Chapter 4:

The ex-Pineclan deputy stood in front of her, his blue eyes holding a smug expression as he looked down at her and the patrol. Somehow, he seemed to have got taller since they last met.

She glanced behind him to see four other cats also standing with faces filled with victory and pride. Stormlight unsheathed her claws, digging them into the floor.

"What are you rogues doing on Lightningclan territory?" Breezecloud moved to stand beside her.

Stormlight noticed that he was shielding the two young apprentices behind him. They had no training, they were completely untrained and standing in front of rogues who wouldn't hold back.

"Just going for a walk," a dark ginger she-cat grinned, "do you kits have a problem with that?"

"I'm not a kit!" Came the loud voice of Brightpaw.

'You mouse-brain!' Stormlight inwardly cursed the apprentice.

Duskpelt flicked an ear and glared at the young cat through judging eyes. "You look like one to me."

"I am not!"

Stormlight felt her anxiety growing as Brightpaw's frustration increased, they'd be no stopping her now.

"Brightpaw, Brownpaw," Patchfur hissed at the apprentices, "back to camp, now!"

Brownpaw nodded and scurried off but Brightpaw didn't seem to have heard and was still glaring at Duskpelt.

Stormlight shoved the apprentice, "camp! Now!"

"Oh let the kit stick around," Duskpelt laughed to himself, "an apprentice needs to learn a little bit of violence."

"This doesn't have to end in a fight," Stormlight faced her father, "just get off of our territory and we'll forget this happened."

Something flashed in his eyes, "No! This isn't over, kit," he sneered, "I'll blind your other eye if I have to!"

Stormlight flattened her ears, "so be it."

Without warning or any prior thought, the silver-grey warrior leapt at the ex-deputy, knocking him off of his paws. He let out a growl of annoyance as the other warriors, Brightpaw included, began to attack.

"Brightpaw, you mouse-brain!" Stormlight found herself distracted, "get out of here!"

But the black and white apprentice didn't seem to listen as she attempted to claw a warrior twice her size.

She didn't have time to worry about her as Duskpelt knocked the side of her head.

"A backup patrol will come," she spat at him, "there's no point in sticking around."

"By the time they do I will be gone and you will be dead," he snarled back.

She swiped at his face but he ducked neatly and swerved out of the way as he attempted to leap at him. He pinned her to the floor as she violently struggled.

"Why come back?"

"Revenge," he spat at her, "once you're dead I'll kill you then your brother and mother and that stinkin' rogue!"

She sent a surprise slash across his face, sending him reeling backwards.

Duskpelt lifted up his head to attack back, but she was done.

She wasn't too late! Brightpaw was still struggling underneath the warrior she vaguely recognised as Darkspots. Stormlight knocked straight into him, causing him to fall onto his side. She grabbed the apprentice by the scruff and pulled her back onto her paws.

"What are you doing?" She hissed at her.

"Fighting!" Squeaked Brightpaw.

"These are rogues," Stormlight emphasised, "they won't hesitate to kill you."

"Not if I get there first."

The older cat sighed, "Brightpaw, listen-"

But before she finished her sentence, she was knocked off of her paws. Duskpelt had raked her flank with such force she had fallen to the floor. She got back into a crouch, putting all her effort into defending Brightpaw.

"It's pointless," Duskpelt seemed to laugh to himself, "you know you can't defeat me! And your mouse-brained friends too!"

Stormlight glanced around to see Breezecloud and Patchfur behind her, pinned to the ground as they desperately struggled against the rogues.

Stormlight pressed herself against Brightpaw who seemed to finally be realising the danger she was in.

"Just leave, Duskpelt!" She hissed at him, "please!"

The dark furred tabby shook his head, "it's over, kit."

Stormlight was ready to shove Brightpaw out of the way when a sudden shock blew Duskpelt off of his paws. The warrior blinked down at the now knocked over deputy who looked around confused. What had just happened?

Glancing around, she spotted a new patrol of Lightningclan cats consisting of Lionpelt, Gingerpool, Flamescar, Stonepelt and Ace, all looking shocked at something behind Stormlight.

She followed their gaze to see Patchfur standing there looking down at his paws, his face filled with horror.

The rogues, including Duskpelt, quickly fled at the chance, but no cat ran after them.

"He's Cursed!" Spat Gingerpool.

"I-I," Patchfur seemed at loss for words, "I didn't know-"

Lionpelt shoved his way to the front of the patrol, knocking out Patchfur with a powerful blow to the head.

"Someone help me take it back to camp," Lionpelt growled as he grabbed the warrior by the scruff.

Gingerpool and Stonepelt instantly went up to help him as Stormlight just stood there in horror. Her gaze was drawn to Breezecloud who was looking at his brother desperately as if willing him to do something.

"What do we do?" She whispered to Ace as the tom fell into pace beside her.

"Nothing," he replied, "it would be too risky."

"But Patchfur is my friend!" She hissed, "they'll kill him."

"Yes, they will. But if you want to fight your own clanmates and end up dying in the process then go ahead, but I wouldn't recommend it."

"I'm just scared, Ace, he's your friend too, isn't he?"

Ace seemed at loss for words, "w-we'll figure out something, okay? I-I don't know what to do."

Stormlight didn't feel very comforted by the tom's words but nodded anyway, glancing at Patchfur's unconscious body dangling from Lionpelt's jaws. She noticed Breezecloud behind her walking stiffly, as though he were terrified, she couldn't blame him. That's when she remembered Brightpaw.

