Aurora yawned and stretched in her nest. It's been a few sunrises since she found herself in what she now knew was 'Shadowclan'. Once again there was wet moss by her nest and a frog. Aurora wrinkled her nose at the sight of the frog. She still wasn't a fan of eating the amphibian though Shadowclan seemed to enjoy them almost daily. It was like a delicacy among the clan. Ignoring the frog, Aurora lapped some water from the moss.
"Aren't you going to eat the frog?" Antpaw asked, padding over.
Aurora gazed at the frog, her belly clenching at the sight of it. "Uh, is there a mouse?"
Antpaw shook her head. "Nope! You have to eat the frog."
"What if I don't want to?" Aurora tried again.
Antpaw cuffed Aurora's ear, a hiss escaping the she-cat's throat. "Don't act like a kit! If you want to fatten up, you need to eat that frog!"
Aurora flattened her ears and took a bite of the frog. She slowly chewed the frog, slightly more used to it than before. Aurora still resented the fact that she kept on receiving frogs and toads to eat when there were clearly other types of prey on the pile.
"That's a good kit," Antpaw purred.
That was another thing that Aurora resented. "I'm not a kit!" She snapped, rising to her full height. "I'm a…a…"
"A what?" Antpaw meowed, meeting Aurora's blazing blue gaze. "A kittypet? A warrior? A loner? A rogue?" The apprentice's eyes widened in amusement. "A fox!" Then the apprentice burst out laughing.
"I-I don't know…" Aurora prodded absently at the rest of the frog. "I was a kittypet but I don't know what I am now."
Antpaw stopped laughing, her eyes suddenly serious and hopeful. "Perhaps…you could join Shadowclan?"
"No way!" Aurora yelped. She didn't want to live with a bunch of wildcats. Though she didn't want to trust twolegs either. Perhaps she could make it as a rogue or a loner.
"Alright," Antpaw shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"Why don't you head out and take a walk around the camp." Dapplepelt suggested, padding into the den. "Maybe the elders will tell you a story."
"Ok," Aurora rapidly agreed. She didn't want to antagonize these cats.
"Do you know where the elders' den is?" Antpaw asked, exchanging a glance with Dapplepelt. "I can show you if you want."
"I think I can figure it out," Aurora muttered. Then she pushed past the so called 'medicine cats' and out into the clearing. She thought she heard Antpaw mutter something but ignored it and stood in the clearing, a look of confusion on her face.
"Alright, Aurora, you can do this." Aurora whispered to herself as she looked around the clearing. "All you have to do is watch what cats come out of which den and go from there." She sat down and looked around, watching the 'Clan' cats at work. She saw young cats hanging about a bramble bush, but they looked older than kits. Huh, that won't be the elders' den then. I'm sure the elders would look older than that.
She looked around and spotted a den at the base of the rock where Frost, Frosty or something like that talked to the other cats. She didn't see any activity there, so she decided it wasn't worth her time. Her gaze landed on adult cats traveling out of the bramble bush close by and she tilted her head slightly. She could see the dark brown tom with the white paw sitting outside it, grooming himself. Aurora narrowed her eyes slightly. What was his name again? Or what was his name in general? I never learned his name, did I? Oh well, his loss. She looked around and spotted a black tom lazing outside another bush, amber eyes gleaming, though one looked clouded.
"Are you looking for someone?" The tom called over, his gaze seeming to pierce her fur even though he only had one working eye.
Aurora padded over, a bit sheepishly. "Y-you c-could s-say that," she meowed. She swallowed her nervousness and tilted her head slightly. "Do you know where the elders' den is?"
The tom chuckled and sat up a bit, pride glinting in his eyes. "It's right here," he meowed. He dipped his head slightly. "I'm Cloudeye by the way."
"Cloudeye?" Aurora echoed a bit confused and dumbfounded. "You aren't white."
The black tom let out a laugh. "I may not have a white pelt, but I have a blind and clouded eye. Don't you think my parents named me after my eye?"
"Oh," Aurora glanced at her paws, flattening her ears slightly. "I'm sorry that I- "
"Don't be," Cloudeye interrupted. "It's the least I can do for our guest. Now, why are you here?"
Aurora gazed at him, her head tilted to one side and her eyes narrowed slightly, a frown on her muzzle. "Do you mean why am I here in the camp or why am I here?"
Cloudeye shrugged. "Whichever you prefer," he responded.
"Well, Antpaw and Dapplespots suggested I should hear a story from you guys," Aurora meowed. She didn't want to talk about her past, especially with all the antagonism regarding housecats. Not only that, she didn't want to recall those days. It was too painful to even think about, let alone talk about it.
Cloudeye hummed thoughtfully. "A story, you say? Well, I have a few in mind though I think it'll be better if I talk about Shadowclan's founding."
"Shadowclan's founding?" Aurora echoed, tilting her head.
