Head-to-Head, Heart-to-Heart

Clearstone padded into camp, back home from the evening patrol. He preferred evenings and early mornings, it was much less humid and generally quieter, more peaceful. Ever since earning his warrior name, the young tom had often been out on early, early morning runs across the moor to get his blood pumping and his mind ready for the day. It was something he rather looked forward to, his runs. The lanky tom selected a quail from the fresh-kill pile and settled down with his food, mind still on the topic of his daily routine. He supposed once he got an apprentice, his runs would have to end... Hm. Maybe evening runs would be the answer, then. Or he could take his apprentice along.

Movement caught his eye as he chewed thoughtfully on his quail, deep blue eyes drawn to Olivestone and Zinnia across camp, sharing tongues. His tail tip began to flick. That reminded him, he had been wanting to speak to the two mollies for a while. Well, there was no time like the present. Grabbing his quail, Clearstone got to his paws and loped over to the couple. "Hello. May I join you two? There's some things I would like to discuss." he meowed, setting his prey down before he spoke. It was rude to speak with food in your mouth, after all. The young warrior took a seat, not fully relaxing until he got the okay.

As the sun set and began to dip below the horizon, long shadows were cast over camp, doing little to alleviate the heat that had settled over the forest territories like a stifling blanket. Despite the heat, WindClan was still getting by and thriving, and Olivestone was taking time at the end of the day to catch up with Zinnia, sharing tongues with her mate as the day slowly faded into night. The remains of a rabbit lay in front of the pair as the deputy laid pressed against her mate despite the heat, lazily cleaning Zinnia's head. A new scent reached Olivestone's nose right as a voice met her ears, and she paused mid-lick to turn, seeing Clearstone standing before them.

She tilted her head for a moment as she processed his question, and nodded.
"Sure! What's on your mind?"

Zinnia wasn't exactly paying attention to her surroundings at the moment. Olivestone's weight was comforting, and kept her grounded to an extent, but her mind had a tendency to wander - especially at times like this, where there was only comfortable peace and nothing to threaten it. Clearstone's voice snapped her back to attention, however, and her tail twitched in curiosity. He asked if he could join them, and she wondered what he could possibly want - probably something important from Olivestone, if she had to guess.

Her mate answered first, and she simply nodded along. "Of course," she agreed. "I'm sure we'll be happy to help however we can."

Finally receiving confirmation, Clearstone settled down into a more comfortable position on the ground, quail in front of him. His tail tip flicked thoughtfully as he pondered on how he wanted to start this. Of course, he didn't want to offend the deputy or her mate, he just wanted to have an intelligent discussion about what he had been thinking about for a moon or two now. He stared at his dark paws for a moment, down at the half-eaten quail. Hopefully they wouldn't be mad at him.

Clearstone raised his head, addressing the two mollies. "I want to preface this by saying I don't mean to offend either of you, and I apologize if I do, as that's not my intention. I simply want to discuss with you something I've been thinking about lately." A pause, as he watched for their reactions. "I know both of you are not Clan-born. Olivestone, you were taken in as a kit and raised in WindClan, but you, Zinnia, are an outsider-turned-Clan cat. I'm aware Finchstar was very, ah, lax with his policy on outsiders, and the leader's word is Code, of course. But Zinnia, I was wondering, since you're not Clan-born...how much loyalty do you truly have for WindClan? There is no doubt you are a capable warrior, but you weren't trained originally in the ways of the Clans. Does this affect you?"

The young warrior tilted his head to one side inquisitively, tail tip flicking back and forth with a fervor. He genuinely was curious about this. Not that being a loner was bad per se, as long as they didn't mess with the Clans and their territory. Zinnia was kind and capable and brought a lot to WindClan, he couldn't fault her for that.

Nodding along as Clearstone prefaced his train of thought with his intent for non-offense, Olivestone couldn't help but furrow her brows a little at the questions and the implications that Zinnia wasn't loyal to the Clan. Personally, she felt that not being Clanborn had no effect on her loyalty, though she knew that the questions hadn't been directed at her for the time being. Still, she figured she'd let Clearstone know that he had an audience with them.
"No offense taken. It's a fair question and I'm glad you took it upon yourself to ask for clarification."

