Sun streamed through the roof of the apprentice den, warming Moonpaw's gray tabby fur. She opened her eyes and blinked the sunlight out of her eyes. Rising to her paws slowly, she gave a huge yawn and gazed around.
Beside her, Blazepaw, her brother, was snoring. He seemed so peaceful when he slept, his pale ginger tabby flank rising and falling gently. His paws flicked a few times, and then a wide grin spread across his face. She purred and padded out of the apprentice den.
The sky was a beautiful color of blue dotted with fluffy white clouds. Warriors ate and groomed all around, but the small gray tabby she-cat found no familiarities in the WindClan camp. Moonpaw wished she could just lie on the rocks the lined the hollow, in the warmth of the sun forever, but…
But nothing.
Her clan didn't need her. She was half-clan. Her mother, Sunstrike, had taken a ThunderClan warrior, Foxleap, as a mate. Every day, the WindClan cats reminded Moonpaw and her brother that they were unwelcome in WindClan by most, and on top of all of that, she couldn't even catch a rabbit. The others were not aware of how deeply she was hurt by the harsh words that were flashed at her constanly.
Wind lazily drifted around the hollow the WindClan cats made their home in. Hostile glances were shot at Moonpaw as she trotted away to the small section of forest her Clan owned, sighing inwardly. Almost every day she came here. She felt drawn to it, like StarClan was calling her, although she never really knew why she went there.
The leaves rustled gently and made calm, soothing sound. Maybe that's why she loved to come to the forest. It made here forget her worries and it formed a barrier between the life she wished she had and real life.
I should get something effective done, Moonpaw thought. She decided to hunt. Maybe a nice, fat juicy squirrel would be basking in the sun like she wished she could do so badly. As she prowled through the forest towards the stream that bordered ThunderClan, she heard a loud snap.
"Hey Moonpaw!" Meowed Blazepaw as he pushed through the brush. He trotted up to her and head-butted her shoulder affectionately. "Wishing you were ThunderClan again?"
Blazepaw's fur was sticking out at awkward angles, although there was a faint gleam to it that suggested he had recently washed his fur. Leaves and twigs dotted his pelt from trying to shoulder his much larger frame through the forest. He looked rather silly, and Moonpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement.
Moonpaw nodded and gazed across the forest longingly. "I guess. I don't belong in WindClan," She let out a long sigh. "I just know it."
The stream rushed over pebbles, gurgling as the two siblings sat side by side, basking in each other's silent comfort. Blazepaw stood up and shook out his fur, scattering debris into Moonpaw's pelt. "I don't think I would leave," Blazepaw murmered. "Even if I wanted to."
Surprise filled Moonpaw as she turned to her brother. "Y-you don't want to leave?" She couldn't keep the shock out of her meow. "But everyone is mean to you! They hate us."
The pale ginger tabby tom shook his head. His amber eyes shone with determination and confidence. "That's exactly why I want to stay. To prove that I can fit in. To prove that I am pure WindClan," He meowed. "It's not like we could leave WindClan anyways, like I said."
His amber eyes found Moonpaw's blue. The usual softness they held had been replaced by another emotion she didn't recognize. "Moonpaw, be strong." He whispered, and then added. "We need to be strong."
The only word Moonpaw could form in her mouth was, "Ok."
Their journey back to camp was uneventful. Prey was already hidden by the time they had walked a tail-length from Blazepaw's heavy steps.
He wouldn't be a good ThunderClan warrior. Moonpaw thought, purring to herself as they had walked home. Blazepaw had shot her a look as if to say: What's up? But Moonpaw had not responded.
Eating the rabbit she had pulled off the fresh-kill pile when she returned half-heartedly, she thought of the events of today. Blazepaw's words echoed in her mind;
"It's not like we could leave WindClan anyways."
What if they could? What if they could sneak away from WindClan and join ThunderClan? They would welcome the two siblings into their fathers Clan, surely? Just as Moonpaw had formed an excellent plan of sneaking away, she remembered how Blazepaw had been unable to navigate the forest. About how he had tripped over countless twigs and stones. About how he had emerged from the forest with brush littering his pelt.
And she realized Blazepaw would never join her in escaping. It's not like we could leave WindClan anyways. What a fool she had made of herself! They would never be able to leave WindClan. ThunderClan would just give the runaway apprentice back to her Clan! StarClan forbid, they might even punish her and make her an apprentice forever!
Such a fool, Moonpaw thought. Such a fool.
She stared at her half-eaten rabbit as Dustpaw padded up to her. The dusty-gray coloured apprentice was her only friend in the Clan besides Blazepaw, but he didn't count because he was her brother.
Before Dustpaw could meow a greeting, Moonpaw muttered, "Why are you my friend, Dustpaw?"
The she-cat was taken aback, "Well," She began, her meow soft and gentle. "I don't care if your half-clan or not. That's not your fault." As she progressed, you could tell it was easier for Dustpaw. "Your kind and sympathetic and care for not just yourself, although you can be slightly grumpy. You're not the best at hunting rabbits, but you could hunt squirrels and mice like there's no tomorrow. You have other talents. And," Dustpaw grinned. "You're a great friend!"
"Point taken." Moonpaw purred at batted her friends ear softly. "So what did you learn in training today?"
Dustpaw didn't respond. Instead, she looked around. "Do you think that our warriors have acting strangely?" She murmered. Her voice had changed from happy to dark.
Moonpaw turned to Dustpaw. "What do you mean?..." She was confused. WindClan was acting normal. They were still being mean to Moonpaw and nice to each other. Normal.
Dustpaw shook her head. "I don't know. Nevermind." There was something about Dustpaw's voice that screamed she was telling Moonpaw something. It was a warning. Dustpaw was warning her. No, Moonpaw thought. I'm just thinking silly things. WindClan is normal. My Clan is normal.
