An Unexpected Visitor [open]

She'd been planning to go for days, but had been putting it off simply because she couldn't decide what the best thing to do would be. It'd taken great pains in itself to convince Thrushstar to let her go, only being allowed to do so because it was StarClan's wish, and even then - it was sorely agreed too. While she could deal with her own clan, dealing with RiverClan would be another matter entirely. The calico had heard many stories about them, awful tales mostly, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't scared even going near their land. Her only solace was the young, kind she-cat she had met on the half-moon; who didn't seem to be like the cats she'd heard RiverClan to be.

After all that was settled, she just had to decide how to get there - and when. Ebonyleaf knew that she had to go alone, as any strong, fierce looking warrior that would accompany her could quite possibly send the wrong message. She'd decided the best time to go would be at sunset, still during the day, but with the night not-so far off... should anything happen. And so she went, padding through Fourtrees and up the river to their camp. She'd never even seen RiverClan territory with her own eyes, but she knew the way. StarClan showed her each step she would take in a dream the night before.

She reached the point to where she could go no further, in front of the waters that protected the camp. Ebonyleaf knew she could likely swim through it if she really tried, but it would be too noisy, and what she was doing now seemed like enough trouble as it was. "Hello?" The she-cat called out with a flick of her tail, hearing and scenting a large mass of camps within the island, and simply hoping they would hear her.

Shimmerpaw had been trying to fish a little farther down the river, when she heard a faint "hello" Shimmerpaw sniffed the air. Was that rouge? Or Shadowclan? Shimmerpaw immediately crouched down and crawled over to the smell. "Who are you and what is your purpose of trespassing onto Riverclan territory?" She spat at the figure she saw on the other side of the river. Hopefully other Riverclan cats come or else I'm toast if she attacks! Shimmerpaw thought worriedly.

Midnightsky stood beside Shimmerpaw. "What do we have here?" He looked at Shimmerpaw. "You should go back to camp." He returned his attention back to the she-cat. "I know what RiverClan did cannot be forgiven but if you even think about attacking RiverClan, it will not be pretty." He unsheathed his claws tensely.

After a few moments of debating to listen to the warrior or not, Shimmerpaw eventually ran off back to camp. While she was there, she warned some other warriors to go and help.

Cloverpaw sat, staring up at the sky. It was a watery blue grey sky, with waves of soft golds and pinks. If you looked hard enough, you could see the sharp pinpricks of light. Almost like small fireflies dancing in the sky. In reality it was a handful of stars, but Cloverpaw admired them, thanking them for their guidance.
The past few days she had tended to a group of injured cats. Never before had she tended to so many cats at once, Cloverpaw was under-prepared. Naturally, she looked to StarClan for guidance, asking them for help. She was still so young, she could not handle all of this on her own. StarClan came to her in dreams, pointing her towards herbs and giving her advice. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get by. Still, Cloverpaw was overwhelmed.

She heard a voice. A slightly unfamiliar voice, and with it a stench she had found traces of on her clanmates' fur. Her attention immediately snapped over to the cat and she was greeted by a face she had seen before. Unfortunately for this ShadowClan cat, she had come at a rather inconvenient time. Her clanmates were bitter, Cloverpaw too would've been bitter had it not been for her trust in StarClan. StarClan had a reason for everything.
"Don't worry Midnightsky," The small tabby said, stepping down from her perch adjacent to her den, and towards the cats. "She is a medicine cat." She gave her old mentor a respectful dip of her head and turned her attention towards the ShadowClan cat. Cloverpaw had not received the luxury of a message or warning from StarClan and admittedly, had no clue why she was here at all. "Ebonypaw, why are you here?" Seeing as there had been a separation between the two clans as far as conversation was concerned, Cloverpaw still thought of the cat as a fellow apprentice. As to why she was here, Cloverpaw was still equally clueless.

Minnowflash came limping up to the slowly growing group of cats. He was surprised to see Ebonyleaf standing in the center. "Hello, Ebonyleaf. Why are you here?" He asked politely, ignoring the harsh comment from Midnightsky.

The she-cat felt a pit growing in her stomach once she saw the first cat appear, just an apprentice, but her mentor couldn't have been far off. "I- well- ..." she was looking for the right words to say to this cat, but they left her. Ebonyleaf really didn't have to bargan with this angry apprentice, did she? She wasn't sure if she felt relieved or even more afraid when the black tom appeared, his words surprising her. Did he really think the attack on her clan was unforgivable? For a moment, she wondered what her father would say about that. "I've come alone and to do no harm." she called, eyes flickering when more cats appeared.

