If the runty interloper has anything going for him, it's his keenness to prove himself. The older tom finds himself more confident in his ability to train his apprentice when he spots a certain creamy form so soon after being summoned. He's seen forest-grown cats with less than a shred of the drive that Shimmerpaw carried, and it makes him more confident in his ability to train the boy - by a very small margin, as it were.
"Good," remarks Smogmaw through an unfazed expression, although there is a glint of approval in his eyes. He stands facing the shorter male, back turned towards the dark wilderness beyond camp. "Tonight marks the beginning of a very long process. Could take moons, maybe an entire cycle of seasons, I cannot say. But once that cycle is over, you'll have left the bounds of your prior life behind, and become one of us."
Pedantically speaking, Shimmerpaw already is a ShadowClan cat, both in name and in rank. In the eyes of the seasoned warrior, however, the lad couldn't be considered a proper clan cat until his worldview mirrored his own. "There are some things you must know before we begin," he says. The blowing wind causes the fur on his cheeks to dance as he breaks into a diatribe. "In these woods, there are three types of people. There are suckers, there are cheats, and there are the trustworthy."
"Suckers help out everybody, even when they aren't asked to, and they are taken advantage of. Cheats try to take advantage of everybody, and although they get their way for a while, people start to get tired of them and they get ostracised." Smogmaw abruptly halts his spiel and casts a glance to his rear, motioning for Shimmerpaw to trail him. He continues once the camp is a fair breadth behind them. "Thunderclan, SkyClan, those two groups are made up of suckers," he says, "and I can't say much about RiverClan, 'cause they never talk to anyone else, but know that WindClan is bustling with cheats."
Stopping in his tracks yet again, he pivots to view his apprentice. "If you haven't figured it out by now, this clan thrives in the shadows. We prowl through the night 'n keep to ourselves, and we don't let other people take advantage of us. But when a clanmate needs help, we give 'em the assistance they need, 'cause we know they'll assist us in return."
The address, despite its length, is not prepared. It's a reflection of the tom's personal philosophy, a viewpoint which hasn't been put into speech before. On one hand, he's divulging as a means to leave a lasting taste in Shimmerpaw's mouth - if Pitchstar wants him to teach the boy, then Smogmaw needs him to think exactly the same way as him. On the other hand, childish naivety isn't nearly as efficient as jaded cynicism.
"We refuse to cooperate with cheaters, we exploit suckers, and we help people who help us back," he summarises. His gruff voice is wearing thin by this point in time. "That is what it means to be trustworthy," says Smogmaw. "That's what it means to be a ShadowClan warrior."
The actual extent of how much he's spoken completely evades him. Here's hoping his little underling is a good listener. "So, I've got one question for you: are you trustworthy?"
