[ ♕ ]

The sky was washed with bleak clouds. Sunshine was too weak to penetrate the white fluff, and a dull chill gnawed at SmokeClan's warriors. Crouching on a gnarled log, one tomcat rested, his eyes half-closed. A bitter expression twisted his face.

He glanced around all of a sudden, and it was clear what had triggered his instincts a moment later. Puffed up against the cold, a small robin nested on the branch of a lonely olive tree. It ruffled it's feathers, and the prominent orange spot on it's chest became disfigured as it shifted.

The SmokeClan cat sank his claws into the log underneath him, anger spiking his pelt. Every single movement from nature and he had jumped. Now he crouched down and pulled his limbs tighter together. A soft breeze whispered a haunting melody through the leaves of trees, but he ignored it - say for pricking his ears quickly.

Sleepy yawns sounded from behind him, but still yet he stayed hunched over. A small chatter grew as the inhabitants of SmokeClan woke up to greet the dawn.

"You're finished with your shift, Berrystep." A kind voice brushed the tomcat's ears. He looked around, and his chestnut pelt rippled in joy as he saw the figure of his fellow Clanmate behind him. Finally!

The tomcat's mottled brown pelt was ungroomed, but those rounded amber eyes were sharp as ever. With a twitch of his whiskers, Berrystep nodded at the cat, meowing, "Very well, Eaglesoar." He got to his paws and hopped off the wood, wiping the grime off on padded moss by the edge of the log.

Berrystep looked around the temporary camp. It was rather feeble, with sticks stacked haphazardly for dens and crumbling ferns layered over the branches to mimic a roof.

Still, it was something.

As Berrystep passed Eaglesoar, his yellow eyes glowed as a ray of sunlight beamed down on him. Mood lifted slightly, Berrystep padded over to the small fresh-kill pile. He frowned at the scrawny mice on it. Their bones bulged through their skin, and their eyes were glassy with death. Berrystep suppressed a shiver as he saw the protruding yellow teeth curling over their lips.

A grey molly speckled with white sidled up besides him, her pale grey tabby pelt bushed up against the chilly dawn air. "There will be a hunting patrol soon - Softmint just told me. You okay with coming?" Mistpine gazed at him, doe-eyed and gentle.

Berrystep blinked. "It's unwise to go about hunting at dawn," he meowed flatly. "The prey will be snuggled up in their hidey-holes while we hunt thin air."

The she-cat glowered at him for a heartbeat. Then she pivoted on her hind paw and swept away, her tail twitching compulsively in the air behind her. "Very well then, hunt and get nothing. See if I care," Berrystep muttered.

A commanding yowl disquieted his brooding, and he looked around sharply for the noise. A regal chocolate brown tomcat with piercing yellow eyes stood tall in the middle of the clearing.

"Gather near, SmokeClan!"

Berrystep's eyes lit up with curiosity as he padded up to Houndstar. He stopped a few fox-lengths and say down, curling his tail protectively over his paws. The rest of SmokeClan hurried from their dens or else the measly fresh-kill pile.

Houndstar's yellow eyes raked the cats surrounding him. He swiftly glanced around the camp to make sure all were gathered. Then he lifted his chin slightly though his eyes still stayed trained carefully on the Clan. "This camp is not good enough. It heeds us well, but it does not give us the right protection and prey needed for a sustainable Clan."

Berrystep found himself nodding. He tightened his muscles as the well-spoken rogue continued, pelt prickling excitedly. Well, the rogue-turned-leader. Or was it leader-turned-rogue?

"When the sun banishes the tender light of dawn, we will start our preparations to find a new home. No patrols will go out. We will dispose of the camp and cover it with soil so the forest can grow anew." With a startling glare at Softmint, he trod off.

Softmint scowled at the receding form of her leader, and Berrystep felt a small flicker of confusion spring up in his mind. He brushed it off and padded over to Eaglesoar as the Clan broke up, chattering excitedly and getting ready for their trip.

"I wonder where we'll go," Berrystep meowed casually, flicking his tail-tip across the ground.

"I wonder if we'll survive this," Eaglesoar responded dryly.

"We will!"

"Will we?"

"Yes." Berrystep frowned at his Clanmate. "I'm sure Houndstar will be good for us. We'll be safer in a Clan. As rogues, we've had to watch our every step. But now, we can set down some roots . . . relax . . . make a family. Wouldn't that be nice? A family. . . ." His voice trailed off wistfully, and he felt himself slipping into a daydream of a identity-less cat curled by his side with kits scurrying over him.

Eaglesoar sniffed. "Come on, Berry. Let's help get ready to go." He turned tail and stalked away, leaving Berrystep irritated.

♕ - ♕ - ♕

The sun had just started to send bright, slanting rays of sunshine onto the soft camp floor. Berrystep lingered by the entrance as the SmokeClan cats streamed out of the entrance. He gazed at the ragged camp.

Yet, it didn't look like a camp. The ferns had been rubbed with water to get rid of cat-scent. The dens were collapsed and the branches dragged off. Berrystep trod lightly over the ground, swiping his paw over the ground to wipe out the last of the paw prints.

