Private Territory dream in sweet major // joseph

[SABLESTAR]

"So, what's in your head right now? Where do you see yourself in the Clan?" Sablestar paused in their walk around one of the larger ponds in the pocosin, taking under the cover behind the trunk of a pine to keep away from the wind. The rain had started again, a usual occurrence his senses were getting used to, but the winter winds were chilling to the bone. He had wanted to bring Joseph into the thick of it all, truly see every corner for what it was an not some fantasy tale of grandiose from the outside.

In the thick of Clan life, it often whittled down to kill or be killed. Hunt or die trying. Hoping that you were faster than what was chasing you. A kittypet wouldn't know the world of wanting, not from the experience he's heard from him, anyhow. Cleo had been a different case... strikingly opposite to the alabaster toms. At least she didn't need so much babysitting and he could place more focus on this one's success.

"We'll take a rest here while we talk, and then I want you to try and follow a scent trail. You won't fail if you can't catch anything, just see how far you can trace it back." Small steps, slow like he had been taught.

this heart beats cold like the devil his own

• @Joseph
  "mew"
• 

  SABLESTAR— he/him ･fifty-four moons ･leader; shadowclan ･penned by gonkpilled

  a black and white tuxedo with dark amber eyes

 

[Joseph]

Though he was small for an adult, his two, shaky steps per Sablestar's confident one were solely the result of Joseph's inexperience in the waterlogged soil. While also getting pelted by cold rain. Gone were the days of solid floors and sun dried dirt; now his steps had to become practiced and precise less he get stuck in the mud mid step. He felt an unfamiliar soreness in his limbs but he didn't let it nor the occasional slip slow him down. When the duo finally took shelter from the wind, Joseph shook the water from his coat and sat down, his side hugged the fallen trunk, and his hearing cleared up.
For now-for the time being- Joseph could fend off the elements with excitement and willpower alone.

His gaze fell down the length of Sablestar's territory, taking it in from a new perspective until his ears turned at the question voiced, and his attention soon followed.
Joseph's expression remained contemplative. It was a heavy question to ask, but in his current circumstances, it was the most appropriate way to sort out the way forward. Maybe he should just be honest. "Well. I'm terrified, actually." Joseph raised a paw to wipe the weight of his soaked brow away before continuing his thought: "I was born on the streets, but I was picked up quickly. Even when the... twoleg continued to take in orphaned kits, I had no idea what they'd been through. I just helped them grow up and then they'd go to other homes. Some of them would escape back into the woods once they were strong enough. None of them would hear me out, and I never saw them again. I don't know if they even survived. ...I thought of them when I finally left the house myself. I see them in the kits energy here." Joseph frowned. "They're a lot stronger than I am. They think of survival first, as if we're made different. I wonder if I can also change. I wonder if the want to change is enough to have a place here, or if looking at it that way is…" He trailed off, making a gesture with his paw while trying to find the phrase. "...foolish?"

Joseph's paw lowered back to the ground, reflecting on his rambling. He thought of…a lot, ever since he left what was once home. "I want to have a place here. I'm going to make it work, no matter what it takes."
But… What was he good at as is? His contemplative gaze beyond Sablestar twisted slightly into uncertainty. He truly was sheltered: he had nothing to show for it. "I can…" okay. Okay, fine, this is bad. Even though Joseph went over this interaction in his head, he truly had nothing to offer and the cracks were starting to show. "I will learn. I'll hunt, I'll gather, I'll… what does everyone do here?"

 

[SABLESTAR]

An amused exhale puffed from his maw at first at Joseph's admission, but it was an honesty he could respect. Clanlife was still something the former colonists were learning, only having a few moons on Joseph of experience. They bear their new Clan names, wore their new titles, but they only followed what they were told. Few understood the meaning behind it and why, the bigger picture of what they were building upon but it wasn't important right now. They were all little strokes to this painting, after all.

Joseph dove into the tales of his life prior to the swamp and admittedly, he did not tune in to listen for all of it. His mind drifted in between the words to what was left at camp, flitting between hope that Fleapaw was under control and trying to remember if enough prey was left for Timberfrost, Cherryblaze and Embersnarl to not leave camp. The moment of silence after Joseph's speech made the tom blink, and he looked back to him with a slow nod.

"I would like to see you as a Clanmate." The want for a home came with it, the expectation that he was something more than a kittypet or loner. "There is duty for each role that keeps everything turning, but it all returns to the same need in the end. We aren't anything without food in our bellies, and hunger makes for desperation." Sablestar's tail thudded against the damp ground. "I lead by example, I decide what is worth focusing on, I keep the Clan turning. My council, my warriors, their apprentices, listen to me. Do as I say, and do it well. Caretaker's follow under this rule... but are primarily focused on our young. Watch for sickness or mischief that will do more harm than it's worth. They also hunt to keep themselves and the kits fed if there's not enough returned to camp. The only one outside any of this, is Cicadabuzz. They are ShadowClans healer, their hunt is for herbs to keep those sick kits alive and my warriors walking."

Sablestar smiled in brief recollection of faces to these ranks. "You say you're good with kits, maybe you'll end up in the nursery as a Caretaker. But before that even becomes a thought, we have to make sure you can keep yourself and those kits from going hungry. Does it make sense?"

this heart beats cold like the devil his own

• "mew"
• 

  SABLESTAR— he/him ･fifty-four moons ･leader; shadowclan ･penned by gonkpilled

  a black and white tuxedo with dark amber eyes