ghost town [open]

It had been moons since he had set foot here. The chill of leaf-bare alone had made the forest uncomfortably quiet and unwelcoming, but the silence in the camp itself was unsettling in a way he couldn't quite describe. It was strange enough when they hadn't caught the attention of any patrol, and stranger once he realized the borders lacked the strict boundaries that had been kept up for countless generations.

Now, there was only dust and piles of leaves, and the lingering scents of strays come and gone he could no longer recognize. What in StarClan's name had happened?

The coast had at least seemed clear, for the moment. No one was springing out of the dens to lunge at his throat yet, anyways.

"I think it's safe to come out," he called for his mate behind him, cool eyes flickering toward the entrance tunnel.

Even waking up had seemed tiring. Sleepycloud cursed the irony of her name, as rest seemed at the forefront of her mind as leaf-bare arrived. Not only that, but the distances they had walked in the past few sunrises would make the walk to the Moonstone seem like a casual stroll. Well. Maybe. Sleepyawn wasn't familiar with this territory. It was also why she lagged behind her mate such a distance. The stale forest seemed to hold no life. Beyond the oddness of being in a new territory, the emptiness crept up her spine. It didn't feel safe. Not yet, at least.

"I don't think the entire forest is safe." Sleepycloud replied, slinking through the tunnel with her body low to the ground.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been unlikely that a traveling pair even made it to the heart of Thunderclan territory, especially all the way to the camp walls. If there were any sense of normalcy, warriors would be leaping forward to fiercely defend their home. Instead, Thunderclan camp was under the less than watchful eye of a exhausted and battered apprentice-aged tom.

His ear flickered at the sound of another's voice, stirring ever so slightly and initially writing it off as another half-delusional dream. Until its companion spoke. Immediately, Chad's head shot up as quickly as it could. It took a moment for him to gather his paws underneath him in order to stumble towards the den entrance and poke his head out. The maneuver was less than stealthy. Almost immediately he realized that he had outed himself.

"Who are you?" He hissed defensively but given his current condition, the bitter words seemed to lack any fire behind them. Chad crouched, trying to tuck his injured paw so they wouldn't notice how weak he truly was. Without much direction to go off of, all he could do was attempt to protect himself and the meager prey hidden underneath the pine needles behind him, "You shouldn't be here! Leave!"

"And who are you to stop them, child?" Rumbled a deep and scratchy disembodied voice from above the growing crowd. Claws gripping on rock and a lashing tail sent forest debris down below, thoroughly giving away the position the tom had been in for... who knows how long. His long black coat flecked with sparse white spots and lack of clan scent kept him obscure, at least obscure from whoever didn't know he was there. Sharp amber eyes flickered amongst the brown and white tom-kit, then to the two grown strangers who were cautiously making their way in- at least until the little tom-kit screeched his little lungs out.

He had thought to run into Mottlestar, or Thistlemask, or any number of his old clanmates. A feral apprentice certainly hadn't been the first person he imagined to warmly greet him, nor the sharp gazes of the two toms who appeared after. None of them held the scent of ThunderClan.

"Oh, come now - there's no need for any of this," Stormsong called in a warm voice, hoping to ease the little one at least. His gaze traveled over the black stranger with slight uncertainty. Even as friendly as his face was, he found himself taking a few steps further back out of instinct, putting himself before his mate. "My name is Stormsong of ThunderClan."

Of. Formerly of, when there had been a clan to return to. His ear flicked as he let out an awkward chuckle. "Well, I used to live here..?"

Not one. But two cats? Sleepycloud lunged for a bramble patch that slightly jutted out from the side of the tunnel leading in. Distrustful eyes flicked between the two toms, who both varied in age. The young queen quickly analyzed the situation before scanning more of the unknown camp in closer detail. What spots would be good to protect if these cats started something? Unlike the water that flowed through RiverClan camp, this one was dry. While it felt odd to the she-cat, it wasn't shocking. None of the places they managed to rest in their time as rogues had water running through them. No wonder Stormsong had a hard time swimming.

Her eyes lead up, higher than any of the reeds in her old clan and higher than any of the fences belonging to the twolegs' nests that they wove in and out of. Another cat's slender form silhouetted the sky. Sleepycloud froze, her hair rising. This wasn't safe. "Stormsong..." She whispered, eyes locked on the newest addition to the abandoned camp.

Chad's ears immediately flattened to his skull and he dropped even lower to the ground as his eyes landed on the looming frame of Nightstalker. Had all of Thunderclan abandoned camp only to return days later? The scents had been so stale that it must have been a longtime since any other cat set paw here, yet in only a matter of minutes, multiple strangers had entered his temporary refuge. Given the absurdity of it all, the tom found himself wondering if maybe he hadn't stirred from his sleep. Maybe this was all a part of a dream.

Pain from his paw flared up as his weight shifted when sizing up the opponents. Clearly, he was awake, dreams weren't always so vividly cruel. He hissed uncomfortably as his eyes settled on a ginger tom, the one cat who hadn't contributed to the chaotic exclamations. His mind raced in a futile effort to quickly figure out something coherent to say, or even what to do. He was injured, half-starved, and clearly outnumbered. There was no easy solution. Chad was at such an obvious disadvantage that unless somehow these cats lacked the desire to rip his throat out, he would surely be dead in a matter of moments. All the journey, leaving the only kin he'd ever known behind, finally making it... all for nothing.

His jaw clenched so tight he was sure it would snap. Finally, he called out to the tom who'd spoken, the calm voice, "So you're Thunderclan then? Where have you been? Why was camp abandoned? How do I know you're not lying?" The tom raised his belly slightly off the ground, suppressing any outward expressions of pain, "You better give me some answers or I'll chase you away. You too!" Turning his head to glower at Nightstalker, the young cat let out a half-hearted growl.

