Someone New [Closed]

Shadowleaf lead the small little group she stumbled across back to Thunderclan camp. Two apprentices and a rogue followed her in. It was up to Blizzardstar if he stayed or not. If she decided he wasn't fit for clan life then she would escort him to the border, her leader's word was law. Even if she would be sadden by rejecting him into the clan, she wouldn't be able to question her leader's choice. Her biggest concern was the coming leaf-bare. It was already hard enough but she was seeing signs that was telling her it was going to be even worse as the moons continued on. She was going to have to bring that up to her leader later.

The gray and white warrior padded up to the Leader's den, "Blizzardstar there is someone that wishes to speak with you." Shadowleaf informed her leader.

Squeak followed Shadowleaf into the camp, behind the two apprentices. This day had not gone as planned- he had only meant to taunt the clan but now he may be joining it. After seeing the beautiful, smaller grey and white she-cat... He blinked his eyes. Blizzardstar was a unique name.

Coyotepaw followed silently. His tail twitching slightly as they walked. He keep a dutiful watch out of the corner of his eyes, searching for Specklefang's bulky frame. Had she come back to camp? Or was she still lurking out in the territory somewhere? Regardless, there was no doubt she would be back at sometime. He hoped Blizzardstar would put her in her place for speaking out on the ridiculous notions against rogues. If there was anything dangerous, it was the poisonous thought that clan blood somehow made you superior. The apprentice was not the confrontational sort in the slightest, but if he had been, he would have attempted to claw Specklefang's ears off. It would be justified too, she probably had just as much respect for half of her clanmates as well, given their mixed or impure origins. He suppressed the low growl that threatened to break from his throat. Instead, his expressions remained neutral.

Once they had reached the center of camp, he settled slightly behind Shadowleaf and off to the side. The tom did not want to be directly involved in any of what happened and the chance he would speak up was slim. However, given the situation, Coyotepaw could not bring himself to completely detach. So, he stayed, if only to witness what Blizzardstar would say. He silently longed for Specklefang to return to camp as the leader gave this rogue a chance to speak and even join the clan. Would she challenge the leader over this? Regardless, he simply wrapped his tail neatly over his paws. After stealing a quick glance at Sharppaw to try and read her expression, he turned his attention back to the front.

Blizzardstar had been tending to her leader duties with unusual devotion lately. While most of this was mainly just because she felt it was what was to be expected of a leader like her, part of it was also because she wanted to keep her mind as busy as possible. Each time she decided to take a break, to relax, the negative thoughts and worry that had been haunting her for so long by now returned and whispered things to her like a ghost from the Dark Forest whose only purpose was that of taunt her with the things that were, are and could be.

When the small patrol returned she was carefully making choices of future mentors for the kits on the nursery that approached apprentice age, as well thinking of fitting warrior names for the apprentices that were only a mouse-length away from completing their training. StarClan knew they were going to need them if…no, it was not time to think on that…

Shadowleaf’s voice almost made her jump, she was just glad she hadn’t walked inside or she would’ve seen her with her long fur standing on end thanks to the startle. She quickly forced her fur back to its usual state with some last-second grooming before walking outside to see who wanted to see her this time.

Kind eyes landed on Shadowleaf as the fluffy leader emerged from the shadows of her den. However, the smell of rogue quickly made her attention shift from her to the newcomer. A small patrol was there too, so probably they were the ones that found him and decided to bring him to camp? “Who are you?” Her voice was mostly neutral as she made the question.

Squeak dipped his head to the cat who was clearly Blizzardstar. "My name is Squeak, and I come to see if I can join this...clan. The patrol found me on the border." he motioned his stubby tail to the others. "Most of them were polite, and I wish no harm to them or anyone else here." He blinked slowly.[/color]

OOC: ack! Late!
IC:
Sharppaw, who was there the entire time because please, grunted as she sat down, her bones aching in protest. The last patrol she'd been on had revealed a lot about Specklefang, and although Sharppaw loved her mother dearly, she couldn't support most of her values. Surely, surely Shadowleaf had proven herself. She was able to march right up to Blizzardstar, after all. Not everyone could do that.

Her ears twitched slightly as she felt Coyotepaw's eyes on her, but she ignored him. Instead she focused on the stranger -Squeak- who was talking to Blizzardstar.
He seemed nice, at least.

She shuffled her paws impatiently, wincing at the pain that shot through her joints. She must be growing.
The apprentice was itching to run to Reedpaw. He'd listen to her and sympathize. He did that sort of thing.

