Now I Know Where I belong

Exiting Flintstar's den, the brown and white tabby felt her heart rising. Have I finally found my place? She thought, near giddy with excitement. Murkystrike, Murkystrike. What did ShadowClan's deputy look like.. Oh! She was Basilpaw's mom! Jasminepaw remembered a tortoiseshell stopping by to say hello to Basilpaw the other day. That must've been Murkystrike! Hmmm, but how would she get the deputy out of the warriors den without waking every other cat? It was dawn, and the ShadowClan cats preferred being active at night. Lost in thought, she suddenly was snapped out of it when she bumped into a fluffy figure - another cat.

"Eep! S-sorry!" She stammered, and backed up, only to realize who'd she'd bumped into. "Murkystrike!" Jasminepaw's eyes lit up, and she stared at the deputy."I was looking for you! Can we talk for a minute?"

Murkystrike was heading to the warrior den, having just sent the dawn patrol on their way. Her gaze was focused on the nest that was waiting for her inside, with Mistyfalcon already curled inside of it, when a small figure bumped into her side and pulled her from her thoughts. She blinked as she turned to look at who had bumped into her, gaze soft as she recognized the clan's newest arrival, Jasminepaw. So she had been looking for her? Biting down a yawn, she nodded and purred. "Of course, Jasminepaw. What can I help you with?"

"Thank you, I p-promise it won't take too long!" Jasminepaw chirped, something akin to excitement in her eyes. "Uhm, well, I-I talked to Flintstar and erm, well, it's a l-long story but uh.." She trailed off, suddenly a bit nervous. Flintstar had given his approval, and Loudpaw and Basilpaw were nice, but would Murkystrike be okay with it? Would ShadowClan as a whole be okay with it? "Well, uhm, I'm staying! I-I'm not going back to S-SkyClan. I can't. I r-ran away, and I don't want to g-go back there! S-so, uh, Flintstar told me I c-could stay here, if I wanted. A-and I do!" She added quickly, looking at up Murkystrike no doubt in her eyes.

This was what she wanted. This was her home now. "Flintstar told me to f-find you. H-he said you'd help me just adjusted, I-I'm assuming he meant by appointing m-me a mentor." The brown tabby explained. "So, uhm, thank you!"

Murkystrike sat down, tilting her head slightly. "Jasminepaw, you don't need to thank me for making time for you, and you certainly don't need to rush. I'm ShadowClan's deputy, I'm here to listen and to help however I can." The excitement in the young she-cat's eyes peaked her curiosity, and thankfully she didn't keep her waiting long. "I see. Alright, I'll need some time to think about who the best mentor for you would be, but I'll get you assigned to one. ShadowClan is pretty different from SkyClan, so be vigilant and dedicated in your training, okay?" She mewed, smiling down at her reassuringly. "In the meantime... Tell me a little bit about yourself. What do you like, or don't like? That will help me pair you with a good mentor. Most apprentices I have watched as kits to get an idea of their personalities and needs in their training, but I don't have that background with you.... Yet. So let's get started on that, shall we?" Murkystrike purred, curling her tail around her paws while she waited for her answer.