A mouse nibbled on a stalk of grass. It stopped suddenly when it heard a rustle. Another one. Then the flash of a cat's whiskers made it jump out of its hiding place under the tree roots. It rushed out into the long dewy grass outside. In a flash, another cat's fangs glinted, and with a bite to the neck, it was over.

"Nice, Archpaw!" Warmpaw mewed, picking the mouse up.

Archpaw scoffed. "It's just a mouse. We should get some more if we're going to show our whiskers back at camp."

Warmpaw shook his black-patched fur of the dew clinging to it. "Well, then. You're serious today."

"I realized that I have dreams now," Archpaw meowed loftily, "that's the difference. After seeing Ivystar organize everything for us back in leafbare, you can say I'm inspired."

"Why don't you just be a warrior?" Warmpaw asked, digging a hole. He placed the mouse in and covered it up with leaves. "There."

"I don't want to be any normal warrior! I want to be a Clan leader!"

Warmpaw sighed. "As I said before, go ahead and do what you want. I'll just be minding my own business."

Archpaw's ear twitched a little. "Minding your own business? Why are you part of this clan, then?"

"Because I was born into it?"

"I don't get you anymore, Warmpaw." Archpaw groaned. "Let's just continue our hunt."

"Yeah," Warmpaw said with a shrug.

They walked together, opening their jaws to scent for any more potential prey. Warmpaw took a deep breath of the warm air. It was so much better than the mind-numbingly cold frost he breathed only a few days ago.

Leafbare was hard. It was four moons of cats getting sick, with very little prey to be found. Ivystar had to send the healthy cats out for many hunting patrols. In turn, they got sick, and Ivystar had to send the newly healed cats out to hunt. Despite this, there still wasn't a lot of food to go around. Every cat was forced to work at their absolute best, including the four apprentices, who had to balance all the hunting patrols with training and maintaining the camp.

Warmpaw actually thought that Flametrail was going to die at one point, after he caught greencough. He was so weak, and he didn't even have the strength to speak. Thankfully, the elder got better in time. It was such a relief for everyone in the Clan, and Flametrail started getting more visitors.

The cold season lasted for four moons; a lot of time for four cats to learn and grow.

Warmpaw was now eleven moons old. At the start of his apprenticeship, he was still slightly pudgy, and still had a bit of kit fur. Now, he was a sleek young tom, with shiny fur. His legs were well built, especially his hind ones, which he acquired from jumping and running with Thistlepaw. His orange eyes seemed to be even more orange now.

Archpaw, on the other hand, was nine moons old. From her former cute appearance, she was now incredibly pretty. It wasn't uncommon to see cats like Blazetail and Twigpaw stare after her.

Twigpaw grew up to be a large cat. Much larger than Warmpaw, it seemed.

Sandpaw also grew up well. She was lithe and fast, and she became incredibly good at hunting.

When newleaf came a few nights ago, everyone was happy, and they continued on with regular life with lots of energy. Warmpaw supposed everyone was just happy that no one got seriously hurt.

Warmpaw coughed loudly, making Archpaw flinch away.

"Warmpaw!"

"Sorry," he mewed.

"I think you should see Cloudcover again. You're probably got whitecough."

Warmpaw smirked. "Come on. This deep into newleaf? Impossi-" He suddenly coughed again. Archpaw shook her head.

"I have absolutely no doubt now. It's not that deep into newleaf. Go back to camp now. I can do this myself."

Warmpaw's eyes flashed denial. "No, I'm not! I'm okay, I swear!"

"No way, Warmpaw. You're going back to camp." Archpaw nudged Warmpaw away with her nose. "You should get that checked unless you want that turning into something worse."

Warmpaw sighed, walking back to camp. When he passed through the thorn tunnel entrance, Maplebranch intercepted him.

"Back so early?"

"Yeah," Warmpaw said, ear flicking.

Maplebranch's eyes narrowed. "Do you realize that you just left Archpaw all alone out there?"

"Do you realize that she herself told me to go back to camp?" Warmpaw fired back.

