This chapter's a little short, but I promise the next one will be longer! I'm working on Brambleclaw's POV, set to be updated sometime later. Sure, he's not my favorite character, but bear with me. Here is another chapter of Hollyleaf's life after the Clans. Remember, I do not own any of the Clan characters. Erin Hunter does.
The former ThunderClan warrior, meanwhile, was busy hunting. Or at least, she thought she was hunting. Her stay with Russetflower and her family was brief. Then Hollyleaf, not wanting to offend the queen's nephew more than he already was offended, had left her new friends behind. Of course, they were sorry to let her go. Even Jaypelt, whose actions suggested that he disliked unknown cats, tried to detain her. He offered her a position of what would be deputy in a Clan, but this was no Clan. It was like one, and it wasn't at the same time.
Despite Jaypelt's efforts, there was nothing he could do to stop the black she-cat. Whenever she set her mind to do something, she had to do it. It was what the warrior code had taught the Clans. However, she reminded herself, the warrior code had been broken numerous times. Yet Hollyleaf still considered it reliable, and she applied the rules to some of her new life as a loner. She had long since given up on her old Clanmates, and she had started a new life.
There was a warrior code, followed by cats in the world of the lake territories, and the warrior code did not exist at the same time. Hollyleaf remembered that not all cats were bound to the code like a rock to the river floor, believable or not. Once, she had taken shelter in a Twoleg nest she had thought to be abandoned. Ambushed in her sleep, she had woken up to the feeling of blood on her ears. A brown tabby kittypet had stood over her, fur bristling, ready to attack once more.
Hollyleaf had barely gotten away with her pelt intact. She had torn herself from the mysterious kittypet and rushed away.
Behind her, she heard screams of,"This won't be the last you see of Fletcher!"
A dog's bark signified that a Twoleg had arrived at the scene, curious and wondering where all of the yowls were coming from.
To Hollyleaf, this was impossible. Kittypets couldn't fight like Clan cats could. Those cats were weaklings, wandering into Clan territory once in a while. They would beg the medicine cats to take care of them, to feed them their precious Twoleg food, and to make sure they were safe. Firestar, being a former kittypet himself, never hesitated to let them in. But once again, life as Hollyleaf knew it was wrong. She wasn't even sure what was right anymore. Confused and irritated, she looked for food.
Hollyleaf watched the ground from behind the bushes, the only place where there was shadow in this sunny new world. So far, Hollyleaf had been hunting for nearly half of the day, and she had still not caught anything. Words rang in the she-cat's ears, clear and smooth. Burdening and guilty.
"You will always be welcome here," Russetflower had said.
A ginger tom had interrupted. "Not always," he had growled.
Maybe the tom was right. Hollyleaf no longer belonged in her Clan, and she had made her choice. Wait, did she even belong anywhere anymore? She doubted it.
According to the black she-cat, this was her destiny. It was her calling. She would have to live with it, in a world where what she thought was harmless couldn't be more dangerous.