[ti]Private[/ti]A Step In the Right Direction

[sabs]

 Thunderbird - - >

    A silky tortie figure could be seen passing from the heap of disgusting twoleg garbage into the beautiful meadow that marked the border between MothClan and MistClan. She had seen her sister earlier along with two of their other Clanmates going the opposite direction, but still out of MothClan. Eveningstar was deranged and no one was doing anything about it. Not even her own father. She thought for a moment about how harsh her words had been to him, but shook the thought away. He needed a wake up call. He had been moping around ever since Bearstar's death and it was well past time for him to move on. The she-cats thoughts flickered to Hailstrike. A pang rang in her heart. No, That was moons ago. Besides, she's err...switching Clans now. At least  until all of this insanity tides over. She figured Sablestar was one of the more reasonable leaders, if a little promiscuous. Yes, she decided, MistClan was her best bet. She had family in IvyClan, but it would hurt her too much to join them and be reminded of her kin back in MothClan. This was for the best, she kept convincing herself.
    Her paws crunched the colorful stray leaves as she walked, not having yet crossed the border. Thunderbird hadn't yet decided what would be the best way to go about this. Sit at the border and wait for a patrol? What if Eveningstar sent cats to come after her? Would he do that? Her mind raced. Maybe she should just go into the camp, would that be too threatening? Oh mousedung, make a decision you fleabrain!  She took a deep breath. Oh, how she hoped Sablestar was in a forgiving mood today. Perhaps others of her Clan had already sought refuge. They'd been here only a few moons ago, she was familiar with the camp already. She'd be fine. With that final assurance in her head, she began to pad into the meadow. Oh StarClan, please help Eveningstar find his sanity so I can come home soon...

[noctemq]

Suncatcher’s warm pelt stuck out like a sore spot in the sea of green before her. This would be a poor spot for a hunt, but she wasn’t hunting today. Well, not hunting for the usual prey. Like an apprentice, she was looking around for bindweed. Suncatcher’s days were usually this carefree and spent by herself; the warrior’s absent-minded attitude often left her clueless to the drama going on with the rest of the clans. She was aware of the whole Mist-Root-Moth disaster, though nothing more. Amusingly enough, she had found out by a complete accident: one day, Suncatcher stepped into camp and noticed there were more cats around than usual. It took her almost an hour to figure out that the Mist population didn’t suddenly explode while she was gone.

Her blue eyes were narrowed, focused on a tiny little white flower. Another cat had tried to explain bindweed’s appearance, and Suncatcher thought this could be the best match. She pawed at its stem, still a bite unsure, before her ears shot up at the sound of shuffling nearby. Suncatcher wasn’t the type to grow alert quickly, so her head just slowly raised up to see what it was. Even if that sound was a rogue, she wouldn’t be bothered much.

Did she recognize that cat? Suncatcher squinted at Thunderbird’s form in the distance. Maybe from a Gathering? Or that one time she decided to explore the two-leg’s place? Hopefully this cat wasn’t from her own clan… that would be embarrassing. ”Do I know you?” she called out, not thinking of the consequences of such a incautious introduction.

[sabs]

Thunderbird - - >

    Being so caught up in her own thoughts, the she-cat warrior had been giving no mind to any possible cats that she could run into. Realistically, she should have been paying more attention since she was trying to catch a potential patrol, after all. The sun glinted down upon the grassy meadow, the tips of each blade beginning to yellow as the season got cooler. It was quite bright, and the light had caught into Thunderbird's eyes momentarily when she heard a voice only a few tail lengths away. Dazed and shaking the sunlight from her eyes, her now spooked form looked owl-eyed upon the stranger. Well, she wasn't a stranger, really, she'd seen her briefly around MistClan camp during MothClan's stay there. 
   
