Fadedpaw gave a soft snort of annoyance as he glared at his leader, Doestar, as she daintily stepped across the camp and speaking to individual cats as she went.
The white and black-striped tom had every right to feel angry at the she-cat. Fourteen moons old and still not a warrior, even though he deserved it. He had trained the hardest, worked the hardest, tried to catch the most prey, and even gained the respect of most cats in the clan for his rippling muscles and fighting skills.
But the tan she-cat refused to give him his warrior name no matter how many times he tried to impress her and others in hunting and training, talking about how he was "untrustworthy."
So Fadedpaw was the son of a rogue? Who cared? Featherfall, his mother, was still an honored Starclan cat. No one blamed her for falling in love with the rogue. No… the cat who had no say in the decision was absolutely perfect for the blame.
Shaking off his anger, the striped tom gave one tail-lash before stalking out of camp. He would show Doestar that he could be a cat worthy of being a warrior. Fadedpaw would prove he was more loyal than his mother.
He traveled at a fast lope, using his nose to lead him towards the river that ran through Thunderclan territory and towards the most dangerous area that the whole clan made sure to steer away from:
He was going to the badger den.
The tom only paused when he got to the edge of its nasty scent, his nose wrinkling in disgust as he took a step back, hissing. Any cat that was actually thinking straight would have turned and ran at first scent.
Fadedpaw was too angry, too distraught, and too emotional to think about what he was doing. All he knew was that he was going to prove himself once and for all. He needed to show himself and the clan that he was actually worth something. That he had some use in his clan.
Raising his tail and chin bravely, the apprentice stepped towards the burrow, paws crunching noisily on leaves and a growl rumbling in his throat as his amber eyes glowed with anger.
His plan was to alert the badger. He knew he had no choice of fighting it in its den. The space was too tight, it was too dark; the badger would have the advantages against him.
No, the only way to stand a chance was to draw the badger out and wing the rest.
There! A flash of black fur with white stripes! Beady black eyes shone from the darkness. The large beast snarled at him as it heavily clambered out of its den, and Fadedpaw had his first ever look at a badger.
It was huge. Its black and white fur glowed in the dappled sunlight. It had thick muscled with thick fur covering it, making the creature look even bigger. The badger had a dark power surrounding it of danger and enough maliciousness to put the courage of the greatest warrior to shame.
Muzzle curling as it set its eyes on its prey; the badger bared its fangs to reveal long, yellow teeth that could pierce into Fadedpaw. It then lunged at him with surprising speed and agility, causing the apprentice to yowl in fear and scramble away, wind rushing past him as the badger missed.
Spinning, Fadedpaw faced the creature with eyes wide with terror as it growled at him. The tom wanted so badly to run away and hide, wishing to face against his mentor or another apprentice than this.
But then he remembered why he was fighting. Why he came here in the first place, and his eyes narrowed in determination. Unsheathing his claws, Fadedpaw faced the badger with newfound courage, determined to earn what was rightfully his.
He would become a warrior of Thunderclan.
And with that, he leapt at the badger, a yowl of anger escaping his muzzle as he landed on its side, digging his claws into its side and piercing skin with his fangs.
The badger roared in anger, and it turned its broad black and white-striped head to face the apprentice as he feebly tried to hold on. Fangs suddenly pierced into his neck, breaking skin as it thrust him away. Fadedpaw saw black spots as he slammed into a tree, falling painfully as the rough bark scored across his body before gravity dropped him among its roots.
He let out a pained hiss before dragging himself to his paws, glaring at the badger before running at it once again, dodging around its long black claws and swerving towards its back. He clawed its side, blood spraying from the wound.
Snarling with pain and fury, the creature bucked him off, sending Fadedpaw into the dirt before lumbering over and grabbing him by his hind leg, ignoring the tom's pained yowls as it clenched as hard as it could, satisfied at the crunch that came from the cat's leg.
His gaze blurred with the terrible feeling he now came to know as true and horrible pain and misery, Fadedpaw lifted his head to see the badger's throat so tantalizingly close to his claws.
With a grunt, the tom swung himself from the badger's jaws, scoring his claws across it's throat, lifeblood pouring out from the jagged wound as Fadedpaw hit the place he was hoping to hit.
