Bloomsprout

> "Three... two... one... BE HAPPY! Are you happy yet?"
>
>

## Physical Description

Thanks to Purplepaw\_Draws for the design.

A slender she-cat with medium length fur and a round fluffy tail. She has an off white pelt with a hint of pink and striped splotches in the colors of dark red, brownish red, and tan. The top of her tail is tan with one stripe of dark red and one stripe of brownish-red below it, making up over half of her tail. She has one foreleg and paw tan and one both red colors with splotches leading into the white. Bloom has a little flower-shaped splotch on her chest. A red splotch is around one of her eyes. Bloom has amber eyes and ears tipped with stripes, one ear tan and one ear red. Both ears have a slightly darker stripe of the stripe below it on her ears, the same colors as her stripes on her splotches. On her back leg she has two striped spots, a bigger red one and a smaller tan one overlapping it.

## Personality

Thanks to --Petal-- for helping out with this description.

Bloomsprout is a very outgoing and social warrior. She loves to talk to others and is nearly always a bundle of joy, always seeming to be in a cheerful mood, almost nothing getting her down. She doesn't take insults to heart and rather brushes them off, not getting too caught up in them. She is very energetic and always bouncing around which can sometimes be too much for those around her. With all her excitement she can easily be annoying to many cats and is very impatient at times.

## Life

### Kithood

Bloomkit had a fairly average kithood for most of the time. She didn't have any friends for at least half of her time as a kit but she didn't mind much. Later on she became friends with a younger kit, Padkit, although she didn't know they were friends at the time. She first met Padkit by going to meet some of the new kits and hearing Padkit singing. Bloomkit attempted to join in and failed, but it was still fun and formed a friendship between them. The kit got captured by twolegs at five moons when sneaking out of camp with her sister, Fireflykit, and Fireflykit's friend, Hootpaw. She was named Rosie by the twolegs. Bloomkit escaped at seven moons and met who she thought was her first friend, Gorf. Gorf helped Bloomkit find her way out of the twolegplace and a fast friendship grew between them. Bloomkit arrived at WindClan and soon became an apprentice.

### Apprenticeship

Bloompaw's apprenticeship was, again, mostly average. She was enthusiastic during training and often ran ahead of her mentor, Cloudstreak. At one point, Gorf came and told her that he was Sproutpaw now, in ShadowClan. It was too risky to meet again, so they only spoke at gatherings. A moon or two before Bloompaw became a warrior, she was on a walk with her parents, brother, and brother from a different leader. They neared Thunder Falls and Cloud Lake when a few of them caught scent of a badger. Eaglespark was pushed over the edge of Thunder Falls and as Bloompaw ran down to get to him, her mother lunged at the badger and pushed it over the edge, falling with it. Bloompaw could only watch as her mother fell. Eventually both of her parents reached the shore of Cloud Lake near the willow tree and they said their goodbyes. Poppyblaze tried Bloompaw's usual trick of "three, two, one, be happy," and Eaglespark's last words were "I love you," to Bloompaw. He told her to "keep being our sweet little Bloompaw for me." Later, she told her uncle from ShadowClan, Buzzardstorm, what had happened to his sister and brother-in-law and in turn he told her that Sproutpaw had left without explanation. Bloompaw tried to convince herself to be happy and tried to uphold her belief that happiness was a choice, therefore getting angry whenever she felt sad. Puddlepaw, her brother, convinced her otherwise and she finally let herself grieve. Some time later, she was at the shore of the Endless Salt Lake for the first time, staring at the water and pondering what had happened at the attack and of what had happened to Sproutpaw when her friend, Padpaw, who was also the apprentice of Bloompaw's mother, came up to her and sat beside her. The two sat in a comfortable silence. Soon after, Redstar called a ceremony and gave Padpaw a new mentor and Bloompaw her warrior name, Bloomsprout.

### Adult Life

#### **The Ceremony**

Stalking to the top of the hill overlooking camp, without pause, Redstar yowled, “Let all cats old enough to run the moor gather to hear what I have to say!”

Bloompaw had been sitting in her nest in the apprentice's den when Redstar's voice sounded throughout the camp. She walked out of the apprentice's den and sat where cats were gathering, waiting to hear what would be said. Padpaw's new mentor and her new mentor, she presumed, as Cloudstreak still had a broken paw and Poppyblaze was... Bloompaw blinked, pushing the thought away. Padpaw padded up to the leader, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws. Usually she would be excited that there was a meeting called, but there was a dull, bored look in her eyes as she sat.

“Padpaw. Poppyblaze has passed on to Starclan, and you are in need of another mentor. For the remaining moons of your apprenticeship, Spiderbite will fill that role.” Redstar announced. Without hardly a pause, Redstar continued on to Bloompaw. “I, Redstar, leader of Windclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn. Bloompaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

Cloudstreak, who had made her way towards the group of cats a little slower than everyone else, got there just in time to here her apprentices name being called out.

Bloompaw looked up at Redstar, surprise showing on her face. She had assumed she would be getting a new mentor. "I do,"

Redstar recognized the surprise, but didn’t comment. “Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Bloompaw, from this moment on you will be known as Bloomsprout. We welcome you as a full warrior of Windclan.”

#### **The Badger Attack on Camp**

Bloomsprout heard the sounds of a battle and she caught the dreaded whiff of badger. She froze, her eyes widening in fear at the memories of her parents falling off Thunder Falls during the last badger attack and she rushed out of the apprentice's den.

"What's going on?" She shouted, following the scent to the nursery.

Bloomsprout took a sharp intake of breath as she saw Frostkit on the floor and her mentor beside the kit.

"Is she.." she trailed off.

Bloomsprout saw the badger advancing towards her injured mentor and she threw herself at it without second thought, digging her claws into it's back. Rage flowed through Bloomsuffix as she remembered the badger pushing her father off Thunder Falls and her mother sacrificing herself to push the badger off as well. Badgers had taken her parents. Now was her revenge.

"You knew that badger, didn't you?" She growled at the badger. "It's too soon to be a coincidence."

The badger shook Bloomsprout off and she fell to the floor but quickly got back up, her fur bristling. Cloudstreak had her gaze fixed on Frostkit. She noticed her apprentice attacking one of the badgers and smiled in pride. Her smiled turned even wider when she noticed Frostkit's eyes opening. Looking up and around, Cloudstreak spotted Puddlepaw near the medicine cat den. Looking back to Frostkit, she meowed, "Wait here." and jumped onto one of the other nearby badgers with a yowl. She needed to get to Puddlepaw and help him to Frostkit. Whilst scratching at a badger, she looked to Bloomsprout.

"Can you hold off the badgers, whilst I get Puddlepaw to help Frostkit?" Cloudstreak asked.

Bloomsprout nodded. "I'll try,"

Bloomsprout used a front paw blow, a move Cloudstreak taught her on the badger, her paw coming down on it's head, repeating this and stepping forward as she tried to drive the badger out of the nursery. The badger lifted it's paw to strike just as it had done in her nightmare. Cloudstreak hesitated for a moment, a proud expression upon her face that Bloomsprout had been her apprentice, and then limped as fast as three paws could let her towards Puddlepaw. As she went, a badger stepped in front of her and clawed her ear. She felt her ear slit open and yowled in pain. In response to the badgers attack, Cloudstreak clawed at its nose and it retreated back just enough for her to make a dash to Puddlepaw. Suddenly, Blossomsnap ran from behind, jumping onto the badger's back.

"Go to one of the ones in camp!" Bloomsprout ordered, not caring that Blossomsnap was older than her. "This is only one of them."

Blossomsnap hissed, not caring to listen to a cat younger than her.

"Listen, you'll be more helpful there." She snapped, her rage at the badger fueling her impatience. "I've got this one under control, now GO!"

Blossomsnap growled before calmly walking away, flicking her tail.

Puddlepaw reached the nursery just as another one of the badgers lumbered towards it to protect the attacking badger. It would have no way to know that Puddlepaw was not attacking the badgers and instead healing the injured, so when another cat crowded near the nursery, the badger came to help. While both badgers were full-grown, the protecting badger was the father of the original one. Cloudstreak followed him, ready to attack any badgers that might try to hurt him. Puddlepaw dashed towards Frostkit, horror in his eyes as he noticed how badly she was injured. Puddlepaw picked the kit up without a second thought, when he saw the protecting badger's shadow right behind him.

"Bloompaw-" he called out to his sister, dropping Frostkit and standing in front of her instead.

"Puddlepaw!" Her brother couldn't fight- he'd never known how. Fear rushed through her as she recalled her parent's going to StarClan. She couldn't lose her brother too. "Don't!"

Frostkit held back a squeak of protest. Cloudstreak reacted quickly, and leaped onto the badger, slitting it's ear just like it had done to her, moments previously. Jumping off, the badger turned on her instead of Puddlepaw and Frostkit.

"Run!" she ordered Puddlepaw, before the badger lunged at her.

"Cloudstreak!" Bloompaw yowled, thrusting herself in front of her mentor and lashing with her front paws at the badger.

Cloudstreak saw Bloomsprout run in front of her and her mouth gaped open. She was going to hurt herself. Slipping out from underneath, she scratched the badgers side, creating a deep gash in it. Puddlepaw backed up as far as he could without squishing Frostkit and glanced around warily, searching for someone who wasn't currently attacking a badger. He couldn't fight this badger, and he knew he couldn't fight it. He needed someone else to aid him while he dealed with Frostkit's injuries. The badger finally reached him, swiping at him. Puddlepaw ducked, dodging the worst of it. The badger's claw swiped the tip of his ear, but nothing more. He didn't hesitate and grabbed Frostkit by the scruff, not caring to be careful. There was no time to be careful when in the middle of a battle with a badger. He raced towards the medicine den. Frostkit was regaining strength, although slowly, very slowly. She watched Puddlepaw, and a burst of fury at the badgers shot through her anger at herself. Puddlepaw hadn’t been hurt by the badger, but that had been much, much to close for Frostkit’s liking. All she could manage was bristling fur and a hiss at the badger.

