Every word had to be torn from his jaws. They fought against his will, scraping thorns against his throat, clawing and biting his tongue before they were finally flung into the air.
Even then, they hung in the sky, howling insults by merely echoing his words.
Thorntail tried to soothe himself by thinking that the information Smokestar was getting was of no use. Even when he had been listening to Tawnyleaf describe her patrols, he hadn't been able to avoid thinking that all the information was useless.
But when Thorntail detailed to his new leader of that RiverClan's dawn patrol consisting of Duststar, Dustyfoot, and Tigerflame, Smokestar's eyes lit up.
"Really?" Smokestar mused, tilting his head in thought. "Duststar is going to patrol our border?" He exchanged a glance with Ravenfeather who was seated beside him. After a moment the leader pressed, "Who are on RiverClan's other dawn patrols?"
Thorntail's mind reeled back to his conversation with Tawnyleaf. But his thoughts were muddled with surprise at Smokestar's lively reaction. When the leader had first called Thorntail and Ravenfeather into his den, he had seemed distracted. Then, while Thorntail had been betraying RiverClan – or rather, acting a loyal ShadowClan cat – it was only Ravenfeather who prompted him for answers. He hadn't even thought Smokestar was listening.
Finally, Thorntail's thoughts cleared, and he was able to repeat Tawnyleaf's words. "Owlpelt, Melodypaw, and Beetleflight are by the ThunderClan border. Wavepaw, Serpentpelt, and Silentsong are by the WindClan."
Even as Thorntail spoke, Smokestar was nodding, as though the words were exactly what he predicted. "Those are very small patrols," he observed. "Particularly the one by our border. Since we have been antagonizing one another, you'd think that they'd keep their elderly leader far from our territory. And if he had demanded to patrol, it would be likely he'd be well-guarded. He should be surrounded more than a mere two warriors."
Ravenfeather's ears pricked. Her amber eyes darkened. "You think there's more?"
Smokestar looked thoughtful. "RiverClan has been engaging with us in small border skirmishes for a few sunrises now. Likely, they know our Clan's personality and know that we will be searching for a time to counterattack. If they had their leader out in the open, it would certainly entice any of our patrols into crossing the border to draw blood."
"And they'd be walking right into an ambush," Ravenfeather finished for him, a snarl splattered onto her face. "We haven't been falling into their traps as of recently, so they need to have better bait. And they're using their own leader to corner us."
"Not necessarily. I do believe that Duststar is meant to bait us, but not in the manner you're thinking. I believe it's likely that Tawnyleaf intentionally left a majority of her warriors in the camp. She's hoping that we will send a small party to invade their camp. In their home territory, along with the likelihood that they will outnumber us, she wants to pounce on the advantages."
"Using her own leader as bait," Ravenfeather repeated the phrase, every word dripping off of her tongue with disgust. "If there's ever been an insult to the Warrior Code, the worm calling herself 'Tawnyleaf' fits neatly into the sheath."
Thorntail felt his claws slips from their sheaths involuntarily at Ravenfeather's careless insults towards his friend. "So what are we going to do?" he asked. "Are you guys going to take the bait?"
Ravenfeather and Smokestar turned shocked gazes to him, as if they had forgotten he was there.
"Yes and no," Smokestar finally replied. "We have the advantage of knowing their plan ahead of time. Ravenfeather," he turned to his deputy, "organize a patrol of seven or eight cats to the RiverClan border at dawn tomorrow. RiverClan won't be expecting a group of that size to attack their leader's patrol. They will have to call for reinforcements, drawing cats out of their camp."
"And then we will send another group to invade," Ravenfeather's whiskers twitched.
"Yes. But not from our border. We will enter through the WindClan and ThunderClan borders. Neither Clan will want to antagonize us until after the next Gathering when they realize our farce about aligning with RiverClan. And at that point, we will merely bat them out of the way." Clearly, Smokestar perceived neither WindClan nor ThunderClan as a threat.
But why should he? Thorntail asked himself. WindClan's population was pitiful, and ThunderClan's wasn't much better. Both had bowed beneath ShadowClan's will before. It could be expected that they would bow again.
"Wait - I don't understand," Thorntail spoke up again. "Why through the WindClan and ThunderClan borders?"
