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Description
Troutsnout and Thornblaze run into each other at the border.

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@/masked-saiis

Walking up to the Tideclan border the dark tom looked around, he was here for a patrol but was hoping he’d run into troutsnout again. Every since the gathering Thornblaze couldn’t get the tom out of his mind, he wished the next gathering would come quicker so he could see the tideclanner again. Walking up to the river and into the open Thornblaze gently lapped at the surface of the water

@/mageanders

Troutsnout was simply out for a walk. Herringstar had been trying to do some weird clan meeting, but the younger sibling really didn't want anything to do with it. It was probably just some dumb inspirational speech, anyway. So, he had slipped away, and found himself padding along the river separating Tideclan and Thicketclan. He was too busy scuffing his paws on the sand to notice anyone else at the border, but he was making enough noise to be noticed himself.

@/masked-saiis

Unsheathing his claws and fluffing up at the sound of an approaching cat the thicketclan warrior was on edge, he could definitely hear a cat but couldn’t quite see one looking around a few more times the young warrior’s eyes landed on a familiar pelt,troutsnout, just the cat he wanted to see “hello?” Thornblaze said softly, trying not to scare the other warrior

@/mageanders

Despite the soft tone, Troutsnout had been so in his own head- mostly complaining about Herringstar and his parents- that the noise startled him, causing him to jump. He jerked his head around, finding the source of the noise, which turned out to be just a single cat. "Oh. Uhm. Hello, I didn't expect... anyone to.. I mean, I did, but... just one of you? I'm on my side of the border, so... don't try anything funny. I'm not trespassing."

@/masked-saiis

Letting out a soft chuckle “I wasn’t going to do anything anyway” he smiled friendly “I just came down here for a drink” Thornblaze tilted to head again, letting out another softer chuckle “so, how do you do, troutsnout”

@/mageanders

"Oh." Were there no closer water sources in Thicketclan? How did those cats even live? Then again, Tideclan was surrounded by water and they couldn't even drink it. "Well, uh. I'm doing fine, I guess." He was going to leave it at then, but decided to take a deep breath and push on. "How about... you?"

@/masked-saiis

“I’m doing fine, nothings happened recently I’m Thicketclan” the tom let out a soft purr, he didn’t expect to feel so happy to see the tom after the gathering, he’d just hoped to get the thought of him out of his head “something’s bothering you, is it, uh” he took a moment to think, what did troutsnout complain about at the gathering “herringstar?” Thornblaze remembered the other warrior’s dislike for his older brother

@/mageanders

Troutsnout prickled a little, even though Thornblaze's words held no malice. It felt like every time someone in Tideclan brought up Herringstar, it was to chastise Troutsnout for not being 'nice enough' to his older brother. But... maybe someone from Thicketclan, someone who hadn't grown up alongside his family, would be able to understand. "Yeah, sorta. He's just... he thinks he's so great, and he can make everyone feel good just by talking to 'em. It's... annoying." he admitted, sitting down heavily in the sand.

@/masked-saiis

Thornblaze listened closely to the Tideclan tom “that must suck, I can understand why you’re so bitter about him” the dark warrior sat down in the sand, wrapping his fluffy tail around his paws “people must compare you to him a lot,,” Thornblaze smiled softly at the tom, letting himself be warmed in the sun rays

@/mageanders

At this point, the Tideclan warrior was beginning to visibly relax. Thornblaze wasn't mad at him for feeling the way he did like Tideclan cats would, wasn't chasing him off like some other Thicketclan cats would... it was nice. This was nice. "Yeah... it's dumb. Our parents were the one who got him into power anyway... it coulda been my sister, or it coulda been me. But they chose him. It's just... it's dumb. It sucks."

@/masked-saiis

Still purring Thornblaze took in everything the tom was saying, he definitely had it rough, but what surprised the thicketclan warrior is that it was troutsnout’s parents doing that got him into power, why didn’t they choose trout over herringstar? Shaking his head the warrior smiled, This was nice, Thornblaze could stay here forever with trouty, just sitting and talking. How he felt about the warrior was still uncertain, he couldn’t identify it, but it was a welcome feeling

@/mageanders

The silence from Thornblaze was met with more silence from Troutsnout. The warrior glanced across the border at the tom sitting across it. Across the small river. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Do you know how to swim?" he meowed, nodding down at the water, "Or would you drown if you fell into something as slow as that river?"

