Chapter Six

Rain poured down on the camp when Thornpaw woke up. She let out a huff of exasperation before hiding under the nearest bush she could find. Her fur was already messy enough, and the camp was now becoming a muddy clearing. Apprentices were working double time to make sure the elders didn't slip. Thornpaw noticed that Thistlepaw was even working harder than usual, and held back a purr of satisfaction.

It was good to know that someone had noticed the treatment Thistlepaw gave her. Cloverstar's punishment had not gone by unnoticed either. After complaining about it for most of the night, Cottonwind had marched over to Cloverstar to find out what had happened. And of course Cottonwind had blamed the whole incident on Thornpaw when she had the chance.

She looked down at her mud-coated paws warily. Why did Cottonwind hate her so much? She had never done anything to harm her mother, as far as she was concerned. It was like Cottonwind didn't even see her as her daughter by blood. Only Thistlepaw, Palepaw and Briarpaw were treated like Cottonwind's true kits.

"Thornpaw, we're going hunting!" Ashfang's voice soared over the pouring rain. Thornpaw looked at her mentor in dismay. In this rain it would be almost impossible to find anything. She glanced over at the other apprentices and wished she could join them. Even the tunnelers had stopped their work; in the rain the tunnels collapsed more often and made work underground much more dangerous.

With a sigh of frustration, Thornpaw got to her paws and trotted after her mentor. Ashfang looked down at her scornfully before leading the way out of camp. By now Thornpaw was soaked to the bone, her pelt clinging to her for warmth.

We shouldn't be out here, she thought angrily. Ashfang's doing everything she can to make me miserable. Thornpaw knew very well what Ashfang was up to before they had even reached the training spot. She just hoped they weren't out too long before she got sick.

"Right, I want to see your best hunter's crouch," Ashfang meowed. She sat near the edge of the clearing, her tail wrapped around her paws. Thornpaw only looked at her in confusion. WindClan cats didn't need to do that. They mostly chased rabbits and large birds; every now and than a mouse would be caught in one of the tunnels, but that was about it.

But Thornpaw complied nonetheless. Her haunches wriggled as she dropped to a crouch. It was a move that just about every young cat learned before they left the nursery. Thornpaw had nearly perfected hers when she tried practicing her moves on Thistlepaw. Of course her brother didn't appreciate it much at the time, but Thornpaw knew than what she was capable of.

"How is this supposed to help me catch rabbits?" Thornpaw asked when Ashfang finally let her up. The light gray she-cat seemed annoyed with the fact that Thornpaw already knew so much. But Thornpaw wasn't going to let that get to her. She had already promised that she would make Ashfang's life as miserable as possible.

Before Thornpaw could react, Ashfang suddenly got to her paws and swatted them across Thornpaw's face, claws unsheathed. Pain seared through Thornpaw the moment Ashfang stepped back. A look of contentment stretched across Ashfang's face when she finally saw what she had done.

"Do not speak to your mentor unless I demand it," she snapped. "I can see that my lessons from the other day fell on deaf ears. You clearly need more work than I realized."

Thornpaw dug her claws in the ground out of pure frustration. The pain from earlier seemed to vanish once Ashfang inflicted her pain. She was determined to prove Ashfang wrong now more than ever. Her mind was telling her to end it quickly due to the rain and fatigue. But Thornpaw simply raised her chin and ignored her inner pleading.

"Fine, you want me to hunt a rabbit? Then I'll find one," she snapped. Ashfang looked at her in surprise, but she didn't let the warrior continue, "And maybe than you'll see I don't need this foxdung." Thornpaw ignored the glare Ashfang gave her and trotted away.

Even in the pouring rain, Thornpaw could hear the yowls of protest that came from Ashfang. If she died out here on the moors, it would be on Ashfang's paws. She hoped that guilt would overwhelm that crowfood eating coward. She wasn't going back until she caught her first piece of fresh-kill.

...

A rabbit hared across the open moors, desperate to escape the clutches of it's pursuer. The rain had finally stopped, but dark gray swirls of clouds still surrounded the sky. Underneath the rabbit's paws the grass was slippery and wet. Finally out of exhaustion and tripping so many times, the rabbit gave up for a few precious moments.

That was all Thornpaw needed in order to catch up. Her chest ached from running so hard and long. But her eyes gleamed with triumph as she lunged for the kill. The rabbit writhed underneath her paws as she gave it a swift killing blow. Satisfaction swelled within Thornpaw as she dropped the dead rabbit at her paws.

"Let's hope that this shuts her up for a while," Thornpaw sighed. The wind had picked up as the clouds drifted by. Thornpaw looked around warily before grabbing the rabbit to take it back to camp. She knew that cats would start asking where she was if she didn't get back now. If they cared at all. As far as she was concerned it was only the elders who seemed to care about her, and Cloverstar.

At least someone is looking out for me, she reminded herself. The bitterness in her mind made her realize just how much she hated the Clan. Why was it that everyone treated her like she was an outcast? She had never done anything wrong as far as she could remember.

Thornpaw shook her head at the thoughts and trudged back to camp, dragging the rabbit with her. It was almost as big as she was. Maybe she could give the rabbit to the elders since they had been so kind to her lately. Or better yet give it to Cloverstar.

