"Get out here, you foxhearted rogue."

Runningstorm's ears flicked about, trying to detect the source of the familiar, grumbling voice. A sly, smooth smirk returning to his face, he got to his paws and stretched out. With a yawn, his pink tongue unfurling, he purred, "Howlclaw. How nice to see you this morning."

The stout she-cat glared down at him as if she was more than half his height, her gold eyes like twin moons. "Owlstar wants us on patrol. Together. Edge of the territory."

"Sounds like quite the arrangement. I wasn't aware that Owlstar was interested in playing matchmaker. This early, though? I'm sure the dawn patrol has already left, but this is much too early for the rest of the clan to be doing anything." He looked back over the den, and sure enough, most of the warriors were dozing peacefully beside each other.

"Ramstrike had quite the tussle at the Bend and now there's rogue scent, right on top of it, all over the territory. She found it this morning while out on a walk, so Owlstar pounced on the opportunity to get an investigative team out there. Other warriors will be send afterwards to back us up if things go south-"

"So we're bait." Runningstorm's gaze slid towards the rain-touched stalks lining the outer rim of camp. They looked sickly and jagged, slicing the horizon into blue streaks cut by residual cloud cover. He remembered days like this, from before. They troubled him little.

"Bait?" Howlclaw said, with a fierce but playful disgust in her eyes. "Us, two of the best warriors they have, bait?"
"You mean one of the best warriors in the clan and a useless, flea-infested rogue." Runningstorm reminded her.

"Ah, of course." Howlclaw said. "Now, I know a certain rogue has long legs, but with me at your side it'll take at least until sunhigh to get to the border's edge. Get up and get going."

One of the best warriors in the clan, allegedly, and a flea-infested rogue left camp together, with the latter matching stride with the former as they slunk across the hot and humid landscape together. The humidity only worsened as they approached Jaggedfang's Tooth, where a stream of water cut the territory like a scar on the mouth of an old warrior.

As they waded through, the water came up to Howlclaw's stomach, the currents curling up around her fur. Runningstorm, whose long legs provided ample protection from the river, watched her discomfort as she strode through, tail lashing with indignance.

"All this trouble, too." snarled Howlclaw.

"I'm guessing this doesn't occur often." Runningstorm noted.

"The rogues have been slinking around, but as for a potential breach of the Olive Branch treaty, no, that doesn't happen at all. The clan's quite flustered, as you might expect." Howlclaw grumbled.

"What's the point of this treaty, if you're all still down each other's throats? I'd hardly call this a time of peace." Runningstorm said.

"If we were fawning over each other, we wouldn't need a treaty. It's a compromise between the clans. You send a patrol, we'll send a patrol. You do no harm, we do no harm." Howlclaw emerged on the other shore, pausing to let the water run off her underbelly into the sand.

"Seems legitimate." Runningstorm admitted, following her out. The black she-cat attempted to pick up the pace, but to her chagrin, the lanky tom was always just a step ahead of her. "Still petty, but legitimate nonetheless. I at least appreciate you clan cats' dedication to nigh unenforceable rules."

"Unenforceable? We've enforced them plenty." Howlclaw replied.

"With the size of our territory, ShallowClan cats could be stepping all over it and we'd never know. Furthermore, what if they attack at night? None of you keep a night guard at the Bend, yet you're all sure having a one-cat day patrol will solve all of your problems? The entire Treaty is full of suppositions that frankly don't make much sense."

"Doesn't have to. Most cats just wanted it over when the fighting got bitter. They're afraid of the fierceness of their own clanmates just as much as they fear the other side of the river." Howlclaw looked away from her clanmate, a foggy sadness in her eyes as she said it. It wasn't an expression Runningstorm saw often on the dark, snappy warrior- it was nearly as shocking as the thought of the fierce clan cats shying from battle.

Certainly, it didn't sound like the fierce cats he had come to find all those moons ago.

"Really?"

Howlclaw nodded. "Oh, they won't admit it, but they're scared. You might not have heard this bit, rogue, but before the Treaty was implemented a kit was murdered, along with several cats on either side. Both clans were in such a collective outrage over what had been done that they scrambled to make hasty peace. Tensions are still high, but as long as no blood is shed, we're... safe."

Runningstorm heard her choke on the last word, so he paused before asking the insensitive, yet oh so crucial question: "Whose kit?"

"Solarwind's, so ours, but she disappeared not long after." Howlclaw sighed. She paused, tail flicking in the wind, and tasted the air. "We're here. That's ShallowClan scent alright."
Runningstorm lifted his nose and opened his mouth to join her, surprised by how potent the scent of rival cats had become. Not more than four seasons ago, he would have been unable to differentiate these two groups, but now his nose understood them as polar opposites. Two sides of the bank. Two lifestyles.