@/masked-saiis

Thornblaze snapped out of his thoughts at the question “I can’t swim, but I have fallen into that river before , so I don’t think I’ll drown. May I ask you asked?” Thornblaze was confused at the question but went along with it anyway, contempt with just chatting with troutsnout

@/mageanders

"Well," he meowed after a brief pause, brow furrowing, "I just thought... I dunno. It'd suck if anyone fell in and died." He didn't feel the need to specify Thornblaze, thought it would be bizarre. Though, to be fair, Thornblaze was the only Thicketclan cat he'd bother saving. Except for maybe, like, their medicine cat. "You should try and learn sometime."

@/masked-saiis

Thornblaze raised his eyebrows, was troutsnout worried for him? “From who specifically? I don’t think anyone in my clan can swim - and it’s just as likely for me to swim as it’s you to climb trees” the Thicketclan warrior smirked, he wouldn’t mind teaching trout how to climb trees, or trout teaching him to swim

@/mageanders

Troutsnout shuffles his paws in the dirt awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess so. I just thought since you do have water on your territory and all... I mean, our kits learn how to swim so it shouldn't be that hard to..." he trailed off, unsure how to offer, or if Thornblaze would even appreciate the offer at all.

@/masked-saiis

“Well if it’s easy can you teach me? I don’t really like getting wet but if it’s hanging out with you I don’t mind,,,” Thornblaze might get in trouble for being in the Tideclan river but he didn’t mind. Walking up to the edge of the border Thornblaze smiled

@/mageanders

"Hanging out with-?!" Troutsnout spluttered out, coughing a little bit in his surprise. Immediately, he was growing hot beneath his pelt. "Look, I-I really shouldn't. I can't make friends with cats from other clans, Herringstar might-" He paused for a moment. Who fucking cared what Herringstar might do? "...Never mind. Sure, I'll teach you." That was sure to show his brother he could make his own choices.

@/masked-saiis

At the approval of being taught to swim the dark warrior jumping into the shallow part of the water, making sure he wasn’t swept off his paws “I’m in the water, now what?” He waited for a reply while staying dead still

@/mageanders

The smaller feline snorted, slowly padding into the water, a little deeper than Thornblaze. "Well, uh... stay calm, mostly. You need to let your feet stop touching the bottom, then kick them out? Like this." Troutsnout began to swim, then, in a small circle before returning to shallower water. "Give it a shot."

@/masked-saiis

Looking wearily into the deeper water the thicketclan warrior attempted to swim to the other side - head going under for a second before he got the hang of it. Getting to the other side of the river was one of Thornblaze’s most relieving moments, starclan, Why was he so bad at swimming

@/mageanders

Troutsnout had been ready to save the bigger tom, but found that he didn't need to. "It's almost like walking, but in the water, and faster." he meowed encouragingly, joining the Thicketclan cat on the Tideclan side of the border. "You'll get better at it, I'm sure."

@/masked-saiis

“I really hope so, I’ll try again” he wasn’t sure if the technique would work but tried again anyway, this time he went straight to the bottom of the river - quickly remembering to swim the tom tried to get to the surface

@/mageanders

Torn between wanting to let Thornblaze learn on his own and ensuring the tom didn't hurt himself, Troutsnout made a soft noise within his throat. He hesitated only another heartbeat before diving under, pulling the other tom up by the scruff. "You need to swim right away, not once you're at the bottom." he meowed after letting go of Thornblaze.

@/masked-saiis

Thornblaze coughed up some water that got into his mouth and wiped some fur away from his face. He was hot under his dark pelt from embarrassment “I got that, I just think a didn’t paddle hard enough or something” coughing a few more times before sitting up on the Tideclan bank “I’ll try again, in a few minutes” he said catching his breath

@/mageanders

The warrior nodded, joining his companion up on the bank. He lay in the sand, allowing the greenleaf sun to warm up his pelt, and the hot ground beneath him to dry his fur. "It'll get easier. Us Tideclan cats are pretty built for this kinda stuff, so it's easy for us. It just takes some practice for non-natural swimmers, I'm sure."

