Icy: Hey! We hit the halfway mark!

Mosspaw: We did?

Icy: Yeah! This is chapter twenty-six! This story is going to be fifty chapters long, so we're officially halfway through!

Stonepaw: Yay!

Mistypaw: To celebrate, we're going to solve the mystery behind my death, right?

Icy: Soon.

Mistypaw: Not immediately?

Icy: Well... You'll see. Let's get on with it.


Chapter Twenty-Six

Fun With Kittypets


"Well done," Thistleclaw meowed as Stonepaw easily landed on the other side of the river.

"It wasn't any trouble," Stonepaw replied. "At all."

"I truly wish you were my apprentice," Thistleclaw meowed.

"As do I," Stonepaw replied. The words left a disgusting taste on his tongue, but he quickly lapped up some water from the river to wash it down. When he got up, he asked, "Are we going back to camp now?"

"Not yet," Thistleclaw replied.

Stonepaw tipped his head to the side. "Why not?"

"There's something I need to check on, first," Thistleclaw replied. "Come on. Let's go this way," he meowed.

"Where are we going?" Stonepaw asked sincerely.

"Twolegplace," Thistleclaw replied.


Stonepaw slowly came to a stop and glared at the fence.

"Thistleclaw, why is this fence so shiny?" Stonepaw asked. The sunlight was gleaming off of the white fence. He narrowed his eyes to try and block out most of the pain caused by the light.

Thistleclaw ignored his question and let out a low growl.

Stonepaw paused and scented the air. Mosspaw! He realized he recognized her scent.

"Is it just me or is that Mosspaw's scent?" Stonepaw asked Thistleclaw. Mosspaw's scent isn't what made him growl, is it?

"You're imagining things. There's no way Mosspaw would have left camp after Mistypaw's death. She not strong enough for that," Thistleclaw retorted.

"Yeah, that's my sister for you," Stonepaw forced himself to stay calm while he lied in reply. "As useless as Mistypaw."

"It's because Thrushpelt is their father. Luckily their failures didn't rub off on you. You're special, Stonepaw," Thistleclaw added.

Special enough to be offended by my deputy? Special enough to notice he's insane?

"I guess we really did miss that storm," Stonepaw completely changed the subject. He stared at the ground, which was soaked with mud. Stonepaw's paws were wet but his ears were dry. It was a strange feeling. He wondered if this was how ShadowClan cats felt all the time. How do Hollyflower, Fawntail, and... the rest of them live like this?

"Hey, Stonepaw, would you mind waiting here by the fence for a few minutes?" Thistleclaw asked suddenly.

"Uh... Sure..." Stonepaw replied.

"Good. Thanks," Thistleclaw added before jumping over the fence without any difficulty. Dumbfounded, Stonepaw peered through the cracks of the fence to see what in the name of StarClan his deputy was doing.

Thistleclaw padded over to one of the Twoleg nests. A light brown tabby she-cat with light green eyes sat in front of it, washing her white paws.

"Hi, can I help you?" the kittypet asked.

What is he doing? Stonepaw exclaimed in his thoughts.

Thistleclaw didn't speak. He pushed over the kittypet and began slicing through her belly with unsheathed claws.

Why is he attacking that kittypet? Did she do something to offend him? Stonepaw blinked. Did she do something to get in the way of his plans?

Stonepaw continued to watch as Thistleclaw thoughtlessly murdered the light brown kittypet.

Huh, he thought as he watched the kittypet's blood spread across the ground beneath his deputy's paws. So that's what it's like to murder someone. That's actually pretty cool...

Thistleclaw turned around and walked away as soon as he was done. He didn't even pause to look at the remains of what he'd done. Stonepaw backed away from the fence to give Thistleclaw some room to land as he jumped over the fence.

"That was pretty impressive," Stonepaw admitted honestly. "I want to be able to do that!"

"Really?" Thistleclaw asked.

"Of course!" Stonepaw replied. Thistleclaw might not be sane, but I still have a lot to learn from him.

"Well, don't worry, Stonepaw. You'll get your chance sooner than you may think," Thistleclaw meowed.

"Alright!" Stonepaw exclaimed excitedly.

It'll be good experience, Stonepaw thought to himself. Mosspaw won't approve, but I don't need her approval. All I need is her assistance. I may as well have a little fun while I'm at it.


Wingpaw: Wait a minute, what?

Flarepaw: Stonepaw finally had his epiphany that Thistleclaw is insane, just to think that murdering is cool next time we see his POV?

Wingpaw: No... Murdering someone is never cool... Who thinks it's cool to murder someone?

Flarepaw: Evidently Stonepaw...

Icy: Stonepaw thinks Thistleclaw is trying to change the Clan for the wrong reasons, but Stonepaw still acknowledges Thistleclaw's strength and skill. Teenagers and young cats are wishy-washy about things all the time. This shows Stonepaw not being able to make up his mind about which side he's on. He sees pros and cons and doesn't know how to weigh them out.

Wingpaw: Wow, you really thought that through.

Flarepaw: But what about Mistypaw?

Mistypaw: Yes, what about Mistypaw? When are we going to solve the mystery behind me death? When do I finally get to go to StarClan?

Icy: Next chapter! We resolve the mini-arc of Mistypaw's death next chapter! Look forward to it!

~Icy