"To instill panic," Smokestar shrugged. "The RiverClan cats will believe there is an invasion from all sides and scatter, leaving their camp utterly defenseless. After that, just a few of our warriors just need to fight through their ranks and get to their camp, which we will ravage and raid. Victory."
…
Rosethorn's eyes lazed across the ShadowClan camp, her whiskers twitching uncomfortably as her gaze shifted between the warriors Birchclaw, and Cricketjump.
"Including myself," she meowed to Thorntail, "that's three warriors defending the camp."
Her mate was washing his chest, and if he hadn't twitched his ears when she spoke she might have thought he wasn't listening. When he did reply, it was rather evasive. "Birchclaw is a skilled fighter. He counts as two warriors. Oh, and Lark's here, too."
The former ThunderClan medicine cat couldn't restrain a soft kitten's mewl of concern. With RiverClan howling for blood, she wasn't comfortable with the camp being defended by a gnarled rogue and three meager warriors – herself, having only been in one battle before, among them.
And she was even less comfortable with the thought of the RiverClan cats reaching the camp. If they did, she would have to fight against them. And could she bring herself to swipe her claws against the cats she had called friends? Fight against the only cats that had welcomed her from ThunderClan, and had offered her a place of refuge? She owed them a debt greater than she could ever hope to pay.
"And the way I see it, Smokestar seems to think most of RiverClan's warriors are going to be safely tucked away in their camp. We're trying to draw them out, but they will be far too busy defending their territory to come into ours. You won't have to worry." Thorntail's jumble of words fell together, occasionally even overlapping. He was clearly distracted.
"…Did Tawnyleaf tell you about the ambush at the RiverClan camp? About how she's hoping ShadowClan invades?"
"No," Thorntail sighed. "But when I asked her about everything, she told me she couldn't tell me everything because she hadn't worked everything out herself yet." He hesitated. "But probably she didn't want all of her Clanmates to know that she was using her leader and camp as bait. Or…you know, maybe I should have waited for her to come up with the entire plan."
Rosethorn took in a breath. "Maybe," she meowed, slipping her words forward carefully knowing she was entering dangerous territory, "you didn't want to give away all of RiverClan's secrets, and left before you could find them out." When Thorntail didn't answer, she went on "I don't feel right about this. I don't like thinking that for me, you're giving up everything you loved. You're a RiverClan cat. It's wrong for you to do this to them just for me."
As soon as the words were out of Rosethorn's mouth, he swept them away with his tail. "No, that's not why I'm doing this at all," he purred quickly – to quickly. "Rosethorn, whatever any cat says I still have ShadowClan blood. These cats are my Clan and my kin, and I want to defend them." He flicked his tongue across her ear. "Don't feel any blame for this, okay? I just want to be the best warrior I can be."
Rosethorn felt the doubt prickle at her pelt. He was comforting her with a cliché, and one that didn't fit him, either. One of the things she had loved about Thorntail was that he had always tried to be the best Thorntail he could be. The title 'warrior' was just that: a title.
Before Rosethorn could reply, he abruptly rose to his paws and trotted over to where Foxheart and Onyxpelt were sharing a word.
Rosethorn watched as he engaged in their conversation, her heart withering as she noticed how solemn the other warriors were being - a sharp contrast to Thorntail's light demeanor. He wasn't a ShadowClan cat.
She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that he truly thought he'd be happiest in ShadowClan.
But she couldn't.
…
Thorntail's paws prickled as they smashed the fallen oak leaves beneath them. Ahead of him, the leader of the battle patrol, Onyxpelt, world around with his lips drawn into a snarl. The leaf had crunched, and clearly the dark tomcat was concerned that the noise would betray their location to the ThunderClan cats that claimed the territory.
Thorntail shrugged an apology, before he muscled forward with Foxheart and Stripedtalon at his flanks.
His entire pelt tingled as he was led deeper into the bowels of ThunderClan's land. He hadn't been in this particular stretch of the forest since he had called himself ThunderClan, himself.
And one of the last acts of loyalty he had performed for ThunderClan was chase invading ShadowClan cats out of the camp. And now, looking from side to side at the ShadowClan warriors Stripedtalon and Foxheart, the former still blanketed with wounds from Thorntail's claws from that very encounter, Thorntail had to suppress a purr of amusement. Life was funny, in a way.
