Help the outcast, no one else will

A haunting yowl sounded through the misty forest.

It was a broken sound, filled with grief and agony. It tore out of the she-cat's chest, mangled with barely concealed rage. She was a pretty little thing, soft, sandy pelt and a speckled face with a red streak down the centre of her face, these painful howls sounded wrong coming from her.

For moons she'd been here, grieving, screeching. Too long had she been here, without purpose or direction, but now she had one. When she heard movement nearby, the rustling of bushes that signalled a newcomer here, she knew it was time for her to play her role. She stilled sobbed, though her delicate frame still shook with choked off cries. She had guests for the first time in forever. She couldn't scared them off.

"H- hello there." She approached the bushes, her voice soft and raspy from her time spent yowling. The she-cat seemed weak, dainty, but the barely audible pawsteps gave away that she was no gentle kittypet. She was a warrior through and through.

Crowflight had heard the pitful wailing, he wasn't sure what he was doing here, but he decided to follow the the sound to it's source. When he reached the source he saw a cat. She was small, but he could tell from the way she stood she was a warrior. Was this one of their ancestors? "H-hello?" He responded. He didn't mean to respond with a question. It just sort of happened that way.

Treepaw trailed behind Crowflight to the horrible noise where she eventually met a cat no bigger than her but no kitty pet either. Treepaw took a step back but tried to remain friendly, "Erm- are you okay?" She question carefully and quietly.

He had no idea where he was. Not knowing was an uncomfortable feeling, something he wanted to shake off.

Pinepaw heard a series of screams and two sets of paws approaching. The tom followed warily, sniffing their trails to determine who they were. His clanmates, Crowflight and Treepaw. Once he found them, he spotted the mysterious she-cat and he gazed at her, lingering behind his younger denmate. Saying nothing.

OOC: Chat Bleu can get her own SKC topic later, I'm done waiting.

The she-cat looked at the gathered three cats, one was missing amongst them, she'd been told that four of them would come. Perhaps they were lost, the forest was a maze to outsiders, even StarClan got lost in it's fog-filled depths. She only knew this place well as she'd spent many moons roaming it, looking for a way out. Like everyone else, the mist stopped her, the mist kept her away from her family that she'd lost. Not that she needed them, traitors. She just wanted to be free.

Lost smiled at the new cats, Crowflight, Pinepaw, and Treepaw, they would be her new family. Her leader has promised that she would never be alone again. That she'd never lose anyone again. Yes. They would do just fine. "I'm fine, sweetlings. Welcome to the forest. Come, come, no need to look so stiff." She turned to walk off to the clearing where an old, gnarled stump stood in the middle, she climbed on top of it and gestured for the three to join her up there with a flick of her tail.

Treepaw took a breath or relief at how soft and sweet the cats voice sounded and didn't hesitate to follow. Half of her was worried for her life and what was coming next, another believed this was a prophecy or Starclan's doing but she didn't care about any of this, she was in a trance at how welcoming the mysterious cat was and would do no more than to follow.

Crowflight didn't know what to do. This forest was strange.. this cat was a bit strange. Everything about this was strange. She he turn away from this cat? She seemed to be in distress? Treepaw seemed to trust this cat, but she was still an apprentice. Crowflight shook his head, and followed after the strange cat with caution.

Pinepaw followed along, tail twitching every so often. His eyes trailed the barren skeletons for trees arching above them. Wherever they were, Leafbare was definitely harsh. The tom shivered to fluff out his pelt against the cold. Although unsure, the apprentice followed close, not wanting to become the least bit lost in this place. "Where are we?" he murmured, hopping up onto the stump. It had a strange, rotten feel and smell. Sweet, but unnerving.

