Summery:
Little Russetpaw is the sweetest, most kind cat in her Clan. Everyone comes to her when they have to spill the beans, because she's never shocked or angered- she keeps their secret for them, and gives them advice. Even Redstar, the leader, has confided in her. But another apprentice, Snowpaw, has a dark, dark secret... and he isn't sure if he wants to tell Russetpaw. Little does anyone know, Russetpaw also has a secret no one would ever guess concern her... and it isn't exactly a prophecy to save the Clan.
Hi everyone, this is Snowstar of SnowClan! This is Cinderstar's one-shot she gave to me. Hope you like it.
Russetpaw glanced up at Sweetleaf, a white and black she-cat. "What did you want to tell me?" she asked, smiling.
Nothing anyone tells me can ruin my day... or my opinion of them! The unspoken words crossed her mind, but she shook her head to clear it. Everyone knew that. Russetpaw had the only secret that had changed her- but that was her secret.
No one else had to know about it.
"Oh...well, you know Timberfall?" the she-cat warrior replied, and Russetpaw nodded. "Of course. From... ShadowClan."
"Well, I sort of like him. How should... how should I speak to him?" Sweetleaf asked.
"Oh! Well, does he like you?" Russetpaw meowed.
Sweetleaf nodded. "Yes. We met two Gatherings ago... but how should I...uh... meet up with him?"
I know a lot about this kind of stuff from other cat's problems... this is easy. "Well, meet at the new-moon. And only meet once or twice a moon, so you wont be caught... and the best place to go to is the Grass Field.
The Grass Field was a wide open expanse of...well, soft grass, that no one ever went to. No cat would ever meet up with another from a different Clan- who would, in a place that no one would want to meet up at? It was open, any cat could see the the whole field. But the scents got mixed up in the grass there, and it would be hard to recognize the outlines of other cats. It was perfect.
"Okay! Thanks Russetpaw!" Sweetleaf smiled as she thanked the apprentice and padded away, most likely to go to the ShadowClan border and ask for Timberfall.
Russetpaw also smiled, red fur laid flat and white speckled tail laid neatly over her white splashed paws and green eyes unblinking.
Russetpaw decided to go hunting alone in the woods a bit later that day. As soon as she exited the ThunderClan camp though, she got a nasty surprise.
A dark shape slammed into her, while another swept her off her paws and Russetpaw thudded onto the ground painfully. The two dark shapes leaned over her threatening.
"Come with us, or else you may not see your Clan ever again."
oOoRussetoOo
Russetpaw followed the first cat to a small hollow on the edge of her territory, the other cat walking behind her- almost tripping on her paws and stepping on her tail.
"Ow!" Russetpaw squeaked right as they entered the hollow. The second cat had just trodden on her tail- again.
"Now," the first cat, a dark brown tom with black stripes and blue eyes, growled. "Tell us what you know about Redstar."
Russetpaw shook her head. There was no way she was going to tell these two rouges – loners- idiots – anything about her ThunderClan leader.
The second cat, a smoky gray tom also with blue eyes and black stripes, bristled and raked his claws on her side. "Look, we've heard that your the cat that knows secrets about everyone, and wont tell a soul about them. But we've cracked harder nuts."
Russetpaw shook her head again. "...No."
The dark brown tom hissed, "Do you ever want to see ThunderClan again?"
Russetpaw shrugged, making her two captors blink and jump in surprise.
"What?!" The gray tom growled. "'ou don't?!" He had some odd accent.
Russetpaw shrugged again. "I don't know. I'm just there to keep secrets. I have no other purposes. I guess."
The first tom frowned. "Well... um, I don't think we've ever cracked this hard of a nut." He turned to the gray tom. "What do you think?"
The gray tom replied, "Look, we aren't going to get much out of her... just threaten to kill her family?"
The two toms expected to hear a squeak of shock from their prisoner, but when they turned back to her, she was gone.
OooRussetoOo
Russetpaw skidded into the ThunderClan camp with a shrew that had crossed her path in her jaws. She dropped it onto the fresh-kill pile and was about to head to the apprentice's den to sleep – forgetting about what had just happened – when a light tail tip touched her on her shoulder.
"Hey...Russetpaw?" Snowpaw mewed. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Snowpaw was a fellow apprentice(A white tom who, with a battle with another Clan, got a huge long scar down his head and to his tail tip) that Russetpaw knew of, but hadn't talked to him much... he just wasn't chatty and while he looked like he was full of secrets, he didn't tell her any of them- yet.
But there was always a time for everything(except for hedgehogs flying).
Snowpaw and Russetpaw headed to the apprentice den, which was empty. That was to be expected- the other two apprentices were out training.
"Um, Russetpaw... I don't know how to tell you this... but I have a really deep, dark secret..."
Russetpaw blinked bitterly. I have one too.
"I...er...um..." Snowpaw didn't say anything else, and they just sat in silence, watching each other.
"Okay!" Snowpaw suddenly burst out twenty minutes later. "Russetpaw, I train in the Dark Forest!"
What?!
For once, Russetpaw was shocked.
"Uh...Russetpaw?" Snowepaw mewed. "I-I'm sorry, its just that they teach me really good moves there, and they taught me good stuff, like how to tell Hollypaw I don't like her the way she likes me!"
Russetpaw shook her head. "No, Snowpaw, there isn't anything to apologize about. You see... I too train in the Dark Forest."
Snowpaw just gaped at her. "You...what?"
"I...too...train...in the...Dark...Forest!" Russetpaw mewed slowly.
"Oh! Oh! Okay!" Snowpaw gasped.
I guess that's one secret that no one can ever know... even if my life depends on it. The only time I tell secrets are when the cat who it concerns will die if I don't tell someone, or they tell me to tell everyone else.
I'm Russetleaf, and that makes me have a special rank in my Clan. However, I too train in the Dark Forest... but now I realize they are bad. I don't need to go back there anymore. Snowpaw, on the other paw, didn't realize that, and ended up in the Dark Forest.
I guess that was the one secret I should have told. But now... it's too late. I may be in Starclan as one of the nicest and sweetest cats ever, but there's more to me than my cute exterior.
That's what makes me, Russetleaf of Thunderclan.
Secrets.
Snowpawis Snowtuft everyone(from the books). Who's a coward.
I hope you liked it!
And that is Cinderstar's awesome work.