Border Page |☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁|

Eelshock followed her gaze and smirked. "He looks a bit down too. Maybe we can cheer him up?" He grabbed his fish and flicked his tail for Fluffcloud to follow. To meet the tom at a spot of the border where the ravine ended.

Dashclaw mulled along.

lemme just copy my post over here lol )

Breezepaw slipped out of camp, his eyes red-rimmed as he sullenly followed the trail of his mentor. The young tom slowed as he spotted Dashclaw ahead. "Dashclaw?" he called quietly. "Why did you leave the vigil?" He knew it was a silly question, but the tom couldn't bear staring at the limpless form of his father anymore and had slipped away from his mother and brother.

“Oh, lovely.” Fluffcloud mumbled around the vole in her mouth as she spotted the apprentice. From what she recalled at the last Gathering, that must have been Breezepaw. Looking closer, she could tell the older cat was Dashclaw. Hmph. She had no idea if a Senior Warrior of Windclan would accept their help.

Dashclaw looked away at the mention of his brother. "Harewhisker was the best tunneler the Clan had. He didn't deserve to die."

Fluffcloud found herself slipping slowly towards the gap in the ravine, ears pricking to try and listen in on the Windclan cats. She flicked her tail to Eelshock, wondering if he could make anything out from the two toms. If anything, it would be good to know if Windclan was faring well, and if Swiftstar was actually handling his Clan.

Breezepaw huffed, but continued to follow after Dashclaw, "It's not safe out here alone with those prey-mauler things around. We should go back to camp."

Breezepaw hissed stomping after his mentor, "Do you want to end up in the middle of camp too? Stop being a rabbit-brain for a second. I know you're hurting but so is the rest of the clan. None of us want to lose you too!"

"Oh really?" Dashclaw stopped and faced Breezepaw. "I highly doubt after my little spectacle that anyone wants me back in that camp. It should've been me that was killed. Not Harewhisker."

Breezepaw looked up at the Riverclan cats in shock, looking a bit sheepish that he had been caught fighting with his mentor. He nodded to them slowly, not sure exactly who they were.

Eelshock lightly swelled when Fluffcloud pressed her nose to his shoulder. He smiled at her, but looked back at the WindClan cats.

Dashclaw stuck his tail in front of Breezepaw as a protective measure. He didn't exactly trust these cats. Eelshock was the son of Waspstrike, though he knew Fluffcloud was Diamondheart's daughter. "I'm Breezepaw's mentor and were just..." he glanced at his apprentice. "Just training," he lied. He didnt want these cats to know how bad it really was in WindClan. "The storm's passed through WindClan. We...suffered some losses, but the Clan survives." He knew he wouldn't be able to lie about the cats laying dead in the Clan's camp.

“I’m so sorry…” Fluffcloud’s heart ached as she realized that Windclan had indeed suffered some recent losses. She shook her head. “No cat deserves to die in such dreadful weather. Windclan’s resilience even in such tragedy has always been something we’ve admired.” She admitted, before she blinked down at her water vole and offered a small chuckle.

“It’s true that we enjoy fish as our main prey, but we’d be foolish to not get as much prey as we could to feed our Clan…” She trailed off, before she gave a deep sigh. “If I’m honest, I feel a heavy guilt knowing that our prey has ran steady, while others suffer because of the lack of it.” She decided to be boldly honest, not caring about upholding looks or strength. “Honestly, Riverclan doesn’t even need this vole. We don’t even need Eelshock’s fish either. Our prey pile is full enough that my father can double up patrols by removing hunting patrols.”

“You can even say you caught it yourself or found the fish washed up from a flood.” Fluffcloud offered. “I know it’s going to sound insulting, or mocking, but I can promise you that Eelshock and I have no care in the world to be owed anything, or to show any Clan pity when you all are just as capable as we are. Riverclan knows that Eelshock and I are out here for some time together. That’s all that matters. What we do with our prey is our business alone, when kits need to eat. The Code says we all are responsible for kits, no matter the Clan, right?” She reminded.

Dashclaw narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the two cats. "The code also says to feed your Clan before you feed yourself," He stated sourly. "Feeding another Clan isn't feeding your own first."

Eelshock shook his head. "Like Fluffcloud said, RiverClan is well fed. So, we don't need to feed it. If you don't take this prey, it'll likely go to waste. We'd rather give it to you in your troubled time."

Dashclaw glanced at Breezepaw. He wasn't sure how much he believed these cats. "So you're just doing this from the bottom of your hearts?"

“Fish don’t act like land prey do. Or birds. They don’t fly away, or burrow down. Even in the cold, as long as water moves, the fish can too. It’s dependable. No matter how many cats can say it smells odd, it is dependable, and very filling.” Fluffcloud explained, before she looked at Dashclaw and mewed simply.

“Not goodness of heart. But out of respect for another Warrior, and the Clan they protect. It is not your fault if your territory is struck by fire, or snow, or famine. Why should you be punished for it. I promise, our Clan is fed. There is no honor in Riverclan sitting and watching everyone else suffer.”