The Getaway

OOC: Those following my posts will see a theme begining to form in the topic titles ;)

OOC pt 2: Birthday post :) all of my characters are getting special birthday posts, this is Softpaws, what better way to have a good post for softpaw than get him into some mischief?


Softpaw was so hungry, it had been forever since he had gotten any decent meal.  His clan was in rough shape and he was getting desperate to change the standings. He could no longer stand by and wait for formal hunting patrols in groups, he needed to take action now.  The fresh kill pile was more often empty than anything else and when it did have anything it was always snatched up by their riverclan "guests" it seemed.

Sighing he got to his paws and padded out of the apprentice den and out of the thunderclan camp.  He walked around for a bit smelling for prey.  There was nothing... it was disheartening.

He walked past the stony hallow (number 2 on the site map) and continued west from there for a ways.

Thats when he spotted it, a little rodent that was scurrying along. Grinning widely he stalked after it stalking behind it, keeping so careful not to give himself away.

He followed it for quite awhile being so careful not to let himself be seen, it was taking him south west ish (on the map they are near the tree border of the forest and sunningrocks but for now still in TC territory)

He realized he was running out of space quickly, frustrated he quickened his pace after it and leaped at it.

(Rolling dice here)

The chase was on, the rodent scurried ahead with Softpaw right behind it, the rodent ran for cover of the sunningrocks and Softpaw growled not wanting to lose this opportunity, he corssed the border in pursuit.

Leaping out he caught the rodent between his two front paws and quickly nipped its neck. Holding the catch proudly in his jaw... he only now realized where he was standing... He hadnt meant to but he was way off the border sides, ohhh foxdung he cursed only now realizing his mistake.

He looked around nervously wondering and hoping that no one had spotted him.

Softpaw caught the rodent, but has failed the invasion attempt of being unseen, first rc cat to respond can do what they want

Softpaw:
-7 sp for the catch

23/30 sp (debuff active)

The member 'swiftheart' has done the following action : Dices roll

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#1 'Hunting Dice' : 4

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#2 'Invasion Dice' :

Perchfall was on her normal routine for the day. Wake up, assign patrols, train with the apprentices, go hunting, eat something small, do another patrol... and finally, take a walk by herself before getting back to her duties. It was nearly the one moment of peace she would get in the day, unless she crossed paths with Ashflight (which was unlikely due to the two apprentices he had to train). So, she walked quietly along the border, relaxing in the undisturbed snowy silence. Much as she was getting tired of snow, she did enjoy the quiet. It muffled her pawsteps as she walked, and her light gray and white fur blended in among the trees as she neared the border. However, then she heard something she did not expect.

Was that.... a ThunderClan cat? Quietly, she stalked forward a little, her eyes narrowed. Sure enough, there was an intruder. He looked about apprentice age, smelled of ThunderClan. Very young. Probably just misjudged the border, somehow. But he had a piece of prey that her Clan desperately needed. A more hotheaded warrior might have jumped him or gone straight to fighting, but Perchfall was not that sort of cat. Instead, she walked up to him calmly, but with authority in her bearing. Icy blue eyes glanced down at him. "You are an apprentice, so this was likely a mistake," she meowed quietly, no emotion in her tone. "If you leave the prey here, then you may leave without incident. I will not tolerate any further transgressions, however. This is not your Clan."

Softpaw's heart beat faster as he heard a cat approaching.  He spun to face a warrior much larger than himself... wait a minute... he recognized this cat distinctly from the gathering... but why? hmm he couldnt place her directly but knew she was important.  Think softpaw think... ahh that is what it was, she was deputy, her remembered because at the time Thunderclan had no deputy and so Thunderclan stuck out a bit with there only being the 4 deputies at the gathering instead of the normal 5.

She was way bigger than him and probably had way more experience... he backed away uneasy still holding his catch.  

Then she spoke... she recognized this was a mistake?  He nodded "It was a mistake" he answered confidently staring into her eyes unblinking he didnt back down just yet.

She offered him a deal, the food and he would face no consequences? hmm So far his interactions and dealings with Riverclan made him distrust them in general and dislike them even more.

He hated the idea of losing his catch that his clan needed so badly, it was even worse that it would be going to a rival clan in his mind.

His mind raced... what options exactly did he have? Even the hotheaded Softpaw knew there was no way he could take on an experienced warrior, that would get himself killed or very hurt.  And right now he had to think of what was best for the clan, them using loads of herbs on him was not ideal... could he outrun her back to his side? hmm not likely he was already winded from the catch and she had been well fed lately or at least better than he had been, and starting tensions with another clan would likely end him in a world of hurt...

but still hadn't riverclan done enough to already hurt his clan? Perhaps he could bargain with her, that seemed to be the only other way to not lose his catch.

