[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by mapledash

Mapledash looked between his paws, taking some time to consider his answer to this question. Was this right? Was it why he was brought here? Lost his friend? Traveled so far? To teach this clan ... about other clans? He begun to be desperate at the thought of doing all of this journey for nothing, and yet, not nothing. He had learned alot on his way here, and without Sagewhisker, he wouldn't BE here at all. This clan was the perfect chance for his clan to survive, but surviving wasn't enough now. The leaders wouldn't let him bring everyone to this place, they would probably never follow him on some random orders and promises of better place. Where he lived WAS a great place, and he knew that, the real problem was the leaders. They had to get rid of them, and maybe, just maybe, this is what was going on. This is why he and Sagewhisker traveled. This is why they suffered and struggled for: they came for help, help to defeat the leaders of the evil era.

Mapledash finally looked up, stared into grousestar's eyes, and spoke up. "I am from thunderclan, I am a thunderclan senior warrior, and I think I know exactly why I have been sent here." he meowed dramatically. He looked out through the den entrance, flicking his ear. "I need your help. And by "your" I mean the whole clan. A menace has fallen upon our clans, and we need help to rid of it." he explained. "You see, back from where I come from, there is four clans: Windclan, where Sagewhisker is from, Shadowclan, Riverclan, and finally, Thunderclan, my clan. Our clan works just like yours, aprentices, warriors, elders, patrols, duty, training, ceremonies ... belief in starclan." he added after a heartbeat of pause. "But recently," he continued, turning his head to him again, "some cats took over our clans, new leaders, and those leaders doesn't mean any good. They changed the laws, they took the suffix "night" instead of "star" in offense to starclan, they restricted anything that was related to our warrior ancestors, from sacred meetings with the medicine cats, to even speaking about them, and they treatened whoever stood against them." he finished, letting the lasts words settle in as he stayed silent for a moment.

This was the decisive moment, what would change the fate of the whole clans, what would assure starclan to survive, to still be believed in. "You have to come with me to our territory, and help us get rid of them. I beg of you." he breathed, hoping he had said the right thing, hoping he hadn't overwhelmed the leader with informations as well. He settled back, realising he had raised unconsciously his haunches, getting too emotional in his speech. He wiggled a bit and cleared his throat.

As patient as ever, he allowed the other tom to take some time before answering his question, figuring it was a lot to process at once and that really, any question he asked might be needed to be given a moment for thought. So as he waited for Mapledash to answer him, Grousestar uttered a soft yawn and gently began to rasp his tongue over his shoulder, gaze still focused on the cat before him, not at all attempting to give the cat the feeling that he was being rushed. The leader may like to live a fast paced life, but he would never rush another cat in anything. Though I can't help but wonder what he's thinking about. Is it perhaps some secret hideout that he doesn't want me to know about? A secret hideout of strange loners that have gathered somewhere past Twoleg place who have heard of Skyclan and chose to believe in them and take on warrior names? Oh the possibilities, it's so exciting! What will he reveal to me? Surely it'll be something interesting if he's taking so long to think it over! Grousestar couldn't quite help the tip of his tail from quivering in his excitement and forced himself to take a deep breath. The answers will come in due time, do not rush this cat. You would not want to be rushed if you were in his position. His mind scolded himself quietly, causing him to flick an ear in dismissal.

And finally the tom began to speak, the brown tabby stopping his short grooming session to focus purely on Mapledash and what he was going to tell him, unable to hide the excitement that coursed through him as to the answer to this strange mystery regarding this cat's origin, where he had traveled from. As the cat in front of him spoke, his head slowly began to tilt sideways, his emerald eyes glancing away in thought as he tried to process what this cat was saying to him. There's.. Another clan? Wait four other clans? And he was sent here by his clan because they need help... His eyes looked back at Mapledash as he continued to speak, explaining the troubles that the four clans are going through before he looked away again, his smile gone as a thoughtful, contemplative look took it's place, a strange look on the usually happy, excited, cheerful cat that everyone see's. I'm not quite sure anyone has seen him like this. Cats took over the clans, the new leaders, they ban the worship of Starclan, even going so far as to rejecting the suffix star and replacing it with night. Preventing medicine cats from meeting as well.. Threatening cat's who oppose them. Wrinkling his nose, he could feel a small headache coming on, this was a lot to process at once, his gaze focusing on his paws.
So there's four clans I've never heard about. That's where he's from.. And he came here in search of help because those clans are taken over by cats who greatly oppose Starclan and threaten all who oppose them, ruling with an iron paw I assume. And he... Expects me to help them.

Grousestar had remained silent the entire time, his gaze mostly focused elsewhere from the tom in front of him, but finally, his green gaze focused on Mapledash again. Looking over his demeanor, his facial features, the emotions in his eyes before slowly looking at his paws again, blinking and flicking the tip of his tail in thought.
"So... Let me get this straight Mapledash. There are four other clans, in which I've never heard about, that no other cat in Skyclan has heard about, and you are from one of them. You came here.. Looking for help for those clans because of evil cats that took over each of them and outlawed any worship of Starclan and threaten all who oppose there rule... Correct?" For once, Grousestar spoke relatively slow as he tried to piece this together correctly, his eyes still focused on his paws.
Should I believe this cat who showed up in my territory not too long ago? The fate of this clan rests on this decision, many could die if I decide to take a chance and trust this cat. The journey will be hard, especially if he said it's practically a quarter of a moon walk to them. And what if he's lying? I would never call a cat a liar without proof, but.. If he's lying, then we could have walked all of that way for nothing, lost lives over nothing.. But if he's telling the truth.... I could be saving their lives..
Taking a deep breath, the leader mulled it over in silence. This was the first big decision he had to make for this clan, the clan he loved so dearly. And never would he imagine that it would come so soon, nor come with such gravity in either choice.