troublesome spawn [c]

Her paws teetered at the top of the battered fence that lined what her dad had told her was 'sky clan'. He often talked of how large those clan cats were, but nothing would beat seeing one for herself. Her mottled brown fur was slicked back from a recent dumpster dive that had left her belly full and her heart content, a mischievous hum to some unknown tune echoing off the trees as though encouraging an encounter by anyone be it beast or clan cat. "Heeeellllooooo~~? Any giants around?" Her eyes twinkled as her yellow gaze swept across the ground from her perch along the splintered fence.

The warm breeze was accompanied by the soft chatter of birdsong as Wolfstar made her way through the trees, not all that far from the twolegplace fence that bordered the great ridge.

The vantage was enough to let her see beyond the tall construct to the strange monster-lined paths on the other side, and her nose wrinkled slightly at the sight of it. But what lay beyond the fence was not what held the leader's attention. No, what was on top of the fence, however... One glance said the mottled she-cat was no clan cat, but she seemed to be respectful of the border as Wolfstar watched.

The she-cat's call into the forest made the leader blink once, slowly. Then her paws leapt from branch to branch once more, until she was a bit closer.

"Giants?" Wolfstar's whiskers twitched, amusement lighting her blue gaze, "...I suppose some would consider us that. What brings you to Skyclan's border, stranger? Just passing by?"

Grub Jr's tail flickered where it rested against the backside of the fence, her eyes and twitching whiskers the only thing giving away the twinkling excitement that - of all the cats she could have come across - it had been the one her dad had told her not to pester. "You really are just as big and fluffy as Pops said!" Her voice came out as a squeak, her yellow eyes locking onto her new 'friends' pale blue ones as she took in the older cats face: lilac tabby markings littered her head and tail, the white on her muzzle making a cute bright pink nose stand out in stark contrast. While her pelt held a delicate sort of air, the muscles that rippled beneath all but screamed that this was not a cat she would be tussling with today. "Pops didn't mention you were so pretty. Then again, everyone hates him." Even his kits.

Her three toned mottled pelt twitched as the young rogue got up to stretch, taking her time to give each leg a turn of their own before her jaws opened wide for a toothy yawn. "Passing by... I guess you could say that, yea!" She pranced along the fence-line to get closer to the sky clan cat. "Ever heard of a slimy tom by the name of Grub? He talked highly about you in particular. Wolf... bell? My name is Grub Jr, it that rings any bells for you."

The drifting tortoiseshell seemed to have some familiarity with Skyclan, or at least had heard of it from this 'Pops.' Wolfstar tipped her head, curiosity shining in her eyes despite her guarded nature as she spoke.

Wolfstar nodded, "Grub...? I know that name, yes. A mottled tom, right?" The outsider tom had been respectful enough of her when she had caught him on Skyclan territory, and she hadn't seen him since that day she had told him of her encounter with Mister Worm. "Told you about us, did he? We met a long time ago... He left my territory in peace, though, and seemed respectable enough." By which Wolfstar meant he had not caused her clan any issues. And that was all she cared about. "My name is Wolfstar - I was still Wolfblossom when I met him." She introduced herself. Grub Junior... Strange names, but who was Wolfstar to judge?

"Respectable?!" Grub Jr stumbled along the fence line as borderline manic laughter ripped through her. She had never heard anyone refer to the Slime Master himself as 'respectable' before... What a great joke! She would be sure to tell it to the Crew and her littermates when she got back. They would laugh just as hard as she did. "Oh, that's a good one for sure! Ha haha haaaa... She bent her head to the side so her thin tail could blot at the tears that had formed in her eyes. "But yea, he told us not to bother you guys. S'why I'm up here and not down there with you. Unless... You wanted me to be?" Jr's squeaky tone came out as a beckoning question, almost willing the older molly to invite her in.

She was doubtful it would happen, though. "Wolfblossom, that was it! But... Why did you change it? Wolfblossom is much cooler than Wolfstar. Did someone make you do it?" Mottled brown tail twitched curiously behind her, claws digging into the rotten wooden fence to keep her balance.

The other she-cat's laughter was unexpected, but the leader simply shrugged it off. "Not many outsiders would tell others to leave the clans be... Let alone leave without a fight. Basic manners really, but too many cats lack them, so I call it respectable enough." Really, that was all she cared about. The rogues had yet to bother her clan, and that itself was a far cry from other clans who supposed adhered to the code.

