sunwhisker stood by lariana as she proposed her idea to deerleap and acornfang.

"..and then we could all rule together!!"

deerleap and acornfang exchanged a glance.

sunwhisker's heart beat fast as he quietly watched the two cats. he felt shame rising in him. they knew he was on lariana's side.... his whole life could basically be ended right here if they told on him.

"sure..?"

sunwhisker almost fainted in relief. deerleap agreed. she wouldnt tell on him now.

lariana smiled wide. "what about you, acornfang?" she meowed impatiently, her tail twitching behind her.

"i...  i will if breezetail agrees."

lariana turned to sunwhisker. "go find breezetail and bring her back here. quickly!"

sunwhisker nodded and took off through the forest, heading back to camp.

he reached the sandy shore and sprinted towards turtle cave, slowed down a bit by the sand.

when he reached the cave, he slowed down and entered, trying not the breathe so heavily. he didnt want cats to know he was running back to camp... that would be rather odd.

he spotted bunnysnow and goldenswoop sitting by the entrance, sharing a squirrel.

bunnysnow looked up and smiled.

"sunwhisker! would you like some prey?"

he smiled, thankful for the kind gesture. bunnysnow was great- she was always so kind, and she knew what to do in every situation.

she would make a great commander- but she wasnt connected to featherstar.

bunnysnow was very smart, and a fast learner. she was like a mother to the clan- always there for a shoulder to lean on, making sure no cat got in any arguement.

she was like a sister to sunwhisker, and he was glad to have her in his life. he had followed her around ever since kithood, and to be honest, he was suprised she even liked him.

he was nothing but... but a burden.

maybe other cats didnt think so, but sunwhisker could never shake the thought.

he had only ever used to talk to his family. theyre all gone now... so who else could he talk to?

he was glad lariana was back, even if she was a cold-hearted murderer.

well, she didnt seem cold-hearted. maybe he could talk about his feelings with her?

no, he'd rather not. he wouldnt want others to feel bad for him.

sunwhisker's attention turned back to bunnysnow. "oh, im not very hungry right now. maybe later?"

bunnysnow nodded, smiling brightly.

"of course, sunwhisker. i dont want to distract you from your work!"

he smiled apologetically and quickly tore his gaze from bunnysnow.

he padded to the middle of camp, scanning every crack and crevice to find the black and white pelt of breezetail.

surely she was here..?

his eyes landed on her besides the nursery, talking with ashenwing and featherstar.

featherstar looked worried, her ears back and a deep frown on her face.

now how was sunwhisker supposed to talk to breezetail?

"hi sunwhisker!"

sunwhisker jumped and whipped around, his face hot in embarrassment when he noticed lepusrunner.

she giggled, her tail high in the air.

"what're you doing?"

she purred as she sat down beside him, turning her gaze to featherstar, ashenwing, and breezetail.

"uh.. i was going to ask breezetail if she wanted to go hunting. she's definitely the best hunter in the clan, and i was hoping she could teach me a few things."

lepusrunner nodded. "oh.. i understand. ill ask her if she would like to join us in hunting!"

sunwhisker sighed. "n-no.. only me and breezetail. plus, i have something to talk about with her."

lepusrunner eyed him. "hmph... okay then. im off to fish then. alone."

"okay...?" he muttered to himself.

lepusrunner was a bit... odd, to say the least.

she was a great friend and all, but sometimes he wondered if she thought of him as more than a friend.

or maybe thats just him getting his hopes up.

he shook his head- he didnt even like lepusrunner that way! he liked lariana. and only lariana.

and that brought himself back to reality. to the task that his lovely lariana gave him.

he straightened himself up, and padded up to the three cats.

"hey! sorry to interrupt... uh breezetail, do you think you can make some time to show me some of your hunting techniques? later of course, since youre busy right now... but youre one of the best hunters in the clan, and i thought it wouldnt hurt to share some of that knowledge.."

the three cats turned to look at sunwhisker, caught off guard.

featherstar smiled and stood up. "oh, actually sunwhisker, do you mind if we can talk to you for a second? im in need of a smart warrior to help me figure out a plan to repair the clan after the great flood. and after how highly ferntalon spoke of you, i believe youre a great cat to speak to you about this."

sunwhisker tilted his head. the mention of his father brought a wave of good memories, but also bad.

he loved ferntalon. he adored him. ferntalon was... the best cat in sunwhisker's life.

it sucks how his life was sucked from him so quickly.

if only sunwhisker was there. he could have saved him...

but no. sunwhisker was a disappointment, yet again. even his mother didnt want to stick around.

firelight was... pretty odd. according to ferntalon, she isnt actually clan-born, and showed up one day when ferntalon was a trainer.

ferntalon told sunwhisker many stories of his mother. firelight was always quiet, and never really made friends.

but her and ferntalon ended up becoming close, and they had decided to start a family. she loved her kits dearly.

but... clearly not enough.

because after ferntalon drowned in the flood, she ran away a few days later.

it was only her and sunwhisker left.

he had tried to talk to her. so many times.

but she had just closed her eyes and looked away.

he missed the times where she would play moss ball with him. when they would play "hide-the-rock".

but no... she was gone now. and sunwhisker was now alone.

without his family, he felt...scared. why? he had no clue.

but nothing felt right anymore. nothing would ever be the same.

maybe.... just maybe, one day firelight will come back.

maybe she just needs time to herself.

it had already been a few moons without her, but it felt like years.

but... sunwhisker will move on eventually, he knows he will.

coughing interrupted sunwhisker from his thoughts, and he was back to reality.

ashenwing stared at him, a look of confusion on his face.

"are you alright, sunwhisker? you look... off." breezetail meowed, a worried look plastered on her face.

sunwhisker shook his fur. "oh, im fine. was just lost in thought, sorry about that. but uh, yeah, sure featherstar!"

featherstar smiled, though her worried expression never left her face. whatever plans she needed to discuss was clearly stressing her out.

"so basically, prey is running low, and we have a big clan to feed. not to mention the damage still left from the flood, and the starving cats... and lariana... ugh, turtleclan is such a mess right now."

sunwhisker nodded. he couldnt imagine the stress that came with leading the clan. he could never.

"so what do you want me to do, exactly?"

"help us make some plans, perhaps?" ashenwing meowed, standing up.

breezetail nodded. "that's why im over here, im helping them figure out some stuff. we're thinking about having certain cats who have high skills take a group of lower-skilled cats out training, but with all the ruckus, we don't know if its possible."

sunwhisker sat down. at this point, he had forgotten all about lariana.

"hmm.. i think training patrols would be excellent, since lots of us still have lots to learn. and the clan is rather large, so we would probably have enough cats to make sure the border is regularly checked and we have enough prey to feed us."

featherstar looked at ashenwing, then back to sunwhisker. "thank you, sunwhisker. ferntalon was right, youre an excellent asset to the clan. im positive youll get far in life."

sunwhisker smiled and looked at his paws. "thank you so much, featherstar."

though he would never be as good as ferntalon was, sunwhisker was glad to be useful.

but... will he go far? without his family, he couldnt ever dream of making it far in life. in fact, it was hard for him to even picture a future now. he had always seen his father and his amazing sisters in it.

but now hes all alone.

would he make it far in life..?