Mousefang

By Kem'Ajiana

Summary: "A kit treated badly grows up evil, but a kit treated well grows up good." Oneshot challenge courtesy of Jayfeather12345 of Darkclan. 'I'm sorry, Talonscar. I'm sorry for everything...'

One-Shot

Characters: (in order of importance)

Raindapple- Dappled, silver-gray tabby she-cat with green eyes

Talonscar- Big, burly brown tom with a scar along his face

Quickbird- Small, black-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

Sagewhisker- Thickset brown tabby tom with a long, feathery tail

Slateclaw- Dark gray, almost black, tom with amber eyes

One-shot

The air was heavy with rain, lightning crackling through the sky and lighting the Riverclan camp. Mud clung to the pelts of the fighting warriors as they clawed and bit and scratched at one another, desperately trying to gain the upperhand of things. Chaos reigned.

Raindapple fought side-by-side with another warrior, a male, lashing out at the Thunderclan warriors. She saw her brother, Slateclaw, as he bit into the scruff of a she-cat apprentice, heaving her off another Thunderclan warrior and tossing her aside. Dapplepaw landed with a thud and slid from view. Spitting, Raindapple knocked her claws across the face of one of her former clanmates, sending him staggering, and turned to face her brother. Slateclaw faced her for only a moment before he turned tail and sped away, bumping into another Riverclan cat and falling to his claws. Sagewhisker, Raindapple's mate and father of her three kits, was shaking a Thunderclan warrior off of him, and gave her a look of pity.

A screech sounded from near the leader's den, where Oddstar lay on her side, green eye swollen shut, with a big, burly brown tom standing over her.

"I swear to you, Oddstar," he spit. "I will have Riverclan! Just as I will have Shadowclan and Windclan, too!" He laughed as the ginger she-cat struggled beneath his immense claws.

"Oddstar! No!" screeched Raindapple as she leaped over a writhing pair of warriors, barreling into the larger brown tom.

He was swept off of his paws, crashing into the leaders den. Together, they slithered down towards the river, hissing and spitting as they tried to sink their teeth into one anothers throats. Talonscar yowled in pain as her claws caught the right side of his face, digging into the scar left by a hawk as a kit, and he dug his own into her shoulders, pinning her to the ground. Raindapple fought to breathe, opening her mouth to gasp in air as he pressed one paw into her windpipe.

As her vision began to swim, he laughed. "It just goes to show, Raindapple, that only warriors loyal to their true clans ever succeed!"

Even as the dappled silver-gray she-cat stared into his cold, hate-filled amber eyes, knowing she was staring death in the face, she could not bring herself to hate him. But how could a once-loving kit turn into such a heartless monster?

"Rainkit! Rainkit, c'mon!"

Little Rainkit, just four moons old, opened her green eyes to stare into Mousekit's excited amber. "What?" she moaned. "I'm taking a nap!"

He snorted as Slatekit moved to stand beside him, looking just as excited. "C'mon! It's time for Mosskit and Rowankit's apprenticeship ceremonies!"

Rainkit shot up, ears perking. "Finally!" she squeaked. "It's about time!"

The three kits darted from the Nursery, peering up at the Highledge where Rabbitstar stood, ready to begin the ceremony. They slipped under larger paws, trying to get to the front, when a snappy voice halted them in their pawsteps.

"Mousekit! What do you think you're doing, getting in the way like that!"

They turned to see Quickbird, Mousekit's mother, standing over them. Warriors looked away from her, ignoring the kits. Mousekit tucked his tail, ears falling, and Rainkit and Slatekit raced away to stand with their mother, Moonfrost, a little ways away.

Quickbird escorted Mousekit back towards the Nursery, his tail dragging, wondering what his mother was scolding him for this time.

Slatepaw and Rainpaw batted a moss-ball between their paws, eagerly awaiting their mentors to take them out into the forest. Mousepaw sat a bit away, looking unhappy. The silver she-cat apprentice and her brother watched him with sad eyes.

Since they'd been named apprentices, Mousepaw had seemed to become more and more solitary, only conversing with the cats that he must, and, even then, only saying what he must. They'd expected him to become happier when he'd been made an apprentice, but he hadn't, and it worried his two den-mates.

"Mousepaw!" called Goldenleaf from where she stood with her friend, Darkflower, and deputy, Hawksky. "Time to go!"

The tabby apprentice glanced towards the shade of the highledge where Quickbird lay with Brightsky, sliding away to stand with his mentor. Quickbird turned her head away from him, saying something to the tortoiseshell she-cat instead.

It was that day that Mousepaw had been attacked by the hawk and nearly killed. That day that Rabbitstar followed Quickbird's request and gave him the warrior name of Talonscar.

