Hi everyone!
Chapter 4!
Thanks to Fawntail, spiritwolf46, GiggleluvsFang, Firestorm75, and Boltstar for your reviews. :)
Dusktail plushies and Prophecy Pools for everyone!
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ThunderClan
Leader---Sunstar—a ginger tom with golden stripes and green eyes
Deputy---Tawnyspots—a brown tabby tom
Medicine Cat---Featherwhisker—a silvery-gray tom with amber eyes and long, feathery whiskers
Warriors---
Thistleclaw—a gray tom with one white leg and three darker gray legs
Bluefur—a blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes (apprentice, Runningpaw)
Patchpelt—a black and white tom
Halftail—a dark brown tabby tom with half a tail (apprentice, Redpaw)
Moonflower—a long-haired white she-cat with amber eyes
Stonepelt—a gray tabby tom
Speckletail—a pale tabby she-cat
Lionheart—a golden tabby tom with thick fur around his muzzle
Queens---
Snowfur—a white she-cat with blue eyes (mother of Whitekit, foster mother to Tigerkit)
Dappletail—a dappled tortoiseshell she-cat (mother of Frostkit, Goldenkit, and Sparrowkit)
Apprentices---
Redpaw—a tortoiseshell tom with a fluffy ginger tail
Runningpaw—a swift tabby tom
Elders---
One-eye—a pale gray she-cat missing one eye; virtually blind and deaf
Rosetail—a ginger she-cat with black patches
Smallear—a pale gray tom with very small ears
Crowflight—a dark gray, almost black, tom; the oldest cat in ThunderClan
***
Tigerkit's POV
Mother dropped a mouse in front of me and Whitekit, and I licked my lips. "Thank you, Mother!" I mewed.
I was four moons old now, and I was finally allowed to go out into the forest for the first time! Whitekit had already gone out with Bluefur, Mother's sister, and now I was going to go with Thistleclaw, my father! I was so excited to finally get to spend time with him, because he had avoided me ever since I opened my eyes.
He still has that sad feeling. It always becomes different when he sees me. The sad feeling gets more intense, and there's a bit of anger in it too. I wonder why.
"Tigerkit. Tigerkit!" Mother is calling me.
"Sorry, Mother!" I hurried over to where Mother and Whitekit were seated by the camp entrance, Thistleclaw looming next to them. I trip over my paws in my hurry to get to them, and I tumbled at Thistleclaw's paws in a flurry of paws and tail. A growling came up in his throat, and I straightened up. "I'm sorry, Father," I apologized.
Thistleclaw said nothing, just glared at me.
"Tell me about it when you get back!" Whitekit meowed. "I remember my first time in the forest! It was amazing! I can't wait until I'm an apprentice. Then I can go to the forest all the time!"
A prickle of envy overcame me as I recalled that Whitekit was almost two moons older than I; he would be made an apprentice soon.
"Come on," Thistleclaw growled. "I don't have all day."
"Good-bye, Tigerkit. I'll want to hear all about it!" Mother called after me as I raced after Thistleclaw into the trees. I was kind of annoyed that he wouldn't slow down—my paws weren't all that big—but eventually we came to a stop in a sandy clearing. I panted, trying to catch my breath. "Father," I meowed. "Why couldn't Mother come?"
Thistleclaw then did something that completely shocked me. He roared and scratched me down my flank. "Don't call me that! You are no son of mine!"
I whimpered. "Fath—Thistleclaw, what's wrong? Why did you do that? That hurt."
"Why did I do it?" Thistleclaw thrust his head in my face, and I saw that his eyes had a crazed look to them. "Because you are a killer!"
"No, I'm not. I've never killed a cat ever, and I don't want to ever. It's a bad thing to do."
"Yes, you have!" Thistleclaw spat. I flattened myself against the ground as he began swiping his paws at me. "You killed your mother!"
"I never hurt Snowfur!" I mewed disbelievingly. "You saw her—she was there, at the camp!"
