Yay! I finally got this chapter up! It is much harder writing the story for Whitepaw than it is for Stonestar, I must admit! Oh well, hope you like it! Thanks to Icestream, WarriorAddicted, Swiftpaw, flareon200, and XxXxSkyheartxXxX for reviewing!!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own warriors and I'm way to lazy to think of anything else!
Whitekit opened her eyes, her heart dull. It had been two moons since her brother had been taken from MoonClan and Twigkit had become an apprentice. Today, she would do the same and go on the path to becoming a warrior.
Stripedthoughts picked up Whitekit and began grooming her. "You will be fine," she purred. Whitekit didn't answer. She hardly ever did these days. When Stripedthoughts was done, she slowly made her way over to the entrance to the nursery. Leafkit.... are you becoming an apprentice today? I wonder where you are... Without you, nothing seems to matter any more. No one wants to play, even the elders are evasive. Mother is acting worried and over protective. No one has even bothered to go and rescue you! I begged them, but Stonestar refused. Where are you?
Most days, Whitekit would spend her time sitting in that exact spot and wondering if life would be different. Her brother was the only one who had really understood her, who had really known how she felt. Without him, Whitekit was heartbroken and lonely.
"All cats that can catch their own prey gather here beneath the cave ledge for a clan meeting!" Stonestar's voice rang out through the cavern. Whitekit stood and padded slowly out of the nursery. She looked into Stonestar's eyes, her own green eyes dull and lonely.
"We are gathered to name an apprentice. Whitekit, from this day forward until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Whitepaw. I will be your mentor, I hope to pass on all I have learned to you in the hopes that you will grow into a strong warrior."
Whitepaw barely registered these words, and heard mutterings around her, not knowing why.
"What an honor, to be trained by Stonestar," Leopardear mewed. Oh... okay, Whitepaw thought, touching noses with Stonestar. The gray leader looked at her and her eyes became pained. Whitepaw wondered vaguely why that was so. When the ceremony was over, the gathered cats began to go and follow orders or rest in the shade of the forest. Windsong was mewing orders to the cats and Whitepaw followed Stonestar.
"I'm going to show you the territory," Stonestar mewed kindly. Whitepaw shook her head.
"I would rather begin battle training," she mewed.
"Why?" Stonestar asked, drawing her tongue over her gray paw.
"So we can rescue Leafkit sooner," Whitepaw mewed, her anger building.
"Whitepaw, we cannot lead a full-fledged attack on DuskClan!" Stonestar said tensely.
"Why not?! They stole Leafkit! They took him from his rightful Clan! You coward! You wouldn't even rescue him for MoonClan! You don't think we're strong enough! You don't care!" Whitepaw snarled, spun around, and raced out of camp.
"Whitepaw!" Stonestar yowled after her, but Whitepaw just kept on running. Her emotions had exploded from lack of use. All of her anger towards Stonestar, her mother, even MoonClan had exploded, and all Whitepaw wanted was to get away. To be anywhere from here. To see Leafkit again.
Whitepaw collapsed in a hollow underneath some tree roots and thought. Stonestar doesn't care! She doesn't care that MoonClan has been torn apart! She thinks she's so special, but she's never had the one thing she loved ripped from her! She hasn't had to deal with all this... emotion!
"Whitepaw?" Whitepaw raised her head and silently cursed SkyClan for giving her a bright white pelt.
"What do you want?! You never had the thing you loved most ripped from you! You've never had to deal with my problems!" Whitpaw accused, her fur getting hot from rage. Stonestar's blue eyes hardened.
"In fact, Whitepaw, I have," Stonestar snarled. "I have had my heart ripped in three, I have had my clan taken from me, and then my love killed. I have never known the pleasure of nursing my own kit. I have seen my friends killed before my eyes. I know what you are going through, Whitepaw, trust me!"
Whitepaw gaped at Stonestar, at a loss for words. "I- I never knew."
"Of course you didn't! I don't go shouting my story out for everyone to hear!" Stonestar hissed.
Whitepaw cringed, "I-I was just saying!" Stonestar sighed and sat down next to Whitepaw.
"I'm going to tell you my story because I feel that you need to know that someone can understand. You must not go bragging to anyone or shouting it out, alright?"
"Alright," Whitepaw agreed.
"Well, okay. I'm going to start when I was an apprentice. Ripplestar, the leader before me, was my mentor, just like I am yours. I had just gone to my first gathering, where the DawnClan leader, Leafstar, was lying about her clan being alright. I was determined to go and find out why. So, the very next day, I set out to DawnClan. Thornclaw followed me, and we went together. We found out that Leafstar and her clan were under the control of DuskClan and that they desperately needed help. So, when they were under attack, MoonClan came to their rescue.
"Later, after I had become a warrior, SunClan and DuskClan ruthlessly attacked MoonClan. Fallenstar had taken control of SunClan, and he wanted control of the other clans as well. Many of our cats died that day. Ripplestar felt that he had no choice but to give in to Fallenstar's commands, so he gave in. I felt that it was wrong, I knew that I would never be able to stay where I belonged if MoonClan would give in. So, I left. It broke my heart to leave my home clan, but I had no choice. I could not live under Fallenstar's control.
"I went to the only place I could think of. DawnClan. They had trusted me once, and so I thought that they would trust me again. I was right. Their new leader, Littlestar, welcomed me. We knew that as long as we tried, we could resist DuskClan. Eventually, Littlestar and I fell in love and became mates. We encountered DuskClan and fought, MoonClan was there as well, though not numerously. Darkfang, the MoonClan deputy died in one of those skirmishes, and Ripplestar named me deputy even though I was not currently living in DawnClan. I went back to MoonClan, where I found out that Ripplestar was dying. Before he died, though, he told me that he loved me. I knew that I loved Ripplestar as well. My heart had been broken and torn in two.
"Soon after that, Twigkit came into existence. I went to tell Littlestar of the great news and found him dead. My heart had been broken twice. When I returned to MoonClan and in the days that followed, my heart took a new course. I fell for Thornclaw, and he for me. I knew that I would be happy. See, Whitepaw, I have had many things that I cared for torn from me," Stonestar finished. Whitepaw stared at her leader with wide eyes.
"Did all of that really happen?" she asked, awed.
"Yes," Stonestar nodded. Whitepaw shook herself.
"But why? Why aren't we going after Leafkit?!" she whispered. Stonestar sighed, looking up at the sky.
"You will understand. SkyClan will reveal it to you in due time," Stonestar said, which made Whitepaw even more frustrated.
"But he's my b-brother!" she muttered.
"And I loved Littlestar," Stonestar said. "Everything that we love cannot always be with us. I'm sorry, Whitepaw. You may come back to camp when you are ready." And with that, Stonestar stood to leave.
Whitepaw curled up under the tree roots and realized with a jolt that she was beside the border of the cats who had stolen Leafkit. She remembered the scent, even if she didn't know what it was.
I should go and get him! The very thought of being so close made Whitepaw stand, but she realized that she was being foolish and that Stonestar would probably punish her if Whitepaw was caught. Leafkit.. where are you? Curling up once more, Whitepaw tried to fall asleep. Voices kept interrupting her dreams, pulling her back to reality. The most prominent of these made Whitepaw's heart ache for loss.
"Whitekit?" it said, and Whitepaw could smell Leafkit's scent as if he were standing just behind her.
"Whitekit!" Whitepaw turned and her eyes widened.
"Leafkit!"
See that little button, see it? Isn't it nice? You should click it to find out what happens!