A/N: Hello! It is I, the one who has never finished a single fic but continues to crank out ideas.
I can't say for how long my enthusiasm for this fic will last, but I hope for a while. Don't be surprised if there's long periods between chapters, as real life comes first and my interest in investing time for this fluctuates.
Without further ado, however, I introduce to you the first chapter of Fish Out of Water!
Chapter 1
When Tigerstar calls forth the prisoners, Blackclaw cranes his neck from the front of the RiverClan ring. The ShadowClan cats have completely blocked them from being near the prisoners, so that none of them can help even if they wanted to. Whoever it is standing in the center, they're shielding Featherpaw and Stormpaw from the probing gaze of many.
When it's Stonefur's voice that speaks, not Mistyfoot's, the black tom breathes a sigh of relief but then immediately berates himself for it. Stonefur is his family as much as everyone in RiverClan is.
When Stonefur falls to the claws of Darkstripe and Blackfoot (an unjust fight) amidst yowls and jeers of ShadowClan and the shocked silence of RiverClan, Blackclaw instinctively knows that he needs to find them, right now. As Featherpaw and Stormpaw are herded back to the hole, Blackclaw turns around and makes a dash for the reeds that mark the entrance of RiverClan camp.
If there's anyone in danger right now, it's definitely Pikepaw, Primrosepaw, and Reedpaw.
He scours the territory in panic, his heart racing, his throat constricting.
"Pikepaw!" he calls. "Primrosepaw! Reedpaw! Come here, right now!"
When none of them answer his calls, his heartbeat rises tenfold. He spins around in frantic circles in the riverbed territory that feels abruptly alien. He once passes a RiverClan patrol. They stare at him, jaws agape as he charges toward them. Shadepelt is about to ask him what in the name of StarClan he's doing when Blackclaw rushes past the gray she-cat.
His paws splash in the cool river and he spins around in a circle. Droplets splash in arcs as Blackclaw calls for his children.
"Pikepaw! Primrosepaw! Reedpaw!"
"Dah'!" Reedpaw's shocked mew stuns Blackclaw out of his stupor. His son is clutching a large fish in his jaws, eyes wider than his catch. "Wha' ah yo doin'?" he demands, the fish making each word more unpronounceable than the last.
"Oh, thank StarClan," the black warrior gasps out. There's no time for more sentiments. "Reedpaw, you need to leave. Now." When Reedpaw opens his jaws to ask (the fish plops down to the ground), Blackclaw adds more firmly: "No questions. There's no time. You have to run. Go to Twolegplace. Or ThunderClan. Not WindClan. Somewhere that's safe, you understand?"
Reedpaw blinks at the rapid succession of words. "Dad, what's going on?"
"You. Have. No. Time." Blackclaw spits out each word. "Run to Twolegplace - no one will find you there for a while. I'll send your brother and sister after you when I find them, understand?"
His son nods, eyes wide.
"Now run!"
Reedpaw shuts his jaws, grabs his catch, and dashes away along the shore. Blackclaw is thankful for once that his son is a studious listener.
He spends the rest of the sun-high daylight in search of his daughter and other son. He looks through everywhere he can think of - even surreptitiously crossing a couple borders to see if his children are there - but he comes up empty-pawed.
With a heavy heart he trudges back to camp, a minnow in his jaws to throw off suspicion.
"Really, Blackclaw? Only a minnow?" Loudbelly asks, shaking his head.
Blackclaw scowls at the brown tabby. "Well - that's none of your business, isn't it?"
Loudbelly chuckles for a moment, then turns abruptly serious. "Blackclaw, listen," the tom whispers. "Mistyfoot and the apprentices managed to escape."
Blackclaw lets the catch slip from his jaws. "What?"
Loudbelly nods grimly. "They're in ThunderClan, as far as we know," he meows. "The patrol that went after them came back fuming. And then Tigerstar… he demanded that ShadowClan capture..." his old friend hesitates. "I'm sorry, Blackclaw…"
Blackclaw's blood turns to ice, then fire when he hears the protesting cries of Primrosepaw and Pikepaw from where Stonefur last stood.
He doesn't pay heed to Loudbelly's call for him to wait. Blackclaw plunges through the outer ring of RiverClan and into the ring that's made up of ShadowClan. Filthy, swamp-smelling, led-by-murderer ShadowClan.
