border SELF-ISH 𓆩♡𓆪 RETURNING

[DAWNGLARE]

The sun burns cruelly along his back.

What had once been Newleaf warmth was quickly turning to the blister of Greenleaf; and though this was normal — something he's seen time and time again, both within, and outside of the forest, the sun's prickle now feels anything but impersonal. Was that His version of a smile? Of a glimmer of a laugh? Was He teasing him, like this; the burning equivalent of bugs in ones nest? The sun has always lived. Always lived, and will live. But it's vigor was something difference, its vibrance grating more than it soothed, any longer...

Dawnglare picks apart each and every imperfection on his way to SkyClan's border. It's leaves that oozed sickness, moss that crept where it did not belong. A place full of wonder! Splendor, keen enough for others to fight over it... or some such. They're no special than others. All that ThunderClan seemed to excel in was the dead.

Does that upset you? Oh, he hoped that it did. A noxious smile writhes its way onto his face, pearly teeth and pink gums. He counts all of the things in this forest that he would like to tear to pieces. The leaves, the herbs, the trees... Of course, their Medicine cat that deemed him lowly, unkind, unworthy. All that, when next to him, he is alike to god. What would upset you all the most? He detested them all. He felt nothing for no one. Teeth ache for flesh and a damp nose longs to be pressed into star - bright fur.

The stars. The stars? Could they not invade his life for a moment? (Could they not redeem him as savior?)

His silence is not calm. It is the very opposite, accompanied by twitches of his face and neurotic, glazed eyes. The border garners his full attention, and yet none of it at all. A too - intense, sideward glance awaits the appearance of one of their... patrols. Pointless, this endeavor. Pointless. The glance he gives to ThunderClan is one fogged with intent. Inwardly, he cries out to the sun— look, listen. " ThunderClan will remember me, won't they? " Anyone could say anything. It does not matter.

// wobbly timing this a bit... he's with @GENTLESTORM & @HOWLINGSTAR <3 no need to wait!​

 

[FIGFEATHER]

Figfeather is holding a thrasher in maw as she leads @Daisypaw through the forest. The two had just finished a hunting lesson. The apprentice was yet to catch his first piece of prey but she imagines it won’t be long until he’s strutting back to camp, prey in maw to deposit into the fresh-kill pile.

She had not been anticipating catching sight of Dawnglare at the border, accompanied by Gentlestorm and Howlingstar. Eagerly she makes her way over, tail flicking in instruction for Daisypaw to continue at her heels. ”Are you coming home?” Figfeather meows, a mixture of hope and relief evident in her tone. She doesn’t wish to offend the ThunderClan cats, but she’s eager to have their medicine cat safe and secure in his own home. Figfeather had worried for his safety a great ton while he was gone, especially in the midsts of ThunderClan and SkyClan’s brief quarrel.

Making sure not to forget her manners, she dips her head to medicine cat and leader. Eyes refocus swiftly on her medicine cat.

♡ INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Figfeather
  » SkyClan Lead Warrior
  » She/her . AMAB
  » Sire to Sangriapaw & Coffeepaw
  » Mentoring Daisypaw
  » A red tabby she-cat with a mangled leg.
  » ”Speech”․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A foe in battle whose ability to strategize can shift tides.
  » Excels in strategizing and pre-planning her battles.
  » Fights defensively and to aid her clan to victory.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[MALLOWLARK]

He wasn't with Figfeather or her apprentice, just on a walk. And was it fate, again, that brought him here? Prancing feet danced to ThunderClan scent, to herbs, and if it was their medicine cat then he could ask- and if it was his medicine cat, he could see. Silver eyes glimmered with stars when at last, at last, a phantom sight drifted into sight, flanked by two Thunderclanners. The leader, the medicine cat- but they were no matter, nothing to him at all.

