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Chapter Text

THUNDERCLAN

Leader    Birdstar–tan she-cat with amber eyes and a ruff of thick fur around her neck

Deputy     Torrentstrike–black and white tom with pale yellow eyes; father to Volekit

Medicine Cat     Frizzypelt–dark gray tom with thick, unkempt fur and bright yellow eyes

Apprentice, Gracklepaw

Warriors     Turtlepelt–tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Weaselfang–orange and white tabby tom with yellow eyes

Larkfeather–brown and cream she-cat with amber eyes

Fernfoot–pale gray tom with white socks and blue eyes

Falconsong–dark brown tabby tom with pale blue eyes

Chirpheart–orange tabby she-cat with green eyes

Doeleap–brown she-cat with dark brown freckles and gray eyes

Apprentices     Branchpaw–brown tabby tom with hazel eyes

Barkpaw–brown tabby and cream tom with hazel eyes

Queens     Shadedpool–blue and cream she-cat with orange eyes and a floppy right ear (due to scarred tissue); surrogate mother to Indigokit

Meadowpatch–fluffy white she-cat with brown patches and icy blue eyes; mother to Volekit

Elders     Eaglefeather–tan tabby tom with green eyes

Petalstem–pinkish gray she-cat with blue eyes

Kits     Indigokit–longhaired orange and indigo tom with strange markings and two different colored eyes (blue and yellow)

Volekit–brown and white tom with pale yellow eyes

WINDCLAN

Leader      Nightstar–jet black tom with a white blaze above his nose and piercing yellow eyes

Deputy     Stonetooth–silver tabby tom with pale blue eyes

Medicine Cat     Harestem–white tom with green eyes and one black paw

Warriors     Brackenspot–white she-cat with bracken colored splotches and bright blue eyes

Marlwhisker–pale orange tabby tom with green eyes

Kits     Spottedkit–brown and tan she-cat with gray-green eyes

SHADOWCLAN

Leader     Treestar–brown tabby tom with yellow eyes

Deputy     Lightningstrike–bright orange tom with cold blue eyes and a ruff of fur on the back of his neck

Medicine Cat     Leafsong–gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes

SKYCLAN

Leader     Featherstar–silver tabby she-cat with orange eyes

Deputy     Hawkcry–stocky solid brown she-cat with icy blue eyes

Medicine Cat     Sunleaf–pale orange tabby tom with blue eyes

RIVERCLAN

Leader     Shinestar–white tom with tabby gray patches and yellow eyes

Deputy     Salmonfang–pale red tabby she-cat with orange eyes

Medicine Cat     Troutshine–tabby brown and cream tom with two different colored eyes (blue and green)

Apprentice, Speckledpaw

Chapter Text

Indigokit yawned as he blinked open his eyes to see the ThunderClan nursery. ThunderClan! He was in ThunderClan! Indigokit wormed his way to his foster mother’s belly and kneaded at Shadedpool excitedly. “Thanks for taking me in…” He mewled shyly. He wasn’t sure of all the rules of this strange place quite yet, but it was much nicer here in this warm nursery than out in the forest, and it was certainly better than starving. Shadedpool yawned as she woke up from her sleep and turned to look at him. Her large eyes were glassy and distant. “Don’t thank me,” was all she said. Her mouth smiled but her eyes did not. Indigokit blinked at her. “Can I go explore the…” He remembered the word. “...the camp?” Shadedpool nodded, and Indigokit sprang from the nest, purring. “Take Volekit with you,” Shadedpool called before her foster son could run off. Indigokit turned to face her and wrinkled his nose. “Volekit?” He mewed in protest. He hadn’t known Volekit for more than a couple of days, but could already sense that the kit was a bossy fussbudget, despite being moons younger than Indigokit (three moons younger, to be exact). His senses still alert even though he was in the safety of ThunderClan, Indigokit didn’t trust the little smug-face, mostly based on a gut feeling.

“Yes, Volekit. He knows the camp well, and maybe you’ll realize you really like him and become friends,” Shadedpool explained, yawning again and rolling over from facing the den wall. Indigokit doubted he would discover anything new in his feelings about Volekit, but accepted anyways. He’d never had a mother before, and he wanted to make her love him.

Indigokit padded over to Volekit’s nest and woke the smaller brown clan-born kit by swatting him lightly with one overgrown paw. Volekit awoke with a start, letting out a cry. “Hey! What was that for?” The little kit glared at Indigokit as if he’d hurt him on purpose. “I barely even touched you!” Indigokit retorted, bristling. Volekit’s mother, who’d been awake the whole time grooming herself, stared at Indigokit. “You little brute! Keep your paws off my son,” She hissed, wrapping her fluffy tail protectively around Volekit. Indigokit’s hostility drained from his body and he backed up, muttering “sorry…” Shadedpool came to his side quickly to defend him. “Don’t talk like that about him! I was watching, and all he did was pat Volekit to wake him up,” Indigokit was surprised by how quickly his foster mother’s voice had gone from being quiet and sleepy to loud and enraged. Volekit’s mother shrank under Shadedpool’s rage and gave the bristling queen an offended look. “He hurt my son,” Was all she said. Shadedpool’s tail lashed wildly. “Volekit will show Indigokit around camp, do you hear me?” She demanded. Volekit’s mother scowled. “Fine. But I’ll be keeping a close watch on that little rogue.” Her voice dropped to a whisper on the last word, but Indigokit still heard it. Rogue? Did she call me that? He wondered curiously.

Volekit climbed out of the nest from under his mother’s large tail and gave Indigokit a sulky look. “Let’s just get this over with,” He grumbled, eyes still cloudy with sleep. Indigokit followed him out of the nursery begrudgingly; he wanted to see the camp, but wished he could explore it on his own without this sullen bossy-tail leading him around like some clumsy newborn who’d never been outside his nest before. I’ve explored the whole forest and fended for myself, but now I have to listen to this kit who’s never even left camp? Indigokit wondered as he trailed behind the smaller cat. Why is he the boss of me when I could beat him in a fight any day?! But he held his tongue. Best not to make an enemy so quickly in this strange place; it could lead to everyone else hating him as well. So instead, he asked, “What’s a rogue?”

Volekit looked back at Indigokit and rolled his eyes. “It’s what you are. It’s an outsider who doesn’t follow the warrior code.” Indigokit, too curious of clan customs to be irritated now, bounded forward to walk alongside Volekit. “What’s the warrior code?” Volekit scoffed. “Do you know nothing? The warrior code is what all warriors have to follow. It’s what makes them better than rogues, who have no honor.” Indigokit’s hackles rose. “Do you know the warrior code?” He asked, a growl rising in his throat. Volekit looked a bit embarrassed and more angry now, scoffing a stuttering a bit before retorting. “No, mousebrain, but I will. When we’re apprentices.” Indigokit failed to understand how he was a rogue for not knowing the warrior code, but Volekit wasn’t. “Then I’ll learn it too. So I can be a warrior and not a rogue,” Indigokit asserted. Volekit wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes at the same time, resulting in a rather judgy expression that made Indigokit’s claws itch to leave their sockets.

