Shinepelt's Secret

"Shinepaw wake up!" A brown tabby tom- her brother Dirtpaw jerked his sister. Shinepaw let out a low growl and got up. "What do you want?" "Haven't you forgotten: today is our final assesment!" Dirtpaw meowed. Shinepaw's eyes shimmered. "I have been waiting for this day all my life!" Shinepaw thought. "Come on then!" With a flick of his tail, Dirtpaw darted from the apprentice den, Shinepaw sleepily following...

"From now on, you shall be Shinepelt. StarClan honors your courage and bravery!" The whole clan cheered Shinepelt's name. Her mother, Whiteleaf touched noses with her daughter. "I'm so proud of you" she mewed. "Thank you" Shinepelt purred, then she gazed upon her clanmates with a proud gaze.

"Oakfoot!" Shinepelt called for the brown tom. He didn't answer, "Oakfoot!" Then the brown tom scurried into the hollow. "Hello Shinepaw!" He meowed. "I'm not Shinepaw anymore, I'm Shinepelt!" The she-cat meowed. "That's wonderful" Oakfoot purred. Shinepelt huddled near the tom, "I wish I could be with you for the rest of my life" "I do too," He meowed, "but we're from different clans" "I know..." Shinepelt mewed. She began to think, "Will I get to spend the rest of my life with him?" Shinepelt turned to the tom, he was already asleep. Shinepelt only gave a sigh then fell asleep with him...

Shinepelt stiffled a yawn, Oakfoot was gone. The morning sunlight shined into the cold, dark hollow. The cream she-cat scrambled out of the hollow into the wide, grassy field. Flowers bloomed and the morning song of a bird calles out to her. As Shinepelt padded back to camp, she felt the warm breeze rush through her pelt. She was home again. Dirtnose padded to his sister. "Where have you been! We worried you were gone..." "I'm fine Dirtnose, it's just I couldn't sleep. I went out of camp to get some fresh air" Shinepelt meowed. "Oh....ok" Then Dirtnose padded away. Bumblefoot, a dark gray tom padded to Shinepelt. "Hi Shinepelt, it's so great now that you're a warrior!" "Yes..." she meowed. "So, want to go hunting with me?" "Sure!" Shinepelt meowed. She followed Bumblefoot to the oak-wood forest.

Later that day, Bumblefoot and Shinepelt came back with 2 blackbirds and a squirrel. Bumblefoot padded close to Shinepelt. "I know we only loved each other as kits and apprentices, but I still love you......will you be my mate?" Shinepelt hesitated a bit, she both loved Oakfoot and Bumblefoot- they were great toms. But would it be wise to mate with someone from another clan? It would be breaking the warrior code. "Y--yes!" Shinepelt stammered. Bumblefoot purred and rubbed his new mate. "We'll have beautiful kits"

It was night once again, Shinepelt was going to pay one last visit to Oakfoot. She crept out of the warrior's den, then padded into the hollow. Oakfoot was waiting there, his eyes shining. "Oakfoot I have to tell you something..." Shinepelt meowed. "What is it?" He asked. "Well.....I can't visit you anymore. I already have a mate" Shinepelt meowed. "No, no, no! You can't leave!" Oakfoot growled. "I'm sorry, I have too" Shinepelt's tail drooped and she padded away. "I can't be with him, it's for the sake of the clan, and the warrior code"

The End