[O P E N] Visiting Hours [ Rain&&Willow ]

[glowlynose]

Rain tried not to let the sudden wave of PineClanners unnerve him. He really did. Unfortunately for his peace of mind, there was a drastic drop in his personal space accompanied with a bunch of new scents. He was already disliking PineClan. There were too many cats here, too many scents and voices to keep track of. It certainly kept him on his toes.

Alright. There's Willowpaw over there, and there's Juncopaw. Great. So I can pick out half the cats in here. Rain squinted, trying to sort out all of the cats that had suddenly poured in. It was only three, probably not very many by clan standards, but he had grown quite used to his solitude over the past year. He was beginning to miss it now. The voices of the other cats were buzzing around in his head, troublesome flies meant to distract him from the important thing... which was what again? He didn't know. He was in PineClan now, and Ana wasn't here. She wasn't anywhere. Actually, he was most likely right and she was dead. Maybe he should just refuse treatment and go be with her. They'd make the best couple of ghosts anybody had ever seen.

He closed his eyes, trying to force away the other cats. If he could just lose consciousness and then lose his breath, then his pulse... but no. The flies were there. They held him to this place, this place that smelled like pine trees and herbs and... life. That's why he hadn't felt completely secure in this place. It wasn't because there were so many cats, it's that it smelled like life and hope and all the good things that shouldn't have a smell but obviously did. Rain hadn't smelled life since, well, Analucia, of course.

Now was not the time to think of her. He would dream of her later anyway. Right now, Rain needed to concentrate on the living cats that were... talking to him? Why were they talking to him? Oh. They were thanking him. One of them was, anyway.

"Like ah told miss Willowpaw ovah theyah, ain't no thanks necessary. I jus' did the right thing is all, Mister... sorry, ah didn't quite catch your name, Hoss." Rain smiled, more at himself than at the PineClan deputy, but since he was facing the other tom, nobody would be the wiser. He didn't know why he was smiling at all. His legs were in a considerable amount of pain, his head was ringing, he felt too hot, and everybody thanking him was getting very old very fast. Couldn't they just send somebody as a liason to thank him very cordially from everybody and then be done with it?

"Anybody seen Mr. Flower Power lately? Ah think ah'm in need of some things of medicinal nature." Rain looked over his shoulder at Willowpaw. Surely she would know where her own brother was? Or perhaps she wouldn't realize who he was talking about? He should probably specify, just to be sure. Willowpaw probably wanted some medicine as well. "Y'know, your brother, little black cowboy. Uh... Crowpaw, that was 'is name. Anybody seen Crowpaw round 'n' about?"

Mr. Flower Power. Now that was a great one. If he ever found his kits again, he'd have to tell them a story about how a certain Mr. Flower Power saved the day by fixing up holes in a rain cloud and stopping a flood. They had always liked superhero stories.

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[Whiskers]

Willowpaw was tense. Her eyes were trained on Aspenheart, just waiting and daring him to kick Rain out. Her claws even showed themselves, and though they were small, and true, unskilled, she was sure she could make a decent sized scratch if she just put enough effort into it. The pain that would come of it would be worth it.

Luckily for Aspenheart, he was accommodating and kind and Willowpaw's claws were retracted. She visably relaxed, smiling at the deputy, a purr at the edge of her lips. She was feeling so awake now, so bright and even...good. The presence of cats were distracting her from her pain and really, the herbs had done her legs well. The swollen redness was fading and this excited her. The sooner she could get out of the medicine den, the better. The last thing she wanted was to fall behind in training, and of course, she didn't want to hang out with her brother all day.

Speaking of Crowpaw-- Willowpaw snorted and then broke out into full-out laughter when she heard what Rain called him. Mr. Flower Power?! How perfect! This cat was getting better and better by the second-- he saved her, he was funny, he called Crowpaw Mr. Flower Power. Willowpaw wanted to thank you again, just for being born. That would be overkill though, as he already got enough thanks in one day, she figured. So she let her laughter evolve into a cute giggle and she smiled, really smiled at him.

"Good one," she purred, eyes glittering. "And no, I haven't seen my brother around. He's...out looking for herbs, maybe? I"m sure he'll be returning shortly, but you can chew some poppy seeds if you're in pain." She felt proud that she had remembered what poppy seeds meant. Then again, she had inhaled quite a bit the other day, so she knew quite well just how wonderful they were.

There was a moment of silence, Willowpaw's eyes trailed on Rain studiously. She felt an overwhelming curiosity-- it came out of nowhere, this need to ask him more about his life. He was her hero and Willowpaw wanted more than his name. She wondered where he had come from and where he was going. What did he like? Where was he going to go after he healed-- and did he have to?

