Moon and Sun

1/3

This is a collab between Misty (Sun)  and Rainy (Moon).

Prologue

Michelle sighed. Her daughers, well, they have a great destiny. A hard one. Wolf, her mate, ran up to her.

"We have to stop them!" He insisted. Michelle had to say no. They both knew how matter much they wanted to change their destinies, they couldn't change them.

Chapter One - Moon

I yawned widely and opened my eyes. With a slight smirk on my face, I study my still-snoring sister, Sun. Her sleek golden pelt glimmers in the first rays of the rising sun, and she looks so peaceful. Not for long!

With a screech, I plow into her. "Rise and shine, Sun!" I snort at my own joke. "Get it?"

She screams and skids ten feet away, slashing wildly at the air. Her burning blue eyes lock with my own laughing sky blue ones. "Very funny Moon," she snorts, rubbing her head against my chin affectionately. I grin. I know she loves me. "Besides," she shakes out her fur, "Aren't you supposed to be the serious one?"

I grin, knowing that's not true. No matter what our outer appearances might suggest, I am the loud outgoing one, and she the quiet thinker. Which of course, doesn't make her any less fatal in battle. "Let's get something to eat."

"Okay," she agrees. We hunt quickly, fetching a mouse apiece and a squirrel between us, then get up and begin trekking through the forest together.

I let my gaze linger on the rising sun, and feel the whisper of a prophecy in my ears. Then I hear noises. Cats. Clan cats. 

Chapter Two - Sun

My eyes widen. Clan cats.

"Moon, we have to get out of here. Now." I tell her, but she doesn't move.

She seems frozen to where she is standing. They come.

"Intruders!" The smallest one screams.

"We can handle them Blossompaw." A bigger one tells Blossompaw.

He runs to attack us, but a she-cat holds him back.

"Coldshadow! Don't attack them. We need to know who they are and why they are here."

"No Beechwater! We have to!"

While they were arguing, me and Moon ran off. It was night, and we needed to find a place to rest. I'm starting to think Clan cats ran after us, but no, just kittypets. Moon smiles.

"Who are you?" The first one asks.

"And get off our land!" The other one says.

"Your land? Hardly." Moon chuckles.

"It is our land! And tell us who you are!" The first one, a light grey tom with black patches tells us.

"It's not, kittypet." I mock.

Moon jumps on the tom, and I get the she-cat.

"I'm Rosie. You a-" I cut Rosie off by pinning her down.

I bite her ear hard.

"Look kittypet, stay away from us, and I won't," I hold paw up to her neck, "kill you."

She nods and runs back. The tom however was asking Moon questions.

"Moon," I whispered, "listen to him."

"I'm Smoke. I need to get away from my housefolk. They are going to get rid of me. They started to plan to get rid of me after they got Rosie." Smoke tells us.

I nod, signaling him to come with us.

Chapter Three- Moon

I study Smoke out of the corner of my eyes. Hm... He seems pretty nice. Handsome too. I move a little closer. "So, did you like living with your housefolk?"

He shrugged, looking away. "I guess. They weren't the nicest people, if you know what I'm saying."

"No Twolegs are nice," Sun points out quietly. He turns to her with a smile and nods. Feeling a stab of jealousy, I head on ahead. Pausing to scent the air, I pick up a trace of cat.

"Guys?" I whisper. "There's someone there." All three of us freeze. Uh oh. The bushes rustle, and a dark gray tom steps out. His yellow eyes glow against his pelt, and he has a wary expression on his face. "Who are you?" I snarl.

Sun touches my shoulder gently. "Don't be rude," she hisses. "Hi," she meows. "What's your name?"

He glances between the three of us, as if looking for an escape, then sighs. "Shadow. This is my territory, in case you didn't know. Now, who are you?"

"I'm Sun, and this is my sister Moon. That's Smoke." 

He studies us. "Oh. Interesting names. So you're not part of the clans?"

"No," I snap, flattening my ears to my head. When he just grins at me, I advance, blood boiling. "Well? What do you want?"

