border Living In A Box (intro, visiting)

[Chickbloom]

They hated him.

They hated him, he was sure. Certain beyond a shadow of a doubt. Once, his twolegs practically spent every day with him. Now they might as well have been dead. What had he done wrong? How bad he angered them? Eggshell had been with the pair for as long as he could remember, but it seemed now they’d grown sick of him. Both of the boy’s twolegs had taken to leaving the nest at the crack of dawn, and seldom returned before nightfall. There were days when one or both of them were with him and it seemed like he’d won their affections again, but the next morning would always find the Scottish Fold alone.

Alone, alone, alone. It was driving the tomcat mad. 14 moons he’d been alive, and the past 3 had practically been spent in solitude. He’d been pacing around the nest, trying to figure out how he had wronged them so. Eggshell started getting quieter, being less picky with the pellets they fed him, anything in an attempt to get their love back, but it never worked. He was alone so much now. More and more, a white-and-yellow face would press itself against the glass, peering outside at the other kittypets.

Eggshell had never spoken to them much. He didn’t need to, the tomcat’s twolegs had been his best friends. But now he craved contact, yet at the same time was too terrified to move. What if whatever made his twolegs hate him made other cats hate him as well? A flaw of personality? Looks? Talking to them would be a one-way ticket to more isolation.

But as Eggshell pressed his ear against the fence, listening in on conversations he was too scared to join in on, a particular name kept popping up: Skyclan. Some talked of them with wary tones, while others spoke of the band of wild cats like they were a second home. When yolk-colored ears overheard a particularly old tom talking of the fun he’d once had there, the ball of nerves began to get an idea.

If Eggshell’s twolegs hated him, that must make him a bad kittypet. But would a bad kittypet not constitute a good wild cat? A pelt like milk and butter shivered at the thought. The Scottish Fold would be useless in the wild, he knew, but maybe the people there wouldn’t mind him so much? At least there was a small chance they wouldn’t despise him.

It was a few days later when the shut-in finally worked up the nerve to scrabble over the fence of his nest and leap, quite ungraciously, over to the other side. A visit. A quick visit and nothing more, he’d decided. Eggshell would simply walk over and strike up a conversation, maybe make a few friends, and come back. As the Scottish Fold began to sheepishly shuffle into the woods, though, he couldn’t help but immediately wonder if this was a mistake. His nest was only a few fox-lengths away now, there still could be time to go back. However, anxious senses could feel (or at least imagine) the eyes of the other kittypets boring into his back. The spineless whelp may look stupid walking there, but he’d look even more stupid turning around after only a few seconds. So, he continued.

As Eggshell padded, more and more anxieties bubbled to the surface with each step. What would he even talk about? The weather? The food he’d been eating? How much his twolegs hated him? How lonely he was? The ball of nerves spent so much time thinking on this, and was so lost in thought, that cheese-covered paws had crossed Skyclan’s border without him noticing.

It took a few seconds for the smell of the scent line to register, at which point Eggshell promptly began to panic. Amber eyes flailed around wildly, wondering if anyone had seen him. Wasn’t crossing the border a bad thing? What would the Skyclanners do if they found out? Some kittypets said they ate other cats. Maybe it was true? With a small yelp, the skittish Scottish Fold launched himself back across the border and into a bush, too scared to run back to the twolegplace. Instead, he would hide as best he could (which was not very well).

Any cat coming across Eggshell’s location may or may not have seen him accidentally cross the border. Either way, they would certainly spot the strange shrub with wide amber eyes and a white-and-yellow tail barely a fox-length on the other side.​

 

[DUSKPOOL]

anger makes you stupid . stupid gets you killed .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

It wasn’t out of the blue to see a stranger wanderin’ the unclaimed border, more than he wanted to admit with leafbare comin’ around the corner sure as hell would become a problem, now more than ever with the diminishing quantity of prey. Duskpool wasn’t in the best condition, he’d admit begrudgingly, teeth gnashing at his tongue with pooling annoyance. Damnit. He breathed out a sigh, watching the air billow like curling smoke against his muzzle before it faded, mangled ear flickering at the panicked kid on the border with eyes wider than a full moon peering out.

With a rumble, making the smokey-furred warrior known, molten hues narrowing. “What’s a kid like yerself doin’ out here?” He inquired, peering down at the panic-stricken feline with a raised eyebrow, tone deadpan. “Ain’t gonna do anythin’ to ya, kiddo. No doubt yer curiosity gettin’ the best of ya, eh? Bunch of wild cats livin’ in the forest.” He spoke, brow raised. “Best be headin’ back to yer upwalkers.” He rumbled, jerking his chin back toward where he assumed the other came from, indifferent despite the subtle twitch of his muscles.

