Redpaw shivered in his short coat. He was grateful that the thick forests of ThunderClan's territory broke some of the cold winds. His short fur was not made to endure a leaf-bare outdoors. It made him grateful to Hawkstar that he had been invited to join the Clan, though he was still trying to wrap his head around there being four more Clans he had not yet met. These forest-dwelling cats were numerous and somehow united in their goals. Would life inside one of the other four Clans be so peaceful as this one?
Redpaw wished to be back in his nest, bathed in the warmth of his fellow apprentices. He could tell that the young warrior she-cat, whose fur was long and looked soft to the touch, was less disturbed by the cold weather.
The apprentice shook the snow from his paws every few steps. His green eyes turned to the sky. Since he had been run out of the city, Redpaw had not had much time to relax. So focused on survival, he had failed to notice until now that he could see the stars from this spot in the forest. The sky from the city was usually to foggy to see but one or two stars. He had adjusted to the pungent, wild smells of the forest by now, but was stopped in his tracks at his view of the stars. If his brother was alive, could he see so many stars from his new home, too? A brief sadness stung the young tom.
Redpaw tapped Sablefire with his tail. "Does your sky look like that every night here?" His breath clouded in front of his face, reminding him how cold he was feeling moments ago. He shook the snowflakes from his striped back and shivered again. The youngster wondered why the stars did not warm his pelt like the sun did. They're too small, he figured.
Redpaw closed his eyes and tried to imagine what a Moonpool might look like. A small pond with the reflection of the full moon came to his imagination. He wondered what the territory around it looked like and which of the five Clans owned that land. The newcomer was having a hard time understanding the concept of neutral grounds like the Clans' gathering place, the Ghostly Flats. ThunderClan's warriors had been so stern about Redpaw taking care not to wander too near the borders. The only thing keeping one of the Clans from claiming that land, he figured, were the ghosts.
The apprentice furrowed his brow at having been called silly. She was the one talking about traveling to ponds on the moon, not him. Just a little too young and shy to protest, he let Sablefire's comment pass, but not without a defiant flick of his tail. Redpaw looked down and again shook the snow from his cold ginger paws. His ears stayed trained to the molly, listening more carefully to his mentor this time. He felt like he had been trying to play catch-up on Clan traditions since his first encounter with Hawkstar.
The striped tom's head snapped to Sablefire at the word 'kin.' If this StarClan mumbo-jumbo was real, did this former medicine cat have knowledge on his mother and his brother? Then his gaze followed the warrior's to the starry night sky. Watch down on me? That was the last thing he wanted to hear. Sablefire had said it herself: no living cat could touch the sky. If his mother and brother were looking down on him now, had they moved on from this life? Redpaw had hoped his kin were gazing up at the stars, not down from them.
"How do you know that?" He demanded, "Do you know something I don't? Did StarClan tell you?" There was great urgency in his tone, yet the youngster was not even sure if he subscribed to the idea of ancestor cats hunting among the stars. But Redpaw was desperate to know where his brother had gone.