Warrior Cat Clans 2 (WCC2 aka Classic) is a roleplay site inspired by the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Whether you are a fan of the books or new to the Warrior cats world, WCC2 offers a diverse environment with over a decade’s worth of lore for you - and your characters - to explore. Join us today and become a part of our ongoing story!
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But then, why was he never at the border when she went to wait for him? Why had a week passed with no word, no scent, nothing? Why did she keep having to return to this strange clan's camp, sleep among the kittens she didn't know, eat amongst strangers?
True, she was better fed than before. Even in just a week, she was gaining weight. She would never be a large cat, but at least her ribs didn't stick out anymore. But where was her dad?
Unluckily for anyone around her, Maia was a volatile scrap of fur in that week. Aspenstar had said something about her staying long-term and taking a 'clan name', and Maia had had to resist the urge to claw her ears off. Returning alongside her escort from the border, she stalked back into camp, her honey eyes focused on the ground. Another day, and no dad.
Not looking where she was going, she ran headfirst into someone. "Watch where you're going!" Maia spat, the tiny tabby almost-apprentice's claws emerging as she glared up to see who had dared stand in her way.
He jumped back slightly, a small smile on his face. "Hiya!" he meowed, his tone beaming. "You must be Maia! I wanted to be your friend the first day that you came here, but then my dad had.... an issue so we didn't get a chance to!" Foxkit was a chattering boy, sweet as honey. "I like your name. We don't normally get cats with cool names here!"
The little guy peered at her with wide silvery grey eyes. He wasn't good at sensing danger, so he was painfully oblivious to her aggression. One day, he'd learn to pick up on the body language of others. For now, though, he was content with not having a care in the world.
“Yeah, I know you don’t. All your names are stupid,” Maia said harshly, looking away. She couldn’t stand the open joy and friendship in Foxkit’s gaze, not when her chest was still splintering from another day without any sign of her father. “You’re that guys son. Foxkit? The sick one or whatever? Is something wrong with your eyes too- since you can’t see where you’re walking?”
This tom was too small. Maia was unaware that she was also too small for her age, from months of undereating. All she felt for this kit was an antagonistic brand of pity.
"Well, you're awful friendly!" he found himself meowing, although the tone of his voice made it hard to picture the words as sarcastic. He blinked twice, before nodding. "Yes! I think you said he was the one who kidnapped you? But he was also the one that...." the kitten shuddered at the recollection of his father's pure, unadultrated anger. "But, that's neither here nor there! Mama told me it might be nice for you to have a friend, and Dad told me that my ability to befriend others so easily is my defining quality!" Was it really? Probably not, but you probably couldn't tell your son his defining quality was chronic illness.
He blinked. "Last I checked my eyes were good!" he chirped with a nod. "Although I guess I haven't seen Miss Cana for that one." He had seen the medicine cat for a lot of things, and he doubted he wanted to add another one. "Have you ever gone to Miss Cana?" Poor tom, so blissfully ignorant.
"I have no idea who Miss Cana is," Maia said, still watching the other cats milling around camp. "Some random she-cat looked me over on my second day, but nothing's wrong with me. I just need to eat a little more." She hadn't caught the conversation between the medicine cat and Aspenstar afterwards, when they had discussed that her mangy appearance and prominent ribs implied neglect in her upbringing.
"And I don't need friends. I'm not staying here." The kit turned away entirely, the fur along her spine bristling. "Why does everyone think I'm staying? I'm not. My dad will be back any day now, so you and your mom can shove it. Leave me alone."
With that harsh command, Maia disappeared, heading back to the small corner of the nursery she had claimed for herself. She still slept during the night, unlike these weirdos, and tomorrow morning she would be back at the border, waiting for her dad.
Maia was there faithfully, day after day, from dawn to dusk, waiting at the spot where her dad had left her. Sometimes Phantomfox would walk her out, sometimes Rosethorn, sometimes a random warrior, but Maia never tried to carry on a conversation. Still, by the end of the fourteenth day of waiting, her confidence was flagging. The sun was setting, and the forest in front of her held no sign of her father. There was a rustling behind her, and Maia's ears flattened against her head as her escort back to camp emerged.
"No need to bristle," she meowed as she padded up, her gaze shifting from the kitten to the border and back again. "We don't have to go yet if you don't want to. Unlike the others, I have no place to be afterwards." Was this exactly the truth? Not really She always had something to do, and probably something better than talking to the feral kit that was still convinced her dad was coming bac for her. It was sad, truthfully, but she figured the kitten didn't want her sympathy. There were plenty of others that had given it to her recently.
"I commend you for this, by the way," Aspenstar meowed with a blink. "If I was in your position, I would do the same." It was true; if Aspenstar was in the position of the feisty kitten, and Lostriver had dumped her on the side of the road, she would have waited for him forever. "Mind if I join, maybe help you look out?"