"So you're a loner," breathed Willowpaw, scooting closer, the depth of her eyes growing as they filled up with questions. "I'm sure you've been to sooo many interesting places-- I've only stayed in Pineclan, but I love it here of course-- but anyway...what's it like? Wandering? Don't you ever get lonely or..is it just exciting, an adventure at every corner?"

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

The silver tabby blinked. So much was happening that she felt her attention slipping as the conversation went on, interesting though it was.

She wasn't sure whether to laugh or be indignant on Crowpaw's behalf. Mr. Flower Power. It was kind of cute, but...would Crowpaw be offended by it? She didn't want to laugh in case it would have hurt his feelings, though part of her wanted to giggle. And "cowboy"...what did that mean? Juncopaw had heard of cows...was a cowboy just a young male cow? But that wouldn't make sense...Crowpaw looked nothing like a cow, from the descriptions she'd heard.

Her friend seemed so interested in the loner, almost uncommonly interested...but then, he'd saved her life, so Juncopaw supposed it was only natural. She wondered, idly, if he would want to join PineClan. Part of her hoped so - he seemed like a nice cat. But on the other paw, they barely knew him. She hated herself for being so suspicious, though. After all, she'd been an outsider, and they'd taken her in.

And the deputy's words made her anxious...surely even the strict Gingerstar could not punish such a noble cat? Yes, Rain was noble. That was reason enough to trust him, she told herself firmly. He might have made a weird joke about Crowpaw, but there was no harmful intent. She'd defend him...even if it meant going against her leader. She gulped. Could she really do that?

"I-I s-saw Crowpaw near the a-a-apprentices' den a w-while ago. M-maybe he's s-still in camp." It was hard to completely get the stutter out of her voice. Ugh.

[Pyro]

Aspenheart." He smiled. I'm no medicine cat, but perhaps you should worry less on names and more on resting."

The deputy's pale eyes glanced at Willowpaw's claws. He could barely resist a smile as they slid back into her paws. Apparently he had just missed being the apprentice's scratching post. The bond she had clearly formed with her savior was going to complicate things. If she didn't hear the answer she wanted...Well, PineClan didn't need to lose an apprentice if she went with him. And what would the rest of the clan think if she fought on the defense of a loner?

A loner that saved her life.

Aspenheart tried to wrap his mind round it all. Perhaps if he was in one of the believing clans he'd be inclined to say Rain was sent by StarClan...But that was a crap load of nothing and he knew better than to cling to kits' tales for answers. Was it just that there was real kindness in the world that just popped up sometimes to warm the hearts of some and save the lives of others? Perhaps. But why had Rain done it? What had PineClan done for him? Why was he in their territory to begin with? So many questions. And all things Rain would have to answer. When he was better, of course.

The tom glanced around. the medicine den was getting crowded, well if you could call him and Juncopaw a crowd. Willowpaw and Rain would never get any of the rest they needed if cats started parading around inside to see them.

"Juncopaw, would you like to go on a patrol to find and kill the rest of those rats? From Willowpaw's story it sounds like there could be more and we can't allow a danger like that to remain in our territory." They'd need more cats than just a deputy and an apprentice, but at least it would give them both an excuse to let the cats get some peace.

[glowlynose]

Rain gave a respectful nod to the other tom. So his name was Aspenheart. These clanners sure had odd names. Did they have a system for making their names as unusual and foreign as felinely possible? They must. Aspenheart, Gingerstar, Juncopaw, Willowpaw... what in the world was going on here? Stars weren't ginger, a cat couldn't have the heart of a tree, trees didn't have paws, and what in the blue blazes was a junco? His head ached trying to wrap his mind around it. These names made no sense. Why couldn't they just stick to simple names like his and be done with it? It was ridiculous.

"Pleased to make yer acquaintance, Aspenhear'. And there prolly ain't gonna be many of those little devils left out there, I scared 'em away pretty good. Hightailed it outta there faster 'n a speedin' locomotive." Rain smirked. That had come from a story Analucia had told him once, that bit about the speeding locomotive. He made a mental not to start saying that more often. He liked the saying. What was more, it could confuse the PineClanners. Unless they had heard the story too, they would probably never have heard of a locomotive, or even the concept of speeding. This could get fun! He was basking in the warmth his knowledge, happier than a clam at high tide.

He could have stayed in that state indefinitely had it not been for Willowpaw asking him questions. Rain had to answer. What had she said again? Oh yeah, something about being a loner and how exciting it must be. What a joke. If she saw wandering aimlessly with no purpose in life as exciting, somebody needed to give her a little wake up call.

