CHAPTER ONE
Honeyleaf's pads felt dry and cracked to the point of it being almost painful to walk. Her only companion, Swallowflight, trailed behind her, silent. The two had not spoken since they had left camp, which Honeyleaf was appreciative of. I'm not in the mood for conversation, she thought bitterly, recalling the events from earlier that day. It was hard to think that only that morning, she had been deputy of SkyClan.
SkyClan, a Clan that no longer existed. Honeyleaf was angrier than she had been in her whole life when Spiderstar had announced that SkyClan was disbanding. The Clan that she had been loyal to her whole life was falling apart right in front of her eyes, and there was nothing she could do about it.
The ginger tabby glared up at the night sky, where the stars glittered coldly. Her ancestors felt so distant at that moment. Are you happy, StarClan? Is this what you wanted? Whether or not they were listening, she didn't know. Either way, she didn't receive an answer.
Honeyleaf heard a soft sigh. Behind her, Swallowflight had stopped walking. "We should set up camp for the night," he suggested. "We left at sunset. It's nearly moonhigh." The jet black tom stretched each leg, yawning.
Honeyleaf nodded, a sudden wave of exhaustion washing over her. "We can hunt tomorrow morning. We won't have the energy to catch anything right now, anyway." Her forest green gaze scanned their surroundings. "See anywhere we can sleep?"
Swallowflight dropped the remaining traveling herbs, settling down alongside the roots of a large oak tree. "Here's fine." The black tom didn't look ready to move anytime soon, so Honeyleaf lifted herself onto the lowest branch and wrapped her forepaws around it securely. They can take away my Clan, but they can't take away the skills I've learned from it,
The two cats lay quietly for a while, trying to sleep. Honeyleaf had just begun to nod off when Swallowflight mumbled, "Honeyleaf?" The ginger she-cat moved her head to look down at him. "Yeah?"
"What do we do now?" Swallowflight asked softly. Honeyleaf sighed. Her companion had summed up her worries in five simple words. "We adapt. We hunt. We fight. We survive, Swallowflight."
Honeyleaf didn't receive a reply, so she assumed he had fallen asleep. The ginger tabby yawned and settled down once more, surprisingly comfortable for someone sleeping in a tree. She felt at home up off of the ground. Climbing trees, jumping... It was the SkyClan blood in her, she realized suddenly, a shiver running up her spine.
StarClan, this is going to be harder than I thought.
