The ginger she-cat narrowed her eyes for a moment. "Sandstorm?" I repeated nervously. "D-Do you recognize me?"

There was a heartbeat of silence, then Sandstorm grinned, to my relief. I let out the heavy breath that I has been holding in; I wasn't going to get hurt again.

"Rachel! What are you still doing here? I though that you-" she suddenly stopped herself. "Where did you get those shoulder wounds? I swear, if it was ShadowClan..." I smiled shyly. "It was... kinda," I muttered, and Sandstorm growled in annoyance.

"Jeez, whenever you're about to meet a ThunderClan warrior, you always seem to get hurt! Come on, I can't leave you out here when you have an open wound, no matter how small it is. Let's bring you back to Jayfeather." I smiled. "Thanks!"

Sandstorm turned around, and I notice that there were three other cats standing behind her; Cloudtail, Molefur and Hazeltail. The small group of cats must've been on a hunting patrol before I arrived. Then I see a little brown body in Cloudtail's jaws; it was the squirrel that I had been chasing.

Sandstorm turned around and stalked through the forest, the other patrol cats following her. I scrambled after them, finally catching up to Cloudtail who was at the back. "So, Rachel, what are you still in ThunderClan territory? I thought that you left," the white warrior asked. I looked down at my paws.

"I... I realized that my destiny lied here, in ThunderClan, so I came back," I replied, and Cloudtail nodded. "Good thing that you found us, then," he mumbled through a mouthful of squirrel. I let out a small laugh.

"The only reason why I found you guys is because I started to stalk that squirrel," I pointed out, looking at the creature dangling from Cloudtail's jaws. Hazeltail grinned and Molefur smiled. "Let's thank StarClan for its life, then," he purred, and he beckoned me next to him.

Sandstorm took the lead, with Cloudtail in the rear. The light ginger she-cat led the way back to the ThunderClan camp, where I hoped to start my new life.

Yet there still were a few problems...

First of all, I was an outsider. Sure, I had temporarily lived there a day before, but that doesn't mean that the ThunderClan warriors will let me back into the Clan. Although Bramblestar is nice and noble, he isn't quite like Firestar and there is a large possibility that he won't let me back in.

I also rejected their first Clan offering, but I had turned them down. The cats would then think that I was wasn't loyal, and... Urgh. All the cats probably hate me anyway. Maybe I should go back to the barn...

"We're almost there," Sandstorm pointed out to me, and I was jolted out of my thoughts. The patrol and I crossed through some bramble patches in the dense undergrowth and, after pulling a thorn out of my paw, we came to a stop in front of the Clan's main entrance. I took a deep breath.

The moment of truth.

The patrol pushed past me and padded into the ThunderClan camp. I scurried in after them, head down. I didn't want to attract any attention to myself... for now.

I was back in the camp. It had only been a day, but it felt like it had been years since I had been here. The fallen tree, the dens, the Highledge... Now this seemed a lot more cozy and homey then the WindClan camp did.

Sandstorm stopped walking and the patrol came to a halt beside her. "Alright," she muttered. "Molefur, get Jayfeather or Leafpool. Cloudtail, get Bramblestar; he should be in his den. And Hazeltail, Squirrelflight should be around here somewhere." She nodded at her other patrol members and they each went to get their designated cats.

The ginger she-cat stayed with me, in the shadows next to the base of the Highledge. We just sat there, trying not to attract attention, but soon enough I heard whispering flowing through the camp. Cats started to glance in my direction, gossiping about who-knows-what.

"Wait... Isn't that Ratshell?" "No, it's Rachel. What's she doin' here?" "Beats me. She's just a stupid rogue." "But she's a kit!" "I bet you a whole rabbit she got attacked by another fox."

I flattened my ears and tried to ignore the rumours going around. I sighed, and Sandstorm looked at me with worried eyes. "You okay?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Just... Everything that's happened lately, it just... Kinda feels overwhelming," I mumbled awkwardly.

The older cat nodded in understanding. "It probably isn't going to be easy, getting accepted by the Clan. The leader before Bramblestar, Firestar wasn't Clanborn either. It was hard for him to adjust to Clan life, and it was hard for others to accept him, too." Sandstorm looked at the fallen tree, a faraway look in her eyes. "I remember the days..."

I knew all that stuff already, but I acted as though I didn't know. "Oh, was he a good leader?" I asked the ginger she-cat.

She nodded. "He was a great leader," she meowed softly. "He led his Clan proudly, and he helped all those in need..." Sandstorm sighed and stared at her paws. "He was my mate, you know," she added.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I mumbled. Sandstorm was about to respond when we heard the sound of paw steps behind us. We turned around to see Molefur and Cloudtail leading three cats to where Sandstorm and I were sitting. I recognized Jayfeather and Squirrelflight, but I didn't recognize the light brown tabby. That must be Leafpool, I thought nervously as I shot her a quick glance. She's kind of pretty, you could say.

