Mistaken for Heroes

Characters:

Asterpetal – lilac tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

Chestnutpaw – tabby tom with dark blue eyes

Sharpfang – ambitious, aloof dark tabby tom with amber eyes

Nettlehawk – swift, skinny tortoiseshell and tabby tom with white paws and chest and blue eyes

Badgerstep - large, responsible black tom with green eyes, white-striped face, and large paws

Pepperpaw – black and white tom with green eyes

Kestrelstar – elegant, pretty spotted tabby she-cat with very pale yellow eyes

LightningClan and ShadeClan had always been the two Clans with the greatest hatred for each other. When LightningClan needed prey and had to resort to theft, it was always ShadeClan that they had stolen from. When they wanted to claim more territory for themselves, or when they wanted to pick a fight, they challenged ShadeClan. Yet when LightningClan needed help, ShadeClan was always willing to jump in and help. The other Clans saw them as benevolent heroes, cats who would gladly risk their lives even for their worst enemies.

It was all a load of fox dung.

Asterpetal knew this for certain. Because she was trapped outside of her camp as night was falling, both she and her apprentice injured. All of it the fault of that StarClan-forsaken rabbit.

"Hey, Asterpetal! Look!"

Chestnutpaw beckoned her over with a twitch of his tail, blinking in kittenish delight. The energetic young tom was only a half-moon away from becoming a warrior, yet he still acted like a kit just out of the nursery. It was endearing at times, but more often than not it ended up causing trouble.

The tortoiseshell warrior approached, her mottled lilac-and-ginger pelt shimmering in the late afternoon sun as she crept soundlessly across the field towards her apprentice. Despite the fact that he always spoke as if he were calling to a cat halfway across the territory, it seemed that prey never ran away at the sound of his yowl; unfortunately, the effect did not carry over to her. If the grass around her so much as rustled, her prey would immediately run away. It made it very difficult sometimes to observe his hunting unnoticed.

Luckily for them both, she was quiet enough that she reached his side without any noise. "What is it?" she murmured.

He flicked his ears toward a clump of grass about four fox-lengths away down the hill. "Look," he whispered loudly. "It's a rabbit – a big, fat one, too!" Said rabbit was half-in, half-out of the grass, ears twitching as it munched on the long, yellowing tendrils of grass. "Do you think Kestralstar would like it if I brought it to her?" he queried eagerly.

Asterpetal sighed inwardly at his comment. The young tabby had a hopeless crush on LightningClan's leader. The elegant spotted tabby she-cat was much older than him, having risen to leadership just a few days after his birth, but the age gap didn't seem to matter to Chestnutpaw. He idolized her.

Kestralstar had been Asterpetal's own mentor, supporting her from the moment she was apprenticed to the day she became deputy. Asterpetal had been quickly appointed after the death of Burnstar, her mentor's son, but she had done her best to prove to the Clan that she would be the best deputy she could be even if she wasn't as old and experienced as her mentor and predecessor. The two she-cats had become closer friends than ever before in the short seasons since then, their closely-related jobs allowing them to meet for discussion every evening when the Clan was finishing their prey and sharing tongues.

"I suppose, but remember that you have to feed the queens and elders first," Asterpetal meowed firmly. "You might ask them to save it for her, but there are a lot of hungry warriors and Kestralstar might not reach it in time."

"Oh." Chestnutpaw's tail drooped for a moment, but then he lifted his head cheerfully. "That's okay! I'll catch it anyway! Whatever cat gets it will be really happy, right?"

Asterpetal purred, resting her tail on his shoulder. "A very positive way of looking at it, Chestnutpaw. Now, why don't you go after that rabbit?"

"All right!" he exclaimed loudly, leaping to his paws. The movement, laced with energy, was much louder than his movements normally were. Asterpetal groaned inwardly. Oh, StarClan, there it goes.

