The SkyClan cats slowly made their way back to their camp, their heads and tails drooping in defeat, weariness settling deep in every one of their bodies. The patrol consisted of two warriors and two apprentices, none of which had escaped unscathed. The she-cat that led the group had clumps of fur missing from her pelt, and was bleeding from a scratch above her eye, and the tom that brought up the rear was wincing every time his back paw touched the ground.

It was clear, however, that the two apprentices had fared the worst. The pale gray tabby was limping heavily, staggering awkwardly because of a wrenched shoulder. The black cat, dappled with patches of red and gold, walked slowly by his side, the fur on his face matted with blood from a slash on his face.

"You two should go see Ripplewind," the she-cat meowed, nudging concernedly at the gray tabby. "Get that shoulder seen to, Whisperpaw. And you, Emberpaw – it's a good thing ThunderClan's deputy missed your eye, otherwise we'd have an even bigger problem to deal with."

But before either of them could make their way to the medicine cat's den, a broad-shouldered dark tabby appeared in front of them. His head was held high with confidence, and his pelt was sleek but marked with many scars of past battles. When he caught sight of the patrol, his eyes widened with disbelief.

"What happened, Larktail?" He demanded of the she-cat at the forefront of the group, staring at the battle-stricken warriors. "Didn't you meet with Ashclaw and demand our territory back?"

Larktail shook her head. "We met with Ashclaw, all right – him and an entire battle patrol of ThunderClan warriors. We had no chance."

"What a bunch of fox-hearts," Hazelnose, the clan deputy, growled. She padded forward to stand beside the clan leader, surveying the battle-worn cats with concern and anger. "Aspenstar, you have to meet with Fallowstar. SkyClan will not be taken advantage of by any clan."

Aspenstar nodded, but he did not turn to look at his deputy. Instead, he fixated on the two young apprentices, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of their injuries.

"Your sons fought as well as they could," Larktail mewed, noticing his gaze. "Neither of them were experienced enough to fight in a battle like this. They were lucky to even have escaped."

Emberpaw did not meet his father's gaze out of shame, resisting the urge to press closer to his brother or mentor, Falconleap, for comfort. The entire battle had been a whirl of wild terror and pain to him. Ashclaw had pinned him down and scored his claws across his face as Emberpaw had struggled desperately to break free. He was certain that Ashclaw would have killed him, warrior code be damned, if Falconleap had not raced over and rammed into Ashclaw's side before he delivered a deadly blow.

"Go find Ripplewind," Falconleap told the apprentices gently. "Especially you, Emberpaw. That wound is definitely going to scar."

"Good," Aspenstar said coldly. Emberpaw stared up at him, his one good eye staring up in shock at his father. He'd never heard his voice so icily dismissive, even though his father had never seemed to like him as much as he did Whisperpaw. "Let it be a lesson to him – a brand of his cowardice and a reminder of his shame."

Emberpaw took an involuntary step backwards, half-aware of Whisperpaw staring at him in disbelieving horror and both Falconleap and Larktail looking taken aback. His mind was reeling with the sharp pain of rejection that sliced through him, sharper than Ashclaw's blow and more agonizing than the throbbing wound on his face.

Aspenstar stalked away to his den without a single look back, leaving Emberpaw to stare after his father, his chest heaving with the effort to breathe.

"Emberpaw?" Whisperpaw said uncertainly, his eyes wide with concern.

Emberpaw turned and fled from the camp, his blood pounding in his ears, with nothing in his mind but to run as far away from the bitter anguish of his father's words as he could.

A/N: Thanks to all my lovely readers so far. I read Warriors a while back, and unfortunately, I don't have the same love for it that I did before. However, I did still have the outlines of a fanfic saved on my computer, and I wanted to write it - but with more of the influences that show in my more current stories.

This means that there will be some unconventional themes - including many dysfunctional families and a homosexual romance.

Yes, I'm aware that cats can't be gay. Cats also can't talk to their warrior ancestors in the sky, though, so I will take all criticisms with a grain of salt.

If you don't approve, I am certainly not forcing you to read. You are entitled to your own opinions, as I am to mine. Bear in mind that this is a work of fiction, and as such, absolutely should not be taken seriously.

This fic takes place many, many years before the original arc, meaning before the clans traveled to the lake, and before SkyClan was driven out of the forest. There will be no canonical characters in this fic, unless it is a StarClan cat.

Thanks for reading.

- Cacodaemonic