A/N: For those of you who may possibly remember - yes, this is a remake of a story I originally made over 5 years ago (when I was an unfortunate lil' weeaboo). A lot has changed since then, and this story is nothing like it used to be. This first chapter may seem like deja vu, but it quickly becomes it's own separate entity by the middle. I've removed all of my kitty-sue, oc's and have instead decided to not stray away from the original cannon story line. Overall, this story is much more sound and realistic to the actual books. Despite my terrible attempt at revamping this story back in late 2015 (which ended in failure because I focused only on fixing grammatical and syntax errors as opposed to the terrible plot), I have always enjoyed this idea, so I plan to continue to write it! I have finally arrived at a plot line that I actually like, so writing for it will now be more fun than ever. So, here's to this story's third and final revamp!
1 - Discovery.
The sun glimmered brilliantly through the newly broken canopy of trees as a hunting patrol of ThunderClan cats padded though the forest. Despite the misfortunes the forest fire had caused not too long ago, it was a considerably nice day for hunting. As the cats approached the slope, Brackenfur stopped and pricked his ears for any sign of prey. With his mouth wide open, he managed to pick up the scent of rabbit through the acrid tang of old ash. Signaling with his tail for his clan mates to be quiet, the golden-brown warrior silently crept towards his target. With a flick of his head, he beckoned his apprentice, Tawnypaw to move forward with him. It took only a few moments before they saw the brown ears of the rabbit - and quite a large one at that.
Watch carefully, Brackenfur spoke through his eyes to the young she-cat. She responded with a small nod, her own eyes taking in her mentor's behavior like a grain of sand.
The golden warrior's whiskers twitched with anticipation as he dropped down to a hunting crouch, targeting his prey. It was scuffling through the little remains of plants, trying to find something edible that wasn't completely poisoned with ash. Brackenfur couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for the brown creature. As the whole clan knew, the forest fire didn't just affect their lives, but the prey around them as well. However, the golden warrior knew that he couldn't afford to let his sympathetic demeanor get in the way of this catch. Finding a rabbit of this size was more critical than ever to catch, considering that the clan was struggling to salvage even the smallest morsel. The forest was recovering fast, but with leaf-fall dragging the warmth of green-leaf away with its cold, sharp talons, the newly sprouting buds and leaves would soon have no other choice but to succumb to nature's call.
Leaf-bare will prove to be a hard one this year, Brackenfur thought grimly.
However, in spite of their misgivings, ThunderClan would cope with the plight. They always had, and they always will. Although Firestar had not been given his nine lives until a few sunrises ago, the flamed-colored cat had already proven his unshakable loyalty and resolute to the clan. Despite being young, he was noble, wise, and always willing to put his cats above his needs for the better of the clan; for any clan of that matter. The red tom had led WindClan back home after being exiled, helped ShadowClan chase out Brokentail and his rogues, gave food to RiverClan when they could not provide for themselves and exposed the real, treacherous ambitions of Tigerstar to ThunderClan. Every cat had a reason to respect him, for he was truly one-of-a-kind. If anyone could hold the cats of ThunderClan together through their darkest hour, it was him.
With renewed determination, Brackenfur sprang from his hiding place to land squarely on the rabbit with puffs of gray ash springing up in his wake. Before it had time to squeal or even figure out what was going on, the golden warrior landed a swift bite to its neck, killing it in an instant. During the scuffle, an undetected stray mouse darted away from coverage and the golden warrior didn't have enough time to react to the sudden creature. He then saw a blur of fur whip past him, his whiskers almost taken off by the sudden gush of wind. Tawnypaw! Ashen leaves fluttered through the air as the tortoiseshell scrabbled to get a hold of the unexpected rodent. It was anything but graceful, but the young she-cat had managed to clamp her teeth down to deliver a finishing blow. Turning fully, Brackenfur's amber eyes gleamed with pride as he saw the prey hanging limply in his apprentice's mouth. The young she-cat smiled back at him, her head held high with pride.
"Nice catch, Brackenfur!" Sandstorm praised as she trotted up to him with the rest of the hunting patrol, consisting of Mousefur and Thornpaw, right behind her. "And great improvisation to you, Tawnypaw!"
