A/N: Thornclaw's been alone far too long…
Disclaimer: none of the cats are mine. Property of Erin Hunter.
Thornclaw's Secret
He stared across that border. The longing that kept pulling him away from his own camp drew him to the pines. He wanted to be running through those pines. He wanted to find her. He wanted to find her and tell her what he really felt.
There was no sign of that pelt. No sign of the she-cat.
Thornclaw was forced to retreat again. Back to his own camp. Back behind his own line of trees. Back behind the warrior code. She would never love him. Not with her own kits. Now they were warriors. Warriors.
The thought scared him that he may have to fight her kits in battle one day. Those beautiful kits…
He wished they were his. He wished so dearly that those beautiful kits were his instead of that other tom's.
She always had to move on. Thornclaw expected that. He had to accept it too. He loved that she-cat and if setting her free was what she wanted, it was what he'd let her do.
Somehow, he would always stay trapped within his heart. And all those seasons and moons later, he'd still be watching that border with a passion, longing for her. She would be with him. Only in StarClan.
His loyalties were bound to ThunderClan by blood. He loved his clan. He loved the loyalty. He loved spending his time beneath the leaves and low-hanging branches. Then there was the feeling of family.
If he raced across to ShadowClan, he would be called a traitor. An outsider. He would never be accepted in any clan ever again. And he would've left his home only for the trail of love. Love that would never come true.
Thornclaw could never succeed. She was taken. He was alone. He was waiting. The red-furred tom had an immense amount of patience.
The scent of pine filled his senses and he headed back towards camp to join up with his hunting patrol once again, the story of losing a sparrow ready to spread to the other hunters of ThunderClan.
Thornclaw never turned back to look at the empty pine forest floor. There was no brush to hide his bright red pelt. The shadows hid so many lithe cat forms. He never thought of it. He never wondered if it had been different if he had followed her.
The tom left quickly. One mouse hung limp in his jaws. He thought he caught sight of her pelt. It wasn't there.
Thornclaw left the border of ShadowClan, still longing deeply for Tawnypelt, the she-cat who had left ThunderClan long ago.
A/N: any thoughts on it?
~Sky