Wandering Far From H[o]me

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| For Arid, but any rogues/loners may join. |

Vex had never been in this foreign place before. She mostly stuck to DeathClan's marshy forest, with a few exceptions. The Badlands were… different. And mostly barren. There didn't seem to be much life out here at all - which made sense, seeing how dry it was. The grey tabby half-flattened her ears. She wasn't sure that she liked this unfamiliar realm.

When she sensed movement, the peasant instinctively hissed and turned to face the other creature. "W-who's there? Don't try to hide!"

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|I'm not technically a loner/rogue, so forgive me if you don't want Song here|

    As far as Song was concerned, anyone could be a Blackguard at that point in time. They just kept coming, daily, a storm of paws escalating until she was pretty sure she would just collapse from the sheer weight of all that herb-gathering. It was only necessary for her to be out constantly, sometimes in the blistering heat, often just mildly burning her paws if she was lucky. Song's paws had become so dependent on the softer turf of the clans from her once-periodical 'visits' in which she would gather information from a hidden view. But since joining the Blackguards, she was in constant need to gather herbs to protect her duty as a medic.
    But she could still pass a few threats to passer-by's, right? She was a Ranger as well, so why not?
    "Please," Song retorted, stepping out from a shaded pit from which she had been searching for and signs herbs that could live in the dry heat, like blackberry bushes, burdock root, even maybe some daisy leaves or goldenrod. She hadn't managed much. "I wouldn't do very well hiding out here." After a quick shake to rid her gray fur of dry dirt, she faced the she-cat, tense. "Who are you and what are you doing so close to the Blackguards' camp?" 

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The scent of herbs surprised Vex. She had no idea why a cat would smell so strongly of them if they weren't one of the Clan's healers, or whatever they were called. Distracted by this, she half-jerked in surprise when the other female went into a rather pretentious spiel about trespassing.

"The what camp? I haven't smelled any scent markers, so what exactly are you on about?" questioned the DeathClanner with a quirked catlike eyebrow. She'd never heard of these Blackguards, which she took to mean that they weren't very important. Probably some new gang that doesn't know its boundaries, I guess.

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    Song blinked hazel-green eyes in pity. "Blackguards. Nearly as numerous as Deathclan, or at least possibly getting there," she responded to the question simply, circling the she-cat to get a good look at her, bending in slightly to sample her smell.
    "I'm not surprised you haven't smelled any scent markers. The others are lazy, unlike I. Go one, ask the questions that are nagging you. We could do with more members, and perhaps I can persuade you to consider."

[Arid]

((Sorry about replying so late...))

Viper had heard about the Badlands before, but never really gave much thought into going their until today. A sudden pout of boredom had dragged her out of the "safety" of DeathClan's territory and out onto this newly proclaimed land. Of course, seeing as before now she had no such interest in the place, she had no knowledge of what she would encounter.
This defiantly wasn't the sort of place she was expecting though-- barren and dry. She found herself wanting to turn back to the cover of the forest and replenish her strength in the cool river, yet the distinct sound of voices from not far off enticed her into moving onward, eventually stumbling upon two other cats-- one carrying the familiar scent of DeathClan, and the other being a complete stranger. Not bothering to interrupt their conversation, she took a seat a few fox lengths away, wrapping her pale tabby tail around her paws and waiting to see when they'd notice her presence.

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Vex bared her teeth at the younger female's patronizing attitude. She assumed Song was at least slightly delusional - the only other group close to DeathClan's size had been the Farmland Tribe before it dissolved.

"Oh, shut up. I've never heard of this group before - and that means it's tiny; unimportant. DeathClan is more than a minuscule gang of rogues," spat the grey tabby impatiently. She had to put in serious effort in order to not claw the other cat's nose when she leaned closer.

"The only question I have is why you're bothering. I'm not about to abandon my leader for some ragtag bunch that'll probably fall apart in a moon." Out of the corner of her eye. Vex noticed movement, and caught the scent of a fellow DeathClanner. She motioned for Viper to come over and join her with a twitch of her stubby tail.

