The moon hung high in the sky as a young small black she-cat with green eyes and a slightly heavy stomach padded underneath the tall pine trees. It hadn't even been half a moon since she last saw her housefolk. She couldn't even remember the smell of her Twoleg that had raised her from a small kit, to the 6 moon she-cat she was today. But that didn't matter anymore. Her Twoleg had left her in her nest, and never came back. Hatred bubbled in her stomach and made her sick. She was a loner now, and her old life meant nothing to her.
The black she-cat stood in front of a long Twoleg fence, the shiny tendrils blocked her path towards a Twoleg nest and barn. Her gaze hardened at the site of the nest, she never wanted to see another Twoleg again. She trotted down the slope that lead into a looming forest. She shuddered against the leaf-fall breeze that whipped between the distorted tree trunks, carrying the sickly stench of tree rot that made her nose wrinkle in disgust. She wasn't used to all these fresh scents, and yet she was somewhat drawn to them. Reluctantly, she padded on, heading towards the shore of a huge lake. The pebbles beneath her paws were cold and smooth. They soothed her sore pads as she had been trekking through many Twolegplaces, and thunderpaths. She came to a halt and stared across the lake, she spotted a small island, and small shapes moving underneath the moonlight. She froze. Cats? No… that couldn't be right. She made her way across the lake, crossing the moorland and headed towards a tree like bridge that lead to the island. Her pelt prickled with curiosity and she sniffed the air. Mingled scents of cats were drifting towards her, some smelled of fish, pine trees, wind, and undergrowth. Dizzy with so many new scents, she jumped onto the fallen tree and began padding cautiously along the slippery bark to get a close look at the cats.
She slipped into the undergrowth surrounding the island and peered out through the leaves and brambles. She looked at all the cats peering up into the trees. Although she couldn't get a good look at who was talking, she heard a tom addressing the cats below.
"…and that's all Thunderclan has to report. Blackstar?" the tom mewed. Thunderclan?
"Thank you Bramblestar. As leaf-bare continues, prey is scarce, however Shadowclan is thriving. A few kittypets have been straying onto our land but it's nothing we can't handle. That's all I have to report."
"Then this Gathering has come to an end." as though on cue, the cats began to disperse into small groups sharing tongues or talking quietly amongst themselves. Her gaze flitted across the clearing and she spotted a broad shouldered, golden-brown tabby tom with amber eyes. He was talking intently to a pretty gray tabby she-cat. As she was about to head out from under the undergrowth a hiss sounded from behind her.
"What do have we here; a kittypet? You're much too fat to be a rouge." a pale tortoiseshell she-cat growled.
"I w-was just-" she stuttered but was cut off as the she-cat lunged for her and grabbed her by the scruff. Yowling in alarm, she started thrashing wildly, desperately trying to get away from her grasp but found herself being carried across the clearing. She was then dropped onto the dirt with a loud thud. Opening her eyes she found herself being stared at by tons of wild eyes. Her heart racing, she stood on all fours and looked around feeling utterly terrified.
"Tawnypelt, who is this?" a muscular, bulky white tom with big, jet-black paws turned his attention to the helpless she-cat that was trembling with fear.
"Ask her yourself. I saw her underneath the brambles watching us." Tawnypelt sneered.
As she whipped her head around towards the white tom, she dipped her head in greeting. "My housefolk used to call me Princess, but they left me and never came back." she shrugged, suddenly feeling less threatened. She sat on her haunches and wrapped her tail protectively around her front paws.
"She's a kittypet!" said one of the cats in the crowd. "She doesn't belong here!"
Suddenly, a dark brown, tabby tom with amber eyes padded towards Princess. She felt his gaze upon her body and she suddenly felt self-conscious of her ungroomed, matted pelt. She gave her flank a few nervous licks and puffed out her chest in attempt to look presentable. The tom's eyes shone with amusement but then his gaze hardened so quick she wondered if she had just imagined it.
"Well, what brings you to the lake?" he finally said. Her mouth suddenly went dry and she thought for a moment. Why am I here? As she searched for words, a small dark-ginger she-cat stood beside the tom.
"Bramblestar, if I may speak." the tom nodded and the she cat dipped her head, "I'm sure you're very hungry. Thunderclan is very welcoming to strays such as you, only if Bramblestar agrees of course." she mewed. Yowls of disapproval and discontempt came from the crowd of cats behind her. Princess stiffened, but her gaze remained on the leader, not wanting her fear to show. Bramblestar's gaze flitted towards the crowd and yowled, "Silence!"
