Ashfur's ponders the answers the Bloodclan cat has given him so far. He feels some disappointment at his reluctance to discuss that mysterious dream of his, but that pales before all else the grey warrior has learned already. He finds the red eyed warrior reasonably easy to talk to, which is already well beyond his initial expectations. Talon has proven almost hospitable, in strong contrast to what Ashfur would have expected of a Bloodclan warrior. The secret of their fascinating reinforced claws lifted, the confirmation that Bloodclan does have medicine cats, multiple by the sound of it, the dangers of their life… It is hard not to be somewhat fascinated by this clan that is so fundamentally different from any clan Ashfur has ever known, yet still manages to hold some similarities. Talon comes here to escape the stress of his clan, just the same as Ashfur. They too fight to protect their clan, try their best to keep everyone fed. His thoughts are interrupted after a while as Talon launches his next question

„How many clans are there anyway? Back at the old forest, I heard that there were two clans, Tigerstar's and some other cat's… Firestar I think? After Tigerstar's death they joined together against us. But here it seems like there are more clans…"

Ashfur tilts his head, a bit surprised about Talon's remarks, more so still at the implication between his words

„Were you not at the battle? You seem old enough to have been there. I was, although I was just an apprentice at the time"

Talon hums quietly, his ears taking a bit of a droop at the question. Ashfur regrets his question at this sight. Is it a sensitive topic for Bloodclan cats? After a heartbeat, Talon shakes his head

„No, I wasn't. Scourge wanted the territory secure for when he'd return with the news of his conquest. I was send on patrol and left out from the party that went to the forest. I know my presence would have likely not made a difference, but it's hard not to feel… responsible in a way. I could have fought to defend my leader, but instead I was walking mostly empty streets again and again."

The Bloodclan warrior scoffs, anger and guilt flaring up in his eyes as he glares towards Silverpelt. Ashfur hums thoughtfully. He had never thought of Scourge as anything other than a bloodthirsty rogue, set on taking his home. The fact that the small black tom may have been important to other cats never truly occurred to him before today. Talon takes a few deep breaths and closes his eyes, slowly relaxing his expression before opening his eyes again, banishing his emotions from his red eyes.

„To answer your question…"

Ashfur fidgets a bit, hoping to lead the conversation a way that is less clearly aggravating to the dark grey cat

„There is a small misunderstanding. There are four clans, there have always been four clans. Tigerstar managed to take over Shadowclan and forged an alliance with Riverclan, creating what he called Tigerclan. To defend ourselves, we temporarily allied ourselves with Windclan, calling it Lionclan. We all fought together during the great battle, but afterwards we split back up into our four clans."

Talon observes the Thunderclan warrior, attentively absorbing what he is told, nodding slowly at the end

„I see. I can't say I quite understand why you split back up, but that does explain things"

„Starclan decreed that there'd be ever four clans. That's just the will of our ancestors"

Talon hums quietly at that, returning his gaze to the water.

„Well, you will do as you will, I reckon. Your turn again"

Ashfur hesitates. His little question earlier seems to have brought the Bloodclan warrior discomfort. He cares to know more, but not only does it seem unwise to aggravate this cat too much, he finds himself feeling a bit of sympathy. He blames himself for not having been able to do as he perceived to be his duty. Ashfur cannot help but relate to that feeling. Talon appears to take notice however and rolls his eyes

„I'm not that fragile. If you want to know something, ask."

Ashfur's ear twitches and he nods. There are many things he remains curious about, but ofter Scourge was mentioned, one burns brighter than the others

„So… who leads Bloodclan now then? When Greystripe followed behind us on the great journey, he said he encountered two toms that claimed to be the leaders, Snake and Ice I think, but they ended up running"

Ashfur looks at the dark grey warrior, cautious that he may incite discomfort, or worse yet, rage in the tom with his question. For a heartbeat, there is silence, as Talon absorbs what he's just been told. In the next, a smirk grows on him, an accompanying chuckle growing louder, to the absolute bafflement of Ashfur, amusement shining bright in his red eyes

„Snake and Ice? The leaders of Bloodclan? They actually claimed that? And then ran from a forest warrior?"