Cloudeye chuckled and settled himself in a more comfortable position, motioning for Aurora to do the same. "Many seasons ago, there were a huge group of cats living in a big rocky place called the mountains. They had a leader who also served as one of the healers for the group known as Stonesteller. One day she had a vision…"
Aurora's eyes widened, and her ears pricked as the story went on. Once Cloudeye had finished, she gazed at him with her jaws open. "They went all that way to fight and separate in the end?"
"They had too if they were to survive," Cloudeye responded. "How they got from the old forest to here is another story entirely and one that I will tell you later."
"Thanks for telling me, Cloudeye." Aurora dipped her head respectfully, her blue eyes dancing with wonder as the story repeated itself over and over in her mind. "I've learned a lot today."
"I'll tell you about the warrior code later," Cloudeye promised. "If you want to join us, then you must know our customs."
Aurora stiffened, and it was all she could to do to keep from snarling. "I'm not joining the clan!"
Cloudeye chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "You will once your injuries heal, and you fatten up. Besides I saw the way you looked at Shadeheart."
"Shadeheart? Who's that?" Aurora tilted her head slightly, her irritation disappearing.
"The dark brown tom with the white paw." Cloudeye responded, whiskers twitching slightly.
"Whatever," Aurora growled, getting to her paws. She trotted away and over to the medicine cat's den. She found her nest and curled up in it, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to talk anymore or look at anybody. She was done with Shadowclan and she didn't want to join. What would she gain anyway? By the looks of some of the cats, more pain. Honestly do these 'clan' cats do anything besides fight? It sounds like a worse existence then the one I've had before! Though is a loner or a rogue really my style? I don't know how to defend myself or how to hunt. How can I live alone if I don't know how to survive? Aurora let out a sigh, and rolled over onto her back, opening her eyes to gaze at the roof of the den. It seems like life is against me in general. Aurora let her thoughts wander to her past and tears formed in her eyes. She rolled back over and buried her head in her paws but before she knew it, she was quietly crying.
What did I ever do to deserve all this? I just want an easy life for once!
Here's the Allegiances, the current one, for Shadowclan since the Hard Path ended.
Shadowclan
Leader: Froststar: A white she-cat with faint black spots and light blue eyes
Deputy: Moonstripe: A silver-ginger tom with black paws and stripes and a ginger-tipped tail. His ears tapper off into a tuft of black fur. Has pale leaf-green eyes.
Medicine cats: Dapplepelt: A dappled brown and white tom with green eyes-Apprentice: Antpaw: A dark ginger she-cat with silver stripes and one silver eye and one green eye
Warriors:
Swallowtail: A sandy colored tom with brown eyes and black stripes-Apprentice: Goldenpaw
Flameclaw: A ginger and white tom with amber eyes.
Raccoonpelt: A silver tom with a silver and white striped tail and a black mask over his amber eyes
Whispersong: A calico she-cat with green eyes-Apprentice: Eaglepaw
Snakefang: A ginger she-cat with a long winding tail and silver eyes
Flowerclaw: a golden pelted she-cat with leaf-green eyes
Icewing: A white she-cat with a silver sheen and ice blue eyes. She has a faint black circle around her left eye. Apprentice: Spiderpaw
Grayshadow: a gray she-cat with a white chest and green eyes-Apprentice: Cloudpaw
Nightwing: a black she-cat with amber eyes-Apprentice: Flypaw
Shadeheart: a dark brown tom with one white right hind paw and green eyes.
Cheetahpelt: lithe, white tom with ginger spots and a long, winding tail. Has hazel eyes.
Apprentices:
Cloudpaw: a ginger she-cat with a white tail tip with green eyes
Goldenpaw: a golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Eaglepaw: a ginger tabby tom with light ginger stripes, a white paw and light amber eyes
Spiderpaw: a black tom with a silver hourglass on his back and silver eyes.
Flypaw: a ginger she-cat with a white striped tail and green eyes
Queens:
Kits:
Elders:
Watermist: Silver she-cat with black stripes that slowly merge together. Soft white paws and a white tail-tip. Dazzling amber eyes.
Fawnwing: A brown she-cat with a white speckled back. Has pale blue eyes.
Badgerflame: has a badger like coat with a short temper. Has amber eyes, tom
Sunrise: a tom whose pelt looks like the sunrise and has sparkling green eyes
Cloudeye: a black tom with amber eyes though he is blind in one eye
Also, I want to apologize for not updating any of my stories sooner. Junior year is proving to be tougher than I thought and I needed to focus all my energy into my schoolwork. I wish I could say that summer would bring more updates, it might but I have a really busy summer planned so updates will be few and far between as a whole. Thanks for your patience and I'll try to update more frequently but no promises. Like I said, I've been very busy. Also, here's a question of the day: Do you think Aurora should join Shadowclan? Why or why not?
This won't affect the plot of the story, I'm just curious to see what you all think!
Lily out~