And indeed, there it went. The rabbit, finally taking notice of the sounds, looked to the side to see two cats atop the hill – one of them barreling down towards it. It let out a shrill of terror and launched itself out of the grass, racing away from Chestnutpaw on terror-fueled paws. He shot down after it, long legs helping him tear across the ground and rapidly begin closing the distance between them.

Then Asterpetal recalled that they were near the ShadeClan border and let out a hiss of alarm. "Chestnutpaw, wait! Get back here!" she called to him. Though his pace flagged for a half-second, her apprentice was fixated on catching the rabbit. He continued to charge towards the border. She watched, frustrated and concerned, as the prey crossed it and he followed carelessly.

Now she couldn't just stand there, not when he was on enemy territory. Asterpetal made her way down the hill as quickly as she could, ignoring how loudly she moved, and growled angrily as she approached the border.

Chestnutpaw had caught up with the rabbit at last, biting down hard onto its spine and lashing his tail victoriously. "Asterpetal!" he meowed through muffled fur. "Look! I caught the rabbit!"

She glared at him and was about to scold him when another voice carried over her words.

"Stole the rabbit, you mean."

It was a deep, rumbling voice, and Asterpetal's heart sank as she recognized it to be Sharpfang. The ambitious, arrogant dark tabby had given her more scars than she could count due to his nigh-unmatched skill in battle, and he was certainly the worst cat to encounter when her apprentice was trespassing; no doubt he would accuse her of terrible mentoring and send her back to camp with her tail between her legs if not a new scar.

Chestnutpaw's face fell as he realized that he was surrounded by ShadeClan scent, the dismay gleaming in his eyes. "Oops," he squeaked nervously, looking to Asterpetal's left. She turned to see a group of ShadeClan warriors emerge from behind several scraggly bushes, Sharpfang in the lead. Most of them were bristling and glaring at her.

"Sharpfang," she meowed in a respectful tone. The tom was several seasons older than her and had bested her in battle multiple times; she knew that asserting her authority as LightningClan's deputy would only serve to annoy him. "I don't suppose that you would accept an apology as sufficient?"

He snorted disdainfully. "An apology. From LightningClan. I'd rather ask an adder to share my nest." Another warrior on the patrol chuckled at his comment, but Asterpetal noticed that a young tom – one who had only been announced as a warrior at the Gathering a few moons ago – was studying his paws uncomfortably.

"Look, I truly am sorry," she began. "Surely you know how young cats can be so relentless about their prey –"

"Hey!" Chestnutpaw interrupted, but she silenced him with a glare.

Sharpfang twitched his ear disdainfully, completely ignoring the apprentice. "No, I can't say that I know what you mean. My apprentices would never break the warrior code in such a foolish manner. Stealing from the rival Clan right in front of their noses? In truth, I've never seen such blatantly stupid behavior."

"Say that to my face, you piece of –" Chestnutpaw began angrily, beginning to bristle and dropping his rabbit. Sharpfang paid his comment no mind, but flicked his tail. The warrior who had laughed at his taunt swooped in, grabbing the rabbit in his teeth, and jerked back before Chestnutpaw could protest.

Asterpetal forced the fur along her spine to lie flat as she watched this take place. "What exactly are you doing?"

Sharpfang's reply was almost flippant, "Taking the prey that rightly belongs to ShadeClan."

"But it was ours!" her apprentice argued, lashing his tail. "Just because it crossed the border doesn't mean that it belongs to your Clan automatically!"

The warrior who had taken the rabbit set it down and laughed mockingly. "Actually, it does." He shot an amused glance at Asterpetal before adding, "Didn't your mentor teach you anything?"

Chestnutpaw snarled at him. "Don't talk about Asterpetal that way! She's the best mentor ever!"

She blinked at him, surprised to hear him defending her with such vehemence. It pained her to scold him for it, but for the sake of avoiding a battle she needed to. "Chestnutpaw," she meowed firmly, "I appreciate the sentiment, but we are in the wrong here."

"But it's not fair!" he mewed, a whine adding an edge to his protest. "I had it!"

