You're Not Alone [Closed]

Storm sat near the outskirts of the SkyClan camp in the small corner he had claimed as his own. There was a half-eaten bird at his paws, staring at it as he still struggled with the idea that each Clan cat took a piece of prey for their own instead of sharing the piece around for each cat. He...Supposed that habit wasn't needed here in the forest with such a large amount of prey but in the mountains? Each prey had to be shared as much as it could among those who lived so no cat would go starving...Not that it helped in the end. He sighed as he pushed the bird away, laying down as he spared a glance around the camp. Did these cats realize how lucky they were? They had plenty of prey, little predators...But yet things were still going wrong. He sighed loudly, focusing on the piece of prey in front of him as he questioned what to do with what remained.

"Not hungry?" The deputy meowed to Storm as he padded over and dropped a small mouse to the ground. Not long after, he had settled down next to the scrawny meal and the tribe cat. It was hardly enough for a grown cat of his size. Rippedsky was still having trouble finding his appetite with everything going on. Bear's terror had still been fresh in his head for some moons, causing more than one sleepless night. Their brief time of peace had been interrupted by the arrival of the tribe. He was glad they had come home to their rightful place. However, it was stressful trying to integrate cats who had come from such a vastly different life into the clans. Not long after had come the fire and Crowstar's disappearance. It was both dizzying and overwhelming to think about it all. So, he pushed it away for the moment.

Storm seemed like such a brilliant and sensible tom. It troubled the deputy that he had taken so long to get to speak to the tribe members. Between organizing patrols, training apprentices, and assisting in running the clan, he barely had time to breath. Yet, all of the black and white warrior desired to get to know the cats he so longed to call his clanmatess. Rippedsky treated them as such, but he did not want to tread into Stoneteller's role and had kept a bit of distance to allow the older cat to still lead his group. But it was time they started to live as one withing the camp walls. Rippedsky glanced at Storm. As he waited for a response, he hoped he had not interrupted the tribe cat's peace.

Storm glanced up from the bird with only a flicker of an ear at the arrival of the SkyClan deputy, aware of the tom's important position in his Clan while not fully sure of what it meant. As far as he could tell, Rippedsky was the To-Be leader. He served under Crowstar and was training to be the new leader but with Crowstar's disappearance...He wasn't sure what that meant for SkyClan and felt a bit relieved that he was more or less a bystander during this whole event but there was worry of what had caused Crowstar to disappear...And the idea that he had wasn't one he was keen on sharing.

He only shrugged at the deputy's question as Rippedsky settled down next to him, his blue eyes studying the black and white tom. "I'm not used to eating a piece of prey by myself," he admitted evenly as he gently shoved the bird way from him, hoping that perhaps he could give it to one of his other Tribemates once this talk was done. And while Storm that Lights the Clouds was all to happy to sit by his lonesome, he was rather...Relieved at the company that the deputy provided. Perhaps this would give them the chance to get to know each other customs. But he held his tongue, wondering what Rippedsky would have to say.

"One of the tribe customs, I assume?" Rippedsky implored with a genuine curiosity. It certainly wasn't unheard of for clan cats to share prey, but in the coming greenleaf, there was plenty for each cat to have full bellies. He took a small bite out of the little, brown mouse. The flavor danced over his tongue, yet his stomach still rumbled in protest. He had grown out of the habit of eating much. But the sensible part of the deputy knew that he needed to eat. His ear twitched as he thought of what to ask the tribe cat next. There were so many questions to choose from in order to get to know his new clanmate. After a moment of thought, he asked casually, "How different are things here from your former home?"

Storm could only nod his head at the first question, turning to get a better look at the deputy. He tucked his paws beneath his chest, giving the tom another study until the second questioned was asked. His whiskers twitched with amusement, a chuckle escaping him. "Many things are different," he stated with a flicker of his tail, tilting his head ever so slightly as he tried to think of what to say. "We have different ways of naming our kits, and simply just different names of things...You train cats to both fight and hunt while we are chosen to do one or the other if not chosen to be the to-be Healer," he rattled on, keeping his tone even and neutral the whole time as he studied Rippedsky to his see his reactions to the large list.

"As for why I find trouble for eating this whole bird...Up in the mountains, prey was scarce even outside of Time of Frozen Water. We were hunted by hawks - reason why Cave-Guards like I are trained. Hard to hunt and keep an eye on the sky at the same time so we are the eyes while the Prey-Hunters...Well, hunt. Because of this each piece of prey was to be shared between every cat- one would take a single bite before giving it to the next cat. Otherwise, it was easy for one to go hungry...And that was before we were forced to leave." He drifted off, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes at the fact that he had spoken so much so...Easily. He had barely spoken that much to any cat but few seemed keenly interested in their old customs. It was nice, he supposed.

All he could do was nod with understanding as Storm spoke. It made sense to him how they worked things out on the mountain. However, it was still very different than forest life. He hoped that one they would be able to teach all of the tribe cats to pick up both skills. Rippedsky was mildly shocked by the amount his companion spoke. Storm had never gone on this much in the presence of the deputy before. Yet, he was more than happy to hear all about the tribe's life and understand them a bit more. After the tom finished speaking, Rippedsky pushed the half-eaten mouse in front of Storm and shot him a half-smile. He wasn't sure whether or not it would be considered strange, but he hoped it to be a friendly gesture.

