Windclan/Riverclan border {closed}

Aspenfur sat, fuming, her long grey tail flicking in irritation, and her eyes narrowed, staring at the brown slats of wood that made up the twoleg bridge. The slight breeze wafted past her flared nostrils, trailing the scents of both Thunderclan and Windclan, which made sense because she was the closest to their territories as she could get, without crossing the line. And as far away from camp and her mother as she could possibly get. 

She loved her mother, honestly. Morningclaw had devoted her life to seeing her first litter grow up to healthy successful warriors, and it had worked. Except Aspenfur sometimes felt that her mother had never stopped mothering and it left a bad taste on her tongue knowing that soon she would have to return to cap and apologize because that is what kin does, no matter how ugly the fight had been or how wrong the other she-cat was. She couldn't fight with her family too long, because they meant too much to her, a problem that seemed in thought a good one to have but in practice made loosing a very real and constant part of her life, something she didn't like at all. 

The wind shifted again, bringing to her attention, the scent of a rabbit. She could taste the bitter sweat and fear coursing through the prey, allowing her to zone in on its position. It was thundering from the edge of Windclan towards Thunderclan. She stood, anger buried but not forgotten, as she caught the scent of the chasing cat. Both animals sped into view, and Aspenfur was once again reminded and impressed by just how fast the Windclan cats were. Being Riverclan had it's own perks of course, being the only cats who truly thrived among water. 

Her tail stood straight up, curling at the tip, in a hopefully not so aggressive posture, telling the other she-cat, you're getting awfully close to Riverclan, better be careful. While Aspenfur would never outright attack another clan, she most certainly could speed right back to camp and announce the breach of territory. the rabbit slipped away, dashing into the bushes of Thunderclan, as the other she-cat, slim and rusty pelted, skidded to a halt and meowed a curse. 

Aspenfur scented the air, trying to pick up the smell of aggressive intent. The rusted she-cat smelled nothing like prickling or thunder; she smelt like berries, intrigued, if not slightly defensive and Aspenfur felt that it might be okay to let her guard down. She sat back down, warily, but comfortably, curling her tail over her paws and twitched her nose, watching the other she-cat's fur fall flat again, mimicking Aspenfur's level of defense. 

Aspenfur wanted to take a few steps closer to the she-cat, to meet her, so that she didn't have to yowl, but she was at the edge of Riverclan territory. Any mouse length forward would be Windclan, and therefore dangerous, a breach in the Warrior Code. She didn't want to start an unnecessary war, especially since she didn't like fighting in the first place. 

She scented the air again, tasting the fine fresh breeze and light dust of the Windclan she-cat, but couldn't sense any hostility. She swallowed, fighting down nerves. She should have just gone back to camp, should have just turned around the minute she'd scented another cat, but returning meant apologizing and apologizing felt like ripping a claw out. She'd rather risk an encounter with an potential enemy than that. At least right now.

She opened her mouth, yawned to relax herself, and meowed, "Hello, Windclan."

Aspenfur could practically smell the skepticism and doubt pouring off of the Windclan she-cat. She nearly purred in delight; it was amusing to have someone think she would just blatantly attack them. What's more it was flattering. Aspenfur didn't due physical fighting, much like Shadowclan cats didn't really do the whole lets be friends shindig either. To think that her reputation (if she had one outside of her clan, she didn't know), hadn't spread further than her clan was ultimately satisfying. And relieving. 

The she-cat inched forward, carefully inspecting Aspenfur as she cautiously avoided Thunderclan territory. Aspenfur watched her quietly, blinking, as the she-cat settled herself at the end of the twoleg bridge and sheathed her claws. That was somewhat of a relief.

The two cats were now about five tail lengths away and Aspenfur flicked her ear as the she-cat answered, "Riverclan. What are you doing this close to the border of your territory?"

Feeling slightly insulted that the she-cat would think she'd just give up whatever knowledge she had, Aspenfur debated being rude or just answering. She was already peeved about her mother, the anger settling into irritation as the situation smoothed out, but that didn't mean she wasn't looking for at least a little respect, even if it came from the lone huntress of another clan. 

"Well, it would appear that I've been sitting here." She glanced surreptitiously to the right, then left, and leaned forward to hiss quietly, "But it appears that I'm actually trying to start a conversation."

She might have made a tense situation worse, but Aspenfur was if anything, fiery and fiesty, and sometimes just a little contradictory. 