Sharpfang growled low in his throat. Asterpetal flinched, knowing that the tom was beginning to lose his patience.

"You didn't have anything until you crossed our border!" Now it was an apprentice speaking, a black and white tom with bright green eyes that were gleaming cruelly. "You would have lost it if you hadn't trespassed!"

"I would not have!" Chestnutpaw growled, bristling again with indignation. "It's not like a border magically slows down everything that crosses it!"

"Oh yeah?" the apprentice demanded, eyes sparkling. "It must have – because you're so slow!"

Asterpetal was just about to tell Sharpfang to shut his apprentice up, and tell Chestnutpaw to drop it and get back on their territory, but she was too late. He lunged at the ShadeClan apprentice, hissing furiously.

Great StarClan, she thought, now we're in for it. Without any other option but to let them fight, Asterpetal pounced across the border and thrust her apprentice back, ignoring the way his claws stuck in her fur as he belatedly tried to stop his attack. She shouldered him away, eyes narrowed to slits. "For StarClan's sake, Chestnutpaw, do you want to fight?"

"Yes!" he snapped angrily, glaring around her at the black and white apprentice, who was staring at him loftily.

Sharpfang growled low in his throat. "Your apprentice is inviting a shredding, Asterpetal," he hissed dangerously, "and you've just crossed our border."

She whipped around, eyes wide now. For StarClan's sake, does he want to fight that badly? "I was trying to keep your apprentice from being clawed to shreds, seeing as he doesn't appear to be good at anything except puffing out his chest." Then she winced inwardly, realizing that her tongue had slipped and her anger had gotten the best of her.

"Pepperpaw can handle himself in battle," the tortoiseshell-tabby warrior behind Sharpfang commented. Asterpetal unsheathed her claws and curled them into the grass beneath her paws sourly, knowing what was coming. "It seems that your apprentice can't do the same, since you had to step in for him."

The young tom at the back of the patrol – Badgerstep, if she remembered correctly – fidgeted nervously. "Nettlehawk, please don't –"

"If you don't want to defend our territory, then just stand back," Sharpfang snapped, whirling on him. He cast a glance at the tabby and tortoiseshell tom, Nettlehawk, and something seemed to pass between them even as Badgerstep backed away wearing a defeated expression.

Asterpetal thrust Chestnutpaw behind her, knowing full well that she couldn't defeat both of these toms but also acutely aware that Chestnutpaw would not be able to handle one of them on his own and, considering the way Nettlehawk was taunting him, the mottled warrior would likely try to attack him.

Then they lunged.

It was one of the fastest-paced fights that she had ever been in. Asterpetal was known for being a swift attacker, able to dart in and out of combat to inflict a wound and withdraw, and that skill was put to the test with these two. Sharpfang was almost as fast but easily twice as strong, while Nettlehawk swiped rapidly. Pepperpaw darted around her and engaged Chestnutpaw, who was happy to oblige. And Badgerstep watched unhappily from a distance.

Slash! Sharpfang had torn a notch in her ear.

Click! She had grabbed Nettlehawk's flailing paw in her jaws and bitten until her teeth clacked on the bone.

Snap! He had reciprocated by swiping his claws across her muzzle and biting her shoulder, which began to throb.

At least Chestnutpaw seemed to be winning his fight against Pepperpaw, who let out a wail of pain from behind her. The sound distracted her just enough for Nettlehawk to unbalance her with a headbutt to her injured shoulder. As she began to climb to her paws, Sharpfang abruptly slammed his entire weight down on her just as she began to put weight on one leg. There was a brief wave of pain so fierce that it took her breath away, then a solid and constant ache that made her dizzy in its dull ferocity.

"Asterpetal!" Chestnutpaw yowled, shoving Pepperpaw away with a powerful kick to the face and rushing to her side recklessly. He nosed her. "Are you okay? Asterpetal!"

