Dead Rose
Chapter 1: Enter Deadclan
The concept of the clans is a structured, dignified system. A camp where cats alike live and grow. A territory, that everyone tries their hardest to protect. Cats in a clan hunt together, and create bonds. Well, that's how they perceived me to think. Ask my friend Runningfur from Frostclan, his clans got it going on. Frostclan is our rival clan beside us, by the mountains. It's no secret that they're the strongest. Plantclans constantly trying to take their spot up at the top, but they have never quite stripped them of their strong role. I never really liked Plantclan. Their territory is more or less a jungle, and the cats living in it always smell of weeds and leaves. And then on the other side of the forest, we've got the brave yet timid Rainclan. I think the clans name originated from the fact that when it rains, it pours the hardest on the poor, water logged cats in Rainclan. Rainclan is full of small warriors, for some reason none ever grew very big. However, despite their small size, they always seem to constantly be an issue with Plantclan. I personally think Plantclan just enjoys terrorizing them because they can't get away with it with Frostclan. Yes, Rainclan has set itself on the third notch down on the food chain. And who's the lowest on this ranking scale you ask? Oh right, I forgot to tell you what clan I'm in. Sadly, im not in Frostclan. (I wish I was.) I'm not in Plantclan. (Even that would be a step up from what it is.) And I'm not in Rainclan, which is more ideal then what I'm in even though it's more or less a livable creek in their camp. No, I'm not in any of these clans. My name is Deadrose, and I am a proud (not really) warrior of Deadclan. And to answer the question you're probably thinking, yes, I am a tom cat with the word rose in his name. Wouldn't have been my first choice of a name, but my leader has a tendency to pour salt on the wound. Having the word "Dead" at the beginning was awful enough, but when Redstar added "rose" at the end, it took it to a whole new level. Who wants to love a cat with a name like that? I wouldn't, and that's saying something because I'm the one who has the wretched name. And to make matters worse, my pelt just adds insult to injury. I have super short, spiky black fur that never lays flat no matter what I do. Around my front two legs, I have orange stripes weaving their way around up to my chest. They're also jagged. Like thorns. Like my name. Can you see why I'm so annoyed? Anyways, back on topic: Deadclan. Why, you ask, does my clan have such a horrible name? Well, let me tell you something about the way things work around here. Well, first things first, our camp is located over a graveyard. Yes, you heard me right. Before the clans ever got so defined, Deadclan was the specific location to bury dead clanmates, no matter what clan they were in. I know it sounds sadistic and completely weird, but that's just the way it is. Our warriors den is literally a mound. We have to make our nests directly over the bodies of deceased cats.
Sounds fun, doesn't it?
It didn't always used to be like this. Deadclan used to reside behind Rainclan, far away. Everything was great, and Deadclan was called Stormclan. And then some genius came along at one of the gatherings and made a point to mention Stormclan was too far off from the others. The leaders took it to heart and came to the conclusion that if Stormclan didn't relocate, they'd be banished from the forest. So we did what any other cat in it's right mind would do. We relocated. Unfortunately for us, the only spot available to move into was the graveyard. After a few moons of getting used to this, the other clans took it upon themselves to rename us Deadclan, and Redstar found no reason to defend it. Well, we are in a graveyard, he had said. Yeah, well no shit. If we were over a massive dirt place where everyone did their business, would we call our clan Crapclan? Didn't think so.
Yes, the concept of the clans is a structured, dignified system. A camp where cats alike live and grow. Like everywhere you go, there is always an outcast, someone lower than the rest of you. No one quite knows how it feels until you're the one stuck in the position. In my case, the whole of Deadclan towers under the other clans.
And I'd give anything, to be Stormclan again.
...
The forest seemed to glitter today. Raindrops on the leaves shined, and the grass was damp with dew. The sun wasn't shadowed by clouds, and Deadrose relished the feeling of the warmth on his face. He blinked open his eyes slowly, looking out across the border onto Frostclans territory. He was standing on the border, but not a paw across. He knew he should probably leave before a patrol showed up, but he wanted to look across the border for a few more moments.
"Deadrose, why do we always come over here?" Littlepaw his apprentice whined. "I'm bored."
"I just like to come over here sometimes," Deadrose replied to the little she cat. "I like to imagine what could have been."
Littlepaw looked over the border into Frostclan and scowled. "Why do you like them so much?" she asked. "They are our enemies."
"I don't particularly like them, Littlepaw," Deadrose explained. "I just like what they have to live in."
"Well, I like Deadclan," Littlepaw defended her home hotly. "I bet Frostclan cats sit on the border too and look on our territory with jealousy."
Deadrose looked back at the Deadclan forest and tried not to sigh. Withered old shoots of plants lay lifelessly on the ground, wilted old trees creaked and groaned under the slight wind. Mud ruined any flowers the ground might have once held, and the whole scene was gray, brown and ugly.
"See?" Littlepaw prodded her mentor with a paw. "Deadclan is beautiful."
"I think the only beautiful thing here is your optimism," Deadrose smiled slightly. "Now let's go back to the camp and get some dinner."
"Okay!" Littlepaw jumped at the mention of food, and she eagerly followed Deadrose back through the forest and into the camp. When Deadrose pushed his head in the camp entrance, he could already see the evenings hunting party placing their catches on the fresh kill pile.
"I see Lostpaw over there," Littlepaw whispered urgently into Deadroses ear. "Holding a thrush."
