Beware of strangers [Slatefur]

The tall grey tom felt a sliver of relief as he peeled away from the lake shore and exited RiverClan territory. He hadn’t broken the code (he had taken care to ensure he stayed within two fox-lengths from the lake, as law decreed) but he was still thankful that he hadn’t ran into any RiverClan cats in his travels; Brightstar was known for her dislike of other clans and he would rather not be caught crossing her land.

A particularly strong breeze ruffled Slatefur’s pelt as he climbed uphill and his ears flicked uneasily. Crouching low in the long grass did nothing to quell his discomfort. He needed trees. He needed their sturdy trunks to shelter him from the wind and he needed their dense branches to create shadows for him to hide in. He huffed a sigh. He missed ShadowClan territory already, and although it would be very easy for him to turn and race home, he had a mission to do first.

On patrol he’d met a loner who’d mentioned that some rogues were gathering near the twolegplace. There was a chance the loner may have merely been talking about WindClan, but Slatefur decided to investigate just in case. If there really were rogues then they could be a threat to ShadowClan. Or maybe they would cause problems for RiverClan and ShadowClan could take advantage of the situation…

He spent the next half hour sniffing around the area, scenting nothing but twolegs, the equines who lived nearby, and some faint traces of WindClan. It was beginning to look like the loner had been wrong. Even so, as Slatefur was coming to the end of his search he paused; one WindClan scent seemed fresher than the rest. "Show yourself," he ordered loudly, not knowing exactly where the cat was but sensing there was one nearby.


Addressed: Rowanoak Mentioned: Brightstar OOC Notes: ---

Rowanoak was beginning to think he'd walked all this way for no good reason, since everything seemed quiet and peaceful. Well, at least he'd proven to himself that he didn't have to worry about any Rogues coming from this direction at the moment. Naturally, they'd be the concern of other clans first, but he wasn't willing to let them potentially come as far as his own clan again. He'd learned the first time thanks.

Just as he was about to rise and leave, he heard pawsteps approaching and went still once more. They were on his side of the forest, so either they were another clan cat just like him or they were a problem that he'd have to deal with. Either way, he remained silent until they spoke out, causing him to sigh quietly. Didn't sound like something a kittypet would say, so he'd roll with it.

"Over here," he said cheerfully enough, but still slightly wary. It wasn't like the stranger had been welcoming, so he knew better than to just be his usual chipper self until he figured out what was going on and who he was talking to. Hopefully it was another clan cat with the same idea he had. "Come here often?" he asked, unable to keep from being at least a little bit playful and teasing.

Hearing a response, Slatefur turned and padded slowly in the direction of the voice. It had sounded friendly, yet there had been a hint of tension in it that told him the other cat wasn’t an idiot; they were both smart enough to be a little bit wary of each other.

“Come here often?”

His ears perked slightly at the teasing quip. He snorted. “Sure, I simply can't resist coming here again and again to inhale that delightful twoleg stench,” he said sarcastically.

His gaze finally rested on the other cat: a red-brown WindClan tom with mismatched (admittedly pretty) eyes. Rowanoak, he remembered. Slatefur had seen the other male at gatherings, but this was the first time they’d spoken directly to each other. The grey warrior closed the remaining distance between them until he was a fox-length away. He sat down, forcing his fur to lie flat to show he wasn’t looking for a fight. Maybe this would be a good chance to find out what was happening in WindClan; he would be happier returning to camp if he had something to report. He tilted his head and narrowed his stare into scrutinising slits. “A bit far from home, aren’t you?” He knew he was being hypocritical - he was even farther from his home than Rowanoak was from his. But he was curious to know what the other tom was doing so near the twolegplace... Perhaps WindClan had extended their territory?


Addressed: Rowanoak Mentioned: --- OOC Notes: ---

Rowanoak chuckled at the sharp retort, highly amused by it. Ah, it seemed as though another clan cat had stumbled upon him. That was fortunate for the both of them, as him running into a rogue or kittypet wouldn't have ended well. "Yes, it's simply wonderful," he replied in an equally sarcastic tone. "Just great." It really wasn't, but they were going to be sarcastic about it because they both felt the same way.

"You too," he commented, recognizing the other feline. "I'm just out here to make sure no rogues are wandering around near the clans," he concluded, having no reason not to share why he was there. Perhaps the other male had heard or seen something that would tell him whether or not such a thing had been happening. All he wanted was information about the possible trespassing of rogues where they shouldn't be. Which in his mind was even thinking about going anywhere near their territory.

"This place is closer than I would like it to be," he added, his tone soft. While he understood that theoretically if it wasn't so close their clans might not exist, because they all had to have come from somewhere and likely there was a kittypet somewhere in their ancestry, that didn't mean he liked the idea.

Slatefur blinked, surprised by the other male’s soft admittance. It was uncommon for non-clanmates to confess uneasiness to each other – or at least, in his experience it was. Nevertheless he hummed in agreement and allowed himself to lay down with his paws curled beneath him. He wouldn't usually put himself in such a vulnerable position outside of ShadowClan territory, but he sensed it was unlikely that Rowanoak would suddenly turn hostile. “I feel the same way. It must be worse for you though since you live so nearby,” he said thoughtfully, regarding the twoleg nests with clear distaste.

