fellow traveler [closed]

ooc: takes place before thrushnose’s kitting because this was supposed to be posted first augh

Night had well and truly fallen by the time Thrushnose reached the Thunderpath. Drying grass and clumps of brush greeted her. Though the path’s acrid smell persisted, the pleasantly cool breeze made it almost bearable. She still held her breath as she crouched in the bushes, gaze fixed on the stretch of not-stone before her. The Thunderpath wasn’t the sort of border a cat could linger on. Either you were blatantly trespassing, or you weren’t, or you tried for something in between and got flattened by a monster for your trouble. Given the options, she preferred to take her chances with ShadowClan. She was here for them, anyway.

Her Clanmates would almost certainly be willing to spar with her if she asked, but ThunderClan warriors tended to fight like…well, like ThunderClan warriors. Theirs wasn’t the only Clan in the forest; not every cat who lived here was a warrior or wanted to be. Her training had failed her, so she needed to build on it. Broaden her horizons. Finding a sparring partner across borders was just the first step of many. Granted, the ShadowClan tom she’d met likely wouldn’t agree to that, seeing as he hadn’t opened his mouth to do anything but snarl at her during their fight—but there were others. There had to be. After Asylum, she couldn’t be the only cat who wanted to get stronger.

After a full minute’s silence from the Thunderpath, Thrushnose poked her head out of the brush. No glaring monster-eyes shone at her. She sucked in a breath—and bolted. The same half-dead brush met her on the path’s other side, crunching under her paws as she slowed to a jog. One particular cluster of grass looked cat-sized; Thrushnose ducked into it and sat. Her dark-tipped tail beat against the ground. Monsters on one side, hasty ShadowClan warriors on the other. As much as she hoped this wouldn’t end in another scuffle, she wasn’t naïve enough to rule it out.