@/masked-saiis

“Thanks for the reassurance, I’ll get better eventually” he was warmed by the sunshine, and started purring contently. Despite almost drowning he was having lots of fun, almost so he didn’t notice how much trouble they would get in if they were caught - he wouldn’t mind anyway, he always got in trouble with the other clans even before he met troutsnout

@/mageanders

"You should probably head home, soon. But... maybe we could have some more lessons sometime." It was rare to see Troutsnout smiling, but here he was, a soft curving of his lips upwards. "Maybe you'll drown less next time."

@/masked-saiis

Chuckling the thicketclan tom agreed “I should, when are you free again? I promise I’ll be better next time” seeing Troutsnout smile for the first time caused him to feel hot on his face, was he sick? Why did his chest feel tight all of a sudden? Pushing away these thoughts the thicketclan warrior got up and cleared the small river in one jump, sitting on the other side “thanks again for saving my butt”

@/mageanders

Troutsnout rose to his paws too, shaking off the sand once the other tom had leaped clear of the spray radius. He strangely enjoyed the time he had spent with Thornblaze... he told himself it was simply the joy of rebelling against his older brother. That had to be it. "I dunno... maybe at the half moon? Herringstar will be super busy pretending to be important that night, so."

@/masked-saiis

“Then its a date! I’ll see you at the half moon, don’t forget or I’ll come into Tideclan myself with my new swimming skills” Thornblaze smirked, he couldn’t wait to see the other tom again - as long as no cat found out

@/mageanders

He didn't reply, only turned sharply away so Thornblaze couldn't see his flustered expression. He waved his tail goodbye, however, then quickly trotted back along the way home. "A date," he mumbled softly to himself, shaking his head vigorously. "That must've been a joke."

Description
Troutsnout and Thornblaze run into each other at the border.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

@/masked-saiis

Walking up to the Tideclan border the dark tom looked around, he was here for a patrol but was hoping he’d run into troutsnout again. Every since the gathering Thornblaze couldn’t get the tom out of his mind, he wished the next gathering would come quicker so he could see the tideclanner again. Walking up to the river and into the open Thornblaze gently lapped at the surface of the water

@/mageanders

Troutsnout was simply out for a walk. Herringstar had been trying to do some weird clan meeting, but the younger sibling really didn't want anything to do with it. It was probably just some dumb inspirational speech, anyway. So, he had slipped away, and found himself padding along the river separating Tideclan and Thicketclan. He was too busy scuffing his paws on the sand to notice anyone else at the border, but he was making enough noise to be noticed himself.

@/masked-saiis

Unsheathing his claws and fluffing up at the sound of an approaching cat the thicketclan warrior was on edge, he could definitely hear a cat but couldn’t quite see one looking around a few more times the young warrior’s eyes landed on a familiar pelt,troutsnout, just the cat he wanted to see “hello?” Thornblaze said softly, trying not to scare the other warrior

@/mageanders

Despite the soft tone, Troutsnout had been so in his own head- mostly complaining about Herringstar and his parents- that the noise startled him, causing him to jump. He jerked his head around, finding the source of the noise, which turned out to be just a single cat. "Oh. Uhm. Hello, I didn't expect... anyone to.. I mean, I did, but... just one of you? I'm on my side of the border, so... don't try anything funny. I'm not trespassing."

@/masked-saiis

Letting out a soft chuckle “I wasn’t going to do anything anyway” he smiled friendly “I just came down here for a drink” Thornblaze tilted to head again, letting out another softer chuckle “so, how do you do, troutsnout”

@/mageanders

"Oh." Were there no closer water sources in Thicketclan? How did those cats even live? Then again, Tideclan was surrounded by water and they couldn't even drink it. "Well, uh. I'm doing fine, I guess." He was going to leave it at then, but decided to take a deep breath and push on. "How about... you?"

