Mapleshade had given up, letting the exhausted kit sleep in her paws. Still, in the shelter of the bush, she wondered if she travelled far enough to escape Riverclan. She'd hid her scent, but those slippery cats might find another way to track her down. Her paranoid were proven to be true - A sudden rustling sounds from between the trees, somewhere off into the distance. Pricking her ears, Mapleshade made out a faint creaking as something heavy was being dragged along the floor, crunching the leaves below it.
Two unmistakable scents meet her nose, the musty scent of some kittypet or loner and the grassy scent of the fresh oak forest of a Thunderclan cat, a signal one. Alone. What was a Thunderclan cat doing out here alone? Unless it was that one. About time he showed up.
Cutting their conversation short, Mapleshade hurriedly shoved Shykit into nearby ferns, withered and brown with decay. "What's happening?", the kit gasped, the roots twisting around her paws. Mapleshade's jaw went up against her ear, splitting into it, "There are bad cats around.", she warned harshly, "So don't move a mouse-length from those ferns or I'll have your fur!". Worryingly, Shykit didn't seem to understand a word of what she was saying, staring up at her with a dumbstruck expression. She began to open her mouth to speak, but Mapleshade slapped her tail over it, "Shut up!", Mapleshade growled, "Don't move. You hear that? Don't move!", she repeated.
With that out the way, Mapleshade left Shykit behind, just silently praying she'd do as she was told. For both hers and Mapleshade's safety. Falling into a crouch, she carefully picked her way towards the source of the sound, avoiding any sharp two-leg objects. As Mapleshade crept through the dry undergrowth, there was a large dip in the earth, forming a shallow pit.
Peering through the jungle of stalks and branches, Mapleshade's heart lunged as she spotted the sleek cream and brown tom at the bottom of the slope, neatly perched on a log, his back to her. The other cat she'd scented earlier nowhere in sight. But she didn't care. Her head now bursting with emotions of excitement and fear, like an apprentice going into the dangers of the battle for the first time.
Keeping her paws and breathing light, she left the shelter of the thicket into the clearing beyond, gradually edging towards Bloomheart, using every scrap of skill and experience to get this right. Now in the open, her only hope was that he didn't turn around- "I know you're there.", Bloomheart called out to her, with a silky smooth voice, strangely calm. Foxdung! Going for broke, Mapleshade lunged into the air, outstretching her paws as she aimed for Bloomheart's throat. Seeing it coming, Bloomheart effortlessly darted to the side in a flash of brown, leaving Mapleshade nothing to land on but hard rotting wood, winding her.
"I've been waiting for you.", he suddenly mewed from behind her. How did he get there so quick?! Whirling round, Mapleshade gripped the log, using it to propel herself forward. Yet again, almost lazily, Bloomheart stepped backwards, causing Mapleshade to stumble, eating dirt on her way down. Furious, Mapleshade scrambled off her side, sending waves of paws swipes in his direction. Through, they never met their target, Bloomheart constantly moving, his throat just always out of reach. Eventually, Mapleshade's body couldn't take it, crumbling to the floor, desperately gushing for air. How was he so fast? Or- why was she so slow?
A fox-length away, Bloomheart patiently waited, casually washing his front paw. Fighting her own body, Mapleshade forced it to stand again, stumbling towards Bloomheart, hissing. Finally, Bloomheart took notice of her, tucking his paws in as he sat, "Don't be a fool, Mapleshade. Even an apprentice could kill you with the condition you're in.".
Her fury was boiling to the surface. What was this cat playing at? After she'd killed his mate, he hadn't gone after any of her kits just laying around. And here she was, ready for slaughter and he still refused to take the perfect opportunity right in his face. "What are you waiting for?", she snapped, "Kill me!". Before going after him, jaws snapping. Bloomheart stayed where he was, "I was going to-", he mumbled, leaping away as Mapleshade got too close, "But if I did that, that mate of yours might go after me or even my kin. So why give him the excuse?", he mewed somewhere behind her.
