Pathway to Frozen Star: A Life of Differences

This stars Arti's character, Pathway to Frozen Star. This is my goodbye gift to Arti, who has been an amazing admin and a lovely friend of mine <333 Please enjoy this, my dear <3

Pathway to Frozen Star
I was born a rogue, a desperate rogue who wanted a home. Born as a lonely child, I roamed the lands beside the Clans and the Tribe when my mother died. My father was in the Tribe somewhere, but he never told me who he was. To the day I met Shard of Ice, I still had not realized who my father was.

During my life, I met this she-cat who was a bit different from me. She was a Clan cat, and she had her life to live like I did. We shared what we had, but in the end, I realized that we had a life of differences.

My rogue name was Star. When I joined the tribe, Ash changed it to Pathway to Frozen Star. She told me I would be the shining light for a young she-cat. At first, I thought it was Goldenheart, the she-cat I met, but I was wrong.

As a young rogue, I stayed headstrong and independent. But I didn't realized that I needed others to support me, to be beside me as I worked.

Once I entered the Tribe, I felt the feeling of teamwork as my faction and I worked together to complete missions and to work for the top.

I remembered the Peace, the time when all the Clans and the Tribe would meet up and socialize. My first Peace had been a magnificent one. There were so many cats, and so many Clans. But only one Tribe.

My life was what I made it, and I have never regretted one moment of my life. Thank the stars that they have given me the path I was given.

"Star, don't go off too far!" My mother, Scarlet, called out.

I raised my tail high. "I won't!"

But I was hightailing off into the unknown lands, desperate for a chance to explore. I had heard the these woods were full of wild animals, but I wanted to know what I could find here.

Scarlet, my mother, was a very protective she-cat. She had mated with my father, some Tribe tom that I didn't know. When she was younger, she had been a playful she-cat, but when she lost her sister, Scarlet realized she had to be more serious and protect the ones she loved.

When I was born, she protected me with a fierce love, forming the bond I had with her now. But that was when I was little. I was now ten moons old, and I was ready to explore the woods that were so feared among the kits.

I heard a small hiss and I jumped. Staring at me was a small fox. I let out a yelp of surprise and swiped at it. It shrieked as it started to bleed, and a fiercer looking foc emerged from behind it. Uh-oh. I thought.

The fox snarled, hatred glowing in her amber eyes. I whipped around and started to run, knowing the fox was angry. "Scarlet!" I screamed. "There's a fox behind me!"

My mother looked up quickly and crouched in a battle stance. She leaped for the fox, bowling it aside. I turned around now and joined in. I began to swipe eagerly with my paws, striking the fox several times before my mother drove it off.

When the fox was gone, Scarlet turned on me. "I told you not to wander too far. You shouldn't have gone into those woods! Who knows what else could have gotten you?"

I shrugged. "I'm ten moons old now, Scarlet. You don't have to worry about me so much."

But I knew in my heart that Scarlet would never let me run off by myself because she cared for me. She was scared that she would lost me just like she lost her sister, Asha.

"Perhaps you need a story to refreshen your mind." Scarlet muttered, trying to lighten the mood. "Which story would you like to hear?"

"The one about your sister!" I mewed eagerly. I loved hearing that story because my mother always used the deepest emotions to tell the tale. Even though it was full of sorrow and grief, I could hear the determination in Scarlet's voice as she told the story.

Scarlet settled into a comfortable position. "Alright, so long ago, when my sister and I were playing near a stream, we would tease and dare each other. Asha was more of a competitive sister, so she was always daring me to do things I didn't want to do.

She was so daring that she even dared me to walk onto the frozen river after her. I agreed, since I thought if my sister could do it, I could do it. But I was terrified, and my mistakes cost her life.

Asha jumped onto the river with no hesitation, and she began to cross it, sliding as her paws tried to keep her balance. My heart began to beat faster as I stepped onto the ice, scared to cross it. My clumsy paws stepped too hard on the ice, and I ended up breaking the fragile ice. I leaped back, safe on the bank, but my sister was still too far from the shore.

Her eyes widened as she fell into the icy water, with no way for me to rescue her. She was engulfed in the freezing waves, and that was the last that I saw from her."

She ended the tale, and I thumped my tail in approval. "Tell me about when Asha dared you to climb the pine tree!"

Scarlet's whiskers twitched as she flicked her tail. "Asha, being the competitive sister she was, dared me one day to climb a pine tree. I hated heights, and I was always afraid that I would fall and die.

"Scarlet, don't be a scaredy cat and climb the pine tree!" Asha danced around me, teasing me as she went. I groaned and flattened my ears.

"I hate heights though!" I wailed as I sat down stubbornly. "Why do I have to climb the pine tree?"

Asha laughed. "Because I climbed it yesterday and you agreed that if I climbed it, you would climb it." She laughed even more when I pouted and stomped up to the tree.

Looking up at it, I couldn't help but feel mortified at the thought of climbing such a tree. I stood there staring at it until Asha coughed. "Scarlet, don't just stand there, climb the tree!"

Grimacing, I dug my claws into the soft tree trunk and began to haul myself up. I could feel the tree shaking, and my whole body was shivering in fear. I felt as though the branches were wobbling, unable to keep my weight.

Stopping half way, I shut my eyes closed and prayed to the stars that I would make it down alright. Then I felt a soft push and I shrieked as though I was falling.

Then when I really did hit the ground, I realized Asha had gone up the tree and had brought me down. She snorted as I glared at her, but I was thankful that she did carry me down, since I didn't think I would be able to climb down myself. And that's the tale of the pine tree."

I smiled when I conjured the image in my mind. To me, Scarlet was the outgoing she-cat who did everything she could to protect the ones that she loved. But these images showed a different she-cat, a she-cat who had fears and was carefree.

I wanted to be like my mother, carefree and able to enjoy her childhood, but I didn't have a sister to play with. I only had myself and my imagination.

Scarlet stretched and curled up. "I'm going to take a rest. Don't go out too far and don't rouse foxes and badgers while your out there."

I only laughed. "You wish."

~_~_~_~_~_~

The forest ground was cool against my pads and I sighed in relaxation as I padded through the undergrowth. This was a different forest, and it had different smells too. I suspected that there were other cats living here.