"Why don't you go ask if you can share it with him?" Deadrose whispered back. "I don't think he'll be able to eat the whole thing."
"What if he wants to share with Dovepaw?" Littlepaw mumbled back, getting more stressed by the second.
"I doubt he cares who he shares his food with," Deadrose said. "But you better get over there fast. I see Dovepaw making her way over."
Littlepaw pelted away, and Deadrose smiled as she made it to Lostpaw before Dovepaw did. He knew his apprentice was quite fond of the scatterbrained Lostpaw, she made it quite obvious.
"Deadrose, we saved you some!"
Deadrose turned around to see his friends huddled in a group, waving their tails to catch his attention. Deadrose gave a returning nod and padded over to them.
"We managed to save you this from the pile," Tigerlily gently nudged over a small blackbird. "It's not much, but you know how it is."
"This clans like a herd of savages when it comes to eating," Lion chuckled. "It's every cat for themself at the fresh kill pile."
"Well, thanks for saving me some," Deadrose said as he settled in next to Tigerlily. "I would have got some myself but I was out with Littlepaw."
"Littlepaws quite the optimist," Lion replied. "I don't think I've ever seen her upset. You got a good choice of an apprentice, Deadrose."
"Yeah, well, she does her best all right," Deadrose flushed with pride as his friend praised his apprentice. "I just hope when the time comes, Redstar will give her a good name."
"Redstars really hit and miss when it comes to names," Flowertail mumbled angrily beside Lion. "I hope for Littlepaws sake he doesn't name her Littleeye or Littlenose or something dumb like that."
Deadrose looked sympathetically at his friend Flowertail, even thought the rest of his friends groaned in annoyance. They were all sick of hearing about Flowertails dislike for his name, but Deadrose could see why. Flowertail was a boy tom cat.
"Redstar won't name her any of those things," Lion scoffed, jumping in before Flowertail could go off on a rant about his feminine name.
"I can probably talk to Redstar about her name change when the time comes," Tigerlily offered, giving a wink at Deadrose. "After all, I am the deputy."
"I feel so honored to be eating with you," Deadrose shot back sarcastically. Tigerlily just laughed.
"On the topic of being the deputy, o' great Tigerlily," Lion said in an exaggerated voice. "Have you organized tomorrow mornings patrol already?"
"I forgot," Tigerlily admitted, shooting a glare at Flowertail as he snorted in amusement. "I'll just do it in the morning. I'll get up early."
Deadrose chewed his blackbird without speaking, thinking to himself. Lion always had to help remind Tigerlily about her deputy duties, because she was so scatterbrained. Tigerlilys a great cat and I love her dearly as one of my best friends, but Lion should have been made deputy after Icefur passed away, he thought. And if Redstar wasn't so infatuated by Tigerlilys beauty, Lion would have been picked for the role.
"Also Tigerlily, if you get the chance, can you have a word with Redstar about my name?" Lion asked mildly. Deadrose smiled slightly. Lion only had half his name because Redstar couldn't decide on the second half of it.
"I don't know why you're complaining," Flowertail grumbled. "You're name sounds cool with just half of it."
"We can do that with you too if you want," Lion shot back. "Flower."
"NO!" Flowertail cried out twice as loud as necessary.
"I don't know why you three are always so upset about your names," Tigerlily sighed.
"Well, that's because you got a good one," Flowertail muttered. "Because you're pretty and Redstar wants to be mates with you."
"He does not," Tigerlily snapped, lowering her head in embarrassment.
"Whatever," Flowertail rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Be naive if you wish."
"I'm not naive," Tigerlily whispered. No one replied, and Flowertail walked away.
...
"It's always so cold in here," Deadrose hissed as he snuggled next to Lion and Tigerlily. "We might as well not even have walls. It's not like it would make a difference."
"Stop complaining," Lion sighed. "It's not going to help."
Deadrose just sighed, and buried his cold nose under his tail, curling himself into a tight ball for warmth. The warriors den was always ice cold, and there was no logical explanation for it. All the warriors had to pile together in a big heap just to create enough warmth to fall asleep. When they first started doing it, it was extremely awkward. Now it was just routine. Deadrose felt Tigerlilys soft pelt rising and falling as she breathed, shivering slightly from the cold. Deadrose shuffled closer to her to help keep her warm. His eyes were just beginning to close when Flowertail started to rustle.
"I have to go to the dirt place," he announced feebly, stepping over the annoyed cats. "I'll be back in a moment. No one take my spot in the middle."
"Screw that," Lion muttered, heaving himself into the warm spot in the middle of the cats the second Flowertail left. "He can have sleep on the edge where it's the coldest."
Deadrose pretended not to hear, and closed his eyes. The ground underneath him was always the coldest, even though there was no snow or frost. Deadrose personally thought it was cold from the spirits under them, the bodies they were sleeping over.
Spirits aren't just in the stars, they seemed to whisper. We're everywhere. Everywhere.
Deadrose felt Tigerlily shake from the cold, but there was nothing he could do because he was already pressed as close as he could next to her.
Bodies are cold, the ghosts whispered. Just like the ground we're buried under. But as the whispers left Deadroses thoughts, he thought he felt something lay over them, a spirit stretching over them as if it were trying to keep them warm. Deadroses breath started to come out like icy winds, and he longed for the mornings sun.