If there was one thing Bloomheart didn't know, it was her former mate. Appledusk wouldn't know how to avenge someone even if he tried. Revenge was to make the cat suffer, death would be mercy. Only through the death of their loved ones could they be truly punished.
Spinning around, Mapleshade claws flexed against the ground, frustration growing, desperately to tear flesh. Bloomheart continued, "I sacrificed tooth and claw to kill off every filthy cat I could get my paws on in the name of the code. Yet here I am- half blind, exiled and dead mate.", he then turned to Mapleshade with his murky blind eye eerily devoid of emotion, "No one cares about us, Mapleshade. All they want to see is our mangled corpses.".
Not in the mood to hear it, Mapleshade tried kicking out, in an attempt to trip him up. However, with alarming speed, he raised his paw, bringing it back down, pinning Mapleshade's leg in place, not even needing to shelter his claws. Like a deer, Bloomheart leapt over her head, into her blind spot. Suddenly, she felt a looming presence as Bloomheart stood above her, Mapleshade flinched in disgust as she felt his hot breath borrowing inside her ear, like an echoing voice inside her head, "Even Starclan doesn't care.", he whispered, "And if Starclan doesn't want us, where do you think we'll go, Mapleshade?".
Gathering her strength, Mapleshade lashed out with both tooth and claw, managing to skim the edges of Bloomheart's fur as he retreated. "Shut up and fight me, mouseheart!", she demanded, baring her fangs. Her only response was the unblinking cold gaze. Her anger snapping, Mapleshade sent wave after wave of attacks at him but always keeping the distance between them, not a single blow landing.
When she rushed left, he darted right, when she sprang up, he dived low, like dancing fireflies. Eventually, exhaustion got the better of her for the second time in a row, slumping against the log. Circling her, Bloomheart began questioning her, "By some miracle, you actually manage to kill me, who do you plan to go after when I'm dead?".
Slowly, Mapleshade's aching lunges gained control, slowed her breathing. "Killing Oakstar!", she screeched like an owl, her voice cracking, pouring all her hatred and bloodthirst into it. Bloomheart's whiskers twitched and long-tail swung, "And how do you plan to do that? He's got eight lives with an entire clan to protect him. While you're alone with one life.".
Using the log to steady herself as she got up, Mapleshade narrowed her eyes at him, "I'll figure something out, I always do.", she muttered bitterly.
He started to pace around her, his tail dragging across the floor, "So let's just say, you do somehow kill him. What then? Who's your next target? Bloomheart? Deerdapple? Do you kill every Clan cat? Once you bring down the entire forest, do you go after kittypets and rouges?", not stopping with the endless questions. Finally having enough, Mapleshade snapped at him, "Stop rambling and make your point already!", she demanded.
Then, Bloomheart halted, his back to her, sighing. Slowly, he turned to her, face deadly serious, "Without alliance to the code, killing has become pointless. All I can do now is to protect those who are still alive. And It seems to me, that you got the idea that it's fine to start dragging my kin into this.", he mewed, flexing claws against the leaves, "Dawnfeather already dead because of you.".
"And how is that not fair?", Mapleshade pointed out, baffled, "You went after mine, so I went after yours.".
Bloomheart's shoulders drooped, as he'd been defeated by life itself, "I think we can both agree that kin is the only thing we have left anymore. So I'm willing to make a deal.".
Mapleshade left the support of the log, taking gradual and painful steps towards the cat she'd swore to kill all those moons ago. As she approached she expected him to move away, but surprisingly he didn't, determined to stand his ground now. "What foxdung is this?", she hissed in his face, so close, his whiskering touching her muzzle. Though Bloomheart was unmoving, not even the slightest twitch or sign of fear, like a cold hard dead stone. "It simple.", he uttered in an icy cold voice, staring her right down into her core, "We leave each other and our kins alone. I stay away from your kits and you stay away from mine.". Like an out of control kit, Mapleshade couldn't help but burst into a fit of amused purring.