"Cloudstreak, you're injured. You shouldn't be fighting." She protested, lashing at the badger again. "Go to the medicine den with Puddlepaw, it's probably safer there."

"No way am I missing out on defending my clan." Cloudstreak replied stubbornly, "Broken paw or not. I am fighting. To the death if I have to."

"But you /shouldn't./ There's a reason we have a clan- other cats can fight and hunt while you focus on recovering." Bloomsprout argued, leaping on to the badger's back again and digging her claws deeper into it's pelt as it attempted to shake her off. She just had to get close enough to it's neck and revenge would be fulfilled.

"You are just as bossy as you were when you were an apprentice! I'm fighting, whether you like it or not. Okay?" Not waiting for an answer, she she slid underneath the badger, clawing at it's belly.

Rookbeak, Owlsong and Bluefeather rushed into the nursery, despite that Bluefeather was lame. Cloudstreak saw movement in the corner of her eye. Immediately, though making sure not to put weight on her broken paw, she ran over, thinking it was another badger. Though when she realised it was a cat, she stopped. Owlsong took a defensive stance beside Cloudstreak

"Help Bloomsprout." she ordered the new warriors. Yes, she was giving orders to older warriors, but this was a time of crisis. "I'm going to go into the main camp. There are another three badgers there."

Owlsong gave them a hard nod. “ Call me if you need help. “, She’d voice, right before haunches scrunching; the she-cat pounced squarely atop the nearest badger’s shoulders, raking the spine between.

Haretuft sprinted into camp, he was out hunting and had heard the commotion. He ran over to Cloudstreak “What’s going on?”

Before heading out, Cloudstreak paused to explain, "Four badgers are attacking the camp." She explained swiftly. There was no need for complete accuracy now, "We need all the warriors we can get."

“I’ll come with you” Haretuft started to walk towards her. He unsheathed his claws, itching for a fight.

Lizardsnout and Amberstem ran into the nursery as Bloomsprout inched her way towards the badger's neck, but as she lifted one paw to move closer, the badger gave a particularly abrupt and hard shake. Bloomsprout was shaken back onto the floor. The badger turned on her as she began to get up. The badger slashed the side of Bloomsprout's back as she was regaining a firm stand on the ground. Bloomsprout pretended to still be unbalanced and suddenly slashed at the badger's eyes, taking it by surprise. Amberstem leaped on top of the badger, struggling to hold on to it's back. She sank her teeth into it's ear, causing the badger to rear and knock Amberstem down. Bluefeather leaped for the badger, catching his front paw on it shoulder but quickly being shaken off, thrown to the ground with a loud thud.

Amberfeather turned to Bluefeather. "Get up!" She shrieked as the badger turned on him. She slashed the badger on the shoulder.

He staggered up, but the badger swatted at him again, slamming its paw against the side of his head, causing a sickening crack to sound, Bluefeather fell to the ground, blood oozing from the side of his head he was awake, but barely, he got back up and leaped at the badger, dragging his claws across its eye, and then he staggered back, collapsing.

Amberstem stared in horror. "No!" She leaped at the badger, swatting at it's eye as she was batted aside. She scrambled to her paws, rushing towards Bluefeather. She grabbed him by his scruff and dragged him towards the medicine den. He was limp, and his breathing was labored as blood stained his white and black spotted fur. It was clear the badger had done a number on him, and who knew, he might never wake up. Amberstem stared at him helplessly, then began to lap the blood from his fur.

Briarwish let out a yowl, leaping at the badger with claws unsheathed. "Leave my Clanmates alone!" She snarled.

Echowhisper ran into the nursery, eyes wide. "W-what's going on!?" She yelled.

Cherrybreeze skidded into the nursery, with her unsheathed. She was recently hunting by herself, but she could smell the badgers so she ran into help.

Bloompaw hissed at the sight of her clanmate on the floor. "Not again, featherbrain!" Bloompaw growled at the badger, rage flowing through her as she recalled the badger attack that had sent her parents to StarClan. She leapt at the blind badger's back, leaning in for the bite that could end the fight.

"Amberstem, bring Bluefeather to the medicine den! Puddlepaw's there with Frostkit, he can help." The young warrior ordered. She had only been named a warrior earlier that day, but she didn't mind ordering older warriors around in a situation like this.

Amberstem nodded, too stunned to do anything but obey. She dragged the tom to the medicine den and the leaped back into the fight.

Echowhisper looked around anxiously. "I-is there something I should do-"

Cloudstreak entered the nursery again. She had been fighting the badger outside and returned with a gash in her side, "Bloomsprout, how's it going?" She asked swiftly.

Cherrybreeze leaped infront of the badger and clawed it's snout, moving nimbly.

"It's blinded," She told her mentor and pulled toward the badger's neck, her muzzle just above it.

Cloudstreak gave a small nod. Unfortunately, the cut in her side was bleeding rather heavily and she was feeling a little weak. As much as she wanted to finish the badger off, she just couldn't.

Bloomsprout ended the blinded badger's fight with a quick bite on it's neck. "That's for my parents." She hissed quietly and leapt off as the badger went limp.

Cloudstreak watched, keeping one eye on the other badger at all times, and pride filled her up. Her former apprentice had just k!lled a badger. Not even she had done that. "Bloomsprout. Well done!" Cloudstreak was so busy praising her former apprentice that she didn't notice the other badger lunge forwards until it was too late. It raked its short, sharp claws down her side and Cloudstreak leaped backwards in shock and pain. Satisfaction flowed through Bloomsprout as her paws reached the floor but her eyes widened as the badger raked her mentor. She hissed, stepping toward it although her strength was a bit depleted from the effort of staying on the badger during it’s shakes and it turned on her at the noise, recognizing her as the cat who had taken the other badger. It stared at her with it’s menacing, beady eyes and just as Bloomsprout moved to strike it brought it’s claws down upon her ear. Cloudstreak watched the badger injure Bloomsprout and not even look guilty. True, it was a badger, so why should it be, but it still made her angry. Forgetting her pain the that moment, Cloudstreak leaped at it and took it by surprise. She raked her claws down its side and bit down on one of its short front legs, satisfaction washing over her. Bloomsprout steadied herself and as Cloudstreak bit it's leg, Bloomsprout bit it's other front leg. Cloudstreak was relieved when she saw Bloomsprout, as it proved that she wasn't too hurt. However, her adrenaline started to die down, and the cut on her side started to cause her pain again.

Goldenfeather leaped in the nursery. "Eveything alright? Anyone hurt?"

Warblerkit had just opened his eyes, he had been snoring like a badger and as heavily as a pig, shocked that he hadn't noticed the huge creature thing that was towering over the nursery den. He let out a squeak of surprise as the warriors bit it's legs, and started cheering. Bloomsprout wasn’t too hurt, no, but she had certainly been weakened. The shaking of the other badger had worsened the pain of her cut on the side of her back, and a steady trickle could be seen coming from her ear. Bloomsprout attempted to leap onto the badger again but as soon as she reached it, the badger gave a shake in attempt to get her off. Bloompaw took a sharp intake of breath as her cut stung at the next shake, throwing her off onto the ground at a bit of an awkward angle. Cloudstreak, too, had been weakened. All she could manage was kicking the badger in it's stubby leg, causing it to wobble.

"Go big warriors!! Go big warriors!!" Warblerkit began to chant, hopefully giving them a little more strength and encouragement, as he dangled out of Scorchbright's nest, watching hopefully.

Cloudstreak glanced to Warblerkit. His words made her smile slightly, and she just hoped that she had enough strength to at least scare the badger off. That gave her an idea. If she and Bloomsprout weakened the badger enough, or at least made it think that it would loose, then it /might/ run away. Cloudstreak sighed quietly. It could work, but it all relied on the badgers personality. If a badger even had a personality. But perhaps it could work. All that went by in a split second, and the badger lunged at Cloudstreak, it's beast black eyes staring at her in a way that made her want to flinch. She clawed at the beasts nose, which was at least enough to retreat a few mouse lengths.

In that time, Cloudstreak looked to Bloomsprout, "We don't necessarily need to k!ll it. If we can scare it off, then it's probably the best bet." She explained swiftly, "What do you think?"

Bloomsprout nodded. “I don’t think either of us can k!ll it, we’re too far into the fight. What’s your plan to scare it?” Bloompaw asked, ducking to the side as a badger moved to bring it’s paw down on her head.

Cloudstreak had to talk quickly. Luckily, she was very good at doing that. "Lead it out of the nursery, and use both of our remaining strength to fight it as hard as possible. Overwhelming is out best shot." she replied.

Bloomsprout nodded quickly and slashed at the badger's tail, pushing forward and trying to lead it ahead. Cloudstreak ran in front of it, and scratched its nose again. She started to walk backwards out of the nursery, hoping the badger would follow. Warblerkit smiled a huge goofy grin at Cloudstreak, then ducked his head down, as he saw the two warriors head out of the nursery. His instincts made him guess that they were going to head elsewhere, to try and trick the badger into following. He slumped back down into Scorchbright's nest again, pressing him to the comfortable fern fronds, hoping that the badger wouldn't notice him. Bloomsprout suddenly wondered if she should be the one in the front. The badger would be able to attack Cloudstreak much easier than it would've been able to attack her without turning around. Bloomsprout clawed at it's back legs, urging it forward.The badger twisted slightly, trying to get to Bloomsprout. However, they had made their way to the entrance of the nursery, and it being a tight fit, the beast couldn't get all the way around. Trying to make it focus its attention on her, Cloudstreak aimed a blow at the visible side of the badgers muzzle. It roared and turned back to her, and she dodged one of its paws. Moving back a little, the badger followed her out of the nursery. Bloomsprout continued to gently rake the badger's legs, enough to make it move forward but not enough to make it too angry at her. Slowly but surely, the group made it's way down the hill. However, it was more dangerous now because the badger had more room to move and more cats to target. Bloompaw began switching around the badger, moving from one side, to the back, to the other side, to the back, and repeating. Cloudstreak focused her energy on moving backwards whilst keeping the badgers attention mostly on her. Occasionally, it aimed a few swipes at Bloomsprout, but missed. They made there way onto the moorland, and Cloudstreak glanced to Bloomsprout. They should probably stop, as they were a good distance away from camp for the badger to run off. Bloomsprout moved to the side of the badger again to look at Cloudstreak.