Then he continued after his Clanmates. He gave himself a bittersweet smile. It was his first home - his home because he felt wanted and safe there. Though it was a scraggly spot with few resources, it was still his home.

He didn't look back.

As they walked, Houndstar and Softmint huddled together and spoke quickly as they hurried along the wilderness. The Clan glanced around anxiously, placing their paws carefully and pricking their ears worriedly.

Berrystep found himself next to Mistpine. She threw him a sharp look then looked forward. "I used to have a sister named Mistle." Her meow was trembling. Berrystep blinked in surprise. Why did she pursue this topic, and at this time? Berrystep felt uncomfortable. He felt a small sinking feeling in his stomach as her expression grew somber and she sniffed.

"I joined this Clan because I wanted a new life," Mistpine continued. Berrystep stiffened as her voice tightened with sadness and grief. "She didn't join. She begged me not to, but I joined anyway. Houndstar is wise beyond his years and I knew he would protect me. But Mistle didn't believe me. She said she would never leave our home. . . . I wonder if I should just leave. Become Mist again, a simple rogue."

"Erm. . . ." Berrystep shifted his paws restlessly as they padded along the path flattened by the cats in the front of the group. Mistpine didn't seem to notice him. Her gaze wandered into the distance.

Feeling it was safe to leave, Berrystep took a small, tentative step away. When Mistpine didn't respond, he rushed off, peering through the cats for Eaglesoar. Instead, he came face-to-face with Beeflutter, a pretty tabby she-cat with milky-hazel eyes.

"I hope this doesn't go on for much longer," she muttered agitatedly, flickering one ear.

"We just started," Berrystep meowed amusedly.

Beeflutter shot him a dark look and lengthened her pace so that she was next to her friend, Sagewhisper.

Berrystep surveyed the Clan. Houndstar was sharp-minded, as well as a formidable opponent in battle. He was even sympathetic, a quality that most rogues lacked. Berrystep winced as the memory of a blood-soaked patrol racing into camp flew at his mind, taking his attention.

Softmint was sharp as Houndstar, but more sly and less fair. Berrystep forced himself not to grin as he remembered her face when the only apprentice in the Clan so far, Frondpaw, had hunted more prey than her. She had tried to squirrel away some of his mice, but had been caught by the rest of the patrol, of course playing it off to defend her pride.

The she-cats all had different personalities. Beeflutter was sassy; Mistpine dreamy; Mintsong agile and swift-minded; Pebbleswipe nit-picky; Greymist quiet.

The tomcats were all different as well. Eaglesoar was distant and blank, the pessimist of them all; Spruceback strong-headed and bold; Swiftstalk silent and stealthy; Elmsnout shrewd and clever; Batnose thoughtful but slippery like an eel.

Berrystep swelled with pride as he pondered what it would be like to be in any other Clan. SmokeClan had gained members quicker than small fish rushing to devour another's flesh. He drifted into his own thoughts and let his paws guide him, content with not talking. A small chatter held a loose grip on the Clan, but after a few minutes, it lapsed into silence once more.

"I think I found something!" Berrystep was abruptly ripped from his thoughts as Batnose's yowl of triumph reached his ears. The ValleyClan border was far behind, and Berrystep felt a bolt of curiosity and excitement shudder through him.

Batnose's white pelt shone through the dense foliage that lined the edge of the forest, and after a moment, he ducked out of the bushes, yellow eyes gleaming with glee. His unusually-marked black nose rose into the air as he smirked smugly at the tomcats surrounding him.

Berrystep rolled his eyes and nosed past the oddly-marked tomcat, blinking slightly at his bizarre looks and squinting as a ray of sun bounced blindingly off his pure white fur.

Magic. Berrystep's first thought when he stepped through draping vines and low-hanging trees was that this place was a dream. His mouth was agape as he crunched through the fragrant ferns underneath his paws.

It was immensely green. There was a short hill that crested near a rather small cliff with a ledge overhanging the whole place. There was a wide mouth on the cave's surface, and a cavern yawned beyond, hidden slightly in the velvety black. A trickle of water ran off the cliff, spongeing the vibrant moss and lichen that crawled up the cliff. It pooled in a hard rock basin-looking hollow nestled in the ground.

Berrystep felt himself be pushed along by the cats of SmokeClan awaiting the view, and he bounded towards the fresh water source, all the while looking around. A large expanse of trees lined the massive clearing. It's exactly what we have been looking for, Berrystep thought wonderingly.

The sun glanced off the surface of the rippling pool of water. It dazzled Berrystep's eyes, but he narrowed them and came to a halt at the small pool's edge. An abundance of wildflowers sprouted at the edge, reaching out tiny petals to catch drips of water. Dipping his head, Berrystep took a single lap of the water, all the while digging his claws into the soft grass carpeting the scene.

It was fresh and pure. Berrystep gazed at his wavering reflection, startled by the sweetness in it. He stared in the depths of the pool and his heart grew warm.

It was his new home. A perfect home.