Noteworthy:

To say he was nervous would be an understatement. What Nightwind had said to him during the tom's kits' first outing stuck with the apprentice and hadn't left his mind since. In fact, it had begun to pester him more and more as time went by. Recently, it had only gotten worse and the young tom had had enough. He'd been putting off asking the older tom if he'd be willing to join him out to hunt for a while now and every time he tried to approach him, he'd bail at the last minute. Normally, he had no problem jumping into conversations or fitting himself into patrols but when it came to asking someone to join him, he struggled quite a bit. It was something he was trying to rid himself of but so far, he had little luck. Now, however, he finally managed to keep himself from walking away or just putting it off some more. He needed to stop being timid and just ask. If he was rejected, it would all be okay in the end. There was no need to be so nervous with this type of stuff.

Silverpaw made his way over to where he'd spotted the warrior with a new bout of courage backing him up. Today was the day he'd ask and there was no way out of it. All that he'd seen and heard about Nightwind was positive. He kept that in mind as he got closer and closer to the dark-furred warrior. Once he'd gotten near enough, the apprentice put on a friendly grin. "Nightwind," he greeted with a chipper tone, "Are you busy right now? I'll go if you are but if not, I wanna take you up on the offer ya gave me a while back. Could you come patrolling with me? Maybe we could hunt along the way too. It's up to you, of course!" There! That wasn't so bad, right? Gosh. Why did that take so long to ask? That didn't need to be so complicated.

Nightwind had just dropped off a few quail not long ago. Even he was beginning to notice how lax he was becoming. He consistently brought back more birds than hares now, and he would have been bringing back squirrels too if this place had had any trees. He stretched luxuriously in the middle of camp, ready to go back out and get something else... maybe even wander closer to the trees so he could get some squirrel for himself. Hares and rabbits were great, but he was beginning to miss real Skyclan food. It had been forever since he caught any of the forest dwelling songbirds, and their meat did taste different versus the ones caught on the moor.

He had his mind made up... when Silverpaw spoke to him. Oh, right... I better do that. "Of course Silverpaw! Do you mind if we head to the stream first? I need a drink. This Newleaf heat is going to be the death of me." Stars curse this black fur... He hadn't known how burdensome it would be during the Newleaf. He'd never had dark fur. He now knew why the dark-furred cats had always been the first to complain about the heat.

When Nightwind first got here, he had been paranoid about anything being out of place. He lived in constant nervousness that something would slip and his identity would be found out. After a few moons, he began to relax, especially after he had gotten rid of his old coat and gave his new one a fresh coat of grease. Now though... he was getting tired of being someone that he wasn't. Catching hares was so easy for him now he hardly thought about it when he did. Rabbits were even less sporting than they used to be. He missed the taste of squirrel and forest birds. He even missed climbing trees.

Now that he'd had kits in Windclan, the thought crossed his mind to reveal himself more than once. What were they going to do? Rip his new family apart by sending him away? He wasn't sure Windclan had the gall. The temptation to reveal himself to others was getting stronger everyday. He knew his time as Nightwind was coming to an end... but exactly when that would be, he couldn't say.

Why had he even been worried in the first place? It was a pretty dumb situation. Nightwind was family for StarClan's sake! There had a very little chance he'd reject his offer. Gosh, Silverpaw was going to take this experience as a lesson that he shouldn't be afraid to ask for things, especially with family. He couldn't help but internally sigh at himself. He should probably take more notes from Nightwind. He was such a popular tom that most everyone in the clan liked him.

The gray-furred apprentice quickly shook himself from his thoughts before he lost himself in them too far. He felt a little silly almost forgetting to respond. "Don't know about any streams in WindClan but of course we can go get ya a drink, Nightwind! It is getting rather hot and there isn't much shade in WindClan and with your dark fur, you're probably feeling it much more than others... You know, I could probably use a drink too. Wouldn't hurt for me to feel cooler before we get on with the patrol." The area around the falls was always a risky place but it's where they were able to get some water without taking a plunge into the gorge or trespassing into another clan's territory. He was sure that was what Night had meant to say so he brushed it off. It was small mistake anyway. The heat was probably getting to him. Luckily, they won't be suffering from the heat for too much longer. With a flick of his tail, the apprentice wasted no more time and began to lead them both out of the camp and toward a cool and refreshing drink.
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As they walked toward their first destination in a comfortable silence, the apprentice couldn't stop his mind from wondering more about where Nightwind had originated from. Where he stayed before coming to WindClan. It was common knowledge that WindClan was rather open and accepting of outsiders, much to the displeasure and dismay of some. Silverpaw had never really put much thought into why this was so and how could this affect the clan in the long run. The older he got, however, the more... complex his thoughts became. So far, his viewpoints had barely shifted even a smidgen but the more he spent time with those older than him, the harder it became to stay firm with his beliefs. It wasn't that he was easily swayed, it was just that he was maturing and was starting to take other perspectives more into account. He may appear to be oblivious and naïve most of the time due to his optimistic, go-getter attitude but in reality, he was surprisingly quite perceptive. Not many knew that about him but hopefully they'd realize sooner or later.

