Constant, Confusion [Semi-Open]

He had left Thunderclan camp feeling more confused than ever. The massive, nearly pure white tom raced through the trees with a bit of awkwardness to his gait. Never before had something torn him apart more than his attraction to Blizzard Star. Her beauty, poise, and leadership were unlike anything else. And that was the issue. Artemis had left home; he had left the very place he had been born and raised to devout his life to protect. Living the life of an adventurer did not change that in the slightest. But, the idea of settling down with this clan? He... he wasn't a settler. A tugging in his chest directed him back towards the forest he left behind. Unsurprisingly, he ignored it. Moons of traveling and gaining knowledge for the Oasis, for his father, for his dearly departed sister, would not all be lost because of this beautiful she-cat. There had been a moment he considered begging her to join him in his endeavors and take on the name of Odan as well. Although he would never be able to bring himself to take her away from the cats that needed her. Thunderclan was more important than him, of course.

A frustrated sigh broke from his maw as he pushed himself faster to move away from the forest that called to him now. This wasn't home, so why did it affect him so much? As his well-groomed fur was lightly snagged by the last of shrubbery, the fluffy tom slowed only slightly. His paws skirted the very edges of Windclan territory. Where he was going was not entirely certain, but he knew it had to be away from here. Artemis had stalled for way too long gathering information on the clans. Other than the slight misunderstanding on the naming titles, he knew their laws better than probably most of them did. He needed to get this back to the Oasis. It had been long enough away. While the thought of home made his paws drag, the tom tried to convince himself that was the best course of action. It wasn't until he reached the abandoned barn that he gave in to the urge to stop. Just for food and rest and to hunt for herbs. The journey is long. Long it was, but still not one he was entirely convinced of taking.

Freckle found himself mostly lazying around in the barn that was slowly decaying after all these years of being unaccompanied by two-leg to take care of the structure. The long-legged feline enjoyed it because it was quiet and good for resting and hunting. Freckle liked to hunt mice here and bring one for his two-leg even if he didn't eat it like the feline had expected him to. Perhaps he was saving them.. had his own fresh kill. Freckle's two leg often yelled at him for watching him eat the weird food on the flat bowl, so maybe he ate the mice when he wasn't looking.

All though Freckle was already carrying a mouse in his jaws, this one was for him. It was huge and plump, obviously the prey had been eating well. The cat laid himself against the straw that was coated on the bottom of the barn's floor. The Siamese stretched out his back legs as he laid the mouse down and started picking at the fur and ripping it off, enjoying his meal. Fresh mouse was so much more better than the dry pebbles his two-leg tried to feed him, but it did get him full when he needed it. Ears twitching as he heard paws scuffle on the ground that was different that his own, he curled his front paw around his mouse as if to protect it from potentially being stolen away.

When he saw the white mass of fur, Goblin's ears went back, knowing that if this tom put up a fight with him he had no chance, "Hello..?" His pupils were wide to adjust to the dim light in the barn and to see more clearly of the other. "You smell like one of those clan cats." He simply observed as the air flew his way and into his nostrils, "What are you doing so far away from one of your camps?"

Artemis was not shocked to find himself facing another cat. If there was one thing he had learned since coming here, the old den was almost like an Oasis of its own. There were shelter and plenty of prey. Surprisingly, most cats would merely stay for a short time before going on their way. This place was left unclaimed. At the mention he smelled of a clan cat, the tom's ear flicked. His jaws parted slightly to draw in the scents and of course, he could still smell Blizzard Star on his coat. Subconsciously, he glanced back towards the entrance he had come and in the direction of Thunderclan territory. Conflict arose in his chest and his ears fell. It took a moment for him to realize he had failed to answer the strange loner's remarks.

"I'm not a clan cat." The tom meowed finally. Allowing his blue gaze to drift back to the cat, he followed it up with his normal introduction, "My name is Artemis Odan of the Oasis. I'm an adventurer. My job is to explore all lands and report my findings to the head Oasis." It was more of a trained formality than anything else. This time, a lack of reassurance that was abnormal to him, shone through in his tone. Something felt wrong about declaring his allegiance to the cats he had been born into. They were his kin, his family, his life. And now, he was conflicted. There had been tales of adventurers losing their way during their travels, but he had seen many loyal Oasis cats return home like they belonged. Ragrok, one of the cats who had been charged with training him, had briefly gone out. But, like the others, he returned.

Why had Artemis stayed away for so long? Blinking slowly, his mind conjured up a picture of the stunning, white she-cat who stood as the head of Thunderclan. Behind her, the cats that she led. He found himself missing being around them. With a flick of his long, feathery tail, he banished the thoughts. His place was not among them, although he had hesitated for so long. Images of Leaf Storm, and Blizzard Star, and the others threatened to call him back, yet he managed to focus on the cat in front of him and meowed as an afterthought, "Who are you?"

The tom's eyes widen as the cat spoke.. different. His tone and attitude wasn't like most felines that he had run across . Rather than scaring away Freckle it interested him, "Artemis would've worked just fine." He simply said, his head lowering to continue to eat at his mouse for a few moments. Since the supposed non-clan cat has taken his time to answer him, Freckle wasn't convinced at all that the white unit of the cat wasn't with those forest weirdos.

He turned his oddly shaped head to the side, his large ears perking upwards as a mouse moved in the hay, swiftly he got distracted and brought his paws underneath him and wiggled his backside a few times before jumping on the mouse and killing it with a swift blow to the back of its neck. He picked up the small rodent and brought it to the new comer as an unspoken item of peace between them. His long legs moved gracefully against the floor as he moved back to his previous position with his own mouse. "My name is Freckle but most cats call me Goblin or Goblin face. I'm sure it's to make fun of me because I look weird but I think it suits me well so I'm owning up to the nickname on my own accord, I suppose. I hope you're not here to claim land or anything, I'm sure the rouges here would kill you in a second.. this place is more a peace place than clan territory." He explained, finishing off his mouse, he pushed the remains to the side. "You look tense, are you in trouble..?"

As the tom commented on his name, Artemis merely flicked an ear once. It was proper Oasis custom to introduce your full name. Ragrok had made sure to teach him that. Despite the fact it now felt strange on his tongue, almost foreign in a strange sense to the Oasis-born cat, he was not sure what else to say. That was what he had known. Instead of remarking about that, Artemis settled back on his haunches into the soft hay beneath his paws and rump. As the cat continued, he watched with interest. Although he accepted the nickname, Artemis found it rather strange and silently settled on Freckle. There were a few oddities with this cat's appearance, but he had seen far worse in his endeavors and was not put off in the slightest.

"No, I am not here to stay, just passing through. I am an adventurer, which leads me to travel all lands and never settle anywhere for a long time..." Instead of the normal gusto, his words fell flat at the end. Instead of the unknown reaches of the earth striking enthusiasm and awe into his heart, it caused his gaze to flicker uncertainly towards the barn floor. Was this the life he still wanted? Never before had the tom been filled with such doubt about his role in the world and among his group. A low sigh broke from his maw as Freckle asked if he was in trouble. Artemis shook his head slowly. Blizzard Star was not trouble. It was his inability to figure out his alignment to either side that was the problem.

"I suppose there is no harm in telling you..." He muttered softly as he glanced back up to meet Freckle's eyes, "My entire life I have lived in service to the Oasis. As an adventurer, my task is to travel and learn the knowledge of all lands to bring it back home. Never before have I stayed anywhere so long, never before have I doubted this life, but-" Artemis paused briefly, tasting the next words on his tongue. A brief smile flickered over his maw and he finally added, "I think I'm in love."

ooc: sorry it took so long and its short ;P