|:| the remains of a fire |:|

She sat near the entrance of camp, watching the sunset with half-closed eyes.

Emberpaw had just eaten, and all day the russet apprentice had been taking out patrols, hunting, watching over the kits when no one else wanted to. Now, she was beyond tired, and the warm rock she was sitting on reminded her faintly of the younger days when she was a kit, with no worries ahead of her, and a fiery attitude that would always get her in trouble.

But that wasn't true of now.

In just a few sunsets, she would be made a warrior. This meant she had to be mature, and smart, and careful, without ever being disrespectful to anyone.
Despite the calm atmosphere, Ember felt herself let out a huff of annoyance. How will I ever be able to do that?


Though in truth, that wasn't the only thing going on in her head. Something was tugging—pushing, squeezing, hitting her over and over again in the back of her mind. She needed desperately to let it out.

b. u. m. p. i. n. g.  u. p.

Mistywater walked over to Emberpaw, something seemed to be wrong. She was almost old enough to become a warrior but that must not be the thing troubling her, right? When Mistywater was an apprentice and her warrior ceremony was happening she felt confident, but something was scared inside her. Maybe that was what Emberpaw was feeling now?

Sitting down, the fluffy she-cat licked the side of her kits cheek "Something wrong?" she asked, worry was clearly in her eyes as she stared into the gaze of Emberpaw, her smile was now a frown.

Emberpaw turned, startled, toward Mistywater. Her eyes were pale, yet bright as always, and she sighed, leaning towards her mother as she licked her cheek. 
"Well…" her white paws shifted slightly on the warm grass, and Ember glanced down towards them, thinking. "I just…my…I look different," she finally decided, curling her striped russet tail around her paws.
"I don't look like you, Mistywater. Snowpaw does. Heavypaw does. Even..even Blacktwig does, a little bit. And I don't look like them at all."
The fiery apprentice turned to look the grey and white she-cat in the eyes. "I…I never thought about it much, but I want to know now."
Heaving a deep breath, Emberpaw pulled a crooked grin onto her face, half melancholy. "Who're my real parents?"

Mistywater's best answer was nothing but to change the subject "Your scared about your warrior ceremony, right?" she asked, only Emberpaw would need to wait to find out that answer to that question. Because only those two cats would really know. It didn't matter though, because she was still part of the family.

Emberpaw shook off the tension between them, somewhat disappointed that Mistywater didn't know.

"Yeah…kind of." She swiped her tongue over her muzzle thoughtfully. "I'm truthfully just worried about the silent vigil." The young russet cat snorted. "I don't know if I can even keep quiet for a few heartbeats."
Her tail twitched behind them as she blinked up at the sun sinking below the trees. "Is Blacktwig doing okay? We haven't gotten to talk much lately…" her gaze became suddenly curious again. "Is there anyone that might know about my parents, Mistywater? Please. This is important to me."




OOC: If you're sticking to Mistywater not saying anything about her parents, that's fine. But know that if you'd want to, you can just improvise on who they were, I don't mind ^^

Mistywater swallowed "Well, the real thing that your focusing on is not falling asleep and guarding the outside of camp. You wouldn't have to worry about being quiet since your focusing on so much during the night" she mewed, she then nodding after Emberpaw had spoken about Blacktwig "Yes, he is fine. I know it's hard not seeing him much but...You could plan for later for speaking to him. I could always catch up with him to see if he has the time to" she explained. Then, she had to think. This question dug deep into her daughter, didn't it? She shook her head "No" she murmured. She had an idea though, there was something that happened to her aunts and uncle while they were kits, same with her father. Thinstripe was their mom, there dad was a exiled ShadowClan cat who was rogue and part of the Dark Forest. Since the mom was ThunderClan and the dad was rogue, all they could do was split their kits into different Clans. The rest of the story would be told to Emberpaw though, she began to speak "I know a story that might help to relate to you" she mewed.

Emberpaw's ears flicked forward in surprise and excitement. "Go on!" she mewed, edging closer to her adopted mother. "Thanks, Mistywater! This is great!"

Finally, she was about to learn her story. What had happened, who her parents were, if they were alive or dead, if she had any long lost litter mates, or long lost relatives. For countless moons she had gone without knowing anything. Now it was her time.

The fiery apprentice closed her eyes, feeling the sun beam down exactly between her shoulder blades, feeling the stone beneath her paws. Emberpaw committed the moment to memory, and opened her eyes again, brighter than normal.

"I'm ready."

Mistywater nodded "Long before I was born there was a she-cat, her name was Thinstripe. She was a ThunderClan warrior and she had a lovely mate. Not long after Thinstripe and Ryestep met, Ryestep died. They never had kits" she started "A couple moons after, Thinstripe was out hunting, she met a rogue who she fell in love with quickly. His name was Shatteredsoul. He had told the she-cat about his past and how he was exiled from ShadowClan by trying to kill his leader, Thrushstar." she mewed "Not long after they had fallen in love, Thinstripe was going to have kits. She gave birth in the middle of the woods and once all four kits were born, they were named. Scorchkit, Cinnamonkit, Darkkit, and Honeykit. Scorchkit was my father, he is now Scorchfrost" she explained. She took a long breathe, this story was long "They didn't all stay in ThunderClan though. They were all left in different Clan territories and soon were found by warriors or queens. They never grew to know who their mother and father was, they didn't even know there true origins. They just thought they were born in that Clan" she mewed "Scorchkit stayed with Thinstripe though, so that's how he's in ThunderClan" she mewed. Surprised, Mistywater kept going "And...Shatteredsoul died and went to The Place Of No Stars...He then beckoned my father to kill Thrushstar as he grew older" she mewed "But when Shatteredsoul gathered all the kits in a dream he told them their true origins and true Clan and true family. But after the dream ended only few actually thought that Thinstripe and Shatteredsoul were there actual parents" she mewed "But one day they all ran into Thinstripe, she was so happy...So proud...But some of her kits didn't even believe her. Later, they did of course but..." she ended, looking into Emberpaw's eyes "You'll get there some day" she encouraged.

Emberpaw listened, ears pricked and eyes wide to her mother's story. "Wow," she whispered, when Mistywater had finished. "That's amazing. Thanks."
She appeared relaxed, but inside her head was spinning. So—maybe I have siblings in other clans or something? My parents could still be alive?
"Just one more question, Mistywater…" the young russet she dipped her head. "How'd you get me? Who gave me to you?"

Mistywater smiled "I found you" she mewed "You were lonely, and like any other queen I took you in as my own" she mewed "Because I knew that I couldn't stand seeing a lonely kit in the middle of territory with no care" she explained.