"Ma’am, young lady. I would appreciate it if you don't fill TigerRoar head with more star cats nonsense" Night meowed stirring in his nest.

“For stars sake, stop calling me that!” I protested.

“Did you want come with?”

“Can I?” I ask with joy. After leaving the farm, I led them to an extensive forest at the foot of a mountain on the outskirts of the human town. I was worried about the mother's injuries, even though it had not been an hour since I could stop the loss of blood, her step was considerably weak. Despite this, the she-cat with its dark, short tabby fur and slender tail, didn't show any fatigue. I stood for support while the little Volekit ran around in circles, playing between the legs of her mother. The mother's step began to slow down, and I could hear the roar of the mother's and daughter's guts. "All good ma'am?" I asked, reconstructing her at the foot of a nearby tree. "Mom, I'm hungry"

"Just give me a few minutes, my child."

"Volekit, stay with your mother." I asked. "Are you leaving us, dear?" asked the she-cat.

"I'm just going to hunt something. You have lost a lot of blood, you must eat something to recover. I won't go far, Volekit if something happens give a loud meow and I will come back. Can you do it?"

"You are facing the future best warrior of the clans, I can with everything!" I gave a slight giggle and walked away through the bushes, before reaching the old thunderpath there was a wide zone of ​​bushes that many loners use as a hunting area.

I tied my tail around my neck, and struck the stalking pose as soon as I heard a mouse nibbling on a seed under a bush. The moon overhead, the stars tinkled silently, spreading their silvery glow on the gentle winds that ran free across the clearing. In a sudden change of wind the mouse must have detected my smell and started to run, I started running after it. I used my tail and agility to corner it until I hunted it down. It was a chubby mouse, but if I wanted to feed the thin clan cats, I would need to hunt something else. I walked silently through the clearing, a chill ran down my back and I quickly climbed a branch, a powerful wave of air passed under my legs and blew some prey from their hiding places. I chose a fat robin, his swollen belly made him a slow prey that was not difficult to hunt. To finish, I detected the smell of a rabbit. I claim the nearest tree, jumping between the branches to where the smell was strongest. I was surprised to see the rabbit run away from the black shadow of Volekit. "Come back here, food!" For a kit, those long legs, short hair and slim figure made the little she-kit have an enviable speed avoiding the bushes like nothing. 

She kept running until she caught the rabbit, but her little fangs weren't strong enough to take the life out of that animal. The rabbit in a desperate attempt to free itself kicked her and tried to escape, at that moment I tied my tail around the nearest branch again and coordinating my jump with the boats that the fast prey I captured it between my jaws. "That was amazing! You have the speed of a clan cat!" Volekit mewed approaching. "But that prey was mine!" protested. I untied my tail and laid the rabbit in front of her. "Didn't I ask you to watch your mother?"

"The rabbit came out of nowhere in a nearby bush, mom is tired, and it would be an insult to a future great warrior like me to let that prey escape so easy" the kit mewled, waving her tail with pride.

"Come, take your prey. I'm going to get the others, and we will teach the ma'am your great hunt" I returned to where I buried the other prey and holding them between my jaws I returned with the kit. A little laugh came out of my throat when I saw Volekit having trouble carrying that prey that was bigger than her. "Here, let me help you" I took the rabbit and put it on my back. "Take me! Take me! Pick me up too!" I let out a purr "Okay, okay" I carried Volekit and went back to her mother "Mom, Mom! Look what I caught" Volekit jumped down with the rabbit and rejoined his mother

While I left the prey in front of both. "When you eat something, we continue"

"Mom, Mom, I want to take the rabbit to Springstar. So she will see that I am ready to be an apprentice." Her eyes shone with illusion.

"You have a couple of moons to go before that, Volekit" her mother added, taking a bite of the robin. "So you never heard of clan cats?" the mother asked.

"I've heard a lot of stories about them, but It never go far from there, stories. Night always say that the are just kid tales, that there’s no such thing as cats made of stars.”

“And you believe in those stories?” The mother ask. “Of course! I don’t think that they would tell me those story if they weren’t real.” 

“They? Who told you those stories?" asked the mother swallowing another bite of the robin.  "My parents" I answered "They used to tell me over and over again"

"And they don't tell you stories any more?" Volekit asked.

"I wish it were so ... but they were gone long ago."

"I'm so sorry, my dear. But if they knew so many clan stories, they might be in StarClan now.” 

"I hope so." I meowed, lowering her ears. 

"You miss them, right?" the mother asked softly.

 "Much more than you could imagine. My day to day has lost a little sense since they left. It has become boring." I meows sadly. "Changing the subject, how many clans are there?" I asked 

"There are 3 clans in total." answered the mother.

"Only 3 clans? By the stories, I understood there were 4"

"It must have been a misunderstanding, there are only 3 legitimate clans."

I looked away at Volekit, who was gulping down the mouse in a hurry, "Slow down, no one's going to take your food"

"It's the best prey I've ever eaten in moons!"

"Excuse my daughter's manners, hunting has not gone very well in our clan since the arrival of the shadows." the mother explained. "That would explain why they are so thin" I thought. "Shadow? You mean the muddies?"

"Is that how loners call them?"

"Yeah, since they showed up, they've always been covered in mud. They've been trying to cause trouble lately."

"Have they stolen other kits too?"

"No. Recently, today I found out about the kits from a neighbourhood patrol. They don't usually go to the human garden, but they do steal prey or other things and then ask for things in exchange for recovering them. They are a real headache." I explained. 

"Couldn't you send them back with your tail?" Volekit asked after finishing his hold. 

"Her tail?" her mother asked, shaking her ears.

"Yes, her tail! You should have seen her mom, she has a super strong tail, she can hang from the branches like nothing or use it to corner the prey, apart from that she has the same agility and speed of the warriors of the camp. Show it!" I nodded. From a jump I climbed to the nearest tree, I started to run between the branches and hang on them like a monkey, then from a branch I saw a patrol of cats approaching the thunderpath.

"See? I told you." Volekit mewed proudly.

"Ma'am, Volekit time to get going, there are cats approaching the thunderpath."

I returned to serve as support for the mother as she carried the rabbit and lifted Volekit as if she were flying with my tail until I stopped at the edge of the thunderpath.

"Well, this is where I stay" I said, I gave the rabbit to the mother and went down to Volekit. "Noo! Come on, I want to play with you more!" protested the kit.

"Is something wrong, dear?"

"I've never gone beyond the thunderpath ... I don't even know what's on the other side"

"On the other side are the clans territories." answered Volekit. 

"So maybe that was a clan cat patrol." I thought. "It was a pleasure meeting you both." I said. 

"Are you really going to go? If you go, you won't be able to see how Springstar makes me an apprentice!"

"What will you do now?"

"I guess I'll go back to the barn, tend wounded loners or see the farm fields from the window"

"Dear, what if you join our clan?" shook my head, me joining a clan? If since I was born I have been a loner, I never knew more about the clans apart from the stories they told me. "Would they accept me? I'm a loner." I asked for.

"With your skills and knowledge of medicine, you could be of great help in these times of scarcity. Perhaps maybe it was star clan wish that we met."

"I need to think about it." I meowed doubtfully.

"I'll speak well to our leader about you, when you make a decision, come here and call us."

Is it true that they can accept me in a clan? Will this be the change I needed? What will the clans really be like? I had so many questions.

"Thank you, it's been a pleasure meeting you" I meowed and as I headed back to the barn, I stopped at the mother's meow.

"By the way, dear, what is your name?"

"Tigress. My name is Tigress."