private in the pleasure of your company — tigerfrost

The coming of spring has not only brought glory for WindClan, victory—a narrow one without any losses, but a victory nonetheless—but it has also brought warmer weather. The prey creatures of the moorland have become more abundant, making hunting much easier. Especially in the tunnels, the calico hasn’t found much trouble in hunting—the sole exception being the hare she’d caught today.

The hare hadn’t gone down easily, but she had been able to end their tussle quickly enough to sustain no more than a minor scrape for her trouble. The problem is, the hare is nearly as large as she is. As it is, she can’t carry it across camp without its legs dragging gracelessly through the dirt. And it’s certainly too large to be only one meal for Scorchstreak.

Bright fiery eyes search the camp for a solution, and though it takes a few heartbeats she manages to spot a lonesome figure not too far off. With slow, purposeful motions she strides over in his direction. "Tigerfrost," she begins, intending to catch the tom’s attention before approaching him. The last thing she needs at this point is another set of claw marks across her face. "I caught a hare, but… I mean, look at it." She raises a scarred brow, tilts her head up as she sets the double-meal in front of the lead warrior’s paws.

Scorchstreak doesn’t have many friends in the clan; she has her tunnelers, but they’re closer to coworkers than friends. There aren’t many of them who she feels comfortable enough around to share a meal with—much less offer to share a meal with. But the dark tabby warrior is familiar, especially after they possibly saved one another’s lives in the raid against RiverClan. "There’s no way I’d finish this myself. Would you mind helping me out?"

// @TIGERFROST
[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]
 

gradient-1293852_960_720.png
TIGERFROST ♂
0/9

WINDCLAN / LEAD WARRIOR
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH

HEALTH:

Flaming eyes shift from the earth to those of Scorchstreak. Tigerfrost flicks an ear in greeting, tucking his tongue back between his jaws, having been simply caught grooming himself after a border patrol. The hare that the tunneler drags is a massive one, more than large enough to feed two adult cats, and potentially even more. The fact that she had caught such a thing without injury is certainty worth some respect, and that was on top of their heroic actions during the raid against RiverClan. In other words, Scorchstreak was a cat that Tigerfrost did not mind sharing a meal with.

"Sure, I haven't eaten yet. Got caught up on a border patrol." The Lead Warrior explains gruffly, and quite frankly, he was starving. Tigerfrost lowers himself to the warm soil, all too eager to sink his teeth into the prey as he tears a chunk free from the carcass. "This thing could have taken out someone's eye." The tabby remarks with a bit of dry humor. WindClan should be so lucky that hares were more interested in running than fighting, lest their prey chase them all out of the moors.
 
The tabby-striped tom agrees to share the hare with her, easing himself to the dirt, and Scorchstreak offers him a reserved smile. The hare surely could have put out an eye, but WindClan tunnelers aren’t quite as weak as RiverClan’s lead warrior. Her smile slices wider, a flash of teeth, and she lets out a laugh. "Still put up a better fight than RiverClan," she says lightheartedly, tipping her head toward the hare. It isn’t a truth, but in jest she doesn’t feel as guilty about the lie dropping from her tongue.

Before she takes a bite from the hare—because she isn’t a rogue anymore, doesn’t speak with her mouth full of food—she shifts to look more closely at Tigerfrost. "How was the border patrol? Any trouble?" Especially from RiverClan, she doesn’t add. The water-dwelling clan have already taken one of their warriors; she would hate for another warrior to be dragged onto the other side of the border and murdered in cold blood. Not to mention how the battle could easily have ended with both Weaselclaw and Tigerfrost dead. Since the battle, she’s felt a new sort of concern for her fellow moor cats, a feeling of dread that settles in her stomach each time a friend leaves for one of their borders.
[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]
 

gradient-1293852_960_720.png
TIGERFROST ♂
0/9

WINDCLAN / LEAD WARRIOR
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH

HEALTH:

He grunts his amusement in response to the joke. Yes, he could easily imagine the hare kicking up more of a fight than their more neighbors had.

"So far, the border patrols have been peaceful enough. ThunderClan seems to have no interest in causing problems for the moment. I have not been to the ShadowClan border in quite some time, but the occasional RiverClanner will throw insults or glares across the gorge if given the opportunity." He replies, and then promptly tears another bite free of the hare carcass.

"RiverClan would be fools to trespass, after what they did to Juniperfrost." The Lead Warrior comments. "But Sootstar was right, in the last meeting. They will probably retaliate. A retaliation against a retaliation." Tigerfrost snorts at the thought. "It makes you wonder if the cycle is an endless one."
 
