CHAPTER 2: THISTLEVINE'S TERROR
Far, far away, a cat screamed in the distance, tears running down a beautiful face. Cinnabar cartilage was spread over the beautiful lowlands and the beautif-
Hark! A name calling?! Run.
The blue-grey molly awoke to her mother's familiar, rumbling purr and the warm scent of Whiteki- Whitepaw next to her. Blackpaw had already left.
Echopaw wrenched open baby blue, almost white eyes, and stared at her mother who had the same soft, sad look in her same pale eyes.
"You never really notice time going by until you're my age and you've kits of your own, and you wonder if StarClan is really there..." Her mother whispered to Whitepaw, who stared up at her, admiration glittering in her gentle, dark blue eyes.
"Where's Dad?" Whitepaw asked innocently, confusion spreading across her snow white face. Redfang's sad eyes saddened even further as she nosed her daughter.
"Ashheart's gone to StarClan, my day," Redfang crooned, sorrowfully and turned her head away from Whitepaw to look at Echopaw. "Good morning, my day."
"Hullo, my sky!" Echopaw squeaked, pretending not to have heard the exchange between mother and daughter, emitting a high pitched yawn, and barrelling from the nursery, eager to finally train and meet her mentor, Wedgestar, flicking her tail at Thistlevine, a young warrior who was friendly with the deputy.
The molly in question shook her fluffy blonde coat with a gentle sigh. Thistlevine remembered being that young. She carried on walking, creeping through the branches of HollyClan caves. Over time, the rough stone beneath her paws that had scratched and hurt her soft, pale paws had become considerably more comfortable as her paw pads had hardened to when she had first arrived, several moons ago.
Finally, she saw it. The green ivy that hung with numerous more foliage, hiding the cave, enveloping it within the thick forest, and over from there were the familiar zooms of the monsters that crackled with thunder as they sped across the Thunderpath. A fond smile curled on her lip.
She had been Thistle then, young, feisty and spiteful. She'd snapped at the very young warrior of HollyClan, Spottedheart, who had tried to tempt her to the Clan, to at least get help for her injuries that came with travelling thousands of fox-lengths.
Thistlevine barely remembered it.
The yowling and screeching of fighting, bleeding cats. All she remembered was the fear scent bleeding from her mother as the cats looked scornfully down on her, the sight of a pure white cat exchanging fierce, angry words with her mother that she recognised and wanted to prance over to them but was stopped in her tracks with the fierce rage burning in their blue eyes that had followed her as Gingerleaf bent down to pick her by the scruff, and wailing, she'd battered at the air that was filled with the scent of death and blood.
The sight of a young, wiry, small, black tortoiseshell rallying the cats was fresh in her mind, passion in her eyes.
Thistle had been scouting for food, and it showed. Her pelt was lank and limp and you could clearly see her ribs. Her mum was worse, and frailer now. But Thistle had been stubborn, and ignored the tell-tale voice of her mother needing to see a medicine cat, and with a bit of snark and a turn on her fluffy heel, Thistle had left the cocky tom where the thick forest and bushes and rocks and stones had melted into the Twolegplace with monsters dashing, Twoleg's within their tummies. She stared in horror and disgust, wondering what those monsters would do absentmindedly and crossed the Thunderpath when it was clear, pushing through alleyways and items of rubbish that lay scattered around where her mother shou- She wasn't there. Where was she?!
Thistle put down the still warm mouse and round eyes rose up to look down the alleyway in panic. Whiskers twitching, eyes barely focussing, adrenaline pounding through her body. Where was Gingerleaf?! Her mother could simply be socialising with other cats, but after her mother's cautiousness with other cat's after the
(flashes of vermillion, yowling, the angry blue eyes, the young, wiry, small tortoiseshell)
war.
Thistle streaked down the alleyway, ears back, rain falling from the heavens that soaked her pelt to her skin. It fell heavily, and she jumped when thunder rumbled. Fear, terror, dread.
"Mum?!" Thistle croaked, eyes dampening as a dark feeling began to submerge her. It swept through her like a tsunami.
Then she saw her.
The fluffy, ginger she-cat lay battered on the tarmac, and a yowl had already passed her lips as fear surged through her.
SHE NEEDED A MEDICINE CAT.
Thistle ran and pulled her mother by the scruff, back to the earthy forest as a yellow monster whizzed by her. Terror shook her. Her mother's broken, twisted body blinked with one eye up at her. She was so frail...
(she inhaled, then exhaled.)
"I came from a Clan once." Gingerleaf whispered hoarsely, eyes sharp, tongue limp. Blood dripping. Bone showing.
Thistle had let out a colossal wail, screeching and screaming. The rain dropped hard on her face as she lifted her head to the heavens and let out a raw, primal sound that tore from her. Her own flesh and blood was dead.
It had been a couple of moons before Thistle had joined the Clan, strolling onto the territory. Spottedheart was no longer a young warrior, he was deputy, and had taken her, without a word through the thick and vast forest and to her surprise, a hidden cave that traversed across their whole territory.