Silverpaw, after much thought, decided on asking what was on his mind. Hopefully Nightwind wouldn't get defensive or just plain angry with any of his questions. He was just a bit curious and that was all, really. "Um... Nightwind? Could you tell me how it's like out there? How it's like where you're from? I was a bit curious since I know you weren't from here originally. I understand if you don't want to answer! Sorry if it seems like I'm being a bit... nosey. I hope you know it's really not my intention to make you uncomfortable." The young tom offered the other a lopsided smile hoping to ease any tension before it could manifest... if it does, anyway.

Nightwind followed Silverpaw to the Windclan's water source. It wasn't enough to banish the heat in his body from the murderous sun but it would quench his thirst for now and help to keep his temper in check. After taking a large drink of water, he then followed Silverpaw back to where they would need to be to start their patrol. The comfortable silence was surprising from a tom that seemed to like to talk a lot. It didn't bother Nightwind at all, as a matter of fact, it allowed his mind to wander. For most of their journey in silence he was planning and plotting ways to be rid of the machine grease that stained his fur black and how he would explain such things to Lilacstar as well as his new family. What would he say to them once they learned the whole truth? Truth could be hidden for awhile, as Nightwind had already proved, but not forever. Even he knew that his disguise and his story was on a time limit.

As if on cue, Silverpaw began to speak to him again. An ear swiveled toward the apprentice and Nightwind listened to him ask his questions. Maybe... maybe this would be good practice. "I'm not uncomfortable. Let me think about where I should start though..." And exactly how much to tell you... A few heartbeats of silence passed while he thought things through in his head of what to say. Once he felt like he had at least a rough plan thrown together, his eyes were on Silverpaw.

"Let's start by comparing Windclan to what I know of the rest of the world. Silverpaw, you have a bright future ahead of you and a good life here. It's fine to be curious, but don't ever leave this place. Windclan is kind and giving... the rest of the world is not like that. I've had family turn on me, try to hunt me down and kill me just for having ideas to make their world better. I have a suspicion it is only because it wasn't something they could have thought of or pulled off on their own, so when I tried to help them see the light, they got resentful. I fought for my ideals and tried desperately to make them see sense... but in the end I lost and had to leave." He thought about what else he could say. It wasn't a lie so far, but it wasn't the whole truth either. "I lived life away from my family colony for awhile as a lone cat, fighting for scraps of food that may or may not be poisoned by twolegs. We, the other rogues and I, never asked questions when we saw food. We didn't have time. So we would fight, only sometimes to have won and realize that the prey wasn't safe to eat anyway and it had all been for nothing. As you can imagine, I got tired of that life. The only family member I could trust was my sister that told me to come here. Her name was Hollyhock. That's when I ended up at Windclan's borders."

He surveyed the landscape around them to watch for other patrols along the border. He scented the air, picking up nothing, so he returned to his conversation with Silverpaw. "You've had a very good and happy life compared to me Silverpaw, and I wouldn't want you or my kits to have to experience what I had to. I try not to focus too much on the past and only look ahead, because if I linger in the past too long I can feel my heart harden and my views of the world turns sour. It's not a good place to be in, mentally. I can't change the past or undo my mistakes... but I can learn from them and look forward to the future. My original family abandoned me, but I have a new one here now, and I am going to try to focus on that instead."

And with that, he again flicked and ear to Silverpaw, very curious as to what the younger tom was going to think of all of this.

Silverpaw restrained himself from outwardly showing any surprise at Night's agreement to tell him of his past. The apprentice was sure that he wasn't going to get the full story with every detail but that was fine by him. Everyone deserved some privacy and Silverpaw was quite the respectful tom.