The calico listens with rapt attention to Tigerfrost’s detailing of his border patrols. It all sounds very typical, including the ire that RiverClan shows to passing patrols. "I’m not terribly concerned about retaliation from RiverClan, if I’m honest. They’ve been beaten down already; certainly by launching an attack on us, they’d only be putting themselves in a worse position. I doubt they have the herbs to keep up with all their failures." He does make a good point, however, and Scorchstreak meets his words with a grimace.

"It seems that all we do is retaliate against one another anymore," she says, primly biting at a piece of the hare. She very clearly gives a look to the tom as he tears at the carcass. Perhaps next time she’s looking to share, she should find someone less barbaric than the lead warrior. But he’s good company, so Scorchstreak can brush aside his lack of elegance while eating.

Still, she knows that nothing in life can be truly endless, regardless of how much RiverClan seems to wish their conflict to last forever. "Surely it will end at some point. When Cicadastar dies, perhaps." She hopes that the next RiverClan leader would be levelheaded, more hinged than the night-dappled tom who leads with hypocrisy first and foremost. It’s truly ridiculous, how tolerant the other clans seem to be of his tyranny.
[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]
 

gradient-1293852_960_720.png
TIGERFROST ♂
0/9

WINDCLAN / LEAD WARRIOR
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH

HEALTH:

The tom nods along, agreeing with the other warrior, but he's not so sure that RiverClan had the sense to know better. They'd throw themselves against a brick wall if their mind-addled leader commanded it. He snorts at the very idea of it, tail flicking against the warm ground.

"They'll try anyways. They'd drag their half dead corpses into our camp just to try and spite us." Tigerfrost muses aloud, and the image of that is only slightly humorous to imagine. "Cicadastar has gone insane." He states with a shrug, taking another bite from their shared meal. "He'll drive his clan straight to the grave." Tigerfrost points out after a few more moments have passed.

Scorchstreak points out the cycle that he, too, had been considering, and he sighs. As much as Tigerfrost enjoyed the thrill of a good fight, it was just growing pathetic, at this point. RiverClan had become a mosquito, irritable and itchy when it bites.

"A retaliation against a retaliation, which will lead to another retaliation, and another retaliation after that." The Lead Warrior agrees, repeating his formerly spoken words to solidify the point. "All of this could have been avoided, but Cicadastar's pride and hatred toward WindClan has cost all of us a great deal of blood. He could have simply punished Hyacinthbreath, but instead, he chooses to shelter a murderer, to lie for her, all for his own pride." It's pitiful, really. Tigerfrost can't think any less of RiverClan than he already did.

"And then they have the gall to whine and cry at the gathering, over their poor little Clearsight. Are they too blind to see that Clearsight would still be alive in not for their leader? He is the one who refused to punish a murderer. He is the one who brought WindClan into their camp. He is the reason Clearsight was killed. Him, and Hyacinthbreath." What a grim existence it must be, to know that your own leader was responsible for all of your pain and grief.

"If RiverClan was smart, they'd have tossed both of those cats out by now." Tigerfrost points out simply. RiverClan had dug their own graves, by choosing to follow their tyrant river king. The look Scorchstreak sends his way is not one Tigerfrost deciphers, but he does agree that, perhaps, the bloodshed might end with Cicadastar's death. "I suppose it depends on if the new leader has any sort of sense." The Lead Warrior points out.

It was nice, to discuss these things with a fellow WindClanner, sharing a meal and relaxing under the warm sun. Scorchstreak seemed agreeable enough.
 
As the dark tabby speaks, Scorchstreak takes another careful bite from the hare. There’s nothing quite like a bit of mudslinging between friends, and the addition of a good meal doesn’t hurt either. The rabbit she’s caught is large, juicy—she’s glad that she decided to seek out someone to share it with, rather than attempt to eat it herself, or heavens forbid, pass it onto another clanmate.

She snickers under her breath, using a dark paw to swipe some of the blood from her maw. The mental image of RiverClan cats—especially that stupid, insane leader of theirs—moving like the dead returned to life is a humorous one. She can just imagine them coming to the moor with heads held high in confidence, only to be wiped out in moments.

She tilts her head, golden eyes gazing off across the camp. Perhaps RiverClan could get through the gorse wall, but they would likely tear themselves to shreds in doing so. "Perhaps they hope to invoke our pity, by attacking us while they’re already so weak. I think, no matter what they do, it ends in loss for them." Unfortunate for them, if that is the case. WindClan knows no pity, not for their enemies. Not for the defenders of traitors, of murderers.

"How many RiverClanners must die before they realize that WindClan doesn’t antagonize them for fun?" She asks, mostly to herself. WindClan shoulders some of the blame for the ongoing conflicts with both RiverClan and their ally SkyClan, she knows—but in the dead of winter, watching clanmates die, denied aid by SkyClan, what were they meant to do? "We’ve all suffered, both clans, at Cicadastar’s paws." RiverClan started this war by sheltering a traitor, and the calico thinks it’s fitting that WindClan may put an end to it soon.

