"So what are we out here for again, love?" Sunblaze inquired, a sweet tone in his voice

"We're going to check what kind of herbs this place has, Sunny," Leafpool responded.

It had been two days since the Clans had discovered their new homes. Two full days since Leafpaw had become a full medicine cat. Two days since the ThunderClan warrior had seen his three friends.

And the tom had to say - yesterday and the day before were a nightmare! Non-stop working; from putting borders in place to setting up the clan camp. Now, here he was helping his adorable mate look for herbs for herself and Cinderpelt.

He let out a small 'mrow' of laughter at the thought of Sparkclaw and Smokepaw being forced to form dens or set borders in place. He could almost hear the whining of the WindClan appreciate or the ShadowClan warrior's vulgar yelling of protest.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why am I helping you? You'd think Cinderpelt would be fighting tooth and claw to keep me away from you," he mused.

"Well, she couldn't really do much since you volunteered to help," the tabby she-cat smiled.

"Your sister nearly beat me to it," Sunblaze replied. The tom pressed against his mate, nuzzling her, "luckyily I managed to offer first," he purred.

"Sunny, please don't we might-" Leafpool warned.

"-Get caught?" The ThunderClan warrior finished for her, "no we won't," he reassured, "you know, it's really cute when you get so worked up," he added, a teasing smile on his face.

"Oh, stop it," she mewed playfully, pressing her ears flat against her head in a flustered manner, "you're too sweet,"

"Don't pretend you don't love it," Sunblaze grinned.

The medicine cat sighed, nuzzling underneath her mate's chin, "I do," she admitted. After a brief embrace, the tabby she-cat pulled away. "C'mon, we need to focus," she muttered.

The two cats walked in silence, carefully assessing the territory. Analysing it. Though something was bothering the golden cat. Why was Leafpool always so hesitant when it came to showing him affection? Perhaps she just wasn't big on it? Or was he being clingy? Or was she afraid of something?

If it was her fellow medicine cat and former mentor he wasn't surprised. Cinderpelt was on to them, leering at Sunblaze any time he was near Leafpool. Hell, she hardly ever let her apprentice get away from her side.

Should Leafpool show a little too much affection to him for the grey she-cat's liking then only God knows what would happen to them and their relationship. It made sense to him now - she was afraid that Cinderpelt was watching them any time they were alone.

"Leafpool, love," Sunblaze suddenly mewed, "are you afraid of Cinderpelt?" he inquired, looking her in the eye.

"Wh...what do you mean by that?" The she-cat asked back.

The tom frowned, "you know what I mean; you're scared of her finding out," he insisted. The warrior could she by the way she suddenly froze that he had hit the nail on the head.

Leafpool nodded, "I am, I don't want to be, but..." she sighed. She sounded defeated, "I love you, but if Cinderpelt found out..." she shook her head, "we can't act suspicious,"

Sunblaze sighed, "look Leafpool, you can't live in fear of her forever," he meowed, "we're not going to last for long if you're scared of her,". Though they hadn't been mates for long, they both knew that her fear would drive them apart. He gave his mate a reassuring lick, "don't let her control what you do, love,"

The medicine cat nodded, "you're right," she responded. Without warning, she suddenly pressed her nose into the ThunderClan warrior's, a bright smile on her face as she did. The tabby she-cat pulled away, entwining her tail as she pressed herself against him. "Let's go, Sunny," she purred.

He was taken aback. Leafpool wasn't forward by any means, but he'd never expect her to do what she just did. But his surprise soon was replaced by a warm feeling, the corners of his lips tugging upwards to form a smile. He followed her lead.

"What kind of herbs are we looking for, by the way?" Sunblaze inquired, eyeing a dandelion like it held the secrets of the universe. 'Maybe these are used for something? I dunno' he mused.

The tom didn't know what compelled him to do what he did next, maybe he would never know and spend the rest of his life pondering why, but he stuffed the dandelion in his maw without a second thought. He'd seen the medicine cats chew plants before, maybe he would find out what it does.

"We're looking for-" Leafpool responded, stopping as she saw her mate with a dandelion in his mouth. The tabby she-cat burst into hysterics at the sight.

