"Vinepelt! Foxtail!" Shadowstar shouted. I padded along-side Foxtail, the Clan deputy. I wonder if he misses his kits, like I miss mine. Foxtail had fathered six kits; Fernpaw, Shrewpaw and Rainpaw had been marked Wanted while his other three kits, Ivykit, Swiftkit and Sandkit were Unwanted. No, he probably doesn't. At least he has three of them. He gets to watch them grow up proudly. Not like me. I thought sadly. I would do anything to see Dustkit and Rabbitkit again.
"You both know that we're leaving today, I need you're help to get everyone organised. I don't want to leave someone behind." He mewed nervously.
"We'll help." I nodded.
"Thank you Vinepelt. You've been such a great help with everything. I don't know what I would do if I hadn't found you." Shadowstar purred.
"We'll get started. First, we'll see if Cloudstrike needs help with her kits." Foxtail mewed. Cloudstrike had kitted Smoketail's kits, Jaykit, Tigerkit and Blazekit. I laughed at the thought of them being mates. I remember when they were apprentices, they hated each other. We had to separate them all time so they wouldn't rip each other's fur out!
"Ashpaw, what are you doing?" Foxtail demanded, glaring at the light gray apprentice. Ashpaw was Shadowstar's youngest son. He other son was the medicine cat, Fuzzynose had had a brother and a sister, his brother died and his sister was marked as Unwanted. Ashpaw also had had a brother and a sister, but they were both Unwanted. Shadowstar ignores Ashpaw, I would do anything to have my sons in the Clan but there isn't anything I can do since they are dead. Shadowstar is lucky, but he ignores him.
"I was visiting the new kits." He stared at us blankly.
"Shouldn't you be out with Wolffang?" I narrowed my eyes.
"Wolffang is always bossing my around, I hate it!" He scoffed.
"She's your mentor, that's what mentors do." I hissed.
"How would you know? Neither of you have ever had mentors." Ashpaw growled, stalking away. I lashed my tail angrily, We're senior warriors! He shouldn't be speaking to us that way!
"Ignore him Vinepelt." Foxtail mewed. I nodded and padded into the nursery.
"Snakepaw are you even paying attention?" My mentor, Cloudlight hissed.
"What were you talking about?" I asked numbly.
"Herbs, I was trying to teach you about herbs." Cloudlight scoffed.
"Sorry." I muttered.
"Your mind is clearly elsewhere, Snakepaw. What is keeping away your focus?" Cloudlight asked.
"My brother." I sighed.
"Tell me about him, maybe that will help." Cloudlight suggested.
"Well, he looks exactly like me. My mother used to get us mixed up all the time. She even reported me for one of his infractions, I said it was alright but I wish I hadn't. I wish I had told my mother the truth. Then maybe Frostpaw would be here with me." I sighed.
"I was the only kit born from my mother, I can't really say I know how you feel." Cloudlight mewed.
"Did you know who your father was?" I asked her.
"Of course, he visited me everyday. Sometimes, he would bring things like honey." Cloudlight purred.
"I always wanted to know who my father was, but no one ever told Frostkit and me. There weren't many cats it could be either. He couldn't have been Foxtail, he's Swiftpaw, Sandpaw and Ivypaw's father. It couldn't have been Vinepelt either because he's Dustpaw and Rabbitpaw's father, or Fuzzynose, he's the medicine cat. Shadowstar is Tawnypaw and Ravenpaw's father. So I don't really know who he could be." I sighed.
"Well, I hope someday you find out." Cloudlight mewed.
"Me too." I sighed. I miss you Frostpaw.
"I'll carry Jaykit." Vinepelt mewed. Cloudstrike nodded, placing the white and gray she-cat at his paws. Vinepelt picked up the ball of fluff before padding out of the nursery.
"Foxtail, could you carry Tigerkit?" She asked, flicking her tail to the gray and white striped tom.
"Of course." I purred. I bent down and picked of the small kit. I clenched my eyes closed as I stared at the bright sun when I stepped out of the nursery. At least the day Shadowstar has chosen to leave is nice out, it would be horrible to lead the Clans away in the pouring rain. Someone would get sick and then we wouldn't get anywhere.
"Hi Foxtail." Snowberry purred.
"Hi." I said through Tigerkit's muffled fur. I watched as the white warrior stalked away to see her son, Frostpaw. I remember when she was a kit, stumbling through the forest as we found a home. She never found out my sister was her mother. She couldn't know, Cloverfoot didn't think she could ever be the right mother for her. That's why she gave her away to Caramel, the cat who lived next door to us, when we were kittypets.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the log to hear my words!" Shadowstar called. I padded over to Featherpelt, keeping Tigerkit close to her.
