Herondive Hollow

[A Wolf]

Shadowclan. Not a favorite of hers to say the least. Those toads were bloodthirsty, stealing lives from others and treating them as if they were nothing more than mice. Frankly, to Snowwolf, not caring about the lives one took was one of the most disgusting things she could imagine. But a patrol was a patrol, and as much as Snowwolf hated them frog-breaths, she wasn't afraid of them, and she wouldn't let them bother her in her work.

"Let's be quick." She called over her shoulder to her patrol mate.
@Darkside

[Tracker]

Originally Posted by A Wolf

Shadowclan. Not a favorite of hers to say the least. Those toads were bloodthirsty, stealing lives from others and treating them as if they were nothing more than mice. Frankly, to Snowwolf, not caring about the lives one took was one of the most disgusting things she could imagine. But a patrol was a patrol, and as much as Snowwolf hated them frog-breaths, she wasn't afraid of them, and she wouldn't let them bother her in her work.

"Let's be quick." She called over her shoulder to her patrol mate.
@Darkside

Wolftiger nodded. He brushed his pelt along the border marks to set scent markers.

[A Wolf]

Snowwolf moved calmly along the border, stopping to mark every now and then to mark where she saw fit. After a bit she the border was marked on her part he and turned back to see how Wolftiger was doing. "Are you done?" She was done so if he had also done his job they could head back. She had worked swiftly, and hoped they would be the first once back at camp to report.

@Darkside

[Tracker]

Originally Posted by A Wolf

Snowwolf moved calmly along the border, stopping to mark every now and then to mark where she saw fit. After a bit she the border was marked on her part he and turned back to see how Wolftiger was doing. "Are you done?" She was done so if he had also done his job they could head back. She had worked swiftly, and hoped they would be the first once back at camp to report.

@Darkside

Wolftiger nodded
(Sorry reply is so short!)

[Rani]

Ah the hollow. It was as dull as ever. Redshrike very much hated this border above all others given how little there was to hunt or fight here and its only redeeming opportunity was the ease of stealth here with the undergrowth. Not that there was ever any reason to sneak about given again this border was boring. Ugh what wasnt clear here? Without something to gain there was little point to doing anything at all and such pointless activities were better suited to toadies not Redshrike. So bored of the patrol already the monochrome toms attention turned instead to Ivypaw the smooth question of "So tell me, what do you actually know about this border and the pitiful clan it divides us from? Im curious to know if the failure of a Badger has taught you anything of worth yet." breaking the silence as he approached the border markings.

@TheNyanCatMinecart

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

~ IVYPAW ~

Ivypaw followed the small, tri-colored tom to the ThunderClan border. She'd been here once before with Badgerscar on her first day out as an apprentice, when they'd been doing the territory tour. ThunderClan's scent was rather distinctive: they smelled like mice and squirrels, dead leaves, undergrowth, and freshly-growing trees. The underlying cat scent that mixed in with it all wasn't all that pleasant, though. Ivypaw much preferred the pines and marsh scent of ShadowClan. The hollow had undergrowth, but was otherwise pretty bland. Redshrike seemed bored out of his mind. Ivypaw didn't completely see why. Was it because, since there wasn't too much conflict with ThunderClan, there was less opportunity for a fight?

Redshrike's question made her turn her head. The tom was asking her, in a smooth tone of voice, how much she knew about ThunderClan. He definitely didn't like Badgerscar. Ivypaw didn't hate him as much as she had in the past, but she knew that his reputation was unstable. He'd better not pass that on to her, and if he did, she'd have to prove herself free of it. "I know that the border belongs to ThunderClan. We don't have much conflict with them right now, but it would still be fun tearing one open and bringing a pelt to Dawnstar. I've learned so many battle skills, but I haven't gotten the chance to properly use them." Ivypaw flexed her long claws, which she made sure to sharpen daily. "They live in forests with a lot of undergrowth and leaves, and they eat creatures like mice, birds, and squirrels. Badgerscar has taught me a lot of fighting moves and more than one type of hunting. He also told me about the Clans, although I guessed which scent belonged to which Clan on the first day without much difficulty."

