border Mourning Day And Night (Visiting again) Brings A Darker Light

[Chickbloom]

As yolk-stained paws padded hesitantly through the forest, Eggshell couldn't help but wonder why he was doing this again. The boy had visited the border once before, and had been scared half to death for his troubles. (Granted, he was scared half to death most of the time, but still). Perhaps talking to someone scary was better than not talking to anyone at all?

Well, that wasn't quite fair. Only one of the three cats he'd met last time was scary. The other one was actually really nice, and the third was somewhere in the middle. Eggshell pictured their faces as he walked, recoiling in horror for a moment as he realized he didn't know any of their names. Was he not told, or did he just forget? Eggshell began to squirm in his own fur, furrowing an invisible brow as he tried to think of something, anything, but to no avail.

The crybaby kittypet was hoping that two of the three cats he'd seen last time would be there, excluding the one Eggshell was positive would kill him if given the chance, but now he would prefer death if it meant he didn't have to remember any names. The butter-stained boy had told them his right before fleeing, what if they greeted him with it and expected it to respond in kind? Oh, the horror!

It seemed worrying made time move faster, as Eggshell nearly stepped over the border without knowing it. He stopped himself just in time, though, content to not have Slate flay his fur. Anxious amber eyes flicked to a nearby bush, thinking of hiding like last time, but the boy tried to be brave. Instead, any cat coming across him would find the kittypet nervously fidgeting and shuffling, gaze downcast.​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

Tufted ears flicked as the spotted tabby traversed the frostkissed lands he called his home, heavy paws able to club at the thick ground with ease. Starvation was a threat all too nagging at this point in SkyClan's seasonal journey, Silversmoke wasn't sure if he'd even recovered from the last great hunger before a new one threatened to pinch his belly once more. It made him despise the leafbare more than usual, made tempers flare where they would otherwise remain just as tepid as leaffall - it made the duty of patrolling the borders feel more like a chore than an enjoyable job. Leading his cats through the forest, Silversmoke's orders were as short as the days and left little room for error, deciding it best to split up to cover extra ground near the Twolegplace. The threat within still lingered in his mind, unperturbed by the sardonic reassurances of those around him, and he would rather not remind the upwalkers that there was a large group of cats ripe for the picking just outside their dens. Nosy kittypets were commonplace, nosy kittypets that almost trespassed and seemed aware of the mistake were not. Silversmoke did a doubletake at the sight, blue-green eyes narrowed immediately to try and get a better look at the scrambled-egg cat.

A stranger, not one he had been made aware of. Silversmoke moved towards him, stopping just short of the border that the other had nearly waltzed over. For a while, he was expressionless - it seemed to be business as usual dealing with outsiders, much to his continued irritation. Twoleg scent clung to Eggshell and he felt his fur bristle, unsheathed claws piercing the snow beneath them as they pictured the skin of Eggshell's owners: cold and clammy, pulled taut at the maw with a flash of rabbit-like teeth, paws writhing towards him like moving vines. His own teeth, pointed like spikes on a gate, began to show at the last thought, barely poking through a scarred maw as he tried to restrain his frustrations against the stranger. "Nothing to see here, kittypet. Move along before you draw unwanted attention." He was bereft at how close the Twolegplace truly was, and at how easy it would be for the cowering cat to become a threat to SkyClan should his keepers be possessive of their playthings. With a swish of his tail, he called his apprentice closer to assess Eggshell alongside him.

[ apprentice tag: @CROWPAW! ]

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[CROWSIGHT]

Crowpaw watches from a distance to see how his mentor handles threats. Scare them, don't hurt them. He can scare cats easily, considering most are uneasy towards him. Nevertheless, he moves closer as instructed by Silversmoke and takes in the oddly colored cat. They reek of kittypet, and no it's not an awful smell. It's just that Eggshell actually reeks. Their scent is so much stronger, fouler than Hazelbeam's and all the other daylight warriors. His nose twitches and fur bristles in disgust. This cat has stepping into their land and while they are nothing more than a sniveling pest, rules were rules. If they let this sob story go with little trouble, then who knows if they'll return with others in tow. Skyclan is no stranger to bringing in new cats, however it is Leaf-bare. Food is scarce and it would be best for the kittypets to remain where they were instead of trying to join them.

