Sneaking out of camp was much easier than Featherkit expected.
All she had to do was walk/limp to the dirt-place and leave through the opening in the back. Once she was out, she had to scale the ravine before Snowfall returned to the nursery with her brother and notice her absence.
And no matter what Featherkit did, avoiding the event was inevitable.
Someone from ThunderClan would find out.
Hopefully I'll be in WindClan by then, she thought ruefully.
Featherkit shook her head dismissively, instead choosing to focus on the task at hand.
That is, climbing to the very top of the ravine without being discovered.
Featherkit yelped when her twisted front paw suddenly slipped, sending her toppling backwards.
She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing her body for what she thought would be a very painful collision with a tree.
Only, it didn't come.
Before Featherkit could tumble any further, a set of jaws clamped around her scruff, stopping her descent and pulling her to safety.
When she was on level ground, she looked up to see the face of her rescuer.
Green eyes, set in a handsome ginger-furred face gazed calmly back at her.
Featherkit would have back away had the edge of the ravine not been but tail-length behind her.
She looked furiously to her left, but there was nothing but trees with a fairly old ThunderClan scent.
It looked as if no one had trekked that path for a few days at least.
Featherkit could do with that.
She ran foreward, then darted left at the last second.
A muffled curse followed soon after, but Featherkit was too busying praying to StarClan that her paws would at least be able to carry her to the WindClan border before they caved in.
Already her front paws were beginning to burn, especially the twisted one. But Featherkit couldn't pay it much attention, else the one chasing her would catch her.
A few minutes into the flight, Featherkit soon got tired of the shooting pain that usually accompanied her twisted paw whenever pressure was put on it. So she simply raised it in the air and did a sort of awkward leap before landing on her smaller than normal front paw- the one that wasn't twisted.
Featherkit found that she could run much faster and easier with only three legs, and not for the first time, she wondered why she simply hadn't thought to have done this sooner- that is, running on three legs.
But Featherkit knew that she would eventually tire out- it was inevitable really.
She first felt herself beginning to slow down when she had started running with three paws instead of a cat's usual four.
Her breaths came out in harsh, ragged pants, her chest rising and falling faster than she ever remembered it doing, struggling to catch her breath.
And then it happened.
The cat that had saved her earlier caught up.
Like earlier, his teeth latched onto her scruff, and she was pulled to his legs.
Featherkit found herself being pierced by furious green eyes, clearly demanding an explanation.
"What do you think you're doing, Featherkit?" he asked, his voice somewhat cold.
"What do you think?!" Featherkit spat, struggling to get free, and he released her without complaint. "Away from that hell of a Clan!"
She looked past his wide, ginger shoulders, and he glared at her in reproach. "Don't even think about it," he warned. "I'm taking you back to ThunderClan. You're not even an apprentice, and I found you wondering in the wilderness by yourself!"
"So nice for you to finally show some care!" Featherkit mewed sarcastically. "Honestly, Flamestreak, couldn't you have shown that, what, a moon ago? I would have felt so much better!"
"That doesn't matter, Featherkit," Flamestreak protested. "What matters now is the present, and right now, you're going home."
"You're right," Featherkit agreed with a tilt of her head, and just as her Father was beginning to smile, she added, "I am going home. To WindClan!"
Featherkit didn't think that she had seen her Father look so speechless in all of her life, and she took pride in it.
"WindClan?!" he sputtered, green eyes wide in his shock. "You're a member of ThunderClan, Featherkit, not WindClan."
Suddenly, Featherkit felt that sick anger, that deep rage which had been festering inside of her for moons, break.
It simply snapped.
"THUNDERCLAN WAS NEVER MY HOME!" she shrieked, and she remembered every glare, every whisper, and every hurtful comment that had ever been directed at her, felt the deep anger inside her as she added, "I HATE THUNDERCLAN! I HATE IT SO MUCH! AND I HATE EVERYONE THERE!"
When her rant was finished, Featherkit had to pause to catch her breath, all the while Flamestreak gazed back at her, his eyes wide and stunned.
When her breath was back, Featherkit narrowed her eyes as she whispered, "And I won't miss anyone."
There was a long silence, and just whrn Featherkit was about to speak again, her Father shushed her.
"Featherkit... I-" Flamestreak broke off, looking down at his paws, and he even had the gall to look ashamed as he mewed, "I'm... really sorry that you had to put up with all you did. And I'm not asking you to forgive me, but just know that I'll always be there for you."
Featherkit was stunned to say the least, and her Father's eyes were beseeching- begging for forgiveness.
