Fish Are Friends, Not Food [Closed]

A combination of the cool leaf-fall breeze and the crisp air had brought Ivybrook out of camp by herself, something she hadn't done since her apprentice hood. Despite RiverClan's lack of trees, she still enjoyed walking along the River, observing the trees on the opposite side as they shifted from green to brilliant shades of orange and red. Occasionally, leaves would even drift to RiverClan's territory upon falling, and the sound of leaves crunching beneath her paws sent a wave of peace over her. Leaf-fall was Ivybrook's favorite season- a bridge between two of the worst, in her opinion. Leaf-bare was always harsh and cold, and never spared a single Clan. Green-leaf was hot and the sun was constantly beating down on her back, and she absolutely despised it. Leaf-fall gave her a sense of peace, and the temperature was neither too hot nor too cold. New-leaf brought the disgusting yellow stuff that covered her coat and made her sneeze, so why would anyone enjoy that? No, Leaf-fall was surely the best. Coming to a nice spot to fish along the River, Ivybrook stopped where she was, being sure to keep quiet as she stared into the water. As soon as the silvery scales flashed in front of her, she dipped in a paw into the water, snagging a claw on a decently sized fish. Another great thing about Leaf-fall- the fish were always plentiful.

It seemed like he hardly had a moment to think. Between deputy duties and the usual rhythm of throwing himself into as many patrols as possible. Not to mention training with Duskpaw. Beartooth was used to the physical strain, and a constant mental strain from everything that pulled him in every direction. He found solace in the companionship of Ferretnose and Harefoot. The pair of warriors were always at his side, helping him wherw he seemed to fail. It was because of them that he still stood; it was because of them he found himself healing from the many things that plauged his minds. Moons of tragedy clouded his mind. He wasn't a brilliant deputy, or a brilliant cat, but he managed to survive. And to get the job done. Where he failed as a father, something he tried to hardly think of, he just barely bad touch by in the aspect of deputyship. Battle was sure. Politics were not.

As if reading his sparse thoughts, the tom found his solo hunt had taken him near the river. And there was his Riverclan counterpart. Ivybrook was younger than him, both in age and in title. And yet, there was an an assuredness in her step. She seemed to possess something that he lacked, which now, he found a moment to be intrigued by. They had hardly spoke at the gathering, given his speech was something hard to draw from his throat. Words were hardly necessary. As he reveled in the presence of those in his clan, he found it others enjoyed more as a connection piece. Beartooth sought to learn this art that had escaped him all the moons of his life. For a few moments, the bulky tom simply watched her, forest green eyes focused on the fish she plucked from the river. Were he the same cat from the previous season, still ignoring the need for some connection or conversation. It was relational, not just political. To some degree.

Beartooth decided to speak, obviously unsure of how he was in his awkward and bulky state. He did not feel it himself, but he certainly looked it, "Hello."

Fishing was something that had always come easy to Ivybrook, no matter the season. It was purely instinctual for her to simply place the fish she'd just caught next to her, and watch for the next fish. But before she even had a chance to get the first fish onto land, a rough, deep voice spoke to her from across the River. Startled, the only thing she could think to do was toss the fish that had been hanging on by two mere claws in the other cat's direction. Despite the slightly swollen waters, the fish found its way to the other side of the River... and made direct contact with the ThunderClan Deputy's face. With a gasp, the she-cat struggled to keep herself from yelping with surprise, and she immediately got to her paws and began pacing back and forth at the edge of the river. "You.. I, I got scared, I'm so sorry, Beartooth," Unable to keep herself in one place, her paws touched the water, and she paced forward slightly until her front legs were halfway submerged. "I'm so so sorry, Beartooth, I... I don't know what got into me." A worried look took precedence over her features, emerald eyes looking the ThunderClan tom up and down with a troubled gaze.

Slap!

Something wet and slimy smacked the deputy square in the face. He took a step backwards in shock. Water droplets flecked his tabby coat. Instinctively, his claws were revealed from ther sheathws. That was, until he discovered his enemy. A fish flopped a few times, drawing up and collecting dust and dirt before it seemed to lose dedication to its struggle. He blinked once. And then twice. A fishy odor rose up to his nose, which twitched slightly. For the most part, since it was fresh from the water, there was little more than the dull scent of water. But, fish, nonetheless. Beartooth had hardly seen such a creature and for a moment he simply started at it. The other deputy's words were lost initially as he inspected the fishy foe. Finally, he looked up to meet her expression, whiskers twitching slightly in amusement. For the most part, he was oblivious to her troubled gaze, "Does Riverclan actually eat these things? They're as shiny as the sun." His words held no humor, just a genuine, curious, question. Underneath the light of day, the thing seemed to glint and glitter. It was unusual in all ways. About as strange as cats who themselves took up the art of swimming.