"So do we just.. go? Because I'm pretty sure the badger will just chase us." She asked while switching to the other side.

Cloudstreak quietly gulped. She didn't want to admit that she hadn't thought this cat through. Doubt started to fill her up, but she pushed it down, wanting to keep her head clear and open.

"We scare it. It shouldn't be too hard, considering its weakened quite a substantial amount. Making it run away should be quite easy." She realised the word 'should' popped up quite a bit, and it was true that she wasn't entirely sure it would work. However, she prayed to StarClan, hoping her plan would work.

"We're weakened too." Bloomsprout pointed out but didn't argue. "How do we scare it?"

Cloudstreak dodged another blow from the badger, and scratched it's muzzle. "Overwhelm it."

Bloomsprout nodded and quickly leaped and latched onto the side of it's back, raking her claws. She hissed as the strain of keeping herself there made her cut on the side of her back sting. Cloudstreak slipped under the badger, and ran her claws down it's belly. Rolling back out, she winced slightly as she caught her torn ear on the ground. Bloomsprout rushed to the front and brought both paws down on the badger's head. Before it had a chance to react, she ran to it's other side and slashed the side of the badger's back. Cloudstreak leaped onto the badgers back and bit down on her shoulder. The badger roared in anger, and tried to shake Cloudstreak off. However, she hung on tightly with her jaws and three paws. Meanwhile, Bloomsprout slid under the badger's belly and clawed at it. Cloudstreak head the badgers growl, and jumped behind it to bite one of its ankles. Bloomsprout rolled out of under the badger's belly and glanced around, debating her next move. The badger began backing away, overwhelmed by both cat's fast-paced strikes, and finally it rushed away. Cloudstreak watched it run off, relief filling her up. As her adrenaline started to die down, she realised how weak she was feeling. Her cut was bleeding, and her ear was sore. Not to mention her muscles were all aching.

Turning to Bloomsprout, she smiled. "I'm proud of you. I'm glad you were my apprentice."

Bloomsprout sighed in relief as she watched the badger flee. She hadn't been sure how much longer they could've kept it off. The young warrior slowly became more aware of the cut on her side and ear, along with the aching from being thrown off of the other badger so many times.

Bloomsprout smiled back, pride and satisfaction filling her at her mentor's words and the memory of her revenge. "Thanks. I'm glad you were my mentor too."

Cloudstreak gave her a small nod, "Let's go back to camp. Your injures could do with being looked at, and I don't know about you but I could sleep for moons." She watched the badger disappear over the horizon and satisfaction flooded over her. It wouldn't be coming back any time soon.

Bloomsprout nodded. "So does yours," At the word 'sleep' she became more aware of the exhaustion spreading over her and turned back towards camp, eager to get to her nest. Her first real fight had provided her with a chance for revenge, yes, but it certainly had it's side effects.

Cloudstreak started to slowly pad towards camp, half dreading that her home was up a hill. Her paw was sore, despite her best efforts of not putting it on the ground and Cloudstreak wished that she could run back. Alas, she could not. So she just had to settle with walking. Bloomsprout followed beside her mentor, keeping pace with her. They soon arrived at camp, and Cloudstreak limped up to camp, and opened her mouth to scent the air. There was still an overpoweringly strong scent of badger, but no living ones to be seen. Smiling, she turned to Bloomsprout,

"All gone." Her meow was hopeful, but silently she was still worried.

Bloomsprout said nothing and simply nodded before scanning the camp for her brother and Mallardripple. Cloudstreak was struggling to keep her eyes open. She was incredibly tired, after being in a battle with only three free paws.

"I think I'm going to go to my nest." She mewed drowsily. Her nest at the moment /was/ in the medicine den, so her wounds would be checked out relatively quickly, and they weren't the worst wounds ever, anyway.

Bloomsprout nodded. "I'll come with you, to see if Puddlepaw and Mallardripple are still busy."

Cloudstreak gave her a small nod, and the two padded into the medicine den together.

#### **Padpaw at the Endless Salt Lake**

Padpaw was roaming in the field again quietly, stopping to gaze at the occasional flower. She nipped at a tiny purple flower, snapping the stem and picking it up, holding it in her jaws along with many others, a sprout of many colors. she sat down, carefully dropping the flowers so that none would be crushed. Bloomsprout was sitting on the shore of the Endless Salt Lake, the water lapping at her paws. She didn't go there often, in fact, Bloomsprout couldn't remember if she'd ever been there at all. Now, however, she was, because she didn't know where to go otherwise that wasn't crowded, such as camp. There was always Cloud Lake, of course, but as that was the place her parents had gone to StarClan... it was unpreferable, to say the least. So she simply sat in the sand and stared out at the endless waters, watching the water glitter with the sun. With a slight turn of her head Padpaw’s nose was filled with the scent of salt and sand. She turned to where it was coming from, her eyes widening at the lake. She had heard about the endless salt lake, but she had never been there. She could see a figure down at the beach and she picked up her flowers and made her was towards the water, the salty scent of the lake drifting in through her parted jaws. her paws sunk in the sand as she drifted closer still to the cat. She stopped suddenly as she recognized it as her friend Bloompaw- no, Bloomsprout, Padpaw reminded herself. She had just been made a warrior. She felt a slight twinge of anger at Windclan’s leader, Redstar, for making Bloomsprout a warrior. sure, Padpaw was certain that her friend was happy about it, but with her parent’s death still lingering in their minds, maybe it was too quick. Padpaw realized she had come to a full stop, staring at her friend. she couldn’t imagine the pain Bloomsprout must feel. Padpaw had lost her mentor, but Boomsprout had lost her mother. The one memory she could always hold on to, of being a kit and suckling at her mother’s belly. she swallowed, guilt passing over her. she had been so caught up in mourning her mentor that she had forgotten about her friend. Bloomsprout did not notice her friend, and simply continued to stare out, digging her claws through the sand and feeling it trickle between them when she took them out. She had been so caught up in the loss of her parents that she had hardly remembered Sproutpaw. But, upon catching scent of her other friend, Padpaw, her thoughts subconsciously drifted to the loss of her kittypet friend. Buzzardstorm had told her of Sproutpaw's disappearance when he had come to the gathering place's WindClan border in search of his sister, Poppyblaze, and Bloomsprout had been forced to tell him of what had happened at Thunder Falls. Buzzardstorm had told Bloomsprout that Sproutpaw was missing, that he had left unexpectedly, when trying to convince her to tell her where her mother was. He had also mentioned that another cat had gone to StarClan, assumably a friend of her uncle, but she hadn't paid much thought of it and so she didn't remember who. Sproutpaw had been Bloompaw's first friend upon helping her out of the twolegplace after her escape. And now he was gone, without telling anyone why. He'd had so many friends there. Had he simply missed his twolegs too much? Was that where he was? Or was he somewhere far away? Had a fox caught him? Or perhaps a badger? There was so much she didn't know. But what she did know was that she would never see him again. Tears sprung to Bloompaw's amber-orange eyes. It was all too soon. Her parents, then her friends... what was next? Why was she forced to open her mind to the darker parts of the world so abruptly, and all at once? A quick rush of air swooped into Padpaw's mouth subconsciously as Padpaw saw that her friend was crying. She stepped forwards, her toes spreading she that she wouldn’t slip in the sand. She made her way, concerned, to her friend, not realizing until she was standing over Bloomsprout that she didn’t know what to say. So she just down, curling her tail around her friend to try and bring her closer, looking out at the lake. All those waves, crashing down and the coming up again, seemed to have more freedom than even Padpaw herself. they were able to do what they wanted, go where they wanted. Padpaw was bound by her clan, her leader, even her fellow apprentices. always bound by the warrior code, following her and calling her out for her mistakes. Her mind drifted to loner life. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to eat what you hunted for once? And go where you wanted, love who you wanted... Padpaw sighed dreamily. True freedom. But then her mind landed upon the downsides like a cat’s body on stone. Crack. You would be truly lonely, always traveling. Crack. Who would care for you when you were sick or injured? Crack. Or what about when you were old and unable to hunt? Crack. And all the predators of the forest, how would you face them alone? Padpaw turned her mind away from those thoughts with the final crack, for once grateful of the clan life. Yes, there was loss and injustice, hardships and struggling, but you all faced them together. as a clan. If you were a loner, who knew what would happen. Who knew when a twoleg would suddenly come and pick you up, carrying you away from the one life you always knew. But with the clan, you had a future. You knew you could grow up to be a warrior, medicine cat, maybe even a leader. Ah, the one common dream of every kit. Leadership. Being at the head of the clan, and respected by all. She sighed dreamily again, watching the sun sparkle on the waves. It would be amazing to be a leader, wouldn’t it? sure, the decisions involved were hard, but there was nothing that Padpaw couldn’t face, surely? she turned back to Bloomsprout, wondering what her friend was thinking. Bloomsprout finally became aware of her friend's appearance and stiffened as Padpaw's tail met her fur. She blinked away the unshed tears that had appeared in her eyes and looked over at Padpaw as the waves lapped at their paws. "Padpaw?" She managed. "What are you doing here?" She blinked, a warm smile spreading across her face. ''I saw you here, so i came down. the lake is... '' She turned back to the endless salt lake. ''Very pretty.'' She let her smile loosen into more of a soft, glowing one. She didn’t want to be plastered with a fake smile. After so much of her hiding her feelings, finally letting out a true smile was like a drop of water after days in the desert. Bloomsprout nodded, attempting a small smile of her own. "I've never been here before." She looked down and fidgeted with her claws before looking up and staring out at the vast stretch of water stretching across the horizon, too far for her to see. The waves crashed onto the shore, forceful yet gentle, then pulled back, dragging small strands of seaweed and shells with it, never-ending.

