A Simple Misunderstanding [C]

Those who saw Marigoldpaw leave camp might wonder why he was in such a rush. The tom was fleeing from another confrontation, and by confrontation, that meant someone simply mentioning the cats who had recently passed away or gone missing. Cats that Marigoldpaw had barely even gotten to know before they... disappeared. All he could recall were their names, and perhaps oddly enough, the color of their eyes. Why did he know that but he couldn't remember a single conversation with them? The tom padded quicker, telling the nearest clanmate he would catch up with the border patrol before slipping out the camp's exit.

He stood still gazing upon the rolling fields ahead of him, eyeing the horizon in which the forested edge of those plains marked the territory's border. Light wind batted his ears playfully, cooling the steam off his neck while urging him to calm down. Marigoldpaw closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Since he would rather not break the rules today, the apprentice's paws kicked off toward where the sun-high patrol was headed.

Eventually, the patrol came to pass the Thunderclan border near Fourtrees. His clanmates were ready to move on quickly, but... Marigoldpaw had never been this close to the woods before, except for Gatherings. And even with the full moon's light it was hard to see much other than what trees to avoid. But as he stood there peering into the dense, green, lush forest he felt impulses tug at his paws. "I'll catch up!" he called to the patrol. "I need a break. To... you know..." The senior warrior rolled their eyes before dismissing Marigoldpaw, who then stood alone in the tall grass. I'll just get a quick look. Won't even go over the border, he told himself as he cautiously began crossing into the shade of giant trees. Only pushing the rules a liiittle bit. No real harm.

Marigoldpaw gazed up into the canopy. Wow... It gave a slightly weird feeling but wasn't too different than a cloudy day. The tom smiled, thinking the specks of light peeking between leaves looked like the night sky. He looked ahead of him into the deep vastness of Thunderclan territory. He wondered what it'd be like under trees all the time. Wait, isn't that how Hemlockfox used to live? Isn't Skyclan a forest clan like Thunderclan? Marigoldpaw scoffed. If anything we should be called Skyclan then.

The tom lowered his long, grey-spotted, white neck to sniff a group of ferns. It smelled exactly like Thunderclan. He supposed it made sense they would smell like their environment. It didn't occur to him that he was smelling the borderline. Margioldpaw continued to enjoy his surroundings, becoming particularly interested in the birds chittering above him. His ears swiveled trying to try and pinpoint where one might be, but it was much too confusing without being able to see them. Then his ears discovered a different sound. A snarl.

He watched another cat creep toward him, a cat unlike any he was familiar with. There were big Skyclan cats, sure, but this one wasn't like them. His muscles rippled beneath odd tawny markings. Small ears, wide-set eyes, and large teeth. Marigoldpaw's own eyes grew a bit wider, his tail restless and ears flicked back. The apprentice shifted into a defensive position, his lips tempted to pull back and bare teeth in return. Was this a Thunderclan warrior? A rogue? Or... a predator? Whatever the case, he didn't seem friendly. One of the Windclanner's legs stretched behind him, preparing to make a quick move if attacked. I can probably outrun him, he thought, yet afraid he'd be forced to stand his ground.