The calico let out a silent sigh of relief when the small shape she'd been looking for finally apeared. A weak smile appeared on her face, "My name is Ebonyleaf now. My mentor joined StarClan whilst I slept during my ceremony..." A solemn look came unto her, as she'd never forget Mallowroot's fateful passing. She spun to see another she-cat, calling her name, thrown off by her casualty. It made her fur stand up a little. "I've come at StarClan's bidding," she meowed, "They told me I was to come to RiverClan, as you have no proper medicine cat, and Cloverpaw is in need of a mentor."

"Really? Well... What about Shadowclan? Wouldn't they need you more than we do?" Midnightsky said, slightly less aggressive than before.

Cloverpaw stared at her clan mates around her, curiously watching their mannerisms before turning back to the calico cat. Immediately at her response, Cloverpaw was utterly embarrassed and ashamed for what she had said. "Oh. Sorry-- I didn't know that." She mumbled, looking down at the soft moss underneath her cream paws.
The small cat brought her attention back to Ebonyleaf as she formulated her next sentence. She was going to mentor her? How strange of StarClan that they would send a ShadowClan cat out of all of the medicine cats to chose from. Cloverpaw looked over at Midnightsky and flicked her tail impatiently. "StarClan has sent her for a reason," Cloverpaw assured her mentor, she was already wise beyond her moons. "We cannot let a disagreement stand before the health of our clan."
Cloverpaw turned to Ebonyleaf and dipped her head. This was all happening so fast, but for the sake of her clan's pride she kept a calm composure in front of the foreign cat. "Erm-- thank you for your help." The cat offered nervously, unsure of the right thing to say to this cat that was sworn to be her enemy just by the sheer fact that she was from ShadowClan.

Ebonyleaf watched as the she-cat shuffled the moss underneath her, clearly regretful of what she had said, although she wasn't the only one. "No, it's alright." She said quickly, the tip of her tail twitching. "There was no way you could've known." The ShadowClan cat let out a silent sigh and glanced up at the sky, where the stars were just starting to peak over the horizon. But StarClan and her family would be waking up soon, she thought in the back of her mind.

Her eyes shone as Cloverpaw spoke again, noting the confidence she had in her own words - and that of StarClan, the calming effect she seemed to have over her clanmates. When it came to being a medicine cat, Ebonyleaf thought, she was already half-way there. She just needed to be guided in the right direction. It felt slightly strange, since she couldn't have been more than a few moons older than Cloverpaw herself, but that's just how things were. "She's right. Medicine cats are sworn to protect all cats equally."

Although, of course the warrior was right. She still had her own cats to watch over, but StarClan wouldn't have sent her if they didn't see her the most fit. "ShadowClan is healthy and strong," Ebonyleaf said firmly. "I believe I can tend to them and teach Cloverpaw all the same." It wouldn't be easy, though, that was for certain. She took in a deep breath, "With RiverClan's permission, I would like to be able to walk your lands to visit my apprentice. It would be during the day, as to not hinder either of our clans." She looked up at them with hopeful eyes.

"Hmmmm I would approve but I'm not the leader here. You need to talk to Reedstar." He sighed, he knows how he reacts to ShadowClan cats but he did try to keep that one ShadowClan cat alive... Before he murdered him... Maybe this was a bad idea...

Briarheart stepped forward out of the crowd and looked at the Shadowclan Medicine Cat, the formally missing cat still had some patches of short hair were the rest was long but it didn't seem to phase the brown tabby. The senior warrior spoke, "I think it will be alright for her to come in, and teach Cloverpaw. If Reedstar has  a problem then he would be going against Starclan, and if harm came to the Medicine Cat he would have a clan after him. I can let Reedstar know of your presence here." Briarheart offered, to Ebonyleaf though she didn't quiet know what Reedstar would have to say, but she figured since she is a senior warrior she may have some say in this.

"Briarheart. Alright, hopefully Reedstar won't mind..." But he is a... Hard headed...

And if anything were to happen to RiverClan, her clan would be put to the blame at once, she thought with slight bitterness. It would be a shaky agreement between the two of them, but they all seemed to agree on one thing, that it was good for the sake of StarClan and of RiverClan's future medicine cat. "Please," Ebonyleaf asked the senior warrior politely to do so. She felt wary of meeting RiverClan's leader most of all. The worst stories came about him and his cruelty. She'd hoped she'd never had to meet him, but she supposed she had no choice. Holding back a sigh, she shifted around uncomfortably and shot Cloverpaw a glance.

Briarheart left the area to go fetch her leader. Hopefully he wouldn't take this to badly or else this could end badly. Once back inside the camp the brown tabby made her way over to the leader den and called inside, "Reedstar, we have a visitor. Ebonyleaf is here to train Cloverpaw."