It's A Long, Long, Long Journey That We've Been On (CLOSED)

Spark led Shira to the marshes of ShadowClan territory. His mind had already been set, but he still felt bad for forcing his mate into a corner like he did. Maybe he could have told her about it before it got that bad. That was a good idea. Why couldn't he have thought of that before? Perhaps him being alienated from RiverClan was inevitable, but it would have been good for him and Shira to have decided in a way that didn't strain the relationship between them.

Either way, he began searching for Flintstar. Maybe Rookfire wouldn't be bad, either. Anyone from ShadowClan would do, just as long as he could ask somebody if they could join ShadowClan. The guilt of effectively backing Shira into a corner made him feel... horrible. He'd have to live with it for the rest of his life. But in the marshy lands that felt so familiar now, he looked for any ShadowClan cat who could guide him and Shira back to ShadowClan camp. Spark could walk down the path himself, but it would be rude to just barge in, right?

Oh, he hoped that Flintstar would let him in. He thought that the ShadowClan leader would, but he didn't really know for sure. Flintstar's message was pretty vague, but he hoped that he and Shira would be considered cats who "didn't agree with Asylum's teachings". Probably, now that he thought of it a little more. And Pyrik seemed to be accepted into ShadowClan's ranks, so maybe they could be accepted as well.

Shira looked at the marshy territory, thinking how strange it would be to live there now.  She had been slightly more distant with Spark since he forced her to choose between the place where her mother lived and going with him.  She knew her decision was the right one, she did not doubt it for a second, but the way he made her do it was the worst part.  If they had discussed this together, she would have agreed to go to Shadowclan with him anyway... probably... maybe... okay, she would have at least given it some thought.  She would go with him wherever he went, but, to be honest, she was starting to the wet marsh of Shadowclan.

Walking there also wasn't the best experience for her with the kits filling her belly and the fear of giving birth to them soon, but she tried to just suck it up.  She did not know anything about how Shadowclan took care of kits.  Would it be like Skyclan and Riverclan or very different?  Either way she just wanted them to have a better kithood than she did, which she did not think that was too much to ask considering that she felt that most of her kithood had been a lie.  She trusted that Spark would not take them anywhere where their kits would be treated poorly, but she wanted to know for sure.

She wasn't exactly sure where the Shadowclan camp was, but she did know that she was tired and felt like she needed to rest.  "Spark, are we almost there?"  She finally asked, not wanting to sound rude, but wanting to get rest,  She knew that their kits would most likely be coming within the week and, from what she heard, she wouldn't get too much sleep after they were born either.

Flintstar had been patrolling the border when a clear scent caught his attention - RiverClan, crossing into his territory. It was fresh, not very old and there was...Something else that caused him to pause but he couldn't place it. It didn't matter, he had to get to the bottom of this situation. He turned and stalked after the RiverClan cats, easily catching up to them - two, in fact. They seemed hopelessly lost, one - a she-cat, spoke up, referring to the tom as 'Spark' as she questioned if they were there. What were they doing? Well, he suppose he could simply ask. "What do we have here?" he meowed, stepping from the shadows to circle the two lost RiverClan cats. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took them in, eyes falls onto their scarred shoulders.

...Ex-Asylum cats, huh. Pyrik had the same scars - only on the opposite shoulder. The leader's eyes narrowed as he studied the two even more, before he straightened up as he realized that the RiverClan she-cat was very obvious pregnant. ...Right, Ivystar had spoken of taking in some Asylum cats but that only raised further questions of why two of them were in the middle of ShadowClan's territory. "...What brings you two here? This is not a place for a pregnant queen to be lightly - and Ivystar would not think of sending one to me for any reason so...I can only assume that you two are here on your own terms." He paused, tilting his head. "...Are you here to see Thalia or Pyrik?"

Spark nodded to Shira. "Almost there," he said, before noticing a giant figure approach the two cats. Flintstar. Just the sight of the ShadowClan leader made Spark feel scared. But of course he had to ask him if they would let the two of them into ShadowClan. It was obvious that Flintstar didn't know the real reason Spark and Shira were here, due to the ShadowClan leader asking if they wanted to see one of their former Asylum friends. At least Flintstar was hospitable enough to offer them that, so that boded well for them potentially being accepted into ShadowClan.

