Could this be a... Friend (Murkystrike)

Shira woke up in her comfortable nest as a few of the kits began playing.  She did not hunt or fight for a little while and, to be honest, she loved spending time with her kits, but she could not wait to go catch food of her own again.  Spark was not there at the moment, probably going hunting or something himself, and she found herself sitting in her own thoughts.  This was fine, for a while, until she started becoming bored out of her mind.

Shira looked around, desperately trying to find something to do.  She spotted another she-cat with a kit.  Talking was not something she really loved doing with other cats she did not know, but if it could stop her boredom than so be it.  "Hello."  Her voice had its usual ruff tone to it, but she tried to soften it.  "I'm Shira.  Who are you?"

Murkystrike had quickly learned that the warrior den was no place for a kit, as much as she had hoped it would be alright. So, she had taken time the night before to make a small nest in the nursery, and that's where she currently lay, curled around Night and simply watching the kit as she slept. There had still been no sign of her mother anywhere.... A voice broke through her thoughts, and Murkystrike's head rose and turned towards where the voice had come from. Her gaze fell on a she-cat that had recently come to ShadowClan, she believed she had heard that she and the tom that arrived with her were both missing kits as well. It hadn't been long after arriving that the she-cat had given birth. Giving Shira a small nod as she introduced herself, Murkystrike responded in kind. "Nice to properly meet you, Shira. I'm Murkystrike. This little one here is Night."

Shira did not know how to respond.  Having nice small talk with others was definitely not a skill she possessed.  She nodded at the kit that was sleeping next to Murkystrike, but said nothing.  There was a bit of awkward silence that filled the room.  Then, finally, she responded.  "It's nice to meet you also."  Quickly, she glanced at her kits and cleared her throat.  "Those are my kits.  Firekit, Rainkit, Deepkit and Webkit."

An awkward silence stretched through the nursery after Murkystrike introduced herself, and she flicked her ears anxiously before Shira spoke up again. With a soft smile, Murkystrike looked at each kit in turn. "They're beautiful. You must be very proud." After a couple heartbeats, Murkystrike shifted her weight slightly to turn more towards the queen. "If you don't mind my asking... How was it? Kitting, that is... Is it terrible? I keep hearing conflicting stories.... And I suppose I'm a little scared of what could come." She admitted, ears tilting back slightly in embarrassment.

A small smile came on Shira's face when Murkystrike complimented her kits.  She was proud, but did not say a word.  Then Murkystrike asked a question that was one that she knew the answer to.  "I was terrified," she answered honestly with a slight laugh thinking about that.  "I did not know if I knew how to be a mother.  Stars, I don't even really understand what I'm doing know."  She was sort of laughing throughout everything that she said.  "Actually kitting, hurt... a lot."  She was not going to lie to this cat about anything.  "But I feel that it was worth it.  I had Spark's support, mostly, which made it a little easier to go through."  She briefly thought about how if the Asylum never took her, she would not have met Spark, she would not have her kits, she would not be who she was today.  Everything did happen for a reason. "Yes, it was all worth it."

Shira's smile was the only response Murkystrike received after complimenting her kits, and the pride on the queen's face was clear. As Shira answered her question, the warrior nodded slowly. She was also terrified, especially at the thought of having her own kits. Murkystrike chuckled softly at her admission that she didn't really know what she was doing now, and nodded in agreement to the statement. Shira continued on, saying that while the kitting did hurt, she had her mate to rely on and support her. Would Mistyfalcon do the same? Murkystrike had no doubt he would support her as best he could, but.... She frowned slightly as she wondered just what her mate would do, how he would react. Shira concluded saying that it was worth it, and Murkystrike smiled at her. "I'm happy to hear it. I don't know what I'm doing either, I found Night alone in the marsh. I brought her here after a while of waiting with no sign of her mother. I'm thinking of adopting her, if she'll have me, when she's old enough to fully understand. Taking her in though has me thinking about having kits of my own... I just don't know what to tell Mistyfalcon. We've never talked about it before, and I'm nervous for what his answer will be." She stated, almost as if she were thinking out loud.

Shira had just learned that Mistyfalcon was Murkystrike's mate in this conversation.  She should have been more observant with what were now her fellow clan cats.  She looked at Night and smiled at the young kit.  "I'm sure she'll like it here with you," she said.  "Stars, I'm even trying to not like this place, but it's still growing on me."  By "this place" she of course meant Shadowclan.  She was trying to give herself a reason not to stay, but, besides her mother being in Riverclan, it was pretty okay.  "I think he will be fine with whatever is decided, if you talk about it."  She responded to what was said about Mistyfalcon.

"I hope she does...." Murkystrike murmured, following Shira's gaze down to Night. When the other she-cat continued, she smiled and looked back up to her. "I'm happy to hear that it's growing on you. If there's anything I can do to help you get settled in or learn the territory, please let me know!" She offered with a grin. As Shira continued in regards to Mistyfalcon, Murkystrike nodded slowly. "I hope so... I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" The she-cat forced out a chuckle, even as her gut twisted nervously. Hopefully he wouldn't freak out.

Shira nodded to Murkystrike's last comment.  "Yes, we will.  And no matter what happens I'm sure it will work out for the better," she said, trying to give the other cat hope.  Her and Spark's relationship almost seemed to grow stronger with every fight that they had, which was sort of weird, but it seemed to be a pattern.  This cat was clearly afraid, so if she could ease her fears a little it was worth it.  Acting like this, like a normal cat having a nice conversation, was strange to her and required a lot of energy but at the same time it almost felt freeing.  "What do you like about Shadowclan?"  She changed the subject, thinking that maybe it would stop Murkystrike from being nervous at least for now.  If the other she-cat wanted to go back to the subject, that was fine with her, but if not, she needed help convincing herself that Shadowclan was the right place to be.