Zinnia had expected whatever Clearstone needed to require Olivestone's attention rather than her own, but she supposed his question was fair enough. "I may not have taken the oath of a warrior the way you have... But I pledged my loyalty as well as my paws to Finchstar when I came to aid WindClan against the cats that wore the skin of dogs and foxes," she spoke, voice laced with a hint of sadness as she remembered her leader and friend. "I fought side-by-side with the warriors of WindClan. And I stayed here once the threat was gone, to offer what aid I could as a friend and as a warrior. WindClan swiftly became my home, just as much as the place I was born. I stayed through the threat of the Righteous Few, through Finchstar's death at their paws, through the illness they sent to strike us down, and when it was over..."

She felt a little bit embarrassed, now, to admit the worries that had plagued her as the dust settled. "Well, I was worried that I wouldn't be allowed to stay once I recovered from that star-sent plague. I asked Ravenstar if he expected me to leave... Instead - once he got over his confusion at the question - I pledged my allegiance to WindClan once again, as well as to him as a leader and friend. My loyalty lies with WindClan, and my faith lies in doing what is right."

Her own embarrassing admissions aside, her tail twitched. "As for your other question... I suppose it does affect other things. I learned the ways of clan cats by observation and imitation, rather than the way an apprentice is trained, and I'm sure I carry with me the airs of an outsider even still. After all, I learned much of what I know far from the moor, and the lessons of our youth have a tendency to stay with us, I think."

Clearstone nodded towards Olivestone in acknowledgement, a silent thanks for not getting up-in-arms with him about things he was genuinely curious about. Maybe he could have phrased it better, but that was for another time. Zinnia explained her story and the young warrior turned his large ears towards her, listening intently. He waited until she was finished, taking a moment to mull over what he had just learned. Tail tip flicking thoughtfully, he stared down at his quail, looking deep into the meat of the bird to the bones and sinew beneath.

"Yes, I suppose they do. That makes sense." he meowed finally. head tilting to one side. His gaze was drawn back up to Zinnia and Olivestone, taking a moment to observe the two gray mollies. They were a nice couple, he decided absently, then refocused on the task at paw. "Alright, Zinnia, I admit you have convinced me. I appreciate your service to WindClan and I'm sure Ravenstar appreciates it as well. I also must admit that you do carry an air of an outsider, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. You carry an air that is interesting, mysterious, yet friendly and open. You and Olivestone, despite not being born in-Clan, are probably some of the most WindClan-like cats that we have. Which, now that I say it out loud, sounds a little silly. I hope you understand what I mean."

His ear flicked and he became aware of a creeping feeling that maybe he was talking too much. Brows furrowing, he tightened his tail's curl against his side and took a bite of his quite-cold quail. Once he had chewed and swallowed, his frown deepened. "Sometimes I feel like less of a WindClanner," Clearstone admitted, not meeting the gazes of the two mollies. "I'm not exactly...what others would think when they think WindClan. I hope to change that, however..." He stiffened, awkward and uncomfortable. "Perhaps I have a few lessons to learn from you two."

Listening to Zinnia and Clearstone talk in turn, Olivestone appreciated the level of communication that was going on between her Clanmates. When Zinnia had finished speaking, she offered her mate a little bit of comfort in the form of touching her nose to her ear, before turning to catch the beginning of Clearstone's response. She nodded a little as he spoke, before responding in turn.
"What makes WindClan... well, WindClan, is our loyalty to each other as a Clan. If someone wants to become one of us and join our ranks as a member, then they're just as WindClan as a cat born to our Clanmates. Even so, each of the ways that our Clanmates serve us is just a little bit different, going pawstep after pawstep with how we're all different as individuals. But, we're all WindClan because we want to be."

Zinnia hummed softly, nodding along as Olivestone spoke. "The important thing to remember is that we're all learning from one another. So I'm certain there are things we could learn from you, as well. After all, just because you might not be what the other clans imagine you to be... That doesn't mean you don't have plenty of worthwhile things to say."

You know, with all his thinking and brooding over things such as this...He had never really thought of it that way. Clearstone nodded, feeling a sudden weight lifted off of his shoulders. "I understand. I see what you mean...I'll have to keep that in mind. Honestly, I don't think I ever thought about it in that way. Thank you, for sharing your thoughts with me." After a moment of hesitation, the young warrior offered them a small, rare smile and dipped his head towards them in gratitude.

With a nod, Olivestone spoke again.
"Of course. Clans work the best when everyone communicates and works to understand each other. I'm glad we could help you. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to help you out!"