Roleplay

@DarkHunter

Aurawing bounded obediently towards her mentor, eyeing the loner as he was pushed from the camp. He looked understandably nervous, and she felt a little sorry for him. He didn't seem hostile, but Darksong's judgement was unquestionable, and he was trespassing, albeit passing through. So she followed beside him, guarding his left flank, though she didn't feel like much of a shield.

Nightswift shuffled along, her right legs and tail hurting and wrapped in leaves. Her belly distended from the egged she carried inside her, bound to come out any day now. Her little brood, protecting them by running from the harm that was promised to them back at her old clan.

She whimpered as she paused to check her wounds, making sure the moss on them was still good. She wished she had time to make a balm to ease the pain of them, but she needed to find protection first. She didn't want her brood to be born outside of a clan, she wanted them safe from harm, both from creatures and the clan she left.

She felt incredibly foolish for crossing her leader so, and even more foolish when the one she had cared about didn't even stand up for her or the brood in her they shared. After re-wrapping her wounds in leaves she carried on, not even noticing when she drifted off the water clan border she was forced to go around and started walking along the shadow clan border, her head hanging low and her body curled in on itself as she walked.

@DarkHunter

Simmerclaw crept through the bushes, following the unfamiliar scent. His lips were drawn back in a snarl, but he walked softly so as not to alert what smelled like an enemy warrior.
It wasn't long before the scent grew stronger and he could see her making her way through the trees.
With a fighting yowl, he burst from the bushes, claws outstretched. "Trespasser!" he spat, bowling her over and pinning her by the throat.

@Akakowolf

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The loner made no trouble and soon enough they were at the far border to the mountains. "Don't turn back." Darksong growled, her voice low, and the loner nodded. He seemed relieved that he hadn't gotten any injuries from meeting with the clans, and disappeared in the rocky terrain.

Darksong turned to her apprentice, knowing that this was a lesson that needed to be imprinted on her mind. "The code states that we must protect our borders. The loner may have been just 'passing through'- that doesn't make him any less of a threat. He may not have been hostile, but every dragon gets hungry. Would you rather a hatchling starve because a loner ate the prey we need for snow-scarce?"
She gazed at her Dragonlet steadily. This was one of the hardest lessons to learn for those who did not feel fighter blood in their veins. "Even in Sun-reign, when prey is plentiful, we cannot afford to let trespassers through. The other clans would consider it weakness, and we face enough battles over borders during Sun-reign without the scent of weakness on our scales."

@Auroralights

Nightswift yelped at the sudden cry, spinning sharply in time to see a grey dragon tackle her. She didn't resist the attack, curling her feet and tail close to her body. "Please! I wish to join your clan! I mean no harm!" She pleaded, her orange eyes huge.

"Please, I have children due soon. They need protection. I'm a healer, I can help. I can be useful!" She continued to plead, taking short, quick breaths in panic. Frankly, she was down right terrified. The other clans hadn't reacted this violently to just walking a border. She didn't recognize this one from Water, not to mention she didn't smell him on their border... After a quick thought of the border layout she figured she was on Shadow borders now, it hasn't been far enough to be Fire yet. Rather than ask she continued to stare at him with pleading eyes, occasionally making a small whimper in fear.


@DarkHunter

"You know better than to cross clan borders." SImmerclaw hissed when she pleaded that she meant no harm. "Any other clan would have done the same. Why should I give you special treatment?" His paw pressed down harder on her neck. As she gasped out her reasons, his strong hold lessened, and he looked down at her swollen belly, so near to delivering her clutch.
He remembered when Heartwind's belly was swollen the same... the plague had already come, but they were just happy... and then watching the newly born hatchlings sicken and die, one by one, the last dying just five suns after she had been born...

Simmerclaw stepped back, releasing her. "The Code says we may not ignore a hatchling in danger." He growled, eyeing her warily. She certainly didn't seem like much of a threat. He sniffed the air. Her clan scent was old, mixed with others as she had walked the border, but still shone above the rest. "Lightclan." He looked her over. Now that he thought about it, he could remember her at some of the gatherings...
"Come with me back to camp. If you try to betray us..." he flexed his claws and didn't finish.

@Akakowolf

Nightswift scurried back onto her feet when he released her, crouching low and wrapping her tail around her feet, making herself as small as possible. She visibly quaked when he threatened her. She wouldn't betray them, she swore off Light clan, but he had every reason for being wary.

"Understood." She squeaked. As she followed him she thought again on the borders and where she had walked, wanting to kick herself when she realized she had crossed the border instead of walking outside of it as she had been so carefully doing before. He had every right to attack her the way he did. She glanced at him, wanting to apologize, but knowing it would do anything. She cast her eyes back to the ground and continued to silently walk with the grey dragon, remaining low to the ground.

@DarkHunter

Near the camp Simmerclaw stopped. By instinct, he hated bringing anyone new back to their camp- they'd already had one such outsider today. 'If this keeps up every clan will know where our camp is'. He thought to himself, but forced himself to quell his misgivings and nudge Nightswift ahead of him into camp. Heartwind was the first to see them, and she walked over. Catching the dragon's Lightclan scent, he looked at her mate, confused. "Why..?" then she saw Nightswift's swollen belly, and her eyes softened. "Come with me." She murmured. Simmerclaw looked like he was about to protest, but she snapped at him "I'm just getting her to some soft moss to lie down on." Her tone softened. "I remember what it's like to be so close to nesting."
Simmerclaw nodded, and Heartwind motioned over to the nursery. "It's vacant." She said softly, pain in her voice. Moonfallow's hatchlings had just vacated it, and her own... had been gone for half a moon.
"Go lie down in there, and if you start to nest, call for Mothbite. She's our only healer right now."
She sniffed the smaller dragon's flank. "Although I think you have another day yet."


@Akakowolf

@DarkHunter

Aurawing looked back at Darksong and nodded slowly. "Yes Darksong, I understand." She caught a glance of the loner as he disappeared, silently hoping he would make it safely out of trouble. She shook her head to clear her mind of him; he didn't concern her now. Only her training mattered now.

Darksong glanced up at the sky. "There's still sunlight left. Let's practise your hunting crouch."
She gazed down at the blue-black Dragonlet. "Show me how you would stalk a mouse." She flicked her tail towards a large brown leaf a few metres away. "Pretend that's your prey."

@AuroraLights

Nightswift grew all the more anxious when Shadowclan scent grew stronger and stronger. even if currently she was sworn to no clan, being so deep in an "enemy" one made her feel very shifty, like she was about to get jumped any second, actually jumping a little in surprise when Simmerclaw nudged her forward. Her breathing shallowed when another dragon appeared, now not only was she deep in another clan, but outnumbered.

Then Heartwind told her to come with her, and then spat at Simmerclaw. She glanced warily at the male as she edged towards the pink female. When he made no move to stop her she scurried along to catch up behind the female. The sadness in the female's voice made Nightswift's ears perk slightly in concern. Had she lost her clutch recently?

"Thank You." she said quietly and went in. Heartwind's faint smell in the nursery confirmed her suspicion she had lost young if she wasn't resting here now. She felt empathy for the pink female, she can't imagine what it must be like to loose young, and being so close to giving her own she didn't want to.

Picking a soft patch, she circled a few times before laying down in a half circle, her head facing the entryway so she could watch if anyone came in. They moss was so comfortable though, and she was very tired and weary from all her traveling. Too soon her eyes grew heavy and she dozed off.

@DarkHunter