That night, Nightpaw reflected on his first telling, remembering the way energy seemed to flow through him as the words spilled from his mouth, rolling out one after another as if they were a river flowing down a hillside. It felt so good, so freeing, so natural. Even when he forgot segments, having Wrenkit fill them in hadn't felt wrong.

    He purred at the memory, recalling the kits' enthusiasm. Hailwatcher was right; the kits were a great audience. But the purr slowly faded as Nightpaw thought about speaking before all of DarkClan. There would be no help if he forgot a name or event, no playfulness to chase away his embarrassment. Just silence, all eyes turned to him.

    Shivering, the tom put his thoughts aside, deciding he would choose his telling the next morning. Then, like Acornpaw, he would rehearse it until he knew the way every word rolled off his tongue and every name sounded as it rose into the air.

    "I heard you were telling the kits stories today." Nightpaw looked up from where he sat in his moss nest to see Flamepaw stride into the apprentice den. Cherrypaw and Cinderpaw followed closely behind him, both looking worn out from the day's training.

    "I was," Nightpaw conceded, noticing a fresh scar on Flamepaw's shoulder. He tilted his head, wondering why Flamepaw, of all the apprentices, would have this mark on him. Only warriors had that mark, given to them by the leader on the day of their warrior ceremony.

    "I chased a fox off the territory today," Flamepaw said proudly, circling his nest. "And it hasn't even been a moon since we were apprenticed." He twitched his tail tip, looking at Nightpaw expectantly, as if he was waiting for his praise.

    "We've still got a long way to go," the black tom replied instead, thinking about Acornstar's story.

    Flamepaw shrugged. "Maybe you do. But Rowanstorm believes I'll be a warrior within the next three moons." With that, he curled up in his nest; Nightpaw hadn't planned on replying anyways.

    "Well then Rowanstorm's wrong," Cinderpaw whispered from the other side of the den, twitching her whiskers at her littermate. Nightpaw felt the beginnings of a purr, but Cinderpaw's comment did little to take the edge off of Flamepaw's boasting.

    He just always has to be the best, Nightpaw thought bitterly as he pawed at his nest. With a heavy sigh, the truth-teller's apprentice flopped down onto the soft moss, sleep taking him quickly.

    When he opened his eyes again, the bitterness he'd felt at Flamepaw's bragging still weighed heavily upon him. It was quickly chased away, however, when sunlight hit him and he realized he was no longer in the apprentice den.

    Around him, the tall grasses of the moor reached for the clear blue sky, a slight wind causing them to bow before they returned to their upright stance. Unnerved by how he'd gotten here, Nightpaw unsheathed his claws. They sank into the soft ground easily and the young tom jumped back, frightened by how real everything felt, even though that was next to impossible. How did he get here in the first place?

    I'm dreaming, he suddenly thought and the answer helped his fur lie flat. Glancing around, he took in the scene with new eyes, curious rather than frightened. He'd only dreamed once before in his life, but it had not been anything as pleasant as this. Lifting his head and closing his eyes, Nightpaw let the breeze blow through his whiskers.

    "Welcome, young Nightpaw."

    The apprentice's white-rimmed eyes shot open and he turned to face the source of the voice. Above him, on a rather large stone, sat a rather small tom. His grey fur was speckled with black and his paws and muzzle coated with white. The eyes that met Nightpaw's were a deep amber, the colour of a sunset. But what caught Nightpaw's eye most were the pricks of light that dotted the tom's form, as if there were stars embedded in his fur.

    The tom's voice sounded ancient and weary when he spoke again. "I was wondering if I would get the chance to meet you tonight."

    Nightpaw blinked, getting to his paws. They itched to run, to take him far away from this strange cat who glowed with an otherworldly light, but at the same time yearned to bring him closer, to discover who this cat was and what he could possibly want with a DarkClan apprentice like himself. Instead, Nightpaw stayed put, opening his jaws to catch more of the tom's scent.

    "Do you not know who I am?" The tom's voice faltered, doubt lacing his words.

    The apprentice shook his head. The cat's scent told Nightpaw nothing about him; he smelled like spring water and fresh-kill and clean air.

    "All those stories you hear about me and you still don't know," the tom said, incredulous. He dropped to the ground, approaching Nightpaw cautiously. It was then that the young tom noticed a scar running along the length of the grey cat's chest, three claw marks deep enough to kill.

