you don't have to hide [OPEN, Leopardstar/Mapleleaf needed]

ooc; part 2 of this topic


"We're almost to camp," Violetfall informed the dark stranger, who was following her closely. She had found him in a ditch in the territory, weak and unable to help himself out. She had helped him to climb free, and now was leading him back to camp to see if Mapleleaf was willing to help him or if Leopardstar would accept him into the Clan for the time being, at least while he recovered from his wounds.

She entered the ThunderClan camp, standing tall, and led Yin to the center. "Mapleleaf?" she called. "Leopardstar?" She waited a few moments, allowing the strange dark cat to get a good look at his surroundings and become accustomed to the amount of cats around him. "I found this cat," she mewed, gesturing to Yin, "stuck, and alone, in a ditch in our territory. He is not from any other Clan, I have reason to believe he is a rogue. He doesn't seem to know who he is, or how he came to trespass in our territory." She stood regally next to Yin, waiting for the response of her leader and medicine cat.

She wasn't completely sure how her Clan would react, or if Yin would be allowed to stay, but she herself being of kittypet origins, she was willing to give him a chance. However, if the Clan reacted negatively, she wouldn't risk anything to defend a cat that she knew nothing about.

The journey to the ravine was hard for Yin. His bloodied and battered body had trouble keeping up with the she-cat in front of him. He often tripped over roots and pebbles or stumbled over his own paws. His mind was a sea of confusion the whole way through. How did he get here? What happened? Why was there blood all over him? No matter how hard he wracked his brain, the black tom could not get an answer.

"We're almost to camp." His head perked up when he heard those words. What camp? Where was she leading him again? He kept quiet and continued following her. After a little more time he noticed a short absence of trees far ahead. As they got closer he realized it was a small sandy ravine. Peering down from the top he could see cats milling about. Most were still asleep, which was probably to be expected out of a morning, but many still were up and busily moving in and out of it with a sense of purpose. The grey she-cat-- Violetfall-- continued onwards to what seemed like a gentle slope downwards into the ravine. He tried to speed up to a trot to catch up, only to let out a sharp hiss. He looked down at his paws and noticed that they were bloody and cramped, and that his claws were torn. Where did he get that? Nothing made sense.

With a more careful walk, Yin walked behind the she-cat down the sandy pass. Once he was at the bottom he couldn't help but let out a small, almost inaudible "Wow." There were even more cats then he originally thought. The ones closest to him seemed to be very young, sleeping under a bush that almost looked like it was shaped just to host their tiny slumbering forms. All of the cats seemed to have the same musty, cobweb-y scent. As the blood-soaked tom swiveled his head to take a good look around he couldn't help but notice one particular den that seemed above all the others. A jumble of large boulders precariously stacked upon each other, the entrance coated in a screen of hanging mosses, had an air of regality around it. As he drew his attention away from it he realized with a startle that everyone in this "camp" seemed to be staring straight at him with shock. "Fall of Violet, was that your name?" Yin asked, "Why is everyone staring at me? Did I do something wrong?"

Lilykit looked up from the nest. She could smell blood and see a strange cat through the walls. She poked her brown-ginger-and-white head out of the brambles. She squeaked in fear as the strange cat turned and looked at her. Lilykit scampered back to her mother and snuggled close. She wrapped her tail around her nose and slowly fell back asleep.

Forest green eyes snapped out of their concentration and turned to gaze to the entrance of the den. Mapleleaf got up and rushed out of the medicine den after hearing her name being called. She had scented the coppery smell of blood from her den which made her believe there were injuries to patch up. Once at the center of the camp, the medicine cat's gaze rested on Violetfall's figure as well as an unfamiliar cat's. "Violetfall!" the she-cat called in a rushed tone of voice. Once the sand-tabby realized the warrior was fine, she then turned to look the newcomer. "You seem to be injured!" she said with a small gasp. The she-cat shook her head and gave the tom a gentle smile. She didn't want to alarm the new cat with her worrying. "I am Mapleleaf the medicine cat. I am willing to heal your injuries. Although, I first need to know what Leopardstar makes of this situation." her last statement was directed a bit more towards Violetfall.

"Leopardstar?"

At the sound of his name, the golden spotted tabby tom's ears flicked, and he rose his head up from the robin he had been about to tuck into.  Getting to his paws, the leader trotted to the cave entrance and peeked around the lichen to see what was happening.  Was that...a rogue, following his adopted daughter?  The sharp tang of blood and fear pierced the air, making the fur along his spine prickle, but as the gray tabby warrior explained and Mapleleaf emerged to examine the black-furred tom-cat, Leopardstar's hazel eyes rounded with concern.  Stepping out of his den, the large tom crossed the clearing quickly; nodding to the medicine cat he meowed, "I'm here."  

Fixing his gaze on the unknown cat, he opened his mouth to take in its scent.  Behind the blood and terror lay the characteristic tang of Twolegplace, though he didn't appear to be a kittypet.  He spared the tom a comforting blink, before turning to Violetfall.  "You were right to bring him here."  With a flick of his tail tip he called Mapleleaf forward, and murmured, "Treat him like you would a clanmate.  If it's true that he can't remember who he is, he'll need care."  Meeting the stranger's gaze, Leopardstar straightened his back and meowed calmly; "Don't worry, you'll be safe here, they're merely curious.  My name is Leopardstar, and I'm the leader of this clan, ThunderClan."  He hesitated for a moment.  "...are you able to tell me your name?"

