A Starless Trail

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/RSbg.png] R E D S T E P Redstep padded lightly along the old over grown trail, his dark red tail swinging behind him. His long legs carried him easily along the border. He stopped and peered back across his shoulder to the scuffle of a few ferns. "A bird" He meowed to himself after scenting the air. He sighed and let his pelt, which had started to prickle, lay flat again. The warrior code meant nothing to any cat anymore. Redstep had clung to his faith for as long as he could, but nothing meant anything anymore. Warriors were killing with no reason and cats where disappearing from every clan. A cat has to watch his back. What seems to be prey could be a warrior sneaking in for the kill. Redstep turned back and continued along the trail, his amber eyes blazing. Redstep wasn't a young cat, but he was no way ready to become an elder. His claws and eyes where still sharp, his sense of smell even better. Redstep stopped again mid step and raised his nose to scent the air. Did he scent another cat or was his mind allowing the forest to play tricks on him? Redstep peered around with his amber eyes narrowed.

[ℳoon 浤]

Hickoryfur had been cautious about coming down near to the Stardust Trail, ever since the time he crossed the border and got captured by SouthClan cats. He looked over from the WestClan side, and saw a warrior from the other Clan over there. His fur bristled. He didn't want to get in trouble. He stalked along the WestClan side of the border, looking over his shoulder to observe Redstep.

Wouldn't it be irony if one of them crossed the border and I had to bring them back to WestClan with me? he thought with amusement. He was friendly though, and didn't wish the other cat any harm. So he called out from the other side of the border, "Hello there, SouthClanner!"

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/RSbg.png] R E D S T E P Redstep's ears pricked as he heard an unfamiliar voice call out to him. So his eyes hadn't been playing tricks on him. Redstep turned to face the unknown cat, A west clan cat by the scent of it. His fur bristled when he took in the other cats scent. By the looks of this tom, he was young, smaller then himself. Scenting the air without moving his eyes from the stranger he couldn't pick up any other fresh scents. This tom would be no challenge to him. The tom's voice gave nothing away, holding no signs of threats or danger. Redstep forced his pelt to lay flat along his back again, settling into it's neat ginger stripes. "Hello West Clanner" he answered back attempting to keep his voice even and friendly. No need to cause trouble unless the border is crossed. He reminded himself. Redstep took a step forward, careful not to set paw across the border as he spoke. "What are you doing so far from your clan alone?" He inquired lightly.

[ℳoon 浤]

The SouthClan cat seemed friendly enough, but Hickoryfur knew that he always needed to keep on his guard when dealing with cats from other clans. They were sometimes wildly unpredictable, and though SouthClan and WestClan usually got along, they had their spats from time to time. His tan and red tabby tail swished back and forth.

"I'm just hunting and touching up the border markings," he replied. WestClan hadn't been very good about organizing actual patrols, and most of the time the cats just went out and did whatever needed to be done for the Clan. "How about you, SouthClanner?" His emerald eyes scanned the other warrior, finally able to get a good look at him as he stepped closer. He seemed strong and capable. Hickoryfur knew better than to start a fight unless absolutely necessary.

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/RSbg.png] R E D S T E P "Getting away for a while." he replied simply enough. Truth was he had his eye on a Southclan she-cat, and needed some time to clear his mind of his thoughts on her. Redstep took another step forward, becoming wearily close to the border. "Don't clan cats hunt and patrol in groups?" he pressed, his paws barley a few mouse lengths from the Westclan side. He could see the other cat more clearly now, and he was even more sure if they got into a fight he would walk away the victor. One of the advantages to his large size and moons of experience. Though experience also told him not to underestimate the other. Every clan was different, living in different territories and such but South and West clan were more alike when compared to the cold North cats or the sun loving East cats. Redstep flicked his ear towards the young tom. "My name is Redstep" he meowed lightly adding more to the conversation. It wasn't often enemy cats met together in peace when not at a gathering.

