Chapter 2 - Choices and Friends

"I don't think you realize just how disappointing this could be," Rain meowed, as she stopped Rockpaw from slipping on a patch of loose pebbles. The four cats had said their good-byes and left at sunrise, not wanting to waste travelling hours. Their trek down the mountain had been difficult, but the apprentices were so full of energy it hadn't taken long at all.

"Maybe," Rockpaw meowed, finding his paws. "But perhaps not." Rain chanced a glance overhead, and saw that the sun was still climbing. Perfect, she thought, as they reached the base of the mountain, we'll be in Twolegplace by sundown.

"We made it!" Wolfpaw exclaimed.

"We certainly did," Rain meowed. "Though we've a ways to go still."

The cats continued on for a while, cresting hills and fording streams. It was sunhigh, and they stood on top of a tall hill, when Rain told them to stop.

"Look to your left," she meowed. The apprentices peered over each other, a jumble of gray tails and ears, and caught a glimpse of dark gray smudges. "That's Twolegplace. One of them."

"One of them!" Wolfpaw cried. "I thought there was only one!" Now that he'd thought about it, though, it made sense. After all, cats didn't fit into just one clan, so why should Twolegs?

"Do you see the other one?" Rain asked. Riverpaw was the first to spot it.

"I see it!" he yelled. "Over there, it's right, but not very far to the right."

Rain purred. "Well done. That's the one I come from."

"We have to make a choice," Rockpaw realized. "There's not enough time in the season to go to both of them, is there?"

"No, I'm afraid there isn't." Rain meowed. "You do have to choose."

"We could come back in newleaf," Riverpaw meowed, hopeful.

"Yeah! We'd be warriors then, and could make the journey all by ourselves." Rain twitched her whiskers at Wolfpaw's excitement.

"Perhaps. But now, you three had better make your decision quickly," she meowed. "We really don't have much time."

"How long do we have to deliberate?" Rockpaw inquired.

"Not very long. It took us nearly half a day to make it down the mountain, and it will take another full one to make it up the mountain." Rockpaw sat for a while, considering. Rain took the time to give herself a thorough wash.

"Do you remember seeing any cats that look like us?" Rockpaw finally asked.

"I can't be certain," Rain replied, pausing her licking. "I came to FrostClan many moons ago, and your coloring isn't exactly distinct." She had a point. Green eyes weren't uncommon, and neither were dark gray pelts.

"All right, so it's completely up to chance," Rockpaw deduced. "The one to the left looks closer, so let's head to that one. We'll have more time to explore."

"Good thinking," Riverpaw said, coming up the hill, carrying a shrew. Wolfpaw trailed him, close behind.

"You went hunting?" Rain asked, incredulously. "It's dangerous around here. There could be strange cats, dogs, or even foxes."

"We didn't see nothing but prey," Wolfpaw meowed.

"Anything," Rockpaw corrected automatically. "The one drawback to my plan is that Rain doesn't know the Twolegplace we're going to."

"So? Twolegplaces are all the same, anyways. Rain knows what they're like, so why would it make a difference?" Riverpaw didn't see the problem.

"That's actually an excellent point. There's no reason her skills wouldn't be transferable."

"Are you three done yet?" Her voice had a bored tone to it, and she was eyeing the shrew Riverpaw had caught.

"Yes," Rockpaw meowed. "Let's share the shrew, and then we'll head to the Twolegplace on the left."

After they had finished eating, Rain led them off in the direction of the Twolegplace they had chosen. They passed a small forest, and Rockpaw coughed as he scented something awful.

"Rain? What is that stench?" he meowed, trying not to open his mouth.

"Oh, Twolegs do this thing sometimes. They dig a giant hole, and put all their bile in it. It's foul." she meowed, though from the way she acted, it was no big deal to her.

"Like making dirt!" Wolfpaw meowed, his words muffled by his tail in front of his muzzle.

"I think they skipped the burying part," Riverpaw choked out. Rain paid him no mind, all her attention laser-focused on the hill in front of them.

"Okay, listen to me," she hissed, a sense of urgency coloring her voice. "As quickly as you can, you three are going to run into the forest. Whatever you do, don't look back. Ready? Go!"

