I'm Still Learning [Open-Border Patrol]

Coyotepaw simply stood back and watched as the pair rushed at the undeserving rogue. His ears went flat against his head. The way the huge she-cat moved reminded him of Reno. Everything she did more and more. She was as good as his brutish father. Shodawleaf appeared at the very edge of his vision. However, he did not once tear his gaze from the trio that stood ahead of him with bristling fur. The former tribe cat was one he respected very much. Origins did not matter much to the tabby tom. He could careless what blood flowed through a cats veins. None of that had mattered in the city; no cat cared whose throat they ripped open for a scrap of food as long as they were fed. Every cat was on an equal field in his book. So, when Specklefang began to contradict that belief, his fur began to bristle. Was it possible that she could be worse than his father? At least Reno had no concepts of who was better than another, all were lower in his mind.

"There is no honor in mauling every cat that nears your borders, nor is there any real foundations for any of the claims that your blood is better than any other cats. I'm barely an apprentice, and yet I seem to understand better than you." He left off the word 'clan cats', barely allowing the words to get above a soft hiss. Those principles had been the same both here and in his birthplace. It was the ultimate truth, one that clan cats did not seem to grasp. They clung so desperately to the belief that their clanblood bound them together and made them superior to anything that lived outside of the privilege they had to be born into such a group. Coyotepaw had never felt the desire to lash out at another cat as strongly as he did in that moment. Never before had his father's bloodlust transferred over to him. However, now, he found himself suppressing the urge. Or rather, his fear and anxiety at the cat that towered over Squeak did that for him. As much as he wanted to fight back the warrior, he could not bring himself too. Coyotepaw was barely able to keep from shrinking back. Looking at her was too near to looking at the massive, black tom that terrorized his early memories.

His eyes stole a very brief glance over at Shadowleaf. The warrior was a good friend to Blizzardstar, who had taken it upon herself to help attempt to raise him. While the tabby tom found it unnecessary and increasingly annoying, due to his mindset of 'every cat to himself', he respected Blizzardstar for her ability to show care for cats other than himself. Her efforts were internally appreciated. If this cat meant something to the one who had done so much for him, his allegiances were with her. The apprentice swiftly moved to stand a little closer to the grey and white cat. However, he still stayed back quite a distance. There was only so far he was willing to go for another cat. Besides, Specklefang was the very thing of his nightmares. The deeply rooted terror and fears that settled in his heart were not easily forgotten. Even if he had learned to push them away since he had been a kit, Coyotepaw was still gripped by their claws.

Sharppaw tilted her head, utterly confused. She expected Coyotepaw to be proud, grateful even, that she protected him from the rouge. Instead he looked livid, his eyes narrowed.
There is no honor in mauling ever cat that nears your borders.
Wasn't that what being a warrior was all about?
Was her mother wrong about that? About everything?
Her ears flicked as Shadowleaf approached, but she paid her no mind until Specklefang turned on her.

"What do you mean, 'her kind?'" she cut in, a small hint of anger in her voice, mixed with confusion. "She's from Thunderclan now. She might've been a tribe cat but she's with us."

Everything everyone ever told her was swirling in her mind. Lionblaze, Leafstorm, Leopardclaw... everyone she looked up to believed that all cats were equal.
Everyone except Specklefang.

"Mothe- Specklefang, a warrior is a warrior, right? If you honor your clan, and defend it, you're worthy to belong to it."

She was thankful for Sharppaw's help in trying to calm Specklefang, but at this point Shadowleaf had had enough. Shadowleaf wasn't just a kind cat she was a storm that should be messed with.

"Fear? You don't know fear Specklefang. You don't know fear until you see every single one of your loved ones torn apart by a cat the size of a monster. You don't know fear until you spend days up on days wondering when that monster cat is going to come back and kill the little family you have left and you along with it. You don't know what it's like to spend days at a time going without a single scrap of prey for anyone. You don't know what fear is until you can't determine weather starvation is going to kill your first or the Sharp Tooth." Shadowleaf growled stepping up to Specklefang not at all scared of the she-cats size. Size didn't matter unless you were the size of a monster.

