Minnowtail's Choice

Chapter 2

The day of the first battle between SunClan and the rogues...

Minnowpaw was curled up in the tiny space between the apprentice den and the camp wall, simmering with jealousy and hoping no one would find her and ask her what was wrong.

Not long ago Minnowpaw and Shadowpaw had returned from another tree-hunting session; Thumpstep and Cherryfur had wanted to see how much they'd improved from the last time. Minnowpaw had been trying her hardest, and considering the practice she'd been doing, she'd thought she was performing very well and had been pleased with herself.

Obviously she couldn't have been more wrong.

Shadowpaw had done spectacularly. So spectacularly that, right now, out in the clearing, Cherryfur was raving to Duskheart and Shinefur about how well her apprentice was doing in training, and how he was a such a fast learner, and how he might even be a better hunter than her one day, and Minnowpaw almost wanted to kill her. Because then there was Thumpstep, who scowled at her and gave her instructions and tips like she didn't already know what she was doing, and was never satisfied with her no matter how hard she tried. She could give him the stars themselves, and he would only grunt that she could have given him brighter ones.

But, of course, that was nothing new to her.

What really fed Minnowpaw's currently murderous temper was that Shinefur and Duskheart seemed to have forgotten they had a daughter. From the moment Cherryfur opened her mouth, Shadowpaw was all any of them cared about. No one asked about her training, or told her she was doing well, or even looked in her direction. No one noticed when she'd abruptly stormed off and hidden herself behind the apprentice den.

Minnowpaw tried to do her best not to think about it, but it was all that was on her mind. Shadowpaw was being illuminated, and she was crouching in darkness waiting for someone to notice her. But they never did. She wasn't good enough to be noticed by anyone.

And then Minnowpaw thought of Dominic.

* * *

"So there are three other Clans? With just as many cats as SunClan?" Dominic looked daunted, as if he was at a Gathering and all the Clans were around him. Minnowpaw found it very amusing.

"Uh huh," she mewed.

"What were their names again?"

"MoonClan, WaterClan, and FireClan." Minnowpaw rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Dom, they're not hard to remember."

"For you, maybe!" Dom retorted. "I'm no Clan cat."

"You're still a cat. Being outside the Clans doesn't make your brain smaller." Minnowpaw's whiskers twitched teasingly. "Or maybe it does."

"Shush!" Dom huffed, cuffing her ear playfully. "Okay. Four Clans. And you said they're bound by a bunch of rules?"

"Yes," Minnowpaw replied. "The warrior code."

"Sounds strict." Dom squinted. "How many rules, exactly?"

Minnowpaw scoffed. "In my opinion, too many. In theirs, not enough."

Dom chuckled. "That bad, huh?"

"Well, some of the rules are good," Minnowpaw meowed. "They protect cats. For example, one code is that we can't refuse to help a kit that's in danger or pain. We have to at least try to help."