"Complete foxdung!", she sniggered, "You're more mousebrained then I thought, to think I'll let you go.". At this, Bloomheart off another sigh, disappointed. Mapleshade's chest tightened up, her anger being forced to her limits, on the verge of trying to tear him to pieces once again. "I expected you wouldn't be satisfied with the terms. So I'm willing to make a compromise.".
With that, Bloomheart suddenly whipped around, beginning to wander off somewhere. Without his focusing, Mapleshade was about to spring onto his back and snap his neck, but curiosity made her stop in her tracks. Instead of leaving the clearing as she expected, Bloomheart's narrow head plunged into the nearby thicket, grabbing something large and hairy.
Dragging her by the scruff, Bloomheart roughly pulled out the loner she'd scent earlier, half-conscious. A large pure white she-cat, grey specks on her muzzle from old age, her fur tangled with dead shrubbery and dried blood. Mapleshade blinked, confused. Wincing slightly, when Mapleshade noticed the deep bite marks covering the loner's legs, rendering them useless without causing a storm of unimaginable torture. Completely at Bloomheart's mercy. He placed a single paw on his prize, seemly proud, "Recognize her?", he asked slyly.
For awhile Mapleshade could only stare at her blankly, a name or face at tip of her tongue. The white she-cat's eyelids, though still heavy, slowly slid open, relieving rich chestnut brown eyes. The loner's awareness of the world began to form, she frantically searched her surroundings, dazed, like she was waking up from a nightmare. Brown eyes, brown eyes- Mapleshade repeated in her head, trying to dig through the deepest caverns of her memories in search of this cat. She knew this loner, she swore it. "Who...". She finally muttered, unable to get the words out.
Bloomheart shook his head, "I'm disappointed you don't. How can someone forget the face of their father's killer?".
Immediately, Mapleshade stop moving, her throat and lungs have frozen over with stale ice, suffocating her. Her insides feeling like they could wither and rot away. It was true, all those seasons ago- the same cloudy white pelt- the same brown eyes- it was her, that foxheart that had killed Dullface, her father!
The loner suddenly started panicking under Bloomheart's weight, violently shaking, "I never murdered anyon-". However, Bloomheart instantly shut her up, curling his claws into her open wound, making her scream out in pain. "Silence rouge!", he hissed furiously, his blue eye glazing over, "You have the exact name, pelt colour and age. It has to be you. Look her in the eye and tell me you don't remember her!".
A haunting silence hung as they stared at each other, reading their; emotions, personalities, secrets and crimes. A horror-filled expression slowly creeps over her face, utter terror. "Yo-you're that kitten I once saw.", she barely muttered, now completely lost for words. Mapleshade didn't know anything by that heartbeat. She didn't do what to do, say or act. All knew she could be staring into the drained face, only able to see it seared in Dullface's crimson blood, dripping down her muzzle in thick raindrops.
Bloomheart crept eerily close to the loner, whispering to the loner's ear, hovering over her like a swooping hawk, waiting to snatch her up, "That 'kitten'- was the daughter of the brown tom you threw into a rock pile, splitting his skull open. Sound familiar?", he hissed hatefully like a snake. The trees around seemed to shift and stretch, bending in unnatural ways, like curling talons.
Suddenly; they thicken and bulked up into oaks, the muddy earth now sandy under paw, Bloomheart and her side by side as fellow apprentices, not fellow killers just trying to outdo each other. Amongst Thunderclan territory, laid her father, laying there on his side, motionless, a pinky bloody pile of organs next to the giant crack in his head, the jagged double-pointed stone stained red. Mapleshade found herself coiling up, in a trance, the world completely blurred like a dazing fog-covered every crack and leaf in the narrow woodland. Feeling like she could plunge into the black void of sleep at any moment.
Barely, she made out the loner's pathetic attempt at begging for her life, "But I didn't mean to kill him! He attacked, so I just tried to-", she moaned but was cut short with Bloomheart gripping her head and slamming it hard into the ground, sealing her jaw shut. "Quit your whining, rat.", he hissed. Steadily, Bloomheart turned his attention to the frozen Mapleshade, "So how about it? I give you, your father's killer and your kits' safety- And you won't touch Nettlebreeze. Deal?".