"It feels like I'm talking to Goldenfur, honestly." Maplebranch flicked his tail dismissively. "Do what you have to do here, but make sure to call a cat to replace you."

Warmpaw nodded and headed for the nursery. Inside was the pregnant Nightfall, her belly swollen with kits. She was lying on her side. Twigpaw was in the nursery as well, removing all the used moss.

Warmpaw sneezed, all the dust annoying his nose. Twigpaw swivelled his head around to face him. "Need something?"

"Yes, actually. I need you to replace me while I get myself checked. Archpaw's hunting alone."

Twigpaw's ears perked as he moved another clump of dusty bedding away. "Really?" he asked, kicking a mossball to the side.

Warmpaw rolled his eyes. "No, I'm just messing with you. Forget everything I said."

Nightfall shifted in her nest. "Are you annoyed, Warmpaw?"

"Maybe I'm just irked that I didn't get to finish a hunting mission." Warmpaw shrugged.

"Let me just finish up," Twigpaw mumbled. He grabbed another large clump of moss and placed it outside.

Warmpaw flashed Nightfall a smile. "Congratulations again. Good luck with your kits."

Nightfall smiled back. "Thanks."

Warmpaw waved his tail before trotting over to the medicine cat's den. He passed inside. "Hello?"

Deerpaw meowed and walked over from where he was. "Hi, Warmpaw. What is it?"

"I have a bit of a cough." Warmpaw explained, "Archpaw forced me back to camp to get it checked."

Deerpaw nodded. He rummaged through the herb stores and pulled out a few leaves. "Sit over there." He gestured with his tail to a nest. Warmpaw quickly obliged, settling down on the moss.

The medicine cat apprentice wrapped the herbs up and headed over. He pressed his ear to Warmpaw's chest. "Try meowing."

Warmpaw meowed. "Now try coughing," Deerpaw instructed.

Warmpaw coughed. After pausing, Deerpaw walked back to his wrapped up herbs and flicked his tail. "Nothing much."

Warmpaw stood up from his nest. "So I'm okay?"

"Yes. Just wait a heartbeat, though." Deerpaw grabbed the herb wrap and grabbed it in his jaws. He placed it down next to Warmpaw. "Eat that. It'll help you get past the rest of that cough."

Warmpaw unwrapped the bundle with his teeth. Inside were some herbs, with a berry mixed in somewhere. He shivered, tail shaking violently for a moment. I have to eat all this? He narrowed his eyes in disgust.

Deerpaw seemed to have noticed, pointing him to a puddle in one end of the den. "There's some water over there if you want. Rinse your mouth with that when you're done."

Warmpaw lapped up some of the herbs. They were bitter, sure, but not as bad he thought they would be. He had taken a lot of these herbs back in leafbare, so he assumed he must have gotten used to the taste by now. Or maybe the herbs are fresher now that it's newleaf? He finished the rest of the herbs off, then drank some water from the puddle afterwards.

He cleared his throat. "Thanks, Deerpaw," he purred, taking a few steps towards the exit. "I'll leave now. It seems like you're busy."

Deerpaw shook his head. "No, no. I'm glad for some company. Stay."

"Really?"

"Yup," Deerpaw mewed. "It can get really boring in here, trust me. I don't have anyone to talk to but Cloudcover." He mrrowed a little. "I actually prefer to talk with the herbs. They don't contradict me like my mentor does. Don't tell her that, of course."

Warmpaw walked back to the nest, sitting down. He imagined Deerpaw joking around with stacks of herbs. He huffed in amusement. "What was that?" Deerpaw mumbled around a mouthful of herbs.

"Nothing." Warmpaw shifted his paws.

"Okay. You can make yourself comfortable until someone calls me or you."

"I have practice later this morning." Warmpaw meowed.

"What will you be practicing?" Deerpaw grabbed the leaf next to Warmpaw and stashed it away in one corner.

Warmpaw thought for a moment. "Some more hunting techniques, and we'll be learning how to chase away a fox."