"Nothing," he says casually. "But you'd better get off my territory quickly or I'll have to make you."

"There's only one of you," I say quickly. Sun steps in.

"Do you want to come with us? We could use another member." Ignoring my gasp of outrage, she waits patiently. Shadow hesitates, his gaze lingering on me. 

"Sure," he shrugs. Oddly, my heart gives a leap. Do I really care for him? Only time will tell.

Chapter Four - Sun

I smile. The more members the better.

"We'd better get going." I say.

The others nod and follow. We stop in the middle of twolegplace. We know that loners and kittypets will lurking around here, but it's the only place near. We stop at a place, with things that Smoke calls 'brick walls'.

"What are you doing here Shadow?" A big black tom hisses, "We got rid of you months ago."

"You didn't kill me." Shadow simply replies.

A light grey she-cat and a reddish brown tom come from behind us.

"Follow us." They whisper.

The tom called for them.

"Rust! Mia! Don't help them!"

Rust and Mia ignore him. Mia smiles at Shadow. I had a feeling they had met before. Rust keeps shooting Shadow dirty looks. I don't know why.

"I'm going back." Rust tells Mia with anger.

Mia sighs.

"Okay guys. I'm Mia. I know Shadow, and who are the rest of you?" She asks.

"This is Sun," he looks at me, "Moon," and he does the same thing to Smoke.

"We need to get out of here." I tell them.

Mia and Shadow shake their heads. I notice there is a jingling thing hanging from Mia's ear. It's blue and green with a purple spot. I wonder what it is.

Chapter Five- Moon

Relax, I tell myself. There's no reason not to trust Mia and Rust. Actually, I think there is. It's because they're with that big black tom, and Rust seems mad at Shadow. It has nothing to do with the fact that Mia and Shadow already knew each other, and were possibly friends. Nothing at all.

Smoke and Sun are deep in conversation, heads together, pelts nearly brushing. Well, would you look at those two? I smile to myself. Whether my serious-minded sister knows it or not, she and Smoke are falling for each other. 

"Who is that tom?" I say aloud.

"Him? He's Scar," Rust says. "He's quite protective and er, territorial. Like one time-" He's cut off when Mia elbows him in the ribs. She smiles sweetly, making me more suspicious. 

"Where are we going?" I inquire, trying to appear indifferent.

Rust and Mia exchange glances. "Somewhere safe," Mia says carefully. "Where you can rest." 

Sun and I raise our eyebrows and I can see she's thinking the same thing. Yeah right. But we don't say anything, just keep on walking. Smoke looks worried, and Shadow looks tense, as if he knows more about this than he's letting on. I try not to feel hurt by the fact that he's hiding part of his life from us. From me.

As if on cue, the dark gray tom approaches me. "Be ready to make a break for it if things get ugly," he whispers quietly. I frown.

"You think they will? Do you know these cats?"

He winced. "Kind of. They're not exactly evil, but they certainly aren't the best friends you could ask for. I wouldn't tell them too much, or anything at all, for that matter. And stay away from Scar. He has problems like you wouldn't believe."

I nod seriously. "Thanks for the advice."

Our gazes lock. Then he nods, hastily brushes his nose against mine, and says, "Be careful," before hurrying off. I gaze after him, my skin tingling. Then I call softly.

"You too."

Chapter Six - Sun

I don't believe that Mia and Rust are taking us somewhere 'safe'.

"Hey Mia," I whisper.

"What?" She asks.

"Why doesn't Rust like Shadow?"

She pauses. It seems like she doesn't want to talk about it.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

I glance at her. To her, later is never.

"When we get there?" I ask her.

I know she wants to say no. But I have trapped her. She has to tell me.

"Only you."

I quickly nod. It doesn't exactly take long. We stop in the middle of a valley.

"You call this safe?" Moon mutters.

Shadow and Smoke look like they agree. I bet I do too. Rust flashes her a glare. She returns it.