Talon's amusement seems boundless at this, as he tries his best to quiet down again, leaving Ashfur in a confused and overwhelmed state of surprise. As the Bloodclan warrior calms himself to a small smirk, he shakes his head.

„They wish that was true, alright. They wish. Out of everyone, they are the absolute last to get anywhere near that position"

Talon looks over to Ashfur, the blue eyed warrior at an absolute loss on how is to respond to this. Visibly still amused, Talon shakes his head again, his voice slowly regaining his calm composure

„Your question is not that easy to answer right now, but let me assure you, it isn't them. The clan is split on the issue. I am only telling you this, because we are now too many for your clan to take on and we will fight to protect ourselves. Any attempt will fail and cats will die."

Talon's voice takes a serious serious and his eyes slightly narrow at Ashfur, causing his fur to bristle. Innate aggression rises up in the tom as he perceives what he has many times before in the forest already, a threat to respect borders. What irony and hypocrisy from a Bloodclan warrior sitting on Thunderclan grounds. It seems Bloodclan really is more alike the any of their clans than he thought.

„That said, the clan split into factions sometime after Scourge, each now trying to reunite the clan under themselves. There were six factions."

Ashfur's ears slowly rise again, pushing past the discomfort of Talon's very clear threat, as he ponders what he is being told. As his fur slowly flattens again, he tries to speak calmly, not showing his lingering anger in his voice

„There were six… so, how many are there now?"

„Five, another has joined ours recently."

Ours? So Talon must be from one of those two factions that joined together. Since Talon was among the cats that raided Thunderclan, they probably make up at least part of the border direction twoleg-place. Bloodclan can not attack the forest unitedly as it did in the old territories, but it means that there is more then one `Bloodclan` to worry about now. Any of these factions could attack individual clans at any time. Ashfur hums thoughtfully, as he observes the currents, mulling over this information. This is cause for relief and worry both. Let alone if they all fight like Talon…

„And among Bloodclan, how strong are you?"

With a bit of surprise, Ashfur notices Talon tensing a up a little at the question, his claws sliding into the clay under the superficial dogteeth.

„How do you mean?"

„As a warrior, fighting I mean"

Talon's posture relaxes a bit again. Did he just misunderstand the question at first or did he think Ashfur implied something else?

„You mean, compared to my clanmates? Trying to size us up, are you?"

Talon hums, flicking his tail-tip, keeping the rest covering his paws still as he glances off into the sky

„I'm a decent fighter I like to think. I stand a good chance against most. That being said, there are some cats I'd be less confident about being able to defeat. A few where I'm even fairly sure a fight could only end in my death. If that answers your question"

Ashfur's ears fold back against his head. Talon beat him easily, and there are cats he acknowledges as that much more dangerous than himself? Worry grows in the blue eyed warrior, which Talon picks up on

„Most of them are a bit further away from the forest. I don't think they're your most immediate worry, especially with leafbare shielding you soon"

Ashfur's eyes sink to his own paws. And what after leafbare? He couldn't fight off Talon, he'd be of no use to his clan if those cats come after Thunderclan. As he is, he is too weak. His uselessness might end up condemning him to watch his clan's end. No wonder he isn't worth her notice… there must be a way to change that. Anger surges through the tom, his claws digging into the clay. He needs to grow better. He will never regain Squirrelflight if he can't even protect her. But how? What options are there? Talon observes Ashfur quietly. If the Bloodclan warrior is willing to sit here and talk, then perhaps, just perhaps…

Ashfur raises his gaze, meeting Talon's. A new fire burning in his blue eyes, Ashfur takes a breath, his posture straightening. Talon tilts his head, curiosity shining in his eyes at the tom's sudden change in attitude

„Train me."

„Train you?"

