RIVER OF LIFE | orangeblossom

[SILVERSMOKE]

The meeting and gatherings had been eventful places, full of enough changes and news to exhaust the silver tabby for a moon. Past the trifling tired pulling at his eyelids and weighing his legs down was a buzzing mind, growing ever ripe with opportunity despite the way his body sought to rot until it found rest. As the morning sun shot through gaps in the pine trees, Silversmoke tried not to groan at its brightness, pupils narrowing to the point of near invisibility. Regret clouded his mind momentarily, knowing how difficult it would be to patrol and train Crowpaw when all he could long for was the sweet release of sleep, but he was able to shake it off as he saw a familiar white and orange shape doing something at the edge of SkyClan's camp. A forlorn glance was offered to the top of the elderberry bush, tracking further and further up the tree next to it until he ripped his attention away from the High Branch in its entirety. That wasn't an option, not yet. Still, there was an unusual tightness in his throat, a final warning that some ideas were best kept hypothetical. He ignored it.

Prowling closer, the Lead Warrior coiled left and right like a snake in hopes of gaining Ora's attention, flicking deliberately towards an unoccupied space just outside of the camp where he could speak to her without fear of prying ears. He knew she was likely to be organising patrols soon, he would try and make it quick, for both of their sakes. When they arrived, the tabby slinking like he did not want to be seen, he greeted the Deputy with a dip of his head, posture uncertain as he pointed his nose upwards once more. "Orangeblossom," he mewed his formal hello, face as dour as ever. He was quiet but stern as he spoke, each word accentuated with his typical Twolegplace twang. "I... had an idea. One that Blazestar wouldn't like, but I wanted to run it past you to see if it would... be feasible." He paused, waiting to see if he'd gained the Deputy's interest or if he would be shooed away for going behind the leader's back with questions. Before either could come to pass, he quickly opened his mouth again. "It's nothing to do with kittypets, before you say anything." StarClan knew he'd burned enough trees trying to convince the clan that they were a bad idea.

@orangeblossom

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[Orangestar]

ORANGEBLOSSOM — tags​

It's early; earlier than usual than she would be up, though not by much. Orangeblossom stands close to the entrance of SkyClan's camp, nose close to the ground, inspecting the curve of the bramble thickets that surround their home. They're starting to overgrow a bit, but she loathes having to manage the prickles. An ear twitches back as heavy pawsteps approach, but she's surprised to turn and see Silversmoke. He's not looking at her, mismatched eyes turned towards the Highbranch for a moment, but then he jerks his head in a silent request that she follow him.

Suspicious, but trusting of a Clanmate she respects, Orangeblossom follows. They stop just out of earshot from camp, and then waits. She doesn't want to hear him out. Silversmoke's reassurance that his idea has nothing to do with kittypets means nothing to Orangeblossom; he always managed to find a way to circle it back around to his distaste for their daylight warriors and related kin. But he is still a Clanmate, and one of Blazestar's lead warriors, so she will.

"Alright." She meows, and gestures for him to explain this plan of his.​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

His ears briefly sagged in relief that the Deputy was willing to hear him out, before he returned to his stalwart features and offered a cautious bow. A wordless 'thank you', the phrase itself making his jaws feel taut until he'd gotten an a straight answer about his theory. "Before our selfish warriors did what they did, ThunderClan had already disrespected us multiple times, I almost ended up in an altercation with some a few moons back because they did nothing but slander the strength of our clan." They were a different kind of hateful because, unlike him, they had no reason to be. It'd never been kittypet-born cats the spotted tabby had hated, just those who thought they could play both sides, whereas ThunderClan seemed to loathe the very idea of being born away from their secluded forest. He was certain it was only the temperaments of the two leaders keeping it civil, and he wasn't sure how much faith he could put into that. "Our clan is in strife, but we're not the only one. I want to use this opportunity to prove that we are strong and that we will not tolerate senseless aggression on our borders."

He tilted his head upwards, ambition glinting in his odd gaze. Battles with WindClan had not gone as smoothly as he would like, this time, he promised himself, would be different. This hypothetical, so far out of reach that he'd have to run forever to even try and catch it, was a chance to prove SkyClan's worth once more, even in the face of hardship. In his head, rattled as it was by the promise of sleep, he recounted the sick cats he could remember, and then took a deep breath. "I want SkyClan to take Sunningrocks off of them. They'll be expecting retaliation from the other side of the river, never from us. We could use the space to shelter our sick, or provide a new place for the healthy to get more food for our growing clan." A brow arched in Orangeblossom's direction, surely now she would understand why he would never be able to approach Blazestar with such a plan directly. He loved his leader, disagreements had never sullied his devotion to the Ragdoll, but sometimes, he had to wonder if the leader held more fondness for his family than his own clanmates. A guilty feeling panged at his stomach at the thought, he tried to push it aside as he spoke to the Deputy.

