It may not be our parents, but everyone has someone that helped them get up and walk for the first time and supported you through hard times such as the death of someone close to you or when you were fighting the cold. It doesn't have to be the people who gave birth to us, but there has been someone who has looked after you ever since you opened your eyes. They teach you how to survive and what manners are and help you through tough times. However, we've all run into problems when we've been too dependant on something or someone to get us out of trouble. If they've always been there for you, your first instinct is to run to their side and that's not a bad thing. There might be a time when that person doesn't walk you through the problem step by step and doesn't always hold your hand because that doesn't teach anyone how to solve their own problems. 

They can step in to help, but nobody's going to help you get through everything. One day, we're going to have to learn that there are things that we have to do and help isn't going to reach out and take your hand with an iron grip. Whether we learn this the hard way, we have to face the fact that not everything's going to be easy and sometimes help isn't going to show itself. That's up for you to decide, are you going to sit down and complain that help isn't coming because you've leaned on them a little too much or are you going to get back up and start from the beginning and punch your way through that mountain? 

There is absolutely no problem asking for help because everyone faces trouble and needs some assistance, but we also have to learn how to live. 

X X X

A clump of snow fell off a den and hit a waking warrior on the head, snapping them to their feet, darting away. His pelt shivered and spiked out, spotting the patch of snow that fell over his head and eventually sighed, letting his shoulders relax.

Out came a golden she-cat, holding back her laughter as she strutted closer. Head-butting her brother, she said, "Ha! You're supposed to be the one cat who isn't afraid of snow and ice, Icehawk."

"Cut it out! If it were you, you'd understand!" he defended, looking away.

From her spot underneath the highrock, the white she-cat tucked her paws closer and let out a long purr, breathing in the forested scent. The meadow was still covered in a thin layer of snow, the last remains of the leafbare haunting them, but now the sun shone brighter and warded off the aftermaths of the season. She yawned, tasting the Clan's scent and smiled, shaking the sleep out of her eyes and body. Getting up on skinny legs, she stretched her back and legs out, readying herself to start the day.

More cats came out with the sun. Deerleaf, being the first to lead her two kits out of the nursery, who tripped over each other as they came out with eyes bigger than their heads. A little tom and she-cat, Stonekit's white and brown pelt a mix of his parents while Brookkit's fawn-colored pelt imitated her mother's. They tumbled out and spotted a calico tom apprentice cleaning himself thoroughly and raced over, leaving their mother behind.

In the far corner was Dapplefur, her old eyes shut as her pelt rose with each breath, finally resting after another all-nighter. While she knew her mother didn't ask for help and tried to avoid Ashstar or push away any kind of his help, the medicine cat did steal glances throughout her workday to admire her two daughters as they grew into fine warriors. Even if they were fatal mistakes and meant to be sacrificed for StarClan. She questioned if MeadowClan knew the truth, as Beechcloud had made a choice to follow Aspenstar into CinderClan after long nights staring at the night sky and with Ripplestone's recent death.

If they did know who her real parents were, they didn't show it, and she felt safe knowing that she was still accepted.

Speckleflash was already hushing warriors out of the den, ordering patrols before anyone could fully awaken. First came Runningstream, tripping over his own paws as he crashed into the deputy, who shoved him away and barked for his sister to come out. Oliveflower slithered out very slowly, eyes still lazy and sleep-filled. Her whiskers twitched and she walked out, letting an excited Flintstone chase behind her, ready to start the day like the newest kits. Swiftbranch snuck off from the deputy's sharp gaze and met with his mate, greeting her with a lick across the forehead.

She stepped into the sun and immediately jumped out of the way of an excited Firefox and Icehawk, proudly boasting to her sister, who walked away from them. Leopardfern pounced on her brothers and slammed them both to the ground, holding each down with one paw, showing the strength she inherited from her mother and father. Tigerfrost and Lionfur, pushed in the far back and near the forgotten circle of rocks, hardly noticed them and stared at each rock. Whiteshade frowned and skipped over to her sister, clashing heads.

They stumbled back and Breezefall grinned, eyeing Speckleflash. Leaning in, she said, "I'm going on a solo hunt all by myself. Don't let Speckleflash or Ashstar find out, okay? Oh, and don't let Dapplefur know either." Whiteshade spun on her paws, her back facing her sister as the striped she-cat sprung off, slipping into the frosted-coat meadow.

