the night air whistled as it traveled through the branches of the forest, their leaves rustling in the warm wind. bumbletail rested in his nest, his flank rising and collapsing with every breath. the faint motions of the forest ruffled the bush in front of bumbletail’s nest. with an irritating twitch of the tailtip, he opened one eye and scanned what he could see of the camp. “listen, sootstar, i know you’re new to this whole leader thing and everything, but could you be a bit quieter?” he called out, though the rustling was excessant and didn’t seem to want to stop anytime soon. the ginger tom growled softly to himself before pulling himself to his paws.

bumbletail exited his nest and stepped quietly into the camp clearing; he didn’t want to wake up orchidstep, who was sleeping a few steps away. he looked around for sootstar, but she didn’t seem to be back yet. it confused him, but an unfamiliar scent seemed to draw that thought closed. silently, he pivoted on his heel to look around for the source of the scent; it was a cat, of course, but it had to be nearby. recent and nearby. the thought repeated in his mind as he looked towards the dark forest. the only thing that moved were the swaying leaves in the treetops above.

that was, before the owner of the unnamed scent put a paw into the clan’s clearing. it was a cream cat with long fur and soft olive eyes that seemed to glitter under the moon’s light. her paws rested nearby bumbletail’s den as she leaned over to sort through the unprotected herbs. as she sunk her claws into a large borage leaf, bumbletail was already headed in her direction. she didn’t have time to drop her loot and escape before the tom had her cornered between a bush, a tree and some rocks.

“what are you doing? stealing from a clan?” bumbletail growled, approaching the she-cat. his claws unsheathed as he got closer; in turn, the cream molly pulled back her lips in a snarl, revealing a yellowing set of teeth.

“i just smelled the herbs nearby; it’s not like i’m about to kill your kits. i’m trying to provide for my own!” she retorted, her eyes narrowed and tail lashing. for a moment, bumbletail looked over the cat. she seemed to be carrying kits; in that sense, he wouldn’t chase her off, but he wasn’t about to ask and risk receiving an unsheathed paw to the face.

in response, he simply sat down atop his nest and crowned his tail over his paws. “mm, i apologize then,” he said unenthusiastically before looking back to the she-cat. they caught each other’s gaze, but bumbletail spoke first. “..your kits?”

the molly observed the tom, her irritability signaled by a flick of her tail tip. “we don’t even know each other’s names, why would i talk about my kits with a stranger?” she looked away, though she kept one eye on bumbletail, watching him from the corner of her eye.

“bumbletail. you?” he spoke flatly, wanting to hear more about her kits; though, he wouldn’t mind knowing her name, either.

“..dawn.” she mumbled, shifting herself to face bumbletail once more. though, she still kept her distance. she slowly began to unsheathe her claws and dug them into the earth below her, though she covered them with her long, fluffy tail.

“okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way,” he said nonchalantly before bringing up his previous question. “your kits? i mean, you are stealing herbs in the middle of the night. they aren’t ill, are they?” he inquired, his words holding a worried tone. which was shocking for the medicine cat, though he cast his usual mask aside. admittedly, he worried about why she was so desperate for herbs that she’d need to steal from an already small clan.

dawn rolled her eyes, which seemed to involve her entire head as well, then looked at bumbletail. “well, no, i haven’t had them yet. but i need to stock up; sure, it’s newleaf and all, but the flooding will probably hike up again and send them down to the lake. i’d much rather steal from a clan than have to fish in the rivers for a single, ripped up stalk of borage.”

bumbletail hesitated for a moment, looking at his paws. amberclan needed more cats, and she had just set up for such a killer comeback! with a mischievous smile, the ginger tom met dawn’s soft gaze. “what if you didn’t have to steal? ..amberclan needs more cats; we can always provide you and your kits what you need the most right now. prey, shelter, warmth, the works.”



dawn didn’t want to seem pathetic in her reply, but she knew he had his best intentions in mind. with a huff, as if she were exhaling her pride, dawn rose to her paws and nodded. “sure, sure. i’ll.. join.” she cringed inward at the words she had just uttered. though, she had to cast her current standing with the thought of clanlife aside; this was all for her kits. she had to protect them the best she could, and if she had to join a clan of all things to do that, no doubt she’d throw away her rogue past for these unfamiliar cats. as she peeked over bumbletail’s shoulder, she could already see how the fresh kill pile was filled with an array of catches.

the medicine cat seemed pleased with her answer, as he stepped to the right and motioned for her to walk by. “welcome to amberclan then.” dawn blinked, meeting his gaze. he responded simply with a knit smile. as she walked by, he followed her into the clearing. “you can sleep over there, by orchid.” he motioned with his muzzle towards where the longhaired grey queen slept.

dawn looked at the other queen, though she shook her head. “i’d much rather sleep alone, thank you.” bumbletail couldn’t argue with her before she had already plopped down on the opposite side of the medicine cat’s den. submissively, the tom shoved his words aside and shrugged, admitting defeat. he didn’t want to rile her into a fit, and he was still pretty tired. bumbletail slumped into his bedding and fell asleep quickly; he didn’t have any more energy to spend!