Small One Home [Open, Flintstar needed]

ooc: direct continuation of this topic! https://warriorclancats.forumotion.com/t45254-dapples-in-the-marsh-c#500135

Frostgaze entered through the thorn tunnel, crouching extra low to avoid getting any caught on the kit that clung to his back. Shira would come in behind them soon. His eyes scanned the clearing, not finding Flintstar immediately. So be it, Flintstar would be around somewhere. Frostgaze's first priority was ensuring the kit's safety. "Dappled, you may get off my back now if you desire." He lowered himself for a moment, giving her an opportunity to hop off. She wasn't too heavy, so carrying her had been no problem. In fact, he had enjoyed it to a degree. Looking to the first cat he saw, Frostgaze meowed, "Where is Flintstar? Shira and I found a kit out in the territory. No rogue scents near her, except for her own. It appears she has been abandoned." The white tom ensured that they knew that this wasn't just some rogue's kit who they would come back for.

Burningwing plopped a fat rat into the fresh-kill pile when Frostgaze's bright pelt caught his eye. At first he felt a warmth in his heart to see a clan cat that he actually enjoyed the company of... but then something slid off of his back. Was that a kit? The dark tom approached, curious. Frostgaze spoke to another warrior and explained what was going on and Bunringwing's ears slid back. His gaze hardened, now intense enough to set the swamp ablaze if only they could. He approached Frostgaze and the kit, ignoring Shira completely as if she were nothing more than a cypress knee.

"How disgusting," Burningwing said once he was well within Frostgaze's hearing range. "You know rogues have been killing quite a few of us lately right? Why did you bring that here?" His tone was less accusatory and more alarmed and confused. For all his pride in being logical, why did Frostgaze think it wise to bring a rogue to camp? "No warrior may neglect a kit in pain or in danger, even if that kit is from a different Clan... but that doesn't mean you have to bring it here. Take it to Thunderclan. Or Windclan, since they're nothing but organized rogues anyway." He stared the kit down as if it were spoiled crow-food that needed to be taken away from camp before it made everyone sick. He was even partly tempted to give it a swift smack with his claws as a reminder to never set foot in their territory again.

"I'll take it somewhere else, if you don't want to." He was only looking at Frostgaze. Until Flintstar got here to resolve the matter, it was only between them as far as he was concerned. They were peers after all.

"You will do no such thing, Burningwing." Murkystrike's voice called out as she approached the small group that had gathered around Frostgaze, Shira, and the kit they had found. While I'm certain that the other clans would not turn away a kit, there is no reason for us to do so. This kit has done nothing wrong, we would be in the wrong for turning her away. Go retrieve Basilpaw please." She mewed, flicking her tail tip towards the medicine den as she dismissed him. His comments were concerning, but less so than the current situation. Her eyes turned to Frostgaze. "Flintstar should be here shortly. You said there were no other scents around?" The situation reminded her a lot of Ravenwing. While she waited, she lowered herself to peer at the little kit, offering an encouraging smile. "What's your name, little one?"

Shira walked behind them and through the tunnel.  The kit seemed to stay on well.  She had not to many more thoughts on how the kit would do in Shadowclan as Dappled would grow and become a warrior, besides that the kit seemed too trusting.  However, she was pretty sure that most all kits were more trusting than they should be, so that didn't effect how she thought the kit would be as she grew.  She could even grow up to be the best warrior the clan has ever seen, who knows.  Shira certainly didn't, but she was glad that her clan got another cat either way.

Frostgaze asked another cat where Flintstar was, which did seem very important.  She did hope that the other cat did know, because that would make it a lot easier for Dappled to become a member of the clan, without her and Frostgaze looking everywhere for him.

A cat, who she didn't know all that well, came up to speak to them.  She was pretty sure that his name was Burningwing, but wasn't certain.  As Burningwing spoke on, Shira became more and more aggravated.  She realized that it was probably a good thing that she did not talk to him much, because if she did she most likely would have torn his fur out every time he spoke like that.  "Oh, shut up," she hissed, almost without thinking about it.  But then she notice how Burningwing was talking to Frostgaze, they clearly knew each other.  So, Shira decided to not say anything more and keep her great anger down.

As Murkystrike approached, she offered her a small smile.  She agreed with what the other she-cat said and nodded, happy to see Burningwing getting put in his place to a certain extent.

