Lightningpaw hadn’t even gotten the chance to look at Applepaw after Tigerstar called a retreat, he’d only seen her huddled shape on the ground as her father and one of the healers crouched beside her. Gingerleap was still covered in cobwebs and poultices when he shakily told Lightningpaw what had happened.

“She was coming at me so fast, I- I had to get her off of me. I didn’t think about how small she was.”

“She could die!” Lightningpaw spat, lurching forward with his hackles raised. “She could die and I’ll never see her again!”

Gingerleap’s expression hardened. He squared his shoulders, and Lightningpaw remembered just how tall he was when he didn’t slouch. “We’re at war, Lightningpaw. Redstar is pushing our borders hard, and Applepaw is his apprentice. There is no space for ThunderClan friendship right now.”

Lightningpaw flicked a curled ear. “I can’t just turn off my feelings.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have become a Clan cat!” Gingerleap snapped. Lightningpaw looked up at him and saw the regret in his eyes, but it didn’t matter. He bit back a betrayed whine and whipped around, pelting into the undergrowth. He ignored his mentor’s calls and whatever apology he was rattling off and ran harder until he spotted the creek marking ThunderClan’s border and skidded to a halt at its edge. Lightningpaw sat and tried to catch his breath, ripping his claws through the grass with a snarl.

I’m a Clan cat. I’m a Clan cat. I belong here just as much as anyone else.

He stared across the creek, where the forest continued just the same as it did on SkyClan’s side of the border. Applepaw had answered all of his questions about ThunderClan when they’d first met; she’d told him later how annoyed she was, but that Lightningpaw had been one of the only cats to be friendly even after she tried to push him away. I would never abandon you, he’d wanted to say. You’re my best friend. My only friend.

The bushes on the other side of the creek rustled. Lightningpaw stood swiftly and tried to keep his trembling under control. It had only been a few days since the battle, and now he was standing at the ThunderClan border.

“I’m alone!” He called when the patrol appeared, headed by a brown-pointed tom. Amberstrike! Applepaw’s father! “You’re just the cat I wanted to see,” he said breathlessly.

Amberstrike looked at him incredulously, wide ears pinned back. The rest of the patrol- a black-and-white molly with curled ears, a white molly, and a brown ticked tabby molly- looked to Amberstrike.

“What business does a SkyClan apprentice have with ThunderClan?” Amberstrike asked.

“You’re Applepaw’s father, right?” Lightningpaw unconsciously took a step forward, jerking back when the patrol bristled. “-Sorry. M-my name’s Lightningpaw. Is Applepaw alive?”

Amberstrike’s eyes flashed with something- shock, anger, sadness, Lightningpaw couldn’t tell. The brown molly growled in the back of her throat. She looks my age, Lightningpaw realized. Snakepaw! That’s her name. She was the one Applepaw’s brother was courting.

“That’s none of your business,” Snakepaw spat. Her pupils were blown.

“Please, I need to know. We’re friends.”

“Applepaw is not friends with SkyClan!”

“She’s friends with me! She’s my best friend!” Lightningpaw cried. “She’s all I have and the last time I saw her she was bleeding out from a wound my mentor gave her!” He stepped forward again, letting his paws sink into the softer dirt. “I have to know if she’s okay, please tell me she’s okay.”

Snakepaw’s hackles were rising steadily until the black-and-white molly positioned herself slightly in front of her, fluffy tail smoothing down Snakepaw’s fur. A mentor calming her apprentice to prevent conflict. Lightningpaw made himself look into Snakepaw’s hazel eyes and prayed she could see his sincerity.

“Applepaw is recovering,” Amberstrike said, voice flat. “She’s okay.” He didn’t sound confident, like when Gingerleap told Lightningpaw he’d be fine after twisting his hind paw. He isn’t sure if she’s okay. When would be the next time he saw Applepaw? A moon? Longer? Would they be warriors before they saw each other next? Would Applepaw even live to become a warrior?

No. No, no, no, she can’t die. This can’t be the last time I hear about her. “Can I see her?”

“What?” The white molly blurted.

“No, who do you think you are?” The black-and-white molly said sternly. Snakepaw glared at him.

Amberstrike raised his tail, and the patrol went silent. He stepped to the edge of the creek and stared at Lightningpaw. “Watch your mouth, SkyClan cat. We’re not letting you trespass to see our wounded apprentice. I don’t care if you’re friends, we’re at war.”

Applepaw, I just want to see you, Lightningpaw lamented, as if StarClan would drop her right in front of him and they could run off to talk and relax like they so rarely got to do. He didn’t have anyone in SkyClan anymore, not after he’d cut Gingerleap off so harshly. He’d have to go back to camp and find an excuse for why he was gone so long. And then he’d get in trouble and be confined to that stupid camp where all he could do was clean and tend to the elders and sit in a tree to try and watch ThunderClan’s territory.