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    Song smiled in a way only cats could. "I love cats' expression when I comment on our size. It's pitiful, I know, but... strong. Free. And besides, I'm satisfied with the group as it's come and yet to go," She responded after a few moments. Her eyes darted back, absorbing the new cat's appearance, and smiled ever so slightly. They'd better not know each other. I can't take on both. I'm not a Blackguard.
    "Song," The she-cat greeted for both of the other cat's, nodding as Vex flicked her own tail to beckon the newcomer forward. 

[Arid]

Viper sighed under her breath as she was spotted, and begrudgingly got up and walked over to the two, acting much more disinterested in the conversation between the two than she actually was. In fact a part of her was glad they had noticed her-- getting a closer up view on the chat interested her.
"Viper," she introduced herself as she passed by Song, taking a place closer to grey tabby with the DeathClan scent. "I hope she isn't bothering you," she said, looking at the other DeathClanner through the corner of her eye while still facing forward. She hoped she hadn't gotten herself in the middle of a fight-- two against one just wasn't fun.

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"You sound delusional," Vex stated flatly. And though she wasn't the best fighter, she had certainly picked up a few tricks over the moons. Asserting her dominance over Song would be satisfying at the very least.

"Viper, I daresay this - what, Blackwatch, was it? - needs to have some sense knocked into her," the older female meowed as she unsheathed her claws. "She seems to be under the assumption that her little gang is better than us… and that won't do, will it?"

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    Song flicked her tail as a sign that Vex should calm down. It was gratifying that Viper seemed reasonable as yet, but her every muscle tensed unnoticeable at the sight of unsheathed claws. "That's hardly necessary," Song insisted, not moving otherwise. Her gaze flicked to Viper, a vain attempt at seeking support. I'll die for Blackguards. Or at least I'll fight till I can't help anymore, she reasoned. But if I can just avoid the fight in the first place..
    "And I don't doubt Deathclan is greater in size. I just firmly believe that the Blackguards are a more suitable group for most."

[Arid]

Viper twitched the tip of her ear in amusement as Song's gaze met hers. Is she expecting me to help her out or something? she thought, a ghost of a smirk gracing her delicate features as she unsheathed her claws in reply-- yet made no move towards hostility. "I don't think it will," the pale tabby answered Vex's question, verbally ignoring Song's statement. "But, really," she went on, a slightly sarcastic drawl seeping into her voice, "do you really think we should waste out energy on this-," her green gaze flicked over the gray she-cat, grasping for the name that was used for her earlier, "blackguard."
While the DeathClanner would be more than welcome to the prospect of battle, she had more concerning matters in which to focus her energy on. A little dispute between a lone rouge and one of her clan mates didn't really seem worth shedding blood over; but if it came to that Viper was more than ready.

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What nonsense was this? Song wanted her to simmer down after provoking her? Nope. That was just about the furthest thing from what was going to happen, even more so now that the Blackguard was flapping her trap again.

"Oh, absolutely," Vex meowed to Viper as she slowly and deliberately began circling Song. "Little miss pretentious needs to learn some respect for DeathClan." It was about time that somebody knocked this Blackguard down a peg. With a meaningful glance at her fellow DeathClanner, the grey tabby suddenly darted towards Song and aimed to shred the younger female's ears with a vicious swipe of her paw.


Arid

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    A moment later, Song had unsheathed her claws. Well, so much for trying to be humble, She thought, eyes following Vex carefully. I suppose I can blame it on digging holes in the dirt for half the day.
    Vex's attack was followed swiftly with Song's evasive maneuver. "I promise you'll regret this," the small cat warned, taking a step back to get her footing. She didn't bare her teeth, or make any attacks, just flattened her ears and waited for pain. It was inevitable, in her eyes. She was outnumbered and outgunned. I was applied as a ranger for my agility and defense, Song reflected, trying to assure herself she would be able to get out of this. You'll carry a few scars with honor.