Another one? Blizzardstar was actually surprised, even if it didn’t show on her expression right away. She would’ve never expected to have so many outsiders wanting to join ThunderClan one right after the other. Were the clans really so interesting to rogues and kittypets that they would put their lives in danger just to get a taste of what being a clan cat could be? She was aware that ThunderClan was the only clan that was willing to take in outsiders, even if they had their precautions when doing so, and that all cats wanting to join a clan would come to them because of this…but still.

She looked at the cat before the carefully. He wasn’t a kittypet, so she wouldn’t need to worry about them being just another mouth to feed, thinking that clan life would be as easy as living in a twolegs nest where everything was always handed to them. However, unlike with kittypets, she had to worry about what kind of moral code he would hold. While she knew some rogues could have better moral codes that even some warriors, she had crossed path with enough ruthless and foxhearted cats to know perfectly what kind of huge risk she was facing by allowing him in.

And to make things worse he was fully grown…

While she had nothing against adult rogues and kittypets, she knew they would be the ones that would have it the hardest to adapt to clan life. A kit could be raised as a clan cat without issue, an apprentice aged cat could be reshaped if enough effort was put into their training to turn them from what they could be into a true warrior…but adults…their lifestyle they had was rooted deep within them and change was a true challenge for them. The tribe was a prime example of this.

Shadowleaf was a great example of the best case scenario for an adult outsider that joined a clan. She had successfully adapted to most clan traditions, and even changed her own name to fit in without the leader having to say a thing. She had proven to be even more loyal and trustworthy than many clan-born cats. However, her origins were still clear in her opinions, ways of acting and thinking, and her preference of techniques to hunt and prey itself, between other things here and there.

Swoop was the other side of the coin. She failed to adapt to the ways of the clans, and thing went from bad to worse, to the point where she brought much pain, destruction and death to the clans by clinging to her old ways. This ended up leaving a huge stain in the reputation of those that had nothing to do with her wicked plans and the clans that took them in.

“What do you know about the clans and our ways, Squeak? Why you decided you want to join us?” Her voice was serious, her eyes locked on the rogue’s. She had to make sure this wasn’t just a whim, that he wasn’t going to just retreat or worse, betray them, when things started to get hard, when he realized that clan life was just sharing tongues and eating fresh-kill under the warm sun.

Squeak shifted, the fluffy leader's gaze making him slightly uncomfortable as she thought to herself for a while before she spoke again. The tom cleared his throat, glancing over to Shadowleaf. Would she step in and help him as she did before? After a few heartbeats he knew she would not. He turned his attention back to Blizzardstar and spoke slowly. "Well, I traveled for a few moons after my brother was tortured by No Furs. Across my journies, I heard of organized group of cats. I thought it was just a bigger group of rogues, with no No Furs." he paused, dropping his chopped off tail. "I've been watching the clans for a while now, on the outskirts." By a while, a day or two, but they needed to think he was committed. "I was just doing this on the border, when a very large she-cat threw me across the forest floor. This she-cat," he couldn't remember her name, but he motioned to Shadowleaf, "Proved to me why I wanted to join the clans. She was civilized, and kind and helped ease the situation. Where I come from, it would have ended in death. I'm tired of that." He finished, blinking at the leader.

The apprentice's eyes flickered slowly back and forth between the fluffy, white leader and the slightly scruffy rogue. When he spoke, Coyotepaw silently found himself willing Blizzardstar to allow him into the clan. His leader was a fair one and had a far more lax nature on rogue policy than her ridiculous other clan counterparts. As much as he was increasingly frustrated with the ways of clan life, he respected the Thunderclan leader far more than any of the others. Even if she had her flaws, namely one being her care-taking nature that often caused a mild annoyance in him, she was level-headed and did the best she could for every cat.

Once again he found himself glancing over at Sharppaw. Does she understand now? Coyotepaw found himself wondering. If her mother could be such a narrow-minded brute, did that mean her daughter would follow down the same path? His den mate had shown promise in being confused by Specklefang's actions and words. But, the tabby tom still was curious as to if her kinship would weigh heavier on her heart than what she felt convicted was right. Some cats were funny in that way. He supposed he had been like that once. However, being left an orphan and in being self-detached, Coyotepaw was no longer as influenced by the weight of other cat's opinions. Maybe someday he would be able to tell, but for now his attention focused back on the Thunderclan leader as they all awaited her final decision.

Part of Blizzardstar couldn’t help but feel somewhat nervous about allowing the new cat in, but she knew this came mostly from the times of Bear. In few words, even she knew that she was being kind of paranoid about a group of rogues trying to start an invasion against ThunderClan, influenced by the stories of the Abandoned Barn takeover by Bear several moons go. However, if these rogues had ill intentions they would’ve at least tried something by now, and given the close attention her and some clanmates were paying to the newest ones she highly doubted that any of them would be able to do anything behind her back.