"Well, you don't have to worry about hawks as much here. The forest provides cover for us most of the time." Rippedsky informed him. Here, there was no need for their to be two roles. All warrior could be equal parts fighters and hunters. Hopefully, the tribe would come around to the fact. A thought suddenly popped into his head as he looked at Storm, "I'd be happy to help teach you to hunt in the forest sometime. That is, if you would like to learn."

Storm looked down at the half-eaten mouse with a flicker of surprise at the gesture, his ears twitching before his eyes glimmered slightly with a chuckle as he leaned down and took a small bite - the only thing he could manage after eating half of the bird already. He paused at the offer, raising his head to stare at the deputy before he dipped his head. "That...Would be an honor Rippedsky," he said as he licked his lips, pushing the mouse back to the tom. "While I have my hesitations of climbing trees to hunt, I suppose if we are to be calling this home I might as well learn."

Rippedsky grateful took the mouse back and finished off what little was left quickly. He smiled at the tribe cat, chuckling softly at the part about hunting in trees. It seemed like so long ago he could barely climb a tree himself. A pang of sadness ran through him as he remembered when Webtail helped teach him to climb. The former Shadowclan warrior had been such a huge help to him when he first joined Skyclan. Now, he had the opportunity to do what Webtail, Crowstar, and so many others had done for him. There was a bit of sadness to his voice when he finally spoke, but the deputy pushed most of it away, "You know, it was not too long ago that I thought hunting in trees was absurd. My birthclan would hunt the moors for rabbits. It took moons for me to figure out how to hunt like the rest of the clan. It is not so bad after a while. In fact, once you get past the fear of falling, it is rather fun."

Storm's eyes flickered with surprise when Rippedsky mentioned his birthclan. He...He was not born in SkyClan? At the talk of the moor, he recalled what had been said at the gathering - how Ashstar had described her home. Ah, then he was from WindClan. He simply nodded slightly but when the fear of falling was mentioned...Storm that Lights the Clouds' body became guarded as his eyes narrowed, fighting back a sharp hiss at that. "I do not find hunting in tree absurd its just that..." His whole body shivered slightly as his guard suddenly collapsed, his ears falling flat on his head. "I've already lost somebody to a great fall...She thought climbing was fun as well but...That did not save her in the end..." his voice cracked, his eyes falling to his paws.

"I'm sorry.." The deputy meowed back lowly. His eyes shone with sympathy. Rippedsky did not try to press the tom. There was an obvious pain in Storm's voice that said all that needed to be said. His long tail flicked to rest comfortingly on the tribe cat's pelt. For a long time he said nothing. His own thoughts wondered to the loss of the cat he had intended to take as a mate back in Windclan. He had left Robinpaw without a word. Not long after, the she-cat had died. A dull ache settled in his heart. Over the moons he had lost so many cats that he did not have the time to grieve for. His whole life in Windclan, Robinpaw, Sprucethorn, Webtail... Rippedsky felt the heaviness in the moment he shared with the Storm. It was probably the only time in his life, other than with Webtail, that he had been in a time like this. He longed to say more, to comfort the hurting tom, but there were no words that felt right. The silence felt right. Rippedsky simply sat alongside Storm that Lights the Clouds, saying nothing, but feeling his new clanmate's pain.

Storm didn't raise his gaze at the two simple words that left Rippedsky's mouth, not even flickering an ear in acknowledgement of it. He simply allowed himself to take deep breath after deep breath, calming himself as he soaked in the silence that Rippedsky allowed for as the deputy fell silent. After a few heartbeats, his body shuttered as he straightened up, finally rising his gaze back toward the deputy as he shook off the tom's tail. "I thank you for those words," he said, his voice betraying none of the emotion that he had felt so heavily a few moments before. "I...I apologized for that outburst. I thank you for the offer to learn how to hunt. I don't want to be a...Burden on the Clan after you have been so kind to us. I will accept as long as you...Understand my hesitation for climbing." His face was a perfect mask, once again cold as he forced away the feelings that had consumed him. He had vowed that day to never let any danger come to his Tribemates and while he still wasn't certain on how he felt about the Clan, he was willing to play nice if it meant their safety. But, perhaps deep down Storm was liking the comfortable life they were living.

"There is no need to apologize, Storm," Rippedsky fixed him with a serious, but kind stare, "Your feelings are warranted. And I understand." He remembered moons ago when Webtail had said something similar. The encouragement and guidance the former Shadowclan cat had offered was nothing he would soon forget. He hoped that he could maybe offer up some of that to the tribe cats who, much like he once had, struggled to find their place in the clan. Rippedsky now had no doubt that this was where he was meant to be. Nor was there any doubt in his mind that this tribe of mountain cats was also meant to be here. The descendants of old Skyclan had come home. It was clear that Storm did not wish to dwell on the moment that had just happened so he did not mention it.

"I would be more than happy to show you how to hunt. And not all of it has to be done in the trees. The squirrels do come down to bury their nuts, as well as the other prey." He shot Storm a weak smile. The heaviness of their former conversation was still fresh in his mind. But Rippedsky longed to lighten the mood for his new friend.