A Bold Regret (o)

Eagletalon was bored of laying around camp. She knew that the elders and the kits were hungry, so looking around the camp and seeing no Asylum cats watching her she snuck around the outskirts of the camp and slipped through a hole in the wall.

No doubt about it, she was relieved to get alway from all of the tension in the air and the glares in the camp. She didn't think that having the Asylum cats her was that bad, it was just that she missed her freedom to go wherever she pleased, whenever without telling anyone.

As her thoughts strayed towards the Asylum cats she naturally thought about the more violent cat, Dragon. She had wished with all of her heart that he had not attacked the medicine cat den but had instead attacked a warrior....she sighed silently and looked around again to watch for other cats when she suddenly bumped into a wall of fur. "[color=#0066cc]What[/color]?" she looked up and saw that an Asylum warrior was blocking her way.

Mishka had been patching up some holes in the camp wall, trying to make herself useful. She guessed that she was also kind of making sure that no Windclan cats snuck out alone, since Theron had said that they all needed to be accompanied by an Asylum cat or two. She's just trying to protect them, the young she-cat told herself a little forcefully, and keep an eye on them... Luckily, today had been one of this days when a Windclan warrior thought they were stealthy enough to sneak out.

"Oh, hi!" Mishka said, unfazed by Eagletalon's annoyance. "You probably shouldn't be trying to leave camp by yourself. Asylum wants to keep you safe, but how are we meant to protect you if you're out on the moor alone?" She hoped that the spotted she-cat wouldn't realise that she had heard a Nightstrikers say almost those exact words. Ah well, she was a Pelt Ward after all. Who said she needed to think for herself? It using another cats words meant she did the right thing, there was nothing really wrong with it.

Eagletalon sighed letting out her annoyance in one single breath, aimed at the ground. "I know you are here for our safety, but how are we supossed to feed ourselves if we never go hunting?" she asked mildly. This Asylum cat seemed to be nice, so Eagletalon would be nice to the she-cat. "If you would like, you may come with me and we can going hunting together so we have enough to feed the elders and kits first, which is one of the rules of the warrior code." she explained. She felt like this cat was trying to do the right thing by following her leader's orders.

Eagletalon couldn't help feel a bit sorry some of the Asylum cats. They were only following orders like the clan cats just in a different sort of way with no warrior code to protect their little ones or the elders of the group. "Do you know the warrior code?" she asked suddenly looking the she-cat in the eyes an idea in her head, "It might help you get along better with us if you know the warrior code. All cats here in the clans follow them and it would sooth Olivestar if you would follow at least some of them." The golden tabby smiled at the Asylum she-cat standing before her hopeing that she would accept her offer for the warrior code and in turn friendship.

If this she-cat accepted her friendship request perhaps Eagletalon could make at least one friend? The only friend that she had truly had was Clovertwist her mentor and they only bonded for a short time. He left for a different clan and had left her friendless. To add to the fact, she wasn't born a Windclan cat but a stray right outside of Windclan borders. No cat here was her kin, so she didn't really feel a strong attachment to anyone of them. Only to the warrior code.

"Code...?" She asked trying to hide her excitement. Rules to follow. And they didn't even need to be given to her constantly! Even though Olivestar wasn't her leader, she still felt as if she was below her. If this she-cat wanted to tell her something about rules, she wouldn't pass up the opportunity. Maybe this could be the start of a friendship between them. As long as Eagletalon didn't expect her to break any rules. "Sure! But why don't you just... follow what your leader says? If she knows what's best, which I'm sure she does -" she added quickly, not wanting to accuse anyone's authority, "Why would you need another set of rules on top of that?" But if it would make her new friend happy, she was fine to listen. At least if she was learning something new she wasn't wasting time.

Eagletalon looked at this cat, whose name she still didn't know. "Well, I suppose that each cat is different so I think the leaders thought that if we all had the same code we could learn to live somewhat peacefully with each other?" she asked somewhat confused herself. "Just as well, it also binds the leader into a moral code so they don't kill us everytime they get upset or something. After all, everyone but them only have one life. They have nine lives given to them by Starclan." she said smiling slightly. She sat down right at the edge of camp, finally a little excited that maybe, just maybe she was making a new friend.

Mishka was a little confused at what Eagletalon was talking about, but since the spotted she-cat looked confused at her own words, she didn't think much of it. "Nine lives?" she asked, shocked. "That's a lot of power and life for one cat." So many questions were now appearing in her head, so she just spilled the all out. "Okay, firstly, what's Starclan? Are they the reason you used to go to the Moonstone? Also what if you have an evil leader? Like one who ignores this code you have." She nearly asked 'what if they were bad at their job?' but stopped herself. How would they become leader in the first place then? She kind of glossed over some of that her new friend said, careful not to confuse her brain much more. In her opinion, few cats could be bad at leadership. At the moment, she could only list off one: her. Mishka couldn't lead anything at all, ever. She was a ward for more than one reason. When she had had her trial, many seasons ago, she hadn't tried that hard. Even if she wasn't officially lifted the 'Pelt Ward' rank, she would still behave like it.

