Just Passing Through (closed)

Birdstar

Though she should have learned better many, many seasons ago– particularly this recent one –Birdstar was naïve enough to think this would be a quiet patrol. And so far, it had been: she'd been lucky enough not to encounter any twolegs, though she did have to skirt a few traps as she passed under the bare trees. A part of her hoped the silence would be disrupted by the appearance of Plumleaf, or Beechfang, or Blackbear with Crookedpaw in tow... but none of those familiar faces seemed to be appear. So, however achingly, she'd resigned herself to just hoping for quiet. A walk through the territory, paws crunching over snow, and not worrying about rebuilding or recovering for a moment.

As she walked though, cat-scent caught her attention. It carried no strong Clan scent with it; the muddle tang of many borders crossed, the earthenness that clung to WindClan's pelts, but it was hard to say whether or not that was just another crossed border. Immediately, Birdstar's hackles raised and her muscles tightened as she padded cautiously forward. Had a rogue slipped past their borders? Was she expecting a fight? With chin raised and ears pinned back, she continued onward, until she was lead to the silvery cat wandering their woods. ...with her head tipped back, staring haplessly into the branches. Birdstar's jaw worked, wanting to call out a greeting (or a warning), but the intruder walked idly along until running nose-first into her chest. With an amused huff, Birdstar tipped her head down, expression unreadable as she took in the other she-cat. "I don't believe I know you. Care to tell me why you're running into me, then?"

Birdstar

The spotted molly just stared for... for what seemed like a while, really, and Birdstar tilted her head to the side as she sputtered. Her neutral expression turned into plain curiosity, eyes widening slightly and ears raising as she took the stranger in. Her whiskers twitched at the name– Silverwing, who quickly assured that she wasn't a Clan cat... but that was definitely a warrior name. No strong Clan scent stuck to her, though. Silverwing went prattling on, earning a range of expressions from the leader– widened eyes at the compliment, a sharp look toward the reaching paw, then back to wide-eyed confusion again.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she answered quickly, then hesitated for a moment. Blinking down at Silverwing, she tilted her head further, mewing, "Did you say... pretty?" She... wasn't sure if she'd been called pretty before. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about it, either, but it was a compliment, so she allowed herself a reserved smile. She briefly twisted around, looking at her own pelt then down at her paws– stars, she forgot how big her family really was sometimes –before green eyes returned to the loner in front of her. "Thank you, I think. But," her tail flicked, and Birdstar shook her head to clear the stunned look from her face, returning to neutrality, "You have a Clan name. Are loners getting more creative, or are you running away?"

Birdstar

The correction of very pretty earned only a quiet blink from Birdstar, a stiff shuffling of her paws. She still wasn't quite sure how to feel about it, especially not with the extra emphasis, but it wasn't... bad, she supposed. She had never considered herself a "pretty" cat– pretty in the way a badger could be, maybe. Shaking her head, she set herself squarer and kept her focus on what the spotted molly was saying. In the pause, Birdstar mewed, "I think I'd like to have details, actually. It's been... a little while, since I've heard of a cat being exiled. I'll imagine your situation was different, though, as this wasn't forest-wide news." Her tail curled back and forth slowly. Though, what could someone do to earn banishment that wasn't murder? And the flighty little cat in front of her hardly seemed malicious... Birdstar wondered.

An unprofessionally loud snort of amusement left her at the following questions. "Do you know me? I would hope so." There was no offense in her voice, just light surprise and amusement. "If you were present at the last Gathering, you would have heard me announce that I was taking up SkyClan's leadership in Briarstar's... absence. And if you paid attention at Gatherings before that, you would have seen me sitting alongside the deputies." She lifted her chin a little to emphasize her statements, though she didn't feel exceptional pride in her status. "I'm Birdstar. Leader of SkyClan."

Birdstar

When prompted, Silverwing certainly had a lot to say– more than the fluttering over herself, at least. Birdstar did her best not to interrupt the regaling, though her jaw parted a few times in want to. Despite anything she wanted to say, she managed to keep her reactions to only a flickering of ears, a twitching of whiskers or waving of her tail. When Silverwing spoke of Highstones, Birdstar almost broke through her imposed silence. Though she didn't get more than a syllable out before cutting herself short, the shock was clear in her widened eyes, her ears set forward. If Silverwing wasn't exaggerating her tale... Birdstar's tail curled up against her own side. The idea of ShadowClan mauling two cats and dragging them shamelessly back to their Clan and the exile that followed appalled her– far more than the admission of attempted murder.

Casually, Birdstar reclined on her haunches, letting the stiffness ease out of her shoulders and her thick tail fall loosely at her side. An eased, relaxed position, like she was speaking to any friend or Clanmate. "I'm not that important," she promised with a shrug. There was a certain respect that being leader commanded, but she was just another cat. She didn't see the point in being stiff and formal, outside of politics. "Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you too, Silverwing. Don't apologize– you may have been the first cat to actually call me pretty. I... suppose I didn't mind? I've never heard it before. And no, I haven't changed my mind. I'm not going to hurt you." She nodded succinctly as she addressed each fluttered statement. Well, addressed all the less important statements. Birdstar's head quirked to the side, and she stared down at Silverwing for a long moment before speaking again.

"When I left camp, I was not expecting to run across a WindClan exile. An attempted murderer, no less. It seems SkyClan attracts the violent sort." A stiff snort left her. SkyClan certainly had a stained reputation; it would be comical, their history, if tragedy didn't follow it. And from what perspective the former warrior offered, she sounded like any one of them, vicious in protecting what they cared for. The tip of Birdstar's tail twitched thoughtfully. "I respect you though, Silverwing. Shrikestar seems a fool to exile a warrior like yourself. It may be that you were feather-brained to maul one of ShadowClan's own in front of two Clans– or to maul him at all, I suppose –but I would have done the same before becoming deputy. No, you shouldn't murder every cat that crosses you, but," Birdstar's expression hardened, eyes darkening. She was thinking of her mother. Clearing her throat, she tamped down thoughts of Beechfang and continued, "Stupidity is one half of bravery, I suppose. You were bold, to attack that cat. To stand up for your apprentice. Your exile may have been earned, had you actually killed him, but there's no honor in banishing a warrior with heart." She paused again, letting the words sink and letting her own thoughts spin. Her next words were a drawl, like she was still weighing them in her mind, but they did not come with hesitancy: "If the rats prove not to be good company, there is always a place in SkyClan for cats that care for those around them as you do."