border when the night arrives

[Ruby.]

【◆】
Ruby watched through the front window as her two-leg left for the evening, getting into his monster and backing out of the driveway on what seemed to be his nightly expedition. As she watched the monster turn off the street corner onto the main road, the somali she-cat swiftly hopped out of her cat tree and ran to the back door. She was feeling confident tonight; like tonight was the night she was going to confront these strange forest cats that she had seen from her nightly post. She pushed her way past the cat door and out into the frozen, over-grown garden and through the already pressed snow swiftly jumping onto the back fence, catching a last glimpse as her human turned another corner and disappeared.

It had been three moons since she had been brought to this new house with this new two-leg, and while during the day the man was around and attentive to Ruby (showering her with cuddles and treats) the she-cat had noticed a pattern: the man would leave just as the sun fell and darkness shrouded the house; and would come back just as it crept back up over the horizon. She figured that as long as she was back before sunrise, her plan was fool-proof. The back door was lockable, but the flap that allowed Ruby to come and go as she pleased was always open and although the two-leg didn't realize it, she had been leaving every night for the last two moons only in attempts to catch a glimpse of these clan cats. SkyClan, she thought that's what their name was. Cats talked around the neighborhood, and very quickly Ruby had found herself in her own routine: where, during the day she would enjoy the company of her two-leg, and at night would leave the house to watch SkyClan from the shadows.

A grin spread across her maw as she jumped off the back fence and began her way towards her normal post. It wasn't that she was looking for any sort of trouble; in fact that was far from reality. Ruby was simply intrigued, like a kitten learning about the stars for the first time. And although she was only the ripe age of six moons, the ruddy colored female felt as though she had enough smarts and skill to back her and that her decision to go and find these cats on her own was reasonable. Plus, she didn't want to bring a friend and unintentionally scare them off. Never did a thought cross her mind that they could be the hostile ones. Besides, she had heard that sometimes they accept kitty-pets like herself into the clan. But what did that mean exactly? Well, she was here to find out!

Quickly and without much stealth, Ruby makes her way down the hill past her post and further into the surrounding brush...

【OOC 】feel free to powerplay!

[penned by eve].

​

 

[Johnnyflame]

HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

---

"That's far enough, lass."**

As if falling from the sky itself, Johnnyflame dropped neatly onto the path in front of the somali, his stocky frame purposefully blocking the way forward. In reality though, the sunny-eyed tomct had only been in the branches of a nearby tree on his way back to twoleg place. You see, on a rather opposite schedule to the young shecat, Johnny was well known for leaving the house at dawn with his twolegs and returning at dusk before they turned in for the night. For the entire rest of the day though, Johnny belonged to Skyclan.

"This is Skyclan territory that your trespassing on. I'm afraid you'll have to head back to twolegplace." the tom explained, tone firm but not immediately unkind- it was obvious that the girl was younger, probably just haven reached the age of their apprentices back in camp, and so he didn't expect her to just know how things worked around here.

---

​

 

[Orangestar]

A rustle of leaves is the only warning Orangestar receives before Johnnyflame drops from the next tree over. Her ear twitches, but brown eyes shine with a soft pride; he's become incredibly good at controlling his landings over the moons. The leader herself remains among the roots of the pines for now, Springpaw close by.

She's quiet as she watches Johnnyflame confront the young kittypet with a firm confidence, eyes flickering over the ruddy-furred kit who is too young, she thinks, to be out in the forest with no escort. While dusk is when their daylight warriors return home, they tend to travel in groups, their claws honed and sharp eyes watching for any danger that may befall them. A single half-grown kitten, unfamiliar to SkyClan, does not have that advantage.

"Watch well, Springpaw." Orangestar advises the she-cat at her side quietly. This would be one of her first times so far from camp, her first dusk patrol that encountered a stranger.

ooc ✧ 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦

• // @Springpaw apprentice tag<3
•  
• 
  
  ORANGESTAR ✧ she/her, leader of skyclan | nine lives
  " a scarred white-and-ginger she-cat with brown eyes."
  
  — single ; mentoring springpaw
  — speech is in #E3B2A9
  — tags | art by pin
  

​

 

[Ruby.]

【◆】
As Ruby crept forwards, an overwhelming wave that she was being watched washed over her, and no sooner did a large figure stand before her, having seemingly appeared out of thin air. Unfamiliar to the scent of borders or clan cats, Far enough...? Far enough from what? A wave of anxiety washed over her at the possibility that she hadn't been the only one watching the forest. Ruby could only assume that The fur on the nape of her neck rose as she stood in front of the tom, eyes as wide as dinner plates and suddenly at a loss of words.

Albeit a lot smaller than Johnnyflame, Ruby stood her ground and kept her eye on the Daylight Warrior, unsure of what to do or say. Had he followed her here? "Trespassing...? Isn't the forest open to any cat?" at his mention of SkyClan, it finally dawned on her that perhaps this was one of their warriors. "I only came out here to see what this clan stuff was all about," she meowed, attempting to get Johnny to halt on turning her around and back towards home. "Are you.. one of them?" she finally questioned, tail swishing back and forth behind her patiently, sitting in the same position he found her. He didn't seem inherently dangerous, so she wouldn't mind pushing his buttons a little bit, and so she stood her ground. "My name is Ruby. What's yours?"

