The young, sleek-furred black tom sat with his eyes firmly on his gray paws and a sad, lost look in his large, orange eyes.
'I can't believe it,' He thought. His anger at the thought of the circumstances that led him here and the human that'd tricked him had long since depleted, leaving him feeling alone and hopelessly lost.
Apparently, the crafty and malicious boy who had more or less taken over his life loved being human and couldn't possibly fathom why'd go back to being a cat.
He shrugged, thinking back there were few things about human life he actually liked, he knew deep down he wouldn't miss it. Decision made, he shook himself firmly, ridding himself of his former life and embracing his new one.
Everything looked so big in this new form and the air was thick and fragrant with new smells, so many the tom couldn't even begin to name them all. The lush, vivid undergrowth and forest in front of him looked as inviting as is it did intimidating.
What if he couldn't hunt, he'd starve! What if got killed or eaten? Worse, what if he got into a fight and couldn't defend himself? As a human, he'd seen strays around town get in fights from his bedroom window. On the rare occasions he'd notice a fight getting particularly brutal or a cat was disadvantaged in some way, he'd bang on a tin can with a stick.
It usually took a few tries but eventually the yowls, hissing and spitting would cease as the two or more cats went their separate ways with only scratches and lashing tails.
The gray-speckled tom shivered, although cats were cute and fluffy, their fights were swift and brutal. He winced, having no desire to feel what their tiny, but sharp-looking teeth and claws felt like!
With one last glance behind him at his former home, the young tom sighed.
'Do I have what it takes to make it out here?' He thought despairingly as his vision became blurry with tears. A tail gently draping itself over his shoulders and a soft, comforting, curious mew drew the tom from his saddened state with a shake of his head.
"Are you ok? You were crying." Blinking, the tom noticed small wet spots in the grass beneath his gray paws.
"Oh…" He managed, sitting with his tail wrapped over his paws.
"I'm Whitepaw. Wanna tell me what happened?" The pure white she-cat asked, striking dark green eyes sparkling with kindness. The black tom inwardly sighed in relief, glad not to have seen pity there.
"My Twolegs just kicked me out." He said miserably but instinctually, not even the slightest bit surprised at the strange words he'd used. He figured thinking like a cat came with the territory.
"Oh, I'm sorry." The she-cat said before trailing off, seeming to be thinking hard about something. After a while, she shrugged as if the question was obvious and didn't require as much thinking as she'd given it.
"Do you wanna to join my Clan?"
The tom listened, wide-eyed and enamored, as Whitepaw chattered like a fluttering, happy sparrow about Clan life. Whitepaw glanced appraisingly at him from the corner of her eye. The young, sleek-furred black tom had gray flecks like drifting ash throughout his pelt. He was lithe, swift and surprisingly strangely confident for a kittypet as he walked with an excited bounce, his large, orange eyes bright and eager with the thirst for knowledge.
Whitepaw flicked her tail-tip back and forth happily. He'd make a great warrior, hopefully her leader would agree.
"By the way, I never caught your name."
The young tom halted, he never thought about that. 'A new name for a new life.' Excitement surged through him like a cool breeze.
"I'm Ash." He mewed cheerfully, paws suddenly itching to run.
"Nice to meet you, Ash."
"Wanna race?" He asked, the white she-cat barely opened her mouth before he pelted off through the lush, bright forest, laughing happily.
"'till the day this cat receives his warrior name, this tom shall be known as Ashpaw." Cinderstar announced. The newly-named Ashpaw's eyes shone with pride as the tall gray she-cat scanned the crowd of cheering cats below. A small smirk appeared on her muzzle and her tail-tip twitched once as if in approval as her dark blue eyes landed on her brother.
"Shadowfeather," The tall, lean, muscular black tom stepped forward, dark blue eyes shining in confidence and a hint of surprise. "You've trained Dapplecloud well and have shown patience and determination, skills I know you'll pass on to Ashpaw to help make him a respected warrior."
Ashpaw padded forward as the tall tom crouched down to touch noses with him. The black, gray flecked, tom quickly gulped down a mouse before both departed with Whitepaw and her mentor for training.
His mentor chuckled, shaking his head at his apprentice's eagerness as Ashpaw streaked through the tunnel.
Over the coming moons, Ashpaw trained hard as Shadowfeather explained to him about Clan life. He was particularly fascinated with medicine cats and the idea of SleekClan, dead cats who hunted amongst the stars and who living cats believed guided their paw steps and warned them in times of danger.
Every night, the exhausted tom collapsed his nest, head buzzing with information before he was dragged in a deep, dreamless sleep.
"Ashflight, SleekClan honors your eagerness to learn and your quick decision making. We welcome you as a full warrior of ShineClan." Cinderstar said, eyes shining warmly with pride she touched noses with the new warrior, who licked her shoulder.
"Ashflight! Whitecloud! Ashflight! Whitecloud!" Ashflight purred, eyes shining and standing tall and proud with the white she-cat as their clanmates cheered below.