She hissed in pain. Fox-dung. I can't get up. "Look out," she croaked, but it was too late – Nettlehawk had descended upon her apprentice. He let out a shriek of agony as the ShadeClan warrior tore swatches of fur from his flank, clawing him viciously. She could only watch helplessly as Nettlehawk and Pepperpaw closed in, obscuring her apprentice from view as they savaged him. Sharpfang, in the meantime, closed in on her with a dark sneer.

"You will regret your actions this day," he hissed. "Never steal prey from ShadeClan again, or this will be worse for you."

The last thing that Asterpetal saw before pain descended on her and shut out the world was Badgerstep. His eyes were wide with horror and he was shaking his head slowly. She had a brief flash of recognition – isn't Sharpfang his father? What must life have been like knowing they were kin? – before she was swallowed in agony.

When Asterpetal awoke, violently nauseous and aching all over, it was dark. The moon hung low in the sky, giving only the faintest illumination to the fields around her. She tried to assess her injuries but found that the pain was evenly spread across her entire body to the point that she almost wondered if the ShadeClan warriors had stripped all of her fur off. Either way, it hurt far too much to move. A short distance from her was Chestnutpaw. His dark fur was clumped with dried blood, his flesh torn. His back was to her, so she couldn't tell whether he was awake or still unconscious. Thankfully, though, his flank still rose and fell faintly.

Her muscles wrenched painfully as the urge to vomit overcame her, but there was some small relief after that – she was no longer nauseous. The grass around her was smudged with blood, but it was much darker around Chestnutpaw. Oh, StarClan, let him be okay. Let me get to him.

She strained her muscles, forcing her mind to build a wall before she could fall unconscious again, and managed to drag herself into a crouching position. There she lay, gasping for breath. How badly did they injure us?

Asterpetal steadied herself by watching her apprentice's flank move. It was constant and reassuring, the only thing anchoring her to stay conscious. Please just let me reach him. She shifted slightly and her muscles screamed in protest. There was no was that she could get to her paws, but she would crawl if she had to.

And crawl she did, after another moment. She dragged herself closer to Chestnutpaw until she was close enough to press her muzzle into his pelt. He didn't move at all – still unconscious, then – and she began to lick him gently, tasting nothing but the metallic tang of blood on his fur.

There was no way to tell how long she had been lapping at him when she heard a yowl.

"Asterpetal!"

Kestralstar! She could recognize her friend's voice anywhere. Immense relief flooded her, lifting the dull and deadened feeling from her heart. The LightningClan leader's scent reached her nose, piercing through the taste and smell of blood, and when she looked up there were two silhouettes illuminated by the moon at the top of the hill.

"Thank StarClan," Kestralstar gasped, rushing over the hill. Behind her followed the other cat, moving more slowly. When the moon was no longer behind it, Asterpetal recognized the cat. Badgerstep.

Her friend pressed her muzzle into Asterpetal's lilac-and-ginger pelt, gasping as she discovered the extent of her injuries, but the warrior paid her no mind. "Badgerstep," she croaked. "Why are you here?"

Kestralstar explained rapidly, "He came to the camp – somehow didn't run into a patrol. Some of the warriors tried to stop him, but eventually he just shoved past them and went to my den to tell me that his patrol had attacked you, and you were hurt. It took us too long to reach you," she added miserably. "I'm so sorry."

"And I'm sorry, too," Badgerstep added. His voice was deep for a young warrior, and Asterpetal saw a strength in his broad shoulders that might have surpassed even Sharpfang, given the strength of years to add to it. "There is no excuse for the way my fa – for the way Sharpfang acted." He almost said his father, Asterpetal noted.

She let out a weak chuckle. "No, there's not. But don't you feel guilty; it's not your fault he attacked."

"I should have stopped him," Badgerstep replied quietly. He stared at his paws. "He's always been like that."

Asterpetal opened her mouth to console him, but was cut off by a sharp gasp of alarm from Kestralstar. "What? What is it?" she meowed, but her friend was backing away with a look of horror in her gaze – which was fixed on Chestnutpaw. An icy claw sank into her heart; she didn't even have to look to know why the LightningClan leader was so horrified.