"I stand with my deputy, Burningwing. The kit remains," Flintstar growled as he slipped from the shadows of the Jaggedrock, giving a long look at the tom. "No matter if rogues are prowling our territory, this kit had no part in it and my mother would not turn away a cat in need, so I shall not either," he added as he approached, coming to a stop to stare down at the small kit that his warriors had brought into the camp. Another abandoned rogue kit...Or at least it seemed abandoned. He had to admit, there was some hesitation as he stared down at the kit. According to Mothglow, when she had found Batglow all signs had pointed to him being abandoned and forgotten but clearly current events showed that didn't work out like the medicine cat had expected. But... He did suppose it wasn't like things could get much worse with the rogues. He glanced up at the two warriors, giving them an expected look as he waited for the answer to Murkystrike's question - it couldn't be a trap by the rogues, could it? But even if it was... He suppose he would just have to accept that as he couldn't very well turn away this kit.

Frostgaze's eyes narrowed at Burningwing as he approached, spouting nonsense about the code. Calling a kit disgusting. It would've made any other cat's blood boil, and in fact, that seemed to happen to Shira, who told him to shut his mouth. "Burningwing, you are not the most observant cat in the clans, so let me make this clear. Obviously, I know that rogues have been killing us lately, I have fought them, have you?" A sharp reminder of his own lost ear. His tone was cold and biting. Not quite aggressive, but enough to make it clear that he was not messing around with the life of the kit he brought back, and he moved in front of her defensively to signify that. "This kit stays until Flintstar says otherwise."

Thankfully, Murkystrike showed up to back him up. He dipped his head respectfully to her, and answered her question quickly. "There were no other scents around. I believe this kit said that her mother claimed that a clan would find her. Though, I would defer to her to answer that." His tail swished from side to side, still slightly aggravated by Burningwing's actions. Claiming that he would rather leave a defenseless kit to another clan, terrible. Then, finally, Flintstar approached, and he dipped his head in respect again. "Flintstar. I was just telling Murkystrike that there were no other scents around the kit. Furthermore, she said that her mother left her for a clan to find her if I am not mistaken." Shaking his fur gently, his gaze fell upon Dappled, and he nudged her forward with his tail. "Would you like to introduce yourself? If not, I can do so for you."

Dappled slid down from Frostgaze’s back and looked around at what he called the camp. There were a few rocks around the camp, though one giant boulder stood out to her. A few cats were scattered around the clearing and one appeared to be approaching them. She was scared by the disapproving glare he gave her and she slowly inched closer to Frostgaze. Dappled was grateful that another cat came and told him to go away, she was a lot nicer than the other cat. The nice she-cat peered at her with much more kind eyes and asked for her name. “I’m Dappled,” she mewed softly before another cat showed up. This new cat also seemed nice, saying that they would not turn her away. Dappled felt Frostgaze’s tail nudging her forward, and he asked if she wanted to indroduced herself. She gave a small nod and trotted in front of him. “My name is Dappled and…umm…” her voice trailed off and she didn’t know what to say next. There wasn’t much else that she could say about herself. “What does a clan do exactly?” She tentatively asked, gazing up at the cat who she thought was called Flintstar.

If fighting clanmates hadn't been so frowned upon, Shira would have lost an eye the instant her words left her mouth. Frostgaze was met with an intense stare and an expression that hinted a warning, despite being a clanmate that he liked. "I like you, but I warn you: Do. Not. Think yourself above me, Frostgaze. You know I've fought them. You were there, oh observant one." If Murkystrike hadn't shown up right then, Burningwing wasn't sure what might have transpired. Though it made his fur bristle a bit, he wasn't going to go against her orders... or Flintstar's. The leader showed up just in time too.

Burningwing was still no fool, he knew he was being dismissed. What in the world would they need Basilpaw for? The kit wasn't hurt. "Sure," He said curtly, not hiding the razor's edge to his tone. "Best not to assign her to me to mentor though." He already knew where this was going and he knew he and his parents were not going to be thrilled. He'd have to hear about it too. Maybe his final parting words were unwise, but they were already spoken. It was more for the kit to hear anyway, just so she would know exactly how unwelcome she was.

Burningwing gave her a final acidic glare down before pivoting on his heel. He passed by the medicine den and barely poked his head inside. "Basilpaw, you're needed outside. Go talk to Murkystrike." He relayed the message before he stormed off. If everyone else was brain dead enough to be so welcoming towards a rogue... then he might bring a body or two back for the kit to see. If they weren't going to make her leave, then he intended to make her want to of her own accord.