    The feline before her was tall and lanky, her striking blue eyes contrasting against her red-orange pelt. The tortie would have been more intimidated, if the words that came from this MistClan cats mouth weren't so...nonchalant? She was surprised, normally when she'd crossed borders (especially during her a Lionstorm's previous debacles) she'd been met with hostility. Thunderbird let her long fur rest back against her shoulders as she cleared her throat. "I, err..I'm not sure." She shuffled her paws around anxiously. "I was here from MothClan when we took refuge in your camp, I'm Thunderbird." She dipped her head slightly after her introduction. Stupid, that was awfully formal. She felt the heat of embarrassment rise in her pelt. "Uhm, I recognize you but I don't think I ever caught your name..."

[noctemq]

Distracted, Suncatcher completely forgot about the bindweed and stood up to greet Thunderbird. Her mouth formed into an “O” shape when she was able to place a memory to the Mothclanner’s face. There were a lot of cats she met at that time, some friendly but most annoyed. She, on the other hand, didn’t mind the extra company. Suncatcher couldn’t recall directly seeing Thunderbird, so it was probably in passing or during one of what felt like the thousands of hunts she went on at the time. Feeding that many mouths was definitely difficult, and Mistclan was still paying the price. Suncatcher was able to take care of herself and often kept her needs off to the side to not burden others at this time.

”Oh okay cool, well welcome back.” She remained where she was, not bothering to give chase or defend the borderline. If she was on a patrol with others, she might have behaved as predicted. Personally, she didn’t care about cats coming and going, as long as they didn’t steal prey or anything like that. ”And it’s Suncatcher. Now I think I was supposed to be doing something out here, but you’ve managed to distract me in the best of ways,” Her grin spread sideways. The slender she-cat didn’t even bother waste a second before laying down some of her moves, even if the moment may had been a bit inappropriate. The two had just met, and it was painfully obvious that Thunderbird had something on her mind. Too bad that Suncatcher could be as dense as a rock. ”Did you need help with anything or were you just looking for a good basking spot? Because you just found the best one.” She pointed to herself by placing a paw on her chest, trying to pass of a joke about her name. In the right circumstances, Suncatcher could go a mile a minute with her one-liners.

[sabs]

Thunderbird - - > 
    
    The she-cat watched curiously as the Mistclanner's expression changed, and then something unexpected came out of her mouth. "...but you’ve managed to distract me in the best of ways,” Caught off guard by the comment, Thunderbird opened her maw to speak, unable to form words. Was she...flirting with her? She blinked in confusion as the stranger continued on, gesturing to herself and referring to herself as the "best basking spot". What was going on? She'd come here and honestly expected a fight, and now she was being courted by this other she-cat. Honestly, the MothClan she-cat wasn't too sure how to feel about it, so she let the comments slide, pretending not to read too much into them. She'd come here for something important, she couldn't let herself get distracted.
    "I, uh, actually came here to join your Clan." She paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "If you could take me to speak with Sablestar, it would be greatly appreciated. Eveningstar has gone mad. He's letting rogues into our ranks, and he even injured Darkstorm for speaking out against it..." A distressed look began to ween its way into her gaze as she was trying to stay strong, keeping her voice from wavering. "My sister...as well as some of our other Clanmates have left to seek refuge elsewhere. I'm not sure if there's any other MothClanners already here but...please." She stopped, peering up at the lanky she-cat.  Oh, how she hated asking for help, especially from someone not in her Clan. But desperate times called for desperate measures.
    The subject had just gotten rather dark rather quickly, and she felt bad, but hopefully her plea would show the urgency of MothClan's situation. Besides, she was Brackenfall's daughter, one of the most loyal to her Clan, she wouldn't just leave on a whim. She just hoped Sablestar would see that. Maybe her and some MistClan cats could try and unseat Eveningstar from his position. Now she was getting ahead of herself. No, she just needed shelter for now. Her paws shuffled again underneath her as the sunlight shown on her tortie pelt, the oranges becoming even more vibrant. Hopefully Suncatcher didn't think she was crazy. 
    

[noctemq]

Suncatcher’s mouth quickly shut itself. This was probably not the best time to be sweet-talking Thunderbird, and she realized that a little too late. She awkwardly cleared her throat and stood up a bit more straight, making sure to listen closely. Was this all really happening? Man, maybe she should’ve payed more attention at the last gathering. As Thunderbird kept talking, Suncatcher’s eyes slowly started to widen with both confusion and fear. She had a few friends not affiliated with any clan, but she understood how nasty some rogues could be. Hopefully this sort of deadly chaos wouldn’t spread over to Mistclan; she enjoyed living and.... being alive.

