WindClan's territory was entirely covered with snow, the moorland crushed beneath its weight. Lilacpaw hesitantly led the way, using her previously made pawmarks to guide Shellpaw and Coriander across the land. Shellpaw hissed as the snow brushed against his belly, sending shivers up and down his body. The wind alone threatened to send him sprawling across the snow-laden ground.
Behind him, Coriander braced herself determinedly against the harsh winds. She was heavy with her expecting litter and movement was not easy with the weather. Lilacpaw promised them safe passage into WindClan's camp, but it was ultimately Harestar who would decide whether they had a place within the clan.
Do I really trust Harestar? Shellpaw wondered. What will he think, seeing a ThunderClan apprentice in his camp?
Shellpaw was not confident in his plan to join WindClan. He wasn't entirely positive about being a clan cat any longer, but he felt that joining Lilacpaw's clan was the best thing for Coriander. That way the WindClan medicine cat apprentice could watch over her without risking her own safety travelling between the horseplace and her camp. Despite anything else on Shellpaw's mind, he knew that the safety of Coriander and Lilacpaw were of utmost importance.
"The timing of this isn't perfect," Lilacpaw had told him that morning. "We found out just last night that Mistystar and Reedwhisker of RiverClan are dead. Most of WindClan is sick or starving. Harestar is on edge, and he has every right to be. Are you sure you want to do this today?"
"If what you say is true, then it sounds like Harestar needs every able body he can get," Shellpaw had insisted. "I should be a warrior by now, and I'm healthy. WindClan needs me."
"Yes, because arrogant apprentices are just what WindClan's leader wants to deal with right now," Coriander had muttered. Shellpaw ignored her.
"We do this now," Shellpaw decided.
Now, as they were nearing WindClan's camp, Shellpaw was more uncertain than ever. Harestar had not been a leader for many moons, and he was still trying to live up to Onestar's legacy. The previous WindClan leader had been respected among all of the clans, even if he had been a bit arrogant at times. Meanwhile, Harestar was best known for having trained in the Dark Forest, and there remained clan cats who distrusted him. Bringing in a former ThunderClan cat may not be in his best interests, Shellpaw knew.
He can reject me, Shellpaw decided. But he can't send Coriander back to the horseplace. She needs a medicine cat, and WindClan needs more warriors. Harestar would have to be a mouse-brain to turn her away.
Lilacpaw held up her tail to stop Shellpaw and Coriander beside a gorse bush. She turned to face them, her sky-blue eyes looking serious.
"Wait here," she demanded. "If I just stroll into camp with two outsiders, my clanmates will have questions. I'll let Harestar know what's happening, then someone will come out to retrieve you. Got it?"
Shellpaw felt the question was mostly directed at him, so he nodded his response. Coriander settled beside the gorse bush and tried her best to shelter from the wind.
As Lilacpaw padded away, Shellpaw pressed himself up against Coriander. She was shivering from the cold, and he could hear her wheezing. The effort of the journey had not done her well. Shellpaw wondered if she would make it back to the horseplace if Harestar turned her away.
"How are you feeling?" he asked her worriedly.
"Like newleaf needs to arrive sooner," Coriander responded sarcastically.
"There will be more shelter in WindClan's camp," Shellpaw pointed out.
Coriander almost laughed. Then she said, "If Harestar lets us stay."
He will, Shellpaw thought, but kept to himself. He has to.
It was sunhigh by the time Shellpaw saw Featherpelt and Lilacpaw reach the top of the hill. The WindClan warrior stopped there, gesturing for Shellpaw and Coriander to join them. Shellpaw stood up quickly and helped Coriander to her paws. Shellpaw helped the queen keep her balance as they joined the WindClan cats at the top of the hill.
"Harestar has agreed to hear what you have to say," Featherpelt told them when they reached the top.
"Thank you," Coriander replied breathlessly.
"Don't thank me yet," Featherpelt said as she began leading them toward the camp entrance.
Shellpaw and Lilacpaw shared a look as they descended the hill toward WindClan's camp. Shellpaw noticed that she seemed concerned, and he wondered if she was more concerned for herself or for Coriander. He was smart enough to know that she wasn't concerned for him. As far as he knew, they were friends, but he was unsure of whether Lilacpaw thought the same of him.
The camp was a shallow scoop in the ground, surrounded by heather and open to the sky above. In greenleaf, that openness was a blessing to them. However, with the intensity of that leaf-bare, Shellpaw suspected that the WindClan cats were not nearly as thankful for the open sky as they typically would have been. The only shelter from the wind and snow came from the dens, which themselves were woven from heather and willow branches.
As Featherpelt and Lilacpaw led them into the camp, Shellpaw felt the eyes of every WindClan cat fall on him. Ahead of them, he noticed the brown and white pelt of Harestar standing on top of a small hill. A hole just within that hill seemed to lead into Harestar's underground den.
Lilacpaw stepped over to the side of her mentor, Kestrelflight. Featherpelt, meanwhile, led Shellpaw and Coriander directly to the foot of the hill Harestar stood upon. The WindClan deputy, Crowfeather, emerged from one of the dens and joined them there. He stood at the foot of the hill, beneath Harestar and facing the intruders. Featherpelt dipped her head to the leader and deputy, then stepped away from the hill and joined her clanmates in the center of the clearing.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highhill for a clan meeting!" Harestar yowled, although most of his clanmates had already gathered in the clearing.
Shellpaw looked out into the group of cats and recognized few of them by name. The younger apprentices, Sootpaw and Flaxpaw, sat beside their mentors, Larkwing and Featherpelt. Aside from them, he only recognized Nightcloud, Heathertail, and Breezepelt. Every other cats' name escaped his memory.
