Sage was as content as could be. She’d just woken from a nap and found herself pressed against Dustfern. Unintentionally, a warm smile curled the corners of her lips upward as she gazed down at her friend, who was still asleep. She tried not to wake Dustfern as she extended her forearms outward and stretched her jaws wide in a silent yawn, but her friend blinked open her eyes anyway. Dustfern greeted her with a tired smile and Sage’s heart swelled with fondness at the sight. After placing an affectionate lick between the other molly’s ears, Sage rose to her paws and allowed herself to wake each limb properly, Dustfern mimicking her actions, before she rocked back on her haunches. She was looking forward to a lazy morning with the one cat she cared for most in the world, but it seemed Dustfern had other plans. While Sage was still half-asleep, Dustfern was prepared to tackle the day. She informed Sage she was going to go hunting and when she volunteered to tag along, Dustfern teased her by saying she’d just scare all the prey away in her sleepy state.

Dustfern padded off then, but not without sending Sage a reassuring smile first. As her friend slipped out of the barn, two cats entered. Sage recognized Lux, who visited the barn frequently, but the other cat was unfamiliar to her. She watched as Lux left the stranger to join a group of gossiping felines nearby, but she never once removed her gaze from the newcomer. Cautiously, he crept deeper into the barn, though he only made it a few paw steps before he decided that was enough. Sage, if she were a different cat, would have smiled in amusement at his wariness, but alas, she was not. Instead, she frowned, reminded of her own first time walking into the barn and she’d looked a lot like the stranger did now. She’d also studied every cat closely during her first day - the first several days, actually. She’d been ready to run at the first sign of trouble. As the days came and went, she just felt out of place, like she didn’t belong. Today, however, Sage couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. At least she’d had Dustfern to help her settle in. Perhaps she should be this stranger’s Dustfern. It seemed nobody else was going to be.

Reluctantly, Sage stood and made her way toward the stranger. She had to remember to be friendly and not chase away the dark-furred tom or else Dustfern would be disappointed. Everything in her screamed to turn around and walk away before she could cost the barn cats a new member. And then she realized: what if the stranger didn’t even want to join their little ragtag group of misfits? She faltered and glanced back over her shoulder, considering abandoning her mission. She imagined Dustfern scolding her, telling her every cat deserved hospitality, and with a frustrated sigh, Sage continued toward the tom. Once she was close enough to call out without disturbing any other cats, she greeted, “Hello, stranger. I’m Sage. What brings you to the barn? Besides Lux, of course.” She settled down across from him, keeping a few tail-lengths of space between them. Sage tried to meet his gaze with a kind look, but she couldn’t bring herself to remove the uneasy expression from her face.

The stranger looked equally as uncomfortable as she felt and Sage found some comfort in that. She wasn’t a very social cat and to interact with someone who also wasn’t too gregarious was a challenge, because both she and the other cat didn’t want to speak. It was easier for her to spend time with more affable cats since they usually did enough talking for the both of them. However, she could relate better to quieter felines - it was just that actually approaching someone to start a conversation, as well as exchanging pleasantries, was difficult for her. In her previous group, Sage was known for rarely saying a word. Back then, nobody wanted to have a civil discussion with her anyway - everyone had been happy to taunt her, though. And so she just stopped talking as much, because the less she said, the less the others could use against her. Of course, her social skills took a hit as a result, but very few members of her former group had any social skills anyway, so it wasn’t like she stood out.

Sage had spent all her life surrounded by cats who she couldn’t trust and those she learned to trust, betrayed her. But then Dustfern came along and showed her that not everyone was wicked. Dustfern liked to say that there were more good cats in the world than there were bad ones. Sage still wasn’t quite sure how true that was, but the barn cats were slowly proving Dustfern right. So maybe she should relax her tense shoulders and chase off the urge to flee. But it wasn’t easy to forget everything she’d learned throughout her life and she wasn’t quite ready to lower her guard around cats she didn’t know. Sure, the stranger might have absolutely zero evil intentions, but Sage didn’t just trust anyone. She’d taken a chance with Dustfern, despite the past several chances she’d taken with other cats having failed, and that had worked out great, but she didn’t know how many more risks she was willing to take. How many more times could she endure a broken heart?