"This isn't it." He snaps.

Mia leads us forward.

"This is it."

She points to a hole and signals for us to follow. She crawls down into the hole. She stops in a main space.

"We will meet and talk here. You can go off into the other places as long as me or Rust is with you. I might be better cause of my earring will jingle so the cats back here could find us." Mia announces.

"Sun wants a tour around the tunnels. Rust will stay here and make sure no one wanders off."

We head around the corner.

"Don't tell anybody about this. When me, Rust and Shadow where kits, there was this one cat that Rust liked, now, Rust and Shadow never really had liked each other, and was supposed to be a prank. But he went a little to far. When he thought he has juniper berry juice, he poured it all over her, and she swallowed a lot of it. What Shadow didn't know, was it was death berry juice. The juice is just is bad as the berries. When Shadow brought Rust back to see. Rust went crazy. He accused him of killing her. He told him that it was just juniper berry juice. Rust sniffed it. That's death berry juice. He told Shadow. And you killed her. After that Shadow tried to kill Rust saying that it was a prank. Rust survived, but he wouldn't of if our mother Whisp, jumped in front of him and took the death blow. This earring, it used to be hers." Mia told me the story.

"I'm so sorry for you Mia."

"It's fine. We miss our mother, but Shadow is a nice guy. But the story isn't over. Rust told the leader. Shadow was thought to be killed, but I guess he faked it."

Chapter Seven- Moon

I lean against the earthen walls wearily. Shadow and Rust sit down at opposite ends of the room, with Rust shooting death glares at Shadow. What did those two do to each other anyway?

Mia and Sun return then, and Sun pads over to me. She looks distracted. "What's wrong?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"Nothing. But Moon-?" She pauses, as if not sure how to continue. "I know that you find Shadow... charming." I open my mouth to protest, but she stuffs her tail in it and presses on. "But I care about you, and I need to warn you about something." Her gaze meets Mia's and then she bites her lip. But now I'm curious.

"What?"

She shakes her head. "He's just not the cat you think he is, okay Moon? Please trust me on this."

I take a step back, narrowing my eyes. "You don't know that. I'll bet Rust started the whole thing. Shadow is a good cat." 

"Moon-" Sun says helplessly, but I turn and run down a tunnel. I don't care where it leads, I just have to get away from everyone. I need time to think.

Finally, alone with my own thoughts in the darkness, I slump onto the ground. What did Mia tell Sun that made her not trust Shadow? It had to be bad; it's not easy to get my sister scared. She's the most level-headed, calm she-cat I know. Just then there's a noise in front of me. I jump as a dark figure emerges. It's Shadow. He should be the last cat I want to see right now, but for some reason my heart gives a leap.

"Hey," he says softly. "What's up?"

"Not much," I sigh. "We're underground."

With a small smile, he sits down. "Do you trust me?" His voice is low, but gentle and fragile, like the answer means more to him then I know.

I think about what Sun said before answering. "I don't know," I say honestly. "Can I?"

He scooches a little closer, so we're almost touching. "I really hope so. I will admit, I haven't been the perfect cat. Far from it actually." His eyes fill with regret, and he winces. "But I try. I really do try. And for some reason, when I look at you, I know I can do it. I can change."

I'm silent for a moment, then I reach forward and touch my nose to his cheek. "Thank you Shadow. I know you can do it."

That's when Rust comes bounding in. He doesn't even bother to glare at Shadow. "We're under attack!" 

Chapter Eight - Sun

I run to the end of the tunnels. Smoke follows me. A olive brown she-cat jumps on top of me. Before Smoke can help me, a striking grey tom runs up and gives him a deadly blow to the head. He misses, but Smoke bangs his head on the top of the tunnels.

"We have Shadow! Retreat!" The white tom calls. I can see how they think Smoke is Shadow. Same dark grey pelt, but Shadow has dark green eyes. Smoke has pure blue eyes.

"We need to get Smoke back." I start.

"No Sun. It's too risky." Rust informs me.