The apprentice quickly gave the dark-furred warrior his full attention as soon as he heard him begin, head fully turned facing the older cat. Despite this, he made sure to have some awareness of his surroundings, they were on a patrol, after all. He relaxed his semi-brisk pawsteps as to refrain from getting too ahead... and to save himself from any embarrassment that came from accidentally tripping. He wasn't the most graceful of cats so it was better safe than sorry.

Throughout the entirety of the warrior's speaking, Silverpaw couldn't stop his active imagination from putting him in Nightwind's paws and having him wonder how it must've felt like going through what Night had gone through. Having family turn on you for sharing ideas and fighting for every scrap of food just to survive... It was enough to make him shiver. It made him realize how fortunate he was to have been born and to be living in WindClan. He had a caring and supportive family, a supportive clan. They were all close and defended each other against foes if need be. Food wasn't much of an issue since every able member of the clan chipped in with the hunting. They all had secure, decently comfortable nests to rest in and very, very rarely had to worry about any attacks on the camp. When they had free time to spend, they could just laze about, share-tongues with clanmates, or go and burn off some excess energy by running out in the territory. Compared to what Night told him about how life was as an outsider, clan life seemed quite comfortable. The occasional fight or battle occurred and injuries certainly weren't preventable but at least they didn't have to fight every second of their lives.

He felt touched that Nightwind was looking out for him as much as his kits. Everything he heard today, he was going to take to heart. The warrior was a cat who'd been through so much in his life that the least he could do to honor Night's triumph over his hardships was to heed his warnings and follow his advice. After everything that happened, Nightwind was still standing and had found a new home and made a new family. Silverpaw had much more respect for the older tom now, as if he didn't already hold him in such a high regard.

"Nightwind," he started, head working hard to come up with what he could even say, "Thank you for telling me all this. I understand how difficult it is to bring up your past and I feel honored to be someone you told this to. You're... You're awesome, Nightwind. Despite everything and everyone you've faced, you managed to keep going strong. You didn't give up or give in like some would. You came here to WindClan and fit in so well. You made a new family and found someone who loves you very much. I really like having you here. You're part of my family and I hope you know how much ya mean to me, how much ya mean to Sunnyskip. It's only fair you get some peace and happiness after all that you've been through." The gray-furred apprentice slowed down and breathed in to stop his tail from jittering. His demeanor relaxed and his face took on a softer and more sincere smile. "Whatever exactly happened with your family or what mistakes you've made, they're all in the past, like ya said. I'm glad you're focusing on your family here in WindClan. You gotta focus on what makes you happiest, right? Hollyhock telling ya to come here to WindClan was kinda like a new chance at life, a chance to be a brand new you. You shouldn't have ta run anymore. You have a real home here, Nightwind, and I hope it's where you'll stay for many, many moons." The young tom's smile morphed to a fond grin as he playfully nudged the warrior, all thoughts about the patrol forgotten.

Nightwind walked in silence as Silverpaw talked. He felt... warm. In a good way. The emotion pulled his lips up into a small but clearly touched smile. For several moments he was quiet, unsure of what to say as Silverpaw's words ran through his head over and over. What a stark contrast to Skyclan that Windclan was. Accepting. Loving. Optimistic. More importantly... they accepted, loved and were optimistic about him. These were all things that he had lacked in Skyclan... in his own family. If he had been raised here instead of Skyclan, he probably wouldn't have turned out the way that he had.

If Silverpaw went off on a praise tangent again, Nightwind was afraid the warmth might leak from his eyes. He couldn't have that. "I really do appreciate that Silverpaw... I... need to hear things like that sometimes." The truth of this hit him harder than he expected it to. A chance to be a brand new him... If only Silverpaw knew exactly how accurate that was. Unfortunately, he knew that eventually... he would be all too aware. How would his new family feel about him then? Would they still love  and accept him? Would he be given the chance to truly change and to stop hiding?

Could Dawnhawk even change?

"Still... I have a reputation to keep. No more of this lovey stuff." He playfully pushed Silverpaw with a forelimb. "Lets kill some rabbits... or hares or whatever." As if being summoned... a rabbit did appear over a hill. Nightwind bolted after it, taking no time to even hide or stalk properly.

He just wanted to run. Part of it was because he felt lighter... more free from what Silverpaw had told him... but maybe also because of guilt and what he knew was coming over the horizon. Truth always had a way of coming out... and he knew he was on borrowed time as "Nightwind".