When Wedgestar had asked her where she had come from, she had sighed and told them this:
"My mother was once from a Clan such as this. Her name was called Gingerleaf. I never knew that she was from a Clan until the day she died. She had me, and my siblings who died because they were too weak.
"I was the only survivor. She told me of how she had once been apart of a group- well a Clan of cats that had been part of a group of many other Clan's. They disagreed on something, and the other Clan's had attacked. In the panic, my mother had left without her Clan and we've been travelling ever since."
Thistlevine had numbly been accepted into the Clan, where she became a warrior of HollyClan. A sigh tickled her face as she turned around, only to see Spottedheart, who looked at her with softness in his gaze.
Blackpaw scoffed as she looked down at the two cats beneath her position from where she was scaling the top of the cave. Flamingstream had assigned her to try and run atop of the cave, using the foliage propel her along just in case IvyClan ambushed them, so she would be prepared. Then, she moved, and began to stealth across the top of the cave, claw, hook, claw, hook, claw, hook.
In all honesty, she was enjoying it. It was easy to hook her claws beneath the vines and ivy and scale up, down, and across the cave. Perfect way to ambush - how long had that taken to develop that strategy? She wondered if there would perhaps be a cat from the opposition that would take one look at their carefully formulated scaling strategy and rip it like a ball of webs.
She heard laughter in the distance, and spotted a patch of blue through the bushes and scrambled over the cave, jumped onto a smaller sub part of it, and there her sister was, laughing at Wedgestar, eagerness to please in her disconcerting eyes. She almost flinched - from a distance, her eyes looked almost entirely white. Wedgestar was turned away from Blackpaw, but was rolling on his back, tummy displayed to the warm sun.
With a fond roll of her eyes, she scaled towards IvyClan's side of the territory, where she spotted a streak of grey — her cousin, Larkpaw, who was laughing and brushing shoulders with Lionpelt, and Blackpaw felt a pit of dark envy began to build within her tummy, malicious and emerald. But as Larkpaw raised her nose to scent the air, she turned and waved Blackpaw over with her tail excitedly.
"Blackpawww!" Larkpaw called, exuberance in her eyes. Blackpaw unhooked her claws and leapt from the cave, laughter stringing freely from her mouth.
"Hi-ya! What'cha doin'?" Blackpaw asked, Scottish brogue soft as she turned to see the gang of cats. Lightpaw turned her snooty nose up at her and Blackpaw rolled her sky blue eyes.
"We're goin' te Iv—" Redpaw started excitedly, pouncing to his paws with restlessly when a tail was slapped across his mouth.
"Shut up, idiot!" Dawnpaw hissed as she dragged her tail over Redpaw's russet face, who glared at her.
"What you saying?" Blackpaw hissed, bending her head down a bit while her ears pricked in irritation, eyes sparking with annoyance.
"She won't snitch," Redpaw insisted, anger in his blue eyes. "Shut up Dawnpaw, no one likes you anyway."
"Don't take the piss out of her, Redpaw!" Thornpaw snapped at Redpaw, and it looked like a fight was about to break out between the three cats when Lionpelt shouted at them all to shut up.
"We're going to meet up with some IvyClan cats," Lionpelt hissed to her, wrapping his tail around her cousin, Larkpaw and bringing her close to him.
"Lets go, then!" Blackpaw said confidently and quickly, not wanting the gang to look down on her with their noses up, who appraised her with knowing eyes, and annoyance spat through her blood like fire.
"What are you waiting for? What are you, pussy?" Blackpaw hissed out, challengingly looking at Lightpaw who sneered at her.
"Yeah, lets go!" Thornpaw called, beginning to lead the group from HollyClan territory and Larkpaw and the other apprentice's scattered and a kindle of confusion rose within Blackpaw's stomach as she scrambled to follow after them from where the IvyClan border opened up to the lake and leaping over foliage, rocks, passing dead ivy, jumping over-
The caterwauling yowl of Dawnpaw stopped Blackpaw in her tracks, and she cautiously peered round a thin, spindly tree, smelling something she was unsure of. Lionpelt had the front of the pack and was covered in something and Lightpaw was smirking at hi—
"Boo!"
Blackpaw opened her mouth to scream but a russet tail shoved itself over her mouth. The black molly stopped and turned on her heel, looking at the mischievous face of Echopaw, wrinkling her nose.
"What are we doing here?" Blackpaw whispered. "And what is that smell?"
Echopaw's long coat was coated with mud and did she stink! Redpaw from behind her, was also covered in the mud. When did Echopaw get here?
Echopaw glanced at Redpaw, who's brows furrowed at the sight of mudless Blackpaw, swearing beneath his breath. Wouldn't her scent ruin their mud scent plan?
Redpaw twitched his tail as he stared into Blackpaw's sky blue eyes intensely.
"Come with me.." He whispered nervously, and Echopaw shivered, feeling awkward and looking at anywhere but him but followed the pair ahead anyway. They sat down by the IvyClan border, where Echopaw noticed Blackpaw's realisation at the different land they stood on.