"What you have lived up til now is soft and easy Specklefang. I can hold my own better than you ever will. Tell me, do you know how to hunt a hawk? or even an eagle? Do you know how to build effective dens in one night? Do you know how to defend what little remaining clan you have left from a Sharp Tooth? I don't think so. You are nothing compared to me, I may have been called a prey hunter before but I'm more of a real warrior than you ever will be." The gray and white she cat growled, her amber eyes burning. How dare she question her loyalty to Thunderclan. She probably contributed more to the clan than this fat rat ever did, even if it was a lot of hunting, and some of that was new hunting techniques she taught Blizzardstar.

"So if you have an issue with me being here then you can go talk to our leader. Oh wait, you can't because she said I can stay. And since you know the code so well then you know what it says about the leaders words." She didn't move from her spot, she wouldn't give any ground to this warrior. Shadowleaf would give her life for this clan even if Specklefang wanted to ruin it.

Squeak watched the exchange carefully, his ears trained on the two females arguing. The very large cat was clearly a very angry cat. The smaller female that came up and spoke of a large monster cat was much who he could talk to. She was clearly, at least in this scenario, was the outsider and so was he. He took a step forward, still not crossing the border. "In the place I came from, we had a similar terror. No Furs would sick dogs on us, and let them maul my friends and family alive. Or they would bind us with sticky leafs and set us on fire." the tom drew around his tail, where the tip was missing. "A no fur cut my tail tip off, when I tried to protect my litter mate." the tom practically whispered, shivering and lowering his head, gazing at the ground. "I came here to escape this cruelty." he took a deep breath. "But I suppose the cats here are just as much of monsters as the No Furs..."

Specklefang turned on her daughter, shock making her almost silent. "Sharppaw... you wouldn't understand okay? Blood matters a great deal but it only matters so much as long as you prove yourself. Shadowleaf hasn't and Coyotepaw hasn't proven themselves, cats with tainted blood just die and die because they're not as strong. I'll just- I'll explain it to you later." Nudging Sharppaw she glowered at Coyotepaw. "Shut your trap boy." Specklefang spat as she turned to confront Shadowleaf again.

"You're right. I don't know what it's like to live in the mountains or where you came from, but why did you stay if it was so dangerous? It's stupid to stay where you were so clearly beat. It's one thing to fear so many those against you but it's another to willingly stay, did you want a story to tell so young cats could 'oo' and 'aa' at your tales as you bask in their pity? Did you want to rot away without a cat to remember you?" Specklefang spat, her teeth baring as she turned on the tom, pity striking her heart.

"I know what two-legs are like. I've suffered by their paws myself. I've seen what they can do and what they will do to us. Leafstorm had one of those... cages speared into his back, a riverclan cat had been partially crippled. I dragged those cats back myself, fought foxes and alley cats. Fed them and brought them all home." She didn't mention that by the end she was nearly dead herself, her fox and rat bites having been infected and her starved body hardly able to fight off the illness... the reason why she was blind in her left eye.

Specklefang took in a deep breath, looked at her kit and her clan-mates then to Shadowleaf, looking at the she-cat dead in the eye with angry hesitance. "If you don't think I haven't faced my fair share of trauma then you are wrong. I watched my home burned down, my best friend is dead and I'm the only mother that my kids have. My words should have enough weight for cats to listen to them, everything I do is in the best interest of my clan and friends. Not for myself. I fear for all of my clan-mates every day as the days lengthen and cool, and I think to myself-" She cut herself off as she stood close to Shadowleaf and her voice quieting enough for only the she-cat to hear.

"And I think to myself, how little food can I eat today to make sure my clan is healthy? How much work can I do to make sure my family is safe? How little of anything I can have or do to make my clan a better place. Nothing is ever for me, Shadowleaf." Snorting the she-cat snapped loudly. "If you all want a weak, pathetic rogue into Thunderclan be my guest. Rogues are nothing but trouble." Turning on her paw she made to leave. "Continue the patrol without me, I'm not hanging around." And she disappeared into the underbrush.

