Clayclan

His name had been Chip, but he had been more than happy to trade in that name for one of a warrior. The past may not have been kind to this young tom, though he had done everything in his might to be kind to it, but the past had, as they say, passed. With his grim metal life behind him, and only new adventures to be seen, Resinstar's heart was light. He wore a most kitten-like grin as he sloughed through the belly-high drifts of snow, pouncing on every little mound. Resinstar's mittened paws were a tingly sort of numb and every step squeaked with the crackle of dry snow. The sun was shining through dark, frozen leaves and warming his pelt. Could life get any better than this?

He voiced as much to his older companion, whose footfalls made neither sound nor imprint in the drifts. "Oh it can. Just wait until you see this place during Newleaf," Claywhistle chuckled, "The sun's super warm and the trees turn this unbelievable green- like a jade beetle. Ever seen one of those? Lemme tell you- don't try and eat one. They're no good." Resinstar's eyes flashed, and darted along the canopy line. He could already imagine the twisted, bare, blackened branches alight with green fire and his mind was thirsty for the sight. Back in the junkyard green had been a scarcity, only found in dingy wrappers and Ivy's eyes. Before the new leader could get too caught up in his past, he heard a loud thwumping noise and found himself covered with powered snow. "Hey!" He sneezed, shaking off the white dust and traces of memories at the same time. A few tail lengths before him, Claywhistle was collapsed in a giggling fit "You look like a frozen hedgehog!"

"Did you just dump a tree on me?" Risenstar snorted, sneezing out more snow. "Me? Nu-uh. No way. Hey-hey I got a good one. What's red and white and smelly all over?" The answer was obvious by the tom's hopeless grinning. "You lie! Betrayal! Betrayal from my own guide- is nothing sacred?" Resinstar's words were punctuated with snorts and sneezes. He flung a pawful of snow at Claywhistle, sticking out his tongue as it passed right through. That was right, his companion was incorporeal, which made things like snowball fights a bit difficult. The tom seemed to flicker slightly for a moment but then he was back to his teasing. "Nanana- you can't catch me!" He bounded off along the riverbank, with Resinstar hot on his heels in a moment, glad that his friend wasn't about to start spouting ominous words about trapped spirits and green-eyed devils again.

The river was iced-over and swollen this time of year, lapping at the banks in a lazy manner. Claywhistle had told him that during the majority of the seasons the river was half this size, though it wasn't supposed to be. It was one of the things wrong about the normally-cheery tom's old territory, but at the moment Resinstar couldn't bring himself to imagine that anything was wrong with the land that was now his. As they raced upriver, Resinstar gradually slowed to a trot, his lungs heaving and his fur flushed, and Claywhistle lessened his pace to a trot to accompany his living friend. "Aw so you really do care," Resinstar teased. "Easy tiger," Claywhistle laughed, "I'm taken." The leader mock-pouted. "Lucky Sparksong- she and I are gonna have words when we find her," he joked. "And we will find her," Resinstar assured Claywhistle, seeing how the tom's eyes had darkened. The faded tom smiled appreciatively. "I know."

"Anyways, this is what I wanted to show you! Welcome to the Moonpool." Claywhistle waved a paw grandly at the pond before them. Apparently this was what they traveled all that way upriver for. "My brother used to say this was the most important and impressive places in all of the clan territories. I still think the gathering place is cooler but hey," he shrugged, "To each their own." He showed Resinstar around the area, pointing out places where years worth of paws had worn down the stone, but always staying a few tail-lengths away from the pool itself. "Now you drink from the water and talk to Starclan or something. You should probably ask them for another warrior so you can flirt with someone living."Resinstar gave another snorting laugh but did as Claywhistle directed, dipping his muzzle into the freezing pond and lapping it up. Suddenly a shiver ran up his spine and he collapsed to his knees. Claywhistle's pale pelt was by him in an instant, whispering reassurances that this was supposed to happen and that everything would be fine. As Resinstar closed his eyes the last thing he heard was; "Say hi to everyone for me would you?"