Nightstalker's eyes flickered to the other stranger who entered the camp and regarded him silently until the three other cats started talking. The younger or youngest's eyes settled on him and Nightstalker's lips peeled back in a snarl. "Try your best chasing off a badger-killer, boy" To punctuate it, the black tom jumped off of the high rock, landing with a whump near the brown and white tom-kit. Turning his gaze from the tom who felt he was in any place to make demands he turned to Stormsong and his she-cat, lifting his muzzle into the air to be heard clearly, "Nightstalker, previously of Shadowclan." He said simply before seeing that he was the only one with any sort of situational context. Dear Starclan. "To clear the confusion. The territories have been plagued by famine. They've moved onto greener pastures, but if they are coming back I don't know. They'll likely come back for all the blood shed for these lands." Uncommittally, Nightstalker shrugged before looking at the little tom again.

"Who are you? I've no patience for shrieking kittens, honesty and nothing less unless you want to be worse off." The black tom snarled, finally remembering that he should be a lot more concerned with the fact the little spitfire had no information to their character.

The silver tom's ears flicked several times as he looked around at their new, motley company. A rogue, a former ShadowClan warrior, and a kitten; all found in the ghostlands of his old territory. It sounded like the beginning of a terrible joke. "Chase me out," he balked at Chad, unable to hold back a hint of an amused purr in the back of his throat. "You're on my turf, remember? I should be snapping at your tail."

Maybe, he was just relieved to see some who weren't eager to attack. He glanced back at his mate. "I think its alright, Sleepycloud." He said, "If what they says true, we've no reason to fight at this point. Plus, I've never heard of The Crew, so they can't be all that scary -" Stormsong mused in an overly-loud tone.

Stormsong's relaxed demeanor managed to get through to Sleepycloud, and the she-cat rose from her hiding spot in the tunnel. Of course, she stuck to the side of her mate. Green eyes flashed between the trio they conversed with. The clans left...? No wonder. The river seemed off when they passed, and the strange silence was concerning. But if that was the case, would she and Stormsong stay here where the forest couldn't provide?

She found her confidence in the fact that none of the other cats held much of a claim over the land. Standing tall, Sleepycloud held their gaze. "If it is true that the clans left the forest, then they have no use for the land nor camp at the moment." She wasn't keen on her next words but knew a compromise would make them that much closer to some safety. "In larger numbers, we can provide for each other. There is no need to chase anyone out. I won't hurt you if you won't hurt me or Stormsong." Her gaze traveled carefully over the other cats. It was generalized, an offer towards the other cats.

At Nightstalker's approach, he had to suppress the chill that went down his spine. In his travels, Chad had met plenty of loners and rogues, most of them vicious beasts. The ragged tom's coat bore many wounds that told of his fights. Given how confident he was in his stride, the young cat quickly deduced he had no ability to stand up to the overwhelming presence that was Nightstalker. He swallowed softly. At the very least, if any of these cats wanted to rip his throat out already, they could have easily done so given his condition.

"Fine." He relented. Forcing the hair on his spine to lay flat, Chad drew his paws into a much more relaxed sitting position. It was uncomfortable regardless of how he sat. His eyes scanned the strangers, determining each one to be as unfamiliar as the rest. Ajex didn't even seem to be a clan cat. How had the great clans of the forest abandoned their home so callously? Leaving it to an add assortment of creatures from all walks of life? Chad didn't care, really, beyond how it had impacted his journey's end. Yet, there was no time left for fanciful dreams of a kit. He had to be logical like his father and focus on the things in front of him.

Chad knew he was too weak to continue to care for himself. The way his ribs were visible through his claw-marked made that obvious enough. Most of these cats seemed friendly, even is unfamiliar. Nightstalker, Stormsong, and Sleepycloud all bore true warrior names. If some of them were Thunderclan then, well, that made them kin. His tail lashed uncomfortably at the thought of being friendly with any cat but there wasn't much of a choice. This would have to do for now.

"I'm Chad, the kit of Appledapple and Stoatfur." Maybe that meant something, maybe not. But it was out there now. They knew who he was. Was this what exchanging pleasantries looked like?

"Chad," Stormsong repeated with a flicker of his tail. His parents, the Tom had known of vaguely, but it had been moons since he had seen the rest of his clan mates. Nobody here but Sleepycloud would know that, though. "Is that like a fish or something? What happened to your mother?" The ThunderClan warrior touched his nose gently to his mates in a subtle, reassuring manner before padding up to their new friend — who seemed little more than a puffball who should have belonged in the nursery, not fending for themselves with a nearly empty kill pile. His blue eyes glazed across their new tree decor for moment as he padded over. "If you are ThunderClan, then you are family. We will stay and help you." There was a gentleness to his words thay hadn't matched his smug face of mere moments ago before Stormsong swiped his tongue over Chad's head. "And you two, you're honorary members now?" He called to Ajax and Nightstalker. Hopefully, they could all just get along. He hadn't the wish to walk any further that evening.

Nightstalkers lips peeled back in an instant at the mention of a rogue group, and his hackles raised, "Cats that belong to rogue groups aren't welcome here." The tom snarled, "No good comes of those ilk." Any concern he had for the other clan cats or loners was thrown to the wind as he rounded on Ajex with a burning hatred making his amber eyes toxic and hot. Maybe those cats were chummy because they'd never seen what cats bound by no code could do, but Nightstalker wasn't naive or mouse-brained to let some chump associated with one stay any longer than it already has.