Sedgewater Valley

[pidgeon]

@Dipper

Eagleflight had been strolling by the WindClan border, totally by coincidence. At least that's what he told himself. He definitely wasn't trying to catch a glimpse of a particular pretty she-cat across the moor. As he walked along, taking care to occasionally mark the borders to convince himself he was being useful, he found himself lost in thought.

This is stupid... He sighed inwardly, furrowing his brows as he scolded himself. I can't get her out of my head. What in StarClan's name is wrong with me? I'm a deputy now! I can't do this... But he couldn't stop himself. His heart longed to race across that moor and greet her. To see how she was doing. It wasn't until a rabbit quite literally raced under his nose that he was snapped out of his mournful daydream.

He jumped high in the air from the surprise, and his fur stayed fluffed out when he saw and heard the other-clan cat speaking to him.
"I uh--I...We don't eat rabbits here," He came up with an excuse on the spot, acting as if he hadn't just been scared out of his fur by a rodent. "Didn't need it. Yeah. I'm sure it will return to the moor anyways." He was so caught up in his embarrassment that he didn't even think to question this cat's close proximity to the border.

[Fawn]

Originally Posted by Casper

@Dipper

Eagleflight had been strolling by the WindClan border, totally by coincidence. At least that's what he told himself. He definitely wasn't trying to catch a glimpse of a particular pretty she-cat across the moor. As he walked along, taking care to occasionally mark the borders to convince himself he was being useful, he found himself lost in thought.

This is stupid... He sighed inwardly, furrowing his brows as he scolded himself. I can't get her out of my head. What in StarClan's name is wrong with me? I'm a deputy now! I can't do this... But he couldn't stop himself. His heart longed to race across that moor and greet her. To see how she was doing. It wasn't until a rabbit quite literally raced under his nose that he was snapped out of his mournful daydream.

He jumped high in the air from the surprise, and his fur stayed fluffed out when he saw and heard the other-clan cat speaking to him.
"I uh--I...We don't eat rabbits here," He came up with an excuse on the spot, acting as if he hadn't just been scared out of his fur by a rodent. "Didn't need it. Yeah. I'm sure it will return to the moor anyways." He was so caught up in his embarrassment that he didn't even think to question this cat's close proximity to the border.

The startled reaction turned into a chain as Milkmallow jolted backward from Eagleflight's extreme fluffing, his own hackles rising automatically. His calm temperament coaxed him back into relaxing, apologetic this time as he offered a fleeting smile. "Oh.. I didn't mean to frighten you." It was sincere, but the latter piece--commentary on his excuse that they didn't eat rabbits--was not so much. "Is that because the rest of RiverClan is afraid of them too?" Mellow tones shielded his playful question in ambiguity over whether it was serious or not. Grave, he nodded, peering beyond the stranger toward where the rabbit had disappeared. "I understand... One of those beasts was responsible for Blazingstar's death, after all."

Didn't need it. The echo was reassuring and not. If he hadn't been acutely aware before during his chase, he was now; WindClan's lack of hunting patrols had left its members skinnier than usual, verging on malnourished. Milkmallow studied his expression before replying, "I hope I didn't offend you. I thought it would be nice with the rivers freezing and SkyClan's presence." Again, he waited for a second, antsy about possibly giving the wrong impression. "I imagine it could be a tough leaf-bare despite your profound strength. ..As a Clan."

[pidgeon]

Originally Posted by Dipper

The startled reaction turned into a chain as Milkmallow jolted backward from Eagleflight's extreme fluffing, his own hackles rising automatically. His calm temperament coaxed him back into relaxing, apologetic this time as he offered a fleeting smile. "Oh.. I didn't mean to frighten you." It was sincere, but the latter piece--commentary on his excuse that they didn't eat rabbits--was not so much. "Is that because the rest of RiverClan is afraid of them too?" Mellow tones shielded his playful question in ambiguity over whether it was serious or not. Grave, he nodded, peering beyond the stranger toward where the rabbit had disappeared. "I understand... One of those beasts was responsible for Blazingstar's death, after all."

Didn't need it. The echo was reassuring and not. If he hadn't been acutely aware before during his chase, he was now; WindClan's lack of hunting patrols had left its members skinnier than usual, verging on malnourished. Milkmallow studied his expression before replying, "I hope I didn't offend you. I thought it would be nice with the rivers freezing and SkyClan's presence." Again, he waited for a second, antsy about possibly giving the wrong impression. "I imagine it could be a tough leaf-bare despite your profound strength. ..As a Clan."