The white leader found herself sympathizing with the scruffy rogue, feeling a sting of pity after hearing what he had to live through. However, she wasn’t completely sure about the whole watching the clans for a while stuff, given that if that was the cause a patrol would’ve caught a glimpse of him earlier, or at least had reported the scent of rogue to her…and that if he had stuck only to ThunderClan’s territory, as a rogue wandering around the territories would’ve been brought up by any leader at a gathering. While she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, as maybe he wasn’t close enough for patrols to think of him as a threat or was sneakier than she thought, this made her narrow her eyes and feel an uneasy feeling that kept her from fully trusting the rogue.

She looked at Shadowleaf when Squeak mentioned her. The former tribe cat had earned a spot as a close friend of Blizzardstar and her opinions and advice were held in high regard by the fluffy she-cat, so if she was so willing to bring him to camp and speak for him maybe she had seen something in him she hadn’t just yet. She didn’t even need to look around for Specklefang as she was mentioned, Blizzardstar knew how awful her temper could be, and even more how big her hatred towards rogues was…taking that into consideration she was just glad she was brought a rogue that could stand on his own than one half-dead because of her attacking him.

“If you are really planning to join the clan you’ll need to give up all what makes you a rogue and take in the traditions and code of the clans. You won’t be able to wander freely wherever you please, you won’t be able to take choices on mates or actions without fearing repercussions if you go against our code, you will even need to give up your name and get a new one fitting for a clan cat” She knew that many rogues would think the downsides of leaving their free lives were greater than the advantages of joining a clan, even if she couldn’t fully understand that, so she decided to tell this to Squeak, let him know that what he could consider to be the freedom of a rogue was going to be cut off completely if he kept walking this path “Are you sure you want to join the clan after knowing this, Squeak?”.

Squeak listened carefully. Freedom was a really good thing that he enjoyed, but it would be enough to not have to deal with two-legs, and to have cats to fight along side him. He could tell the leader was uneasy, but most other cats were as well. Shadowleaf seemed to be the only one at ease. He glanced at the she-cat once more before turning back to Blizzardstar. "Even though I am a rogue, and I always have been, that does not mean my skills are not worthwhile to this clan. I may, in fact, be able to teach a few things to those willing to learn." He paused. "And I am willing to give up my freedom in order to live inside these borders. I want to provide myself as a useful member... And as for my name, I am more than willing to give it up. Squeak isn't exactly a fearful name." He gave a small chuckle, bowing his head.

Blizzardstar nodded slowly with Squeak’s words, though still slightly hesitant, all cats deserved a chance to prove themselves, this wasn’t the exception and she sincerely hopped Squeak would follow his own words and prove himself a loyal and useful member of the clan. However, she would need to hold another special apprentice ceremony for him, and think on a good name for the rogue “You’ll start as an apprentice, one of us will teach you our ways and you’ll be given the chores, responsibilities and expectations all our clan-born apprentices have. You may be older than them, but given your amount of knowledge regarding clan life there is no other way. Get presentable to be introduced to the clan, I expect to see you ready tomorrow at sunhigh. Also feel free to ask our Medicine Cat for assistance if your health is not optimal, she may be able to help you”.

Squeak blinked. Presentable? He looked down at his fur, muddy, dirty with No Fur oil, and sticking out in random places. This wasn't presentable? The tom looked over to Shadowleaf, then nodded. "I'll figure it out. I do have a slight pain in my back paw..." he admitted quietly.

Sharppaw's ears twitched as she followed the exchange between the two cats. Blizzardstar was going to let Squeak join the clan without a fight? She knew that Blizzardstar was a just and fair leader, but this went against everything she'd ever known.
No. That went against everything Specklefang had ever taught her. Perhaps... perhaps Specklefang didn't actually know. Perhaps Specklefang wasn't always right.

But what should she believe?
What was right?

The scruffy apprentice flicked her tail, turning to meet Coyotepaw's gaze blankly. Sharppaw's entire world had been flipped upside down. If what her mother said was true, then there was practically nobody she could trust. Leafstorm's daughter, Lichenfang and Leopardclaw, their litters, Coyotepaw too, and probably many, many more.
But if her mother was lying, was everyone in the entire world trustworthy? How would she be able to tell?

She sighed and slowly got to her feet, looking lost. She spun on the spot indecisively before turning and trotting right back into the territory, her head low as she made her way through a patrol that was just arriving. She needed time to think about everything.
This went much, much further than just a rouge joining Thunderclan.