“Good luck with that. You’ll always be a rogue.” Indigokit growled a low, frustrated growl. “I don’t understand! How can I be a rogue if I live in ThunderClan?” Volekit stopped walking. “Because you weren’t born here! Do you have fleas where your brains should be?” Indigokit growled louder. “If you don’t stop calling me stupid, I’ll-” Volekit cut him off, a challenge in his yellow eyes. “You’ll what, stupid?” Indigokit jumped at the smaller kit, cutting him off without warning and pinning him to the ground, brandishing wildly long, unsheathed claws at him. Volekit yelped and squalled for help, alerting the surrounding warriors who’d been basking in the afternoon sun. Indigokit realized he’d messed up big time and backed away from Volekit, flattening his ears. Volekit’s mother was the first to appear, standing like a wall between her son and Indigokit. “I knew this would happen! You little monster!” She yowled at him. “I-I’m sorry! I just got mad, I didn’t mean t-to hurt him!” Indigokit protested, fear flashing through him and making his pelt stand on end. Shadedpool appeared by his side, and so did a young, oddly familiar tan she-cat.

“Birdstar, I’m so sorry,” Shadedpool said to the she-cat, who had an authoritative air about her. “He’s still acclimating; just give him time to warm up.” Birdstar… wasn’t that ThunderClan’s leader? Indigokit swallowed nervously, suddenly remembering the night he’d been discovered; it was a blurry memory, as he’d been hungry and half-asleep, but he could definitely recall Birdstar being there. Birdstar glanced at Volekit, who cowered behind his mother, then back to Shadedpool, then to Indigokit. “Alright. Keep him in the nursery for a few more days. He’s clearly not ready to meet the clan just yet,” She meowed commandingly. Shadedpool dipped her head. “Thank you.” Before Indigokit could say anything else to defend himself, he felt himself being shoved along by Shadedpool and herded back to the nursery. As she guided him, he could see Volekit and his mother out of the corner of his eye, who crouched by his side and crooned over him as soon as Indigokit was gone. Indigokit scowled. “That little pretender! I didn’t even do anything!” Shadedpool deposited him in the nursery, and Indigokit saw that her face was just as angry as Volekit’s mother’s had been (perhaps even more). 

“Indigokit, you cannot fight your clanmates, do you hear me??” Shadedpool demanded. Indigokit nodded, eyes wide. “Say it. Promise you will never do anything like that ever again.” She hissed. “I-I promise not to do that again,” He blurted. “But-” Shadedpool cut him off before he could finish. “No buts. You will not embarrass me again like that.” Indigokit sighed and crept back into his nest. “Sorry,” He muttered, curling up on the soft moss and down. If he couldn’t leave the nursery, he may as well pass the time by sleeping. He knew it was a good way to conserve energy if you were hungry, as well, and hungry he was. Though he didn’t dare ask for any prey right now; maybe when he woke up tensions would have died down and he could ask Shadedpool to bring him some. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to arrive, though he couldn’t get one thought out of his mind: Shadedpool is angry with me… I’ll have to work even harder to get her to love me now.

Chapter Text

Indigokit fidgeted as Shadedpool groomed his fluffy pelt, a null attempt to tame it before his big ceremony. His “fight” with Volekit had been a few days ago, and Birdstar had finally decided the other day that Indigokit was fit to become an apprentice; he was past old enough to become a warrior apprentice, he’d learned (he was eight moons and most were apprenticed at six), but Indigokit had only just arrived, and Birdstar had said that he should spend at least a couple days in the nursery to have time to acclimate to clan life. It seemed to Indigokit that this grace period had been more for the rest of the clan than for him, though, and even though he’d spent all that useless time in the nursery, he still caught cats giving him disapproving looks when he walked to the prey pile or the dirtplace. Volekit and his mother were especially guilty of this. Volekit had spent the rest of that day in the medicine den despite having no injuries. The medicine cat, whom Indigokit had yet to meet (No doubt Volekit’s mother has convinced the medicine cat, whoever they are, to hate me too, Indigokit thought.), treated Volekit for shock and let him sleep for a bit before letting him go back to the nursery. Indigokit recalled waking in the nursery to see Volekit’s mother watching him like a hawk. 

But all that didn’t matter now; Indigokit was becoming an apprentice! Now he could really show ThunderClan that he could be trusted, and even more, would make a fantastic warrior. He already knew how to hunt and fight. Once he’d learned the warrior code, he’d be a true warrior. “StarClan, your pelt is a mess!” Shadedpool complained, though her tone was more amused than critical. “Then leave it,” Indigokit wormed out from under his surrogate mother’s tongue. “The clan already doesn’t like me, and I don’t care what they think about me anyways. Once I’m an apprentice, I’ll show them all what I’m capable of!” His eyes gleamed with excitement, and Shadedpool gazed at him with pity. “The clan doesn’t hate you, dear, they just don’t know you yet. Don’t give up on ThunderClan; I promise they’re good cats.” Indigokit doubted her words, but nodded anyways. She’s all I have… Maybe I should try to trust her. She does know these cats better than me. Either way, he was glad she wasn’t mad at him anymore.

“May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!” Indigokit was startled from his thoughts and pricked his ears, turning to look. Birdstar was standing atop the Highledge–the ledge from which clan meetings were held, Shadedpool had informed him–and sweeping the clan with her amber gaze. Indigokit looked back at Shadedpool, who dipped her head, and sprinted over to the clearing beneath the Highledge, where cats were already gathering to see what was happening. Shadedpool trotted behind him and settled down at the edge of the clearing to watch.

Indigokit was practically bouncing on his paws as he waited for the ThunderClan warriors to gather; he saw the brothers, Barkpaw and Branchpaw, creep, yawning, from the apprentices’ den and felt excitement prick his fur; he would be sleeping there very soon! He also spotted Volekit and his mother (he’d since found out her name was Meadowpatch) approaching, and he saw that Volekit looked green with envy. He didn’t even try to suppress the wave of amusement this brought him; the five moon old kit would have to wait another moon to receive his warrior name! That was a whole moon Indigokit would get away from the little fussbudget.

Eventually, the clan had all arrived, and Birdstar started her announcement; “We gather here today to witness one of the most important ceremonies a leader must oversee; Indigokit, step forward.” Indigokit grinned widely and stepped forward, sensing that every cat’s attention was focused on him. As much as he knew some of the ThunderClan cat’s gazes weren’t the most welcoming, he relished in the knowledge that all the clans’ attention was finally on him after days of hiding away in the nursery. “Indigokit, you have been in ThunderClan long enough to acclimate to our customs, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Indigopaw.” The clan chanted his name, and Indigopaw basked in the attention; he knew that when he received his warrior name, they would chant much louder; he would make ThunderClan proud. “Your mentor will be Falconsong,” Birdstar announced when the cheering was done. “I expect he will train you well in our ways and our code.” Falconsong, a large and burly looking tom, stepped forward to touch noses with Indigopaw, and Indigopaw felt his chest swell with pride. His mentor was the strongest cat in the forest! He would be an amazing warrior in no time. As they touched noses, however, Falconsong’s gaze was cold, and Indigopaw wondered if the large tom didn’t like him. It’s no matter. I can make him like me when he sees how strong and capable I am. Maybe I could even teach him a thing or two from my experience outside the clans!

