Chapter Text
It’s believed that, in a group of three littermates, two of them would grow up to be similar to each other.
There was Spireclaw, the oldest. He was silly, dramatic, and, at times, a bit immature. He was very sincere, though.
Then there was Sunbeam, the second kit. She was outgoing, friendly, and…somewhat manipulative. She knew exactly what she wanted and knew exactly how to get it. All she needed were for all the pieces to fall into place.
Finally, there was Hollowspring, the odd one out. He was introverted and grave with a no-nonsense attitude. One would think that he wouldn’t get along with Spireclaw or Sunbeam much, but as his siblings, they knew him like no other cat did, and they knew exactly how to get him to go along with what they’re up to.
As it happened, one of those things was coercing him to go to the gathering. They had a “very special” reason for it, of course.
“We’re brand new warriors!” Sunbeam explained. “Tomorrow is when we get to celebrate it!”
“That’s great,” Hollowspring muttered.
“Aren’t you excited?”
“Of course. I’m not being sarcastic, by the way. I really am.”
That was true. He had been getting tired of Lightpaw—Lightleap now—constantly joking that his warrior name would be something like “Hollowheart.” She wouldn’t stop even after he told her it made him sound like some emotionless villain from nursery tales. She even laughed.
She’s a whole moon older than us, but I guess that’s why she was made a warrior at the same time as us, he thought, annoyed. So immature.
“But you don’t look or sound like it,” said Sunbeam. “You always seem so…unimpressed.”
“That’s just the way I am, I guess. I can’t help it.”
Sunbeam frowned. “Would it kill you to smile?”
Hollowspring gave his best smile. It felt forced. It was forced. His face contorted in ways that were unnatural to him. It almost hurt.
“You look constipated.”
“Well, there’s your answer,” Hollowspring said simply, letting his facial muscles relax. “But let’s just finish this conversation. I don’t want to go to the gathering.”
“Aw, but you have to!” Spireclaw put in, giving his brother a not-so-light shove. “Tigerstar wouldn’t be happy if he missed the he chance to show off one of his brand new warriors.”
“Tigerstar probably doesn’t even remember my name,” Hollowspring argued, his voice somehow remaining flat even as he regained his balance. “And he gave it to me yesterday. Honestly, I think he just made it up on the spot. He seemed to be in a hurry to send us all to our vigil, judging by the way didn’t hesitate to head back to Dovewing in his den that night to— why are you gagging?”
Spireclaw paused his exaggerated display of disgust to answer his brother’s question. “We know what he was going to do that night. You don’t need to say it.”
“…Sleep?”
Spireclaw blinked. “Oh. Yeah, that.”
“What did you think I was going to say?” Hollowspring questioned, puzzled.
“Don’t worry about it,” Spireclaw said dismissively. Sunbeam rolled her eyes.
“Anyway,” Sunbeam interrupted, “our parents want you to go to the gathering. Doesn’t that mean anything?”
She had a point. Berryheart and Sparrowtail were sick, and they couldn’t go to the gathering with their kits like they wanted to.
Even if Tigerstar picked his warrior name on a whim, Hollowspring didn’t want to miss the chance to make his parents proud in front of all of the Clans, at least. All he needed to do was show up.
Fine.
“Stick together,” Spireclaw advised.
It was sound advice for a cat like Hollowspring who knew nobody. It was advice he was planning on following anyway.
“As your big brother,” he added, “it’s my responsibility to make sure you two don’t get lost.”
“We are adults.”
“That doesn’t change anything!” Spireclaw said in that annoyingly sing-song-y voice of his. He was skipping, too. Like he’s still an apprentice.
“Come on, let’s get close to where the leaders are. I want to hear Tigerstar loud and clear for when he calls my name.”
Immediately after saying this, something caught Spireclaw’s eye. Or rather, someone.
“Who is that?” he asked, dumbfounded. And before Sunbeam or Hollowspring could say another word, Spireclaw bounded off towards the direction of the mystery cat.
“Very responsible.”
“Indeed.”
“But who is that?” Hollowspring asked Sunbeam. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before.”
“Of course you haven’t,” Sunbeam pointed out. “You never come to gatherings unless we make you. That cat over there is Fringewhisker from SkyClan. I’ve talked to her once or twice. She’s pretty nice!”
She glanced slyly at Hollowspring, who pointedly did not look back at her. He knew exactly what she was trying to say.
