Chapter 22

Shadowpaw stomped angrily into the forest, his fur was sodden and wet and his paws where muddy. The rain from the day before had fallen so hard his den had collapsed on him when he slept. Now he was off to find…a new home.

Up ahead, Shadowpaw saw the rippling waves of a small puddle of water. Shadowpaw was thirsty and he didn't hesitate to drink from the puddle. He enjoyed the cool water as it slid down his throat…only to choke on it later when he saw the face of Mistyfern in the puddle.

Shadowpaw jumped back with a yowl of surprise, his heart beating at an incredible speed. Shadowpaw thought for a moment if it was an omen from StarClan…but realized it wasn't. He looked into the puddle again and was furious to find out that he looked exactly like his mother.

Shadowpaw had never seen his face before…he always imagined he looked big and scary like his father. Disappointment and anger met him as he stared at his reflection; he had the same long and narrow face as Mistyfern. The same tall ears, long whiskers and narrow eyes, the only thing he had of Scar was his blue eyes…not Mistyfern's amber ones.

Shadowpaw hissed and sliced his paw into his reflection, shivering when the freezing water splashed onto his fur. The water rippled and blurred his face…but his attention was caught when another face appeared in the moving puddle.

"June?" Shadowpaw mewed. The white she-cat smiled and pressed noses with Shadowpaw.

"I couldn't help myself." She admitted. "I wanted to see where you were going."

"So far…not making any progress," Shadowpaw sighed. "How did you find me?"

"I followed you…" She confessed. "Hey…who's Scar?"

"Great StarClan…" Murmured Shadowpaw under his breath, "Did you hear me yell at StarClan?"

"Yeah…sorry" She mewed curiously. "Was that Scar character supposed to kill you or something?"

"Yeah…he was going to." Shadowpaw mewed. "That was before the badger got him." June flinched as she imagined the badger; its ugly face…June sat down and wrapped her flowing tail over her paws. Shadowpaw looked at her and realized she was staring at him, her head tilted in curiousness. "What?" He mewed.

"Just wondering," June mewed.

"…Okay…" Shadowpaw mewed with narrowed as June studied him. June twisted her nose and looked back into Shadowpaw's eyes.

"You are a strange cat." She mewed, her amber eyes gleaming. "I'm going with you."

"What…?" Shadowpaw backed up as June stood beside him with a determined eye. "You can't come with me…what about you're Twoleg?"

"Oh please, they'll replace me with some kit before the day is over." She mewed. "C'mon, let's find a place to stay. I wanna' see you warriors live." The white she-cat padded forward and purposely brushed her tail across Shadowpaw's muzzle. Shadowpaw was not sure how to react, but June wasn't stopping. Shadowpaw bounded forward until he walked beside her.

"We can make a new clan…a clan that doesn't believe in StarClan." June purred. "From what I heard…StarClan has ruined your life, right?"

"Yeah…" Shadowpaw mewed.

"Take that StarClan!" She challenged the sky. "This will be so much fun." Shadowpaw couldn't help but purr at her determination as they padded forward, maybe this was his lucky break. It would be just him and June living alone in solitude.

"So much fun…" Meowed Shadowpaw