|☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ Skyclan: The Resilient and Tough |☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁| ☼

((Sorry for the delay, Mintfrost!!))

Warblerpaw inhaled before the pounce, but shot bolt upright as a new scent invaded his senses. The squirrel darted swiftly up a tree as he zeroed in on the scent of an unfamiliar cat on SkyClan's territory. Without a moment's noticed, he coiled his muscles and with a great leap landed in the lowest bough of the oak above him. He jumped across a few branches, spotting a cream and brown pelt below. Silently, he fell upon the intruder from above with a hiss.

"This is SkyClan territory!" he growled menacingly, teeth bared and claws hooked into the scruff of the intruder, holding them down. "Explain yourself, and do it quickly. I'm not patient."

Moonblazer

Willowkit tapped her chin again, deep in thought. "Maybe Mudwasp, cause then we could train together forever and ever 'till we're warriors!" She jumped towards Tricklefrost, dashing between her paws. "Is Cobrafang are dad now?" The kitten clearly didn't understand how mothers and fathers worked.

Moonblazer


Willowkit looked around confused, she didn't understand how families worked. Her mother had given her up, siblings had died, and father...well, she never met him. The young kitten had always assumed that the Clan was her family, but she had been told that Tricklefrost would be her mother until someone wanted her. 'What if no-one wants me?' The kittens thoughts drifted as she stood still, unusual for somekit like her.

Moonblazer


Willowkit didn't know Lostwing, also she thought his name was off. Why would somebody name their kit Lostkit, it sounded mean. Had he been lost, like she was? "Yep!" She jumped up, fluffy tail swishing back and forth. "Where should we go next?"

“We could go see if Lichengaze can tell us a story!” Sunnykit offered, looking out towards the elder’s den with an excited flick of her tail.

As the strange tom’s grip started to losen, Pond slipped out of his paws. “Thank you.” She murmured to the she-cat. “My name is Pond. And no I didn’t smell anything unusual until he showed up.” Pond said gesturing with her tail towards the strange tom that had attacked her. “Also, sorry but I don’t know what Skyclan is. Is that what you call you group of rouges?” She asked with curiosity. “And also, ‘Warriors’? You sure have a strange way of thinking.” Pond meowed. 

The two strangers stared at her blankly with a unimpressed expression. “Have I been talking too much?” Pond mewed. “I’m sorry I just don’t get to have conversations with other cats often.” She let out a nervous laugh before awkwardly staring at the ‘Warriors’.

Warblerpaw frowned with a snort. If anyone smelled unusual, it was this strange cat!

"We're not rogues," he repeated firmly. "We're SkyClan cats, and this is our territory, so you're trespassing."

Following Plumwillow's command, he'd sheathed his claws, but he still stood tall beside the loner, the fur on the back of his neck raised and tail straight in the air, eyeing the intruder suspiciously.

Hawkpaw gave Emberpaw a nudge at her words, “Hey. If Spiritstar doesn’t blame you, then it isn’t your fault. StarClan gifted her with nine lives so she could have the ability to protect her clan, and that’s what she did. She saved you, that’s what matters.” She mewed gently, feeling her heart break at seeing her sister’s distress.

Firepaw gave a nod and hurried after his mentor, glad that they would be working on his climbing skills. Climbing wasn’t too difficult for him, but he felt that he could certainly be better at it.

Rainkit stuck close to Tricklefrost as they explored the camp, eyeing Cobrafang warily when they were at the warrior’s den. At the mention of a story, her ears perked up slightly in interest.

“I’m sorry but like I said before, I don’t know what Skyclan or the ‘clans’ are but I would love to know so I can avoid trespassing in your territory again.” Pond said with a polite dip of her head. She was met with silence and awkward gazes. “Sorry for wasting your time. I’ll be heading to some different forest to call a night I suppose.” She turned around and grabbed the bird she caught with her jaws and started to dash away.

Moonblazer and thistle

Pond skidded to a stop as she heard the strangers question. She turned around and and dropped the bird. “Oh, yes I catchend the bird here. I’m a loner.” She replied. “I actually don’t know where I came from.” She said as her tail drooped. “I’ve been a loner for as long as I can remember. I never really had a family and don’t know where to go. I don’t enjoy being alone so I tried to join groups of rouges or cats but I’ve always been rejected and unwelcome. So I gave up on trying.” Pond finished.

Plumwillow looked down at Warblerpaw, eyes flickering suddenly. “Well, we can’t just let any cat waltz off with Skyclan prey. But… a cat who already knows how to hunt birds, they’re the hardest prey to catch, after all.” Plumwillow mused, before she took in a deep breath and continued, looking up at Pond and hoping to Starclan that she was making the right choice.

“We might be able to help eachother, Pond. The prey you caught, it belongs to Skyclan. But, if you are looking for a place to rest your paws, you might just be able to get some good favor if you present that bird to our leader. I won’t promise you’ll receive a warm welcome, but our leader has a fair heart and a strong ability to hear others out. Can you catch prey other than birds?” She tested.

“All I can offer is a chance to appeal to Spiritstar. She’s our leader, and her word is law. We live by a code, and if there’s even a chance she considers letting you stay, then you would have to learn it and respect it. Our way of life can be pretty tough, it’s why most clans won’t even think of letting outsiders join…. but.” Plumwillow explained, tail flicking brightly. “You have more to offer us than a Kittypet or Rouge, if you can hunt that well. So, it would be worth a shot, I think!”

She grinned. “My name is Plumwillow, and this cat next to me is my apprentice, Warblerpaw. He can jump pretty high, huh?” She boasted proudly.

Warblerpaw stayed silent, but nodded his assent. First Lolo, now this?

"Follow us," he said, beckoning with his fluffy tail. He looked again to Plumwillow, then back to Pond. He wasn't willing to fully trust her just yet, so he walked alongside her. But, he trusted Plumwillow.

"Pond, yeah?" he said. "How well do you know Twolegplace?"

"Ah. So, not a Twolegplace dweller? Huh, that's... super odd. Almost all the cats that wind up crossing over the scent line are from there. That's good! Makes you seem more wild than a cat from Twolegplace." Plumwillow mused, pointing her tail in the direction of the Twolegplace. Wherever Pond came from, she didn't seem to be lying. She didn't have a Twolegplace scent on her at all. She must have come from the far fields and unknown lands long past Skyclan and Riverclan's territories. She allowed Warblerpaw to lead them back towards camp, but not before she veered off to pick up some of the mice they had caught earlier. She nodded to Warblerpaw, wanting him to ask more questions if he wanted to.