my heart has wings, to carry you away [c]

The ground underfoot was lush and green as Lichenwing strolled towards the SkyClan border. Managing to slip away from his patrol had been easy - right now, things were calm in ThunderClan, and no one really had any reason to be worried or over-aware. Besides, he'd volunteered for it, anyway, and the others wouldn't miss him. He'd been unable to make plans to meet up with Juniper, but he hoped if he checked the borders often enough, he'd find her. Today, he was checking the area of the border near the big fallen oak tree. He had considered the unlikelihood of them accidentally meeting up again, but... he'd gone out of his way to be near this border, alone, on every occasion... and he had to hope that she would do the same. Which meant, the stars had to align eventually, right?

This portion of the border was the weakest in the scent markers of the ones he checked, so some cat would definitely be here today to reestablish it... he just had to hope it would be her. Finding a promising spot, Lichenwing took a running jump up a tree that overhung the border, and he sat and waited...

Hours passed, and just as he'd started to doze, Lichenwing heard something. Instantly awake, he froze, ears rotating to try and pick up the what it was, but it was quiet again. Some birds startled a little ways off, and he snapped his head towards them. It was the SkyClan side of the border, south of his current position. Lichenwing made a hmmm sound deep in his chest. Sounded like someone was hunting nearby... which meant a patrol was probably headed this way. Now much more alert, he waited some more, and it took only a little while for him to hear the ever so quiet rustle of leaves... just before Juniperheart padded into view.


Lichenwing smiled, his eyes flickering past her, to see if any other cats were following her, or if she, too, had managed to slip away. A heartbeat passed, then another, and he saw no movement in the brush. Slowly, he rose to his paws and crept along the branch, refocusing his gaze on the she-cat. She passed beneath him, and Lichenwing calculated his drop from the branch. He landed squarely on her shoulders, but kept his claws sheathed, though he did attempt to gently pin her to the ground. "Hey," he said with a grin, rasping a tongue across the top of her head. "Fancy meetin' you here."

Lichenwing used Leap and Hold on Juniperheart, dealing 8 (play) damage at the cost of 15 stamina. I'm not gonna roll for stun cuz he'll let her up if she chooses.

Lichenwing
40/40 HP
100/100 SP

Juniperheart
22/30 HP
80/80 SP

"A rabbit? No," Lichenwing reply coyly, squinting his eyes at her with the ever present grin still stretched across his face. "I was hunting something much prettier'n a rabbit." He still sat lazily where she'd shoved him off, what remained of his feathery tail relaxed behind him. In the interim since the last Gathering they'd been at together, and now, the tom had been through a growth spurt. Before Juniperheart stood no awkward, gangly adolescent, but a fine young tom who had grown into the beginnings of a solid ThunderClan warrior. The fur around his face, and his legs, had darkened, almost mirroring Juniper's own darker points, and the color of his eyes had shifted from green alone, to a blue-green that stood out on his broad, handsome face.

When she mentioned his scars, Lichenwing nodded. "I like 'em, really... makes me look more distinguished, don't ya think?"

He tipped his head towards her chest, "Looks like you been in a nice scrap, yourself," he said with a raised brow, studying her face for a reaction. He half-wondered if she'd been injured severely enough to explain being so hard to find these past couple of moons. No chance of running into her if she was stuck up in the medicine den, right? But he didn't bring that up... at least not yet. If she wanted to share, he'd listen, but if not, that was cool too.

While he waited for a response, Lichenwing flicked his ears forward, in the direction of where Juniperheart had come from, listening to make sure no one was sneaking up on them. He wasn't super sure what he'd do if another member of the SkyClan patrol showed up and found them together, so... best to not let it happen in the first place.

Flattery wasn’t going to get Lichenwing anywhere, Juniperheart thought, even as her face burned hot at being called “pretty”. ”Oh, so you’ve been hunting me now, have you? I’m not something you can take back home to ThunderClan.” She wanted to sound firm, but it came out wobbly and unsure. She was loyal to SkyClan and SkyClan only; Lichenwing had to know that. There would never be any actual romance, no moving clans or anything. She would simply refuse if he offered…

But would she really?

