So I'm insane. We've got that covered, right? Good. Because I've made a Thistle/Blue one-shot. I've been wanting to write it forever (read: a year and a half), because I ship this very seriously, even though it's a Crack!Ship.

Anyway, this one-shot certainly isn't my best (it sucks, to be honest). It's short, probably not nearly emotional enough, doesn't have enough backstory (I can't think of any D:) and just not good. Plus most of it's taken straight out from Bluestar's Prophecy anyway. The dialogue, at least. /flails

Thank you very, very much to my wonderful beta, Veni0Vidi0Vici. You're one of my best friends and even though you say you're a suckish beta, I swear you're amazing. I love you, Veni.

I don't own Warriors.

Thistles and Thorns

By: Coqui's Song

The agony clawed his heart like thorns.

And it was all her fault. The warrior with the blue fur and piercing blue eyes. Ever since he was a small apprentice, he'd admired the fire in her gaze. Bluefur, the one who made his heart go crazy whenever he was around her, regardless of how much he forced his attention on her white-furred sister. He tried to make himself love Snowfur –she was just as beautiful as Bluefur, after all, and they were good friends; they'd been close since apprenticeship. Why shouldn't he love Snowfur? The white warrior was always amicable with him, always warm and how those blue eyes –so much like Bluefur's –sparkled whenever they met his pale green.

Thistleclaw wanted to love Snowfur. She was so much better than the alternative –Bluefur, that she-cat who'd always treated him with disrespect, always with hatred in her eyes, revulsion on her face whenever she caught him and Snowfur playing around.

He tried to put that horrible she-cat out of his mind, too. Thistleclaw and Snowfur had a kit, a beautiful son. He loved Whitekit. And he was so affectionate with Snowfur; who would ever doubt his love for the gorgeous white she-cat? It had become so he had almost convinced himself. He really did love Snowfur. He protected her, he joked with her, he whispered his adoration of her in the white warrior's gray ears.

And then Snowfur died. And it was all her fault; Bluefur killed his mate, and now nothing, nothing could ever distract him from her glimmering blue eyes, her soft gray fur, her silvery tipped tail, her lithe and slender body. It scared him. He couldn't be with her. He had to pretend to hate her, because she so despised him. Thistleclaw would spit venom at her, and part of him did hate her; hated her because she didn't love him, because she killed Snowfur. She killed Snowfur, the only cat who'd truly loved him. Grief stabbed at his heart.

He started pushing Whitekit, training him hard. As a kit, to distract himself from the blue-furred she-cat. And maybe to get her to notice him, to talk to him for once. Trained him hard into apprenticeship. Poor Whitepaw did get a bit beaten up at times. If Bluefur noticed, she never confronted Thistleclaw. One day, however, when his son had come back from training scratched up badly by Tigerpaw, she'd approached him, eyes flashing a blue inferno. "What is wrong with you?" she'd demanded.

I love you, that's what's wrong with me, he snarled in his mind. Instead, he growled, "Whitepaw should be strong enough to fight his own battles."

"Listen, mouse-brain, he's an apprentice. So is Tigerpaw. If you taught Tigerpaw respect for his Clanmates, this would never have happened," she hissed.

"His Clanmates must earn his respect."

"But Whitepaw will be scarred for life!"

"It'll teach him to react more quickly next time."

Bluefur narrowed her eyes. "One day, you're going to kill Whitepaw with these practices, and then you'll lose your last connection with Snowfur." She stalked away, rage making her pelt fluff up.

Thistleclaw scoffed, but her words had wounded him. He knew what he was doing wrong, he knew he should love Whitepaw, not injure him, but he wanted to hurt Bluefur after all the pain she'd caused him. He detested this unrequited love; he didn't want this to go on.

Moons passed, and Thistleclaw's anger and desperation grew. He knew something was going on with Bluefur and Oakheart, and he knew that she was expecting his kits. He saw her tell that –that fish-faced RiverClan cat, and he waited a while after she'd left. He watched the RiverClan cat silently, hiding in the bushes, the shade of the forest. Oakheart seemed lost, taking a couple steps forward, about to follow her into the forest.

He wants to join ThunderClan for her! The nerve! Bluefur is mine, fish-face. He gestured to Tigerclaw and they leapt out of the bushes, cornering Oakheart. Thistleclaw lunged, pinning down the russet-colored tom on the stones, gripping the RiverClan cat's throat with his claws, hating him. He hated that Bluefur loved Oakheart instead, he wanted to kill the other tom for it. He wanted Bluefur to love him, and he growled as his claws began to close around the cat's neck. Oakheart's deep green eyes looked up at him with fear.

"You filthy fish-eater," he roared. "What are you doing on our territory? I should rip your throat out!"

"What are you doing?!" Bluefur screamed. Tigerclaw, who was standing guard, looking out for more enemy warriors, answered something, but she ignored it. She threw herself at Thistleclaw and flung him off Oakheart.

"Have you gone mad? It's not a kit this time!" he snarled, referencing their encounter with that kittypet kitten seasons ago. The gray spiky warrior was absolutely livid. His wrath was directed at her, at Oakheart, at himself. He wanted to kill her. Kill Oakheart, too. "It's a RiverClan warrior! He's invading our territory!"

"Don't be ridiculous. What could he do on his own?"

"There may be others!"

"There aren't." Oakheart staggered to his paws, and his voice came out quiet and timid, which was extremely unlike him, and Thistleclaw was repulsed by his submissive tone. This was Oakheart? The great RiverClan warrior, the one every cat expected to be leader one day? "I –I got swept here by a wave. I'll leave now."

"Not so fast," Thistleclaw meowed, blocking the RiverClan tom's way, his blood-lust overwhelming him. How he desired to slaughter Oakheart and spray that RiverClan cat's blood on the shore. He wished for the river to run scarlet with the thick liquid.

Bluefur bolted to Oakheart, getting between the two toms, her fur bristled. "Enough, Thistleclaw! You've taught him a lesson, now let him go!"

"Traitor!" His fury got the better of him. Thistleclaw gave her a heavy blow, which sent her stumbling back, shaking her head. "You're a coward and a fool! I've never once seen you defend our borders. What kind of warrior are you?" He leaned in close to her as she recovered her balance. "Do you know that RiverClan warrior?"

Bluefur's eyes widened slightly before she regained her composure. "He's called Oakheart. I've seen him at Gatherings."

He leaned in closer still, and his voice became quiet, a mere whisper. Right then, all he wished was to murmur sweet nothings in her ear, to love her, but he couldn't. She loved this rotten fish-face instead, and abhorred him. So he whispered, "I didn't ask if you knew who he was, I asked if you knew him." He paused for a moment, then, for effect, added, "Better than the code allows."

She met his gaze steadily. "Of course not."

Oooh, that hurt Oakheart, Bluefur. But it also hurt me. That you would deceive and lie so easily to protect him. You really are a traitor. You disgust me, you piece of fox-dung. I hate every hair on your pelt. One day, I will kill Oakheart, and Whitestorm, and your kits, just so you can feel my pain. The pain, that with each look you give me, pierces my heart like thistles, with thorns sharp as claws. You'll finally know how I feel. And then, I'll kill you.

Thistleclaw hated every hair on Bluefur's beautiful silvery blue pelt. So why did he still love her?

Just so you guys know, I totally ship Blue/Oak, too. But it just seemed forced in the books, so. :/ It was really interesting to try to write Thistleclaw's perspective, at least. It's different. I like it. And I love writing monologues, which sort of explains Thistle's ramble at the end there. Actually, this entire fic seems a bit rambly, doesn't it? Hmm.

Review?

~Coqui's Song