There wasn't any more to it, what well could she say?
"Deal.", Mapleshade blurted out, unable to form a proper sentence.
Instantly, He kicked the white she-cat hard into the flank, sending her rolling towards Mapleshade. Mapleshade and the loner couldn't take their eyes off of each other, stunned with shock. Bloomheart let off a deep sigh of relief, dipping his head politely to her, "Glad doing business with you.", he commented calmly.
Beginning to ascend up the slope, his long strides making him look like a falcon silently gliding through the trees, searching for unsuspecting prey. Briefly, Mapleshade considered trying to attack him while his guard was downed but stopped herself. Releasing this could be the only chance to finally get the foxheart out of her life, even if he wasn't dead, which admittedly was disappointing. But if this was the next best thing, then so be it.
Just then, there was the loud squeak of delight, echoing through the branches. Alarmingly, Bloomheart twisted round to stare at Mapleshade at the top of the slope with narrowed eyes, silently questioning her. Anger gripped her, "Shykit!", she called out angrily. The tiny kit clambered out of the bushes, right next to Bloomheart, a large pine cone in between her sharp teeth, beaming with excitement. Bloomheart blinked curiously down at her, "And who is this?", he asked. Shykit blinked back at him, her voice muffled by the cone, "Are you one of the bad cats?", she mewed. Bloomheart's tail tip twitched.
Mapleshade's fur bristled, coming in before anything could get out of hand, "It doesn't matter who.", she called up from below, "She's my kit and that's all you need to know. The terms are agreed on Bloomheart, she has to be protected as well.".
Bloomheart simply shrugged, huffing, "A deal, a deal.", he acknowledged, "I intend to keep it.". Out of nowhere, his face narrow figures tightened up, borderline aggressive, "And I trust you do the same.", he warned, "Remember, you lay a claw on Nettlebreeze and your kits are fair game.". Subtly, he glanced at Shykit for a moment before continuing, "Their deaths will be on your head, Mapleshade. Stay out of my way and I'll say out of yours, it's not hard.".
A wicked grin slide over Mapleshade's lips, "We'll see.".
Bloomheart's lips drew up to bare his fangs, "Just leave us alone.", he growled. There was a movement of stillness as neither cat moved. Finally, Bloomheart stalked into the shelter the trees, the gloom washing over his pelt, his lean frame soon melting into the brown and green background. And just like that, like a wandering shadow with no master, he quietly slipped away without a sound, gone. Shykit shook as if she'd just woken, bounding down the slope to meet her mother. Dropping her prized cone at her small paws, Shykit blinked down at her loner, still paralyzed to her side, who miserably whimpered in hopelessness and groaned in pain. Mapleshade would allow Shykit to stay. She needed to face reality sooner or later, to the reality of murder.
Mapleshade deeply wished Tulipfur could be here to witness the avenge of her long-lost mate. Instead of stashed away behind walls of Thunderclan's camp. Growling to herself, Mapleshade wondered if her mother was even loyal anymore. If her mate or kits couldn't keep a shred of loyalty to their own mother, what hope would Tulipfur have?
It was strange. For all those seasons, Mapleshade had dreamt of the day she would find Dullface's killer, to finally avenge him. She'd imagined the fiercest and most savage of cats, stronger than a Lionclan warrior, wickeder than a Tigerclan warrior and swifter than a Leopardclan warrior. A cat beyond the most dreadful of nightmares. Yet, that wasn't what she got at all. All she had was a pathetic pile of scruffy white fur, awaiting her own death. At least, she could look at her!
"Look at me!", Mapleshade screeched, hooking her round the ear and dragging her into her face. Disrespectfully, the loner kept in a tight ball, her eyes sealed shut. "I'm sorry.", she softly mumbled, utterly defeated. Sorry? Sorry!? Is that she got? Seasons she had to grow up without a father, never seeing his cheerful grin and cheesy jokes. Her heart pounded as she remembered the warrior who never escaped apprenticeship. The cat she'd never see again because of this loner!
