rise and fall [c]

Summer? What kind of a name is that? Silverpaw had the sense not to say it aloud, and simply nodded. Summer continued, answering her question, and then apologizing again. Now that the adrenaline had faded, Silverpaw was more like herself, and simply waved away the apology with a flick of her tail. "Our territory ends about here. I guess we're still in it right now. But yeah, we don't come here quite as often as we should. That's probably why you didn't scent the borders." Surely there can't be any harm in telling her where the borders are?

It seemed that Summer had managed to smooth things over with the RiverClan cat whose territory she'd been caught traversing by accident, for the she-cat waved her tail in response to the loner's apology. Summer smiled a little, her sky blue eyes hopeful that perhaps she'd gain a bit of knowledge from this encounter (along with a few new small scars). She followed Silverpaw's gesture towards what was apparently the edge of RiverClan's territory and scented the air slightly while the she-cat explained why it might have been easy to miss the border. "Ohh, I see. Thank you, darling. I'll try to commit that to memory. If you don't mind," she meowed, turning from the fishy-smelling border to the silvery she-cat, "would it trouble you too much if I asked you a few questions about the... RiverClan?" She tilted her head sideways.

Summer seemed nice enough. Trustworthy, at least for a loner. There would've been plenty of time for her to have hurt her (or killed her, but Silverpaw didn't want to think about that), so Silverpaw settled down. She sat, loosening her tense muscles, and her tail gave a single twitch as she wrapped it around her paws, inviting Summer to do the same. The grass felt coarse beneath her paws, and she wished for the soft sand of the riverbank. It was still certainly a nice day. Sunlight dappled through the leaves of trees, spreading intricate patterns on the ground. A slight breeze ruffled Silverpaw's fur as she sat, and she felt content.

But by that time, Summer was already chatting, asking about RiverClan. In Silverpaw's current trusting mind, she felt there was no reason not to, and so she smiled merrily, happy to oblige Summer with an answer. "Of course! I hope I'm not too intruding, but you seem to know a bit about the Clans. If you tell me about where you heard about them, I'll tell you about RiverClan."

Silverpaw realized the words could've been seen as an effort to negotiate. In a way, they were, but she was purely curious. She wasn't doing it for the sake of having something to hold above Summer. She was doing it to be friendly. Maybe that wasn't quite what the warrior code meant by chasing out trespassers, but in Silverpaw's (limited) experience, it was far better to have friends than enemies. And who knew? Friends often saved eachother's tails in desperate situations. Maybe Summer, an outsider she may be, would grow to be that type of friend. Silverpaw wasn't going against her Clan. This didn't make her any less loyal to RiverClan, did it? So she saw no reason to be angry.

ooc; reeee I'm trying to make some of my posts a bit longer uwu

ooc; It looks good!! It takes some practice, and some things are done just as well with a short post, but it can be so much fun to expand on the world and what your character sees and experiences <3

ic;

As Summer spoke, she was relieved and pleased to see that she must have assuaged Silverpaw's fears about an intruder, for the silvery she-cat was sitting and inviting Summer to do the same. Even while Summer was beginning to ask her question she eagerly took the offer, sweeping her plume of a ginger tail up and around her side to tuck it neatly against herself as she settled her haunches to the earth. Silverpaw smiled, and her response was a trade: an exchange of information. Summer's pale whiskers twitched with amusement, but she dipped her head politely and answered, "Why of course, darling, that seems only fair. You've been so polite as to give me only a warning, after all." She smiled charmingly and continued, "I found a WindClan cat by chance! I admit to trespassing there, too, by accident, but Morningpaw was kind enough to inform me of where I was and what I was doing." She thought fondly of the encounter. "She told me there are five of you Clans settled around the river here. Remarkable! I've never seen more than two groups of cats manage being so close."

Summer had assumed that since the Clans had such large and intently separated territories it might mean they wouldn't really know each other, so she was surprised to see a flash of recognition over Silverpaw's face at the mention of the name. There was something else in Silverpaw's eyes that Summer glimpsed but didn't quite understand before it disappeared. "Really?" Summer asked attentively. The RiverClan cat took a few deep breaths to collect herself before answering that she'd hold up her end of the deal. Summer's ginger ears perked, and she nodded encouragingly, ready to listen. Silverpaw's gaze drifted off elsewhere thoughtfully for a few long moments, and Summer wondered if perhaps Silverpaw hadn't been eager to attack for more than just the warrior code. The drifter cleared her throat gently.