"Well, Princess, I dunno what your definition of a loner is, but the way I see it, there's a difference between bein' a loner and jus' bein' alone. I ain't no loner 'cause loners choose that life. I'm jus' alone is all." Rain took a moment to hope that he hadn't hurt Willowpaw's delicate female feelings before continuing. You just never knew how a she-cat would react to something you said. Some days, all he'd said to Analucia was "Good morning," and it had set her off. He had to tread carefully with this one.

"O' course, that ain't to say I didn't go anywhere interesting. One day I almost fell off a cliff and into a rainbow colored pool. It smelled sorta funny. Then I turned 'round 'n' walked straight intuh a tree. Coupla days after that, nearly got stuck in a fence.

"Sure does keep yeh on yer toes. But now I got a question fer y'all. What is up with your names? They're so strange to me. I ain't nevah met a cat named like y'all are. 'S always been simple names. Rain, Sunny, Jazz, Analucia, Willow. So why are y'alls so complicated?" He shook his head in confusion, then winced when an arrow of pain shot down his spine. Perhaps those poppy seeds weren't such a bad idea after all. Where were they? Ah, there was a pile right over there. Rain took a few, just a few, because he remembered that they made him drowsy last night. He had a feeling that something was going to happen soon that he would definitely want to be awake and fully lucid for.

[/center]

[Whiskers]

Willowpaw's eager expression slowly became much more subdued as she listened to the loner. Something that Rain said had struck her hard, and it hit her in her chest. It felt like a slight...bruise. It wasn't in just one spot though. It was almost in her blood too. But blood could not be bruised, could it?

"Well, Princess, I dunno what your definition of a loner is, but the way I see it, there's a difference between bein' a loner and jus' bein' alone. I ain't no loner 'cause loners choose that life. I'm jus' alone is all."

She had never thought of this, what he said. She had always just assumed that beyond the borders of the clan was a world of nothing but excitement. But this was not the case. She forgot how much she would miss her family. Otterfur, Swallowpelt, Elmpaw...and yes, Crowpaw too. Her mentor, Ashstorm. To be a loner was no life at all, was it? Even if she found things like rainbow pools, it would not be worth it because she would be all alone.

Though of course, if she got to bring someone along, it would not be that bad. Maybe that's why Rain's life was not as exciting as she expected-- he needed a companion. A sidekick of sorts. She'd be his sidekick if she could, but she needed to become a warrior first, and she definitely didn't want to leave JUncopaw-- oh and she actually had to become leader too, she forgot about that. But maybe after ALL of that...?

Absolutely not. Pineclan was her home, Willowpaw realized. She couldn't be a loner, even with all the appeal of rainbow pools and 'speeding locomotives,' whatever those were.

"Oh...well, in Pineclan, you're never really alone-- you have moments to yourself, but...someone is always there, y'know? I can't imagine what that must be like," she meowed, though to Rain or herself, even she could not tell.

Her tone changed drastically when she heard his question though. "Oh!" she exclaimed. She could easily tell him this (and would do so before anyone else could too). "That's easy. It's really not very complicated at all. See, all our names have actual meanings connected to them. We're all named for our fur color or size or something at birth-- I was named Willowkit because I'm silver, see. And Gingerstar, well she has ginger fur, so that's pretty obvious. And when you graduate from kithood-- at six moons-- you get your apprentice name, which is just your kit name with -paw at the end instead. Juncopaw's an apprentice so she has a -paw to show that she's a student and she's in the process of learning. Same with me," she explained.

"And then," Willowpaw's eyes grew wider as she imagined her warrior ceremony. "Then when you earn your warrior name, through a lot of hard work, we have another ceremony. The leader picks out the ending that will suit you and honor...something about you. Aspenheart is named -heart because he's noble, loyal and brave. Heart is the best one. Well, I think so. Only the leader gets the honor of having a "star" in the name though."

She let the loner absorb that information. It certainly was a lot, though it wasn't confusing to her at all. All kits learned about the naming system and she had grown up around it. Names like "Analucia" were much weirder than her. After all, what did "Analucia" even say about a cat? She couldn't tell if Analucia was a tabby or maybe a white cat, maybe black? What about her personality? Yes, their naming system definitely made more sense.

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

The silver tabby nodded in agreement with her friend's words. She also felt compelled to add to them, hoping Rain wouldn't be too overwhelmed by the huge amount of information.