Anger controlling every hair on her body now, Mapleshade exploded into a fit of pure hatred, more than she'd ever felt before. More for Oakstar or even Bloomheart. Frantically, she pounded down at the loner, ripping into her fur, skin, flesh and bone with her razor claws, digging deep down through her body. Desperately, She wanted to the loner's blood-curdling screams, splitting the air itself. Yet she got none. All the response she got was the loner rolling into a ball, even more tightly, like a shrivelling slug, silent.
Letting off the blood-curdling scream herself, Mapleshade gripped the loners' shoulders, violently shaking her. Shykit watched from the background, shut down. Yet still nothing. Erupting in blazing fury, Mapleshade thrashed her against the nearby log like a rabid dog, streams of boiling foam dripping down the sides of her open mouth. As the loner was viciously slammed against the solid wall of bark, a sharp snapping noise painfully pierced her ears like spikes.
Instantly Mapleshade grabbed her again, but now she was unnaturally light, her head flopping backwards. Her neck was broken. Anxiously, Mapleshade shook her again, trying to bring life back into the lifeless body. Was she dead already? Bu-but she wasn't even close to being done with her, this should of a been the beginning of a long process, of agonizing torture, making her suffer through all unbearable pain she made Mapleshade go through all those seasons. Despite that, all that lay in front of was useless scrap of fur and a traumatized kit.
Unable to accept it, Mapleshade turned crazed, wildly mauling, ripping, tearing, pounding, scratching, biting and clawing at the long-dead cat, not stopping until her front paws become raw, feeling like she could keel over at any moment.
As she crept back to observe her gory mess, the loner now reduced to a bloody pulp, nothing but a strained pile of white and red, the scruff in shreds, patches of crude skin. The face completely slashed out. She was unrecognizable as a cat, let alone the disgusting loner that had taken Dullface from her. Kicking the mangled corpse away in revulsion, she swerved towards Shykit, snatching her up. "Wh-what did you do that poor she-cat?", she stammered as she carried away.
Patchpaw flattened his ears, trying to block out the embarrassing conversation between his father and local kittypet mother and her kits. Yet, of course, it didn't work. The fellow kit pressed herself against him, their fur brushing, "Forgive Lily.", Molly muttered, "She's just jumpy from after Bloomheart terrorised the local area .". Patchpaw nodded, able to mutually agree the adults were acting more like kits than the actual kits were. At the same time, he didn't blame them either. While Bloomheart didn't kill anyone, he'd been interrogating the local kittypets, making them bleed if necessary. He was apparently searching for an elderly white she-cat, though Patchpaw had no idea who she was.
Trying to distract himself, Patchpaw tried making polite conversation with Molly, the perfect opportunity to find out something he'd wanted to do since the day he was born, "So why don't all kittypets wear collars?", he asked, "Isn't that a kittypet requirement?". Molly made a face before playfully dumping into him, "No, you silly furball.", she chuckled, "If you want to play the stereotype game, why aren't you wearing the pelts of your fallen enemies?".
A dopey grin came onto Patchpaw's lips like it had been slapped on, purring, "At least we don't eat rabbit droppings!", he exclaimed. Molly got all fours, crouching down, playfully lashing her tail, "At least we don't eat raw meat. Eating all those fur and feathers must be a nightmare!", she insulted. Patchpaw threw the insult back, "Hey, We're not birds. We use the feathers for our bedding.".
Molly gagged, clearly grossed out, "Yuck! You sleep on dead animals.", circling each other. Having enough, Patchpaw let the adoration kick in, launching himself at his new playmate. Though with a surprising skill for a kittypet, Molly was there to meet him, rearing up and catching him. Together, they tousled in the long wiry grass and weeds, squeaking with delight. "Molly!", come to a sharp yap as Lily called out to her denmate. Instantly, they separated, hot with embarrassment. Appledusk and Patchpaw's eyes locked, his father flicking his tail for him to join him. Filled with shame, Patchpaw miserably padded over to his father's side, tail and head drooping. It was only playing. It wasn't hurting anyone, was it?