"I don't know if I can believe you," she whispered, and she hated how her voice cracked. "And I don't know if I can love you, either. Not after everything's that happened. Flamestreak, I just want to go to WindClan and leave this entire thing behind me."
Those green eyes of his widened, and he mewed, "I'll never see you again, will I? I'll never have the chance to see if you can love me, after all."
Featherkit hesitated, and she knew deep in her heart that Flamestreak loved her, loved her from the moment she'd been born, and would love her to death and beyond.
She also knew that he deserved a chance, at least.
"If... if you want to know so badly," she mewed, piercing him with uncertain, hesitant amber eyes. "Then come with me."
"Come... come with you?" Flamestreak repeated as if it were he who was the kit instead of herself.
"Yes," and Featherkit knew that she was certain. She'd give him a chance if he so wished it. "Come with me to WindClan."
Her Father hesitated, and she could sense doubt within him.
"Do you doubt me?" Featherkit questioned. "Do you doubt that my words aren't truth?" There was a hurt laced to her voice, at his supposed rejection and something else she couldn't identify.
"It's not that," Flamestreak finally said.
"Then what is it?! Were your words about being there for me all lies?! Is that it?!" she spat, her voice hurt. "Do you not want me as your daughter anymore?!"
When Flamestreak spoke, his mew was gentle, "It's not like any of that, Featherkit. You're still my daughter, and contrary to popular belief, I do love you."
"Then what is it?!" Featherkit demanded, and to her horror, she felt her eyes well up with tears.
"Joining another Clan isn't as easy as you think it is, Featherkit," her Father said. "Besides, Morningstar's known for her hatred of ThunderClan. So I can't really hold you that she gave you an invitation to join her Clan as the truth."
"It wasn't Morningstar who asked me to join," Featherkit mumbled. "It was Cloudstorm."
"The WindClan deputy?" Flamestreak mewed, shocked.
"Yes!" she snapped, too annoyed to apologise.
"Fine," her Father said shortly. "I'll go with you. But if she denies us, then I'm leaving this place altogether and taking you over Highstones."
"Why Highstones? Why not ThunderClan?" Featherkit questioned snidely.
Flamestreak looked down at her, his green eyes tired and weary. "There's nothing left for me back in ThunderClan," he finally answered. "The last moon's been too much for me, I've left the Clan for good."
"What did Brightstar say about that?" Featherkit mewed, looking up at him curiously.
She still hadn't forgiven him for the past six moons of her life, but she wanted to know why Flamestreak thought that the last moon had been too tiring for him.
It's not as if he's been shunned, she thought. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed the tired slump to his shoulders and the crease of a frown between his lips. Or has he?
Featherkit pursed her lips, and she mewed, "What did he say?"
"Nothing for your ears," her Father answered easily.
Then: "Why did you leave Snowfall and Cinderkit? She's your mate, and Cinderkit's your son."
"Was," Flamestreak corrected, and at her look of confusion, he added, "We haven't been mates for over five moons. I split up with her soon after you were born, when I noticed how she treated you."
"What about Cinderkit, then?" Featherkit pressed.
"What about him?" Flamestreak questioned. "I left him knowing that Snowfall will raise him into a fine young cat. I can't say the same about you," here, he shot her an apologetic look.
Featherkit was silent for several long moments, and when she did speak, her voice was quiet- subdued. "I know that I don't feel anything for Snowfall and Cinderkit, but maybe, in time, I might be able to feel something for you." Her eyes narrowed at his somewhat relieved look, and she mewed sharply, "This doesn't mean that I've forgiven you, though. And now that I think about it, I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you. Not when you were so distant, so cold."
Flamestreak didn't looked deterred in the slightest. "I wouldn't expect you to. Honestly, the thing I really want is for you to feel something for me. Even if it takes a thousand years, I'll continue hoping. If only to have some closure that my youngest kit doesn't hate me."
And as he said that, Featherkit had to wonder: Do I really hate Flamestreak?
Did one invite someone to join them if they hated them? Did they offer them another chance to redeem themselves if they hated them?
Suddenly, Featherkit knew.
"I... I don't hate you, Flamestreak," she mewed. "But I don't love you either."
Something that suspiciously looked like relief bloomed on her Father's tired face, and he muttered, "Thank StarClan."
Her eyes narrowed at that admission, but Featherkit couldn't bring herself to snipe at the ginger tom beside her.
"So, are we going to go now?" Featherkit questioned. "We're still a fair distance from the border. And Cloudstorm promised to meet me there."
"When was this?"
"Uh, a moon ago," Featherkit answered, strangely feeling shy at his probing gaze. "I stayed in WindClan for the night and Cloudstorm escorted me back in the morning. It was at the border that Darkpaw asked if I wanted to stay. Permanently, of course."
