Disclaimer: Still not owning Warriors…But still owning Thunder. She comes from the dark depths of my empty mind…
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Chapter One: A New Ally?
Bramblepaw and Firestar faced off for the fifth time that day. Bramblepaw feinted to one side, then rushed Firestar head on. Taken by surprise, Firestar was forced back towards the wall of the training hollow, then bowled over and pinned down.
"Alright, alright. That's enough for today," Firestar said, pushing his apprentice off him. "I'm sure glad you're fighting for ThunderClan. I wouldn't want to meet you in battle."
Bramblepaw purred, basking in his leader and mentor's praise. "Thank you Firestar. I hope I can be the best warrior I can."
Firestar nodded. "You'll be made a warrior very soon." he continued as they padded back towards camp. "Yes, it's about time you had your Ceremony. You're getting too big to be an apprentice anyhow!" he laughed.
Bramblepaw beamed. "Oh, thank you Firestar!" he meowed, and hurried off to tell the other apprentices. Firestar looked around. The camp looked so peaceful. Mousefur was organizing a patrol (since her last was interrupted). Cloudtail was sharing a piece of fresh-kill with Brightheart, Sandstorm was sunning herself outside the nursery, and the rogue was playing with the kits.
Firestar's tail twitched. That rogue, or as the kits and apprentices called her, Thunder, seemed to have made herself very comfortable. She kept herself entertained by playing with the kits and apprentices, but didn't get along well at all with most warriors. She was also kind enough to the queens, though he noticed Ferncloud watching her intently from across the clearing, making sure she did nothing to harm them.
Firestar padded over to Sandstorm, a pale ginger warrior, and also his mate. She purred in greeting and touched her nose to his. "Hello, Firestar. How goes the life of a leader?"
Firestar shrugged. "Does it bother you that that rogue is fooling around with our daughters?" He watched Squirrelkit batting at the rogue's ear, yowling, "Take this, Tigerstar!"
Sandstorm laughed. "Thunder is very nice. She wouldn't do anything to harm the kits. If she did I'd claw her ears off." She added. "But there's nothing to worry about. She gets on well with the younger warriors too, and she and Mousefur are friendly. You just need to know how to handle her. She doesn't particularly like being trapped here in camp with your warriors breathing down her neck."
Firestar flicked his ear. He didn't enjoy being lectured by Sandstorm.
"Speaking of Mousefur…" Sandstorm continued.
Mousefur was walking hesitantly towards them. Firestar looked up at her. "Yes Mousefur?" He asked. She looked troubled.
"Umm…Firestar…"She shuffled her paws. "I-I was wondering if I could take Thunder with me and Thornclaw to patrol the ShadowClan border." she said quickly.
Firestar blinked, thinking hard. He still didn't think much of Thunder, but ShadowClan had said at the last Gathering that they were short of prey, even now, in newleaf. Blackstar had threatened to take some of ThunderClan's territory if needed. The border needed patrolling, and he had to admit, Thunder was fast and strong.
"Well…alright…" Firestar said slowly. "But don't be gone long, and report anything directly to me."
"Thank you Firestar." Mousefur purred. "And don't worry, if any ShadowClan cat even thinks about setting one paw over the border, I'll rip their fur off!" She bounded away to collect Thornclaw and Thunder. "Keep a good eye on her!" Firestar called after her. She nodded and the three trotted out of the clearing. Firestar sighed and turned back to Sandstorm.
The camp was quiet, except for the happy squeals of the playing kits. After a while, Leafkit came crying to Sandstorm, saying Squirrelkit had scratched her. Firestar left Sandstorm to sort it out, and headed for the Warriors' den to locate Graystripe.
Since there were no other patrols out at the moment, the den was packed with warriors, but the ThunderClan deputy was nowhere to be found. Firestar asked Brackenfur where he had gone.
"Graystripe went to see Cinderpelt," the tabby tom replied. "He got a thorn in his paw hunting earlier while you were with Bramblepaw, and went to get it removed."
Sure enough, Firestar found Graystripe licking his paw clean in the small clearing off to the side of camp; the clearing reserved for medicine cats.
"Oh, hello, Firestar." A dark gray she-cat purred, limping out of a crack in a large rock. She kept her medical herbs there. "Here," she added to Graystripe, wrapping some cobwebs around his wounded paw.
For a short time, Cinderpelt had been Firestar's own apprentice. But her leg had been permanently injured in an accident on the Thunderpath. Tigerstar, who had been ThunderClan's deputy at the time (before he was banished and joined ShadowClan, of course) had set a trap for Bluestar, the leader before Firestar. Cinderpelt had been sent to relay a message instead, and she was hit, not Bluestar. The wound meant she could never be a warrior, but it didn't stop her from being a medicine cat.
Graystripe stood and limped around the clearing. "Hey, yeah, that feels better already!"
"Of course, you stupid furball!" Cinderpelt laughed, cuffing him with her paw. "What do you think I'm here for?"
Just then, screeches and yowls came from the direction of the clearing. Firestar and Graystripe bolted into the camp, Cinderpelt limping rapidly behind them. Thornclaw, Mousefur, and Thunder burst out of the gorse tunnel. Their pelts were torn and ragged, clumps of fur hanging off them. Thunder had a bad scratch on her shoulder.
"What happened?" Firestar demanded.
"ShadowClan!" Mousefur gasped. "They're coming! Be here any minute!"
"How many?" Graystripe asked.
"Every warrior the Clan has, plus Blackstar!" Thornclaw wheezed. "We couldn't hold them off; we were hopelessly outmatched!"