"Well, actually..." Spark started, beginning to trail off. His anxiety began to go off the rails after seeing Flintstar. What if he didn't accept them in? Spark wouldn't be able to handle being in RiverClan for another second, but where else could he go? At the same time, the ginger tabby didn't know what would happen until he asked them. Shaking the doubt of his head, he began speaking again. "Shira and I, we're thinking of... joining ShadowClan, if that's alright with you." The ginger tabby prayed to StarClan that Flintstar would accept them.

Shira nodded as Spark responded.  Her ear turned towards the sound of cats footsteps, getting ready to fight if needed.  But instead the cat responded in a calmer way then she expected.  As he responded however, a flash of slight anger went through her when she took him saying that this was "not a place for a pregnant queen" as an insult even though it wasn't one.  Why don't you come and see how much I can't handle myself, huh? She thought, but thankfully didn't say out loud.

She let Spark do the talking since she guessed that he knew this cat, but gave him a 'really you're asking this cat' look.  After Spark was done she decided to speak.  "Also, who are you?"  Her voice was softer than it used to be, but it still had a cold undertone.

Flintstar titled his head as Spark spoke up - naming the queen as Shira - and revealed that they wanted to join ShadowClan. Ah. He certainly didn't have a problem with it but it did raise the question of...Why? Did they not have a place within RiverClan? Hm. His eyes fell onto Shira as she questioned who he was, straightening up. "I am Flintstar, leader of ShadowClan. I was rather surprised to smell RiverClan on my territory...As for request - I have no trouble with it. You are not the first ex-Asylum cat I have welcomed, and perhaps not even the last. But I do have a question for you in return..." A heavy sigh escaped him. "Does Ivystar know of this? Your plan to join ShadowClan?" He imagined not, she most likely would have waited until Shira had given birth or sent them along at the next Gathering. He couldn't be sure if Ivystar would be...Well, angry by this turn of events. He did not know what she thought of these two, not to mention his inability to simply guess what reactions cats would make. He shook his head. "...Actually, we can discuss this on the way to the camp - you both must be tired from your trip and the marsh is not kind to those who do not know the safe path through. Follow," he turned, motioning for them to follow as he padded forward - at a slower pace than he would normally take, if only to make the act of carrying a conversation easier. "I do only ask about Ivystar knowing because I would rather not have another tense conversation with a Clan leader at the next Gathering if it can be avoided."

Spark glanced at Shira before turning back to Flintstar. Shira didn't know Flintstar... well, Flintstar didn't seem to know Spark either. It made sense, as Flintstar never really interacted with the ginger tom while Asylum was holding down ShadowClan. Following Flintstar through ShadowClan's marshes, Spark gazed at the ShadowClan leader. While being a little petrified of telling him the truth before, the ginger tom felt that he could tell Flintstar the truth.

"No, we didn't tell Ivystar before leaving," he said, being careful to not say too much. If he said the wrong thing after saying what needed to be said, he could get into more trouble. And he didn't want to get into more trouble than he needed to. Of course, Ivystar might be mad to see her daughter leaving RiverClan for ShadowClan, especially while pregnant with kits. And Spark felt utterly guilty for breaking a promise that he swore to fulfill. But that wasn't important now. Because they were both headed for ShadowClan.

And after they arrived, he'd never threaten to leave her side again.

Shira was surprised to hear that the unknown cat in front of them was Shadowclan's leader.  She let a small, almost inaudible "oh," out.  A leader did not mean to much to her anymore though, after Eris betrayed her she did not trust leaders too much anyway.  Then he asked the question.  The one that she really did not want to answer.  She had been avoiding telling Ivystar because she knew that her mother would probably not want her very pregnant daughter to leave the clan she lead because her daughters mate wanted to.  Ivystar also would have probably been opposed to all of their idea and, even though she would have done it anyway, the trip went a lot smoother since she did not need to explain herself and have a stressful argument, so that's why she decided against it.  But she completely forgot about those stupid gatherings.

