All Cats are Grey in the Dark (Open to Kestrel/Sky cats)

Hawkheart
Tension was rising between both sides of the border, from Redlight's unnecessary state of hostility to the sudden appearance of his younger clanmate Pinesting, who showed equal hostility but in a more restrained way. Hawkheart showed nothing but calmness on his features as he watched the exchange, letting out a soft sigh as he raised a paw and gave it a lick while considering how quickly things had gone downhill. Though either tom had their reason for acting the way they were, both were a little over the top and not needed, especially when nothing had happened or no one was wronged in this encounter.

Following Echostar's actions, the black-brown tom pushed his way past Pinesting, putting himself between the bengal warrior and the border while being careful to ensure he himself was not stepping over the line. "Pinesting enough, no one was wronged here today so these actions are unnecessary. The only thing you'll accomplish is causing further provocation where it not needed." The older tom scolded, his tone stern and firm to make it clear to the younger warrior he was overstepping himself just as much as Redlight was.

Finally turning his attention back to the Kestralclan cats, he merely dipped his head towards Echosong, "No harm done Echostar, such unfortunate events happen." He gave a quick glance to Redlight then to his own clanmate, ear twitching as he heard someone approaching. "Sometimes the younger generation have bees in their brain to not think before they speak." He said, tone edged with annoyance at the lack of thought with such encounters that resulted in border skirmishes and unnecessary tension such as this. "But I know where my limits lie as well, I am aware of boundaries despite missing how things use to be. I will always respect the Warrior code and our way of life, even if some cats are not willing to."

Hawkheart was speaking from both his experience and wistful thoughts. He missed the days of journeying with the other clans, having grown up most of his life knowing nothing but that. Nowadays, there were cat who knew nothing of the sort and it sometimes pained him to see the need for cooperation dwindling over time. Though his gaze narrowed when the apprentice who arrived spoke, echoing similar thoughts of Redlight.

Bristlepaw
Bristlepaw had been falling behind that day, finding himself handling some tasks in camp. The elders had needed some help and sought an apprentice or two to help remove bedding and bring fresh-kill, the young tom being one of them. The spiky furred tom grumbled as he clawed away the old bedding into a pile, before helping to place the newer, drier bedding down and making sure the elders had enough fresh-kill. It was menial tasks like this many apprentices hated but was necessary because elders were still their clanmates and a big part of clan life.

Once done, he gathered the bedding in his jaws and ducked out of the den, pausing when Stagstep called him to meet with Echostar and Redlight to join them on a patrol. Eager to be out of camp, Bristlepaw hurried out, dropping the old moss where it was usually deposited before hurrying off to the border, hoping he hadn't missed anything. He caught their scent along one part and followed, his ears perked forward and all his senses on alert for them, finally catching their voices on the wind nearby. But, there were two others mixed in, ones he did not recognize.

Eyes narrowed and fur bristling more than it was, the young apprentice was expecting trouble as he arrived on the tense scene, seeing Echostar and an older Skyclan tom separating his own mentor and another cat from fighting. But he had heard enough to bring his own thoughts, "Doesn't give you a right to still treat other clan's cats like your apprentice or acting like proud kin, much less stick your nose in our business." Bristlepaw growled, coming to stand beside his mentor.

Hawkheart
The large tom stared down his former apprentice, well for part of his time that is. But then again, there had sometimes been a disagreement between Pinesting and himself, they got along enough to acknowledge one another as clanmates and Hawkheart had always shown support to get Pinesting to his warriorship after the death of his first mentor. But, there were numerous times the two didn't exactly meet eye-to-eye, and this was one of them. There was no doubt that right now Pinesting would not listen to reason, much less the large red warrior and the young apprentice at his side.

His ears flicked back to Echostar as she spoke, his gaze never leaving the bengal but he nevertheless listened to her before turning just in time to meet her gaze. "I had not meant for this meeting to last more than a short exchange Echostar, but then again I did not anticipate someone being unnecessarily hostile." Hawkheart told her, eyes flicking to Redlight which earned a low growl from the apprentice that the older warrior ignored before speaking, "And a good warrior knows when to pick those battles. I've had my fair share of skirmishes with Kestralclan and I'd die for my clan above old friendships any day." Hawkheart said with a firm tone, casting his gaze between the young cats. "Not every chance a patrol crosses paths needs to be hostile, sometimes civility works just as well. You never know when it might end up coming back to repay you."

Finally, he fully faced the three Kestral cats, giving one last dip of his head. "I believe we are done here, before any of this escalates to a fight that involves claws and teeth rather than words. I believe I have an apprentice to be concerned with of my own." Hawkheart gave a side glance towards Bristlepaw, "Perhaps one that'll better understand the need for manners." With that, the black-brown cat turned and headed further into Skyclan territory not entirely expecting his clanmate to follow.

Bristlepaw
Bristlepaw had several things he wanted to say, to add to this conversation. But, he also knew that compared to his mentor or even the bengal warrior across the border that his words would hold little meaning or weight in this situation. After all, he was only an apprentice and not seen as entirely important and simply a young cat still learning. Another thing apprentices hated was being treated like kits at times unless they were older, and he was more in the middle right now rather than entirely close to being a warrior.

He gave a look of disbelief towards their leader, unable to believe that she was defending a reason to speak with old travel mates and merely shook his head, "We should still worry less about friendships right now, otherwise we'll never fully keep the borders." He pointed out at last, giving the large, older warrior a glare as he watched Hawkheart heading back further into Skyclan's territory.

Hawkheart
The older, larger tom peered silently at his former apprentice, letting him say his peace but never once interrupting him. It wouldn't change a thing even if he did, figuring the bengal would already have it in his mind that he cared not for borders or that things were different now. His tail swished softly, watching the tom take off without allowing him to respond in kind. No matter, Hawkheart could not change the mind of a stubborn youth, even one warrior he had trained after the loss of his first mentor.

Instead, he only shook his broad head with a soft sigh. 'Dear Pinesting, you can't see beyond your own concerns and worries to see what lies in front of you. Friendships can be just as binding as they are destructive. I lost friends too during that horrendous period of settling borders, but I guess you would not see beyond your own thoughts.' The senior warrior though to himself, trekking at a slower pace to enjoy the silence of the territory, making his way much more slowly to the canyon before slipping into camp, taking a moment to stretch his old body, leaving Pinesting to his own thoughts.

Bristlepaw
The apprentice stopped in his tracks when Redlight let loose on their leader, his gaze shifting between the two older cats since he was left rather speechless at his mentor's anger and sadness. But, he didn't disagree with Redlight. Echostar had stepped too far over the line and had treated his mentor no better than a bee-brained kit, something he figured might have actually hurt the red cat's pride. They all trusted Echostar to lead their clan, to know when to make the right calls, but today did leave much to be desired in their eyes and Bristlepaw couldn't argue that the clans had gone through a lot to establish their lands and their borders, and keeping old friendships could be devastating to them all.

Once all was said and done, Bristlepaw bounded after his mentor when it was clear they were done speaking, quickly dipping his head to Echostar as he passed and trotted up beside his mentor. He wanted to speak but there was a lingering concern that if he said the wrong thing Redlight might go off on him next, even if he agreed with the older cat. His ears twitched however, turning to look over his shoulder when he saw Echostar coming after them and having a frown on his expression. "Echostar, hasn't enough been said today?" The young tom prompted, feeling that anything else said over the matter would just fan the flames of tension even more than it already had.