Dark Thoughts (Open to Riverclan)

A lone apprentice sat on the river's bank, gently dipping his paw into the cool water. Schools of fish darted by, shimmering silver in the bright sunlight. A soft breeze gently whispered past him, ruffling Darkpaw's short white fur. The muscular tom's black tail was curled around his black paws and the apprentice's multicolored eyes stared down at the rushing water. One was dark blue, like a stormy sky, and the other was golden, like the sun. He didn't belong here, in Riverclan; he wasn't a good swimmer or fisher. Darkpaw desperately wanted to be great at both of those, but no matter how hard he tried, he failed. In the surface of the water, his reflection peered back at him. It was disfigured because of the current, and it glimmered as the sun rays shone down. With a growl, Darkpaw splashed his paw onto his reflection in the water, causing it to become more disfigured and scattered. He remembered back to the nightmare he had the night before, where some cat had supposedly summoned him and some random strangers into the Dark Forest. He didn't believe any of it, and he just wanted the dream to stop haunting his every thought. Why is it so hard to fit in when I have devoted my whole life to Riverclan. No matter how hard I practice and train, I can't swim. I just want to prove that I won't let down the clan. I just want to be trusted and productive, that's all.

Ripplepaw was headed back to camp, when she spotted a white figure. Darkpaw... She thought, recalling what the crazy Thunderclan warrior had told her. What if... what if she was telling the truth...? On a split second decision, Ripplepaw padded up behind her clan mate. She had never really known him all that well, so she couldn't determine whether or not the Thunderclan warrior was telling the truth. She'd need to ask Darkpaw herself. But what would she do if it was true? Tell Fishstar? She might already know... Ripplepaw shook her head, she'd figure out what to do if it was really true. But it couldn't be, right? "Dark paw..." she confronted him. "Can I talk to you about something?" she prepared herself for the worst.

The sound of someone behind him made Darkpaw jump in fear. He turned around with his fur on end to see that it was only Ripplepaw. He let out a sigh of relief and regained his composure. He didn't really know the she-cat very well, but he had seen her around before. "Huh? Yeah, sure, anything for a fellow clan mate." The tom smiled at her gently and started to groom down his fur. "What is it, Ripplepaw?"

Ripplepaw sat down, silent for a moment. "I... I was fishing by the river earlier... and I met a cat. She was from Thunderclan, but I didn't catch her name. She... she said she was your mother, and that your father was a rogue murderer." she paused, then turned her yellow gaze towards Darkpaw. "Is it true? You're not from Riverclan?" she couldn't believe she shared a den with someone who had no Riverclan blood.

Darkpaw paused as he listened to what the she-cat had to say, then he laughed. "My mother? A Thunderclan cat?" He laughed again, then turned back to the river and dipped his paws into the cold shallows. "I think you were hallucinating or talking with a cat who ate too much crowfood, Ripplepaw. When I was a kit, the queens informed me that both my Riverclan parents had died, so I was raised and adopted by a different Riverclan queen." Okay, so he told a half-truth. Yeah, when he was a kit, the queens said his parents died and so they were raising him. Later, he was told that he and his sister had been abandoned by rouges as kits. That was as far as the impurity of Riverclan went, though....or so Darkpaw thought. They said that when he and Honeykit were found, they smelled of rouge. Not once did anything about Thunderclan or a murder come up in his bloodline. Plus, how could his mother be from Thunderclan if he didn't smell like Thunderclan when he was found? "I think this Thunderclan cat is just trying to spread rumors about me. I had a nasty fight with a Thunderclan she-cat a few days ago and it ended badly, so I think we may be talking about the same cat. She is trying to get payback, I bet, by telling lies and ruining my reputation."

Ripplepaw let a dry laugh. "Yeah, I thought she seemed a bit loose in the head... Gosh, now I feel stupid for believing her..." Ripplepaw looked across the river, wondering if the same she cat was still lurking in the trees. "I'll give her a fight to remember if she comes back with that nonsense!" Ripplepaw spat, remembering how the she cat had taunted her.

"Agreed," Darkpaw purred as he waded deeper into the river. The water was refreshing and felt nice against the heat of the day. "Do you wish to join me? The river is really nice today," he suggested with a flick of his tail. Darkpaw did his best to ignore the icky feeling of water weighing down his fur, and focused on the coolness of its torrent.

"Sure," Ripplepaw purred, getting up to wade partly into the river. Darkpaw was right, it did feel nice. Ripplepaw sighed and pushed off the river bottom, gliding through the water. She let her worries flow away with the current. Her parents, her sister, it was time she let them go, and focus on her training. The dead were in the past, but she needed to set her sights on the future. Ripplepaw swam towards Darkpaw, her movements choppy. She wasn't the best swimmer, but she could keep herself afloat. "You're right," she purred to Darkpaw. "It really does feel nice," she said with a sigh.