A/N: Fudge…another new story…
Chapter 1
"Morning, Swiftfoot!" Buzzardflight called out to the black-and-white warrior.
"Morning!" he meowed, dropping his catches on the fresh-kill pile, the heap of food now consisting of a mouse, two sparrows, a robin, a rabbit, and a vole, the rabbit and vole courtesy of Swiftfoot. The tom was a great hunter.
"Hey, Swiftfoot!" Brightrose called out, waving to him with her golden-ringed tail, "How're you doing?"
"I'm doing fine," he called back, grinning, "How are you?"
Before Brightrose could respond, Wasptail called out, "Ay, Swiftfoot, you up for some huntin' later?"
"'Course!" he yelled back at the golden-and-black spotted tom.
"Hello, Swiftfoot," Frozenstar dipped her grey-speckled head, "Can you lead a border patrol along the TunnelClan border?"
The popular tom nodded, "Of course, Frozenstar. Who shall I take?"
The leader looked around the cave before deciding, "Just take Buzzardflight, Brightrose and Wasptail."
He nodded at the cats he had been talking to a moment ago and led them out of the cave that MountainClan lived in.
Swiftfoot narrowed his eyes against the harsh sunlight; no MountainClan cat really liked the glowing yellow orb, floating almost aimlessly in the sky.
They padded on, pressing close to the cliff face so they wouldn't fall off the other end.
One would think that a MountainClan cat would be immune to the fear of falling, though every cat had at least a dozen nightmares about tumbling off the cliff to their doom before they were even a warrior.
Suddenly, a crack was heard and a large piece of the rock slipped out from under Wasptail's golden paw.
He stepped over the newly-created gap and acted as if nothing had happened, as if that happened every day- which it did.
Just as the cats emerged onto the hard dirt ground between MountainClan's stone domain and the line of bushes that marked the TunnelClan border, Brightrose slipped off and chased down a fast-moving white shape.
She trotted back to her patrol with a fat, white rabbit.
"Ah, the joys of new-leaf," Swiftfoot purred, his amber eyes sparkling as he looked at the juicy food.
Brightrose suddenly got a defensive look in her bright, sky-blue eyes, and stepped away from Swiftfoot, growling, as if the black-and-white tom was going to steal her catch.
Swiftfoot just dipped his head and turned away, deciding to let Brightrose cool down by herself. The she-cat was very nice, but had sudden mood swings when she thought some cat was threating her, whether the threat be hidden or out in the open.
"They've crossed the border!" Wasptail exclaimed, his black-tipped tail lashing in anger, "Those smelly dung-diggers!"
Buzzardflight lost the kind look on his face and twisted his mouth into a snarl, leaping forward so he was beside Wasptail. He put his dark nose to the ground, raising his head back up with a growl, "He's right. It's fresh, too."
"Should we track them down?" Brightrose asked, having cooled down, "I want a good fight. It's been peaceful for too long, for my liking, at least…"
"Only if they're still along the border," Swiftfoot declared, "We aren't going to drop to their level and cross the border."
"Fine," Brightrose shrugged, "But if we find them, I'm attacking. I hope Finchstar is in that patrol…I want to teach him a little something about controlling his warriors."
Swiftfoot nodded, flexing his claws. The thorn-like objects curled into the dirt, sinking in all the way.
"Bury your rabbit," Swiftfoot told Brightrose, "It'll be easier to fight."
She nodded and quickly dug a large hole with her callused paws, dropping the rabbit it and pushing dirt over it, with the help of Wasptail.
"I don't need your assistance," she hissed, narrowing her blue eyes at the golden-and-black spotted tom.
"Sorry," he meowed, backing away and averting his gaze.
"Let's go," Swiftfoot took off down the border, his powerful muscles flexing as he propelled himself forward down the border, his claws tearing up clumps of dirt. He heard his companions' pawsteps thrumming the ground behind him.
He spotted the patrol, consisting of three cats. Finchstar wasn't present, but Heathernose, the deputy, was.
He put on a burst of speed, signaling with his tail for the TunnelClan patrol to stop. Heathernose dipped her head and sat down, curling her tail around her paws, cocking her head curiously.
He pulled himself to a halt right on the other side of the border, facing the patrol. Brightrose, Buzzardflight and Wasptail all skidded up beside him, panting. He caught his breath, then addressed Heathernose, "Hello."
