Leafpool's Choice

Chapter 1

The warm sun beat down on Leafpool's face as she opened her eyes. She stood up and stretched. The air was warm and pleasant. Leafpool looked up at the sky. It was sunhigh already!

"Oh no! I overslept!" Leafpool muttered to herself.

"And that's fine," Crowfeather purred.

Leafpool glanced to the side. There was Crowfeather, sitting a little ways off, with a plump rabbit at his paws.

"I've been waiting for you to wake up. It's about time," Crowfeather meowed.

"You should have woken me!" Leafpool's tail-tip twitched with annoyance.

"We aren't in a clan anymore. Who cares how long we slept, or how often our borders are marked? Welcome to the real world. All that matters to me now is you."

"Do you even care about your clan?"

"Why should I? They never cared about me."

"If they didn't care, you would be dead."

"Why are we fighting?" Crowfeather asked.

"I guess that's not smart," Leafpool agreed.

"Anyway, do you want the rabbit or not?"

"Of course I want it!"

Leafpool leaped over to Crowfeather and snatched the rabbit from his paws.

"It's mine now!" she exclaimed.

"Not for long!" Crowfeather yelled.

Crowfeather chased after Leafpool, and soon caught up to her. He jumped on his mate and bowled her over.

"You may be faster," Leafpool meowed, "but I'm stronger!"

Leafpool shoved Crowfeather off of her and rolled back onto her paws. Seconds later, Crowfeather was back on his feet. He stole the rabbit from Leafpool as soon as she let her guard down. Then he ran back to the top of the hill.

"If you want it, come and get it!" Crowfeather called.

Leafpool snuck through the long grass and made her way behind Crowfeather. When she was directly behind him, she pounced!

"Gotcha!" she yowled triumphantly.

"Crowfeather glanced over at the dust-covered rabbit. "Do you still want it?"

"It's the best we've got, considering that we have probably scared away every other animal out there."

"Yeah. The clan cats can probably hear us."

"I wonder if they recognize our voices."

"Maybe. I bet you a mouse Squirrelflight just heard you, and knows you are alright."

"She probably thinks that she was a bad sister, and I left because of her." 

"Don't you dare think that. She is the best sister, and friend, a cat could ask for."

Crowfeather gave Leafpool's ear a comforting lick. They sat for a few moments, then remembered the rabbit. They both bit into it, trying to ignore the dusty taste.

"Hey, once you get past all of the dirt on the outside, it isn't so bad!" Leafpool meowed.

"You're right. We should have been allowed to play with our food as kits, don't you think?" Crowfeather joked.

"Yeah."

The two sat for a while, swapping stories from their kithood and playing games. Orange and pink spread across the blue sky, eventually fading to a deep indigo. Silver specks of light glittered in the night.

Leafpool looked up at the sky and breathed three words, "StarClan watches us."