"I'm not the happiest that Badgerscar has a bad reputation with Dawnstar, but he hasn't been bad with me, mostly. He'd better train me right because I want to be a good ShadowClan warrior. Badgerscar already knows that he's on thin ice with Dawnstar, and this is his chance to prove himself again. What matters is that he's teaching me what I need to know to survive and be the best warrior I can be. But when I become a warrior and if he continues to be a traitor, I wouldn't mind shredding him on Dawnstar's orders. He's been surprisingly not bad so far, though."

@Rani

[Rani]

Well at least it was clear that Ivypaw wasnt among the brainless but strong group that so much of the clan (and her father) occupied in the clan. Redshrike was aware intelligence was a rare thing so it was gratifying that his kin consisted of at least one of such cats given Redshrike remembered his sister was strong due to her size before she went missing. There were similarities between the mollies if he thought on it more but given how little he liked to think of Marigoldpaw he didnt reflect on that long.


"Yes even a fool can teach one the other clans scents so Im not surprised though I was curious if you knew deeper about their make up then the basics. Ill elaborate: Thunderclan has been going through a long long period of turmoil of late that makes them especially weak even beyond their cowardly ways.

In the time of Icestar they had poor but consistent leadership and needed to rely on their allies in riverclan a ton to survive. This created a debt unlike windclans debt to us payed in blood and soon after falling out of favour with their so called friends a brief war broke out in which they were stomped. That is good for us, when thunderclan and riverclan were on good terms the damn fish were allies with everyone against us, and after thunderclan can not go a gathering without loosing a high rank and that if they go to gatherings at all. They are pathetic but do not underestimate them, there may yet be remnants of the old thunderclan left in that rotting corpse of a clan.


Still chaotic as they are you may yet get a chance to have some fun~ without them even noticing they lost a member. If youre interested as kin I extend the offer to accompany the dog and I for a little hunt we were planning on to celebrate his return, we were planning on going after the ever soft and fat kittypets but squirrel hunting would be much more fun."


If the scrap did well he'd even bring her further to Dawnstars attention as a little gift, as one of the closest to his foster mother his opinion did have some merit to her.


Yes the tom let out a happy humm marking the border at the thought before snorting scornfully at the news about Badgerscar. That pathetic piece of dung had let down their leader in the worst of ways and deserved to be shredded for it yet for some unknown reason she deemed him fit for yet another chance. What was worse was that he was doing well for now and that his failures might so be forgotten. Overconfident cocky moron.

@TheNyanCatMinecart

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

~ IVYPAW ~

Redshrike seemed satisfied with her response. He seemed to hold nothing against the fact that she was Badgerscar's apprentice, which was good. Ivypaw didn't want the faults and quarrels of other cats to interfere with what the Clan thought of her. As she had told Redshrike, if Badgerscar put a paw out of line again or failed Dawnstar, Ivypaw had no problem just getting a new mentor, or if given the chance, harming him with no remorse. However, as angry as the other cats seemed at him, Badgerscar wasn't a bad cat. He taught Ivypaw all that she needed to know in a good manner. Of course, she didn't know the specifics of how badly he'd messed up with their glorious leader, but he wasn't doing a bad job. It didn't matter to her what other cats thought of him, though. They could want him dead for all she cared. Her opinion was her own. Why should she care for what others thought of a different cat? The only exception were the few she valued, one of them being Dawnstar. Other cats had to be loyal to her no matter what. Disloyalty was a terrible crime, and there was no room for cats like that in ShadowClan.

Oh, Redshrike was going to tell her more about ThunderClan? Ivypaw's dark brown ears perked with interest. She didn't know much outside of the basics of the other Clan, so it would be good to know some more of their lore - and how they related to ShadowClan, if at all. She listened with interest as Redshrike described how bad ThunderClan was. Icestar... Ivypaw felt like she should know the name, but she didn't... wait, oh! She was Dawnstar's mother! Ivypaw couldn't recall where she'd heard that - Scarpelt and Shadestorm had probably brought it up when they'd been telling her and her brother all about Dawnstar. Anyway, from what Redshrike was saying, they were weak and often tied themselves to other Clans. She had heard briefly of the ThunderClan-RiverClan war from the past. Every Clan seemed to be bad but ShadowClan. Well, that only made sense.

