The Choice

Chapter 10

Hawkpaw batted the mossball  to Plumkit, who pounced on it and flung it over to her brother Shadowkit. The small tom-kit tossed it over to Orangepaw, who batted it back to Hawkpaw and they repeated the process. Hawkpaw glanced at Orangepaw and smiled, and the ginger tabby grinned back. 

"Kits, it's time to eat." Cherrygaze called to her son and daughter from the fresh kill pile. 

Plumkit and Shadowkit said a quick farewell to their friends before scampering off towards their black and white mother. Orangekit watched them go, then turned to Hawkpaw. 

"We should do something," She said suddenly. 

"Okay. Like, uh, what?" Hawkpaw asked, giving her a confused look. 

Orangepaw scampered towards the camp entrance, waving her tail for Hawkpaw to follow. The brown tabby followed more hesitantly. At eight moons old he'd never been allowed to leave the camp by himself. Every single time he'd been out in the forest he had been accompanying Streamwhisker on patrol or going out to train.

"Hey, let's just wait from Lionpaw to come back from her hunting patrol. Its sunhigh now, they should be back any time now." He said with a nervous smile.

Hawkpaw, however, wasn't naive enough to think this would convince his mischievous friend to stay in the safety of the camp wall. Giving him a wide grin, she slowly took a few steps out of camp.

"I'd much rather just go out now. You coming with me or not?"

Thinking for a moment, the brown tabby gave a nod and followed her out of the forest.

'I can't let her go alone. She's been my best friend for so long, what if she go hurt?' He thought, allowing Orangepaw to lead him deeper into the forest. 

They drew closer to the border that was away from the other clans. Hawkpaw began to enjoy the trek, and while his worry didn't fade too much, he still let the wind blow through his fur. Orangepaw suddenly stopped, standing right on the border with uncharted territory. 

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to leave the territory. If my mentor caught a whiff of the forest over there on my fur I wouldn't have a nose anymore!" Orangepaw purred. 

Hawkpaw gave a little laugh, "I enjoy hanging out with you, but I don't think I'd go that far."

The two sat in silence for a while, just close enough that their fur brushed ever so slightly. The little cat glanced up at her friend, giving him a happy smile before gently leaning her head on his shoulder. Hawkpaw gave a smile, turning to look at the unfamiliar forest ahead of them. It was peaceful out there, undisturbed by cats, and Hawkpaw could only imagine the life of animals out there.

"I always wonder what's out there. I know that a day's journey will take you to twolegplace, but what then? More forest with more clans? Field with weird creatures, like the place we were told is on the opposite side of Briarclan?"

"Slow down!" He said with a purr, "I'm sure we can ask the elders some of their stories, about life beyond the clans-"

Orangepaw gave a huff of frustration, shaking her head, "Not good enough. When I'm a warrior, I'm going to see it. See beyond the territories the clans know. See what exists besides forests and fields, what weird places exist."

"Oh, wow. I didn't realize just how interested you were in this kind of stuff." Hawkpaw said with a surprised tone.

"Yeah. Anyway, let's forget it and go back to camp, see if Lionpaw has returned," She teased before pulling away from him.

Hawkpaw suddenly felt cold, the warmth she provided gone now. The two headed back to camp, and while he was sure his friend was wondering if they'd gotten in trouble, all he could think about was his best friend leaving the clan alone to discover the world. Without him.