Finchkit ran through the forest, tears streaming down her muzzle, quickening her pace, stumbling over fallen branches and through logs, her mind whirling, shivering with every step.

First, Mama leaves me and Father all alone. Then, my first friend rejects me...
I'm the deputy's only kit. I shouldn't be treated like an enemy. ForestClan, why me?

"Stop right there, kit! You're on EarthClan territory. Rainpaw, go fetch her. "

Finchkit went limp in the jaws of the sweet smelling tom as they trekked through the snow, cold, exhausted, hungry and afraid.

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"Wake up, little one. You need to eat so we can take you home."

Finchkit refused to listen to the soft voice and the temping scent of mouse, for it reminded her of Berrysplash, telling her to open her eyes when she had been only three sunrises old and the mother of two tried to get her to drink her milk again.

"I don't want you!" She had yowled as soon as her eyes opened, struggling to find her father and real mother, because, knowing by scent, Finchkit knew something was off, but strangely, familiar...

"Your mother is dead! Our mother and father just  took pity on a runt like you cause our sister died too!" Willowkit's voice echoed painfully.

"She's shaking like a leaf!"

"Do you think Lightningstar knows that she's here?"

A snort.

"A two moon old kit? In weather like this? Would you notice anything when you're trying to feed your Clan?"

A growl.

"Mouse-brained Queens! Letting the poor dear run off like this!"

A gasp.

"She reminds me of Shadedfern! Do you think she's her daughter?"

A purr.

"The spitting image. Now, come along, Tawnystrike. Rainpaw. We must return this young one home before the snow thickens. Thank you for telling me, Dawnstep."

"Of course, Mintstar."

Finchkit felt herself being carried away from the warm nest, she wanted to protest, but said nothing.

"There she is! Owlfeather, we found her!"

Finchkit forced her eyes open to met a patrol of familiar faces.

Her father among them,  looking furious.

"Technically, I found her, Sparrowpaw." Rainpaw mumbled dryly through Finchkit's fur, setting her on the cold ground.

"Whatever you say, young  Sparrowpaw. We're just returning your kit home." Minstar mewed, smiling kindly down at Finchkit.

Tawnystrike just shook his head, pawing the ground, snorting.

She trembled under the accusing glares of her Clanmates and wanted to run again, far far away.

What did I do wrong?

Finally, her father took charge, fluffing up his fur against the cold.

"Sparrowpaw, go get her.  I'm sure Lightningstar will have a suitable punishment in mind for a run away kit. We have a warrior and apprentice ceremony to get to. Good day, Mintstar. Healer Rainpaw. Tawnystrike. Thank you for bringing my daughter home."

The dark brown she-cat with shining green eyes and a black muzzle, who had smiled down at her earlier,  Finchkit guessed was Mintstar, dipped her head.

"My pleasure, Owlfeather. She's just like her mother."

Her father smiled sadly.

"I know."

With a flash of determination, Finchkit wanted to see what she looked like.

To see if the rumors were true.

At first, she was taken aback, stumbling in the snow before composing herself and blinked.

A large dark gray she-cat seemed to shimmer over her reflection, amber eyes warm and sad at the same time, though, proud and strong, before fading, smiling.

Finchkit purred, choking back a sob.

Mama... I just saw Mama!

She shook herself, determined to keep herself  from breaking down again.

Mama would want me to be tough! Like Father!

Holding her head high, she raced into the nursery with a small mouse and ate alone, praying that no one had seen her.

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"You mouse-brained idiot!  You nearly cost me and Willowpaw our apprentice ceremony because almost every cat was out there looking for you! Be grateful you were just in EarthClan. If you were in FeralClan, you'd be torn to pieces by now! Good riddance. Dopey runt." 

Finchkit  thought she was alone when Mudkit, now Mudpaw, ambushed her.

Mudpaw snarled, backing Finchkit into a corner of the nursery while Berrysplash and Nightfang were out on a hunting patrol with Willowpaw and Darkrain, claws sliding out in anger as he stepped closer, his eyes blazing with fury.

"If you ever do something so stupid like this again,I'll kill you. Understand?"

A flash of his claws swiped at her muzzle, but thankfully, missed.

"Y-yes, Mudpaw!"