Constantine. She’d encountered multiple cats with odd names in her past, but Constantine had to be the strangest. Sage wasn’t about to waste time thinking about it, though. Instead, her thoughts drifted toward the clans, the reasons why Constantine had made his way to the valley. Dustfern had told her all about the clans and Sage had interacted with a PrairieClan patrol or two that came to trade supplies and information, but otherwise, she preferred to avoid them. With the clans came a lot of drama, drama she didn’t want to get involved in. She’d lived through enough drama to last a lifetime and now she desired a life of peace. “PrairieClan isn’t too bad, actually, but MistClan and especially RidgeClan aren’t very friendly toward us outsiders. Be careful where you place your paws in this valley. Dare you step over a border, the clans will accuse you of stealing prey. I find the barn cats to be much more welcoming. I spend my days lazing about and hunting whenever I please. The clans are too chaotic for me, but if they interest you, well, to each their own.”

Sage tried to recall everything Dustfern had ever told her about the clans, but it would take all night to explain everything to Constantine. If he had questions, she’d answer them, but she wasn’t particularly eager to jump into a lengthy lecture about the clans. Sage didn’t agree that clan life was superior, but she wasn’t about to pick a fight with the clans over it, not like those cabin cats were. No, she was content where she was and she didn’t want to ruin what she and Dustfern had built by getting involved in the conflict between clan cats and cabin cats. Perhaps she should warn Constantine about the cabin cats before they made an effort to recruit him. It seemed like education was important to him, but Sage didn’t want him to get caught up in the drama trying to learn about the many different lifestyles in the valley.

Constantine uttered just loud enough for Sage to hear what he said. She only nodded in response instead of verbally replying to keep any bitterness she felt about borders to herself. While she did her best to maintain neutral relationships with the clan cats and the cabin cats, there were parts of both lifestyles she disagreed with. The cabin cats were consumed by their desire for vengeance and the clan cats were much too intolerant. Sage hated worrying about borders and even though most PrairieClan cats were friendly with the barn cats, she didn’t want to encounter any who weren’t. And if she somehow crossed into MistClan or RidgeClan territory, well, she was certain there would be bloodshed. The cabin cats were equally as nerve-racking for her as the clans were. Sage believed they were too vindictive and she wondered how long it would be until they turned on the barn cats for refusing to join them.

When Constantine revealed he had zero interest in joining the clans and also desired a life of peace, Sage smiled softly. There were many barn cats with similar goals, but the more cats she met with intentions to stay impartial, the better. His tail-tip twitched curiously as he asked about her experience with clan cats and her smile widened as she answered, “My, uh, my best friend is a former clan cat, but she resides here now.“ Sage glanced around to see if Dustfern had returned yet, but she was nowhere to be seen. “She’s still out hunting. I’ll have to introduce you two sometime. But besides her, I’ve also interacted with a couple visiting PrairieClan patrols, but honestly, that’s enough interaction with clan cats for a lifetime.” She released a quiet chirp of amusement before abruptly changing the topic, “Oh! I nearly forgot to ask. You haven’t stumbled upon any cabin cats, have you? I’d stay away from them, too.”

Sage was shocked by the amount of words escaping her and she couldn’t believe she’d released an amused chirp in front of a stranger. Perhaps spending so much time with Dustfern had its effect on her. Plus, Constantine just seemed like a good cat. He hadn’t given much away, saying and moving very little, but Sage thought she was typically a good judge of character. He just seemed like the curious type, eager to learn, and the fact that he wasn’t interested in joining a clan was a positive sign. Constantine also seemed like an outsider, reclusive, which Sage could totally relate to. Back in her old group, she hadn’t fit in anywhere. Loneliness had been her friend for many moons until she’d stumbled upon Dustfern.

She was beginning to suspect that she disliked the clans more than she’d thought. She didn’t like to admit to having fears, but she worried the clans were too much like her old group. Like the clans, they hadn’t been very friendly toward outsiders. The Syndicate had been cruel, raiding other camps to kill their residents and steal their supplies. According to Dustfern, the clans were nothing like The Syndicate, but Sage was a cynical cat. It had taken her some time to warm up to the barn cats and they’d been nothing but kind to her. And she couldn’t ignore the stories she’d heard from traveling rogues about their encounters with clan cats. Each and every rogue had been turned away, and some had even been wounded.

Most of the cabin cats had had bad interactions with clan cats so Sage could understand their desire for vengeance. If tranquility hadn’t been enough to satisfy her, she might’ve considered retaliating against The Syndicate. She shook her head slightly and frowned solemnly. “The cabin cats have been consumed by their hatred for the clans. They want nothing more than for their abolition. I’m not the clans’ biggest supporter, but I advocate for peace. However, although I don’t agree with it, their dispute is none of my business. So long as the conflict between clan and cabin cats don't affect the barn, I will stay out of it. I recommend you do the same.”