"This is a thunderclan rodent, it just happened to cross the border right before I caught it... it should belong to me! Prey doesn't know about borders" he tried to reason with her... he actually had no idea what the warrior code said about this specific situation... hmm the cracks between the rules were his favorite though it left it open to interpretation which he would use to his full advantage.

"You should let me go with the prey" he bargained.

"I mean come on... is Riverclan so weak you need to steal food from an apprentice?" he meowed, he wanted her to think about how her actions would reflect on her clan... he had no idea who she was personally or what she saw as important but her being a deputy that had to mean that she cared quite a bit about her clan image, he hoped to use that against her. ... It was nothing personal he just saw that his clan was on the verge of starvation and they needed anything they could get right now.

"I bet you even have an apprentice or two of your own... wouldnt you want them to not get bullied around?" he reasoned, hoping to play on her pathos side... he doubted this argument would go as far... she seemed pretty cold and calculated rather than the emotional type... but who knows maybe secretly she had a soft spot for apprentices (... soft spot.. soft paw no? XD)

as he talked he slowly backed away from her.

Perchfall was vaguely hopeful that the apprentice would see reason; he seemed intimidated by her authority. She disliked using her position in this way, but it was undoubtedly effective in convincing others to listen. He agreed it was a mistake-- good. Of course, he wouldn't want to say it wasn't, whether it was true or not. So that was a good start. However, the ThunderClan tom seemed to have mistaken her coolheadedness for leniency. There was a sly look in the tom's eyes as he tried to weasel his way out of giving up the prey. Oh, for stars' sake. How dumb does he think I am? Her icy blue eyes grew frostier and narrowed imperceptibly as he dug a hole for himself, trying to back away towards the border as if she wouldn't notice what he was doing.

The deputy sighed in disappointment, shaking her head. "My apprentices would never do something like this, because apparently unlike you, they have a full understanding of the warrior code and its repercussions," she said flatly. "It is true that prey know no borders. However, the moment you caught it on RiverClan territory, it became RiverClan prey. I am not the idiot you seem to think I am. You have mistaken my attempted kindness for foolishness, and I will not do the same again." With her superior size and strength, she easily took the prey from him, and set it aside. "Again, what do you have to say for yourself? A lesser cat would have taken the prey and left you with scars as well. I try to offer you a chance to leave with your dignity, and you attempt to take advantage of me instead. Give me a reason that I should not tell Stoatstar and Jaystar about this theft." Her tail-tip flicked behind her, the only outward appearance of her annoyance. Should he try to run or do anything else foolish, she would be marching this scrap of fur straight to camp to be dealt with.

A meager patrol had been passing by Sunningrocks, had Softpaw paid any attention to the morning patrol assignments - he would have known. If the apprentice had bothered to listen to any of the basic rules and regulations of his position, he would have also known that it was strictly forbidden for apprentices to wander out of camp alone. They were not fully-fledged warriors, and given current circumstances, not even warriors were meant to wander alone. Stoatstar had pulled away when he thought he heard something, instructing his patrolmate to stay within earshot. But if Riverclan was sniffing about the border, he intended to know.

The little brown and white time slipped through the deadened undergrowth. Thankfully, his pelt blended in rather well with the surroundings and his frame allowed him to keep his pads light across the earth. Orange eyes peered through the bracken and scanned the scenery. It did not take long for him to find the source of the sound. Apparently, Riverclan had indeed managed to stay on their own land, and it was his clan's apprentice that had wandering paws. Stoatstar's teeth clenched. Softpaw had already been on his mind. Needlessly blatant disrespect had followed Minnowfin's appointment. While the leader did not demand respect, the thoughtless words and foolishly emboldened nature had caught his attention.

Of all the cats that Softpaw happened to find himself in the company of, it happened to be Perchfall, the deputy of their enemy clan. Were they in any position to do so, Stoatstar would have lead another patrol over here to capture the rich border territory. However, a clan that was thinned both by the season and their suddenly growing numbers was in no place to do so. Yet. He slipped from his position, having shown up just too late to catch the words exchanged. However, the body language made it evident this was no pleasant meeting. Silently, the tom willed Softpaw to keep his maw shut for once. Paws stopped about a tail-length from the border as he began to speak.

