Thank you for the reviews, and here's a new chapter!

. . .

Featherkit's mind was curiously blank as Snowfall approached her stiffly, her amber eyes conscending as she gazed upon her daughter.

"Where were you?!" her Mother hissed in her ear, her tone dripping poison.

Featherkit didn't reply, merely glaring down at her feet.

Stand up to her, Featherkit! a voice in the back of her mind urged. Stand up to Snowfall!

"Have you any idea of what image you projected on me when you ran off to StarClan knows where?!" Snowfall murmured, circling her.

Snowfall truly was beautiful. The dawn light hit her fur at just the right time, dappling the snow-white pelt in silver and shadows, her eyes glowing brightly.

It was just too bad that her personality was as rotten as crowfood.

Featherkit's jaw clenched, and she whipped her head up, her amber eyes flashing.

However, Snowfall continued on as if she were oblivious to her daughter's sick rage, "And what to do about these WindClan invaders? We can't have them stealing squirrels now, can we?"

"WindClan is perfectly fine with rabbits, thank you very much," Cloudstorm mewed coldly, his yellow eyes narrowed down to the point of slits.

Snowfall looked straight at the WindClan deputy, her pretty features pinched in sour interest. "And would you care to explain why my daughter-" Feather noted the emphasis put on the word daughter and scowled. "-was out of ThunderClan and in WindClan territory?" she mewed sweetly, but her eyes were anything but.

"She was there because she wanted to get away from you," Featherkit said loudly, and she glowered up at her Mother.

"Uh, Snowfall," one of the ThunderClan warriors began, and he seemed awfully awkward and shy, Featherkit noticed. "Shouldn't we be getting back to the camp?"

"As soon as Twistkit decides to get her twisted paws moving!" Snowfall growled in an icy voice.

Gorsetooth flinched back as if he had been struck, and Featherkit didn't blame him.

Having Snowfall's wrath on you wasn't a very nice thing, and Featherkit was beginning to regret speaking up against her Mother.

Because, how could she not?

She thought, that after five moons of her Mother's cold and dismissive nature, her icy words and ready scorn, she would have gotten used to it.

But she hadn't.

And even though she had grown accustomed to Snowfall's insults, it still stung.

And it was worsened due to the fact that this cat was her Mother. A cat who was supposed to love her unconditionally and not be burdened by her deformities. A cat who was supposed to love her for her.

But it never happened.

And Featherkit feared that this would continue for the rest of her life.

She hadn't wanted this.

Never.

But it still happened anyway.

"Well?" Snowfall's eyes were ice, and Featherkit instinctively cringed away from those amber pools.

They were cold and they held no love whatsoever.

It was as if Featherkit was a cat from an enemy Clan.

So this is how it is, Featherkit thought sadly. Snowfall hates me.

Nothing in her Mother's eyes could be mistaken either, they were devoid ofall warmth.

Snowfall truly hated her.

"I don't see the point of even returning to that place," Featherkit murmured resentfully. "You and everyone else hates me-" she let out a bitter chuckle at that, "-but how could I ever be surprised when my entire Clan acts just like RiverClan? Honestly, I think I'd be better off in RiverClan, or even ShadowClan."

As Featherkit said this, Darkpaw's eyes went wide, and he gazed at her beseechingly, as if to say "is that what you really want?"

"At least there I would actually be appreciated," Featherkit mewed softly.

Snowfall shot a disdainfull glance to her daughter's twisted paws, her lip curling. "Hurry up and move," she finally mewed. "I won't be responsible if something happens to you on the way back to camp."

Featherkit was silent for a long moment. "So that's how it is, then." It wasn't a question, and the both of them knew it.

"Let me say goodbye, then."

"One minute," the ThunderClan deputy suddenly mewed, the deep timbre of his voice holding a note of disdain.

Featherkit didn't respond, and she turned the opposite way and padded toward the WindClan border.

She stopped at the edge, and Darkpaw gazed at her with those big blue eyes of his.

"So this is it, then?" his voice was soft, and it sent an unexplainable feeling of sorrow wrenching through her heart.

"No," Featherkit said fiercly. "I'll... I'll consider your offer, Darkpaw. But I promise you, this isn't the end."

"It better not be!" Darkpaw said as fiercly as her.

Featherkit blinked, and the grey apprentice blushed at how loud his declaration was.

"I really hope you can come to WindClan," Darkpaw mewed, and his voice was so soft that it barely carried over the wind. "I'd... we'd all want you there."

"Yeah," Featherkit mewed just as quietly. "I'd like that, too."

They held each other's gazes shyly, and it was Cloudstorm who finally wrenched them away from each other.

"WindClan will be waiting," he muttered. "That is, if you decide to accept our offer."

"How will I know?" Featherkit whispered back.

But before the WindClan deputy could answer, the ThunderClan deputy called, "Time's up. Get over here, Featherkit."

Cloudstorm appraised her with darkened yellow eyes. "Meet me here in once moon's time," he mewed roughly.

He lifted his head and glared at everyone else.

He stalked away, calling, "Hurry up, Darkpaw, I'll not be responisible if Sunheart decides to make you clean out the nursery."

Darkpaw nodded, though his eyes lingered on Featherkit.

"Go!" she urged, her eye wide at the hostile looks that the ThunderClan patrol were shooting the WindClan cats.

"Hurry up!" Snowfall suddenly hissed.

Featherkit bowed her head, though her jaw clenched at the prospect of her Mother singling her out yet again.

Not for the first time, Featherkit wished she had the courage to stand up to Snowfall.

Does this mean that I'm a coward?

She followed after them.

. . .

The next moon passed slowly.

It was nothing remarkable, either.

In fact, it was exactly the same as the past five moons of her life with her brother's ready insults, her Mother's scorn, and her Father's coldness.

Featherkit didn't believe that Flamestreak was cold on purpose, but rather that he didn't know how to act.

Featherkit didn't know why she was defending him; maybe because he had defended her?

So maybe he did feel an inkling of love to her, after all.

Enough to defend me, that is, she thought dryly.

Featherkit looked around the nursery.

It was empty, everyone else outside enjoying the crisp, cool air of newleaf.

At least Cinderkit and his friends, Rowankit and Petalkit, wouldn't be there to antagonise her as they usually did.

"Meet me here in one moon's time."

Featherkit blinked. Even after an entire moon of misery, Cloudstorm's words still hadn't left her.

Did they really mean what they said? she wondered, Or were they lying?

Featherkit always found that directly confronting a situation rather than avoiding it always proved to be the right solution.

I'll go then, she decided.

Featherkit was sick and tired of the treatment that ThunderClan had given her over six, long moons. And for once, she just wanted to be happy rather than worry about what the next insult would be or what cats were whispering behind her back.

She had been happy in WindClan, Featherkit realised, no matter how miniscule the time she had spent in their camp had been.

"I'll do it," she whispered quietly.

I'll join WindClan and leave ThunderClan right behind me.