Marshpaw was sitting off to the side, eating a frog. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings but her ears flicked towards Frostgaze as he came in with a rogue kit. Cats started to gather around and Marshpaw found herself curious enough to go over there and see what was going on. Seems like some cats didn't want the kit to be there. Marshpaw didn't mind. The more the merrier, after all. She thought. She didn't want to interact with the kit. She would wait until it was older to start some sort of friendship. She noticed that Burningwing had a strong hate for anything to do with rogues, fair enough, though an interesting thing that she could take note of when interacting with him.

She sat down, flicking an ear. "I don't really care, but if the warrior code says that we must bring... it-" She motioned with her paw at the kit. "-in, then there's no reason for me to object." She blinked at Frostgaze curiously as he spoke then looked down at the kit. "Dappled?" She muttered under her breath. "Surprising that she has one, the mother obviously doesn't care if she gets killed by us or taken in by us and why couldn't that mother just take care of it herself?" She looked at the warrior's den, Soottail was sleeping. "Maybe she was like Soottail." Her ears lowered, still whispering. Then Burningwing began to speak. The dark warrior seemed to think very highly of himself. "Well, someone doesn't like little Dappled over here." Marshpaw flicked her tail over at Dappled as she spoke in a half-joking tone to relieve the tension in the air.

Burningwing's parting words made the fur along Murkystrike's back bristle, and her eyes flashed with anger as she watched him stalk away, barely breaching the entrance to the medicine den before storming away. The kit introducing herself as Dappled, pulled her attention back, and Murkystrike smiled. "Hi Dappled, I'm Murkystrike. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She kept her voice soft as she greeted the kit, pausing as Dappled turned to Flintstar to ask what a clan did. She straightened, casting Frostgaze a glance as he said his mother claimed that a clan would find her. "Much like what Ichtaca did with Hopegiver, then. Hmmm..." She hummed to herself as she waited for Flintstar to respond to the kit's question, looking to see if she could tell where Burningwing had gone. She would clearly have to keep a close eye on him...

Dappled... A hum escaped Flintstar as Frostgaze spoke and the young kit introduced herself. The fact that the kit's mother had apparently expected the Clans to find her most likely mean that accepting in the kit wouldn't prove troublesome... He blinked as the kit posed a simple question - what was a Clan. He leaned down to better meet the kit's line of sight even if he still towered over Dappled despite it. "Well...A Clan is a big group of cats. We are ShadowClan and its our job to care for each other. Protect those who can't protect themselves like our young and old and make sure all of our Clanmates are fed to the best of our abilities. I suppose some would call us..." There was a pause, a twitching of whiskers before he looked down at the kit with the barest hints of a smile. "A family. Would you like to join our family, Dappled? You will be safe and well-looked after here and you can find a place for yourself within the Clan."

Frostgaze's fur layed flat as Burningwing turned his anger to him. He had simply stated facts, nothing more. Nothing less, never less. "I do not think myself above you, though you would do well to understand you are not above the innocent, whether they hail from Shadowclan or not." The short tom looked up at him coldly until he finally stalked away. What a pawful. He was his friend but... he was just so illogical sometimes. With a soft huff of breath, his fluffy tail smacked the ground once in a barely registered display of annoyance. His sharp eyes traveled over to his... what exactly should he call Marshpaw now? His ward? Thoughts for a different time.

"Marshpaw, this is Dappled, and she may be staying with Shadowclan, if she wishes. I will tell you that we should not just take in kits because of the code, but also because it is important to protect those who are not as strong as you." His tone was neutral, but not in a cold way. Simply factual. He did care for her, this was simply a... correction of the thought line. Compassion, as much as it could be a burden, could be a boon just the same. Turning back to the kit, Frostgaze straightened up slightly. "So what do you say Dappled?"

So the nice she-cat was called Murkystrike, Dappled started to think when Flintstar began sto lower himself towards the ground. He was still very large compared to her, but Dappled listened intently to what he said. A large group of cats that protect and care for eachother. That seems like a very nice thing, she thought. Flinstar continued saying that a clan is a family and asking if she wanted to join. Dappled thought for a few heartbeats before meowing, "I would like to." She wanted to stay with these nice cats, even though some didn't care for her as much as others.