Veni, vedi...vici? L0S0V0 OPEN!

[Cloudbat]

Duskstorm sighed in relief. Small that “Whisper” might be, but he was heavy, especially after being carried for a long while. Especially while he was wet, though the silver tom was tad more dry now. And a tad more awake, though she wondered if that was for the tom’s own good. She smirked to herself as she remembered his tone to Jaegerstar’s questions; he was lucky she hadn’t shortened his tail during the trip.
Though it would have been amusing. No one enjoyed being reprimanded by the stuck-up leader, but it was all well and funny when it wasn’t you.

Cheerfully aware of her hypocrisy, she sat only a few tail-lengths from him, as she, the leader, and the medicine cat sat in a semi-circle sort of thing. They’d already drawn quite a crowd – curious apprentices, warriors, and even the elders seemed interested in this mysterious little cat. And who could blame them? It had been a while since anything had happened – well, anything good.

While Whisper’s arrival may have technically not been good,at least it made a nice change from famine, sickness, and the lot of other problems that seemed attracted to StreamClan like crows on carrion.
What was even nicer was that Dovepaw, while probably somewhere in the crowd, was not in plain sight. Hurray.

The tortoiseshell was dying to say SOMETHING to the onlookers, but held her tongue, waiting for Jaegerstar. Despite all her unspoken impudence, she did respect the leader. Somewhat.

[Mockingbird]

Whisper stoically endured the trip to "camp", still not sure what that meant or where he was being taken. Every stumble from the cats carrying him caused shooting pains down his spine to the very tip of his tail. Still, he dealt with the pain silently and managed to get to their destination without giving away his pain. The cat he had been introduced to as Duskstorm let out a breath as they finally let him droop to the ground. Now that time had passed and he was more conscious, the pain in his sides and his shoulder was becoming worse, and he held back hisses of pain with every breath. He turned his head to lick his shoulder, and when he looked up, his eyes widened in surprise.

Cats were pouring out of hidden crevices in rocks and dens under bushes, the sweet scent of the cats who had brought him here overwhelmed his nose as more cats of the same scent encircled him at the center of the wide clearing. The giant rock in front of him cast a shadow over the entire area, darkening his silver fur to a murky gray. Jaegerstar was quiet, looking over the other cats without saying a word. Whisper was growing impatient, partly due to confusion, partly to pain, mostly to annoyance. He hated waiting and always had.

"Well? Somebody say something. And where am I anyway?" His sharp tongue was not deterred by the larger audience, and he snorted in frustration, thirsty again and ready to fall asleep at any moment. Still, too many cats around him were staring...and not with friendly intent. Most of them seemed agitated at his presence. He grew uncomfortable and shifted under their gazes, his ears twitching and his eyes darting from face to face. Some of them seemed amiable enough...others...he shivered and could not suppress the hiss of pain that came afterward.

He dropped his eyes and shifted again, muttering under his breath and hoping that the scrutiny would be over soon.

[Cloudbat]

Duskstorm had to give him credit; he had spirit. Most cats, after nearly drowning, would be resting. Maybe eating. But not this little goofball. And well, Jaegerstar seemed to be occupied, so screw it, she was going to talk to him. "Boo. You happy?" She said, grinning. "You're in the magnificent camp of StreamClan. What is StreamClan, you might ask? Well, obviously, we're a bunch of cats of questionable sanity who live together, hunt together, and get on each other's nerves. But we also live by a code of honor and stuff like that that's all noble and crap. Okay, I kid, it is pretty cool. Got any questions?" The answer, she suspected, was yes. She'd look forward to it. When she got back. She yawned, stretching out. She was getting hungry herself. It was still hard to get over her aversion to killing things with fur, even prey...but she spotted a nice plump fish on the pile, and snuck over to it, her lean body making its way through the crowd. Stripping off the scales to get at the tasty meat beneath, she nibbled on it delicately, fluffy tail waving. Yeah, it was asshat-ish to leave Whisper hanging. But he had plenty of suckers - um, esteemed cats - to answer his questions. [bg=ede9cb][atrb=width,469,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Pyro]

