my new best friend (closed)

Shrikesong had been sitting in ThunderClan's camp, watching as the days passed by. A few days ago, she had told Nettlestar that she was on ThunderClan's side. After she told her leader that, she felt safer trying to... snuggle with the enemy, per se. As the she-cat looked for an Asylum cat to talk with, she noticed one cat in particular by herself. One that the brown she-cat recognized and utterly despised.

Eris.

Now, the Asylum she-cat didn't know that Shrikesong hated the Asylum still. It seemed like she had just gotten so angry at first, but then became more and more compliant with the Asylum as time passed. In the following days, she had begun socializing with Asylum cats, something that couldn't be said for any of her clanmates. Of course, that was all a facade, and she began showing her true self to other cats who also wanted to get rid of the Asylum. 

It was obviously risky showing her true ideals with Asylum cats so close to her, but it seemed like they didn't notice, and she made sure to mask her intentions with hostility to the ShadowClan cat she faced. And now, after moons of staying quiet and pretending to accept Asylum, she had a chance to be on Eris's good side.

Padding towards the she-cat, Shrikesong flicked her tail energetically. "Hey, Eris! How are you doing today?" she said, the excited grin on her face masking her utter hatred of the she-cat. Perhaps small talk with the Asylum cat would help the she-cat get into the inner workings of Asylum, and then gather enough information to be able to take them down, or at least help the resistance efforts. Maybe, just maybe, I can undermine Asylum from the inside.

The lynx pelt that Eris often donned on her rounds across the forest was snuggly fitted against her thick pelt, absent of the menacing thorns that usually helped keep it in place while in the heat of battle. She only used them when she felt it might be needed- usually whenever she was expected conflict during one of her visits. The past moon or so she'd been wrapping them tightly around her pelt, but as things seemed to calm down, she felt more comfortable leaving them off for short periods of time. She was always wary when she was within ThunderClan's borders, and even more so when she was in their camp, and this was the first time she was there without the prickly thorns and vines that added an extra sense of comfort. Hopefully, though, it would give off a less aggressive look to the Clan cats.

She quickly shifted to look over her shoulder when Shrikesong called out to her, immediately suspicious of her bright and cheery tone. "Good morning, Shrikesong. I'm doing well." She mewed politely, not showing how she'd been slightly startled by the sound of the she-cat's voice. "And you?" She mewed, turning around to face her directly. Eris was automatically suspicious of anyone who approached in such a way, but hopefully, this wouldn't amount to anything other than small talk.

Shrikesong could see the suspicion on Eris's face when she walked up. It was obvious that the she-cat didn't make it to the top of Asylum on brawn alone. Still, she thought that she would be able to convince her that Shrikesong had no intention to harm Asylum. Perhaps I need to be a little bit careful to not say the wrong things. "I'm doing pretty well," she said. Trying to come up with some conversation, she commented on Eris's extravagant pelt. "I really like your pelt. It looks pretty. What animal is it? If I had to guess, it looks like a cat, but bigger."

She didn't actually know what kind of predator that Eris had skinned for her pelt, which allowed her to ask Eris from her mask and yet satisfy her genuine curiosity. Really, it was a win-win in her scenario, especially if Eris answered the question. "I've only seen fox, badger, and raccoon pelts around. Your pelt looks very different from those." It was a painfully obvious statement now that Shrikesong looked back on it, but as she thought about it further, she realized that it would help portray herself as a naive she-cat who was interested in the workings of Asylum, even though they took her clanmates away.

Nodding slightly, Eris replied, "That's good to hear." Though she was still extremely wary around Clan cats in general, being able to speak to one on a more personal level was interesting, especially when that Clan cat wasn't Dawnhawk. She appreciated the tom's dedication, but he was the only Clan cat she spoke to on a regular basis. This was refreshing. Eris glanced down at her pelt for a moment, the absence of her thorns feeling even more evident with each second that passed by. Looking back up to Shrikesong, she offered a gentle smile. "It's a lynx. It is a large cat, I suppose."

An awkward silence stretched between the two, but Eris' gaze remained on Shrikesong. It was almost as if she were searching for any signs of aggression or ill will, waiting for her to slip up and reveal whatever her intentions truly were. "They're much rarer than a fox, badger, raccoon, or the occasional hare." Eris grinned a bit, the tips of her claws poking out ever so slightly in anticipation. "Would you be interested in getting a pelt of your own, Shrikesong?" She mewed gently, voice polite and seemingly innocent.

Shrikesong knew that Eris was still pretty suspicious of Shrikesong. However, the Asylum Head was not as suspicious as when Shrikesong had walked up to her. When Eris mentioned what a lynx pelt was, the ThunderClan warrior's eyes widened. "That's really cool!" she said, trying to keep her voice somewhat low. After Eris became silent for a while, she eventually offered Shrikesong the opportunity to wear a pelt. Despite the she-cat obviously hating the idea of wearing a pelt, it also would be difficult to win back the trust of her clanmates. It led to a dilemma: how would she be able to tell Eris that she didn't want to wear a pelt without getting on the she-cat's bad side? As the ThunderClan warrior thought, she eventually came up with an answer.

"It would be nice to wear a pelt, to be honest," she said softly. "But my clanmates wouldn't approve of it. Many of them seem to not like the Asylum or their traditions." That list also included her, but the she-cat would never say it to Eris's face. "I've even heard whispers of rebellion against the Asylum." Perhaps it wasn't ideal to give Eris information of the rebellion, but Shrikesong thought that it would help her gain the Asylum head's trust. And as long as she didn't tell Eris about any new plans, she would always be behind on any of the rebellion's goals. After all, she needed to feign loyalty to the Asylum to tear it apart from the inside.

Eris smiled faintly at the notion that her pelt was cool. It had become an extension of her own body of sorts, so it wasn't something that she thought of much. Another nod accompanied Shrikesong's mention that wearing a pelt would be cool. Her teeth began to chatter softly when she mentioned her Clanmates not approving of a pelt, and a soft tsk, tsk escaped her maw. "Perhaps if you were to wear one, they'd come around to it. We've all got to start somewhere, no? I think you'd be the perfect cat to show them that the pelts aren't all that bad." She cooed softly, her voice again carrying an almost shockingly innocent tone.

"Mmm, rebellion, you say?" This revelation came as no surprise to Eris, truthfully. "Our traditions do take some getting used to, but I assure you, our methods are tried and true. Everything we do has a reason, even if it doesn't seem like it to you." The tip of her tail began to twitch slightly, but the large she-cat's gaze remained focused on Shrikesong. "Your Clanmates will warm up to things eventually. In the meantime, they need one of their own to show them that we aren't here to harm you. If you're up for the task...?" The she-cat trailed off mid-sentence, allowing Shrikesong the opportunity to interpret it ho she wished.

Shrikesong nodded. "Maybe. But I feel like they would just call me a traitor and shun me. I doubt that me turning my back on ThunderClan would change any of their beliefs. Being stubborn on these matters is drilled into them since they were kits." She really hoped that she could keep the trust of her clanmates while taking down the Asylum from the inside, which would mean that wearing a pelt would be a no-go. "I would be fine with at least earning a pelt in the near future, and in the meantime I will offer you as much information that I can get on the rebellion."

She hoped that she would be able to connect with Eris, and while giving some information about the rebellion keeping the members vague enough for no member of the rebellion to be singled out. Of course, her next meeting with Eris would certainly involve talking about the Mousehunt, and perhaps make Eris be unprepared for any plans that the rebellion had been cooking up. "Should we meet again here, a few sunrises from today? I think I can give you some more information about the rebellion by then."