Land of the Misfit Clan [Mira and devyn-in-the-dark]

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Mira-Charma13

The Almighty Tallest
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  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Nonbinary
  4. Transgender
  5. Primarily Prefer Male
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I'm cool with just about anything...except the genres listed in the DON'T LIKE section.
  • Six cats set out on separate journeys.

    Strong Tallmountain, his gentle sister Whitefoot, and the ever-wily Orchid have been cast out of their mountain home by a vengeful and bigoted tribe--Tallmountain and Whitefoot for having no interest in the opposite sex and Orchid, already a bit of an outcast because of her erratic behavior, for standing up for them.

    Amber and Gray, two former Clan cats hailing from different Clans--brought together by a desperate desire to abandon the violent fighting between the Clans, and Swift, a loner who joined their ranks.

    Will these immensely different cats be able to put their differences aside and work toward the greater good? Will they be able to live as a new Clan in a new territory, in peace? Or does StarClan have other plans for them?
  • 1) It's been taken already. Sorry guys.
    2) Please feel free to read it and enjoy it!
  • Played by Mira-Charma13 Played by devyn-in-the-dark

    Clan/Tribe Outcasts
    Amber - Green eyed brown tabby she-cat. Very friendly, but sharp-witted and realistic
    Gray - Sleek blue-furred tom. Highly optimistic and enjoys large groups.

    Orchid - Long-legged white she-cat with dark black stripes. A bit eccentric.
    Swift - Long-legged, but mostly small black tom. Introverted and snappish.
    Tallmountain - Exceedingly tall cinnamon colored tom. The strong silent type.
    Whitefoot - Small but long-legged cinnamon-colored she-cat with one white foot (front left). Gentle and soft-spoken.



    Kittypets/Rogues
    Apollo [/I]- Long-furred red classic tabby tom. Laid-back and fun loving, extremely curious.
    Artemis - Long-furred silver classic tabby she-cat. Fierce, loyal, and protective.

    Frankenstein - Petite she cat with a fantastically colorful and unique coat. Sly, intelligent, and rather resourceful when it comes to Twolegplace. Mother to Sprocket and Rocket.
    Hubcap - Stocky brown tom with a long tail. Hard-headed and strong.

    Prince Ali - Handsome and fluffy long-haired red tom, resembles a little fox. High maintenance, flirtatious, and extremely arrogant.
    Rocket - Long-legged ginger tom with dark orange spots and white legs, paws, and a white belly. Has no tail and an extra toe on each foot. Outspoken and brave.
    Sprocket - Small white tom with large orange splotches, bat-like fuzzy ears, and a feathery tail. Eccentric and exceptionally intelligent--can fully understand dog and Twoleg-speak.


    Mixed StarClan
    Eagle (Peak Where Fierce Eagle Soars) - Exceptionally tall and long-legged brownish-red tom. A member of the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Protective of his family. Has a strong sense of justice.
    Ripplestar - Thickly striped brown tabby tom with golden eyes. Prefers to negotiate peacefully, but not afraid to fight for what he wants. Mate to Snakescar.
    Snow (Mountain Where Soft Snow Falls) - Pure white long-haired tom. One of the rare white cats in the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Quiet and strong.
    Snowsplash - Gray tabby tom with a white chin, neck, belly, and paws. Often grumpy and distrusting of new cats, but polite when he gets to know them. Mate to Whisperstep.
    Snakescar - White tom with snake bite scars all over his body. Quick to defend what he believes is right, but sometimes too overprotective. Mate to Ripplestar.
    Sootcloud - Black tom with long, silky fur. Rambunctious and eager to play, yet wiser than he looks.
    Sparrow (Grove Where Small Sparrow Sings) - Extremely elderly calico she-cat. Was one of the oldest cats in the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Ornery, but wise and fair.
    Whisperstep - Beautiful cream and light orange she-cat. Calm and collected, speaks with a soft voice. Mate to Snowsplash.
    Willow (River Where Beautiful Willow Thrives) - Large and heavy long-haired red and white she-cat. A member of the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Stubborn and pigheaded--hates pointless tradition.


Played by Mira-Charma13 Played by devyn-in-the-dark

Clan/Tribe Outcasts
Amber - Green eyed brown tabby she-cat. Very friendly, but sharp-witted and realistic
Gray - Sleek blue-furred tom. Highly optimistic and enjoys large groups.
Orchid - Long-legged white she-cat with dark black stripes. A bit eccentric.
Swift - Long-legged, but mostly small black tom. Introverted and snappish.
Tallmountain - Exceedingly tall cinnamon colored tom. The strong silent type.
Whitefoot - Small but long-legged cinnamon-colored she-cat with one white foot (front left). Gentle and soft-spoken.