"She is not your mother!" the mad gray tom hissed. "Your mother was—" I saw him wince as he said was—"Your mother was Shadestorm, and she died giving you life! You killed her, and you don't deserve the life she gave you!" He pinned me to the ground, and I shook under his huge paws.
"I—I didn't mean to!" I wailed.
Thistleclaw dug one claw into my left ear and ripped it, making a deep V shape. I screamed in pain. "Father, stop!"
He sank a claw into the bridge of my nose and yanked it out so quickly that blood welled up and ran down my face. "Father! Stop it, please!" I tried to run away from that—that monster, but he dragged me back and threw me against the trunk of an oak. "Help me! Anyone, someone!" I screeched.
As if StarClan themselves had heard my prayer, I felt new strength surge through my veins and I was able to get up and I tried to run away again, but Thistleclaw sank his claws into my tail and hovered over me. "If you tell any cat what happened here," he breathed into my ear, "I will kill you. Understand?"
My eyes widened, and I started hyperventilating. "I—I—I understand, Fa—Thistleclaw."
"Good." Thistleclaw grabbed some thorns and shoved them into my flesh. I squeaked in pain. "What are these for?"
"I can't have cats asking why you're bleeding like this. Got to have an excuse." He finished and pushed me toward the trees. I stumbled and then picked up pace and started running for the safety of the camp, for Snowfur and Whitekit, who—wait. What if they hurt me like Thistleclaw did? I had trusted him and then he had betrayed me. What if Snowfur and Whitekit were the same? I briefly wondered if I should just run away from ThunderClan and everything, but I knew I couldn't. I kept running, and exploded into the cam when I got there. Thistleclaw was right on my tail. "Remember, if you say anything, I'll kill you," he hissed to me. I numbly nodded and Thistleclaw pushed me to the medicine den. Featherwhisker padded out, his calm expression turning to shock as he saw me bleeding.
"Thistleclaw? What happened to Tigerkit?"
"He fell into some thorns," Thistleclaw answered curtly. "I got most of them out, but there are still a few stuck in him."
Featherwhisker located the thorns and fastened his teeth around one Thistleclaw had stuck near my injured ear. He pulled, and the thorn came out, followed by a spurt of blood. I squeaked in pain, and Featherwhisker put some dock on the cut. "It's all right," he assured me. "Many older and wiser cats have gotten stuck with thorns. You just have to be careful and there—no problem."
Yes, I thought. But you don't know what my problem really is. I glanced nervously at Thistleclaw, who was sitting by me. Any passing by cat would think he was doing it out of concern—but I knew he was making sure I wasn't going to tell any cat what he had done to me.
Featherwhisker finished treating me. "There you go," he meowed. "Good as new. You're lucky your father was there to get bring you back here, or some of those wounds could have been serious. Run along now, Tigerkit."
Thistleclaw stalked away, and I sprinted off to the nursery. Snowfur ran out and stopped when she saw me covered in dock and cobwebs. "Tigerkit!" she yowled. "What happened to you?" She picked me up by my scruff and carried me to my nest, where she set me down and began giving me a furious licking. Dappletail, the other queen, abandoned her kits to help.
"I—I fell in some thorns," I mewed.
Whitekit jumped over to me. "Ouch, that must have hurt," he meowed sympathetically.
I nodded. "Snowfur? Is it true that I killed my real mother?"
Snowfur stiffened. "Thistleclaw told you?"
"Y—yes."
"Well, Tigerkit, you need to know that you did not kill Shadestorm. It was just a very unfortunate thing, her death, and you must never think that you killed her. Do you understand?" Snowfur sounded unusually fierce.
I nodded again. "Yes, Snowfur."
Snowfur's eyes softened as she looked at me. "And Tigerkit, I love you as much as if you were my own son."
I smiled.
***
Meanwhile, back in StarClan…
Dusktail looked into the pool and saw his killer torturing that dark tabby kit…Tigerkit. He felt extremely protective of the small kit, and extremely hateful of Thistleclaw.