"Then we have to leave the tunnels. They know we are here. We can't stay." Everyone else nods.

"But first, can I have some time alone?" I ask. Mia nods. I run back into the tunnels where we just were. But Rust bounds after me.

"Sun. I know you think I started the me and Shadow thing, but I didn't. Please, just please trust me." I look at Rust, confused.

"I-I don't know what you mean." He looks at me and we head back. I sigh in relief as fresh air enters my lungs. A she-cat jumps out of a tree. I look at her.

"Ethan! You pushed me!" She accused, "you can't do that!"

"Yes I can!" Ethan teases. Another tom pops his head out.

"I rule the tree now! C'mon back up Zoey!" He teases as he pushes Ethan down.

"I'm gonna get you Cody!" Ethan tells Cody. I walk up to them with Moon. They stop their game. Cody jumps down.

"Hi." Cody and Ethan smile.

"Hi. I'm Sun and this is my sister Moon." I tell them. They smile.

"I'm Cody, and this is my twin brother Ethan. Over there is my sister Zoey." Cody replies.

"Me, Moon, and our friends are traveling around the lake to a safer place. Wanna come?" I ask. Ethan nods.

Chapter Nine - Moon

I study the newcomers warily. Was it right of Sun to invite them along? I mean, we don't even know them and- 

"Hey!" Zoey pads over to me, her friendly blue eyes sparkling in her glossy gray pelt. "You're Moon right?" I nod carefully. "Cool. I think we could be friends."

"Sure," I say dryly. Can't she see I don't like her? Then I berate myself for being so rude. She's just trying to be nice, and besides, her brothers are kind of cute. Not that I would bother trying anything with them. My heart still thumps whenever I think of shadow, or turn my eyes towards the dark gray tom.

Just then, Cody freezes up ahead. "Do you guys hear that?" he says slowly, flicking his tail back and forth. "It doesn't sound good." 

We all pause and scent the air. Sun grits her teeth. "I'd recognize that stench anywhere. It's badger." My pulse quickening, I sniff again. She's right; the musky odor obviously belongs to a badger. 

"We have enough cats to take it on," Ethan points out.

Sun and I shake our heads at the same time. "That's no reason to risk injury," she says, frowning. "But if we have to..." Her voice trails off, but we all know what she's thinking. We aren't likely to all be able to outrun a badger; if t wants to, it will find us, and at least one of us will pay the price. Slowly, as if on cue, all of us brace ourselves and face in the direction of the badger. We had to fight.

The beast emerged, nose snuffling in our scent, beady eyes glittering in its black-and-white head. Then it opened its large red jaws and lunged at us.

Sun gasped. "Run!" Everyone scattered, racing in different directions. I knew we shouldn't separate; it would only cause trouble later on.

I stop and yell, "Guys, stay together!" Big mistake. The badger lets out a roar and gallops straight toward me. 

"No!" Before I have time to move, Shadow pounces on the badger, clawing like a buzzsaw. "Run Moon!"

"Run?" Is he serious? Like I'd leave him to face te badger all alone. Taking a deep breath, I dive towards the badger, claws outstretched. It's show-time.

Chapter Ten - Sun

I freeze as I see Moon fighting the badger. She can't do it alone. Shadow comes on and claws it's back. The badger turns around trying to shake him off. Then Moon launches for the badger's throat. The badger moans and falls to the ground. It is dead. Shadow coughs up blood.

"Help." He whispers. Zoey runs over.

"Uh," she says, "I think we should get him some cobwebs. And marigold." Moon nods and quickly runs off. When she returns Shadow looks like a dead body. Moon's eyes widen.

"He's not dead. He's in a trance. I'd say it will be for two to nine days. If past then he," Zoey stops, "is dead." After that we all leave solemly.

"I think we should spilt up to find a new place." I tell them. A few others nod in agreement. Moon doesn't even look up.

"How about me, Cody, Zoey and we take Shadow. And Moon, Rust, Mia and Ethan." They all nodded and went with their groups.

