A Chance Meeting [Closed - For Fish Only]

ooc: desc. not related. just a fact you should all know.

ic:
Mistfeather, who had been calmly sunning in recently claimed territory, was disturbed from her rest by the rustling of a nearby bush. Out of the foliage came a small, brown mouse. A small smirk crossed the tabby's face as she crouched low. The she-cat knew she couldn't mess it up, with ThunderClan's territory right in front of her. If the mouse ran, and she chased, there could be a lot of trouble. So the warrior slowly crept towards the creature, being carefully with her footing as she crossed the stony terrain. After a few more steps the silver she-cat was close enough to smell the strong forest scent the mouse gave off. I've got you now... With that thought, Mistfeather pounced.

Little did she know, she wasn't the only one who was hunting.

For the first time after moons of bleak skies and cold, Palegaze walked on undergrowth. Birds were courting each other the canopies of the trees, and in the distance, the river was working it's way furiously along its path, swollen with ice and snow runoff. Sunlight was spilling through the budding branches high above Palegaze's head. Newleaf had finally arrived.

As the ThunderClan warrior peered over a throng of bushes, he spotted a tiny brown mouse snuffling at a flower bud. Slowly, Palegaze lowered himself into a hunting position. Before he could leap, the mouse scuttled into a patch of talll grass. Palegaze followed a little ways away from it, unaware that it was leading him right to Sunningrocks. He shadowed the mouse up a small incline and watched it pass through a large, dense bush and onto the rocks beyond. He was too focused to pick up the RiverClan scent. Gathering all of his strength into his hind legs, the grey tom launched himself over the bush, colliding head-first with Mistfeather. They both went tumbling unceremoniously down towards the shore.

The warrior lept forward, her mouth watering from the thought of fresh-kill. She was milliseconds from landing a killing blow when another cat smashed right into her head. Both cats went tumbling down towards the shore, their fur collecting dirt and their bodies gaining small cuts from the sharp rocks. It took a moment for Mistfeather to collect herself once they came to a stop. The silver tabby look down with hazy vision, only to see a familiar gray form. This is that mouse-brain ThunderClan cat from the river! Memories of the fight crashed through her like the river, the searing pain across her cheek still fresh in her mind. Shaking the thoughts away she turned back to Palegaze, whom was only just rising himself. Her dirt-covered fur bristled and Mistfeather back up.

"You... What are you doing here?" the she-cat hissed. "This is RiverClan territory now, I won't hesitate to defend it." Though she didn't want to fight the tom again, she stood defensively, in case Palegaze was feeling a little on edge.

When he stopped rolling, Palegaze immediately scrambled back to his paws and shook his head, disoriented. What in the name of StarClan..? As his vision cleared up, he found that he was now at Sunningrocks. Why did I not look where I was going?

And then he noticed her. The last time he had encountered this she cat, he'd had his claws hooked into her shoulders, left eye bleeding profusely as he wrestled her down into the mud. The she-cat's fur was prickling in alarm. Palegaze's ears flattened, but he did not arch his back. I am not going to react like a kit this time.

"That mouse came from my territory, and I had a right to catch it. You got in my way." Palegaze straightened himself to his full height, glaring down at her through slit eyes. He was bigger than Mistfeather now, and would not be swayed by her petty threats. "Go ahead and defend your territory.. I don't plan on staying much longer, anyway. You lot have riddled it up with fish-stench."

Mistfeather paused. If she confronted this cat again scars wouldn't be the only thing she would have to worry about. This time around Palegaze was much bigger. There was no doubt he was an experience warrior like herself. Standing up straight, the she-cat let her fur go flat. She dropped her fear and hostility and padded up slowly to the tom. Be calm. That's what Fishpelt would do. I doubt this tom wants to fight anyways.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought it would be okay because Sunningrocks is RiverClan's right now." the silver tabby apologized, shaking her head. "I'm Mistfeather. If my memory serves me correctly, we didn't get to properly introduce ourselves last time." It was hard for the she-cat to set aside her anger, but the duties of a warrior did not include reliving childhood rivalries.

Palegaze, who had started towards his own territory once more, halted and swiveled his head around to glance at the RiverClan warrior. His face twisted into a bemused frown. In all honesty, he'd expected Mistfeather to react much more aggressively than she had, considering how swiftly she'd lost her temper during their previous encounter. The grey tom turned the rest of his body to face Mistfeather.

