Where I Belong [Open]

Shaky pawstep after shaky pawstep led the gold and white she-cat back to where.. well to the rogue camp. She didn't have a home, and she wanted one.. Oh stars and thorns she wanted one so badly.. She thought Riverclan could have been it.. but after well.. It seemed that wasn't going to be the case. So she turned to the only cat she knew that would welcome her with open arms. Dawnhawk.. or rather Klaus.. She didn't really know which name he preferred. Maybe today she would find out.. and have a place to call hers.

As she stepped into the camp she called out. "Dawnhawk? Tarot? Are either of you here?" She had recalled the other rogue's name from her previous visit.. Either cat would work. She knew they both lived here, but it seemed there was another scent among the two. She wasn't sure who it was but it seemed somewhat familiar. She could figure it out later, first she would have to speak with her father or her friend to see if she could stay here.

Surprisingly, the elegant loner was the first to confront their little trespasser. He had smelt her while he was lounging on a rock, sunbathing as best as he could despite the cold weather. Tarot had finished up a small meal of mouse that he somehow had been able to snag under the snow, trying to save his... larger meal, that he had caught a few days prior as best as he could while it lay cold under the frosty blanket of white.

Upon catching the scent, his larger-than-average ears perked up and he caught the sound of a voice calling out on the breeze. Standing and stretching, the tom shook out his pelt that had thickened over leaf-fall. He was luckier than some cats, having longer fur that, while often a hindrance in greenleaf, proved useful in the frigid leaf-bares.

Glancing down at the snow he had successfully avoided walking on for a good while that day, he sighed, leaping off his perch and stalking through the pale powder that had claimed the ground. Quietly he crept towards the source of the sound, soon catching sight of their trespasser that had apparently caught him and his companion out.

"And who might you be?" His smooth voice called out as he strolled closer. Unlike he might've for others, he did not immediately attack the she-cat, the only thing protecting her was her distinctive pelt colour, one that was similar to Klaus's own. Also, they were trying to search for members at any chance, and since the visitor wasn't hostile, they were, obviously, a potential recruit.

His dark pelt, which often helped his stealth during any other season, was rather stark against the snow, despite being dusted with flakes of white. His violet eyes, though, still stood vibrant against the dark colouring.

Well, hopefully, Klaus would deign to approach soon, he wasn't sure where the tom hand wandered off to that day.

Klaus had been nestled down in the furs of his own nest trying to ignore how absolutely awful it was outside. The sun wouldn't have been enough for him and his lighter coat, one that would reflect all of the light and warmth back off of his fur anyway. He had been in a light sleep, his ears constantly alert for danger. He had killed a foolish Windclan apprentice not long ago, one that apparently thought he was just going to waltz in here and drag Klaus back to the clans for justice or something? He didn't know. He'd killed the young tom too fast to ask.

A voice outside his nest had his head jerk sharply up and his ears were pricked forward, alert. Tarot hopped down from his tree and Klaus got up from his nest. He stepped out into the pale, gray light and his eyes settled on Tornshadow. A smile spread across his face and he picked up his pace to a slow trot.

"Tornshadow!" He called softly. He gently bumped his head against her's...

And the faint scent of Riverclan hit.

Oh no...

He kept all trace of emotion except for happiness off of his face. Maybe she had just been around the border lately... He didn't want to jump to conclusions, though if she was here for nefarious purposes he wasn't sure he knew what he would do about it.

"This is my daughter, Tarot. She's good." He hoped. "So what brings you here?" He asked her, his still-healing tattered ear flicking once.

"I.." She started, azure eyes looking over to Tarot for a second, once again being unsure if she should go forward with this, but this was her father. She could tell him anything, he would always be on her side, like he always was. "I came here hoping that I could stay here with you.. er.. your group I suppose." She spoke, her voice on the smaller side, though she enjoyed the affection her father had given her. She had missed him dearly. Being alone wasn't that fun.

"If your friend is alright with that. I know I'm invading your space." She had glanced at the tom again. She didn't know anything about him, other than that he was friends with her father. So he must have been a somewhat decent tom. "I just don't know how well I will last this leaf-bare on my own."

Ah, seems Tarot has now officially met yet another of Klaus's offspring, one that smelt slightly of Riverclan, how curious. If the loner had seemed relatively non-hostile before, he was now perfectly amicable. Sitting down, his tail twitched lightly.

"Another one of your spawn, hm?" He commented to his friend, "Seems the bond of kin has come through once more then." Idly, he scratched his ear, he knew next to nothing about the bond of kin, seeing as how most of his siblings died within their first few months of being born, and the rest then died later on. A few of them had even tried to kill him in that span of time for no reason more than simple starvation.

His grandmother was the only kin of his that he'd been mildly close to, the only one that had been able to teach him the basics of life... like talking, hunting, hiding, defending yourself from hunger-maddened cats, etc.

His companion seemed rather happy that ah... 'Tornshadow' had returned to him, and if Klaus was happy about it, he was perfectly fine with their intrusion in their territory. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Torn."

Upon the she-cat providing her reasoning for the unexpected visit, he hummed, "Yes, leaf-bare is rather hard to survive if you're not used to going at it alone. Even if you are used to going at it alone, your chances of survival are still ridiculously low unless you find a permanent, relatively warm shelter for yourself." Tarot had obviously survived a good few leafbares himself, seeing as when he last counted he was 51 moons old. He hadn't kept track since then, age was never a major concern for him. Perhaps he was around 55 moons old now?...

Well, no matter.

"I have no issue with you joining our group, as long as you can hunt largely for yourself. We don't really do 'fresh-kill' piles, yet. We can provide nest though, we've taken to lining our with animal pelts, keeping warm keeps sickness at bay in weather like this." The loner then tilted his head.

"If you ever want to learn some tips on how to survive alone, I can offer what experience I have. You never know how long groups can last. Honestly, I'm still baffled as to how clans have lasted this long." He snorted. It was probably because of their meddlesome ghost ancestors that he despised so much.

He side-glanced Klaus, "And I doubt your father has any objections." Tarot smirked a bit mishciviously, tone becoming teasing, "Under his stony facade he's just a big sap anyways."