"Okay," Cody starts, "I think this is the place for us to stay." We've found a small island, big enough for all of us. There is a little waterfall and next to it is a cave where we can sleep.

"Umm, Cody, can you go back and get the others?" He nods and runs to get them.

"Sun, I think you have a problem." Zoey tells me.

"Why?" I ask.

Zoey sighs, "cause Ethan, Rust and Cody all like you." I sigh.

"I know." I roll my eyes at her.

"Just not Rust in a thousand moons." She laughs. But then her face turns serious.

"But Rust is going to ask you today. Er, when they get here." My eyes widen with shock. I don't want to, but I have to. I sigh. I'm going to have break his heart.

"Zoey, thanks. I think we can be friends. And I will try to get Moon to be a bit more friendly." I say. Zoey smiles. But then Cody leads the rest of the cats in.

"Sun, can I ask you something?" Rust asks in a whisper. I know I can't get around this. I nod. He leads me up a hill and under a big shady tree. He takes a deep breath.

"Sun, will you be my mate?"

"No." I simply reply.

"Why? Is there anything with me? Have I been bad to you?" He asks.

"No. I don't like you." I tell him. Hurt flickers through his eyes. He runs back and I can see the tears falling from his face. I know that doing that hurt him so much. But I knew this is putting Ethan and Cody in danger. Rust will do anything to get revenge. I stay there, knowing Moon will find me if something goes wrong. I fall asleep. I see Smoke.

"Smoke!" I shout and my heart skips a beat. But he ignores me. I start to hear him and the cat he is talking with.

"Alicia, will you be my mate?" Smoke asks. I see that they have realized he isn't Shadow and taken him in and trained him. His fur is wild and he now has a torn ear. The cat, Alicia, smiles.

"Of course!" She tells him. Smoke smiles and they play-fight. Alicia giggles. Scar walks up to them. Then everything turns black. They appear again.

"Smoke," Alicia starts to tell him, "I'm expecting your kits." She starts to fill in the details. It's one tom and he's due on the half moon. The half moon is in two days. Everything turns black again. When they come back it shows Smoke with two kits.

"Two toms," Alicia whispers, "how about Eclipse for that one and Tornado for the other one?" Smoke nods. My heart fills with pain. They all turn black. A cat appears.

"It's too late now Sun. You waited too long." He sneers.

"So?" I growl.

"Smoke hasn't forgotten you. He will see what will happen to you. But there is one way to stop Smoke from forgetting you forever." At that I look up.

"How?" I whisper.

"Give up Moon." The cat growls.

"She will be in a better place." I think about it. Smoke or Moon. Smoke or Moon. A tear falls down my cheek.

"Smoke can leave me."

Chapter Eleven - Moon

Casting a glance across the sleeping cats, I make my way towards Shadow. He's sleeping quietly, and I feel the strange need to curl up beside him and sing him a lullaby, just like he were a kit with a thorn in his paw. Shadow? A kit? I smile at the thought. Then my gaze travels to Sun. My sister is asleep, but there's a half-haunted, half-tortured expression on her face. Across from her, Rust's eyes are as cold as chips of ice, sending a shiver down my spine. It appears that all is not as quiet and calm in our little pack as I first thought.

I sigh and twine my tail around my paws.I used to envy Sun for the way toms fell all over her, but now I'm not so sure. I'd rather have one tom that I truly loved then a thousand I'll just end up hurting.

And maybe I do have that one special tom. My eyes turn to Shadow once more. Who knows?

With a blissful sigh, I fall asleep next to him, not wanting to worry anymore. Dreams claim me instantly, a mix of badgers and endless journeying. I fail to see how that differs from my actual life.

"Moon. Moon, wake up."

I blink my eyes slowly and see Sun staring down at me. "Is it morning already?"

"Yeah." Despite her sorrowful eyes, she looks partly amused. "You fell asleep next to Shadow."

