Very Diplomatic Meeting™

[chickenbatnana]

Stream trod carefully through camp, a mouse in her mouth. Not too many cats looked at her anymore, but they did at the begin of her training under Firstspeaker. Stream wasn't sure why, maybe something about a kit-aged to-be fixated their eyes on her. But that was no more, luckily. She didn't like all the attention, all the cats fussing over her. Heck, she hadn't even seen the territory yet. Only along the walls of Stonehome and to the Ancient Ancestor she had been. Sometimes she wondered what it'd be like to be a normal to-be. Maybe she'd be a prey-hunter and go outside every day. That would be cool. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she prepared for a meeting with the headache-inducing Dawn, who was guarding someone she wanted to meet.

''I suppose you know what this den is for, young Stream?'' The older she-cat spoke. She sounds too much like Firstspeaker... ''Of course, I do, doesn't the whole camp? I just want to visit this Petalstar, that's all.''
''Visit? And does Firstspeaker know this?''
''Nope.''
''And you expect me to let you in?''
Stream's face was cold as ever, but she was determined. ''Yes, actually, I do. This is the healer of the other tribe- She came without home-guards, I think she's here for peaceful, diplomatic reasons.'' The small cat looked her straight in the eye. ''I know Firstspeaker won't speak to her, he has something against everything that isn't familiar to him, so I figured I would just do it. Do you seriously think she'll kill me?''
A bit taken aback by the disrespect towards both herself and the healer, Dawn answered. ''Very well then, but I'm watching you.'' Stream smirked and entered.

The dark, stone den had only a flicker of lick going through a gap on the rooftop. Petalstar's red pelt was still very visible, even with the limited light. ''Hi.'' Stream started nonchalantly and dropped the mouse she brought on the ground. ''Gotcha a mouse, did they even feed you?'' She continued, looking around the dusty den once more. ''I'm Stream of Silver Stars, by the way. Stream for short.''

[mewmehh]

The darkness of the forest enclosure was incredible new to the small red she-cat. Ominous trees loomed over the 'tribe's stonehome', woven tightly together with vine bindings and wild flowers to act as a natural barrier from any sort of outsider. It made Petalpaw wonder if that was how Ivyclan lived in their forest. Of course, these trees simply felt different. Not quite wrong as many others more accusomed to trees might feel, but the air she felt was definitely not of Starclan. It felt older, more exotic. The apprentice wasn't sure if there were dead cats beyond those in Starclan and the Sky of No Stars- she had never been told of any others- but if the rebellious apprentice had a theory, it was that different spirits watched these trees.

The sound of movement and voices to her left pulled Petalpaw from her thoughts, her sharp green eyes snapping from the dark ceiling above to stare at the shrouded opening of the den. She bunched up her muscles and hunkered down against the unfamiliar dirt floor, but otherwise remained quiet as a new cat entered with a mouse.

The Mistclan apprentice watched Stream carefully, an leer hooding her eyes, but as the Siamese neared, the creamy red tabby lifted her head in curiosity. Her smaller ears twitched as she listened to Stream of Silver Stars' introduction, and almost immediately Petalpaw's guarded expression released into one of relaxation. This cat was no older than her herself and the cat seemed to have some reason, bring with her food. It made Petalpaw more likely to speak than she had been around the supposed warriors they called 'home-guards'.

"That's a long name," Petalpaw started with a smile. "But I have to admit it's a cool one. I'm Petalstar." She gave a grin. It was weird introducing herself with a star in her name, made her almost feel guilty if not for the fact that it made her just as giddy. Plus, whay was the worst that could come of it if Mistclan found out? She's be kept an apprentice for a pawful more moons? It wasn't as if she had a mentor back home, so she'd just get to enjoy her life as she had been before. It was a win-win!

As Stream offered the mouse, Petalpaw went to start at it with excitement, but paused just before her teeth met with the fur. Liftibg her head to glance at Stream, she questioned,"Everyone else has eaten already, right?" Even despite the excitement of her little vacation, Petalpaw was still a born and bred Mistclan cat.