Kittypets/Rogues
Apollo [/I]- Long-furred red classic tabby tom. Laid-back and fun loving, extremely curious.
Artemis - Long-furred silver classic tabby she-cat. Fierce, loyal, and protective.
Frankenstein - Petite she cat with a fantastically colorful and unique coat. Sly, intelligent, and rather resourceful when it comes to Twolegplace. Mother to Sprocket and Rocket.
Hubcap - Stocky brown tom with a long tail. Hard-headed and strong.
Prince Ali - Handsome and fluffy long-haired red tom, resembles a little fox. High maintenance, flirtatious, and extremely arrogant.
Rocket - Long-legged ginger tom with dark orange spots and white legs, paws, and a white belly. Has no tail and an extra toe on each foot. Outspoken and brave.
Sprocket - Small white tom with large orange splotches, bat-like fuzzy ears, and a feathery tail. Eccentric and exceptionally intelligent--can fully understand dog and Twoleg-speak.


Mixed StarClan
Eagle (Peak Where Fierce Eagle Soars) - Exceptionally tall and long-legged brownish-red tom. A member of the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Protective of his family. Has a strong sense of justice.
Ripplestar - Thickly striped brown tabby tom with golden eyes. Prefers to negotiate peacefully, but not afraid to fight for what he wants. Mate to Snakescar.
Snow (Mountain Where Soft Snow Falls) - Pure white long-haired tom. One of the rare white cats in the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Quiet and strong.
Snowsplash - Gray tabby tom with a white chin, neck, belly, and paws. Often grumpy and distrusting of new cats, but polite when he gets to know them. Mate to Whisperstep.
Snakescar - White tom with snake bite scars all over his body. Quick to defend what he believes is right, but sometimes too overprotective. Mate to Ripplestar.
Sootcloud - Black tom with long, silky fur. Rambunctious and eager to play, yet wiser than he looks.
Sparrow (Grove Where Small Sparrow Sings) - Extremely elderly calico she-cat. Was one of the oldest cats in the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Ornery, but wise and fair.
Whisperstep - Beautiful cream and light orange she-cat. Calm and collected, speaks with a soft voice. Mate to Snowsplash.
Willow (River Where Beautiful Willow Thrives) - Large and heavy long-haired red and white she-cat. A member of the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Stubborn and pigheaded--hates pointless tradition.
 
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"Come on, keep up! We need to find somewhere safe to rest tonight!" the tabby shouted over her shoulder. She stopped and sighed in exasperation, sitting down. "Really?" The blue tom joined her in staring at the third member of their group.

"Swift, come on!" the tom called back. Swift hissed at him. Gray and Amber shared a look. "Are we waiting for him again?"

Amber nodded. The two chatted back and forth while Swift lounged on the grass. He was glaring at them, stretching in the grass. Finally, he rolled to his feet and padded towards them. "I thought you wanted to find a safe place?" he mowed pointedly to Amber. The tabby merely rolled her eyes and began leading the group farther from the forest.

The sun was passing from its highest point and on its journey down when they made it to a rushing river. Gray purred happily and splashed into the shallows. He played in it for a few minutes before his focus abruptly shifted and he stared at a deeper part. Amber watched him carefully, but Swift had wandered away and was resting in the shade of a small boulder pile. Gray's paw shot out, scooping a fish out of the water and towards Amber on the shoreline. She snatched it out of the water, quickly pinning it down and killing it.

They repeated this process two more times. The three fish they had gathered were small, but they would fill the small group's bellies. Swift joined them, dragging his fish a bit farther away from the other two.
 
A short distance away, a large flock of small black birds suddenly shrieked bloody murder and poured out into the skies, apparently startled by something. High up in the middle of a massive pine tree, the branches began to shake wildly, scattering pine needles every which way as they whipped around. Angry screeching sounds and the angered flapping of large wings quickly followed this. That was definitely an owl hidden in those branches...and apparently, something was attacking it! A few tense moments passed by...and then the branches stilled completely.

The largest branch in tree, a rather bare one which oddly stuck out farther than the rest, started to tremble. A downright massive cat padded his way out onto it, his powerful jaws clamped around the throat of an unfortunate fledgling owl. Yes, it was definitely a tom. He was tall, exceptionally so, and rippling with sinewy muscle. Even from this distance he stood out like a sore paw with his ruddy cinnamon orange coat and vibrant green eyes. He prowled to the very edge of the branch, owl still in tow, and cautiously peered over. When he did, a loud yowl rang out, and then another distinctly different one.

There were two more cats down there.

As if reassured by the yowls, the huge tom allowed the owl to dangle off of the edge of the branch, teeth still clamped down hard onto its throat. He stretched his neck out, eyes squinted...and then he just let it go. The heavy fresh-kill plummeted down to earth...but it made no sound when it hit the ground, which was peculiar. The big tom's long tail swished back and forth. He promptly turned and disappeared back into the cover of the thick pine branches. More shaking indicated that he was probably making his way down.