Nightwind attempted to catch a rabbit! He was Successful! -3SP

The rabbit ran maybe a few bounds and almost made it back into it's burrow... but Nightwind caught it's leg with a swipe and pulled it back out again. In one swift motion, he bit the back of the rabbit's neck and dispatched it. "Well... I got one. Let's see what you got, Silverpaw!"

The member 'Tara' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

"N-No problem Nightwind. Always happy to cheer someone up with, as you put it, lovey stuff. It's what I tend to do best... I think? Anyway, being serious, I really do think of you as someone close. If ya ever need someone to just talk to or hang out for a bit of fun, just find me and ask. I'm not one to turn anyone down unless I absolutely have to. Guess I just love making new friends or spending time with the ones I already have. It's always how I've been, ya know?" Silverpaw finished off with a lopsided grin and a playful swat to the warrior's shoulder with a paw. It felt great being so open with someone. It almost filled him up with more energy... actually... that would probably be a bad thing. He'd never be able to sleep if that was the case!

The young tom's eyes lit up at the mention of hunting. "Alright! Let's do that before your ears fall off from hearing me talk so much." he said with a laugh, shoulders visibly shaking in amusement. He eagerly watched the warrior waste no time in bounding off after a rabbit, not even wasting time on hiding or stalking. 'Woah. Wish I could do that...' he thought as his eyes traced the tom's every movement. As soon as he witnessed Night's successful catch, the apprentice cheered enthusiastically. "Go-lly Nightwind! Wish I could be as fast as you ta be able to do that. Maybe if I practice hard enough, I'll get to your level!" Silverpaw stretched for a bit before nodding to the warrior. "Okay! Here goes nothin'!"

Not too long after briskly searching the area, the young tom spotted an unsuspecting hare, or at least, it seemed like it wasn't really paying much attention to it's surroundings. He pushed away the smile that was tugging on his mouth and dropped down into the hunting crouch, as he'd done several times before. He inched forward at a reasonable pace and chose to pounce as soon as he reached a safe distance. Hopefully his hastiness wasn't going to cost him his catch. That'd just be embarrassing.

"Darn!" he grumbled with a pout as the rabbit slipped away right before he was to snatch it. The tom sat up and sighed. He probably should've taken a bit more time with the stalking and not rushed it to try and somewhat mimic Night's swift catch. Well, it could've been worse. The apprentice was rudely and painfully torn away from his thoughts when he felt sharp things harshly slash at his vulnerable back. He jumped back in surprise with wide eyes as he swiveled his head around in search of his attacker. When nothing on the ground caught his eye, he looked up and noticed a large bird circling around in the near vicinity. It was a hawk. As the bird began to swoop back down and before it could attack him a second time, the apprentice slashed the hawk with harsh, unsheathed paws. Oh StarClan, why him? Why does it usually happen to him? Why was he so unlucky with hunts?

The apprentice wasted no more time and rushed back to Nightwind, head turned up and eyes never leaving the feathered foe. "Nightwind! We've got some company and it ain't the friendly kind!" he yowled breathlessly as he neared the warrior, back stinging from the attack but he paid the pain no mind. He was well aware that Night saw the Hawk already, perhaps even before he felt it, but he just needed to say something. He wasn't too sure on how to properly handle a bird predator so he was going to stick close to Nightwind and he was going to learn the best he could as quick as he could. It's like an impromptu battle training session... not really but he'll keep calling it that just to make himself feel better.
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Silverpaw failed in catching a Hare and instead encountered a Hawk costing 3 SP.

Silverpaw:
20/20[HP]
77/80[SP] (-3 SP)

Hawk:
60/60[HP]
200/200[SP]

Nightwind:
100/100[HP]
277/280[SP]
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Hawk used Talon Strike on Silverpaw, dealing 10 damage and using 10 SP.

Hawk:
54/60[HP]
190/200[SP] (-10 SP)

Silverpaw:
10/20[HP] (-10 HP)
67/80[SP]

Nightwind:
100/100[HP]
277/280[SP]
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Silverpaw used Front Paw Strike on Hawk, dealing 6 damage and using 10 SP.

Silverpaw:
20/20[HP]
67/80[SP] (-10 SP)

Hawk:
54/60[HP] (-6 HP)
200/200[SP]

Nightwind:
100/100[HP]
277/280[SP]

The member 'Middy' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 10