"Hey," she dropped back to the young apprentice, "are you okay?"

Brightpaw let out a shaky nod, "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For trying to fight, I just wanted to help, but it's my fault-"

"Nothing's your fault," Stormlight promised her.

"I-is Patchfur really evil?" Brightpaw looked up into her eyes.

Ace suddenly dropped beside her, "no, he's not."

Brightpaw looked confused as if she was expecting a different answer.

"But he's Cursed! Surely-"

"Just, don't alway listen to what everyone says," Ace glanced over at Patchfur, "not every Cursed cat has bad intentions."

They arrived in camp, Stormlight felt her breath hitch in her throat as she watched cats poke their heads out the dens to see what all the commotion was about.

Lionpelt dumped Patchfur's body in the centre of camp as he began to stir. Brackenstar emerged from his den with Ivyheart behind him. The leader glanced down at his warrior and a misty look came over his eyes for a few seconds before vanishing.

"Lionpelt," he said, "I thought you were on the backup patrol against those rogues."

"I was, and we fought them off," Lionpelt sent a spiteful look at Patchfur, "and we almost had them beaten."

'That's a lie,' Stormlight noted suddenly feeling a strange sort of deja-vu.

"Then what happened?" The leader questioned.

"Patchfur turned against us, he's Cursed!"

"Turned against us?" Ace muttered in her ear, "he saved you and Brightpaw from Duskpelt."

Stormlight wanted to yell at the leader that Patchfur was innocent, but she knew it wouldn't work…

"I didn't know!" Patchfur cried out to his leader, "I swear!"

"Kill him!" Cried one cat, "he's Cursed!"

"He's a traitor and a liar," said another, "you can't trust him!"

'This is just like what happened with Mouseeyes," reminisce Stormlight.

She could clearly remember her first ever Cursed execution where the warrior, Mouseeyes, was killed after talking to a dog.

"Can the rest of your patrol confirm this?" Brackenstar questioned.

Flamescar stepped up first, "we can!"

Stormlight flattened her ears as she watched Patchfur painfully get to his paws.

"I'm not a traitor, please just banish me!" He was on the verge of sobbing, "I don't want to die."

"It's too late for that, Cursed scum!" Lionpelt hissed at him as the clan jeered insults at him.

Brackenstar stood emotionless on the top of the high rock, "step forward, Breezecloud."

Stormlight could feel her blood run cold as Patchfur's littermate was called up, was Brackenstar going to force him to kill him? She glanced at Breezecloud was shaking violently, he looked in no shape to be doing any sort of murdering.

"Where's your sister?" Brackenstar asked calmly.

Stormlight glanced around, where was Flamefern.

"O-on patrol," Breezecloud answered shakily.

"Then you'll just have to do," Brackenstar sighed, "kill him."

Patchfur began to shake his head violently. Stormlight stepped forward but Ace blocked her path.

Breezecloud seemed to freeze, slowly turning to his brother and unsheathing his claws.

The clan fell silent and Stormlight could feel her heart pounding loudly.

"No…" the quiet whisper came from Breezecloud.

She pricked up her ears in surprise and felt Ace stiffen.

"Pardon?" Brackenstar snarled.

"I said 'no!'" The warrior turned to his leader, "I have been raised by my brother for my entire life, don't you think I would've noticed if he was evil? I won't kill him!"

The golden brown leader seemed to pause, figuring out what to do.

"Then you will die too."

As if there was an unspoken command, five cats leapt at the two young warriors, screeching obscenities and curses. Stormlight backed away, pressing herself against Ace. She could feel Brightpaw shivering beside her, she couldn't imagine how scared the apprentice must've felt, one of those cats being attacked was her mentors!

Her heart was pounding as those on the sidelines chanted loudly, eyes glimmering as they watched their own clanmates kill each other.

Stormlight noticed Brownpaw crouched at the entrance of the apprentice's den, his view mainly blocked by Greylight who seemed to be muttering something to herself as she disapprovingly shook her head.

"It is done," Lionpelt was the first to break away from the group of fighting cats.

The other attackers backed off slowly to reveal the two bodies of Patchfur and Breezecloud lying side by side, covered in blood and scratches.

At that exact moment, a patrol consisting of Shadowheart, Flamefern and Sandpaw enter the camp.

The crowd had divided up at this point but most of them froze when they saw the sister of the two dead brothers enter the camp.

Flamefern paused, confused to why everyone in the camp was staring at her. Stormlight noticed a sudden flash of anger on Shadowheart's face as he saw the two dead bodies. He pushed his way through the group of cats outside the warrior's den and vanished from sight.

Flamefern's ears were pressed against her head as she approached her brothers, giving them a gentle sniff.

The dark grey she-cat stopped.

"They were traitors," Flamescar spat at her, "they deserved to die."

But the she-cat didn't seem to hear as she reared her head back and let out a yowl.

The silver-grey warrior cringed, she had never heard something so agonising and heartbroken in her life. It broke her heart just to listen to it, watching a sister mourn over her brothers.

And Stormlight hoped she would never have to experience a pain like that ever in her life.


A/N: Sorry if any of you liked Patchfur and Breezecloud… They're dead now… so…

Anyway, please don't forget to give me your suggestions on what 'novella' I should write for the characters in this series (the list of options is in the A/N in chapter 2 if you were wondering)

Edit: Fanfiction has just been so shitty lately! My posts aren't working at all! If anyone follows this story, can you please let me know if you're receiving update emails every time I update?

This is the last time I'm gonna attempt to put this up because I cba anymore