Lemme Just Yeet Back Here Fam [Open]

Salmonburn's attention was ripped back to Thornstar where the news of his father's death fully sank in. He spoke a simple "congratulations." Before turning his attention to Delta, nodding with what she was saying. He had nothing more to say.

Mothpaw emerged from her den at the sound of chaos unfolding in the camp, her curiosity plainly written on her face even as she took in the appearance of the cats before her. Salmonpaw was instantly recognizable, a brother by adoption; but the stranger with him wasn't someone she had seen before. She caught the tail end of what seemed to be a difficult conversation - had news of Scorchstar's death not reached Salmonpaw? - and then the stranger's speech. Ah, so he was a warrior now.

Unbidden, the words of the stranger from her visit with StarClan - Sunpaw, her name had been - entered her mind. "You'll find a pair of outcasts there," she had said. But there was more to it than that, wasn't there? Could this be the sign? What was the rest of what she'd been told, again... "And should you give a second thought, you'll find one belongs and one does not!"

Salmonburn was familiar, both in that she knew him and he knew ShadowClan - his birthplace was irrelevant to her; so long as he considered himself a ShadowClan cat, he was one - but the stranger was... Well, a stranger to her. This had to be it, right? Two outcasts, one who did not belong with ShadowClan... But that still wasn't everything. She was missing a piece, though they were all laid out before her... Two cats, familiar and not; outcasts of their own volition... She'd found the one that didn't belong - though who was she to decided where anyone did or didn't belong, really? She wasn't born a medicine cat; she'd chosen this calling and worked to keep it. If they were willing to do the same, then...


Clear as the river...

At last, the final piece snapped into place.

RiverClan was where Salmonburn was born, where he became a warrior. His starting place. If ShadowClan was who he was, RiverClan was where he was from.

Or even the sky!

"SkyClan!" she exclaimed excitedly, proud of herself for putting it together... And completely failing to realize she'd spoken aloud; which also meant she hadn't provided any context for this sudden exclamation to any of her Clanmates. Still, she'd pieced together the signs, finding both question and answer: Where was this stranger from? SkyClan. Though it wasn't a label she wanted for herself any longer, if her words were any indication; and if these two were willing to stay she wasn't going to try and stop them.

The scarred warrior did not flinch at the grey tom's shouting but instead looked directly into his eyes with a deep stare. His long, fluffy tail moved to one side and he wrapped it softly around the young Rowanpaw who was once his denmate. The tom did not mind her seeking refuge in his fur. She was a friend, a clanmate and somehow... he felt useful when she did reach for him. She reminded him of his sister Fernkit...

"It's okay..." He mewed with a low voice to Rowanpaw before looking back at Salmonburn with slightly narrowed eyes. "You can speak of a past I don't know and that's okay. But for those who did not know when you were in Shadowclan, you better earn their trust if you want to belong. Make yourself useful and we will be in good terms." There was nothing much to say. The decision was up to Thornstar and he truly believed she would take the right choice.