"Nice. How is it going? You know, with you and Goldenfur. I remember that as a young apprentice, you didn't really want him for a mentor. He snapped at you when you got hurt during a practice session a few moons ago."

Warmpaw's tail twitched a little, keeping quiet for a while. "He still snaps at me," he started reluctantly. "I learned to understand though. That's something I realized fairly recently. If that's how he chooses to teach me, then I'm just going to have to live with it. I have to if I want any chance at becoming a warrior."

Deerpaw continued working silently, stacking herbs and pushing them to the side. Warmpaw lapped some more water from the puddle. He sighed.

"What's it like to be you?" Warmpaw asked.

Deerpaw pushed the last stack away. "Hmm?" He turned to face him.

"I mean, why are you a medicine cat? Why pick to be an apprentice to a nervous cat like Cloudcover?"

Deerpaw exhaled loudly, walking and seating himself next to Warmpaw. He looked into his eyes intently. "I believe it was my destiny to be a medicine cat."

Warmpaw threw his head back, laughing. Deerpaw cuffed him with a paw, cutting his laughter short. "Not funny," he hissed.

"Sorry," Warmpaw quickly licked his fur down, trying to get comfortable again. He licked a paw and rubbed it on his face. "Really. How does that work though?"

Deerpaw narrowed his eyes for a heartbeat. "Ever since I was a small kit, I've always watched Tornwhisker bring home prey. He was my father, and Honeylight was my mother. I wanted to be strong warriors like them. Then an outbreak of greencough broke out through the camp, since it was leafbare. Cloudcover tried her very best, but there were too many cats getting sick, and not enough herbs. Many cats died."

Deerpaw hung his head. He continued, meow shaking. "I lost my parents when I was only five moons old."

"I'm so sorry."

Deerpaw smiled. "It's okay." He shook himself a little. "So, as I said, I was alone. Cloudcover quickly took me into the medicine cat's den, asking me to help her out with things. I'm so thankful that she did. It was then that I realized that I loved to sort herbs. I loved the smell of them. I loved to take care of my clanmates. One day, I want to be like her; a medicine cat who serves the clan well.

"I'm glad you stayed such a happy cat." Warmpaw said, getting up from the nest. "Sorry for laughing earlier. I'm sorry; I have to leave. Goldenfur will want to see me soon."

Deerpaw nodded. "Sure thing. Thanks, I haven't had a good talk with someone in a while. Thank you for staying." His ears perked suddenly. "Oh, and just one more thing. Did you know that you arrived here in the camp just around the time I formally became medicine cat apprentice?"

"Nice to know." Warmpaw said.

Deerpaw turned his back to look at the herbs again, and Warmpaw left the den. He looked around. He spotted the large, flat rocks on the side of camp. The sky overhead was bright, with the sunlight falling pleasantly on his fur. It's a good time to sunbathe. What's stopping me from relaxing a little before practice?

He quickly settled himself on a rock, which was already nice and warm. He sighed, stretching as he lay belly up. He looked up at the cloudless sky.

He'd never have guessed that Deerpaw went through losing both his parents. The fawn tom was always so affable towards everyone. But Warmpaw wasn't sure whether or not his situation was worse than Deerpaw's. Although Deerpaw's parents died, at least he got to be with them and know their names. Meanwhile, Warmpaw was still pretty much in the dark about his parents' names; let alone what they looked like. But because of that, there was a chance that they could still be alive. Could they be?

"Warmpaw, it's time for training." Goldenfur's voice cut through his thoughts.

Warmpaw stretched once more before getting up. "I know. You told me that." He licked his paw, using it to rub his face. "Thought I'd forget?" he snarked, looking into his eyes.

. . .

After training the entire afternoon, Warmpaw returned to camp, which was full of cats eating and sharing tongues. The apprentice was exhausted, and his head ached.

"Greetings." Archpaw came pacing towards him, smiling with eyes closed. "Welcome back, warrior."

Warmpaw chuckled, feeling a shot of amusement run through him. "What's with that meow? Stop being so formal. It's weird."

