[Hellion]

Hawk-kit
Kit of RainClan
Heart of StoneClan
-------------------------------

Eyes down cast the brown tabby tom-kit followed the pretty colored she-cat for the past hour of slow travel. No less then two hours ago he gave his final good-byes to his parents, having told Crowkit was leaving only to have his brother strike at him and leave, Heronkit didn't seem to care. However, the sadden look in his parents eyes from the past two nights was a imprint on his young memory. His mother was tearful, a mother's bond clouding her emotion. Vulureback was being the strong father and mate, but deep down Hawk-kit knew he was tore just as his mother, but didn't want to show it.

With heavy paw-step he said farewell, wanting to live his life as a StoneClan cat. Sure it wasn't what his parents had planned, they wanted him to be in RainClan all his life, but both mother and son understood why he felt compelled to join his bloodlines in StoneClan. Pyrelight was his ticket to his new home. She had agreed to take him, but Hawk-kit felt his dreams of being a StoneClan cat were hanging on the edge of a steep cliff.

"Graniteclaw,will you take Hawk-kit to Hawkstar as we had planned?" Her voice broke his thoughts as the tabby tom was surprised to himself in the heart of StoneClan camp, he was too preoccupied to even care how he got there, mistake one, not knowing where the in StarClan he was.

With eyes like his mother's he looked up to the tom and felt the warm nuzzle of Pyrelight at his rump to push him toward the gray tom. "Hello.." He said meekly, unable to meet the new cat's gaze.

[Fawn]

Graniteclaw knew of many cats who would be opposed to allowing the son of their defected deputy to join StoneClan; his own mentor might have been rather negative towards the idea, but Graniteclaw was willing to risk it. Looking down at the slightly awkward kitten - roughly the size of a new apprentice, maybe a moon or two before - Graniteclaw chanced a small, warm smile. He didn't want to get the kitten's hopes up too high, in case Hawkstar turned him down, but still, being melodramatic and slightly grim about the whole ordeal was no way to go about it.
"I will take him," mewed the gray tom to the former tribe-cat. Granieclaw's reasons for backing the idea of Hawk-kit joining StoneClan were seemingly nonexistent from what anyone who didn't know him that well could tell.

To be honest, Graniteclaw saw a little bit of himself in Hawk-kit's situation. He would never know what it felt like to be half-Clan, but he too had suffered a little by the transgressions of someone that had kind of been like a big brother to him. There were still a few cats - very few - who thought he had had a hand in Shadeclaw's treachery. And then there were cats like Hailstrike, who saw a broken kitten who needed only a chance and some firm guidance to shape him into something well worth the title of a StoneClan Warrior. Perhaps all Hawk-kit needed was a chance?

Signaling for the young tabby to walk with him, Graniteclaw quietly brought Hawk-kit to the outer edge of camp, where they might speak with Hawkstar alone. It had taken a fair bit of coaxing to allow the recently-made-leader to actually stop what he was doing to wait for something Graniteclaw hadn't explained beyond 'there is a kit interested in joining the Clan, wait here'. Still, he couldn't help but be glad when he spied the broad sandy shoulders of StoneClan's newest figurehead. Dipping his chin respectfully, Graniteclaw glanced over his shoulder to Hawk-kit, addressing Hawkstar as he did so.
Be brave, little tom. You might just become a StoneClan cat after all.

"This is the kit I mentioned, called Hawk-kit, of RainClan." He hesitated only a second before adding a little soberly, "The son of Falconleap, and therefore, half StoneClan."

