Well, I have decided that I want to take Shannon Silver's 10 oneshot challenge. Even though Shannon kinda... deleted it... and changed it to a 100 oneshot challenge... heh heh ^^'. I would love to do the '10' oneshot challenge instead, since I saved the themes onto my computer.

Also, I want to tell fans of mine (who may or may not be reading this) that I might post a new story... "Words From The Stars, Bird of Flames". It's many seasons after Sandstar has died, but she is in the prologue! Just wanted to say... hopefully before summer's over I'll have that up.

Wow. Long author's note over... I don't own Warriors.

The Cat With Strange Eyes


Why does everyone have to judge each other before even getting to know them? Why can't we all just get along? Just because you're from one clan doesn't make you fox-hearted, or better than everyone else or anything. It just means that you happened to be born in that clan. So, when someone like me was born... different, does that mean that I'm bad? Does that mean that I'm weird, or messed up just because I'm not like everyone else? No. I am not better than anyone else, but I'm defiantly not worse than them! One day, I'll show them that. One day, they'll see.

My name is Darkpaw. The day I opened my eyes, I became shunned by my clan. I did nothing wrong, I just opened my eyes one day. I thought that everyone could see like me. Did I only have one eye? No, I had two. My mother said so. But I just couldn't see out of one. It was so light blue it was almost white, and I couldn't see anything but darkness. But that wasn't why I was shunned.

No, it was my other eye that caused all of my problems. My other eye was so dark brown that it was almost black. Our medicine cat, Owlwhisker, said that my dark eye showed the darkness that would grow in my heart. They told me that I would turn evil, so they didn't let me have any fun... ever. If I tried to leave the den, it was because I was going to murder someone, not because I needed to make dirt. If I talked about how I wanted to see outside of camp like all of the other kits, it was because I was going to go to the other clans and tell them all of out secrets.

I grew up being told how bad I was, and how I would never hurt the clan. I did everything they told me to do, but Owlwhisker said that the darkness was growing from my hatred. Maybe old Owlwhisker was right. I did feel hatred.

I hated Owlwhisker. I hated my mother and father for listening to him and doing everything he told them to do. I hated my littermates for always ignoring me and treating me as if I was a fox instead of a kit. I hated how the leader let Owlwhisker ruin my life.

I never got to have a life worth living. But hey, I did get to become an apprentice! And my mentor: Pineblaze. Pineblaze trusted his uncle Owlwhisker more than any other cat in the clan, so you can just guess how my apprenticeship is going too far!

"Darkpaw," Pineblaze's voice was full of venom as he spat my name from his lips. "Get your butt out of the apprentice's den, we have hunting to do! Unless you want to show your darkness and let the elders starve..."

"I will never let the elders starve!" I growled at him as I pulled myself out of the den, stretching. My back ached, since I didn't ever have enough moss in my nest. The bracken that always filled it was full of thorns. I looked up to Pineblaze, my dark eye meeting his forest green eyes. "I always follow the warrior code. That's how I was raised."

"Then show me you won't turn against us," Pineblaze hissed, his eyes two slits of anger. He acted like I had killed someone close to him, though I had never laid a claw on another cat before. "Bring back the prey for the elders. And then clean out their den, make them new nests, and check their pelts for fleas."

I nodded, trudging over towards the entrance to camp. Cats stared at me, but I knew they weren't looking at me. No, they were looking at my eye. Some of the cats called it strange, and the kits liked to call it my 'dead eye', even though it was the one that could see.

"Hey, Deadeye," One of the warriors snickered. "Aren't you worried that you'll be renamed Deadeye when you become a warrior? Or will Darkeye be enough? What about Darkheart?"

I ignored the snickering warriors. They got to live the life that I always wanted. You never know how good your life is until you live through my life. I turned my head, making sure that Pineblaze was following me. If no one was with me, I would be confined to camp for a moon. I was nearing the time where I would become a warrior, and honestly, I was scared. I didn't want to be called 'Darkeye' or 'Deadeye'. I wanted to be Nightclaw, but there was no way that Redstar would rename me that.

"Darkpaw," Pineblaze growled. "Stop. I have to talk with someone before we leave."

And with that, Pineblaze raced off. I stopped and sat down, my tail flicking. Heartbeats later, I realized that someone was watching me. My eye flicked over and saw Softpaw, a small ginger she cat apprentice. Her bright blue eyes were focused on me. But when she noticed that I knew that she was watching her, she fluffed up in embarrassment. She leaped to her paws and made her way over here.

"S-sorry," Softpaw whispered. "I didn't mean to stare. I-I was just..."

"Looking at my eye?" I asked sharply, startling her.

