WIND ELEMENTAL // loner near border, lost

[Galeforce]

↞ RACE THE WINDS

It was time to move. Galeforce knew that he needed to seek out alternative means of sustaining himself as prey continued to dwindle during the season of leafbare, and he might have travelled sooner if it hadn't been for his injuries. But he was healing well and he felt as though he had the strength to carry out the journey to seek the infamous twolegplace. However, that meant moving carefully between clan borders from where he had been residing near Fourtrees.

SkyClan and ThunderClan scents were carried on the breeze as he found himself picking his way along the border that the two clans shared, and naturally it put him on edge. The last thing he wanted was to run into a patrol itching for a fight. But he had to admit to himself that he was, well, hopelessly lost. The trees towered over him and obstructed his view of the sky and the landscape further ahead. It wasn't like the open moorland that granted him the ability to see over distances. The forest was choking and disorientating to him. "I am so lost..."
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[CARDINALSHINE]

"Did someone say lost.....?" His voice comes from above as he arches his back in a stretch. Casually he lifts a paw to lightly rub at his eyes before he moves along the branches of the canopy. With graceful movements he easily descends, paws hitting the ground with a soft thump. Finally his soft pale gaze lands upon the stranger who seems to be skirting along the border and ge is going somewhere. Well he does commend him for trying to be respectful of their lands at least. Though...he looks familiar, doesn't he? The tom tilts his head and looks closer, sniffing. But all he picks up is the scent of a loner. One not of the clans and with that he finds himself satisfied. A wispy smile pulls at his features as he lightly dips his head in greeting. "Hey, where are you trying to get to? I might be able to help. But we'd still have to take the long way around, ya know."

Couldn't be too careful with Windclan breathing down their necks. Plus Thunderclan too but they aren't as demented as the rat chasers are. Shaking his head a bit the tom glances up to the treetops, caution still ik his limbs as he debates on giving his name. The other seems...okay. Not hostile. "I'm Cardinalshine by the way."​

 

[ThistleBack]

Pouring from the green nettle behind the longhaired tabby, Thistleback lands on his toes hard muzzle crinkled around jagged teeth as he studies the brown coated stranger. As Cardinalshine speaks, the piebald’s eyes suddenly grow a bit distant as he’s hit with a memory-

A scene comes to mind. A Windclan body slumped to the ground lifeless, a screech of agony but rather of mind than of wound. Mountainheart’s triumph and a face written by horror and pain. Thistleback’s throat scar feels colder in this memory, his hatred for the moorland cats like an unquenchable thirst for vengeance. With Sootstar’s two latest refugees leaked into the walls of Skyclan, Thistleback feels like a building tempest. His patience greets his tolerance lately, and following Blazestar’s orders keep him a peaceful entity. A friendly one, but never without the chance of turning on a dime.

" he is one of the blizzard raiders. " Thistleback reports toward Cardinalshine with a gruff bark more than a meow. His shoulders wag like twin blades around a mane of urchin barbs. He prowls toward the not so stranger, stranger. Nostrils flaring and digging for the hints of salty hills, dry grass, or even rabbit. He finds none- the oak and brambles and wild foliage. The smell of a wanderer, a loner. " the tyrant seems to be losing dogs faster than a hickory in leafbare. " Thistleback comments with a glance toward his clanmate.

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OOC INFO REF

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  Thirty-three moons EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22 | polyamorous
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Pricklepaw, and Eveningpaw.
  — mentoring quillpaw & Snowpaw
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
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[SILVERSMOKE]

Silversmoke regarded the stranger with cold suspicion as he stepped out from the discoloured leaves, his mismatched eyes slightly narrowed as Cardinalshine spoke to the loner. The older tom spoke cautiously but softly, and with little to add, the spotted tabby had been content to watch yet not intervene until it was necessary. Of course, that idea was thrown out of the window the moment the Lead Warrior arrived. He turned his head towards the spiky tom, taking a few moments to absorb the news. Blizzard raiders? His mind flashed back to his battle in camp, the damage done to apprentice and elder alike, all in the names of herbs that other clans could've easily carried. It was an attack done out of spite rather than pragmatic reasoning, and with fear that a fourth entity could be forgiven for it because they weren't 'responsible', Silversmoke's blood felt like ice. Oh, absolutely not.

Pupils narrowed into slits, all caution was thrown to the wind when the stranger's true identity was revealed. He had endured the folly of his superiors plenty of times with a grimace and a nod of understanding, but this creature that stood before them lacked the key component on his side to make the large tabby cordial - age. Before him stood a creature who could fully comprehend right and wrong, it must have done to not be a part of WindClan, yet still betrayed its convictions for reasons Silversmoke did not know. He didn't believe adults could so easily change their tunes as children, a hiss piercing the frosty air around him solidifying that fact. "Then he shouldn't be helped." Black ears flick forwards affirmatively. "Chase him to the twolegplace and let the dogs have their feast. He's either a coward or a traitor, and SkyClan shouldn't concern itself with either."