"Thank you." Murkystrike mewed, her voice genuine. She appreciated the hope the queen was offering her. After a few moments, Shira spoke again, changing the subject. Murkystrike was happy to go along with it, although the question admittedly did surprise her a bit. "What I like about ShadowClan? Well, it's my home. It's all I've ever known. But, if I had to name some reasons...." She trailed off, looking down at Night as she started to speak again. "I like the stars here. They light the way as you hunt at night. I feel more at home, in the marshes with the moon overhead. Even when it's really muddy, it's relaxing and freeing to be out at night. The cats here too, they're my loved ones and my friends. We stand by each other, support each other. We love together and we grieve together. Of course, ShadowClan has it's issues, and it's flaws, but that's part of what makes us who we are. Flintstar leads us well, he's accepting and always willing to look to the future instead of scrutinizing your past. That's how most of the clan is, I feel. Of course, there's Mistyfalcon and this little one as well."

Shira listened to Murkystrike's description of Shadowclan, interested in what she had to say.  She noticed that the she-cat looked at Night.  She could tell that the warrior wanted the kit to stay with her in Shadowclan and, from what she knew about Murkystrike so far, she bet that the she-cat would be a great mother.  The stars sounded lovely, but she had never really payed attention to them.  "I'd like to hunt in the stars sometime..." she whispered.  She mentioned Shadowclan's flaws and how those in Shadowclan were excepting you not for your past, but for what your future could be.  "Like how they were so excepting of the, well, 'missing kits.'"  She said lacking a better word to call them.  "And as far as flaws go, I thinks it's pretty safe to assume that Shadowclan is better than the Asylum, right?"  She said it in a jokey sort of way, but part of her mind said again right?

Murkystrike's ear flicked as Shira whispered. She hesitated for only a moment before offering quietly. "Once your kits are grown, and Night is as well.... Would you like me to show you? It's quite pretty at night, really." Shira continued, and the warrior nodded. "Yes, Flintstar, and by extension ShadowClan, is quite accepting of newcomers. Provided that they offer their support and loyalty. I do believe we're better than Asylum.... Not that Asylum didn't have it's good cats, but..." She hesitated, blinking as she tried to find the words that hopefully wouldn't turn the queen away. "Some of their methods were quite disagreeable. I was one of the cats that was imprisoned at Fourtrees, all because I became friends with a pelt ward and taught her to hunt and fight when they refused." She admitted quietly.

"That sounds great," she responded to Murkystrike.  Not that she was really looking forward to walking around the marshes, but if she was going to live here she might as well know where to hunt.  Murkystrike seemed to be trying to find words about the Asylum that wouldn't make Shira upset.  Shira smirked at this because, even though she was a member for quite a while, she now hated the Asylum and everything about it.  "I can't disagree with you there. I loath the Asylum."  Shira said.  "I was also in there prison at Fourtrees while I was pregnant, even though not many knew I was at the time.  After I learned that I was clan born and stolen from my real home from them, I tried to kill Eris.  I still believed I would have been able to also if she didn't have the Nightstrikers take me away."  She still was angry about that.  She could have done it.  She could have made a difference.  She could have freed the clans.  Maybe that would make up for all the wrong done by her when she was in the Asylum.  Maybe it would make up for her stupidity when she would just blindly follow the Asylum.  Maybe it could have stopped her from feeling like the weak failure that she thought she was.  "I once was stupid and blindly followed the Asylum because they told me that they saved me.  But trust me after I learned the truth, I would have done anything to kill Eris myself.  I'm actually happier to know that I was clan born."

Shira admitted to loathing Asylum, and Murkystrike visibly relaxed. Her pale green eyes watched Shira as explained that she was also imprisoned, by the cats that had stolen and claimed her as their own. Not only that, the poor queen had been pregnant, even if it had been the beginning of her pregnancy. Murkystrike winced at the thought of being in that place while expecting kits. Without even realizing it, her lips had rose in a silent snarl of anger and sympathy. What if Asylum hadn't been beaten? What if she had been injured in the battle? She nodded slowly as she admitted to what her crime was, and she felt a spark of pride and respect for the queen glimmer in her chest. "That took a lot of courage. I couldn't begin to imagine what you went through, but... I'm glad I got to hear your story. It takes some real strength to stand up against what you've always known, to do what you know is right. I'm glad you're here." She mewed genuinely, lowering her head respectfully to Shira.

"Thank you," Shira responded to Murkystrike's kind words.  She saw how Murkystrike relaxed after she said that she hated the Asylum.  Briefly she thought about if other cats felt that uneasy around her while she was in the Asylum.  This thought quickly vanished however, as she did not really care.  Then her mind turned to how she was actually... happy to meet this cat.  That was new.  "Unlike what I thought originally, I'm glad to be here."

She started thinking about that night she attempted to kill Eris.  Quickly her mind drifted to the conversation with Spark she had not long before.  "Spark thought I was crazy for trying to kill Eris while pregnant.  Looking back, he was probably right."  She said with a slight chuckle.  Not that she would ever say that to Spark of course.  Admitting other cats were right to them, was definitely not one of her strong suits.