[chickenbatnana]

''Of course they have, if they hadn't no one would even let me bring it to you.'' Stream said. She wasn't planning on telling her that she was the healers to-be, with his treatment of her earlier that'd do more harm than good. Neither was she gonna lie, though, if she were to ask Stream would be her honest self. Upon closer inspection of Petalstar, she wasn't really all that big. Not small, no, she was still bigger than Stream, but not tall. Nor well muscled, just a normal cat. Odd. She supposed Firstspeaker wasn't big nor tall, but he did carry himself with a holier-than-thou attitude to make it seem that way. This cat, however, just looked like a weasel.

''Petalstar.'' Stream repeated, she'd heard the name thrown around in camp, but it was really true. Where could you find a star-shaped petal though? ''Too bad they won't let you out. Our home isn't that great from within this grimy den, but it is a nice place from within the camp clearing, I bet you'd agree.'' Even if Stream didn't enjoy being confined to camp, it was a pretty place. She was unsure if this other tribe had their own Stonehome. Most places didn't have huge ancient structures like these laying around. It sparked the pointed she-cat's curiosity, all these unexplained things. She didn't want to fight them, so maybe, even with her critically lacking social skills, she could befriend their leader and avoid a war altogether. Firstspeaker's mind was too fixated on fighting, even if the new tribe hadn't formed a threat at all.

Sitting down, she wanted to ask a few things ''Do you want to fight us?'' Stream asked, a bit of suspicion in her voice. Might as well ask, better than to assume things like half the tribe was doing. ''Firstspeaker thinks so, I think he is a beetle-brain. I guess you're no different, barging in like this. But you look like a weasel, I'll take that as an excuse.''

[mewmehh]

At Stream's assurance, Petalpaw hungrily tucked into the mouse. After all, she had only landed a sparrow or two during the time it took to reach this place, and she was famished. The meat of the mouse tasted all the same as it did back home, and such a sentiment helped the creamy tabby to find a little peace with the whole situation. After a few satisfying bites, her fluffy tail gestured to the mangled mess of flesh and bones, an offering look in her leafy eyes as she peeked back up at her visitor.

As she watched Stream sit down, Petalpaw listened as the skinny she-cat spoke of their home and at once, the Mistclan cat's eyes are aglitter. "It really is, isn't it?! Even this den is interesting because I've never seen anything like it before!" Petalpaw beamed with excitement as she continued,"Our home is behind a waterfall, so it's always cool from the stone of the walls and the water spray, and through it, the light makes this really pretty light. But once you see it enough times, it gets to be a little drab. All colors of grey and nothing like the forest here or in Ivyclan." Her expression seemed to drop a bit, her eyes losing their interested light as she slumped against her white forepaws.

She had been thinking back to the patrol of cats she had been tailing for a while, wondering when it had been that she had lost track of them, and if she had already made it here, where had they ended up? There was no way she could have managed to beat them here, could she? However, Stream's words caught her attention and pulled her from her thoughts. Raising her head, Petalpaw locked her eyes onto Stream's with a look of confusion. "Fight? No, I'm we're not coming to fight you. Didn't you know? A body washed down the river from here and a cat from your clan came to one of our medicine cat's in a dream, or something. We didn't know there were others besides us out here, brothers and sisters. We wanted to let you lot know what happened to your cat and to meet our neighbors to the north."

Her voice had been filled with genuine concern. Even as uncaring and stuck-up as she could be at times, Petalpaw wasn't a bad cat. If she had been, her father likely wouldn't have humored as much as he did, even with his patience. No, she was a decent cat with a decent heart, and one that would at least allow for her to reach the sentiment of others when it came to the lose of a clanmate. She personally hadn't gotten to see the body, but she almost wished she had. If so, maybe she could've found more words, better words to relay their message of sympathy.

At the end, she snickered a bit, finding it both funny and a little bit offensive that Stream would think her a weasel. Even with her father being named after one, it still rang true that weasels were sneaky little creature who couldn't be trusted, and with Petalpaw, what wasn't there to trust?! In a snarky tune, she teased back,"Well, I'd be careful if I was you. You look like a little baby kit, all splashed in milk. If you're not careful, I could just eat you!"

In the murky, stone den, roars of laughter erupted from within.