And Figfeather got there first- prompt as ever, that one- but Mallowlark barely looked at her either. closing the distance between him and Dawnglare eagerly. A dance in inky paws- oh, he could waltz! The medicine den was a house but not a home, and he'd been in there... lonesome, with Fireflypaw but lonesome... and it was a bit awful that duty came second to missing him, but now, now he wouldn't have to miss him any more.

A purr rumbled deep in his throat. The Thunderclanners could have been eaten by worms that very moment, he wouldn't have looked twice. Grinning features stretched forward- brushed muzzles together, and Mallowlark felt a sun within him that hadn't been there before. I need you, he'd said, and it hadn't been a lie! And when, when had he started needing him so much? Like an infected wound needed- what was it, marigold?

"You," he chirped, voice like the daylight. That was all they needed. For a moment he allowed himself to press his nose into the gossamer fur of Dawnglare's mane, though drew away quickly, bringing an agonising distance between them once again.​

☺PENNED BY PIN​

 

[Fireflyglow]

Fireflypaw follows Mallowlark's tail like a ghost, milky eyes desperate as he fumbles through the sun-warmed grass to see the arrivals. It was unfortunate that he held so much anger inside over the skirmish over food at the border, the harm cast unto his younger brother and everything swept under the rug by his grandmother and Orangestar. Just once, just once he wanted justice for the wrongdoing against his family by kin who didn't love him back. But his mind strays from those thoughts of fury, brain lighting up with dopamine at the thought of seeing his mentor again. His tail swishes against the ground behind him, and as he stands beside Figfeather, who asks if he is coming home, Fireflypaw can't help but to desperately hope that he is coming home.

"Not having you in camp was.. Lonely, Dawnglare." Fireflypaw admits with a soft smile, eyes glancing down towards the ground. Telling his mentor exactly how he felt had become routine these days, for even Dawnglare himself required reassurance, he'd thought. He was indomitable, but still mortal until the stars took him home. "Herbs are plentiful, and our clanmates are healthy." His eyes glance sideways to the direction of Howlingstar, a hidden intention behind his words. Nonetheless, he steps forward and dips his head to Gentlestorm and Howlingstar in thanks.

"Thank you for keeping Dawnglare safe, both of you."​

SKYCLAN MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE ✦ 22 MOONS ✦ CHUNKY, BIG-FOOTED SEAL POINT ✦ TAGS​

 

[Orangestar]

"His time in ThunderClan is up." Orangestar's meow leaves no room for refusal, defensiveness rising unbidden, unspoken upon the tail end of her meow.

Her eyes narrow inquisitively as she descends from the treeline to face her counterpart, darting across Howlingstar's maw; no ThunderClan scent had strayed across the border since their last conversation, and so she had not demanded Dawnglare's return prematurely. Ochre eyes dart to Gentlestorm, to the apprenticelike reunion no doubt about to unfold between Dawnglare and Mallowlark, then back to the brown tabby leader.

Figfeather is who she pauses beside this time, comfortable silence sitting between the two she-cats. Feline brows rise in place, dry sarcasm written across Orangestar's maw but not quite encroaching on her meow as she says aloud, "Did he behave?"

ooc ✧ 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦

• // apprentice tags @Springpaw @Ashmoon
• 
  
  [ art by pin ]
• ORANGESTAR ✧ she/her, leader of skyclan | eight lives
  
  
  — "a scarred white-and-ginger she-cat with brown eyes."
  — single ; mentoring springpaw & fangs
  — speech is in #F18C47
  — tags | penned by mercibun, contact on discord for plots.
  
  
  
  

​

 

[Ashpaw]

——————————————【 Apprentice | 8 Moons | SkyClan 】—————————————

【⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆】Fangs peered around their mentor at the ThunderClanners, crimson eyes unwavering as they looked the strangers up and down. As always the albino kept to the shadows, hiding from the bite of the sun. They had never met cats from another clan before. It was... anticlimatic. Back home... No, not home. Back in TwolegPlace cats of different groups would rarely be so close together without coming to blows. "You're... not going to attack them?." the ex-Rogue asked in mild confusion.

