Silent Starry Night[C]

Yet another restless night, yet another trip in the woods. Copperlark padded down the path, her pawsteps silent for once as she slid through the undergrowth. Perhaps it was the lack of focus, perhaps it was the constant practice, but the she-cat found herself navigating through the territory as easily as any of her clanmates; a first for her. This went unnoticed, instead what filled her mind was a new topic: the stars. The spirits of her ancestors. During her moonstone journey, one of them, her very own brother Sunfire, had visited her and shared their wisdom. Or at least that was what they were supposed to do. Follow my heart... what does that even mean? Am I not already following my heart? All that I love is in Thunderclan! But even she knew that those were lies. Her heart belonged in a land she had never set foot in: the open, flower-filled fields of Windclan. It was where her dreams always took her, and it was where her heart would take her as well. But she was a warrior of Thunderclan, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Copperlark paused as the strong scent of a Thunderpath filled the land ahead of her. She stood right at the border. In front of her was the long stretch of gravel, with Shadowclan's pines looming in the distance, and closer was Skyclan's taller birches. From where she stood, she could just see the area of open land before the forest that belonged to Skyclan, lit by the moon's bright rays. Did she dare to step over the border? Or will she forever remain in the comforts of her birth-clan?

The thunderpath was perhaps Wolfblossom's least favorite border to patrol. The monsters were fewer at night, but their stench still lingered heavy in the air, and the knowledge that Shadowclan lay to the other side of the thunderpath never made trips to this border any more comfortable. Still, a border was a border, and patrolled it must be.

The night was quiet, or so it seemed as she wound her way through the pines. As she neared the section of thunderpath where Skyclan's territory met Thunderclan, the scent of another cat made her glance down. The cat who stood - on her own side of the border, Wolfblossom noted - looked young. Apprentice age, she thought. It seemed as if she was alone, and teh deputy's eyes narrowed slightly as her paws stilled on the branch.

"What are you doing out here so late, 'paw?" She called out softly, making no move to come down from her branch.

The sound of leaves rustling alerted her to another cat. Green eyes darted to the gap between the branches, where the silver outline of a large, bulky figure revealed a cat. They were both on their own sides of their border, which was good, because Copperlark honestly was not in the mood for fighting. The cat's words made her freeze. It wasn't that the warrior had called her a 'paw, but rather that Copperlark hadn't realized the cat could see her.

"I'm just here to clear my thoughts," She answered as vaguely as she could. She certainly didn't want to start a fight, and that included not to aggravate other clans' warriors.

"You aren't on Skyclan territory, I'm not going to yell at you for being out here. Though maybe do thought-clearing in a place that doesn't stink of thunderpath and Shadowclan, I know that would help me, were I in that position." Wolfblossom mewed, dropping to a lower branch. "My name's Wolfblossom. I'm not out here to fight, either." She could tell from the Thunderclanner's body language and wording that that was true of her as well.

Wolfblossom... wasn't that the Skyclan deputy? Copperlark shrank back as the Skyclan warrior dropped onto a lower branch. Despite everything that she was saying, Copperlark still didn't quite trust the older she-cat yet. Now that Wolfblossom was closer, the Thunderclan she-cat could just make out the splotchy pattern of a tortoiseshell, turned silver underneath the moon's light. Yup, definetly Skyclan's deputy. Her instant reaction was to walk away and pretend nothing ever happened... but she wasn't a kit anymore, and it would be incredibly rude to just walk away without saying anything at all.

"I suppose," She concluded to Wolfblossom's statement. Her tail twitched nervously and instinctively wrapped itself around her hindlegs. "Well, what about you? What brings the Skyclan deputy out this late of night to watch the Thunderpath, which stinks of thunderpaths and Shadowclan?" Could she even ask that? It couldn't be considered impolite, could it?

((OOC: Wolf is the rightmost cat in my signature, it's... A little outdated lol. The tortie is Harechaser. Beech and Bracken are in their correct spots, though.))

"I'm not expecting trouble, though borders should always be kept up with." Wolfblossom shrugged, taking no issue with the question. "Though I expect Shadowclan has most of their attention elsewhere at the moment." If Shadowclan was preoccupied with the foxdung Windclan had stirred up, it wasn't her business. If it kept their warriors from attacking Skyclanners, Wolfblossom had no qualms with it. She noted the way the Thunderclanner's tail wrapped around her hind leg, and the poor she-cat's posture screamed fear or intimidation to Wolfblossom. She would ignore it though. She didn't go around trying to scare others, but if that was the impression they had of her... That wasn't such a terrible thing, for the deputy who preferred to keep her focus on her own clan.

Right... Copperlark took a step back, a smile plastered over her face. "Okay, well, uh, it was nice metting you? Well, I really have to go now, you know, uh, traini- dawn patrol! tomorrow... can't stay out too long..." Her voice trailed off, an almost-pitiful look on her face. Great Starclan did she want to get out of there~! Please don't think I'm weird. Please don't think I'm weird. I mean, she's probably met cats weirder than me. It's totally normal! Of course it is, it's not like I'm any different from other cats, this is all completely normal~!

The Thunderclanner didn't seem at all calmed by her words, and Wolfblossom felt bad... But perhaps the kindest thing to do was just let her go as she wanted. "Farewell, then. Keep your wits about you near the thunderpath." She dipped her head politely and turned, leaping into a higher branch to continue her own patrolling.