Welcome to ShineClan.
The pale starlight glimmered through into the Warriors den, rousing the slender she-cat from her sleep. After a rewardless attempt of trying to continue that sleep, she gave up, silently rising from her moss nest, padding out of the den to stare up at the midnight sky. She stretched out her legs which, in her current emaciated form, seemed much more like a twoleg dog's toothpicks.
But her weak and hungry form had not left the she-cat without a glisten of hope in her eyes, and that hope was about to be bestowed upon her... in the physical form of another.
Badgerfang weaved his way through the starlight-bleached grass, the young medicine cat's pelt ruffling in the soft wind. He knew he was not permitted to leave TimberClan territory, but he was starving, and one small piece of stolen kill wouldn't harm... Right?
The dappled tom crouched low, scanning the horizon for any sign of another cat. The tom layed back his ears to reduce his height and pushed his way through the bramble thicket, the camp border.
Starving, Boneheart thought to herself, the guilty thought of eating haunting her very bones. She couldn't eat anything... She wouldn't. The apprentices needed it more.
But her hunger soon got the better of her, and she padded down the slope towards the fresh kill pile, her lightweight frame slowly picking up speed, streaking down the slope, past the nusery and towards the pile of food which would maybe hold a small mouse, if she was lucky. The famine was spreading, perhaps to TimberClan by now. And if she wasn't careful, those mangy felines may start stealing food.
The thought of a piece of prey only rode Badgerfang into over-drive as he pelted down the slope at the edge of the camp, the faces of StarClan watching down on him from Silverpelt above. Silently he apologised to them, closing his eyes for a couple of seconds to pass on his subtle seek for forgiveness. But his eyes were forced open by the impact of another object. The next thing he knew he was bowled over and over in the grass of ShineClan's camp, another cat held down by his weight.
"Ouch.." He moaned, placing a paw to his forehead to check for blood. He took one glance at this she-cat and layed back his ears in guilt. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here..." He stammered, helping her up by nudging her with his muzzle, then retreating at the feel of her ribs, so close to her skin. She was only a little more than a skeleton.
Guilt washed over him. He couldn't steal from this clan. He couldn't steal from her...
"Don't worry about it... Are you a loner?" She asked him, not recognising his scent.
Badgerfang left a few heartbeats debating with himself over whether to lie to this ShineClan Warrior. "Yes... I'm sorry I shouldn't be here." He answered with haste, the lie he bore digging deep into his pelt, forcing him to shudder.
"Ah... Well my name's Boneheart, by the way. I'm a Warrior here in ShineClan..." She smiled at him, nudging his chin with her muzzle to lift his head.
"Boneheart... It's a pleasure to meet you... My name's Badger...fang." He left a pause again, worrying the she-cat would know he was the TimberClan medicine cat and kick him out of the Clan. But clearly, the tom was not of any particular resemblance to his Clan. And this female was a newly appointed Warrior, the other Clans were fairly unknown to her.
"Well, Badgerfang, I hope I will see you again." She smiled at him, before she applied a swift lick to his ear and turned to pad back to her den, forgetting entirely about the fresh kill pile.
Unwanting loneliness again, the tom quickly searched for an excuse to call her back, thrusting his muzzle into the pile of leaves which cushioned the fresh-kill pile, and pulled out a large mouse which had been buried beneath the stack of oak leaves. "Boneheart, wait!" He called to her through a mouthful of fur, dashing much faster than he had forseen, skidding along the cold, frozen dirt of leaf-bare, his muzzle forced against hers as she turned her head to face him. The ginger and white tom had successfully passed the mouse to her jaws, unintentionally and awkwardly so. He shrank back. "I'm sorry!" He mewled like a worried kit, "I used to be a medicine cat.. I can't help seeing injured or weak cats..." He lied to her, flashing an apologetic glance up to StarClan.
She smiled back, laying down and watching his prolonged hungry stare at the mouse. "Here." She smiled kindly at him, nudging the mouse equidistance between the two, indicating with a jerk of her cranium that she wanted to share.
Surprised, Badgerfang slowly lowered his muzzle as she did so, their noses almost rubbing as they each took their share of this large mouse. Usually, a loner would not be treated like this, he or she would be disciplined and kicked out of the territory, accused of stealing prey. The guilty thought had washed over Badgerfang again as he licked up the last small parcels of meat scattered in the grass, positively correlated towards the she-cat, who hadn't eaten very much of her share. The tom took only little notice, glancing at her with widened emerald orbs. The she-cat finished her share, running her tongue along her lips to take in all remaining extracts of food she could. "Thank you, Badgerfang." She smiled.
Badgerfang's ears layed back and his heartbeat seemed to race. "Oh... You're welcome..." He whispered back, staring at the she, of whom starlight appeared to enclose over her pale pelt, making her unusual peach coloured eyes sparkle in the dim light. Badgerfang knew, at that moment, he had broken the Clan code. Medicine cats aren't allowed to fall in love.
As the sun began to rise above the hills and valleys amidst the Clans, Badgerfang began to worry.
