A change of heart (closed for Tigerlilly)

Eaglepaw padded along the edge of Skyclan territory. The young apprentice didn't know he was practically at fourtrees. Not so long ago he had been confined to the limited boundaries of his clan's camp. Despite having a mentor, he had not been shown every corner of the land they called home. The warrior assigned to train him had shown him some places, but she was a very busy cat and had left out showing him where are the clans gathered every moon. Prior to being allowed out into more of the forest, he never really had thought about what lay beyond his own world. His own ignorance had lead him to believe their wasn't much. Sure, he had heard about the other clans, but he had never seen a cat from another clan before, let alone their territory. Scent markers were the only thing that let him know his paws were still in his own territory.

A rustle from the tall grass next to him made him stop in his tracks. His ears perked up as he crouched low to the ground. Squirrel filled up his scent glands. He had never caught a squirrel before, but there was a first time for everything and he prided himself in doing the best for his clan. Some cat, maybe the elders or even queens, would appreciate a good meal. Especially this time of year. Paw step by paw step, he crept closer to his prey. Once he was close enough, Eaglepaw sprang with claws extended. Unusually long, sharp claws pierced the squirrel's fur and he quickly finished it off with a swift bite.

"Gotcha!" He yowled triumphantly as the limp body sunk to the forest floor. It took him a second to realize that while he was hunting down the squirrel, he had crossed the border. The young, brown and white apprentice sniffed the air uncertainly. There weren't any scent markers here, so he was definitely not in another clan's territory. Unfamiliar smells hit his scent gland and his fur prickled uncomfortably. Checking his kill was still there, the muscular tom strode across the clearing, taking in his surroundings and hoping to get a better idea of where he had ended up.

The silver apprentice watched from the trees as the unfamiliar apprentice padded closer.She watched for awhile but curiosity got the better of her.The She-cat jumped down stepping in front of the apprentice.Hazepaw slinked around him her fur bristling.Normally the she-cat would of stood proud and tall showing no fear but recent times were fresh in her brain.Hazepaw's icey blue eyes fixed on him taking in his muscular form and handsome coat.The unfamiliar cat looked like one not to mess with but then again a cat like Hazepaw with her lithe form wasn't either."Who are you?Are you rogue...Or maybe a kittypet..."She meowed bitterly.Hazepaw sat down in front of him and curled her silver tail around her unsheathed paws.

Eaglepaw leapt backwards and silently cursed himself for nor realizing there was another cat around. For a split second he registered the sleekness of her silver coat, but almost instantly his mind was back on defense. His long claws scraped the earth as he crouched facing the stranger, tail lashing with frustration and the fact she'd snuck up on him.

"Skyclan, you mouse brain. I'm no lowly rogue or kittypet," He spat quickly, "Obviously you're a clan cat too. That means you're the enemy". She wasn't soft looking like a kittypet, or unsure like most rogues would be on clan territory. He knew she was clan. A growl rumbled in his throat as he tasted the air and a bitter scent hit the roof of his mouth. Maybe Shadowclan? In stories he had been told of their stench that came from living in the marsh lands. It frustrated him that he did not know for sure, but regardless, this cat was from one of the rival clans and that meant she wasn't a friend.

"Yes,I'm a clan cat.You got that much right." Hazepaw meowed.She looked at the tom,he certainly had the look of SkyClan but his claws were very long.The silver apprentice looked at the ground."I'm always the enemy...Even in my own clan."she mumbled.He was clearly threatened by Hazepaw's presence and a smirk spread across her face.She uncurled her tail revealing her unsheathed claws and took a step towards the tom.

His ears twitched and he tilted his head in confusion at her words. How could a cat be an enemy in their own clan? Enemies were found outside of your clan. Part of him wanted to question her, to gain some sort of understanding, but as he saw her claws were out the defensiveness continued. A split second passed and she took a step towards him. That was the thing that set him off. There was no way Eaglepaw was going to let himself be attacked by a cat from another clan on his first time out alone.

A loud yowl escaped his throat and he launched himself at his opponent, claws extended. Instead of using his claws, he headbutted her in the chest. When play fighting with his younger brother back in camp, this always threw him off and gave Eaglepaw an easy win. Most cats expected the claws. There was not a huge amount of technique in his movements, though. Due to being recently apprentice, the tom had little to no battle training. All he had were memories of mock battles in the nursery with other inexperienced, young kits.

