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The stranger spoke softly, to her benefit. Summit rarely relaxed around cats he didn't know (hell, he rarely relaxed around cats he did), but it was certainly easier to be less on edge when the other cat let her voice flow out of her like a gentle brook, rather than harsh rapids. Her laughter was bereft of real humor. If anything, it almost sounded like her teeth were chattering together, lending weight to her statement.

She was cold. The barn was warm. It was easy to put together now why she approached, even at night. It was also easy to tell she was new to the area. Any loner or kittypet who lingered in this forest knew the barn was inhabited by permanent residents, and while the barn was welcoming to newcomers, it wasn't often a place people just stopped by. In recent moons, the only cats Summit could think of who called the barn home temporarily were those who came to them injured, like Cricket.

Well. He was starting to doubt Cricket would only stay temporarily. He hoped he would stay. "It's been warmer lately," he said in response to the she-cat's comment about his fur. "I'm managing." Though they were still in the middle of the unexpected freeze. He could see why a cat of her build would be envious of his fur. 

"Viper," he said, committing her name to memory. Something about the way she moved made the name all the more fitting. He hoped she wouldn't inherit too much of her namesake. "I'm Summit." Like it always did, his old name weighed heavy on his tongue, unspoken. "The barn is open to visitors," he continued, "so long as you contribute while you stay with us. There will be a morning hunting patrol you can join, or you can hunt alone." He knew full well Viper might just run off once the sun rose. "Where are you coming from?"

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Like a mountain. He didn't want to think about that. It'd only been recently, since his memories started trickling back, that he realized the significance of accepting a name like Summit. He was proud of the name - proud of the cat he'd become while bearing it, proud of the connection it forged between him and Maggie and the barn at large. Yet still, the unintentional reference to RidgeClan was not lost on him. The comfort he immediately felt when the name had been suggested now made his pelt crawl. He would never be free of RidgeClan's clutches.

Yet... he wondered if that wasn't so bad. It wasn't his home anymore, but that didn't mean he couldn't find some connection with the mountains he was born under. "...I've also never really hunted outside of an alley rat."

Oh, damn. Viper was from the twoleg place. Summit tried his best to focus on the conversation happening and keep his expression neutral. Still, he felt a trickle of annoyance, as he often did when city cats made their way to the barn. There was always such a learning curve with them. He was rarely responsible for doing the teaching - that tended to be Whiskey's job. He was responsible for Whiskey's moods, afterwards.

He opened his mouth to reassure Viper that they would help her acclimate to life out here, then closed it when she continued to speak. And continued. And continued. Each time she paused, Summit was sure he would be able to respond, only for Viper to find more things to say. Was he just that taciturn, sparing only a few words for strangers, to make Viper seem locquacious in return? Or maybe she was rambling. From nerves, perhaps? It was hard to say. "I don't mind helping you all while I am here." Good. "May we head to the barn, please? My toes are going a little numb." Less good.

"Are they actually going numb, or is that an expression?" He said, leading the way up the path to the barn. "I'm a healer. I can take you to be examined." His instinct was to take her there regardless, to check for any injury that might hinder her time in the barn. Luckily, it was too cold for ticks or fleas or anything of that sort. "To answer your question, yes, this is a group. We work together." Sometimes like a clan, sometimes not, he thought, but chose not to share. Hailing from a twoleg place, Summit doubted Viper knew what a clan was. "There are many groups in the forest. They all have different rules. Here, we just ask that you help keep the barn fed so long as you stay."

There were more rules. Unspoken ones, like tending to all who crossed through the farmlands, or new ones, like avoiding Foxglove's cabin. Things Viper would learn, if she chose to stay. "Have you been out in the cold for long?"

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Summit refused to react to this stranger calling him a waste. It was a sentiment he'd heard before. Many times since coming to the barn, really. The one credit he gave the clans was that no one ever said such a thing - not to his face, at least. Clan cats understood the importance of healing. Of communing with StarClan. Cats like Viper, who had to fend for themselves, did not. All they understood was survival.

So he kept quiet at her remark, even if it stung.

"I have no qualms about being a productive guest."

"Thank you."

"So when you say groups, how many? Just tell me all you can. I can't possibly imagine such a thing." The concept of cities, sprawling twoleg places were cats were forced to live in crevices and alleys, feeding off scrawny rats and pigeons, disgusted him. What disgusted him more was the thought that cats working together - communal groups, whether that be a clan or something else, was foreign to a city cat. So foreign, Viper couldn't imagine it. It sounded unfathomably lonely.

"Many," he said, thinking of the newly formed Kingdom to the north. Which of his former clanmates resided there? Would he recognize them? "There are three clans. They're large. Hundreds of cats in each, working together. PrairieClan is closest. They're forgiving, but still defensive of their borders. You'll be shown the border on your hunting patrol." For her own safety. "North of the clans is another group of three. They call themselves the Kingdom." He didn't know enough to say much more.

"The barn is a group, of course. And there are smaller groups scattered around the forest. Some travel through, some stay. Some stay, but only for a little." He shrugged. "You get used to it."