"IvyClan..." Blackpaw whispered, then turned her head to them with an excited beam.
Redpaw did not acknowledge her, just saying, "kotch." (1) Echopaw assented her head, worried eyes peering over her shoulder because her mother, Redfang would come and scream at them and Whitepaw, the little tattle-tail would be looking at her with a peaceful expression on her blank, emotionless face and she'd want to shred Whitepaw's face off-
Redpaw returned, carrying the stinky mud and without a warning, began to lather it on Blackpaw's dark pelt. But what about where Blackpaw had already streaked through IvyClan territory. She spotted dark fur on the floor, but was pulled from her thoughts by Blackpaw whispering, "this is so peak... (2)"
"You're actin' like this is a madting, (3) Blackpaw!" Redpaw exclaimed, looking at her with laughter in his eyes. "Just allow it (4) and don't be so bait." (5)
Echopaw nodded, but her mind was tellin– 'Allow it.' Her mind said, and with a brief look at Blackpaw, smiled with adventure in her pale eyes as the two began to follow Redpaw along the river where they spotted Dawnpaw, Lightpaw and Thornpaw first, laughter in their eyes, and a dull purr that was emitting from their throats.
Spikepaw and Birchpaw were laughing and it was slurred. Anticipation entered Echopaw - she smelled it. It smelled so good.
"What's that?" Echopaw's eyes closed slowly, then blinked open at Redpaw, taking in the green grass that brushed her chin, and brushed his, and the beautiful afternoon cloudy sky. His dark red fur, and his sky blue eyes that blinked warmly down at her.
"Catnip, you silly bint!" Redpaw laughed, running into a field, and Echopaw realised with a cold thrill that tickled up her spine that they weren't even in IvyClan territory anymore, they were in uncharted territory.
Then she saw the other cats, who lazily made slurred noises at them. They rolled over in the catnip that lay over the ground, and Echopaw was unable to resist the temptation of rolling in the herb, sweet scent entering her nostrils as she rolled over to face a beautiful she-cat, she was a white cat, patched blue and cream, and looked down at Echopaw with laughter in her eyes.
"I'm Morningpaw. Never tried it before, then?" She laughed, gesturing towards two tiny kits that sat behind her, the black and light ginger calico she-cat staring at Morningpaw with her dark green eyes shining with admiration.
"This is Yewkit," Morningpaw introduced, then pushed forward a fiery red cat with wide amber eyes. "This is my little brother, Firekit."
"You bought kits?" Echopaw imagine she squeaked out, but was slurred even to herand Morningpaw scowled down at her.
"And what?" Morningpaw snapped, and Echopaw's fur would've rose if she was in her normal state, but she only stared lazily at the pretty apprentice, who huffed and turned away from Echopaw.
"I'm Firekit!" Firekit introduced himself, excitement burning in his amber eyes, bouncing in his place. "I love Lightningstar! What about you? Do you like Lightningstar? I sure do! He's the best leader ever!"
Echopaw tried to think back through blurry memories, but could only see Wedgestar's beautiful face. "Hmm.." Was all she could mutter, intoxicated.
"And Russetheart! She's so COOL! Have you seen her in battle! I've never seen you here before! Are you new?" Firekit rambled on, excitement igniting amber eyes.
"Mhmmm.." Echopaw muttered as she shut her eyes, mind leaving her.
"Well, shit!" Rushpaw, a brown and white tom with hazel eyes laughed as Echopaw slumped on the ground, rolling around but completely shut off from the outside world. "She's off 'er 'ead, (6) then!"
Darkpaw stared hesitantly over at Echopaw's body, prodding her with his dark paw then stared up and shrugged at Potatopaw who laughed at the cat.
Skipperpaw shrugged at Leafpaw, and smiled charmingly at Blackpaw. "I'm Skipperpaw, and this, is Sam."
From behind Skipperpaw, a small brown tom, with white paws and bib popped his head around.
"'Ello!" Sam called friendlily, accent definitely cockney. "I'm Sam, 'ho are you?"
Blackpaw stared at Sam with wide blue eyes and nervousness within her chest, and when she spoke, her voice was so Scottish, she was sure he could barely understand.
"A'm Blackpaw, 'N' 'ho are yer? A've no sin ye befere.." (7) She stumbled out. Who was this kittypet? An image of Morley, as grey as the cave wall's, spread to her head. Then, she had thought that perhaps all kittypet's looked like that, but clearly not. However, Sam was a traveller, and easily picked up on her Scottish accent.
"Ah, a scottish girl. What's gwanin'? (8)" He asked, and Blackpaw smiled at him.
(1) kotch - chill out.
(2) peak - bad
(2) a madting - bad
(4) allow it - just let it happen
(5) bait - suspicious
(6) off 'er 'ead - off her head - intoxicated
(7) A'm Blackpaw, 'N' 'ho are yer? A've no sin ye befere.. - I'm Blackpaw. And who are you? I've never seen you before.
(8)what's gwanin' - what's happening