"So we're going to cross into RiverClan at a place called Stepping Stones?" Stripedtalon hissed in a low voice.
It took Thorntail a moment to realize that the golden warrior was speaking to him. "Yeah. That's the easiest way to get into across the river. Without, you know, actually swimming across it." His whiskers twitched as he spoke. The thought of a ShadowClan cat frantically trying to buoy themselves across the river was an amusing one.
"Quiet," Onyxpelt ordered, the dark tom coming to a halt. He peered speculatively around a bush, his gaze tilting downwards into a ravine. "We're almost there."
Indeed they were. After tearing through a few shrubberies and creeping around a few oak trees, the rumble of the river greeted the four travelers and the stones poked their muzzles from the water. As Onyxpelt led them towards the bridge, Thorntail focused on the scents around him rather than the sound of what was once again his homeland.
Morninglight had been patrolling the scrap of territory recently, along with his old antagonist Shrewtail, and Silverleaf's younger sister, Gingerheart. Before that, it seemed that Applefur's brother Badgerclaw had literally padded after Twilightfur. Around the same time, Thorntail was able to unearth the stale scent of Flamesoul.
Every hair on Thorntail's pelt tingled at the recognition of these scents. ThunderClan was very familiar, and he felt an almost-homey quality around him. But he didn't feel any sort of kinship with the owner's of these scents any longer. He knew he would have no qualms about digging his claws into their pelts. He had denied ThunderClan as his home the moment he had learned that Streamstar was allowing Flamesoul to return after a short exile for brutally and repeatedly raping her daughter.
Rosethorn.
But RiverClan? He had fled from there once, to escape from Graywhisker's ghost, but when he had returned it was like he had never left. It was his home, honest and truly, and now he was going to allow ShadowClan into the heart of their land?
Thorntail squared his shoulders and determined to do just that.
After crossing the Stepping Stones, Onyxpelt raised his tail into the heavens, an order for his patrol to halt. "RiverClan," Onyxpelt announced.
Sure enough, almost on cue, the moment the small ShadowClan invasion scrambled onto shore, the predicted RiverClan patrol came sprinting forward, yowling with outrage.
In a heartbeat, the felines of both Clans fell into a battle, the previous calmness of the territory all but a distant memory.
The ShadowClan warrior Foxheart's claws were as ginger as his pelt as he tore them across Beetleflight's flank. The small RiverClan tomcat retaliated by literally scurrying beneath the large ShadowClan cat, flipping himself onto his back and delivering a powerful kick with his back legs into Foxheart's vulnerable stomach. Foxheart yowled, and dipped his head, his jaws snapping as he grabbed for the scruff of Beetleflight's neck.
Stripedtalon, hearing Foxheart's cry, rushed to the tom's side and seized Beetleflight's tail, tearing the warrior out from beneath his Clanmate. Beetleflight howled as he struggled to maneuver around the pair of furious enemy warriors. But the two ShadowClan cats were matched step for step as they pushed Beetleflight back, each ignoring his desperate blows to their muzzles. Still in perfect unison, they launched themselves forward, sending Beetleflight to the earth.
Onyxpelt's black pelt was already torn and speckled with blood, but the senior ShadowClan warrior still valiantly pummeled his forepaws against one of Owlpelt's open wounds. The injury's territory expanded, and a red stream streaked through Owlpelt's chocolate fur.
Thorntail's fur bristled as he watched the huge ShadowClan cat pound Owlpelt repeatedly with his powerful forepaws, and had to mentally will himself not to rush forward and come to the RiverClan cat's aid. Owlpelt had been his friend – a denmate of him and Graywhisker when they had been apprentices.
And Onyxpelt? Thorntail's key memory of the ebony-furred warrior was discovering him at the site of the execution of one of the truly morally righteous cats left, Listeningecho.
Thorntail tore his attention away from the grim sight, but instead found himself eye-to-eye with Shadenight and Owlpelt's daughter, Duststar's granddaughter, and Tawnyleaf's apprentice: Melodypaw. Her dark pelt was puffed and bristled, her cool azure eyes rounded with alarm.