"What?" The ThunderClan warrior asked defensively, his voice muffled by the chewed-up flower in his mouth.

"I-it's just-" the medicine cat paused to laugh, "I wasn't expecting that," she finally answered as she calmed down. "But to answer your question, we're just seeing what kind of herbs there are here and where they grow," explained the tabby.

"But what do dandelions do though?" He inquired, his mouth still full of said plant.

"It's for bee stings," Leafpool answered, "if you chew the leaves they relieve pain, I don't know what chewing the whole plant does though," she giggled.

"Hope it doesn't make me keel over and die," Sunblaze replied jokingly.

The pair continued their search for herbs. The tabby she-cat mentally noted whatever herb she saw; coltsfoot, bindweed, celandine... while the gold tom found something that looked like a herb and asked his mate if he was right - most of the time he was wrong.

Suddenly, a sound fell on Sunblaze's ears. He froze in place, trying to pinpoint where the sound was emanating from. It sounded like light snoring and it seemed to be coming from a nearby tree. At least it appeared to be coming from the tree.

"What's wrong?" Leafpool asked with concern.

"Quiet," The ThunderClan warrior replied, his voice low. "I think there's something there, by that tree," he mewed, pointing at it with his tail. Cautiously, he approached the tree that was the origin of the sound.

He could here the sound louder now. It was definitely the sound of a cat snoring. The tom furrowed his brow, had ThunderClan claimed the home of some cat as their territory? Maybe. Maybe not.

But it was time to find out.

The warrior crept around the side of the tree, Leafpool watching him in silence. A burrow of sorts lead underneath the tree. It wasn't spacious and tree roots hung from the ceiling. The burrow didn't seem like the most luxurious of homes.

Sunblaze peered inside, seeing a dirt-covered brown tabby cat curled up in a ball. Because they had their back to him, he didn't recognise them until he saw a familiar scar on their shoulder.

"...Sparkclaw?" The ThunderClan warrior mewed, surprise evident in his voice.

The ShadowClan cat jumped at the sound of his voice, hissing as he smacked his head against the burrow's roof, "ow! Shit!" growled the tom. He swivelled his head around to see his friend, "uh...hey,"

"What the bloody hell are you on our territory for?" The gold tom inquired, watching as his friend dragged himself from out the hole and shake some of the dirt from his pelt.

Sparkclaw seemed to pause for a second, then began shaking in rage. He hissed, "that piece of shit followed us here and joined my clan!"

The whole world stood still for what felt like an eternity for Sunblaze. Perhaps it was naïve of him to believe, but he thought that Shade would have stayed with the Tribe and he only went after them because they were in the same area. Looks like he was just here to finish what he started.

The anxious feeling of his stomach tying itself in knots became all too real. In that moment a deep, primal fear for his life planted itself inside him. He couldn't beat Shade before he came here and he had much better control on his body and, by extent, his powers. What hope did he have now?

"...you're joking..." the ThunderClan warrior finally answered. His voice sounded like he was out of breath and on the verge of tears. He didn't want to believe what he was hearing. He wanted to believe he misheard or that his friend was pulling his leg. If he was, then he put too much effort in.

"Sunny, what's wrong?" Leafpool inquired, her amber eyes full of concern.

The warrior was brought back to reality, "it's...nothing, love. I'm fine," he responded. His answer couldn't be further from the truth. He turned to Sparkclaw, "uh, I guess you should come to ThunderClan camp, then," he mumbled.

"Show me the way then, buddy," the tom mewed.

"I guess you're not a ShadowClan cat anymore either," Sunblaze whispered, only loud enough for Sparkclaw to hear.

"Damn right. I ain't stayin' in the same place as that bastard!" The ex-ShadowClan cat spat. "Don't think they'd want be back after the meltdown I had," he added casually.

The warrior and medicine cat lead him to ThunderClan camp. Once they arrived, cats soon took notice of the ShadowClan warrior in their midst. It felt oddly nostalgic to the brown tabby tom, it was like when he first joined ShadowClan.

Sunblaze scanned the camp, looking for Firestar. In truth, he didn't know what to do or how to help Sparkclaw. He felt lost and he hated it. But Firestar would know what to do - he always did.