"Perchfall, right? Nice enough day today, I hope your patrols have been pleasant. It appears I need to speak to Softpaw's mentor about refreshing his training on where the borders lay and the consequences that come with crossing them. It would do us all some good to watch where we place our paws, especially in leafbare." Stoatstar's voice was light, slipping into something more even. As unpleasant as it was to face Riverclan's deputy, as much as he wanted nothing more than to sink his claws into the fur of a Riverclan cat, this was not the place or time. No, now it was his duty to collect Softpaw, who would surely be dragged by to the camp either by his tail or scruff - Stoatstar was still deciding.

"I appreciate you collecting our apprentice before he found himself too far from home. Sorry for the inconvenience. We will be going now, Softpaw."

Softpaw held his ears back as Perchfall called him out super hard. Wow... anger burned hot inside him.  It took every once of willpower not to lash out at her. He quivered in pure rage  as she jerked his catch away from him.

He wanted so desperatly to rake his claws alongside her back as she turned for a split second to put the prey down to the side. He thought it would be the cool thing to do... its what Starling would have done... its what apple would have done... he heard loads of stories of his adoptive mother bashing plenty of heads with the skyclanners.

He was barely able to hold back the anger growing stronger by the second. He knew however that challenging her to a fight would not end well for himeslf and he would be smacked hard ... or worse.

Sighing he had no choice than to let her have it.

"Yeah... okay" he hissed backing down, letting her have it.

"Careful not to choke on it... would be a real shame if you did" he said full of sarcasm.

ohh and there she went making herself seem all high and heroic for not beating him to a pulp the second she saw him... meanwhile riverclan was out here stuffing their faces with prey while his friends and family had barely enough to live off of. ohhhh he wanted to attack so much even if he knew he would lose the satisfaction of just causing her any pain would be nice to have.

How could she think she was so "noble" when she could clearly see from the gathering how skinny and bad off thunderclan was.  

The temptation to lash out was so strong and he took a small step forward... that was right when his leader and adopted father called out in greeting to them... Softpaws ego and heart sunk further.... oh what a mess he had landed himself in.  He sat down listending to all Stoatstars words ... ooof ... ouch

watch were we place our paws???
collecting his apprentice!?
Wondering off too far from home??!!!  
Speak to his mentor about review of the borders!!!?

ARRRGGGGHHH... the humiliation smacked like a badger

Softpaw was angry before now he was livid!

deep down he knew his leader was right... but that only made him angrier for some reason.

Stoatstar called him over and after a moment of scowling at Perchfall he got up and walked back over to his side of the border standing next to Stoatstar, the prey was hers... for now. He vowed silently to himself to make her pay for it in full later... however long later may be.

Softpaw knew how this looked... and it didnt look great for him. "dad it was an accident honest! I just got caught up in the hunt and our small amount of land ran out before I could pounce on it as it ran" he explained his side of the story but knew that it was pointless Stoatstar would never hear it, he was probably already activly thinking of ways to line his nest with Softpaws pelt or all the apprentice duties that Softpaw would get to do as a "reward" for his "heroic behavior"

sighing he shut up not wanting to make this day already worse than it had someone gotten already.

Deep down Softpaw wanted what was best for thunderclan... He wanted to be like starlingflare or appledapple.

he just always seemed to mess things up, like the deputy ceromony ... that ended in disaster he hadnt meant it too he just spoke what he thought would be best for the clan... he let his anger and emotions control him way too much

or just now... the clan needed food so that's what he was trying to do ... it ended in disaster too ... if Stoat had come along any later he would be finding a beat up version of Softpaw after he would have inevitably lost that match.

He couldnt meet Stoatstar's gaze. Sighing he looked at his paws still extremely angry he managed to mutter "fine then... lets go home"

Perchfall felt thorns twisting into her heart at the apprentice's venom, though she kept any outward appearance fully neutral. She understood that this was a difficult time for all the Clans. But it seemed that no matter what she did in this case, the young tom would hate her. No matter her attempts to be fair and reasonable, all would be seen as condescension or self-righteousness. Nothing could be further from the truth. But it was not as if anyone would truly know that. As much as she hated to admit it, the knowledge stung more than the words that carried them. She had never wanted to be deputy. But her Clan needed the strong façade, and someone had to keep Jaystar in check... At that moment, the gray and white cat wanted nothing more than to be with her only friend.