#### **A Visit from StarClan**

Poppyblaze had watched as Windclan camp was attacked by badgers, tears dripping off her ghostly snout. Later, she'd seen Bloomsprout becoming a warrior. Pride surged within her, and she'd finally decided to visit her daughter. She spotted Bloomsprout in her dream, and padded over to her, stars lacing her ghostly form.

"Bloomsprout?" She meowed softly.

Bloomsprout had fallen into an uneasy sleep at the throbbing of her wounds and the memories of both her parent’s attack and the one on the camp. She blearily opened her eyes as she awoke in StarClan to the sound of her mother’s voice. It took a moment for her to realize where she was as her sleep had made her sluggish. She dimly became aware of the light of the stars coated across her mother’s pelt in front of her and she looked up, blinking the light out of her eyes a few times. A rush of both sadness and joy flowed through her as she recognized Poppyblaze, tears of both emotions springing to her eyes.

“Poppyblaze?” Bloomsprout asked in a small voice and then suddenly bounced to her paws, rushing to fill the small distance between them as her mother grew closer.

"Yes, it's me," She purred, bounding toward her daughter and giving her a cat-hug. "I'm- I'm proud of you, Bloomsprout! Your name is perfect. How is everyone?"

“By ‘everyone’ do you mean the entire clan, or Fireflyburn, Puddlepaw, and Buzzardstorm?” Bloomsprout asked at the last question, cat hugging her mother back.

"I mean, just... yes, probably just relatives." She looked at Bloomsprout, purring and smiling. The stars in her pelt glistened in the never-ending moonlight that was cast down from the sky above Starclan's hunting grounds.

“I haven’t talked to Fireflyburn since she was an apprentice. Buzzardstorm... I only saw him at the gathering place border once, when he made me tell him what happened to you and told me about Sproutpaw. He seemed sad, though, he kept mumbling to himself about you being mad at him and that he shouldn’t have left so he’d be there to help you in WindClan. Stuff like that. Puddlepaw talked to me once, about how I shouldn’t try to choose to be happy, but I didn’t ask how he was doing.”

Poppyblaze sighed, a hint of regret in her forest-green gaze. "I'd certainly like to be able to speak to Buzzardstorm... my brother. I've known him longer than any other cat." She murmured, half to herself.

"You could always visit him in a dream." Bloomsprout suggested.

"I will," She nodded slowly, then turned her attention back to Bloomsprout. "I hope our deaths haven't taken too much of a toll on anyone, have they?"

Bloomsprout shrugged and said nothing. She didn't know much about how it was for Puddlepaw, but... she knew he had to be grieving. And as for herself? Well, before she had tried to be happy. Tried to /choose/ to be happy, both for herself and for her parents who had both, in their own way, told her to. Poppyblaze had used Bloomsprout's old trick with 'three, two, one, be happy,' and her father had told her to 'keep being their sweet little Bloompaw for him.' Mostly, though, it was because she had based everything to do with emotions off of the fact that you could /choose/ to be happy. What Puddlepaw had said contradicted that, and she had finally let herself grieve.

Poppyblaze took her shrug as a response and gave a small sigh. "Well, I love you. So, so much. And I'm watching over you, and I always will be."

#### **A Conversation with Sorrelfrost**

Sorrelfrost was perched on a peak of the moor, outside the commonly traveled areas of the territory. Oddly enough, she was searching for grxves. She'd been there when Emberstar d¡ed, and vaguely remember where the former leader was buried. Not exactly, though, and she had a feather to place on said grxve, and so, was quite intent on finding it. The newleaf sun was high, it's rays spreading across the open moor, making the purple of the heather seem more vibrant. Strong yet gentle wind brushed the tall stalks, the tips dipping toward the ground while the bottom remained rooted firmly to the ground. A young warrior was walking across the moor, her pawsteps flattening the stalks or brushing them to the side, only for them to stand up tall again when the warrior's paw was removed. Between the confident stalks were small, blooming sprouts of the purple flower, reaching it's petals for the sun and rejoicing in it's warmth by slowly but surely opening it's petals. Too slow for the warrior to observe, of course, but still the sprout bloomed. Bloomsprout's eyes flicked across the purple flowers as they moved in and out of her view with her pawsteps. A sudden gust of wind nearly stole the red and black feather from Sorrelfrost, and she got to her paws, about ready to search someplace else. But then she spotted Bloomsprout, and, as the senior warrior watched the younger one walk among the foliage, she paused, and then tucked the feather between her toes, holding it there so she could speak. She figured that she ought to at least congratulate Bloomsprout on her new name.

"Heyo there," she called, her tone informal, and attempting to be upbeat.

Bloomsprout looked up from the heather and turned to look at Sorrelfrost. The older cat had been a queen when she was a kit in the nursery, but they had never talked much.

"Hi, Sorrelfrost." She greeted her back, her voice lacking the usual enthusiasm and joy it had had before her parent's passing. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, I'm..." the she-cat hesitated, biting her lower lip. "You see, I'm..." She tried again, before taking a breath, and then her thoughts flowed out of her in a rush, "I'm trying to find Emberstar's grave because it was my father in-law's dying wish that I return her feather to her grave and so I've got to find said grave and deliver said feather but I can't exactly remember where the grave is," she rambled, before looking suitably embarrassed. "Sorry. You didn't need to hear all that."

Bloomsprout shrugged. "I was the one who asked." She pointed out. "Who's your father-in-law?" The warrior asked curiously, trying to remember. Sorrelfrost's mate had been Fidgetspark, but besides that she was unsure who Fidgetspark's parents were.

"Blazefoot," she mewed simply, her word short, attempting to be brisk, but the simplicity of her speech patterns was an attempt to mask the underlying anguish that she felt about his dxxth. Why hadn't she spent more time with him?

"Oh, him. I don't think I ever talked to him but I've seen him around- or I did." Bloomsprout paused. She wasn't used to talking to cats about this kind of thing and wasn't quite sure how to react now that she knew you couldn't simply choose to be happy. "Uh, well, sorry for asking then. And that it happened.. and stuff." She mewed awkwardly.

"I'm sorry too. Particularly because I don't think I ever knew him as well as I could have. " She shook her head slightly. "But let's not dwell on our regrets," she continued, sensing Bloomsprout's awkwardness. "You got your name, that's cool, yeah?"

#### **Helping Mallardripple**

Mallardripple was out in the territory collecting Marigold and horsetail. They were going to need lots and lots of those herbs because of all the cats who had been injured in the badger attack. He stared around the flat patch of moorland he was collecting in and sighed. He was so worried they were going to run out of herbs and cats were going to miss out on treatment. He shuffled his paws. In his race to get outside he hadn't remembered to take his thyme this morning and he was starting to feel anxious, overly anxious. Bloomsprout was walking across WindClan moor, stepping through the wide stretch of grass and stalks of heather. Mixed in near the young warrior was smaller yellow and orange flowers, hidden below the towering purple flowers. Marigold. Bloomsprout did not see these herbs, but even if she had, she wouldn't have thought to collect them as she had no use for them as a warrior.

Mallardripple looked up and spotted Bloomsprout "B-Bloomsprout? Cu-Could you come here a-and help m-me with something?" He called out.

Bloomsprout turned head in the direction of Mallardripple's usual stuttering voice. "Help with what?" She asked, beginning to walk over.

"I-I need you to he-help me carry and pi-pick some herbs. We-We're running low due t-to the badger a-attack." He mewed, flicking his tail towards his pile of marigold and horsetail "Yu-You know what cobwebs look l-like right? Cu-Could you find me some o-of those?"

"Of course I know what cobwebs look like." Bloomsprout surprised herself by giving a small laugh. She hadn't done so for a while- not since her parents had gone to StarClan. But still- of /course/ she'd known what cobwebs were. Even a kit would know that, and she herself had been injured in the badger attack as well which made the knowledge even more profound. "I can, but where do you usually find them?"

"Everywhere. Cu-Collect them wi-with a stick." He instructed, snipping off the marigold flowers he was around, leaving just enough so that they would grow back.

Bloomsprout nodded and glanced around for a stick. The shortage of trees made it harder to find one, but after a bit she found one and began staring at the ground as she walked, dragging the stick across in hope of picking up a cobweb. Mallardripple wrapped the marigold in a leaf and the horsetail in a separate leaf. He grabbed a nearby stick and stuck it in the bush and ran it along the leaves, collecting the cobwebs.

A few cobwebs had caught on Bloomsprout's stick. "How many do you need?"

"A-As many as possible. W-We can hide them under t-this bush if we ca-can't carry them all."

Bloomsprout nodded and continued gathering cobwebs on the stick until it could not fit any more of them.

"Nu-Now. Stick them tu-to your pelt s-so you don't have tu-to carrying them." Mallardripple mewed, sticking the cobwebs he had collected to his own pelt.

Bloomsprout pried the cobwebs off the stick with her claw and stuck them onto her pelt, setting the stick on the ground. "Is that all?"

"Fu-For now." Mallardripple mewed, picking up the leaf wrap of marigold "C-Can you grab the o-other one?" He pushed the horsetail wrap towards her.

Bloomsprout nodded and took the horsetail wrap in her jaws, awaiting further instruction from Mallardripple.