What kind of cat climbed trees that high? Was he as skilled a climber as a squirrel?
 
Three heads snapped up as a cloud of birds erupted from the forest they had come from. Amber and Swift growled low in their throats. "Something startled them," the she-cat murmured lowly, crouched over her fish. "But what could it be? We didn't meet anything larger than ourselves in there the whole time we were in the forest."

Gray shook out the lingering water in his fur, snatching up the last few bits of meat from his fish. "Maybe it's other cats!" he meowed, excited. "Maybe they're hunting, too!"

The other tom scoffed, but his sharp reply was cut off by Amber's response. "True. Let's check it out." She, too, finished her fish and stared until Swift scowled and finished his. He grumbled as he heaved himself to his feet, sulking behind them. The three cats were quicker to reach the forest than they were to leave it, soon under the shade of the trees again.

"Anyone there?" Gray called out hopefully.
 
For the longest time, the forest around the cats yielded none of its hidden secrets. After a few moments, though, the scattered birds started coming back to the same area. They were clearly looking at something. Something they clearly didn't care for, judging by those chirps of alarm. Situated directly below that tall pine tree was a shaded meadow, dotted with wildflowers and a myriad of different plants and herbs. A few fox-lengths away from the trunk of the pine tree sat a somewhat bloodied pile of leaves and moss.

And directly adjacent to that was the source of the birds' ire.

A low and threatening growling pierced the still air. The half-eaten remains of a young owl, barely old enough to live on its own, were strewn out on the grass. Crouched over it, using his strong body to shield it from these intruding potential threats, was the massive tom that took it down. His ears were pulled back and his striking verdant eyes were nearly as wide as an owl's, honed in on the unfamiliar cats. He bared his sharp white teeth in an intimidating hiss. This tom worked his tail off to find a meal big enough for him and his two companions to share, and he wasn't about to give it up to these strangers, or even share it with them!

"Keep your distance." His voice was a low, rumbling baritone, deep and attractive. A strange and exceptionally thick accent tainted those words. He definitely wasn't from around here.

"Calm down, Tallmountain." From behind the tree, another cat peered out at the three strangers, ears pricked upward. As she prowled out from behind the trunk, it became obvious that she was a she-cat, and even more obvious that she was related to the hulking tom. They looked almost exactly alike! Save for a couple of minor details, of course--the she-cat had three black paws and one white paw, which was her front left foot. "They are just other cats, brother." Her voice also bore the foreign accent.

"I wouldn't be so complacent if I were you, Whitefoot." A meager distance away, perched on a flat-topped boulder, was a startlingly white she-cat, marred with many thick black stripes. She was definitely older than the two red cats...by a few moons or so. She, as well, had that thick accent to her voice. "We haven't exactly had the best track record with other cats as of late..." The other she-cat, apparently called Whitefoot, seemed to be reconsidering her decision to reveal her position, instead backing up so her lower half was hidden by the tree trunk. "Sorry, Orchid."
 
Swift hissed back at the other tom, a growl rumbling in his throat. He didn't trust these strangers, and their thick accents made him wish that they hadn't come back into the woods in the first place. His fur raised, tail fluffing out.

His tabby companion didn't even look at him. She and the other tom made sure to keep a respectful distance, though they weren't interested in the fresh-kill the strange tom held. The strange she-cats with the tom made Swift crouch low, growl growing in volume. This time, Amber turned and swatted him across the head with her paw before taking a few steps forward. "It's okay, we just ate. We aren't interested in your fresh-kill," she tried to soothe the strange tom.

Her attention turned to Whitefoot and Orchid next. "We truly don't mean any harm. We just wanted to see what scattered the birds, as we were here not too long ago."

"I'm happy to see other cats!" Gray chimed in, tail twisting in happiness, the complete opposite of his black companion's lashing tail. "It's nice to meet you!"

Amber smiled faintly at the blue tom's eagerness. "My name is Amber. This is Gray," she pointed her tail at the cheerful tom, "and Swift is the kit who doesn't know how to play nice." She flicked her tail in Swift's direction, ignoring his indignant yowl.
 
The large tom, fittingly called Tallmountain according to his relative, remained crouched over the owl's body, but some of the tension leaked out of his muscles and he slackened his stance some. The majority of his aggression was now focused on Swift, his tail lashing back and forth in time with the smaller black tom's. Encouraged by Tallmountain's willingness to cool down, Whitefoot strolled back out from behind the tree, confidently trotting to the tom's side. "Well...I suppose it's nice to meet you, too." The big tom bowed his head slightly, his way of a nonviolent greeting.

The white she-cat yawned widely and then rose from her perch, stretching each one of striped legs out slowly. "I am Orchid." She nodded toward the obviously related red cats. "That brute there is Tallmountain. The level-headed girl by his side is his sister Whitefoot." "Brute?" The tom echoed, angling an ear in her direction. Though his eyes were still zeroed in on Swift, he clearly took offense to the white she-cat's description of him. "Who are you calling a brute?"