Eagleflight finally let his fur lay flat when the warrior began speaking to him. Clearly there was no apparent threat here. He gave Milkmallow a sympathetic nod when he talked about the death of his clan's leader. I didn't know that it was a rabbit that killed Blazingstar, He thought idly. How ironic.
"Oh, no, you didn't offend me," The slender tom shook his head, reassuring the WindClanner. "The fast currents and the ocean prevent the river from freezing over too drastically. We will fare just fine throughout leaf-bare." RiverClan rarely went hungry due to the prosperous body of water that they claimed as their own. It was then, thinking about how his belly was rarely empty, that he realized just how thin the other warrior looked. His curiosity was piqued. Was WindClan having a prey shortage?

"How is the prey running in WindClan?" He asked, formatting the question to sound like any regular small-talk between clans. Truthfully, if the rival clan was having some kind of issue with prey, it would benefit RiverClan to know about it.

[ponyapan]

@Venus, @The Cannibal, @BILL.

Rainpaw tried not to pad too close to Stormlily as they walked. He wanted to act independently, and prove that he was grown. As long as he did everything right, he should turn into a warrior in due time. Soon.

He perked his ears for Graypaw's answer, but frowned invardly when it came. Isn't he going to develop his argument more than that? Was Rainpaw the one thinking of this in the wrong way? When it didn't seem like he'd continue, Rainpaw tried to check for himself quietly, and tasted the air subtly.

[Fawn]

Originally Posted by Casper

Eagleflight finally let his fur lay flat when the warrior began speaking to him. Clearly there was no apparent threat here. He gave Milkmallow a sympathetic nod when he talked about the death of his clan's leader. I didn't know that it was a rabbit that killed Blazingstar, He thought idly. How ironic.
"Oh, no, you didn't offend me," The slender tom shook his head, reassuring the WindClanner. "The fast currents and the ocean prevent the river from freezing over too drastically. We will fare just fine throughout leaf-bare." RiverClan rarely went hungry due to the prosperous body of water that they claimed as their own. It was then, thinking about how his belly was rarely empty, that he realized just how thin the other warrior looked. His curiosity was piqued. Was WindClan having a prey shortage?

"How is the prey running in WindClan?" He asked, formatting the question to sound like any regular small-talk between clans. Truthfully, if the rival clan was having some kind of issue with prey, it would benefit RiverClan to know about it.

When he reassured that RiverClan would be fine throughout leaf-bare, Milkmallow was thoughtful as he replied with a soothing, "I'm glad to hear the rest of RiverClan's reflexes are still functional." The remark was playful but carried the soft-spoken aura that followed this tom around, blurring what could've been a jab into an amused observation. It sparked jealousy that he was ashamed of, admittedly. It was disheartening to know that while WindClan was struggling through the easiest of seasons, RiverClan seemingly hadn't encountered a single issue.

"Oh. Better than the fish, I suppose..." A hint of a lopsided smile crossed his muzzle, and he ducked his head slightly to shield it as he added, "But that might be because our prey actually runs.." Milkmallow recognized the phrase itself was not so literal, but didn't pass the opportunity to enjoy the little comment. Quieter, he admitted, "Our very brave and fierce female leadership has just not fully taken advantage of it." It wasn't a secret, was it? The scent markers on this border were stale, and on the ThunderClan side... well, that was even worse.

[BEAR.]

Thankfully the rest of the patrol didn't seem to have a comment for Graypaw, but Buckfrost's steely gaze on the young tom was unwavering. Unimpressed. "If that's all you can smelll, you might want to go to Shiverpetal to get your nose checked. Try again."

Beneath the faint scents and 'rabbit dung', as his apprentice decided to put it-- there was a lingering scent of fox. It didn't seem strong in the spot they were in, but it did little to ease Buckfrost's nerves when the area had gone largely unexplored. "Rainpaw, you're free to add input to this as well. There's no harm in practicing the senses."

@ponyapan, @Venus, @The Cannibal

[The Cannibal]

@ponyapan, @Venus, @BILL.