#### **Visiting the Lake of the Attack**

A young warrior walked across the moor, her paws flicking small droplets of water off the long grass and heather stalks as she moved. The sky was covered with gray clouds, but not so many that the blue could not be seen behind it. Bloomsprout felt the rain trickle onto her pelt but didn't pay much notice to her as her mind was elsewhere. She was going to visit the lake the badger attacked her parents- she felt ready now. She had sent one of the badgers who had attacked the nursery to whatever badgers had instead of StarClan, and felt it wouldn't be as terrifying and saddening to be reminded of the first attack she had witnessed. Besides, rain had fallen a few times since it had happened, so the scent of the badger was sure to be completely washed away by now. Magpiechirp was about to go back to camp after an unsuccessful hunt. However, as he was plodding through the thick grass he noticed the she-cat walking through the rain. His dingy ears perked and he skipped over to see what she was doing out in the rain.

"Hi!" he caught up with Bloomsprout after a moment. "Whatcha doing in the rain?" he asked with a smile, his large amber eyes scanning the she-cat. He hoped she was okay.

Bloomsprout looked up from the droplets of water on the grass she had been staring at at the sound of Magpiechrip's voice. "Oh, hi, Magpiechirp." She recognized the older warrior, a bit startled as she hadn't smelled him coming. "I'm just going to Cloud Lake- what're you doing?" She asked, not mentioning what had happened at the lake.

Magpiechirp had covered himself in the smell of heather while hunting, so he radiated quite a flowery smell once close. "I don't know, I was hunting but wasn't having much luck," he explained with a hardened smile. "I didn't know there was a lake in the territory," his ears perked up, "I'm new here so I'm still learning about the territory."

"Oh, you are?" She tipped her head slightly, curious. "Were you a loner before? Or a kittypet?" Bloomsprout guessed, the flowery scent catching her nose as Magpiechirp stopped in front of her. She glanced in the direction of the lake. They were close enough to see the cascading Thunder Falls and the willow tree on the shore of Cloud Lake. The willow tree. That was where her parents had gotten to shore after being pushed off the top of the waterfall.

"A loner," he explained simply, though he was a bit apprehensive to reveal such a thing. The tom looked around and suddenly seemed to notice the h u g e waterfall and willow tree. "Oh, woah!" he gasped, taken aback by the beauty of the cascade. "I see why you would want to go there!" he exclaimed with fervent eyes, "it looks gorgeous just from here!"

"Well, I actually have a different reason." She gave a small laugh at the older warrior's enthusiasm. Bloomsprout supposed he was right- she'd never gone to the lake very often, even before the attack. Bloomsprout's eyes flicked across the scene a bit in the distance. She'd never payed much attention to it either, at the rare times the warrior had been there. Now, staring at it, she could see what Magpiechrip meant. "But yeah, it does. I don't go here often."

Magpiechirp cocked his head, unsure of what Bloomsprout was talking about. "Well, I hope it's for a happy reason!" he beamed, straining his ears to take in the sound of water crashing into the lake. He wondered if there were any fish in the pool since even if he didn't know how to fish, maybe WindClan cats could teach him. With a sigh, he trotted along, unsure of whether he was intruding on whatever Bloomsprout was doing.

Bloomsprout only shrugged as an answer before scenting the air, searching for any remaining scent of the badger. Nothing, just lingering scents of cats who had been there recently, along with Magpiechirp's fresh scent. Her amber eyes lingered on the shore next to the willow tree. The young warrior tensed. If she was going to do this, she was going to do this all the way. She began walking along the lake's shore in the direction of the willow tree, her steps reluctant and becoming slower as she grew closer. Magpiechirp just bounced along, completely oblivious to what Bloomsprout was going through. His muffled paw steps could be heard in the damp grass. What a lovely little spot to visit, he thought to himself happily. Bloomsprout stood in front of where the shore of the willow apprehensively. She glanced back as Magpiechirp to see how far away he was before taking a breath and putting a single paw on the rocky ground of the willow tree. Magpiechirp just bounced along, completely oblivious to what Bloomsprout was going through. His muffled paw steps could be heard in the damp grass. What a lovely little spot to visit, he thought to himself happily. Bloomsprout stood in front of where the shore of the willow apprehensively. She glanced back as Magpiechirp to see how far away he was before taking a breath and putting a single paw on the rocky ground of the willow tree.

#### **Padwish's Confession**

Padwish was sitting in camp, eating a mouse quietly. So much has changed, she thought, licking her lips as she sat up. She glanced around camp, pulling out a long-lost memory when she was a kit, playing in the snow with her sister. She sighed. So much has changed. Bloomsprout walked into camp with a rabbit in her jaws. She had been visiting Cloud Lake again to try to get over the attack on her parents. On the way back she had seen the rabbit and had decided to catch it since it was there. Padwish looked up, swallowing the overwhelming joy she might’ve once felt as a kit or apprentice. This was not the time for feelings. She was loyal to her clan, and her clan alone. Padwish looked down and the remains of her mouse, but she didn’t feel like finishing it anymore. A knot a formed in her stomach, her cheeks burning. She sunk her claws into the ground. She wasn’t an apprentice anymore. Pushing away the mouse, she stood up, her tail swinging as she turned to her friend.

''Hello, Bloomsprout,'' she said. Padwish’s chest filled up with a feeling of embarrassment and guilt. She had been so far away ever since her mentor died, and her new place as a warrior hadn’t helped.

She placed the rabbit in the prey pile before turning to her friend. "Hi, Padwish." The young warrior mewed back, her voice a bit more cheerful than usual although a hint of sadness remained from her trip to the place of the attack. "I just got back from Cloud Lake."

Padwish nodded, gazing into Bloomsprout’s eyes, an amber pool of emotion, vast as Silverpelt. it was like she was looking at the sky, watching the sun set. she swallowed, tearing her gaze away. ''Oh, nice,'' She said, her voice flat and devoid of any emotion. Of course Bloomsprout didn’t feel it back, she thought, her paws tingling. she never had, and never would. She had felt this way since she was a kit, and Bloomsprout had never noticed.

Bloomsprout looked at her friend curiously. She really wasn't good at this kind of thing- but she could tell her friend was hiding something. "Padwish?" Bloomsprout started, fidgeting with her paws awkwardly. She'd never been good with helping others with emotions. "Are you.. okay? I mean, you just seem kind of off. I don't know how to explain it but I just..." She trailed off, grasping for things to say. "I don't know, I just want to make sure."

Padwish lashed her tail again. ''I'm fine,'' she snapped, her voice sharper than intended. She turned away, her face burning with embarrassment. Bloomsprout probably pitied her for her pain. *Stop acting like a kit,* she told herself. *Nobody will want a kit for a leader.* Her back still turned, she took a deep breath and repeated, ''I'm fine."

Bloomsprout tensed at Padwish's tone. Was she mad at her? "Why are you acting so... different?" She asked. What had she done wrong? "You say you're fine but you don't /seem/ fine. I've been there now. So have you- so I know you aren't. Stop lying and tell me." The warrior demanded. She obviously wasn't getting anywhere by just asking, so this was her new tactic.

Padwish let out a shaky breath, her eyes filling up with tears. ''It’s fine. I’m fine. I'm just a little overwhelmed by being a warrior.'' she mumbled. ''My feelings are none of your business."

Bloomsprout frowned. Padwish wouldn't be acting like this if it was just because she was overwhelmed. "You're my friend- my /only/ friend besides my brother. So, yes, they are." She protested. Confronting Padwish about it didn't seem to be working- or pushing for answers. She sighed quietly before speaking again. "Fine, you don't have to tell me." Bloomsprout gave in and sat next to Padwish, unsure what to say. She /really/ was not good at this kind of thing. Maybe a distraction? "Do you want to come hunting with me?"

Padwish let out a soft sigh. ''Sure. Just... not by the endless salt lake.''

She swallowed down any emotion, standing up. What was once sadness flecked with little speaks of anger was now replaced with a blank, tired look in her eyes. She didn’t make eye contact with her friend, looking down at her paws instead. Despite her seemingly relaxed position, tired and almost like her had given up, her shoulders slumped Padwish would jump at any sort of noise. Whenever a cat would come near, her fur would raise and she would flatten her ears slightly, taking on a look of defense and hostility. She stayed further away from Bloomsprout, too. Everything that was once in her, her complete happiness and love for the world, seemed to had drained out of her. She trailed her claw in the dirt. Where it went, even she didn’t know. Bloomsprout tensed at Padwish's words and sucked in a small breath quietly. Not by the Endless Salt Lake? It would make more sense if she had said Cloud Lake, because of Poppyblaze, but Endless Salt Lake was what Bloomsprout associated with the time Padwish had seen her there grieving and they had sat together in a comftorable silence. Was that what Padwish had said that for? Had Bloomsprout done something wrong?

She gave a small nod and looked at her paws as she said "Okay." Bloomsprout slowly stood and took a step forward, looking back to make sure Padwish was coming.

Padwish gave a small nod to signify she was following, her gaze quickly flitting away. Her heart pounded in her ears as she padded after Bloomsprout. What /was/ wrong? Why was she acting do different, even to her friend? She shook her head. It wasn’t a question that was even worth considering. She parted her jaws slightly to taste the air, and blinked as several different smells hit her. She struggled to pull them apart in her mind. *Stupid,* she scolded herself. *You’ve spent so much time grieving that you’ve forgotten how to be a warrior. S*he bit her lip and continued on, following Bloomsprout. The two reached the bottom of the hill of camp and padded into the territory. Perhaps if they got away from camp, where all the other cats were, she would think of something, and finally figure out how to help? She didn't like seeing Padwish like this, or how she was acting to her. She'd already lost her parents, all she had left was her brother and Padwish. But with the way her friend was acting.. it was as if she didn't even have her anymore either. After some time, the two reached far enough across the moor that the camp was out of sight.

"Padwish?" She asked, unsure of what she wanted to say. After a moment's pause, she went on. "Are you... I mean, is this because of me? Did /I/ do something? Because you said you didn't want to go near the Endless Salt Lake, and I've never been there other than the time with you so..." She trailed off.