Orchid opted to totally ignore Tallmountain's words. Deftly, the she-cat hopped down from the rock without making a single noise. "I apologize for the hostility. But we have not had the best of luck with other cats as of late," she explained, flanking Tallmountain on a different side. Though she seemed calm enough, this blindingly white she-cat was ready to throw down and scrap if she had to. "You see..." She raised her tail and then straightened it out. The tip of her tail pointed backward, toward the faint outline of jagged peaks and stone in the distance. "We hail from the mountains. We were driven from our home by other cats. Cats that were once like family to us."

"Yes..." Whitefoot's tail drooped. While Orchid seemed, for the most part, indifferent about having to leave her home, the red-she cat was clearly still torn up about it. "We descended the mountains to come here. We followed the river down. We are trying to find another mountain to call home."
 
Amber's whiskers twitched in amusement at Tallmountain's objection. That amusement died when she heard the story. "Gray and I used to be Clan cats. We've traveled far since leaving our Clans. There was a vicious war that we wanted no part of. It's not the same as being chased out of home by cats you used to call family, but we understand the need to find a new home."

Swift gave a short hiss, finally ceasing his growling now that the large tom was standing down. His fur lay flat but his tail kept lashing. "I got roped into joining their group. Amber hasn't let me out of her sight since we've met."

The she-cat flicked him with her tail before raising into a soft arch. "Maybe we could look for a safe place together?" Gray asked hopefully, his tail curling eagerly.

"Even if only for the night," the tabby added on. "We don't want to push you to do anything you don't feel comfortable doing." The blue tom nodded in agreement. "But there is safety in numbers the two of us haven't felt in a long while."

Leaping to his feet, the small tom turned and stalked away. "You do that. I'm going somewhere else, now that you've found others," he announced.
 
Whitefoot blinked a couple of times before tilting her head slightly to the right. "What's a Clan?" she ventured, sounding genuinely interested. "Is it anything like Tribe? We come from a Tribe." Orchid scoffed, settling down and sitting on a soft patch of grass. "A sorry excuse for a Tribe," she piped up, golden eyes flashing with fleeting anger. "You see..." She met Tallmountain's steady gaze first, and then those honey-colored orbs flickered to meet Whitefoot's suddenly mournful gaze. "Tallmountain and Whitefoot are--" She paused, bringing one paw up to swipe her tongue across it.

She had to choose her words carefully. If these cats were anything like their former Tribe brethren, then they wouldn't accept either sibling.

"...They had a disagreement with the rest of the Tribe and were promptly chased away. I sided with them in this disagreement, and as a result, I was also driven away." Orchid would never understand the motivation behind her former family's actions. Good riddance! Such ignorant cats didn't deserve to have kinship with a strong, brave tom like Tallmountain and a gentle, intelligent she-cat like Whitefoot.

The three cats all reacted differently to the suggestion Gray posed to them. Tallmountain's spine arched and his ears pulled themselves back again. Whitefoot perked up instantly, a cheerful expression on her face. Orchid remained indifferent, though her gaze was now thoughtful as she pondered the idea. Before any of them had a chance to respond, however, Swift had to go and make that grand announcement.

"My, my." It was the deep-voiced Tallmountain who spoke. His minty green gaze was still focused on Swift. "How very immature of you. How old are you, little tom? With that attitude, is it really safe for you to be wandering around outside of your nursery?" "Mountain!" Whitefoot scolded, using her brother's old Tribe name to get his attention. Orchid rolled her eyes. "I suppose there is safety in numbers. For now, anyway." She peered around, sharp eyes taking in every little detail of her surroundings. "Are you from this area? I'm assuming this terrain is familiar for you? We are used to living in the mountains. This place...it is foreign to us. We don't know where to go."
 
Swift's fur bristled again. He stalked back to the other cats, stopping only a few paw steps away from Tallmountain. His tail was stiff, raised high over his head, as he narrowed his yellow-green eyes at the tom. "Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a pregnant she-cat. She was a rogue, all on her own, and not looking forward to giving birth. It was a harsh summer, the heat chasing away most prey, and by the time she gave birth she was far too skinny."

"Swift, you don't have to -" Amber began, shooting an apologetic look at the other she-cats.

The black tom spoke over her. "Of her litter, only two were born live. One died within a few days. The other she raised just long enough for him to be able to survive without milk before abandoning him. He had to teach himself everything until he came upon a small group of other rogues. They banded together until, one day, they turned on him. Turns out they were just wanting to fatten up another cat so they would have food for certain for the coming winter."