Spark answered the question for her and she nodded in agreement.  "We did not want to."  She added with no doubt in her voice.  She left out the part about Ivystar being her mother, not wanting for there to be more of a reason for them to not be excepted.  She followed behind the leader and at the side of Spark, still not walking exactly close to him.

...Of course. Of course they hadn't told Ivystar. The leader bit back a heavy sigh, already dreading the next Gathering as he could only assume that the reason they didn't want to was the very reason he ought to be dreading that conversation. "...I see," he finally said, glancing over his shoulder to look at the two. He suppose this was the price he paid for following in his mother's pawsteps - so quickly to accept cats who sought a place within ShadowClan for many reasons. But to him, the reasons barely mattered if they could be loyal cats. The...Headache that followed was his fault, he suppose, for rarely hesitating. "I...Suppose I will talk to her about your decision at the next Gathering then, if that is alright with the two of you. But that is a trouble for another night. Come, we should get you two to the camp as quickly as possible. I'm sure we can pull together nests for the two of you and have you both be settled for the night. We can discuss more details involving you two joining ShadowClan and perhaps more detail on why you two left RiverClan once you have rested and talked among yourselves. Is that fair?"

Spark nodded. "I see no problem with these terms myself," he said, picking his words carefully. If Shira disagreed - the likelihood of that happening was slim but not impossible - then it was a good thing that he didn't prematurely speak for her. And when he approached her just last night, it made him feel like a fox-hearted cat who was only out to use others to his advantage. Of course, this guilt that hung over his head is exactly what differentiated him from those kinds of cats, but he didn't know it. He just did something selfish, and it made him feel really bad about it.

Now, RiverClan didn't seem to welcome him as much as ShadowClan would. At the very least, he knew that one of his old friends would be there, and he did know other cats there. Now, did they like him? He didn't know, but as long as they didn't hate him he'd be alright with it. And even if ShadowClan was as bad as RiverClan was to him, he wouldn't leave again. Not this time. He'd be a stick in the mud for any cats who tried to make him feel as awful as he had before. Maybe. But he would never threaten to leave Shira again. That was a given. Perhaps eventually he'd tell ShadowClan what happened in RiverClan that he was the reason why the two of them were here, in ShadowClan territory of all places. Because of any place, this was the one which Spark felt was most likely for him to eventually call home.

Shira listened to what Flintstar said.  Oh, great,  she thought, More talking and more needing to explain myself for something I didn't even know for the longest time.  She did not enjoy that the Asylum lied to them, but even that simple lie expanded to any clans they thought of joining.  She had this horrible feeling that wherever her and Spark went, they would never truly be excepted, just because they believed they should fight for their home when they did not even know that it wasn't their true home.

Spark responded and she was happy that he did not include her in his answer, even though that still did not make her any less upset at him.  In truth, she was hurt not angry.  She was hurt that he would choose Shadowclan over her and she knew that she could never do that to him, which seemed to make it even worse.

"That's..."  She paused, looking back towards Riverclan and then back at Spark.  "Fine."  She continued walking with them.  There was this small aching feeling within her like her mother is going to be disappointed to see that she was gone without a word... again.  It was strange, she always had her sisters, but that was the only family she knew.  The only things she needed to worry about was the three of them, no one else.  But now, she also had a mother, mate, and some eventual kits.  Everything in her life was changing.  Change was strange to her.  Sometimes she wished she could go back to being a young kit, no worries other then if her mother was there with her.  She could have sneaked out with her sisters near the warriors den that night when the Asylum came.  Then, instead of being a lied to Asylum member, she and her sisters could have been a true Riverclan warriors.  She could have had a great life with her mother and she could have saved her sisters, but she could not change a thing.

She looked back towards Riverclan for the last time.  Mom, she thought, please don't be worried or angry.  I'll see you soon, but next with more members of the family.  And with that, she left her mother and the clan she was born in behind and looked forward towards Shadowclan.