Juniperheart shook her head to rid the thought. Her duties come first, not her feelings and certainly not Lichenwing. She will let him slide with the banter and the visits, but that was it. No more exceptions. ”Surely Birdstar would have something to say about this, if you tried sweeping her daughter away.” She wasn’t technically Birdstar’s daughter, nor Wolfblossom’s— not by blood, at least, but Lichenwing didn’t need to know that. Maybe if he thought she had leader blood he would leave her be. 

Lichenwing took notice of her scar rather quickly, which wasn’t a surprise— Juniperheart’s coat had always been immaculate. She didn’t necessarily hate the scar, though she often worried it would make her look unapproachable; it was long and jagged, running halfway down her whole chest, and while it was a symbol of her survival it also cut through her fur in an ugly fashion and scared kits away. However, it didn’t seem to phase Lichenwing much. It may just be because the tom has scars of his own, but regardless it made Juniperheart smile. ”Ah, I suppose so. I had a run-in with a straggling fox a few moons ago; I would’ve died, too, if it wasn’t for—“ Once again, Juniperheart stopped just on the precipice of saying Sunfire’s name. The tom’s presence in her life may make Lichenwing lay off, stop running after her and instead focusing on a pretty molly from his own clan. That was what she wanted, wasn’t it? ”Thornstalker. She managed to find me just in time and get the thing running off.”

When Lichenwing moved to look over Juniperheart’s shoulder, ears at attention, panic almost immediately set in Juniperheart’s chest. Had someone followed her? She was certain there couldn’t be— she had made absolutely sure none of her clanmates had seen her before she went off into the woods. Nervously, the ragdoll molly turned her head to look behind her, startled wide eyes searching for any movement in the brush or in the trees. Not only was Lichenwing trespassing on SkyClan territory, but Juniperheart was letting him, and that was the last thing she wanted any of her clanmates to see— Birdstar would be so disappointed, surely not trusting her adoptive daughter’s loyalty, and that was a something Juniperheart couldn’t possibly face.

The member 'Zeroh' has done the following action : Dice roll

---

'Invasion Dice' :

"Well, remind me to thank Thornstalker some time, then," Lichenwing said coolly, smiling. He moved closer to Juniperheart, brushing his shoulder against hers. "Hey, you ever think-" before he could finish his sentence, there was movement. He couldn't tell from which direction, and it was quiet, but he heard it. The words died in his throat, and the gray tom stiffened, lowering his head slightly and rotating his ears to try and pick up another sound. But he didn't have to look too hard, because from above, Birdstar's voice called to them.

The tension drained from his posture. It was no threat - well, not to Juniperheart, anyway - only SkyClan's leader, who greeted her clanmate warmly and then turned a slightly icier gaze to him and accusing him of being comfortable on SkyClan's territory. Lichenwing tipped his head up to look at her, offering an abashed grin. "Well if I do say so myself Birdstar you are lookin' lovely today." He stepped deliberately away from Juniperheart, putting a half-tail length between them. "Sorry for the intrusion, we were jus' catchin' up, and I s'pose I came in a lil too far... I'll jus'-" and as he trailed off, Lichenwing stepped backwards one, two, three strides, until the mingled scent of Thunder and Sky passed beneath him, and he was on the other side.

He wasn't too terribly worried about any repercussions coming from this, truthfully, and overreacting to the situation would probably make them look more guilty... but he also didn't want to push his luck. Lichenwing knew that, like Mottlestar, Birdstar was a kind, understanding leader, and would be unlikely to require a pound of flesh for simple trespass... buuuuut that wasn't a bet he was willing to take, especially considering it would potentially get Juniperheart in hot water too. So on his side of the border he would stay... for now, at least.