Gray swiped a law over his face, ears pinned back and face turned away. His tail twitched in embarrassment as Swift continued talking. "Over and over again, whenever he met another group of cats, something bad happened. So he kept to himself, because the last time he was with a group of cats, they almost succeeded in killing him." Swift glared at the other tom. "The only reason I am traveling with these two is because Amber will not leave me alone." He turned around and trotted to Amber's side. "Are you going to let me leave now?"

She hooked a paw over his head, yanking him down to the ground. "No. Now shut up and stop intimidating the others." The she-cat thought back to Whitefoot's question. "I'm sorry to say I don't know what a Tribe is, so I don't know if a Clan I like that."

"I'm sorry you were chased away from your home," Gray spoke up, in an attempt to draw attention away from where Swift was struggling to get away from Amber.
 
At last, Tallmountain abandoned the guarded stance he adopted to protect his fresh-kill. He was certain now that these three new acquaintances of his weren't all that interested in stealing the remains of the owl from him. For the very first time, the huge tom showcased just how huge he actually was by straightening himself to his full height and staring straight down at the much punier Swift. He was extraordinarily tall--just about twice as tall as Whitefoot and Orchid, and even more so with Swift. With his own thick reddish tail rising to stand straight in the air, it was more than clear why the name 'Mountain' was bestowed upon him.

"How very judgmental of you." Even though he was irritated and bordering on becoming truly angry, Tallmountain's voice remained low, calm, and stalwartly even. "If you believe that every cat in this world is out to get you, at all times, then you are doomed to suffer a lonely and likely short life. What would your siblings think of your behavior, if they were alive and well now? You are nothing more than an overgrown kit..." His voice trailed off when he realized that both of his she-cat companions were leveling unimpressed stares in his direction. "I agree with Tallmountain," Orchid admitted, tail swishing around. "But focusing on the overgrown kit's immaturity will get us nowhere fast."

Whitefoot kept a wary eye on Tallmountain, and the big tom apparently didn't want to defy her. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut tight. She was the only one who made no comment on Swift's caustic behavior.

"Well..." The smaller red cat shifted her weight from her left side to her right side. She would have to think of general terms to help avoid confusion. A Clan certainly sounded similar to a Tribe...but she highly doubted that they used the same terms, or even had the same ranks. "A Tribe has a leader, who also serves as a healer. There are cats who guard the caves, and then there are cats who hunt. Young cats are trained to either guard the caves or to hunt. Expectant mothers and elders are confined to the caves and protected by the cave guards."

Orchid suddenly bristled, turning her golden gaze skyward. An ominous sound was rumbling in from the southern skies. A storm was well on its way. "...It will storm soon," she murmured, feeling uneasy. "We should head for cover." Tallmountain stooped over to clamp his jaws down on the owl's neck, fully prepared to drag it to safety. Whitefoot bounded toward a row of bushes nearby. "There's a big pile of rocks nearby that we found this morning. We were planning to bed down in the space underneath and rest for the day. We have been walking for a long time. You are more than welcome to join us."
 
Gray agreed with Orchid. He could smell the change in the air, the way rain began to form above them. "Can we?" he asked Amber, pleading with his eyes. The tabby let Swift up, nodding her head.

"As long as you don't mind, we will join you. We don't exactly have anywhere to go right now," she meowed to Orchid. She pushed Swift ahead of her, joining the other rogues. "Thank you. I know it's probably hard for you to allow us to come with you."

The blue tom bounded towards Whitefoot. "A Tribe sounds similar to a Clan. We have a leader, but they aren't also a healer. That's for what we call medicine cats. Then we have the deputy, the cat who will step in once the leader loses all nine of their lives." He stopped right beside the bushes next to the red cat. "Warriors are exactly what they sound like - they fight for the Clan. But they also do most of the hunting, especially for the Queens and Elders that can't really leave the den. Queens are the mothers, and Elders are Warriors and Queens who are too old or injured. Apprentices - young cats with Warrior mentors - mostly take care of them. The medicine cat has an apprentice of their own, but only one that apprentice is very carefully picked."

Amber caught up with the two, keeping Swift close to her. The black tom was unhappy with this, his ears pinned back, but he kept any complaints to himself. He was tired of hearing the strangers being angry and snapping back at him. "That's the simplified version of it," she told the other cats. "It can be a little complicated, but I miss it a lot of the time."

Gray's ears drooped, his tail ceasing its excited wriggle. "Me, too. I miss having so many friends, and a big family, even if most of them weren't blood family."
 
Orchid made a clucking sound with her tongue as she sauntered along, content to take the lead now that mighty Tallmountain had extra baggage to worry about. She was the elder of the two she-cats, so naturally she fell into being second-in-command in the group. "Don't mistake my hospitality for an olive branch. I will be keeping an eye on the three of you." She frowned pointedly in Swift's direction. "Especially the little kit back there. A shame he has such a sour attitude. With his small size, he could have been a fantastic hunter back home. Hunting in burrows and such." Her gaze flickered back to Tallmountain, who actually managed to overtake her lead despite the fact that he was dragging along an owl that was almost larger than he was.

