Mapleshade's Second Chance

Maple

Maplepaw shook the bundle of moss hooked onto her claw, shivering as the wind chilled her fur. A few tail-lengths away, Tigerpaw was scraping dirt over a mouse he had just caught. His bigger frame and longer fur enabled him to withstand the cold, but Maplepaw felt as though her limbs would freeze off at any moment. Needless to say, she was looking forward to getting back to the camp so she could warm up in her nest.

A quarter moon had passed since the Gathering, bringing the dreaded leaf-bare season. With the beginning of the cold weather came several other hardships as well. Two days ago, ThunderClan had lost Sunningrocks to RiverClan. Their water-loving neighbors had staged an attack in the middle of the night, and despite the efforts of Thistleclaw, Speckletail, and Lionheart, they had been outnumbered and outmatched. Mumblefoot and Weedwhisker had both fallen ill with fevers, and Tawnyspots had started complaining of a persistent bellyache.

The calico molly glanced over the fence that cut off the forest from Twolegplace, letting out a small sigh. She would never dream of going back there, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little envious of their easygoing lifestyle. They didn't have to worry about their territory being stolen or potentially going hungry; they had everything they could possibly want or need. Briefly, Maplepaw wondered what her littermates were doing at that moment. If she knew them, they were probably curled up in their baskets, enjoying the warmth of a fireplace.

"Are you alright?" Tigerpaw asked, walking over to her.

Maplepaw shook herself off. "I'm fine," she replied, tearing her gaze away from the border. "Just thinking, that's all."

"About your family?" the dark tabby guessed.

"Sort of," Maplepaw answered, flicking her tail. "It's been a while since I've seen any of them, and I guess I was just wondering what they were up to."

"Do you miss them?" Tigerpaw asked curiously.

"Great StarClan, no," Maplepaw exclaimed. If there was one thing she definitely didn't miss about Twolegplace, it was her family. Well, she missed Night, but she was dead. She had never known her father, and she couldn't care less about Apple and Reed, who had bullied her ever since they were kits. "I would never miss those cats. Especially not Apple and Reed."

Tigerpaw nodded, then meowed, "You know, I've known you for almost three moons, but I still haven't heard much about your family except for everything that happened between you and your littermates." He paused for a moment, looking as though he were unsure what to say next.

Maplepaw nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"Well...I was just wondering, why did they treat you the way they did?" he finished.

"Honestly, I don't know," Maplepaw admitted. It was a question she'd been asking herself for moons. "They've always had something against me, but I never figured out what it was. Maybe it was the fact that I never liked to play their games, maybe it had something to do with my interest in the forest. Most of the kittypets in Twolegplace hate forest cats because they think they're savage, heartless, and unfeeling. Socks and Ruby...weren't exactly an exception."

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Tigerpaw asked anxiously. Maplepaw wondered why he cared so much. It wasn't as though it was his problem, was it?

"No," she answered honestly. "Well, not physically at least. But they made sure to mock me at every opportunity, calling me a freak for being interested in the forest and saying that I was just as savage and heartless as a wild cat. My mother usually tried to put a stop to it, but they would be right back at it as soon as her back was turned."

"I'm sorry," Tigerpaw meowed softly.

Maplepaw twitched her ear. "It doesn't matter. I'm probably never going to see either of them again anyway," she meowed indifferently. "Anyway, what about your family? I don't think you've talked much about them either. I mean, I know Leopardfoot's your mother, but what about your father or your brothers and sisters?"

At the question, Tigerpaw's gaze darkened and he looked away. He remained silent for several heartbeats as he stared at his paws, his expression full of pain and resentment.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," Maplepaw backtracked hastily. "Don't worry about it, you don't have to tell me anything."

"No, it's alright," he spoke up. "It's not your fault. I didn't really know my sisters, but that's because they died when we were still less than a moon old. And my father, well...he left to become a kittypet when I was young as well."

"Why?" Maplepaw asked, shocked. Judging by the way her Clanmates talked about kittypets, she couldn't imagine any of them wanting to leave ThunderClan in favor of that lifestyle.

Tigerpaw shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "He said it was because he wanted to spend his final life in peace, but I doubt that's the real reason. I mean, he could have just retired to the elders' den if he wanted to relax. But he chose to abandon his Clan instead. And, well–I mean, I don't have any proof of this–but I've always kind of thought that there was someone else, you know? That perhaps the reason he left was that he had another mate and kits in Twolegplace, and he wanted to be with them more than with Leopardfoot and me."

Maplepaw felt a pang of sympathy. Her father had left her as well, but she had never known him to begin with, so his absence didn't bother her. But Tigerpaw was clearly still hurt by his father's abandonment. She had to admit that his theory of his father having another family made sense, even as awful as it sounded. Without thinking, Maplepaw licked his shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm so sorry," she meowed softly.

"It's alright," Tigerpaw murmured. "Come on, we should probably head back to the camp."

The two apprentices gathered up their prey and moss before heading back in the direction of the ThunderClan camp. Along the way, Tigerpaw kept bumping into Maplepaw, brushing his pelt against hers at seemingly every turn. It was happening a bit too often to be entirely accidental, but she decided not to say anything. Tigerpaw's strange behavior towards her was something she didn't feel like working out at the moment.

Over the past quarter moon, she had gotten to know him better than she had ever expected. Their relationship had improved to the point where Maplepaw was almost willing to consider Tigerpaw her friend. However, she couldn't help but feel as though he wanted something else from her, and it frustrated her to no end since she had no idea what that could be or if her assumptions were even right.
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"Speaking of Reed and Apple, where are they?" Asked Night.

"Worry not. They are alive," responded Oakstar.