Sometimes some Nightstrikers treated her badly, but Mishka thought it was because she deserved it. She was meant to serve them, and if she wasn't doing her job properly, they had every right to punish her. Right? Maybe it was because she had spent so many years telling herself that. Convincing herself that everything that happened to her was supposed to.

Eagletalon shrugged at the sudeen outburst from her new friend. "Well, our leaders and medicine cats go to the moonstone to communicate with the our ansestors and the leaders also receive nine lives so that they may lead the clan long and happily." she explained, she wasn't exactly sure why but that was the way of the warrior code so it must've been true. "Starclan are our ansestors who have gone before us and they communicated to the medicine cat through dreams but through the leader at the Moonstone." she said, her face lighting up.

Eagletalon shrugged at the last question, of 'what if the cat is evil.' "If the cat is evil then Starclan has put them there for a reason. We follow the warrior code under this leader and if the clan is upset enough about it I suposse something will happen." she said somewhat confused. She had never heard of an evil leader, although it seemed possible.

"Hmm.." Mishka said, not quite understanding why Eagletalon was so blindly loyal to the code. If these dead ancestors were so powerful, why would Windclan and all the other clans have to walk so far just to talk to them?

"Why do you follow this code closely? Like surely if its for another cats benefit," Or for the sake of following other's orders, "it be alight to pick and choose." Mishka wasn't one for thinking rebellious things, but if it made a cat happy with you, why follow a code? She also had her reasons to be so loyal to her group. The main one that she liked to tell herself was that Asylum had found her and saved her life as a kit, and continued to provide for her until she could hunt for herself. After all, she would never survive by herself. Or maybe that was just what she had told herself. She was almost unnaturally small, but couldn't she still hunt for herself? Couldn't she usually hold her ground in a battle? Maybe I only convinced myself of those things because other cats have been telling them to me my whole life. No. That would be treason, surely. If she left Asylum. Although, there were few places under the sun that weren't ruled by them.

After a little while, she realised that she had been lost in thought, so she decided to just share it. At least Eagletalon seemed to enjoy talking to her. Maybe saying her doubts through would help her bury them. "I'm so loyal to Asylum because they've saved my life more than once, along with giving me a really family who cares for me." She said the last bit a little forcefully, as if trying to convince herself as well as her friend.

Eagletalon tipped her head. "We follow the code because otherwise we would be nothing more than rogues living in the forest in groups." she explained. She was just repeating what she had been told by her elders when she was a kit, along with what she had heard the warrior's and apprentice's say. "If each leader was different, the clan would be no more and so divided on it's loyalties so we might as well be a band of rogues if we follow different leaders with different beliefs."

She flicked her tail at her friends bold statment at the end. "Of course, we are all loyal to the cats who save our life. I have no doubt that if it was Asylum that had found me I would be loyal to them, but the clan cats found me." she said obviously. "They said that I was on the border of their territory. As for the part of the family who really care for me, I don't have any attachments here in Windclan bloodwise, but as far as loyalty goes, I will serve them until I die because they saved me from being fox food."

(ooc: hope you don't mind if I start wrapping this up!)

"I guess we're not so different, then," Mishka realised as Eagletalon shared her story, "Like just the clans and Asylum in general, except that Asylum is better," She added jokingly. Wait. She never made jokes. Maybe she was just relaxing a bit being with Windclan. She wasn't against it - she was really kind of enjoying being with these new cats. As long as she didn't get so comfortable that her loyalty and hard work took a hit. She had learned before that things didn't go too well when she was slacking.

Caught up in conversation with her new friend, it took Mishka a while to realise how long they had been chatting. She glanced up at the sun, which was now half way across the sky, and panicked, "Oh! Sorry Eagletalon, it's been lovely chatting with you, but I really need to get back to work," After all, the camp walls wouldn't mend themselves, "Just don't try and leave camp along again!" She added with a smile.

(OCC: I don't mind at all! It's been a pleasure RPG this thread with you!)

Eagletalon flicked her tail. "Nope, I still believe that Windclan is the best." she said lightly, she had gotten the wind that her friend was joking and shot back a joke in good faith. Eagletalon started to look up at the sun and saw that the Mishka was right, the sun was setting rappidly. "No problem Mishka," she said waving her tail. "And don't worry, if I go hunting or a border patrol I will make sure to take one of your more friendly Asylum cats." she purred.

As she watched Mishka walk away to repair the camp walls that they had damaged she smiled to herself, careful not to smail on the outside. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to have the Asylum cats here, after all they were cats and several like Mishka had made some friends among the clan cats. Even though Olivestar seemed honstile, it seemed as though the younger cats were accepting the cats faster.