"Go home," he hisses towards the stranger. It should be obvious that neither Crowpaw or Silversmoke want Eggshell here. Eggshell should consider himself lucky that they didn't drag him out for stepping onto their lands. Although, Crowpaw would be lying to say he would'nt have liked to see Silversmoke grab Eggshell and throw them back to where he belonged. Maybe another day, but for now he hopes that Eggshell would do what he was told and scram.

‧₊˚✩彡 nothing compares to the fever dream

• — crowpaw / skyclan apprentice / masculine pronouns / 7 moons
  — undecided / single / not looking / open to flirting and crushes
  — long haired black smoke with hazel eyes with polydactyly
  — may powerplay minor harm / can powerplay healing
  — biography / @ on discord for plots
  — penned by velou

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[Chickbloom]

Already-wide amber eyes somehow grow even bigger as Silversmoke stalked forwards, Eggshell immediately sensing hostility in the other cat’s soul (granted, the Scottish Fold often sensed hostility from unusually strong gusts of wind and the pellets in his food bowl, so it was more of a default response instead of expert-level intuition). The kittypet’s collar suddenly felt tight, and a trembling paw fiddled with it as the scary Skyclanner stared a hole into him.

There was silence. A long silence. Should Eggshell break it first? Would that be rude, or was it expected? Amber eyes flicked from the ground, to Silversmoke, to the approaching Crowpaw, and back again. Still silence. The butter-stained boy took a breath, only to instantly regret it. “Um, I-“ Whether coincidental or not, Silversmoke started speaking right as he began, which shut the scaredy-cat up quick.

The words. The claws. The teeth. Eggshell took a step back on instinct. Maybe most Skyclanners were like Slate instead of Edenpaw? Warbling eyes flicked between the two once more, wondering if they would respect the invisible line, which was the only thing keeping him safe. “I don’t - I don’t like my home.” He responded, blurting out the embarrassing line like ripping off a band-aid. “It’s lonely. I like sitting out here, though. It - It’s nice…” Now he was just lying. This was the second time he’d even been here, and the weather was making the spineless whelp miserable. Still, it was better than saying ‘I have no friends so I came out here to talk with the scary cats that live in the woods, please don’t be mad at me.’

Eggshell looked at the two again, wondering if it was even possible to start a conversation with them. The trembling tomcat took a breath. Nothing gained, and all that. “So, uh…you guys are part of…Cloudclan, right? What’s - What’s it like?”

Maybe they’d humor him?​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

Eyes flittered down to Crowpaw, uncertain if the welling in his heart was pride or surprise. He wasn't Bobbie's son in that moment, tolerant of anyone and anything, he was colder, realistic, more like himself - scary, almost. When his attention shifted towards Eggshell again, he noticed the nervousness seemed to increase tenfold, excuses upon excuses stammered out. He realised quickly that it wasn't the first time the kittypet had sat at their borders, which begged the question - how many of his peers knew of the other's existence? "Listen," brows knitting in frustration as he pondered a different strategy. "My clanmates are nice, too nice; they might talk to you because it feels like the right thing to do, but each moment wasted on lonely kittypets is a moment where prey is not caught and a trespasser goes unnoticed. It's leafbare, there's less room for... well, you." He was a distraction, essentially, because who wouldn't speak to the squirrely tom sitting out in the cold? Only those wishing to join his home would bother tolerating such miserable weather, joiners... and Eggshell. 'How miserable must your nest be if you'd prefer spending time with us?'

It was difficult not feeling sorry for kittypets sometimes. When they stuck to one owner, it was like they were in their own clan, honourable to one leader (even if that leader was vile). He could akin it to being a WindClanner under Sootstar's rule, except, the upwalkers were arguably much worse than the moorland rat. Leaving the Twolegplace was a large decision, codebreaking in many ways. It was a melancholic thought, one seldom shared even with his apprentice. Then, Eggshell opened his mouth again and the spotted tabby's sympathy wavered. Silversmoke's expression dropped. "SkyClan." His fur bristled, a porcupine ready to shake its quills if his home was disrespected again. He'd been prepared to fight other warriors for comments that rubbed him the wrong way about his home, a kittypet's wrath would be nothing, non-existent even. But, the wrath of his friends should he sever the tentative tolerance between kittypets and SkyClanners was a chain around his throat that he could feel getting pulled. "Talk to the Daylight Warriors at dusk... the wild... sort-of wild cats that sleep in the Twolegplace at night, they will tell you everything you need to know about us. SkyClan tolerates kittypets far more than the other clans, the least you could do is remember its name."

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