Shattered Lives
True to their word, they met every half moon at that exact spot to talk about their lives. Cinderkit grew into Cinderpaw and Storm could tell she adored her mentor. Meanwhile, Storm's mother had died and he was alone.
"I caught prey on my first try. You should have seen the look on Fireheart's face. I thought he was going to burst." The grey apprentice fell over laughing and the darker-furred tom snickered along.
"Hey, I have an idea!"
"What?"
"Why don't you join ThunderClan?"
"Join ThunderClan? Like stay with a whole bunch of cats who probably won't even like me?"
"Plenty of cats like Fireheart and he was a kittypet. Besides, we won't have to teach you how to hunt or anything because you already know how. We could always use some extra paws around and you're just the cat I think we need."
"No offence, Cinderpaw, but I don't think every cat will like me just because I can hunt."
"It would take some getting used to but I'm not the only cat who wants you around. Plenty of cats were complaining about how hard leafbare is and more cats means more prey gets caught and more protection from other Clans."
"And another mouth to feed. I'm sorry, Cinderpaw. You're great but I can't be around a lot of cats yet. I'm used to being on my own…"
"It's okay. Just know that you can join anytime and we can still meet up. Nothing has to change."
"Thanks."
"I think we should get going."
"See you next half moon?"
"Yeah. Good luck, Storm."
"May StarClan light your path, Cinderpaw."
They touched noses and he watched her disappear into the trees before loping out of the forest, his head in the clouds and his paws lighter than air. He wouldn't mind being with Cinderpaw if there weren't so many cats…
"I can't see you anymore." Cinderpaw had been well on her way to becoming a warrior before Tigerclaw had tried to kill Bluestar. Storm flinched when he saw her mangled leg.
"You didn't have to come… I would have understood."
"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt as much as it used to."
"But you can't be a warrior anymore, can you."
"I'm going to be Yellowfang's apprentice."
"She's the medicine cat?"
"Yes. It's the only way I can help my Clan."
"Okay… you can still walk, can't you?"
"Well obviously, furball." She purred, swatting at his ears. "But the half moon is when medicine cats meet to share tongues with StarClan and I'll be busy. I might not be able to see you all the time and I don't want you to feel like we're not friends anymore but-."
"It's okay, I get it. I hope you get to help your Clan."
"We still have a problem."
"What's wrong?"
"Medicine cats can't take a mate. It would distract them from treating the Clan equally, according to the Code."
"Makes sense. So… do we stop meeting?"
"You could still join the Clan."
"I will, I promised I would… just not yet."
"It's okay… if you find someone else. You could stay with them."
"What?! No! Cinderpaw, it's not that I don't like you. I just… there was this vicious group of cats called BloodClan… they're the reason my mother's dead."
"Oh… you think the Clans will be like BloodClan? We're not. We don't kill others unless we have to, like it's a matter of life or death. Most of our battles only leave injured, but we try to make sure that no one really dies. The medicine cats even work together, so even if there's conflict with two Clans the medicine cats help eachother out. So do the Clans in times of peace. Even ShadowClan can be nice at times. I've heard stories where they've helped in the past. It just hasn't happened for a while."
"I… I'll think about it."
"I won't hold it against you if you don't want to. BloodClan sounds terrible."
"Thank you, Cinderpaw. Good luck with being a medicine cat."
May StarClan light your path, Storm." She murmured as she watched him leave.
