[Deleted]

Dainty paws fell upon the slightly damp earth, still stained with the blood of the treacherous. Since the battle, she'd not had the time to groom her silver fur; dried crimson splattered her chest, a bit of her own blood scabbed over superficial scratches along her haunches and ribcage. She was exhausted from the fight, and then the trek she'd taken immediately following the fray to bring the rest of her clan down from the mountain. This time, however, she brought with her an extra set of paws. The kitten had done some walking, but she'd carried him a good part of the way down, taking him gently in her jaws when he'd nod his approval. It hadn't been an easy journey for young Jade, and she felt a sharp pang of sympathy for the kit as they walked through StoneClan's camp together, having put him down at the entrance.

Though she was weary, she carried herself with a stubborn, graceful dignity. Her elegant frame halted before the entrance to Hawkstar's den, where she'd scented his presence. She brushed her tail across the kit's shoulders, letting him know that he should stop as well as she called out to her leader. As a senior warrior, she'd worked closely with her leader, commonly leading patrols and training exercises. Now, as she and the tiny kit beside her stepped in to his den, she addressed him with respect, and with camaraderie.

"Hawkstar, this is Jade," she began, dipping her pretty head towards her young companion. "He is the son of Wolf, a loner who joined us in the battle for StoneClan. His mother and sister died not long ago, and Wolf fears he may not have much of a chance in the mountains." She paused, her eyes meeting Hawkstar's. "I beseech you to allow him to join us. I know that he will grow to be a strong and loyal warrior of StoneClan, and I will take personal responsibility for his upbringing." Never faltering, she gently guided the little tom forward with her tail. "He is silent, but he is sincere, and he is strong."

Character; Riversong
Word count; 353
Notes; Insidious BlooRey DVD

[Insidious]

Jade

With weary paws, he tread upon grounds that spoke of legacy, home to a group he knew to be a clan. It was not necessarily the act of a coward that he depicted, traveling at the heel of the single feline he knew well enough to stay near to, as opposed to an inward desire to remain unnoticed. He did not want to be the center of attention. He was already aware that he didn’t belong on these lands, he belonged in the places where wilderness reigned with his father. But, apparently, his father did not have it within himself to care for him anymore. The death of his mother and sister had, somehow, hammered a foreign belief into his father’s head that made it seem as though he could not protect his son from a death of similar origin. Needless to say that such words had tugged at any loose strings attached to his heart. Perhaps death was meant to collect him sooner than later. It had been pure luck that he could manage without his mother’s milk, for he would have surely been left for dead had he been any younger when she ceased to exist. But, it was of no importance to him now. His mother and sister were no longer of the living, so they were no longer relevant to the continuing of his life. What was relevant, however, was their deaths. He recalled every bone cracking, every piece of fur that fell out of place, every yowl of terror and every square inch of land that was suddenly shaded crimson. It was all so interesting. How painful had it been for them to endure?

A paw stretched in front of his body was enough to stop him in his tracks, a clumsy nose finding itself tangled in the she-cat’s fur before, awkwardly and consumed by his oblivion, he pulled away to peer up at the source of importance that had required his attention at this point in time. In front of him stood a muscular tom, his fur a sandy brown, his eyes a pale gold. For a moment, just one, he pricked his ears up at the sound of Riversong’s voice to get the inklings of an understanding for what was going on. Hawkstar. Ah, it made perfect sense now. This was the beloved leader of StoneClan, and undoubtedly the one that could finalize the decision of whether or not he would now have a stable shelter. The feel of Riversong’s tail gently brushing against his behind made the tom-kit rise to his feet in sudden surprise, taking a few quick steps in the leader’s direction. Being so small, he couldn’t help but be somewhat intimidated. He had to stretch out his neck to match Hawkstar’s piercing gold eyes with his own extremely pale blue, and the second that he established eye contact, he found himself driven to look away. It wasn’t hard for him to find himself enveloped in an all new distraction: the grass that protruded from beneath the leader’s paw was rather fascinating in the way that it was forced to bend and twirl beneath his weight. He wondered, momentarily, whether or not the grass, too, felt pain like his mother and sibling had? It was a silly thought, for the grass was inanimate. However, it remained subtly intriguing all the same.