Once the ceremony was over and the gathered cats had left, Shadedpool came forward to lick her son’s ear affectionately. “Good luck, Indigopaw. I know you’ll do great.” She pulled pack to grin at him before padding back to the nursery. Indigopaw wondered why she was going back there when she didn’t have a kit anymore, but decided not to question it. He looked to Falconsong eagerly instead. “What are we gonna do first? Hunting? Fighting?!” Falconsong shook his head. “You’re going to learn to change the elders’ bedding.” Indigopaw’s heart sank. “What? Why would we do that? Aren’t you gonna show me around the forest at least?” Falconsong’s gaze hardened. “I’ll take you into the forest, but only to show you where to gather fresh moss. Changing bedding will be one of your tasks as an apprentice, so you better get used to it.” His voice was harsh, and Indigopaw sighed and looked at his paws. “Okay… That’s fine, I just thought-” “You thought wrong. Follow me,” Falconsong cut him off and started off towards the tunnel out of the gorge and into the forest. He ran fast, but Indigopaw had no trouble keeping up; he’d outrun a fox as a kitten by scampering up a tree. This was no challenge at all. He had to admit when he went into the forest again for the first time since joining ThunderClan that it looked smaller than he remembered it. The trees no longer towered, and the shadows no longer stretched ominously. He felt safe in the forest, for the first time in his life. I could get used to this, He thought happily. I’m lucky ThunderClan took me in. I’m going to become the strongest warrior they’ve ever seen to thank them for letting me join them.

Falconsong finally stopped at a massive and old looking tree; its roots were thick with soft, spongy moss, ripe for the harvest. “This is the Ancient Oak. It’s one of the places in the forest where moss is most abundant. I’ll show you how to gather it without getting a bunch of soil on your bedding, and then we’ll bring it to the elders.” Falconsong didn’t wait for Indigopaw to say anything and began gathering moss with quick but gentle claw-strokes that sliced clean patches of moss, leaving the soil behind. Indigopaw copied his new mentor and quickly got the hang of it. Falconsong didn’t seem to notice his apprentice’s knack for moss-gathering, however, and simply grunted at seeing the pile Indigopaw had gathered. The two brought back their moss in silence and padded into the elders’ den.

ThunderClan had two elders, Indigopaw learned; Eaglefeather and Petalstem. He also quickly learned that they were both ornery and didn’t particularly like him. “So you’re the rogue ‘paw, huh?” Eaglefeather grunted when Indigopaw entered the shady den. He dropped his bundle of moss and nodded in what he hoped was a respectful manner. Falconsong stopped beside him and dropped his bundle as well. “You two saw the ceremony, didn’t you?” He asked dryly. Petalstem rolled her eyes. “Sure, we did. Listen, new stuff; you aren’t Falconsong’s first ‘paw, and I hope you’ve learned by now that you won’t get away with pulling any funny stuff. He’ll straighten you out, won’t ya, Falconsong?” Falconsong didn’t respond, but his eyes gleamed with amusement at the old she-cat’s words. He picked up a piece of moss and walked over to Eaglefeather’s nest. The old tom stepped out of the way and Falconsong began clearing out the old moss and replacing it with fresh stuff. Indigopaw swallowed hard. “I’m not trying any ‘funny stuff’,” He defended himself. “I’m gonna be a great warrior.” Petalstem narrowed her eyes. “Don’t talk back to your elders, son. Hasn’t Shadedpool taught you that yet?” Indigopaw bristled at the criticism of his foster mother. “I’m not-!” Falconsong cut him off with a hiss. “Indigopaw, just quit arguing and start changing her bedding. Copy what I’m doing, and do it silently, too.” Indigopaw ducked his head and muttered, “sorry…”, before picking up a piece of moss and approaching Petalstem’s nest. Petalstem stepped out of it and gave Falconsong an approving glance from her cold blue eyes. Indigopaw thought to himself that Petalstem could be Falconsong’s kin from how similar their ice cold gazes were.

Once they were finished changing out the elders’ bedding, Falconsong led Indigopaw to the prey pile and chose a mouse for him, tossing it over. Indigopaw tried to catch it but fumbled, and the mouse fell awkwardly to his paws. He grinned sheepishly as Falconsong gave him an unimpressed look. “Food isn’t for toying with,” Falconsong informed him. “Anyways, now that you’ve finished your duty for today, you can eat that and go find yourself a nest in the apprentices’ den. Tomorrow I will show you the clan borders and how to mark them, so I recommend getting some rest.” Indigopaw glanced up at the sky to see that it was just past sunhigh. Every cat was up and hunting, training, or patrolling if they weren’t lounging in camp. “Isn’t it a bit early for sleeping?” Indigopaw asked. Falconsong’s whiskers twitched. “You will quickly come to be grateful for any rest you can get. Just ask Branchpaw and Barkpaw.” “Oh,” Indigopaw meowed. He was still doubtful that any cat his age should be sleeping in the middle of the day, but decided not to argue. One thing he was quickly starting to learn was that ThunderClan cats did not respond well to arguing. He crouched down to eat his mouse and padded over to the apprentices’ den when he was finished.

The den was empty (Indigopaw recalled that after his ceremony, the brother’s mentors had taken them out to train), but Indigopaw could tell by scent which nests were occupied. He chose one a bit away from Barkpaw and Branchpaw’s nests and settled into it. It wasn’t nearly as comfortable as his nest in the nursery, and Indigopaw found himself missing the nursery greatly. The empty apprentices’ den was dark and lonely, where the nursery had been warm and bright. Indigopaw shoved down his pining. Remember where you came from; this is still leagues better than being all alone in the wild. Anyways, warriors don’t long for a soft nest in the nursery. Warriors sleep anywhere and leave the softest nests for the weakest cats. He told himself this firmly over and over until he fell into a shallow, dreamless sleep.

Indigopaw awoke a bit later at the sound of Branchpaw and Barkpaw entering the den. When he blinked his eyes open, he caught the tail-end of a conversation between the two. “-aybe, but I’m still a faster runner.” “Okay, okay. But speed won’t help you catch prey. We’re not WindClan cats!” Barkpaw rolled his eyes at his brother. “Of course not! We’d have to be prey-stealers to be WindClan cats.” Branchpaw settled in his nest and noticed that Indigopaw had been listening to their conversation. 

“Um, hi! I’m Indigopaw,” Indigopaw greeted the older apprentice. Branchpaw looked like he didn’t know what to say and glanced awkwardly at his brother. Barkpaw smiled at Indigopaw, though Indigopaw could clearly see through his friendly exterior that Barkpaw was just as uncomfortable as his brother. “Hello. I’m Barkpaw, and that’s Branchpaw…” Indigopaw tried to smile reassuringly. “I’m your denmate now, but I promise I don’t snore!” He tried to joke, but neither Branchpaw nor Barkpaw laughed. “That’s good, because we have battle training in the morning,” Branchpaw chimed in now, his voice a bit snide. Barkpaw gave Branchpaw an alarmed look like his brother had just poked a sleeping fox with stinging nettles. “I know… Falconsong’s showing me the territories tomorrow, so…” He trailed off, not sure how to continue the conversation. “That’s cool!” Barkpaw’s voice was overenthusiastic, like he was doing damage control for his brother’s rude comment. Indigopaw gave the two apprentices a smile before curling back up in his nest. Ugh. Can the ground just swallow me whole? That was the most awkward conversation ever! 