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[QUILLSTRIKE]

NOW IN ITS' PLACE IS SOMETHING NEW
I HEAR IT WHEN I LOOK AT YOU​

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Blank eyes narrowed on the stranger, unreadable passed the annoyance that settled at their surface. Quill had never had a problem with the other clans before the raiding parties from Windclan struck, mainly because he'd never have a reason to. The incident with the Sky and Thunder, while ending regretably, had never been something that affected the chimera personally. And as they say- out of sight, out of mind. But when Windclan had shown up at their border and forced old trauma to surface in the fight - when they'd invaded their camp, where Deersong and Mushroomkit, and Twitchpaw had been- it had taught the young tom a lesson that Thistleback could only ever preach to him in theory, something that had to be seen with his own eyes and felt with his own heart to ever really mean anything to him beyond the ramblings of a warrior.

Cats will do terrible things to survive. They'll put themselves first, will take things too far and you had to be ready for it, had to see it coming before it had a chance to sneak up and claw you to bits.

"Silversmokes right- there's enough Windclan here already." the blue raven spoke darkly, mismatched eyes of fire and ice landing on Galeforce as the fur along his neck and shoulders began to spike up in tufts, hence his name.
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skyclan - male - 10 months - bisexual - homoromantic - single - very tall tabby tomcat with broad shoulders

 

[Galeforce]

↞ RACE THE WINDS

Galeforce visibly flinched with fright when the voice caught him unawares. No, he'd never get used to cats being up in the trees, that was how Mountainheart had caught out Sunsetbreeze and him on that horrid day. Between the surprise and the grim memory he couldn't stop his fur from bristling uneasily. In many ways he doubted that staying beyond the border would protect him if tensions flared up, not that he could blame them either given the history. Still, he didn't recognise Cardinalshine, and clearly they hadn't sussed out his heritage either. In fact, he was even extending the offer to help.

"I... er... I'm looking to reach twolegplace." He explained, though before he could get onto introductions another approaches. One even he recognises, and it sends a chill through him when he speaks. Instinctively he took a step back in a display of submission and to show that he wasn't looking for trouble. "Yeah, I was there. Wish I hadn't been, wish I had stood up earlier against the Mad Queen..." He had been groomed from his youth to be indoctrinated into WindClan's ways, but he had managed to break away from it all under his own strength in the end.

More arrived, this time spouting a more threatening tune. Though he supposed getting chased in the right direction wasn't so bad either, he very much doubted that the SkyClanners could catch him given his speed and stamina built from hunting on open moorland. "Look, I was just passing through, nothing more. I have no intention of starting trouble with SkyClan." He tried to remain calm and he was about to move on when Quillpaw's words reached his ears. Combined with Thistleback's earlier wording regarding Sootstar losing followers it made something click in his mind, eliciting a level of curiosity that needed addressing lest it become a haunting thought. "What do you mean by there being 'enough WindClan here already'? Did... did others make it out?"
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[SLATESNARL]

❪ TAGS ❫ — Truth be told, Slate didn't really wish to be bothered with the specifics of clan drama and politics and whatnot, but WindClan's beef with SkyClan was his own business at this point. They had taken one of Blazestar's lives, raided their camp to steal what was not theirs, and mocked them for their relations with the likes of kittypets. Slate cannot necessarily blame WindClan for the latter, as he doesn't care for those twoleg pets either, but the gall of those skinny moorland rats to underestimate the strength of SkyClan's warriors was enough to strike a nerve within the former rogue.

Was he loyal to SkyClan now? Did he, at the very least, care to an extent?

A question with no clear answer, Slate has decided not to ponder upon it but instead keep his mind occupied with daily tasks. Patrolling the borders was one of them, which led him and a handful of other SkyClanners to the presence of a strange young tom. The orange-eyed feline doesn't speak at first, instead letting others who are more knowledgeable take control of the situation.

A WindClanner, Thistleback confirms, apparently remembering his face from the scene of the blizzard battle. Like the others, Slate comes to the conclusion that this must be another outcast, an escapee of Sootstar's treachery. No particular scent clings to the brown tabby's pelt, but then again, they couldn't be too sure. There were methods of masking one's scent for the sake of sneaking around, perhaps even posing as a spy. Who knows — perhaps the other WindClan refugees living among them would turn out to be spies as well. Slate sure as hell wasn't keen on putting his trust in them anytime soon.

Quillpaw mentions sheltering other former WindClanners as well, to which the stranger inquires about them. Whether or not such information was meant to be spoken of, it was done now. Slate speaks up next, gruff in nature, "Yeah. Unfortunately, they're all showing up on our borders." ... For some reason. Apparently the latest duo to arrive hadn't even planned on coming to SkyClan for help, and yet Blazestar had taken them in anyway.