The tip of her tail flicked slowly back and forth as she listened to what Graypaw's response would be. It wasn't her place to step in, this was time for apprentice's to learn, whether they wanted to or not. She watched with a guarded expression as the young tom gave a halfhearted attempt at taking in smells. He wasn't cut out to be a warrior, not right now. Graypaw wasn't her apprentice, it wasn't technically her place to scold him, but she had a silver tongue that she didn't hold back. Not even with young cats.
"If that's all you can smell, then you are a danger to your clanmates." She would leave it at that, for the other apprentice hadn't chimed in yet either.

Looking to Rainpaw for a brief moment more, the blue-gray she-cat loosely sunk her claws into the soil. Surely Buckfrost and Stormlily had also caught the smell, she only hoped it was as stale as she wanted to believe it was. It wasn't exactly strong, but it had been here at some point, perhaps within the last day. Swiveling her ears, she made sure to keep the sounds around them in check.

[Shattered_Howls]

Shattered-She-cat-Rouge-Looks like an orange/tan Siamese cat - apprentice age

Shattered heard cats by the board, reluctantly she steped forward "H..Hello?" she mewed in a meek voice

[pidgeon]

Originally Posted by Dipper

When he reassured that RiverClan would be fine throughout leaf-bare, Milkmallow was thoughtful as he replied with a soothing, "I'm glad to hear the rest of RiverClan's reflexes are still functional." The remark was playful but carried the soft-spoken aura that followed this tom around, blurring what could've been a jab into an amused observation. It sparked jealousy that he was ashamed of, admittedly. It was disheartening to know that while WindClan was struggling through the easiest of seasons, RiverClan seemingly hadn't encountered a single issue.

"Oh. Better than the fish, I suppose..." A hint of a lopsided smile crossed his muzzle, and he ducked his head slightly to shield it as he added, "But that might be because our prey actually runs.." Milkmallow recognized the phrase itself was not so literal, but didn't pass the opportunity to enjoy the little comment. Quieter, he admitted, "Our very brave and fierce female leadership has just not fully taken advantage of it." It wasn't a secret, was it? The scent markers on this border were stale, and on the ThunderClan side... well, that was even worse.

"Ah, it would seem that way, yeah." Eagleflight nodded slightly at that comment. He didn't know much about Brightstar, but he knew that the border here had gone largely untouched lately. He wanted to ask the tom if WindClan was doing okay, but he figured he wouldn't get a proper answer anyways. It's not like this cat would just reveal all of his clan's secrets to a stranger.
"You seem quite a bit more friendly than any other cat I've seen so close to the border," he commented, thinking of all the hostility that would usually fly between clans when cats met up at the border by coincidence. "Is uh, is something wrong?"

[Fawn]

Originally Posted by Casper

"Ah, it would seem that way, yeah." Eagleflight nodded slightly at that comment. He didn't know much about Brightstar, but he knew that the border here had gone largely untouched lately. He wanted to ask the tom if WindClan was doing okay, but he figured he wouldn't get a proper answer anyways. It's not like this cat would just reveal all of his clan's secrets to a stranger.
"You seem quite a bit more friendly than any other cat I've seen so close to the border," he commented, thinking of all the hostility that would usually fly between clans when cats met up at the border by coincidence. "Is uh, is something wrong?"

Peering beyond the tom, he contemplated what the prey and leadership situation was on their end. He appeared well-fed -- not... in a plus-size way, he noted inwardly, though that would've also been okay, but simply looked healthy. While WindClan was waiting until they all starved, RiverClan and presumably the others were functional.

Milkmallow hesitated, then nodded in understanding because he was right. Borders weren't a place for casual chats between cats of different Clans, and he should've realized that mistake earlier. "I'm sorry, you're right. Would you like to fight?" he inquired in an effort to amend that. "I imagine you'll be quite the formidable foe."

...That wasn't exactly the trash-talking he had hoped it'd be.

He'd try again. "I don't believe RiverClan's leadership has the level of diversity that WindClan's does. Brightstar has recently named Twilightshine as her deputy, and it has been a huge forward step for our amazingly talented she-cats. ...But then again," he paused, frowning mildly, "I guess RiverClan is also led by Grousestar now.. and he provides elder representation.." Hmm. That complicated it, and he coughed. "I'll admit that your Clan does have that on WindClan, and I hope that it's extended to be even more inclusive in the future."