Padwish looked away. ''No, there’s just not very good hunting by the Endless Salt Lake. It’s not about you.'' She felt the same knot of guilt build up in her chest like it always did. She pawed at the ground. ''Are we going hunting, or do you just want to chat?'' She asked, the question coming out sharper than she had intended. She flicked her tail, smelling the air again. She turned away from Bloomsprout and towards the general prey-scent.

"Oh. Right." She nodded and shifted her paws awkwardly. Now that she said it, it seemed obvious. Of course prey wouldn't go around the Endless Salt Lake much. Bloomsprout mentally shook her head in attempt to clear her thoughts. The way she was acting was just making this even more awkward. "Sure, let's hunt." She turned the direction Padwish was facing and moved to catch up with her before stopping and slowing to match her pawsteps.

Padwish glanced away from Bloomsprout, slowing down as she neared the scent. She crouched, touching her friend lightly with her tail, which sent a strange shiver down her spine. Padwish ignored it and locked eyes with the prey before pouncing. She looked up in surprise as the prey jumped away, sending up a shower of birds. She watched them flock to the tree, covering it like feathery leaves. Her eyes widened as they began their song, harmonizing a simple melody. She was frozen, only her tail twitching occasionally. She stood there, shaking as she lifted her muzzle towards the air, as if trying to reach the song. She parted her muzzle, and, closing her eyes, began to sing. A small smile began to spread across Bloomsprout's muzzle at the noise. She glanced over at Padwish, remembering the first time they'd met. Both of them had been kits, and it had been soon after Padwish was born. She couldn't speak at that time, no, but she could sing. And Bloomsprout had tried to sing right along with her, although she was way out of tune. To bring back that moment, Bloomsprout opened her mouth and began copying her friend's sounds. They were just as bad as before, but they brought back happy memories of when times were simpler, and that's what counted.

Padwish sniffled, hanging her head. ''I'm sorry, '' she said, her voice quickly growing to a wail. ''You don’t deserve this. After all you’ve been through, and to stick by me... '' she looked up at her friend, and through the tears and guilt, something warm spread inside her. The same familiar tingling sensation came back to her paws as she trailed off, looking into her friend’s eyes. ''Bloomsprout, I..." she swallowed. ''I don’t know how to say this, but I ... I like you more than a friend.'' she said. ''And don’t think i’m forcing you to like me back, because that’s not what this is,'' she added quickly. ''I just... wanted you to know. So there would be no more secrets.''

Bloomsprout's eyes widened, and for once, she was speechless. *Padwish* liked her? As more than a friend? She opened her mouth as if to say something but then closed it, unsure of how to answer. "I..." Padwish was a great friend, she really was, but Bloomsprout had never thought of her in... *that* way. "Um, well I kind of. Don't? I mean I /don't/ like you as more than a friend?" She said it as a question, stumbling on the 'more than a friend' part. "I mean you're a good friend and everything." She corrected quickly. "But I've just never really thought of you like that." Had she? Not really, but what if she had and hadn't realized it? She took a breath. "Can I just... think about it?"

She smiled. ''Of course, Bloomsprout. I totally get it. I just ... wanted to tell you.'' A pit of worry opened up in her stomach, and Padwish struggled to close it. *What if she doesn’t like me back and doesn't want to be my friend because of it? What if she doesn’t like girls? What if-* Padwish forced herself to stop. None of those were the Bloomsprout she had known since a kit. Sure, Bloomsprout had changed a lot, especially since all of the deaths, but there was something about her. Something that would never change. The way she made Padwish’s paws tingle and she heart beat faster. The way she seemed to light up the whole world when Padwish thought she was living in darkness. She heaved a lovesick sigh. At least Bloomsprout knew now.

Bloomsprout let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding at the smile. "Okay, thanks." She paused, trying to think of a change of subject. "So, want to /actually/ hunt now?" Bloomsprout asked with a smile, a hint of cheerfulness in her voice. "We keep talking instead of hunting." She gave a small laugh as she lifted her nose slightly, scenting the air for prey. Catching the scent of a rabbit, she turned her head in the direction it was. "There's a rabbit over there."

Padwish nodded. ''Y-yeah.'' She looked away from Bloomsprout, her fur feeling hot as she laughed along with her friend. She sniffed the air and nodded, looking over towards where Bloomsprout’s gaze was pointed, she dropped into a hunter’s crouch, sliding up besides her fellow warrior. ''So, how do you want to do this?'' She murmured in a low voice, keeping her eyes on the rabbit.

"I could circle around and chase it to you, or the other way around. Either way." She whispered back, crouching next to Padwish and staring at the rabbit.

''Let’s do that.'' She replied, her tail quivering slightly. Licking her lips, she looked over at Bloomsprout. She was so smart and kind ... Padwish blinked. *No, you’re focusing on hunting,* she told herself.

Bloomsprout nodded and slowly began moving in a wide circle around the rabbit. She was upwind, so the rabbit didn't scent her as she moved.

Padwish watched her silently, waiting to pounce. *Any moment now...* she thought.

The rabbit froze as she got closer. Bloomsprout pounced, purposely missing, and the rabbit raced forward, straight towards Padwish in it's panic. Padwish leapt forwards, her sharp teeth gleaming in the sunlight, and pounced on the rabbit. The last the the rabbit saw before it died was Padwish’s malicious eyes and sharp, glittering smile. The rabbit fell limp in Padwish’s paws with a loud crack and she sat back on her haunches, satisfied.

''That was a great plan,'' Padwish remarked. ''And it worked!'' She looked up at Bloomsprout, licking her paw and beginning to clean the blood off of her face.

Bloomsprout grinned at the small victory and ran back over to Padwish with a nod. "I did it with my mother once, when I was an apprentice." She recalled. "That's how I knew to do it." A small pang went through her at the mention of her mother and she blinked a few times, but it was soon replaced with the joy of happy memories with her. She gave a small smile, relishing the memories and the joy that came with them, and the way she could talk about her mother now that came with acceptance of what had happened.

Padwish smiled. Suddenly, her chest cleared of all the guilt that was hanging on it, like someone had swept away cobwebs from a hollow tree. She let out a long breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding in. ''Poppyblaze ... she taught me everything i know now,'' she said. ''If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know where I would be.'' she sat down, shaking her head slowly. ''I miss her a lot, but if she hadn’t died, who knows when I would’ve experienced death. I wouldn’t have been ready for my father’s death-,'' she blinked back tears, biting her lip. ''A-and i’m glad for that. She h-helped a lot.'' She swallowed a lump in her throat, looking up at Bloomsprout with big eyes glistening with tears.

Bloomsprout nodded with a smile at her friend's first words but stiffened later on. "Your father.. he...?" She mewed, almost afraid to ask as she shifted her paws, unsure what to do as she saw her friend's eyes shining with tears. She shook her head mentally. Obviously Padwish's father had gone to StarClan if she'd mentioned it. "He did, didn't he? I didn't realize, sorry for bringing Poppyblaze up... and stuff."

''Y-yeah,'' Padwish nodded. ''And it’s fine, i don’t really mind.'' She dropped her head again, tracing in the dirt with her claw. ''Everybody’s dying. i can’t keep track of it anymore, and i don’t know if i want to try.'' She let her tail fall to the ground as she lifted up her paw, staring at the dirt. ''So much has changed,'' she breathed. She sighed. if her father hadn’t left for a reason, then why was he gone? Who took him from her? Whoever did it, why? Why did they take lives? She blinked. she wondered if prey had a StarClan, too. *We’re killing off them,* she thought. *It’s just a hierarchy of death.*

Bloomsprout paused, trying to decide what to say. "Yeah, I guess so," she agreed, glancing at the marks Padwish had made in the dirt. "But there's nothing we can really do about it. It just... happens." She recalled the badger attack on her parents. A question popped into her mind and she hesitated before asking. Was Padwish okay with talking about this? Bloomsprout didn't even know how far ago it had happened, it could be too soon. "How did it happen? And when?" She asked, curious to know if it had been at the fault of a badger too. Badgers had taken so much recently. Why? Why now? What was there to gain from it, when they lost some of their own as well?

Padwish shifted her position, looking uncomfortable. "I don’t know how it happened. I wasn’t paying attention, because i was too busy grieving for Poppyblaze,'' she said. ''I should’ve been with him when he died.'' She didn’t cry at the memory of her father, just sat there numbly. She felt hollow, like her body didn’t have any more tears to let out. She didn’t know how her own father died. *Actions have consequences,* she reminded herself. Y*ou spent so much time grieving, you forgot about your family. and your friends,* She added, looking up at Bloomsprout. Her face grew hotter. She was so used to it now, looking at her. Every time when she was an apprentice, when they would train together. She smiled to herself, relishing the memories.

Bloomprout nodded at Padwish's first sentence. "I wasn't really paying attention to stuff either. I didn't pay attention to how you or my brother and sister felt about what happened to my parents at all." She paused. "I told Cloudstreak about that, and she said that when you're grieving you don't pay attention to stuff as much. And that there was no reason to be guilty about it. She said it happened to her, and she did the same thing." Bloomsprout recalled, hoping that would help if Padwish felt guilty about it. Upon seeing Padwish's smile to herself, Bloomsprout smiled too. Hopefully this meant Padwish wasn't too upset. "What're you smiling about?"

''Hm? Oh, nothing.'' Padwish blushed a little and shifted her paws again.

She stood up, gazing out into the moor. It was good advice, she had to admit. it wasn’t useful anymore, though, she noted. She had dug herself into such a deep hole, built such strong walls around her that she couldn’t contact anyone else. She had to climb out of the hole herself, break down those walls. And it was hard, for sure. But once she let some sunlight in- she turned to look at Bloomsprout- it was much easier. Her mind flashed back to the birds, how they had all lifted off at the same time. she sighed, smiling at Bloomsprout and turning her attention to her friend.

