Updated to Expand on some scenes and fixing spelling errors
Thornpaw is fun to write.
Feedback/reviews are appreciated. I'm half way done with the next chapter which is set during the Gathering.
Three kits, a warrior, and an elder had been taken by whatever sickness was plaguing Hill Clan by morning. For the last moon, this had become a regular morning for the cats. The warrior, kits, and elder displayed so those close to them could share tongues one last time. Queens crying over lost kits had long since stopped, the queens now in tired resignation that their offspring were more likely to die to some strange plague then they were to reach adulthood and die in a glorious feud with a rival clan. By now, Thornpaw felt a little desensitized to it as she slipped out of the rocky opening of the apprentice's den overlooking the camp. The fallen of the previous day were already taken to be buried but Thornpaw still shuddered when she looked at where their bodies had been only a few hours before.
Thornpaw tried to strifle a yawn as she made for the fresh kill pile, only to see it empty and turn to join that morning's hunting patrol. Her stomach rumbled angrily at being without food, but this wasn't new to her either. Maplepool was already up and organizing a hunting and scouting patrol, her dark tortie fur standing out against the gray rocks that made up the clan camp. The warriors and apprentices already assembled stood attentively, but their hunger was evident to Thornpaw as she joined the group, some looking much thinner and scruffier than they should.
"... Also be more careful around our border with Rain Clan. Rabbitwhisker is low on cobwebs as it is, and Whitepaw crossing for herbs and Needlefur stealing that squirrel is causing enough issues." She finalized, her smooth voice easy on Thornpaw's ears this early in the morning, filling her with a warm feeling as she took her place. She looked over to Needlefur, the gray she-cat bristling at the mention of her name but quickly catching herself. Mouse brained idiot, was what Thornpaw thought. If you are going to steal prey, don't get caught. Besides, it was much easier to steal on Sun Clan territory, since that clan tended to hunt further in and its patrols weren't as frequent, Thornpaw mused to herself, and if you did get caught and it wasn't their mouse brained deputy you could usually talk your way out of it.
The rest of the group was listening intently, Swiftclaw flicking his ears from time to time or sparing a glance at Foxtail, Willowclaw slightly jittery as he wanted to hurry up and leave the camp to hunt or patrol. Thornpaw realized she didn't see Nettlewhisker or Yarrowpaw anywhere and figured her sister must have taken the apprentice out to train already.
As the group dispersed to head on their ways and given jobs Thornpaw's mentor, Maplepool, looked to her and nodded.
"Do you want to join the hunting party or the patrol? Whitestar is... occupied... and wants me to stay in the camp today so I won't be able to take you out for training." Maplepool meowed. Thornpaw nodded, using a paw to scratch at the scar running from her lower lip to under her jaw. Being a dark brown tabby, Thornpaw knew she blended in better to hunt in their shrub dense, tree-less territory so she knew it would be better to hunt then do another boring patrol.
"I'll join the hunting party, or go hunting on my own. How has Whitestar been doing since...?" Thornpaw trailed off on the end, wanting it to be more of a whisper. The clan was having a hard time, sickness going through nearly every cat at this point with no idea as to why. Thanks to being the apprentice of the deputy, Thornpaw knew a few things the rest of the clan didn't, such as Whitestar's unfortunate... condition, and that the sickness had already claimed three of his lives.
Now, their leader rarely showed himself and it was Maplepool who was running the clan day to day. The last time Thornpaw saw Whitestar it was almost a complete moon ago for the Gathering. As tonight was the Gathering again, she figured he would likely make the trip or his issues would make Maplepool stand with the leaders in his stead. At least she hoped so.
"Good. Also, after that I want you to rest. You'll be going to the Gathering tonight." Maplepool said. Thornpaw nodded, not surprised. She has gone to every Gathering since becoming an apprentice nine moons ago after all, again being a perk of her mentor being deputy. Or perhaps Maplepool playing favorites.
"Who else is going?" Thornpaw asked.
"Foxtail, Nettlewhisker, Willowclaw, you, and Reedpaw. Along with Rabbitwhisker and Whitepaw of course." She replied. Thornpaw flicked an ear.
"... And...?" She glanced over to the Leader's Den, Maplepool following her gaze.
"... Whitestar isn't feeling well... Now, go join the hunting patrol. Nettlewhisker is training Yarrowpaw some techniques at the Hollow so perhaps you can join if you don't actually feel like hunting." She suggested, nuzzling Thornpaw on the side of the head before going towards the leader's den. Thornpaw headed out, following the scents to find the hunting party.
Finding part of the hunting party was easy, Thornpaw was easily able to track their scent to a small clearing in the shrubbery and rock they called the Training Hollow slipping under ththe dense underbrush as she went.