Lightningpaw felt suddenly cold. If Gingerleap found out he had been talking to a patrol, begging to see his ThunderClan friend, Lightningpaw would never be allowed near her again. He was never going to see her, even if she recovered. She’d go to their meeting place at the farm and wonder where he was, wonder if he’d forgotten her.

I would never abandon you. I would never abandon you. You’re my best friend, Applepaw, you’re the only cat that matters to me.

You’re the only cat that matters.

“I want to join ThunderClan.”

ThunderClan’s camp wasn’t much different from SkyClan’s, all things considered. The wall was made of the same ferns, brambles, and yellow flowering bushes, grown into shape around large trees. Amberstrike led the patrol through a tunnel of brambles, opening up into a mossy clearing divided by a small stream, dens built along the camp wall. There were three rock slabs leaning against each other that looked like a meeting spot, and a den built separate from the rest next to the stream.

Cats lounging and milling about stopped and watched the patrol file into camp. Lightningpaw averted his eyes, looking down at his paws.

“We’ll have to speak with Redstar,” Amberstrike said. “Come with me.”

Lightningpaw ignored the whispers around him as he followed Amberstrike to the boulders. As they approached, another set of pawsteps landed in front of them.

“You’ve picked up a stray, I see,” a low, even voice meowed. Amberstrike only hummed in acknowledgement. One paw in front of the other, Lightningpaw entered the leader’s den. Amberstrike sat and tapped the ground next to him. Lightningpaw elected to focus on Amberstrike’s gaze on him rather than Redstar’s, kneading his paws into the stone as he finally stared up at ThunderClan’s leader.

Redstar was a slightly small but muscular ginger point, with broad shoulders and a hard expression. His round eyes were pale blue, shining in the low light of the den, and two thin scars snaked down the side of his neck.

“So,” Redstar said, briefly examining the unsheathed claws on one paw, then looking back to Lightningpaw with one raised brow. “What makes you want to join ThunderClan so soon after our battle with you?”

“I-” Don’t say Applepaw. “I’ve always felt… disconnected. From SkyClan.”

Redstar tilted his head. “That’s right, you were a rogue.”

Lightningpaw nodded. “They took me in, and I’m grateful for that- to be a Clan cat- but I only ever felt close with my mentor, Gingerleap. And even then I could tell it wasn’t the same kind of bond the other apprentices had with their mentors. The battle-” Lightningpaw swallowed, pushing the memories of screeching and bloodshed away. Be convincing, for StarClan’s sake. “After the battle, all I could think about was how SkyClan had failed. And when- when I… talked about it with Gingerleap, he just put me down for questioning their ways.” He wasn’t lying, really, just putting what had happened in a different light. “He said I shouldn’t have become a Clan cat.”

Amberstrike and Redstar stared at him intensely, Redstar with raised eyebrows and Amberstrike giving him an appraising look.

“So I just ran off,” Lightningpaw continued, “and headed for ThunderClan. I- I kind of have a friend here, so I thought I should go to you.”

“A friend?” Redstar meowed, leaning forward with a flick of his tail. “Oh! You’re friends with Applepaw, aren’t you? I’ve seen you two at Gatherings.”

Lightningpaw nodded mutely, unsure of how exactly Redstar felt about their friendship.

“She’s very hurt, you know,” Redstar said.

“I do. Gingerleap was the one that hurt her.”

Redstar held his head at that angle again, slightly tilted and upturned. Does he do that on purpose? “Was that part of your falling out with him? He hurt your friend?”

“Yes.”

“So you’ve chosen Applepaw over SkyClan.”

Lightningpaw felt a chill go down his back. Whatever plan of avoiding the truth he was going for, it wasn’t going to work. “Well, I- it’s part of it, but-”

Redstar sighed and waved dismissively, paw held limp at the joint. He rolled his eyes to look back to Amberstrike. “You trusted him enough to bring him to me, what do you think?”

Amberstrike paused, glancing over at Lightningpaw. There was a shadow of something in his face, but Lightningpaw would have better luck trying to fish a twig out of honey then accurately analyze the tom’s orange eyes. “His story is consistent, and he could have gone to WindClan and still had the protection of the alliance,” Amberstrike said. “I think he’s being genuine.”

“Then I suppose it’s a yes,” Redstar hummed, squinted icy eyes making Lightningpaw’s fur prickle despite his positive tone. “We’ll make it official once I discuss it with my deputy.” He stood, muscles shifting under his pelt and his tail sweeping across the stony floor. “That will be all for now.”