@/masked-saiis

“I’m doing fine, nothings happened recently I’m Thicketclan” the tom let out a soft purr, he didn’t expect to feel so happy to see the tom after the gathering, he’d just hoped to get the thought of him out of his head “something’s bothering you, is it, uh” he took a moment to think, what did troutsnout complain about at the gathering “herringstar?” Thornblaze remembered the other warrior’s dislike for his older brother

@/mageanders

Troutsnout prickled a little, even though Thornblaze's words held no malice. It felt like every time someone in Tideclan brought up Herringstar, it was to chastise Troutsnout for not being 'nice enough' to his older brother. But... maybe someone from Thicketclan, someone who hadn't grown up alongside his family, would be able to understand. "Yeah, sorta. He's just... he thinks he's so great, and he can make everyone feel good just by talking to 'em. It's... annoying." he admitted, sitting down heavily in the sand.

@/masked-saiis

Thornblaze listened closely to the Tideclan tom “that must suck, I can understand why you’re so bitter about him” the dark warrior sat down in the sand, wrapping his fluffy tail around his paws “people must compare you to him a lot,,” Thornblaze smiled softly at the tom, letting himself be warmed in the sun rays

@/mageanders

At this point, the Tideclan warrior was beginning to visibly relax. Thornblaze wasn't mad at him for feeling the way he did like Tideclan cats would, wasn't chasing him off like some other Thicketclan cats would... it was nice. This was nice. "Yeah... it's dumb. Our parents were the one who got him into power anyway... it coulda been my sister, or it coulda been me. But they chose him. It's just... it's dumb. It sucks."

@/masked-saiis

Still purring Thornblaze took in everything the tom was saying, he definitely had it rough, but what surprised the thicketclan warrior is that it was troutsnout’s parents doing that got him into power, why didn’t they choose trout over herringstar? Shaking his head the warrior smiled, This was nice, Thornblaze could stay here forever with trouty, just sitting and talking. How he felt about the warrior was still uncertain, he couldn’t identify it, but it was a welcome feeling

@/mageanders

The silence from Thornblaze was met with more silence from Troutsnout. The warrior glanced across the border at the tom sitting across it. Across the small river. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Do you know how to swim?" he meowed, nodding down at the water, "Or would you drown if you fell into something as slow as that river?"

@/masked-saiis

Thornblaze snapped out of his thoughts at the question “I can’t swim, but I have fallen into that river before , so I don’t think I’ll drown. May I ask you asked?” Thornblaze was confused at the question but went along with it anyway, contempt with just chatting with troutsnout

@/mageanders

"Well," he meowed after a brief pause, brow furrowing, "I just thought... I dunno. It'd suck if anyone fell in and died." He didn't feel the need to specify Thornblaze, thought it would be bizarre. Though, to be fair, Thornblaze was the only Thicketclan cat he'd bother saving. Except for maybe, like, their medicine cat. "You should try and learn sometime."

@/masked-saiis

Thornblaze raised his eyebrows, was troutsnout worried for him? “From who specifically? I don’t think anyone in my clan can swim - and it’s just as likely for me to swim as it’s you to climb trees” the Thicketclan warrior smirked, he wouldn’t mind teaching trout how to climb trees, or trout teaching him to swim

@/mageanders

Troutsnout shuffles his paws in the dirt awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess so. I just thought since you do have water on your territory and all... I mean, our kits learn how to swim so it shouldn't be that hard to..." he trailed off, unsure how to offer, or if Thornblaze would even appreciate the offer at all.

@/masked-saiis

“Well if it’s easy can you teach me? I don’t really like getting wet but if it’s hanging out with you I don’t mind,,,” Thornblaze might get in trouble for being in the Tideclan river but he didn’t mind. Walking up to the edge of the border Thornblaze smiled

@/mageanders

"Hanging out with-?!" Troutsnout spluttered out, coughing a little bit in his surprise. Immediately, he was growing hot beneath his pelt. "Look, I-I really shouldn't. I can't make friends with cats from other clans, Herringstar might-" He paused for a moment. Who fucking cared what Herringstar might do? "...Never mind. Sure, I'll teach you." That was sure to show his brother he could make his own choices.