"Best if you stay up there," Wolfstar mewed, "I have a patrol in the trees... Gotta keep our borders proper, y'know? But since I'm talking to you they won't approach. This time."

"Less 'someone made me' and more that I was granted the name when I became leader. We start out with the names our parents give us - I was Wolfkit. Apprentices become a 'paw, and then warriors earn their full names like Wolfblossom or Birdchaser." She explained, "I was the clan deputy, and when a leader dies or steps down we take their place. Leaders get the suffix of -star... Though I do think I agree, I liked Wolfblossom better too." She finished her explanation with a soft laugh, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Yes, Wolfblossom was a nicer name in her opinion, but a 'star carried weight. Responsibility. Responsibility she sometimes wasn't sure she was up to the task of doing right by, if she was being honest with herself... And Birdstar's death was still fresh in her mind despite her efforts to think of other things. Though the she-cat in front of her didn't need to know all the details, of course.

A high pitched hum vibrated in Grub Jr's throat as she entertained Wolfstar's point of view. She was right. Grub had only ever mentioned to stay out of SkyClan, while leaving the others off his tongue unless it was to bad mouth them. She hadn't heard anything about SkyClan either except for the warning to behave herself if she happened to stumble across their border; oh, and that they lived in the trees and were a threatening size. Now that the leader mentioned patrols in the trees, Grub Jr found every point to be true. Her dad hadn't lied... This time, at least. Her voice dropped to a whisper at the mention of a patrol, the greasy hair along her spine standing on end like quills. "You mean we're not alone...? You make it sound like I'm being haunted." She agreed. It would absolutely be best if she stayed up here.

Yellow eyes scanned the trees from her perch along the fence, a little scared that she couldn't spot a single cat in their branches as though they truly were ghosts. If they were all as big as Wolfstar was. Boy, that was scary! She briefly wondered if any of them had fallen from such a great height and survived.

Her head tilted curiously as SkyClan's leader declared that no one had made her change her name, but rather it was changed along with her rank. Her eyes flickered with something unknown to even her at the mention of a leader dying - and stepping down, of course, but the dying part was far more interesting. She hadn't been privy to death or even knew how it worked other than you stopped existing, but something about the way the light died in Wolfstar's eyes made her not ask anything further. For now. "Hm... I guess that makes sense, sure. So you were once Wolfkit, then Wolfpaw, after that was Wolfblossom and now you're Wolfstar. Not as complicated as everyone makes it sound." Had she met an apprentice before? The one at the dump filled with all those tasty treasures. Nicepaw? Nickelpaw? Neither of those names sounded right, but she was sure there was a 'paw at the end. "Say, what would my name be if I were a warrior?"

"Haunted?" Wolfstar laughed, "For an outsider I suppose the trees are. For us it's safety, knowing our clanmates have our backs and look out for each other." All too often would a hunt be interrupted, and the unfortunate predator would bring down a full patrol of angry Skyclanners upon itself. As it should be.

"That's it." The leader nodded, "It's not complicated to us, but I imagine plenty of oursiders find it just as strange as we find some of their names. You... Hmm." She regarded the tortoiseshell thoughtfully at the question, "Names are hard, honestly. For us they represent something about the cat usually, and sometimes we honor someone with them. I was named Wolfkit after my mother's grandfather, for example. Maybe Dapple- for how well your fur might blend into the foliage. The second half of the name is often harder. You are young enough that if you were a clanmate, you'd be an apprentice and still training."

"Dapple? I don't know... That's kind of lame. I think Monster Truck Paw would be soooo much cooler. Ever seen a monster truck? They're pretty big. I've never actually seen one in real life before, but I saw them on the colorful box my mama used to watch sometimes. They're HUUUUUUGE! I bet they're even bigger in person-- Say, I got another question for you." Grub Jr jabbered on, barely pausing to take a breath now that her thoughts had been completely derailed. "What's that weird gathering going on at the big trees? The one with the HUGE rock?" She had heard about it from listening in on her siblings jabbering. A hoard of cats gathered under the full moon to talk about stuff, though they never mentioned what about.

"They say a bunch of you guys go there to talk... About... Uhm. Well, you talk. Why?"