Sunshade:

Tell your leader. If not, great trouble will arise when others finally find out. The words of the medicine cats rung in her head as she padded into camp. Gathering her courage, she padded into Streamstar's den. "Streamstar?" The gray she-cat looked up.

"Sunshade! This is a surprise. What is it?" Streamstar mewed.

"Uh... I have a... something to tell you..." Sunshade mewed, nervously twitching her paws.

Streamstar lashed her tail. "Spit it out, then. It doesn't sound like it's very good."

"I... I have a sister in another clan," Sunshade mewed. "It's Shadowflame of ThunderClan. I'm not a RiverClan cat by my blood. I was brought here during the invasion that marked our birth."

Shock flared in Streamstar's blue eyes. "I know. I wasn't the one who brought you here, it was one of my warriors, Nightstone, who is dead now. He said he had found you alone, abandoned, by the border, but I could scent ThunderClan on you..."

Sunshade swallowed. "What are you going to do?"

"I think I'll tell the clan. They deserve to know, Sunshade." Numbly, Sunshade nodded, following Streamstar out of her den, watching as the RiverClan leader leaped onto the Highrock, her gaze assuring. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!" Sunshade watched, her gaze on her paws, as she watched the cats surround her.

Suddenly, she felt Cloudpatch at her side. "It's about Shadowflame, isn't it?" Sunshade simply nodded.

"Now, you may all be wondering why Sunshade was in my den, talking to me, a few heartbeats ago," Streamstar mewed. A few cats turned to look at Sunshade. "It has come to my knowledge that Sunshade is not a RiverClan cat." A few shocked yowls sounded around her, and Sunshade's head lowered. "She has a sister in ThunderClan, Shadowflame."

"Half-clan!" Darktail spat. A few cats yowled out as well.

Streamstar waved her tail for silence. "She is not half-clan. She is purely ThunderClan. Have you forgotten that she was born on the night of the invasion of ThunderClan? She must have been stolen by one of us." Her glare swept the clan.

Sunshade bowed her head, and Cloudpatch pressed against her. I need to join ThunderClan. I can't go on meeting Shadowflame in secret; it'll cause too much confusion. And now that my secret has spread, many RiverClan cats don't like me... Sunshade stepped forward. "I have a request, Streamstar."

Streamstar looked down at her. "Yes?"

"I want to leave RiverClan. I want to be with my birth clan, and my sister. And now that you all know that I am a ThunderClan cat, there will most definitely will be hatred and anger towards me." Sunshade felt Cloudpatch tense and gasp from beside her, yet, she didn't back down. She met Streamstar's gaze and nodded, adding, "I will request ThunderClan to make sure I never battle RiverClan, however."

Streamstar looked surprised. "Is that your wish? If it is the case, you will be considered a tresspasser after sunset. Our clan will still be more generous to you than it will to other tresspassers," she added.

"Yes, it is." StarClan, what have I done? Sunshade looked around once more at the gaze of her clanmates, murmuring, "I'm sorry." Her eyes filled with tears as she realized that she would never be welcome in the clan again.

"You can't leave!" Brightfall wailed.

"I'm sorry, Brightfall," Sunshade murmured.

"Wait!" a voice called. Cloudpatch? Sunshade turned to see the gray-white tom step forward. "If Sunshade leaves, I'll go with her!"

Sunshade whirled around, hackles raised. "No, Cloudpatch! Your heart lies here! You were born here..."

Cloudpatch didn't say anything as Streamstar dipped her head. "RiverClan has lost two fine warriors. The same goes for you, Cloudpatch. You will always be welcome if you want to rejoin, but as of now, you will be considered a ThunderClan cat." Sunshade and Cloudpatch dipped their heads. Sunshade padded over to Rainblaze and touched noses with her.

"Bye, Rainblaze."

"You can't leave!" Rainblaze exclaimed.

"Sorry, Rainblaze," Sunshade mewed. "I won't be welcome any more, now that everyone knows I'm ThunderClan."

"There has to be another way..." She trailed off as Sunshade pressed against her once more and padded over to Brightfall and Icegleam.

"Goodbye, Brightfall, Icegleam... I'm sorry I have to leave you two. You were always so kind to me..." Sunshade mewed, letting out a forceful purr and padding over to Silversplash. "You taught me everything I know. Thank you."

Silversplash dipped her head. "I'm sorry you have to leave."

Sunshade stopped beside Reedfur and Silvershine, who both had identical, shocked looks in their eyes. "Bye, Reedfur. And you, Silvershine. You were good parents to me, and I'm sorry you weren't truly my kin."

With that, Sunshade padded out of camp, her tail twined with Cloudpatch's, as they padded out of RiverClan, toward the border. "Cloudpatch?"

"What?" The gray tom turned to look at her.

"Just... uh... thank you." Sunshade swallowed nervously, then stepped across the border, and the two left everything they ever had loved in RiverClan behind them, as they crossed into ThunderClan, Shadowflame's clan, Sunshade's birth clan.

"Invaders!" a yowl greeted Sunshade's ears, and her eyes flickered as she rested her gaze on a ThunderClan patrol, consisting of Shadowflame, Redstorm, Goldenshine, and Ashfire. "RiverClan!"

Sunshade swallowed. "We're not RiverClan," she mewed evenly.

Shadowflame padded forward. "Sunshade? Cloudpatch? What are you doing here?"

Sunshade didn't reply to her. "Please, can you take us to Moonstar? We're not RiverClan!" She lowered her voice. "At least, not anymore."

"Very well." Goldenshine, the ThunderClan deputy, kinked her tail over her back, and the ThunderClan cats flanked Sunshade and Cloudpatch on either side as they headed directly toward the ThunderClan camp. Shadowflame hissed in Sunshade's ear.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm joining ThunderClan," Sunshade whispered back. "If Moonstar will accept me. I told the clan already, and of course, now, they won't accept me anymore. And Cloudpatch wants to stay with me, so he's coming, too."

Shadowflame swallowed. "I haven't told Moonstar yet. I guess she'll figure out today."

"Yeah, I think so too." Sunshade padded along in silence, pressing against Cloudpatch for comfort. Ashfire fell in beside Shadowflame.

"Why in the name of StarClan are you here?" he snapped, though there was a friendly glint in his blue eyes. Shadowflame murmured a reply in his ear, and his eyes widened. "Great StarClan, are you sure?" Sunshade nodded, and he sighed. "I can't stop you," he mewed finally. "But I can promise that at least I'll welcome you."

Shadowflame nudged him. "So will I."

Cloudpatch dipped his head. "Thank you." Sunshade simply purred and dipped her head.