A WALK TO WARMER WELCOMES \ joining

[TRUFFLEPELT]

His hunger had begun to get unbearable- and no longer could Truffle slack on his hunting. When that squirrel had passed into his periphery, though he did not know the forest it frolicked within, he had not considered for a moment the consequences that it might entail. Perhaps he was not meant to.

It had fled before he had begun his stalk- from some prey-induced hyperawareness, probably- and the tom had not a single qualm in following it. The complaints of his stomach were too loud to ignore anymore, too fervent to consider the possibility of something lurking in these woods that would take away the life he had been left with. Truffle's life had to be protected- that was his priority. He supposed he had to remember that one could die of hunger too.

There among a crowd of wild garlic, copper against white blooms and pungent green leaves, it sat snuffling. Fleeting pity flung itself through his gut, but he shrugged it off; its life had purpose to sustain his, and in his age he had become a master of giving prey merciful death. Claws flexed upon the grass, and he leapt, neck bit in a blur and creaking limbs keeping his balance. Standing to his full height, Truffle let a smile strike his maw.

It fell to an expression of awareness as the footsteps of his kind began to encroach his space. Or, perhaps he had encroached in theirs.​

( PENNED BY PIN )​

 

[WOLFWIND]

"Hi, old guy!" Wolf greets with astounding tact and decorum, balancing her weight on snow-bleached toes. She knew he was old cause he's all like, grey and stuff, but like, not in the way he was supposed to be. He was the color of an ash tree, brown and silver - flecked.

"Nice squirrel." she remarks, though her eyes narrowed into something dagger - like, and her tone portrayed a little more than genuineness. "I mean, preeeetty sure the one I caught yesterday was way bigger, but still," she grins, cocking her head at the tom.

"Wait, actually, you're not like, a Riverclanner are you? 'Cuz then I gotta beat you up," she says matter-of-factly, her face remaining blank as she blinks at the stranger. She didn't know what Riverclanner's smelled like, except that Azalea probably smelled like them now, ew.​

 

[emberstar]

"WE ARE THE BROKEN ONES, WHO CHOSE TO SPARK A FLAME"​

"No one is beating anyone up." She called out with a laugh as she padded over, giving Wolf a look that let her know she meant it. As long as it could be avoided, she wasn't going to have her clan starting any fights. Her gaze found the stranger on their territory with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. My name's Emberstar, nice ta meetcha!"

The squirrel between his jaws caught her eye. "What brings you around here?" she asked warmly. Though she hardly wanted to tell him to leave, she knew she had to make sure there was enough prey for her clan. With how large it had grown, that was a daunting task. If he was going to be hunting nearby them often, that was something she needed to know.​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[TRUFFLEPELT]

Oh- a cat of younger status was she who had happened upon him, as well as a molly whose face smiled against faded flame. For a moment he regarded them with blankness, especially as the young slate feline spouted off about a better catch, and spoke the name of a group that meant nothing to him. And, old guy... the nickname failed not to coax a laugh from his throat, raspy and ragged in its disuse. "RiverClan...?" A musing, out loud, that inadvertently answered her question. Someone separated from RiverClan's ranks would know the name in an instant, no matter how doddery.

A scent clung to them, similar to that of any loner who lived in forest's shade yet... more concentrated, somehow. Not cast to breezy wayside from travail and travel, but settled as if the cats themselves had settled. And, from the prior mention of an enemy clan... could this be a colony?

"I apologise," he murmured, aureate eyes flickering between the pair, uncertain of where to rest. "This squirrel... lead me here. Who are you all?"

There was a glint of anticipation in his gaze, now- a fidget flittering across his form that betrayed eagerness, even if subtle. His hunger, the fact he had bee unable to shake off the feeling he should follow that squirrel... after moons of searching, had he finally stumbled upon what he was always meant to find? ​

( PENNED BY PIN )​

 

[emberstar]

"WE ARE THE BROKEN ONES, WHO CHOSE TO SPARK A FLAME"​

"Oh, no need to apologize!" she reassured eagerly, all the more glad to do so now that he had told her he hadn't meant to compete with her clan for food. "It's not your fault it headed over here!" The statement was punctuated with a laugh.

The question of who they were brought a grin to her face. Her eyes shone with a pride that had grown alongside the ranks of her clan. She tried to stand up a little taller. "Thunderclan." she introduced confidently. "We've got a big ol' camp with a whole bunch of cats a ways into this oak forest. We live together, hunt together, we talk care of each other." The flame-point molly explained, putting special emphasis on that last bit. She was proud of how much like the family she had envisioned it to be her clan had become. Well, mostly.

"And I'm their leader." She added with no small hint of pride.​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[TRUFFLEPELT]

Her fiery disposition did not snuff from his apology- in fact it stayed as bright as ever, a laugh skittering across her tone. Oh, she seemed a lovely molly- cheery and welcoming despite the fact his weary paws had lead him to claimed land. Yellow eyes stayed smiling crescents, glittering with the infectious humour that oozed from ThunderClan's leader. And as she spoke further on the topic, Truffle cared not to hide his interest, taking the slightest step closer.

ThunderClan. It was a grand name that rang of beauty and strength, of pride and belonging. The rumbling of thunder in the sky was a sound no one could hope to miss, and... Truffle felt as if ThunderClan was the same. Loud, calling to him... the Thunder had thus beckoned him to the place he had meant to settle. How could he have missed it?

A group that lived and loved all as one, who hunted to provide and kept a cycle of purpose- oh, it was enrapturing. Yellow eyes widened in his realisation, haggard face brightening with a tusk-toothed smile upon his rounded muzzle. "My destiny," he cried, voice energised and whipped up in a rasped breath. Sweeping the squirrel in his maw, he moved to drop it at the ThunderClan leader's feet. "This squirrel... it was meant for your group and I was meant to follow it here, I am sure of it!"

He dipped his head in a bow, eyes settling shut. "My name is Truffle. I wish to join ThunderClan, to find what I was called here to do." ​

( PENNED BY PIN )​

 

[emberstar]

"WE ARE THE BROKEN ONES, WHO CHOSE TO SPARK A FLAME"​

The older tom cried out suddenly, and she gave him a bewildered look, shaken from her pride. Her little impromptu speech had been inspiring, sure, but she hadn't expected it to have this much of an effect. He dropped the squirrel at her paws and claimed it was his destiny to do so. He even bowed to her.

At that, she couldn't help but laugh.

"You don't need to bow!" she told him between her giggles, it was just so silly. No one had ever bowed to her before, and it was such a strange thought that someone would think they should. "But yeah, we'd be glad ta have ya Truffle!" she reassured, punctuating the statement with a grin. Her concerns about prey were instantly forgotten. After all, if he was joining than he was a part of the family she had to feed, not competing with it. Even if that put more of a strain on the food, that just meant she'd have to work harder to find more!​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[WOLFWIND]

Nobody's beating anyone up? Well of course Emberstar would say that, cause she's like, super weird. Her lips dip in a pout, but still, she stays quiet, for the sake of the stranger more than Ember, anyways. He seems confused, and with this, Wolf concludes that he's clean. Good!

Emberstar's description of Thunderclan is like, super boring. If she were this guy, she would've turned around right there from how lame and boring it sounded, but apparently, that was exactly what he needed to hear. My destiny, the geezer exclaims, and in an instant, an eyebrow shoots up on her face. His destiny to be lead by this dummy-cat? Unlikely! And now he's bowing? Yeesh. "Pretty sure this guy's nuts, but okay!" she exclaims, wide-eyed.​