Wanting to be chosen. Not sure if she belongs.

[Birdfeather]

As the lovely yet half-starved tortoiseshell reached the bank of the stream where the quarter-moon shone, to gulp down some water to soothe her dry throat she wondered thoughts that had floated across her head what seemed millions of times:

"Should I really do this, should I really sit here waiting for one of these 'Clan' cats to find me?"

"Are these 'Clan' cats trustworthy?"

"What if I starve here anyway, I haven't eaten in days!"

"Do they even exist, are they really just a story made to entertain kits?"

"Will they accept a now starving, bedraggled cat?"

As these thoughts ravaged through her mind she sniffed prey and instinctively dropped into a stalking crouch before thinking:

"If I was a Clan cat, would I mind some stranger hunting in MY territory?" The answer popped straight into Birdfeather's mind before she had even truly thought about it. "No, no, I would not."
But then her belly rumbled and she looked down and saw her ribs through her knotted, green-leaf thin fur. "But I MUST eat, or I could die..."

Before she could truly think of a solution to her problem, her rumbling belly seemed to take control of her. Birdfeather crouched down in the grass once more and she was moving forward, almost there...

Suddenly out of the misty night a twig cracked nearby, but out of her desperate hunger she could detect no scents but that of the deliciously plump mouse nibbling only a rabbit-length away. Pulling herself together and pointing her nose in the direction of that untimely distraction she realized what the smell was:
Cat.

[Shadow Spirit]

Lillystar traipsed along her Clan's borders, looking around for potential threats. Most strangers were just wayward cats looking for a new home, but there was always the chance that one could be hostile. As she came down to the riverbank to get a quick drink, she noticed the cat. Crouched in a stalking position, it hadn't seemed to notice that it was on someone else's territory.

"Care to share that mouse with its rightful owner?" she asked cooly, giving the stranger a wry smile.

[Birdfeather]

The tortoiseshell she-cat jumped at the sound of another cat's voice. "Huh? What?", she said. She turned to see a noble she-cat standing there smiling at her. "Sure.", the young cat returned the smile.

"I'm sorry about trying to catch prey in your territory. I haven't eaten in days and I was starving.", she really was very sorry, especially because she had been caught stalking prey. "I am Birdfeather. I lived in Rouge Meadows, but now I wish to come and live here, in a Clan. Who are you, if I may ask?"

[Shadow Spirit]

The mottled leader took a long look at the skinny she-cat before her. Even if she had been hostile, it didn't look like she could survive a fight.

"My name is Lillystar, leader of MistClan whose lands you walk on."

[Birdfeather]

So, she was a leader. That's what Birdfeather had expected. The tortoiseshell sat down with her tail over her paws. "May I join your Clan?", she asked politely.

She noticed that the white she-cat with different colored patches knew Birdfeather wouldn't be able to put up a fight, not that she wanted to anyway.

The new-warrior aged she-cat looked at Lillystar with her ice-blue eyes, waiting for an answer.

[Shadow Spirit]

The mottled leader blinked rapdily. No one had ever been quite so...blunt with her. Most strangers talked in circles as if it were taboo or avoided the question completely.

"Well...I suppose so." she said calmly. "Do you think you would be a strong warrior?"

[Birdfeather]

Birdfeather knew she had been straight-up, but that's how she liked it. Just get it over with, that was how she thought about it. She hated waiting so long to ask an important question, she got overly nervous too easily when she had an important issue that could effect her life, but she didn't hesitate in any way. She knew that her nervous problems mght seem like they would get in the way, but not in a fight, she'd died without question for her friends and Clanmates.

"Well, I really think I would, if I was in full health. I'm a strong cat when I'm full-fed and healthy. And I already know some ways of Clan life, my mother told me some pretty detailed stories when I was a kit.", she added. The young tortoiseshell hoped that made a difference. Maybe since I know some things I'll be better suited for a new life in a Clan already, she thought. That idea had come to her time and time again. She looked at the she-leader pleadingly, she didn't think she could survive as a rouge any longer.

[Shadow Spirit]

Lillystar nodded at the young she-cat. her words seemed sincere and she did not seem to be of frail body, just malnourished. If she was trained up and eat properly, she could turn out to be just what the clan needed.

"You might be a great warrior, but it'll take some time to get that body back in top condition, come I will take you inside and bring you a meal."

[Birdfeather]

"Really? I can join the Clan? Oh thank you very much Lillystar!", replied the tortoiseshell.

The young cat followed the mottled leader as she led her in the direction she assumed was the MistClan camp.

"Can you explain a bit about clan life to me? Before we get there I'd like to know what to expect."