The She-cat tumbled over ,hissing.."Get off you mousebrain!I'm not going to attack you,I was trying to phsyce you out.Looks like it worked,anyway."she meowed.Hazepaw took a step backwards,fur bristling."I guess I should introduce myself...I'm Hazepaw of ShadowClan,best hunter you will find."she meowed.She sat up,her tail swishing awkwardly.

Eaglepaw jumped backwards in shock.
"But, you're Shadowclan.." He growled, trying to cover up how confused he was at her reaction. He had come to believe that the cats from other clans simply fought. However, they were outside of any clan's territory, so maybe that wasn't a thing here. The apprentice sat up, and began to lick his ruffled chest fur, but kept an eye on Hazepaw. His claws were still out, just in case, and he was still on edge. He didn't want to appear like this whole thing shocked him though, so he swallowed the feeling and answered briskly, "I'm Eaglepaw. You already knoe, Skyclan".

"Oh,well...Hi Eaglepaw," she meowed with a laugh.She smiled happily her threatening manor leaving her.”You look pretty surprised that I'm not ripping you apart.Well,this is four trees and it's a sacred place.No clan owns it,so it's cool that we are both here.Besides I can't go killing other clan cats then I'd be a murderer."she meowed.She thought about the last part Mousepaw would certainly be happy if she was a murderer.Anyway no one in her clan would be to surprised ,she seemed to always turn up around bodies.

"I've never been to fourtrees. I didn't know," He meowed evenly, only relaxing a little," Besides, it's not really murder if both cats are trying to hurt each other, right? The elders have told plenty of stories of warriors dying in battle at the claws of other clans. It's an honorable death". Eaglepaw tilted his head slightly in thought. He had never really thought too much about these sorts of things. Then again, he'd never even met a cat from another clan before. All of this was so new to him. The unsureness of it all made his fur prickle uncomfortably. Why does it feel wrong simply talking to another clan cat? Especially since they weren't in anyone's territory?

Hazepaw thought for a moment."I guess your right...It would pretty honourable, if you go down fighting."she mused.It was strange how he seemed so scared of her,did he know about how she turned up around bodies.The silver apprentice doubted it,it was only really a rumour in her clan."Why are you so scared of me?I'm not going to kill you,"she meowed.The She-cat thought for a moment then added in an undertone"It's only a rumour,I didn't kill Moonpaw or Redfeather."

"Scared of you?" He huffed indignantly. The she-cat didn't seem so bad, but he did not want to voice his real fears aloud to her, so instead he tried to focus more on her other words,"Your clan thinks that you murdered cats? That's funny. You seem harmless". Eaglepaw tried to keep his tone light and non-offensive. This cat seemed to be troubled by something, probably all this stuff going on with her clan, and he didn't want to make things worse.

"Sure...If I was so harmless no one would think I murded them." she hissed.Her ears went back slightly and her tail twitched.Hazepaw thought why did her clan think that she murded them.She didn't really know Redfeather and Moonpaw was her best friend.It was probably her rogue blood,clan cats always judged cats with mixed blood."Blood,I'm not pure."the She-cat mumbled hanging her head.Even though she barely new him Hazepaw hoped Eaglepaw wouldn't judge her too.

OOC:If this doesn't make sense I'm sorry,it's like midnight run and my brain has like crashed.

"Oh," Eaglepaw meowed softly. He was a pure Skyclan cat himself. The tom had never really met a cat with mixed blood, but he was familiar with the stigma of them. Part of him believed in all that. But this she-cat didn't seem to be like that. Despite her conflict with her clanmates, she still seemed to be a loyal Shadowclan.
After thinking about it, he finally said, "Blood isn't everything. I mean, I don't know the full story, but you seem like any other clan cat I've meet". He almost laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of the situation. First of all, this was probably the kindest he had ever been to another cat. Second, this was the only clan cat he'd ever met outside of his own clan.

"I know,some cats just don't see that." she meowed.Hazepaw thought she hasn't met a cat from another clan."I've never met another clan cat...You don't seem to bad,"she meowed.

"Same here. I haven't been out of camp much since I've been apprenticed. My mentor has taken me out once for battle training, but she's so busy, I've been stuck doing things inside the camp walls," He sighed for the first time voicing his frustration. Being in camp so much had built up his adrenaline. Even now, he had an itch in his claws for battle. Eaglepaw studied the Shadowclan cat for a moment. It was hard not to realize how stunning she was, but he shook his head and kneaded his claws into the ground.