Name of Challenge: Blood or Bond

Forum: ArrowClan

Word Requirement: 500 minimum

Word Count: 882

Written by: Sage

"Roselight, Roselight, Roselight!" thousands of starry-pelted cats yowled her new name. Roselight purred and basked in the praise, closing her eyes. Finally, I'm a full medicine cat! The newly named she-cat basked in the praise, letting it warm her chilled heart. This is what I've always wanted. This is how my life is supposed to be.

Roselight was startled when the voices faded away. When she opened her eyes again, an orange StarClan she-cat was staring right her.

Roselight scanned the clearing. Nobody else was left, not even her mentor. "Hello?" Roselight glanced at the orange she-cat, "Who are you?"

"My dear, I am Flametwist. I am here to tell you something very, very important."

Roselight frowned. Does this happen to every medicine cat?

Flametwist put her tail around Roselight's shoulders, "Roselight, who is in your family?"

Oh, that's an easy question! "Well, my mom is Firefang. My dad is Birchfrost. I have a sister named Kestrelfur and a brother named Oakflame." Roselight explained.

Flametwist's eyes darkened, "And which clan do you live in, darling?"

Roselight narrowed her eyes. "ThunderClan, of course!"

Flametwist let out a troubled sigh, and Roselight's fur stood on end. "What? What's wrong? Was it something I said?" The gray she-cat pressed for answers.

"My dear, your family isn't your real family. Your clan isn't your real clan." Flametwist whispered as gently as possible.

Roselight felt the world tip sideways. Everything was falling apart. Her life was splitting at the seams, unleashing her into the horrid truth.

"What? Are you insane!? This can't be true!" Roselight scoffed, "I mean, who else could be my parents?"

Flametwist winced, "Honeygrass, medicine cat of WindClan, and Harepelt, warrior of WindClan, to be exact."

No. Everything she knew was shattering, cracking, splitting apart. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why was I in ThunderClan, what is going on!?" Roselight cried.

"Having kits with medicine cats are outlawed, so when Honeygrass gave birth to one she-kit, they had to take it away. In the dead of night, they snuck into ThunderClan territory and left you, mewling, at the camp entrance. The whole clan has been keeping this secret, and-" Flametwist was cut off.

"My whole clan lied to me! Those ThunderClan traitors!" Roselight snarled.

Flametwist shook her head, "No, no, no! The were just protecting you."

"From what? Protecting me from what!?" Roselight hissed.

"From the pain the truth brings."

Roselight snapped her mouth shut. The whole clan, willing to protect me! She thought. "Why are you telling me this?" Roselight asked.

"Because, you have a choice to make." Flametwist waved her tail in the air.

Suddenly, her surroundings spun around and around, the trees becoming a woody blur. The world lurched back and forth, and back and forth, until time froze. Roselight blinked, and realized that she was in WindClan camp.

It was night, and all the cats were tucked away in their dens. Roselight crept around, inspecting their peculiar den shapes in wonder.

"Come, darling." Roselight whirled around, claws unsheathed. Her eyes met Flametwist's steady, calming gaze. She followed the orange she-cat into a stone cave. The air smelled of herbs and flowers.

"The medicine den." Roselight whispered. She inspected every leaf, breathing in the soothing scents.

"Roselight! Do you want to see Honeygrass or not?" Flametwist beckoned Roselight over to a shadowy corner. There was a soft bed of moss, lined with heather.

Roselight gasped when she saw the small she-cat sleeping in the nest. It's my true mom. Honeygrass was a little, light orange she-cat. Her white-tipped tail almost wrapped completely around her body, because it was so long!

Roselight reached forward, stretching out her dark gray paw to touch Honeygrass. This cat looked so much like her, as far as body build, she had to make sure she was real!

"No! We can't wake her!" Flametwist exclaimed, "It's too dangerous."

Roselight sighed and withdrew her paw. "What about my dad?"

Flametwist bit her lip and dug her claws into the ground, "He's dead."

Roselight felt her body tremor. Too much is happening at once. I can't handle it! I have to get away!

The startled gray she-cat slowly backed away. No, no, no, no, no! I'm done with this! I just want to go home...

"Wait! You mustn't leave! You have a choice to make." Flametwist cried.

Roselight faltered, "A- a choice?" I can't make a choice.

"You must choose blood or bond. Stay here at WindClan, or go back to ThunderClan."

Roselight's head was pounding. My mom is all alone, she has no family left, but what would me clan think? Roselight thought of her foster mom's loving face, her friends' encouraging words, and her mentor's gentle scoldings.

Roselight took a deep breath. "I'm going to stay in ThunderClan. Family isn't judged by blood, it's judged by love, and my clan loves me for who I am. They don't care what clan I'm from, they only care about what clan I'm loyal too. I'm a ThunderClan cat, not through blood, but through my heart."

Flametwist nodded and smiled, "Follow your heart, my dear." The world wavered, and Roselight sat up at the Moonpool.

Roselight's mentor, Goldenstream, was frantic."Oh, I was so worried! I couldn't wake you up, and-"

"I'm fine." Roselight smiled, "Let's go home."