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Post by ruststar on Jun 21, 2015 18:50:08 GMT -5
It infuriated Ruststar that she could see the trees she'd hunted so many times in, yet the stench of Skyclan mocked her, forbidding entrance even when the markers themselves were trepassing. Her tail curled over her unsheathed claws, hiding the most visible sign of displeasure, but her posture did not waver from where she sat near her borders. They were as strong as she could make them, refusing to yield yet more territory to the interlopers, but that wasn't good enough. When Skyclan had been overtaken and Windclan's territory expanded, then Ruststar would feel placated— but not satisfied. Satisfaction would come later, after the other clans were comfortably under her thumb, but for now she must need content herself with lesser goals and remaining off the radar of the more suspicious leaders and deputies.
Mothstar, leader of Skyclan, was a special case, however. Considering how their intrusion had taken the greatest chunk from Windclan, Ruststar felt that she was justified in reminding the Skyclan leader how disapproving she was of their arrival. Characteristically, this took the form of the she-cat sitting sulkily on the Windclan-Skyclan border for upwards of an hour— or however long it took the morning patrol to meet up with her. On rare occasion, she'd been able to surprise a few bold apprentices who had scurried across the border to steal prey, but, for the most part, her solitary vigils went unanswered. It had been six moons since her borders were forcibly changed and, after so much bickering in those first few moons, she wondered if it was a good time to raid Skyclan and attempt to take back at least a few acres of the forest. It was greenleaf currently, but even the longest greenleaf would end. Then the snows would come, biting and nipping at the elders and kits, and the lack of forest would mean empty bellies for all.
Something would be done, Ruststar thought impatiently, and Mothstar would be the first to feel her resentment. Ruststar hated waiting.
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mothstar
SkyClan
Posts: 17 
Rank: leader
Age: 39 moons
Gender: female
Played By: riptide
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Post by mothstar on Jun 21, 2015 20:22:38 GMT -5
mothstar had slid out of camp alone early that morning. dawn had just arrived, and though she knew her patrol would make it's rounds, she decided to walk the borders herself. often she did this if only to familiarize herself with the landscape. the other clans have the benefit of countless seasons of knowledge. she needed to get as close to their level as she could in the short moons she had. the leader pushed herself to learn more each day. for starclan's sake she had enlisted the council of foxstar. the handsome yet infuriating tom had given her pointers on the lands that once had been his. she knew she should feel guilty, but she simply had no room. as leader of these cats, she had to put their safety first. and all of that counted on this slice of land.
though foxstar had been generally welcoming to skyclan's presence, ruststar was another case. daily she could feel the pressure of windclan's border as if it was a physical wall. mothstar disliked the russet she-cat, but she admitted that she could not place blame on the older leader. mothstar was the intruder. she had taken their lands. shaking her head, she dispelled these thoughts. this was their home now. she must stop labeling her clan as an intruder. grim determination resumed its place on her features. she would die before she let that petty old she-cat push them out. their had fought a journey harder than ruststar could conjure up in her mind. starclan, right or wrong, had led them here. there was not a chance in the dark forest that she and her cats were leaving now.
the cream leader curved around the bend of her border, rubbing her pelt against every other tree trunk. it was only later in the morning that mothstar detected a particularly strong scent across the border. instantly she recognized it. narrowing her blue eyes, she spotted the windclan leader glaring daggers into skyclan territory. she fought the urge to roll her eyes and lifted her chin purposefully, locking her gaze on ruststar. she strode on, only to stop when she reached right in front of ruststar. the only thing separating them was that wretched invisible line. anger fueled her next words. "such a pleasant surprise to see you, ruststar. i do hope that's not longing i see in your eyes? i would give up hope of getting that back," she purred, gesturing behind her with a sweep of her tail.
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Post by ruststar on Jun 30, 2015 12:39:39 GMT -5
In the time between the scent of a very notorious Skyclan cat drifting through the air and the appearance of Mothstar, Ruststar had enough time to thinly veil her frustration and sheathe her claws. It was hardly a reconciliation, or even a very good lie, but it was enough to show that she wasn't about to leap over the borders and wail on Mothstar— yet. Ruststar wasn't above petty squabbles in the name of establishing a firm pecking order, after all, so long as the decisive victor was her. As the patterned she-cat waltzed in, however, her features shifted from infuriated to passionately trying to appear disinterested, which wasn't much of a shift at all. Unlike her deputy, poker faces had never been Ruststar's strong suit; she'd always been the one flipping the metaphorical table to start bar fights.
There was only a few inches between them when Mothstar halted, purring pretty words that didn't match her impetuous, challenging stare. Not for the first time in her life, Ruststar wished fervently that the "Warrior Code" would suddenly cease existing, if only so that it would loosen its tenuous hold on her claws and fangs. "Oh, I was simply wondering if any of you were quick enough to scavenge rabbits from my glens. Starclan knows it would be such a shame if Skyclan couldn't adapt to the terrain," she said with every ounce of honeyed passive-aggression she could scrounge from her memories of Willowblaze's politesse. After a moment, Ruststar added, without great subtlety, "Have you ever considered going somewhere else? I'm sure there are other mountains in the world; perhaps you'd like them better."
It was no secret that Ruststar had opposed the arrival of Skyclan and had argued for them to be only temporarily housed at the Gathering's location, fed equally by each clan, and then allowed to take a small supply of food with them before leaving to establish their territory elsewhere. Instead, however, the damnable Thunderclan had managed to get them snugly nestled in between Thunderclan and Windclan— and Ruststar had been forced to contemplate a leafbare without their traditional leafbare hunting grounds. The cliffs made gathering oceanic prey treacherous, even for cats with a predisposition towards fishing, and the meadows lacked prey once the winter frosts had set in. Like most creatures, prey sought shelter in the forests. The same ones that Skyclan had so ungraciously encroached upon. Ruststar was well-prepared to steal prey come leafbare, but that, too, brought extra risks from the patrols Skyclan would undoubtedly send after them and the raids that would ensue as retaliation.
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