Appledusk puffed up his chest, now turning to Lily once again, "We're only trying to gather information about Bloomhea-", he explained softly, trying to calm the paranoid queen. "I'm not having it!", she rudely interrupted, snapping from on top of the fence, lashing her specked tail, "That savage has been killing us house cats by the dozens! What makes you Clan cats any different?".
Appledusk's neck fur, stood on end, offended, "We're nothing like that foxheart-".
"Foxheart?", Lily interrupted him again, "Is that another Clan cat I should know about?".
Quickly, Patchpaw spoke up before Appledusk could, determined not to let his father worsen the situation with that big mouth of his. "It's an insult.", Patchpaw calmly explained, "Not a name.". From beside, Molly pricked her ears, her deep blue eyes glittering in curiosity. Though Lily just made an ugly face, confused, "So you can be named after a fox and have 'heart' at the end of your name- but not specifically 'Foxheart'?". Patchpaw nodded. His only response was scoff and roll of the eyes, "Of course.", Lily groaned.
"Thank you for your input, Patchpaw.", Appledusk grumped, "Now if we can please get back on topic-".
"The topic of you leaving.", Lily stated, "I'm not risking Molly safety anymore.". The golden she-cat's suspicious gaze flickered over to Molly, hiding among the overgrown ivy near the wooden fence at the bottom of the garden. The grey and white she-cat stood forward to guard her new friend, "I'm fine, Lily.", the young cat insisted, "He's not dangerous, I would have won that fight if you hadn't stopped us.", she boasted. In your dreams! Patchpaw's paw pads tinged, aching to leap off the ground and start round two.
Though Lily shook her unconvinced, staring hard at her two visitors, "I know what you're really like. You're nothing but glorified rouges, trying to hide your horrid actions under pitiful excuses like 'honour'.". Even Patchpaw couldn't help but be seriously offended by the she-cat's harsh words. But that was nothing compared to Appledusk, who seemed to have one too many nerves struck, looking like he about to lunge at her.
Swiftly, Patchpaw stepped in front of Appledusk, trying to shove him back, though it was no use, like a boulder, he wouldn't budge. "We'll be on our way now.", Patchpaw mewed, dipping his head. Lily seemed to taken back by Patchpaw's politeness, nodding her head in return, "Just make sure to keep yourself safe out there, young one. Though, you'd do well to remove that father of yours.".
Agreed, Patchpaw silently thought in his head as continued to nudge Appledusk from the spot. "Dad.", he snapped up to the large brown tom, "We're leaving.". Appledusk shook his head, waking up from his angered daze. Spinning around, he stomped away in a huff, sulking. Great Starclan, was this cat a warrior or a kit? Glancing over his shoulder, Patchpaw and Molly shared one last flick of the tail in goodbye, before Patchpaw was forced to leave forever.
Following Appledusk, they passed through a giant gaping hole in the bright white fence, that served as an entrance. "Stupid kittypets.", Appledusk cursed to himself, now long out of Lily or Molly's ear range. Leaving behind the massive two-leg nest, larger than the Barn, looming in the distance, a towering figure among the foreground, putting all trees to shame. Honestly, Patchpaw never knew they could so large until now.
Risking one final peek behind his father back, he spotted an elderly female two-leg strolled out of it, wearing a grey pelt, that hung loosely around its skinny legs, fanning out like a white upside-down flower in blossom. It pasted serval rose bushes edging against a pale gravel path and raised it's right paw, shaking it. Unclear on whether it was a friendly and threatening gesture, Patchpaw could never tell with them.
Tracking their own scent, they retraced their steps, beginning the long journey home. For a while, they travelled in silence as they made good process through the sloping hills, serval clusters of twolegs places dotting the vast landscape, mostly favouring the bottom of swallow valleys. Hopefully, they'd be making it back to the stone gorge by dusk. Finally having enough, Patchpaw decided to break the awkwardness, someone needing to say unwanted truth, "Well, nothing on Bloomheart then.", Patchpaw commented, "Maybe Mum was wrong.".
