A chill ran down Starlingpaw's spine as water ran down her fur. Duskstar had confined her to camp so she could 'learn how the other cats felt'. It was all just a piece of fox-dung to her, but there wasn't much she could do about it.
"Starlingpaw," A voice came from the outside of the nursery. "Do you want to come and fetch more moss with me? I need to refill the apprentice's den."
The voice of Hazelpaw was distinct and Starlingpaw dropped the water-soaked moss with the rest in the corner. She padded out to see the tortoiseshell figure of her friend waiting for her.
              "I'm guessing that I'm not the only one going?" She smiled slyly.
              "Of course you're not," Hazelpaw replied sweetly. "Almondpaw, Sparrowpaw, and Cinderpaw are coming with us."
              Starlingpaw froze when she heard Cinderpaw's name. Trying to not give anything away, she put a smile on her face and sat next to Hazelpaw.
              Sparrowpaw and Cinderpaw padded out of the apprentice's den together, with Almondpaw following behind, playfully nipping at Sparrowpaw's tail.
              "Almondpaw! Quit it before someone sees us!" Starlingpaw heard Sparrowpaw scold the she-cat from afar.
              "As if your 'secret love' isn't already known about!" Cinderpaw joked from beside them.
              "We're not in love! We're just friends!" Almondpaw retorted from behind him, her fur fluffing up.
"Yeah right-" Cinderpaw started to reply before Hazelpaw cut him off.
"Okay! That's enough, guys! We have to go and fetch moss." She flicked her tail and padded out of camp, leading the other four cats down a muddy path in the forest.
After about ten moons of walking—or at least it felt like it—Starlingpaw stopped the group and spoke.
"Guys, I think we're just going in circles." Hazelpaw stopped walking and turned back.
"I think you're right," She said, her voice shaking the slightest bit. "We have to find a way out of here."
Starlingpaw shook her head. "It shouldn't be that hard to find our way back. We just go in the direction that we came from." She saw Cinderpaw snort and look at her.
"But what if we can't find our way back?" His sweet blue eyes met with her boring amber ones, and the power they contained made her look away.
"Then we have to find help." She said her words simply, having no intention of trying to draw attention to herself, but only trying to stop Cinderpaw from speaking. She succeeded.
And as the group continued walking, they took a different path and ended up in completely unknown territory.
"Um, guys," Almondpaw spoke from next to Sparrowpaw. "I don't know where we are." Starlingpaw rolled her eyes. Nobody knew where they were. And it was just a matter of time before they collided with a group of unknown cats.
"Oh my StarClan!" Hazelpaw cried out as she bumped into a brown and white she-cat.
Starlingpaw snarled. "Language!" She saw Hazelpaw turn back and give her a look of apology.
The brown and white she-cat looked at them. Starlingpaw didn't focus on her, though. She was watching a gray and white she-cat behind her. The she-cat's eyes kept flickering over to Cinderpaw, who was watching Starlingpaw.
"Um, who are you?" The brown and white cat asked. Her blue-green eyes looked over each and every one of the cats.
"Who are you?" Hazelpaw asked back.
"We asked you first," A tan cat stepped in front of the others. "So answer us."
"My name is Starlingpaw," Starlingpaw shakily padded to the front of her group. "And I pardon you for Hazelpaw's rudeness. We come in peace, and in search of help." Her eyes met with the blue-green eyes of the other she-cat.
"You have been forgiven. My name is Tilleypaw, and we come from MysteryClan. We would be willing to help you with what you need." She shot Starlingpaw a smile.
"Good," Hazelpaw said rudely, flicking her ears in disgust. Starlingpaw watched as they all looked at each other, their heads nodding, but no words being spoken.
"Hazelpaw," Starlingpaw glared at her friend. "That is no way to treat cats we don't even know." She whispered to her as the cats watched them. "Listen," She turned back to the group. "You shouldn't trust us unless you have a reason to. So, let us introduce ourselves." She watched as everyone nodded. "As you already know, I'm Starlingpaw, and that's Hazelpaw. We come from FallenClan." She smiled softly, trying not to show her anger with the tortoiseshell.
"I'm Cinderpaw," The gray tom said, a shy smile plastered on his face as Starlingpaw saw him lock eyes with the gray and white she-cat. A small bubble of jealousy grew inside of her.
"Hold up," Another cat from the group across them spoke. "My name is Cinderpaw too." Both cats burst out laughing, and soon enough, the rest of the group joined in as well.
"That's cool," Sparrowpaw spoke from beside Almondpaw. "My name is Sparrowpaw, and this little one is Almondpaw." He nudged the smaller brown cat next to him, who playfully nipped his ear.
"I'm not little!" She argued from next to him, but he just playfully shoved her away.
"Well, we know you, so it's time for you to meet us." Tilleypaw spoke from her group, and looked at the tan cat next to her, and they both nodded.
"I'm Ackleypaw, it's a pleasure to meet you." he smiled at the group, but Starlingpaw couldn't tell whether it was forced or not.
"Um, my name is Wolfpaw." The gray and white cat spoke, bringing Starlingpaw and Cinderpaw's attention towards her.
"My name is Briarpaw," A she-cat with black spots on her head held her head up high when she spoke. Starlingpaw decided that she would try to get to know her better.
"I'm Honeypaw," Another she-cat spoke from the group. "And I hope I can get closer with some of you. You seem like good cats." Starlingpaw watched her make eye contact with Sparrowpaw, who then smiled at her from next to Almondpaw.
"Brackenpaw," An orange cat spoke loudly from the middle of the apprentices.
"Cedarpaw,"
"And Lunarpaw."
"Now, what did you need help with?"