Chapter 14

"There's a new apprentice, Oakpaw," Briarpaw began, "He's been doing very well over the last couple of moons. He's Honeyfur's only surviving kit. She had three, but two of them were sickly."

Mapleshade bared her teeth. "I don't care about a foolish apprentice; I want to know about the important things."

"Brackenclaw is thinking about retiring in a couple of seasons," Briarpaw stammered. She wasn't used to cats talking to her like that anymore. "And Dawnstar only has two more lives; she lost one to greencough last moon. We have two queens nursing kits right now, and Blizzardtail is worried because we're running low on fresh-kill. And now Dawnstar has brought one of the rogues into the Clan."

Mapleshade's eyes widened. "She allowed one of the rogues to join Thunderclan? Dawnstar is more mouse-brained than I thought! Do you know the rogue's name?"

Briarpaw nodded. "It's a ginger she-cat, Scorch. Her mate was Spider and her brother was Flint; they both died in battle."

"I know Flint, but not Scorch," Mapleshade replied. "He was great in battle, but not the brightest. Does Scorch know that I organized the battle with Riverclan?"

"No," Briarpaw shook her head. "She only knows that a she-cat from the Clans did it. But I would tread lightly if I were you."

Mapleshade hissed loudly and unsheathed her claws. "I will not tread lightly until I've had my revenge, Briarpaw. The Clans need to pay for what they've done to me, and you know it."

Since Briarpaw felt similarly toward Thunderclan, she felt as though Mapleshade was speaking everything on Briarpaw's mind. Her eyes brightened as Mapleshade continued talking about her plans to destroy the Clans.

"I managed to take one of Stormstar's lives," She meowed, her amber eyes glowing with hatred. "He's down to one, and it won't be long until he's dead. Ripplestripe didn't put up a fight, but he didn't stand a chance. I killed him with one strike. Now we need to focus on Thunderclan. Sandcloud needs to go, and so does Dawnstar. But before we kill Sandcloud, we need to kill all those that he loves. We'll start with Brackenclaw, then Blizzardtail, and finally Jayflight."

Briarpaw's eyes narrowed to slits and she growled lowly. "Can't we kill Jayflight first?"

"By we, I mean you," Mapleshade explained. "Remember that. If you're discovered, it's all over for you. You'll join me in exile, but we should have no problem surviving and continuing on our mission. We may even be able to start a Clan of our own and take over the entire forest."

Ambition raced through Briarpaw's veins and she shivered, thinking of controlling all the cats in the forest. That was the future she'd always imagined for herself.

"I can see you've thought about this," Mapleshade meowed dangerously. "But don't get any ideas. You need me to get to where you're planning on going."

"Trust me, I know," Briarpaw lied smoothly. But she didn't need Mapleshade anymore. Maybe when she'd been a new apprentice, unsure of herself, but not now. Now she could stand on her own. She could take Mapleshade any day and defeat her.

"Good," Mapleshade purred, "You haven't changed a bit. But we need to wait until you've been made a warrior and the cats won't suspect you as much. They'll think you've forgotten about me."

Briarpaw nodded. "Okay. Meet me at Snakerocks in three sunrises. I will be a warrior by then, I swear it to Starclan."

Mapleshade dipped her head and disappeared into the scarce undergrowth, leaving Briarpaw to continue hunting. The apprentice slunk through the forest, searching for prey, but she only caught a scrawny squirrel, even though she hadn't stopped until sunset. She carried her meager catch back into camp and set it onto the fresh-kill pile, a little disgusted with herself.

"You don't have to act so upset," Jayflight snarled quietly, picking up a mouse. "It's not like the Clan needs or wants you here."

Briarpaw bared her teeth and unsheathed her claws. "It's a good thing the Clan doesn't need you because you'll be gone soon."

Jayflight's eyes widened and she dropped the mouse. "How did you know?"

Briarpaw had no idea what the blue-gray she-cat was talking about, but her pale yellow eyes betrayed nothing.

"How did you know that I was expecting kits?" Jayflight asked. "I haven't told anyone."

That took Briarpaw by surprise. She had no idea that Jayflight was expecting kits. That changed everything. She couldn't kill a cat with living kits inside of her; it was wrong, even for Briarpaw.

"I guess a she-cat just knows," Briarpaw meowed, swallowing her bitterness. "How long until they're kitted?"

Jayflight seemed to restrain her disdain for Briarpaw. "I've only just found out, so I think almost a moon and a half. I can't wait though! Sandcloud's going to be so happy. You have to promise not to tell him, though."

"I promise," Briarpaw meowed honestly. Even though she didn't really like either cat at the moment, she didn't want to take away something that exciting.

"Thank you," Jayflight meowed gratefully. "I always knew there was the sweet kit you used to be underneath your harsh exterior. I think I'm going to tell him now. Is he in the medicine cat's den?"

"I think so," Briarpaw replied. "Is it alright if I take a piece of fresh-kill?" She asked half-jokingly.

Jayflight chuckled. "I don't care. From what I heard from Sandcloud about the battle, you deserve it. I never got to thank you for saving his life. I can't imagine these kits growing up without knowing their father. I think he'd be one of the best the Clans have ever seen."

"I don't doubt it," Briarpaw purred. "I'm going to go eat with Oakpaw now. Find me later to tell me how Sandcloud reacts to the news, even though I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

"I will," Jayflight promised. "I hope we can get past our differences in the future."