Blizzardshine was a bit late to arrive, his belly full of kits slowing her down as she walked out from the nursery to see what had caused her clanmates to suddenly start gathering when no word from Leopardstar nor Marshstorm was spoken. The answer to her doubts were quickly answered by the sight of the unknown cat that stood in the middle of the crowd. For a second or two she silently thanked the strong scent of herbs, kits and milk of the nursery hadn’t allowed the scent of blood to reach her before she could piece everything together. She would be lying if she said she no longer jumped to rather awful conclusion whenever she smelled blood, given the lingering paranoia the awful past events had left in her.

She smiled as she approached the newcomer, glad she didn’t have to say anything or break up some conflict between her clanmates and him. ThunderClan had been fairly open to outsiders as long as they proved to be harmless for quite some moons by now, and knowing the origins of their current leader she knew this probably would stay the same for some more.

Yin's head turned away from the staring eyes quite suddenly when he heard another voice speak, making him hiss with pain as a wound he previously did not notice stung along his neck. A large and mildly imposing tom had approached the him. A tall and well built cat, with a golden pelt and large rosettes adorning his fur. Leopard Star, he said his name was. Yin didn't know what a leopard was, but he assumed it had something to do with his unique pelt. And Thunder Clan, whatever that was. 'I hope this group isn't like the Regime,' was his first thought. He frowned. What was the Regime? Where did he hear that name? Something in his mind associated it with darkness, and blood, and overwhelming fear. When the black tom tried to think about it for more than a few moments, it made his head start to hurt more, so he stopped and went back to listening to this Leopard Star.

The black tom's frown only widened with the spotted cat's next words. His name? He hadn't recalled that part at all. "I don't... remember, exactly? I remember it started with a 'Y-' sound. Yon? Yanny?" A couple seconds of uncomfortable silence passed. "Wait, I'm pretty sure it was Yin. I'm still not sure though."

Leopardstar listened patiently as the rogue stumbled to recall his own name, his sympathy growing by the heartbeat.  He didn't think this tom was feigning; he looked genuinely confused and scared.  Once he had decided on a name - Yin - Leopardstar nodded.  "It's nice to meet you, Yin."  The rogue name felt odd on his tongue, it's shortness compared to clan names a custom he had long forgotten to be normal.  Nevertheless, at least he had something to call him by.  "I'm sorry to see that you seem to have been caught in a less than pleasant circumstance...if you desire, our medicine cats can treat you, and help you to heal and rest."  A faint reassuring smile found it's way onto Leopardstar's face; he hoped that the mysterious tom would agree to stay; if he had to send an injured, memoryless cat back out into the forest, he knew that he would not be able to clear his conscience for a long time.

Mistywater peered out from her dens entrance, wanting to see what commotion had now began. Although, it was quite hard to see since many cats had started to gather around. So, she figured she'd have a look. But when she saw what was really happening, she wasn't all too new to it. ThunderClan was one of the Clans that was accustomed to allowing rogues and loners join, or at the very least, stay for a while. So when she saw this seemingly maimed rogue, she wasn't all surprised and stayed calm, especially since Leopardstar had been quite mellow about the whole situation.

In order to look somewhat presentable and benevolent, Mistywater darted a good-natured smile to the newcomer who, of course, had been confused. Although, in the back of Mistywater's mind a though did seem to settle in her head, What if the newcomer became a Warrior of ThunderClan? No, Leopardstar is simply just offering to let the adrift tom stay until his wounds be treated properly. Although, the thought did give Mistywater a little bit of hope and excitement.

For a moment, Leopardstar felt a bit dumb.  Of course he doesn't know what a medicine cat is, don't confuse the poor tom!  Yin though seemed to understand after a moment though, so he didn't bother to press the subject."Yes, no cat here would mean you any harm."  He blinked warmly at the rogue, before turning to the two healers.  "You can stay in Mapleleaf and Rainpaw's den for the time being, until you've regained your strength.  Then, we will talk more."  With a flick of his tail, he signaled for the watching cats to go about their business, before stepping away.  "Stay for as long as you need, Yin, you're welcome here."

Mapleleaf dipped her head and beckoned Yin to follow her. "Come with me Yin. This way to the den dear." she said sweetly. Her gentle gaze reassured the confused tom. She knew it must be tough putting trust in strange cats and Yin was brave for that. What if he was found by malicious cats? He wouldn't be living. The medicine cat was determined to nurse Yin back to full health and to let him know that Thunderclan wouldn't treat him nasty.

From the shelter of the nursery, Wisteriapool kept her head rested silently on her paws as she stared blankly at the back of the den. Ever since the death of her brother, it had been rather difficult for her to become interested in things. She wasn't the type of cat to constantly voice how she was feeling, so, as usual, the young queen was suffering in silence. However, when Lilykit came racing back into the nursery with fear glittering in her small eyes, Wisteriapool wrapped her tail comfortingly around her daughter and lifted her head a bit so that she could peer outside into the camp with wide, curious eyes.

The commotion was focused on one cat, a stranger, and an injured one at that. The she-cat never liked to see cats hurt, no matter who they were or where they came from. Concern for the strange tom flooded through the compassionate ThunderClanner as she watched the Clan worry over Yin. That was what his name was, right? Well, no matter how Yin had gotten injured, Wisteriapool knew that Mapleleaf would be able to get him back to a proper state of health in no time at all.