"Mother, do I have to go to the show?" Lil' Gem asked her mother.
"Yes, you have to. Just winning something that says you were in it does not count as winning the show. Sapphire's ribbon...this is what winners get."
The twolegs put them into cages.
"Now you will participate in this event and let the twolegs see how pretty you are. And you will be a cat like me, and be a great show cat. Forget about the wild, it's too dangerous for a cat like you."
"Yeah, Lil' Gem." Sapphire yowled in agreement. "The wild has too many dangers in it for you to survive."
"But there's cats out there who are alive, living in the wild."
"They must be mousebrains if they think they can live out there on their own."
"They're not by themselves. They're in a clan."
"What a mousebrained idea! Cats in the wild? They're all dead by now."
"Dead? What does that mean?" Lil' Gem asked.
"They are no longer alive and walking around like us. No longer eating or breathing. That's what happened to your father. He thought the same things about the wild that you did. One day, he was crossing the thunderpath and a monster was coming across it. He didn't make it to the other side. The monster killed him."
"That's why we are living here. We're safe from them here inside." Sapphire said.
"Time for the great show! Are you ready, Lil' Gem?"
Lil' Gem shook her head. But she didn't have a choice. The twolegs began to take them the show.
"So...your father was a show cat too?"
"Yes. It was the first time I had heard about him."
"Did you ever find out his name?" Silverpaw asked.
Fuzzyheart shook her head. "I tried to many times. She never told me his name. It didn't matter to her anymore, since he was dead."
The cages had been gently placed next to each other on a table.
"Another show! I can't wait for these twolegs to see how cute I am!" Sapphire said.
"Neither can I." Lil' Gem said, trying to sound excited.
Some of their housefolk opened all their cages.
"It's time for the show!" Sapphire said.
One of the housefolk picked Sapphire up and carried her away.
"Good luck, Sweet Sapphire! The ribbons are waiting for you!"
The rest of their housefolk followed them.
Heart of Gold took this chance and put Lil' Gem onto her back, and walked out an open door to the outside. Then she put Lil' Gem onto the ground.
"The life of a cat like me isn't for you, is it?"
Lil' Gem shook her head.
"Fine. Go live in the wild, like those other cats. I'm sure there's plenty of monsters on the thunderpath nearby just waiting for a cat like you to come walking past it."
A twoleg closed the door as Heart of Gold walked inside, not noticing the little kit she had left outside in the rain just beginning to fall onto the ground.
Lil' Gem pawed at the door, but it didn't move. No one came.
"Someone please let me in."
No one answered her call for help. As the rain got heavier, Lil' Gem walked away from the door and away from the only mother and life she had known, tears falling down her face. She didn't notice her old housefolk when they drove away, until they were too far for her to reach. But she wanted to go back to the clan that cat had told her about, so she followed the monster's path on the grass next to the thunderpath.
"She just left you there, Fuzzyheart? All alone in the rain?"
Fuzzyheart nodded. "I managed to get onto a monster that had a place to rest. I stayed on it until I knew that I was back where I used to live, and then got off."
"That must have been a big leap."
"It was. But it was a risky jump I was willing to do. Once I had made it off of the monster, I got off of the thunderpath to the other side. I was lucky that I didn't have to cross it again, because on the side I was on was where your clan was."
"CatnipClan!" Silverpaw said, getting excited. "So how did you end up being the medicine cat?"
"Don't worry, Silverpaw. I'm getting to that."
Lil' Gem looked around for the cat she had talked to so long ago.
I wonder if she's still here?
She suddenly realized how hungry she was, and saw a mouse which was motionless.
Is the mouse...dead?
She sniffed it, and gained the courage to take a bite.
"This mouse tastes really good!"
She continued to eat the mouse, not noticing the black and white she-cat that was coming towards her.
"Yes, I'm sure it does. But this mouse is in CatnipClan territory."
Lil' Gem looked up and saw a she-cat in front of her. Her light green eyes were focused on the mouse she was eating.
"Why can't I have just this one? I'm really hungry."
The she-cat noticed how young Lil' Gem was. She must be very young, but nearly old enough to be an apprentice.
"You're very young to be here by yourself. Especially away from home."
"I don't have a home." Lil' Gem said, trying to explain.
"But you have a collar."
"Well, just because I have one doesn't mean I live with those twolegs! Maybe I'm just looking for someone to get it off."
"I could help you." The she-cat replied. "My name is Jewelfur. I am the medicine cat of CatnipClan. You could join our clan if you want."
"Well, I don't really have anywhere else to go." Lil' Gem said.
"By the way, what's your name?" Jewelfur asked.
"My old housefolk called me Gem. So...what do cats in a clan do?"
"We hunt prey and fight to defend our territory. But some prefer to heal others instead. I was never a good hunter or fighter, but if I needed to I could defend myself and my clan."
"I'm not sure if I can hunt or fight that well. I didn't ever get a chance to practice that."
Jewelfur nodded. "Perhaps you might be able to walk the path of a medicine cat, with me as your mentor."
"Lead the way, Bramblefur." Gem said.
"Okay, Gempaw. Follow me to your new home."
"So that's how you joined our clan. What happened to your collar?"
"Someone was able to get it off of me and buried it in the ground."
"Why do you have a different name now?" Silverpaw asked.
"I wanted it to be changed. Having my name be Gempaw was a reminder of my old life, of my past. When Leopardstar changed my name, I knew that I could finally leave it behind me. Now I was a true warrior of CatnipClan."
A familar voice from the past made Fuzzyheart look up.
"Lil' Gem...is that you?"
Fuzzyheart knew whose voice it was.
"Mother...why are you here?"
"I have always wanted to find you, to know where you ended up after leaving you there all alone. Now I know where you were all along."
"I've been here for a long time. I don't even have a collar anymore, and I have a different name that cats know me by."
"I know that you must like it here. But I want you to come back with me. Don't you want to spend my peaceful days of being an elder with me?"
Fuzzyheart shook her head. She knew that what she said might break her heart, but she hoped that her mother would understand.
"I can't go back. I was born to be a warrior."
Her mother tried not to be shocked. She turned around and began to walk back towards twolegplace.
"Mother...Who was my father?"
Fuzzyheart's mother turned her head back towards her daughter.
"Your father was the nicest tom I knew, and probably the bravest. You want to know what his name was? It was Flame, but in the great shows he was called Flame of the Brave."
"Thank you. I always wanted to know his name."
"Goodbye...Lil' Gem."
The two of them didn't say another word. Fuzzyheart and Silverpaw simply watched as the elderly she-cat walked away without looking back.