The tom sighted the cat he was looking for, talking with his mate, and didn't waste a millisecond before rushing over, his friend hot on his heals and his mate walking briskly behind them. "Um...Firestar, sir," he mewed. The warrior didn't know what to say next, or how to phrase it in such a way that it didn't seem like Sparkclaw had just deserted his clan for no good reason.

"Sunblaze? What's the matter?" The ThunderClan leader inquired as his mate walked off to talk with some other warriors. He soon noticed Sparkclaw and frowned to himself, "does ShadowClan need our help?"

"Um..." The ThunderClan warrior sputtered. He was struggling to form a sentence that wouldn't end in disaster. Luckily, the ex-ShadowClan warrior spoke in his stead.

"Nah, they're good. But I need help," Sparkclaw responded.

"What's the problem?" Firestar asked. He felt confused as to why a ShadowClan cat came to him, a leader of another clan, about a problem. Whatever it was, it must have been serious.

The brown tabby inhaled deeply, "can I join your clan or something?" he inquired. He knew he wouldn't go back to ShadowClan, not after causing a scene and certainly not with Shade there. He would rather die.

The ginger tom raised his eyebrows, "excuse me?"

"I said I wanna join. I left ShadowClan and now I wanna join you guys," repeated Sparkclaw.

"Were you exiled?"

"In a way, yeah,"

"What were you exiled for?"

"Can't say,"

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

Firestar sat in silence for a brief second, mauling over the self-exiled cat's proposal. It wasn't the first time as leader he didn't know how to act in a situation, to feel as if his body wanted to stand frozen or that he didn't know what to say. Part of him wanted to send him away - he was being too vague for his liking. It was suspicious.

Looking into the eyes of the tom before him, he could see that there was no way that he would be going back to ShadowClan. The ThunderClan leader could tell him no, tell him to move - but the self-exiled cat would plant his paws in the earth, look him in the eyes, and say 'no, you move.'

The brown tabby held the spirit of a warrior. There was no doubt about that.

"I'll announce your arrival soon." the leader responded, and with that he turned away, padding off.

Sunblaze placed the tip of his tail on his friend's shoulder, "you're one of us now," he smiled. While Firestar hadn't confirmed it, it was most likely to be the outcome.

"Thanks, man," Sparkclaw replied.

"Congratulations," Leafpool mewed. She turned to her mate, "I need to go back to the medicine den, see you later handsome," the brown tabby purred.

"Okay, bye," The ThunderClan warrior responded as she headed for the medicine den.

"I didn't think your girl was flirty - I thought she was dorky n' shy," The ex-ShadowClan cat commented.

"...Should I be offended?" The tom inquired.

"I dunno, you tell me man," Sparkclaw replied with a smile.

Their converstation was interrupted by the yowling of Firestar, calling all cats old enough to catch prey to gather underneath a large, jutting rock. The gathered cats murmured amongst themselves, wondering what they could have been called upon for. Most, if not all, knew it must have something concerning the ShadowClan cat in their camp. Their talking died out as their leader began to speak.

"Cats of ThunderClan, the ShadowClan warrior - Sparkclaw - approached me and asked to become a member of ThunderClan-," Firestar stated. The clan once again began to chatter amongst themselves.

Sunblaze actually felt a tad jealous of Sparkclaw. When he joined, ThunderClan was in an uproar over the fact an outsider was joining their ranks. All the tabby tom was getting was some whispers and a few snarky comments, most of which pertained to him being 'a piece of crowfood who probably got exiled'.

"-and I have decided to accept him into our ranks," the ginger tom announced.

At first, there was a shocked gasp from the cats of ThunderClan, followed by yowls of outrage.

"He was probably exiled by his clan! Why are we taking him in?!"

"Remember how Blackstar yelled at him every five minutes? Nobody wants that here!"

"He was exiled! He can go fall off a cliff for all I care!"

That was the kind of reception that Sparkclaw was expecting - when he first joined ShadowClan he learned the clans didn't like outsiders or cats from other clans. Even if they did, he doubted he would have had a positive reception anyways.

