Chapter Two:

The forest was beautiful.

Bramblepaw's eyes were wide as she tried to take in every last detail of her surroundings. It had been two moons since she became an apprentice, but she still wasn't used to the splendor of ThunderClan's territory. She hoped she never would.

With it being the middle of newleaf, there seemed to be life everywhere. Birds tittered busily as they tended to their nests high in the trees. Honeybees buzzed from flower to flower in a patch of daffodils, which were brilliantly yellow against the green and brown of the forest. At her paws, Bramblepaw was fascinated by a large green beetle that lumbered among the twigs and grass. Sunlight, bright and blindingly beautiful, filtered through the trees and highlighted every vein in every leaf.

She was so enraptured; she didn't notice the squirrel bolting her way until it was practically in front of her.

Bramblepaw jumped away, startled, and watched as the squirrel skittered up into a tree. As she saw it vanish, a sinking feeling filled her belly. Her ears flattened as she knew what was coming.

"Bramblepaw! What in StarClan's grounds was that?!"

Gorseheart emerged from the undergrowth, stalking towards her with anger in his eyes. Mothpaw and Hawkstorm appeared behind him, the warrior's pelt bristling while his apprentice looked indifferent.

Bramblepaw looked at her paws as her mentor drew close, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't see it coming."

"You didn't see it coming," Gorseheart repeated. It wasn't a question. He hissed, "It was running right at you, Bramblepaw. Tell me the truth. You were looking at flowers again, weren't you?"

She didn't want to say it, even if it was true. This wasn't the first time she'd let Gorseheart down, and the feeling of self-disappointment and shame was almost painful. It wasn't like she wanted to upset him. Beyond anything, she wanted him to be happy with her—just once.

She nodded silently, guilt mounting as she kept her head down.

"That's what I thought," Gorseheart mewed. He turned away from her, but not before adding, "And start looking up when a tom speaks to you."

Hawkstorm sniffed, "You can't be too upset, Gorseheart. I don't know how you could expect anything less. Females and focus don't exactly go together. Isn't that right, she-cat?"

Bramblepaw didn't know if he was speaking to her. It was unlikely, seeing as Hawkstorm typically ignored her.

"Huh?" Mothpaw mewed, pausing in her grooming.

"See?" Hawkstorm meowed, gesturing towards the black cat, "Useless when it comes to work."

Mothpaw lifted her paw daintily, running her tongue over it. She seemed completely unbothered by her mentor's words. Bramblepaw wondered if she hadn't caught anything either, with the way her pelt looked unruffled in any way.

Gorseheart frowned, "We're done for the day. Let's gather up any prey we actually caught and get back to camp."

Bramblepaw hurried as the others started off. She kept pace, staying just behind her sister. She didn't want to give Gorseheart another reason to yell at her. As she glanced at him, she saw that he looked tired, the frustration gone from his face. She didn't have time to dwell on it though, as Hawkstorm snapped at her to dig up a thrush.

Back at camp, she dropped the bird on the fresh-kill pile, but had a second thought. She hadn't actually caught anything, hadn't yet contributed to the Clan for the day. Well, she had to do something. Just to make up for her mistake in the forest. Even if it wouldn't mean anything to Gorseheart, it would help take the guilt from her belly.

Quickly, she plucked the bird back up and trotted towards the elders' den. The elders would surely be hungry. And afterwards, she could offer to search for ticks. As much as Nettletail didn't like apprentices, she was sure he'd appreciate having any parasites removed.

"Who's there?" Rainclaw croaked as she entered. The tom's murky blue eyes narrowed as he tried to see her better.

Mudstorm huffed, "It's Thistlepaw."

"Who?"

"Thistlepaw, you deaf dog!"

Rainclaw wrinkled his nose, "What about a dog?"

"Oh, for StarClan's sake—"

"Will you two shut up?" Nettletail growled. The pale tom didn't bother to open his eyes despite being woken from his nap.

Bramblepaw suppressed a purr. The elders were as cranky as always, but there bickering always had an amusing edge to it. She couldn't even be bothered by the fact that they said her name wrong. Then again, it wasn't as if they ever remembered it. One day, maybe, they would.

She dropped the thrush at Mudstorm's paws, "I brought you some prey."

"You catch it?" Mudstorm asked, peering at the feathered creature. Rainclaw licked his lips, apparently catching the scent of food as he moved to sit beside his denmate.

"Um, no," Bramblepaw replied, feeling a prickle of guilt return, "I think Hawkstorm did."

"Good. She-cats ain't no good at catching prey. You shred the meat too much," Mudstorm leaned down to take a bite, and continued through a full mouth, "Make it mushy."

"I like mushy," Rainclaw purred as he took his turn.

"Of course you do. You hardly have any teeth left," Mudstorm grumbled.

Bramblepaw frowned. She wasn't very good at hunting just yet, but she was sure she'd eventually get the hang of it. Still, she'd never sliced up prey to the point that it was mashed.

"If you want, I can look you over for ticks," she offered. She didn't like the conversation, but Frostpetal had taught her to always be calm and dutiful.

She was startled when Nettletail sat up. The tom bore the same glaring gaze as always, "The gray one already did that."

The gray one. That's what he always called Smokepaw. Even as a kit, Bramblepaw had always known that Nettletail rarely bothered to learn the names of she-cats. As far as she knew, he only ever called Poppynose, his favorite queen, by name.

"Oh, okay. I'll go th—"

Before she could turn to leave, Nettletail growled, "And she was useless at it. There's still a tick on my stomach. I can feel it."

"I can see one on Rainclaw's shoulder," Mudstorm commented. Said tom either ignored or didn't hear him, too busy finishing up the thrush.