"Now that's a real tom," she purred, her voice light and somewhat teasing. "Not a burrow hunter. A skilled eagle and owl hunter, more like." Tallmountain grunted, as if her words embarrassed him, but otherwise gave no reaction.

Whitefoot perked up when Gray bounded up beside her. She was more than happy to slow her pace so the two of them could walk side by side together. "Do they really have nine lives? Our leaders never have nine lives...but they do live to be much older than other cats. Our leader back home...she was new. Our extremely elderly past leader moved on to be with the Tribe of Endless Hunting, who looks over us from the heavens above. He was older than any cat I have ever seen. He was so old that he had gone blind by the time he died." All three of the Tribe cats glanced downward. A heavy cloud of grief still hung over them. Clearly, their old leader was someone they deeply respected...which meant that the new leader was the one who banished them.

"Our leader is the Teller of Pointed Stones. Or Stoneteller," Orchid added, alert as ever as she traversed this unusual territory. "We have no deputy, or any form of second-in-command. Our Stoneteller is also our healer. The Teller of Pointed Stones is the only cat who can speak to the Tribe of Endless Hunting. When the Stoneteller believes that they are close to death, they will appoint a replacement before joining the Tribe of Endless Hunting. We do not have Warriors. Some cats hunt, other cats guard the caves. But none do both. Your Apprentices sound much like our To-Bes..."

Indeed, a Tribe and a Clan sounded quite similar...perhaps they wouldn't have to find a new mountain after all.

Tallmountain was the first of the group to reach the towering pile of stones. He hurriedly ducked underneath into the one of two entrances, dragging the owl along with him. Orchid quickly followed him. Whitefoot waited outside, graciously offering to let the other three cats head in first. It was a cramped space with the owl in there, but plenty big enough for six cats to bed down and rest for a while. Tallmountain and Orchid were already tearing into the owl, obviously hungry. All three of them were still learning how to hunt all of the new prey creatures in this land--ones that weren't present on the high mountain peaks.
 
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Once she was sure that the black tom wouldn't run away, Amber dropped to the back of the group. She kept her eyes constantly moving, scanning their surroundings. Her ears were pricked, listening carefully to both the life in the forest and the conversations ahead of her. Swift stayed directly in front of her.

Gray, however, kept himself in the middle of the group next to Whitefoot. "Yes, our leaders had nine lives. It's a blessing from Starclan, so that they can lead the Clan better. The Tribe of Endless Hunting sounds like Starclan. Your ancestors, right, who watch over you and guide the Clan? Or, well, Tribe," he asked, curious. He slipped past the she-cat, making sure to stay away from the eating Tallmountain and Orchid. Although none of his group had any intention of trying to eat some, he'd rather not risk setting off protective instincts.

His tabby companion was the last to enter. She sat next to the entrance, tail curling around her paws. "I wouldn't dream of thinking you were offering anything other than a safe and dry place to stay tonight," she told Orchid. "Perhaps we could talk about between Tribes and Clans more? They sound similar in some ways."

Swift, meanwhile, had managed to slip to the back of the small space. He curled up in the corner, starting to wash his face. The black tom kept his eyes pinned warily to the taller tom. While Orchid didn't exactly like him, Tallmountain seemed to hold the most ill will towards him. Most likely because the two of them had been so tense and suspicious of each other the very first time they lay eyes on each other.
 
Tallmountain ate at quite a rapid pace, tail lashing back and forth. He was visibly unnerved by the presence of the other three cats. Bending his head down to eat like this made him vulnerable, and he wanted to finish as quickly as he possibly could. Orchid didn't seem to care as much as her larger traveling companion did. Her pace was slow and steady, and her posture was relaxed as could be...but she still kept a close eye on their visitors. Whitefoot wiggled her way into the crevice mere moments before Amber. Without a care in the world, she strode to the middle of the soft dirt clearing and flopped over onto her side, fully prepared to take it easy for a while. She was the most trusting of the three mountain cats.

"I've never heard of a StarClan before," the red she-cat admitted, meticulously lapping at her mud-encrusted paws. "It sounds similar to the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Our ancestors watch over us from high above. They speak only to the Teller of Pointed Stones, but can make their will known through omens. Every Tribe cat goes to the Tribe of Endless Hunting when they die...unless they are cast out." Whitefoot bowed her head somewhat, averting her gaze. Was that shame gleaming in those verdant eyes of hers?

"Pah!" Tallmountain lifted his head from the owl, licking her lips free of blood and bits of feather. "Obviously, the Tribe of Endless Hunting never wanted us to begin with! They would have stopped Stoneteller from banishing us if they really wanted us to stay." His short velvety fur was beginning to stand on end. "They turned their backs on us. And so we turned our backs on them." Orchid hummed under her breath, also lifting her head. "So...you do not believe in them any longer?" she pressed, a hint of amusement in her voice. Tallmountain didn't answer her. Instead, he went right back to tearing hearty chunks out of the owl. The white she-cat chuckled, licking her chops, and slowly rose from her spot.