Indigopaw put a paw over his head so the two other apprentices couldn’t see his eyes and gazed at them through the gloom; it was sunset by now. They were exchanging a glance; Branchpaw’s was wide-eyed, as if he were silently asking his brother “Can you believe he just spoke to us?” and Barkpaw’s was annoyed, though Indigopaw could tell it wasn’t in defense of him; he could detect the fear scent radiating from the young tom’s tabby-and-cream pelt. Barkpaw was afraid of Indigopaw, and didn’t appreciate what he saw as his brother provoking him. Fine. They don’t like me now, but one day, we’ll train and fight together. They’re my clanmates, and I’ll prove myself to them just the same as I’ll prove myself to Falconsong. And Petalstem… and Eaglefeather… and even Meadowpatch. I’ll prove myself to all of them.

Indigopaw buried his head in his own fluff and tried to block out the memories of the day. It wasn’t a great start, but tomorrow would be better. He slowly but surely drifted back to sleep, this time much deeper than before; deep enough to have a dream. Though the dream was hazy, and hard to remember once he’d woken up, Indigopaw could recall that in it, he’d been leader of a clan. He led with power and influence; his clanmates trusted and respected him. With that, Indigopaw knew that he was destined for greatness. He would prove himself to ThunderClan. One way, or another.

Chapter Text

Indigopaw awoke the next morning to Falconsong’s voice whispering into his ear, so as not to wake Barkpaw and Branchpaw. “Up and at ‘em, Indigopaw. I’m showing you the territories.” His voice was just as gruff as ever, and Indigopaw supposed, as he yawned to life, that he’d just have to get used to his mentor’s unfriendly nature. Indigopaw exited his den and sat down to groom his pelt, but Falconsong stopped him. “No use taming that wild mess,” The older tom scoffed. “Just come along. I’m gonna show you our borders, like I said yesterday.” Indigopaw shrugged; he didn’t like grooming his pelt anyways.

Falconsong led him out of camp and to the right, running just as fast as he had yesterday. Again, Indigopaw had no trouble keeping up, though he began to tire much quicker than it seemed Falconsong was. Thankfully, Falconsong eventually stopped at a line of scent that Indigopaw could only place as different from ThunderClan’s. Once Indigopaw had caught his breath, Falconsong asked him if he could smell the border. Indigopaw walked up to the very edge and looked down at the forest floor. “This is it,” He said, absolutely sure. “Come back, now,” Falconsong warned sharply. “You don’t want a SkyClan patrol to see you toeing their border like that.” Indigopaw padded back to his mentor, waiting for him to at least praise him for getting it right. “This is SkyClan’s border. How much of the warrior code do you know?” Falconsong asked matter-of-factly. Indigopaw thought for a few heartbeats. “Only that kits six moons of age become apprentices,” Indigopaw finally said. Falconsong sighed and sat down, then flicked his tail to indicate Indigopaw do the same. “Well, one of the very first rules in the warrior code is that warriors must not trespass on another clan’s territory, at least without good reason. You certainly cannot hunt on another clan’s territory. Even if a mouse or squirrel you were tracking runs over the border of another clan, you are not allowed to follow. Do you understand?” Falconsong’s voice and gaze were harsh, as if he already expected Indigopaw to put up an argument. Indigopaw just nodded, though internally, he thought that it was a bit stupid to just let a perfectly good piece of prey run over another clan’s border without following it.

“Good. Now I’m going to take you to the lake.” Indigopaw pricked his ears; he’d heard in passing that the clans surrounded a massive lake, and he knew these territories were named after it, but he’d never been deep enough into clan territory to see it until now. Up until this day, the biggest body of water Indigopaw had ever seen was a river, so when the trees began thinning out and Indigopaw could see the expanse of water in front of him, he almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Falconsong led him to the shore, where water lapped at the pebbles and created a music far stranger than any birdsong Indigopaw had ever heard. Indigopaw followed as his mentor began to walk along the shore in the opposite direction of SkyClan’s border.

“This is the lake. I wouldn’t recommend setting paw in it, unless you want to drown–or freeze,” Falconsong added hastily. “Once leafbare comes around, it will freeze over. Even then, you are not to step on the ice. It is incredibly fragile and dangerous, and I’ve heard many tales of cats falling through because they were mouse-brained enough to try.” Indigopaw pricked his ears at that word; leafbare. “What’s that mean?” He asked curiously. Falconsong stared at him irritably. “What’s what mean?” “Leaf…bare?” Indigopaw repeated the word cautiously, unsure if he was saying it right. Falconsong looked confused for a heartbeat until realization flooded his gaze.

“Have you never heard of the four seasons?” He meowed, shocked. Indigopaw shook his head. Seasons? Does he mean the times when the weather gets colder or hotter? “Well I’ll be…” Falconsong looked a bit surprised, but seemed mostly annoyed that he’d have to explain this concept to his ignorant new apprentice. He began to explain as they walked. “There are four seasons; newleaf, greenleaf, leaf-fall, and leafbare. We are in leaf-fall right now, and it’s called that because it’s when leaves fall off of the trees. After this will be leafbare. Leafbare is the coldest, harshest season, and you probably haven’t lived long enough to remember it. Newleaf is after that, and it’s named for the new leaves and plants that appear. Things will warm up until greenleaf, which is the hottest season. StarClan sends the seasons to test the clans. Leafbare reminds us that everything we have can be taken away, and it teaches us to rely on one another when times are tough. Going through a long, harsh leafbare makes greenleaf all the sweeter. Any questions?” Indigopaw understood now, and was very glad to finally have names for these seasons. He shook his head.

“Good,” Falconsong stopped walking. “We’re here.” Indigopaw stared ahead of them and saw that the forest beyond the lakeshore gradually thinned out into seemingly endless rolling, green hills. He felt a prickle run along his spine and had to force his fur to lay flat. “This is WindClan’s border,” Falconsong spat the word WindClan like it was rotten prey. “You probably didn’t know this, but WindClan was caught stealing prey a couple moons ago. After being confronted, however, their leader, Nightstar, accused us of prey-stealing.”

As Falconsong explained the feud between ThunderClan and WindClan, Indigopaw heard the sound of spongy grass beneath paws, causing him to perk up and stare into the trees. Falconsong looked irritated for a moment before looking in the direction Indigopaw was looking; he clearly spotted the ripple of a silver tabby pelt through the sparse trees. Indigopaw felt a hiss start to build in his throat and Falconsong put his tail out to stop Indigopaw, growling under his breath, “Cool it.”

Indigopaw straightened to see over his mentor’s fluffy tail and saw that the tabby was now approaching them.

“What are you ThunderClan cats doing on WindClan’s border?” His eyes, which were a piercing shade of blue, flashed with suspicion, and his silver pelt rippled. 

“Stonetooth,” Falconsong growled, though he dipped his head cordially. “I’m showing my apprentice the clan boundaries. Or is WindClan going to have a problem with that now?” Indigopaw saw his mentor’s pelt prick slightly and raised his own hackles to appear bigger. Stonetooth looked between them, and Indigopaw saw uncertainty flicker though his hostile gaze. The flicker was only for a heartbeat, however, and the WindClan stranger still seemed set on causing a problem.