Silence stretched the two deputies for a few moments, yet it felt like eternities before the other tom spoke.

Beartooth had every right to swim to the other side of the river and attack her, but instead, he asked a question that, to Ivybrook, seemed quite obvious. "Well, yes, that's generally the idea." She commented, tilting her head in fascination. Had the ThunderClan deputy really just asked her if RiverClanners ate fish? "You're supposed to take the scales off, we don't eat those." Sitting down at the bank of the river, she stared at him curiously, and without quite realizing that she was doing so. "You could try it if you'd like to." Ivybrook didn't think it could hurt too much- not as much as receiving a fish slap to the face, that is.

"Hm." He hummed softly out of the side of his maw as he looked down at the scaly creature. There was a curiosity to his gaze, and the deputy's head tilted slightly. This was the first time he had ever spoken to another cat at the border in something akin to peace. But Ivybrook was alone, and no threat to the border. Besides, assuming the deputy role had shoved on him the pressure of interaction. It was more natural now, something he had been forced into and somehow adopted. Beartooth glanced up at her for a moment. Conflict writ over his expression. A Riverclan cat was offering him fish. Was this some sort of trap? Would they swarm the border the moment he did? She was relaxed, even in his ignorance he could see that. The mistrust seemed to melt away but he kept looking out of the corner of his gaze. Finally, one large paw rose to slice at the scale on the prey. It was a sloppy gesture and tore open the side of the fish, mixing scales and flesh. Underneath it was pink and strange. After another glance at Ivybrook, he dipped his head and gingerly took a small bite. The flavor reminded him of how Riverclan cats smelled. His nose wrinkled instinctively. But he found he rather licked the strange taste, "Would you like the rest of your catch? I could offer you a mouse in return." Perhaps an offering would pay any debt owed.

The RiverClan deputy watched as her ThunderClan counterpart contemplated her offer- and for good reason, she supposed. It had to be quite odd, the deputy of your enemy Clan offering you prey. She understood why he might be suspicious. A very soft smile slipped onto her maw when he finally tried the fish, on that she quickly covered up with the stony mask that she had been utilizing the past couple moons. "So, a ThunderClan cat eating fish. Odd, but not entirely impossible, as we can see. I didn't actually expect you to do it." The tabby she-cat mused, gaze trained on the scarred tom across the river. "No, no, you can keep it. I'm sure there's a kit who would love to experiment with new fresh-kill somewhere within your camp." Shaking her head lightly, she denied his offer for a mouse. "That was very brave of you. You had no way of knowing if I'd laced that fish with death berries and planned to smack you with it all along." Though her tone was flat and she sounded serious, that was her attempt at a joke. It was as close as she would be getting to one, anyway.

Beartooth watched her with a measured gaze. It was strange to be speaking so casually with another clan's cat, something he had avoided outside of the gathering, save for his conversations with Amberdawn. But it seemed that this Riverclan cat had no ill will towards him. At her suggestion of returning it to camp, his maw faltered slightly. Cats would pry as to where he got the fish, and that is a tale the Thunderclan deputy did not plan to spread. He simply was not one for much conversation, even over something so casual. When she joked about stuffing the creature with deathberries, he glanced down as if half-expecting to see some there. Quickly realizing that was untrue, the deputy looked back up and dipped his head slightly, "I am grateful you didn't."

Ivybrook managed to give the ThunderClan deputy a slight feigned smile at his gratitude, shifting her paws nervously. Border patrols were no big deal to the she-cat, she had never minded them- But hanging around the border made her uneasy, like at any moment another cat or predator could strike. Conflict was something that the grey tabby avoided when she could, preferring to stay inside the warriors den or in the heart of RiverClan territory, where at least no other cats should be bothering her. Pushing the dirt around with her front paw, the RiverClan deputy sat awkwardly as silence stretched between the two Clan cats. She didn’t want to interrupt the peace, but it seemed like the silence was smothering her.