Is It Bad I'd Like to Live Again?

[Cloud]

Dottedfoot sat near the walls, looking up. She'd been lucky today - she'd managed to scavenge a few crickets and a lizard. But what about tomorrow? She sighed. This enclosure was nothing but a place of torture, it seemed. And it would be so until a Clan was formed.

She'd heard rumors of an experiment to make a Clan...but it seemed almost too good to be true. Besides, what use would she be?

"It's like I'm useless even for my own cause." She muttered to herself. Somehow the sound of her own voice was slightly comforting.

[Ten]

Woodstripe roamed the edges of her universe, reflecting on her latest accomplishment. The experiment had begun. Its responsibilities and obligations were off her shoulders now that a leader and deputy had been elected, but where she should have felt relief, she also felt restlessness. Spiderstripe and Redstream had replaced her authority. With the leader was off on a rat hunt, and without any orders from the deputy, Woodstripe had descended into her own musings on the future of the experiment when she heard Dottedfoot's voice.

Although she did not know what Dottedfoot's cause was, she felt compelled to offer a reassuring reply. "No cat is ever useless," the tabby mewed, approaching with soft pawsteps and blinking eyes. "All of us play a part in a grand scheme of life and death, just as, one day, we will all make our own contributions to the welfare of a Clan. Each cat is like a stone or a branch in the wall, holding up the rest." She said this with a warm smile, thinking herself profound.

[Cloud]

Inspired, the gray and white she-cat looked with astounded orange eyes at the tabby. Her face looked familiar....she could swear knew the name to go with it. She certainly was smart, and a Clanner, too, whoever she was. In a respectful voice, she mewed, "Thank you. Those words...they don't take away the pain, but they inspire me to work through it, even though... well, I'm glad to see that you, like me, believe in the strength and power of a Clan." That sounded okay...didn't it? At least this cat seemed nice, which in itself was something to be grateful for. She almost reminded the elderly cat of Nightfur...

[Rebecca]

Littlestorm sat a little ways away from the two she-cats, muzzle pushed down onto forepaws. He glanced at them from the corner of his eye, listening to their conversation. He, being the horrible eavesdropper, decided to put his own two cents in whether they appreciated it or not.
'What a silly and stupid notion,' he thought smugly, 'of course they'd want to hear what I think about the matter, whatever it is!' Pushing himself to his feet, the small grey and white cat padded over to them.

"Of course,” He meowed, butting in to their conversation. "Some are more important than others. Yes, we all play a role in the grand scheme of things but sometimes a role is so insignificant that it isn't worth playing. However, everyone's role does seem to contribute to the clan in some way and I suppose that is what matter most."
Littlestorm meowed, frowning when he realized how the other two cats towered over him.

ooc.
I'm not sure how much they appreciated that, Littlestorm. ._.;

[Cloud]

"Insignificant." Said Dottedfoot quietly. The courage that the brown she-cat's words had inspired had been promptly smashed by this new tom's careless speech. The fact that he'd obviously been eavesdropping barely even mattered. She was insignificant; and the realistic part of her knew it. The gray and white she-cat knew she was being sensitive, but she couldn't help it.

"I guess I'm not worth playing, then." She suddenly growled, more loudly. "But isn't that the point of a Clan, to take care of even those who are the so-called 'insignificants', as you say?"

Anger had made the old she-cat stare the small tom in the face, orange eyes meeting green ones. "What makes one role more important than another?" Even as Dottedfoot said it, she knew how stupid it sounded. Of course a leader's role was far more important than some old cat's. Still, she felt like she needed to fight somehow, to prove that even she, old, broken-legged Dottedfoot, was worthy of a place in a Clan. Stupid, she thought and winced at her own words.

OOC: Ah, Dottedfoot. Trying to tone yourself down but you can't help being a warrior inside. x3

[Rebecca]

Littlestorm met Dottedfoot's gaze evenly, green eyes narrowing. She was questioning him? What, had he offended her or something? How had he made her so angry? Oh, never mind that. Obviously he hadn't meant to make her angry, so it really wasn't his fault and he shouldn't spend anymore time or thought on it. But why was she questioning him? He would have to prove his point, as no one should be questioning him.

"A leader holds the Clan together, a deputy helps the leader and eventually leads, and medicine cats heal the Clan. The better roles help the lesser roles, as that is their fate. Everyone else hunts, fights, and perhaps breeds, the end. And yes, the point of a Clan is to help the less important roles as you say."
He meowed coolly, blinking after he portrayed his twisted veiw of a Clan to them. He glanced from Dottedfoot to Woodstripe, then back to Dottedfoot.

"I'm Littlestorm, by the way. Who are you?"
The tom meowed rather bluntly, as if there had been no argument.

[Cloud]

How strange...he was agreeing with her, yet he still seemed arrogant. Dottedfoot blinked, shifting her position to make her broken leg more comfortable. "I'm Dottedfoot." She replied in a neutral tone.

[Ten]

Woodstripe had brightened at Dottedfoot's initial words, meowing, "What a pleasure to meet a fellow Clanner" -- and then Littlestorm came along. His input put her in a pause of consternation. Agreeing and saying that some Clanmates are insignificant would not only make her appear unable to adhere to her own words, but would portray her as unsympathetic to less able-bodied cats. Then again, she would prefer not to spit back a flat disagreement and ruin her chances of gaining esteem in the newcomer's eyes. Thinking fast, she came up with a tactful interpretation of Littlestorm's assertion. "Having reflected a moment, I can see some reason in what you say. A litter of kits is low in rank and does not bring prey nor impart wisdom. However, one day they may do both.

"Please, do not loose heart, Dottedfoot," Woiodstripe encouraged her. "It is clear you have the spirit of a true warrior."

Directing herself to Littlestorm again, she answered, "My name is Woodstripe. You might have seen a white tom by the name of Frozenheart. He is my brother. Now, if you do not mind, I have a question for you, Littlestorm. You mentioned a... 'medicine... cat'? What station is this? What is 'medicine'?"

[Rebecca]

Littlestorm turned to face Woodstripe, blinking. He had almost forgotten that she was there, as he hadn't heard her speak yet.

"Frozenheart? Hmm, I don't think I've seen or heard of him before. Perhaps we could meet some time. Now to be frank, I'm not all that sure what a medicine cat is supposed to be. All I can say is that it is - or well, once was - a Clan ranking, I suppose. My mother used to tell me stories of the former Clan and mentioned a medicine cat in one of them, so I'm assuming it was at least a rank. Medicine... I don't know much about that, either. It must have been important, though, if it was included in the name of a cat's supposed rank."
He meowed thoughtfully, glancing at a small crack in the Enclosure wall. It was sad to realize that he didn't know a rank, and perhaps an important one, of a Clan. However it was comforting that Woodstripe seemed just as clueless as he was on that matter.

[Ten]

"Oh, no, I am afraid Frozenheart is not pleasant company," Woodstripe rushed to say.

"Well... come to think of it, that rank does sound familiar. However, as we do not know what it is, it cannot be important. What else would we need to form a Clan besides a leader and a deputy? Selecting cats for these ranks is difficult enough, would you not agree?"