My pelt prickling with embarrassment, I scramble to my paws and turn to find the nest beside me empty. "He's awake?" I say faintly. I know it's good news, but all I can think is, He saw me curled up next to him like some mushy apprentice?

"Where is he?"

She rolls her eyes. "Well, I tried to convince him to wait and rest some more, but he went of hunting with Ethan and Cody. Rust went off too." She turns away at the tom's name, so I can't see her face.

"Mia?"

"She's still asleep."

"Oh." Not knowing what else to say, I brush my tail along her flank gently. "Did something happen with Rust?"

"Uh... Not really. We'll be fine." She gives me a brave smile, blinking back tears. I return it.

"No matter what those idiot toms do, you know we'll always be sisters, right?"

She gives me a long stare, as if thinking of something, then a radiant glow spreads over her. "Yes. I'd choose you over any tom."

"Ditto." 

Suddenly, a voice calls out, "Halt! And don't move if you know what's good for you!"

Sun and I freeze and turn around. A group of five cats is facing us, their faces cold and hard. One, a dark brown tabby, steps forward. "You're trespassing on IvyClan's territory. What do you have to say in your defense?"

Mia, newly awakened, comes to stand beside us, her eyes huge with fear. She and Sun are obviously thinking the same thing: with the toms all out hunting, we're doomed. But that's not what I'm thinking at all.

I take a step forward. "Hi. I'm Moon." Ignoring Sun's frantic nudges, I press on. "We're sorry that we're on your land, but maybe you could help us. You see, we've been looking for a safe place..."

As I tell our story, I see the ice in their faces melt. In fact, one of them, a black and gray tabby tom, is staring at me with such intensity in his blue eyes that I can feel it from all the way where I'm standing. I wonder what his name is.

"Moon!" I whirl to see Shadow limping towards us, Cody and Ethan following behind with prey in their jaws. "What on earth are you doing?"

I keep my voice level, trying not to feel uncomfortable between him and the tabby tom; I don't even know the latter, yet there's definitely a connection. But Shadow- I push away the thoughts. "I'm finding us a safe place to live."

Chapter Twelve - Sun

My heart beats. Moon is taking us to a Clan. This was not what I thought would happen at all. I'm starting to think that Rust will turn on us and Mia will too. But now Clan cats?! Really? A small white she-cat with blue eyes steps up. She tries to talk but it ends up as,

"Hwo raef trhe ster fo ytuoi?" Which I think is supposed to be, 'who are the rest of you?' Seeming to like Moon's plan, Shadow confronts her.

"I'm Shadow, this is Moon and her sister Sun, Mia and her brother Rust, Ethan and his brother Cody and his sister Zoey." She looks at us with a confused face.

"Ytuoi dnids't syac atnhying!" Which translates to 'you didn't say anything!' A reddish-brown tom is looking at Mia very- let's say sweetly. He sighs.

"Mia? Was that your name?" He asks and Mia nods.

"Hmmm," he pauses, "maybe IvyClan can take you in." We all look hopeful, despite the fact that we would have to leave. We were trying to get away from the lake, not near the lake.

"You are lucky Vinestar is on this patrol. He will decide." The tom glances at a black tabby cat. He nods.

"Welcome to IvyClan." They lead us to camp, where cats do not look friendly at all.

"IvyClan, please welcome our newest members. Do you want warrior names?" Rust and Mia nod, but only them.

"Rust, from this moment on you shall be known as Mudears. Mia, from this moment on you shall be known as Goldenriver. Sun, Moon, Zoey, Ethan, Cody, are you sure you don't want warrior names?" Vinestar asks. We nod. The Clan starts chanting.

"Mudears! Goldenriver! Mudears! Goldenriver!" We all realize they only want Mia and Ru- er, Goldenriver and Mudears.

"Wait." I say. "We don't want to be here. You can keep Mia and Rust, but we are leaving." A black and grey tabby tom steps up.

"I am going with them." As we walk out, her starts to tell us who he is.

"I'm Smokepaw." My heart breaks.

"Smoke. ." I moan.