Flamestreak's eyes narrowed, and he swiftly began to stride foreward, forcing Fatherkit to break into a jog to catch up to her Father.
"What is it, Flamestreak?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
His voice was a low rumble as he answered, "You like this Darkpaw, don't you?"
There was a sad little smile playing on his lips, Featherkit noticed.
Even so, she felt her face flush slightly as she sputtered, "I-I barely know him, Flamestreak! It doesn't mean that I'm in love with him!"
"I never said that it had to be love," Flamestreak countered gently. "But even so, you're still too young."
Featherkit rolled her eyes. "Just because I let you come with me doesn't mean that you can act like this," she grumbled, annoyance plain in her voice.
Her Father froze. It seemed as if a thousand years passed by before he answered. "I'm your Father, Featherkit," he replied wearily. "Does that not give me reason enough to worry about you?"
Featherkit sighed and turned to face him. "That's a pretty good point," she groused. "But that's all I'm going to say. And once again, I don't think that I can forgive you. Or ThunderClan," she added. "Especially Snowfall."
"I'm not asking you to forgive me, Featherkit," Flamestreak answered tiredly. "Or your Mother. I'm only hoping that you won't hate me for the rest of your life."
As they were walking, the pair didn't notice that the ground was gradually becoming flatter and higher in some places.
They didn't notice that the territory didn't smell of ThunderClan until it was too late.
Flamestreak noticed it first, and he cursed, "Fox dung!"
He turned to Featherkit. "Didn'tnyou say that Cloudstorm was supposed to meet you at the border?"
Featherkit looked around wearily. "Yes," she answered cautiously.
"I think," said Flamestreak quietly, "that we passed over the border."
"Indeed you did," a hard voice mewed firmly.
WindClan cats were surrounding them on all sides, and with a sinking heart, Featherkit noticed that Cloudstorm wasn't among them.
He promised! she thought furiously. He promised and he isn't here!
The cat who had just spoken was a tom with pale ginger fur and long, thin legs.
His amber eyes contained a glint that Featherkit had only seen in ThunderClan.
"That's Sunheart," Flamestreak hissed in her ear. "He's only a fairly new warrior, but he's one of the most talented warriors in WindClan, and with an apprentice to boot."
"What are two ThunderClan cats-" here, his lip curled, "-doing in WindClan territory?"
Before Flamestreak could speak, Featherkit shoved past him rudely and mewed, "We want to join WindClan."
Sunheart scoffed, and his eyes glinted with malice, all the while the cats of the WindClan patrol gasped.
"What's this?" the WindClan cat questioned, his voice hard and cold. "Did I hear what I thought I did? You want to join WindClan?"
"Yes," Flamestreak answered, and Featherkit made to speak, too, but her Father shot her a reproachful glare, as if to say "Let me deal with this".
Sunheart looked bewildered for a split-second of a second before his face smoothed out, becoming curiously blank in the process.
"Isn't the forest enough for you?!" he suddenly snarled, approaching them so that he was standing in front of them.
Featherkit shrunk back when he got right in her face, thinking: It isn't Snowfall. StarClan, it isn't Snowfall!
Suddenly, something shoved past him and roughly drew her to their chest.
"StarClan, Featherkit," Darkpaw murmured. "Do you have a death wish?"
"Yes," Featherkit answered, nuzzling into his shoulder. "But only for you."
The grey apprentice purred before pulling away and turning to face Sunheart.
"Sunheart," he mewed, piercing the ginger warrior with serious blue eyes. "Can we please take them to Morningstar?"
"Why?" Sunheart questioned coldly. "ThunderClan is the enemy. I see no reason why I would want these two in my Clan."
Darkpaw's eyes darkened, and he stood in front of Featherkit protectively. "It isn't your decision to make," he said softly.
"Nor is it yours!" Sunheart put out angrily, and his voice was as cold as his eyes.
"But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't consider it," Darkpaw responded coolly. "Think about it, Sunheart. Flamestreak is a great warrior, and I know for a fact that he's the fastest cat in his Clan."
"Flamestreak I can understand," Sunheart sneered. "But explain the kit. I don't see how she could make a good hunter with those paws of hers."
Featherkit flushed angrily, and she made to reply, but her Father beat her to it.
"Featherkit is nearly as fast as I am!" Flamestreak snarled, his green eyes flashing angrily. "And I'm sure that she can learn to hunt just fine if you would give her a chance!"
Sunheart glowered at them for a moment, but gradually, his face smoothed out.
"Fine, then," he said tonelessly. "Follow after me, and we'll see just what Morningstar has to say about this."