@/masked-saiis

At the approval of being taught to swim the dark warrior jumping into the shallow part of the water, making sure he wasn’t swept off his paws “I’m in the water, now what?” He waited for a reply while staying dead still

@/mageanders

The smaller feline snorted, slowly padding into the water, a little deeper than Thornblaze. "Well, uh... stay calm, mostly. You need to let your feet stop touching the bottom, then kick them out? Like this." Troutsnout began to swim, then, in a small circle before returning to shallower water. "Give it a shot."

@/masked-saiis

Looking wearily into the deeper water the thicketclan warrior attempted to swim to the other side - head going under for a second before he got the hang of it. Getting to the other side of the river was one of Thornblaze’s most relieving moments, starclan, Why was he so bad at swimming

@/mageanders

Troutsnout had been ready to save the bigger tom, but found that he didn't need to. "It's almost like walking, but in the water, and faster." he meowed encouragingly, joining the Thicketclan cat on the Tideclan side of the border. "You'll get better at it, I'm sure."

@/masked-saiis

“I really hope so, I’ll try again” he wasn’t sure if the technique would work but tried again anyway, this time he went straight to the bottom of the river - quickly remembering to swim the tom tried to get to the surface

@/mageanders

Torn between wanting to let Thornblaze learn on his own and ensuring the tom didn't hurt himself, Troutsnout made a soft noise within his throat. He hesitated only another heartbeat before diving under, pulling the other tom up by the scruff. "You need to swim right away, not once you're at the bottom." he meowed after letting go of Thornblaze.

@/masked-saiis

Thornblaze coughed up some water that got into his mouth and wiped some fur away from his face. He was hot under his dark pelt from embarrassment “I got that, I just think a didn’t paddle hard enough or something” coughing a few more times before sitting up on the Tideclan bank “I’ll try again, in a few minutes” he said catching his breath

@/mageanders

The warrior nodded, joining his companion up on the bank. He lay in the sand, allowing the greenleaf sun to warm up his pelt, and the hot ground beneath him to dry his fur. "It'll get easier. Us Tideclan cats are pretty built for this kinda stuff, so it's easy for us. It just takes some practice for non-natural swimmers, I'm sure."

@/masked-saiis

“Thanks for the reassurance, I’ll get better eventually” he was warmed by the sunshine, and started purring contently. Despite almost drowning he was having lots of fun, almost so he didn’t notice how much trouble they would get in if they were caught - he wouldn’t mind anyway, he always got in trouble with the other clans even before he met troutsnout

@/mageanders

"You should probably head home, soon. But... maybe we could have some more lessons sometime." It was rare to see Troutsnout smiling, but here he was, a soft curving of his lips upwards. "Maybe you'll drown less next time."

@/masked-saiis

Chuckling the thicketclan tom agreed “I should, when are you free again? I promise I’ll be better next time” seeing Troutsnout smile for the first time caused him to feel hot on his face, was he sick? Why did his chest feel tight all of a sudden? Pushing away these thoughts the thicketclan warrior got up and cleared the small river in one jump, sitting on the other side “thanks again for saving my butt”

@/mageanders

Troutsnout rose to his paws too, shaking off the sand once the other tom had leaped clear of the spray radius. He strangely enjoyed the time he had spent with Thornblaze... he told himself it was simply the joy of rebelling against his older brother. That had to be it. "I dunno... maybe at the half moon? Herringstar will be super busy pretending to be important that night, so."

@/masked-saiis

“Then its a date! I’ll see you at the half moon, don’t forget or I’ll come into Tideclan myself with my new swimming skills” Thornblaze smirked, he couldn’t wait to see the other tom again - as long as no cat found out

@/mageanders

He didn't reply, only turned sharply away so Thornblaze couldn't see his flustered expression. He waved his tail goodbye, however, then quickly trotted back along the way home. "A date," he mumbled softly to himself, shaking his head vigorously. "That must've been a joke."