Suddenly the she-cat's attention was back on her, and Summer smiled politely, understanding on her face. "It's quite alright, darling," Summer assured. Silverpaw began to explain RiverClan - and a little about code and kin, solidifying some of the understanding she'd gained about how the Clans might works. Summer was delighted and fascinated by an entire group of cats who were trained to swim and hunt in the water and fish. She could do a little swimming, and she'd caught a fish a time or two, but she'd met only a cat or two whose entire lifestyle revolved around the river. Summer nodded along, and then chuckled at the mention of being the clumsiest on land. "Surely not?" the drifter protested with amusement, and then when Silverpaw informed her that RiverClan cats were often called fat a melodious laugh burst out of Summer's mouth. "They do not! Some cats just don't have the proper appreciation for a thick, lush coat, darling!"

Summer quieted her laughter to listen to the rest of Silverpaw's explanation, the various stereotypes that each Clan seemed to regard each of the others with. Summer's blue eyes widened with true interest at this; oftentimes she found that stereotypes existed for a reason, and even if traits were exaggerated they were good to know. She nodded along, fascinated, and when Silverpaw dismissed them as a general idea Summer purred and meowed, "My whiskers. This forest is bigger than it seems. Silverpaw, if I may, I have another question. Why do both your and Morningpaw's names end with 'paw? Does that mean something?"

Silverpaw would admit it. She liked hanging out with Summer. Who cared that she was a loner? She was kind and charming. Loners wouldn't kill you for crossing their borders, even though Clan cats would. Loners didn't even have borders. They weren't biased against a Clan; and honestly, Summer was just so nice. Her ears pricked as Summer asked about the apprentice names. Silverpaw waved her tail in the air, happy to respond, on a topic that didn't lead to the Righteous Few. "Alright. This is kind of a long explanation, but don't worry, I'm happy to tell you!"

"So, in a Clan, there are a bunch of different ranks. Kits, apprentices, warriors, deputy, leader, and elders. Kits are cats that are younger than six moons. They can't go out of camp, or do anything, really. Their name has 'kit' tagged on the end. For example, Silverkit. That used to be my name, when I was a kit. But after six moons, I became an apprentice. Apprentices hunt and fight, but we aren't often involved in big Clan discussions, and we aren't treated with respect all the time. We have mentors. Mentors, if you don't know, are warriors that teach us how to hunt and fight."

Silverpaw cleared her throat. It was getting dry by talking, but she wanted to teach Summer. "And then we come to warriors. They hunt, fight, and do pretty much anything. They have a lot of different suffixes on their names. For example, when I become a warrior, I might get Silverclaw, or Silverfur, or Silverpool. There's a lot of options. And then leader. Leaders are the leaders of the Clans. They usually have 'star' on the end of their names: Flintstar, Ivystar, for example. But things are a bit... different, right now, and Raventail isn't Ravenstar." It's easier for me to not explain about the nine lives.

"Oh! Deputies and medicine cats! I forgot! So, deputies have the same names as warriors, but they're the second in command to the leader. They carry out patrols, and help the Clan when the leader's sick or away. And medicine cats heal others with herbs."

Silverpaw took a deep breath, tired of talking, and asked, "What do you think of the Clans? I'm curious."

As it turned out, the answer was yes - it did mean something! Summer blinked with mild surprise and interest and wriggled just a bit closer to Silverpaw as she prepared her answer. She nodded in acknowledgement of the purported lengthy explanation she would receive and settled in, sky blue eyes searching Silverpaw's as they glimmered and sparked with knowledge - knowledge that Summer wanted and needed. Clans consisted of ranks: kits, of course, who were confined to camp (and Summer assumed they must have mothers); apprentices, whose names gain a 'paw to signify their role as a student; warriors, whose names apparently varied. The names Silverpaw listed sounded strange - Silverfur was nice, actually - and Summer pursed her lips to consider that. That seems like a mouthful, she mused as the (apparent) apprentice went on to explain how the leaders of each Clan were indicated with the -star suffix. "Fascinating," Summer murmured under her breath.