It was uncertain whether the appearance of Stoatstar on the scene was a blessing or a curse. The smallish leader was evidently unhappy to see her, judging by his body language, but he at least was polite. They hadn't talked much as deputies, and due to the new power imbalance, she doubted there was any chance of something more than a forcedly amiable relationship. It was better than the apprentice sneering at her, though. Perchfall took the new situation gracefully, despite a moment of surprise, and nodded slightly at the ThunderClan tom's words. "I would appreciate that, Stoatstar. I take no pleasure in such border altercations; it is lucky that I, and not Jaystar, discovered the young tom attempting to steal prey from us. I would be grateful if you could also teach him respect for those in positions of leadership-- though I suppose young cats still have much to learn."

In polite acknowledgement, she blinked towards Stoatstar again, then glanced down at the foolhardy young apprentice whose name she had just learned. "Nice to meet you, Softpaw," she meowed without a trace of any positive or negative emotion in her tone. "I hope that if we cross paths again, it is in a happier circumstance. I wish you luck with your hunt. And, Stoatstar, my condolences for the loss of Minkstar. From the little I knew of him, he seemed to be a good cat." Perchfall stepped further back from the border, but would not leave until the ThunderClan cats were well on their way.

"Thank you." He muttered, turning away and waving his tail in a farewell to Riverclan's deputy. There wasn't much more to say to her. All of the bubbling rage building up inside was directed at Softpaw. No matter how much disdain he had for the neighboring clan, it was foolishness that frustrated him the most. It seemed that Softpaw was filled with a disregard for logical thought and sensibility. Admittedly, the leader had a brief moment of self-reflection. How could he have possibly raised a tom like this? The thought was swiftly dashed away - he hadn't done anything to encourage it. Besides, the other kits weren't like this, were they?

His pace was fairly quick and the sound of snow crunching underneath their pads was all that was heard for sometime. Stoatstar wanted to make sure that they were far enough away from the border that his speech wouldn't be within earshot of Perchfall. This was not between clans, this was between leader and apprentice, father and son, in a sense. A low growl threatened to bubble up and rumble in his throat but it never came. The eerie silence was fractured when he finally decided they were far enough away from their enemy. Whipping around, the little tom's fur bristled. This was perhaps the angriest he had ever been. Noting that, he sucked in a deep breath before speaking.

"Perchfall had every right to attack you and send you back home with wounds to make you remember what the borders mean. She's right, you were lucky. I understand prey is limited, my stomach growls like the rest of the clan's, but that doesn't mean we start putting ourselves into mousebrained situations. Do you want to make things worse, Softpaw? Because starting fights you can't win in leafbare is how you do that. Claws sting even worse when healing is slow, when your body can't recover quickly because it does not have enough food to do so." Although the words were obviously agitated, they weren't particularly loud. Even simmering as much as he was, the brown and white tom seemed to keep just enough of a claw on his emotions.

"I should confine you to camp for a whole moon. First the blatant disrespect during the leader ceremony, and now this? What do you expect me to do, Softpaw? Wait until you let your tongue loose around a cat who will actually sink their teeth into your throat? Promote a warrior who can't respect the decisions of their leader after swearing themselves to the warrior code? I'm not a fool. I won't keep letting this happen until its too late." Eyes narrowed, burning into Softpaw's pelt. He wanted to hear the tom speaking, silently hoping the words were more than just a waste of air.

Softpaw walked next to Stoatstar in silence for awhile until they were out of earshot of the riverclan deputy.
When Stoatstar was speaking, Softpaw kept quiet not interrupting.  He hung his head ashamed.
Within him a great fire of anger and self disappointment raged. He wanted the best for his clan, truly he did, but it seemed every action he took he messed up.

Softpaw regreted his actions of the deptuy ceromony every day since then and when Stoatstar brought it up he winced, ... he had done thing incorrectly he knew that, but standing by on something he actively disagreed with was not in Softpaw's personality or character.

He spoke his mind regardless of the consequences, he glanced at Stoatstar, as he continued.
He next asked if Softpaw if he wanted to make things worse.  Softpaw shook with rage at that question... of course he didnt! What an unfair question! It took all his focus and willpower not to interrupt right then and there with a loud onslaught of disagreement. This hunting accident was... well just that in his eyes and mind... an accident, he had not meant to cross the border.  But losing his catch still had him very bitter towards Perchfall and riverclan in general.

Then Stoatstar really pushed his buttons... he suggested locking him up to camp... Softpaw's furry grew even more, what good could he do for his clan trapped to the walls of the camp??!

Softpaw could feel Stoatstar's gaze burning into him and he had to look away not able to meet his father figure's eyes.

It should be specified that Softpaw was not angry at Stoatstar, he was angry at himself mostly with a little directed at Riverclan perhaps. He was angry that he couldn't do better for his clan, angry at himself that he had let Stoatstar down now for a second time in recent history.

