Chapter 3: Cats of Thunder

Soryn sat calmly by the clawed trees while Ahasra paced beside him. He glanced up into the light of the emerging dawn and flicked his right ear impatiently.

"Where are they?" Ahasra demanded sniffing the air. "They made a deal and they're late."

"Calm down," Soryn chuckled. "Rayushu only opened his eyes a tailshake ago."

"Still," she huffed. "It's impolite."

"Funny you're lecturing cats on what is and isn't polite," Soryn purred at her.

Ahasra plopped down and began fiercely licking her chest, "I'm only late with kokina- and only because she insists on treating me like I'm only a moon old."

"...she just worries, you know?" Soryn sighed. "With your legs and all."

"You're worried about me and my legs but you don't treat me like I can't do anything for myself," Ahasra pointed out. "You carry me when you have to but you treat me like everyone else when you don't."

Soryn averted his eyes, shuffling his paws. She was right of course, but he still held onto a thin strand of hope their mother would come to her senses. He eyed her sad face and a light stab of guilt went through his heart. With Adihikko gone and him going, he'd be leaving her to more or less fend for herself against their mother's smothering form of love.

"Hey," he offered. "She'll change her mind when you become the youngest full collared Guardian."

She sat up a bit straighter and smirked, "Yeah. She'll be forced when she realizes how blazing I am."

"Exactly," he purred. "When you have three charms in your collar, she'll have to acknowledge that you're amazing- floppy legs and all."

"Thanks Soryn," she said with a soft smile. "I'm going to miss you."

He pressed his cheek to hers, "I'm gonna miss you too."

The two of them fell into silence watching the tree line, listening for the sound of wild cats. Soryn flicked his ear, perking up everytime he heard the bushes rustling or a branch snap. He felt like he'd waited ages but finally he heard the crunching of branches and glanced up in time to spot a flash of a bright red tail.

Ahasra groomed a few stray strands of fur on her chest as Redtail and Dustpaw emerged from the bushes. Before Soryn could say anything, a gray blur sprinted from the undergrowth aimed straight for him. Soryn yelped in surprise and Ahasra quickly headbutted the gray blur, fur bristled hissing.

The blur went flying and smacked into the ground, dazed.

"Graypaw!" snapped Redtail. "Why would you do that?!"

"Graypaw" sat up and shook out his thick gray fur, purring.

"Wow you really are good fighters," he said either oblivious or not caring about the bristled form of Redtail behind him. He nudged Dustpaw with a smirk. "I see how you got your tail kicked the other day now."

"I did not get my tail kicked," Dustpaw spat.

Ahasra snorted, "Yeah and I'm a squirrel."

"You totally got your tail kicked," Graypaw snickered as a golden tom with a massive mane of fur stepped out from the bushes. "Uh-oh."

"You should not have gone running off like that Graypaw- do you want to be confined to camp?" the large tom demanded.

"No Lionheart, I'm sorry," the apprentice said, looking apologetic for the first time.

Soryn tilted his head glancing at Redtail who seemed resigned to the situation.

"Orayeyi," he says instead of commenting with Ahasra echoing his statement.

"Have you made your decision?" Redtail prompted.

"Yeah," Soryn agreed. "I'm joining you."

Graypaw cheered even as Dustpaw sulked.

"Don't mind him," Graypaw said with a grin. "He's just worried you'll tell the rest of us how you flung him like a seedpod."

"Graypaw," Lionheart chided with a slight smile. The fluffy apprentice didn't look the slightest bit apologetic as Dustpaw lashed out, smacking him with his tail. Ahasra chucked before turning her attention to Redtail.

"If you get my brother killed, nothing and no one will stop me from skinning you alive and wearing you like a second coat."

"Ahasra!" Soryn yelped as Graypaw quickly backed up and settled by Lionheart wide eyed. "Ignore her, she won't actually do that."

"You're right," Ahasra agreed. "I'd just set the forest on fire."

"Isina!"

She licked his shoulder with a smile, "I love you Soryn and I don't want anything bad happening to you. I'm just making sure the deputy has a vested interest in your survival."

Soryn rolled his eyes at her, "I love you too."

"Excuse me," Lionheart spoke up. "I'm sorry for interrupting but we really need to be going."

"Alright," Ashara agreed. "Asheyasi Soryn- take care!"