The she-cat shook her pelt to rid of some debris. "Thanks, Sandstorm!"
"Oh, wow!" Thornpaw gawked as he stared at Brackenfur's prey in awe. "That rabbit is huge!" The warrior's only reply was a stifled grunt, considering that's all he could say with a mouthful of fur. He sent silent prayers to StarClan to thank them for allowing his party to come across such rich prey amongst the burned bushes. With the threat of the savage dogs that nearly destroyed ThunderClan gone and Tigerstar seemingly content with now being the leader of ShadowClan, the forest was on a slow, but sure pace to recovery. At the moment, there was little to worry about and so much to be thankful for.
StarClan knows we need a break...
The golden warrior staggered aside to scrape dirt over his prey so that it could be collected later. Once the deed was done, he refocused his attention on the group of cats in front of him.
"Alright, so Thornpaw," Mousefur turned to her apprentice. "What prey can you smell?" The young brown tabby tom straightened up and opened his mouth to drink in the forest scents.
"Umm… thrush! But… it's a faint smell… probably at least a day past." The apprentice turned his nose to the opposite direction. "Oh, but I think there's fresh squirrel somewhere nearby!"
"Very good." Mousefur praised as she gently let her tail touch his flank. Suddenly without warning, Thornpaw screwed his face, pointing his nose in another direction. With nostrils flaring and mouth agape, he inhaled deeply, nearly causing himself to stumble backwards.
"Wait…!" He added on. "There's another scent that's weird... and foul smelling..." Sandstorm drew in a quick whiff before giving Thornpaw an incredulous look.
"That's the Thunderpath. Come on, you should know that one." She huffed, ears twitching in irritation. Thornpaw had been an apprentice for a great while now so there was no reason why he should not recognize the Thunderpath scent by now. They all knew that Thornpaw's warrior ceremony, along with Ashpaw's and Fernpaw's, were long overdue. Their den mate, Cloudtail, had been promoted to warrior status but when Bluestar was in reign, she had refused to offer the same thing to the other apprentices, claiming they weren't ready. This only made the remaining apprentices more determined than ever to prove themselves, only this time to Firestar.
The young tom shook his head and pushed on hesitantly with his claim. "No, no… I don't think it's that…" He swiped his tongue over his muzzle, confusion dancing throughout his golden eyes. "The smell reminds me of the nursery but… a nursery that hasn't had clean bedding in a while?" He gave another rushed sniff. "A nursery with… crow-food?"
A crow-food ridden nursery? Brackenfur's brow furrowed. What in StarClan's name?
Driven more by curiosity than disbelief, the golden-brown warrior quickly drew in the scents of the forest. His sensitive nose was immediately burned by the acrid smell of charred shrubbery, and he coughed because of it. However, underneath the smell of burned wildlife, Brackenfur managed to get a whiff of Thornpaw's claim. The young warrior quickly felt mouse-bile rise in his throat. It did smell like a nursery. A dirty nursery. A dirty nursery with crow-food. Apart from the occasion nuances that manifested as foxes and eagles, ThunderClan cats were the only animals capable of killing the forest's prey, and when they did, it rarely was wasted to the likes of becoming crow-food.
Brackenfur forcefully swallowed down the bad taste in his mouth. Did something young naturally die, or had that something been killed by a non-clan cat predator that suddenly decided that didn't want the food anymore? But even the most mangy of animals wouldn't waste prey given the current state of the forest.
Sandstorm flattened her ears and grimaced. "I… don't understand." She looked cautiously to her clanmates, giving Thornpaw an especially apologetic blink. "What is that?"
Brackenfur frowned, as he was at a lot of words himself. Had… had one of Willowpelt's kits escaped from the nursery and gotten lost? Had one of them… The golden warrior shook his head in disbelief. There was no way that he was going to entertain that ghastly thought. Willowpelt was too protective of her kits, especially after what happened to poor Snowkit. There was just no possible way that her kits had escaped from under her watchful eyes.