"Yes, I.. Suppose it is rather difficult to get properly acquainted with someone when they're trying to claw each other's eyes out." A hint of awkwardness bordered his flat tone. "But I believe we've matured enough since then to not break out into a needless fight. My name is--"

His speech was cut off abruptly as a low, serrated growl erupted from the bushes. The fur on the back of Palegaze's neck shot up, and he unsheathed his claws instinctually. There, out of the tall grasses that bordered ThunderClan and RiverClan territory, came the largest hound Palegaze had ever seen. Its fur was jet black, and it stood at the height of two full-grown warriors. Complete with long, sturdy limbs, an elongated snout and a saliva-ridden snarl on its face, it was straight out of a kit's nightmare.

Great StarClan..

Mistfeather looked down in embarrassment, her thought's lingering on Palegaze's words. It was hard to admit that she was the cause of their debacle, but now was the best time to apologize. The she-cat was about to speak when the gray tom froze in his tracks. It didn't take long for Mistfeather to clue in to the situation. Whipping around, the RiverClan warrior stood in fear as she came eye to eye with a menacing beast. She had never seen a creature so large in her life. Taking a cautious step back, Mistfeather stole a glance to look at Palegaze. Though she wouldn't admit it, she was glad he was afraid as well. The she-cat slowly unsheathed her claws and turned her attention back to the large, black dog. The fur on her back rose as she took a defensive stance and hissed at the hound. Studying her surroundings, she knew there was no chance of running. The river crashed behind the two warriors, with one of them being unable to swim. The forest was no choice either, with that.. thing blocking their way.

"We'll have to fight." the tabby muttered, her eyes narrowing and her claws scratching the stone. She launched forward, focused on landing a blow to the neck. A snarl escaped the dog's lips as he too lunged, but his long legs allowed him to reach the cat faster. Mistfeather, who was not accustomed to the rock battlefield, slipped and skidded toward's the beast's paws. Her green eyes widened as the dog reached down and picked her up in his mouth. The creature began shaking her violently, thrashing the cat about. In the midst of being flung around the warrior managed to kick the dog in the jaw, letting her go. Unfortunately, some serious damaged was dealt to Mistfeather. As much as she tried her legs would not let her stand. Letting herself go limp, she prayed for the best.

How mouse brained of me to attack right away! I hope playing dead will make it loose interest. At least he'll be able to escape.

As Mistfeather flew at the advancing dog, the only thing Palegaze could think was: Mouse-brain! She can't take that thing on alone!

He could only watch in dismay as the dog's jaws closed around Mistfeather's flank and it attempted to whip her around and snap her neck in the process. Luckily, she managed to lash out at its snout and it flung her across the stones. Mistfeather went limp, but she wasn't dead.. Only playing dead. Palegaze knew that would not fool the dog. Sending what he thought would be his last prayer to StarClan, the ThunderClan warrior collected all of his strength into his hind legs and sprang forward at the dog, claws outstretched.

Risking my life for a RiverClan cat.. Unbelievable.

Palegaze landed on its back and immediately buried his claws into its flesh, hissing spitefully. The beast yelped and whirled around, snapping desperately to remove the pest latched onto its back. Palegaze managed to claw his way towards the dog's head, now holding on for dear life, and fastened his teeth around to dog's ear. It screamed in rage, whipping its head back and forth in attempt to shake him off. Finally, Palegaze's grip began to wane, but he was not going to go down empty-mouthed. As he was flung off of the dog, its ear went with him. The dog howled in agony and jumped away from the warriors, and without giving them so much as a second glance, raced into the bushes once more.

Palegaze's head rang as it connected with the stone below him, and for the second time that day, he saw stars. The ThunderClan tom squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. This she-cat causes nothing but trouble for me.

Nonetheless, Palegaze struggled to his paws and prodded Mistfeather's flank. "Are you alright?"

Mistfeather barely moved as the tom charged forward in attempt to protect. In fear of getting hurt more, the she-cat stayed limp, letting the warrior take care of it. After a loud yelp, followed by heavy pawsteps, the she-cat knew the danger was gone. Palegaze prodded Mistfeather's flank, earning her attention. Turning her head to look at the tom, she noticed blood in his mouth. But it wasn't his own. Glancing around she spotted a large, bloodied ear laying on the stones.

"I'm fine. How mouse-brained of me to try and take it on alone. Obviously I have a lot to learn." she meowed, laughing quietly to herself. The tabby attempted to stand, but to no surprise, her limbs would not let her stay up. An aching feeling shot through her spine. Trying once more, Mistfeather managed to stay up a second, maybe two, before collapsing again.