She nodded at Graypaw with a small smile and then trotted off back to the kingdom. Soryn smiled at her sadly, taking care to memorize the exact shade of silver her coat was in the morning sun as she vanished from sight.

"Ready?" Redtail asked and Soryn nodded. "Let's go then."

Rayushu's mane of flames, why?!

Soryn panted trying to keep up with the warriors. Even Dustpaw with his slightly limping movements was leaping over rocks and small branches like he was flying. Soryn lengthened his strides to match Graypaw's and tried to remember how to breathe and he dove under logs and scrambled over others. Flames, he'd been annoyed when their mother had run him and his littermates ragged saying they'd thank her later but she was right in this case. He was sure that her insistence on making them race after goats and various escaped chickens was the only reason he was keeping up. All the trees looked the same and within a few seconds, Soryn was completely lost in the sea of trees.

He pressed harder, lungs twinging in envy as Lionheart and Redtail leaped over logs with one effortless bounce and Graypaw and Dustpaw scaled them like a squirrel scampered up a tree. Soryn took the direct route of leaping and scrambling over them as efficiently as he could muster as his paws ached. His lungs- unused to such a continuous grueling pace- screamed desperately at him to stop and his pads more used to the cool dirt and soft spongy grass of the main clearing in the sun stung with every step. He'd stepped on several stones and nearly went flying after he tripped on a bramble.

If his lung wouldn't likely attempt to murder him for it, he'd've sighed in relief upon spotting a ditch filled with water from an earlier rain. He almost slowed down, expecting them to- if not stop- then at least choose a path around it. Instead, the four wildcats dove right in and swam across with the same determination they'd had since they'd begun this trek.

Screw that.

Soryn aimed for an angled stone and scampered up its side and launched himself over the ditch, cleanly on the other side. He caught a surprised look from the wildcats, a jealous one from Graypaw. Soryn didn't fit in as a typical heir but he was an heir and no heir would be caught dead covered in muddy water in front of others. His paws throbbed but he'd finally gotten into a proper stride and only adjusted it when approaching a jump or something he should slide under.

He was so in-tune with his new rhythm and focused on keeping up that he almost canteered right into Lionheart who'd stopped. They were all panting lightly, Graypaw having sat down wheezing but Soryn flopped onto his side with a groan. He didn't even care that they were laughing at him, he just focused on sucking in air and licking his bruised pads.

"You okay there farm kitty?" Redtail asked with a chuckle.

"You're all blazing sadists."

Graypaw snickered and Lionheart laughed loudly. Dustpaw smirked, ego soothed as Soryn staggered back to his paws and quickly began cleaning the dirt from his pelt. His pads ached and protested being put back to use so soon but he promised them that when the opportunity arose, he'd spend the rest of the morning napping. Despite his paws sending a sharp bolt of pain up his legs, Soryn noted- to his relief- that they were moving much slower. Walking instead of making a crazed sprint through the forest as if Koakidanzi himself was snapping at their tails.

Soryn took this opportunity to really take in the scents and sights of the forest. Beautiful small white buds, mud, squirrels everywhere and a little water too as wet branches shivered. The ground was dappled in the patches of land where sunlight was able to break through the tree canopy and the few dry leaves crunched under his every paw step. He'd never been this deep into the woods before, usually sticking to edges too afraid of offending the clans. His siblings would love it. He sighed to himself, shaking off the pang of loneliness that he felt would become commonplace. It would be weird spending his day to day with neither Adihikko or Ahasra by his side.

The scent of other cats abruptly flooded his nose and he glanced up curiously seeing the clan cats stop before a wall of branches.

"We're here," announced Lionheart.

Soryn stared blankly at the literal wall of leaves. Then glanced back at the wildcats to see if they were playing a trick on him. They didn't have any hidden laughter in their faces so Soryn turned back to the wall. He sniffed it as close as he could while avoiding the tangle of thorns threatening to prick his nose. It took him a moment before identifying a gap in the wall and cautiously he reached out and grabbed a bit in his mouth and pulled it aside to find a tunnel.

"Well done," Redtail praised as Soryn sneezed from the sudden influx of scents.

Dustpaw and Redtail slipped through without any issue but Lionheart's thick fur got caught in the brambles. After a bit of wiggling and tugging the large tom stumbled through the tunnel with a grunt. Soryn smothered his laughter but Graypaw offered his mentor no such compassion and openedly teased him bounding through with minimal effort. Soryn took one last moment to smooth down any ruffled fur and gave himself a light shake before following them through. It hurt a bit when the thorns tugged his fur and he pushed onward.