But then that brings him back to square one. Why did crow-food mingle with the scent of kit-like smells? It was a possibility that a young animal could have died, given the current state of the malnourished forest but… if it was young, it would be traveling with its mother and the mother of the young one wouldn't just leave them deceased out in the open; they would bury them to cover the scent. Unless… Unless…
Something young had been killed and deliberately left out in the open to attract unwanted attention.
Brackenfur's amber eyes immediately went wide as he began putting pieces of the puzzle together. Judging by the distraught looks Mousefur and Sandstorm were giving one another, their thoughts mirrored his.
Great StarClan, how did we not scent this earlier?
When Brackenfur finally opened his mouth, he found that it was dry. "You don't... You don't think that.." He couldn't even bring himself to finish the sentence.
"Fox-dug." Sandstorm cursed quietly from underneath her breath, no one blaming or reprimanding her for using such foul language. It was completely understandable. The she-cat's green eyes had turned into mere slits and Brackenfur noted the ginger fur rising on her neck.
"What's wrong?" Thornpaw and Tawnypaw, looking out of the loop, glanced to their older comrades in confusion. "What… what's the smell?" Brackenfur licked his muzzle and shifted on uneasy paws.
Surely… surely there was just no way that… This couldn't be the appalling work of…
"Tigerstar." Mousefur's growl was low, her claws retracting in and out through the charred earth. Sandstorm and Brackenfur both flinched as his name was finally spoken.
Thornpaw's and Tawnypaw's eyes went as big as a full-moons. "W-What?!" They said in unison, their incredulence evident.
"It's Tigerstar." The older she-cat repeated. "What else could explain what we are smelling?!" Mousefur began to pace back and forth, her tail swishing violently behind her. "That… fox-heart! To pull the same stunt again, in such a short amount of time?! Why I outta…" The rest of her sentence was finished in inaudible grumbles as a paw swiped angrily at a stray twig.
Thornclaw gaped at her, his expression changing from shock to disbelief. "No! It… There's no way he would come back! We defeated him… barely seven sunrises ago!" The golden-brown apprentice's body began to tremble, but there was a determination flaring in his blue eyes that grew stronger with every passing moment. He refused to believe that the tyrant known as Tigerstar had the audacity to return to cause havoc amongst ThunderClan once again, in such a short amount of time, no less.
He couldn't live through that again… The pain… the suffering everyone went through because of that… that tyrant. His sister, Lostface when through so much… She didn't deserve any of his cruel treatment!
"Thornpaw…" Tawnypaw murmured, her eyes dulled from their usual vibrancy. Anytime the she-cat's father was brought up, she didn't know how she was supposed to feel. There was no since of pride, or admiration. No sense of kinship or respect, but at the same time, she found that she couldn't hate Tigerstar, like her clanmates did. He was a terrible tyrant, but at the same time, the powerful tom was still her father. The few times she had been snuck out of camp by Darkstripe to meet him, he had been nothing but welcoming, even if he had an air of intimidation. If it naught for him, Tawnypaw wouldn't even exist.
Although by the way ThunderClan treated her and her brother at times, she sometimes wished that were true.
"There's no way he would return so soon!" Thornpaw continued, his voice rising with each syllable.
Mousefur let out a distasteful snort and turned her full attention to her apprentice. "And how are you so sure that it isn't Tigerstar?"
"How are you so sure that it is Tigerstar?" He shot back. Brackenfur, Tawnypaw and Sandstorm flashed each other horrified looks as they watched the disagreement escalate, their paws frozen to the ground in disbelief.
Mousefur pricked her ears upright at the sound of hearing her own apprentice talk back to her. She opened her mouth with the full intention to say something particularly nasty, but she caught her tongue at the last possible second. "I… am not about to argue with an apprentice who's acting more like a kit than a warrior." She took a step forward to him, as if to challenge him to say something else. "You are out of line." She growled through gritted teeth.
Thornpaw's frown deepened as he looked off in the distance, his ground still held. "Well… you're wrong." His reply was nearly inaudible, but Mousefur caught it.
"Excuse me?" The brown apprentice visibly flinched at hearing the tone of her voice. "Just who do you think you are talking to?"
