''I hate perfect things, 'cause they're imperfect. But I love imperfect things, 'cause they're perfect.''

A golden she-cat purred as she caught a fat rabbit. Her amber eyes shone as a dappled brown-and-white tom purred, nosing the prey and sniffing it. The she-cat felt proud for her catch- her first catch ever. The first thing she would contribute to SkyClan.

''Nice catch, Hawkpaw,'' the dappled brown-and-white tom commented while walking side by side with her back to camp. ''I'm sure Leaftail and Smokemask would enjoy it, but I've heard Blossompaw is recovering from sickness and needs all the prey she can get.''

''Blossompaw?'' the golden she-cat gasped. ''But she's the meanest cat ever! I bet she won't even taste this piece of prey.''

The tom sighed. ''But she's our clanmate, Hawkpaw. Treat her with respect.''

Hawkpaw glared at her mentor. Blossompaw would always get what she wanted. Because of this, she was the most cocky and arrogant cat in the Clan. Well, except for Shadowpaw. ''But if I treat her with respect, isn't she supposed to treat me with respect, Timberheart?'' Hawkpaw asked innocently, her tail flicking with impatience.

''She's supposed to,'' Timberheart answered with a shrug. ''It's so rare to witness a medicine cat or a medicine cat apprentice getting sick. They usually get immune to illness since they're around it all the time.'' He yawned. ''Bad luck for Blossompaw.''

Hawkpaw and Timberheart entered camp, which was exploding with activity. There was Tigerpaw, a dark ginger tom with black stripes and green eyes, and Lilypaw, a golden she-cat with amber eyes, carrying moss, while Leafsplash, the deputy who was a brown tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes, organizing patrols. When she saw Owlflight, her ex-mother, her tortoiseshell pelt groomed, grooming Shadowpaw, Hawkpaw began bristling and dug her claws into the ground. Timberheart stared at her and sighed.

''You can't fight forever, Hawkpaw,'' Timberheart murmured, nudging her. ''Go and offer her your first rabbit. I bet they can't resist.'' But Hawkpaw knew there wasn't even a drop of hope, yet she had to go because Timberheart said to.

She approached Shadowpaw and Owlflight with the rabbit and dropped it. ''Are you hungry?'' the golden apprentice asked. ''Because I wanted to offer you my first catch- this big and fat rabbit.'' She pawed the rabbit towards them.

Owlflight stopped grooming Shadowpaw and stared at the rabbit with disgust. ''Shadowpaw has already finished with her first hunting lesson,'' she sneered. ''And she caught a squirrel. A squirrel is needed to catch with much more technique than a simple rabbit.'' She smirked and stared at Hawkpaw maliciously, like her mind was twisted, demented.

''Owlflight, enjoyed the squirrel I caught for you two?'' a voice asked. It was Lilypaw, with a triumphant look on her face. All the apprentices, except Shadowpaw, would help Hawkpaw to get back her rights as Owlflight's daughter and Shadowpaw's sister. ''Oh, by the way, I gave the scrawny vole Shadowpaw caught to the elders'.''

Hawkpaw's ex-mother glared at Lilypaw. She stood up towards her- not Lilypaw, but Hawkpaw. The old she-cat always thought the golden apprentice had the fault for everything bad that happened to Shadowpaw and Owlflight. She was growling and raised a paw with claws unsheathed.

''Owlflight?'' Tinystar asked. ''Were you going to attack Hawkpaw… again?'' She had just exited the leader's den. Her white-and-black pelt was bristling with fury, and her grassy green eyes were sparkling with fury. ''I don't know why you're still here! I think I should've exiled you seasons ago!''

Hawkpaw puffed her chest pelt with pride. But when she saw Tinystar glare at her, she receded a few steps. ''I was talking to you, Hawkpaw!''

The apprentice's blood turned cold. She imagined her face horrified, her warm amber eyes lit with terror. She felt… miserable, unwanted. Nobody in the Clan except Timberheart had wanted to mentor her. And it was all because her father, whom she had inherited his golden pelt, became a murderer.

Hawkpaw bit back tears and watched as the Clan snickered. Timberheart was watching the Clan, with an unreadable expression. He seemed he didn't want the Clan to attack Hawkpaw, but he didn't know what to do. Hawkpaw turned tail and ran.

She knew all the territory perfectly, and so she knew where to go. She just had to ask StarClan for answers. She had to ask why it was all a lie, why she couldn't be just liked. Only the apprentices liked her. No one else. If Tinystar didn't like StarClan at all, she wouldn't just make Hawkpaw a warrior, deputy. Hawkpaw could rot and nobody would notice. Nobody except Timberheart and the apprentices.

When she arrived at the Moonpool, she instantly drank a bit of the water. She fell asleep after a few moments of hesitation, and, when she was in her dream, opened her amber eyes. There was a clearing, very much like her camp. She hated this place, but, when she was about to walk away, a reddish-brown tom appeared with stars in his fur.

''Hawkpaw,'' he murmured. ''Things went upside down. It is time for you to go into the past- or future, if you prefer.''

''Who are you?'' the apprentice asked in awe. ''How do you know my name? And what's that nonsense that I can choose whether to go into the past or the future?'' She gasped. ''Are you from StarClan?''

The tom nodded. ''I'm Foxleap,'' he meowed. ''You were always destined for greatness, Hawkpaw. StarClan has watched you suffer with compassion, and we have allowed you to make one choice: either to go to the past or the future. Whatever you choose- or if you even choose- won't allow you to go back. You'll be staying in the past or in the future permanently.''

Hawkpaw stared at her paws. ''But I don't want to leave DarkClan.''

Foxleap blinked. ''Didn't you say it yourself that nobody liked you?''

''I didn't say it, I thought it,'' she snapped. Hawkpaw then sighed, calming down. ''But then, you're right. What choice do you recommend me to make? Can you tell me something about the future or the past?'' She stared at Foxleap with pleading eyes.

''I can tell you that in the past there's a ThunderClan, WindClan, ShadowClan- which DarkClan has replaced- and a RiverClan. You can go whether when they were in the forest, or when they arrived in the lake,'' Foxleap explained, eyes narrowed in deep concentration. ''But I cannot speak about the future, it will shape it itself. Whatever happens now, will have an effect in the future.''

Hawkpaw closed her eyes tightly. ''I have made my decision, then.''

So, was this nice? Original? Can we get 100 reviews in just one chapter? Nah, I don't think so, but try to review to lift my hopes up. Or if not I'll send Firestar to make all your stories' characters Mary-Sues/Gary-Stues!

BTW, I'll manage to update this every 2-4 days! I'm on October vacation-that-I-don't-know-why-it's-placed-in-October-when-I'm-two-months-from-getting-out-but-that-I-do-enjoy! :D

QOTD:

Where should Hawkpaw be sent to? (seriously, I don't know)