Open Border how far must i go to prove | loner & kits on border

[gingersnap gingersnap]

{$title} friendly but underweight loner with kits on border

Embarassment burned through Snap's coat as she made her passage along the thunderpath, trailed by the two tiny lives she'd dragged into this mess with her. It hadn't been very long since she'd left and taken them away from... him. She couldn't stand the idea of living in a den with him for one more day, or raising kits that would turn out anything like him. So she'd gone, taken the kits while he was out hunting and travelled across countless streams to disguise their scents. Finally, she deemed herself safe enough, once she'd made it to the end of the gorge and followed the thunderpath further still... The trees around her looked safe, the spaces between littered with drying ferns and bushes to provide some possible cover.

She caught a whiff of other cats' scents - markers, by the looks of things. This area did look as though it were patrolled frequently... which was a good sign. That sounded like the clans she'd heard about in this area. Hopefully whichever clan she was standing on the border of was either peaceful enough to not bother a mother with kittens, or had the space for a few more members.

She didn't have the energy to travel too much further without a break, so she simply nudged her kits into a clump of ferns a bit further from the scent markers and waited, watching and hoping as she began to groom some of the mud off her fur and noticing with dismay how easily she could feel her tongue running over individual ribs. It had been hard to hunt enough to keep herself fed with kits so young needing milk so often... they were barely over a moon old even now, and too young to have made such a trip if she weren't so desperate to keep them safe. hopefully these clan cats are friendly...

__________i've got a million polaroids ✿ with all the dates penned in red ink___________

• "speech" - thoughts
  
  // she would be friendly to any cats discovering her unless they give her a reason to think they'd hurt her kits!
  
• 
  

  

• Gingersnap she/they & thunderclan warrior
  ✿ sh chocolate torbie with white spotting
  ✿ 23 moons
  ✿ Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted.
  ✿ ???
  
  
  penned by pastelskulls​

 

[tenebrouspaw]

Tenebrouspaw slips away from her mentor - yes, again - and beelines towards the border. Their supposed hunting trip is cut short by her intense need to check on their scent lines. And for good reason, too, because right there is some cat just waiting around! The tortoiseshell immediately feels that she may have a shot here to prove herself, picking up the pace in hopes to ambush the stranger -

- but before she gets close at all, she notes that the other looks thin, and somewhere in the air it smells like... the nursery? Milk. She doesn't see kits by the molly, but that doesn't mean the white-pawed loner is without them. It just means that she's left them behind or hidden them while she attended to... this. Whatever this is.

Tenebrouspaw loses steam almost immediately. The mouse she had clenched between her teeth stops thudding against her chest as she slows down, still approaching Snap but with a far calmer demeanor. Her gaze flicks over her shoulder, where her mentor will no doubt break from the undergrowth to further punish his apprentice for not listening. The tortoiseshell rolls her eyes, ever prepared for more tick jobs and nest replacements. Her attention, for now, settles on the stranger.

"You've found ThunderClan's border," the apprentice says cleanly. The mouse is placed down slowly, though she makes no effort to hide it. If Snap lunges to take it, then it'll be clear that the other has no good intentions, and can be chased off like a no good rogue. Her tail twitches behind her as she adds, "Were you looking for it?"

 

[brindlefeather's icon brindlefeather brindlefeather]

BRINDLEFEATHER ──

thunderclan | forager​

As he trots through territory, Brindlefeather carries an array of plants in his maw, trying desperately to salvage what he can before it's all wilted away. Today's little adventure leads him to the border, out near the loner lands, and he's humming a tune to himself until he hears a voice. Curiously, he stalks forward until he can see who's speaking… It seems Tenebrouspaw has found a loner standing near the border.

"Who's this?" he asks, setting his plants down as he pads forward to examine the newcomer. It looks as though she's tired and hungry from traveling, and now that he hasn't got plants right next to his nose, he can smell the distinct aroma of a mother's milk. This cat must have kittens, or at least did at one point.
"As Tenebrouspaw here said, this is the border with ThunderClan - my name is Brindlefeather," he introduces himself with a polite bow of his head. "You seem tired; are you seeking help of some kind? I'd be happy to bring you to our camp to discuss whether you'd be allowed shelter here." As friendly as ever, he smiles at the torbie before him, though he can't help but glance around in search of these theoretical kits. If she did bring any here, it'd be wise to get them out of the cold as soon as possible…

maybe we'll turn it all around 'cuz it's not too late

it's never too late

• ooc:
• "speaking" | thinking | action

 

[Copperstorm]

You walk along the edge of danger
AND IT WILL CHANGE YOU

.

Copperstorm followed silently after Tenebrouspaw and Brindlefeather, his body low to the ground, each pawstep deliberate as his golden eyes studied the stranger ahead, his prey between his teeth. The she-cat looked worn thin, her fur matted, her frame gaunt beneath it, exhaustion hanging from her like a second pelt. She'd been traveling for some time, that much was clear. But then he caught a different scent, faint but unmistakable. Milk. It tugged something deep in his chest, a scent he'd come to know well in recent moons, ever since Dewshine's belly had begun to swell with life. His ears flicked back for a heartbeat as realization settled. This loner wasn't just running from something... she was a mother.

He straightened from his crouch, gaze steady as Tenebrouspaw spoke first, her voice edged with the youthful fire that came with inexperience. A good question, though, was this she-cat searching for ThunderClan's border on purpose? Or had she stumbled here by chance? Brindlefeather's tone was softer, more measured, and Copperstorm found himself moving to stand beside him, the quiet shadow to his kindness. He inclined his head slightly toward the stranger, respectful, but cautious.

" I am Copperstorm. " he began, his voice calm but carrying the weight of command. " A Storm Guard of ThunderClan. " he commented, his prey placed neatly in front of his paws as he eyed the stranger. " As Brindlefeather says, if it's shelter you seek, you can come with us to our camp. Our leader will decide what happens next. " He paused, studying her once more, the gauntness, the trembling, the faint trace of milk clinging to her scent. His expression softened, if only slightly.

" ... You and your kits, if my suspicions are correct. "

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

33 MOONS

𖧧

THUNDERCLAN

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SONG

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bio

 

[gingersnap gingersnap]

The first cat to approach the border is young, by the looks of things, and seemingly on some sort of hunting expedition, judging by the looks of the mouse in her jaws. The fact that the younger tortoiseshell didn't immediately ambush her, and instead chose to simply inform her she was on the ThunderClan border, seemed like a good sign so far.

Before she's able to even figure out whether she was looking for ThunderClan in particular, let alone respond to the question, a new pair of cats joins their little meeting. The first newcomer provides both a name for himself and the tortoiseshell who had questioned her, and the second provides a bit more insight on their hierarchy. She had no idea what a "Storm Guard" was, but the authority in his voice was clear enough...

"My name is Snap. Your assumption is right - I've been travelling with my kits." She looks back at the clump of plants she'd hidden them away in, noticing at least one pair of eyes peeking out of the shadows and tapping a spot on the ground beside her for them to join her. She sighed, the exhaustion in her bones feeling like a thousand tiny stone weights, dragging downward and begging her to lie down and rest for a few seasons. Her voice was soft and quiet when she spoke again. "If you have the space for a few extra... I think we would like to come back to your camp, at least for tonight."

__________i've got a million polaroids ✿ with all the dates penned in red ink___________

• "speech" - thoughts
• 
  

  

• Gingersnap she/they & thunderclan warrior
  ✿ sh chocolate ticked torbie with white spotting
  ✿ 23 moons
  ✿ Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted.
  ✿ ???
  
  
  penned by pastelskulls​