Hopefully the tom wasn't expecting to get home early tonight.
【OOC 】

[penned by eve].

​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

This unfortunate kittypet had run into rather a high-ranking wall. Twitchbolt crouched low, his apprentice at his heels- and thus, his wariness doubled. Pumpkinpaw was old enough to be out again, yes... and they'd made progress, a little bit at least, in terms of communicating with each other... but he still could not let his guard down around strangers, even clueless-seeming kittypets like this one. You never knew who was feigning naivety in order to slither past the borders, to take advantage of them all. Glancing back at Pumpkinpaw, Twitchbolt flicked his tail to stop his apprentice in its' tracks.

"There's a lot more than one of us," he murmured, green eyes flashing with wide warning. Yes, this seemed like a younger face... but it was better to warn her than have her traipse through the territory, and maybe end up as far as ThunderClan,where she would not be offered the time of day.

/ @PUMPKINPAW apprentice tag :)​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[Springshine]

There had been a time, back in her nursery days, when Springpaw had once liked to think of herself as brave. She had ventured out of the confines of the den first, despite the fear that had hammered deep and booming in her heart. Back then, though, she had not known the dangers that awaited her outside of the safety of four walls. Not until the real world had nearly taken a whole litter from Howlfire, before it took her parents as well. Now every outing and excursion was a mental battle in which she has to convince herself that its okay, that she probably wont die or get mangled beyond all recognition today.

She follows dutifully behind her mentor, not thrilled to be here but not complaining either. Slowly, it's getting easier and easier and it's even better that Pumpkinpaw is here with her. With it there she feels emboldened, braver because she would do anything to keep them safe. Roseblaze had said that was her job as a sister and it's one she had taken seriously since they were kits.

When she lays eyes on the intruder, the first thing she does is fluff herself up so that she is twice her usual size and the second thing she does is move so that she is standing in front of her littermate. This was a kittypet, she knows, and one who looked to be about the same age as them, but Johnnyflame sounds cautious and her mentor advises her to watch well so she eyes the stranger with guarded skepticism, ready to move in case she takes any sudden actions. But when she speaks again she doesnt sound dangerous, just confused. She doesn't say anything to them though, and instead opts to just observe as her mentor had advised.

( ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ ) my heart I surrender

• 
  
  
• 
  SPRINGPAW SKYCLAN APPRENTICE ; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO PUMPKINPAW
  

  A small she-cat with fluffy black and white fur and bright blue eyes

  ✦ Easy in battle + has little to no formal battle training
  

​

 

[Ruby.]

【◆】
She spent only a moment looking down to her paws, a thought crossing her mind to begin grooming her tail as she waited for Johnnyflame's response. It was only when she heard an unfamiliar voice, especially not his voice, that the fur on the nape of her neck rose and she cast her gaze past him and towards the shadow-shrouded brush; a glimpse of a large cat, large green eyes meeting hers.

Suddenly Ruby wasn't so lack-a-daisy, straightening her posture and turning to her side, pelt puffed as her stomach dropped and the thought of running crossed her mind. As panic rose in Ruby's throat, she realized that she was out numbered and decided to surrender. "Look, I don't mean any harm." she spoke, bluntly but in an uncertain, frightened tone. The last thing she wanted to happen was for these cats (who were obviously bigger, stronger, and more experienced than her), to attack. "I was just curious is all; what do you do out here... why do you live out here?" oblivious to the way of the Clans, or really what these 'Clans' even were (she didn't know about SkyClan really, let alone the others), Ruby was keen on understanding, not offending. She was simply too young to understand how to communicate her questions properly. Hesitantly, she waited for an answer, ready to run for her fence as soon as things went south.

[penned by eve].

​

 

[Johnnyflame]

HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

---

"I am..." he replied, almost not wanting to admit it since he didn't want to encourage her fascination. "Name's Johnnyflame- and I'm afraid not, lass. The woods, the moors, the marshes; none of it's free game anymore. That's where the clans live, and when you go crossing their borders it can get ya into trouble. Not everyone is as quick to use their words as I am when it comes to protecting their homes, even with someone as young as you." he explained, tone gentle but stern- this wasn't something she could argue into being less truthful, it simple was how it was.

He didn't want to encourage her to keep coming back here nor did he want to make her think it was acceptable to cross borders without permission, but chasing her out wouldn't kill her curiosity. It would only send her to Riverclan, or Windclan, where outsiders weren't so easily accepted. "Curiosity can be dangerous. These territories are very important to the groups that live on them; it's where we get our food, where our loved ones live, where our kin are buried when they die. Cat's kill and die for that kind of thing."

The arrival of Twitchbolt was quick to set the young shecat on edge, but Johnny couldn't help but think it was a good thing. As much as he loved Skyclan and the life he lived here, it wasn't for everyone. Cat's died out here, and you had to understand the consequences that came with living a life like that. That being said though, he didn't want to bully a kid if he didn't have to.

Hopefully Twitchbolt felt the same. Glancing to the Deputy once more, he offered, "I'm on my way back to twoleg place right now anyways- I can escort her back that way and teach her about the scentlines so she doesn't cross em again. "

OOC- if she chooses to walk with him she can pester him with questions about Skyclan if you want? Your choice!!!

---

​