Human AU. There were hundreds of citizens living in Thunder City, so why was it her that had to be chosen to live with four random people? Join Ivypool and her new roomates as they desperately attempt to get along- that is, if they even survive the first day together.

Ivypool flicked her white-and-silver bangs out of her face as she zipped her final suitcase closed. She let out and audible sigh, resting her head in her hands, wondering what Dovewing had been thinking when she had signed the two of them up for this so-called 'Unity Program'.

Tensions had been running high between the four cities of Thunder, River, Shadow, and Wind, but not as you'd expect them to be. No, the tensions were within the cities themselves.

Because of this, Firestar, Mistystar, Blackstar, and Onestar had decided to each run a 'Unity Program'. Citizens would sign up, and when the time came, five random participants of each city would be packed up and moved into four separate houses- scratch that, mansions- to bring down arguments and promote union.

Most people thought it was a brilliant idea. Ivypool did not.

Really, she had been neutral, until Dovewing had signed both herself and Ivypool up without asking.

Fortunately, Dovewing had not been selected.

Unfortunately, Ivypool had.

And so that morning, she had tugged on a flowing dark gray long-sleeved shirt and black jeans and accepted her fate.

"You're so lucky!" Dovewing was now squealing as Ivypool glared at her with deep blue eyes.

"Am I? Living with four total strangers for Stars knows how long! I can't believe you signed me up for this." Ivypool swung a black bag over her shoulder, grabbing her suitcase that held some of her clothes and electronics. Furniture would be provided at the mansion.

"Of course you are! Just think of all of the possibilities!" Dovewing gushed, following Ivypool out to the front door.

"The possibility of being late to my shift at the coffee shop every day because the mansions are across the city?" She hissed sarcastically over her shoulder.

She moved swifty down the sidewalk and began shoving her two bags into the backseat as Dovewing plopped herself into the driver's.

Ivypool slammed the door shut, sitting down next to Dovewing with a frigid sigh.

Thirty minutes and six small arguments later, the two had reached the mansion. Or rather, mansions. They weren't aware that all four cities' houses would be right across from each other.

Ivypool's eyes scanned dully up and down the building.

It was a two-story, warmly-painted home, with oak trees looming in the expansive front yard. There was a long brick pathway leading up to oak wood double doors. It was looming and elegant in a worn sort of way- it had clearly been built a long time ago.

The other homes had the same structure, but were vastly different.

The River home was white with silver threaded through and a stream running through the front yard, Shadow dark and looming with three trees in its lawn dead, and the Wind plain browns with patchy grass.

Judging by the cars parked on the curb, two people had already arrived at Thunder.

"I assume you won't be helping me 'move in'?" Ivypool asked, tugging her suitcase from the sleek gray car.

Dovewing frowned. "I really am sorry, but I have a date with Tigerheart!"

"A date at noon is sketchy enough, but aren't you with Bumblestripe?" She tugged out her purse and closed the door, shooting Dovewing, who was now grinning through the rolled-down window, a raised eyebrow.

The dark-gray-haired young woman smirked. "Perhaps." And then she sped off.

Ivypool huffed, turning and making her way up the worn path to the front door and unlocking it with the key she had been mailed.

She stepped into a wide hallway. The floors were polished hardwood and walls painted auburn. There were two doorways about halfway along, and the end of the hall stretched into what was probably the living room.

Suddenly, a person stepped out of the door on the right side of the hall.

A young man, possibly two or three years older than Ivypool, with shoulder-length, grayish, almost blue-looking, hair. He wore a white t-shirt and jeans, and around his neck hung a chain with two bluejay's feathers hanging from it. He was shorter than average, and his blue eyes started ahead sightlessly.

Ivypool squinted. "Jayfeather?" He regularly dropped by the coffee shop Ivypool worked at, and the two had become almost close (their only interactions being ranting about other people's stupidity) over the years.

The man's head snapped over to her. "Ivypool," He agnowledged with a furrow of his brow and a narrowing of his eyes. "You mentioned Dovewing signed you up. At least there'll be one moderately sane person in the house."

Ivypool perked up. "You know who else is living here?"

"Only one other person. He's already here- Lionblaze showed me around, if you were wondering- but I think I'll leave it to you to learn who he is." And at that, he crossed over to the other doorway. "Unpack and explore the house. I'm making tea."

Ivypool nodded, stepping forward and peeking into the room Jayfeather had left. A bathroom. She glanced over to the doorway he had entered. Possibly a kitchen.

She strolled ahead, suitcase rolling along noisily behind her. The living room she entered was modern. A curved flatscreen on the creamy-colored wall, a fluffy white rug, and snowy furniture sprawled out across the cozy room.

Next to her branched out two different hallways on her left and right. Noting to visit them later, she dragged her suitcase loudly up the stairs.

Up the staircase was a long hallway with seven doors. Two of them were on her left side, five on her right.

The left doors she assumed were bathrooms, and the right, bedrooms.

She browsed past the doorways, looking for her own.

The first door was painted with tree branches, each with bluejays perched on them. Jayfeather's room. "Subtle." She said out loud to no one in particular.