"Hi, Swiftfoot," she meowed, raising her chin in a sign of superiority. He dipped his head.
"We found your cats' scent on the wrong side of the border," Swiftfoot started.
The pale brown deputy pulled her lips into a snarl, narrowing her green eyes, too, "You must be mistaken."
"They're right!" a pale ginger apprentice, who Swiftfoot recalled as Berrypaw, meowed, "I didn't want to do it! But Appleleaf had me chase a white rabbit across the border. It got away! I'm so sorry! I felt so bad!"
The apprentice's blue eyes were watering, and Swiftfoot could tell she felt really guilty, "It's not your fault, it's your mentors'."
Appleleaf twisted a snarl onto her face, but stayed silent. Berrypaw glanced at her mentor, and Swiftfoot swore he saw fear in her eyes. Was Appleleaf abusing her apprentice?
In TunnelClan, apprentice abuse was common, too common, for Swiftfoot's taste. TunnelClan was a group of very harsh, cruel cats, and if an apprentice didn't do what they were told, their mentor, or any other cat, may resort to clawing them, or hitting them. TunnelClan thought they didn't have room for 'messing up,' so any mistake must be punished.
"We're sorry," Heathernose meowed, though Swiftfoot knew she really wasn't, "We'll be going now. I have more important things to do than talk to MountainClan hawk-brains."
The patrol turned away, and out of the corner of Swiftfoot's eye, the black-and-white tom saw Appleleaf lash out at Berrypaw. The she-cat squealed and ducked away.
"Stop it!" Swiftfoot couldn't have stopped himself, and if he could've, he probably wouldn't have, "She just did what you said."
"She's a horrible apprentice," Appleleaf hissed, "She's too soft, forgiving, kind…she's not TunnelClan's kind of cat. Rumor has it that Finchstar will leave her out to die…"
Swiftfoot was enraged that Appleleaf just said that in front of the very cat the rumor was about.
"If you want her, take her," Appleleaf shoved her apprentice forward roughly, "We won't miss her and we don't need her. She's a softie- perfect for your Clan."
"We might just take her, if that's okay with Berrypaw," Brightrose stepped in, her motherly side coming out.
"Yes!" Berrypaw sprinted towards the MountainClan patrol, but not before Appleleaf reached out and bit her tail tip, and also scored her sharp claws across Berrypaw's back leg.
Brightrose padded forward and helped Berrypaw across the row of bushes, the young she-cat trembling, tears also running down her face.
Instead of facing the other three toms, she limped along beside Brightrose, her tears dropping to the ground every few moments.
"She'll be a better warrior than you are!" Swiftfoot called out, before the TunnelClan patrol was out of ear-shot, "You'll regret giving her up."
Heathernose shrugged, apparently not shocked that Appleleaf had just given Berrypaw away, and continued padding across the moor with her patrol.
"It's going to be okay," Brightrose meowed comfortingly, "Acornfall will get you all fixed up, and we'll get you a new mentor! Then you can forget all about TunnelClan and start to train in the ways of our Clan."
"Do you have any family?" Swiftfoot dared to ask, wondering why it had been so easy for Berrypaw to leave TunnelClan.
Brightrose shot him a death glare, but allowed the apprentice to answer.
"N-No," she stuttered, "My mother and father were killed in battle, and I was an only kit."
So that's why she didn't have a problem leaving her Clan, Swiftfoot nodded. Brightrose pressed against the young apprentice comfortingly.
"How old are you?" Brightrose asked gently.
"Five moons, I've been training for two."
That stopped the whole patrol in their tracks, "What?"
"I was apprenticed at three moons, and have been training for two."
"Finchstar is apprenticing kits at three moons now?" the patrol started walking again as Wasptail spoke, "That's against the warrior code!"
"What's that?" the patrol was stopped once again.
"Apprentices don't learn the warrior code anymore?" it was Buzzardflight's turn to speak, "That's about to change. Here in MountainClan, we live by the warrior code."
"It sounds noble," Berrypaw meowed respectfully.
"Oh, it is," Wasptail nodded.
The cats arrived back to camp, and as Wasptail went to inform Frozenstar of what happened, Swiftfoot's memories of his recent actions came flooding back.