"Where's Bramblestar and Hazeltail? They should've been here right now," Sandstorm grumbled. Molefur shrugged. "Not sure. I'll go check his den." The new warrior ran off towards the Highledge, leaving the rest of us in silence.

Jayfeather was the one to make the first move. "You again," he grumbled, and I rolled my eyes. Why didn't Jayfeather like me? Not that I cared, anyway.

I ignored his comment and turned to the pretty tabby she-cat. "You must be Leafpool, right?" I asked curiously to find out if my theory was correct. The cat smiled and nodded.

"Pleased to meet you, little one. I'm Jayfeather's new medicine cat apprentice. I just got appointed last night," she told me. I grinned at the thought of her being her son's own apprentice.

"Well, congratulations, and good luck," I pointed out, glancing cautiously at Jayfeather. She let out a soft giggle as Jayfeather let out a large snort. "I'm blind but I'm not deaf, you know!"

Squirrelflight turned to me after the laughter died down. "Why did you come back? What happened?" she asked. I yawned then answered, "I'll tell you the story when Bramblestar gets here, I promise."

Just then, Molefur climbs back down the Highledge back to our little group. "Bramblestar isn't there," he huffed. "Hazeltail isn't there either, but both of their scents are in the den, but they lead out to the forest. Hazeltail must've followed Bramblestar's scent trail."

Curiosity prickled my pelt. What was Bramblestar doing? Sandstorm must've had the same question as me, since she said, "We need to find him. I'll make a small patrol. Cloudtail, Squirrelflight, me of course and, uh, Foxleap!" She called the russet warrior over from his spot next to Toadstep near the fresh-kill pile. "You want to go on a patrol?" "Sure, why not."

The patrol was about to leave when I stepped up. "Hey! Why can't I go?" I asked, feeling hurt that I wasn't invited. But Squirrelflight just smiled and called back, "You're just a kit! Let Jayfeather and Leafpool take care of your wounds. We'll be back soon!" And with that, they were gone.

I was left with Molefur and the medicine cats. "Anything I can do?" The young cream warrior asked, and Jayfeather shook his head. "You can go now, Molefur, if you wish. Get yourself some prey of something."

The tom left and I was alone with the ThunderClan cat doctors. I sighed and put my head on my paws and thought about my day. WindClan, ShadowClan, what next?

I didn't notice Jayfeather asking Leafpool for herbs, or the she-cat leaving to go get them. I was lost in my own little world until I heard a low growl in my ear.

"What's with you?" the blind cat growled at me. I almost jumped back in shock. "What's with me? What's with you?" I retorted, and Jayfeather inched his face closer to mine. I held my breath, my eyes opened wide.

"I can feel your feelings, I can tell you've been through a lot but I can't see your thoughts and memories! Why?" I blinked. To a normal cat, this would sound weird or even a bit creepy, but as I know about his power, I understand his question. Does he know that I know? Does he know that I know everything about them?

"W-what the heck are you talking about?" I splutter, trying to sound convincing, even though I don't know the answer myself. Why isn't he able to read my past and see my thoughts? Did it have to do with me being human? "Are you some sort of... Psych-Cat?" I ask timidly.

The grey blue-eyed cat was about to retort when Leafpool returned with some herbs in her mouth. "Is this good?" She mumbled through the leaves of the plants, and Jayfeather nodded. As they worked on the herbs, he shot me a hard glance, which I returned. I don't like Jayfeather too much anymore.

They started to apply some leaves of my scratches and cuts to help them not get infected. Jayfeather pressed too hard on one of my bruises, and I winced. I think he did that on purpose.

Once I was all cleaned up and my cuts were pretty much fixed, we waited for the patrol to arrive safely back at camp. We waited for a few minutes, in which nothing happened.

But then the main entrance to camp rustled. Cloudtail entered the camp, but as soon as he stepped in, I knew that something had gone wrong. The warrior's usually white pelt had some red on it, and the poor cat had a bad scratch on his tail.

One by one, the patrol entered the camp, each cat with some kind of injury. They had caught the attention of the rest of the Clan who had been sharing tongues, sleeping or gossiping about me. Bramblestar entered the camp, accompanied by Hazeltail. He was limping and had a cut on his eye, but otherwise he looked alright, more or less.

The two medicine cats jumped up and ran towards their leader. I followed them to where Sandstorm sat, panting. Jayfeather and Leafpool fussed over the leader of ThunderClan, and this gave me some time to talk with the older she-cat. "What happened?"

Sandstorm looked at me with a steady gaze. "A fox," she muttered, and I gasped. A fox?

"Yeah," Foxleap cut in. "And it looked exactly like the one that attacked you."