The second was adored with a fox den, a single red fox darting out of it. She wondered who it may be for a second, but came up without answers and moved on.

The third was decorated as stone-gray with tendrils of ivy curling around each crack and crevice. Ivypool smirked. Her room.

She swung open the door and scanned it.

A soft looking queen-sized bed was pushed up against one wall with pristine white bedsheets. A window stood next to it, and next to the window was a black desk.

A bookcase with only one of its shelves filled was against the other wall. Next to it were a pair of doors- the closet. Aside from that, the bedroom was bare.

Ivypool nodded, deciding her new room was acceptable and rolling her suitcase in, bringing it to a halt and easing the door closed behind her soundlessly.

She unzipped the case and began to unpack.

About one hour later, Jayfeather had decided to be uncharacteristically social and join Ivypool in her room to discuss the house planning.

"So do you think the other residents will be those 'do-everything-together' people?" She asked.

"StarClan, I hope not," He replied from his perch on her desk chair as she slipped one of the last few shirts onto a hanger.

Before the conversation could continue, a man burst through the door.

He had medium-length reddish brown hair, and was wearing a brown long-sleeved shirt and jeans. He was average height and his green eyes were wide and sparkled with mischeif. He looked about a year older than Ivypool.

Oh no.

"Jayfeather," Ivypool pleaded desperately, whipping around to look at him. "Am I alive? Am I still breathing?" She hoped the answer was no.

"Unfortunately for the both of us, yes." Jayfeather stated bluntly.

Foxleap grinned. "Why Ivypool, I am personally offended that you would speak that way of your new housemate!"

Ivypool groaned.

Foxleap was... well, Foxleap.

He was loud, always pranking people and being, in her opinion, generally obnoxious. Everything was a joke or innuendo with him. Suffice to say, Ivypool did not particuarly care for him.

"Anyway, you're living here?" Ivypool managed to get out, hoping once again that the answer was no.

"No, he's just dropped by for a visit." Jayfeather replied sarcastically.

Ignoring Jayfeather's response, Foxleap beamed, rocking back on his heels. "Yep!"

"Is anyone else getting here soon? There should be two more people," Jayfeather butted in, so quickly he almost cut off Foxleap's responce.

"I think they're arriving tomorrow." Ivypool had finished picking up her clothes, so she sat down on her bed.

Jayfeather rolled his eyes. "Good, less people to deal with today."

"I, personally, cannot believe that we are forced to wait another second to meet them!" Foxleap proclaimed with dramatic conviction.

Ivypool and Jayfeather rolled their eyes.

It was roughly four in the morning.

Ivypool was exhausted.

She hadn't slept since the previous morning, when she had pulled herself out of bed at eight so she had time to pack.

She'd snuck out at about ten, when Jayfeather and Foxleap had fallen asleep, passing out early from the mentally tiring move-in, and tugged on her training outfit. Gray tights and a flexible black tank top- normal enough- however, in her right hand she held a weapon.

A slightly curved, glinting silver dagger with a midnight-black hilt and a razor-sharp edge was the weapon her twelve-year-old self had on chosen her first night of 'training'. Since then, it had not changed very much.

However, her identity could not be known if she were to continue 'training', so she pulled on a hooded black cloak and headed out into the boiling summer night.

She then jogged a couple of miles to the outskirts of the city, where it met the forests next to the broken-down kids park. Ivypool had hopped the fence that encircled the entrance to the abandoned subway system, tugged off the cloak, and met Hawkfrost and the other trainees, deep underground, five minutes later.

Tigerstar had overseen the 'training' that night, so her sparring with Breezepelt had been much more difficult than usual. He'd nearly managed to catch her in the arm with an elongated knife, and she'd only barely deflected the blow with her own blade.

Luckily, nobody had noticed Ivypool slipping back into the Thunder mansion that night. Nobody had noticed Breezepelt returning to the Wind mansion either.

Now, Ivypool desperately rifled through the cupboards, hood off but black cloak hanging around her shoulders, trying to find something to fill her growling stomach.

It appeared she would have to go shopping with her housemates tomorrow- if she was awake enough. The cabinets were empty aside from Jayfeather's tea.

He'd notice if I stole any, She sighed mentally.

In a last-resort effort for something to eat, she swung open the door to the nearly-empty freezer and tore open the box of almost tastless frozen waffles Foxleap had brought. She popped one into the toaster, then ran into her room to devour it without even bothering to put it on a plate.

Stars know why he brought these. Probably for some prank.

Finally having filled her stomach, she slipped into her room and into pajamas. She hid her training clothes and dagger under her bed, but in her sleep-clogged mind, she discarded her cloak onto the floor. She would later reprimand herself for her carelessness.

One of her last thoughts was how she needed to finish exploring the house tomorrow- there were still those two hallways she hadn't seen.

And at the end of what may have been the longest day of her life, Ivypool fell onto her indescribably soft bed and was overcome by sleep the very second her head hit the pillow.

She was so tired she didn't notice the red-haired figure of Foxleap slip into her room, hang up her cloak in her closet, eye her with a mixture of curiosity, dissapointment, and grim determination, and leave her room, quieter and more swiftly than the fox he was named for.