Wanting to cut straight to the chase and ask no more questions, the burly tom steps forward and turns his head in Thistleback's direction, the one here with the most authority. "I can escort this one out." Slate meowed before fixing his gaze back on the brown tabby, narrowing his pupils. "Been a while since I've visited the old stomping grounds." He swipes his pink tongue swipes over his pearly whites, making sure that the other tom is well aware of what he'd be dealing with should he try anything stupid.​

 

[Orangestar]

"Don't make it sound like we harbour the moor-rats as they flee." Orangeblossom cuffs at Quillpaw's ear as she passes, brown eyes fixated on the chimera in a warning glare before throwing a similar look towards Thistleback. Control your apprentice. Blazestar had said to give no hint of their refugees - and even if Galeforce's moor-scent is faded and muddied with the indistinct notes of a loner, Orangeblossom doesn't trust that he's not here as a spy. Cardinalshine, at least, while way too friendly, hadn't let anything slip. The brown tabby, whose name Orangeblossom doesn't know nor care to find out, pipes up with hope that the others made it out and the deputy heaves a short sigh through her nose.

"We've had a pawful pass through. I'll come with you two to the border." She adds onto Slate's statement, offering the charcoal warrior a nod. Her lip curls in a small sneer, attention still fixed on their visitor. "You might find some in Twolegplace now. Who knows, they might have settled into kittypet life ... the twolegs will certainly treat you better than Sootstar did."

— info

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  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

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[MUSHROOMPAW]

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One of the blizzard raiders, that's what Thistleback had called the tom so scarred and yet still so young. 'Did he receive all of those as an apprentice?' She wondered, eyes flickering between him and Quill to assess the outsider's age. How cruel was Windclan's training that such a young cat pulled out of it so battered? How cruel was the molly they were all running from?

Despite the less than amicable atmosphere, things seem to be proceeding on peaceful terms, which puts the molly at ease. Slate brings up guiding him to twolegplace, Orangeblossom piping up that she'd join him after 'correcting' Quillpaw. It makes her flinch, but she slips out from her position at the back of the patrol, body low to the ground. She was...curious. Curious of many things she could not ask the outsider here, not without strife, but things she felt like she needed answers to.

"Um...miss Orangeblossom? I...I haven't been around to that area of the border yet...do you mind if I come along? I won't be a bother I promise!" The deputy honestly terrified her, amber eyes coldly burning into any soul that had the misfortune of making eyecontact with her, and though Mushroompaw herself hated making it, she forced herself to at least look the deputy in the space between those eyes so as to not seem rude.​

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❁⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠——⁠⁠❁ OOC ⁠❁⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠—❁⁠⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠❁ INFO ⁠❁⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠—⁠——❁

• - owowowowow
• [Please ping @/Chérie if this character is needed, instead of this account]
  
  MUSHROOMKIT-MUSHROOMPAW
  5 moons, closeted afab nb [uses she/her]
  A comically small flame mink molly with some white spotting and green-tinged aqua eyes
  Mushroompaw is generally a bleeding heart of an apprentice, and combined with her suspetibility to stress, causes her to be a little more on the numb side of things now that she's an apprentice. Though she tries to be kind and bubbly to everyone she meets, the comfortable hyperactive chaos that was once given to Skyclan's members has dwindled severely in recent weeks, culminating with her apprentice ceremony not long ago. Currently she's struggling to figure out if her friendships and familial figures are worth staying in the clans for, or if she's better off refusing a life of war for one of peace.
  Speaks in yellow
  
  pixels by emptyproxy and memel0rd on DA​

 

[Galeforce]

↞ RACE THE WINDS

It was quite the revelation, one his mind was struggling to move on from. "I need to find them", he thought to himself. Though he couldn't help but ponder over who made up the latest exiles and why they had been driven out now. Thus far he hadn't been given any clues about identities from the SkyClanners and he somewhat doubted they would be willing to share if asked. "These other outcasts, could you pass along a message for me? Tell them... tell them that Yewberry and I, Galeforce, made it out. We're alive." The last time he had been seen by his former clanmates would have been when Sootstar unleashed her fiercest acolytes upon them, chasing them out into the blinding blizzard and deep snow.

At least they were willing to guide him to where he needed to go, hopefully without the chasing and the like. Small reliefs. "I appreciate the escort. With luck I can track down the other exiles once in twolegplace, bring everyone back together." He held a sense of doubt that his former clanmates would turn into soft little kittypets as that just wasn't their style, but he wouldn't shun the idea that they were seeking shelter and food outside the twoleg dens. "Every time that crazed she-cat casts a cat out, another claw is added to my paws." He murmured, loud enough to be heard but still quiet enough to make it clear it was meant as a personal thought.

The tom exhaled quietly as he prepared to start moving again, still keeping himself outside of SkyClan's border as a way of maintaining the peace. Just how many were planning on tagging along? Even what he assumed to be an apprentice was seeking to go. He took a moment to look at Mushroompaw and he offered a polite dip of his head as a way of greeting her.
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