“Don’t give me that look.”
“I’m just saying, it wouldn’t hurt to make a friend from another Clan,” Sunbeam said innocently. “I don’t get why you’re so shy.”
“Shy?”
“Sorry, you’re right. I meant antisocial.”
Hollowspring only huffed as Sunbeam side-stepped in front of him to block his path, causing him to bump into her as he tried to take another step forward.
“Hollowspring, could you please just talk to someone?” Sunbeam asked. “You don’t have friends.”
“Pouncestep is my friend.”
Indeed, Pouncestep and Hollowspring hung out together enough for Hollowspring to consider her a friend. What kept their friendship afloat was the fact that it never involved one forcing the other to do something. Hollowspring was attracted to Pouncestep because she let him be whoever he was with no qualms whatsoever, and Pouncestep was attracted to Hollowspring because he didn’t mind listening to her gossip. He was the only cat Pouncestep would talk to who could say he wouldn’t tell anyone what he heard and have it be true.
It was mostly because he usually didn’t care, but that didn’t matter to Pouncestep. And besides, he would be lying if he said it wasn’t entertaining at times.
“You don’t have enough friends,” Sunbeam insisted. “And Spireclaw and I don’t count. I’m just worried for you, Hollowspring. What happens if—StarClan forbid—something happens to us? What happens if you get lonely?”
“In a Clan?”
“Being alone and being lonely are two different things,” Sunbeam said. “Please?”
Hollowspring sighed a deep sigh. It was the sigh he usually sighed when he was done arguing with one of his siblings and decided he was going to agree with whatever they said in order to get them to leave him alone.
“Fine.”
As expected, Sunbeam’s face brightened.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
It wouldn’t take too much effort, he decided. All he had to do was say a quick greeting to one cat, and he’d be done. Simple.
That was how friendship worked, he supposed. He did the same to Pouncestep and now, he was stuck with her.
(In a good way, of course.)
“Great!” Sunbeam cheered. “That’s— Hollowspring, look behind you.”
He promptly turned his head around, and when he saw nothing of importance, he realised she was just messing with him. When he turned back, he could only see her tail in the crowd of a bunch of cats he didn’t know.
Hollowspring sighed a deeper sigh. It was the sigh he usually sighed when one of his siblings did something so incredibly aggravating that he couldn’t express it in any other way.
I’m not playing your game, Sunbeam. You can’t just ditch me here.
Without wasting a moment, he followed her. He made sure not to run so as to not attract too much attention to himself until it was time for Tigerstar to announce his name, but he still had to quicken his pace somewhat to not lose track of her.
It didn’t take him long to trip on the tail of some random brown tabby.
“Watch it!” the tabby hissed. “You stepped on my tail!”
“Sorry,” Hollowspring mumbled. But the tabby still seemed angry. He blocked his path.
“Maybe don’t be so careless when you’re out with other cats!”
I said I was sorry, Hollowspring thought ruefully. He twitched his tail in impatience. You don’t have to block the way. I’m not trying to start a fight or anything.
“Or do you not know how to act in public?” growled the tabby.
What am I supposed to say to get this guy off my back?
Suddenly, he came up with an idea.
“I’m really sorry,” Hollowspring said again, clearer this time. He tried to make himself look and sound as small and innocent and weak as possible, flattening his ears and averting his gaze. “I’ve been having trouble navigating ever since I sprained my paw,” he told him pathetically, holding up a paw limply to justify himself. “I didn’t mean to.”
The tabby growled, and Hollowspring pretended to shrink back out of fear. He whimpered weakly, just for good measure.
Thankfully, the tabby just huffed and stalked off.
Good grief, Hollowspring thought, sighing. It was a good thing he wasn’t very big compared to Spireclaw or even Sunbeam. I guess Spireclaw making me learn how to act from Blazefire wasn’t such a bad thing after all. But I hope nobody saw that.
He could still see Sunbeam’s tail, waving about as if she was taunting him.
See if I ever do what you two want again…
He followed her, and it only took a few pawsteps for Hollowspring to be the one whose tail was stepped on. He whipped around to see a small yellow tom picking himself up from the floor and quickly brushing the dirt off his face.
“I’m sorry!” the tom blurted, scrambling to his paws. He looked and sounded young, as if he was only newly apprenticed. “I was running and I shouldn’t have. I didn’t mean to step on you!”
“Relax,” Hollowspring told him. “It’s fine.”