He’d seen enough kittypets venturing toward SkyClan’s border, nothin’ more than curiosity surging through their veins, or wayward kittypets findin’ themselves lost. It was better than findin’ a bunch of kits alone in the forest without their parents not givin’ a damn about their offspring. “Ya lost, kiddo?” He finally added with a slow swish of his wooly tail, padding up till he stood a whisker-length from the heavily marked border. “Ain’t a problem helpin’ ya get back home, otherwise yer lookin’ at a restless night out here in the cold.” He rumbled, tone deadpan.
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thought speech​

 

[Chickbloom]

Wide amber eyes were like searchlights, scanning snow-dusted surroundings for what would surely be his end. He was like an anxious little kid, sure that the police would be busting down the door at any moment to book him on littering charges. A butter-stained pelt shrunk further into the bush, finding some measure of comfort in confinement. However, any warmth he felt was snatched away as a Skyclanner rumbled above him, like an oncoming thunderstorm.

Something between a whimper and a croak left Eggshell as Duskpool spoke, and for a moment the kittypet didn’t respond. Panic had rendered (already poor) judgement useless, and the crybaby was hoping that he was still hidden, and Skyclan just had a strange tactic of talking to themselves on the border. When it became clear that the Scottish Fold was being adressed, though, he slowly poked his head out of the shrub. What should he say? Twolegs were easy to talk to, but cats were a whole other beast. They could understand him, after all.

“I’m lonely.” Eggshell blurted out, and a bright shade of red was introduced to his sunny-side-up face. Amber eyes were quick to search the ground, hoping to sink into it as he continued. “I wanted someone to talk to…none of the other kittypets like me, so I was curious about what wild cats were like, I guess.”The anxious cat may have only stammered out a few sentences, but he was more than making up for it in his own head. How stupid was he for this? Did Eggshell really think he could walk up and start a friendly little chat? Interrupt a busy Skyclanner’s day? Amber eyes flicked up to meet Duskpool’s for a moment before retreating, interpreting signs that weren’t there. He probably wanted to get back to camp and out of the cold, not deal with a whelp on the border. God, he must have hated Eggshell already.

Convinced of his animosity, Eggshell was quick to scramble back into his bush as Duskpool stepped closer, offering assistance that was quickly met with a shake of the head. “No, I’m not - I mean, thank you, but I’m not lost - I can get back by myself.” Was it a lie if he didn’t know it? The kittypet had been walking on autopilot for most of his trek, too consumed with thoughts to pay attention to his surroundings. Whether or not he could make it home before dark was honestly a gamble. Either way, Eggshell would rather freeze before inconveniencing this cat any more.

“I’ll just - I like this bush, so I’m gonna stay here for a bit. You can keep doing your wild cat stuff, I won’t cause trouble. …Sorry about crossing your border earlier.”​

 

[edenberry ?!]

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 〰 "Well that can't be true," the daylight apprentice announces loudly, walking up behind Duskpool with a small glare to the older warrior. Old fart needed to worry more about himself than helping lost puppies find their way home. Turning spring-green eyes back to the newbie, they offer some form of clarification, "Can't be that all the kittypets hate you because I've never met'cha before." It was a bold assumption (and rude!) to assume such out of character cruelty from Edenpaw!

They prided themself on being the friendliest face in the whole wide world! Even Macaronipaw couldn't compete with their obnoxious sweet antics.

"Don't worry, my Twoleg isn't home often either... it's why I hang out here most of the time."​

 

[SLATESNARL]

Ever undertaking the role of SkyClan's unofficial "guard dog", Slate had been less than pleased to smell kittypet stink practically right on top of their border. It was not uncommon for the curious house pets to sniff around the scent lines, bombarding the patrols with questions about clan life and whatnot. However, this one seemed wildly apologetic about crossing the divide and had taken refuge in a nearby shrub. Oh, he was lucky that he had retreated in time... The Maine Coon would not have hesitated to give the young tom a bit of a shake-up to ensure that he never strays near again.

For now, he glowers across toward the timid orange and cream splashed stranger, making it glaringly obvious that he would not be so lenient should there be another occurrence. "It would be in your best interest not to cross it again, kittypet." The lead warrior issues an icy warning, giving a lash of his thick tail with @Cherrypaw presumably standing near. "We don't take kindly to trespassers." Just because SkyClan was known to take pity on lost and curious souls did not mean that their borders were open to be trampled across. They ought to be vigilant, now more than ever since the scent of rogues had been picked up on their borders recently.