"How about Scorch for a name?" Moon asks, knowing how I feel. But the cat nods. He smiles at Moon, clearly trying to get her attention. I sigh as we leave IvyClan territory and enter a large, sandy ditch. It has corners where we can climb and but only seven little caves. So two cats would have to sleep together.

"We will stop here. But two cats will have to sleep together." Shadow and Moon happily look at each other and nod. "Shadow and Moon."

Chapter Thirteen - Moon 

I'm too busy fuming at Sun to feel awkward about squeezing into a cave with Shadow. What's wrong with being part of a Clan? Then my gaze travels to Scorch, who doesn't seem too happy about the sleeping arrangements. His intense blue eyes find mine, and the corners of his lips curve into a smirk as he glares at Shadow. Then he turns away, and my heart twists. I glance at Sun, who keeps murmuring Smoke's name. Will our troubles with toms never be over?

"So," Shadow says softly, his breath tickling my ear. For a moment I feel the familiar leap in my heart, but it's crowded out by my worry, and confusion over Scorch. I mean, he left his Clan for us. Not to sound concieted, but I had a feeling that he wouldn't have been so hasty to join us if I wasn't there. Then I just ditched him... And I miss Goldenriver and Mudears. How could they just leave us like that, after all we've been through?

"Sorry Shadow. I don't feel like talking," I say softly. 

"Oh." I can hear the hurt in his voice, and it hurts me too, but I can't help it.

We curl up facing away from each other, our pelts barely touching. I wish things were different, that we were happier, but I have no energy to make amends. Instead, I let the waves of sleep consume my tired body, and hope things will be better in the morning.

When I wake up, Shadow is still asleep, his flanks rising and falling peacefully. I gaze at him for a long moment before heading out of our cave and stretching. Sun is sitting in the middle of the sandy pit, her tail wrapped around her paws, studying the morning sky as if it holds the answers to all our questions.

When she sees me, her dark blue eyes light up a little bit. "Hey. Enjoy your night with Shadow?" I don't respond, and she frowns. "Everything okay? You're not your usual perky self."

"Sorry," I mutter. "I'm just bummed out about everything... I'll get over it."

"Okay," she says doubtfully. I force a smile and give her lick on the shoulder.

Once the others are up, we get moving again. The group seems quieter without Mia and Rust, but I can't help thinking maybe this is for the best. After all, Rust didn't look too happy with Sun yesterday, and I'd hate for him to cause trouble for my sister.

Shadow pads up at the front, deliberately ignoring me. Before I can apoligize to him, Scorch appears at my side.

"Hey."

"Hey Scorch. So, why did you join with us? I mean, the Clan was your home. Why'd you leave it?" I search his face, and it seems to close up before my eyes. I wince. "Sorry. You don't have to answer-"

"It's not that," he says, shaking his head. "It's just... I don't have an answer. I just heard a voice in my head, telling me I had to be with you, had to follow you, protect you-" He broke off, turning red.

"Oh," I said softly. What else could I do? We barely knew each other; I couldn't say if I felt the same way or not. 

Unfortunately, Scorch seems to read between the lines of my silence, and stiffens. "Well, I thought it was a good idea at the time."

"No, I didn't mean-" I brush against his pelt. "I'm glad you came."

He twines his tail against mine, and it's all I can do to not pull away. One part of me longs to huddle against him and press closer, but another part screams, Get away from me! "Good. I'm glad you feel the same way."

"Well..." I say helplessly. At that moment, Shadow turns around. His yellow eyes widen, first with shock, then hurt, then anger. He turns away abruptly, and I feel a claw slice through me. Have I really lost him because of this? And can I really choose, if it comes down to that? 

Chapter Fourteen - Sun

I sigh. I need time alone. I glance at Moon and see she isn't doing very well. Sometimes I think that life would've been better then it is now if it was just me and Moon. I sit down sadly. Zoey comes in the cave, all dark even though its about dawn. Light starts to creep in.

