A Prowler's Job [O]

It was high time for Ares to begin his work. He was to make his father, and Tarot, proud. The tom wanted them to know that they had made the right choice for the job. So he had chosen to head towards Riverclan. All he knew was that they liked water... a lot. Enough to swim in it, which he thought was insane. Water just bogged down his fur, he wasn't very sleek, so it just made him feel heavy. So he had avoided any of it like the plague, at least for now. He wasn't being very sneaky, he didn't want to seem like a threat. Yet. His job was to convert, to offer cats in clans a second chance. If he couldn't get them immediately, then they'd have to be their agents on the inside. He would do what he could.

So Ares padded through soft grasses, with the sound of water becoming more and more apparent the further in he went. Whoever stumbled upon him, he hoped they wouldn't assault him immediately... Then he'd have to get violent, and nobody wanted that.

The member 'Alexcentria' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Invasion Dice' :

It had been a full, busy day of hunting so far, and Ashflight was beginning to feel a bit worn down.  Recently, thanks to his warm fur and sheer determination, he had been one of the most energetic warriors despite the bone-chilling cold.  Today though, that energy had been spent on the three pieces of fresh-kill he had been lucky to find; a small mouse, a sparrow, and a perch that was buried back near camp.  He was on his last walk back along the border, absent-mindedly pushing his way through the snow, when an unfamiliar scent managed to creep in over the prey in his mouth.  Blinking, Ashflight's brow creased as he caught sight of a dark reddish-brown pelt, the scent of rouge wafting around him.

Unlike some other cats might be, Ashflight wasn't instantly alarmed.  Suspicious yes, but he wasn't about to charge towards the tom without asking the important questions.  Placing his prey down in the snow, the short, stocky gray tomcat waved his tail in the air, greeting the rouge with a neutral meow.  "Hello there!  Is there something I can do for you?  You're on RiverClan territory, do you need to speak with our leader?"  His mannerisms were businesslike and brisk, but not unfriendly.  He knew from personal experience the odd paths cats could walk down in their lives, perhaps this cat was like Robinpatch or Jaystar or even himself.  However, he wouldn't let his guard down.  This young tom looked strong and very capable of starting a fight, definitely not some starving kitten or lost adolescent.

Swanmist had been pushing her way through hunting so far. She had caught only a few things. A weak mouse and a weak bird, but she didn't dare go towards the river. She knew Ashflight was out there, too, but she didn't really want to go looking for him... Probably all up by the riverside catching some... fish. As she padded along, heading towards the buried prey to bring it back to camp, something strange caught her nose. Her big ears flicked towards the scent, she heard... something... Unclear, but something... was there. She picked up her speed. The cat scents became more clear with each step, until she saw the cats. A red and brown tabby. Reeking of rogue, and Ashflight.

She was tempted to stay hidden, the rogue looked healthy, and she would do anything just to stay away from the river. The last time she went to the river was when she saw Ivystar's body. The fur along her spine rose a little, held down by itself in some patches along her back. She needed to eat, that's why she was hunting. Didn't need to get her father to do it all for her and her kits.

Carefully, she stepped into view, anyway. She was definitely hungry. But she didn't say anything, just stared.

Ares immediately scented two clanners on the wind. He knew he would be found eventually, and he didn't want to give these poor cats a bad impression of him. He would start small, gain trust, win them over. He wasn't exactly suited to... deception or manipulation, but he would give it to them straight. Use his skills, not his weaknesses. Immediately his golden eyes looked them over, a white molly who looked much too skinny for having so much territory, and a better-fed gray tom. Interesting.

"Hello, I scented the markers but wasn't entirely sure of what they were! Suppose I'm a bit too new to this area I'm afraid. Where are my manners though, my name is Ares, I live out in the twoleg place. I've been looking around for other cats actually, I've been trying to figure something out! You see, I've been looking around to see where prey flows best, so that when I move on, I can move onto somewhere where I won't go hungry. How's prey been for your... Riverclan, was it? If you don't mind me guessing, not as well as you might like." His eyes pointed moved to Swanmist's form. "I'm sorry if it isn't. That would be unfortunate." He was glad he had some kind of story made up before he entered their territory, or he would've been a goner. If anything didn't go according to plan, he wasn't sure how well he would be able to deal with them.

Ashflight didn't really know what to make of this reddish-brown tom and hesitated with his answer.  He spoke casually, friendly even, and seemed genuinely unaware of his intrusion.  However, moons of encountering cats from all walks of life and with all motives had made him cautious.  His voice didn't hold its usual carefree happiness as he replied, but at the same time, there was no outright aggression.  "It seems we've all been having a rough time this leaf-bare Ares, I'm sorry to say. If you're planning on moving to a new place, I'd recommend waiting until the snows start clearing up a bit.  Finding new territory in the dead of leaf-bare would be much harder than staying in Twolegplace, at least the rats like it there.  When you do move though, I recommend traveling beyond those mountains over there."  Using his tail to point towards Highstones, he recalled clearly the many prey-rich lands he had come across.  "Lots of territories over there ripe for the taking.  Does that give you the answers you need?"  Ashflight wasn't trying to rush the interaction, but he wanted to make it clear that there would be no invitations onto RiverClan land.  He got an odd sense about this Ares, but he didn't really know why.