❦ story ❦

how long was it before this lonely one had another pair of eyes look at her and see her for who she was- an isolated, friendless she-cat, who simply feared being betrayed?

maybe a stroke of luck, or maybe starclan's blessing, or perhaps just another cat's sympathy brought hornetpaw another companion. they spoke to her, persisted despite her efforts to leave them, her fear of being hurt again.

eventually, hornetpaw's icy dam began to crack. then all at once, it collapsed. torturous moons of solitude would wear down on anyone, even someone as resilient and depressingly experienced as hornetpaw.

hornetpaw followed her bold rescuer out of the shadows and into the light, and she didn't look back.

by the time hornetpaw's warrior ceremony came, she was so much more connected with her clanmates, in a way that she'd forgotten how to do for so long.

her leader bestowed upon her the full name hornetmoon- reflective of her quiet nature, of course, but it meant so much more than just that. the name reflected the time she'd spent isolated from her clanmates, like the moon alone in the sky. the name represented how much she'd wished for a true friend like the brightest stars in a midnight sky, one who she could love without having them break her like the faded stars she'd lost, the ones who'd taken some of her pale light with them as they left her alone.

but now, the clouds that had hidden the beautiful moon had finally disappeared, revealing her true self, who she was meant to be.

now, as her clanmates cheered her name, the new moon beamed for the first time.

❦ winners ❦

first place: alulusa with hornetmoon

second place: moon-night-_ with hornetwish

third place: ashpaw113 with hornetstrike