Just a Casual Conversation [c]

Lilacstar had not been expecting to be summoned, not by Swiftspirit, but the she-cat had claimed there was something that she needed to know of. She had to admit that she was a little worried, although it didn't seem to be too urgent when she had been approached. But what if it was bad? What if there was word on SkyClan, or something was going on with Dawnhawk? A million thoughts were swirling through her head at a million miles per hour, none of them good, as she approached their meeting place.

"Swiftspirit? You said you wanted to talk to me? Is everything alright?" She sat down, eyes on the younger she as she waited for a response, her fur slightly ruffled and her tail twitching behind her. This paranoia was most likely senseless, but with everything that had happened as of late, she wanted to be ready for the worst-case scenario. She couldn't do anything for her Clan when Asylum attacked, and she never wanted to be that helpless again. She was the Clan's leader, she was going to lead if it was the last thing she did.

"Hey, Lilacstar, how's it going?" Swiftspirit greeted the leader cheerfully with a wave of her tail, a friendly smile crossing her face. It faded a bit as she noted the worry in Lilacstar's face and expression, and Swiftspirit winced internally. She'd just wanted to spend time with Windclan's leader and get to know her clanmates better, though she could see where Lilacstar might've thought she'd wanted to talk about something else.

"Oh, sorry... Not at all. Everything's fine! I should have figured- everyone's so on edge after the last gathering." She huffed out a laugh, that was an understatement. The tabby stood, stretching.

"Really, I figured I should make an effort to interact with my clanmates more." She was friendly with Silverlight, Sunnyskip and Ashfall, and even Dawnhawk still... But somehow Swiftspirit had found that she had talked with more rogues and non-Windclanners than she had her own clanmates. She figured that needed to change, and it might as well start by getting along with Lilacstar.

Lilacstar visibly relaxed as she sat beside Swiftspirit, thankful that no danger was present at the moment. She was always happy for just a calming, peaceful chat with no surprises. Just getting to know her Clanmates. "Don't worry about it, Swiftspirit, I am always open to talk. Is there something specific you had in mind? You do know you can tell me anything. I doubt any of this has been easy for you. I know you and Dawnhawk were rather good friends before all of.....this."

She gave the she-cat a smile, although she was honestly quite bone-weary at this point. Why did everything have to be so difficult? First the Asylum, and now she had to deal with this mess? Maybe she needed to interact more with her Clanmates, too. It was honestly relaxing to have a chance to just lay back and have a nice conversation.

"You know, I am really proud of how you reacted. You are still young, and yet you managed to handle all of this more maturely than some of my senior warriors."

"We were friendly but... Honestly I... had my suspicions he was hiding something. He reeked, his fur was an unkempt mess, and when we sparred... He was clearly skilled, and smarter than most rogues I've encountered. And no cat becomes that skilled without actual experience." Swiftspirit shrugged. "Still, he was a clanmate and it wasn't my place to pry. I wasn't expecting that." Swiftspirit huffed, tail twitching. "Still, I understand those in the clan that had the reactions they did. Some cats blindly trusted him, others had never liked him from the start. I can't defend his actions if half of what he said was true, but jumping to conclusions and screeching about it wasn't going to be productive." She shook her head, Maybe it was that she hadn't been so caught off guard by things. He had a past, just as any other cat did. That it wasn't the clean and simple thing most had expected seemed inevitable from what little Swiftspirit knew of his actions and his skill at fighting.

Lilacstar took a moment to think about what Swiftspirit said before responding. "You're a very smart cat, Swiftspirit. And I suppose I can see where you are coming from. No cat truly expected this, not even I had any suspicions until everything was in the open. I guess I just wish the Clan would trust me a little more, is all. I am supposed to be leading this Clan, but sometimes it feels like I am just being dragged along." She let out a sigh before realizing who it was she was talking to.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be dumping that on you. I'm curious, what else have you been holding out on us? You're clearly quite talented. Why not show me those hidden skills you have? I promise I won't tell any cat." The leader gave the young warrior a friendly wink, a smile plastered on her face now. She enjoyed being able to talk with her Clanmates. The ones she could trust, who would never hide anything from her.

Swiftspirit listened as Lilacstar vented. She was in no position of leadership to relate to the tabby, but Swiftspirit could understand some of her frustrations. "I trust that you are doing what you think is best for the clan, Lilacstar." How ironic that she was now showing the same trust in Swiftspirit that the clan had shown Dawnhawk, but she couldn't exactly say that to Lilacstar. "Personally, I don't disagree with some of our more cautious clanmates, they have every reason to feel that way, given how Dawnhawk turned out, and the stories I've heard of Asylum." The clan cats didn't like talking about them, though Tawnyflare had always been loud and open about her beliefs and who had trained her. "I ran into a loner the other day in the flower fields... Not sure how she missed the border markers, or maybe she just didn't care. Theron was gracious enough when I pointed it out, nice change from the rogues I'd run into in twolegplace. Most of them would laugh at the mere concept of having territory, let along being told they couldn't hunt somewhere. You learn to spot trouble coming quick, or you don't make it." She shrugged, most of them scavenged for scraps left by twolegs or the occasional rat and had no qualms about fighting over prey. Swiftspirit didn't miss that at all.