[ℳoon 浤]

Redstep. The WestClan cat nodded in acknowledgement of the introduction. "My name is Hickoryfur," he meowed. He heard the question of hunting and patrolling in groups. He didn't want to give away any weaknesses that WestClan might have, just in case. His Clan had been disorganized for a long time, even with the rise of their rogue leader.

"My patrol went ahead without me," he meowed, lying in order to seem like he had more strength behind him. He couldn't completely trust Redstep, and he knew it would be best if it seemed like there were more WestClan cats around. "How is the prey running in SouthClan?" The cold of winter usually meant far less prey for all the Clans.

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/RSbg.png] R E D S T E P Redstep narrowed his eyes. He hadn't scented any other fresh scents nearby when he had spotted Hickoryfur. It was very possible the tom was lying to make himself and his clan seem stronger. Redstep didn't say anything about his suspicions and instead addressed his returning question. "Prey is running well for Leaf-bare. My clan is healthy and strong." he meowed. All clans faced trouble in leaf-bare, his was no different. As well as Hickoryfur he wanted to seem strong, and not let any cat know of his weakness. Redstep's breath made clouds of air whisp through the chilly air as he allowed himself to look around. Getting comfortable was not the right thing to do now. He looked to his paws, as they touched the border. What would this cat do if he placed even a single paw across? Redstep didn't attempt to find out and kept his paws neatly tucked under him.

[sil]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/LFbg.png] L E A F P A W Leafpaw had been wandering the edges of the Dark Forest for some time, searching for prey without much enthusiasm. Her mentor Redstep had left her to hunt on her own. She didn’t really mind being left to her own devices; nevertheless Redstep had been pushing more and more solo work on her so that he could wander off by himself. The young apprentice wasn’t aware what was on his mind, but something was troubling the wizened, experienced warrior. She shuffled apathetically through the layer of dead leaves and frost coating the forest floor, parting her jaws occasionally to try and catch the scent of prey. So lost in her own thoughts was she that she nearly missed the fresh scent of a plump squirrel. Dark ears perking, she scanned the tree line for the squirrel. Leafpaw spotted the unfortunate thing no more than five fox-lengths away. It was the fattest prey she’d seen all leaf-bare! The calico she-cat dropped into a smooth hunter’s crouch and pulled herself along the forest floor. To her dismay, the dry leaves crunched under her paws, alerting the squirrel to Leafpaw’s location. It squeaked and took off toward Stardust Trail. Leafpaw, thinking only about making her mentor proud and feeding her hungry Clan, gave chase. The apprentice hadn’t even noticed that she’d crossed the border to WestClan when her teeth finally met in the neck of her prey.

[ℳoon 浤]

Hickoryfur heard a sudden nearby noise, and he neglected his conversation with the SouthClan warrior in favor of checking on it. He growled when he saw a young cat cross the border. So, had Redstep been a distraction just so that SouthClan could steal prey from WestClan? he thought angrily. He ran after Leafpaw until he was looming over her, and smacked his heavy paw down on her tail.

"What are you doing in WestClan territory?" he demanded. His emerald eyes were not so much fierce as gently stern. Still, a SouthClan cat trying to steal prey was a seriously offense. He looked back over to where Redstep was, and hoped there wouldn't be a massive struggle.

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/RSbg.png] R E D S T E P Redstep watched in disbelief as his apprentice ran right over the boundary that marked their two clans. Doesn't she know better by now? He thought with a flash of irritation to the young cat. Before he could call her name to beckon her back over to the Southclan side of the border he watched through wide eyes as Hickoryfur chased after the apprentice. Redstep hissed to himself and pelted after the both of them. He used his massive shoulders to shove the younger tom out of the way. "Keep your paws off of this apprentice or you're crow food!" He threatened bearing his sharp teeth. Without taking his gaze of Hickoryfur he hissed to Leafpaw, "What are you doing crossing the border like that? You're not a kit, you should know better." Redstep's hackles where raised and his tail flicked angrily behind him. This was a confrontation he had hoped to avoid. He was now on the Westclan side of the territory and would have to put up with Hickoryfur. Atleast he seems level-headed enough. He thought with his mind briefly flickering back to the more aggressive cats in his clan.