More so than the discussion taking place around him, anyhow. He hadn’t possessed any care for whether or not he traveled to StoneClan with Riversong. He’d be content in the clan, just as he had been when in the unclaimed with his father. He didn’t miss his living, breathing parent as much as he probably should have. He didn’t think that he needed the guidance, because he hardly paid any mind to those that shared his space. Riversong would suffice as a “parent” anyway. It didn’t matter who took the roll, as long as he had one so that others wouldn’t look at him like he was some sad kit without a family. Family wasn’t important, and he would never understand why it mattered so much to everyone. His mother and sister mattered to him as much as they had when they could stand beside him, care for him, and nourish him. But, sadly, they had done little for him. Frankly, they did not nourish him until they had died. Their awkwardly angled bones had taught him more than any of their empty words.

How interesting those awkwardly angled bones had been…

[BlooRey DVD]

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

~~~~~~~~~

Once more, the isolated cavern had become his den. Though it did feel a little more homely when his mate, Frozenrain, was with him, it was at times like these, when he was alone, that the den still felt... Alien. It had been abandoned for a good portion of time, and Hawkstar couldn't help but feel the emptiness that lurked inside. A call from just outside his den pulled his attention from the state of the den to the Clanmate awaiting his response. Rising to his large paws, tongue flicking over this mouth to clear any remnants of the prey he had just finished, Hawkstar granted them entrance, moving forward to greet them near the front of the den.

Pale amber eyes had long since become accustomed to the slight darkness of the den. It didn't take him long to identify one of the two figures that entered. The larger of the two was the StoneClan senior warrior, Riversong. Giving her a respectful dip of his head, he sat down before her, tail wrapping around his large paws. Sandy ears were pricked, listening to every word she spoke. She had served StoneClan for a considerable amount of time, and her opinion was one that he respected.

As she finished her proposition, Hawkstar turned his pensive eyes away from the she-cat, to the little tom who stood beside her. Their eye contact lasted only a minute, the little kit seeming all to eager to look away the moment he could. Hawkstar took it as their size difference. He knew he had a tendency to be a little intimidating at times. His mind remained focused on Riversong's proposition as the large tom weighed the two options at paw. His breath billowed out around him in a cloud of mist, reminding him of the cold season.

Hawkstar shifted, aware of the tightness of the skin near his belly. This was a feeling he had grown accustomed to, for it happened every Leafbare; the cold seemed to tighten the skin around the scar on his stomach, making it feel a little more uncomfortable than it usually did. However, he was not so much concerned with the state of his scar in that moment. The cold nonetheless reminded him of an issue that he felt was important. Important enough to bring forth in the terms surrounding the decision the sandy brown StoneClan leader had come up with.

"Riversong, you know that it would not be right for me to turn away a kit. If you are certain that there are no existing qualms from his father, that StoneClan will not be put in danger by this loner at any moment in the future for taking in this kit... Then I have no true issue with allowing him to join StoneClan. However, there is one condition. Leafbare is a time in which we require as many active members as we can. The queens who have given birth to litters, and the elders cannot hunt, which means we rely on the warriors and apprentices to feed the Clan during this time of scarce food."

The great tom paused for a moment, his tail shifting slightly atop his large paws. His amber gaze had long since moved away from the kit, back to the she-cat he was addressing. He held her eyes, the seriousness of his coming comment clear in the weight of his stare. "You may remain with him in the nursery, however the Clan still requires your skill. You will attend patrols like any regular warrior, leaving him with another queen during your absence. You are expected to continue with your proper duties. If you can agree to these terms, you may adopt his parent role. If not, we will need to come up with a different arrangement."

[Deleted]

The lithe silver she-cat appeared somewhat small, standing before the massive tabby, though she held herself with dignity equal to her leader. Even without the blood spatters across her pale fur, it was clear that she was a warrior. Proud, capable, and precise.

