DEUS VULT [CLOSED]

Standing by the River, Ivyfall slinked over the heat-warmed rocks as she followed scent trails to track down what appeared to be a rather sick-smelling mouse. Another prey lost to illness, she thought as she found the creature under a bush by the forest. Picking it up, she buried it in the soft earth of ThunderClan territory so that no foolish kit or apprentice would stumble upon it, illness was friend to none. "StarClan be damned." She muttered to herself, before walking away from the trees. Sunningrocks usually fared better than most places due to it's warmth from rocks attracting prey but it seemed it was a dud today.

Leafstorm padded beside his mate, looking around in mild interest. "Slow day, as usual." He commented, a cold breeze tickling his fur.
Their patrol wasn't going far, only to Sunningrocks and the Riverclan border. It would be uneventful, to say the least. But Leafstorm didn't mind. It gave him time to think about everything.

Amberpelt purred in contentment as she laid sprawled out across the rocks of Sunningrock, her eyes closed as she exposed her lighter stomach to the warmth of the sun. The days were getting colder but that only meant all the more reason for basking in the sun when it was there to be had. Her content rumbles came to a stop as she heard pawsteps, opening up one of her eyes to see Ivyfall moving around the rocks as well. She waved her paw in a silent greeting to the deputy before she closed her eyes and snuggled closer to the warm rocks, happily letting herself sink once more into bliss. It was nice to relax like this, taking time to simply be...herself. Why let all the stress of life wear her down when there was basking in the sun to be done?

Specklefang stuck close to Leafstorm, her shoulder still aching but for the most part healed enough to do patrols. Looking around the area she sniffed the air every so often, she had been extremely cautious since her encounter with the badger. She had yet to tell Leafstorm of his sisters... demise, she had told him not to worry about it and she was just out hunting and enjoying a night alone. He had too much on his paws already, with Specklefang being so wounded and devastated...

Sprawled a short distance away from Amberpelt on another sun-warmed stone lay Splashwillow, who was contentedly splayed out onto her back with her pale belly fur exposed to the sun. The young she-cat had been lulled into a blissful, and seemingly well-deserved, doze that rendered her much too lazy to do anything other than occasionally shuffle positions. After all the headaches and sleepless nights that she had gotten from Shellwater's near constant crying over the past few moons, it felt nice to simply relax like this.

At the sound of pawsteps nearby, Splashwillow's eyes groggily fluttered open. Twisting her head around awkwardly, the warrior found herself being greeted with the familiar silver pelt lurking just towards the end of the rocks. Blinking several times, she simply found herself watching Amberpelt lazily greet her kin instead of actually doing anything else. Rolling onto her belly so that she could properly glance at Ivyfall, the little calico found herself blearily stretching out her forelegs before speaking. "Ivyfall," Splashwillow happily called, "Come join us!"

Coyotepaw followed the pair of lovers. His eyes narrowed as he watched them, but he held his tongue. For some reason, his mentor had fallen for the beast that was Specklefang. Since then, he had grown fairly distant from the cheerful tom. The tabby's apprenticeship would be over soon anyways and he no longer had a need for many more training sessions. It was not that he disliked Leafstorm, he simply disagreed with his investment in the brutal she-cat. Anytime he had been near or around her, Coyotepaw had found another reason to dislike her. This current patrol was the most hellish way to spend his evening. Blizzardstar was unknowingly punishing him for whatever reason. Apparently, the gods were not on his side today. As they came into view of the sunningrocks, his tail tip twitched. He had not been here since he had first joined Thunderclan after the fire. This had been the first place he called "camp".

There was a slight bit of nostalgia attached to being back here. At the sight of the Riverclan cats, however, he was reminded this was not even their territory; the river-dwellers claimed it right now. He was used to the ever changing claim of territory, given that was how things were in the city. However, the apprentice was not used to any long-term boundaries. The fact that these massive clans held territory they claimed was eternally theirs blew his mind a little bit. On such a nice day, the warm rocks looked highly tempting. If he was not internally terrified of having his ears ripped off, as was the normal punishment for trespassing, he would have asked to join them. Cats from other clans did not bother him for being from other clans. He cared only for the quality of their character over their birth origins. The Riverclan deputy was probably more trustworthy than Specklefang in his head right now. As he silently looked over them, he waited for the pair of warriors to keep moving.