"Thank you, Duskstorm." What small humor could be found in her voice in that reply to Duskstorm was nonexistent when she turned to Whisper. The tom had a certain...gumption...that much was certain. But that did not mean he could assume that it was in his power to take such a tone with, of all cats, the leader of StreamClan. It was by her grace and her will that he was safe, within in StreamClan's very center of operations, and not dead in the river; his carcass awaiting the jaws of a myriad of scavengers. "What Duskstorm has said is true. We have taken you into the heart of StreamClan--our camp." She stalked down from her perch above them to address the kittypet further. "From your insolent tone, I gather that you cannot quite fathom what this means. I do not know how it is in the life of a kittypet such as yourself, but here, there are rules. Far from the least of those rules is a maintenance of the sanctity of our border. That is to say, it is a warrior's duty to protect said border from intruders." The grey tabby's eyes hardened. "I realize that your intrusion was beyond your control, but that does not change the fact that several of my cats risked punishment by ignoring those rules to help you. And now, by allowing you to enter our camp, we have given you an honor not given to even my fellow leaders--blessed as they are with their positions in the other clans." Jaegerstar took a breath to calm herself. Whisper was ignorant of both the clans and their ways. In all honesty she could not fault him for that. "You must have patience. If you have questions, ask them. They will be answered." At this last remark she glanced at her clanmates. She would accept his presence here, and so would they. [bg=969797][atrb=width,469,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Mockingbird]

Whisper's annoyance at Duskstorm's response was clear on his face. Humor, he was not in the mood for, but answers. Streamclan...code of honor...noble... This was far different than home. Though the cats here seemed unnerved by his presence, there was still at least some warmth from them. Even with Duskstorm's sarcasm it was apparent that she was cordial and did not wish him ill. But the others... There were glaring eyes all around him.

Whisper quieted as Jaegerstar spoke to him. He suddenly realized that she was no ordinary she-cat; she demanded respect. In his position, clearly the lowest of the group, he was by no means of rank to require answers of those around him. He grimaced at this revelation and his ears flattened, sticking straight out from his face in a rather comical manner, wet fur weighing his head down already. He sighed and dipped his head in acknowledgement of her words, a silent apology for his actions. He was not so prideful as to ignore fallacy.

Her quick glance to the rest of the present cats surprised him. She seemed to be sending them a quiet message through those last words. Was he so unwelcome by the others? He tensed as he spoke, "So...this is a clan...Streamclan...and you protect your territory from other clans. That makes sense I suppose." He quieted for a moment, "I am sorry that I put your warriors in danger, Jaegerstar. Clearly, it was not my intention. I guess the biggest question I have is what you have in mind bringing me here. If I am such a burden to you, why would you do such a thing?"

[Pyro]

Jaegerstar nodded, pleased with Whisper's apology. "It is the past now. We need not dwell on it." Whisper's question was to be expected, and Jaegerstar had been pondering its answer since his arrival. StreamClan needed warriors--that could not be denied, and here was this young male, a prime candidate. Half-drowned and a kittypet yes, but with the proper training even the smallest of kits could become the greatest of warriors. Someone just had to be willing to put the time in. StreamClan was the smallest of the clans. They couldn't afford not to be accepting of new members. And so many of them were not clanborn...Why, their medicine cat's apprentice was of kittypet heritage herself. And as for food...Leafbare could not last forever. And once taught the necessary skills, the kittypet could hunt for himself and the clan as all other warriors did. "I do such a thing because I wish to offer you a place here in StreamClan. I offer you the chance to become an asset, not a burden, to adopt our code of honor in exchange for the sacred bonds that hold us together." the she-cat smiled, and continued "From what Duskstorm has told me, I think you might find us preferable to your-ah- kittypet home. Although you could, I suppose, once you have rested and healed, just as easily turn to the life of a loner. But of course, we can offer you training that would otherwise be closed to you. Hunting is instinctual, but we can refine your skills, give you the knowledge necessary to living through the fights and challenges the life of a 'wild cat' so readily places before you." [bg=969797][atrb=width,469,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[Mockingbird]