Thornpaw swallowed hard, temporarily at a loss for words. "I…" He flattened his ears and hung his head low in embarrassment; he was being unjustifiably rude, to his own mentor, nonetheless.
But the young tom just couldn't bring himself to believe Mousefur.
"Just listen to yourself!" Thornpaw's voice cracked with barely disguised anguish. "Why would Tigerstar return so soon after we just waged in a battle with him? A battle that he lost in! What reason does he have to return and why would he be setting out more prey trails? He has ShadowClan to tend to now and those dogs are gone! As we know, several of them, including the leader, fell over into the gorge and the few that remained ran off in fear!" He swiped at a damaged twig; his head hung low to the earth in defeat. "Don't you see? It… it doesn't make any sense…"
…He does have a point. Brackenfur mused. Why would Tigerstar advance with such haste, and with the same tactic, nonetheless? It really doesn't make any sense at all.
It took everything out of the golden tom to not look at the apprentice with pity. "Hey. Let's go investigate, before any other assumptions are made." He consoled, placing a paw on the apprentice's shoulder. "Maybe it is Tigerstar, but maybe it isn't. But regardless, no more bickering about it."
"I agree," Sandstorm added, shaking her tail to let the fur there lie flat. "We won't know for sure unless we go scope the area."
Tawnypaw remained silent.
Ultimately, Thornpaw shook his head slowly in understanding at hearing the others' words, his eyes still full of sorrow. He then turned to Mousefur and dipped his head. "I'm sorry." He muttered.
The brown she-cat looked at him for a moment, her jaw tight. Eventually, she let out a deep sigh and calmed her own nerves. She took a step forward and gently bumped her apprentice with her nose. "It's okay, you're forgiven." Turning to Brackenfur, her eyes hardened with determination. "Let's go figure this out."
The golden warrior gave her a brisk nod, straightening out his posture. "It appears the smell is coming from near Snakerocks. Let's get moving immediately." All cats of the party swiftly nodded, following Brackenfur out of the clearing and towards the uncanny scent. Suddenly, it felt like someone had cuffed the golden warrior in the gut at the realization of that there may be trouble yet again at Snakerocks. So… if it wasn't Tigerstar, then what now? What if now it was a hoard of smelly badgers out for the blood of ThunderClan? Or Twolegs doing stupid Twolegs stuff? Whatever the case, Brackenfur had to stay calm for the sake of the party. After all, what would the others think of him if he stood cowering in the corner like some terrified kit? Pushing his worries to the back of his mind, the golden-brown warrior began to slow his pace as the foul-smelling scent became stronger.
"Keep down and try not to make too much noise." Brackenfur muttered over his shoulder as he slid on silent paws. "Whatever is out there, we need not to give it any warning that we are here." By now, the scent was overbearing and it was hard for Brackenfur not to cough in disgust as they neared even closer to Snakerocks.
Abruptly, Mousefur stopped dead in her tracks, ears twitching vigorously. Tawnypaw, who was still out of it, nearly slammed into her. "Do you guys hear that?" She hissed, glancing around in distaste. Pricking his ears, Brackenfur also heard the noise; it sounded like faint wailing of a kit.
"This way, quick!" He hissed as he bolted in full sprint, leaving his clan mates to follow. The crying was becoming louder and louder with every paw step. Now more alarmed than ever, Brackenfur was determined to find the source.
Great StarClan, why is there a kit way out here?
Brackenfur had to force the chill itching up his back to stop when the grass under paw soon turned into solid rock as he fully reached Snakerocks. No one had been here since the incident with the dogs so the atmosphere was dreadful to be in. Eventually after vigorous sniffing and looking, the young golden warrior stopped at a small crevice in a rock wall, finally finding his target. Sniffing one more and staring in horror, Brackenfur finally realized what the unknown threat was.
From the group, Thornpaw was the first one to catch up to Brackenfur, panting to grasp his breath. "Did you find the - wait… is that a…?" The apprentice's amber eyes went wide with comprehension. "A-a-ahh! I-I-It's a d-dog!" He shrank back and ran behind Mousefur and Sandstorm as they were just approaching. Suddenly, he looked like a kit again; hiding from danger behind its' mother, but no one could blame him. After what had happened barely a quarter moon ago, it's expected that everyone in the clan would be more on edge about the said topic of interest.
