FINDING MYSELF (open, intro)

There really were many ways to describe Specklefeather. He was an... interesting, character. Playful, childish, immature - it was a miracle he had ever become a warrior in the first place. After all, the ginger tom wasn't even one for fighting in general. He hated the idea of others getting hurt, and he knew that unless he really felt as though it was meant to be, he would never fight someone else. Regardless, Specklefeather, despite how he appeared, was incredibly intelligent. He had a huge brain, and it never took the young tom long to process information. It was just a shame he spent most of his time on useless activities - messing around, telling jokes, disturbing other cats.

When it came down to things though, the warrior could be very serious. He understood the world very well, and knew that there were many nasty cats out there, cats with cruel intentions such as harming his Clan. Even though Specklefeather was prepared to put others over his Clan if he saw them as the better cats, he generally was loyal to ThunderClan, and stood by them. He always tried his best to talk his way out of situations rather than showing claws and teeth. Specklefeather kept his anger under control very well, and knew that he would only attack when he felt true fury.

Right now, the warrior was busy actually doing something productive - looking for herbs. Of course, he was fully aware that he wasn't the medicine cat, however, if he wasn't one very interested in hunting or fighting generally, he might as well find something he enjoyed doing to pass the time. And Specklefeather really did love herbs. In his spare time, he always was trying to learn more about them. For a smart cat like him, it was easy to pick up knowledge on herbs. Much easier than it was for him to fight. Specklefeather returned to camp, a bundle of herbs in his jaws. The rest of the Clan might think he was strange, but it didn't bother the ginger warrior. He would rather be seen as unique, as someone who blended in with the crowd. Dropping the herbs, he announced cheerfully, "The great Specklefeather has returned!" Honestly, Specklefeather didn't believe for one second he was great. Deep down, he was actually pretty insecure about himself. But Specklefeather had no intentions of letting that show, so fake positivity was the best this tomcat could manage.

Specklefeather was relieved that he had been noticed. The last thing the tom wanted was to be alone - even if he felt as though he only caused trouble for those around him. He could be a pretty chaotic cat at times, and had gotten into a lot of trouble as a kit, apprentice, and even as a warrior. Though he strongly believed in StarClan and loved them with all his heart, and the code was very important to him, the ginger feline did find himself bending the rules quite often. "Great indeed! Oh, and, only if you have the time. I'm sure you have better things to do than help out a cat who already knows what he's doing, don't ya?" Truly, he was desperate for Iceforest to stay with him and keep him company. However, he really didn't want the she cat getting distracted from whatever she was doing.

Eating herbs? Ah, this kid knew nothing. "Depends - are you dying or not?" he answered Timberkit, before quickly changing his tone, "Ah, well, technically, you could eat them. But do I advise you to? No - not unless I tell you to, okay? Listen to good ol' Specklefeather," he gave a laugh. The feline didn't want to lie to this kit, for he hated lying, but he wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't decide whether the situation was made better or worse when Hyenapaw came over and hinted that Timberkit would get sick if he ate those herbs. He caught the apprentice's glance, and understood it immediately. He was one to get messages like that. But, what should he do? "Well, let's just say, as far as I know, you're not meant to have them as snacks." That wasn't lying. It was fine.

The feline was relieved to see the kit give up on the herbs. Of course though, Timberkit now had to go on and ask about berries. How did he answer that? "You all hear that? The kid wants berries!" he laughed a little, though it was a strange, almost anxious sort of laugh. "We'll make sure to bring you the deathberries, okay? Unless you've changed your mind, that is..." When in doubt, the tom was much happier to joke around and change the subject rather than speak seriously. He was teaching a lesson this way - no eating deathberries! He was doing a good thing! Or at least, that was what the ginger cat had to convince himself of.