Rockpaw stayed put, right behind Rain, and immediately wished he hadn't. Six cats were marching up the hill towards the two. By the look of them, they were strong, and fast. Even the two smaller ones appeared able to take a Clan apprentice in a fight. Rockpaw took a deep breath to steady himself. He might be just a medicine cat apprentice, but he couldn't let the old warrior stand alone.

The cats drew closer, and Rockpaw gulped. Two shimmering golden pelts caught his eye, and something in his brain registered. Wait, I know them! With a cry of joy, he charged down the hill.

"Yarrowtree!" Rockpaw purred. "StarClan, it's marvelous to see you."

"Good to see you too, Rockpaw," she meowed, bemused. "What are you doing out here?"

"Rockpaw, were you really going to fight them with me?" Rain meowed, coming up behind him.

"Fight us?" Goldenpelt meowed, standing next to Yarrowtree. The she-cat twitched her whiskers. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"We, ah, believed you were not yourselves," Rockpaw meowed. At Goldenpelt's look of confusion, Rain elaborated,

"He means we thought you were rogues. StarClan, Rockpaw, can't you talk like a normal cat for once?" Goldenpelt accepted the explanation.

"Shall we let the apprentices talk?" Crowpelt meowed, and Rain nodded. The three cats went over to join the other warriors.

"Hi, Rockpaw!" Cloverpaw meowed, bounding up to him.

"Hello, you," he meowed, headbutting the young apprentice. She purred.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Blazepaw, Cloverpaw's brother, came up to him.

"Riverpaw, Wolfpaw, and I are on a quest to find our family." Rockpaw sat down. The full importance of what he was doing washed over him. He was really going to see his parents. His brothers and himself were going to find out where they were truly from.

Cloverpaw simply looked confused. "Really? 'Cause I don't see Riverpaw or Wolfpaw."

Rockpaw realized his brothers were still in the forest. "Riverpaw, Wolfpaw, come back!" he called. Soon enough, the two apprentices returned from over the hill.

"What are you carrying?" Riverpaw meowed, and Rockpaw cursed himself for not noticing the little green bundles the cats had dropped. A moon ago, Yarrowtree and Cloverpaw had had dreams telling them to go find an herb that would be necessary for the coming leaf-bare. It had turned into a bit of a family endeavor, because Cloverpaw's parents had been unwilling to let their daughter, barely an apprentice, go on a quest without them, and they had brought their son, Blazepaw along with them. Swiftfall, Goldenpelt's brother, had insisted he come along to "help fight off the starmice." No cat questioned what starmice were. It was a well-known fact Swiftfall had a few bees in his brain.

Rockpaw tasted the air again, and realized that the little bundles of StarClan-requested herbs carried a rather potent smell. His nasal passages had been mostly clogged by the stink of the Twoleg bile, but now he was realizing this plant had a different scent altogether, and it wasn't pleasant.

"Interesting scent," Riverpaw meowed politely.

"It's terrible!" Wolfpaw complained, rubbing his tail along his nose. "It's almost worse than what the Twolegs dumped!"

"Oh, yeah. It smells awful!" Blazepaw meowed.

"But it works really, really well! I tried some, and it fixed everything! Everything!" Cloverpaw meowed excitedly.

"Cloverpaw!" Blazepaw chided. "Mother said we weren't supposed to eat any!" Cloverpaw simply rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

Rain, finished chatting with the warriors, came up to the apprentices.

"All right, we've made a plan to hunt together, and help the other cats get strength for their trek up the mountain tomorrow," she meowed, addressing Riverpaw, Wolfpaw, and Rockpaw.

"But then we won't get to Twolegplace in time!" Wolfpaw complained.

"Helping our clanmates is more important," Rain admonished. "It's not long until sundown, and they'll need their rest. Go on, now."

"I'll make nests," Rockpaw volunteered.

"Good idea." Rain meowed, and the nine cats set off.

When every cat had finished their hunt, it was sundown, and between the ten cats they'd caught three wrens, two pigeons, a blackbird, and two toads. A good meal was had by all, and Rockpaw purred contentedly as they all fell asleep on the hill. Overhead, Silverpelt was watching.

Thank you for reading! Hope you liked. Reviews are nice, but optional.

Fun Fact: Rain joined FrostClan when she was 20 moons old.