Aspenfur blinked, taking in the sudden mood change of the she-cat. It was like being mildly rude and somewhat offended had relaxed the she-cat, rather than enrage her, which for Aspenfur was a very good thing. 

But then the she-cat huffed in amusement and spoke, and that yet again, sparked Aspenfur's temper. The Windclan warrior was laughing at her. Was her reply not clever enough; did the she-cat think she was superior to Riverclan? Knowing she was letting her anger spiral dangerously, Aspenfur pulled herself in check, testing the air and attitude of the she-cat and finally, finally relaxed, feeling slightly dazed as the last of the residual anger at her mother that she'd been trying to take out on the other warrior drain away. The warrior was merely attempting some banter, not looking down at Aspenfur.

"Now might you have a name? I can't call you 'Riverclan' forever, you know." There was what sounded like controlled condescension in her voice, but Aspenfur felt that maybe it was just a Windclan thing, or maybe she was just still trying to pick a fight, because the she-cat was at least being pleasant. "I'm Tawnywing."

In the two Gathering's Aspenfur had been to, she'd only heard once about a Windclan cat called Tawnywing, as a just recently promoted warrior. She had only been mentioned in passing, but Aspenfur liked to remember things that never made sense; she did it to annoy Oaktail, who constantly complained she wasted her intelligence on useless information, instead of focusing on the truly important. 

"Aspenfur." She paused, thinking of something more polite to say. "You almost had that rabbit, by the way. I don't know how all Windclanners are so fast."

Aspenfur knew she was leaking feelings like a tree leaked sap but she just couldn't seem to shake the edge of irritation. She wasn't even mad at Tawnywing, who was doing her best to be polite and kind. It was just second hand annoyance as the edges of her recent fight were poked. It was the way she couldn't swallow her guilt. She shook her head, ruffling her fur, then stood, shaking her body, as she listened to Tawnywing explain the changes Windclan warriors went through to be able to hunt as well as they did. 

It intrigued Aspenfur to hear about the Windclan adaptations. She settled back down, listening intently as Tawnywing explained the lack of cover in Windclan territory. It made sense, if Aspenfur had put any real thought into it, but she'd never tried. That's just the way things were in the forest. Riverclan could swim, Thunderclan could stalk, Shadowclan could prowl, and Windclan could run. 

She started when Tawnywing offered her the chance to speak. Twitching her whiskers in slight thanks, Aspenfur meowed, "Well your coat has something to do with it. In Riverclan, we don't get a lot of shaggy hair cats, and even when we do, our coats seem to have two layers. One to keep the water off of us, and one to keep us warm in the water. It's useful but sometimes we all get really bad hairballs during shedding season." She offered the last sentence as a slight attempt at humor, her tail flicking with enjoyment. 

Aspenfur paused for a second, thinking carefully about what Tawnywing had said. Yes, having an extra layer in her fur did make it harder to scratch deeply, but the way Tawnywing had said it soundly slightly off. Was the Windclan she-cat prying for information? Did she really think Aspenfur was going to give up clan secrets?

Of course, Aspenfur had to be careful. It wasn't strange to talk to other clans along the border, and it probably wasn't uncommon to try to find clan weaknesses or strategies. Aspenfur just hadn't really encountered it before. She hadn't been to a gathering yet, although she was pretty sure she was going this moon. She didn't think she was being overly suspicious either, since theoretically the Tawnywing was just doing her job and she didn't blame the rusted she-cat for it either. Aspenfur felt that maybe, she wasn't doing what she was supposed to.

"Ah, no." She lied, twitching her whiskers. "No, it doesn't work like that. Fur is fur, no matter how thick." 

Aspenfur nodded, thinking that yes, it would make sense if Windclan had thinner coats that other cats. Toting around too much fur would make it harder to run as fast as they had to. It was good information to tell her clan mates, something to use in battle. Maybe she was better at this whole subterfuge than she thought. It didn't seem that hard, if she was honest. 

She didn't know how much more she could talk about fur, but wanted to keep trying to get more information out of Tawnywing. Windclan and Riverclan had had their issues in the past, especially along the ravine border, and she really wanted to help out her clan. Part of Aspenfur realized she was just avoiding returning to camp and dealing with her mother. The prospect made her mouth sour and the idea of talking with Tawnywing more appealing. 


Aspenfur yawned, stood, stretched, shaking out her left paw as it began to fall asleep. "Do you think you'll be going to the gathering this moon?"