Thorntail stiffened, expecting her to pounce, but instead her gaze flickered from him to her father drowning in the swarm of ShadowClan cats. He imagined that the young cat was confused as to why her Clanmate would have arrived with ShadowClan. Likely, treason hadn't even entered her mind, as young an innocent as the cat was. Confusion was the only emotion swirling in the blue depths of her eyes.
But the puzzlement quickly faded and was replaced with flashing blue fire as she reached the obvious conclusion. And as she bunched her muscles together and sprang forward, Thorntail couldn't tear his eyes away from hers.
And as Melodypaw, Owlpelt and Shadenight's daughter, Listeningecho's and Duststar's granddaughter, Tawnyleaf's apprentice -the enemy plunged her talons into his chest, he couldn't help but take note that her eyes, as blue as the sky above, were strikingly similar to his. A little darker shade, with more cerulean than azure, but the similarity was there nonetheless.
They looked a little like Graywhisker's. Another cat he had betrayed.
Instead of sapping the energy from him like he had feared it had, instead his veins pulsed with energy. He had done it before, he reminded himself, and he could do it again.
Besides, he justified as he gave the apprentice a slash across the shoulder, at least now he was turning traitor for someone else. Before it had merely been for his pleasure – this proved that he was a better cat than he had been as an apprentice. This proved that he had grown up, at least a little.
He held onto that thought like it was the last mouse in the forest during leaf-bare, refusing to let it escape as Melodypaw's countenance contorted into a murderous distortion of the ebony beauty it once was. She didn't say it in words, but the scarlet flecks slithering down her shoulders and her curled lips yowled it to the heavens: traitor.
He easily batted Melodypaw away, hardly even needing to prance around her blows or strike any of his own before she spiraled backwards.
While Thorntail had been distracted by Melodypaw, Owlpelt had escaped Onyxpelt's grip and pelted towards his daughter and supposed Clanmate, a limp falling into his step despite his best efforts to hide it.
The small brown tabby whirled towards the ShadowClan cats, his fangs bared, clearly encouraged to remain where he was now that his pelt was brushing against Thorntail's and with his daughter looking on.
Clearly, Owlpelt hadn't noticed Thorntail's arrival with the invaders, or his battle (bullying) of his daughter. "We can do this," Owlpelt declared, though he seemed to be speaking more to himself than to either of his companions.
Onyxpelt lumbered forward, the giant warrior's eyes glittering with glee. "Thorntail!" he hissed, punctuating the acknowledgment with a jerk of his head in Owlpelt's direction.
Melodypaw yowled a warning, and Owlpelt swiveled to face Thorntail, his expression painted with more confusion than concern, but that was all Owlpelt had time to do. With Rosethorn's own face implanted in his mind's eye, Thorntail rose to his hind legs and barreled his forepaws onto Owlpelt's shoulders, knocking the RiverClan warrior off of his paws.
Melodypaw scurried to her father's side, but once again Thorntail merely batted her away, ignoring the chorus of amused purrs that were rumbling around him. When Melodypaw was out of the way, Thorntail noticed that Foxheart and Onyxpelt were the source of the merriment.
"Beautiful," Onyxpelt cooed, curling his tail. "Foxheart, grab the apprentice, would you? Thorntail," the massive warrior shook his head, joy still chiseled on his features, "I was worried that you might have some issues with – what?" Stripedtalon had padded over to his side.
Stripedtalon quickly gave the status report. "I chased Beetleflight away. He should be coming back with reinforcements soon."
Foxheart had already captured Melodypaw, holding the struggling she-cat loosely by the scruff of her neck. Stripedtalon eagerly rushed to pin Owlpelt to the ground, preventing the brown tom from coming to the aid of his daughter.
Onyxpelt eyed the captive Melodypaw with a look of morbid fascination. "Do you suppose they'll send any other apprentices our way?"
Before Thorntail could process what Onyxpelt meant by that, the dark warrior continued, jerking his chin skyward, as though challenging any heavenly being to argue with him. "RiverClan took away two of my kits: Pearlpaw and Amberpaw. I'm going to slay two of theirs in exchange. And I am going to start with," his eye strayed towards Melodypaw, whose paws were working frantically as though she was trying to flee through the air from Foxheart's jaws, "her."
A wasp's stinger, one poignant venom-filled stinger of horror sunk deep into Thorntail's heart, slithering through every vein of his body. Bile rose to his throat, choking him. The only word he managed to choke out was, "What?"
