Border Territory ThunderClan ShadowClan rotten to the core // stilldream

[Coalstrike Coalstrike]

Coalstrike lingered near the ThunderClan border, amber eyes locked on the undergrowth like a predator stalking something just out of reach. He'd taken to watching these bushes often, waiting, hoping, seething. If that vermin Pandora had never slithered her way into Copper's life, things would have been different. He might've still had his children, all of them. Even the worthless ones. No, everything had gone wrong the moment she appeared. Pandora... His tail lashed with irritation, cutting the air behind him as he paced, claws carving shallow lines into the cold ground. Copper's scent still clung to the border sometimes, but hers? No. She was smarter than that. Clever enough to keep her stench out of reach. But if... No, when he got his claws on her... he'd make her regret every pawstep that led her to his kin.

The wind shifted.

A torn ear twitched. His head lifted slowly, eyes narrowing at the faintest rustle, the whisper of scent he knew too well. A scoff escaped his throat. " You can stop hiding, ghost. " he drawled, his tone dry as sun-bleached bones. He didn't need to see her to know. He remembered escorting her off ShadowClan land once before. And here she was again. Persistent little thing. " Realized ThunderClan doesn't suit you after all? " he mused, voice sharp with condescension. " Clinging to the hope that you will be welcomed by a real Clan? " His amber eyes glinted as they scanned the bushes.

" How bold of you to show your face again. "

___________________ I DON'T FORGIVE, I DON'T FORGET ☆ A wound's a warning, a debt is a debt. ___________________

• "speech"
  

• 

• COALSTRIKE he/him, shadowclanner, sixty-six moons.
  ☆ a lh black cat dangerous amber eyes. has a mane around his head, is huge [ grandiose ]
  ☆ mentoring vanillapaw
  ☆ loyal to sable, despises thunderclan
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by lion ↛ lionharted on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[S t i l l d r e a m]

Life in ThunderClan had gotten… more complicated than Stilldream anticipated. Between her little incident with Juniperstar, Serpentberry's still being the greedy whiny brat that she was, the cold shoulders of her peers—and oh, how could she forget—her dear apprentice. An insufferable, buzzing little gnat who clung to her heels like burrs to fur. Stilldream couldn't fathom how they tolerated such coddling. Wouldn't it be better if youth earned their place through merit, not paw-holding?

Lately, she found herself thinking wistfully of the pocosin. That patch of withering scrubland, beautifully moist rich. A paradise, really, and just out of her reach. She thought of it often and cursed fate for teasing her so.

She wandered to the border that separated and stared longingly over the thunderpath. The pavement beyond shimmered with heat, reeking of monster stench. But perhaps, if she were lucky, the ditches after rain might yield mushrooms—tainted and unusable, but at least she could still hold them.

She considered crossing, briefly, foolishly. That was the kind of idea that could get her killed. Stilldream had no doubts that those were the type of cats to kill. After her recent brush with death in ThunderClan, she thought better of it.

And as soon as that thought crossed her mind, she saw him first. A bulking black tom stared across the border with a different kind of longing. Her curiosity piqued.

Stilldream went still, sinking into the gravel with a quiet elegance. She already had a good idea who he might be hoping to see and how unlikely it was she would show.

"You can stop hiding, ghost."

A delicate smirk curved her mouth. She stepped from the shadows like fog spilling over stone—white fur aglow in the light. "Booo... you're too sharp." She giggled softly, eyes flicking over his dark visage. How it did remind her of someone else she knew.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." She remarked, smirk growing wider. "ThunderClan's really quite fun sometimes. Although not as fun as ShadowClan, I'm sure." ThunderClan's ways grated on her at times, but her days there could be surprisingly rewarding too. Stilldream struggled to make friends, but even so, it remained a well of gossip, secrets, and little family dramas. Everyone seemed to have skeletons buried under the dirt, and she enjoyed the process of uncovering them.

"No need to be so fierce, Charcoal. I wasn't going to cross, honest." There's a reasonable gap of distance between them for now, but she wouldn't doubt he could cross that in an instant. Aw, but she cant help herself—she likes the excitement of playing with poisons a little too much.

She stepped lightly to one side, head tilting. "Let me guess… are we hoping for a touching father-son reunion? Or maybe for that pretty little thing Copperstorm has hanging on him?" Her voice lilted with wicked amusement. "Either way, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I've never seen her so much as breathe in the direction of this border. And Copper's out on a different patrol today." That barrel of family trauma is bound to blow up eventually. But for now, it seems they've got themselves a happy ever after. Poor Copper though has got himself some major daddy issues. Buuuut that was more than obvious, even before she overheard his business.

_________I am not a lover, I'm a thing to be fed 𖥸 I am not a prophet, but I am in your head________

• "speech"
  

• ​

• Stilldream she/her & thunderclan
  𖥸 LH albino w/ bluish red eyes and abnormal ears.
  𖥸 A calm and ethereal sounding voice.
  𖥸 Likes long walks in the woods, kissing in graveyards, and collecting fungi at sundown.
  𖥸 Smells strongly of herbs and detritus.
  𖥸 Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted. For other DM.

 

[Coalstrike Coalstrike]

" You have a pelt that is hard to hide... " the massive tom remarked, voice dry and even as his amber gaze lingered on the petite white molly before him. His eyes briefly flicked to the oddity that marked her, four ears. Curious. Something unnatural. He wasn't sure whether it unsettled him or intrigued him. She prattled on about ThunderClan being fun, a clear jest, or at least he hoped so. He didn't respond to that, simply settling himself down with an air of grim patience, gaze never wavering from her pale form.

Then the name was blurted out... Charcoal.

Now that earned his attention. His amber eyes narrowed, the name sparking the familiar in his chest. She mentioned Copper. His son. And that kittypet parasite clinging to him like ticks in the scruff. A low scoff escaped him. The disdain in his chest curled and hissed angrily. " Good to know at least she has the sense not to cross ShadowClan borders, or come close for that matter. " he drawled, the words brittle and biting. Copper, on the other paw, he lingered. Hovered. Ghosted the edges of the forest like he was waiting for a moment that would never come.

But they didn't speak. Not anymore. Still, his presence was enough. A reminder. A promise, that Coalstrike was not finished. And then Stilldream spoke again, and something in her tone, in the deliberate way of her words, made him pause. He turned his head slowly, regarding her anew. A soft blink. A flick of his heavy plume-like tail against the cold earth. " What is it. " he asked at last, voice low and sharp with suspicion. " That keeps you returning to our border, ghost? "

She lived in ThunderClan. Served ThunderClan. And yet she lingered like an itch beneath his pelt. She had offered him something already: knowledge. The kittypet avoided ShadowClan... but borders were fluid, weren't they? Perhaps this wasn't about her crossing into his territory. Perhaps it was about finding a way for him to reach across hers. He watched Stilldream in silence, the wheels turning behind his narrowed eyes. Could she be used?

___________________ I DON'T FORGIVE, I DON'T FORGET ☆ A wound's a warning, a debt is a debt. ___________________

• "speech"
  

• 

• COALSTRIKE he/him, shadowclanner, sixty-six moons.
  ☆ a lh black cat dangerous amber eyes. has a mane around his head, is huge [ grandiose ]
  ☆ mentoring vanillapaw
  ☆ loyal to sable, despises thunderclan
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by lion ↛ lionharted on discord, feel free to dm for plots.