This was the leader lady, wasn't it? Maia wasn't great with the clan names yet, but she knew she went by Aspensomething. It was embarrassing to be having this conversation right now- probably because everyone knew by now that her dad wasn't coming back, and now Maia was just that pitiful she-kit who sat day by day, waiting for someone who wasn't there. She would've lashed out, but Aspensomething didn't look at her with any pity. The calm demeanor disarmed her slightly, and she just nodded sullenly.
They sat in silence for a long time, looking out over the setting sun, watching the still forest. Maia was grateful that Aspen didn't say anything, since the anger that simmered in her chest meant that she would've responded with acridity. As it was, the silence mellowed out her fury, boiling it down to a quiet resignation. After a stretch of time, Maia's shoulders slumped slightly. "He's not coming back, is he?" She asked, her voice barely more than a whisper, her eyes focused on the ground instead of her companion.
She was surprised how long that the two of them sat in silence, but at the same time, she really wasn't. She could imagine that the she-cat was feeling so many things right now, things that the leader would not even remotely be able to imagine. After all, she had had a happy childhood. She was her father's favorite, her parents loved each other. It wasn't until much later that things went sour. She could only imagine how it felt to be Maia, father gone into the wind.
She didn't speak immediately after she asked the question, letting the silence roll between them for one final moment before she looked at her with her green and blue eyes. The look in her eye was soft, sad maybe. She resented being the one to have to tell her this. "I cannot answer that for sure, however, unless there is evidence to the contrary, it will be better to move forward under that assumption, yes." Her words were strained. It felt strange to sound this detached to a child, but she couldn't lie and say yes. All she could do was encourage the kitten to accept this heartwrenching truth.
"I have faith that no matter what was going through his head when he left you here, he thought he was doing what was best for you. Adults, we always try to do what's best. Sometimes, it's hard to see that until you're older. Sometimes, we're just plain out wrong, and our conception of best is faulty." She looked away from her and over the horizon. "But, when he told you to accept whatever help you got, that was an act of love. If he didn't love you, he would have left you far sooner. The fact that you could talk before you got to us has to mean something, right? Maybe he just didn't think that he could take care of you the way that you deserve anymore." Was any of this going to help the kitten? It was hard to say.
Aspensomething was saying a whole lot of words, but Maia got the gist of it- the gist being he's not coming back and maybe it's for the best. For the past few days, Maia had gotten the uncomfortable feeling that the kits living here were better taken care of than she had been. They ate more than once every other day, saw their parents every day, and weren't surrounded by grown tom cats with adult senses of humor and a very faint affection for children. There was a growing realization that her father had not been a great father, and that she had been wrong. Admitting that now, after weeks of waiting for him, was embarrassing.
"Fine," Maia said, all bristles again, but not in Aspenstar's direction. "I hope he never comes back, then!" What were her options? She could chase after him, like a desperate little baby, or she could go off on her own and maybe starve with her lack of fighting and hunting skills, or... she could stay. Perhaps that was her only real option.
There was no use dwelling on it. If she had to stay, she would. It would be silly to chatter about her feelings or her father or anything that had the potential to make her eyes start smarting. She stood, heading back towards camp, as Aspenstar followed along. "I want to train if I stay," she told her. "I won't keep sleeping with the babies. I'm not a baby. I want to learn to fight."
It was hard to watch the kitten's expression change and her physicality morph. She hated being the bearer of bad news, and she felt for the kitten, even if she chose to be angry and not sad.
Her tail flicked across the ground as she spoke, trying to find a moment to cut in. "Unfortunately, I cannot shift you dens. Not yet," she started, although she knew this would probably get a reaction from the kitten. "I understand that you are older than many of your peers, but I cannot move you into the apprentice den until six moons." She looked apologetic; there really was nothing she could do about it. Starting the kitten in the high intensity training that was expected of the apprentice so young would probably seriously hurt her.
"However," she continued," there may be something I could do instead. If you agree to sleeping in the same den," she was careful not to call it a nursery, "twice a week I can bring you out in the territory and we can learn basic skills that are appropriate for your age?" It was the best she could do. Any more than twice and she would run the risk of straining Maia's muscles, right?
It was certainly less than ideal, and Maia scowled down at the ground as they walked. She knew she could be strong and fast if she was given the chance. It wasn't like she had the luxury of being anything else. If she stayed, she would hold her own, pull her weight. She would not be a charity case, like Pinesimmer had said. She would not be the sad child taken in and coddled. Maia would fight for recognition- she would be an asset.
"Fine," she said, as it wasn't like she could force Aspenstar to train her. Twice a week was better than nothing, and she wasn't that far away from six moons. "But I'm gonna catch my first mouse before I become an apprentice." She would prove her wrong, prove everyone wrong. "And I'm going to be your smartest and strongest apprentice when I turn six moons old."
