A Change {Stormheart?}

[{Otter}]

Nothing had felt right since he'd last left this vast, bright forest. After wandering into the marshes claimed by another one of those "Clans", Zephyr had spoken to less-than-friendly cats and realized something--though many scorned him and made fun of his voice, he kept coming back to them. Why? He needed companionship. It wasn't right for a cat to just live with a family of dogs. He was older now, he was independent, he could hunt for himself and whatnot. Heck, he didn't even spend much time with his dog family as it was.

So...why not keep coming back? Stormheart had been different than most cats. He wasn't all that patient, but he wasn't hostile and he didn't look at Zephyr as if he wanted to kill him. A medicine cat. Were all medicine cats like that? Zephyr wasn't sure, but he was intrigued, nonetheless.

And so why was he here? Well, he was here to see if Stormheart would teach him. Surely it couldn't be so hard, right? He'd get to learn new words, words that some warriors didn't even know, and understand the art of healing. Why not learn some? He wouldn't be a burden. He could just meet Stormheart whenever the tomcat came out into the forest to find whatever it is he had to find. Surely that would be okay, right?

Well, even if it wasn't, he was here to try. Only...how was he supposed to find Stormheart without finding another, more hostile cat first?

And so he did what he was good at doing. Zephyr picked a random oak tree and clawed his way up to one of the lower branches. Once there, he settled himself on the rough bark and set his storm-gray eyes upon the land below. This way, he was out of eyesight and hopefully unable to be scented. So as long as Stormheart happened to pass by near here....Well, so there were flaws to the plan. What other choice did he have?

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[atrb=border,0,true][bg=black] Stormheart growled as he walked through the gentle rain. This was the best time to see which supplies of which herbs would grow best this newleaf. The snow was completely gone. The only sign of leafbare was the cold and the lack of... leaves, of course. Through the gray of the forest, there were buds on the trees above him and new green on the floor below. Yes, now was the perfect time to see which plants had survived yet another leafbare. Not so perfect for him, though. The tom's paws sloshed through the mud and the dead leaves. The ravine by the camp was considerably dangerous at this time of year. It was not unheard of for cats to get stuck at the bottom, having no good footholds without reach of even the longest claws. Stormheart sighed. Why, exactly, was he out here during the rain anyway? He could catch cold... Didn't his old mentor tell him that it was better to wait until the rain had cleared? That was Stormheart for you. Impatient to the very end. After checking on the wild garlic and watermint, the Medicine Cat was on his way to check on the poppy flower patch. In truth, he had so many poppy seeds in storage that he could put the whole clan to sleep for an entire quarter moon, but he had to admit that it might be wise to scatter some back into the earth in case the plant wasn't as abundant as it once was. The gray tabby made a beeline for a hollow tree close to where he knew the poppy patch was. He could rest there and check on the plant to see if there would be enough flowers in greenleaf. Once inside and away from the rain, he shivered, shaking off the droplets that clung to his fur. He glanced over to the green patch and sighed. Three foxes could lay comfortably on that patch, it was so wide. He didn't know why he'd bothered to come all the way out here. Stormheart looked up at the sky, trying to judge how long the rain would keep up. Before he raised his eyes completely, however, they stopped on a gray from in an oak tree. "You again!" he yowled, exasperated. Word Count: 381 Audience: Zephyr Comments: None

[{Otter}]

Lo and behold, a gray form appeared through the rain, skulking over to a nearby tree and pushing his way into a hollow. Zephyr watched, tilting his head to one side, as Stormheart took shelter. Didn't he like the rain? Dogs loved rain. Zephyr loved rain. And mud. Mud was nice. He had no real incentive to keep his blue-gray fur clean, and it was nice to be able to roll about in the mud from time-to-time.

In any case, the blue-gray tomcat rose to his paws, balancing on the treebranch as he leaned over to see if Stormheart knew he was there. The scents Zephyr had created while wandering through the forest should be washes away by now, as were his footprints, but even so, as if by magic, Stormheart looked up. And then, a yowl. Two words he definitely understood.