"So, wanna race?'' Padwish said, a hint of challenge in her voice.

Bloomsprout grinned at the challenge. "Where to?" She didn't bother agreeing as she felt that was implied by her question. She scanned around them. Camp was behind them. The only other place they could race to would be Cloud Lake. "Cloud Lake, or camp?"

''Well... '' she thought for a moment. ''I mean, you wouldn’t mind going to Cloud Lake, would you?'' she asked, swallowing. she hadn’t gone to Cloud Lake since Poppyblaze had died, and a knot of anxiety was starting to appear in her stomach. She took a deep breath. if she really wanted to get over Poppyblaze’s death, she had to do this sometime. Better now then wait until she had fallen down her hole of grief again.

"No, I wouldn't mind. I've been going there every day for a little less than a moon to try to get over what happened. So far it's working." She shrugged. "Would you mind?" Bloomsprout asked, noticing Padwish's change of mood. Going to Cloud Lake had helped her accept what happened and remember happy memories, and be happy that she'd had them instead of be sad because they were gone.

Padwish shook her head, forcing a smile. ''No, if it’s okay with you, it’s okay with me.'' If Bloomsprout could do it, then surely she could, too, right? And she had said it helped. Maybe it was for the best. She crouched down, preparing to run. ''I’m ready when you are,'' she said.

Bloomsprout crouched, putting one front leg forward in preparation. "Three..." She counted, "two... one..." Bloomsprout paused, keeping Padwish in suspense so she'd have the element of surprise. "Go!" She finished, immediately stretching her other legs out and taking off, heading towards Cloud Lake.

Padwish pushed off from the dirt, slipping slightly but regaining her balance. Pushing forwards, her flank brushed against Bloomsprout’s, the grey contrasting with the white.

''You so... sure that... you’re gonna... win now?'' she panted, struggling to pull forwards.

Her paws stung as they thudded against the ground, flinging up bits of dirt and grass. She smelled the lake before she saw it, the fresh smell of the salty waters. Then the clear shimmering body of water appeared, and Padwish gasped in deep breaths of air, feeling it fill up her lungs and pushing her forwards. Bloomsprout growled playfully and competitively as Padwish caught up to her, her legs stretching as far and fast as she could. Her amber eyes were locked on the reflective lake in front of them as she took in panting breaths. She leaned forward, trying to gain on Padwish's speed. Padwish started to get ahead of her friend, smirking. She knew she would win. What should she say when she got to cloud lake? *''You see, you never should’ve challenged me.''* no, that sounded too unlike her. *''Nice race!''* no, that was too polite. Maybe- Padwish’s paws slipped underneath her and she thudded to the ground, her jaw snapping closed. Shaking her head, she scrambled to her feet and started running again, praying that she would catch up to Bloomsprout. her jaw burned from the fall but Padwish used to pain to move forwards. dirt flew up behind her. She pushed forwards and just as her paws sunk in the wet sand surrounding the lake, she caught up to Bloomsprout. ''Tie!'' she panted.

Bloomsprout skidded to a halt just as Padwish reached the lake, pushing against the sand by doing so and causing it to fall over onto her paws. She grinned at her friend.

"Tie!" Bloomsprout confirmed in between panting breaths. After she caught her breath, she looked over at her. "I saw you fall- are you okay?" She asked, just to make sure. The fact that Padwish kept running made it seem that she was, but better safe than sorry.

''Mhm!'' Padwish said, still trying to catch her breath. ''I just slipped. Otherwise i totally would’ve won!'' She flashed Bloomsprout a smile and padded towards the start of the lake, letting the waves touch her paws as she stared out into the body of water, still panting slightly. ''Bloomsprout?'' she asked turning to her friend. ''Before i told you, did you... did you know i had feelings for you?'' her heart twisted up at the sight of Bloomsprout. she was so close.

"No you wouldn't have!" She protested, but a grin was spread across her muzzle and she knew that, really, Padwish would have won. How else would she have been able to keep up with her even after falling? As Padwish moved closer to the lake, Bloomsprout followed, their paws leaving marks beside each other as they moved. She dipped a paw in the shimmering clear water, ripples spreading across. Captivated by the water, she didn't look up until Padwish spoke again. She turned to look at the gray she-cat, the smile leaving her face momentarily. "Well..." She began. "Not really, I couldn't tell. Why? Did you not want me to know before?" Bloomsprout asked, a little unsure about where this conversation was going, and why Padwish had asked.

Padwish shrugged, looking out into the lake again. ''I just didn’t want it to ruin our friendship. I really thought it would and... you just went on with life like it never happened.'' she swallowed. ''It’s not like i want you to think about it that much-'' Lie. ''-I just want to make sure that you didn’t know before i said it, and that’s why you didn’t really care? '' Padwish didn’t mean it to, but the ending sounded like a question. her paws sunk in the sand as the waved lapped over them. Why had she told Bloomsprout? The picture in her mind kept pushing over. she told Bloomsprout, and Bloomsprout, looking at her with those beautiful eyes of hers, accepted and had feelings for her back. then they would live happily ever after as mates. maybe even adopt kits. Padwish sighed. Bloomsprout would be such a good mother. Just... never to Padwish’s kits.

Bloomsprout was a bit surprised by the answer. She cared- of course she did. But that didn't mean she had to act like it. "Padwish..." She trailed off. "I /do/ care, more than you realize. It makes things way more complicated than I thought it would be, especially now that I have to start thinking about how /I/ feel." She paused. "You know how I used to think I could choose to be happy? Well, now I know I can't. But I can choose to distract myself, or to keep acting like things are normal when stuff like this happens so that stuff won't have to change much outside my head. Not that I can't be sad and stuff, but I don't have to let that affect anything. And besides, this isn't about being sad like /that,/ like how it was with my parents. This is more about if we can keep going on like you don't like me while I try to figure out if I do. It sounds kind of confusing, but do you know what I'm trying to say?" Sometimes it was hard for Bloomsprout to put her thoughts and emotions into words. This was one of those times. "And even if I don't like you, I still want to be friends with you, so I'd still try to keep stuff normal."

She nodded. ''Yeah, i get it,'' she said softly. Of course she got it. Bloomsprout was rejecting her. She waded out into the lake more, a single tear dripping down from her eye. The water swirled around her paws as the sun began to drop lower in the sky. She wondered what her father was doing, wherever he was. She hoped he was happier than her as she looked down at her paws, hidden by the water.

Bloomsprout's tail fell to the ground, drooping as she saw Padwish's tear ripple the water. She'd made Padwish cry. A small sapling of guilt planted itself within her, growing larger some as Padwish stood there. Away from her, as if she couldn't stand to be reminded of what Bloomsprout had done. "Padwish, I-" She broke off, unsure of what to say to soften the blow of what Bloomsprout had said. She took a breath before continuing. "I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say. Bloomsprout's head lowered to stare at the floor as she tried to figure out what to do. Did Padwish not want her here? Did she want her to leave?

''There’s nothing for you to be sorry for,'' Padwish said, tracing her paw through the water. ''I should never had told you.'' she sighed, a ripple of guilt passing through her body. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe Bloomsprout wasn’t the right cat for her. Maybe this, maybe that. Was her whole life just one big *maybe*? She wanted some stability, a promise she could hold onto, like the roots of a tree. she turned to Bloomsprout. ''Hey,'' she said, her voice softer. ''It’s not your fault.'' she reached out a paw towards her friend. ''Why don’t we promise each other, that even though i told you about my feelings, we’re never gonna let it ruin our friendship, ever."

Bloomsprout hesitated before walking over to sit next to her friend, touching her tail to Padwish's shoulder. "Okay- I promise. I promise that I won't let it ruin our friendship, even if I end up not liking you back." She promised her agreement, managing a small yet genuine smile at Padwish as some of the guilt sank away, returning to the ground where it could not be seen. It was just a small sapling now, just as it had started as. It was still there, yes, but it had lessened with Padwish's words.

Padwish smiled, her pelt growing hot out of habit. She turned her gaze back to the lake, watching the waves as they calmly swished in the the lake, like soup in a bowl. what was beyond that lake? Surely the world was bigger than just this. Padwish’s head ached just thinking about it. She was insignificant, her problems minuscule compared to those of others. She blinked. But she was important *here*. Her mother cared about her. Her siblings cared about her. Bloomsprout cared about her. Bloomsprout’s eyes trailed across the lake until it stilled on the willow tree. She glanced at Padwish.

“I know you weren’t there when my parent’s went to StarClan, but I just wanted to make sure before going there. Are you okay with going over to the willow tree? That’s where it happened.” She asked Padwish, wondering what her friend’s complex, thoughtful mind was thinking of.

Padwish always seemed to be deep in thought whenever the two of them sat in silence together, as if delving into deeper mysteries of the world that Bloomsprout herself could not seem to fathom. Bloomsprout tended to focus more on the present and recent past, and what was happening *now* and to *her*, instead of thinking of the world in a larger view.

''If it’s alright with you,'' Padwish said, standing up and upsetting the water beneath her.

She turned to where Bloomsprout was looking, unsheathing and sheathing her claws anxiously. It wasn’t just that they had died there. It was that the memories still clung to the place, like mist on a cat’s fur. Her fur prickled with anxiety and anticipation as she silently scolded herself. *If Bloomsprout can do it, then so can you.* But she knew it was just to take her mind off of the fear that was gripping her tighter and tighter. she swallowed, turning back to her friend.

''The willow tree is so pretty, isn’t it? If I ever die, I’d want to die in a place as pretty as that." She struggled to keep her voice from shaking, to keep her eyes from darting from place to place. She hoped Bloomsprout couldn’t sense the fear that was holding onto her.

Bloomsprout stood soon after Padwish rose, rippling the water as she moved. She tore her eyes away from the swaying branches of the willow tree as Padwish spoke, answering with a nod as the two reached the shore. Bloomsprout's gaze flicked from rock to rock on the shore where the willow tree lay and she turned back to her friend.