"You wouldn't happen to have some spare time? I'll make it up to you.." she mewled, looking up at the gray warrior with pleading eyes.

Palegaze's initial reaction was to refuse her. He'd just risked his life for a RiverClan she-cat (and the deputy's sister, at that). Walking into their camp unannounced would be beyond awkward. Why should he help her any more than he already had? He opened his mouth, prepared to refuse, but paused.
.. No. There's no way she can make it home on her own. He clenched his jaw again and surveyed Mistfeather's broken form. I have to help.. It's the right thing to do.

The tom heaved a sigh. "Alright, you can lean on my shoulder until we reach your camp, but no further. You still have two working legs, so I won't carry you."

Mistfeather nodded and allowed the tom to help her up. Her back legs ached but she knew nothing was broken. Now looking back she spotted small cuts and scraps, nothing serious. Flicking her tail she began dragging herself along with the ThunderClan cat. His foresty scent filled her nose as the two warriors tread towards the Twoleg Bridge. It wasn't.. unpleasant. In a mass the smell of pine was almost overwhelming. But on the grey tom it seemed fitting. Shaking those thoughts away she shrugged and adjusted before turning her green gaze to the quickly setting sun.

"You know, I never did catch your name," she remarked, shifting her weight to ease his troubles.

"Palegaze," he muttered through gritted teeth, trying his best to ignore the gnawing pain coming from a fresh gash in his forehead. For a little while, both of the warrior fell silent. The closer they came to RiverClan camp, the more uneasy Palegaze became. The duo rounded a coarse bundle of rushes and came to a long expanse of muddy land. The ground was soft and wet beneath their paws, and squelched every time they stepped forward. How do they sneak up on anything here?

Normally, Palegaze was content with keeping his mouth shut, but being so deep in enemy territory made him restless. Banter was the only solution, it seemed. "Heh.. I don't suppose I'll leave your camp alive, will I?" the tom remarked satirically. "Our Clans aren't exactly.. Friends."

Mistfeather smiled slightly at the name. Palegaze. She glanced at his injured eye, noting it's foggy glaze. There was no response to movement like his right eye. "I makes sense, I guess," she commented. The two went silent for most of the trip. It wasn’t until the warriors came to her territory that he spoke up.

"Oh, yeah.." she paused, only just now realizing their situation. The tabbies tread through the swampy land, their paws being soaked and coated with mud. For Mistfeather it was home but for the tom is was his enemy’s land. She could feel Palegaze tense up ever so slightly as they continued to the heart of RiverClan. "Don’t worry. I’m sure they'll understand. Now it’s a matter of whether or not you can swim," the she-cat responded, gesturing to the upcoming waters.

Palegaze glowered down at the river as they approached it. He hated getting wet, and though he wouldn't admit it aloud, his swimming skills were equivalent to that of a RiverClan kit's. He glanced to the left. "Why swim when there are stepping stones?" He guided the RiverClan she-cat over to said stones and hopped daintily across them, careful not to touch the water. Mistfeather's steps were slightly less sure-footed due to her injuries, but once they were both safely across, Palegaze exhaled in relief. RiverClan camp was in view.

Awkward silence began to fester once more as they walked. What was he supposed to talk to a RiverClan she-cat about? "I've never seen a dog like that before. We should probably warn our leaders about it."

OOC: Mist could say something about her mother at this point, since she was killed by a dog.

"Heh, I rarely use the stepping stones. They're easily forgotten when you can swim. And enjoy doing so." she remarked as she carefully made her way across the rocks. She could be as careful as any cat could be but her injuries caused Mistfeather to wobble her way across. The she-cat sighed after crossing before rejoining Palegaze. Not too far ahead was the camp. Home..

The tom began talking, obviously to fill the quiet atmosphere. Dog? That was a dog? Her face grew cold. So that was an infamous dog. Memories flooded her mind like the river she lived in. She had never seen one before but could never forget it's name. How could you if one killed your mother. The she-cat had been too young at the time to protect Brookstripe, being only a kit. Her sister had only caught a glimpse of it herself but the family never spoke of it.

"I think ThunderClan's more in danger than RiverClan. It did run off into the woods," Mistfeather replied. Her teeth gritted. "Foxdung! Why didn't we get it while we had the chance? If only I hadn't been so mouse-brained, I could have rid the forest of that disgusting creature, and avenged her," the she-cat spat, digging her claws into the mud as they padded forward. Though she was aware of his presence, her thoughts were not directed at Palegaze. She was just thinking aloud.