When Stoatstar finished speaking Softpaw was fuming in frustration.

"Of course I dont want to make it worse!" he protested first

"I have only ever wanted what is best for Thunderclan!" he argued frustration clear and present in his voice.  Unlike the leader, Softpaw was not able to keep a claw on his emotions.

He clawed at the ground and icy terrain as he spoke smacking at it frustrated.
"It just seems everything I do I mess up!" he said in full on anger and distain for himself.

He raked his claws down a tree they were walking by in anger and wrath, he swiped at it back and forth between his two front paws.

He finally addressed Stoatstar's final comment about locking him in camp.

"please don't.... I want to help I don't want to become trapped there. I want to help Thunderclan how can I do that sulking around camp?? You will have me become as useless as our unwelcome guest. he protested, Starlingflare's ideologies had been imprinted deeply on him and he viewed the Riverclan newcomer Swan with much distain

This was an honest mistake... besides moms always getting into border skirmishes with skyclan... no one even got hurt today! Its not fair! he protested full on arguing.

he sighed

"... I promise to be more careful of the borders... just dont lock me in camp Im begging you, I want to be able to hunt for us I want to push Thunderclan ahead"

"How am I, or your clanmates, supposed to trust you if you don't think before you act? You're impulsive and unpredictable. If you truly want to help Thunderclan, you need to learn to be better. I can't just go off of promises, you have to show me." The leader's voice was stern and oddly restrained. Claws unsheathed into the snow, flexing in and out. Cold flakes became trapped between his toes and sent a chill down his spine. Softpaw didn't know it, but in that moment, Stoatstar was reminded of the tom's mother. She had threatened their lives with a relentless fury that would have killed Appledapple, one in fierce defense of her kits. Perhaps this apprentice was like his birth mother - without ever having met her.

It was this thought that had caused the leader to soften slightly. He wasn't a gentle creature by any means but perhaps Softpaw just needed a more guiding paw, like Minkstar had done for him. However, Softpaw's next word caused his tail to lash. A guiding paw did not have to be a gentle thing, "If I ever hear you speak of a clanmate like that again, it will be three moons. Consider yourself lucky it is one for now. And I can think of many things to keep your paws busy during that time. I'm sure Dustcloud will be happy to have her own personal apprentice to check for ticks. And the nursery will have never been so clean. It'll be far more helpful that annoying the deputy of a neighboring clan."

Maybe it was Appledapple's temper that Softpaw had picked up on somehow, but in a much less tactful way. Stoatstar snorted at the apprentice launched an attack at a nearby tree in frustration and spoke of the warrior. His whiskers twitched and he retorted, "There's a difference between getting into a battle that you're skilled enough to win and wandering off alone as a half-trained apprentice." He'd trotted along, not slowing his pace and quickening his paws every so often to release some of the tension building up in his muscles. Softpaw's outspokenness was far from endearing and the desire to take matters into his own paws, breaking rules... it was sheer idiocy. But he was trying, albeit severely misguided.

His pace slowed as he let out a low, frustrated sigh. It was tempting to mock the kit, yowl at him but instead Stoatstar's words were mild, "I want to see you do well and you seem to have good intentions but if you carry on like this, you're going to be a detriment to the clan and to yourself. One moon. Try to learn from it, for every cat's sake."

Softpaw nodded at the leaders words head downcast in disappointment at himself. He felt awful at himself for causing all this trouble.

He was still furious at himself but he did his absolute best to try and relax... it worked sorta ish...

...yes stoatstar he meowed, trying so hard to keep his tone neutral and not one of anger. He was never angry at Stoatstar, only at himself for landing himself in these stupid situations time and again.

Stoatstar was right he did have good intentions... he just seemed to have the worst luck in the universe as well when it came to enacting the intentions.


( I need my battle req XD)
as they were walking along Softpaw saw a snake nearby ahead of them and he pointed at it with his tail as the snake slithered closer to them.
A growl rumbled in his throat as the snake got closer and closer threateningly, but the snake did not back off it hissed back.
That was enough for Softpaw, he snapped and leapt at the thing.
Softpaw used Jumping Strike for 9 dmg.
Softpaw sunk his claws into the snake without restraint. The snake hissed out wiggled around. It slipped out of his grasp and quickly retreated.

(The hunting guide says they can retreat if they go below half health and I honestly was just trying to get the battle req XD)

I totally missed snakes have a passive move that makes them hard to hit so let me real quick roll for that...

The member 'swiftheart' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 2