The cats quieted down, but began whispering to each other, eyeing Princess with suspicion.
"I see no problem with allowing Princess to stay in Thunderclan as a guest until she's strong enough to travel." his gaze flashed towards her paws, Princess guessed he meant her bleeding pads but surely she was already fit to travel? Without question, Princess dipped her head in appreciation. With a nod towards the crowd of cats Bramblestar bounded towards the tree bridge. Cats streamed from the clearing towards the leader and began crossing the bridge.
"You look a bit lost, mind if I show you to camp?" a meow came from next to her, startled she whipped her head and found herself gazing into the eyes of the golden-brown tabby tom she saw earlier before Tawnypelt caught her spying.
"O-okay." she shifted her paws in embarrassment at the tom's suggestion.
"My name is Lionblaze by the way. And you're Princess?" he asked, warmth in his gaze. She nodded. He flicked his tail, encouraging her to follow him as he padded towards the tree bridge. A few cats lingered at the roots of the tree waiting for their turn to cross. Once it was her turn, she began to feel nervous. She knew nothing about these cats, and yet she was about to be taken in by them. She didn't know how to feel, cautious or curious. She made her way to the other side, Lionblaze not too far behind her. He bounded down from the tree and nudged her along towards the forest.
What seemed like moons, they finally reached a bramble thicket, as Lionblaze squeezed through, Princess reluctantly followed him through the thorns. In front of her, she saw a wide, grassy space that stretched in front of her, surrounded by walls of stone. The walls were low, but on the other side of the clearing it stretched above their heads for several fox-lengths high. She followed Lionblaze into the center of the clearing and stood awkwardly next to the muscular tom, aware of the curious gazes that bore into her pelt. Hot with embarrassment she began giving herself a thorough wash. She saw Bramblestar jump onto a ledge above the clearing. Cats came from out of their dens and gathered below him.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Highledge for a Clan meeting." he called. Most of the cats were already gathered, but a few came out from their dens and peered up at their leader, blinking the sleep out of their eyes. Princess became more content with the amount of cats here, unlike at the gathering where she felt uneasy.
"Who's that?" the hushed meow of a she-cat came from the side of her. Princess strained her ears to hear who was talking about her.
"I'm not sure. She doesn't smell of the other Clans." soon replied a mew from a tom cat. Too intent on the conversation, Princess missed Bramblestar address her name. Her pelt began to burn with embarrassment as the eyes of the Clan were rested on her.
"Bramblestar wants you to accompany him onto Highledge." Lionblaze whispered to her. Princess stiffened, but began padding towards Highledge, then soon stood beside the leader.
"Cats of Thunderclan, I hope you trust my judgment and will allow me to welcome Princess to our Clan. She will be a guest for some time until she is ready to travel elsewhere." Murmurs of agreement flowed through the Clan, yet a few were uneasy about their leader's decision. Princess met the gazes of those who agreed to her being a guest and nodded her appreciation. Her gaze then rested on Lionblaze. He returned it with a look of welcoming. Soon enough, the pretty gray tabby she-cat Lionblaze talked to at the gathering had spoken up.
"How can we trust her?" her reply came with a hint of jealousy. Bramblestar said nothing, so Princess decided to speak up for herself.
"I mean no harm, I can promise you that. What good could a kittypet like me do against a bunch of cats like you?" whispers of approval and amusement swept through the crowd and with that, Bramblestar dismissed the Clan. Princess bounded down off of Highledge and searched for Lionblaze. However, her gaze locked with a small gray tabby tom with icy blue eyes. She shuddered, something about this cat startled her but she couldn't quite put her muzzle on it. She shrugged the feeling off and sat in the center of the clearing. Feeling lonely, but almost as soon as the meeting ended, a dark cream she-cat padded up to her.
"Hi Princess! My name is Rosepetal, come with me and I'll show you to your nest. You'll be sleeping next to me. I lined your nest with feathers, I know you must be exhausted." she meowed. Princess half-heartedly followed Rosepetal towards a big thorn bush, where she pushed through and settled down next to Rosepetal. Her muscles were sore and she felt as if her paws would fall off at any minute. Soon enough, she began to drift into sleep. Her first night in Thunderclan had begun.