Whisper listened intently, eyes fixed tightly on Jaegerstar's face as she spoke. An invitation to live with this 'Streamclan' of hers, an offer of training in all skills needed for the wild. Still, the anger on the faces of many of those surrounding him were disconcerting. If he joined them, would he still be an outcast? He raised his head pridefully. Why should he care what they thought of him? He knew what and who he was and that was what mattered. He could be an asset to these cats and someday they would respect him for that. He blinked slowly and gazed quietly around at the cats gathered.

"You seem to have honorable intentions here. Obviously you didn't need to save me, and you certainly had no need to bring me back to your camp. If you mean what you say, then I would be glad to stay with you and learn what you have to teach me." He looked directly into the eyes of Jaegerstar now, his own eyes fierce and determined, "I will not be a burden to you." Could he have stood he would have done so, removing himself from this demeaning position that seemed to rip the truth from his words. How could an injured, young, untrained cat ever be an asset to these strong, intelligent cats? The doubt closed in around him but he lifted his head high and looked as strong as he could, daring any of them to challenge his words.

[Cloudbat]

Om nom nom. Fish were good. The other Clans were crazy not to take advantage of this food source. But hey, their loss. Duskstorm carefully swept up the glistening scales with her paws; StarClan forbid some cat complain about those, or the head and tail. Carefully grasping the skeleton in her jaws, she wove through the crowd once more to deposit it in the pile outside camp. Because their prey smelled so strongly, StreamClan had a specific place to put it so it wouldn't stink up the whole place. She buried it in the mound, scraping the moist earth over it as she yawned, her nose running slightly. Snrk. If only there were some moss...oh well. She'd find some later. It was amazing how late it had gotten; the sun was much lower in the sky than before. Had carrying Whisper back really taken that long? Heh, the answer to that was yes, her back still ached. Hmm, she should check on the little guy. See if he was still alive. Padding back through camp, ignoring the minor protests of her Clanmates, she made her way back through to where the two silver cats were. The tortoiseshell was just in time to hear Whisper's words. Her eyebrows raised, surprised. He was unusually clear-headed for a kittypet. Especially for a young kittypet. She sighed; if she hadn't had Dovepaw, she would've loved to be his mentor, which surprised her. Had she really become so attached to him in so short a time? No...not so much him, but who he reminded her of. And Gingerkit was gone forever. Would it be so wrong to want a little brother again? "Of course you won't, Mr. High and Noble. I must admit though, for a young half-drowned kittypet, you're pretty smart. With any luck you'll survive." She winked at him, then turned to her leader, dipping her head in obeisance. "Is there anything more I can do, Jaegerstar? I apologize for leaving; I was very hungry." [bg=ede9cb][atrb=width,469,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[RiiRii]

Having become quite amused with the commotion that seemed to be emitting from Whisper, the she-cat twitched her ears as she tried to listen to the conversation despite her being so far back behind the crowd of cats in front of her. Hearing the scoff from her brother who was right beside her she linked her tail through his and leaned against him slightly; perking her ears more and twitching them she zoned into the conversation and let a meow of amusement out at the discussion. It was quiet, but she got a good listening.
"The new cat is called Whisper" Speckledfur purred towards her brother, listening to him let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Do I care what the new cat is called, Speckledfur? My interest is in why the new cat is HERE in our camp grounds." Her brother snarled, digging some dirt up with his claws. "He just better not cause any trouble." with that said, the tom turned and walked off to the fresh kill pile to eat.

Speckledfur decided to just come closer to the new male, lowering her head in respect to Jaegerstar and shifted her emerald gaze to Whisper and then Duskstorm. "Am I intruding?" She asked softly yet having an amused tone to her voice; sitting up shortly after and wrapping her tail around her forepaws.