[sil]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/LFbg.png] L E A F P A W Leafpaw had just finished off her prey with a flourish of triumph when a weight pinned down her tail. Instinctively, she let out a yowl and swung around, batting at her captor with sheathed paws. WestClan?! she thought in disbelief, hackles raising as she readied herself to defend her territory. Wait… not her territory. Where… where was she? Dread prickling her paws, the young apprentice quickly realized that she was on the western side of Stardust Trail. The side that definitely did not belong to SouthClan. What a mouse-brained fool! she chastised herself. ”I didn’t mean to, this was my prey!” she meowed defensively to Hickoryfur, too prideful to accept that she had seriously messed up. But before she could say more, the ginger, powerful frame of her mentor came rushing into view. Redstep pushed the WestClan warrior away from her, protective as always. Leafpaw shrunk at his harsh—though completely deserved—words with a sullen mewl. This was one instance where her normally cocky bravery would only make things much, much worse. Especially considering Hickoryfur was completely within his rights to take both Leafpaw and Redstep back to his camp. Please don’t start trouble, she prayed, her thoughts directed to both her mentor and the WestClan warrior.

[ℳoon 浤]

Hickoryfur was startled as Redstep came rushing towards him. By that point in time, both of the cats had crossed the border. By Clan law, it meant he would have to take them back to the camp for interrogation. The only trouble was, he wasn't sure he should do that, mostly because he didn't want SouthClan to know the mess that WestClan was in.

"You crossed the border," he meowed, trying to stay calm but stern. He didn't know what he was going to do. "Was this a simple mistake, or was SouthClan trying to steal from WestClan?" He narrowed his eyes, watching both of them carefully. He kept his paw down on Leafpaw's tail, just to make sure he had some control in the situation.

[Kenya]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/RSbg.png] R E D S T E P Redstep shot his apprentice a warning glance in hopes that she would understand to bite her tongue. Redstep put a paw over Leafpaw's tail to further seperate the two of them. With his ears pricked forward he matched his gaze with Hickoryfur's. "We don't want trouble" His tail flicked behind him as he spoke, his hackles raised even though he kept his voice calm. The warrior code was fallen to peices, nothing made sense anymore. Cats were killing cats, and there was danger everywhere. Even with starclan silent as a night in leaf-bare Redstep would not abandon the warrior code so easily. If he demanded the two cats go to his camp, he would go and hope they'd be willing to let them go. "Just a mistake. No harm done."

[sil]

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[atrb=width,400,true][atrb=background,http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/Sillvy/LFbg.png] L E A F P A W Leafpaw let out a sharp hiss when Redstep also pinned down her tail. She was being treated like some kind of silly kit that wandered away from the nursery! The burning embarrassment she felt at her mentor’s admonishment and the WestClan warrior’s accusations was more than she could take. Her fur standing on every end and her tail fluffed out, she jumped away from both of them. A couple loose tufts of fur were pulled from her tail harmlessly as she ripped it away from them. Leafpaw turned and spat, "I didn’t steal anything! This was my prey that I chased from my territory!” Her icy eyes glared at the both of them, and the flush of her humiliation and adrenaline made her tremble. "What does WestClan want with my squirrel, anyway?” the calico apprentice added defiantly. "You slime-coated swamp rats only eat greasy frogs and snakes!"

(ooc: i apologize for the late reply, been busy ): )

[ℳoon 浤]

Hickoryfur had made the same mistake before. But that time he had been dragged to SouthClan's camp for interrogation before he was released, and all as an apprentice. He wasn't much for retribution, but he felt as though he should do the same, just to even the score between the two Clans.

It didn't help that Leafpaw was being defiant, and from Hickoryfur's perspective rather bratty. He sighed, shaking his head. "Listen, even if this is a mistake, I still have to take you back to the WestClan camp," he meowed. "You could talk to our deputy, or to our leader. I'm sure you can clear all this up with them."