(Finished!) Warriors Fanfiction: The Same Fate

Chapter 9

Alderfall was trekking through the forest, searching her mind, trying to remember what the path was to the open moor that Shadow had set his group on. She was walking near the SmokeClan border, remembering how Shadow had once been in the harsh clan. I sorta feel bad for him. She knew that SmokeClan was the worst of the four clans: PineClan, WillowClan, MountainClan, and SmokeClan. All of these clans have been in the shadows at one point, but SmokeClan had been in it the most.

A screeching blackbird jolted Alderfall out of her thoughts. She crouched low on the ground, hoping that Shadow was the one who caught it.

Alderfall stalked forward, paw by paw, trying to not cause any leaf to crumple under her paw pads, and trying to keep her tail low, but not so low that it was dragging the leaves underneath.

After a few tail-lengths of stalking, Alderfall could finally see a black pelt.

Shadow.

But she saw that as the black cat turned around, Alderfall could see that it was in fact not Shadow.

Mouse-dung! Alderfall had been hoping that she could help her clan. The cat that was in front of her wasn't even a clan cat. Alderfall recognized a small loop around the cat's neck. It was a collar, with a small bell hanging from it. It was torn and dirty, with several twigs and leaves, and even some thorns sticking out, as if the kittypet had just abused his collar.

The wind was with her for only a few moments more, then it switched direction and made Alderfall's scent flood the area around her. The kitty pet turned, facing the uncomfortable brambles that Alderfall was hiding in. She wondered if this cat was going to be hard to take on. He looked strong and well-fed, as Alderfall expected from a kittypet. Alderfall eventually stalked out of the bushes. The kittypet sat down, clearly not worried that Alderfall might attack.

"What is a kittypet doing on PineClan territory?!" She hissed. As she said it, she remembered that this technically wasn't PineClan territory, it was between the borders of SmokeClan and PineClan. It's still not ok for kittypets to be here, though! She thought.

The tom sat there. "I was wondering when you were going to come out!"He purred. Alderfall knew that he was trying to act like he knew she had been there all along.

Alderfall scowled, but sat down. "So, why does it look like a forest exploded on your collar?"

The tom looked at his collar, bending his neck a lot, and scowled at the bell as it rang from the move of his head. So that's probably why the blackbird flew away. Alderfall scoffed in her thoughts. That bell probably scared all of the prey away.

Even as she was criticizing him in her thoughts, Alderfall found herself drawn to him. Alderfall pushed the feeling away as the tom replied, scoffing, "I've been trying to get this thing off for several sunrises. My dumb housefolk made me wear it, even when I started trying to claw it off." He sighed. "They must've thought I was crazy. Maybe that's why I got thrown out by them." He muttered the last part.

Alderfall saw a sharp twig that was sitting in his collar, angled to a point where it was close to poking his eye. Alderfall wanted to get it, as it was close to poking his eye, but doubted if she should. She glanced at it, and the tom looked at the twig. He tried to get it out, but failed. Alderfall sat up, walked forward and pulled it out.

"Thanks." The tom said. His eyes shone, like a lit-up night sky. "That twig was so stubborn!"

Alderfall chuckled. "Need help with the other ones?" She mewed as she saw the tom struggling to get the other twigs and branches, clearly embarrassed by the mess at his neck.

"Yeah, thanks." He replied.

Alderfall picked out the leaves and twigs from out of his collar easily with a few tugs, but the thorns were the problem. They kept poking Alderfall when she tried to get them out, and she winced as one scraped her muzzle.

"Thanks again." The tom mewed.

"By the way, what's your name?" Alderfall asked once she got all of the thorns out.

The tom tilted his head in thought. Can he not even remember his own name? Alderfall thought.

Finally the tom answered. "I don't have a name."

Alderfall stared in disbelief. "You don't know your own name?"

"It's not that." He muttered. "My housefolk never gave me a name. They just yelled and called me dumb cat."

"So your name is 'Dumb Cat'?" Alderfall joked.

"No." He chuckled.

Alderfall thought. She looked at his black pelt, and realized there were gray stripes lining his pelt. "Smokestripe?" Alderfall suggested out loud.

"You're giving me a name?" The tom asked. Alderfall nodded. He replied. "If you're giving me a name then sure." Smokestripe's eyes gleamed at his new name. Alderfall felt pleased that Smokestripe was happy with his new name.

"Well, bye." Alderfall didn't want to go, but she had to go back to her clan before sundown. The sun was already sinking into the horizon.

"You'll come back, won't you?" Smokestripe asked.

Alderfall shrugged, and as she was walking through the brambles, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Smokestripe's eyes filled with both hope and worry. She couldn't bear to see him like that, so she nodded, and his eyes filled with happiness.

"I'll come back, don't worry."