"Weird, maybe. But why would you mind?" Archpaw stuck her tongue out. "I'm practicing for when I do become leader of ThunderClan." She flicked her tail as she said this. Warmpaw sighed inwardly. Which will take three dozen moons, at least. He didn't say that, however, instead saying, "You're a smart cat. You'll make a great leader."

"Thanks." Archpaw mewed, looking away. Suddenly, she bounced on her paws. "Let's eat! I'm sure you're tired, so let's grab something from the 'kill pile."

Warmpaw smiled back. "No problem at all. What'll you have?"

"I'll have a squirrel, as always. What about you?"

Warmpaw's whiskers twitched. "Just a mouse. I've been stuffing myself too much lately. At least, that what Goldenfur said. He said I was getting slow."

"So he does care for you."

"If that's the case, care feels like someone clawed at your face." Warmpaw huffed.

Archpaw's eyes widened. "Not what I meant! I mean… he's overseeing what you're doing, so he…" She trailed off, not sure what to say next. "Whatever. Let's just get some prey, okay? I'm starving!"

Warmpaw nodded, following her to the freshkill pile. He grabbed a mouse from the bottom. They found a place near the medicine cat's den. Archpaw began eating, as Warmpaw spotted Deerpaw from the corner of his eye, wandering among the many cats in the camp.

"Hey, Deerpaw!" he called. "Come over here and join us!"

Deerpaw seemed reluctant, but in the end, he walked over to them, vole in tow. "I'm here."

"Hello!" Archpaw meowed through a morsel of squirrel.

Deerpaw waved his tail. "Hi. I've heard a lot about you. From Cloudcover, mostly, telling me how hard you work to train each day."

"Thanks." Archpaw said. "You're okay?"

"Yeah. It hasn't been as busy in the medicine cat's den as it had been a moon ago, so I guess you can say it's fine."

"Isn't that boring?"

"Well, yeah… but it's good in a way. Without a lot of cats to attend to, I can think."

"Think?"

"About many things. I have to memorize what this leaf is called, and what that other leaf is called, then remember what they're supposed to be used for."

"Learning about herbs?" Archpaw appeared to be disgusted by the thought. "Don't you get bored of the smell after a while, or the stuffiness of the den? Do you even go out of the camp when you're a medicine cat?"

Deerpaw huffed in amusement. "I never get bored of the scent of lavender. The den isn't that stuffy once you get used to it. And if you think I never get out of camp, just so you know, Cloudcover's been taking me everywhere to see where the herbs are growing. I've gone to every single place you have stepped on, and more."

"I don't believe you."

Warmpaw listened to the two cats talk rapidly, as he took a bite of his mouse. Both talkative, so they'll get along well. He remembered that he'd have to meet up with Thistlepaw again in a little while. He'd have to get past everyone. He continued eating until he finished.

"Hey, Warmpaw!" Archpaw piped. "Say something!"

"Oh, uh…" Warmpaw looked around quickly. "Errr… I'm done eating." He excused himself.

"Already?" Deerpaw was confused.

"He got just one mouse," Archpaw explained.

"Aren't you still hungry?" Deerpaw asked.

"No," Warmpaw meowed in reply. "I'm pretty full." He picked up the mouse bones. "Continue talking. Don't let me stop your conversation. I'll just dispose of these," he said before he walked off.

Warmpaw stepped briskly to the dirtplace. The scent made his nose wrinkle. Better make this quick. He dug a hole, and dropped in the mouse bones. He covered it up. There. Done. He re-entered the camp and checked on Archpaw and Deerpaw. Still talking.

He padded away, heading for the camp entrance. Warmpaw slinked past Sandpaw, who was the stationed guard at the camp entrance. It was rather easy. She was talking with Blazetail.

"Your battle skills are improving," he heard Blazetail purr. "How did you know that I was going to fake that lunge?"

Sandpaw smiled at him. "I was on my hind legs, so it would be wrong for you to jump at me when you knew I was ready to crash back down on you. So when you faked it, I lunged at you myself."