"Is there… really a dog in there?" Sandstorm inquired uneasily, her claws flexing in and out of her paws. Brackenfur looked from the group to the dog… only it wasn't a dog, but a helpless pup crying for help. It was fairly small; primarily white with patches of orange covering its eyes, ears, flank and tail tip. By the looks of it, it was definitely a different type of dog than the ones that pursued attacks. Those aggressors had pointy ears, long legs and were typically all black or brown. Even though the pup wasn't even close to being full-grown, Brackenfur could tell that it wasn't going to get massive. Still bigger than a cat, yeah, but not by much. In the pack, these kinds of dogs were the ones that specialized in sniffing out prey, equipped with floppy ears and shorter legs. Not that it mattered much though. A dog was still a dog at the end of the day.
As he continued to observe, the golden warrior then felt his throat drop into his stomach when he noticed the other, similar small bundles of fur just past the pup in front of him. Flies and maggots swarmed the lifeless bodies of the other puppies from the litter. On some of them, bone could be seen sticking through fur. It was a gruesome scene, one that was quickly causing bile to arise inside of Brackenfur.
How awful…
"Don't worry, it's only a pup." Brackenfur managed eventually, tearing his gaze away from the crow-food. "Its' eyes aren't even open yet."
Mousefur then forcefully stepped forward with her claws unsheathed, fur bristling and lips curled. "Just a pup you say?" She snapped and Brackenfur winced at her harshness. "And what, do you think they are going to stay like that forever? Honestly, young warriors these days think that they know everything!" She pushed on to stand directly in front of the crevice to look at the pup. The brown she-cat then let out a menacing snarl as her claws scraped at the hard rock surface.
"Okay so the scent may not have been from Tigerstar, but look at the piece of fox dung!" Mousefur spat. "I say we finish it off right now! It clearly won't survive another night anyway. We'd be doing it a favor." Horrified, Brackenfur felt his mind running like a rabbit that was being hunted. Again, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for another creature that he really shouldn't feel for. The poor thing was all alone for who knew how long, its' siblings shown no mercy. It wouldn't be fair if the scrap was killed right then and there.
But… either it'll die by us, or die from nature, Brackenfur realized bleakly.
Sandstorm hissed as she moved to get a look at the puppies herself. "They probably belonged to the dog pack and were left here after they all fled..." She mused out loud, also beginning to bristle and unsheathe. Thornpaw was trembling flat against the ground with this tail thrashing violently, trying to make what was happening at the scene. Tawnypaw was pressed close beside him, the dull look in her eyes now replaced with an unreadable gaze.
"WAIT!"
Mousefur, Sandstorm, and Thornclaw, whom where already on edge, jumped at the sudden outburst from Brackenfur. They all gave him an incredulous look.
"I... I don't think we should kill it…" Brackenfur continued as he shuffled on uneasy paws.
Mousefur gasped in disbelief and stomped up so that they were nose to nose. "Are you completely mouse-brained?" She challenged him. "In case you haven't noticed, Brackenfur, that is a dog. You know, it's only those creatures that nearly killed us a couple of sunrises ago! Dogs and cats don't mix well together and you're saying we should let it live, after all the pain its' kind has caused us? Are you serious right now?!" Brackenfur tried his best to hold his ground, but being under the wrath of Mousefur could make even the bravest warrior flinch.
But still… This pup could have easily been born a kit, and left to die in the forest. How could they abandon it, when they wouldn't a poor kit?
"As leader of this patrol, I just think it would be best to take it back to Firestar and… and have him decide what to do with it." He finished lamely, not daring to alter his eyes from Mousefur's cold, amber stare. Her tail slashed wildly as her face scrunched up even further. Just when the conflicted warrior thought he was going to be on the receiving end of a powerful swipe, Mousefur swiftly turned away.