"It is sad, isn't it?" Nightwhisker meowed sadly. "To think that Thistleclaw turned out the way he did…"
"I met him a couple of times at Gatherings with his mate Shadestorm. He was a completely different cat than he is now," Dusktail told her.
Leapkit padded up to them. "I know I was RiverClan," she mewed, "but I would do anything to help poor Tigerkit. I have seen what he will become if Thistleclaw keeps on, and I wish to change that."
Nightwhisker nodded. "We can only hope that my daughter is helping him and protecting him."
***
Shadestorm's POV
I watched as Thistleclaw led my Tigerkit into the training hollow. Tigerkit stopped, out of breath, and asked, "Father, why couldn't Mother come?"
I gasped as my former mate raked his claw down my son's flanks. "Do not say that! You are no son of mine!"
Yes, but he is my son. Even though I knew it was hopeless, I barreled myself into Thistleclaw's body. He was unmovable, and was like a stone wall, and I crashed into him with a sickening thud. Thistleclaw hadn't even felt a thing, judging by the way his glare remained fixed on the cowering Tigerkit.
"Fath—Thistleclaw," he mewed, "Why did you do that? That hurt."
My heart wailed at his naïve question, at his innocence, at his obvious confusion.
Thistleclaw growled. "Why did I do it? Because you are a killer!"
I saw the madness in his eyes, and at that moment I knew that the kind, gentle cat I had once known was gone forever. In his place was this heartless monster.
Tigerkit's eyes widened, and in his kitten voice he squeaked, "No I didn't! I never killed a cat ever, and I don't want to ever. It's a bad thing to do."
"Yes, you have!" Thistleclaw roared, and I saw Tigerkit flatten himself against the ground. "You killed your mother!"
"I never hurt Snowfur!" Tigerkit mewed, and my stomach clenched as I realized that he truly believed Snowfur was his mother.
I watched helplessly as Thistleclaw ripped and tore at my son, and I suddenly felt such a powerful surge of anger that it seemed to drain out of me and Tigerkit seemed to absorb it. He gained enough of my StarClan strength so that he was able to throw his father off him and the small dark tabby kit tried to flee. Unfortunately, Thistleclaw pulled him back.
My son, my beloved son, was being beaten before my very eyes, and I was not able to help him.
Thistleclaw pinned Tigerkit down with his paws and hissed in his ear. "If you tell any cat what happened here, I will kill you. Understand?"
"I—I—I understand, Fa—Thistleclaw," Tigerkit squeaked.
"Good." Thistleclaw began shoving thorns into my kit's fur, and mumbled something about the medicine cat den.
I couldn't bear it. I ran back to the camp and into Featherwhisker's den, waiting for my son to come and be treated.
There is a war going on inside Thistleclaw. But soon he shall cause a war between him and his son.
I would do anything to be back in the nursery, chatting with Snowfur, sharing tongues with Thistleclaw, and playing with Tigerkit. That was my happily ever after.
Until it had been taken from me.
And I would betray a dozen Clans, fight a hundred battles, and die a thousand deaths to get that happily ever after.
But then, I realized, I had given it up to give Tigerkit life—and I found I did not regret that.
***
Yay! I finished Chapter 4!!!
Now, children, your homework for tonight is to review this story—and any of my other stories that appeal to you. You can even flame—but I'd rather you complimented my story. :)
Time to answer reviews!
Boltstar—Thanks for pointing that out for me. Yes, the rule applies solely to cats.
Fawntail—In my mind, kittens are much smarter than human babies, so I think StarClan sends kits that common knowledge when they need it. And yes, Shadestorm's prey can feel her, but cats have no clue she is there. And I'm not really sure about that one sentence.
See that little button down there—the reviewing one? Do me a favor and press it. Pleeeeeeeeeease? Pretty pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?
Bye!
~LenzieKat~
