He hadn't meant any harm when he said it. In all honesty, it had just been a simple, spur-of-the-moment remark, borne of his natural Clan bias and his resentment towards his father. It wasn't the first time he had made such a comment either, and nobody had ever criticized him for it before, so he gave no thought to his words.

But when Tigerpaw saw the look of disbelief, hurt, and fury flash across Firepaw's face, he knew it wasn't an innocent comment anymore.

Now, as he chased her through the forest, he didn't know what he had been thinking. Of course, she had taken offense to his remark about kittypets being weak and overfed–he had more or less insulted her entire family. There was no way for her to know that Tigerpaw hadn't been including her in his statement, that she was an exception. If he could just catch up to her, he would be able to explain himself.

"Firepaw, wait!" Tigerpaw called out desperately, picking up his pace slightly.

"Leave me alone, Tigerpaw! Haven't you done enough?" Firepaw snapped back, not even looking back at him.

"Please, just let me explain!" he pleaded.

That finally made her stop. "Let you explain?" she asked in disbelief, turning to face him at last. "Let you explain what, might I ask? I thought you were trying to change, Tigerpaw. I thought you were really trying to be better and that you were finally learning to put your prejudices aside, but you just proved that you're exactly the same as you've always been. Even now, even after all that's happened, you still think I'm worth less than you."

Tigerpaw shook his head fervently. "No, no, you've got it all wrong," he protested. "I wasn't talking about you. You're not a kittypet; you're a Clan cat just like me."

"But I'm not like you!" Firepaw shot back, her green eyes blazing. "I'll never be like you. No matter how many moons I spend in ThunderClan, I'll never be a real forest-born warrior. And nobody will ever let me forget it."

She paced back and forth, her tail lashing. Tigerpaw watched her silently, trying to figure out how to explain his position to her. How could he make her realize that kittypets were lesser than Clan cats, but not her because she was different–because she was special? True, he had insulted her heritage, but it didn't matter to him where she came from because he knew that she wasn't like others of her kind.

"Look at my fur, Tigerpaw!" she spat. "It's the most unnatural shade of orange you'll ever see; anyone can tell that I wasn't born in the wild. I don't have the size of a ThunderClan-born cat. I get by, sure, but everyone knows I'm going to grow up to be smaller than most of our Clanmates. I don't understand everything about the warrior code or why the Clans are set up the way they are. And it's because I wasn't born here, and because of that, cats like you and Thistleclaw will always see me as inferior."

"Firepaw, you know I don't think you're worth less than me," Tigerpaw meowed, shaking his head. "How could I have shared a den and trained alongside you for over three moons and still think you're not as good as I am? I was talking about other kittypets or cats born to kittypet parents, but not you. Never you."

"You don't get it, do you?" Firepaw asked, pausing in her pacing to look him dead in the eye. "Deep down, you still believe that anyone born outside the Clans is biologically, fundamentally inferior to you. I can't be the exception to your rule, Tigerpaw. You can't think that someone's birth determines their value and you can't hate all kittypet-born cats except me."

"You're not a–"

"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not about whether I'm a kittypet now or not?" the flame-colored molly hissed. "No matter where I go, I'll always have kittypet blood. That's never going to change."

She started pacing again. Tigerpaw tried to see where she was coming from, but he couldn't. Kittypets were weak and overfed; it was as much a fact of life as the seasons and battles over Clan territory. But there were exceptions to every rule, and Firepaw was one of them. Knowing this, shouldn't Firepaw have been pleased that he didn't consider her to be as lowly as others of her birth?

"Tell me one thing, Tigerpaw," Firepaw meowed, a bit more calmly this time. "What proof do you have that kittypets are worth less than Clan cats?"

"Because all they do is sit around in a Twoleg nest while being stuffed with food!" Tigerpaw answered disbelievingly. "They don't hunt or fight for themselves, they just lie around all day getting fat!"

"Elders do the exact same thing. Why is it that they should be treated with reverence while kittypets are scorned?"

"They served their Clans once–"

"But they aren't anymore," Firepaw interrupted. "Which brings me back to my question–why are they respected while kittypets are treated with nothing but contempt and hatred?"

Tigerpaw found that he couldn't answer that.

Firepaw continued fiercely, "How can the Clans be so superior when they're the ones that have turned out cats like Hawkheart? I know all about what he did to Bluefur's mother, Tigerpaw. Or cats like Mapleshade, who killed her kits through her own negligence and then went on a murdering rampage? Or Thistleclaw, who looks for a fight at every opportunity and who we both know has been sneaking into Twolegplace to attack innocent cats? Your blood doesn't determine your worth any more than mine does."

"Firepaw..." Tigerpaw whispered, staring at the cat he had grown to adore so much.

"I suppose I can't entirely blame you," she conceded. "After all, you were raised to believe that kittypets are weaker and, therefore, worthless. I know that as long as I'm here, there will always be cats who give me grief over being born in Twolegplace. But they aren't claiming to want to be my friend, Tigerpaw–you are."

"I'm sorry," he meowed sincerely, looking at her earnestly. Firepaw just shook her head.

"I'm not looking for an apology. You've done quite enough of that lately," she meowed. "If you really want to be my friend, then you need to make yourself believe that I'm still worth just as much as you even though I was born a kittypet. No, I take that back. I need you to believe that everyone, no matter where they come from, is worth the same. Rogue, loner, kittypet, or Clan cat, it doesn't matter. Nobody chooses their birth and nobody is better than anyone else because of it, but if we're going to be friends, then you need to realize that for yourself. If you can ever truly believe that, you know where to find me."

With that, she gracefully yet firmly spun around and stalked away, leaving Tigerpaw alone with his thoughts.