The tabby tom's ear merely flicked as the warrior launched into her own story. His eyes gave away nothing of his thoughts as he stood there at waited for it over. In his own belief, a cat should not have the need to justify all of their senseless actions. He found himself confused more than anything as she went on. There was a brief moment near the end in which he almost felt a the tiniest hints of pity for her. But it was gone in a flash. Coyotepaw did not see how any of that made sense to their current situation. Her own personal desire to care for others was severely restricted. Specklefang claimed to be living for other cats, but that was limited to those in her own borders. And even more specifically, those born with the correct blood. Instead of being angry, he felt disgust prickling at his belly. The fact that a cat could be so narrowed minded escaped him.

Although, he found himself thinking that he should have not been all that surprised. All of the forest cats, save for a select few of the Thunderclan cats, shared some sort of similar belief of a hierarchy of blood. Was there some magical trait that any cat born without the precious warrior blood seemed to miss? In his own veins, there flowed traces of Skyclan and Shadowclan alongside the rouge. Did that mean the rest was tainted? It was a ridiculous notion. Character was the only thing to define a cat by. And Specklefang's character seemed to be nothing more than the depth's of the worst parts of his own father's personality. Coyotepaw had learned early on that it was your actions and mentality that founded your worth. Reno had found him worthless because that was what he had been, not because of the factors he had no control over. For the first time ever, the apprentice found himself appreciating even the smallest part of his father's personality.

"It appears you and your mother have different values." Coyotepaw muttered softly to his denmate after collecting his own thoughts. There had been a brief moment in which he had found himself stuck once more in the past. But, now he was fully engaged in the present. His amber gaze followed the massive warrior as she stomped off into the woods. Instead of saying anything in response to Specklefang's rant, the tom ignored it altogether, albeit in his own thoughts. Shrugging away what had just happen, he tore his gaze away to look at Shadowleaf. It was up to her now as the only warrior present to dictate the fate of the random loner that stood before them. Knowing the she-cat to be a sensible one, he could only assume what her response would be.

Shadowleaf let out a small sigh. If the rogue wished to join them then it was up to Blizzardstar into the end she could only guide him there. She looked at the two apprentices. "I'm sorry I ruined your border patrol, I will make up for it after we get this settled. Maybe I can teach you some new hunting techniques as a bonus, that is if you are interested." She was glad that what just happened didn't turn into a fight, but at the same time she was getting tired of Speckelfang's behavior.

Amber eyes turned back to the Rogue. "Alright, I will take you to our leader it's up to her if you can join or not." She knew she wasn't leader, it wasn't her position to offer something that she couldn't follow through on. "Sharppaw and Coyotepaw you can follow me back and then I can make up for this patrol I ruined." She said in a flat tone, the interaction with Speckelfang still leaving her bitter.

Squeak dipped his head, thankful to the ThunderClan cat. "I will follow wherever you can lead." He dipped his head, taking a small step over the border.

ooc: short post is short but can we make a camp topic now

Sharppaw flicked her ears, unable to register anything anyone was saying for a moment. Her nose wrinkled as it usually did when she was thinking hard about something. Did blood matter that much? As far as Sharppaw knew, all blood was the same. It ran through your body, and came out when you had a cut.
Shadowleaf approached them, her words running together like twin rivers. Sharppaw did nothing to heed her.

She stood there for a moment, disbelief and confusion evident on her face.
"Twolegs...? You... what?" This story was new to her, but she'd ask her about that after this was over.
you wouldn't understand okay? Blood matters a great deal but it only matters so much as long as you prove yourself.
Shadowleaf was one of Blizzardstar's closest advisors, right? She was born in Thunderclan, although she looked a little different with her skinny build.
Her name was rather peculiar though...
And Coyotepaw? He was honorable! Leafstorm was mentoring him, and Specklefang trusted him with her life. Certainly that was proof enough.

I'll just- I'll explain it to you later.

Sharppaw swung her head back and forth slowly as her mother disappeared. When was later?
She turned to Coyotepaw, her mouth hanging open slightly as the group began to walk back to camp.
"I guess..." She mumbled.