“Why are you being defensive, Falconsong? All I want to know is why you’re so close to our border after your clan accused us of not respecting your boundary,” Stonetooth hissed. Indigopaw felt irritation prick at him; who was this cat to come up and question Falconsong when he was safely on ThunderClan territory? Indigopaw could tell Stonetooth was a possible threat; his pelt fluffed up to two times its size, and his eyes were the hard, hostile eyes of an attacking fox. Indigopaw knew from all his experience on his own that if you don’t attack first, the enemy will. 

Acting fast, Indigopaw unsheathed his claws, bunched his muscles, and leapt at the silver tom, not even pausing to let out a battle cry or give warning that he was attacking. Stonetooth gave a shocked yowl as he was knocked to the ground; Indigopaw may have been an apprentice, but his size rivaled most full grown warriors. Indigopaw lifted one large paw and readied himself to land a fierce blow at Stonetooth’s face, but before he could even start to bring down his unsheathed claws upon the warrior, he felt the breath being knocked from him. Falconsong had rushed forward to topple him off of Stonetooth.

“Indigopaw! I did not tell you to attack him!” Falconsong sounded furious as he pinned his apprentice down, and Indigopaw stared up at him confusedly. “You keep your mangy apprentice away from me, Falconsong!” Stonetooth spat, scrambling to his paws. “WindClan will hear of this, mark my words,” With that, the silver tabby tom loped away into the hills; WindClan cats certainly were fast.

“Where in the name of StarClan did that come from?” Falconsong snarled, climbing off of Indigopaw. “That was the WindClan deputy you just attacked!” Indigopaw felt a surge of pride course through him at having scared off such an important cat, but decided against showing it outwardly. I was able to pin the deputy of WindClan just like nothing?

“But he was going to attack us,” Indigopaw argued, cocking his head to show that he simply didn’t understand why Falconsong was so angry. “He was not going to attack us! Sure, he was being a bit rude, but what you just did could start an all-out war, Indigopaw,” Falconsong explained, gaze fiery with anger. Indigopaw’s ears flattened and he suddenly realized that perhaps he had overreacted to the WindClan deputy’s hostile attitude.

“I-I thought he was going to hurt us. If a predator or another cat challenges you in the wild, you have to be first to attack,” Indigopaw said defensively. Falconsong scowled. “This is why Birdstar should never have let you join our clan! It’s not like you couldn’t fend for yourself, and all you’re doing now is causing problems for us!” His voice was frustrated, and Indigopaw understood his frustration wasn’t aimed entirely at him, though it still hurt to find out what his mentor really thought; he was talking like Birdstar had allowed a wild fox to join ThunderClan.

Falconsong took a moment to calm down and fixed Indigopaw with his intense gaze. “Look, Indigopaw, if you want to leave ThunderClan, do it now. I’ll tell Birdstar and the rest of the clan that you simply weren’t cut out for it, and maybe then we can smooth over what you just did to Stonetooth. If we’re lucky they’ll forgive us as long as you’re gone.” Indigopaw pricked his ears. “I don’t want to leave ThunderClan…” He said decisively. “I’ll apologize to Stonetooth myself if it means I can stay. Please don’t make me leave, Falconsong!” His mentor considered this, tail tip flicking.

“Alright then,” He almost sounded disappointed. “Let’s go back right away and tell Birdstar about what happened. We need to smooth this over sooner rather than later.”

And so, Indigopaw followed his mentor as they trudged back to ThunderClan in silence. I didn’t mean to cause more problems with WindClan, Indigopaw thought indignantly. He should thank me for trying to protect us! But Falconsong didn’t thank him, and neither did Birdstar.

“You what?” Birdstar’s amber eyes were frightened as she looked at Indigopaw. They had made it back to camp and Falconsong had marched his apprentice straight to Birdstar to inform her of what had taken place at WindClan’s border. “I thought Stonetooth was going to attack us. I was trying to protect ThunderClan,” Indigopaw explained, trying to keep his tone even and respectful. Birdstar sighed, looking exasperated. “Indigopaw, you cannot go attacking cats without reason. If Falconsong doesn’t tell you to attack, you can’t attack.” Indigopaw thought that his experience outside of clan life might have made him better at anticipating attacks but didn’t say this aloud. “I’m sorry,” He said simply. Birdstar looked unconvinced and Falconsong broke his silence when Birdstar didn’t say anything.

“I think it would be best to explain this to WindClan as soon as possible. Perhaps Indigopaw should go to WindClan himself and apologize directly to Stonetooth, as well as all of WindClan for his attack.” Indigopaw couldn’t help but feel a prick of irritation that his mentor didn’t mention that this idea had been his. “Good idea, Falconsong,” Birdstar mewed, looking at the tabby tom for a moment before turning back to Indigopaw and fixing him with her stern gaze. “I’ll send you and two warriors to WindClan so that you can apologize to Stonetooth. We cannot have another battle this close to Leafbare.” Indigopaw sighed but decided he should oblige if he wanted to stay in ThunderClan and train to become a warrior. “Okay,” He murmured. She never even seemed impressed that I was able to scare WindClan’s deputy away like a frightened little kit! I’ll bet no clanborn apprentice has been able to do that before…

The two warriors chosen to accompany Indigopaw to WindClan were Falconsong and Torrentstrike, ThunderClan’s deputy and Volekit’s father. It was safe to say Torrentstrike didn’t like Indigopaw after he accidentally hurt Volekit a few days ago, and the debacle with Stonetooth most certainly only confirmed the ThunderClan deputy’s dislike. Right now, Indigopaw and his mentor were waiting at the exit to the ThunderClan camp for Torrentstrike to join them. The formidable warrior was speaking with Meadowpatch and Volekit, and Indigopaw could practically feel the fluffy white and brown queen’s harsh glare piercing his fur, as they were clearly discussing him. Finally, Torrentstrike broke away from his mate and kit and started heading towards where Indigopaw and his mentor were waiting, but Volekit followed his father, bouncing eagerly along on his little paws. Torrentstrike was now close enough that Indigopaw could hear their conversation. 

“You’re going to WindClan, wow! Can you tell me what it’s like when you get back? I wanna know what their camp looks like. And are they big and strong like you?” The words tumbled eagerly out of Volekit’s mouth, so unlike how Indigopaw was used to the kit sounding that he had to assume he didn’t get to talk to his father super often; to be fair, he was rather busy, as clan deputy. (Also, Indigopaw secretly thought to himself that if he had a son like Volekit, he’d probably ignore him too.) Torrentstrike fixed his son with his hard, pale yellow gaze, so like Volekit’s that it would be difficult not to tell they were kin. “Volekit, can’t you see I’m busy? I have to go deal with this, and when I get back I won’t have time to tell you stories. Go find an elder to bother if you wanna hear about WindClan.” Volekit’s tail drooped slightly, but he quickly replied, still eager to convince Torrentstrike. “But Eaglefeather and Petalstem barely remember anything… Not in as much detail as you could tell.” Torrentstrike opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Meadowpatch rushed forward and wrapped her tail around Volekit, pulling him back and away from his father. “Come back to the nursery, Volekit; you’ve gotten your answer.” Torrentstrike turned back to the camp exit and padded the rest of the way over.