Ashfur nods. Maybe therein lies his purpose. It's a long shot, but he needs to grow stronger either way if he is to have any chance at all to regain what he lost. Even preserving the nothing he has know requires more of him than he currently has apparently. Maybe this is the way to do it.

„And why would I train a forest warrior?"

Talon's voice does not hint at refusal, against Ashfur's initial expectation, but rather it sounds more like a challenge. He challenges the tom to convince him, his eyes betraying that the unexpected proposal intrigues the red eyed warrior.

„This is the price for my silence on your intrusions. If I speak or you kill me here to keep me quiet, either way you won't be able to return here."

Talon hums calmly, his eyes piercing the Thunderclan warrior as he considers his words. From this close, Ashfur can clearly see that behind Talon's confident facade, he is thinking hard about this, his red eyes failing to disguise that this came unexpected to the Bloodclan warrior. But Ashfur's gaze hold firm. He failed to defeat the Bloodclan warrior, he might as well use him to grow stronger. If they are to meet regularly, he may also be able to learn even more about Bloodclan. If he is patient, he might be able to defend his clan against the twoleg-place cats when the time comes. He killed Bone with the other apprentices, maybe this time he'll stand a chance on his own. Beating back a Bloodclan raid, that would be impressive. That will have to impose the clan. It would prove once and for all that he isn't lacking, that he is the better choice.

Talon finally hums and nods

„Very well. I agree to train you, Ashfur. However, you will need to recuperate first. You'd be pushing your luck a bit much fighting with that injury"

Ashfur looks over his shoulder, a quiet hiss escaping as he sees the upper end of the cobwebs from the corner of his vision, this movement alone causing an uncomfortable pulling in his back right now

„Fine… they will keep me for a minimum of seven days for it to heal, so"

„Ten days, no earlier"

Talon looks upon the tom in all seriousness

„Patience is an important trait to possess, Ashfur. Take no foolish risk, ten days to make sure it's reasonably healed."

Ashfur returns the Bloodclan warrior's stare, trying to object but getting cut off right as he parts his jaws to speak

„My training, my rules. We do it as I say, or we don't do it. Your choice. I won't invest my time into a warrior if he might be confined to the healer's den for a moon after his first lesson."

Ashfur scoffs in annoyance. He is no apprentice anymore yet already feels treated as one again. But he does need Talon's mentoring to grow stronger. Lionpaw may be able to hold his own against him to a degree, but he'd risk injuring the apprentice going too serious again. An earnest training battle with Brambleclaw might easily turn the same way, if he can even still hold pace with the deputy in his current state. Begrudgingly, the blue eyed tom finally relents and nods.

„Fine… in ten days then. Here at the same time?"

The Bloodclan warrior nods, slowly rising to his paws

„Same time, same place, ten days. I'll be here. Now you should return though. If your healer notices you're missing, you might not even get that chance. Play it safe till then. I should get going anyway, I haven't had a moment of rest since yesterday morning…"

The dark tom shakes out his pelt, his long tail flicking off a bit of clay. Ashfur sighs, slowly rising to his paws as well. It is annoying to the extreme, but Talon speaks truth. Patience is an important trait… he's been trying to teach Lionpaw that and here he is disregarding his own lessons. Perhaps he might just learn some things that will help him in his own mentorship as well.

„Alright… see you in ten days then. Starclan light your path"

Ashfur growls inwardly as his well-wish escapes him. As if a Bloodclan warrior would care for Starclan's blessings. With a measure of embarrassment, Ashfur observes Talon giving him a look he can't quite place before the dark grey tom turns away to walk off

„Scourge guide your claws, Ashfur"

The grey Thunderclan warrior is left to stand alone at his river spot as Talon disappears between the reeds. He keeps looking at the spot among the plants the warrior left through for a while, head heavy both with the multitude of informations he's received tonight, as well as a sudden bout of tiredness. Thinking about it, he too had been awake for two full days now, the weight of which making itself known at last. He slowly returns to camp, more then ready to call it a day, unaware of the pair of amusedly intrigued blue eyes, sparkling from amid the reeds on the other side of the river.