Pleased with himself, Zephyr scrambled down the tree. Once on the lowest branch, he simply jumped right off, landing in a puddle of mud that sent waves of dirty water flying in all direction. Purring slightly at the lovely feeling of mud and water, the tomcat padded forward without shaking himself off and plopped himself in the entrance of the hollow.

"Hi," he mewed cheerfully, this one word coming quite crisp and clear. Even so, his next ones were a bit more hesitant and broken. "I like medicine cat. I want heal. You teach? Teach names of...'herbs'? I heal myself then?"

Word Count;; 240
Muse;; okay
Audience;; Stormheart

[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][bg=black] Through the raindrops, Stormheart could see that the older tom looked quite pleased to have startled the Medicine Cat. Or maybe he had simply been happy to see him? It was hard to tell through the storm. Exactly why the cat jumped directly into a puddle confused him. He didn't even shake himself clean! Maybe he had spent some time with RiverClan... "Hi. I like medicine cat. I want heal. You teach? Teach names of...'herbs'? I heal myself then?" The questions made the young cat blink in surprise. Teach a loner the ways of a Clan Medicine Cat? Unheard of! Unwise as well. There were so many herbs that it would take moons to teach, not to mention that he'd be taking time away from camp to meet with the strange-talking loner. What if something happened while he was away, talking to a non-Clan cat, and a cat had died because he hadn't been there? No. It couldn't be done. Out of the question. "Zephyr, I don't have time to teach you everything. I never know when I'll be needed at camp. It's not just healing that I'm expected to do..." He was, of course, talking about receiving messages for StarClan and going to the moonstone every half moon to share tongues with his warrior ancestors. How could a loner ever understand? There was, however, a spark in the back of his mind. He needed an apprentice. Badly. This was the first cat who'd shown any interest in learning how to heal. But he'd said he'd only wanted to heal himself. A Medicine Cat was supposed to take care of a whole clan. Did a loner even have the instinct to care for others? He doubted it. Word Count: 287 Audience: Zephyr Comments: None

[{Otter}]

At Stormheart's words, Zephyr's muddy tail lowered slightly. He gazed at his "friend" in confusion, wondering at his words. Sure, he understood them, but he didn't quite understand the meaning. In fact, he completely misunderstood. Had Stormheart just said he needed help in camp? Not exactly, but Zephyr managed to twist the words in his mind so that he believed he had.

"I help in camp?" he mewed excitedly, tail flashing up and sending a few droplets of muddy water splattering about. What a marvelous idea! Go into a camp, see lots of cats, hear new words.... "You teach me, I help? Two cats heal? I learn words...see other cats. Yes?" He set his storm-gray eyes upon Stormheart, for he knew that, for some reason, when speaking to she-cats, they would always agree to do something if he looked at them sadly. It didn't often work on males, for whatever reason, so he wasn't quite sure if Stormheart would give in.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. It hadn't crossed his mind to live in the camp, but why not go there? What could one loner do to a bunch of cats? Nothing, he was sure. They were all so tough, what did they have to worry about? He was a good fighter, having been raised with a puppy, but certainly not good enough to fight off a bunch of cats. No, he saw no problem. Besides, meeting more cats would mean speaking more! And speaking more would eventually lead to easy, unbroken, eloquent speech!

[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][bg=black] "I help in camp? You teach me, I help? Two cats heal? I learn words...see other cats. Yes?" Stormheart backed up a little, avoiding a few drops of muddy water from the cat's tail. A loner? In camp? The Medicine Cat had no problems with this loner other than the fact that he was trespassing again and he was slightly annoying. To his knowledge, no lone cat had ever been accepted into a clan. Then again, WindClan had been reformed recently and that had never happened before. Why stop there? Still... it was rather a risky gamble. "Sounds like you want to be my apprentice. I don't know if that's such a good idea. No cat would trust you. They'd have a hard time thinking you could ever be loyal to the clan since you don't have warrior blood..." Yes, warrior blood meant everything to the clan. If you weren't a clan cat or if you were even half-clan, no one trusted you. And he didn't expect this loner to understand why. For StarClan's sake, Stormheart didn't even know why it was so important! After all, mixed bloods were less likely to catch illnesses. He didn't know why, it was just a fact. Maybe if the clans started accepting different cats into their territories, no Medicine Cat would ever have to treat greencough again. He purred at the thought, but kept it to himself. Zephyr wouldn't know what he was talking about anyway. "It's not that I don't think Coldstar would accept you- I think he would, but if he did, the older cats might think he was crazy and that's not something I would care for. After all, I'm the one who announced him as leader..." Word Count: 287 Audience: Zephyr Comments: None

