Starting Anew (Open/Ashstar Needed)

This was a scent that Mosswing had only smelled at Gatherings before, and now, she would join them. The now-older warrior padded carefully through the windy moors, not quite used to the terrain. But ever since Squirrel had told her of a young cat with a crooked tail, she knew that she had to be there. It seemed impossible to believe, but from the loner's description, it had to be true. Her daughter was alive and well, and living in WindClan.
She'd broken out of the Twoleg nest as soon as she could, feeling lost. ThunderClan was a lonely place for her, and she didn't want to go back. She'd miss Blacktwig, and Sparkpaw, but she knew it wasn't the right place for her. Now, her newest revelation seemed to have sealed her fate.
At long last, Mosswing stepped into the camp, feeling eyes on her from every direction. She no longer held the scent of ThunderClan, if only the slightest trace. After all the time spent cooped up, she smelt like Twoleg, and she had to wonder if any of them would recognise her from past gatherings. Being accepted here was a long shot, but it was a chance she had to be take.
"Um, hello?" Mosswing called, a little nervous. She flashed a smile around the camp, a sign of no hostility. "Is Ashstar here? I need to talk with her."

Brindlewhisker's eyes narrowed at the sight of the strange she-cat, and she quickly rose to her paws and padded to meet the older warrior, relieved to find no scent but the faint scent of the forest clinging to her fur. "She is, but what business do you have with her?" She asked guardedly; although there wasn't any hostility in her voice, her eyes remained wary- the last time outsiders came to the camp ended with a brutal battle. Brindlewhisker was aware of the many different pairs of eyes on the strange she-cat, and she felt a flash of pity as she remembered when she first joined Windclan. "I'm sure she'd allow you to speak with her in private, if you'd prefer." She offered kindly, eyes flashing to the Tallrock. Curiosity filled her, and she nearly asked outright why the strange cat wished to speak to Ashstar, but she bit her tongue and waited as patiently as she could.

~

Cloudpaw was resting outside the apprentice's den, his head perched upon his paws as he dozed between training sessions. His ears perked and his blue and green eyes snapped open at the scent of a strange she-cat, and he eyed Mosswing confidently- she was alone, and if she tried to pull something foolish, she would be easily thwarted. Raising his head, he watched silently as Brindlewhisker engaged with the strange she-cat, but made no move to join them as he awaited for Ashstar to appear.

Beetlepaw poked his head out of the medicine cat's den, his eyes narrowed at the stranger. He trotted carefully towards her, greeting Brindlewhisker with a nod of his head. The dark tom, observing with surprise that she did not cary the scent of a Clan. Is she a loner...? A lost kittypet...? he thought, but positioned himself defensively to block the way to Ashstar's den. "As Brindlewhisker would also tell you, we dislike letting stranhers come near our leader. We are not Crowstar." he hissed, and even thought he knew he was much less stronger than the loner, he was determined to keep his ground.

"I understand you concern, but I don't want to cause any trouble," Mosswing told the two cats. She spoke with a gentler, more eloquent and formal tone than her usual free-spirited rambles - even she knew this wasn't a laughing matter. She may as well get straight to the point here. After all, they'd all find out one way or another. "Look. My name is Mosswing. I used to be a ThunderClan warrior. I was lonely there, and I got captured by Twolegs. And I escaped. Obviously." She let out a small chuckle. "And though that's partially why I'm here, there's a more important reason. My daughter...I heard news she was alive. Here. Her name was Twistedkit, though I'm sure she's an apprentice by now. I thought I lost her, but she's here."

OOC: Mobile

IC: Twistedpaw stared warily at the newcomer, not wanting to be aggressive, but unsure if she should be friendly. Something about the cat was... familiar. As she looked, she noticed that they had some similarities, the same slightly stocky legs, more built for stalking then chasing after prey. Her faint stripes on her back, cutting through her Siamese points, even seemed to slightly line up with the loner's. She frowned at herself and shook her head thinking, Stop scaring yourself. It is just a coincidence. This is just a random loner with some stripes. But she couldn't shake the feeling, and when the cat-Mosswing- mentioned her name, something in her jumped.
Smiling faintly, she went up to the tabby and kindly said, "I am sorry, but the only cat named Twisted here is me, and Heatherstripe was my mother, but she passed away a little bit after I became an apprentice." She shuddered as she remembered the adopted mother who nursed her along with so many of her other kits, always treating her like any of her children, even though she was not from the clan at birth.
Flicking her crooked tail, she added, "If you want to know, Heatherstripe adopted me. I don't really know who my true parents are. Probably some crazy rogues." She nervously laughed, slightly creeped out by all the coincidences and the weird cat.

Squirrelpaw woke with a start in the medicine cat's den as she heard muffled voices. Craning her head, she tried to look without padding into the cold, which already hurt her heavily scarred neck. Seeing the newcomer, she felt the first sliver of joy since her accident and since her father died attempting Ashstar's life. Curiosity filled her as she smelled the twoleg scent coming from her. Standing up, she did some sort of slightly limply walk, keeping with effort her head level to prevent pain. She felt embarrassed by her complicated routine just to walk, and was relieved when she finally stopped within a good distance of the stranger. She opened her mouth to say hello, but then remembered that she couldn't talk anymore and closed it.