Meanwhile, Indigopaw watched as the kit was led back to the nursery, still staring back at Torrentstrike forlornly, and scoffed to himself. At least be glad you know who your father is! He thought fiercely. I don’t even know what mine looks like, and you don’t see me sulking like that… “Come on, let’s get this over with,” Torrentstrike grunted as he stopped in front of Falconsong. Indigopaw’s mentor dipped his head and stood up to follow the ThunderClan deputy, and Indigopaw stood as well, seeing that it was time to go. They traversed across ThunderClan territory in silence and reached the WindClan border in good time, but Indigopaw was confused when both Falconsong and Torrentstrike stopped and sat at the border instead of crossing it.

“We’re supposed to go to WindClan’s camp, remember?” Indigopaw reminded them, tail tip flicking slightly. They were so mad at me, but now they’ve forgotten why we’re here! Falconsong was the one to answer, his meow gruff, “We can’t just go prancing into another clan’s territory, Indigopaw. We have to wait for a patrol to stop by so they know we’re here.” Indigopaw was now confused for an entirely different reason. “But that’s a waste of time. We’ll be at their camp in no time if we cross now; it’s not like we’re going over there to sneak around.” Falconsong’s tail lashed once. “We aren’t allowed onto their territory without permission, otherwise they’ll think we’re there to attack or steal prey. Especially after what you did, do you think that’s a good idea?” His voice had an edge of condescension, as if he were explaining rules that even a kit could understand, and Indigopaw’s temper spiked. “But we came here to apologize! This is dumb; in the wild, if you want to go somewhere, you go there. You don’t sit around, wasting daylight, waiting for permission!” At this, Torrentstrike broke in, voice harsh and angry after listening to the argument. “Indigopaw, be quiet! You are the reason we’re ‘wasting daylight’, so if you had a problem with that, you shouldn’t have attacked Stonetooth. I don’t wanna hear another word from you now, got it?”

Indigopaw bared his teeth, tail lashing, but kept his mouth shut and sat down, seething wordlessly. He knew if he kept arguing, he would get kicked out of ThunderClan, and he supposed if he wanted to be a great warrior, he’d have to follow all of the clans’ rules, no matter how stupid. So, the small patrol waited, Indigopaw impatient as ever, at WindClan’s border. Once the sun had traveled no more than a paw-length in the sky, Indigopaw finally heard and scented a WindClan border patrol (and much earlier than either Torrentstrike or Falconsong seemed to notice, he thought to himself haughtily). Once the patrol had come into sight–and had sighted them–their demeanor changed immediately to hostility, surely remembering the attack on their deputy. The patrol’s leader, a lean white she-cat with bracken colored splotches, stopped directly in front of the ThunderClan-WindClan border, staring at the small ThunderClan patrol with suspicion flashing in her gaze. “Torrentstrike? What does ThunderClan want now? Come to attack another innocent WindClan cat?” She hissed, and Indigopaw rolled his eyes at her complete lack of subtlety. “Quite the opposite, Brackenspot,” Torrentstrike said evenly. “Indigopaw is here to apologize directly to Stonetooth; it was an utter misunderstanding, and ThunderClan holds no ill will.” Even as the ThunderClan deputy spoke the words, Indigopaw could detect the carefully disguised disdain Torrentstrike clearly felt for WindClan. He knew the two clans had been uneasy with each other, and he supposed that even when trying to be diplomatic, Torrentstrike must have found it hard to stay respectful. 

Brackenspot didn’t look too convinced either, her tail tip flicking mistrustfully. “Alright. But My patrol will be keeping a close eye on you. If anything should happen, we won’t take it lightly.” The brown and white she-cat turned her head to give her patrol a meaningful look, probably warning them to be on high alert while escorting the ThunderClan cats through WindClan territory. Indigopaw couldn’t help but find this whole exchange to be an utterly worthless use of everyone’s time. I could be training right now… or hunting for my clanmates, or sleeping! But here we are, apologizing to a bunch of ungrateful flea-pelts. He shook out his fur as he stood to cross WindClan’s border with Falconsong and Torrenstrike close beside him, eyeing the WindClan patrol closely. Clearly, neither clan trusted the other one bit.

The journey to WindClan’s camp was surprisingly interesting to Indigopaw, though a glance at his clanmates’ faces told him that he might have been the only cat to feel that way. WindClan’s moors stretched much further than he could have ever imagined from the view he’d gotten from the ThunderClan border, and the hilly plains were buffeted by chilly winds which Indigopaw thought fitting, considering the name of the clan this territory belonged to. Countless tail lengths ahead there rolled short hills blanketed by grass that waved in the breeze, creating stripes on the ground like a tabby’s coat. As the wind hit his fur, Indigopaw felt an odd chill run through him, causing his fur to momentarily stand on end before he forced it to smooth down. Finally, the patrol came upon a scoop in the ground, sheltered all around by gorse bushes.

Indigopaw recalled ThunderClan’s camp and how sheltered it was on all sides; by comparison, WindClan’s could hardly be distinguished from the terrain around it if it weren’t for all the cats bustling inside of it. To make up for the lack of natural protection, Indigopaw could see that WindClan had stationed guards around the camp, and he felt a peculiar sense of respect that WindClan could hold its own even without walls and heavy foliage. He wondered if the other clans’ camps were like this, or if they were just as tucked away as ThunderClan’s. 

As the patrol got closer and closer, Indigopaw could tell that the warriors inside the camp were noticing the unanticipated early return of the border patrol, and especially noticing the ThunderClan additions, their eyes trained on the unfamiliar cats as they approached steadily nearer. Eventually the group, still headed by Brackenspot, stopped in front of the WindClan camp, the splotched she-cat greeting a guard with a dip of her head. The guard, a stout pale orange tabby, let the group pass warily, eyeing the ThunderClan cats. Torrentstrike stared directly back at the tabby guard, dipping his head. “Marlwhisker,” He greeted cooly. 

Once in camp, Brackenspot turned to face the ThunderClan visitors, bright blue gaze watchful as ever. “I’m going to go get Nightstar and inform him of your arrival; then and only then will we see about apologizing to Stonetooth.” I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to see you, Her gaze said as she glanced briefly at Indigopaw. Indigopaw cast a baleful glare her way when she turned her back, and soon heard Falconsong hiss into his ear, “You better wipe that look off of your face before I do.” Indigopaw rolled his eyes and distracted himself from his ornery mentor by gazing around WindClan’s camp. He found himself meeting the gazes of many cats whose expressions ranged from confused, to curious, to frightened.

It wasn’t long before a tall, slender, jet black tom with yellow eyes more piercing than a fox’s emerged from beneath a rock at the center of camp and padded up to meet the small ThunderClan patrol. Indigopaw had never met a cat that was taller than him and skinnier than him at the same time. This must have been Nightstar, WindClan’s leader, and Indigopaw could tell by mere instinct and by the way the lithe tom held himself that he knew how to use his slender frame in battle. Even so, Indigopaw didn’t find himself too intimidated; he could hold his own in a fight too, and he had suspected that the WindClan leader had to be skilled enough to match his confidence in accusing ThunderClan of stealing prey, so he wasn’t too surprised; only dimly aware of a sort of reverence for the WindClan leader. He dipped his head, a gesture he’d noticed several times as a sign of respect between clan cats.

