Let's be honest with each other: I bet we've all gotten into fights over the smallest things when we were little. Whether it was over a certain toy or coloring tool, we've all dragged a pointless fight out and when we look back, we realize that it probably wasn't worth as much time as it took. I see this happen in younger kids more than teenagers, but I can't say, "Younger kids get into useless fights more than older ones" because I'm sure even now, we'll get caught in one ourselves. 

It's a trait in all of us, humans want to be the best at everything, and we absolutely hate it when we're wrong. As a younger kid, I know we tend to get triggered more because we don't have experience. Anything that's said at us in a negative way or throws us down and the other person up, we tend to get annoyed and possibly, we react by snapping something back. Then there's people that argue just to argue, which I'll admit, I am one of those people. 

Do we have something in us that just makes us want to have a sense of superiority that we'll do anything to get - including those small, pointless fights - or is it because we were born that way?

Is it both?

X X X

The apprentices were silent as Aspenstar paced around them like a hungry fox. Eyes as sharp as a hawk's, she sought out any movement of resistance. Anytime Mothpaw or one of her friends let out a sigh or sagged their shoulders, the sharp-eyed CinderClan leader was on them, glowering over them with a hostile aura that spread throughout them - ally or foe.

In the far corner were two apprentices, their eyes wide with anticipation, occasionally twitching. One was a dirty golden she-cat with deep, green eyes with brown stripes masking her face. The other apprentice was a white tom with a patch of brown fur over his left amber eye. Both of them looked expectant, but Mothpaw could easily tell they were in the same situation. Her question was how they got themselves in trouble. Judging by the ashamed look on the tom's face and worrisome on the she-cat's, they were in this together.

Aspenstar wasn't in the mood to talk. With the impish leader in the room, Mothpaw thought moving a single hair out of place would result in death. When they were caught and dragged into the camp, the brown she-cat was the first to notice their arrival. After that, all of them were shoved into her den, and then the two apprentices followed moments later. An awful silence filled the room like thick fog, making it hard for her to breathe.

Mothpaw and the other MeadowClan apprentices gave one another quick glances of concern but never spoke. The CinderClan apprentices gave them looks, examining them carefully like rotten prey. She met the other she-cat's glance before looking away when her leader strode past them, rudely pushing herself between, and stamped out any seed of conversation before it could grow. Finally, after what seemed like moons, the brown leader walked in front of her friends, blue eyes digging thorns into their pelts.

"Alright," she started, her cold eyes landing on Beechpaw. "Tell me your names so I don't have to call you 'the tan one', 'the silver one', 'the brown one', or the 'black one'." Runningpaw and Olivepaw's faces twisted in disgust but quickly sat up when Aspenstar cast a threatening look. Mothpaw bit her tongue to keep quiet as her brother fumbled for words. The two CinderClan apprentices perked their ears up and leaned closer.

"My name's Beechpaw," he snarled, body trembling. "This is Mothpaw, Runningpaw, and Olivepaw." He quickly glanced at the two lingering apprentices and changed the subject. "What are their names?"

"I'm Cloudpaw," the tom said with a nod, scrambling back a few inches.

"Slatepaw," the she-cat noted, giving Aspenstar a fearful glance.

Aspenstar turned to Mothpaw next. Their eyes met and the silver apprentice stared at the blue orbs. A familiar sensation began to prick at her stomach, her mind secretly telling her she had seen this look before. Who it belonged to, her mind drew a blank. In her shadow, she swallowed the lump in her throat, heart beginning to pick up, shaking her body with each beat.

Calm down, it's just Aspenstar, the leader of CinderClan. Just the leader of CinderClan, she told herself. Yeah, just the leader. Leader of a Clan I barely know.

"Is Beechpaw telling the truth?" Aspenstar demanded, flicking her tail impatiently. Mothpaw blinked in confusion, keeping quiet as she waited for the next part. The she-cat raised an eyebrow. "Are you deaf? I asked you if he was telling the truth."

"I..." Mothpaw trailed off. Is that all she wants to know? If he was lying? "No, he wasn't lying," she confirmed. Aspenstar nodded, stepping down the line to face Runningpaw. The older apprentice straightened up, puffing out his chest boldly in front of the she-cat.

She looked amused, and Mothpaw saw her crack a slight grin. Cloudpaw and Slatepaw stirred, and for a fleeting moment, she noticed that their expressions had been tainted with shock. Olivepaw shrank next to her brother as he locked eyes with Aspenstar, doing his best to stand his ground, ears pressed against his skull and baring his teeth ferociously. A measly spark of raw courage against a blazing inferno, it was comforting and mortifying.  

"Why are you the only one who doesn't seem fazed?" Aspenstar noted, pointing a paw at Runningpaw. He unleashed his claws and his fur rose along his spine.

Taking a step back, he snarled, "Because I'm not going to let someone like you scare me. I'm a MeadowClan apprentice! We don't fear anything."

"Says the apprentice who panicked when we got caught," Olivepaw remarked, giving him a hard shove. He toppled on his side, losing his concentration and quickly recovered, lashing out at his sister, his paw cuffing her in the ear. Aspenstar put a paw between the two, silencing the fight.

