Creamfluff's Hope

*/\* Chapter Sixteen */\*

Creampaw couldn't help herself as she blurted out what was on her mind. She told Softkit about how some of the others judged her for her blood and said it made her different. She told him about how she'd caused so many fights between the MistClan cats and got them in trouble. She told him how Rainspeck had lied to her about her mother for six whole moons. She told the young kit everything.

She had finally gotten everything off her chest and laid her head on her paws. "I just want to fall asleep and never wake up again," she muttered.

Softkit's eyes had widened, and his whiskers twitched with sympathy. "I had no idea you felt that way!" He squeaked, pressing against Creampaw's side. 

Creampaw would've curled her tail around him, but she didn't and remained still with her head on her paws.

"But what about Aloeheart?" Softkit continued. "Wasn't he a loner? He could talk to him! He might've felt the same as you when he was young."

Creampaw shrugged and closed her eyes. "I just want to sleep." 

She felt Softkit curl into a tiny ball of fluff besides her as she drifted off into sleep. Creampaw's eyes opened when the stiff earth beneath felt like soft grass. Standing up, she saw that she was standing in a meadow with a cool breeze ruffling her fur. Looking around, she saw trees and rivers and flowers all around her and a clear blue sky above her head.

"Hello?" She called. "Is anyone here?"

But there was no reply. Creampaw figured she was dreaming until she turned around. There was two cats standing directly behind her. One of the cats was glossy gray tom, the other cat being a she-cat with thick brown fur.

"Who are you?" Creampaw asked, sliding out her claws for safety. These cats seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite put a claw on it.

"We've met before, young Creampaw," the gray tom mewed. His fur was lit with stars that twinkled in his fur, the same for the she-cat. Stars glittered around their paws, and Creampaw made a guess of who they were.

"Are you StarClan cats?" Creampaw asked. Now the cats seemed familiar, and so did her surroundings. 

I came here when I fell in Mist Falls!

"Am I in StarClan again? I didn't die!" Creampaw yowled in alarm, tugging at the grass with her claws.  "I just went to sleep!" 

The brown she-cat purred and rested her tail on Creampaw's shoulder. "No, you did not die. You are still alive, sleeping beneath the bush."

Creampaw let out a breath of relief as the she-cat went on.

"It is rare for a warrior to receive a visit from StarClan, let alone an apprentice," she purred. Her smile was warm, and her eyes glowed with friendliness. "I'm Larkwing," she told Creampaw.

"And I'm Stonepool," the gray tom added. "You remember how you said your Clanmates judge you for your loner-blood, right?"

Creampaw nodded. "It's the truth."

Stonepool nodded. "Well, it might look like your Clanmates judge you for your loner-blood, but in reality, they're just worried about how you'll affect the Clan."

"But Aloeheart is a loner-turned-warrior, and they all respect him!" Creampaw whined, staring at Stonepool. He blinked his dark blue eyes kindly.

"Because Aloeheart has earned their trust," he mewed slowly. "You need to do the same. You need to show your Clanmates that you can be like them."

Creampaw stared at him for a bit before slowly nodding. "That kind of makes sense."

Larkwing and Stonepool started to fade along with their surroundings. Creampaw closed her eyes and opened them again to see the forest outside of the shelter of the elder bush. It was now raining, and raindrops dripped through the elder bush and onto Creampaw's pelt.

"Creampaw! Are you awake?" 

A familiar voice woke Creampaw along with a familiar scent. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she saw Lilypurr and Heatstep standing outside the bush with Softkit under Heatstep's tail. 

"What happened? Why are you two out here in the forest?" Lilypurr nosed Creampaw to her paws and out of the bush.

"Well, I kind of ran out of camp because I needed to be alone," Creampaw mewed. "Softkit found me underneath the bush before I fell asleep."

Lilypurr nudged Creampaw forward and started walking back to camp. Heatstep and Softkit followed behind the she-cats. "Softkit should've known better then to leave camp like that, but that's for later. Let's just get back to camp before we catch a cold."

Creampaw followed Lilypurr back the way she'd run to the camp in the twilight. The moon was just visible above the remaining sunlight, providing enough light for the MistClan cats to see. Lilypurr led Creampaw into the camp, Heatstep and Softkit following.

"Bring Butterflykit and Softkit to the nest," Lilypurr told her mate.

"I'm on it." Heatstep looked down at Softkit before leading him through the rain and into the nursery. 

"You go to your nest and sleep," Lilypurr said to Creampaw. "If you're hungry you can eat first, but make sure to get some rest."

"I will. Thank you," Creampaw told Lilypurr before she walked to the nursery. The rain was only at a fast drizzle, and it would break into a pour soon enough. Creampaw hooked a shrew off of the fresh-kill pile before it got soaked and brought it to the entrance of the apprentice's den.

As she ate it, she looked around the camp, finding it emptier then when she'd fled to the forest. She saw Thrushwing heading toward her and decided to ask where everyone was.

"Where's everyone at?" The young apprentice asked her mentor as he sat in front of Creampaw.

"There's been an ambush at Moss Rocks," Thrushwing told her. "Cloverpetal and Nightmoon were mouse brained enough to walk around there alone at sunset." 

Creampaw's eyes widened. "We haven't been attacked there for a while!"

"That's what an ambush is." Thrushwing's whiskers twitched in the rain. "We'll start with some battle training tomorrow morning if the rain has stopped," he meowed, his fur getting sprinkled with the quickening rain. "If it's still raining by then we'll memorize a bit of the warrior code."

Creampaw nodded and finished her prey. She pushed it to the side of the den as she stood up and stretched. "I'm going to get some sleep now, if you don't mind. Goodnight, Thrushwing."

"Goodnight, Creampaw. Try and be awake at dawn tomorrow," he told Creampaw before walking away. Creampaw settled down in her nest and began thinking about what Stonepool and Larkwing had said to her.

'You need to do the same. You need to show your Clanmates that you can be like them.'

They're saying that I need to earn my Clanmate's respect, just like Aloeheart did, she told herself, curling her tail over her nose. Before she fell asleep, she told herself, I'll train to be the best MistClan warrior I can be and make my Clanmates proud.