"N-no!" She gasped. "I was looking at your pelt. It's really quite... handsome, you know." Her gaze didn't meet mine.

Handsome? Me? "Don't make me laugh," I replied dryly, my tail flicking with annoyance. I knew that she had to be staring at my eyes, just because they were different.

"B-but it's true!" Softpaw squeaked, looking up into my one good eye. "Why are you always so mean to yourself? Doesn't it just prove what they always say is right?"

I glared at her. In her eyes, I could see honesty. Was she really telling the truth? "I don't prove that they're right. They're treating me as if I was a murderer. I've never even laid a claw on another cat before!" I felt tears threatening to spill, but I blinked them away. No, I wouldn't show her emotion. Nothing other than hatred. I hated everyone for treating me this way.

"I know," Softpaw whispered. "And you wouldn't lay a claw on your clan mates either, I can tell. I was just..." She trailed off, turning her head away from me. "I have to go."

She leaped to her paws and raced off as Pineblaze came back over to me.

"Did you make her cry?" Pineblaze asked. "I thought I taught you better." Then he added, "You mouse brained monster."

Rage boiled in my heart, but I held my tongue. I wouldn't talk back. If I did, I wouldn't leave the camp for a moon. And StarClan, was I thinking about leaving the clan! I couldn't stand the way they treated me! I would be better off alone...

It had been two moons since I left the clan. I did it, I left. I put my past behind me, and left while Pineblaze wasn't looking. Now he thinks that I'm still out here, and he's right- I am. But Pineblaze told everyone... that I would come back and kill the kits for not getting a good enough kithood. But he was wrong. I just came back to watch over my clan.

"I'm here," I whispered from the bushes. A ginger pelt caught my eye as a she cat padded over towards the bushes that I was hiding in. Normally, I could freak out if a cat found me.

"Hello," The ginger she cat purred, her bright blue eyes on me.

"Softfeather," I purred, smiling at her.

Even since I left, I realized how much I missed Softpaw, now Softfeather. I had to come back- to watch over the clan I left behind and occasionally say hi to a special she cat. But I decided a moon ago that this would be my last meeting with Softfeather. I couldn't stall her life any more than I already had.

"Darkpaw, where have you been the entire time?" Softfeather asked quietly.

"Here," I answered. "I... I continue to watch over my clan. I couldn't leave it entirely. But Softfeather..." I looked into her eyes, seeing the love, the hope. I would break it all. "This is the last time you will see me. I can't stall your life any more than I already have. You deserve someone, and I'm not that cat."

"I can't forget about you," Softfeather cried.

"Then don't," I answered. "When you have kits, when, not if... tell them about me. I'll continue to watch over the clan. But... Don't call me Darkpaw. I hate that name..."

"Then what should I call you?" Softfeather asked.

I smiled at her. "The Cat With Strange Eyes."

Softfeather smiled and nodded. "Then, this is good bye?"

I nodded. "Live long, Softfeather. I'll be watching over you. Someday I'll see you again."

A small black and white kit looked at the small ginger pelted elder. The kit's eyes were wide with wonder.

"Softfeather, Softfeather!" The kit cried. "Tell us a story!"

Two other kits gathered around the black and white one, all of their eyes wide and pleading. Softfeather purred. It had been moons, seasons, since The Cat With Strange Eyes had left, but she could feel that he was still here, watching over them.

"Well, a long time ago," Softfeather began, watching the kits curl up into a pile to listen. "There was a kit that was born. He had one pale blue eye and one dark brown eye. He was blind in his blue eye, and the medicine cat told everyone that his dark eye showed his dark, evil heart."

"Evil!" One of the kits gasped.

"So this cat was hated by everyone because of his eye," Softfeather meowed. "They called him Darkkit, and then Darkpaw. Everyone made jokes about what his name would be as a warrior- Darkeye or Deadeye. But this cat had a kind heart, he was just misunderstood. He left the clan after the constant torture that they gave him."

A tear welled up in Softfeather's eyes. "He... well, you could say that we became friends. When I became a warrior, he came back. He told me that he would watch over the clan from the shadows, and make sure the kits are always safe."

"Darkpaw's still around?" A ginger kit asked.

"No," Softfeather meowed. "Darkpaw isn't around anymore. He goes by a new name now. One of his nicknames."

Softfeather looked over, out of the elders den to the camp wall. She could see a pale blue eye watching her, and the slight glimmer of a darker eye next to it. She smiled. "He's now The Cat With Strange Eyes."


Word count: 1,813. That's over 1,000! Yay!

Next one: We Meet And Part

Review please? I would love some constructive criticism... I always try to improve my writing skills. Oh, and all of these will be first person, I think. At least the first four. Of ten. Until next time!