(ooc: late srry)

Leopardclaw, at the head of the fairly small patrol, glanced back curiously at the two warriors present; Leafstorm and Specklefang.  Not keen to spend time with the newly-formed couple - he had never cared for watching cats fawn over each other - he kept up a steady pace that kept him a few fox-lengths away.  If he was honest, he was a bit surprised by the pairing; serious, aggressive Specklefang didn't really seem like the type of cat outgoing, boisterous Leafstorm would typically fall for.  Really though, it wasn't his business and he honestly couldn't care less; clan gossip held no important place in his life.

What did though, was the up-and-coming warriors of the clan.  Flashing Coyotepaw a sympathetic smile, he flicked his tail in a welcoming sort of way, inviting him to walk beside him at the front if he wished.  He knew the young tom-cat wasn't the most social, but he might as well offer.  Rounding the bend, Sunningrocks came into view, to the deputy's pleasure and dismay.  This place had been ThunderClan's sanctuary during the fire...but also the place where Cherrykit had passed away.  With a stiff sigh, Leopardclaw was about to turn away when he noticed a few RiverClan cats relaxing on the stones, including the rival clan's deputy Ivyfall.  His eyes narrowed a bit, but he did and said nothing; they weren't trespassing or antagonizing them, might as well just ignore them.

Willowpetal was laid out a few tail lengths from Splashwillow taking in the warmth from the sun gratefully. Sighing contentedly, she opened her blue eyes lazily as she heard the paw steps of her grandmother, Ivyfall. “Yes, come on! It’s so relaxing.” She purred happily as she rolled onto her back to let the sun soak into he fluffy white belly fur. It was so rare to be able to get a moments peace like this, so she was definitely not taking this time for granted, and what better way than to spend it with her kin.

(so sorry , mobilee)

Tail raised high in greeting, the deputy chirped in reply to Sparkwillow's offer, slinking over to join her fellow denmate. That was when the shifting of the wind let an unfamiliar yet familiar scent waft over to her, leaving the warrior on edge. She forced herself to leave her fur flat against her back, but her claws slipped out of their sheathes, scrapping at the earth as she turned to face the woods. "It seems that we aren't alone. Snakes have come slithering out of the forest seeking sunlight."

Her words were scathing, not hiding her blatant dislike of the ThunderClan cats. Subpar foxhearted morons that couldn't make half a mousebrain even if they combined all the clan together. The fact they shared a border was embarrassing enough.

Amberpelt raised her muzzle toward the sun as she heard Splashwillow and Willowpetal calling out for Ivyfall, her lips curling in a smile as she heard the pawsteps of the deputy growing closer. She hadn't been planning to ask Ivyfall to join - let the deputy worry about hunting or whatever she was doing - but there was a victory in getting Ivyfall to sit down and relax with them...That was until the deputy spoke up. Her green eyes flashed open as Amberpelt rolled onto her stomach, giving her pelt a soft shake as she tasted the air. Normally she wouldn't have given a rat's tail about ThunderClan lurking around - perhaps she would have even invite one or two bask in the glory that was rightfully RiverClan's but it seemed there was a whole patrol out there and that they were rivaled paw to paw. "Well lets hope we won't have to teach them a lesson," she grumbled as she pushed herself to her paws, stretching out in a luxurious manner as she followed Ivyfall's gaze to the trees. It had been a long while since she had been in a fight with another cat - not since their attack on WindClan when she was an apprentice but she knew her fighting skills had only gotten much sharper from then. These ThunderClan cats would feel their wrath if they decided to start anything.

