befriending giants [c]

The sun was warm on Nettlepaw's back as he took a detour from the rest of his patrol. He'd never been this way, but the weird acrid scent of the Thunderpath was so intriguing. The scent burnt his nose, but he wasn't bothered this was something new, and he loved new things. As he followed the black trail, he noticed several other scents lingering, which he recognised. ThunderClan, SkyClan and WindClan. The tom had already met a cat from WindClan, and well tensions were high with them, surprisingly he didn't want to cause any more trouble with them. As for SkyClan if he was going to meet them he'd go to the more safer border they shared with them.

Ears ticking listening for the sound a monster's roar, he scurried across the border towards ThunderClan's border. It seemed nice here, not as smelly as his own home. He could get use to it. A snap behind him caught Nettlepaw's attention. He whirled round to see what it was, the result earning him a happy smile. "Hello!" he purred taking sevral paces forward, but still cautious not to step onto their territory. "Wow, you're pretty big, huh? It was a statement rather than a fact, as he stared at the giant cat. "There's no cats anywhere near as big as you in ShadowClan, must be those ThunderClan genes. My names Nettlepaw by the way, I know it is not the gathering, but I really wanted to make some more friends." he purred excitedly eyes crinkling shut.

Feral Tongue
Forest Tongue

Sometimes, Vinecrawler would sit idly by the Thunderpath just to daydream about where the road would lead him. He never had the urge to cross the path or even follow it, the acrid stench always leaving a bad taste in his mouth whenever a Monster would rush by. But he did think about. A world just like the lake territories could be just on the horizon... He didn't hear the snap of a twig under paw when he shifted his weight.

"Hello!"

The overgrown toms shoulders shrugged in surprise, his short fur standing on end. In his daze and head turned in the opposite direction, he hadn't seen the smaller tom near the border that seperated Thunder from Shadow. He blinked a few times, unsure if he should be doing anything about this or not. He was alone, so really he didn't have to do anything, right? "I would hope so. My size tells of my feral roots. You are tiny. You are of the forest." His meow was matter-of-fact, though not a hint of hostility could be found in it.

The apprentice sized tom stepped forward. To his relief, not a single claw crossed the markers. His expression remained neutral even though this encounter was already bordering weird so far. Where was this kits parents? "I am Vinecrawler, warrior of ThunderClan. It's nice to meet you... Nicepaw." It was possible he had misheard the name, but he wouldn't judge a young cat for an odd name. He shfited slightly. "Are you lost...?"

A long ear twitched in interest, Nettlepaw's mismatched eyes shining "Feral?" he mewed, cocking his head. "Feral roots... Are they some kind of ThunderClan plant? I suppose that would make sense, and why I've never even heard such a thing. The tom, who called himself Vinecrawler spoke in a funny manner too, he'd never heard anyone speak with such an inflection before. "Oh no, Nettlepaw's m' name. Like the stinging nettles, do you have them in ThunderClan?" Already the nosy tom was bursting with questions, eager for the warrior to spill all his secrets. "Well, I don't think I'm lost. This is the Thunderpath, and this is the ShadowClan and ThunderClan border... Or I hope it is."

Feral Tongue
Forest Tongue

A spark of interest gleamed in the warriors umber eyes at the question of feral roots. Any opportunity to gush about the legacy his father left behind had his tail swish behind him like a dog getting a treat. "Not a plant. A way of life. Both a language and a religion" Gekala. Or 'Gekala' in the forests native tongue." Nettlepaw... He liked that much better than 'Nicepaw'. Much like vines, nettles were hardy and adapted well to their enviroment. One might call them weeds or pests, but Vinecrawler admired their... Tenacity. "So long as you remain on your side of the border, my claws will not move. While I don't have any issue with 'trespassers', ThunderClan will. But there is no rule saying we cannot speak from across the border--"

He took a step backwards as a monster rushed by, leaving him coughing in a cloud of black smoke. He really did hate the forest. "My turn to ask a question: what is it like on ShadowClan's side?" Vinecrawler had never been across another clans border; never entertained the idea. But what if it was better on the other side...?

Forest Tongue
Feral Tongue

Bright light shone in Nettlepaw's eyes as Vinecrawler spoke, they had a whole other language and belied=fs in ThunderClan? This was like the secret... Ever! He was practically vibrating, his new friend was already telling him so much, he thought it would be way harder to make friends from other clans. He eyed the border and the giant cat, if everyone was so cool in ThunderClan maybe he could join them. He would be a total asset, he pouted thoughtfully. Borders were silly, bit they did encourage secrets.  "I wouldn't mind if you came over here, borders are silly, they stop me making friends with everyone." Nettlepaw kneaded the ground anxiously, he really wanted to know more about this Gekala language business. "Vinecrawler, if I tell you about ShadowClan will you teach me your language and about..." The apprentice bit his lip, wondering which way he should say the name of the tom's religion. He was an excellent listener so he was sure he could say it in his tongue. It was at least worth a try. "Gekala?"

Feral Tongue
Forest Tongue

His eyes sparkled like a kit discovering the world was much bigger than his own as the interest grew in Nettlepaw's eyes, and even greater yet: Nettlepaw had already picked up on the language! Sure, it was just one word. But one word could lead to two and two into a full conversation... He had littler interaction between other clans, and the ones he did have were only brief and ended in death. His tail jittered with excitement at the prospect of earning another friend much like he had with Acornstar, Nightdancer, Mottlestar, and Silverdusk. It used to be so hard to obtain any sort of true friendship when he was an apprentice but now it felt as though he had unlocked the secret to it all: continuous questions and offers of knowledge in return. He would be great at small talk in no time!

Although the pronunciation needed some work, he was still impressed regardless."You have yourself a deal, friend. Or 'friend'. A word used for those you hold respect for as I do for you. Learning how others live in return of teaching you my language is something I value. Now... Is it true there is only mud in your land? I heard ShadowClan smells, but I have scented no such 'stink' at gatherings."

If there wasn't a border between them Nettlepaw would have shook on it, but alas StarClan sought only to thwart his endeavours. Vinecrawler's complement made him glow, how funny a stranger held more respect for him than his own clan. "Not all of it is mud, but most of it is. Some parts of our territory have too much mud, it is really dangerous, only ShadowClan warriors know how to cross those areas. I'm still learning." The apprentice paused to draw breath and ponder on the large warriors next question "I don't think ShadowClan smells, but maybe I'm use to it... You say it doesn't smell either so maybe we are both right. I don't know why we would smell? Is it the mud? That doesn't make sense to me, mud is apart of nature. I'm sure you guys have mud in your territory, and personally I think ThunderClan smells really nice." he mewed "Do you have any more questions?" Nettlepaw's bobtail twitched excitedly, hopefully it was Vinecrawler's turn to share knowledge now. He'd be the best cat he ever taught for sure!

Feral Tongue
Forest Tongue

Large sandy head nodded at every word. Some of it mud, some of it not. That was a pretty thorough explaination, and to the point. He apprieciated that. "I smell mud and damp air, but there is no 'stench'. You smell like the earth, as we all should." He quite liked this young tom. Everything he said so far was both agreeable and likeable. If a cat smelled of anything other than nature, were they really cut out for the wild lifestyle? He couldn't imagine any other life than this; smelling of the damp earth and whatever tree he decided to drag his claws across that day.

There weren't too many questions Vinecrawler had other than the 'do you stink' question, but he recalled hearing one other rumor about ShadowClan. "Do you eat carrion and why?"