He stepped into the camp and was immediately overwhelmed. It was like being in the center of a kingdom wide call. While everyone in the kingdom viewed each other as one family, they were rarely ever all in the same place and it had the effect of making the kingdom appear empty. But everywhere he looked there were kits wrestling with each other, getting beneath the paws of the cats. Cats eating fresh prey and others placing more on the pile. The longer he observed, the more cats that looked up at him obviously smelling his foriegn scent. He met the eyes of any cat who caught his until they looked away.

Lionheart gently nudged him to get his attention and then waved his tail for him to follow. Soryn waved his tail to Graypaw and then followed Lionheart through the gathering of cats. Redtail joined them midway through and they led him to a large, fallen tree hidden perfectly within the clearing covered by moss. The crevice is just wide enough for a cat to enter.

"Bluestar," Redtail called.

The furred molly poked her head out of the crevice then purred when she spotted Soryn. She climbed out and leapt down before them.

"He came," she said with a smile.

"And kept up rather well," Redtail confessed.

"Then it's decided?"

The two toms nodded in agreement. Bluestar stretched then trotted towards the large pile of rocks in the near center of the clearing. Soryn blinked a bit when she started climbing it when Redtail nudged him. He obliged, following the deputy and clambered up the rock after Bluestar and Redtail and took his spot next to them at the top. He watched the cats already in the clear begin walking to the base of the rock and glance at him in curiosity. Some of the others stuck their heads into dens Soryn didn't see and came out with other cats. Bluestar waited a moment before calling out, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the highrock for a clan meeting!"

Not many more cats came out, most having been gotten by other cats when they initially noticed them standing on the rock. They started murmuring among themselves trying to figure out where he was from.

"Who's that? Doesn't smell like a clan I know."

"He has a collar- that's a farm kitty."

"Why's there a farm kitty up there?"

"I don't know, be quiet and maybe Bluestar will say."

Soryn tilted his head with surprise, the ThunderClan cats were much calmer than he thought they'd be. After Redtail's reaction, he'd expected them to be more hostile to him.

"This young tom has accepted an offer to become an apprentice of ThunderClan," Bluestar announced. "Lionheart, Redtail and Whitestorm have all seen him and attest to his skill."

"Lucky to become a member of ThunderClan," a voice grumbled.

Soryn instantly began scanning the crowd for the cat who made the bitter comment as Redtail leaned in and whispered, "Longtail- new warrior and very vocal." He flicked his ear, acknowledging his comment and finally located the cat in question. A tall, slender, pale tom with piercing eyes and lashing tail glowering at him. Soryn tilted his head which seemed to enrage him.

"What this clan needs is a clanborn warrior that can defend himself, not a grown kit who still needs to be nursed!" the tom snarled at him. "The Souls would be ashamed of us for allowing a little kitty to come chase dreams made of fog and-"

"Are you capable of shutting your mouth when your leader speaks or do you still need to be cuffed around the ears?" Soryn interrupted flatly.

A ripple of laughter went through the cats at the base of highrock as Longtail snarled in rage and embarrassment.

"Watch it kitty," growled the tom.

Soryn got to his paws and stretched, "Your leader is speaking so shut your muzzle. Every kit knows that-so are you daft or just being a pain in the tail?"

"Come down here and say that to my face!"

Soryn smirked, "Okay."

The tom appeared startled but before he could say anything else, Soryn unsheathed his claws and leapt directly at him. The cats below yelped in surprise and quickly scrambled out of the way a few hissing as Longtail backpedaled with alarm, almost crushing his clanmates when Soryn landed on his head. He sank his claws in his back and Longtail began shaking him furiously, eventually managing to throw him off.

The furious tom whirled around landing a blow on his face that made him stagger but he jumped back in time to avoid Longtail's lunge. Soryn clamped down on the tabby's lashing tail earning a yowl of pain. Longtail aimed for his hindleg so Soryn kicked him in the face releasing his tail and went for his flank. Longtail dodged and grabbed him by the back of his collar and Soryn coughed and then twisted, claws met delicate flesh and the warrior flung him. He hit the ground hard but rolled quickly to his paws.