“I came here to apologize to Stonetooth,” He explained, expression guarded. He felt Falconsong’s paws shift beside him and guessed that his mentor hadn’t been expecting him to speak up first. Nightstar regarded the large apprentice with interest lighting his sharp gaze. “So you’re the apprentice that scared the daylights out of my deputy? He said your pelt was strange, and I admit that I’ve never seen a ThunderClan cat with a pattern quite like you…” He rolled his eyes smoothly up to fix them on Torrentstrike, an almost accusing, yet amused look on his face. Torrentstrike looked uncomfortable before explaining, “We found him on our territory about six days ago, hungry and cold. Birdstar would have been a foxheart to not let him join us, as he most certainly would have starved, come leafbare,” Torrentstrike explained defensively. 

Indigopaw’s ears flattened with indignation, but he decided it would be better to keep his mouth shut about this, lest he wanted to irritate the ThunderClan deputy even more. I would not have starved. Sure, living in a clan is much easier than living alone, but I could survive just fine without you, Bossy-fur! Indigopaw, in fact, found it ironic that Torrentstrike was so adamantly for letting Indigopaw stay in ThunderClan in his explanation to Nightstar, while simultaneously seeming less than thrilled to even be breathing the same air as Indigopaw. Whatever; let him be a hypocrite! One day, I’ll surely replace him as ThunderClan’s deputy.

“I see,” Nightstar meowed evenly, shifting his gaze back to rest on Indigopaw, and was he dreaming it, or was there a touch of new respect joining the interest in the jet black tom’s eyes? Indigopaw stared at the WindClan leader curiously, but got no answer. “Come with me, and I’ll take you to Stonetooth. Torrentstrike, you and Falconsong should stay here and wait.” Torrentstrike’s and Falconsong’s almost identical expressions of disbelief were near comical in such serious circumstances. “Are you sure-” Torrentstrike began, and Nightstar cut him off, giving the two a challenging look, “We’ll be fine.” Behind his mew was an unspoken Do you think I can’t handle things if they go awry? With that, the WindClan leader began to pad toward a boulder that was large, but not quite as large as the rock he’d emerged from under, and Indigopaw cast a quick glance at Torrentstrike before following.

As they walked, Nightstar asked, “Is what Torrentstrike said true? You’re rogue-born?” His piercingly yellow eyes peered searchingly at Indigopaw, who wondered whether to answer honestly or not. Of course it was true, but part of Indigopaw desperately wanted to explain that he could have gone on living without ThunderClan’s hospitality, and that ThunderClan’s hospitality really wasn’t all that hospitable at all. After only a moment of thought, Indigopaw caved. “Yes. But really, I was doing fine without ThunderClan’s help. I’m glad they took me in, but I’ve lived through leafbare alone before, and I could do it again.” He expected Nightstar to give him some speech about graciousness to ThunderClan for allowing a rogue-born cat such as himself to even step foot in their camp, but instead the lithe tom gave a slight dip of the head and said no more.

By now they had reached the boulder, and Nightstar had to hunch a bit to enter. Indigopaw followed and found that beneath the rock was a small, hollowed out cave that might have started as no more than a crack in the stone before being eroded by what appeared to be an underground stream. Beside the stream, in the gloom, Indigopaw saw a white tom with one black paw dipping a ball of wadded up moss into the stream, and beyond him, a familiar silver tabby lying in a nest. Indigopaw scowled slightly, thinking, I didn’t even have the chance to graze him before Falconsong pulled me off! And yet, here Stonetooth was, hiding in what was clearly (Indigopaw could tell, from the sharp, herby smell of the air in here) the medicine den.

Stonetooth scowled right back, his prominent front fangs glinting in the light that slanted into the little den from outside. “Sorry, Harestem, to disturb you,” Nightstar began regally. “But we have a visitor here to apologize to your patient.” Harestem dipped his head to his leader. “No problem. I was just collecting water, anyhow.” The WindClan medicine cat sat down and watched Indigopaw curiously. Indigopaw ducked his head a bit uncomfortably under the medicine cat’s gaze; he’d never met a medicine cat before, and he couldn’t understand what would possess a cat to want to choose such a path. 

Stonetooth pricked his ears and sat up, tail tip twitching slightly. “Here to apologize, eh?” He growled. “Well, get on with it.” Indigopaw wanted to tell the disgruntled tabby tom how lucky he’d been that Falconsong had intercepted Indigopaw’s attack, but instead forced himself to dip his head in respect. “I’m very sorry. It was a misunderstanding; I thought you were going to attack us. It won’t happen again.” Indigopaw felt a sort of disgust with himself well up at having to say it at all, but he knew this was the only way to resolve this whole mess even if he didn’t mean a word of the mousebrained apology.

Stonetooth’s expression didn’t change at all, and he only grunted in response, only making it harder for Indigopaw to contain his irritation. Nightstar spoke up next, clearly noticing that his deputy wasn’t going to say anything more to Indigopaw. “So long as this was no more than a misunderstanding, WindClan forgives you. We won’t be starting any battles over something so menial.” Indigopaw breathed out softly with relief; Nightstar was much more reasonable than he’d been expecting from what he was told. It flashed through his mind that WindClan had been nicer to him for this short amount of time than most of ThunderClan had been for the past several days, but Indigopaw cast the thought away quickly. It doesn’t matter… I’m loyal to ThunderClan; they took me in, and I’m going to prove myself to them eventually.

With that, Nightstar led him out of the medicine den and started back towards Torrentstrike and Falconsong. “You show a lot of responsibility for your age,” The WindClan leader piped up unexpectedly. “Hold onto that trait, Indigopaw.” Before Indigopaw could reply, they had reached the ThunderClan patrol. “You can return to your clan now,” Nightstar informed them. “I understand that Indigopaw here was just protecting his clan, even if he was misguided in the way he went about it.” Torrentstrike and Falconsong exchanged a doubtful glance before Torrentstrike replied. “Thank you, Nightstar,” He said curtly. The WindClan leader nodded and padded away, and Indigopaw watched him curiously. At least someone understands why I did it…

The patrol that had escorted Indigopaw and his clanmates to WindClan’s camp escorted them back to ThunderClan’s border as well, and Torrentstrike, Falconsong, and Indigopaw departed in awkward silence, the WindClan cats watching to make sure they left the border. When they reached ThunderClan camp, it was almost evening. The sky, a pale blue streaked with clouds that were only just beginning to blush with sunlight, made Indigopaw sure that he’d be sent straight to his nest after all this. Fantastic. I didn’t get to do anything today except learn the borders and tromp around WindClan for an entirely mousebrained reason! 

Birdstar seemed placated to learn that Nightstar claimed he wouldn’t start a battle over the misunderstanding, however, and she even cast Indigopaw a short-lived approving glance when Falconsong (almost hesitantly) reported that Indigopaw had taken charge and apologized without prompting from either him or Torrentstrike. Indigopaw swelled under the ThunderClan leader’s gaze. Maybe I will be able to convince her that I was worth helping… He told himself. At least I will when I show ThunderClan my real skills.