She nodded as Hawkstar spoke, "There will be no issue with the loner, I assure you." Somewhere inside her there was a little twang of... disappointment? She'd grown so close to Wolf in the mountains. It almost pained her to leave him behind, knowing that the two would likely never be together again. They couldn't be. At least the she-cat could care for precious Jade, even with his father absent. He'd said that he was the wandering kind, that clan life wasn't for him...

Nothing about her exterior changed as the thoughts flashed through her mind. She nodded, her eyes sincere. "I wouldn't have it any other way," she agreed, a flick of her delicate ears punctuating her words.

"Thank you, Hawkstar," she added, dipping her head respectfully. She hesitated thoughtfully for a moment before continuing, "I feel it would be somewhat appropriate, should you see fit, to give young Jade a clan name. He may not be clanborn, but he will be as loyal as a warrior who is."

Character; Riversong
Word count; 213
Notes; ~

[Insidious]

Jade

The words of those that surrounded him floated into one ear and out the other, processing the information detected but seemingly forgetting to store it anywhere that was of importance to him. Pale eyes focused upon anything that was worth a moment of his time, intrigued by every single detail that was far from an unnatural occurrence, and staying stunned in his place by the normalcy of it all as a matter of far greater purpose was meant to be reaching his mind. The conversation between Riversong and Hawkstar had been mentally tuned out, as though their voices were coming out of their mouths in the form of muffled words that could not be understood, and therefore whenever he bothered himself to glance toward either of them with mild curiosity in his expression, it seemed as though they exchanged their words in slow motion. It was a strange ability that he possessed; often he did not think anything of it. He was apt at focusing entirely upon what he desired, though pitiful that said desires were not of something that could be more beneficial to him. He would continue to analyze bits of dirt and rock because, he mused, that amongst everything else in his surroundings, they were the closest he could find to being dead.

So it seemed that his timing was always equivalent to that of perfection, his ears pricking and capturing the words clan name out of everything else that he could have possibly managed to hear. He had nearly forgotten that names like his, like his father’s, like his mother’s and sister’s, did not suit the clans. They would not accept him as Jade because it did not fancy them, though it was no concern of his. Sure he had been called Jade for as long as his mind could remember, but names could be changed and altered accordingly and nothing would really change or alter -- he had hardly responded to it anyway. Names were a pathetic excuse for grabbing one’s attention, and if someone ever wished to have his for more than fleeting seconds, they would need to do better than that. Actions spoke louder than words, after all.

Him of all cats could understand that completely.

Once again, pale blue eyes found themselves drawn to the sharp amber of StoneClan’s leader, awaiting another fate to be made by the almighty tom. He was beginning to understand that he would not be so free while he lived in a clan, because now there would be certain rules and obligations to follow and cats to respect. It was all so foreign, and it was beginning to press down upon his tiny shoulders and unnerve him. He didn’t want other cats to start looking at him expectantly, or like he was doing something that they could possibly classify as right or wrong. He didn’t want to do anything wrong, and the probability was frightening. Of course, they would allow themselves to go easy on him because he was new, because he did not know any better like the other kits did. He was prone to make a handful of mistakes, and that would be okay. After all, he didn’t expect anything short from taunting and insults -- he was different from everyone else, or mute as they called it. He would stand out in the crowd, like a banner was taped to his forehead, but in time he would be able to sink into the shadows again. The different cats always had to face the hardship and the burden, but he was not in awe of those that were ordinary. Nobody could stop him from being himself (but a vicious glance would surely be enough to have his timid eyes elsewhere and his head buried into his legs like the omega of a wolf pack) when he did not even know who “himself” was.

Because surely he could not be himself, his new self, without a proper name because names made all of the difference in the world.