An Unexpected Meeting [Closed]

Blizzardshine was making what could only be described as a mix of a border patrol and a walk for pleasure. She was one of the few cats in ThunderClan that had a pelt long and thick enough to withstand the chilly temperatures of Leafbare, and she was grateful for this, as it allowed her to go on with her daily routine without issue during this time. Yeah, the warm fur became somewhat annoying during Greenleaf, but nothing she couldn’t handle.

She looked towards ShadowClan as she walked, the snow crunching under her paws. She had nothing against the rival clan across the border…actually, in all honesty, she had nothing against any clan so far, but the strong curiosity that had always been her companion since the moment she opened her eyes was once more speaking to her. She had grown up and she no longer crossed the borders like she used to do during her apprentice days, not wanting to get herself and the rest of her clan in trouble, but the thought still tempted her from time to time. She just wanted to meet other cats, know more about the other clans, maybe make some new friends as well.

She was so deep in her train of thought to look where she was putting her paws, or where she was at all, and the only place her gaze was fixed on was on the mysterious territory across he foul smelling gray stone path. Then again, it had snowed quite a lot recently, so the hole that leaded to the tunnels was perfectly hidden from sight, and as soon as she placed a paw on it on her distracted state, she fell forwards and fell inside with a soft thud “W-wha…” She shook her head before looking up, needing a couple of seconds to return to the real world and realize where she was at all.

Typical border patrols had become his usual anymore. Thrushstar originally didn't care for it, but the routine was nice and being able to get out and stretch his legs was a great change of pace. Plus, the activity really helped his aging joints. Of course, something had been rather fishy around the border lately and so he figured he would check out every possible nook and cranny just in case. On this patrol, he figured a quick check in the tunnel couldn't hurt. The size of the tunnel was awful. Just a small crawl space that hid just under the Thunderpath but thankfully, they had made it a little deeper so that there was at least some standing room. Nothing compared to the tunnel down to the Moon stone. However, the sudden appearance of a Thunderclan cat nearly made the leader jump out of his fur, claws unsheathing and digging into the dirt as the hackles on his back raised. "What... are you doing in here?!" he snapped, trying to get the cat to take off.

Blizzardshine’s ears perked up almost immediately as she heard a voice she almost immediately recognized. It took some time for her eyes to adjust to the dim light of the tunnels, but as soon as they did her suspicions were confirmed as her gaze landed on the old ShadowClan leader.

She got up almost immediately, though was careful to not make her movements look suspicious or aggressive at all. She never had really interacted with the old leader before and the few things she knew about him were because of the gatherings and rumors. Now, she hated to prejudge those around her, but after being told countless times by many different cats about the unstable state of Thrushstar’s mind she couldn’t help but feel like if she was walking on really thin ice and didn’t want to trigger unwanted fights or accidentally get herself her first enemy.

The white russet deputy lowered her head respectfully before speaking “It wasn’t my intention to come here, I failed to watch where I put my paws and the thick layer of snow covered the entrance to this tunnel, hiding it from sight. I simply fell in” Her voice, though polite, held her usual gentle and cheerful tone that was so characteristic to the ThunderClan deputy.

Under normal circumstances she would’ve immediately tried to start a nice chat between her and the cat that was in front of her. However, based on the rumors and the fact that she was in one of the tunnels most ShadowClan cats claimed to be their territory she decided to take all necessary precautions first.

Thrushstar studied the cat in front of him carefully. Just with the movement of a faint breeze floating through the tunnel, it was easy to smell and identify the she-cat as Thunderclan even though he could have already assumed that. In fact, he was certain that he had seen her before. A gathering maybe? Her colors were oddly familiar. Nonetheless, he did not move from where he was, but he began to calm down, first by smoothing himself out and sheathing his claws again but not once did his eyes leave her figure in the darkness of the tunnel. He was not about to risk some sort of attack.

Huffing at her story, he flicked his good right ear at her with a tight expression smearing his old features. "Just like all of Thunderclan, clumsy as... ever, I see." It typically wasn't like him to dabble over insults to other clans, but Thunderclan had never settled with him well. After a few moments, however, he became rather confused. She was still here as if she were waiting on something. Almost immediately, his brain wanted to jump to the conclusion that this must be some kind of ambush-- that there were Thunderclan cats waiting on the other side to pick him off like a new bird leaving the nest for the first time. At the thought, his entire body clenched, falling rigged and unmoving as he watched all of her movements. "Well, what are you still doing here?" he asked, a low growl rising in his throat.

Blizzardshine smiled, barely reacting to Thrushstar’s insult at all. She was used to cats insulting their rival clans in one way or another and at this point an insult from a cat of another clan affected her as much as the joke-insults the kits throw at each other while playing clans at the nursery “I’m not so clumsy all the time, I was simply distracted”.

When she wasn’t attacked nor chased out from the tunnel right away, she started to relax, though kind of understood the old leader’s reaction to her stalling. She probably should’ve tried to ease the tension between them before testing the waters instead “I just wanted to talk, as your presence is extremely rare out of gatherings and the tales about you are as abundant as prey during Greenleaf” In an attempt to not look like a threat to Thrushstar, she sat and curled her tail around her body calmly. She, however, was careful to keep her paws uncovered so he could tell that she wasn’t secretly unsheathing her claws.

As Blizzardshine spoke, Thrushstar only stood there, trying to figure out what his next move would be. He didn't want to try to make a run for it just in case, but she wasn't going anywhere. He genuinely couldn't tell if she was actually trying to talk to him or if she was only stalling for something bigger. Although staying silent, the leader slightly tilted his head at the mention of rumors of him spreading through the clans. He knew that it happened, but no one had ever bothered bringing them up. Honestly, it threw him off that the Thunderclan cat mentioned it. Deep inside of him, curiosity was getting the better of him despite how much he wanted to yowl at her to get out of the tunnel. So instead, he stood there, his claws digging into the soft earth below him as his tail lashed about behind him, clearly showing off his annoyance.

Blizzardshine planned her approach carefully. She didn’t want to just turn around and leave careful, but the thin ice she was stepping on had visible cracks and she didn’t want to break it. She had to think her words carefully and pick up as many body expressions from the older tom to know if she was about to cross the line or accidentally crossed it, as well to be careful to not push his patience too much and end up in an argument “I just wanted to see if some of those stories are true, and so far I can already discard many of them. You don’t seem like a battle hungry cat after all, just cautious…I do need to agree on the mysterious part for now though” Her voice was calm yet careful, not wanting to give Thrushstar wrong clues about her intentions, she simply was trying to let him know her opinion about him so far.