Blackfoot lunges for him as Blackclaw breaks the ring. Amidst yowls, frightened cries, and the snarl that comes from the ShadowClan deputy, the black smoke tom hears one low rumble.
"Blackfoot, stop."
Blackclaw looks up to see Tigerstar. The massive brown tabby looks down at the two cats - one pinned and paws outstretched, one pinning down and claws unsheathed.
"Would you care to explain yourself, Blackclaw?" Tigerstar hisses, setting one threatening forepaw on the Bonepile.
Blackclaw glares right back. "They are my kits," he snarls.
Tigerstar curls a lip. "Your kits?" he spits, fur bristling up on his shoulders. "These are the spawn of half-clan filth. Their loyalty is as split as their mother's. As their uncle's."
Primrosepaw gives a soft hiss, defying her shaking legs. "We - we are loyal to RiverClan!" she squeaks out.
Pikepaw nods from where he crouches beside his sister. A sharp snarl from Jaggedtooth silences them both.
"They grew up in RiverClan!" Blackclaw struggles against Blackfoot's grip. "They're RiverClan!"
There's a scattered murmur of assent from the outer RiverClan ring.
Tigerstar only curls his lip and ShadowClan titters in mocking laughter. RiverClan falls silent. Darkstripe inches forward, prompting Pikepaw to take a step back.
Blackfoot's claws start to dig in harder, piercing his skin. The black tom grits his teeth - Blackfoot puts more pressure on the open wounds. It feels as if thorns are curling around Blackclaw's shoulders. He growls, trying to shake the deputy off. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Pikepaw and Primrosepaw start to move forward, only to be blocked by Darkstripe and Jaggedtooth.
"Stay where you are!" Blackclaw hisses through gritted teeth.
"Half-clan cats and the children of half-clan filth will never be loyal to one clan!" Tigerstar's roar deafens his ears. "They were mistakes that should never have happened. A reminder of the treachery of their parents - a liability to the clans. And now - RiverClan will be cleansed."
Blackclaw twists his head just to see Tigerstar give a nod to the two toms. Jaggedtooth and Darkstripe begin advancing; Primrosepaw lets out a whimper in fear. Blackclaw twists and lashes out, kicking Blackfoot in the stomach and sending the ShadowClan cat reeling off. Lunging for the nearer tom, Blackclaw catches Darkstripe off guard - the gray tom gives a hiss as the RiverClan tom gouges at his eyes. And then he's being pulled back again - Blackclaw writhes, his eyes on Primrosepaw and Pikepaw. He hardly hears RiverClan cats yowling in protest as they try to press forward too - all he sees is his children, as they're pressed back to the Bonepile by Darkstripe and Jaggedtooth. A massive shadow briefly looms over all four of them. And then the tiger falls upon its prey.
Blackclaw's screams are nothing compared to Primrosepaw and Pikepaw's shrieks for help - for their mother, their father, for someone to save them -
Blackfoot's paws slam down on Blackclaw's muzzle. RiverClan cats jostle forward, a few paws bursting out between ShadowClan cats. The ShadowClan warriors turn on them, pushing back the struggling felines, baring teeth and lashing out with firm paws.
All over the clamor, Tigerstar's snarls and Pikepaw and Primrosepaw's wails are terrible.
Just as quickly it began, it's over. Two dull splatters of blood, one sharp crack of bone. Two limp bodies lie side-by-side in the circle of felines. Blackclaw stops struggling and now lies devoid of strength, his shoulders shaking. Blackfoot loosens his grip slowly, uncertain whether the warrior will abruptly turn on him again or not.
Tigerstar takes no heed to the black tom's grief. He turns to the crowd, a mix of horrified, solemn, delighted faces. "RiverClan has been cleansed," he growls. Then he turns his gaze to the golden tabby crouched behind the Bonepile. "And Leopardstar? You may want to ask yourself where your clanmates' loyalties lie."
Leopardstar looks up at him with narrowed eyes.
"My warriors are loyal to TigerClan," she meows clearly. Her posture straightens as she speaks to the large tabby. "You may want to ask your own warriors' loyalties, Tigerstar - aren't they the ones who let the prisoners escape?"
Jaggedtooth snarls. "They escaped because they tricked us!"
Tigerstar merely gives a soft hiss in reply. His amber eyes swoop around the jumbled River-Shadow ring. "The weakness of half-clan is not yet completely gone," he growls. "You see one of them - kill them."