As he’d predicted, Falconsong told his apprentice gruffly that that had been enough excitement for today and to go on to the apprentices’ den. Indigopaw timidly asked if he could have some prey first, to which Falconsong growled a curt, “Fine.” When he approached the fresh-kill pile, Indigopaw spotted Branchpaw and Barkpaw sharing a rabbit. He took a vole for himself and sidled up to the two older apprentices nervously. Barkpaw’s eyes widened a bit in what Indigopaw could tell was fear, and he ducked his head a bit, unable to keep the prick of sadness at bay. I’m not going to bite your head off, I promise! He thought, then chastised himself for even thinking it. Bah! What am I thinking? I shouldn’t need to promise that… 

“Hi,” He mewed shyly, trying once again to show that he was friendly. “What did you guys learn today…?” Branchpaw spoke up before his brother could. “Is it true that you attacked WindClan’s deputy?” His eyes glinted with morbid curiosity. Indigopaw clenched his jaw; that was not an answer! “Yes,” He replied impatiently. “I was protecting ThunderClan. Stonetooth ran like a scared kit.” Barkpaw and Branchpaw exchanged glances; Barkpaw’s alarmed, and Branchpaw’s a weird sort of awe, like he was simultaneously impressed and disgusted. Indigopaw shifted his feet uncomfortably. “You apologized though, right? That’s why Torrenstrike and Falconsong left with you,” Barkpaw asked timidly. 

Indigopaw, wanting this subject to be over with, responded quickly. “Yes. Nightstar said it’s fine.” Branchpaw looked like he didn’t believe him. “You know Nightstar is a liar, right? He’s probably planning an attack right now.” The older apprentice’s claws flexed as if he were already anticipating sinking them into an enemy warrior. Indigopaw almost scoffed. “Have you even been in a battle before?” He asked, barely hiding the superiority he felt at having been in a fight or two himself. (Both had really ended in Indigopaw fleeing, as he’d been hungry and small, but he was still much more experienced than these clan-born apprentices!) 

“No, but we’ve been battle training for five moons; we’re ready to finally be in a real battle,” Branchpaw said defensively. “And if there is a battle, they won’t let you fight.” Indigopaw bristled. “Why not?” Surely Birdstar saw that Indigopaw was a force to be reckoned with after he sent Stonetooth fleeing like a frightened rabbit! Branchpaw and Barkpaw exchanged another glance. I wish they’d quit that! “Because you need to be trained in ThunderClan fighting techniques,” Branchpaw explained, speaking harshly and deliberately, as if he were explaining this to a dumb kit. Indigopaw felt his hackles raise and he stood up to his full height. “Stop talking to me like that!” He demanded, tail lashing dangerously. Barkpaw flinched away as if he’d been struck and stared at his brother, his frightened gaze saying Oh, now you’ve done it!

For some reason this only served to make Indigopaw more angry, so, even though he was aware of the surrounding cats’ alarmed gazes, he continued. “I’ll show you! I’ll show all of you,” He cast a baleful glare at everyone watching. “You all think I’m weak and stupid, but I’m not!” With that, Indigopaw snatched up his vole and stomped to the apprentices’ den. He could feel his clanmates’ gazes following him until he disappeared behind the ferns that covered the entrance to the shallow cave.

Indigopaw, energy still blazing through him in his rage, dropped the vole to the ground and swatted at it viciously with unsheathed claws, causing it to fly at the den wall with a small splat. Indigopaw clearly saw the small pockmark of gore it left beind before it fell to the sandy ground, blood pooling thickly in the gash his claws had left. He stalked over and began ripping at it with his teeth even though his appetite had vanished the moment Branchpaw had begun arguing with him; he would need energy for tomorrow. (That was, if Falconsong ever wanted to actually train him!) Before he could get even a few gulps in, however, he heard pawsteps approaching the den and stood up to see who it was. Falconsong appeared in the entrance, glaring out of eyes that wouldn’t even meet Indigopaw’s gaze, instead flitting around the small den, noting the ripped apart vole and the blood splatter on the wall.

“You need to apologize to Barkpaw and Branchpaw. Now. And rub the blood off that wall; I thought I already told you prey isn’t for toying with.” Falconsong’s voice was harsher than usual. Indigopaw bared his teeth. “Why should I? They’re rude to me no matter what I say!” He lashed his tail once for emphasis. Falconsong narrowed his eyes before saying, “How can you expect your clanmates to be nice to you if you won’t be nice to them? I don’t know what in the name of StarClan you were arguing about but whatever it is, you need to drop it.” Indigopaw’s ears flattened in disbelief; was Falconsong not even going to hear his side? He’d been as friendly as possible. “B-but Branchpaw was the one that started being rude; all I did was ask if he’d ever been in a battle before!” Indigopaw was aware that his voice had turned to a defensive lilt at the end–he sounded like a complaining kit–but he knew it didn’t matter. Falconsong didn’t look like even the most level-headed arguments could convince him. “I don’t wanna hear excuses!” He snapped. “Go apologize.” Indigopaw gave his mentor a fiery glare and shoved past him to exit the den.

Outside, the whole clan was a bit quieter than they had been before; clearly Indigopaw’s outburst had shocked them out of their conversations. Branchpaw and Barkpaw, meanwhile, were still crouched in the same place sharing their rabbit. Barkpaw was the first to see Indigopaw stalking up to then, his ears pinned and his nose wrinkled sullenly, and the older apprentice quickly nudged his brother, eyes flashing. “Sorry for yelling,” Indigopaw meowed curtly, trying to make it clear through tone that he was in no way retracting what he’d said. Barkpaw spoke quickly, as if trying to stop his brother from saying anything more to Indigopaw. “It’s fine! We forgive you…” He looked to Branchpaw uncertainly, who was glaring at Indigopaw. “Yeah,” The other littermate said shortly. Indigopaw’s tail tip twitched. This is humiliating! They don’t deserve an apology… I don’t even think they want one.

“Thanks,” Indigopaw said flatly, turning to leave. As he slunk away, however, he caught Branchpaw muttering something to Barkpaw and stopped to hear it. “-should have never let a rogue join ThunderClan…” Indigopaw squeezed his eyes shut. Don’t turn around, don’t say anything, He ordered himself, claws sliding in and out. You’ll show them soon enough. With that promise to himself, Indigopaw slunk back to the apprentices’ den and finished off his vole stonily. Tomorrow would be better; it would have to be.

Chapter Text

I hope you’ve liked the story so far! I am working on it as we speak, but I just wanted to leave a note here that I may not post another chapter for a while. I’m still debating whether I want to do one of three things;

I can either post each chapter as it’s written, write a group of chapters and post them all at once (like I’ve done here for these first 3), or give myself enough time to write and revise the entire story before posting each chapter a day apart or something like that

I really don’t think I’ll be posting each chapter as it’s written, as I need time to know for sure whether or not the chapters are fully complete and whether I need to change things around for lore or continuity’s sake. I’m leaning towards posting them in clumps once I’m sure a certain group of chapters is perfect and I want to leave them the way they are, but we’ll see.

I just wanted to make sure I communicated that it could be a hot second before more is posted! Please check out the links I left in the story summary for more content surrounding this character!