"Your turn." Aspenstar darted her head toward Olivepaw, who jumped under her glower. Runningpaw backed away from her grip, and she didn't do anything to stop him. Not waiting for her to say anything, she demanded, "What were you doing in CinderClan's territory?"

"We just got lost!" Olivepaw barked. "My feather-brained brother lost his way and the rest of us followed him, and we wandered into your territory by accident. That's why he panicked when you found us because he didn't know that we were in your territory." Aspenstar didn't look convinced, but she didn't ask any further questions.

The two CinderClan apprentices were silent the entire time, patiently waiting for their chance to speak. Aspenstar turned around and ignored the MeadowClan apprentices, allowing some space to breathe normally. She approached her apprentices and sat down.

"Did you find Deerleaf's group?"

That made Runningpaw sputter, choking on his own breath. Olivepaw twisted her head around her shoulder, her jaw hanging wide open. Mothpaw and Beechpaw exchanged a confused glance. He whirled around, tail whipping her side. Facing Aspenstar, his lips began to form words, and she could sense the increasing sneer hidden on her face. 

Deerleaf did leave before they got here, right? I'm sure of it, but her scent... Mothpaw bit her tongue to keep quiet, not wanting to dig herself into another hole.

"At least you guys know what honesty is," Aspenstar spoke, giving the apprentices a look of triumph, a cold sneer plastered on her face. Beechpaw bared his teeth at her, and Olivepaw growled, black fur rising and claws slithering out. Her brother placed a paw on her shoulder, growling into her ear with a low rumble. 

She's smarter than I thought, able to get her answers from reactions only. Mothpaw found a small part of her admiring the CinderClan leader for her keen sense of observation. However, she couldn't fathom Aspenstar; she was like another Ashstar, mysterious and full of unknown actions.

Like Amberfeather, according to Tigerfrost, she thought.

"It shouldn't surprise you," she mumbled. "Deerleaf's the daughter to MeadowClan's leader." Aspenstar pointed a tail at Olivepaw. "Your behavior reminds me of her."

"Hey! Deerleaf and I are two completely different cats! Don't assume I'm like her! I'm not even related to her! If anything, it was Honeypaw that shared the most traits with her! At least her mother was related to Pebbleflight!" The black-furred apprentice argued, spilling out her thoughts before she could stop herself. Beechpaw gave her a push, causing her to topple. To their surprise, Aspenstar caught her friend with a single paw, suspending her above the ground until she regained her composure.

"Pebbleflight," Aspenstar growled, her face buried in thought. "That's Ashstar's mate that died, and her sister... Echoflight." She turned to Mothpaw, and she sighed. One look at her could tell anycat who her mother was. Beechpaw always told her that it was a good thing that she looked nothing like Ripplestone, but she didn't want to look like her mother if the CinderClan leader and her mother shared bad blood.

"A spitting image of her," she noted.

"Yes," she answered, voice shaking. "Ripplestone says I'm just a doppelganger." Beechpaw jerked his head toward her, and she did her best not to look at him. Through the corner of her eyes, she could see his face twisted with rage. Cloudpaw and Slatepaw peeked out from behind Aspenstar and stared at the silver apprentice, curiosity flooding their eyes.

"Doppelganger? You're related to Echoflight," Aspenstar pointed out, snapping Mothpaw back to her. "I'd just say you're a spitting image of her, but not a doppelganger. Besides, Echoflight isn't cautious like you, she's more rowdy and sympathetic."

"Hold on!" Beechpaw snapped, jumping out of line and practically crashing into Aspenstar. Nostrils flaring and fur spiked out, he snarled. "What do you know about my mother?! If you say anything bad about her, I'll kill you!"

"Stop!" Runningpaw rammed his head into Beechpaw, blowing the tom off of the leader. Aspenstar got up and took a step back.

"Don't worry, all it means is I'll be keeping an eye on you two before Ashstar comes and takes you back." With that, she waved her tail, dismissing the four apprentices and returned to her apprentices.

What does that mean? Were Echoflight and Aspenstar friends? But they couldn't have met at a Gathering, Echoflight told me she had never been to a single one in her life. Mothpaw waited for her friends to leave the den, but they stayed put, all of them seeming to want to ask the leader a question. Cloudpaw was the first to speak.

"Aspenstar, it's the rogues again!" he blurted out. "They've done it again! They barged into that camp and got to the kill first! When we arrived, we only had a few seconds to see the leader - I think it was the leader, at least - before they dashed off! The MeadowClan cats are probably there right now only to see the remains of the destroyed campsite."

"What part of not giving away vital information in front of the enemy Clan do you not understand?!" Slatepaw demanded, cuffing the white tom in the ear. She turned her hostile gaze toward Aspenstar, who stared at the white apprentice with interest.

"Go on," she urged.

Rogues? CinderClan's dealing with missing cats and rogues now? I'm glad I'm in MeadowClan, we don't have any rogues to deal with, she thought. Then her heart sank to her stomach. But we have badgers and foxes that can kill us.