Appledusk shook his broad head as climbed through the tunnel of vines and roots, "Unlikely.", he pointed out, "Your mother wouldn't have travelled all the way out here just to bluff. Bloomheart already tried killing you and littermates, there's no reason he won't try again.". After Appledusk finished speaking, Patchpaw turned quiet, thoughtful.
When everyone thought Birchface was their father, Bloomheart had always been close to Mapleshade's family. He'd been her former mentor after all. He even visited them in Nursery from time to time, watching them like a father, being reminding of his own son, Nettlepaw. Since he lost his daughter, Flowerpaw, he might have been projecting his grief onto them.
"When he becomes so obsessed with Starclan and the Code? He wasn't so extreme when he lived in Thunderclan.", Patchpaw accidentally blurted out his thoughts. Ahead of him, Appledusk shrugged, "Bloomheart was always a strong believer in that, I won't lie. But after the accident with Flowerpaw, it was interwoven with his personal revenge on me and Mapleshade. He's just using Starclan as an excuse, maybe even to himself. By this point, I think he's forgotten why he's even doing it. He and Mapleshade are tearing into each other for the sake of it. I don't know if there's a way out for them.".
With that, Appledusk paced ahead, exiting the hedgerows, into the open field of tall grasses swishing in the gentle breeze, leaving Patchpaw lagging behind while deep in thought. Thinking about it, Bloomheart had failed to save Mapleshade's father when she was an apprentice. He had vowed to protect her in her father's place and others like her - But then he failed with his own daughter. His vow to protect everyone slowly warped and became illogical, until he turned on Mapleshade herself.
A cold shiver was sent down his spine like an icy night wind, remembering the look in Bloomheart's eyes as him, Petalkit and Larchkit were dragged out of camp, the utter sense of betrayal. Mapleshade, who's father was killed by an outsider, had hypocritically mated with a Riverclan cat. She'd gone against the life lesson he'd sent moons teaching.
Bloomheart had the strongest heritage in the forest, the blood of a leader and deputy surging through his veins. And here come Mapleshade, the cat he thought he could trust, threatening to corrupt the purest blood of the whole clans. Remembering the briefest of moments, when Petalkit jokily mentioned how handsome Nettlepaw was. And if the union of Bloomheart's kin and Mapleshade's kin ever come to light, that pureblood would be tainted.
Patchpaw's fur turned hot with anger, disgusted how he could do something like that. He'd once looked at down at them like they were his own kits, but all it took was one truth to come out, one heartbeat, for him to let that come crashing down. To make it his life goal to kill them.
Just then, his mind naturally shifted to his mother, remembering her shredded and ragged pelt, hanging loosely around her frail frame. Every bone sticking out like a spike as if they could burst out at any moment. Every mouse-length of her body crisscrossed with long pale pink scars and deep open wounds that had been freshly added to the collection. "I'm really worried Mum.", Patchpaw admitted, "She seemed really thin when we saw her.", falling into step alongside Appledusk, as they strolled up to one of the narrow sandy paths that came in an identical pair, well worn by twolegs and their farm monsters.
Appledusk sighed, "I think you're right. If she goes the way she is now, there's no way she's going to last till Newleaf. Despite how much I'll hate to do this- We might have to track her down and convince her to stay with us for a while.".
"And if she refuses?".
"Then there's no more we can do for her. She'd be on her own.".
Finally, just as the sun's tip skimmed the edge of the horizon, the welcoming sound of gushing water meet Patchpaw's large ears. Rushing ahead of Appledusk, Patchpaw glanced the gorge river in distance, nothing but a blue line in the landscape. Excitement gripping him, Patchpaw leapt down the hillside like a fawn experiencing the wonders of the world for the first time. "Slow down!", Appledusk called after him, being left in the dust.
However, Patchpaw's quickly lost his footing on the loose stones, slipping and tumbling down like a moss ball. He squealed as the world span around him, spinning, whirling, twisting- Suddenly, the breath was knocked out the young cat as he hit a solid wall of fur and bone, making the other cat stagger back.