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:996600]Hawkstar[/smear:663300]
~~~~~~~~

Needless to say, the large StoneClan figurehead had been rather stunned when Graniteclaw had all but told him to stay put while he went to fetch an apparent kit who was interested in joining StoneClan. His tail flicked in a manner than could only be called irritated as he sat, amber eyes surveying the camp. He could be doing things to help the Clan. Instead, he was stuck sitting here, waiting for some kit who wished to join his Clan.

The broad shouldered tom force the air from his lungs, shutting his eyes. There was no point in growing angry or irritated over something like this. Surely it wouldn't take too long to sort out. He concentrated on his tail, slowing its movements to something a little less aggressive. There was still a hint of irritation in the way its tip flicked now and again, but the anger that had been building up had dissipated. He didn't know why he had gotten so angry. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep he had been experiencing recently. He made a mental note to go and visit Blackeagle; surely the black tom could give him something to aid him in that department.

The sound of paw steps caught the StoneClan leader's attention. Hawkstar's amber gaze snapped open, before focusing on the two approaching figures. At first, it lingered on the leader of the two, Graniteclaw. The one who had put him in this whole situation in the first place. It didn't linger there for long however, drawn to the smaller figure that padded tentatively behind the other tom. Hawkstar watched the kit as he approached, sharp eyes attentive to the way he moved. If the leader didn't think he might be an asset to StoneClan, he would have to send the kit back to wherever he came from.

Sand-hued ears pivoted as Graniteclaw began to speak. Hawkstar's eyes, however, never left the kit. He wondered how this small cat would handle himself. "Hawk-kit." The leader repeated, the name striking a chord. Of course, Hawk-kit had been his own name just over forty moons ago. As Graniteclaw continued, he felt the heaviness in his heart, remembering the StoneClan deputy before him, and her abandonment of her position for the sake of matters relating to the heart.

It was true that the kit was half StoneClan. But he was also half RainClan. The large tom was silent for many moments, the weight of the decision seeming to press down on each of them. Hawkstar's breathing was even, and his body gave away nothing. He simply continued to watch the younger cat, amber gaze calm, calculating. He decided he would not judge the kit by what his mother had done. Instead, he'd give the kit a chance to impress him.

"What are the reasonings behind your desire to join StoneClan, Hawk-kit?"

[Hellion]

Hawk-kit

Where the crowds will cheer, when they see my face
And a voice keeps saying, this is where I'm meant to be

The brown tabby was confused, his mother had spoken of a she-cat being the leader of StoneClan. However, the aura of leadership that poured of the pelt of the tom-cat before him, the one that shared his name, there wasn't a doubt he had nine lives.

Taking in the sights of both powerful leader and a fresh young warrior, Hawk-kit felt small, weak but he was his mother's son and put his head up high. Clear eyed and bushy tailed he tried to form the words in his head, how would he explain he wanted to live in StoneClan? That he abandoned his siblings and family for a Clan he only learned about in stories.

Eyes shifting downward he looked at the paws of the leader before nodding to himself and presenting his case, calm and collected was his speech. "I want to join StoneClan because I don't feel right in RainClan. All the nursery stories my ma told me about StoneClan I just felt in my heart that I belong here." Hawk-kit said politely, trying not to come off as a traitor, he wasn't here as a spy for RainClan, he was truly a StoneClan cat at heart. "I know about what my parents have done and I know partly why my ma had us in RainClan, but I am my own cat. I know what I want, I just need a chance." Hawk-kit was a diplomat, a skill he had learned from his ma, but it was Hawkstar's choice not his. No matter how badly he wanted to be in StoneClan, he'd respect the leader's choice no matter what.

But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part
For a hero's strength is measured by his heart

[Fawn]

Well spoken, Hawk-kit.
Graniteclaw found himself thinking with some surprise, a slight twitch of a gray-furred tail-tip or long white whiskers the only thing that gave any insight to the thoughts swirling around behind those yellow-green eyes of his. Personally, Graniteclaw felt the rewards outweighed the risks in this instance. From what he could tell, RainClan would not fight for Hawk-kit's return, in fact, they seemed rather aloof to the entire subject, as if they had truly known all along that he didn't quite belong with them. If Hawk-kit had StoneClan blood, then there was no reason he could not adjust and rise to his training as a StoneClan cat - however, it was still the harder road out of the two.

He was asking to be a part of a Clan that would be full of cats who may never come to accept him, no matter how hard he works or how many oaths he swore and promises he kept. Graniteclaw felt as though he were watching a tiny fledgling bird perch precariously at the edge of it's nest, ready to take it's first real flight and stretch those tiny wings of his. Yellow-green eyes shifting to study the profile of StoneClan's current leader, Hawkstar, Graniteclaw couldn't help but find the humor in the sameness of their names.

Would the bigger hawk be there to catch the younger when the wind kept buffeting his wings and nothing but the ground lay below to break his fall? Having held his silence thus far, the young, introspective warrior at last spoke up, tugging his attention away from the smaller of the two toms to settle on his leader's face. "It's going to be difficult," mewed Graniteclaw, not needing to specify how and why, "but I think he's deserving of a chance. I already have Windpaw, but I am willing to help mentor Hawk-kit if you're considering letting him stay." Couldn't hurt to try, right?

Of course, Graniteclaw had already thought far ahead into the future when StoneClan would someday be forced to fight RainClan. Would he balk when pressed to attack his own siblings or his parents? Would his courage desert him then? Graniteclaw would make no assumptions at this point, not even guesses or estimations. He would simply wait and see.

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:996600]Hawkstar[/smear:663300]
~~~~~~~~~

The large StoneClan leader listened to the smaller cat who bore the same name as him, nodding his head slowly. He was impressed with the way in which the young kit spoke. It was almost as though he had been pondering this question his whole life. It had been well spoken, and seemed genuine enough. Still, Hawkstar remained silent, amber gaze blinking slowly. When Graniteclaw spoke up, his amber eyes turned towards the young warrior, listening politely as he gave his opinion. Hawkstar dipped his head to the tom, letting him know that he acknowledged the tom's words. With a wave of his sandy tail, the StoneClan leader let a silence fill the air around them. Slowly, he turned his gaze up to the sky, focusing his amber orbs upon the blue hue of the wide expanse above them. For a moment, nothing was said.

Still gazing at the sky, Hawkstar spoke the kit's name. "Hawk-kit." Lowering his head so that he could see the kit once more, the StoneClan leader continued. "I cannot promise you that you will fit in. I cannot promise that the other cats, young or old, will accept you. I cannot promise you that living in StoneClan will be easy as walking on a smooth path." The wind blew softly around them, carrying the scents of StoneClan's territory over them. The sun was warm on Hawkstar's back, and some might say that the warmth he felt from the sun translated to the warmth he felt in his heart. No matter what you believe, his answer remained the same.

"But what I can promise you is a chance. A chance to prove yourself. A chance to show all those who will tell you that you cannot do it, that you can. A chance to fight your fight, and make your place within the ranks of StoneClan. May StarClan look down upon me and agree with my choice as I speak these words: Welcome to StoneClan, Hawk-kit."