Private Border SkC WC i've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide // maplemouse

[Ripplemist]

{$title} part of the dust bowl dance battle!

RIPPLEMIST
HE/HIM
43 MOONS
WINDCLAN MOOR-RUNNER
SPEECH | THOUGHTS | SPRIGHTLY | PHYSICAL

PENNED BY PLOT

Dustystar had said it wasn't worth dying over prey, and Ripplemist, self-assured, was certain he could flee back to the border with the prey still in his jaws before claws struck his pelt. Flowercloud's patrol approached with hositility, but it wasn't until Hawkstar arrived that Ripplemist realized it was too late to flee. Not if he was going to make sure his Clan returned home safely. He faced down the tabby warrior who'd accosted him.

Yes, Ripplemist knew what they were doing was wrong. They shouldn't be stealing prey! But the other Clan shouldn't have killed one of WindClan's tunnelers without provocation. Molewhisker had never harmed anyone from across the border - would it be honored to see what had become of their death? Or would it be horrified?

This, unfortunately, was no time for pondering. The other warrior was a more immediate threat. Ripplemist sized the other cat up - if he was going to fight, he'd need to drop the prey and grab it after. He let the mouse drop and narrowed his eyes. He was better at running than fighting, but this was for WindClan. He'd do all he could.

"We don't have to do this," he growled as the fighting roared around them. "Just let us take the prey and leave. No more blood needs to be spilled."

​

OOC: @Maplemouse

 

[Maplemouse Maplemouse]

The mink was no fighter, and yet they stood with hackles up towards a stranger in their territory. Yowling and snarls filled the air as they faced down their opponent, a blue-grey tom that faced them with a growl. Maplemouse stood defiantly, yet defensively. They knew they were disadvantaged, and their clanmates were busy amidst their own fights; they were never good in a fight, but they had found themself admist a bloodbath.

Though the Windclanner's words made them laugh dryly, speech a low drawl as they looked to the cat with a muted fury. "You want no more blood spilt, and yet you crept into our territory like thieves in the night. You all invite yourself to be treated as nothing more than rogues seeking bloodshed when you break the code already written in the wounds of our ancestors!" They hissed, eyeing the dropped prey with a chuff. "We only repay what is dealt unto us, you don't even seek our counsel before stealing what is rightfully ours."

There is a shake to their paws, tensing their whole body to try and hide it as their claws sink into the earth. There is no desire for bloodshed, only justice. "I do not know the injustice you have claimed to seek repayment for, but I never saw your clan as one fueled by animosity." Their expression does not soften, nor do they back down, but the mink does not move to launch an attack.

"Why must your clan seek reperations for a crime we do not know, when did Starclan decide your council be judge and executioner? Pray tell me, why must you wage a war on our sacred territory with not an utterance of what your clan has decided we must be punished for? If it were merely hunger, we would have assisted. No, no, this is far too vitriolic..."

Maplemouse shook their head, something uneasy in their expression as they took a step forth. "Speak now. Why are you here? What has turned a clan to such roguish ways?"

​

MAPLEMOUSE They/It/Neos, Skyclan warrior, 28 moons old.
A scrappy, chocolate mink with an overbite and green eyes.
mentored by none // mentoring Yolkpaw
littermate to Mulberryburst
NPC x NPC / parent to none / mated to none
"SPEECH" // "THOUGHTS" // ATTEMPTED ACTION
penned by Pheo ↛ phoenixwashere on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[Ripplemist]

RIPPLEMIST
HE/HIM
43 MOONS
WINDCLAN MOOR-RUNNER
SPEECH | THOUGHTS | SPRIGHTLY | PHYSICAL

PENNED BY PLOT

"Roguish?" Ripplemist echoed. "A rogue would cross into the very earth we hold dear and cruelly cut short the life of our Clanmate. It is your Clan who is full of rogues." His fur fluffed as he padded closer to Maplemouse, claws unsheathing from soft blue paws. Paws which craved the wind.

"This is no war." At least... it wasn't meant to be. "This is repayment. You ask when StarClan deemed us judge, but I ask you the same thing! Why does SkyClan continue to look down on the rest of us? I thought -" He shook his head.

"I'm taking this," he mewed firmly, standing over the prey. "To feed the bellies that Molewhisker would have provided for. If you wish to stop me, I'll do what I must for my Clan."

​

OOC:

 

[Maplemouse Maplemouse]

The shake in their paws only worsened as the stranger approached, Maple tried to keep their eye focused on the tabby but found themself taking a step back. They did not want to fight. They had kin to return home to, an apprentice to care for.

But as the Windclan warrior returned with vitriol, its face fell as it heard what the other said. "Killed a clanmate?..." Its pawsteps faltered, horror crossing their maw. Killed? Disbelief washed over their face. "You had to bury one of your warriors?" They echoed, a hollowed look in their eyes. Glancing at the expression of the other. There was no lie in those eyes, they were not a dishonest clan.

Maplemouse swallowed hard, taking another step back. They could not look around for back up, nor did they want to chance a fight. "I- We had no idea. No word of death on the claws of our clanmates had reached us. Murderer in our midsts, I-" Maple looked to the mouse at the paws of the cat, fur prickling uneasily. "I am sorry for the loss to your clan, I truly am." The mink finally drew their gaze away from the stranger, the cats of the clans were seeking blood. But they should have sought answers. "I do not wish for a fight, it is cowardly yes, but more blood does not need to be shed to martyr your friend."

The prey was a mask for revenge. That was what Maplemouse understood. They sought to cross borders for answers and used prey as a ploy. All they could hope now was the cat too did not seek violence, but a resolution.

​

MAPLEMOUSE They/It/Neos, Skyclan warrior, 28 moons old.
A scrappy, chocolate mink with an overbite and green eyes.
mentored by none // mentoring Yolkpaw
littermate to Mulberryburst
NPC x NPC / parent to none / mated to none
"SPEECH" // "THOUGHTS" // ATTEMPTED ACTION
penned by Pheo ↛ phoenixwashere on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[Ripplemist]

RIPPLEMIST
HE/HIM
43 MOONS
WINDCLAN MOOR-RUNNER
SPEECH | THOUGHTS | SPRIGHTLY | PHYSICAL

PENNED BY PLOT

Ripplemist paused. The other warrior... it actually listened to him. While their Clanmates on either side fought and yowled, the other cat...

"I didn't realize..." He looked around at the fight and then back to Maplemouse. "Yes. One of our warriors..." He shook his head.

"I don't want to fight you either. You didn't know, and I came her for food, not bloodshed." Something unknown glittered in Ripplemist's eyes as he looked at Maplemouse. He'd let himself get caught up in everything... why hadn't they just sent a patrol to ask? And why did both Clans jump to a fight instead of trying to talk -

"I hope you return safe to your family," he mewed. "I promised mine I would do the same - so now that's the wish I have for you."

He may not have been here to fight, but he was not going to leave this prey behind to be trampled by furious warriors. Ripplemist gave Maplemouse one final look - soft and apologetic - before snatching up the prey and sprinting back to the WindClan side of the border, avoiding the tussles that surrounded them.

I hope I can speak to them again, he thought. Maybe give it a proper apology.

​

OOC: Ripple out!