"Yep, Willowpaw's right. And sometimes, cats can be renamed - like No-ears, our head elder. He was originally called Patchstorm, y'see, when he was a warrior. But he got his ears clawed off while defending ForestClan, and he was renamed for the bravery he'd shown in defending them." She stopped speaking, then remembered that Rain would have no idea what ForestClan was. "ForestClan is the Clan that the cats who made the four Clans that include PineClan came from - Gingerstar and a bunch of other cats were born there. Y'see, when the old leader died, the new leader of ForestClan, Brownstar, was real corrupt and stuff. But his deputy, Cedarclaw, didn't like what he was doing, so he challenged any cat in the Clan who still followed the warrior code to leave with him to start a new Clan.

About half the Clan joined him, and they traveled until they found four new territories - and one of them is ours, see. And then he and three other cats, Gingerstar, Owlstar, and Cloudstar, made their own Clans. But since the ForestClan cats weren't even enough for one Clan, and even though most of them had gone to MeadowClan - that's Cedarstar's Clan - some went to the other new Clans, like PineClan and the other two Clans, StreamClan, Cloudstar's Clan, and FogClan, Owlstar's Clan. And they spread the word that they were looking for cats. That's how I joined, see - I used to be a kittypet, but when I heard about the Clans I came and joined. Well, I stumbled on MeadowClan at first. But it didn't really fit me, and they told me about PineClan, so I joined here. And I love it. 'Sides, Willowpaw's here. I couldn't live without her." She said warmly, thinking of the friendship she so treasured with the small gray she-cat. But then, and unbidden thought added silently, And Crowpaw.

Still, she smiled, hoping Rain had understood everything.

[Pyro]

Aspenheart nodded silently as the two apprentices answered Rain's question. They did their clan justice, knowing the laws so well. But then, they were PineClan. Of course they'd know by heart the systems that held the clan together, even if the system they spoke of now was the naming system. His eyes flashed dimly as Willowpaw mentioned his own suffix, -heart. He smiled.

"Well now, I would'n say ih was the bes'..." his whiskers twitched with amusement. Was that her honest opinion, or a try at some flattery?

He fell back into silence as the conversation moved from names to how the clans came to be. But as Juncopaw finished he felt he had to intervene. Poor Rain was going to suffer an overload from all the information...and it was starting to sound like they were educating and preparing him for permanent life in a clan. Or at the very least, enticing him to it. To seek it. To ask for it.

"Alrigh' ladies, don' overload poor Rain..." His pale green eyes flicked to the medicine den entrance. It was about time he excused himself. There was hunting to do, among other things. "I don' think Gingerstar is going to come an kick Rain out. Not while he's injured. So I think it's safe if I excuse myself to do a bit of hunting. Best to take advantage of bountiful prey while it's bountiful."

ooc: UHM. IRISHMAN OUT. x3

[glowlynose]

Oh, it was easy, was it? Not complicated at all? Rain shook his head, chuckling to himself. Of course it wouldn't seem complicated to little Willowpaw. She'd lived around this stuff her entire life. It would only seem natural to her. However, the poor gray tom found himself completely lost. So... these clanners, they had multiple names throughout their lives? What the heck? They started off with a name that described what they looked like and had 'kit' at the end, then they became an apprentice and got 'paw' at the end instead of 'kit', though he thought whoever thought up the 'paw' thing must have fallen on their head a few too many times when they were a kitten. Then, to signify the end of their training, the cat was given yet ANOTHER thing at the end of their name, and apparently that thing said the most about them. Even then, their name could still change. If they got injured too horribly or grew too old, they got another name, and if they became the leader of the clan, they got an uber special name. What was it with these clan cats and their names? Did they just get sick of being called the same thing their entire lives? Rain couldn't see why.

His mouth was open, all set to send a barrage of questions towards Willowpaw, when the other she-cat spoke up. The majority of what she said was a bunch of emotional tripe, completely off the topic of names. If there was one thing Rain hated, it was people changing the topic of conversation before he'd gotten a full understanding of the first one. It drove him crazy. Analucia had never done that, and neither had his kits. It had always been his parents. Just thinking about them made him want to go bury his claws in a nice little mouse, completely shred it. Instead, he was forced to settle for the floor of the medicine den.

It was sort of funny, though, he added after his frustration had been converted into canyons in the ground. This was exactly like something Ana had told him about once, something called a 'television talkshow'. What had her name been again? Oh, right, Oprah or something weird like that. They always talked about emotions and stuff like that on the show. Juncopaw reminded him of Oprah.

