The next morning, I sneak out of the Twoleg den before my Twoleg could wake up. I hopped over the fence, dropping into the woods beyond and quickly trotting away. My bell jingled loudly in the almost silent forest.

I searched the air for prey scents, and catch a whiff of a rabbit scent. I crouch down, following it until I found it's burrow.

I was beginning to pounce when all the sudden a toroiseshell cat was on top of it, and it was dead within seconds. I heard her mumble something, but I was too angry to pay attention to what it was.

"Hey! That was my prey!" I shouted.

The tortoiseshell leaps up with surprising grace, the limp rabbit clutched tightly in her jaws. She is small and sleek, looking around the same age as I. When you protest, her eyes narrow and she looks you up and down.

"Did you really think you were going to catch this rabbit? Please..." She muttered.

"Well, yeah! I was about to pounce on it when you came along and did it for me!"

She rolled her eyes at my excuse, then snorts, almost amused. "Oh really? What were you going to do if you actually did catch it? Bite its neck?You're a kittypet. You probably don't know the first thing about hunting."

I humphed. "I know the basics! Who do you think you are anyway, stealing another cat's prey?"

The tortoiseshell smirked. "You? Catch a rabbit? I doubt it..." She moves closer to me, the rabbit bouncing from her jaws as she speaks. "And it's not your prey if you only just found it. It's on RootClan's territory!"

I pause. "RootClan? What's RootClan?"

The tortoiseshell rolls her eyes again, clearly annoyed at your lack of knowledge. "RootClan? One of the Clans? Did you really think you could just waltz into the Wild Forest and hunt whatever you wanted?"

I open my maw to speak but was interrupted by the she-cat. "Of course you did! You're a kittypet, what do I expect?"

Before I can answer, yet another cat appears behind the tortoiseshell. This one is a black she-cat, clearly older than the first. Her voice is almost condescending.

"Exactly. All kittypets are the same. They have no respect for any boundaries or territories. They think they can just walk into our forests and do what they want," she scoffed.

The cat turned. "Also, good catch, Maplepaw," she said to the tortoiseshell.

Hearing the praise, the tortoiseshell puffed out her chest slightly, her tone proud when she replies. "Thanks, Spiderfang. It was a pretty big rabbit, too..."

"Maplepaw and Spiderfang? What kind of names are those?" I wrinkle my nose.

Maplepaw gives you another eye-roll before answering. "They're warrior names. Like I said, we are RootClan cats. Cats of the Clans have many names: for a kit; apprentice; warrior; or leader, if it comes to that."

Spiderfang chimes in too: "And unlike you kittypets, they're not just stupid names such as
'Fluffy' or 'Mr. Snuggles.'"

"My name is Soot, thank you very much!" I mew defensively.

Spiderfang makes a dismissive gesture with her tail and mutters something under her breath.
"Soot. Sounds just as silly as 'Fluffy.'"

Then her head tilts as something else occurs to her. "How many Clans are there, kittypet?"

"Why would I know? I didn't even know there was one!" I exclaim.

Spiderfang scoffs, her expression now a mix of disbelief and annoyance with my ignorance.
"You really are clueless, aren't you? There are four Clans in the Wild Forest. RootClan, CloverClan, SandClan, and LakeClan."

The black she-cat pauses, giving me a hard stare.
"And each Clan has its own territory, its own culture, its own beliefs. But you probably don't know anything about that, do you? Yet you do have a hunter's instincts and you were brave to fight for that rabbit..." She looked at me quizzically. "How would you like to join RootClan?"

I felt my mouth drop open and the thought of the cats' former hostility flew out of my mind. "That would be amazing! Yes, please!"

Spiderfang looked satistied, and a tiny smirk appeared on her muzzle. "Okay, good, then. I think you'll make a fine warrior."

However, Maplepaw wasn't so convinced. She stared at me doubtfully. "Are you sure you can handle Clan life? It's not as comfy or easy as your Twoleg home."

"I hated my twoleg home. I mean, my twoleg was fine and all, but I always felt the call of the wild..." I think about it for a second. "Won't you have to ask your leader cat if I can join though? I know every group of cats has one."

Spiderfang nodded in agreement, her expression serious. "You're right. We'll need to present you to our leader and ask for her approval. She makes the final decision on all matters concerning the Clan"

Maplepaw muttered something again, but Spiderfang silenced her with a stern look. "I'll take you to our camp. Then we'll see if you can convince our leader."