Silverpaw also mentioned the deputy and medicine cat roles, and Summer bobbed her head in thoughtful acknowledgement. She'd certainly heard about deputies before from Morningpaw - her mentor was the deputy. Oh. Did that mean she was in training to be the next deputy of WindClan, and therefore the next leader? That made sense. The attention was suddenly turned to Summer, and the ginger-cream loner perked up with surprised. "Oh, my, they're like nothing I've ever heard of," Summer answered truthfully. She had met cats with faith; she had met cats with a code they followed; she had met cats with a chain of command; she'd even met a healer in her travels; she'd never seen anything like the Clans, though. "I find rules and codes like the 'warrior code' to be staunch and stifling, but with so many groups and territories so close together I suppose it must be necessary to keep the peace, hm? Is it usually peaceful between you all?" she asked curiously.

Silverpaw was doing most of the talking, but she enjoyed that. It was usually in her nature to be a bit more reserved, but she was happy with Summer. She seemed very interested in the Clans, but preferred her own way of living, something Silverpaw respected. As Summer asked her next question, Silverpaw grinned, shifting on the grass a little. “We do fight. We train for battle against foxes and badgers, but yes, the Clans fight... pretty often. It’s part of being a Clan cat, and it’s not pretty, but there’s a certain satisfaction you get from beating another Clan. Battles are mostly fought over false accusations or disagreements between the leaders. RiverClan, my Clan, is often at war with ThunderClan over these nice, flat rocks, that totally belong to us.” She grinned slightly. “ThunderClan is the biggest Clan, so we have an alliance with ShadowClan. They’re the best fighters, after us.” She paused and added, a bit sheepishly, “Alright, yes, they’re the best fighters, period.”

There was a knowing flash in Summer's eyes as Silverpaw began to answer the question. Of course you fight; I'd have known you were lying if you said you didn't, Summer thought with dry amusement. All cats seem to fight when they settle by each other for long. Fighting predators was one thing, and that was an admirable use of prowess, yet fighting cats was foolish and somehow inevitable. The drifter narrowed her blue eyes thoughtfully, ginger ears focused in on the RiverClan cat and the helpful words of explanation that she spoke. Summer chuckled lightly while Silverpaw spoke of satisfaction of beating an opponent, and she purred, "Naturally; no one likes to be the loser, darling." She tilted her head at the mention of war with ThunderClan. That's a familiar name. I wonder if that's ongoing? Summer nodded with understanding.

"You have a whole system of allies and enemies... I suppose I shouldn't find that too surprising, but it's remarkable," Summer commented. "I've drifted by a battle here and there, but this is an entire culture unheard of. Now - pardon my ignorance, darling, but what makes those rocks so lovely that this - did you say ThunderClan? - this ThunderClan would risk themselves against such a powerful alliance as RiverClan and ShadowClan? Don't they respect the borders?" She tilted her pale head curiously. Naturally, she knew that there were often at least two sides to every story and conflict, but right now she was on RiverClan's side, and it would do her well to respect it.

Silverpaw nodded to Summer. "Good question! The rocks are called Sunningrocks. They used to be on our side of the border, but the river changed course a while back, and ThunderClan wants them." Silverpaw's tail swept over the ground as she added, "It's more of a matter of honor than actually wanting the rocks, you know? If we gave them up without a fight, it's like we're betraying everyone else who's already fought to keep them." Silverpaw glanced at Summer, and asked curiously, "What's it like without a Clan? To be a... drifter?"

Summer let out an understanding "Ahhh," as Silverpaw explained how the river had changed course, thus muddying up whether the Sunningrocks ought to belong to RiverClan or ThunderClan. "Mm, that would be a dilemma," Summer agreed. When the RiverClan cat spoke of honor, well, that much was partly lost on Summer. Were those the only rocks to sun on in the forest? It hardly seemed worth it - but then again, if it didn't come easy to the drifter, she didn't see why she should bother with it. Clearly the Clans with their border and codes felt differently. She nodded, not understanding personally but knowing it must make sense to Silverpaw. The she-cat asked her a question, and Summer smiled. "It's very freeing, darling. I've had the pleasure and opportunity to travel through many territories and meet so many interesting cats and see so many interesting places. I like to think I'm quite an educated cat.

Why, just before I came to these territories, I'd come across a few cats in a field who would lure hawks down and then pounce on them. It was remarkable work, darling," Summer continued, marveling at the memories she had of her travels. "I certainly wouldn't want to hunt that way, but they said it was a very filling and long-lasting meal! After I had my fill of that life, I left, and then I wandered here following some rumors of cats who lived by the river. I suppose they must've meant you and your Clan, hm?" She smiled warmly at Silverpaw.