She had been in a dreamlike state as she groomed Chestnutpaw, focused solely on cleaning his wounds and fur and keeping him warm. As a result, she hadn't noticed that fresh blood had stopped seeping from his injuries and his smaller form was cold. No. Oh, no.

"Chestnutpaw," she rasped, and stared down at him. She had pressed herself against him, licked his fur until it gleamed brightly in the moonlight, and she hadn't noticed it. "Chestnutpaw," she repeated weakly. When there was no response, Asterpetal lowered her head and pressed her muzzle into his flank without another sound.

Kestralstar exhaled softly. "Oh, Asterpetal, I'm sorry," she meowed softly. "But the least we can do is send him to StarClan as a warrior." She cleared her throat and approached again, and when she next spoke her voice was wavering but clear. "I ask my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has learned the warrior code and given up his life in the service of his Clan. Let StarClan receive him as a warrior. He will be known as Chestnutfall."

"Chestnutfall," Badgerstep repeated softly and respectfully. He had bowed his head as well upon learning of the young tom's fate.

He has learned the warrior code, Asterpetal thought bitterly. But not well enough. And now he's dead because of it – because of a stupid mistake, and because ShadeClan was cruel enough to take his life over a rabbit. She didn't think she would be eating rabbits anytime soon – but then again, Chestnutfall would never eat another rabbit.

"Come on, Asterpetal, we must return to camp and have the vigil," Kestralstar mewed gently, laying her tail on Asterpetal's shoulder.

"Right," she agreed, getting to her feet mechanically and taking her apprentice's scruff in her jaws. The way he thudded heavily against her legs sent a chill up her spine. What do I do tomorrow? How can I do anything the same way ever again?

As Kestralstar led her up the hill towards the forest where LightningClan's camp was, Badgerstep looked at Asterpetal with a sorrowful gaze. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I wish I could have stopped them."

"It's not your fault," she croaked, but she knew her words sounded hollow – because they were. If Badgerstep had not brought Kestralstar here, she would have gladly torn him to shreds for being on the patrol, for being Sharpfang's son, for being in ShadeClan. Anything, if it would bring back Chestnutfall.

The "heroes" of the Clans, huh, she thought to herself. Everyone is making a mistake. They're just mistaken for heroes.

This didn't follow the prompt nearly as well as I intended, but I don't really care because I think this is actually better than some of my other stories, if a little bit over-the-top with the ruthlessness of Sharpfang. On the other hand, I really, really hate Sharpfang. (He's the father of Badgerstep and Foxtail. Didn't know that? Exactly.) I'm still deciding whether or not to write a one-shot about it, but I have a whole mental thing worked out about Badgerstep's recovery in the medicine den and how Sharpfang visited him just one time.

So I wanted to make this clear for you, jayfeather, because even I had trouble keeping it straight at first. Although name-wise, ShadeClan is the equivalent of ShadowClan and LightningClan is like ThunderClan, their roles are actually switched. ShadeClan is the "main Clan," if you will, the Clan that the heroes are from and the stories take place from the perspective of. They're the Clan that can do no wrong. But every Clan has its good cats and its bad cats, and every hero to one Clan is a villain to another. So I decided that, for this particular story, I would write from the perspective of a cat who I might mention once or twice more and show that ShadeClan isn't just the Clan of heroes and destiny. They have some cruel warriors who are glad to fight.
Also, this shows the nicer side of Kestralstar, which I like. I like Kestralstar (and now I like Asterpetal, so she'll probably show up more often), and I feel like everyone saw her as "evil cat who hated her son and killed him for power." In truth, she's not just evil and she doesn't hate all young cats with no mothering instinct, etc., etc. She practically raised Asterpetal, then became her closest friend and confidant, and her Clan loves her.

Also yay Badgerstep is a good guy even when his Clan is evil, because I can't make him evil.

I just can't.

That's all. Thanks for reading!