"Hey Zoey." I greet her.

"Hey." She returns the greeting, but she doesn't seem very cheerful. Her ginger pelt wasn't groomed and her eyes weren't as green, they were more of a black. Or maybe that was just a trick of the light.

"Can I ask you something?" I nod, not sure what to think.

"W-Will we become a Clan?" I think. We probably should. I smile.

"I think we will." I reply and Zoey smiles back. I come out of the den and spot Moon, talking with Ethan.

"Hey guys." I say.

"Hey Sun." Ethan purrs. I smile at him.

"Moon, I need to talk to you." I tell her. She nods and we jump up the rocks, and sit down in a sunny spot.

"I think making a Clan would be able to help us stay here, and be safer." I explain.

"Okay. But what should it be called? DustClan? LightClan? CloudClan?" She wonders.

"I was thinking someone like DewClan, StormClan, MeadowClan, something like that. And we need a leader." I reply.

A/N

StormClan won the poll. Thanks for voting! ~Misty

Chapter Fifteen - Moon

StormClan, I think with a smile. A great name for our new Clan. After everything Sun and I had endured to get here, I think it was safe to say we were as tough and unpredictable as a storm. Then I glance down at Scorch, who is wailing because of a thorn in his pad, and I'm not so sure. Can our ragged band of misfits ever be a true Clan?

"Hey Moon," Sun says. "We have some stuff to discuss."

I nod knowingly. "First, we need to decide who'll be leader. Then that cat needs to give us warrior names, pick a deputy..." She trails off, her eyes darkening as we both realize how much work that is. I give a soft smile.

"I think you should be leader."

"Me?" Sun looks modestly surprised, like usual. For a second she seems to consider it, then she shakes her head. "No. I don't think it's my destiny." Her eyes glow as she stares at me. "Moonstar."

I laugh. "Yeah right." Brushing my pelt with my sister's, I say, "I guess you're right. We couldn't have every tom in StormClan drooling after the leader."

She blushes bright red. "That's not true. Besides, Scorch and Shadow are totally both after you."

My eyes narrow, and I sigh heavily. "That's one of my biggest problems right now."

Trying to cheer me up, Sun mews, "And not the giant prospect of starting our own Clan? Way to prioritize, Moon." Nudging her, I stand up and look down at the others.

"You need to tell them about StormClan."

"No," Sun says, linking her tail through mine. "We do. Come on." Together we leap up to a high rock and stand staring down at the others. My heart pounds in my chest as I realize if I do become leader(not that I think I should),  I'll be able to speak like this to them all the time. The thought is both energizing and frightening.

"Guys, we've made an important decision," I announce. "If it's okay with you, we'd like to start a Clan."

Shock shows on everyone's faces. Cody calls up, "But I thought we refused to join that other Clan!"

"It didn't feel right," Sun explains. "We thought we could call this Clan StormClan, after all we've been through and all we can face."

"I like it," Shadow says. My heart leaps, but he doesn't even glance at me. "Who'll be leader?" The others lean forward, glints of anticipation in their eyes.

Sun and I exchange glances. "I don't know yet," I say. "But we'll figure it out. StormClan is in this together. Come on!"

"StormClan! StormClan! StormClan!"

I gaze up at the stars with my sister, our pelts brushing. No matter all our problems with toms and the like, we'll always have each other. Some day, maybe Shadow, Scorch, and I will come to an agreement. For now, I just know that we've started a great Clan. Just the two of us. Moon and Sun.

Epilogue

StormClan decided on a leader, Shadow, now Shadowstar. Moon, now Moonsplash is the deputy. Sun, now Sunwind is expecting Cody, now Flashwhisker's kits. Moonsplash his come to an agreement with Shadowstar and Scorchpaw, and is now mates with Shadow. The medicine cat is part of a group of cats that joined. His name is Ravenwater. StormClan does have its troubles though, an army of fierce kittypets is not happy about this at all. But StormClan will live on. They have a whole new life ahead of them.

                                  THE END