"I'm going to kill that apprentice," Onyxpelt repeated. He spoke so casually, as though he was merely informing Thorntail of his favored hunting grounds, instead of the murder of a cat half his size and a fraction his age.
Owlpelt yowled, and managed to wriggle free from Stripedtalon's grip and fly forward, but the injury Thorntail delivered upon him earlier was harsher than any cat had predicted, and he stumbled into the dirt. His voice carried forward though, "Don't you dare touch my daughter! If you harm one hair on her pelt, StarClan help me I'll-"
Stripedtalon snorted, flexing his ruby-studded claws. "You're hardly in any position to be making threats, river-rat."
Thorntail finally managed to regain his composure. "You're going to kill a captured, injured, outnumbered apprentice?" he grunted. "C'mon, Onyxpelt. There's no sport in that." The final phrase came forth unbidden, his instinct frantically hemorrhaging humor to counter the strike of repulsion that sunk into him.
"There wasn't any sport to what they did to Pearlpaw and Amberpaw, either," Onyxpelt snapped, whirling at Thorntail and baring his teeth as though the gray warrior had uttered a heresy. "Amberpaw was merely hunting in our own territory, and was struck down cowardly under the blanket of night. And Pearlpaw's death was a token of amusement to the scum that lives in RiverClan. Sport is not what these crave," he flexed his claws. "Instead they thirst for vengeance."
Stripedtalon and Foxheart were nodding in understanding, but Thorntail's own claws suddenly demanded the blood of a kit-killer. He frantically searched for a solution, mewing something absently about honor. "Onyxpelt, the Warrior Code - "
"Don't you dare lecture me on the Warrior Code!" Onyxpelt roared. "RiverClan has disregarded the Warrior Code in their murders and baseless attacks. They are no longer protected under its noble law."
Onyxpelt started to advance onto Melodypaw. Melodypaw, who had eyes so much like Graywhisker's. Melodypaw, the daughter of Owlpelt and Shadenight. Granddaughter of Listeningecho and Duststar. Apprentice of Tawnyleaf.
Owlpelt began blubbering for mercy, begging for Onyxpelt to take him instead, praying aloud to StarClan, yowling for some of his Clanmates. Finally his amber eyes fell onto Thorntail. "Thorntail! Thorntail, oh, StarClan, Thorntail, stop him! I know you can! You're the best warrior I know, you can stop him! You can save Melodypaw. C'mon, Thorntail, you're not a murderer, you're not."
Onyxpelt was taking his time as he drew closer to Melodypaw, clearly delighting in the apprentice's fear scent, in her father's horror.
Owlpelt, meanwhile, alternated from heralding Thorntail's virtue to a low, curse. "Traitor! You fox-dung eating murdering traitor! I hope StarClan rejects you. I hope they reject you and toss you in a pit of maggots for all eternity! I hope Graywhisker claws out your eyes for murdering him, just like you're murdering Melodypaw, I hope - "
Thorntail, he had never had kits himself. But he planned on having them, one day. With Rosethorn. That was why he was doing it all, right? So that Rosethorn would be safe, and happy, and that they would finally be able to have a life together.
Because she deserved it, right? They deserved it, right? They deserved to be happy, after everything they had endured.
"—deserve to boil and rot like Runningstar, like Spottedstar."
Thorntail squared his shoulders.
No. When he had kits, he had to be able to look them in the eye.
When he saw Rosethorn again, he had to be able to look her in the eye.
Thorntail rushed forward.
Battle was something Thorntail could do. He had always prided himself on his fighting prowess. Clans had welcomed him into their ranks just for the edge he could offer them in war. He knew he wasn't as smart as Smokestar or as loyal as Tigerflame, but he also knew he could pin either one of them in a matter of heartbeats.
Onyxpelt heard his approach and whirled to face him. The warriors, Onyxpelt and Thorntail, circled each other, amber and sapphire eyes studying gray and ebony bodies for a weakness, each other for a weak point. Hate was splashed across Onyxpelt's features, but it was Thorntail who sprung first, a screeching yowl stampeding from his jaws.