As Tigerfrost continues, Scorchstreak realizes that the tom has a point. If Cicadastar dies, a new leader will take his place, and whether that new leader will be reasonable or just as unhinged as the dappled river king is up in the air. "If every one of his cats support him now, is there any possibility of RiverClan having a leader with any sense?" She leans forth for another bite, humming happily as she chews. Springtime brings better prey, and better times for her clan. She’s happy to be here alongside her friend, with the largest catch she’s had so far this season.
[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]
 

gradient-1293852_960_720.png
TIGERFROST ♂
0/9

WINDCLAN / LEAD WARRIOR
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH

HEALTH:

He nods along in agreement, taking another bite from the carcass as he listens. Perhaps for the first time, Tigerfrost begins to feel a sense of pleasant ease around his fellow WindClanner. Scorchstreak was someone he could talk to, vent to, gossip with, and even depend upon in fierce battles. They were one of very few in WindClan that Tigerfrost felt such trust in. She goes on to pose a question, and he can only shrug for a monent, thinking it over. He swallows another bite of hare, and considered who among RiverClan would even be fit for leader after Cicadastar's inevitable fall.

"Perhaps StarClan will reject any bad choice Cicadastar makes." He offers. "They haven't done it before, but after seeing the chaos Cicadastar is causing, StarClan might want to insure the next leader is not so bloodthirsty. They might choose the next leader of RiverClan themselves." It's probably a foolish thought. Would StarClan even bother to do such a thing? They seemed content to avoid directly interfering with the living, except for that lightning strike during the gathering. Maybe StarClan had finally changed their minds. They no doubt saw the chaos that was burning their forest down. Wouldn't they want to put a stop to it? Tigerfrost isn't sure.
 
Stars, she can only hope that StarClan will show Cicadastar exactly how displeased they must be with him. The warrior that RiverClan lost during the raid, Clearsight—is he in StarClan, frowning down upon his clan as they continue to follow their manic leader? Cicadastar may as well have killed that cat with his own claws, by allowing a filthy traitor into his ranks. Tigerfrost suggests that StarClan may choose the next leader themselves, and Scorchstreak chuckles.

"Now, I don’t know about that." It would be nice, but she won’t get her hopes up. "StarClan doesn’t seem too eager to get involved with anything. Don’t you think they would have done something sooner?" She heaves a sigh. "Wish they would’ve lent a hand with SkyClan. Or…" she trails off, leaving the rest of the thought unsaid. Or protected WindClan more. What a foolish line of thinking. She may wish for the dead to intervene when necessary, but WindClan does not need to be coddled. They are powerful, strong enough that they don’t need the protection of any supernatural forces.
[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]
 

gradient-1293852_960_720.png
TIGERFROST ♂
0/9

WINDCLAN / LEAD WARRIOR
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH

HEALTH:

Tigerfrost sighs, a hopeless agreement. The idea that StarClan would come down and solve all of the forest's problems was certainly a foolish one, but after The Great Battle, he doesn't think it's too far fetched that they'd step in to stop another war of that size. If every clan started fighting again, would they simply destroy themselves in the process? Would StarClan allow that? Perhaps they would. After all, the dead could only do so much.

"What do you think about the other clans?" He questions, figuring they had talked enough dirt about RiverClan for one day. "ShadowClan aren't too far behind RiverClan in terms of foolishness. They might even have pulled ahead of SkyClan." Tigerfrost gossips with a bit of dry amusement. "Although I suppose nothing quite beats the hare-brained idea of kittypets pretending to be warriors." The lead warrior points out, peeling another bite from the hare. The two had certainly been making progress on the carcass.
 
The lead warrior asks her opinion on ShadowClan, saying that they’ve become possibly the most foolish clan in the land. Scorchstreak is inclined to agree, and she says as much. "ShadowClan is without hope at this point, to be frank. The moment their leader severed ties with us, they lost any traction they gained. Come the cold, they’ll see starvation again." And WindClan won’t be there to bail them out. The marshland is where Tigerfrost hails from, she recalls, so she refrains from insulting their territory. Her friend’s paws had once traversed the land, and that alone makes any sharp remarks dissolve on her tongue.

The tom’s opinion of SkyClan draws a laugh from her as she takes another bite—oh, and the hare is nearly gone now. She certainly won’t need another meal today, at least. "I couldn’t care less what type of cats SkyClan lets into their clan. Maybe ShadowClan should take after them, though; at least kittypets don’t starve when the prey goes away." They’re harder to fight, harder to kill, when she’s had an empty belly for days and the house cat swiping at her is well-fed and much larger than herself. "Blazestar’s taking every cat in that clan down with him, anyhow."
[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]