[penned by Delphy].

​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

As grateful she is and will always be for Dawnglare's help, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't relieved to see him go. With Gentlestorm's training finally completed, they guide the strange tom back to the border on either side of him, making idly chit-chat on the way. He certainly has proven himself to be an odd one. Unsettling, she thinks, is the word best used to describe him.

Nonetheless, she will not take his aid for granted. "You'll be a hard one to forget," She decides to answer, looking back at him with a twinkle of amusement in fern eyes. Her attention swivels to the sound of approaching paws. Figfeather, the new lead warrior, approaches with a young gray tom who she assumes to be her apprentice. A massive white cat greets Dawnglare lovingly - ah, that must be his mate. "Hello, Fireflypaw," She mews kindly to her grandson, but his expression towards her is unreadable. "We thank SkyClan just as much for letting him stay. Gentlestorm learned much with him there." She glances at her medicine cat with a smile before turning her attention towards Orangestar.

Even if he didn't behave, now would certainly not be the time to say so. She allows a chuckle to pass her lips and swishes her tail, "He was a fine guest in our camp. Rest assured, he was among the first to eat every day. His service to us is invaluable, and I nor ThunderClan will soon not soon forget it." ​

 

[DAWNGLARE]

You'll be a hard one to forget, she says. Decrepit old woman. But her face only smiles, and so he would as well. It is no lie, really... He offers the flick of an ear: satisfaction, somewhat. Raindrop eyes find Figfeather. And, well, doesn't she sound... charmed? Relieved? A smile born of cynicism stutters. Something genuine is allowed in. " Mm - hm ♪ " he hums, eyes so - suddenly soft. Gone is that strained, wide - eyed look. Orangestar huffs her orders like a beast, and his jaw ticks with an annoyed sound of his own. His eyes suddenly ache. Atop them feels like a film or... some inane coating of dust and grime. He blinks it away, and revealed beneath it is him, paws black as the night sky, devoid of stars. What compensates for such a starless expanse is the rest of him; glinting teeth that shone more than even his staunch - white coat. It is the most charming part of him. All encapsulating — seizing him quickly. Suddenly the sun's gaze is bearable...

" Me, " giggled, as if he has suddenly remembered something wonderful. A relieving sigh seems to bring them closer. Their noses brush. If no one else needed him, then... he always would.

Mallowlark at his side, he lifts his gaze to his apprentice. Limbs suddenly grow stiff, as if a terrible awakening was due. Someone or something, tragedy soon to be dredged up from that well of fur. Uncertainty makes his smile small. Lonely, without him. Would Fireflypaw care so much about lonely, when what he needed to worry about was blood and death? " Was it, now? " Genuinely uncertainty twinges his words. Herbs are plentiful, and our clanmates are healthy. Dawnglare withholds his grimace, there for reasons he could not quite articulate.

And, back to Orangestar — "Did I behave? " he echoes, appalled. " I am not a kit in need of scolding, " he grumbles. A large head swings to Howlingstar, the narrow of blue eyes betrays that she certainly should not agree. Frustration kicks in with a hardiness. Muttered beneath his breath, " Unbelievable. "

ThunderClan goes to cover for their own hides... well, let them. Dawnglare was keen to find the extent of their damage back in camp. ( His heart yearns for spotlessness. Something else yearns for a massacre ). White paws place themselves over the border. As he does so, he pins the unfamiliar scrap with a gaze. Another stray, no doubt. The ugly thing isn't worth the bit of eye contact he gives it. A glance pivots to Orangestar instead, questioning. " I'd like to see her try, " sniffily, he walks on.

