A Father {Closed}

When it came to training, Xuexi really pushed her kits hard. By the time the day's session drew to a close, the afternoon had already rolled around. With heavy paws, Mao trudged back into the barn. The young rogue was thoroughly worn out. Mama really hates the clans, huh...? Truth be told, she did not know why the Regime absolutely had to drive the clans out of the forest. She understood that many of the rogues wanted a life of better quality, and she did not think there was anything wrong with having such a desire. It was only natural, after all. What she could not comprehend was why they absolutely had to have the forest. Where would the clans go, if they were to lose their home? So it's not okay for us to suffer, but it's okay for others to? Mao was not too sure she liked the idea; it seemed too selfish. The Regime could always seek a home somewhere else. Then again, the clans were supposedly evil. Perhaps there was nothing wrong with what Xuexi wanted to do?

Flopping down at the base of a pile of hay, the whitish-cream tabby allowed a sigh to slip from her parted jaws. Why did things have to be so complicated? She lashed her feathery tail in frustration. "What am I supposed to do?" She muttered. Unexpectedly, she received a response—a rustling from the other side of the hay pile. Instinctively, Mao froze. Hopping up, she peered over. Amber eyes clashed with golden ones, and she suddenly found herself staring into a familiar face. To be more precise, Shag's. "O—oh, Papa!" She sputtered in surprise. "I didn't see you there." A somewhat awkward grin flashed across her maw. Apart from Xuexi, she had another parental figure in her life. Shag did not really interact with his kits, mostly leaving them to their mother. Even though he was her father, she did not really have an idea of how to act around him.

He hadn't overheard her talking to herself, had he?

Shag sat up and looked at his kit with judgemental golden eyes. "What do you mean? Hasn’t your mother been training you?"

OOC: I can't think if much else to say... yet.

Mao's muttering had, indeed, been overheard. Just her luck. The corners of her maw twitched uncomfortably as she attempted to maintain her smile. Shag stared intently at her, and his golden eyes seemed to be capable of boring holes through fur and flesh. Well, of course he would want to know what she had been talking about. Great. Still, perhaps she could make use of the opportunity that had been presented to her. She could always attempt to lie, only for her tongue to tie itself up in a knot yet again, rendering any excuse that she came up with unbelievable. The young rogue's inability to lie had always perplexed herself. Instead of opting to do something so troublesome, she might as well honestly ask for Shag's opinion. She wavered for a second, hesitantly examining her father. It would be safe to talk to him... right? As much as it saddened her to admit the truth, she had to watch her words with Xuexi. Hopefully, Shag would merely take her questions as that of a curious youngster's, and he would not give her away to her mother. "... She has, Papa." Mao responded, with some semblance of cheer in her tone. Seating herself at the paws of the larger tom, she looked up at him with her clear amber eyes. "Papa, are the clans really 'evil'? Mama tells us a ton, but I still wonder... Ahh! But that doesn't mean I don't trust her!" As she quickly strove to correct a possible misunderstanding, she waved her feathery tail with great energy. "You know, Lengxue said that she wanted to join the clans. She said that what we've been told all along isn't true, and I wonder what Uncle Canren told her to convince her of such a thing. I don't really like hurting other cats, so I guess I just wanted to know more about these cats I'm supposed to end up fighting. From someone other than Mama, this time. Somehow, never being taught by someone other than Mama seems a little scary, hahaha..." Mao trailed off into uncomfortable laughter, shuffling her paws around in the dirt. Shag was a cat she barely knew, even though he was supposed to be her father. What kind of cat was he, and what kind of life had he lived thus far? Tilting her head, she inquired curiously, "What about you, Papa? Have you ever met a clan cat? Can you tell me what they're like?"

Shag's gaze hardened as Mao asked about Clan cats. "So, Mao. You want to know what I know about Clan Cats? From personal experience, I have learned just how brutal they are. After letting it sink in for awhile, he continued. "When I first met your mother, I had already had the pleasure of meeting some clan cats. After my mother abandoned me, I had nowhere else to go. Hungry, I decided to try my luck hunting in the forest. Big mistake. Even though it was in the middle of Green Leaf, They decided the punishment for a kit stealing one of their pitiful mice was this." He gestured to the large scratches that ran across his face. "They claim that we are the savage ones, but they fight over food and territory when they have ten times as much of as we do. They are hypocrites."

"That's awful!" Mao exclaimed, amber eyes wide with horror. "They really did that to you?" Her gaze traced the scars that marred Shag's features. She could barely imagine how much those wounds must have hurt at the time. Clan cats had done this to her father? The cats of the Regime had gathered together from various backgrounds. Most of them bore scars of some sort, and it could sometimes be unwise to question their origin. The young rogue usually knew when to hold her curiosity back. How many of those scars, she now wondered, had been caused by clan cats? Her light ginger pelt bristled slightly at the thought.

Shag's account of the clans matched up with Xuexi's. These were the cats Lengxue had been so desperate to join? Then again, Mao had no idea what kind of lies Canren was capable of telling. Her uncle had certainly succeeded in deceiving her sister.

Mao's gaze dropped to her paws. They were so small, the paws of a still developing young cat. She unsheathed her claws, digging them into the soft ground. Could she really do anything against these clan cats? She did not want to inflict pain. She did not want to be in pain. Could she really be the fierce fighter Xuexi was training her to be? She had no idea. It seemed she really had no other choice. Still, a stifling sensation of opposition filled her chest, a desire to reject this seeming fate. "Why do we have to fight? Why do the clan cats have to fight?" She blurted out. "We're all cats, aren't we? Why can't we just live together in peace? Why can't they just share the food and shelter with us?"

Shag listened to his son's reaction. He continued in response to Mao's question. "This has been going on longer than I've been alive," he started. "The Clans have engraved it into the minds of their kits that we are dangerous, and not to be trusted. The only times I have herd of them accepting a rogue, is when they come to the Clans with some sappy story about how horrible and blood thirsty we are, and how much they want to get away from us." Shag's eyes filled with hatred as he talked about the traitors who had joined the Clans. "They accept these tall tales as truth, and confirmation of their opinion of us. As long as things like this keep happening, it will be close to impossible to make them share prey and territory with us."

Mao shuffled uneasily under her father's gaze. Even as he spoke, the loathing that simmered within his golden eyes made no attempt to veil itself. "I see." She meowed slowly. In truth, she was far from really "seeing." To simply accept the conflict between the clans and the rogues with such reasoning in mind...? Still, the emotion with which Shag spoke more or less convinced her. If there was only one fact she needed to understand, it was that the clans were very assuredly their enemies. As much as she disliked fighting, the young she-cat also desired to protect her family. She had no choice but to do what had to be done. I'll give Mama's training my all... Even as she made such a resolution within her heart, however, Mao was aware of the curiosity within her. A small voice in the back of her mind clamored that she try to meet one of these clan cats for herself. Of course, she surreptitiously stored the idea away. "You know so much, Papa." There was no sarcasm in her tone, just the admiration of a half-grown, inexperienced young cat. For a few seconds, she fell into silence. When she spoke up again, her brow had furrowed somberly. "Do you suppose Lengxue will tell the clans made-up stories about us? Every day, I wish that she had not left us." Whiskers twitching, she continued cautiously, "Do you think she could have been happy staying here?"