"Good...good. We shouldn't put our faith in a Tribe that did not have faith in us. Take my place, Whitefoot. You must be hungry." The younger she-cat dipped her head, rolling back onto her feet. She made no comment on the exchange between Orchid and her brother...but occasionally, one of her muscles twitched and she held her tail up high even as she bent down to eat. The conversation clearly disturbed her. Even without her making a comment, she obviously still firmly believed that the Tribe of Endless Hunting was watching over them.

"We've been traveling for many sunrises," Orchid piped up, settling down in a comfortable spot beside a hole in the rock ceiling. She would be able to monitor the incoming storm from this position. "Our old mountain is so very far away now. We've never been this far from the mountains." She craned her neck, peering out of the hole in the rocks. "Do you have eagles here, as well?"
 
The conversation intrigued the former Clan cats, but they wisely stayed out of it. A topic such as that obviously made two of their new companions uncomfortable. Amber was the one to answer Orchid after Gray had glanced over. The blue tom wandered over to sit near Swift.

The tabby, meanwhile, lay down just inside the entrance, keeping her gaze locked on the sky. She was on the lookout just as much as Orchid, now. "We have been traveling for many moons." Her voice was soft, but a quick shake of the head made her perk up some. "There must be eagles somewhere," she replied. "Or other large birds. Do you hunt them?" Amber was curious to hear the answer. She hadn't ever thought of hunting birds large enough to carry off a cat. The thought honestly frightened her. "The most... Exotic, I guess, animal I have ever hunted was snake. It was a desperate time for Gray and I. It nearly didn't pay off."

The tom in question hissed in discomfort at the memory.
 
"Tallmountain was the only prey-hunter among our group." The stripey she-cat spared a glance toward the huge tom, who was still shoveling food down his throat. Apparently, he had an appetite that was as big as his sinewy frame. "Whitefoot was a cave guard. Myself..." A wry little smile curled her lips. "I was a bit of an outcast for many moons before being cast out for good. I never truly believed in the Tribe of Endless Hunting. And I was not afraid to say so, or to question our dated ways and traditions. That offended our old and our new Stonetellers. So I kept my distance and lived on my own. I was still friendly with many of my Tribemates, and still loosely considered to be part of a Tribe. But when I decided to side with Tallmountain and Whitefoot...I was immediately driven out alongside them. I suppose it was for the best." She raised her chin high in the air. "I did not really fit in there."

At long last, Tallmountain finished his meal and stepped back from the owl. He settled down, still close to the fresh-kill, and began licking insistently at his front paws. "I hunted eagles," he explained in his thick accent (thicker than the she-cats'), meeting Amber's gaze directly. He seemed to regard Amber as being the leader of her group. "I hunted owls, as well. To hunt eagles and fully-grown owls...you must have a group of two or three. One must kill a small prey animal, such as a rabbit or a mouse, first. Then you must leave the prey animal in an area that is exposed to the sky above and quickly hide away in dense cover. An eagle or owl, depending on the time of day, will swoop down looking for an easy meal. Then you pounce. One cat must go for the throat. The other cat, or cats, must go for the wings to keep it from escaping. A large eagle or owl is a hefty prize and will feed many cats."

"I think I remember you catching a snake once," Whitefoot declared. "Yes..." Tallmountain was looking rather proud of himself. "I rather enjoy the taste of snake." Orchid hummed under her breath. Tallmountain was a fantastic hunter. Brave and fearless in battle, as well. Before being cast out, he was one of the only cats in the entire Tribe who could take on an eagle by himself and live to tell the tale.

"Do you give your cats unique names, by the by?" Whitefoot seemed very much interested in this topic as she brought it up. "The names Tallmountain and I have now are aliases. We came up with them to distance ourselves from the tribe. We once went by Mountain and White. Our full names were Tall Mountain Where Eagles Screech and River Where White Rapids Race." "Yes..." Orchid interjected, stretching herself out even further. "And mine was Cave Where White Orchid Blooms."
 
Amber met Tallmountain's gaze evenly as he described the way to hunt an eagle or owl. "That's fascinating," she told him. "It requires teamwork and trust for everyone involved. The Clans definitely could have used a technique like that."

Gray answered the question about names. He seemed uncomfortable with Orchid's admission of not believing in something that was the equivalent of Starclan. "We do have unique names, just not in that way," he started to explain. "When a kit is born, their mother names them something easy, like Gray, or Amber, or even Swift. Then the suffix kit is added to it, making them Graykit."

The tabby continued. "Then, when they become an apprentice at six moons, the kit turns to paw. Graypaw, Amberpaw. There's a ceremony the Clan goes through. It gives each apprentice a mentor and their new name."