He crashed onto the giant ShadowClan warrior, his paws swirling through the air as they clawed for a hold onto Onyxpelt's black fur. Onyxpelt rolled with Thorntail's strikes, and slashed forward, sending flecks of Thorntail's blood fluttering into the air. Thorntail didn't let up on his onslaught, snapping his jaws and tearing at the other cat's body relentlessly.
Onyxpelt's fur was torn and speckled with blood, but the ShadowClan warrior still valiantly pummeled his forepaws against one of Thorntail's newly acquired open wounds. The injury's territory was expanded, and Thorntail felt the red stream streak through his gray fur.
Thorntail gnashed his teeth together, but his claws kept flying forward, determined to paint the black warrior red. Onyxpelt reared backwards, and in the moment of release from his battle with the dark warrior, Thorntail was able to note the curiosity that neither Foxheart nor Stripedtalon had come to their Clanmate's aid.
And the reason why was glaringly obvious.
Bedlam was in the air, and blood was spilling onto the ground. Battle had risen with the sun, and yowls were streaking through the wind. The waves of battle cascading around him, no cat offering him a cursory glance.
The RiverClan reinforcements had arrived!
Beetleflight had returned, and he, along with Fishclaw, was sharpening his claws against Stripedtalon's side. Foxheart was having difficulty keeping on his paws as the RiverClan apprentices, Smallpaw and Rainpaw, weaved around him.
Thorntail didn't have time to ponder the significance of RiverClan's coming as Onyxpelt swiped his claws across his cheek. "You have no loyalty in you, do you? You betray RiverClan, and then betray your kin?" Onyxpelt kept speaking even as he swerved to dodge one of Thorntail's flying claws. "I've never met a cat who fit the label traitor so beautifully."
"I'd rather be a traitor than a murderer," Thorntail snapped, aiming a blow for one of Onyxpelt's legs, hoping to unbalance him.
"Murderer?" Onyxpelt echoed, leaping upward to avoid the attack. "I was merely going to avenge Pearlpaw and Amberpaw. They should not be the only young blood spilt!" Onyxpelt reared upward, and Thorntail expected an attack, but instead Onyxpelt swerved to the side, fleeing from his enraged opponent and started towards Smallpaw and Rainpaw.
Thorntail hissed and swarmed after him.
…
Tawnyleaf had always had her own vision of beauty.
She remembered a time when she had been a medicine cat apprentice. Her mentor had taken her to Mothermouth to be formally accepted by StarClan, as all medicine cat apprentices had to be. Her mentor had told her to be prepared for the wonder and glistening beauty that was Moonstone when it was lit by the heavens above.
Apparently, it was the epitome of beauty in most cat's eyes. It was the personification of StarClan's mercy and loyalty to their descendants, a metaphor for how StarClan would light the way for their followers even in the darkest of hours.
When Tawnyleaf had first set eyes on it, all she saw was a rock. A sparkling light, sure, but she had also seen fish scales sparkle in the sunlight.
So the rock was shiny. So what? If it symbolized anything, she felt that it symbolized false hope. Sure, StarClan would offer a light of hope forward, but it would burn out as quickly as it had appeared.
And that wasn't beautiful. It wasn't natural, really, and Tawnyleaf admired natural beauty.
And that was what she was seeing unfold before her. Beauty. Pure and simple.
The deputy was perched comfortably on one of the tallest trees residing in RiverClan's territory, the entire expanse of the land laid out before her for her viewing pleasure.
Almost the entirety of RiverClan's territory was visible. And almost the entirety of RiverClan territory was blanketed with battle. Warring cats, striking each other with their sharpened, bloody claws and snapping at each other with their pointed fangs.
From the distance, she could not detect the scents to discern which cats were RiverClan and which were ShadowClan. And they all looked like ants. For fun, Tawnyleaf lifted a forepaw forward and batted playfully at the insects, squashing them.
All around her the yowls of battle echoed. Yowls of pain, some. Shrieks of terror, others. Howls of rage, yelps of joy, and moans of defeat.
But Tawnyleaf, as she watches the cats beneath her fight and struggle and kill for their families, their Clans, for their honor and beliefs, she purrs. A low, tilting, purr, that quickly climbs to new heights, mirroring a shrieking cackle.
The yowls weaved into Tawnyleaf's ears, but they are drowned out soon by more of her rapturous, shrieking purrs and her rumbling moans of joy.
