Hawkeye spun around to see a broad shouldered orange cat step out of the shadows of the forest, a light tan cat at his shoulder.

Hawkeye started backing away from the two ferocious looking cats, saying, "I'm sorry! I didn't know this was anyone's territory, I'll just be leaving, if you show me which way to go."

The tan cat narrowed her green eyes. The orange cat spat, "We'll show you which way to go all right! And give you a few scratches to help you remember!" Hawkeye saw his claws slide out. Then, three more cats charged out from the trees. Hawkeye gulped. That made five to one.

The three new arrivals were led by a gray tabby with green eyes, and there was a huge silver tabby with light blue eyes and a small brown cat. The three came in between Hawkeye and the two others and the gray tabby addressed them. "Flamepelt, Flowershine, there's no need for unnecessary fighting! He wasn't here to invade and he was willing to leave!"

Hawkeye liked this cat right away.

The orange cat lashed his tail angrily. "But the warrior code says to challenge trespassers and defend your Clan!"

"And you did just that," the gray tabby replied. "You challenged him, and he said he would leave. Unneeded hostility may have done the Clan more harm than good. Just showing him the way out as he had asked would have been sufficient."

The tan cat muttered, "I still think he's a prey-stealing trespasser!"

"Prey stealing?" Hawkeye said incredulously. "I don't even know how to hunt, how can you accuse me of stealing prey?"

The big silver tabby said in a deep voice, "Kittypet, eh? I guess we should have known. Come on, we'll take you back to Twolegplace. Next time, keep out of the forest."

"Wait, what? I don't even know what a kittypet or a Twolegplace is! I'm from... far away. I need some place to stay," Hawkeye knew he sounded pitiful, but he didn't know who else could help him, and besides, the gray and silver cats seemed friendly enough. "I don't know how to hunt or any of that type of thing!"

The orange cat narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"He's lying!" the tan cat declared triumphantly. "He changed his story!"

The gray and the silver cat exchanged a glance. "Well," the gray cat began. "He doesn't smell like any other Clan."

"He still smells like Twolegs, though," the silver cat said, staring at Hawkeye like he was trying to figure him out.

The gray cat sat down. "You certainly are a mystery. What do you think, Rabbitpaw?"

The small brown cat jumped. "M-me, sir?" Hawkeye was reminded strongly of Radar.

"Yes, you. You have a lot of sense and instinct for one so young."

"W-well, I think he's telling the truth."

The orange cat stepped forward. "Are we really going to let an apprentice make decisions?"

"An apprentice with more sense than you," the silver cat muttered.

"Anyway," the gray cat said. "We could bring you into the Clan. It would take dedication and hard work. Loyalty and respect are important in Clan life."

Hawkeye was sure he could respect people-er, cats- like these more than the Army officials. Well, most of them anyway. The orange and yellow cats reminded him of Frank and Margaret. Dedication, hard work, and loyalty were all things he could go along with, he supposed. In return for taking him in, it only seemed right.

"Alright," he agreed.

"What?" the tan cat looked amazed. "You can't accept him into the Clan!"

"There have been several great warriors who weren't Clanborn," the gray cat said icily. Hawkeye had a feeling there was something in his personal history that made him say that.

"Well, let's get introductions out of the way!" the silver cat said, obviously trying to steer the conversation away from such touchy subjects. "I'm Silverfur, this," he indicated to the gray tabby, "is Graystar."

The orange cat, apparently unwilling to be outdone, said," I'm Flamepelt and this is Flowershine." The tan cat nodded curtly.

"And this is Rabbitpaw," Silverfur finished, gesturing to the small brown cat with his tail.

"I'm Hawkeye."

"Well, Hawkeye," Graystar said. "Let me explain Clan life to you. Now, the forest is split into four different territories. There are four Clans, one for each territory. We are ThunderClan. There is also RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan. Each Clan is led by one cat, called the leader. I am the leader of ThunderClan. Each leader chooses a deputy to aid them and to succeed them. Silverfur is my deputy. Each Clan also has a medicine cat, who heals sick and injured cats, and receives and interprets dreams and signs from StarClan, our warrior ancestors. Warriors are cats who have been trained to hunt and fight and they get fresh-kill for the Clan and defend the territory. Warriors patrol the borders every day. When kits are six moons old, they become apprentices and are assigned a mentor. Their mentor is just a warrior who will teach them how to hunt, fight, and follow the warrior code. Sometimes a kit will decide to be a medicine cat apprentice and their mentor will be the medicine cat. Their training will be more focused on finding and using herbs to heal and interpreting signs from StarClan."

Hawkeye nodded, trying to take in this rush of information. "Okay." He felt better now that he realized Graystar was leader and Silverfur was deputy. They seemed like good, reasonable people. Er, cats, right. That was going to take some getting used to.

Rabbitpaw had been listening quietly to his leader's explanation, but now he spoke, "It sounds like you already have a warrior name!"

Hawkeye noticed that all the cats' names were two words like his. "Not on purpose, I can assure you."

"Which brings me to names," Graystar continued. "In the Clans, names are very important. When a kit is born, its mother gives it a name. The name is in two parts, the first part will most likely be part of the cat's name always. The second part is 'kit'. The 'kit' becomes 'paw' when they are apprenticed. Once an apprentice is ready to become a warrior, the 'paw' can become almost anything. If a cat becomes Clan leader, the second part of the name becomes 'star'."

"Well, I don't know if I'm going to stay forever..." Hawkeye started, but then he remembered where he would return. To Korea, to war, to violence, to blood, to death, to destruction. He was standing in a lush forest, thinking about returning there? "On second thought, I think I will stay."

Graystar stared at him gravely. "Only if you are willing to be dedicated and loyal to your new Clan. If you ever a doubt, you would have to leave forever. You can't live in two worlds."

"Alright. But, one thing... can I just keep my name?"

Flamepelt jumped up, exclaiming, "Ha! He's already backing out of our Clan ways! We should-"

Silverfur shot Flamepelt a warning glare. "A cat can be a good warrior even without the name. He has lived a longer life with his own name than a kit would have."

Flamepelt and Flowershine opened their mouths as if to argue, but Graystar interrupted. "If you would like to keep your old name, I think that would be alright. But you will still be an apprentice."

Hawkeye nodded. "Can I be medicine cat apprentice?" He thought that would be just in his league.

Flowershine looked outraged. "Have a rogue as a medicine cat? A warrior is one thing but a medicine cat is different!"

"Yes," Flamepelt agreed. "A medicine cat is an extremely important and respected Clan member. How could we let an outsider hold that position?"

"And how could a rogue understand StarClan?"

"Speaking of," Graystar continued. "StarClan are our warrior ancestors. When a cat dies, they join the ranks of StarClan and watch over us. They often send medicine cats, and sometimes leaders, omens and dreams warning of dangers to come and other things."

Hawkeye could see why a medicine cat was so important. That sounded like Father Mulcahy, Belle, and himself put together.

"To answer your question," Silverfur said. "No, you cannot be a medicine cat apprentice. Our medicine cat, Ravenfrost, already has an apprentice."

"Well, come on," Graystar said. "Let's show you to the Clan."