here we go again [closed]

Because of the lack of a quicker route, and a complete disregard for respecting the clan's borders, Clementine found himself yet again traversing the strip of land beside the thunderpath to travel across the land. Like the last time he'd resorted to this, he kept himself aware of his surroundings and tried to conceal himself from both the territory as well as the thunderpath by slinking through bushes and tall grass.

The scent of an approaching cat caught his attention. 'Not again.' With an agitated roll of his eyes, he focused his senses, hoping to pick up on something. The sound of pawsteps, faint voices, anything. Just like the last time, his plan was to appear as unthreatening as possible to whoever inevitably shows up- hopefully a younger cat. The older ones tended to be more protective of the territory.

A lonely patrol consisting of merely herself was not an uncommon occurrence for the young deputy, paws gently gliding over crunchy leaves littering the forest floor as she took in the beginnings of Leaf-fall. A slight chill had permeated the air in recent mornings, something she hoped would disappear before it settled in completely for Leafbare and made the lives of every cat significantly worse - and colder. Lost in her thoughts, Thistlemask's paw plodded down heavily, breaking a twig and spooking herself a little, calico tail puffing out in alarm. Shaking it off, she kept on, eyes narrowing at a new scent.

Mottlestar had insisted that ThunderClan was open to any and all, and that it was her duty as her deputy to uphold that even more so than any other warrior, so she swallowed her fears and made her presence clear. As she approached it was obvious the other cat was expecting her to appear at some point as she was very much upwind of him and her scent would have travelled in the breeze. He was visibly a rogue, lacking the familiar scent of any of the clans. Thistlemask took in a deep breath and sat with her tail curled tightly over her paws, eyeing him a little suspiciously but trying to keep the friendly vibe.

"Hello, may I ask what you're doing on ThunderClan territory?"

The approaching cat soon made herself known, asking a question that, for some reason, agitated Clementine beyond belief. Seeing as this cat wasn't immediately hostile, he subconsciously disregarded his plan to appear unthreatening. "Oh, I just thought it'd be nice to take a lovely stroll through clan territory, where I know I'm not welcome." The remark was drenched with sarcasm. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not trying to steal your precious prey. I'm just passing through- or, was until you showed up."

He continued to take out his frustration on the she-cat. "Y'know, the clan borders are so inconvenient- It's not like you'd care, though. Do you know how long it takes to get around all of the territory? It's a day's trip to get anywhere if I don't go through." When he finally shut up, he realized that it wasn't exactly this specific she-cat's fault that the borders were where they were. She was undeserving of his rudeness, especially considering that she hadn't attacked him on sight, something that he should be grateful for. With a heavy sigh, he stepped back and sat down. "... Sorry.... That was very rude of me. Let's start over. I'm Clementine." If he was lucky, he'd apologized before this cat was angered to the point of hostility. He wasn't exactly in the position to be as passive-aggressive as he was.

Thistlemask managed a contemptuous snort at his words, immediately recognising the self-serving attitude shared by most rogues, where they felt only annoyance for the mere presence and existence of the clans. It was something she reflected back on with frustration, thoughts drifting to her brother who had died in an unnecessary border skirmish, leading to a full-scale battle against ShadowClan. It was especially funny now living in a clan with a leader willing to take in any kind of cat, rogue, kitty-pet or clanborn, where such anger is completely misguided because they were almost entirely peaceful, especially if a cat was harmlessly passing through.

As he continued, instead of becoming irate, the deputy relaxed a little, tail-tip flicking a little as she waited for him to calm. Are you done? she wanted to retort, but allowed him to make his own amends, introducing himself as Clementine. Dipping her head, the calico stilled her tail, eyeing him down just a moment longer. "I am Thistlemask of ThunderClan. You are welcome to pass through, I was once a rogue - I do personally understand the inconvenience of borders at times." She yawned, before fixing him with a pointed stare. "However, that's all you're allowed. I will not tolerate you harassing my warriors because you woke up on the wrong nest and had to walk a little further today."

She briefly wondered why he was passing through ThunderClan - was he coming from the twolegplace past SkyClan? Where was he heading? Surely after his little outburst, the least she was owed was an explanation. "Where are you going, Clementine? Perhaps I can outline a quicker and" - she gestured to the Thunderpath with her tail - "less dangerous route."

Contrary to his assumptions, the Thunderclanner stayed calm and collected despite his outburst. An anomaly, she was. He had no doubt that he'd already be unsheathing his claws if he'd encountered any other cat. "Say, Thistlemask, what persuaded you to join the clans?" Her use of the word rogue put a bad taste in his mouth, but he digressed.

Something Clementine picked up on immediately was the way Thistlemask referred to other clan cats as 'her' warriors. That suggested that she had some kind of authority- whether that be deputy or medicine cat, unless the clans had implemented something else. Leader could quickly be checked off of the list though, her name didn't end in -star. Maybe she was just an arrogant warrior. Nevertheless, he had to be careful what he said... or, he could keep talking, maybe get some information.

"I'm headed beyond the territories. I frequently pass to and from the Twolegplace, and beyond, but the clans take up so much space." That was vague enough of an answer. It was true, though. Much of his time was spent wandering in search of new recruits. "Actually, it would be wonderful if you could tell me in an easier route to travel. I would rather not have to spend the entire trip watching my back." The tom doubted that there was an easier way around, but he took up Thistlemask's offer anyways. Maybe she would prove useful.