His gaze trailed back to Rowanoak. There weren’t many cats with such vibrant fur in ShadowClan; their pelts were usually muted colours to help them blend in with their clan's namesake. He decided it would be a shame if the other tom's red fur was hidden in shadow anyway. It looked rather nice in the sunlight, almost glinting like a fire.

Slatefur realised he was staring. He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away, confused by the alien feeling starting to stir in his gut. “It’s interesting that you mentioned rogues… I actually came here for the same reason. A passing loner told me there were some cats lurking about here so I came to check he wasn’t just talking about you lot,” he said with a flick of his tail to Rowanoak to indicate WindClan.


Addressed: Rowanoak Mentioned: --- OOC Notes: ---

Rowanoak's nose crinkled at the mention of how close he lived to this terrible place. Ah, he didn't care to be reminded that it was painfully easy for felines he wanted nowhere near his home to wander all over it and its borders. If it were up to him, Windclan would have moved a long time ago, but it wasn't up to him and it probably never would be. Maybe that was for the best, now that he thought about it.

He turned his gaze towards the other man and stuck his tongue out slightly. "Don't remind me," he said playfully. The lightness in his gaze faded immediately at the mention of a loner, which wasn't much better than a rogue in his mind if it was at all. Hmm, interesting news to hear. "Well, if there are they certainly aren't from our clan that I'm aware of," he replied. Might as well provide information since it wouldn't hurt anything. It would hurt them more if they became associated with even the idea of talking to rogues and kittypets. That never ended well for anyone.

"I'd rather rogues stay well away from the clan," he concluded, as far into the matter as he was going to go in a first meeting with a stranger with such brilliant blue eyes. "But that can't always happen I suppose." Unless all rogues were eliminated from the world, they would always be around to linger near the clans. And, since they obviously couldn't all be forced into the clans and he was opposed to just killing them, that wasn't going to be possible.

At least this male cared about his clan in the same way and wanted to make sure there wasn't the danger of rogues and kittypets wandering over. "I'm Rowanoak, by the way," he concluded, not sure if the other man remembered him or his name. He knew the Shadowclan warrior by sight at least, but he couldn't quite dig up a name to match it.

Rowanoak stuck his tongue out, causing Slatefur (for perhaps the first time in his life) to feel flustered. He quickly looked away from the other tom and fixed his gaze on the twolgeplace to distract himself. What’s wrong with me? he wondered, suddenly incredibly appreciative of his fur for hiding his flushed face. With a slight shake of his head he tried to focus on Rowanoak’s words.

The grey warrior nodded as the WindClan cat confirmed his findings; that there didn’t seem to be any rogues in the area. Slatefur was grateful to have a second pair of eyes investigating the situation. He was sure that between the two of them they couldn’t have missed anything.

“I’m Rowanoak, by the way,” the ginger tom introduced himself.

I know... Slatefur bit his tongue to stop himself from speaking his thought aloud. He didn’t want to seem creepy or stalker-ish. “I’m Slatefur. It’s nice to meet you, Rowanoak,” he said politely. His tail twitched. He wanted to learn more about the other cat but didn't know how to ask questions in a way that wouldn't make it seem like he was digging for information about WindClan. Regardless, he decided he would try. "So... are you happy in WindClan?"


Addressed: Rowanoak Mentioned: --- OOC Notes: sorry this took so long!

Rowanoak nodded when Slatefur introduced himself as well, chastising himself for having not learned it in the past. It made sense, just looking at the other tom, so it should have been obvious to remember. Clearly he needed to pay a bit more attention at gatherings. Oops. In his defense, there had been some serious crap going down in WindClan in recent times that had made paying attention to other clans not high up on his list of important things. Now that it had all settled down though... things were different.

It seemed almost an odd question to pose to him, and Rowanoak decided that either the other tom was fishing for gossip or he wasn't having a great time in Shadowclan and might want an out. He'd always wondered what it was like over there, because he had to wonder if it was boring living in the semi-darkness of their clan and learning how to fight all the time. At least, that was all that he knew of the clan. It probably wasn't particularly accurate.

"It's nice there," he said, not about to hold curiosity against Slatefur. He didn't see any reason to hide anything, since as far as he knew their clans were in good standing with each other. "My mentor, she got attacked by rogues and the river washed her away for some time, but she made her way back and now she's deputy. Things kind of sucked while she was gone but now everything is back to normal," he continued, nodding slightly as he finished his statement. "We're no different from any other clan, I guess," he concluded, turning his attention back to Slatefur again with a slight smile.

Slatefur’s ears perked in surprise. “That’s a hell of a story, I can’t believe I haven’t heard about that until now,” he remarked. He would’ve thought a tale like that would have been a focus of gossip at the gatherings. He returned the tom's slight smile as Rowanoak commented that Windclan was like any other clan. Slatefur snorted.

"Sure, if you ignore the fact that there are no trees in your territory. Honestly I don't know how you stand it," the grey warrior mused. In his short journey to the twolegplace he had felt incredibly uncomfortable being so exposed to the elements. He couldn't imagine feeling like that all the time.


Addressed: Rowanoak Mentioned: Ravenwing OOC Notes: sorry it's short!