The ThunderClan warrior grimaced - there it was. He wanted to stick up for his friend, he really did, but getting on the entire clan's bad side didn't seem appealing. 'Sorry, pal; but you're on your own here' he thought solemnly. He hated himself for doing it. But he suddenly had a second thought, 'how fucking shallow are you?' the tom berated himself, 'say something!'

"Alright, pipe down!" Sunblaze shouted from over the crowd.

"Shut up! All of you just shut up!" A she-cat's voice cried.

The crowd's protests lessened and the self-exiled cat began looking for the source of the voices who came to his defence. He saw Sunblaze and Squirrelflight, glaring at all their clanmates. Their eyes soon met and the she-cat flashed him a sweet smile.

He returned her smile. For the second time, Sparkclaw felt touched by the ginger she-cat. Outside of family, he couldn't think of anyone who cared for him more than her. Oh -it was cool of Sunblaze to stick up for him, too.

Firestar, satisfied that the clan's outraged had been quelled, continued with his speech, "Sparkclaw," he called.

The self-exiled cat clambered and scaled the rock, sitting at the ThunderClan leader's side. The tom held his head up high in pride.

"I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this warrior. He wishes to join our clan after his exile from his previous clan. Sparkclaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your own life?" The leader recited.

"I do," the ex-ShadowClan cat answered.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I pronounce you as a full warrior of ThunderClan," Firestar smiled.

The clan began to cheer his name, "Sparkclaw! Sparkclaw! Sparkclaw!". Though most of them didn't sound too enthusiastic but rather they sounded like they were doing it because it was mandatory. Although, he could hear Squirrelflight and Sunblaze's happy cheers over the crowd, the ginger she-cat being the louder of the two. Soon thereafter, the crowd parted and the new ThunderClan warrior hopped down from the rock.

Squirrelflight approached him, "congratulations on becoming a ThunderClan warrior," she praised.

"Thanks," Sparkclaw grinned, feeling butterflies run rampant in his stomach. He hadn't realised until now, but he didn't need to put his feelings for the pretty she-cat off any longer. They were part of the same clan - there was nothing wrong with him loving her.

"Why don't we go for a hunt to celebrate?" the ginger she-cat offered.

"Lead the way," the new ThunderClan warrior replied. His chance at a relationship with her was staring him in the face, he had to say something soon before it was too late. He remembered something Allen had told him just before he left for college; "Dave, if you ever see a chance to do what you wanna do - take it and don't let nobody get in your way. Understand?"

He understood.

This was his chance - and nothing on this Earth was going to take that from him.

The two cats ventured into ThunderClan's new territory. But what was supposed to be a hunt proved to be something else. They weren't even looking for prey, they were just walking, listening to the sounds of nature and feeling the sun shine through the trees and onto them.

"Hey, Squirrelflight..." Sparkclaw started. He felt his heart beating like a jackhammer in his chest, threatening to burst.

"Yeah?" The ThunderClan warrior responded, her ears pricked as her lips tugged up to form a slight grin. Butterflies ran amok in her stomach, tying it in knots. Was he going to tell her? The anticipation was killing her.

"How do I say this?" The brown tabby muttered to himself. He inhaled deeply to soothe his nerves, "u-um...how do I put it?" he asked himself again, "I...uh, I've kinda...liked you for a while now, and I wanna know..."

"Yes!" Squirrellflight squealed, bowling the tabby over and burying her face into his chest, "yes! A thousand times yes!" she cried out.

"Woah, settle down there!" Sparkclaw laughed, a stupid grin on his face. That went better than expected, that's for sure. But he had never felt so lucky, so privileged, in his entire life. They were an item.

The ginger she-cat looked up, her green eyes meeting his blue one, "so...do we..." the ThunderClan warrior drifted off.

"Get off me first," The new ThunderClan warrior responded with a smile.

"Oh, sorry!" She apologised sheepishly, getting off of her mate.

Sparkclaw get to his paws, standing close to his mate as they look into each other eyes. The ginger she-cat stood with a sheepish smile on her face, "so, now do we..." she started.

"Yep, c'mere," he replied.

The two cats pressed their noses together, closing their eyes. Soon thereafter, they pulled away and pressed their heads together, purring loudly. Nothing could ruin this moment for them.

Nothing.