Yet, despite their estrangement, hauntingly similar...

The pawsteps in the mud danced across the low landscape, swamped in places by tidal waters. Two cats had been here, and one of them had most certainly came from the river and returned across it. Luckily for the two cats currently inhabiting the area, no more cats seemed to be interested in coming back, so they were unlikely to be ambushed.

Before they could do much more investigating, Blazefury, Lightcatcher, Dapplebird, and Chicoryfur bounded in, with the ginger tom leading the group. "Where are they?" he asked. "Owlstar told us there were rogues on the edge of the boundary- or worse, ShallowClan." The word curled off his tongue with revulsion. He sounded like he'd just swallowed crowfood.

"Only rogue here is Runningstorm." Howlclaw told them. "There was definitely someone here though."

"I can scent Ramstrike." mewed Lightcatcher.

"That's because she was here this morning- she found the pawprints." responded Blazefury, and with an added hiss, rounded on his patrolmate. "Are you implying something?"

"N-no, of course not. I know that Ramstrike would never-"

"You know well that the sister of the deputy's mate, and Ramstrike of all cats, would never stoop so low. I feel ashamed just hearing those words, Lightcatcher. I feel ashamed knowing you would think that."

Blazefury was in full Foxcatcher mode now, Runningstorm could tell from the condescending inflection. The ginger tom's fur was fluffed up with anger, and Lightcatcher immediately moved to a more submissive posture. "Sorry."

Runningstorm and Howlclaw exchanged a look. Howlclaw added, "Funny, wasn't your sister also on Bend patrol yesterday?"

"Your services will no longer be needed here. We can handle this ourselves." Blazefury snapped.

"If you sniff real hard, you can also catch a whiff of snake," said Howlclaw under her breath, and Runningstorm pretended with a dull-eyed stare he hadn't heard the comment. Whether or not the ginger tom had was uncertain, but Runningstorm and Howlclaw weren't going to risk it. They strode off with the dignity worthy of warriors until they were out of earshot, upon which they both had to restrain themselves from keeling over.

"Incredible. Snake?" Runningstorm purred furiously.

"Stop that, you're supposed to be a warrior, not an apprentice." Howlclaw chided. When Runningstorm put on a straight face, she added, "They call him Blazefury for a reason, I suppose." and any pretense of professionality was gone. Both of them fell over, purring and cackling in the grass.

"Has he always been so obnoxious?" asked Runningstorm.

"I blame Foxcatcher. Lovely tom, terrible influence- ever since Blazefury mated that cat, he's rubbed it in all of our faces. You'd think he mated the deputy just to be an annoying, obnoxious rabbit-brained, lily-livered," Howlclaw mewed.

"Rabbit-brained, sure, but lily-livered? I think you're grasping for insults a little, there." Runningstorm said. "He's no coward."

"I'll insult him however I see fit, maggotbreath." snapped back Howlclaw.

"It's fish, mainly." Runningstorm mewed, pretending to be taken aback by the insult. "Should we go back to camp?"

"Would you prefer to go back over the territory line to your rogue kin?" Howlclaw asked.

"If they're better company than you, I just might." Runningstorm retorted.

Howlclaw shook her head, eyes glittering with good humor. It was rare to catch any genuine emotion on the face of the short, angry she-cat, but the sight of it was like a ray of sunshine bursting through clouds after days of storms and poor weather.

The two accompanied each other to camp, Howlclaw's face pressed against the pelt of the tom. She was close enough to brush the lingering scent of fish and distant lands from his pelt, close enough that he could hear her every breath, which was exhilarating and terrifying.

When they were close enough that the thickets were familiar, Howlclaw broke from his side. "Don't want anyone getting any ideas," she chirped.

"No. Never. You would never fall in love with a rogue." agreed Runningstorm.

"Me? And a rogue?" she repeated.

"I don't know, rumors around camp..." scolded the tom, touching his nose to hers.

"I'll never live this down." admitted Howlclaw. "I wish I had a brother like Blazefury to adamantly deny all the terrible misdeeds I've done, but no, you've caught me."

It was impossible to discern the sarcasm from the sentiment, which pleased them both to no end. Still, there was something perfectly genuine as the grass swayed about them, framing both dark cats in gold. Howlclaw looked up past him at the skies with a sigh, heart thudding in her chest, and every beat shook Runningstorm's whole body. She had such a strong heart, strong as her short legs and sharp tongue, nearly as strong as the purr that now filled her.

"You've caught me." 

(A/N: Updates??? On time??? It's more likely than you think.)