Lillypaw||

              It was hard to admit; she felt bad for him. Poor Ravenpaw, always expected to live up to his littermate's standards, something that was practically impossible. Lillypaw sighed inwardly as she and Sedgepaw padded out of the apprentices' den, him resting his tail on her shoulder. She didn't move from under his tail because she felt safe, comforted. She had to admit, her love for the tom was undeniable, but so was his hate for Ravenpaw and Hawkpaw.
              "That piece of fox-dung," Lillypaw heard him scowl. "Always hissing at me for things I try to help him with. He just doesn't listen." She tilted her head in concern. "Maybe," She started, waiting for a response. "Maybe if you don't expect him to be like you, he will accept your help." She smiled slightly, hoping he would take her advice.
              His head snapped back to face her in less than a second, but she saw his face soften when she flinched under his gaze. "I get it, but why does he have to be so annoying? Like, I swear to StarClan, all I hear coming from him is 'Don't help me!' or 'I don't need your help!' Truthfully, my reputation has been getting worse and worse because of him, and if he doesn't start acting like a proper apprentice, he isn't gonna be happy with the results he gets." Lillypaw started at her paws as she sat down near a tree. All he cared about was his reputation. At least nature could always get her mind off of him. The forest was beautiful, but she couldn't bear to look around, because she knew what was coming next.
              "Lillypaw?" She looked up to meet his calming yellow eyes. "Yeah?" He gazed at her before speaking. "Lillypaw, you know I love you with all of my heart, and I don't want you to leave me for that mouse-brained brother of mine. So please, ignore him for me. And it would mean all of StarClan to me if you could get Hawkpaw in on this too; get him to join our little group." A smile formed at the curve of his lips as the soft-spoken words came out of his mouth. There was a doubt that Lillypaw truly loved him, she knew that she also had a small thing for Hawkpaw, but there was something special about Ravenpaw that she couldn't manage to grasp. Yet, still, she looked at him and responded with, "Anything for you because I love you more than life itself."
              Immediately she regretted it. The words she had spoken needed to come true. Breaking her promises to Sedgepaw was like breaking her promises to StarClan; forbidden. She looked away from Sedgepaw so he couldn't see the hurt in her eyes after speaking. She got to her paws and turned away from him, speaking in a very soft tone. "I need some time to myself. I'm gonna go hunting." Before he could answer her, she trotted off towards the CloudClan border, making a sharp turn when she got to the Thunderpath. Passing the abandoned barn near the camp, she decided to stop for a quick meal. I really hope no one's in here...she thought. As she neared the barn though, it was quite obvious that she would have to fight for her meal if the cats in the barn wouldn't let her.
              Making sure her pawsteps were light, she inched closer until she heard muffled voices coming from inside. Peering around the barn door, she saw something that looked like infinite darkness. "Hello?" Her voice echoed in the seemingly empty barn. "Is anybody here?" No answer. That was odd, there were definitely other cats here; she heard them. She took another pawstep and an old wooden board creaked underneath her feet. Mouse-dung! She thought. I'm never gonna be able to hunt with all of this noise!
              "Need any help?" A voice came from behind her. She turned around her body tense. "Y-yeah, I would appreciate that." Lillypaw paused. "Wait...Who are you?" She shuddered at the thought of someone like Hawkfrost or Tigerstar, two cats so evil they made her blood run cold.
              "Oh, I didn't introduce myself? Pardon me, I prefer to keep my reputation on the good side." Sounds just like Sedgepaw, Lillypaw thought, preferring to keep the toms' bad attitude to herself. "My name is Minnow." A pair of dazzling blue eyes emerged from the darkness until an outline of a gray shape came into view. White paws stepped forward from the silent room, and a thin tail waved slowly in the air as Minnow approached. When the now dim sunlight shone on Minnow's pelt, Lillypaw got a clearer view of the she-cat. Not only were her eyes amazing, but she was just a stunning cat in general. Her thin frame showed that she didn't eat very much, and the skip in her step proved that she was even younger than Lillypaw thought. She looked about eight or nine moons old, but after a short conversation, Lillypaw learned that she was indeed seven moons old, just one moon younger than Lillypaw herself.
              "So, you say you come from this thing called a Clan?" Minnow asked, her eyes full of questions. "Yes, more specifically, FogClan, which is my Clan." She responded, trying to sound as kind as possible. "Does that mean that there is more than one Clan?" She asked again. "Yes, there are actually two in this forest you're surrounded by. One of them is FogClan, the Clan that I'm a part of, and the other Clan is CloudClan, our neighbors. I'm sure that you've probably seen one or two cats from that Clan pass by here every now and then." They continued to chat quietly, and Minnow explained the life of a loner to Lillypaw, talking of her many friends she had in the barn, and she even offered to catch her a mouse but was surprised when Lillypaw said she could catch one herself.
              "I've told you all about my life, so tell me something about yours." Minnow gazed at Lillypaw with an expression that was hard to read, their pelts brushing ever so slightly as the lay next to each other in the moonlight. Lillypaw flicked her ear in annoyance but decided to tell her newfound friend anyways. "Well, my Clan is amazing because I have so many close friends that I talk to and train with all the time. For example, my best friend, and maybe a little more than that," She felt Minnow nudge her softly. "His name is Sedgepaw. Pure black pelt, with bright yellow eyes. He can be annoying, but overall, he has a good personality and I love him for who he is. He also has a brother-" Lillypaw gasped as she heard a patrol coming. If they knew she was hanging out with a loner, she would be crow-food.
              Quickly getting up, Lillypaw shot Minnow a glance of pity as she ran out of the barn. "I'll be back soon," She called over her shoulder as she left. "And thanks for the food and shelter!" Minnow gazed back at her, a look of affection as she left. "See you soon." She whispered, her voice barely heard in the silence of the night.

A/N||
Thank you guys so much for reading this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it! What do you think will happen next in the story? Do you think Lillypaw will get caught? Will she keep going to visit Minnow? Do you think that Minnow will ever get to meet the other cats? What about Sedgepaw? Has his attitude toward Ravenpaw been brotherly? Tell me in the comments! As always, thank you for reading, voting, and commenting on the story!
Love Ya,
~Briar✨