[{Otter}]

No cats would trust him? Well, so what? He'd never been trusted before, anyway. No one trusted him when they learned about his dog family, no one trusted him when they heard him speak. Why would this be of any surprise to him? It wasn't, and Zephyr tilted his head to one side as he stared at Stormheart questioningly.

"No care if trusted. Never before. Not bothered. Try? Ask?" For goodness' sake, what was so wrong with asking to make sure? Now that Stormheart seemed to almost be considering it, Zephyr wasn't about to back down. "I fight. You see. I good. Good hunter. You see cardinal? Yes, good hunter. Climb lots. Why not?" he mewed once more, tail-tip twitching with a bit of impatience. Really, was this such a hard decision?

Needless to say, Zephyr had no idea what he was agreeing to/fighting for. In his mind, all he was asking for was to be let into camp from time-to-time to learn from Stormheart. He didn't care if cats trusted him, as long as they didn't chase him away. Heck, he'd even hunt for them the way he'd heard most Clan cats do. What he didn't realize was that Stormheart saw this another way. In Stormheart's eyes, he was asking to be let into the Clan, and that entailed a heck of a lot. But Zephyr knew none of this. So he held his ground, the hope of speaking to more and more cats making him resolved.

As if on an afterthought, he mewed suddenly, "Coldstar leader. I ask him? He speak to me? Or you?"

[Deleted]

[atrb=border,0,true][bg=black] "No care if trusted. Never before. Not bothered. Try? Ask? I fight. You see. I good. Good hunter. You see cardinal? Yes, good hunter. Climb lots. Why not?" Stormheart's ears pricked when he heard the loner say 'fight'. He was probably pretty good at it. Maybe he'd have something to teach the clan? That could win them over... "Coldstar leader. I ask him? He speak to me? Or you?" The Medicine Cat sighed. He sure was persistent, this strange cat. The tom shook his head violently, getting some of the water out of his ears and clearing his head. He weighed the details carefully. On the one paw, Zephyr was, obviously, very eager about learning both words and herbs. Stormheart needed an apprentice and quite frankly, he didn't care who the cat was. Although he was a loner, the gray tom had lasted this long on his own and would benefit the clan in ways even they couldn't understand. And on the other paw, his lack of warrior heritage would put the clan on edge. Not to mention the fact that he really didn't know what he was getting into. He had know knowledge of the warrior code or StarClan, which was highly important to say the least. "I'll suggest it to Coldstar, Zephyr," he mewed finally, really just to shut him up so he could speak, "But I want you to know what you're getting yourself into. You can't just wander into camp, learn what you want, and leave. Once you're a Medicine Cat, your job is to help the clan until you die. And it's not just herbs you'll have to deal with. The Clans look to StarClan for guidance. StarClan, you see, is made up of our ancestors in Silverpelt- the night sky filled with stars. We, as Medicine Cats, receive signs from them that help guide our Clan through troubled times. If you don't believe in StarClan, you can't receive any visions and you won't be able to be a true Medicine Cat. And you can't take a mate if StarClan accepts you." He paused and sighed, knowing that Zephyr probably didn't get half the words that were coming out of his mouth. But he had to try. "Do you get it now? What you're asking for? You can't just leave. You'll work only for ThunderClan. You'll never have kits..." Word Count: 394 Audience: Zephyr Comments: None

[{Otter}]