A plume tail waves goodbye... He would certainly remember Howlingstar more fondly than that... other one.​

 

[Daisydrop]

Silently Daisypaw followed after Figfeather, tail up and ears pricked as they approached the border to find the trio of felines - two ThunderClanners and Dawnglare - waiting patiently at the border. Figfeather asks if he's coming home and the apprentice looks towards the medicine cat then, waiting for the answer to her question before Orangestar speaks instead. His time in ThunderClan was up, which meant that he'd be coming home whether or not Gentlestorm was finished with his training and Daisypaw wasn't sure if he preferred it to be one way over the other or if he just simply didn't care, as though ThunderClan needed a fully trained medicine cat to survive would it be so bad if he were to not be able to heal his clanmates fully if they were to cross over borders once more, steal prey once more, start fights once more? It'd be better for SkyClan that was for sure.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek for just a moment in thought before reunions began and he'd look away bored. The relationship between Dawnglare and Mallowlark didn't interest the young feline, nor did the relationship between the medicine cat and his apprentice, both love and medicine things he was not interested in at this stage in life, and one he knew he'd for sure never be interested at any stage.

The ThunderClanners are asked if Dawnglare behaved and the apprentice's eyes widen to look towards the small group, the thought of him not behaving in a clan he volunteered to go to himself was not something he thought Dawnglare would do, but both Howlingstar and Dawnglare say as much before he's moving across the border responding to Fang's inquiry and Daisypaw finds himself casting one last glance at the two ThunderClanners before he looks to Figfeather once more, ready to leave whenever she was. He had hunting lessons to try and memorize and he wanted to get back to that so he could show his mother his very first catch as soon as possible.

CAUGHT YOU RED 🌺 HANDED IN THE BISCUIT TIN

• 

• 
  ♡ SH blue w/low white & blue eyes
  ♡ cannot properly control emotions
  ♡ born november 8, 2023. ages realistically
  ♡ sexuality unknown ; interested in no one
  ♡ adopted by Butterflytuft and Dandelionwish
  ♡ brother to Weedpaw and Fluffypaw
  ♡ easy to befriend ; easy to upset
  ♡ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ♡ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[GREENEYES]

✧ . Well. Greeneyes supposes Dawnglare had to come back at some point. However, lead warrior would have preferred not to be in sight of the founding medic’s welcome committee — the fear-bearing tom stood at the edge of the very border Greeneyes careens toward, with Gentlestorm and Howlingstar stood alongside him, waiting to drop the High Priest off.

Snow-capped paws falter at the sight, though not long enough for @FLUFFYPAW — never too far from his side — to collide into him. He’d only just begun getting used to Dawnglare’s lack of presence, the lack of a narrowed gaze burning into his fur at one wrong move, at one step too close to the medicine den, to his bestfriend’s sleeping grounds. He moves to stand beside the seal point now — he stills himself before he can nudge Fireflypaw’s shoulder, his head dipping in greeting to ThunderClan’s leader and medicine cat instead.

“ So you’ve had enough of him, then? “ Greeneyes asks with a smile to Howlingstar, to Gentlestorm. Did he behave? his own leader asks — part of him’s surprised at how highly the older leader speaks of him in her answer back. A fine guest. Greeneyes blinks at this, but smiles through, ears twitching at Fireflypaw’s words.

“ Yes, “ the lead warrior agrees, “ Thank you for keeping him safe. “ As Dawnglare crosses over the border, — his homecoming made — the tom takes a step back, moves out of his way. Too close, too close. Still he regards the older with a polite smile.

“ We’re… glad to have you back. “ Mallowlark and Fireflypaw are, at least — he’s sure there’s others too. ​

✦ ABOUT

• 
  GREENEYES ✦ AMAB. He / Him. Lead Warrior of SkyClan.
  ✧ . A red tabby and white tom with bright green eyes.
  ✧ . Daisyflight x Raven Ramble
  ✧ . Mentored by Sheepcurl ; Mentor to Fluffypaw, formerly Falcongaze
  ✧ . Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted!
  ✧ . Penned by Abri ‣ @_abri_ on discord, feel free to dm for plots!
  ✧ . " Speech " ; Attack
  

​