Ashstar sat in her den, stretching her aching limbs, when an unfamiliar scent hit her nose. Surprised, she made her way down to the middle of camp, suppressing a wince of pain as she hobbled across the frosty moor, where her Clanmates surrounded the newcomer, a strange-smelling she-cat. Her spring green eyes widened slightly at the she-cat's words. A ThunderClan cat... Captures by Twolegs... A daughter in WindClan? The gray she-cat made her way over to Mosswing through the crowd of cats, raising an eyebrow at Beetlepaw's aggressive tone. She flicked her tail at her Clanmates, in a gesture thanking them for their help but asking them to let her handle the strange she-cat. "So you say Twistedpaw is your daughter?" the leader inquired without prelude. "If you were captured by Twolegs, as you say, why come here? How can we trust you? And how did you 'lose' your daughter in the first place?" Ashstar sat on her haunches, head tipped to the side curiously.

Mosswing smiled apologetically at Ashstar. She didn't blame her for the questions, after all, she knew she was going out on a limb here anyway."It's great to meet you, Ashstar," she began. "Those are all good questions, and it's only reasonable that you want to know. When Twistedpaw was barely a moon old, she snuck out of the nursery, like so many kits do. But she never came back, and I thought she was dead, killed by a fox, badger or something else. I never forgave myself for it.  But somehow, she ended up here, probably saved by a warrior in this clan." The she-cat looked the WindClan leader in the eye, a full sincerity in her voice.
"The reason I'm here is because I want to see my daughter. I want to be there for her whenever she needs me, and I just want the best for her. I don't want my kit to be alone through her life." Her voice started to choke up slightly at the mention of those ores. She was more than willing to admit how much she'd truly missed her.
"I am loyal to my family above all, no matter what. And my family is in WindClan." Mosswing flicked an ear towards a second, smaller voice. An apprentice, Siamese markings, with faint stripes and a crooked tail...
The sight of her made her heart burst with joy. She was here. Alive, healthy, thriving. The warrior could hardly believe her own eyes.
"Twistedpaw...is that really you? I'd know that tail anywhere." A wide smile crept up her face. "You've...you've grown up so much." It took a while for her to realise that the poor cat likely had little tangible memory of her. Oh. Maybe, just maybe, she'd remember something?
"You probably won't remember me....you were a moon old when I last saw you. But..but I missed you. I missed you with all my heart, and every day I hated myself for losing you. I'm glad Heatherstripe found you then. It seems like she did a good job."

Twistedpaw shuffled her paws awkwardly and looked down, feeling the fur rise on her back as the cat claimed her as her daughter. "Er.. am I supposed to leap into your paws or refuse to believe that or..." She trailed off, darting her eyes between Ashstar and Mosswing.

Willowwhisker padded out of the nursery from the scent of a new cat, instinctively wanting to protect her kits from any outsider. When she saw that the strange she-cat was speaking with the leader, as well as Twistedpaw, she walked farther from the nursery to greet this odd cat."Ashstar, who is this?" Hopefully wishing that Ashstar would understand wanting to know, for the sake of her kits, she looked pleadingly into her eyes, in hope for an answer.

Ashstar listened with interest to the former ThunderClan she-cat's claims. Her brain spun out reason after reason to take her in. StarClan knew WindClan needed more warriors, anyway, and they'd had less loyal ones before. This she-cat seemed trustworthy, at least. Something inside her heart glowed as Mosswing gazed at Twistedpaw. She saw something of herself in that gaze. For a second, Twistedpaw looked like Sharppaw, and that made up the leader's mind. "All right, Mosswing, you've convinced me. WindClan could use another pair if paws this leaf-bare, certainly- perhaps StarClan heard my prayers and sent you to us. Mosswing, I advise that you take a new name, to show your dedication to WindClan. I won't force it upon you, and it certainly isn't necessary, but it would be helpful in showing your new Clanmates that you truly are one of us now." The gray she-cat regarded the newcomer with interest, tail flicking.

Mosswing's eyes shone with happiness. She never expected this to happen, not ever. But it seemed like the shot was worth it. "Thank you so much, Ashstar. I'll forever be grateful, and loyal. I..I just needed some solid ground, you know? Company, someone for support..." The she-cat chuckled. "Eh, guess I'm rambling on a bit, sorry. Still letting it sink in." A more casual tone slipped into her voice now, her anxiety around the situation fleeing. "I'd be more than happy to take on a new name. Whatever will be the best for myself and WindClan. I'd like to keep Moss, if that's alright. It's a reminder of who I am, and I don't want to forget my past. But 'wing'? I can change that. Mossfoot. Mossfoot. Ay, I like that." she thought aloud. "And um, should you choose my new name, should I? Um, sorry about that, I'm not sure," she added, somewhat sheepishly.
She then turned to Twistedpaw. The poor thing, looked so confused. Worried. Even scared. "Love, I-I honestly don't know. I get this is probably hard for you, confronting, all that stuff. I don't know if you even believe it, and I'm certainly not expecting you to fall into my paws straight away. This'll take time, ay? All I want is to be there for you, and I hope that, well, you'll get used to it." She let out a small laugh. "We'll take this slow, okay?"

Dukstorm only recently waltzed back into camp. "Mosswing of ThunderClan?" he muttered and padded over to his adoptive step-sister's side, Twistedpaw. "She's your mother?" he whispered into her ear carefully not wanting to cause any drama.

"I-I guess..." Twistedpaw whispered back to Duskstorm. Only half to herself, she said, "So let me get this straight. I was born in Thunderclan to Moss-whateverhernewnameisgoingtobe and then a moon later I snuck out and everyone thought I was dead. Then I somehow by the powers of Starclan end up here with Heatherstripe briefly as my mother. You had this twoleg thing going on and then you come here because you suddenly realize that I was alive and come here. Wow." It was only once she finished that she realized she had practically yelled that out. "Oh, sorry. Wait, am I supposed to say sorry for that? Everything is so confusing right now," She awkwardly apologized.