Warriors: What Is There To Do?

Chapter 4- They Were Wrong About Me

As much as Splitkit wanted to give up all the information she knew about Riverclan, there were two things wrong with that plan:

One was that she didn't know that much about Riverclan that would help for an ambush, and two was that doing that wouldn't save her from a kittypet life at all.

The other clan leaders left them alone; padding off to who knows where, and Splitkit was alone with the russet she-cat.

"I am Sharpstar. Glowstar said you go by the name of Splitkit?" this she-cat was strange. She wasn't looking away from her. Splitkit was pretty sure this was the first time a cat has looked at her this long before.

"I do now," Splitkit muttered, forgetting that a cat was actually listening to what she would say. Back in Riverclan, she could yowl for all they cared; she was considered a bug or mouse there.

"Now? Did you go by a different name before?" Mouse-dung! She really had to say that...

"Well, um... I was born with the name Rainkit, but Riverclan renamed me after they saw my eyes and face." Splitkit wanted to sink into the ground. What did this leader care?

"I see. Riverclan always have wanted only the best of the perfect cats..." Splitkit was about to defend them, but she realized that Sharpstar was right. Besides, no matter what happens tonight, she wasn't Riverclan anymore.

Really, she never was.

Splitkit didn't say anything to the leader in a response, but she was itching to ask why the leader wanted to talk to her in private. Sharpstar padded up to Splitkit, sniffing her fur, her ears, her back... studying her, she realized. Did this leader really want Splitkit?

She was able to catch the murmurs that Sharpstar was muttering, but they seemed strange in her mind.

"Weak... underfed... wait... no, that's just a... no muscle whatsoever..." Splitkit wasn't sure what half the words the leader said meant. Underfed? Splitkit thought that was how she was supposed to look. Weak? Sharpstar just didn't know she could lift ten whole minnows in her jaws at once!

"Um, excuse me, but what are you doing?" Splitkit couldn't hold it any longer; she had to know what the leader was thinking!

"I am merely making sure you aren't sick. That would be just like Riverclan, to send a cat with a disease to the other clans."

Splitkit ignored the rude words about Riverclan and thought over what the leader said.

"Wait... are you going to... take me...?" she didn't want to get her hopes up. Maybe this was all a trick, to convince her to go live with the kittypets.

Sharpstar looked at her, a small smile on her face. "Yes, little kit. Shadowclan will take you."

Splitkit's head was floating. Shadowclan, the clan that was supposed to be the most brutal, the meanest, scariest of the clans, was going to take her in?!

"But... Shadowclan... you...!"

Sharpstar purred, "I know, we are the worst, the most evil of the clans... why in Starclan would we take you in, right?"

Splitkit nodded with wide eyes.

"We are not the evil clan that we are made out to be. We follow the Warrior Code as close as Thunderclan, are as loyal as Windclan, and as true to our word as Riverclan. We just let the rumors fly because they help instill fear in the enemy. Don't you have to admit, that would come in handy if, say, your Riverclan wanted to attack Shadowclan?"

Splitkit could see the logic behind Sharpstar's words. Maybe Shadowclan wasn't so bad after all, because they are taking her in... and that led her to the next question.

"That doesn't have anything to do with you taking me in in the first place, though."

"You are sharp, little kit. I believe in equal chances. My sister, Sweetpetal, is also at what I like to call a disadvantage. Her paws are smaller than normal, and her hindquarters are taller than any other cat's, but she still became one of the best warriors in the clan. I see nothing wrong with a bad outside, it's the inside that counts, in my opinion. And since I'm leader, that is currently all of Shadowclan's point of view."

Splitkit was so happy... this cat had the beliefs that she wished Riverclan had; the belief that her looks meant nothing when it came to personality and skills. She couldn't help a purr that rumbled in her throat, and it went that way for several moments before it was broken off by a yawn. As much as she didn't feel like it, she was still a kit, (if not only for one more day) and she had walked and jumped all the way here.

"I don't suppose any cat helped you on the journey here?" Sharpstar scowled as Splitkit shook her head, eyes fluttering shut.

"Just like Riverclan, to let a kit walk to a Gathering..."

Splitkit felt the need to correct the leader. "I am six moons old tomorrow..." it came out in a yawn, and sounded more like 'iham hix...moons... tahmerrow' but Sharpstar seemed to understand her, nodding and nudged Splitkit in the crook between two roots of the biggest oak.

"Sleep here, I will retrieve you after the Gathering is over."

Splitkit heard Sharpstar pad away, but her senses were quickly fading into sleep, and for once she welcomed it. In the past, she had nightmares almost every night about being teased, or hurt because of her face, but now she had a home. She was a Shadowclan cat! Somehow, it sounded right in her head. Riverclan sounded... wrong. She had come to associate the name with pain and hurt.

Oh well... she could be Shadowclan's next leader, maybe. She would be just like Sharpstar, welcoming cats into the clan regardless on how they looked. Each cat deserved to have a fighting chance.

She would be Splitstar of Shadowclan... now that sounded right!