"This is the Forest. Where cats who do not agree with StarClan are cast out." Lost replied softly to Pinepaw, there was a lingering sadness in her tone that only came with intense loneliness and great loss. Curling her fluffy tail over her own paws to keep them warm, she continued to speak her half truths. "Do you really think all of your ancestors approved of what WindClan and ThunderClan has done to you in the recent moons? That we didn't want to intervene? That we wanted to sit back as those scum took all that is ours?" Her voice took on a ragged edge, her meows coloured with rage barely hidden. "We tried to protest on your behalf, after all, isn't it StarClan's role to guide the clans? But they wouldn't hear it." A dangerous sheen glowed in her eyes. "But it's alright now, Sweetlings. With me, you will never have to lose another cat again. Our clan can take back what is ours so that future generations don't suffer like us ever again. Will you let me guide you?"

Treepaw paused and took all this information in and thought hard about it but the decision was quick, "Yes, I don't know about the others but I sure will. What the clans have done is... appalling, treating us like crow food!" She spat and the rage bottled up. "But I always thought StarClan would guide us but you're right, they have just left us for dead trying to let us figure it out. I don't want to lose my family because StarClan couldn't be bothered to lift a paw!" She yelled, although this decision was a big one and most cats would never even consider it Treepaw was different. She had been keeping this rage all to herself and stressed over the life of her and her family and prayed to StarClan to punish WindClan but her prayers were never answered.

Starclan didn't want to help them? He didn't expect them to smite Windclan for taking there territory, but wouldn't they at least do something small? Something to at least help them? Crowflight didn't say anything for the moment. He was letting all of what the strange cat said filter through his mind. He looked up at the nice looking cat, and studied her for a moment. He was supposed to be a good deputy. He wasn't one if he couldn't even give his clan a home.. "Can you make me stronger?" He asked. "Can you help me be better deputy for my clan?" He needed to be stronger for them. He needed to be a better deputy for them. He was weak.

Pinepaw watched Treeepaw with narrowed eyes, not in anger or detest, but curiosity. He sat and curled his paws under his chest, gazing at the wooden stump. The apprentice had expected to see some sort of insect crawling in the cracks, but alas, nothing was there. This place really was barren. A slow boiling rage had appeared in his stomach at the mention of Thunderclan and Windclan. He resisted the ripple that almost flowed across his fur. The warrior-sized tom thought of his parents, whom he had never met, and wondered. Would they want him to take back what was rightfully Skyclan's? Probably. He had no idea how parents thought or worked, but seeing the various cats in his clan and around Riverclan camp, they worked practically as one. But he never did understand the parental guidance part.

He'd made his decision. "As long as Windclan is put in their place, I will," he didn't completely put his trust and faith in this cat quite yet. That would come later.

A pleased shine was noticeable in her eyes at Treepaw's outspoken and clear acceptance of the truth. They were all beyond the aid of StarClan now, not that StarClan had been particularly helpful to them in the first place. The sweet cat purred understandingly at spotted cat, placing a paw on her shoulder to convey that she shared her pain, before glancing over at Crowflight. She'd been told to be cautious with him. "Of course, Crowflight. I am not StarClan, there will be no secrets between us. I will teach you all that I know, share the knowledge of our ancestors freely. You will become stronger."

Her next target was Pinepaw, the she-cat slinked over to sit before him so their eyes met. "Good choice, Pinepaw. You will make a fine warrior of SkyClan." She meowed encouragingly. "No clan will dare attack SkyClan again once we are done. Now, if you wish to learn the ways of our ancestors, follow me." The she-cat gracefully leap of the log, landing without a sound onto the bare ground, there wasn't a leaf in sight despite the branches overhead that was thick with leaves that blocked out all light. It was unnatural, but the norm for her. She lead them to a clearing where she planned to teach them their moves. "Here, here is the spot. Are you ready to begin?"

OOC: I'm soooo sorry I didn't post here sooner, tell me if I should wait for another meeting or something

IC: Sandfeather followed the cat and looked around briefly, surveying the area they were brought to.
"If it means chasing those rabbit-eaters out of our territory, then yes," Sandfeather muttered.

Treepaw smiled as the others accepted the offer, "Thank you, I have been ready ever since I was born!" She replied eagerly.