"Today, we leave to meet with the other three Clans. We will go to the end of the forest, where it's safe." Shadowstar's voice echoed throughout the camp. I glanced around, almost daring anyone to challenge him. But I knew otherwise. If anyone disagreed, they weren't stepping forward. They were too scared, I was too. I was too scared to tell Shadowstar I didn't want to leave my home. So I kept my mouth shut as the powerful black tom got everyone organised to leave our home.
"Mistycloud? Can I ask you something?" I asked my mentor as we padded through the field.
"Ask away." Mistycloud purred. She had started being a lot nicer to me since I found out she was my sister. She didn't leave me in the camp anymore and she actually stuck with me on patrols.
"Well I was wondering what made you hate Shadowstar so much? I mean, he completely ignored my brothers and me right up until the day we were Unwanted. Only on our last day did he want to spend time with us but all those other moons, he stayed away from us. Why do you hate him?" I asked.
"Do you really want to know?" Mistycloud asked.
"Yes." I replied, sitting down, curling my tail around my paws.
"Well, it started back when I was a kit. I was stumbling through the forest with my mother and two brothers. she was taking us to meet our father. We didn't know who he was, he was from a different Clan, ShadowClan. I think we were from ThunderClan, I forget since it was so long ago. We were to meet him in a field. We found him. But someone else found us too, a dog. My brothers and me were so scared, we ran. My mother and father ran away, the dog at their tails. I didn't realise that I had run in a different direction than my brothers. I gt lost so I curled up on a rock and called for help. My father soon came by himself, he told me he was going to look for my brothers. He raced away, leaving me there. Another cat found me. He took me away before I could object. He said he was on a journey, but he was going home to his Clan. He took me to his Clan, BreezeClan. I grew up happily there, getting my apprentice name. One day, we were battling the new Clan in the forest. I was in combat with a gray apprentice, a tom. I thought I knew him from somewhere but I figured I must have seen him at a gathering. I fought him too hard and I, I killed him. I didn't mean to, but I killed him. Everyone was angry with me so I ran. I got found later on, but by his clan mates, They took me to their Clan leader. I talked to him, and I found out something I wish I had known before that. It was too late to take back what I did, killing my own brother, Stormpaw. StormClan was named after him. Fuzzypaw was angry with me for a while, but his happiness to have me back soon overcame that, but Shadowstar couldn't forgive me so easily. So when the time came for StormClan to send out their first group of Unwanted kits, StormClan had no kits. Instead Shadowstar sent me away, a punishment for killing Stormpaw." Mistycloud sighed.
"He sent you away as an apprentice?" I gasped.
"Yes, and that is why I hate him. I should have been safe as an apprentice, but I wasn't. I was Unwanted anyways. So I swore I would never forgive my father, and here I am. And here you are so clearly my father didn't care that he lost me and Stormpaw. He went and had more kits." Mistycloud scoffed.
"That's why you hated me at first, isn't it?" I asked.
"Yes, I knew you were Shadowstar's daughter from the moment I saw you and Ravenpaw." Mistycloud nodded.
"Well, at least there is something we have in common besides having the same father, we both despise him." I smiled. I'm just glad I'll never have to see him again.
"Shadowstar, I don't want to leave." I told my father. We stood, alone in his den, just the two of us.
"Fuzzynose, what are you talking about? We have to." He insisted.
"But I don't want to!" I hissed. Doesn't he understand?
"Fuzzynose I don't want to leave either. But we can't stay here, StormClan is in danger if we stay." Shadowstar sighed.
"You don't understand! Do you forget whom StormClan was named after?" I prompted, almost screaming at him.
"I know this is about Stormpaw," He mewed.
"Stormpaw was buried here! This, is where I want to be buried, along-side my brother." I snapped.
"Fuzzynose, calm down. Look, we need you. The Clan needs you, a good medicine cat. What if some cats get sick along the way? We wouldn't survive if you weren't there." Shadowstar said, almost begging me to go with them.
"Shadowstar, surely you aren't asking me to leave Stormpaw behind, as we left Mistykit all those moons ago?" I scoffed. He remembers when we left my sister in the meadow.
"Fuzzynose, Stormpaw will always be with you, where ever you go." Shadowstar mewed. I have no choice, the need a medicine cat. Frostpaw isn't ready to be a full medicine cat yet.
"Fine. I'll come." I sigh, If only Stormpaw and Mistykit were here with me now.