"The three other Clans sound pathetic to me. As you've said, ThunderClan keeps falling apart. I've heard plenty of tales about WindClan and how easy to pick on they are. As for RiverClan, Shadestorm said that they put up a fight, but obviously, no one can outdo ShadowClan. All our enemies can have their strong spots, but no matter what, ShadowClan is stronger. Dawnstar can actually hold a Clan together, unlike the other leaders. She's powerful and strong, and makes sure that we're all worthy warriors. I like the new patrol punishments she's put into effect. I keep hearing of cats slacking off, and it's getting annoying. Slackers and weaklings don't belong here." Ivypaw flicked her black-striped tail as she frowned, thinking of all those incompetent mentors. Badgerscar might be disgraced, but at least he taught her well.

That's when Redshrike made an offer. One that sent excitement coursing through the apprentice's veins. She was being invited to do some real ShadowClan work! The dog. That had to be Grimhound. Ivypaw had noticed that he wasn't around the camp anymore and briefly wondered why he had gone missing. Loyal warriors stayed with their Clan. But if Redshrike, who she knew was an important warrior, was celebrating his return, then surely he could be forgiven. See, Ivypaw did hold some value in the opinions of others, but in the end her opinions were her own. Being invited on a mission like this was both exciting and an honor. She gave a few sharp nods, excitement and determination sparking in her eyes.

"Of course I'll come," she meowed, making sure to add in a respectful dip of her head before continuing, "It'll be great to actually run my claws through some enemies. I've practiced so much, but never gotten the chance to really fight." Sparring with her father didn't count as fighting, in her mind. "I'll make sure to cause as much bloodshed as I can to the kittypets or squirrels, whatever you and Grimhound decide." She meant it. Her long, sharp claws dug into the ground at the thought of finally dealing damage to her enemies.

A loud cawing sound sounded above them. Ivypaw looked upward and saw some black-feathered birds flying overhead. Crows. She remembered the name. There were quite a few of them, too, circling overhead. Ivypaw was about to disregard them when suddenly one swooped right at her, letting out a loud caw! Its beak was aimed at her shoulder. Luckily, since she'd been looking upward, Ivypaw was able to jump swiftly to the side. The crow missed, but quickly veered toward her. It's just prey, even if it has a sharp beak, she reminded herself. It tried attaching itself to her cheek, its beak digging deep, but Ivypaw smushed her face against a tree. The crow let out a caw and let go, and when it did so, Ivypaw slammed her paw quickly into it. There was a snap and it went loose, dead. When she turned her head, though, more of the black birds were diving toward them with angry caws. They clearly were not happy that she had killed one of their bird friends.

@Rani

[Rani]

@TheNyanCatMinecart



Bad cat good cat bah! If Redshrike could read minds he'd lecture Ivypaw on what utter nonsense good and bad were for her way of thinking. Good and bad meant nothing, what really mattered was usefullness. As long as you were useful you meant something, the moment you didnt? You were a liability at best and a burden at worst and Redshrikes issue with Badgerscar was that he was given the chance to be suprememly useful as a medicine cat and had proved not to be but was still given a chance he'd already squandered. But enough about the fool.


"I'd be wary of that thought process little one. Youre young yet but rumours and tales come from somewhere. Windclan may seem weak not but think, they've lived through near constant disasters and attacks from us yet remain standing, that is for a reason and speaks of strength in its own way. In addition when I was a kit they actually drove us out of our entire territory to what now is the pinwatch patch. They destroyed our camp took a life from Icestar who was no weakling, Dawnstar takes after her. They faced us at our best then and made us rogues for a moon, the only reason we returned is they foolishly allowed it. They are weak now and our playthings but tides may turn at any time so my advise is to kill while you can and watch for when that may not be the case.

A clan does not have to be stronger then shadowclan. THey only need to be stronger then you. After all I could easily kill you now and am a strong warrior but me against thunderclan is a one sided fight. Dont let your ego be your destruction child you're not a star with multiple lifes to spare."


A warning Ivypaw would be smart to listen to and a hard lesson Redshrike had learnt in his youth. That was the difference between him and others like the dog. He was smart enough to see the folly in his own actions and mitigate it, brain over brawn.



The agreement of joining him on the little outing got a nodd as Redshrike continued to mark the border idly keeping an eye on the apprentice. He'd have to give her a quick lesson in stealth when they went, he doubted the broken badger had any clue on how to sneak like a proper shadowclan cat and it was unbecoming of one of his own kin to not skulk as he did. Speaking of stealth.....


Eyes on the crows Redshrike let out an annoyed huff deciding it was time to head back drawling a low. "Crows. They'll alert everything in the area to our presence and while no threat I dont wish to hang around in a area now on edge. Mark the border, we are leaving."

