A Chance At Redemption[CLOSED]

Flickerpaw had finally caught Jaystream at a good time. The deputy was always busy, much like Leopardclaw was back when she was in Thunderclan. He could have died without her knowing, she realized with a shudder. Probably not. Her former deputy was a strong cat. She slowly padded up to the older blue tom. "Um... Jaystream? Can I talk to you?" Dear Starclan, she hoped this would work.

The tall warrior was checking the dens to see if they needed any kind of repair when Flickerpaw approached. He fixed his green eyes on her. Jaystream had mixed feelings about the prisoner. Unlike Lionspark, who was welcomed in the clan almost as one of them after how she refused to be rescued, Flickerpaw was a murderer... the cat who killed Fawnsong and she was stuck in the camp in order to live her sentence. She was pretty young and yet still she had to face the punishment of a killer because of her actions. He couldn't forget what she did and it was hard for him to not see her without reminding what she did... but she was also a scared apprentice far from her home. There was a part of him that felt bad for how lonely she must feel in a clan that hated her for her crime. "Yes. What do you need?" He mewed without hate or kindness, only seeing this as a neutral conversation. He couldn't guess what she would want from him.

Flickerpaw gulped quietly. "I was wondering if maybe... possibly... I could..." She started over. "I want to become a real apprentice again." She explained. "In the moons since I've come here, I never knew what to do with myself. I thought I was going to just survive for a while and then die. But now I think otherwise." She drew her gaze upward, staring at the space in between his eyes to give the illusion of eye contact. "I want to learn how to be a Riverclan cat. I want to hunt fish, fight, and swim. I know half of the Clan will oppose it, but fighting and hunting for Riverclan would pay you back better than just sitting around and wasting prey. I'm even willing to change my name if I must. I don't have to be Flickerpaw, the cat who ki- was imprisoned. I could be something else, the apprentice who proved her loyalty to Riverclan."

The warrior frowned and looked at her with serious eyes. He meditated her words carefully before speaking again to her. What she was requesting, required a sacrifice... a sacrifice that most clan cats weren't willing to pay. That was why he didn't show kindness when he decided to talk again. "Those apprentice privileges only belong to cats whose loyalty is with the clan. Are sure you understand what you're requesting, Flickerpaw? Becoming part of our clan means you will have to leave behind your past and loyalty in Thunderclan, that you will be willing to fight against them with all your strength without hesitating. You'll have to neglect your family, your friends from there if you truly want to be one of us. And, being a Riverclan cat, won't give you the forgiveness of all my clanmates. Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, demanding silently a straight answer from her. Of course, he would talk to Ivystar about this but he had to be sure that Flickerpaw was truly willing to do all that in order to belong here. Loyalty was the thing they needed the most in difficult times... Riverclan couldn't afford a cat with divided loyalties.

Flickerpaw gave a curt nod. She didn't hesitate to reply. She had thought about every aspect since she had come up with the idea back before Newleaf had started. "I know. I know it won't win their forgiveness- nothing will and nothing should. And I understand that I will one day have to fight my former Clanmates, but that's okay... I didn't really like most of Thunderclan much, and if I see my family I'll avoid them if I can. I'll try as hard as I can to prove my loyalty. If it would prove my loyalty, I'd fight my own brother or sister without faltering." She knew that this would be hard. She wouldn't probably be allowed NEAR the river because of her past, but one day... One day she'd show them.

The warrior listened to her words and he nodded as well, acknowledging her decision. There was no turning back now for her. If she betrayed his clan, she won't be welcomed here, not even as a prisoner but it seemed that she was willing to prove her loyalty. "I'll inform Ivystar about this. Wait for her answer and in a few days, we will announce our decision. However, I already decided and I'm willing to accept as an apprentice only under special rules. You'll have to be trained probably by me or Ivystar if we say yes, so be prepared." Jaystream for the first time showed a bit of his usual gentle expression. Although he couldn't forget her crime, she was still young and she wanted to repay in some way the damage she made. After Reedheart's death, he understood that he needed to start to forgive when the cats he despised were truly sorry... but that was a skill he still had to work.