"Vineclaw, he got hurt!" Cloudpaw moaned. "And Thistleshade is out collecting herbs---"

"Why didn't you start with that?!" Aspenstar snarled, shoving Cloudpaw out of the way and threw Slatepaw to the side. The she-cat barged out of the den and left the apprentices in alone in the den with the soft moans from the two. Mothpaw padded over to the Cloudpaw as he shook his head, rubbing his injured ear from the fall. Beechpaw went to Slatepaw, who pushed away his help and groomed her fur to smooth down the ruffles. 

Abrupt yowling rang like an early bird's song. Aspenstar's sharp voice rang throughout the camp, demanding orders. Slatepaw and Cloudpaw pushed themselves to their feet and padded out hastily. Beechpaw leapt in front of them.

"Get out of the way," Slatepaw demanded. "We have to help our Clan."

"Thistleshade's your medicine cat, isn't he?" Olivepaw asked, weaving her lean black pelt between the gaps. She poked her nose out the den. "Uh, you didn't tell me she knew how to do that."

"Do what?" Runningpaw bounced over, carefully avoiding the cluster of cats. Mothpaw slipped by as well and pushed her head outside Aspenstar's den.

Her eyes landed on a gray tom in the middle of camp on his side as cats swarmed him. However, unlike MeadowClan, they stayed a few feet away. Dapplefur and Stormpaw usually had to fight their way through the mass of pelts to get to their patient. Here, the CinderClan cats were surrounding the tom, Vineclaw, in a wide circle. Mothpaw scanned her eyes across the small camp, searching for a medicine cat apprentice. To her surprise, Aspenstar came out of a hidden den - she guessed it was the medicine cat den - with a bundle of herbs.

Kneeling down, she dropped them by Vineclaw's side and began to examine the wounds. Frowning, she whirled around to a cat next to her and said, "Get me some horsetail, now." The she-cat dashed away and disappeared into den. Aspenstar used the herbs she had at her side and applied them, starting with cobwebs to stop the bleeding. The she-cat came back with a long, bristly-like stick and dropped it by her leader's side. Without hesitation, the leader grabbed it and began to chew.

"How long has he been without help?" Cloudpaw whispered to Slatepaw. "Horsetail is only used to treat infected wounds, wouldn't marigold be a better choice? That can prevent a wound from getting infected."

"Remember, he was on the patrol and didn't return for a few days, and Aspenstar knows how to spot an infected wound and a normal one," Slatepaw reminded, casting the MeadowClan apprentices a shady look.

"Are you the medicine cat apprentice?" Beechpaw asked.

They both shook their head in sync. Mothpaw frowned while Olivepaw and Runningpaw stared at Aspenstar treating Vineclaw. Slatepaw flattened her ears and left the den, jumping off the ledge gracefully and touched the ground softly. She dashed toward the crowd, leaving Cloudpaw behind. The white tom shifted his gaze toward his friend.

"There's no way I'm a medicine cat apprentice. Thistleshade refuses to take one because he claims if he did, he'd feel a lot older than what he already is," he protested. "Knowing the skills of a medicine cat and being the leader is what makes Aspenstar the best leader."

"But she pushed you and Slatepaw to the ground," Mothpaw argued. Cloudpaw looked hurt by her words, but he shook it off.

"She told us we need to be strong, not weak," he stated. "If you guys can't handle a shove here and there, how are you going to survive leafbare?"

"We're going to survive leafbare, but pushing and shoving isn't the way," Olivepaw butted in. "If that's how Aspenstar rules, then I'm glad I'm in MeadowClan; Ashstar doesn't shove us around."

"But Aspenstar knows how to heal," Cloudpaw said, giving his leader a warm smile from afar. "She doesn't explain it much, but she had a rough past life, and when CinderClan was about to crumble, she took the leadership position. I know that Ashstar took her new position as a stab to the chest."

"How come?"

"Obviously, they knew each other since they were little. I think they were in love, but they were in different Clans. You know those stories, cats from other Clans falling in love and then leaving because they're so in love," he mocked. "But Aspenstar knew where her loyalties were, and I guess Ashstar was really affected when his best friend took the leadership of the enemy Clan."

"They were in love? That's disgusting!" Runningpaw snarled, coughing as if to erase his mind from the image.

"Does everyone in CinderClan know how to heal?" Mothpaw asked, a swarm of pride flowing through her when Aspenstar helped Vineclaw on his feet. Carefully, she guided the tom toward the medicine cat den, and the rest of the Clan dispersed. 

"We know a few basics," he explained, gesturing his paw toward the den. "Thistleshade knows that all of us know a little bit about herbs, but he never really bothers to snap unless he thinks we're acting like his apprentice or nonexistent kit," Cloudpaw joked. "It's a way to survive if we lose him."

"Alright," Olivepaw concluded. "So, not only is your leader a complete psychopath, but she also knows how to heal like a medicine cat. Life in CinderClan sounds fun."

"At least we know how to survive," he countered.

"And we don't have a rogue problem," Runningpaw remarked.

"Let's stop arguing right now." Beechpaw shoved himself between the small fight, breaking their hostile gazes away from each other. "Try not to worry about our differences and brace yourselves for round two of CinderClan's lovely, lovely leader."