Any confidence Smudge had after defeating Graypaw was drained as he stared up at the cats. Were Henry's stories true? Smudge thought. Many horrible scenarios exploded in Smudge's head, and he shook his head furiously to clear it. No time for that. I need to worry about now.
"Graypaw," the golden tom said, interrupting Smudge's thoughts, "you shouldn't stray so near Twolegplace!"
"I know, Lionheart," Graypaw mewed, "but these cats were trespassing!"
"And they're still here, and you are wounded," the blue-gray she-cat pointed out. Then she turned to Smudge and Rusty.
Is she going to hurt us? Chase us out? Kill us? Once again, Smudge's imagination got the better of him.
But the gray cat only meowed, "You did well, for never having been in the wild before." She looked at Rusty. "You would have caught that mouse if your friend hadn't warned you about Graypaw. Speaking of which," she added, turning to Smudge, "you must have good senses, if you detected Graypaw when he was upwind. And I was surprised by how well the both of you fought. What are your names?"
"I'm Rusty," the ginger tom replied, "and this is my friend, Smudge. Who are you?"
"My name is Bluestar, and I am the leader of ThunderClan," the blue-gray she introduced herself, dipping her head. "You were great for kittypets. But you must leave now."
"Leave?" Rusty echoed. "But we only came for a mouse or two! I'm sure there's enough to go around."
The admiration in Bluestar's eyes snapped to anger in a split second. Smudge's heart pounded as Bluestar got in Rusty's face. "There's never enough to go around! If you didn't live such a soft, overfed life, you would know that!"
Smudge's will to defend his friend overrode his fear. "W-we didn't know! We weren't even sure if feral cats lived in these woods!"
Bluestar slowly turned her head to Smudge, locking eyes with him. Smudge knew his legs were visibly trembling, but he stood up and met her gaze.
"I didn't think of it that way," Rusty mewed, making Bluestar swivel her ears towards him. "I'm sorry. I won't hunt here again."
"Agreed." Smudge added.
Bluestar seemed to calm down and drew herself up. "You are braver than you think," she murmured to Smudge.
Me? Smudge thought. Brave?
As if Bluestar could read his thoughts, she responded. "You knew you were scared, but you acknowledged that and defended your friend anyway. That is what true courage is."
Smudge noticed his legs stopped trembling as Bluestar turned to Rusty. "And you are brave, too. The courage to admit you were wrong is hard to find in most cats."
Bluestar then turned back to Lionheart. They talked in hushed whispers before turning back to Rusty and Smudge. "We need more warriors," Bluestar told them. "We could use your courage and strength in the upcoming moons."
Smudge gasped in shock a moment before Bluestar asked, "Rusty, Smudge, would you like to join ThunderClan?"
"But they can't be warriors!" Graypaw, who had held his tongue until now, gasped. "They don't have warrior blood!"
"Warrior blood," Bluestar sighed, "too much of that has been spilled these past moons."
Smudge sat in thought, about to weigh out the pros and cons before Bluestar ended up doing it for him. "Life in the wild is rough. There are other Clans, borders to watch, and prey is hard to find in the harsh leaf-bare season. But the rewards are great. You will remain toms. You will no longer have to rely on your Twolegs to choose for you how to live. You will be wild, and you will be free."
Both Smudge and Rusty sat in silence until Rusty spoke up. "Can we have a while to think about it?"
"Very well," Bluestar replied. "Lionheart will be here at sunhigh. Give him your answer then." With that, she turned and walked back into the forest with Lionheart and Graypaw.
Rusty, too stood up and left to go back to his house, Smudge following him. They walked in silence until they reached the fence. "I'm going with them," Rusty suddenly declared.
"What?" Smudge exclaimed. "You already made your decision?"
"I'm tired of life as a kittypet," Rusty admitted.
Smudge was about to correct him, saying it was "housecat," but realized Rusty was speaking in warrior dialect. Smudge thought for a minute. "I'll still need to sleep on it," Smudge told Rusty.
Rusty nodded. Then he leapt over the fence and back into his house. Smudge did the same, only he went next door, to his home.
Smudge settled in his bed, looking around. Here, he had a constant supply of food, love, and attention. He also had plenty of friends here. Would he leave all of them to live in the wild? Not all of them, Smudge reminded himself. He'd always be with Rusty. And he'd make plenty of new friends in the Clan.
Smudge decided to sleep on it, like he told Rusty he would. He curled up and fell asleep.
Smudge dreamed that night. He was wandering the forest, free of his collar. He looked around the forest for… something. Smudge didn't know. What he did find, however, was the eyes of Clan cats in the trees. Eyes of all colors; amber and yellow, blue and green. They were in his dream.
Smudge awoke with a jolt. Looking outside from the nearby window, he noticed the moon high in the sky.
Smudge had made his decision.