solsticepaw stiffened. she understood.

"do you want to come with me? i have a hollow tree. it's really cozy." she offered.

"and you won't leave?" hazel asked.

"of course not. c'mon, let's go." she gently picked the kit up by her scruff, and brought her to the hollowed tree. solsticepaw plopped her down in a comfy area, then curled up next to her.

"why are you named solsticepaw? that's weird." the kit said bluntly.

"i'm from a clan. have you ever heard of a clan?" solsticepaw asked.

"a... clan? no. what's that?" hazel made her eyes really big.

solsticepaw paused. how could she make clan life sound less scary and awful than what she'd lived through?

"well, different cats do different things, but everyone helps out. and everyone has a special name that changes when they get older." she started.

"why aren't you with your clan? i wanna be in a clan! take me there!" hazel complained.

"uhm. my clan was mean. but... if you want, we could make a new clan that's nice." solsticepaw offered reluctantly. anything to help the poor thing feel better.

"ooh! ooh! how does that work?" hazel asked.

"well, you'd be called hazelkit for now. when you turn six moons old, you'd be called hazelpaw like me. then when you turn twelve moons, you'd get an even cooler name. and... i think the clan could be called... halfmoonclan. 'cause there was a half moon last night. is that okay with you?" solsticepaw leaned down to ask, getting on hazel's level.

"yes! we can be a clan, and you'll never leave, and i'll never have to be alone again!" hazelkit cheered.