferndance. They said nothing as the she-cat shouted over to Flamewhisker, but remained fixated while he worked the mud off his paws. He flicked some carelessly in the direction of the ShadowClan border before rising to join Dewfang's side. "Are you friends?" Basilpaw's head tilted just slightly at Ravenwatcher's comment, though didn't bother looking her way, sights still set on the ticked tabby.

 

[crowflower]

Like beetles scuttling from beneath a log, Shadowclan cats begin to emerge from the swamps as if on cue. The first one, a young tom, is cool and stoic. The next one is more strange. She tells a tale of a deceased cat sharing her clanmate's namesake and Crowflower shifts her gaze to the orange molly with a sympathetic expression. Were it not for the fact that she had recently fished Flamewhisker's body from the river after the battle for Sunningrocks, Crow might have found Ferndance's comments to be funny. Instead, she frowns in displeasure, though she suspects that was the she-cat's intention all along. Dewfang clearly wasn't exaggerating when he called the marsh cats "unique." Is it custom to say outlandish things? Or were they taunting them? Crowflower assumes that because their tones were not hostile that she should respond in kind.

"All is well, thank you." she pauses, then adds, "May your teeth stay in your mouth and your pelts free of mites." A giggle escapes her. It is impossible to keep a straight face while saying such silly things, but she means it all the same. Crowflower can't imagine the discomfort of losing all her teeth to rot and having her pelt infested by parasites--she wouldn't wish it on anybody.

Any lingering nervousness dissipates as she continues along the border while dutifully marking trees and rocks. "It's certainly a beautiful day. Rain is always a blessing. Hopefully it brings good hunting to us all." Crowflower is quite serious. She enjoys the cloudy days and the odd, pungent scent of rain on the thunderpath. A strange bird, she has never believed in the cultural hostility between clans and meets their coldness with kindness. They may think what they want of Thunderclan's actions, but she is certain that their leader would have done the same to claim better hunting grounds for Shadowclan, if given the opportunity. She has nothing personal against them other than curiosity.​

 

[Cloudyfur]

While Cloudypaw padded at her mentor's side, her eyes and her mind were across the thunderpath. Border patrols always put her on edge. Unless it was on Skyclan's border, who seemed harmless enough. Her nerves had dulled as the patrols had become routine to her, but there were still there, just under the surface. When they met another clans patrol there was always at least one cat eager to trade barbs, and she worried one day they might try to do more than that.

With a start, her gaze returned to Flamewhisker as she asked her a question. What could she say about Shadowclan?

Cloudypaw could tell her mentor that she knew they were the clan that had stolen prey from Thunderclan during leaf-bare, or that their last leader had ranted and raved at gatherings in a way that had scared her. The border beside her forced her to swallow all those words though.

"Um." She began uncertainly, trying to think of something else to say. "Shadowclan lives in the marsh. They eat frogs and lizards and stuff. And uh, Chilledstar is their leader now." Her words were slow and rigid, and the moment she finished she searched Flamewhisker's gaze for approval. Other than the parts she didn't want to say, those seemed to be the most important pieces of information about Shadowclan.

After she had been so careful with her words, Dewfang's blunt insults made her wince. Before she could even so much as hope that there was nobody around to hear them, a Shadowclan appeared on cue. Almost as if the insults to their home had called them.

"Oh, hello." Cloudypaw greeted stiffly, fully prepared for one of them to begun throwing barbs back. To her surprise however, these Shadowclanners seemed fairly polite.

Well, most of them.

The outlier wasn't so much rude as she was strange though. Her comment about having known a Flamewhisker that died would have sounded like a threat, if it hadn't been for her tone. The same could be said her wish that Thunderclan's flesh go uneaten and your tails remain attached. Cloudypaw waved, uncertain if this cat was messing with them or just strange.

Cloudypaw glanced between her mentor and the odd molly. "Uh, thank you?' She eventually managed to squeak out.​