Private Border Territory SkyClan transcendental youth // stonepaw

[stormcrow]

♱ The approaching greenleaf has made the usually flat and semi barren terrain of Skyclan's territory greener and more forgiving. There are patches of grass now to offer cover if one needs it, though Stormcrow doesn't– she rarely hunts from the ground. She prefers to scale the trees, hopping from branch to branch like her namesake. With her, she has Des– now dubbed Stonepaw– who she is, for the first time, showing around the territory. First on the list, the Riverclan border. She turns to her apprentice as they continue their steady trot of a pace.

"As of yet, we've had no squabbles or fights on either of our borders," she says. "But the Riverclan border is especially important, since it is far more open and harder to defend than the border we share with Windclan– that's the gorge I told you about a while back. Where the dog fell to its death. There's only one way to cross it, unless you want to trek a mile or two and go around. However… Riverclan does not seem to be particularly threatening. Their leader is young, inexperienced. Still– here is your first lesson, Stonepaw. Better to overestimate your enemy than be caught off guard because you underestimated them."

As they finally begin to near the river, the water's babbling now in hearing range, Stormcrow halts. "Tell me, Stonepaw, what do you sense?"

♡ STORMCROW. 44 moons
mentor of stonepaw,
daughter of snowveil
peaceful powerplay allowed
ooc @D e s

 

[Stonepaw]

Consumed by the darkness they bore
She will never wake up anymore

.

Stonepaw followed, stubby legs working hard to keep pace, soaking in every tree, rock, and unfamiliar scent along the way. SkyClan territory was new to her. Being chased by a dog hadn't allowed much sightseeing, and she'd not left camp since being brought there.

She remained quiet for most of the walk, aside from the occasional question. At least the warrior didn't expect much chatter from her. Stormcrow spoke plainly, gave her room to think and to listen.

As they stopped, she stared across the terrain. She listened with interest as Stormcrow explained where they were. RiverClan. She'd overheard a little about the other clan, nothing impressive. After witnessing just how strong SkyClan's warriors were, she wasn't sure how any of the other clans could measure up.

But Stormcrow urged her not to underestimate them, no matter how unimposing they might be. "Okay. I won't." Now, for the first time since becoming an apprentice, she is given a task. While she doesn't fully understand the question, Stonepaw decides to discern Stormcrow's request the best she can.

Short, round ears perk, tuning into their surroundings. The wind rustles through the grass—birds chirp—and not so far ahead, the rush of water. The race to escape the dog was a blur. By the time the ground shifted from rock to grass to pine needles, it felt like hours. Along the way, she vaguely recalled hearing that same sound. "There is water. A river." But with the other clan's name, that's expected.

Her small pink nose twitches, crinkled whiskers bouncing. An unappealing scent wafted up from ahead. "It smells like day-old fish that's been left to rot in the sun." The apprentice's muzzle scrunches up. "It's very strong and... musky." She clears her throat a little.

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

6 MOONS

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SKYCLAN

↟

SONG

↟

bio

 

[stormcrow]

♱ With her hesitation, Stonepaw reminds Stormcrow that she is not clan born. It's to be expected, but Stormcrow had almost forgotten. Her tongue that usually is so eager to lash out stills, and instead, she nods.

"Yes," she says. "But more importantly– our own scent markers are near. You will learn the places we like to mark as you go on patrols, but it is good to learn our scent by heart, so you'd know one of our clan even in the dark, and without either of you speaking a word. As for Riverclan's scent… Well, that one should be hard to forget. Windclan, who we share our other border with, you will come to learn too. But it is the smell of... gorse, and wheat, and wind."

Turning left, she beckons her apprentice to follow. "We'll have to walk for a bit, but we should reach lightning's grasp by high sun. There, you will learn how to hunt like a Skyclanner– from the treetops. You are somewhat behind the other apprentice's when it comes to strength and pure instinct, through no fault of your own. Since they were kits, they've played and pretended to hunt, all while being well fed, giving them an advantage over you. But I believe you will catch up, my apprentice. First we will build your strength, get you used to climbing and hunting, and then I will teach you how to fight. First you will learn that in Skyclan, we do not let our young go hungry, because if no one else catches anything, you can catch it yourself. Soon you will not fear hunger, nor dogs," a beat, as she looks over her shoulder. "Fear is the mind killer, Stonepaw. You must not let it control you– you must learn to let it pass through you and away."

♡ STORMCROW. 44 moons
temporary mentor of teaselpaw,
daughter of snowveil
peaceful powerplay allowed
ooc -

 

[Stonepaw]

Stonepaw padded close behind, ears slightly tilted back, catching every word her mentor spoke. She soaked them in like a sponge—no more like a dull blade being slowly sharpened into a sword.

She paused briefly, jaw parting as she took in the scent of SkyClan—hers now—her clan. The thought that she could have something like that felt strange. It had been a long time since Stonepaw had anything resembling a family.

It was a surprise to learn there were more groups beyond just river and evergreen. She didn't know what gorse or wheat or wind smelled like, but Stormcrow assured Stonepaw she would know in time.

"Why do the other clans live so close to us?" The idea of strangers crowding their borders did not sit well. Other cats could be cruel—dangerous. She and Rowan had learned the hard way after their mother died, scrounging the starving outlands of their former home. "Aren't there other places they can go? They are a threat so why does SkyClan not go chase them off?"

Stormcrow's next words echoed, brushing against the parts of her that still remembered the gore, the cold, the hunger that gnawed like teeth. A part of her was still starving, locked in that place, looking for a key to free itself.

SkyClan doesn't let their young go hungry. Still hard to believe even after moons of being with them. But since being rescued, there hadn't been a single day since her belly went empty. Her coat was slowly thickening, her sharp bones softening beneath growth. She was still wiry, still small, not yet strong. Maybe with time, she would shape into a cat like her mentor, built for movement, or even the large and strong Flowercloud.

As they walked, her gaze flicked toward the trees ahead, tall and swaying. Lightning's Grasp.... The promise of learning kindled something restless in her chest. She has climbed before, but never to hunt, only to escape. Hunting from the tree tops intrigues her.

Fear is the mind killer, Stonepaw. The apprentice's wide eyes stared forward, pale and empty, but those words planted themselves in the hollows of her mind. She didn't care about the other apprentices. She did not care for every way they surpassed her.

There was a river inside her, wide and cold, flowing between her fear and her resolve. All she wanted to do was cross it. She wanted to be forged from the same steel as the warriors who had stood toe to toe against the dog that took her brother. Stonepaw wanted to be like Stormcrow, to soar over fear as a crow circled the skies.

"Then… how?" Stonepaw quickened her pace to match and craned her head to stare up at the knight as they walked. "You will teach me that too?"

____You are a stranger here, why have you come? ᨒ↟↟ᨒ↟ Lift me higher, let me look at the sun____

• "speech" - thoughts / emphasis
  
•  
• Stonepaw she/her & skyclan
  ☁︎ LH lilac point with a thick mane, blue eyes, and a half-tail.
  ☁︎ A hollow, vacant voice, stripped of emotion.
  ☁︎ Mentored by Stormcrow.
  ☁︎ Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted For other, DM.
  ☁︎ Smells of pine needles and petrichor.
  
  
  penned by Scarlet​