Raindapple stood off to the side, watching her brother, with her new mate, Sagewhisker. He was trying to protect her from the accusing eyes of the Thunderclan warriors, but she couldn't help but notice them anyways. Especially one.

It was from Talonscar. He stood in the place of the Thunderclan deputy, where Sparrowcall should have stood, and he glared at her as if he would have killed her then and there. Slateclaw just sat towards the back, shoulders hunched as if he bore the weight of the world on them.

When the gathering finally began, Thunderclan had gone first, announcing the death of the former deputy, Sparrowcall, and Talonscar's advancement. A new litter of kits had been born to Quickbird, and Rowanfall had retired to the Elder's den. They did not speak of Raindapple's treachery.

When it was Riverclan's turn to speak, the first thing Oddstar spoke of was a new pair of warriors: Sagewhisker and Raindapple. Heads turned in shock and anger.

"A warrior from Thunderclan, isn't she?" "Why would they accept a Thunderclanner? Are they that desperate?" "Traitorous she-cat!"

The loudest of accusations came from Talonscar himself. "A warrior that would choose a clan over her own is not warrior of Thunderclan!"

The silver-gray she-cat flinched away from the assaulting words. Sagewhisker, however, would not sit idly by. "She fell in love, Talonscar. Haven't you ever felt something besides hate?"

With a chuckle, the brown tom replied, "The day I received my scar is the day I swore to not let love guide my paws. It's a fickle thing, love, and an easy thing to break!"

Raindapple felt dizzy. 'Oh, Talonscar, I know that isn't what you really think!'

With a gasp, Raindapple's eyes shot wide. She struggled to find purchase on the tom's broad shoulder's, and he slid off of her, staggering from an unusually strong blow. She coughed getting to her paws. The sound of fighting cat's wasn't so far off, and she knew she could call for help, but, instead, she stared into his eyes, unblinking.

"I'm sorry, Talonscar," she whispered. "I'm sorry for everything..." Her green eyes shone with pity even as she trembled where she stood, paws beginning to fail her.

He spit in anger, tail lashing. "Sorry for what? There's nothing to be sorry for!"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry that things turned out this way. That you got that scar on your face and that Quickbird never loved you."

"Shut up!" he howled. "Shut up, you mouse-brained, traitorous she-cat!"

She refused. "I'm sorry, Mousefang," she soothed. "You always wanted to be called Mousefang. Just like your father, Adderfang."

The tom leaped at her, blindly swiping his claws. She didn't try to dodge, and he slipped in the mud to lay at her paws, glaring up at her. "You don't know what you're talking about!" he hissed.

"But I do, Mousefang!" she insisted gently. "After Adderfang died, Quickbird changed. I remember, even if you refuse to! We were best friends! Best friends! And then, we stopped. We grew up. I fell in love and you became...this. Something that you should never have become."

Talonscar trembled, writhing in pain where he lay. "Just...stop it. Stop it, right now!" He whimpered as the rain began to fall more heavily, slicking back his fur and washing away the mud. The river churned more fiercely, licking at the bank.

"I'm...sorry," Raindapple said again, bowing her head.

He choked a bit. "She hated me, Raindapple. Hated me as if I was that fox that killed Adderfang. I was never good enough. I tried. Oh, I tried so hard!"

Raindapple looked away from his grief-twisted face. "I know."

He shook his head. "No, you don't!" he growled. "Moonfrost was always there for you. Supporting you and loving you and caring for you! She was the mother I wanted! Not Quickbird! And then," his eyes grew dark. "she had those other kits. The one's she kept from me. She loved them a hundred times more than she loved me. I became Deputy just to please her...and she still didn't look my way. Still didn't acknowledge me. It was as if...as if I had died instead of Adderfang!"

The river was higher now, lapping at his hind legs now, and Raindapple stepped away, knowing what she had to do. "I know Mousefang. Deep in her heart, I think she loved you," she whispered as she watched a large branch tumbling through the river. Talonscar didn't notice.

"Do you think?" he questioned. For a moment, she was reminded of him as a kit. Little Mousekit begging for her to come and play with him.

Thunder cracked, drowning out the scream of Talonscar's pain as the large branch collided with him, dragging him into the water. Raindapple watched sorrowfully as he slipped under the waves, paw vanishing under the dark water. She bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, Mousefang. I'm sorry for everything..."

If you liked this story, go and check out "Troublemakers". It revolves around one of the escapades of Rainkit and her brother, Slatekit (named Sootkit in that fanfiction), and a mysterious Shadowclanner.

Oh, and don't forget to R&R!

~Kem'Ajiana