"Do—do you want me to—?"

"Obviously, mousefodder," Nettletail hissed, "Start with Rainclaw, before the fool falls asleep."

Bramblepaw nodded, trying not to flinch at Nettletail's preferred name for her. Rainclaw was already resting his head on his paws, eyes closed and ready for a nap. She ran her paws through his fur, wishing it wasn't so dark in the den. But a large bump told her she'd found the invasive creature.

It dawned on her that she'd forgotten to get any mouse-bile from Longwhisker.

"I—I'll be right back!" she mewed and hurried out of the den before the elders could snap at her.

StarClan, Gorseheart was right to be upset about her lack of focus.

The medicine cat wasn't in his den when she entered. Fortunately, after a few times of looking for ticks, she knew where he kept the mouse-bile. Quickly, she snatched some of the moss in the corner and dabbed it into the foul liquid. Her nose wrinkled as she picked the moss back up, but she pushed all thoughts of disgust away as she hurried back to the elders' den.

Mudstorm eyed her as she re-entered, "StarClan's kits, how did you forget the mouse-bile?"

Bramblepaw settled beside Rainclaw once more and began to search again. She mewed quietly, "I'm sorry, I didn't think about it."

"Did you hear that, Nettletail? She didn't think about it. Not very smart, huh?" Mudstorm observed. It wasn't meant to dig at her, Bramblepaw could tell that by his tone. It was a fact, not an insult.

"Hmph, are you surprised? That little one is her sister, remember?" Nettletail responded, growling, "It must be that pretty queen's blood."

Bramblepaw remained quiet, trying to focus on her task. She'd made two mistakes today already, and she wasn't keen on making anymore. Her paw roved over the tick again, and she quickly snatched up the moss to press it on the creature. On cue, the tick dropped away from Rainclaw's shoulder.

The tom sighed in his sleep, relieved.

"Done? Good, get over here. This thing is driving me crazy," Nettletail ordered, rolling onto his back expectantly.

Bramblepaw padded over obediently. She didn't want to risk the tom getting impatient with her. She set the moss down and began sifting through the elder's belly fur. Thankfully, it was white and the pink skin was easier to see as she moved the fur apart for inspection.

Nettletail did not speak as she worked, and his breathing remained steady. For a moment, she wondered if he had decided to go to sleep.

The tick was tucked in the junction between Nettletail's leg and his belly, and it was engorged from his blood. Despite its size, it would be difficult to snatch up if Nettletail didn't move his leg.

"Um, could you spread your leg out? I can't quite…"

Nettletail said nothing as he straightened his leg out, though Bramblepaw now felt his eyes on her. Was he watching to see if she'd mess up? Dutifully, she dabbed the moss on the large tick and plucked it from the tom's fur when it broke away.

Bramblepaw was about to step away when she noticed something odd.

Between Nettletail's legs, just a whisker's length from her paw, was something pink. It stood out against the white fur around it, and as she stared in confusion, it suddenly grew longer and touched her paw.

Bramblepaw jumped away, startled. What was that thing? It looked spiky and strangely wet, and had been hot to the touch. Was she the only one aware of it? It was on Nettletail. She had to alert him.

To her complete and utter surprise, Nettletail let out a puff of laughter as he rolled over. His eyes were different now, having lost their glare and now filled with some strange look. Bramblepaw felt her skin crawl under his gaze. Why was it so unnerving?

"What's wrong, mousefodder?" the old tom asked, "Never seen a cock before?"

"A—a what? I…"

"Don't tell me Gorseheart hasn't told you about that yet. It's a big part of your duty as a she-cat," Nettletail meowed. He shifted his legs, and Bramblepaw was greeted by the "cock" again. It was twitching and its color had deepened from pink to red.

At that moment, Bramblepaw realized that it was a part of Nettletail's body.

She snapped her eyes away from it. Something about the organ made her feel filthy all over, like she hadn't groomed in days.

Mudstorm chuckled from behind her, "Of course he didn't. You hear him griping about how useless she is all day. He probably thinks she'd be no good at it."

"Mousedirt," Nettletail hissed lowly, "Any she-cat can fuck. And look at that little mouth…"

Bramblepaw froze as Nettletail drew closer to her. She wanted to shrink down inside herself. Normally, she wasn't too bothered by the words of toms, but this was different. She felt dirty, confused, and terrified all at once. Something about the way Nettletail was looking at her made her feel like a hapless mouse, just waiting for the claws of a predator to slam down upon her.

Nettletail's breath stank like rancid meat as he stopped just in front of her, his whiskers brushing hers. She stared back into his amber eyes, too scared to even blink. Those eyes seemed to search her for a long time, before finally, they narrowed with amusement, and Nettletail stepped back.

Bramblepaw released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Run along, mousefodder. And come back when you're taught what to do," the elder meowed, sitting down and lowering his head between his legs. He licked his organ, eyes still on her as he finished, "When you see a cock."

Bramblepaw didn't bother to reply or even dip her head in respect.

She ran instead.

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A/N: And that, my lovelies, is the second chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed!

What do you think about Bramblepaw so far? What about Gorseheart and the elders? Tell me in the reviews!

Anyhoo, I will be working on the next chapter of Intertwine for a little bit, as well as updates for Cure and Dead of Winter. And if you haven't heard of Dead of Winter, but love a story full of death, angst, and possibly some sex, please check it out! It's another darker story, so be prepared for some upset.

As always, I have a new poll up! It's pretty simple this time: Who is your favorite canon main character? I can't wait to see the results!

Later, my lovelies~!

- Tina