There was one cat she wanted to see, and maybe she could get the chance to. His time was coming to an end, she could tell even if she wasn't the medicine cat. Dapplefur's connection to the leader made it painfully obvious which life Ashstar was on, and Whiteshade gulped, unsure if speaking to her father was the best choice. Even though it had taken Deerleaf time to truly accept her half-siblings, she still watched her younger siblings talk to the MeadowClan leader carefully.

Whiteshade climbed up the highrock and looked down at the Clan, her eyes widening at the beautiful gaze of cats already heading out for the morning patrols with energy she thought never existed. Their only apprentice, Tumblepaw, trained with Rabbitbranch with Runningstream and Hailbreeze sitting side by side, watching as the tom worked on his skills, life returning to him little by little. Seeing the spirit-ridden kit each day made her stomach churn, but now, she saw something else in the little cat and for once, it didn't remind her that death was always another step ahead of her. Speckleflash sent off another patrol with a flick of her tail and then went to Dapplefur, taking her role a little too seriously by juggling jobs back and forth.

The cream she-cat was chased out by an angry Splashpelt, who demanded that the deputy would take a break. Sparrowblaze came closer and whispered something into the she-cat's ear, making her growl and bat him in the head. The large warrior caught the attack and easily flipped the smaller cat on her back, pinning her down effectively. She began to snap and snarl, hiding the enjoyment behind her tongue.

It's beautiful, she thought, exhaling. Maybe this is a reason why I want to be leader of MeadowClan one day. Waking up to see a healthy Clan... That's all I really want, is it?

"You're up early," a sleepy voice rasped. Whiteshade's ear turned and purred. "Do you need anything?"

"No," she replied. "I just wanted to see MeadowClan."

"You've always seen it," Ashstar replied, sitting beside his daughter. "It's always been MeadowClan, even in distress."

"Maybe," Whiteshade mumbled, shuffling with her paws. "What makes MeadowClan... MeadowClan? If it's StarClan, then we aren't MeadowClan. Do you think they'll ever return to us? One day?"

"Who knows," Ashstar sighed. "A part of me knows the answer to why they haven't talked to us in a long time. I just don't want to tell the Clan."

"You can tell me," she asked. "If you don't want to, that's completely fine! But I am your daughter so..." Whiteshade trailed off, praying that the one time she used her kit-like behaviors would work on him. Ashstar raised an eyebrow at the warrior and her hopes sank to her stomach like a stone.

I should've known, she thought, hiding her shame. He's not really going to pay attention to me. I'm never going to be mad at him for that, though. Deerleaf reminds him too much of Pebbleflight. A single look at me or my sister reminds him of his desperation of wanting cats and StarClan. Whiteshade let out a sigh and shook her pelt clean, letting the topic die off. She turned her attention to her mother, who was conversing with Oliveflower - though it looked like the calico was doing most of the talking while her patient nodded once every few minutes.

But I'm happy to be alive. There's never been a day I've resented anyone, let alone my parents, she considered. The Clan before her was entirely different from the one she had always seen. The first day without the missing cat problem still faced hardships, such as hunting in snow for prey or scrounging for herbs to keep them alive. While a few cats did catch a fever, Ripplestone had been the only cat to pass away in his sleep. She heard the old warrior died without regrets, but she questioned if a certain former MeadowClan warrior would say otherwise.

"We hadn't stood in so long," Ashstar spoke, scaring her thoughts away with a crash. "There were vivid memories of times when we stood and that made us sink. CinderClan lost their wings and we lost our strength. Problems like missing cats only added to our fall. I think StarClan saw this and knew they had to fix it."

"By staying silent and not lending a paw...? How many plans were out in action, actually? Breezefall and I—"

"You answered your question yourself," he replied, a glimmer in his eyes. "I may not be correct, but I'd love to spend time with you if you have another theory." And for the very first time, Ashstar leaned closer and gave her a lick across the forehead. Whiteshade nearly fell off the highrock, heart pounding triumphantly.

Like her paws were made out of feathers, she floated down the highrock with a wide smile, heading towards the hunting patrol to chat with Swiftbranch. Speckleflash welcomed her, dragging her on the patrol against her will, not that she cared. The group of cats passed by Dapplefur, who gave her daughter a worried look and then glanced at Ashstar from above, the two sharing a warm smile. The medicine cat snarled and shook her head, forcing herself into her den. Whiteshade shrugged and happily followed Flintstone with a skip in her paws.