"And, should RiverClan want it back, we can share. It can be our apology, should they still have any misgivings about our prior neutrality. Is there any way you could convince Blazestar of this?"
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[Orangestar]

ORANGEBLOSSOM — tags​

Silversmoke's little bow is almost polite and for a half heartbeat, Orangeblossom almost understands what Auburnflame sees in the gruff lead warrior. Almost. Yet feline brows lift curiously as Silversmoke launches into his explanation, the deputy's brown eyes narrowing with cautious nods of her head as she urges him to continue. He's never mentioned this altercation to her before. Perhaps it's been discussed in a different light ... She does agree that SkyClan could stand to be visibly stronger, and that Howlingstar needs to keep her thorn-tongued warriors in their-

I want SkyClan to take Sunningrocks off of them.

She blinks.

"What?"

Silversmoke continues as if she hasn't spoken, going on to outline his reasoning and how it could aid SkyClan, and Orangeblossom wonders briefly if she has even voiced her surprise aloud. The worst part of this entire spiel: she genuinely considers it for a moment. Orangeblossom can see the merit in the idea: It could be a reasonable attempt at an attack, waiting for the dead of night and claiming innocence when ThunderClan challenged them in retaliation. Teaming up with RiverClan should they want to have Sunningrocks returned, at least part of the time, it would force a very rigid line for the oaken Clan to fail at crossing again and again. Oh, she hates this. He has a point.

"Absolutely not." Orangeblossom says instead, as if she has not just entertained a very long, very thoughtful silence. "Blazestar would never agree to such a ridiculous idea, especially not with his kits' kin as ThunderClan's leader. But about this altercation; who? What caused it?"

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[SILVERSMOKE]

Orangeblossom's emotions appeared to fluctuate like the river's height, at least, that was what he had made up in the uncomfortable silence the pair had partaken in. Finally, a verdict had been reached, his blinks firm as he was offered a resounding 'no' from the she-cat. A lump was swallowed in the larger tabby's throat, irritation rippling in waves on his fur before eventually, he nodded - this time in acceptance. "His SkyClan kin should be more important, but fine. I won't pretend to know what split loyalties are like." Salt was shaken upon his sharp words, but he rolled his shoulders and begrudgingly looked away, a sign he was willing to drop the subject now that it'd been confirmed that the Deputy had no interest in seeing the vision come to pass. He'd been to gathering after gathering, watching cutthroat leader after cutthroat leader engage with the other groups with a disinterest he wanted to see in SkyClan - after so much abuse had been hurled their way, they deserved power and isolation more than anywhere else. Blazestar didn't see it that way and that was.... fine. It was fine.

A sudden question caused his head to quickly jut forward again, eyes wide in surprise. "You weren't told?" Ears swivel in alarm at the revelation, who in StarClan's name had been responsible for that oversight? He had not been the only one there with some power in SkyClan, he'd been so worked up after the fact that he was certain he had asked someone to speak to the council about it. Silversmoke chewed the corner of his mouth, that was the last time he let someone else be the messenger. "Their stripey Lead Warrior and some rat-faced apprentice insulted us for our missing cats, sarcastically saying we were thriving and insulting those of u- those in SkyClan with kittypet heritage. Cloudberrythorn succinctly suggested their apprentice be quiet and that was when their insults heightened. I almost ended up in a scrap with an old cat who wasn't keen that I'd suggested that the kittypets were more honourable than their founder had ever been." He tried to recall more details about the event: names, appearances, even exact words, but time and boiling blood had served as vices for his memory. All he remembered clearly was how close he'd been to breaking the code that day, in defence of SkyClanners he didn't even particularly like. Had they been favourites, he was certain ThunderClan would've been razed by now.

"Sooner or later, our clans will come to blows. Howlingstar and Blazestar cannot contain the ThunderClan warriors' ire forever, I just don't want SkyClan to be the ones forced to defend ourselves once more. We are better than that."

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