Shellpaw returned his attention to Harestar, who looked at him expectantly.
"It appears we have guests in our presence," the WindClan leader growled, spitting the word 'guests' as if it left a sour taste in his mouth. He fixed his attention on Coriander, and his gaze softened slightly. "Coriander, I was sorry to hear about Smoky. He has been a friend to WindClan ever since the Great Journey, and he will be missed."
Coriander dipped her head politely to the leader, saying, "Thank you, Harestar. I miss him with each day that passes."
"My medicine cat apprentice has suggested to me that you join us as a queen," Harestar stated, annoyance barely detectable in his tone. "The truth is, WindClan is in need of warriors, and your kits would be great additions to our ranks. If it is your wish, I will gladly allow you to stay with us."
"It is," the expecting queen replied.
Harestar nodded in satisfaction. "Then, by all means, join your new clanmates. I'll have Flaxpaw and Sootpaw build you a nest in the nursery."
"Thank you, Harestar. You're too kind," Coriander said, her joy clear in her voice. She stood up and walked over to a young queen with kits of her own. There, the three young kits scampered around their mother's paws, tripping over themselves and growling fiercely. Their mother shushed them as Coriander took her place beside them.
Now, Shellpaw stood alone at the head of the clearing. His tail twitched as he looked up at Harestar. The WindClan leader's gaze revealed nothing, but his tail lashed back and forth maliciously. His lips curled in the beginning of a snarl as he met Shellpaw's own gaze.
"So, tell me, why has Lilacpaw brought a ThunderClan apprentice into my camp?" Harestar asked with a hint of a growl.
Shellpaw stood tall as he faced the WindClan leader. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, but he refused to let his nerves through to his voice as he responded. "ThunderClan is not my home any longer. I left them, with no intent of going back as I did. I have completed my training as a ThunderClan warrior, but still, Bramblestar refused to grant me my warrior name. Clearly, my skills are wasted in the forest. It is my hope that you may have use for them here, in WindClan."
"And why should I take in an apprentice that defected from the clan he was born into?" the leader questioned.
Shellpaw's nerves gave way to annoyance at the WindClan leader's insulting response. 'Do you doubt me?' he wanted to ask. Still, he held back. He didn't want to disrespect Harestar in front of his whole clan.
"Just because a cat is born into one clan doesn't mean they can't feel loyalty to another. Tawnypelt and Dovewing of ShadowClan were both born ThunderClan, but does Tigerstar doubt their loyalty?" Shellpaw replied coolly.
Harestar glared at Shellpaw then. "Tigerstar is the son of Tawnypelt and the mate of Dovewing. To doubt their loyalty would be to doubt his own place within the clan he leads."
Shellpaw realized his mistake and quickly tried to think of other cats that had been born in other clans. His mind went blank. Instead, he could only think of cats within ThunderClan that had been born outside of the clans entirely. He doubted Harestar would count them.
"That's what I thought," Harestar eventually said.
"Just send him away and be done with it!" Crowfeather hissed from his place at the foot of the Highhill.
Shellpaw jumped up then, instinctively unsheathing his claws. He landed on all fours and dug his claws into the ground. His body quivered with undisguised rage as he faced the leader and deputy of WindClan.
"Look at yourselves!" he yowled. "The cats of WindClan are starving! You all look like you haven't had a decent meal since leaf-fall ended moons ago! I can help you! You need me! I'm healthy, and I happen to be a great hunter!"
"A great hunter in ThunderClan, maybe," a tom's voice muttered from somewhere behind him, only adding to Shellpaw's anger.
Crowfeather dug his own claws into the snow-covered ground in front of him. "Harestar, say the word and I'll wipe that smug look right off his face."
"I know," the leader responded to his deputy evenly. "Shellpaw, you proved how little loyalty you have when you left ThunderClan. If you want to pretend you're loyal to WindClan, I suggest you stop kidding yourself. Featherpelt and Heathertail will escort you to the edge of our territory. From there, I suggest you leave clan territory and make your own path. There is no place for you in WindClan."
Shellpaw's heart dropped like a stone in his chest. He quivered with absolute rage as he stared in disbelief at Harestar. He couldn't bring himself to look at Lilacpaw or Coriander. Somehow, he felt like he had failed them by being turned away.
"My loyalty to WindClan would never waver if you let me stay, Harestar," Shellpaw attempted feebly, trying to hide his anger.
"You heard him," Crowfeather stated. "Featherpelt and Heathertail will bring you to the border. Go, before we treat you as we would an enemy."
Finally, Shellpaw looked to Lilacpaw for support. He found that she wouldn't meet his gaze, and that hurt worse than Harestar's rejection.
Perhaps we were never friends, he thought bitterly. I was just a fool to believe that.
Before he could give in to his rage, Shellpaw found Featherpelt and Heathertail and followed them out of the camp. Neither of them spoke to him, and he didn't expect them to.
The cold felt somehow more bitter as the two she-cats led him through the snow. He shivered, and he didn't know whether it was from the cold, his rage, or both. WindClan had accepted Coriander, but had rejected him. It was what he had expected to happen, but still, the confirmation of their rejection hurt. He truly had no place within the clans now.
Featherpelt and Heathertail brought him to the edge of WindClan territory. There, the two she-cats watched wordlessly as Shellpaw crossed the border into the unclaimed territory beyond the lake. From the other side, he looked back at them.
"Harestar is making a mistake," he attempted.
"You're the one who made a mistake, Shellpaw," Heathertail said. "You should never have come here. Not after abandoning your own clan."
Shellpaw tried to think of a fiery retort, but came up short. Instead, he shook his head solemnly and turned away from the WindClan warriors. He began his journey into the great beyond without looking back again.
He was on his own now.