Yeah! Yeah, I, uh,” she stammered, looking behind her then turning back to face Thunderbird again. Good, there were no patrols nearby. She wouldn’t get in trouble for this, right? Sablestar had seemed a bit tense since the whole two-moon-sleepover happened, and the borders were carefully monitored after that. Suncatcher didn’t feel the same, but she still respected her leader’s decisions. That didn’t mean she would turn down a cat in need, though. ”You can follow me, I’ll bring you back to camp.” Her paws shuffled in place before she took a step to lead the way. Suncatcher didn’t handle tense situations too well, so she quickly turned to distracting herself from the issue and hopefully Thunderbird as well. ”I’ll give you a quick tour on the way there. Oh, and to your left right now, you’ll see a really pointy rock.” A sheepish smile spread across her face, hoping that Thunderbird wouldn’t see this as disrespectful.

[sabs]

Thunderbird - - >

    As the cheerful and flirty demeanor quickly vanished from Suncatcher as Thunderbird relayed what had been happening in her Clan, she felt a pang of guilt. Usually she would be one to give a snarky retort or even poke back at her, but she was itching to get as far away from the MothClan border as possible. The idea of other cats coming for her was a real and true fear that she had, but once the two she-cats started farther into the territory, she grew a bit calmer, despite now being on "enemy" lands. She felt much more at ease, especially with how casual the slender cat had been with her. She didn't sense any danger or that she was putting on a face, it felt genuine. It was like a breath of fresh air compared to the last few days that she had experienced in her home Clan. Hopefully all of the other MistClan cats were just as accepting. She didn't get her hopes up, though, knowing that Sablestar might be reluctant to let her in after harboring two other Clans for the past few moons. She'd known it had taken a toll on them. But hopefully she could prove herself as a worthy asset, even if it was just temporary.

   "Oh, and to your left right now, you’ll see a really pointy rock." A soft purr rose in Thunderbird's throat at the musings of the other she-cat. She appreciated the humor with the dark times she'd been going through lately. Everything had just felt...not quite right when her father stepped down as leader of MothClan. She let a sigh escape her maw as they padded along. "Wow, that's a nice rock." She mused, twitching her whiskers. Her mind wandered to ideas of small talk that she could come up with for her newfound companion. "So, have you always been in MistClan?" The she-cat asked. Honestly, she hadn't payed too much attention to the history of the cats in their Clan. She really had no reason. She only knew IvyClan a little better than most outsiders because she had some family there. Hopefully Suncatcher didn't find her question too prying. 

[noctemq]

”I know, right? It’s pretty cool.” Hearing how her dumb comments were helping fan away the heaviness in the air, she couldn’t help but crack a small smile. Phew! Good call on that one, me. Thank you, me. She continued forward with confidence, treading a path that her paws had walked at least a hundred times. The meadows was a great spot to hang out and tease any Mothclanners from the safety of the border. Sometimes, she’d have a stroke of luck and be able to chat with a chill cat for a bit. Though most of the time, it was some warrior who lived and breathed rules with an equally boring apprentice. Then cue Suncatcher dancing on the border-line and the Mothclan group hissing and maybe even giving chase.

Suncatcher continued to walk and glanced back at Thunderbird to address her question. “Born and raised, so for the most part, yeah.” Now was the worst possible time for Suncatcher to tell Thunderbird about her tendency to wander and how she was only kind of a Mistclan cat, especially since she was supposed to help out, so that story would have to be told another day. She slipped back into her metaphorical tour-guide pelt as they neared another landmark. The air began to smell a bit more moist, and the roar of moving water could be heard in the distance. ”And right in front of us, you’ll notice this wiggly-looking steam. Watch your step on the smooth rocks and if you’re a fan of frogs, this is the place to be.” Suncatcher hopped across the narrow stream with ease, not needing to rely on the stones set within it.