"Finally, once the apprentice has proven themselves to be a warrior worthy of ther Clan, they are given their final name." Here, Gray paused to try and find the right words. "Paw is replaced by something meaningful to the cat. For instance, I used to be Grayshadow, because I was only a shadow when I hunted."

"I was once called Ambersky." Amber turned to look out the entrance once more. "It was because my mother gave birth to me when the sky was an amber color, and my first hunt was done under an amber colored sky. She requested that as my name, and our leader agreed it seemed a fitting choice."

Gray nodded. "Parents can request a certain name. It usually isn't done often, but sometimes it does happen." He laughed, then said, "Of course, the whole process is a bit different for medicine cats and their apprentices. It's kind of a secret, so we don't really know how it's done."

"Don't forget about our leaders," his companion reminded him.

"Oh, right!" Tail flicking, Gray directed the last bit to Whitefoot. "When the leader meets with Starclan to gain their nine lives, they are bestowed a new name. The leader of my former Clan used to be called Robinflight because he was colored like a robin and could challenge a bird in flight with his speed. When he returned, he was called Robinstar. All Clan leaders have star replace the second half of their warrior name."

Swift rolled onto his side, yawning. "And it's rude, apparently, to not call a Clan cat by their full name." He snorted. "Amber nearly ripped my throat out when I shortened it the first time."

"The only reason I didn't was because you didn't know any better," the she-cat replied sharply. "But, as you can see, Gray and I finally dropped our warrior names. We weren't Clan cats, and it hurt to have that reminder after a while."
 
"This strategy was also useful for times when eagles or owls attacked us." Tallmountain had a quiet voice. Quiet, but also even and firm. He definitely sounded like he meant business. This would be an intimidating cat to make an enemy of. "In the mountains, food is much scarcer than it is down here. Fewer prey animals live that high up, you see. There was a lot of competition for food between predators. Eagles and owls often squared off with us to steal our prey. They also attacked us, seeing us as threats to their supply of food. Larger eagles and owls could easily take a full-grown cat. We lost many cats, as well as kits, that way."

"That's why we always split our duties between guarding the caves and hunting," Whitefoot explained, looking decidedly uncomfortable. She once saw an elderly tom, on a stroll outside the caves to stretch his old legs, taken by an eagle before her very eyes.

"We needed to keep enough cats back at the caves to fight off potential threats," Tallmountain elaborated, studying his claws absently. "Eagles often came in pairs. One male and one female--nesting pairs, searching for food for their eaglets." They couldn't afford to leave the caves unguarded, even for a few short minutes. The last time that happened before the trio left their Tribe, a mother and her two small kits were taken by a pair of eagles.

"...Were there other Clans?" Orchid pressed, ears pricking up. As she spoke up, Whitefoot rose from her place near the owl, yawning widely. After filling her belly, she was now absolutely exhausted. "Our Tribe was the only one," the white-she cat revealed, watching as Whitefoot ambled over to share warmth with her brother. "Every once in a while, strangers would wander through the area. We were always gracious to them. Offered them fresh-kill and a place to rest."

"Speaking of fresh-kill..." Tallmountain flicked an ear. "We have eaten our fill of the owl. There is still some meat left. You three are welcome to pick it clean."

A loud crack of thunder startled Whitefoot--she jumped a bit, hair fluffing out with fright. Tallmountain didn't even budge. He just curled up into as tight a ball as he could manage, wrapping his tail around his body. Orchid made a humming sound in the back of her throat. "This storm won't be letting up." That was disappointing. Orchid wanted to find a much more comfortable and safer place to settle down for the evening. "We should take advantage of the downtime and get some rest."
 
Amber flicked her tail when the first boom of thunder. She backed away a bit from the entrance, then settled back down. The tabby made sure she was comfortable before slitting her eyes. She'd be the first line of defense if something tried to take shelter here.

Meanwhile, Gray cautiously took Tallmountain up on his offer of the owl. He snagged the carcass, dropping it in front of Swift. The two Tom's ate until the fresh-kill had been reduced to bones. The black one curled up again, back fully to the corner, while his blue companion merely sat to the side of him.

"There were six Clans in that area," he answered. "But the territories were large and varied. I came from Lightclan, named so because the first leader of the Clan was named Light. We had the territory in the hills, which made it easy to defend but hard to hunt in. It also had several nice, thick, deep rivers where we would learn to fish, to make up for the lack of prey elsewhere." Gray nodded towards the she-cat at the entrance. "Amber was the next in line for Deputy of Snow clan. Their first leader was Snow's Fall, who came from the mountains. Their territory was on the edges of the forest."

He yawned. "You're right, we should get some rest." The blue tom settled himself on the opposite side of the entrance from Amber, sprawling out on his stomach. He was out in seconds.
 
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