"Me too," Briarpaw answered. As the young warrior padded away though, Briarpaw snorted. How could the same she-cat that she'd tried to kill the night before want to become friends? There was something about Jayflight that was almost too forgiving, and Briarpaw didn't think it was smart to trust her this soon. She shook her head and picked up a pitiful-looking thrush, looking around for Oakpaw. She felt a burst of happiness when she saw his familiar tabby pelt over by the elders' den.

"Oakpaw!" She called through the thrush's feathers. "Do you want to share this?"

The younger apprentice nodded and padded toward his friend. "There's only a few mouthfuls on here, are you sure you want to share?"

"Of course," Briarpaw purred, setting the bird down. "It's leaf-bare, so I can't keep the fresh-kill all for ourselves. Besides, my thick fur will keep me warm even if I get down to just skin and bones."

Oakpaw meowed a thank you and they began eating the thrush in silence. Briarpaw couldn't help but feel that Oakpaw was withholding something from her. He was never this quiet when they shared prey. She watched him carefully, but he wasn't suspicious, there was just something in his deep amber eyes that she didn't recognize.

"What do you think of Scorch?" He asked suddenly, glancing at the silver and white she-cat.

Briarpaw swallowed the tiny mouthful of thrush and licked her paw nonchalantly. "I don't really know her. She lost her mate and her brother in that battle, so I don't know why she would want to join us. It's rather strange. And I think she's hiding her true knowledge about the cat that led the rogues to Riverclan."

"Do you think it was Mapleshade?"

Briarpaw cocked her head. "It sounds like something she'd do, doesn't it?"

"I never met her," Oakpaw reminded his friend. "You were the closest cat to her. You'd tell me if you knew something, wouldn't you?"

Briarpaw stared into his eyes. "Of course, Oakpaw. You're the best friend I've had, and I don't want to lose you because of something stupid."

The young tom relaxed and got to his paws. "Thanks. I have to go get rid of the elders' ticks, so wish me luck! I'll see you later."

"Good luck," Briarpaw chuckled, her eyes sparkling.

But as soon as Oakpaw was gone Briarpaw began to feel conflicted. She truly wanted to obey Mapleshade and make her proud of her former apprentice, but she didn't want to ruin the life she'd made for herself in Thunderclan. She'd always dreamed of becoming a leader, and a small part of her told her that following in Mapleshade's pawsteps wasn't how she could get there. But then again, she didn't necessarily have to become a leader by popularity; she could do it by force. It was so confusing! But she couldn't keep playing both sides. Something bad was bound to happen soon.

"I know that scent," a suspicious meow came from behind Briarpaw. "But I can't quite place it."

Briarpaw's eyes widened and she leapt to her paws, whipping around so that she was facing the she-cat. "What scent? Thrush?"

Scorch narrowed her eyes. "No, it's from another cat. Not one from this Clan."

"Oh, I was over by Twolegplace I had a little scuffle with a rogue, maybe you knew him." Briarpaw laughed, licking her chest fur uncomfortably.

Scorch nodded slowly and sat down. "How does this whole Clan thing work? All the cats seem to know one another, but I can't seem to keep any of them straight."

Briarpaw sighed. She wasn't really interested in playing nice with the new she-cat.

"Why don't you ask Darkpatch or Fallownose if they can explain it to you?" Briarpaw suggested. "I'm just an apprentice, so I still don't know everything about the Clan."

Scorch narrowed her eyes and got to her paws. "Fine. I'm sorry for being friendly."

"Oh, put a mouse in it," Briarpaw muttered.

"Briarpaw?" Dawnstar's commanding meow caught the young apprentice's attention. "Come into my den, I need to speak with you."

Briarpaw took one last bite of the thrush and hurried into her leader's den, unsure of what was going on. Dawnstar hadn't been happy with her before the battle, but afterward she'd seemed proud. And Briarpaw couldn't remember doing anything wrong since dawn, besides meeting with Mapleshade, but nobody knew about that. Her yellow eyes widened when she saw Brackenclaw already seated beside Dawnstar. Maybe he'd followed her! What if he'd been assessing her?

"Brackenclaw says that he went hunting with you today," Dawnstar began. "He told me about your opinions on becoming a warrior."

Briarpaw's ears flattened and she stared at the floor. She hadn't realized Brackenclaw would tell Dawnstar what she'd said.

"You were the closest cat to Mapleshade and you know what her moves would be," Dawnstar continued calmly. "If you don't think she'd be upset then I think you should become a warrior sooner than later. Brackenclaw and I will assess you tomorrow, and if you perform as well as I think you will, you may have a naming ceremony tomorrow at sundown."

Briarpaw wriggled with excitement, as though she were a kit again. She knew that she'd perform well tomorrow. It had been five long moons since she'd been apprenticed, and this day couldn't come soon enough.

"You may go back to what you were doing," Dawnstar dismissed her with a flick of her tail.

Briarpaw purred quietly and bounced out of the den, and raced into the elders' den. Oakpaw was pressing a mossball full of mouse bile onto Redwing, the oldest female in Thunderclan. He glanced at her with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Let me guess, you'll be a warrior soon," Redwing rasped, her cloudy blue eyes sparkling. "I remember my ceremony like it was only a moon ago."

"I'm sure you do," Graytooth, an elderly tom, chuckled hoarsely. "I remember you telling some kits about your ceremony like it was only a day ago, but maybe that's because it was."

Redwing shot him an irritated look, but Graytooth shook it off and gave Briarpaw an approving nod. "It's not everyday an apprentice becomes a warrior. I think you'll be one of those that they remember for a long time."

"I hope so," Briarpaw meowed. "Is Oakpaw nearly done?"

"We can finish the rest," Graytooth assured the young cat. "You two run along and have fun. Starclan knows that being a warrior has its burdens."