"…. And she left me standing there, the ungrateful runt!" Thornpaw stiffened when she heard Ashfang's complaint. "Why did Cloverstar give me such a useless apprentice? Out of all the kits I had to get that one…." Anger surged within Thornpaw before she skirted away from the clearing.

"Don't you think you're being a bit hard on her?" Birchnose meowed. "Give the poor apprentice a break, she's going through enough trauma as it is." Thornpaw felt a small prickle of hope; at least someone was standing up for her.

She decided to use that as a chance to show Ashfang that she was back safe and sound. Even if she was annoyed with her mentor, she at least had to show that she cared. Thornpaw held her breath when she dropped the dead rabbit at Ashfang's paws. The she-cat's nose wrinkled in disgust almost at once.

"Is that satisfying enough for you?" she demanded. Thornpaw hoped that Ashfang got the hint that she heard everything. Ashfang's face twisted in a scowl when she understood what Thornpaw meant.

"You expect cats to eat something that's covered in dirt?" she hissed.

"Ashfang…." The warning tone in Hickoryfur's voice went unnoticed. Before either Birchnose or Hickoryfur could react, Thornpaw suddenly lunged forward. Fury surged through Thornpaw as she tackled the older she-cat to the ground, pinning her despite being smaller. All those times fighting Thistlepaw had made her stronger, and she wasn't going to let up until Ashfang apologized.

"I'm tired of you treating me like I'm just a worthless piece of foxdung!" Thornpaw snarled. She pressed a paw against Ashfang's neck, letting anger get the better of her. "If you don't want me to be your apprentice than fine, tell Cloverstar. But I am not going to let you hold me back on my training!"

Ashfang was too stunned to say anything. Finally Thornpaw released her grip and grabbed the rabbit. All of the anger she had felt earlier suddenly seemed to melt away, like that attack had released it all. Thornpaw's shoulders sagged with relief as she dropped the rabbit on the fresh-kill pile.

"That went well." Thornpaw nearly leaped out of her fur when she heard Cricketspring's voice. She looked up to see that the elder had joined her. "You do realize that attacking a Clanmate is against the warrior code?"

"I don't care anymore," Thornpaw sighed. She dropped her gaze as shame suddenly crawled through her. "It's not like anyone wants me around anyways." She added the last part with a shrug. Most of that was true; no one wanted her here.

"You know that's not true," Cricketspring rasped. Thornpaw leaped away from the elder as she tried soothing her. Too much pain and anger had built up within her. She didn't want any cat's sympathy, not now. "Thornpaw, come here." Cricketspring raised her tail, and Thornpaw's ears flattened in disdain. Finally Thornpaw scooted over, giving in. "Now you listen to me. You are not the worthless apprentice they may make you feel. Everyone has their own differences. You just need to see yours as your strength."

Hope flared within Thornpaw for the first time in moons. She looked up to see the truth in the former medicine cat's eyes. Maybe Cricketspring was right, but that still didn't make what was happening now any better.

"Thank you," she murmured. "For being there when I needed someone."

Cricketspring flicked her tail across Thornpaw's ears before padding away to the elder's den. The former medicine cat was wise, and Thornpaw knew that she should take her advice seriously. But that didn't mean the others were going to listen.

"Everyone!" Thornpaw stiffened when she heard Weedwhisker's voice. The long-haired gray tom was standing near the camp entrance, looking horrified. "I've just found Cloverstar outside the camp; she's…. I'm afraid she's dead!"


AN: So... yeah. That was that chapter. Lots of drama, the typical stuff that keeps a reader interested :P Actually I did have that last scene planned for the last few weeks, I just needed to figure out where it would be added. And this seemed perfect enough. As for Thornpaw, well, life for her is about to get even more hectic.

Wyldclaw - She really is. Maybe she needs more than just a wake-up call. And yep, Cloverstar was one of my favorite leaders next to Emberstar ^^ Although Kindlestar is a close third for some reason...

Skyfrost14 - I think just about everyone is starting to hate her. I do too :(

Snowspider of ColdClan - Ashfang is Cottonwind's mother, if you can believe it. And you'll find out about Thornpaw's father in later chapters, it might surprise everyone ^^ I'm glad you're enjoying both stories, they're fun to write as well!

Silverbird22 - XD No problem! This was before Tallstar's time though, so... not sure if that could be possible :P Gotta love Pokemon references; I can't wait for November 22! Or is it the 21? Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire here we come! :D

Natureheart10 - Trust me, you're not the only one who hates them. Cloverstar and Nettleclaw do, or did play big rolls in this story. So does Cricketspring; I don't know why but she reminds me of Willowshade...

ShadowQuest2000 - Ashfang is quite the enigma... unfortunately she's also the type who likes to be in the 'in crowd', which includes her family. I think part of the reason for that is because it's so far away; I don't think Apocalypse is coming out until 2016, but I'm not entirely sure about that. The album is on Youtube, you can listen to it on their site :)

Foreststar of WindClan - Unfortunately it would spoil part of the book if I told you...

Bwezil - It's okay, I'm glad that you're reviewing at all :) As for Thornpaw, her life isn't going to get much better until the end :(