Leafstorm shifted his paws, shooting Specklefang a warning look. She could take care of herself. It was Coyotepaw he was worried about. He slowly made his way towards Coyotepaw, standing so close their pelts brushed. His green eyes narrowed as he watched the Riverclanners.
His young apprentice had been distant with him lately, and he had a feeling he knew why. He'd have to take him out soon -there must be something they could do together.
The more Leafstorm got to know him, the more he thought of the tom less as an apprentice and more as a son.

His pelt prickled and an odd feeling of annoyance washed over him. Why should they get Sunningrocks? They barely did any hunting. Besides, Sunningrocks was on Thunderclan's side of the river. Perhaps, once they reclaimed them, he could take Coyotepaw there sometime.

He took a small step forward, turning his eyes towards Coyotepaw. "Don't worry," He mewed lightly. "Riverclanners are smart enough to know that a battle against Thunderclan can't be won."

OOC: It's crap but I'll edit it later when I'm less tired

Letting out a short little trill of excitement as Ivyfall settled down next to the little party of lounging she-cats, Splashwillow returned to her relaxed dozing as she returned to her previous position of resting on her back. Lifting her short legs into the air, the young she-cat began to mindless peddle her legs as the other she-cats with her slowly grew more tense over the approach of a neighboring patrol. "Oh hush," She cheerily reprimanded as she twisted her head to look at Amberpelt and Ivyfall, "It's just Thunderclan. Since when have they ever been brave enough to come near the Sunning Rocks?" Thunderclan had always been so meek and un-confrontational since her birth that Splashwillow almost thought that the forest-dwelling Clan was completely incapable of unsheathing their claws. the thought of Thunderclan being violent seemed...stupid. Allowing her eyes to drift shut once more, the small little calico found herself almost completely ignoring the rapidly approaching enemy patrol. "Let them sulk about for a bit." Splashwillow simply blearily mewed, wriggling her shoulders against the warm and smooth stones as she spoke.

The apprentice just barely caught Leopardclaw's gesture and, after a slight shrug of his shoulders, padded to the front. He did not know the deputy well. However, he had nothing against the older cat, and thought it would be considered some sort of an honor for such a young cat to help lead a patrol. His gaze tore away from the Riverclan cats. It was obvious they had been noticed, yet he thought it best to just pretend they weren't there. As he padded up to join Leopardclaw, he opened his mouth to make some sort of small talk before Leafstorm was at his side. Looking at his mentor now made his tail tip twitch uncomfortably. As they had begun their training, he found himself respecting, and even liking the warrior. That had begun to fade with his relationship with Specklefang. Now, he just wished the other tom would leave him alone.

"I would hope so." His meow felt flat. Coyotepaw hoped that Leafstorm would catch his disinterest in talking at the moment. The patrol to him was just business that needed to get done. He had no interest in making friends or building relationships while they guarded imaginary borders. However, at the mention of the so-called enemy cats, his ear flicked. A fight was not something he was hoping for. In their training, his battle skills had begun to sharpen up, but he had no intent of using them unless it was necessary. Confrontation was not in his style. What made things worse was the thought it would be a battle over the invisible lines that split one group's section from another. He found himself wondering once more if a true clan cat would be thinking these things. Probably now. But, given how strange it all seemed to him, he could not picture it any other way.

Specklefang stayed silent for most of the patrol, her ears perked at the mention of Riverclanners and thus was brought to her attention. Turning from her patrol she silently strode over the border, her hackles raising as she glowered at the Riverclan cats. "I wouldn't assume cowardice from Thunderclan cats if I were you fish-munchers." Specklefang spat, her tail lashing as her claws unsheathed. "I must admit, these are might warm... pleasant rocks. It would be a shame if blood got all over 'em." The thunderclan she-cat paced along inside the border, intentionally provoking them. It wouldn't be her to make the first move.

Willowpetal nodded towards Splashwillow with a look of amusement. "Let them whine like the mewling kits that they are." She meowed with a contemptuous flick of her fluffy white tail. Those squirrel chasers didn't deserve an ounce of thought or effort from her or her clanmates. They were no more of a threat than a kit. Licking her paw and drawing it over her ear, she let her blue gaze rake over the patrol lazily before closing her eyes to continue her relaxation that had been interrupted, purring contently.