The warrior noticed right away and raised an eyebrow, but she pulled ahead of him, running her paws through the cold grass. Then she took into a sprint, jumping through the meadow like a playful kit, her paws taking her even farther and higher than the sun. While Speckleflash snapped and shouted for her to come back, her sprints became larger until she leapt like a rabbit, her lungs gasping for air. She didn't stop and cheerful sprang like a dove, spinning in the air gracefully and successfully landing on all four paws.

Eyes shining, she took off again, rolling her pelt in the meadow and dirt, coating herself in the territory's scent. If she strained her ears, she thought she could hear some warriors whisper and ask what was wrong with the new warrior, but none of them chased after her. The grass shook and out sprang Breezefall, the two sisters hitting each other with loud screeches of shock piercing the territory. Whiteshade growled and looked up to see her, and then groaned once the rest of the patrol came up.

"We heard screams, what happened?!" demanded Speckleflash before she could see them.

"Are we under attack?" questioned Splashpelt, more than ready to fight.

"I told you guys it sounded like one of our cats but none of you listened!" hissed Sparrowblaze, slowing down the moment the two sisters came into view. Whiteshade and Breezefall let out weak laughs and Speckleflash exploded.

"Don't scream unless we're in danger, please!" Speckleflash stressed, pacing. "If we have to go in battle with little forces—"

"Don't worry so much," Flintstone begged. "What's the part of life if we can't have a little fun even after we've become warriors?"

"We search then!" Whiteshade chirped, getting off Breezefall. Standing face to face with Flintstone, she repeated, "We search for a reason to live! We already did it once, so why not again?"

"We did?" The entire patrol said.

"Yes, we did," she answered, her heart twisting into a knot. She did her best to keep her voice stable against the urges to break out laughing. Whiteshade snorted and cleared her throat, hoping that would chase her giggles aside. "We found a reason to live."

"Explain," Sparrowblaze prompted.

"Well... stories always told us a StarClan would be there. They told us that they'd come down to a chosen cat and grant them a prophecy to save our world and problem. Then cats hold paws and sing praises up to the sky all happy while they eat plenty of mice and rabbits. That's usually how those stories go, don't they?" she explained. "But for us, they never showed up and just disappeared. They didn't help out, they didn't do a single thing and made us all suffer, but I feel no hate or rage toward them."

"Are you trying to say we need to tell Stonekit and Brookkit that StarClan doesn't exist?" Splashpelt asked, tipping his head.

"No, we should tell them that they do exist, but they aren't always going to help out with every single problem." Whiteshade took and breath and quoted, "We hadn't stood in so long."

"Oh really?" Flintstone asked, looking around the patrol as if a spirit would rise out of the ground. "Can you prove they're real and alive?"

"Yep! Totally!"

"How?"

She smiled. "If StarClan wasn't real, then how did we survive leafbare?"

And somewhere up in the clouds, miles and miles from the ground, and dancing in the sky was a cat, a warm smile across their muzzle. Eyes full of warmth as they looked down on the Clan that had returned from its slumber. The Clan they were raised in and saw go through challenges and despairs down to sickness, invasions, missing cats, and starvation. The Clan they watched grow and blossom higher than the Moon Tree where they rested beside four other starry cats, each of them watching over their homes forever. 

The four cats looked at each other solemnly before their spirits began to shift, each taking off in another direction as they soared across the forest and meadow, going into the bright future. One cat, whose pelt glimmered with bright stars floated above a Clan full of forest-loving cats. Another whose pelt shone brighter than the sun walked through a forgotten camp, the gorge silent and unmoving. The third cat watched over a certain calico cat, lightning striking their eyes as they watched a seed grow, surrounded by fertile grounds. The final cat flew over the meadow and the camp, protecting each cat that dwelled inside. 

The starry cat slowly nodded, whispering to the Clan words of luck and encouragement. Like a flame, their figure began to dwindle and fade away. They watched the newborn Clan from every warrior to the two kits, their futures and dreams flashing before his eyes. There was a white and brown cat, who was much older than the kit they saw, standing on the same highrock they once stood on, proudly looking down at a new generation of cats. The cat let out a breath and shut their eyes, letting stardust collect their soul and take them back into the vast sky. 

One cat from below looked up, ear twitching as a whisper fell over the Clan, so quiet they thought it was their imagination. 

"You've awoken."