Soryn smirked seeing the blood on the tom's torn left ear and the claw marks on his cheek. Although his leg stung and his head was pounding, Soryn hadn't had this much fun since Xibo had given him and his siblings fighting lessons. He circled right as Longtail growled following him, before either of them could make a move, Bluestar stepped between them.

"This cat has proven to be willing to fight to be here- is anyone else willing to challenge him?"

Soryn glanced around at the mildly impressed looks on everyone's faces and no one spoke up.

Bluestar glanced at him with a smile as Soryn sat and began grooming his chest.

"You look like a brand of fire in this sunlight," murmured Bluestar. Soryn blinked- he didn't think he was meant to hear that. The molly was looking at him but not quite seeing him- it was more like she was looking past him into something he couldn't see.

"You fought well," Bluestar said after a moment before turning her attention to her clan. "From this day on until he's earned his warrior name, this tom will be known as Firepaw."

She turned her attention to a broad shouldered tabby, "in honor of his flame colored coat."

The newly named Firepaw raised his head proudly as the clan began cheering, "Firepaw! Firepaw! Firepaw!"

Bluestar raised a paw silencing the excited crowd.

"As I was the one who invited him, he will be my responsibility and I am taking him on as an apprentice," the molly announced to the gasps of her clan. "That will be all." The clan slowly split up returning to their previous activities looking a bit startled by that last bit of news.

"That was awesome!"

Firepaw turned to see Graypaw bounding up to him with a thin and lanky black furred tom.

"Hey Graypaw," said Firepaw.

"You kicked his tail too!" Graypaw said with delight. "You okay? That last toss looked pretty painful."

"I'm fine, nothing that won't heal," he reassured before nodding at the lanky tom next to him. "Who's this?"

"This is Ravenpaw," Graypaw explained. "He's my best friend- we were apprenticed the same day."

"Hi," Ravenpaw greeted shyly. "You were really cool."

"Thanks," Firepaw purred. He gave his paw a quick lick and ran it across his face. "Hey, where'd Longtail slink off to?"

"Probably to Spottedleaf's den," Ravenpaw said. "That cut on his ear looked bad."

"You've spoiled his good looks, that's for sure," Graypaw chimed in.

"Who's Spottedleaf?"

Graypaw flicked his tail and Firepaw walked with him and Ravenpaw through the camp until he stopped, gesturing to a crack within a large rock with ferns along the outside. Longtail paced outside of it until a pretty tortie molly came out with a paw covered in cobwebs and began placing them on his ear.

"Spottedleaf is our medic- heals our injuries and takes care of us when we're sick," Graypaw explained coyly adding. "Not bad looking either- younger and prettier than most."

Firepaw chuckled and opened his mouth to respond before he was shoved. He responded, reflexively by swiping at the source and cut into soft skin. There was a hiss and he and the cat who'd shoved him jumped back. Firepaw glared at the yellow eyed, black furred tabby standing before him.

"You're lucky that Bluestar stepped in when she did," he growled. "Longtail is a new warrior but don't expect the rest of us to be bested by a soft belly."

Firepaw ducked the tom's intentional swing of his tail at his head and glowered. He flexed his claws- would it land him more trouble if he took a swipe at him?

"That's Darkstripe and he's neither young nor pretty."

Firepaw cackled at Ravenpaw's sly comment as Graypaw stumbled.

"You wanna look around?" Graypaw asked.

"Maybe later," Firepaw responded while stretching. "I've been up since dawn- I'd like to lay down actually."

"Say no more."

Graypaw and Ravenpaw led him through the cats in the clearing, some of them welcoming him to the clan or praising his new name. They came to a stump on the edge of the clearing with a gap beneath it. Firepaw followed his new friends inside the gap and was greeted with soft, cool packed soil in a large area full of nests made of moss. Ravenpaw quickly veered to the left side of the den and motioned to a pair of fresher nests by the wall.

"These are ours," he said before motioning towards one next to them. "You can sleep here."

"Thanks," Soryn purred. He wandered down and flopped into the nest. His aching muscles reminded him of their existence and his pained paws were relieved to finally be given rest. The moss was a little scratchy, the lack of duck and chicken feathers making it a little less comfortable than he was used to but Soryn was honestly so tired he could've slept in a puddle. He tucked his head under his paws with a happy sigh and murmured a quick prayer for Ashara to take good care of his brothers and sisters.

Then he was off to sleep.