The badger suddenly let go of him, and Fadedpaw screamed in pain when he landed on his crushed leg, his sight became hazy, his brain no longer worked as he lay there, in too much pain to do anything but breathe heavily and fight off the welcoming haze of unconsciousness.
Right when the black and white tom was about to embrace the deep sleep, he heard the sound of heavy paw steps. Blearily looking up, he saw a sight that made his heart skip a beat.
In front of him was another badger. This one was angrier than the last.
Fadedpaw stared at the creature with wide eyes, fighting off the urge to cower in fear as it turned its beady gaze on him. If anyone can hear me, he thought bitterly. My name is Fadedpaw. And I would like to make a complaint to Starclan for my fate.
With that, the badger began stalking up to him. He could hear its heavy breathing and smell its scent of death. He shut his eyes tight, hoping it would be short and sweet.
"Stay away from him!" A voice rang out, and Fadedpaw lifted his head to see a patrol of four cats burst from the bushes, three of them attacking the badger while on stood in front of him protectively.
"Doestar?" He whispered incredulously, recognizing the tan she-cat's pelt. His leader turned to gaze at him with… worry?
She turned to face him, her gaze filled with sorrow as she looked over his wounds. "Why did you do this, Fadedpaw?" She said softly to him before bending down to lick the top of his head.
Never before had the tom been so confused.
"I needed to prove myself to you. To show you that I do deserve to have my name. That I'm a Thunderclan warrior at heart! To show you there is no need to hate me like you do." Fadedpaw said the last part bitterly. He was weak, but he gazed up at her with eyes hard with determination.
Hurt, pain, guilt, bitterness, anger, sorrow, the emotions swirled in the she-cat's eyes as they fought for dominance. But it was gone as Doestar lowered her head, eyes shutting tightly. Behind her, Fadedpaw could see the warriors finishing off the badger, snarling at it as they pushed it back and out of the territory.
"I'm so sorry, Fadedpaw." Doestar said, bringing his gaze back to her. "I never thought you would do something like this! And- I don't hate you, I never did. I just- I thought it would be best if you remained an apprentice for a while- to prove to the clan and Featherfall that discipline needed to be ensued.
"I'm so very sorry, Fadedpaw. Please forgive me."
Those were the last things Fadedpaw heard as his eyes suddenly closed, the pull of unconsciousness too strong as he lowered his head, falling into a deep sleep.
When the tom awoke, he stood in a beautiful forest filled with flowers, the sound of moving prey, and a glimmer of the lake through the trees. The pain seemed to be gone from Fadedpaw as he wandered through the forest without the slightest limp or wince, the blood completely gone from his pelt.
"Welcome to Starclan, young warrior."
Fadedpaw gasped as he spun around to face a dark grey tom smiling softly at him, his fur glowing with stars.
"Who are you?" The apprentice gasped, staring at the tom that looked so familiar. "And Starclan? What do you mean?"
"My name is Greycloud." The tom said, before flicking his tail and beginning to walk away. "Follow me. It will explain everything."
Frowning in confusion, but with no other choice if he wanted to figure everything out, Fadedpaw ran to catch up with Greycloud as he led him towards a shimmering pool of water.
"Look down there." The tom gently commanded, and Fadedpaw complied, staring with wide eyes at the sight before him.
There, reflected in the waters, stood Doestar and many other cats surrounding a cat in the center of the camp, his leader speaking loudly:
"This cat has worked hard for all of his moons in training, and fought to prove himself to the whole clan that he was worthy of earning his warrior name, even if it was to the death.
"And so, from this day forward, Fadedpaw will be known as Fadedheart. He has earned this day many times over, and it saddens me to know he will not be able to sit vigil tonight." Doestar finished before lowering her head and crouching beside the cat.
Peering closely, the tom stared at the picture in the waters to realize that cat the whole clan was mourning was actually himself! Fadedheart stared at the water rippled before the image disappeared forever.
Lowering his head sadly, the newly made warrior turned away, a tear falling from his eye as he began to walk away. He had finally earned his warrior name, the thing he wanted for so many moons.
But at what cost?