Words, words, words. StarClan. ThunderClan. Medicine Cat. Kits. Mate. Acceptance. Dreams. Signs. Zephyr's tail tip twitched in slight annoyance as the gray tomcat went on and on. Yes, yes, whatever. He didn't get half the words spoken to him, but so what? He got the gist of it. Living in the Clan. Well, that was nice. More cats to talk to, more words to pick up. No mate--so what? She-cats had always kind of swooned around him, but he'd never had much interest in them. Being raised by dogs did that to you. Besides, he'd never had any cat around him long enough to even think about falling in love with them. So what was one cat verses a whole Clan? And kits? Well, he hadn't much need of kits. Blah, blah.

What he still didn't quite get and didn't try to get was the fact that he could "never leave". What was that supposed to mean? Stormheart had left. He was out in the forest! Warriors were always coming and going from camp. How was it possible to not leave? No, it hadn't quite crossed his mind that he wouldn't be able to visit his dog family. Wouldn't be able to travel the forests anymore. But even if he had realized this, it was unlikely that Zephyr would have been deterred. His family could get along well enough with out him--he'd been coming and going with them for moons. They would be perfectly fine.

And so...what was stopping him? Nothing! He had no idea what "StarClan" was supposed to be, but he figured it was just one of those words he'd come to know in time. "So I come? I learn?" he persisted, tail waving in excitement. "Sure, I stay. No mate. That fine. Whole Clan! I come?"

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[atrb=border,0,true][bg=black] "So I come? I learn? Sure, I stay. No mate. That fine. Whole Clan! I come?" Stormheart raised his gaze to the sky. He still didn't get it! It would take forever for Zephyr to learn their ways. And another year's worth of moons to learn everything about being a Medicine Cat! Not to mention the fact that he would be litterally dogged with questions and doubts and even outright attacks on his loyalty and character. Even as he looked at the cloudy sky, though, the rain started to light up and stop, seeming to end with just one drop from a leaf landing on Stormheart's nose, despite the fact that he was in a sheltered area. He sneezed and crossed his eyes, looking at his now soaking muzzle. With a doubtful glance up to the heavens, he shook his head to clear it. Was this StarClan's idea of a joke? Letting a loner walk into camp? Whatever the case, they'd made it clear that they wanted him to stop talking and go with it. 'Alright,' he huffed up at them in a silent prayer, 'But they aren't going to like it.' "Fine," he said aloud, "I'll talk to Coldstar. But understand that he might not accept you. He's got the feelings of the clan to consider as well." With a heave, he pulled himself to his paws. The Medicine cat growled as he trudged through the mud, leading the loner to camp. 'I'll be hated for this,' he thought, 'They'll call me a traitor for leading a 'rogue' to camp. No one will trust my judgement again.' They stopped at the ravine, well hidden from any guards patrolling near the entrance to camp. "Clean yourself up," he advised, "You look like you've been dragged around by a dog. I'll go talk to Coldstar. Do not move from this spot. If a patrol sees you, tell them you've been ordered to stay put and that they should talk to me." Word Count: 330 Audience: Zephyr Comments: None

[{Otter}]

After quite some deliberation, the storm-gray tomcat finally consented. He didn't look particularly happy or excited as he spoke, but Zephyr shrugged his shoulders and flicked his tail unconcernedly. Stormheart might not seem happy, but at least he had agreed to try!

The tomcat began to talk about something or other, something having to do with appearances and mud and dogs. Zephyr didn't quite understand what he said, but the stipulation was pretty clear--he needed to clean his fur. Zephyr glanced down at his mud-caked pelt, head tilting to one side as he gazed at it. Well, sure, he was all muddy, but so what? Did Clan cats really care if other cats were dirty? Dogs never cared if they were dirty....

When Stormheart headed off, Zephyr sat his butt in the muddy water and began to groom his chest. This is going to take forever... he thought with a sigh, pausing after a few licks to look around. He realized that sitting in the mud and cleaning himself at the same time meant little sense, so he clawed his way up to a low branch and continued his grooming.


((Very bad, sorry x.x))