What if Frozenstar doesn't accept her? What if she has to leave MountainClan? She'd have to find another Clan. What if no other Clans take her in? She'd have to live as a rogue.
He was jerked out of his thoughts a moment later as Frozenstar began to climb up the Crumbling Boulder, to make an announcement, "Berrypaw, previously of TunnelClan, shall now be joining us! She is a survivor of mentor-apprentice abuse, so please be nice to her."
The cats' eyes all softened as they showed their sympathy for the apprentice.
"Let's all thank Swiftfoot for saving her life!" Frozenstar continued, "By offering to take her in."
The cats all cheered Swiftfoot's name, as well as Berrypaw herself.
The meeting dispersed and the cats went back to their duties after offering their names to Berrypaw.
"Let's get you all fixed up," Brightrose led Berrypaw into the medicine, crimson drops still flooding out of the cuts.
Swiftfoot padded to the warriors' den, which was empty, and that's when he really broke down.
He put on a 'cool and collected' front when he was in public- but inside, his feelings and thoughts were one massive, swirling windstorm. He didn't understand how TunnelClan could be so cruel, to just an apprentice. He wished he could take over TunnelClan and end their cruel ways.
I can, he mused, thinking, if I become leader, I can help TunnelClan! I can help TunnelClan leave their horrible, horrible ways and become a strong, fast Clan! We can be known as…PeakClan! Yes, a massive Clan. Their territory will be MountainClan's and TunnelClan's combined…it'll be a great thing…
The tom was jolted out of his thoughts by Brightrose, "You ought to see this."
He followed the golden tabby out of the den and across the cave to the medicine den.
Acornfall was looking over Berrypaw, the light ginger apprentice looking rather scared.
"So, when she was a kit, something happened to her hind leg," Acornfall started without even looking up at the new visitor, "By feeling it, I think it was broken. It wasn't set properly. Two of her claws were torn out, on the same paw, and both got infected, and they still are. Her right ear was torn when she was younger and it's infected; and might spread to the inside of her ear, so she could go deaf in one ear. A cut on her nose is also infected. Her tail tip will have to be removed, because right now, it's dangling from a piece of flesh, thanks to her old mentor. The scratches I am just treating with some marigold."
Swiftfoot shook his head sadly, "Poor cat."
"Yeah," Acornfall meowed, "Well, you should go now. She needs rest. And you're keeping her from getting it."
Swiftfoot ducked out of the den, but Brightrose curled up beside the hurt apprentice.
Come to think of it, Swiftfoot thought, If Berrypaw doesn't get out of the medicine den before she's six moons, she'll go to the nursery! Huh. To think that she's been an apprentice for two moons.
Swiftfoot grabbed a mouse off the fresh-kill pile, only now remembering the white rabbit that Brightrose had caught and buried. He decided to try and look for it in the morning.
The black-and-white tom settled down on the opposite end of the cave when a white-and-brown tom, speckled with black, padded over to him, "Mind if I join?"
"Hey, Spottedthorn," Swiftfoot greeted his best friend since kithood, "Go right ahead. Here, have some, I'm not all that hungry."
The tom dipped his head and took a bite of the mouse's flank, as did Swiftfoot.
"So, what's the deal with Berrypaw?" Spottedthorn asked around a mouthful of rodent, "Mentor-apprentice abuse, or what?"
"Clan-apprentice abuse, really," Swiftfoot meowed, "Apprenticed at three moons; she's five moons now. Stupid Finchstar. I wish he's just loose his last three lives already."
"Is Heathernose any better, though?"
"Better than Finchstar," Swiftfoot decided after a moment of thought, "But barely. Maybe she'll appoint a good cat as deputy. Maybe something will kill Heathernose before she gets her nine lives. Maybe the good cat will take over. Maybe the good cat will change TunnelClan's ways."
"Might as well add 'maybe I will kill Heathernose and Finchstar' in there as well," Spottedthorn joked.
"Maybe I will," the black-and-white tom rolled his eyes.
The toms finished the mouse in silence, and Swiftfoot left Spottedthorn to bury the bones as he padded off to go to sleep.
He ducked into the warriors' den and looked up. Through a small crack in the roof, he could tell it was sunset. He curled up in his moss-and-twig nest, and closed his amber eyes.
…