He wouldn’t have thought much of it if he thought the apprentice had only been playing, but something seemed off. He was sure the apprentice was running from someone, but given that he looked somewhat upset, he didn’t think he was playing a game at all.
Suddenly, he heard a laugh from another cat nearby. “Nice going, weirdo!” said a reddish-brown tom. He looked to be a little older than the yellow tom. “You can’t even walk around other cats anymore?”
It sounded like nothing more than a silly tease. He figured the red tom was also an apprentice.
But to the smaller tom, it was clearly more than just a silly tease. He looked genuinely upset. “Just leave me alone, Kitepaw! I didn’t do anything to you!”
Kite? Like a Twoleg plaything? That’s a stupid name, Hollowspring thought. …No, wait, a kite is a bird.
Kitepaw, in response, stuck out his tongue. “‘Leave me alone, Kitepaw!’” he mocked. “You even sound weird!”
Mildly annoyed, Hollowspring stared disdainfully at the older apprentice, who was startled at his presence. It was as if he had noticed that the yellow tom had tripped on a cat, but hadn’t realised that the cat he tripped on was…a cat.
There’s really nothing I can do, he thought. I can’t exactly afford to stay here and mediate the situation, and this is something mentors should deal with, not brand new warriors. But I can at least tell Kitepaw off.
What should I say, though?
“Hey,” Hollowspring hissed. “Grow up.”
Good enough, I guess.
Not even bothering to see Kitepaw’s reaction, he left the two apprentices to continue following Sunbeam.
What’s with the apprentices these days? He shook his head. How ridiculous. I sound like an elder. I need to get to Sunbeam before another tail-related accident occurs.
Except when his tail was trampled for the second time that night, it wasn’t an accident. A black and orange she-cat had pounced on it. She smelled of ThunderClan.
Hollowspring sighed the deepest sigh he could sigh. It was the sigh he usually sighed when he was just so done.
He was about to say something, but this she-cat had something to say first. Instead of looking sorry, the she-cat — she seemed to be an apprentice — seemed angry.
“Where were you?” she demanded, tail lashing. “Bristlefrost is looking for you, you know! You’re not supposed to just ditch your mentor like that!”
Hollowspring was puzzled. Why would a ThunderClan warrior be looking for him?
Hold on, Bristlefrost? Pouncestep says she was made a warrior last moon, so how does she already have an apprentice?
Either her mentorship has yet to be announced, or Hollowspring had missed out on more than he thought.
“What?”
As soon as Hollowspring spoke, the apprentice realised that the cat she was talking to was older than her.
“Oh. Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“Mistaken identity? Or…?”
“I thought you were my brother,” she explained. “Which I guess was silly, since you’re way bigger than him. But you kind of look similar, though,” she added, justifying herself. “You both have black fur and amber eyes and you just don’t seem very happy.”
“Thanks.”
“But if you see him, could you tell him that Bristlefrost is looking for him?”
Hollowspring shook his head. “I’m a bit busy, sorry.” Then, curious, he risked asking another question. “Didn’t you leave with him?”
“I did, but he didn’t listen to me when I told him to stay with Bristlefrost,” said the apprentice. “Or Bristlefrost herself, for that matter. I think he’s real troubled. I keep telling him over and over again that he needs to listen, but he just ignores me! And that’s weird, because he was never like that before we became apprentices. I don’t get why he’s like this.”
“Did you ask why?” Hollowspring asked. “Cats don’t just change their behaviour out of the blue like that.”
He glanced at the where the leaders were gathering. It was almost time for Tigerstar to speak!
“Actually, nevermind. I don’t have time to have conversation with you about this, sorry,” he said hastily. “Good luck, though.”
Leaving the apprentice behind, he made a light-footed dash — not at all caring if anyone noticed him now — towards a very smug-looking Sunbeam, who had coincidentally stopped in her tracks.
“Hey,” she greeted. “Nice of you to catch up. Tigerstar’s about to call our names.”
“You did that on purpose.”
She had a knowing twinkle in her eye. “I did.”
“Can you not do that? I keep being put into these…situations.”
Somehow, he figured that was the point.
“My bad.”
“I’m serious.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” said Sunbeam. She gently rested her tail on his shoulder in apology. “For real. I won’t do it again, I promise.”
Hollowspring huffed. “Where’s Spireclaw?”
“I don’t know, actually,” she answered. “But I bet we’ll figure that out soon enough.”