Watching Mothspots disappear into the cover of the moonlight night, Ottertail allowed herself a sigh of unease. The medicine cat was eccentric, and she still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was a very nontraditional thing to look for a new home, but she was running out of options. The situation was dire, but she knew she had some control over it. Everything in her power to keep her kits safe, would be done. And she knew very well there was power in numbers. They were less likely to get ambushed, because more cats could be aware of their surroundings, and it would make the group appear to be more imposing. Mindlessly scraping at the ground to file down her claws, she began to sleep for the night. She wondered what her kits would have thought about the entire situation. If they were to be raised in the company of these cats, what kind of hearts would they have? Brave? Strong? Merciful? Ah, those were thoughts for another day.
Seeing the females getting ready to rest, Quakepaw meandered over to Tallmountain. He tried to keep his tone even, and his orange eyes from squinting or looking stubborn or unreasonable. "Tallmountain, suppose the kittypet wants to be a warrior." He paused to think. "That would be good, because Ottertail won't be able to hunt soon." He kept his voice low, careful not to wake the sleeping queen. Ottertail and Wildflower needed much rest for the journey ahead. The simple fact was that the medicine cats they had weren't hunters, and though he could understand that in their clans, medicine cats weren't expected to hunt, this was far from a typical situation. If Lostsight wasn't blind, then perhaps he could help with the food or scouting, and Mothspots didn't seem to have his heart in the hunt.
Lostsight listened, eyes closed to the exchange between apprentice and leader. The trees were rather quiet tonight, no winds coming to rustle the branches and leaves. There was an absence of wind, which was greatly appreciated. He vaguely wondered if Mothspots would be successful in bringing back Jaegar. He had meant what he said about wanting to save more cats. The RiverClan wasn't always kind to him, especially after he had lost his sight, making him a liability, but they were good of heart. Still, he mused, Wildflower was with younglings and sooner than any of them would expect, their group would expand greatly. In the dreams he had, the cats walked with many in their ranks. However, the scene was not a happy one. There would be bloodshed. Many cats had fur crusted and red with blood, some their own. After discussing it with Tallmountain, they had agreed that having a large group would be detrimental to everyone's overall safety.
Still, what was one more cat? Wildflower and Ottertail were with child, but he and Mothspots had already predicted that at most they would have litters of threes. Kits were problematic in a moving environment, because they needed time to adjust to their world. But there was nothing that could be done but pray to StarClan that the females could hold their kits until they were somewhere safe. He had already told Ottertail he thought the kits might be due in less than one moon, which was not a good thing. They were working on a time limit. He tried to sleep, but was restless. The night was warmer than usual, but inside he was cold.
Jaegar hardly had time to hum in delight as Mothspots appeared through the hole, because he started speaking. His words were like gentle rainfall, covering him completely but he couldn't make out each individual drop. Still, he understood. Still, he was afraid. There was an urgency about the wild tom that Jaegar had never heard before, but he always knew the other was capable of it. And he heard that other's pleas with open ears, but cold feet. "Moth," He began, missing the known courtesy to call the other by his full name, "I know you've asked me before, but I'm still unsure if I should go." He was having trouble wording his thoughts. Of course he wanted to see the world beyond this red painted picket fence, but what if things were worse out of the humans' world? The other housecats knew of his fancy to Mothspots, and they had already warned him.
There was another like you, who ran off with a savagecat, they told him. She thought that he would take care of her, but only a week later our human brought her home in a bag. She had died in the wild, because the wild is unkind to those like us. If you'd seen her body, you would know that we're just trying to protect you. Looked like some animal had gored her right through, and her no-good tempter had no doubt run off with his pack. What if he couldn't protect himself against the wild? What if the savagecats other than Mothspots were cruel and attacked him? After all, it wasn't as if he'd never see-
The other cats hadn't been very kind to him. He got enough to eat, but they always tried to bully him out of his food, out of his bed, and whenever he spoke of his dreams of grandeur, they all laughed. He knew that the other cats didn't mean any harm, but that didn't stop him from disliking them. The only other cat who spoke to him and at the very least humored him was Mothspots, and if he didn't go with the other tonight, then he would never see him again. And he wanted to see the other again, he wanted to look into those green eyes while the other told him of the world beyond the fence. But actually going there was an entirely different ordeal. "I'm sorry, this is all so sudden. I... I..." He began to scamper back to the house, not wanting to see the face of his friend. "I'm sorry!" He called as he jumped through the open window into the darkened house.
He frowned, and felt a great emptiness within, as if he had made a grave mistake. It was much warmer in the house, and he made his way to the cushion he usually slept on, only to find a much bigger Maine Coon had taken his place. Hissing angrily, Jaegar sank his teeth into the other's leg, only for the other to screech violently and fling him across the room, shouting all the while. Rubbing his sore side, Jaegar looked out the window, to see if Mothspots was there. Was he crazy for thinking that maybe..? He couldn't see Mothspots out there, in the dark, but perhaps it was simply the cover of night that hid the other cat. Nevertheless, he had made up his mind. "You'll never see me again. Any of you." He hissed to the stupid cats as he slipped through the open window into the yard. Whether he could find Mothspots in the yard that was no longer his home, or out in the woods, it wouldn't matter. He was going to have an adventure.