He sweeps his gaze over the snow-layered land in one last visual inspection before grunting toward the others, "We should be movin' on. We have prey to catch." They had no time to waste, especially not on a lost kittypet. He claims that he knows how to find his way back, so Slate sees no reason why they should stick around.

₊ ⋆ * ⊹ ₊ ☾ —— 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙘𝙠, 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚

• 

• 

  ✰ SLATE
  —— he/him; lead warrior of skyclan; former rogue
  —— bisexual; single; not looking
  —— hulking, scarred charcoal-black colored maine coon with amber eyes
  —— "speech", thoughts, attack
  —— link to full tags; @ on discord for plots.
  —— penned by beatles

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[Chickbloom]

Edenpaw’s words are meant as encouragement, an attempt to show the skittish Scottish Fold that the world was not so harsh. However, Eggshell only saw it as calling him out on a lie, which just made the boy panic more. He’d hardly spoken to any other kittypets, holed up in his hovel as he was. Amber eyes had always looked out the window with a mix of jealousy and fear, assuming the worst.

“Yes, you’re right. I’m - I’m sorry.” Folded ears drooping even lower was evidence enough that the positive affirmation hadn’t worked. So not all the kittypets hated him, but it probably stood at 99%. And as amber eyes guiltily stole a glance at Edenpaw, Eggshell was sure a new member would join the club soon enough. However, as the daylight apprentice continued to speak, the coward couldn’t help but feel a little - just a little - comforted by his words concerning upwalkers. It was nice to know there were others who dealt with absent twolegs, a strange sort of kinship knowing that his problems were not unique.

It was like prying open a rusty door with a crowbar, but Eggshell began to open up ever so slightly, both figuratively and literally. The anxious kittypet took a half-step out of his hiding place, and towards the border. “They’re - my twolegs - are nice, but they’ve been been leaving me alone a lot lately…” he might’ve been stumbling over his words, but it felt nice to talk to someone about this. “My name - it’s Eggshell, by the way. But… H-Hanging out with friends in the wild, that sounds -“

Slate’s voice was quick to shut him up. Whatever sentence was on the cusp of a cowardly maw faltered as the slab of muscle gave him a stern warning, and Eggshell was quick to retreat back into the tiny little shrub. “Y-Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” Wide amber eyes watched the lead-warrior’s whip-like tail, and the kittypet’s anxiety soon summoned ghastly mental images of what would happen if this Skyclanner decided to ignore the imaginary line laid between them.

Eggshell let out an audible sigh of relief as the warrior urged his peers to continue with their patrol, sadness at his small conversation being cut short temporarily replaced with gratitude at the simple realization that the whelp’s throat wouldn’t be torn open today. “Yes! I’m sorry - er, uh, I apologize for wasting so much of your time. I - I’ll get away from your border now.” eyes like dinner plates snapped between each of the skyclanners, lingering on Slate as he slowly backed away, too scared to turn-tail until there was a good bit of distance between them.

With a small (and awkward) “Bye” A butter-stained pelt spun and sprinted away into the woods, heading for what Eggshell hoped were his Twolegs.

// Out!​

 

[DUSKPOOL]

anger makes you stupid . stupid gets you killed .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Molten copper flickered, watching Edenpaw through his peripheral at the noticeable glare the other sent his way. His tail curled, turning away with a drawn-out huff, shaking his fur. He grunted, glancing at the feeble thing hidin’ with a raised eyebrow, perplexed. Ya sure about that? He wanted to comment but chose not to when Slate appeared, issuing a warning to the lonely kid. “Didn’t think ya had it in ya, kid.” He commented, glancing at Edenpaw with a raised brow. The kid was obnoxious, no less than Macaronipaw, but Duskpool wasn't all that bothered by it like most of ‘em.

He breathed in the icy air, lungs filled with pine and SkyClan’s familiar scent. “If ya lookin’ for someone to talk to, I’ll be visitin’ the upwalkers here soon enough.” He grunted, tone indifferent. It was due time he visited his kid, wanderin’ about the upwalkers despite the prickle of unease he got whenever he got close. Better than havin’ the kid wanderin’ near the border lookin’ to talk when things were tense as it is now that leafbare was upon them. They didn’t need more mouths to feed.

He watched the newly named ‘Eggshell’ scamper off, drawing a half-hearted snort from the male. He made a slow turn, padding away from the border with a sweep of his tail, acknowledging Slate with a swerve of his mangled ear. “Best be goin’, kid. Prey ain’t gonna catch itself.” He rumbled, slipping into the foliage without missing a beat. ​

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thought speech​