"Smart!" Blazetail meowed brightly, nodding his head.

Warmpaw groaned inwardly. This is so weird, he thought as he walked into the forest. They're talking about battle techniques, but why does it seem like…

He paced through the forest, crescent moon above to light his way. As usual, it was quiet; only an occasional owl hoot or cricket chirp broke the stillness from time to time. He took a deep breath of the warm air, beginning to feel excited.

He remembered that even with all the activities he had to do in leafbare, he still found time to run with Thistlepaw every night. They were both eleven moons old now, and they had grown together. Thanks to her, he was quite possibly the fastest runner in ThunderClan, save for Sprintfoot and Maplebranch. Warmpaw smirked. I'll ask Sprintfoot out for a race one of these days. Who knows? Maybe I'll be even faster than him!

He was worried about her though. Leafbare had hit all the Clans hard, but WindClan was possibly the worst hit. He remembered a scene from a Gathering once.

Gorsestar spoke up next. "WindClan is doing fine." The apricot leader meowed.

"That is all."

No wonder Warmpaw tasted something in his words that night. Even before leafbare started, the WindClan cats were sickly and underfed. When it came, WindClan had an incredibly hard time coping. At least, that was what Thistlepaw told him a few nights ago. She didn't tell him if there were any cats that died over the season. He didn't expect her to, anyway.

I hope she's okay.

A rustle nearby made him flinch. He dismissed it as a rabbit. However, he was beginning to get a very uncomfortable feeling; his paw twitching slightly. He looked behind, but he saw nothing. He walked a few more paces, but he couldn't seem to shake the feeling off. There is definitely some cat following me. He sighed, stopping in his tracks. "Whoever you are, I know you're following me."

There was no answer, the forest still sounding quiet. Warmpaw tried again, opening his jaws to scent the air. A squirrelly scent was in the air. Archpaw? Warmpaw forced himself not to yowl out loud in annoyance.

He followed the scent up to a tree. The scent led up. Warmpaw tensed his hind legs, then leapt up to one of its branches. Immediately, a cat yowled in surprise.

"I knew it was you." Warmpaw muttered, looking at the cream cat on the branch with him.

"You found me?" Archpaw breathed.

Warmpaw rolled his eyes. "You didn't really try to disguise your scent."

Archpaw coughed, fur raised. "Where were you going?"

"Stargazing, of course." Warmpaw's tail flicked from side to side, eyes rolling.

"That's the same thing you said three days ago!" Archpaw's fur began to flatten. She exhaled to relax herself.

"You don't believe me?" Warmpaw eyed her up and down.

"Of course I do!"

"So why are you following me? Are you suspicious that I might be meeting another cat this late at night?" Warmpaw winced at his own suggestion. Too close to the truth. His heart began beating faster, scared that she might find out about him and Thistlepaw.

"I wouldn't ever question that!" Archpaw's eyes were wide as she yowled at him, moon reflecting in them. "That's because I know you're a good cat, and you aren't the kind of cat that could do that."

Warmpaw was stunned, fur slowly standing on end. She trusts me that much?

Archpaw turned away, back turned to him. "The truth is…"

"What?" Warmpaw asked, nearing her.

Archpaw's head dipped even lower. "I wanted to watch the stars with you."

"W-What?" Warmpaw took a few paces back. He gulped. "Um… tonight?"

"I hoped. I knew you were going out tonight, so I followed you." Archpaw mewed. She turned back to face him, eyes filled with a slight reluctance. "Back when I was still a kit, we used to meet every night. Out in the forest, training. Remember that?"

"Of course I do," Warmpaw replied, trying not to meet her gaze.

"I… I really missed that." Archpaw admitted. "Counting stars, climbing trees… I missed all of that."

There was silence; each cat not quite knowing what to say to the other. Warmpaw took it to himself to speak.

"Can we… watch the stars tomorrow?" He whispered.

Archpaw looked confused. "Okay. But… we're here now, aren't we?"