"In StarClan's name, what is with you toms today!?" She hissed. "Do what you want, patrol leader, but keep that mangy piece of crow-food away from me!" Those last words were thrown over her shoulder as she dashed back to the forest cover. After a split second, Sandstorm and Thornpaw were on her heels, clearly wanting nothing to do with the dog either.
Tawnypaw, however, hesitated; unsure of whether to follow her clan mates or stay with her mentor.
"You can go," Brackenfur stated, seeing her dilemma. "I don't want you to feel like you have to stay with me."
Giving one more glance to the cover of the trees, the young she-cat shook her head firmly. "No." She slowly moved towards Brackenfur and the pup, her fur rising up on its own accord. "I… want to see things through your eyes. We're missing something that you're seeing. Help me understand."
Brackenfur suppressed a sigh and turned his attention to the one surviving pup whose tiny, uncoordinated paws feebly scrabbled at the surface of the rocks. Clearly, the golden-brown warrior had cobwebs in between his ears. This was a stupid decision, a new mark of incompetence. Why was he doing this? How was he even supposed to bring this up to the clan? And even worse, what kind of example was he setting up for his apprentice?!
"I don't know why, Tawnypaw." He answered lamely, sitting down. "It's just that I can't help but feel… sorry for it." The warrior gently scooped the small thing away from the crow-food and placed it at the base of his paws. In response, the pup whined pitifully at the sudden unknown contact. Now getting a good look at it in the sunlight, one could easily see all its' ribs and bones. It was a skeleton with the pelt of a dog and nothing more.
When Tawnypaw didn't speak, Brackenfur continued, although more to himself. "It's just an infant, born into an unfortunate situation. It didn't choose to be born as a dog. It didn't have control over what happened between us and its' pack." He eyes drifted past the pup below him to stare at the hard surface of the rock. "I'm by no means saying that I forgive the dogs for what they've done, but I just can't bring myself to hate something so innocent."
His rambling was interrupted when he heard a choked sob come from his side. Turning his head, Brackenfur was shocked to see his apprentice on the verge of tears.
"Tawnypaw - hey! What's wrong?!"
The young she-cat shook her head and gave a sad smile. "Nothing, it's just… sounds like I have a lot in common with it."
"..." Not even the wisdom of StarClan could give Brackenfur something to say in return, because she was right. Tawnypaw and her brother, Bramblepaw were the offspring of the disgraceful Tigerstar. They were born into a situation that no cat should ever have to go through; a situation that they had no control over. Trust was currently a fragile thing in ThunderClan at the moment. Even with Goldenflower's persistence, the clan as a whole was having difficulties trusting Tigerstar's kits. It was just too easy to image what could happen if they... decided to follow in their father's paw steps. Everyone knew why Firestar chose to be the mentor to Bramblepaw, it was plain as day. However, Brackenfur still even questioned why he was given Tawnypaw to mentor, as opposed to someone with a lot more experience such as Sandstorm.
Especially when you are over here making stupid decisions, such as this one.
The golden warrior bent down to bump his nose against his apprentice's flank. "Hey." Tawnypaw glanced up at her mentor, surprised to see that he had a flash of humor in his eyes. "When I get demoted to Brackenkit for going through with this, can you be my mentor?"
The young she-cat gave a small laugh and playfully pushed Brackenfur with a paw. "You'll have to wait for your sixth moon first." The golden warrior let out a quiet mrrow of his own, delighted that his dark humor had lightened the she-cat's mood, if only slightly. Knowing the mess that he got himself into, there was no way Brackenfur could back out now. He reached down to grasp the scruff of the pup and its pink mouth opened only in a silent cry, as it was too exhausted to do much else.
"What do we do now?" Tawnypaw asked, looking to her mentor expectantly.
"We return to camp." Brackenfur meowed through the mouthful of fur. "Come on, it's getting late."
With a final nod, Tawnypaw followed the golden warrior as he started padding back towards the tree line and into ThunderClan territory. Brackenfur tried his best to remain composed because when they would arrive back at camp, things were bound to be hectic.
Great StarClan, what have I got myself into?
Next Chapter
Brackenfur finds himself in a troubled spot as he brings the malnourished pup into the heart of ThunderClan.