[sabs]

Thunderbird - - >

    The terrain quickly changed as more of those pointy rocks became frequent the farther that they walked into the territory. Happy to have resumed a more casual conversation, she began to watch her footing to be sure not to step on anything sharp. Her paws had finally healed from the few burns that she had gotten on her pads due to the fire in her old home, and she didn't want to go back to having to tend to them. Oh, how thankful the tortie was that she could walk properly again. The sound of flowing water tickled her ears as they began to near the camp. She started to recognize where she was, turning to Suncatcher as she spoke. Of course she was born and raised in MistClan, most cats in their Clan were. That was a dumb question. Thunderbird shrugged it off, sitting in silence with her companion for a moment. 

    She had been in her own little world when they came upon the stream, stopping abruptly in front of of the running water. She'd lived in this territory for two moons and yet she still hadn't grown accustom to it. Her fur stood on end as she watched Suncatcher move gracefully across the stream. Taking a deep breath, Thunderbird made her move forward. I've got this, I've crossed plenty of streams, she thought to herself. Today, however, was not her day. The light of the sun hit her eyes just as she made her way into the stream, causing her paws to slip on the slick pebbles as she fell face first into the water. "Mousedung!" The she-cat spat as she hit the rocky bottom, but quickly recovered herself. Maybe Suncatcher wouldn't notice. Oh no, she definitely noticed. She'd probably scared half the prey in the territory off. The fur on her face and chest was dripping wet, and her nose was a bit sore from hitting the rocks underneath. She lifted her paw, feeling a sharp pain and noticed she had nicked it on one of the sharp rocks, crimson blood slowly dripping into the water.

    Thunderbird moved across the rest of the stream, not bothering if her feet hit the water. She resisted using her front paw as much as she could, not putting too much pressure on it as she walked. Once she was at the other side, she shook herself as dry as she could get. "Ah, sorry." She mewed, noticing that she had dripped a little bit of water onto Suncatcher. "I'm already a sad excuse for a MistClan cat." Thunderbird gave a shy grin as she spoke. Well, if Sablestar even let her into the Clan. She lifted her injured paw and gave it a few soft licks, trying her best to soothe the slight stinging. Usually the she-cat was more confident, but already she'd managed to wholly embarrass herself. Oh StarClan, please give me a break. "Anyway, I don't think I'll be catching any frogs anytime soon..."

[noctemq]

Suncatcher flinched forward, ready to catch Thunderbird, though she was too far away. She winced when the other she-cat hit the stream bed. Ouch, that had to hurt. Sure, the stones were mostly smooth from the constant erosion, but that didn’t mean that they were soft as moss pillows. For some reason, slipping always hurt more than crashing down on dry land to her. When Thunderbird crossed, the Mistclan cat didn’t even shy away when her pelt was gently sprinkled with water. She was constantly wet; if it wasn’t the moisture from the camp, or from an elder’s excessive grooming, there was always some form of water somewhere. It was impossible to stay dry for very long living in this cut of territory. ”Are you okay?” She asked only with slight concern, knowing the warrior could handle a scratch of that size. Suncatcher was sure that Thunderbird had been through much worse, and a cut on the paw-pad would heal quickly.


”If it makes you feel any better, I once thought I was drowning and I just fell asleep in a puddle,” she offered this embarrassing information with a small tilt of her head. She wasn’t the type to get embarrassed, anyways. There was no point in feeling shame in what you can’t change, right? And it was a funny story that couldn’t just be buried away. When Suncatcher had originally curled up for that outdoor nap, her spot was dry and comfortable. She was a deep sleeper and hadn’t noticed when it started to rain until she was practically snorting out water. Sunpaw at the time was frustrated that her peers found the story more funny than concerning, and only now as an adult could she look back and realize how hilarious it was.

Suncatcher noticed a few frogs hop away, though some of the assumingly dumber ones were unfazed. ”I don’t think you’d want to catch one, anyways. They’re kind of squishy and slippery.” The specific combination of textures almost made her shudder. Once Thunderbird looked like she had collected herself together, Suncatcher proceeded down the invisible path to Mistclan; they were only a few fox-lengths away.