"Get out now! Before Stormtail gets back!" I ordered my grown kits.
Dawnpelt and Hortense woke up and jumped to their feet. Dawnpelt nuzzled me and licked my cheek before slipping from the cave.
Hortense shook her head. "This won't solve anything for you, Tawnyclaw. It will only get worse. Leave with us, mother."
"Hortense I can't. I will only endanger you. You must go now. I don't want him to hurt you like he did Elyan. Elyan died because of your father, Hortense. Leave now." I sputtered sadly. My mate, Stormtail, had "trained" my eldest son, Elyan. The "practice round" with his father cost Elyan his life.
I had to force my daughters to leave before the same happened to them. Elyan took after his father, a handsome, blue-eyed white tiger. Dawnpelt and Hortense looked like me, the color of the setting sun.
"Goodbye, mother." churred my eldest daughter as she padded from the den. She looked back, with unclouded sorrow in her eyes. She looked at her sister and they slipped away. A gentle breeze rustled the trees as they disappeared into the forest. They were gone. Gone with the wind.
When Stormtail did return that night, I said the young tigresses had merely gone out hunting and would be back soon. Of course, they never returned and Stormtail sent his friends to look for them. He went too, looking for days at a time before coming back. Days turned to moons and Stormtail had no luck. I was out everyday he was too, mostly doing nothing, though he thought I was searching for my daughters.
Three seasons later, I lay in the cave pondering about my daughters, while my new kit played with a dead rabbit. Stormtail had named him Akun and I hated it. He was the only one who survived over three days. His sister was small, too small, and she only lasted three days before surrendering to the cold. Stormtail seemed glad she was gone and said Akun would soon be training with him. There was nothing I could do, my mate was bigger than me. A lot bigger, and I knew better than to argue. One day he decided we should go hunting together. We left Akun at the cave and walked to some fresh hunting grounds. We split up, aiming to track down a hog herd that lived in the area. Not long after we split up, I heard a loud shriek and tore off to find the source, assuming Stormtail had found a big male boar. As I got closer I smelt a familiar smell. I suddenly felt sick and continued on. Then I saw it. A tiger, laying limp on the ground, blood oozing from her throat. Stormtail stood nearby, grinning at me. I padded over to the body and gasped. It was Hortense! And three kits! Two on the ground next to her and one pinned under her. I collapsed and buried my face in her fur. How could Stormtail do this? My grief suddenly turned to rage. I whipped around and lashed at Stormtail's face. He easily dodged and my claws raked empty air. I hissed and glared at him. "How could you?" I spat at him. "She was a trespasser. Simple." growled the white tiger. He turned and stalked away. "Fools." he muttered.
I decided right there that I had to get to the den and take Nyroc away. Far away so Stormtail would never find them. I looked back at Hortense and her kits. She had a mate somewhere, looking for her. He'd find her and bury her. I had to get home. I pelted throught the forest to get to the den before Stormtail.
I reached the den and burst into it. Akun wasn't there. "Akun! Akun! Where are you?" I screeched frantically. I smelt Stormtail's scent and it was fresh. He'd made to Akun first. I gave up. I walked away, tail dragging. I arrived at the place where Hortense was killed. Her bodies and her kits' were gone. Two new scents were mingled with hers. Neither were familiar. I crawled under a bush and fell asleep.
The next morning, I was awakened by someone prodding me. I jumped up and roared at them, a dark brown horse with a cream mane and a pale gray horse with a light brown mane. The dark brown horse stepped closer. "It's okay. We won't hurt you. My name is Ivypelt. And this," she nodded at the other mare. "Is Vashti. We're from ShadowClan. Come with us to our camp." said the big mare gently. I stepped back and weighed my choices. There were two options: go with them and live with them or fend for myself and stay hidden from Stormtail. I lashed my tail and nodded. "I'm Tawnypelt, one of the tigers from over there. I would be grateful to go with you." I said, pointing my striped tail in the direction of my old home, Fang Mountain. Vashti nodded. "Come on then, camp is this way." she said, turning around. She trotted off through the forest. Ivypelt dipped her head. She waited for me and we walked towards their camp. We arrived in camp, which was half-surrounded by boulders and half-surrounded by thick gorse bushes. There was a gray stallion with a thick black mane.
"I am Xerxes, leader of ShadowClan. Vashti said you were interested in joining my Clan?" said the gray stallion.I nodded. "I am Tawnyclaw, a refuge from Fang Mountain. And yes, I am interested in joining." "We can't accept you yet. You must train with us for a moon before we can call you a warrior of ShadowClan."
After a moon of border patrols, hunting for the Clan and gathering certain kinds of grass for the grass-eaters, Xerxes had my warrior ceremony. I was a full warrior of ShadowClan. I've been through hell and back and I've finally found a new hope.