The next time Sebastian awoke, he actually made sure to open his eyes.
It was a hard thing to, as weighed down by sleep and wariness as they were, but he managed. Blinking a few times to clear the sleep from his eyes, the tom yawned, feeling his jaw crack satisfactorily.
Next, he surveyed his surroundings, coming to the realization that he was in what appeared to be a den, beds of moss surrounding him and a few cats all bundled up on them, sleeping or grooming themselves cozily. A few glanced in his direction. One, a tortoishell she-cat, got up and padded away.
Sebastian watched her departure warily. Maybe she was off to get their leader?
"Er, hi." A voiced mewed softly.
Glancing around sharply, the tom relaxed when a young tom, whose eyes blazed with a blue fire, filled his vision.
"Oh, it's you." He found himself saying.
He perked up, "You recognize me?"
Sebastian hesitated, "I mean… you are the cat who saved me right?"
The black tom wavered, "I was the one who got help, if that's what you're asking."
"Oh."
A pregnant pause bloated the air.
"So,uhm, how did you recognize me?"
"What?"
"J- just now? I don't think you actually looked at me in the forest…"
"I didn't. Your voice and smell were just kind of memorable, I guess?"
"They were?" The cat seemed flattered.
"Most cats tend to remember things that happen moments before their death."
"…oh."
Another pregnant pause.
"I'm Ravenpaw, by the way."
"Oh. I'm Sebastian. Where are we, anyways?"
"We're in Leafclan's medicine den. It's where cats go when they're not feeling well."
"Oh, cool." Not willing for the painful few moments of silence, Sebastian couldn't help but ask, "Why are you in here, then?"
Ravenpaw shifted, showing a shoulder applied with… were those chewed up leaves? And now that he thought about it, he had some on him too. Gross.
"How did you get those?" he asked.
Ravenpaw flustered, "One of the dogs managed to bite me."
"You fought the dogs." It didn't even come out as a question.
"Of course," He huffed, "I'm an apprentice, so I do know some things about fighting."
But why would you want to? I swear, if this is what these cats are like, then I'm in some serious danger here. What're they gonna fight next, huh? Badgers? I've gotta get out of here.
"So, you, uh… fight things, then."
"I mean, if you want to put it like that…"
There was an even greater pause. Before either could break it, two cats entered the den, both watching them with calculating eyes.
"Oh good, you're awake." The first tom meowed.
"Finally." The other grinned lazily.
Rolling his eyes, the first tom took a step forward. He was kind of… pretty, with some of the most beautiful eyes he'd seen, a soft shade of green, and fluffy yet sleek brown fur that had a tint of red.
"I'm Brambleberry, the medicine cat of this clan. And this is-"
"Pumastar! I remember you!" Ravenpaw exclaimed.
"What?" The black tom's eyes widened.
"You… you were at the Gathering, right? The first time I went, I mean?'
Pumastar gave a snort. "I don't know. Do leaders of the clan attend Gatherings?"
While Ravenpaw flustered, Sebastian stared in shock, "Wait, you're the leader?"
Probably the craziest of them all.
"It's like I said nothing. Nothing." Pumastar whined to Brambleberry.
"Might as well not have, for what your words are worth." Brambleberry glided forward, leaning down to poke Ravenpaw's wounds. The apprentice winced and attempted to roll away, mewling in pain. Brambleberry having none of it, placed a firm paw on the other cat's side, pinning the smaller tom to the soft bedding.
And wow, Sebastian was just noticing that these cats were huge. Broad shoulders, muscular bodies- some hidden beneath fur and longs, strong legs and sharp, glinting claws. (The claws' effect were slightly diminished when you saw some of the cats kneading the moss like kittens, but whatever. Point was- they were huge. Even Brambleberry- the smallest cat in the room, was larger than average, if only by a bit.)
To reiterate, Sebastian had to get out of here.
"Don't undermine me in front of the intruders!" Pumastar whined even more.
"Intruders?" Both toms exclaimed. Ravenpaw's sounded more worried than Sebastian's indignance.
"What else would we call you? Visitors?" A she-cat snorted.
"I was just helping!" Ravenpaw defended.
"Yeah! And it's not my fault that some stupid dogs tried to kill me!"
"Regardless. You did enter our territory without any form of permission. Good intentions aside." Pumastar snorted. "Ravenpaw, Grassclan will pick out your punishment." The black apprentice winced, "Now, you…" He trailed off.
Sebastian gaped, "What? That's not even fair! I don't even know you!"
"Well, you're gonna get to know us real well after today. You, my young friend, are gonna be an apprentice."
Sebastian choked on the air. Ravenpaw seized up. Even Brambleberry and the other cats jerked their heads up and swiveled their necks to stare at Pumastar. Only the she-cat from before seemed amused.
"What?"
"Pumastar, what are you talking about?" Brambleberry managed to ask, voice coming out forced and slow.
"This cat here? He's gonna be an apprentice. And he's gonna be happy about it."
"What? Says who?!"
"Me." The tom had the gall to respond.
"I, for one, think it's a great idea." The she-cat purred.
"As most crazies would." He spat back.
The golden tabby only laughed.
"You do owe us one, you know. We did heal you and all." The leader pointed out.
…he had a point. But still, Sebastian had learned to never give in so easily. Never.
"I am not fighting any dogs anytime soon, thank you very much."
A moment of silence descended before it took flight under the buoyancy of the laughter that filled the room.
"Are mostkittypets this obtuse?"
"What? But Ravenpaw said that all apprentices do is fight!"
Said tom sank lower in his bedding.
"Oh please. Maybe that's what Grassclan cats do with their apprentices, but we Leafclanners usually don't like our apprentices facing early deaths." The golden brown cat chortled.
"Leafcream's right. You won't be doing anything so… stupid here. You'll just be learning and hunting."
Sebastian eyed him critically, "Really? Then why do you need me?"
"Any cat can be useful enough to their Clan if they're trained to be."
"So I'm just gonna be some tool then, huh?" He asked lowly.
"No. you'll be a contributing member to something." Brambleberry said. "you'll be family."
Sebastian was still cynical, "Sounds loaded."
"It's not." Pumastar's eyes met his. "Promise."
"I… can I think about it?"
This was a very big deal after all. He'd be giving up his freedom for cats he didn't even know- to serve something that was bigger than him. Sebastian didn't know if he was selfless enough for that. The loner part of him- the part that had been wandering with no one by his side ever since he could remember didn't want him to be. Why risk your life for others when you would also have to risk others being willing to risk their lives for you?
Pumastar, at least, seemed to understand. The tom's eyes softened (and huh, they were purple. Weird.), and he dipped his head.
"Take your time. Those wounds of yours will take a while to heal anyways." He departed with a wave of his tail.
The golden she-cat- Leafcream, he recalled- plodded after him, tail swishing in ease. He watched them leave in awe.