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

~ IVYPAW ~

Redshrike didn't seem to be too pleased with what she'd said. How come? Ivypaw blinked at the small tri-colored tom, wondering what that facial expression meant. ShadowClan was the best and the strongest out of the four Clans, wasn't it? And cats shouldn't be slacking off: they should be working hard to be useful warriors. Right? That was the only thing she'd ever been taught. The other Clans were weak and ShadowClan was strong. Then Redshrike began to talk. Ivypaw pricked her ears; sure, she hadn't interacted with the warrior much, but she knew that he was held in high esteem by Dawnstar. So, she should listen to what she had to say. She was close to being a warrior herself, but it would do her good to listen closely to the words of others - especially cats who Dawnstar herself trusted.

Ivypaw had matured a lot from a kit, even from a young apprentice. She'd learned a lot and learned to understand a lot. But no matter what, she had a yearning for knowledge. And Redshrike was giving her plenty. These were tales that she hadn't been told before, things that neither Shadestorm nor Scarpelt had whispered into her ears. WindClan had strengths, according to Redshrike. Ivypaw had always seen them as weak bunnies, but as Redshrike laid this all out to her, she couldn't help but be a bit surprised as well as intrigued by this piece of lore. Not only did they hold some sort of resilience, they had actually driven ShadowClan from their territory? Ivypaw's eyes narrowed at the thought that they could've been nothing more than rogues. That had all happened under Icestar's leadership, it seemed. Dawnstar appeared to be stronger than her mother, although as Redshrike said, both leaders were strong and Dawnstar took after Icestar. They both must've been great leaders, with the difference being that Icestar had let her Clan get driven out by another.

The tides turning was completely possible. After all, there were four Clans for a reason, and if ShadowClan hadn't taken over the other three by now - or driven them out - the others must have their strengths despite how much they were pathetically failing. Kill when you can. Ivypaw couldn't wait to kill someone. She hadn't even gotten the opportunity to fight in a real battle, to taste blood and tear through fur and flesh, to feel pain in the form of wounds that would become battle scars which she would wear proudly. Redshrike seemed to say that there wasn't a time for killing. It sounded like she had to use her brain - well duh, she did that a lot - but she had to be smart and not let pride and arrogance get the best of her. Redshrike confirmed this thought mere seconds later as he finished up his speech.

Ivypaw was becoming a warrior, which meant that she had to learn more about the Clans and how they worked, as well as make smart decisions. She'd always thought that she was too smart to make foolish, frog-brained decisions. When she'd thought of ShadowClan being the best and the others being weak, she'd never intended to go easy on the other Clans out of a big ego. She would always fight just as hard as a ShadowClan cat should. Yet Redshrike's point still stood. The other Clans, despite not being as good as ShadowClan, were still threats, and could be plenty strong. It was clear that Ivypaw took this conversation seriously because she nodded at Redshrike and had been paying close attention the whole time, looking thoughtful as she processed this information.

Okay, the crows. Ivypaw's cheek stung somewhat, but except for a slight trickle of blood, it wasn't bad, and she showed no sign of pain. Pain from small injuries was for the weak. Or any injury. Cats had to be able to get up from hardship and stand strong. Ivypaw ducked another flurry of crows and barely heard Redshrike's call to leave. She wasn't concerned about anything being alerted to their location, but Redshrike's words were ringing in her mind. Quickly marking a section of the border that hadn't been marked yet, Ivypaw followed her mentor away from the storm of crows. Once they were out of it, Ivypaw looked at him.

"That makes sense," she admitted. "ShadowClan will always be better than the other Clans, but all three of them still have their strong spots that we should look out for. No matter what, we should always fight our hardest and use our brains to make sure we don't do anything stupid. Right?" That made sense. Ivypaw thought that ShadowClan cats were smarter and stronger than the other Clans - a good deal of that had to do with the glorious Dawnstar - but they shouldn't make dumb decisions, and they should make sure to remember that the other Clans could still have strength in them despite their current states. We're still better than them, of course. That didn't change. But Ivypaw's mind flashed back to Dawnstar deciding not to get into too much trouble as the cold season came. Ivypaw had thought of her as weak at first, but now she understood more. ShadowClan had to be strong and prosper, and not make the same pathetic mistakes as the other Clans.

@Rani