One Puddle, Please

[Ten]

Her initial words brought hope, though he didn't know how to respond to her gesture and just stood there like an idiot. Affection was something other cats just didn't give him... except for Hailpaw. The sting of the memory caused him to shy away from Dottedfoot's touch.

Before he could recover from that thought, he plunged back into despair with the thought of being alone with no help. "B-b-but I c-can't do a-anything b-by m-mys-self! I n-need teaching!" On this, Shortwhisker was adamant.

Many cons have discussed the possibility of a corrupt leader. They have pointed out how well cats can get along without a leader; they have pointed out how a cat could take power for personal gain alone, and many of them have fueled this belief with the number of Clanners who argue for leadership in the hope of obtaining it themselves. The thesis that the only cat who wants a Clan to have a boss is the boss himself does not take into account the total sincerity that was in Shortwhisker's eyes at that moment. "I-I n-need a l-leader."

[Cloud]

"Okay, okay, I'll help you. I promise." She smiled, then frowned a little as he backed off slightly, unsure why Shortwhisker was shying away but knowing she would respect it. The gray and white cat wondered what made Shortwhisker so; she wanted a leader too, but she didn't, technically, need one. Something must have happened to the little tom to make him so...wanting to follow.

She must try her utmost to be patient and kind with him, she knew, whatever side she chose.

"Okay, you need a leader. I understand and respect that. We all need leaders, in a sense, even if we are equal. I think I understand that now." She mused, hoping she was right. Despite her experience in life, she could never be truly sure if she was correct in something. There was always something you didn't know.

"So, Shortwhisker, what do you want to learn first?"

She smiled. She'd never had kits or an apprentice. This might be interesting.

[Ten]

At first he was excited at the prospect of having another teacher, but Dottedfoot's question brought Shortwhisker's focus back to practical reality. "I-I d-don't kn-know..." He tried to remember what she had chastised him for. "Uh... h-how do I act... 'd-decently'?" the tom asked, wondering if it had something to do with lineage and descent. He had heard the word before, of course, and had an idea of what it meant, but he wasn't sure what Dottedfoot's perception of decent behavior would be, other than it not being anything like his.

[Cloud]

The orange-eyed she-cat tipped her head to one side as she thought how best to define it.

"It's difficult to explain. Every cat has their own specific definition, but there are some things every cat should and shouldn't do, unless circumstances are extreme. And there are things every cat needs to work at. Let's start with the basics, like manners. These are tricky for everyone, but if you have at least a few manners cats will enjoy being around you more and want to listen to you. Like letting someone else take the first bite of rat if you're not particularly hungry, or taking some time to teach an orphaned kit to catch a cricket."

Dottedfoot remembered, as she spoke, some of the earliest things her mother had disciplined into her. And then she felt sad. Branchstripe must be dead by now, but surely she'd raised Drabheart, too? How could he have turned into a con? How?

[Ten]

Dottedfoot wasn't very good at explaining what she wanted him to do, Shortwhisker thought at first. Then he scolded himself for not being very good at learning. "I-I d-don't have a r-rat... so I'll f-find a k-kit!" Invigorated with this idea, the tom bounded off in search of any young cat.

[Cloud]

She was torn between laughing and groaning. The elder compromised with rolling her eyes. Silly Shortwhisker. She hadn't even told him to do that, she'd just been presenting an example.

"Listen, Shortwhisker - wait! I was just giving an example. You don't have to run off immediately. Come back here, you silly."

Her tone was light, but she did hope he would listen. There were a few more things she had to tell him first.

[Ten]

Shortwhisker skidded to a halt. Hadn't she said he should teach kits? But it didn't matter what she had said. What she was telling him now was to come back.

The tom made a U-turn and galloped back to Dottedfoot. "S-sorry! Sorry, I d-didn't..." His sentence trailed off when he found that he didn't know just what it was that he didn't.

"W-whaddu I d-do?"

[Cloud]

Dottedfoot purred. "You're so silly. Had you even thought about how you would teach a kit? Well, the first thing you do is sit here and talk with me. Not the most exciting thing, I know, but I think it'll be worth it. Let me know if I bore you to death or if I should explain something."

She paused a moment, adjusted her broken leg to a more comfortable angle, and spoke again.

"Well, first let me ask you something: You have different ways that you behave with different cats, right? Like you would behave differently with a fellow cat your age and an apprentice, and differently with a she-cat than with a tom, right?"

[Ten]

"O-okay, uh, I g-guess," he mewed, taking a seat. "I... I r-respect leaders... a-and d-deputies." That had to count, even though he didn't see what difference age or gender made. "I d-don't respect kits. They're j-just kits."

[Cloud]

Dottedfoot grimaced slightly; but then her expression returned to normal. After all, she was here to teach him. She meowed in a gentle but firm tone of voice.

"Well, you should respect kits. I'm not saying you should respect them as warriors or even apprentices, but you should have a little respect for them, because every cat deserves respect, whether they be a blind, toothless elder, a powerful leader, or a tiny kit. Because every cat's life is worth the same, and worth acknowledging as an equal. After all, we were all kits once. And kits will be warriors to fight for a Clan one day. And besides, how can you truly understand the worth of helping someone if you don't respect them?"