He nodded sharply, tail lashing as he padded back in the clearing while Finchkit gasped for air, scurrying to her nest.

It had been two and a half moons since Finchkit came back from EarthClan and now, it was only her and Berrysplash alone in the nursery, facing the last storm of leaf-bare together.

Darkpaw and Riverpaw were now Darkfire and Riverlight and jealously enough, Mudpaw was now Owlfeather's new apprentice, while Willowpaw got Honeysong.

Her own father. Lucky fur ball.

Cats either avoided her or spoke about her in low voices and acted like she wasn't there.

Only the elders, Crowwhisper and Roseshadow, were nice to her and told her many stories of times gone by and even shared their fresh-kill with her.

And as she had expected, Flaresong was holed up in her den, only coming out to fetch her prey and tend to the elders aches and pains.

Finchkit sighed.

Only one good thing came out of it all.

She had found a small pool near the nursery one leaf-fall again and looked into it.

She did look like her mother.

Except for her eyes.

She had her father's eyes, which made her feel proud.

Finchkit had been told that her mother looked similar to her and gazing at her reflection now, 
filled her with pride also to know all of the rumors were true.

She must have been so beautiful...

No, she corrected herself, remembering, she IS.
Because she walks in my dreams...

Her father visited her often, bringing her honey comb and soft moss for her new nest in the corner of the nursery in green-leaf, after dealing with Lightningstar's punishment of cleaning out the elders den and Flaresong's den for a quarter moon.

He told her repeatedly that going outside without a warrior was dangerous and to be more careful.

"I lost your mother. I wouldn't lose you. Promise me that you wouldn't look for danger again." He had whispered in her ear as she had fallen asleep during his now rarer  visits to the nursery.

"I promise." She had meowed softly.

The moons passed slowly.

Finchkit grew restless, but at least she wasn't too bored as now the only kit in the nursery.

Spottedpaw, a kind, mottled tabby she-cat with black paws and yellow eyes, agreed to teach her a few moves, while Sparrowpaw, who followed Spottedpaw like a shadow, taught her how to do the hunter's crouch.

Finchkit felt her life beginning to grow brighter as she grew older, drinking in everything the apprentices were saying.

Even Lightningstar himself watched her train, eying her closely.

Finally, the day came when Spottedpaw became Spotteddapple and Sparrowpaw became Sparrowwing, which made Finchkit a little sad.

But the real shock was when Finchkit heard her name split through the chanting of the new warriors names and Berrysplash looked equally shocked, but proud as she groomed her foster kit and hurried her to the front of the crowd.

Cats murmured suspiciously, as if they were still weary of her.

Lightningstar looked down at her, confused and trembling, with gentle eyes.

"Finchkit, daughter of Shadedfern and Owlfeather, has reached the age of six moons and is ready to become an apprentice! And until she receives her warrior name, she will be known as Finchpaw! And I will teach her myself. Come forward, young one."

Finchkit, Finchpaw, padded forward to touch noses with her leader and now mentor, still reeling with shock.

Lightningstar is my mentor!

"Clan dismissed!" Lightningstar's powerful yowl snapped everyone to attention after chanting her new name and they carried on with their business.

Which got Finchpaw thinking : So I'm not cut out to be a Healer, but maybe, if I try hard enough, I can be deputy then leader!

"Ew! Don't tell me that I have to sleep with your stench in my nose again!"

She didn't have to turn around to see who was mocking her.

Instead, with her head held high, she padded through the bramble thicket guarding the apprentices den and fixed  a nest for herself in the far corner and padded back to pad over to her mentor to go on a tour of the territory and saw her father eying his new apprentice with fury then turned to her with a purr.

"Mudpaw, if you can't learn to be nice to my daughter, then I suggest you and Willowpaw accompany me and Honeysong on a border patrol then you both are cleaning out the elders den. Come on. Now."

Willowpaw protested loudly, sending the young gray and white she-cat a death glare as she passed, following her brother out of camp.

Finchpaw's whiskers twitched as she purred.

"What's so funny?" Lightningstar rumbled as they padded through the trees.

"Mudpaw." She chuckled, kicking up leaves in her wake, "Father chewed him out."

Lightningstar chuckled too.

"Well your father has always been a bit stern."