"Well now, Oprah," he said to Juncopaw, "That's a very touching story. So... you were just... allowed to join the clan? No holds barred, no questions asked, nothin'?" Rain's face pulled itself into an expression of confusion. That didn't seem like something Gingerstar would do at all. How come Juncopaw had been allowed to just join up when she'd told him that he would have to ask for permission just to enter the territory? It made no sense. Did she see him as a threat? That seemed unlikely, especially since he had absolutely no idea how to fight. Still, she wouldn't know that. She was probably reveling in the fact that he was injured like this.

The odd thing was Rain couldn't blame her for it. If he lived here, he would want to protect these cats from any possible threat. Their ways were confusing, but the PineClanners that he'd met so far, with the leader being the sole exception, each had something inexplicably endearing to them. Aspenheart had his humility and sense of duty, Juncopaw wore her heart for everybody to see, and Willowpaw had her innocence still with her. If he was in Gingerstar's position, he would feel the exact same way about what he'd done that she likely did.

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[Whiskers]

Willowpaw couldn't keep back a smile.

Rain's question was an innocent one but to Willowpaw and her herb-affected mind, it sounded like he wanted, or was, at least, interested in the concept of joining the clan. And this idea was not just pleasant to think about. It was amazing. Willowpaw had felt this strange loyalty to the loner since he jumped in front of her, and only now did she realize it, consciously acknowledge it. He had saved her and now she wanted to save him-- that's how she would return the favor. Even though he had told her she did not have to repay him, Willowpaw still felt not just the obligation to, but also the desire. And what better way to repay her hero by being his hero, by saving his life in some form?

This would be how she would do that. She caught the glimpse in his eye, heard the slight cold loneliness that grasped his words. She would save him from returning to that life of loneliness. He would join Pineclan. Hopefully.


The only problem was it was not easy to join Pineclan. Not anymore anyway. Willowpaw was born when Pineclan was already completely situated and secure, a complete clan, though smaller than the other three. They chased outsiders away, they never encouraged them to join. All loners and rogues had joined in the same span of time, when Gingerstar had first created Pineclan. There was no way she would open the doors again. No-- no! There had to be a way. Willowpaw just didn't know it yet.

"That was when Pineclan was just getting started though," Willowpaw explained for Juncopaw. "Back then, Gingerstar pretty much had to accept anyone because she had just created Pineclan and not a lot of cats wanted to join a clan that didn't believe in Starclan. So to build a strong clan, she needed a lot of potential warriors. Now...now I dunno. Gingerstar's really unpredictable. I don't know what she would do if a cat wanted to join. But then again, it's not just up to her. Aspenheart and the elders would get a say too."

Gingerstar

[/i][/color]

Gingerstar may or may not have been eavesdropping outside of the medicine cat den.

Whether she had or had not really was no issue though. What did matter was that when Aspenheart departed the den, she saw that an authority figure was needed within it. It wasn't because he came outside and found her standing at the entrance, ears forward, face drawn in a concentrated mask. It wasn't because he had given her a pointed gaze that she had hastily pretended she had planned to enter the den all along.

No, she entered the den out of pure necessity and necessity only.

Gingerstar did a quick scan of the den and found no medicine cats within its walls. This disappointed her immensely. Certainly one of her three medically-trained cats could be in the den with the injured. Or was that just too impossible? She hadn't been aware that herb collecting was a job needed for three cats-- two of which were full-grown, able-bodied ones. Instead, all she saw was a measely apprentice. Juncopaw. And Juncopaw surely had no knowledge that could be of any use to Willowpaw or Rain.

In fact, all Juncopaw was doing was making everything worse. From the outside of the den (where Gingerstar was or was not eavesdropping), Juncopaw had sounded like she had been teaching Rain a history lesson about the four clans of the forest. And the way she had said it made the clans seem so interesting. And they weren't interesting. No. Clans were boring. Her life was boring. And frustrating-- really, was it so hard for one medicine cat to be in a damn den?

All of this went unsaid though and passed along Gingerstar's eyes in the form of a flicker. It was if a leaf had fallen on a golden pond and sent small ripples outward to shore. No sound was made. But there was an impact.

"Talking about me?" she glided to the farthest corner of the den (subconsciously putting as much space as possible between herself and the loner) and sat herself down, making her her magnificent tail did not upset the piles of herbs.

"Oh, hi Gingerstar," Willowpaw greeted. "I was just telling Rain about the clans and...stuff."

"I see," Gingerstar said with a put-on indifference. "Well I hope you're not boring him to death,"-- that wouldn't be so bad--"though I dare say he does need to sleep, if he wants to make a speedy recovery. How are you feeling, Rain?"[/center][/size]