Amberstrike bowed deeply, Lightningpaw following suit after a sharp nudge. He let himself be led out of the den and into the camp clearing as the tortoiseshell deputy- Leafstorm, if he remembered correctly- slid past them. Amberstrike glanced back at Lightningpaw, that same dark look in his eye. It didn't look malicious, not the way his father or unfamiliar Clan cats had stared at him, but it unsettled him nonetheless.

A white kit with dark ginger spots caught sight of him and bounded over, tripping over gangly limbs. "Are you a WindClan cat?" He mewed. "Papa says we're getting new members from WindClan. How fast can you run?"

A black-and-white tom yanked the kit backward, two more kits bouncing alongside him. He had the same curled ears as the molly on Amberstrike's patrol. "Snowkit! You can't run off like that-" He looked up at Lightningpaw and froze. "You're not WindClan."

"I'm- I'm not, sorry," Lightningpaw stammered. He remembered Gingerleap's advice a heartbeat too late, when you meet a new cat, introduce yourself with your name and Clan. "I'm Lightningpaw, I'm a SkyClan apprentice. I'm joining ThunderClan."

"Are you now?" The tom meowed. "Well I'm Hedgefur. You've met Snowkit, and this is Lizardkit and Beechkit." He nodded to a dark ginger tabby and a white kit with gray tabby patches.

“You have our ears, too!” Beechkit mewed.

“They’re pretty,” Lizardkit added.

“Th-thanks,” Lightningpaw replied, flicking an ear self-consciously only for the mollies to squeal delightedly. "Do you have a sister?" He asked Hedgefur. "I saw a cat that looked just like you on the patrol that escorted me."

Hedgefur beamed. "That's Icefang!" His tail flicked back and forth, Beechkit batting at it excitedly. “She’s such a star, isn’t she? She’s super tough, but I was born first-”

“May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Boulders for a Clan meeting!” Redstar’s yowl rang through the camp, cats all around pricking their ears and making their way to the large boulders he was standing on. Redstar looked down at Lightningpaw, jerking his head to the side. After a heartbeat Lightningpaw realized what he wanted, and stepped forward into the gap in front of the Boulders. The clan murmured around him, and he fought to keep his gaze on Redstar.

“Cats of ThunderClan,” Redstar called, “Today we welcome a new member.” He paused as whispers rippled through the crowd. “I’ve spoken with him as well as my deputy, and I’ve decided to make him an apprentice of ThunderClan.” He looked down at Lightningpaw. The sun breaking through the trees cast him into silhouette, face barely recognizable. “Lightningpaw,” he continued, “you have already received your apprentice name and trained in SkyClan, but now it is time for you to train with us. Your new mentor will be Amberstrike.” The cinnamon tom padded through the crowd and stopped in front of Lightningpaw. “He is a skilled fighter and a dedicated ThunderClan warrior, and I trust he will pass down all he knows to you.”

Lightningpaw managed to meet Amberstrike’s gaze before he touched noses with him, painfully aware of how sweaty his paws were. First day in ThunderClan and I shove my wet nose into my new mentor’s face. Despite his shaky legs and prickly fur, the Clan broke into cheers. His name sounded foreign in ThunderClan’s voices, but it was energetic and bright and it made him turn around and smile at the Clan. His new Clan.

In the corner of his eye, he spotted a white-and-orange shape lurking within the healer’s den. He flinched when Amberstrike laid his tail lightly on his back.

“I’ll take you to see her once things calm down,” he said.

Lightningpaw rocked from paw to paw as cats congratulated him and dispersed, then bounded across the camp to the healer’s den. As he neared, Applepaw burst out of the den on unsteady legs and crashed into him with a broken, breathy purr.

“What in StarClan’s name are you doing here?” She cried, pressing her muzzle harder and harder into his neck. “The meeting- Redstar- is my father your mentor now?” A wet laugh bubbled up in her voice. “What did you do?”

“I joined ThunderClan.”

Applepaw sniffled and pulled away slowly. She still had cobwebs wrapped around her neck. “Why?”

Lightningpaw looked off to the side. Amberstrike was standing a little over a foxlength behind him, and there was a carefully wide berth left around the healer’s den. “Gingerleap almost killed you,” he said. “And it’s not like I ever really connected with anyone in SkyClan. They were just… the first Clan I met.” Applepaw tilted her head and looked at him with a small smile and furrowed brow. Lightningpaw sighed and sat down. “Honestly, I…” his voice lowered to a murmur, and Applepaw leaned closer. “I joined to be with you. You’re- you’re all I have, Applepaw. I didn’t even know if you’d survived the battle.”

Applepaw paused, then snorted, shuffling closer to him and sitting down, leaning back into his neck as she shook- with tears or laughter, he didn’t know. “You’re so… stupid,” she breathed, then rubbed her cheek against him with a purr. “Never stop.”