Spottedleaf and Rusty watched as the first flakes of snow began to fall from the darkened sky.
"I should probably get going before this gets worse," Spottedleaf mewed. She gave Rusty's cheek a lick. "Thanks for the food and herbs."
Rusty nodded, purring warmly. "Hurry back, and give my regards to your clan."
The medicine cat nodded and picked up the mice and herbs in her jaws, then trotted briskly out of the barn.
Rusty watched her go, before padding back deeper into the interior. He paused at a yowl from outside, and he recognized Tallstar's mew. Turning, he watched the leader slip inside, followed shortly by a ginger-furred tom.
The loner blinked in surprise when he met the other tom's green gaze, and they stared at each other for a few moments, before the other tom spoke.
"You must be Rusty."
"And you must be Jake," Rusty mewed, finding his voice. "Nice to finally meet you."
Jake winced. "I did leave you and Quince alone with the Folk all that time ago, didn't I?" He sighed. "Likely too late for apologies, but I offer them all the same."
"It's in the past, and Quince raised me well," Rusty mewed, flicking his tail dismissively. He then shifted his focus to Tallstar. "Nice to see you as well. How fares WindClan?"
"Surviving," Tallstar mewed. "Sorry for dropping by without warning. This was the first place that came to mind when I offered Jake somewhere to stay during his visit."
Rusty's whiskers twitched and he glanced at Jake. "We have room, and plenty of mice to spare. I suspect you'll be hanging around until Newleaf?"
"Not sure yet," Jake replied with a shrug. "But I'll do what I can to help out around here. I'd hate to just sit around and do nothing."
Rusty chuckled ducking his head. "We don't really do much here ourselves, especially in this season, but it'll be nice to catch up on where you've been and what you've been up to."
"And I'll happily share my stories with you," Jake mewed, before his stomach grumbled loudly. Rusty arched a brow as the kittypet grinned sheepishly.
"I'll catch you something," Rusty mewed, tasting the air for mice. He glanced at Tallstar. "Do you want anything?"
The WindClan leader shook his head. "I'll be heading back before the weather gets worse. I'm not sure if we'll be able to hold a Gathering if the weather gets any worse. Have a good evening."
He left, and Rusty flicked his tail at Jake. "Make yourself comfortable. This shouldn't take long." He turned, and nearly bumped into Barley, who was carrying two mice. He dropped them at Rusty's paws and shook his head, whiskers twitching in amusement.
"Saw them coming from upstairs and did some hunting. You're welcome."
Rusty flicked his ears in embarrassment. "What would I do without you?"
"Starve, most likely," Barley mewed dryly. He looked at Jake and nodded in greeting. "Nice to meet you. Barley. I've heard a lot about you over the moons from the cats that stop by here."
Jake blinked in surprise. "Oh really? Wasn't aware I was that popular, or well-known in these parts."
"You underestimate the influence you had on the lives you've touched," Rusty mewed.
Jake glanced at where Tallstar had vanished out into the snow. "…That's fair," he murmured, before looking at the mouse Rusty tossed to him, then at the two loners. "Sorry for the intrusion, and I hope I won't be a bother."
"We already have one old cantankerous cat. What's one more?" Barley mewed with a sigh.
Jake stared at him and Barley flicked his tail towards the back of the barn. "We took in a clan cat a while ago after she was cast out of her clan, and she's decided to stay here."
The kittypet nodded, before tucking into his mouse.
Barley watched the kittypet eat, before glancing at Rusty, then back at Jake. "You two really are alike, visually."
"Quince was…gray, I think," Rusty meowed, examining his paws. "She went east with several others once the sickness hit and I haven't seen her since."
"You didn't stay with her?" Barley asked in surprise.
Rusty nodded. "Everyone split up, mostly because they were nervous about staying in one group and possibly catching or spreading it among themselves."
"So they split up, potentially opening up the risk of spreading it over a wider area." Barley's ears flicked back. "Interesting mindset you cats have."
"They were scared," Rusty pointed out. "Nobody does smart things when they're terrified and just want to get as far away from the problem as possible."
Barley looked at him for a few moments before looking away. "Yeah," he murmured, eyes distant. He gave himself a shake and blew out his cheeks. "Well, if that's all, I'll be getting some rest."
Rusty nodded, watching the black and white loner vanish up into the second story of the barn, before turning his attention back to Jake, who had finished his mouse and was licking his lips.
Jake flicked his tail in the direction Tallstar had left. "What did he mean by a "Gathering"?"
"It's a time when the clans gather at the four oak nearby and discuss goings-on in their territories," Rusty mewed.
"Have you ever been to one?"
Rusty shook his head. "It's clan-only."
Jake pouted. "That's a shame. Seems like it'd be a great opportunity to get to know more about them."
Rusty snorted softly. "I get plenty of gossip whenever a clan cat stops by, so I don't feel like I'm missing much."
Jake's eyes brightened. "Really? What're the different clans like? I didn't really get to interact much with them back in the day, even though what I did hear fascinated me."
"They're all good hunters, although in slightly different ways due to their territory's terrain. RiverClan hunts fish, ThunderClan's mostly woodland creatures, WindClan's rabbits, and ShadowClan's essentially whatever moves."
"Sounds like ShadowClan doesn't have it that easy," Jake noted.
Rusty's whiskers twitched and he glanced towards Yellowfang's den. "They're stubborn, for better or for worse, although it's up to you whether that's a good thing or not."
"Being stubborn is good," Jake mewed. "To an extent, at least," he added thoughtfully. "I'm sure they're good cats regardless."
"Not all of them," Rusty sighed. "But the ones that are, are worth having around."
Jake nodded. "That's a relief." He gazed at Rusty for a few moments. "You seem to like the clans well enough, and you get along with the cats here. So why spend time alone out here, when you could be around so many others?"
Rusty gazed around the barn, eyes flicking from one area to the next. "I like it out here." He flicked his tail from side to side. "I have food, water, shelter, safety, all without the trappings of a kittypet, yet none of the rigidity of clan life. No borders, no hostilities with others… Just… Freedom." He looked at Jake. "Does that make sense?"
Jake snorted. "Not in the slightest, but if that's your stance on things, I see no reason to disagree." His nose twitched. "Although, I think I understand where you're coming from, from a different point of view." He looked away. "I left you and your mother because I couldn't sit still. I wanted to see what was out there, elsewhere. So I left, and explored, and found so many wonderful new things to experience, and I don't regret any of it."
"We do what we can, with what we have, as well as our abilities allow," Rusty mewed. "Because that's how we chose to live our lives."
"Now that, I can understand," Jake mewed, before biting back a yawn. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to sleep."
"There should be some loose hay you can pull together into a nest on the second floor," Rusty mewed, nodding towards some stacked boxes. "You can reach it by climbing those."
"Thank you," Jake mewed, padding towards them. He stopped and glanced back at the ginger loner, who had picked up the remains of the mice and vanished with them. Jake chuckled to himself and headed upstairs.