"Well- let's start going, then." She mewed, unsure what to say as she took a step in the direction of the rocks. Bloomsprout sensed the scent of fear coming from her friend but she didn't comment as she didn't know anything she could say that would help. Instead, she focused on the soft, rushing sound of the Thunder Falls crashing into the lake, letting the sound fill her ears as the two cats ascended closer to the willow tree.

#### **A** **Mentor's Advice**

Bloomsprout was laying on a rock outside the apprentice's den, absentmindedly dragging her claws through the dirt and grass. She was processing events that had happened the day before- she'd learned that Padwish's father had gone to StarClan, and of something else. Bloomsprout's best, and perhaps *only* friend besides her mentor and brother, *liked* her, as more than a friend? Bloomsprout had always liked Padwish, of course, but never in *that* way. Just as a friend. Nothing like this had ever happened to Bloomsprout before, this was her first time experiencing anything related to this at all. It was... different. Strange. Someone really thought she was that great? Enough to like her in that way? That was not something Bloomsprout had expected during her conversation with Padwish, or at all, really. She'd never though about this kind of thing either, so it was all very sudden. Cloudstreak padded out of the medicine den, planning to get something to eat. That was until she spotted Bloomsprout a little way away, looking deep in thought, and somewhat troubled. Tilting her head slightly, she wondered if she should go over to see if Bloomsprout was okay. If she was, well, she was. But if she wasn't okay then Cloudstreak might be able to help. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to go over, she made her way towards her former apprentice.

"Bloomsprout," she called out softly, not wanting to startle her, "Are you okay?" Once she had reached her, Cloudstreak sat down and wrapped her tail over her paws.

Bloomsprout looked up and sat up on the rock. "Oh, hi, Cloudstreak. Yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" She asked, a bit surprised at the question. Oh- right. Her sister, Fireflyburn. She could be upset about that. Bloomsprout shifted her paws a bit guilitly. She hadn't been nearly as upset about Fireflyburn going to StarClan as she had her parents- the two of them had never had the best relationship. In fact, Bloomsprout had never spoken to Fireflyburn without getting into an argument. Fireflyburn always thought Bloomsprout was annoying, and sometimes even tripped her and acted like she didn't. Mostly, Bloomsprout just felt she'd missed an opportunity to have a good relationship with her sister. "If you mean Fireflyburn... that's complicated. I don't really miss her like I did with my parents. I was thinking about Padwish, I wasn't sad." Bloomsprout assured her mentor.

Cloudstreak looked at Bloomsprout, attempting to hide the sympathy in her eyes. "Losing a family member is not always as hard as you think it might be. Especially if you didn't get along too well." She was trying not to sound as if she was prying - which she wasn't - and just hoped it would pay off. "Don't feel guilty about it." Cloudstreak advised, though it was a little hypocritical of her. She always felt guilty about everything, even slightly wrong, she did. She had been working on it, but it wasn't necessarily paying off. Realising her thoughts were wondering, she turned them back to Bloomsprout. "As for Padwish, I'm not sure what you are talking about." she paused, wondering if she whould ask, or just leave it. It most likely wasn't any of her business, after all. Besides, she had only talked to Padwish once, when she was an apprentice and so didn't know her well. No- she wouldn't ask about it.

Bloomsprout nodded at Cloudstreak's words about Fireflyburn. "We didn't get along, she was always tripping me or something. She thought I was annoying." She agreed. "The one time I tried to get us to get along, she argued with me again. Even though I was /trying/ not to get into an argument." Bloomsprout elaborated. At the Padwish part, she looked away, her pelt growing warm at the half-question. "You wouldn't know," She mewed. "I mean... other than about how Brackenfur, her father, went to StarClan and stuff. But that's not what I'm talking about." Bloomsprout paused, trying to decipher if Padwish would be okay with Bloomsprout telling Cloudstreak about it. Cloudstreak was the only guardian-like figure in her life now that her parents were gone, so if she was going to tell anyone older than her about this, it would be her. She could also tell Puddlespirit, but what would he know about it? It wasn't like he'd been involved in anything like this before. After a moment's consideration, she looked back at Cloudstreak and mumbled something indiscernible.

Cloudstreaks cat-eyebrows furrowed slightly, not quite catching what Bloomsprout had said. Nevertheless, she didn't ask as she decided that it could sound rude. Why did she have to worry so much about offending people? It annoyed her. Though perhaps it was a good thing. Sighing, almost inaudibly, she let a tiny smile show on her face, "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to. I won't pry. Though If you do want to tell me, then I will listen. And perhaps I'd be able to help. But I won't force you to say anything." Cloudstreak wanted to make sure that Bloomsprout didn't feel forced to say anything, and maybe she was repeating herself a little, but she didn't mind.

Bloomsprout nodded. "Padwish... said she likes me?" She stumbled on the word 'likes' a bit, phrasing it as a question to show her confusion. "I don't know if you knew, but we're friends. We have been since kits. But I didn't think she liked me like *that*... you know?" Bloomsprout mewed a bit awkwardly. She'd always been bad at helping cats when they were angry, or sad, and it turned out this was another thing she didn't know what to do with.

Cloudstreak had to hold back a chuckle. It was strange, how herself and Bloomsprout had been through the same things. Both losing their parents, and now this. "I know exactly." she replied. Guilt showed in her eyes as she remembered the day when she had rejected Cloverfoot. It was the guiltiest she had ever felt, but she had gotten over it. And, if Bloomsprout /was/ feeling guilty, Cloudstreak was sure she would get over it too. "It's hard.. dealing with a situation like that." she mewed quietly.

Bloomsprout nodded. "She asked me if I knew before she told me, and when I asked her why she wanted to know she said I was acting like nothing happened. So I explained why, and then..." She trailed off, remembering the ripples that had come from Padwish's tear on the waters of Cloud Lake. As if Bloomsprout had... rejected her. Which, in a way, she had. The sapling of guilt that had planted in her after seeing Padwish's tear grew a little larger. Not large enough for the flower in the sapling to begin to bloom, but still larger. "I also said that I didn't know how I felt. And that I would think about it." She stared at her paws.

Cloudstreak looked from the ground, up to Bloomsprout. It was strange to see things as the onlooker, instead of being the cat in the actual situation. But nonetheless, despite the guilt that she felt from Cloverfoot, she was going to help Bloomsprout in any way possible without getting distracted by her own problems. "I know it.. must be hard. To see a cat you are friends with get hurt by something you said." she paused, pondering over how to continue, "My advice is to give Padwish some space for a while. That will give her the chance to recover, and you to decide if you feel the same way for her. If you weren't sure then, then it was a good thing to say you will think about it. But you need to understand that Padwish may be a little distant from you for a while." Cloudstreak closed her eyes. It *was* hard to loose your best friend for a few moons. Though she was sure that Bloomsprout would pull through, and hopefully Padwish too.

Give Padwish some space? That would certainly be difficult. Padwish was Bloomsprout's only friend her age other than Puddlespirit now that Sproutpaw was gone. "But..." She started. "When she asked why I was asking normal I told her it was because I could choose not to let it affect my life outside my head, even if I couldn't choose to be happy. That way I could still have moments that are happy even if I'm sad or something." She tried to explain. "Being distant from Padwish wouldn't do that. and I don't think she'd like that either." She paused. "I might be her only friend too, I don't really know for sure, but I think so." After thinking through what she had just said, she quickly added. "I mean you and Puddlespirit are my friends too, but you're my mentor and you're older than me and he's my brother. I meant someone else my age who isn't my sibling."

Cloudstreak nodded, "I understand. Really, I do. The outcome does depend on want you tell her after you have 'thought about it', though. There is no doubt that this situation is tough. But I believe in you, Bloomsprout. I recommend thinking about whether you share the same feelings for Padwish or not, and then talk to her. Communication is important. Explain how you feel, despite the answer. Padwish will probably understand." She was doing one of her speeches again. Hopefully it would pay off. And if her advice /didn't/ pay off. Well... Cloudstreak would feel guilty for most likely the rest of her life.

Bloomsprout nodded. "I'll try." She paused. "Have you ever liked a cat like that? How does it feel?" Bloomsprout asked, trying to see if knowing that would help.

Cloudstreak gulped. She had hoped that that question wouldn't be asked. It was confusing. She didn't know if she did or didn't. The warm feeling she got when she was around Lynxwander *was* strange. But she just didn't know. Hoping she didn't look as confused as she felt, Cloudstreak shook her head slowly. "I.. I'm very sorry. I don't think I can answer that. The matter romance does confuse me. But, I guess it is a confusing thing to feel." She sighed. Her answer didn't help in the slightest.

"Oh." She frowned. That would make things considerably harder. "Thanks anyway," She told her mentor. "And for the rest of the stuff you said. I'll think about it."

Cloudstreak let a small smile show on her face. She felt frustrated that she couldn't help Bloomsprout with that last question, when it was one of the important ones. "I am happy to help." She replied quietly. Cloudstreak stayed silent for a moment, before standing up. She turned to Bloomsprout, a soft smile showing on her features. "I think I have given you all the advice I can," she mewed, "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask. But for now, I'll leave you to think." She felt sorry for the young warrior in front of her. She had been through so much in such a short amount of time and Cloudstreak hoped Bloomsprout would be okay.

## Friends and Family

Padwish - WindClan, she-cat, warrior, friend

Sproutpaw - ShadowClan (loner?), tom, apprentice (loner?), friend

Poppyblaze - WindClan, she-cat, warrior, mother

Eaglespark - WindClan, tom, warrior, father

Fireflyburn - WindClan, she-cat, warrior, sister

Puddlespirit - WindClan, tom, medicine cat, brother

Cloudstreak - WindClan, she-cat, warrior, friend (mentor)