Thunder glared angrily at her unsheathed paws, as if wondering why they hadn't helped her win.
The other cats started to panic, racing around, speculating on the imminent battle. Firestar jumped onto the highrock, and huge rock jutting out of the ground in the center of the clearing.
"Silence!" Firestar bellowed. Everyone below him froze and stared up at him. "Queens, kits, and elders, take shelter in the nursery!" he ordered. "Cinderpelt, look after Thornclaw, Mousefur, and Thunder, and any other cats who are wounded during battle." Cinderpelt nodded and approached Thornclaw. "Apprentices, stay close to your mentors, and try to help in any way you can. Warriors, prepare yourself for battle, but don't attack unless they do, and listen for my commands in battle. If it comes to a fight, we will fight! We're in our home, we can win!"
The cats all hurried to follow his orders. Bramblepaw, Graystripe, and Graystripe's apprentice, Sootpaw, waited for him at the base of highrock.
"Do you really think we can win, Firestar?" Bramblepaw asked, his voice shaking.
Before Firestar could answer, a series of crashes announced the arrival of ShadowClan. They lined up behind their leader Blackstar, a huge white tom with jet-black paws.
"Firestar." He growled, stepping forward. "I mentioned at the last Gathering that ShadowClan may need to hunt in ThunderClan territory. I am asking you now to allow ShadowClan to expand our territory to Owltree."
ThunderClan yowled in protest. Thunder shook Cinderpelt off and joined them. Firestar silenced everyone with a flick of his tail and turned back to Blackstar.
"Blackstar, I find it hard to believe that ShadowClan is starving in the middle of newleaf. You look well-fed to me. If you were in trouble, I would gladly allow you to hunt on our territory, but you're not. As for expanding your land…That's just never going to happen."
"Oooohh…" Thunder howled. "Dismissed!"
Everyone stared at her.
"Shutting up now," she said.
Blackstar turned his glare back to Firestar. "Firestar, we are ready to fight you for this. I'll give you one last chance; surrender Owltree and the land around it to ShadowClan!"
"No," Firestar growled bluntly.
Blackstar yowled and jumped. Firestar met him in mid air and the two leaders fell writhing to the ground. Around them, the clearing burst into battle.
Blackstar easily overpowered Firestar and pinned him down. Firestar clawed at his belly, but Blackstar barely noticed. As if in slow motion, Firestar saw Blackstar's teeth coming for him. He closed his eyes, preparing to lose one of the nine lives all leaders have.
And then, suddenly, Blackstar's weight was off him. He looked around and saw Thunder facing off against the massive ShadowClan leader. He blinked. Thunder had saved him? Thunder!
Firestar shook himself and scanned the clearing for his own warriors. Bramblepaw was jumping at a big brown tom. Bramblepaw was winning, so Firestar left them alone. He spotted Cloudtail and Dustpelt circling around a gray tom. He watched Brackenfur and Rainpaw drive out Russetfur, the deputy of ShadowClan. Mousefur and Thornclaw were pushing back a small brown tom. ThunderClan was winning!
Bramblepaw drove out the big brown tom, and the tom Mousefur and Thornclaw had been fighting followed. All who was left was Blackstar himself.
Thunder was fighting him alone, but doing fine, despite the badly bleeding scratch on her shoulder. Firestar knew she wouldn't thank anyone who tried to help. She sped in under him, scratching at his belly, and then hopping away before he could strike back. He was strong, but she was fast. Blackstar was starting to tire. Thunder noticed this, and charged in at full speed, bowling the leader over.
Blackstar stood and fled, calling to his Clan. ThunderClan yowled with joy, having successfully driven out ShadowClan. Firestar jumped back on to Highrock and gathered the whole Clan.
"Today, ThunderClan worked together wonderfully to drive out ShadowClan," he began. "I realize we need time to rest, but tomorrow there are some Ceremonies that need to be taken care of. First, I watched Bramblepaw, my own apprentice, drive out a ShadowClan warrior single-handedly. He has been training hard the past to weeks, and I believe it is time for his Warrior Ceremony."
The cats below him cheered and congratulated Bramblepaw, who seemed to be glowing with pride. Firestar beamed down at him. He had to admit, he'd had some doubts about Bramblepaw. He was the son of Tigerstar, and looked almost exactly like him. But Firestar had learned that he was a loyal cat to ThunderClan, and to Firestar himself.
"Second," Firestar continued, "You all saw how Thunder drove out Blackstar by herself. I think that was a feat worthy of a reward. I am willing to allow Thunder to join ThunderClan as an apprentice."
He paused to let the Clan think it over.
"Who will be her mentor?" Cloudtail called.
"I was thinking I could." Firestar said. "I thought I could keep a close eye on her that way. Are there any objections?"
More muttering went around the clearing. No one spoke up though. Thunder looked up from licking the blood from her shoulder. She stared at Firestar, her jaw hanging open. "Are you serious!" she yowled. "No joke!"
Firestar shook his head. "At sundown tomorrow, the Clan will gather once again before Highrock for these Ceremonies. Until then, everyone get a good sleep!" He jumped down from Highrock and disappeared into his own den dug into the side.
Sure enough, at sundown the next day, Bramblepaw became Brambleclaw, a full warrior of ThunderClan, and Thunder became Thunderpaw. For once in her life, she had a real name, a real home, and real friends.
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Awww…That's so sweet!sob Anyway, that's not the end. It just gets better from her. What will be her adventures as an apprentice? Why am I still asking questions? Who knows!
Yeah. R&R.
