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Squirrelpaw'southward Secret

"Squirrelpaw, where are you going?"

Sandstorm'south caput jerked upwardly equally she heard the exasperated call of Dustpelt. Squirrelpaw was always getting into trouble, and Firestar figured a business firm cat like Dustpelt would be able to handle the boisterous young cat. However, in the short moon that he'd been mentoring Squirrelpaw, he'd get increasingly frustrated with the younger cat's inability to focus. Sandstorm barely caught a glimpse of her son before his ginger pelt disappeared into the castor.

"Squirrelpaw!"

Dustpelt was about to become after his apprentice, simply Sandstorm leapt to her paws and halted him. Dustpelt stumbled back.

"He'due south giving you trouble again?" Sandstorm sighed.

"Equally per usual," her former friend grumbled. "I'thousand doing my all-time, Sandstorm, only it never seems to be plenty with him. He won't mind to me. Maybe Firestar should give him a different mentor."

Sandstorm had considered this before, though something told her that Dustpelt wasn't the problem here. In spite of the rocky relationship Dustpelt and Firestar shared, the tabby tom had never been cruel to Firestar's kits. In fact, Dustpelt had seemed excited to mentor Squirrelpaw. Squirrelpaw had no reason to be so uncompromising with his mentor.

"I'll go speak with Squirrelpaw," Sandstorm stated. "He has to heed to his mother."

"Good luck," Dustpelt scoffed.

The tom turned around, and headed straight for the plant nursery. He took every opportunity he could to visit Ferncloud and their newborn kits. Sandstorm turned the other way and ventured into the wood. She raised her cage and sniffed the air for her son'southward scent.

"Squirrelpaw?" She called as she patrolled the wood.

Finally, Sandstorm caught sight of Squirrelpaw's striking ginger pelt. He was hunched over a pool, his thick tail coiled tightly around his paws. Sandstorm stepped gingerly over to him.

"In that location you are! I've been looking all over for you. Don't you know to come to your mother when she calls you lot?" Sandstorm scolded.

"Sorry," mumbled the younger cat.

"Don't apologize to me," snapped Sandstorm. "Apologize to Dustpelt. He'due south been trying everything to train you, and you won't even let him help you!"

Squirrelpaw shut his eyes tightly. Sandstorm sighed. She could tell he was distraught, and decided that reprimanding him wasn't going to help him right now.

"Squirrelpaw, this isn't similar you lot. You were such a happy kit. A pawful, sure, just you lot were always sweet. Now all you do is choice fights — Brambleclaw, Dustpelt, Spiderpaw — the list goes on. What happened?"

Squirrelpaw turned to face his mother, his green eyes wide and glassy.

"Mom, practice yous think Starclan makes mistakes?"

Sandstorm flicked her ear, taken ashamed past the question. "What?"

"Dustpelt says they don't," Squirrelpaw went on. "Leafpaw says so, too."

Sandstorm considered for a moment. She'd been raised to believe Starclan always had the clans best involvement at heart, that everything they did was for a reason. But at that place were certainly times when she'd failed to empathise their reasoning.

"I don't know," Sandstorm finally replied. "I'thousand no medicine cat."

Squirrelpaw turned dorsum to the puddle, gazing intently down at information technology. He wrinkled his nose and flicked his paw into their water, sending ripples through it and distorting his reflection.

"Why do you enquire?" Sandstorm pressed.

"Maybe some toms," Squirrelpaw'due south voice became strained. "Aren't meant to be toms."

Sandstorm blinked. "Squirrelpaw?"

"I don't want to be a warrior if I'm going to exist a tom," Squirrelpaw explained softly. "Information technology isn't correct."

"Oh," Sandstorm mewed. "And so…?"

"I'thousand a she-true cat," Squirrelpaw declared.

"Is that what this is all about?" Sandstorm shook her head. "Squirrelpaw, you could have told me before."

"I thought you lot'd think I was crazy," Squirrelpaw mumbled, flicking a pebbles beyond the forest floor. "I overheard some Riverclan apprentices at the last gathering talking about cats similar me. They say I'm defying Starclan's will."

"Since when do you listen to the likes of a bunch of fishbrained Riverclan cats?" Sandstorm swatted Squirrelpaw'southward ear playfully, just received little response. "They're wrong."

"How do you lot know?" Squirrelpaw asked, looking upwardly at her female parent with a tired face up.

Sandstorm hated seeing her daughter like this. She hated that she hadn't realized what was going on earlier then that she could take been supporting Squirrelpaw. Sandstorm wrapped her tail effectually her kit and licked her ear affectionately.

"Do you remember the nursery tales I used to tell you and Leafpaw most my father, Redtail?" Sandstorm asked.

Squirrelpaw nodded.

"He was like yous, as well. He was born a molly, but he realized that wasn't who he really was. So he told Bluestar that he was a tom — that he ever had been — and you know what she did?"

"What?"

"She thanked him for telling her, and somewhen, made him her deputy. He served with Bluestar for many moons, and was one of Thunderclan's wisest and bravest warriors. Do you call up Starclan would take given him the strength he had if they didn't corroborate of him?"

"I guess not," Squirrelpaw conceded.

"Even so," Sandstorm continued. "Starclan doesn't command you, Squirrelpaw. They may guide yous, but you're the just 1 who can say who you are. And if I know my daughter, I know she's never been ane to listen to anyone but herself."

Squirrelpaw chuckled quietly.

"When you're ready, nosotros'll tell your father and the rest of the clan. Okay?"

"Okay," Squirrelpaw agreed.

They were silent for a moment before Squirrelpaw cached her muzzle into her mother's breast.

"Thank yous, momma," Squirrelpaw mewed.

Sandstorm pressed her nose to her daughter's head lovingly. "I'm proud of you."

They sat nestled together in silence for a moment, and so Sandstorm piped up.

"Don't think you're off the hook, though. Y'all are going to take a long talk with your father and I about your beliefs and you are going to apologize to Dustpelt."

"Okay," Squirrelpaw nodded against her mother's chest.

Sandstorm was surprised by her daughter's oddly agreeable attitude, but she certainly didn't listen it.

"Are you gear up to go dorsum to camp?" prodded Sandstorm gently. "I'll let yous pick something from the fresh kill pile and tell Dustpelt you'll be ready to train again tomorrow."

"Can we stay here a little longer?" Squirrelpaw asked.

"Okay."

Sandstorm licked her daughter's caput, then rested her chin on information technology. She shut her eyes, curling her tail around Squirrelpaw. In that moment, she swore had caught a drift of her father's scent.

(A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed this mini fix about Sandstorm and Squirrelpaw! If yous don't know, I headcanon Squirrelflight as trans mtf, and I idea it would be absurd for Sandstorm, who'due south dad was trans, to react to Squirrelpaw being trans as well. She'south a good supportive mom.)