They laughed and suddenly, Lightningstar froze, ears pricked.

A patrol of the most foul smelling cats appeared, reeking of pine and as she guessed, crowfood, though she had never seen nor tasted it.

Lightningstar growled and hissed low in Finchpaw's ear, "This is FeralClan. Keep your wits about you."

A delicate looking dark ginger she-cat with a white throat and paws stepped forward, her yellow eyes with specks of dark green sizing up the duo.

"Ha! Well, this is a surprise. The great Lightningstar taking on an apprentice again after all this time?"

Lightningstar bristled, and Finchpaw snapped her jaws shut, fearing to say the wrong thing...

"Good evening, Flamewhisker. How is prey running? " Lightningstar asked, keeping his tone cool.

The she-cat looked taken aback, eyes dark.

"It's Flamestar now. I'm afraid to report a moon before the Gathering that Petalstar has passed."

Lightningstar shook his head, grief-stricken and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I trust FeralClan will led with the same grace and power Petalstar once had."

Finchpaw's ears pricked.

Was Lightningstar hinting at something?

"But of course. I'm sure all of  HazelClan is currently, with you in charge. "
Flamestar mewed sharply, nodding, gesturing to her cats to mark the borders.

A handsome, long-legged black tom stepped around to size Finchpaw up, his ice-blue eyes cool, looking through her rather than at her.

"I'm Wolfpaw and you are?"

Finchpaw's heart raced.

His voice is so deep! But ForestClan, is he annoying already!

She looked at Lightningstar, who was still chatting with Flamestar, but flicked an ear, giving her permission to speak.

She lifted her chin.

"I'm Finchpaw."

Wolfpaw nodded, looking bored already.

"Hey, Wolfpaw! Get over here!" Called a white tom with a black ear and amber eyes as the FeralClan cats began to leave and start to head deeper into the trees, their scent markers as fresh as morning dew.

Wolfpaw nodded,but strangely kept his eyes on her, which irritated her like ticks.

"Coming, Whiteflare!"

Finchpaw and Wolfpaw locked eyes once more for a brief moment before  he cleared his throat, his eyes betraying no emotion.

"Goodbye, Finchpaw. Perhaps we'll meet again at the next Gathering? "

Finchpaw nodded, mocking his tone.

"Yes, perhaps we will."

Lightningstar dipped his head to Flamestar and turned his gaze to Finchpaw.

"So, let's see how you hunt."

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"Again, Finchpaw! Aim for his weak spot!"

Finchpaw found her footing and charged at Mudpaw again, keeping low, knocking him back with a shove of her front paws, to which he snarled, leaping onto her back.

"Dodge quickly!"

She hissed, rolling away, sliding underneath his belly, scoring a paw to his fur, imagining  her claws racking his belly fur.

He curled his lip as he landed, facing her through narrowed eyes.

"You fight like a kittypet!"

Finchpaw snarled back.

"Oh yeah? Well guess who won? Me!"

Lightningstar stepped between the two, giving Mudpaw a hard glare.

"It doesn't do the Clan any good if you keep complaining every time you lose. And Finchpaw, do not boast about every victory. It will only make your opponent fight you twice as hard the second time around. "

"Yeah, Finchkit. Fight like a real Clan cat. Hate for you to look bad in front of your father. " Mudpaw hissed.

She started to rush at him again when her father grabbed her back by the scuff.

"Come with me, my dear. I'm sure Lightningstar has something in mind for Mudpaw."

His whiskers twitched and Finchpaw giggled.

"But Mudpaw's your apprentice. Shouldn't you be more on his side? "

Owlfeather scoffed, flicking his kit's ear.

"You're my daughter. If it's any cat's side I should be on, it's yours. Or else your mother would have my pelt for fresh-kill."

Their laughter died into sad silence.

Even after all these moons, almost four seasons have passed since they lost Shadedfern, Sandkit and Shrewkit.

Finchpaw would never know them, but she heard her father going on about them in their short breathes of life...

They sat together on the branches of a pine tree and watched the sunset, talking little.

Just enjoying the moment the way they always did whenever they had time alone.

Going over battle moves.

Hunting and just living.

A father and his daughter, together, united by their Clan loyalty and by blood.

Different, but the same.

But will it last?