At first, while he still gathered his bearings, Patchpaw assumed the bulky grey tom in front of him was a farm cat. But was instantly proven wrong as Riverclan overpowered his senses. Patchpaw flinched back, now defensive. The Riverclan cat's face lit up in relief, "Finally.", he exclaimed, "The little runt himself. I found him!", calling out to someone off into the distance. Then, a familiar orange she-cat stepped out from behind a dense clump of scrubs and weeds, blinking down at the kit. "Reedshine?", he gasped.
"Patchkit, thank goodness it's you. You've really grown since I last saw you.", she smiled. Patchpaw puffed up his chest up proudly, trying to make himself look larger, "It's Patchpaw now.".
"So rouges are having naming ceremonies now?", the grey tom mocked coldly behind Reedshine. Surprisingly, Reedshine whirled around, cuffing him over the ear and hissing, "Hush, Splashheart.", she warned, before slowly turning to Patchpaw again, "Forgive my apprentice, he's a minnowbrain. Now, this is a very important Patchpaw, where is your father?"
Before he could respond, another voice cried out her name from on top of the hill, "Reedshine!" , Appledusk called out, racing to meet them. The two threw themselves at each other into a storm of rattling purring and soppy snuggling that made Patchpaw want to be sick. Splashheart next to him seemed equally disturbed.
At last, Appledusk stepped away, the happiness draining from his face slightly as he noticed his former clanmate, "Splashheart.", Appledusk acknowledged, dipping his head. He only got a slightest of reactions, getting the subtlest nod of the head, stiff and awkward, tail twitching. Clearly, the young warrior was unnerved around the traitor and half-clan kit. Though admittedly, after Patchpaw had yelled at and even try to be murdered for his heritage, he could easily ignore it. Even slightly grateful.
Appledusk then turned serious, "What are you doing out here?", he questioned. Something painful seemed to hold Reedshine back, so Splashheart spoke on her behalf, "You weren't involved in the fox attack on Riverclan camp last night, were you?", he asked through narrowed amber eyes. The pounding of Patchpaw's heart quicken, not liking where this was going, just hoping no one was seriously hurt. Appledusk's ears flattened, "I wasn't even aware. What happened?"
"Mapleshade lured two foxes into camp, which cost Spiketail his life. She then ended kidnapping Shykit.", he explained coldly, clear bitterness in his words. At first, Patchpaw thought he was talking about someone else, the name Mapleshade, sounding like the name of a stranger. The actions not going with the cat, Patchpaw unable to make the connection in his brain. Then it clicked.
Neither Appledusk nor Patchpaw could move for a heartbeat, speechless. Again? Patchpaw thought, horrid. How many more cats was she going to kill? But what he understood the least was her stealing Shykit, the tiny kit that Appledusk had named himself. Why would she steal his little sister like that? She needed to be in Riverclan, safe in the Nursery!
Next to him, Appledusk's fur sparked up as if he'd been struck by a massive light bolt, foaming with anger. "That foxheart-", he growled, "And to think I once loved her- What is she doing with my kit?!".
Suddenly, Reedshine managed to get hold of herself, darting forward, standing directly in front of Appledusk, "And that's not worst of it!", she hissed in his face, "That mate of yours threatened to slice Shykit's throat if any Riverclan cat goes after her.".
All Patchpaw's insides turned to stone, unable to believe any of the words around him, his mind numb. Vaguely, he hoped this was a dream. But of course, it wasn't.
"Please Appledusk.", Reedshine begged, "You and her kits are the only ones that talk sense into her. You're the only ones who can save our daughter.". Time seemed to freeze up, as nobody dared move. Then new cold ice of bitterness seemed to form over Appledusk as he nodded, dead inside, "I will.", he mewed emotionless. Without another word, Appledusk twisted round, going back the way he comes, flicking his long cream tail, signalling for Patchpaw to follow. Joining him, Patchpaw began panting with nervousness, "Where are we going?", he questioned.
"To the Barn.", Appledusk confirmed, "Your sister could be the only one who knows where your mother is.".