Silver Linings (c)

“Hey.”

Lighttail was still awkward talking to cats she didn’t know well. “Stormwatcher, right? I was… I dunno, wondering if you wanted to chat. It’s pretty boring being stuck in camp, at least for now. I’m sure I won’t have time to be bored once the kits arrive.”

The big tom gave a little wave with his tail blinking, "yeupp thats me" he meowed with a nod.

"and umm... You were that shadowclan cat right?" He realized he really should know his clanmates better probably.

"erm... congrats on your litter must be exciting it being so close" he meowed doing his best to not be awkward and to meet new friends. Wolfstar his adoptive older sister had told him to be trying to do that.

“It’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time,” Lighttail chuckled. “And yep, I was brought up in ShadowClan. Not born there, though. My birth mother couldn’t take care of me and my brothers, so she left us for a patrol to find. It ended up being just my adoptive mom who found us. She’s in StarClan now, but I know she’s so excited for these kits too. What’s your family like? Forgive me if I already know them, I know most of SkyClan is related but I don’t know the details.”

Stormwatcher nodded listening to his new friend speak.

When it came to his time to talk about family he shuffled awkwardly on his paws and looked down at the ground.

"oh my folks? They uhm... they all died when I was young in a battle" He knew this topic would come up, it always seemed to come up when he met new friends. He never had found a way to make it less painful to talk about - other than to divert to who he had now.

"I dont have any blood relatives left. Wolfstar adopted me as a younger brother
of sorts. She kinda raised me to become a better warrior and helped me get through a lot of stuff he explained with a nod.

This new friend of his was fasinating... she had been born outside the clans lived in shadow and now sky...

He wondered what it would be like to visit other clans and be on the move so often.

"if I may ask... what's it like leaving behind everything you grew up with and going somewhere new?

Lighttail shifted a little awkwardly. “Oh… sorry to touch on a sore spot. I know how losing family can be.” She left it at that, as it seemed the wounds weren’t fresh. Lighttail relaxed again a little.

“It’s… not easy, I’ll say that much. But if done for the right reasons, it’s worth it. To be honest, my mental health was suffering in ShadowClan. I don’t know how much of it was them and how much was me, but I know that Stoatclaw became my rock. When I felt more like myself with him than back home, I knew something had to change. I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone, but I haven’t looked back.”