    This isn't possible, Nightpaw thought. He glanced up from the tom's wounds, meeting his amber gaze to see a knowing light in their depths.

    "This isn't possible," he said, aloud this time.

    "It shouldn't be," Sootstar replied, a slight twist to his lips. "But with you, it is. Why?"

    Nightpaw's mind raced and he took a couple of steps back, the scents coming off of Sootstar overwhelming him. He felt as if they were clinging to his fur, marking him as a traitor for all of DarkClan to see. StarClan and the Old Life were forbidden and any affiliation, any beliefs, any mention of them would be enough to put him to death.

    And yet, here was Sootstar standing before him.

    "Why?" Nightpaw repeated.

    Sootstar settled on the ground before the apprentice so that their eyes were at the same level. "Your curiosity guides you to us. We can speak with you because the ways of the Old Life and StarClan are central to who you are. You do not follow the rules of DarkClan like the others do."

    Nightpaw narrowed his eyes. "Are you calling me a traitor?"

    The former leader of MoorClan shook his head, licking his lips as he chose his words carefully. "No. All I'm saying is that you are more free to choose your beliefs than others in the Clan and, in turn, at a good position to translate those beliefs to others."

    "I'm the truth-teller's apprentice," the black tom replied. "Of course I have more freedom." As the words came out of his mouth, he felt a sense of power surge through him. If there was one thing he had over Flamepaw, it was this.

    "The freedom to speak of the Old Life and StarClan. Freedom to inquire and learn about them. Your curiosity is bottomless, Nightpaw, but I can help you sate part of it."

    The old tom's muzzle was a whiskerlength away from Nightpaw's, moving closer and closer as he spoke. His amber eyes had filled with a hungry, hopeful light, so bright that the apprentice had to turn away. Getting up, the black tom backed away from the StarClan cat.

    "I have Hailwatcher to do that for me," Nightpaw said firmly, turning to walk away from Sootstar, though he did not know where he would go.

    "But how do you know your mentor speaks the truth?"

    Nightpaw stopped in his tracks. Such words spoken in DarkClan spelled immediate death and any thoughts similar were dangerous to the Clan's well-being. This was what the apprentice had been taught his whole life and Sootstar's words shocked him.

    "History is written by the winners, Nightpaw. Have you ever considered that there are two sides to the same story? That what you believe to be truth is only DarkClan's skewed perspective of an event that StarClan sees very differently?"

    "Wouldn't StarClan's perspective seem skewed to a DarkClan cat?" Nightpaw retorted, turning back to look at Sootstar. The grey tom bowed his head in agreement but did not respond directly.

    "Truth is what you believe it to be. I can only offer you a different perspective. It is up to you to figure out which side of the story you believe... Which side you will stand for."

    Sootstar's eyes bore into the apprentice and Nightpaw shifted uncomfortably under their otherworldly light. If he accepted the tom's proposal and was discovered, he would invariably be put to death, even despite his position as the truth-teller's apprentice. Hailwatcher could teach him the same things Sootstar was offering to, and at a much lower price.

    Yet, Nightpaw couldn't help but be drawn to Sootstar's proposal. The idea that there was more to learn, more to know, about his Clan's history that would help him be a better truth-teller drove him to take a step back towards the StarClan cat. He'd be the best truth-teller in DarkClan's history. He would make Hailwatcher proud, and Dawnstar too.

    Dawnstar, who would not hesitate to rip his throat out at the first mention of his dreams. So much as a word about the Old Life or StarClan that did not fit with Hailwatcher's teachings and Nightpaw would find himself at the mercy of the DarkClan leader's claws.

    But then Nightpaw thought of Acornpaw and how the tom practiced day and night to become the best warrior he could be. Ambition and hard work were revered in DarkClan - surely training with another mentor would only show Nightpaw's enthusiasm for his role in the Clan? If he had not one mentor but two...

    Flamepaw's jeering voice entered his head and, in the next heartbeat, Nightpaw knew his decision.

    "Alright."

    Sootstar's eyes showed some shock, but the tom hid it with a flick of his tail.

    "Welcome, then, Nightpaw, to your first lesson."

// So, I'm curious: who agrees with Nightpaw's decision to accept Sootstar's offer? Any comments and votes are, as always, very much appreciated!