She hadn't moaned like this since Duststar had been strong, and handsome. Not some hallowed out husk of a tom, with no beauty to speak of.
She watched the ants scurry about some more. They whirled around, making flashing designs, exploding rivers of red, with moving raindrops of brown, ginger, and grey. But red was becoming more and more prolific.
To her, it was beautiful. Cats fighting for what they believed in. And spilling blood. But she knew that most 'warriors' would say that battle is a necessity, not entertainment.
She also knew that there was at least one other cat in the forest who would share her view on beauty.
For a heartbeat, Tawnyleaf's mind and eyes wandered to the North, where the almost never-ending moors of WindClan rolled before her. Her son was there, she was told. She wondered if he could see the gorgeousity that was unfolding beneath her.
She squashed a few more ants before growing bored. It was more fun, she decided, to actually kill. And she was almost certain that actually killing cats was more enjoyable than squashing them from afar.
Although squashing Duststar from afar had been enjoyable.
As she leaped down from her tree, and over the cluster of corpses that had been its foot, the warrior Serpentpelt scurried towards her. Tawnyleaf half expected the other she-cat to ask why she had been perched in the overgrown shrubbery but instead the warrior sputtered, "There's too many of them, Tawnyleaf."
"Impossible. We should be evenly matched. And they're on our territory, so - "
"They're everywhere!" Serpentpelt cut her off. "Ravenfeather, they're deputy…she told me that we could surrender. They just want - Oh, I'll just tell Duststar. Do you think he'll be interested in a surrender?"
Tawnyleaf kinked her tail. "You want to admit defeat?"
For the first time, Tawnyleaf noticed the glittering red that was spewing from Serpentpelt's shoulders, and the streaks of red on her side.
"Before there's more death, yes." The she-cat nodded. "They – they're out for blood, Tawny-mommy. Already, Fishclaw- " Serpentpelt broke off. "Where is Duststar? I must speak to him. It's like fighting flaming hounds from the land of those banished from StarClan. They're-"
Tawnyleaf had lowered her head while Serpentpelt spoke, allowing a look of pain to darken her features. "I'm afraid, Serpentpelt, that I am not unfamiliar with ShadowClan's bloodlust. Duststar is dead. He was slain by some ShadowClan warrior. I avenged his death, and their bodies are behind me."
Serpentpelt's whole form stiffened, and her head flopped downward as though the muscles had disappeared from the short she-cat's head. But time for grief was short, and she stood straight. "Then it's your duty, Tawnyleaf. As RiverClan's new leader, you have to end this. It isn't cowardice. Instead, it'll be a mark of your ability as a leader. Please. If you have already avenged Duststar's death…"
Tawnyleaf ignored everything else her (yes, her) warrior rambled about. If her cats wanted the battles to end, then she would end it gladly. She already got what she had wanted, with Duststar growing cold behind her and his murderer and her victim already stiff. She was a little disappointed in his manner of death. Squashing ants from afar really wasn't as entertaining.
It was time for a new dawn. She would be Tawnystar, leader of RiverClan. A story for the legends, of the she-cat who had fallen from the grace of StarClan as a medicine cat but eventually valiantly returned to bring order to her Clan and to the forest. For, yes. The forest needed fixing.
If it could create a cat like her and her son, there was definitely something wrong.
And tomcat, did the thought make her purr.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I disappeared for a few months. I'm so sorry...and if you're still there, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING PATIENT! I'll try to explain why it took so long in my profile, but...it's not really a good reason. Heh. I apologize for this chapter too, especially if it seems choppy. See, I've been slowly writing it since my last update. So that means I started and stopped numerous times and...well... Yeah. Choppiness ensues. Also, I apologize for the numerous typos. And for the Tawnyleaf bit at the end, but I was having trouble putting forward the fact that Duststar was dead. -shrugs- This chapter was hard because I didn't really have a plan for it except that I wanted Thorntail to turn on ShadowClan and I wanted Duststar dead. I need plans. _ Um, please review and tell me if you're still there, what you liked/didn't like. Really, the story IS almost over. But I've been saying that for years though. Heh. Seriously though. Now that this hard chapter is over, hopefully I'll start popping 'em out again. Keep an eye out!