"It was nice meeting you, Boneheart. I'll be off, I wouldn't want your Clan after me, or you for that matter." He rushed, taking to his paws and beginning to pad away.
"You also. I hope I see you again, Badgerfang!" She meowed back, before returning to the Warrior's den, sneaking past the other cats and collapsing into the moss nest to catch up on a few moment's worth of sleep, before the Clan camp came to life.
"Boneheart!" Her apprentice called, his sudden yowl rousing all the Warriors from their sleep, moaning in frustration as they bounded out of the Warriors den to share tongues in the sun. "Boneheart! You said you'd teach me how to fish today!" Cinderpaw bounced around her nest, excited for his big day. The she-cat muttered something to herself before yawning and stretching, making it look like she had slept the whole night, for the apprentice's sake anyway.
"Briarstar, may I have a word?" She looked to her leader as she passed. Cinderpaw flashed Boneheart a frustrated glance, before bounding off to a distance out of earshot.
"Of course, Boneheart. What's the problem?" She meowed, a worried expression in her tone.
"Well, I hope not to raise alarm... But the Fresh Kill Pile... It's empty." She mewled to her leader.
"I see... I'll send off some hunting patrols immediately. StarClan help us catch something..." She muttered before bounding off to issue some patrols with her deputy.
"You done yet?" Her impatient apprentice yowled, his hackles and tail fur raised with restlessness.
Boneheart merely mustered a nod, with images of the tom she had seen the previous moonhigh etched in her mind.
Badgerfang lept past the TimberClan border, skidding around the corner. He noticed his Leader, Whitestar, padding in his direction. Immediately, he dropped his haunches and sat facing outwards of the Clan territory.
"Ah, Badgerfang, you're up early! Shouldn't you be in the nursery? Dapplewhisker's kits are on their way." Whitestar reminded him with a smile.
"Oh, of course! I'll head over there right now." He answered hastily, taking to his paws and galloping in the direction of the nursery. He poked his head inside and squeezed through the thin entrance into the well covered nursery, before sitting down parallel to the two queens, Dapplewhisker and Ravenfur. "Morning Dapplewhisker, morning Ravenfur." He greeted the two with an up-beat voice, recieving a kindly nod from each one in turn. "Are you okay? I can fetch some poppy seeds for the pain. I'll go and check my stocks." He smiled, before trotting out of the nursery and into the medicine den. He gasped at the realisation of his poor stocks. No poppy seeds or marigold... Only a small batch of cobwebs and some foxglove - poison. He had never really planned when the foxglove would come in useful, but he had kept it well away from his other herbs so he could remember what it was. Great. I guess I'll go fetch some more poppies then... He thought to himself, breaking away from the Medicine Den stocks and back out into open sunlight.
Boneheart led her apprentice out of the camp, his blazing ginger pelt standing out against the snow-cloaked undergrowth like a flame in the dark. She padded across the snow, keeping her paws high, while her apprentice dragged his paws through the snow, slowing down their speed dramatically. "Hey, Boneheart..." He started, bounding forwards to catch up.
"Yes?" She replied, focusing on the horizon.
"You've been acting different... You seem really... Distant. You know what I mean?" The excentric apprentice seemed worried about his mentor.
"Don't worry about me. We're doing this for you." She smiled at him, before picking up speed. Cinderpaw copied her until the two were bounding through the deep snow in sync with each other.
Badgerfang sped through the snow, weaving in and out of trees, his direction towards the river. There was sure to be plenty of poppies there. Near the water's edge there was a very small patch of mud, perfect for flowers such as those to thrive. He continued to run until the ground began to slope, and he leant uphill, sliding down on his two left paws, skidding out onto the ice. The tom calmed down and retracted his claws, padding back to the bank, snouting the snow for any signs of poppies.
Pulling up to the river, Boneheart glanced down to the TimberClan border. A familiar friend stood there, digging in the snow. "Badgerfang?" She gaped her jaws and slid down the slope, spinning out over the ice. She retained her balance and padded towards him. "Hello again, Badgerfang." She smiled at him.
He looked up. "B-Boneheart!" He leapt back, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Teaching my apprentice, Cinderpaw, how to hunt fish through the ice." She smiled at him, her apprentice slid down the slope also, gliding across the ice before losing balance and spinning out. He scrabbled at the ice with his claws until there was a long streak of clawmarks embedded on its surface.
"Cinderpaw, calm down. Less claw, more pad." Boneheart smiled at him, watching him gain his balance. He perked his ears and puffed out his chest proudly, before flashing this new cat an accusing glance.
"I'll be off..." Badgerfang muttered, turning to pull a few poppies out of the ground, hoping the she-cat hadn't noticed. He did not want her to suspect he was still a medicine cat, let alone a TimberClan medicine cat! The tom then dashed back to his camp, taking another route to the right to avoid being caught returning to his true Clan.
But just the thought of her disappointed stare made Badgerfang realise how much he cared for this she-cat, and how much he wasn't going to let her go.