"The moon isn't perfectly crescent yet." Warmpaw tried making an excuse. "And… I have the feeling that it's going to be windier tomorrow, so that'll be nice."

"I don't really mind." Archpaw said. "The sky's clear tonight." She looked at him. "That's all I need, actually. So why can't we stargaze tonight?"

Warmpaw felt a sinking feeling in his chest. He quickly glanced in the direction of WindClan, imagining Thistlepaw at the border waiting for him. But he couldn't seem to find a way out. If he tried making any other excuse, Archpaw would read him in no time.

Archpaw looked at him sadly. "Were you planning to watch the stars by yourself?"

Warmpaw was quick to deny it. "No way!" he said, shaking his head vigorously. "It's just that I…" He trailed off, sighing. "Let's go starwatching."

Archpaw broke into a wide smile, mouth open. "Thank you!"

"No problem." Warmpaw smiled back.

He let out a long exhale and lifted his head up to look at the glittering stars. He stared up with wide eyes. There are a lot of stars up in Silverpelt.

He found two stars right next to one another. Both shone brightly. Are you my parents? Warmpaw wondered to himself. Can you see me from down here? Are you proud of me? Swirling thoughts raced around Warmpaw's head. He couldn't help but feel sad at that point, shifting his gaze down to the ground. What if they aren't proud of me?

His eyes widened in surprise as he felt something brush against his shoulder. Archpaw had gone closer to him, now so close he could feel her fur. "Something bothering you?" she asked him.

"Nothing." Warmpaw looked away. "It's really nothing."

Archpaw looked up at the sky. "You're thinking about your parents, aren't you?"

"It's really nothing, I'm telling you." Warmpaw forced himself not to snap at Archpaw. She was only trying to help, after all.

"You know, they could very well still be alive." Archpaw stated. "Remember, it hasn't been a long time. You're a young cat."

"If they're alive," Warmpaw retorted, "then why haven't I seen them yet? I've gone to many Gatherings. They could have approached me and told me then." He dug his claws into the tree bark, feeling them sink deep into the branch. "Oh, right. I'm half-Clan, so they're probably too ashamed to tell me!"

"Stop it!" Archpaw quickly placed her paw on top of Warmpaw's paw. Warmpaw inhaled sharply, claws retracting back. His head dropped as he began to cry. Archpaw pressed herself closer to him.

"I don't know their names, what Clans they came from, or what they look like." Warmpaw cried. He turned around. "Nothing! I don't even know whether they're alive or not!" He sighed. "I get jealous of you sometimes. Of how much Maplebranch cares for you, and how Moondrop greets you every morning before training."

He looked into Archpaw's eyes, wide and filled with shock. "Meanwhile, I feel as blank and dark as the night sky without the moon or the stars. I don't know who I am, or what I'm supposed to be. Honestly, Archpaw, I feel like… nothing."

The light in Archpaw's eyes seemed to magnify in intensity. Before Warmpaw knew what was happening, she had him pinned down, eyes looking straight into his. Warmpaw gaped in shock.

"You stupid cat! I thought you were stronger than this!" Archpaw seemed to choke on her words. "Where you came from doesn't matter, or change who you really are!"

"Archpaw, I—"

"No!" Archpaw shouted at him. Her eyes were filled with a swirl of emotions. Pain, fear, sadness and something else. "You can do better than this, Warmpaw!"

"If you're a blank sky, make your own stars! Make your own moon, and have it shaped any way you want it to be! If you're nothing, walk your own path! Create your own destiny!"

Archpaw got off him, and Warmpaw lifted himself up. His breath shook. "Archpaw, if you're angry, I'm sorry. I never should have told you all this."

"I'm not angry at you, Warmpaw." She huffed. "I just care for you." She leaned in and rubbed her cheek against his. "I'm sorry for hissing at you like that. Just don't feel sorry for yourself."

Warmpaw blinked gratefully, feeling like a huge weight had been removed from his chest. It felt like something in her words had shaken him into reality for some reason. She was right. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Archpaw smiled, flicking her tail over his ears. "Mousebrain."