The Training Hollow was one if the areas where the shrubs rose high and former clanmates had clearer out the underside. The ground was hard and smooth from years of cats going there to train and the heady scent of the sage bush that made up nearly one side of the Hollow could clog up the senses of a young apprentice pretty easily. Since the dense foliage of the territory meant you needed to keep a keener eyesight for movement both bellow or above it was the perfect place to train an apprentice to rely more on their eyes, ears, and whiskers, instead of their nose.
Inside was Nettlewhisker and Yarrowpaw as Maplepool had said before, with Nettlewhisker crouched down into a Hunter's Crouch and instructing Yarrowpaw to follow her movements. Nettlewhisker was a brown tabby with stripes that mirrored Thornpaw's, only Nettlewhisker lacked the distinct white tail tip that Thornpaw had. Yarrowpaw was a tom with a thick bright yellow coat and when he saw Thornpaw he immediately ran over to her, ignoring Nettlewhisker's startled and annoyed yowl. Thornpaw inwardly flinched as Nettlewhisker glared at her as Yarrowpaw immediately started gabbing away.
"Hey Thornpaw, you come to join us in hunting? Nettlewhisker was just showing me how to do the hunter's crouch again! I kind of keep forgetting, heh" He nervously laughed. Nettlewhisker padded up, the irritation radiating off of her.
"Yes, Sister, did you come to join us in hunting or would you like me to show you how to properly hunt? I know Maplepool has just been to busy to train you properly." Nettlewhisker seethed. Thornpaw flicked an ear at her sister's jab. The two had been born in the same litter, and Thornpaw could still remember when, as kits, the two had been taken by Cave Clan cats. It had been terrifying, the caves reeked of death and sickness and all the cats around her looked like walking fur covered skeletons rather than once proud warriors. Thornpaw forcefully blocked out the rest of the memory, refusing to think of what she had seen there. They had spent moons in the camp of Cave Clan under the care of a sickly queen with diluted tabby stripes that always seemed like she was terrified and in pain. The queen never survived the birth of her single kit, and it wasn't to long after that they were rescued. Thornpaw thought for a moment if she could remember the queen's name, but it eluded her.
She remembered being rescued, Maplepool herself carrying her back to Hill Clan territory and returning her to the proper nursery. Immediately after this was when Whitestar started to become... off. It wasn't immediate of course, Thornpaw and Nettlewhisker becoming apprentices a moon later, but then Whitestar's behavior started to become more erratic as cats became sick.
After he lost his first life he completely changed and Maplepool had taken over directing most of the day to day clan activities. Whitestar had been on the last legs of sickness when he named Nettlewhisker a warrior, completely disregarding how her former mentor, Swiftclaw, had claimed she was still unready. Whitestar made her a warrior anyway. After that most of the clan would see him maybe once a day and Nettlewhisker had tried to be a full fledged warrior so young but it was clear she lacked much of the training she needed, and still looked to the other warriors to help train her, Swiftclaw still helping and training her as much as he could.
This only became worse when a moon ago Yarrowpaw was given to her as an apprentice, and whispers around the clan started.
"No, I'll be hunting on my own. Maplepool suggested I help, but it looks like you are doing a fine job teaching Yarrowpaw so far. If he can mimic your crouch a bit better he'll make an excellent hunter." Thornpaw said with absolute sincerity, Nettlewhisker being one of the better hunters in Hill Clan. Nettlewhisker didn't seem to catch the sincerity in Thornpaw's voice, however, and hissed at her.
"Perhaps if you had a mentor that actually did some work you would be a warrior with your own apprentice to train!"
"Maplepool does do work. She's the clan Deputy and practically our Leader at this point." Thornpaw bristled. Nettlewhisker spat and yowled at Yarrowpaw to get back to the Training Hollow.
"Feh, the way you chase her tail all the time it makes me wonder if you two aren't mates! Now why don't you make yourself useful and go catch some food, Apprentice." Nettlewhisker stretched Thornpaw's rank before turning and hissing at Yarrowpaw again. Thornpaw sighed, missing the days when she and her sister would hop around on the rocks at camp and in general just be friends, instead of the over-stressed, wrongfully promoted warrior she had become. Still, Thornpaw refused to hold it against her sister and decided to move on before it could escalate. Perhaps the day Thornpaw became a warrior the two could be friends again
Thornpaw left the Training Hollow and continued on, heading east. The best hunting was closer to the border between Hill Clan and Sun Clan, and if Thornpaw was lucky the morning patrol would be long gone and she could snag a squirrel or mouse from their territory without being seen. Or find a hidden snag from a new apprentice, since she had heard from a patrol that Sun Clan had named two new apprentices a moon ago, with a new apprentice being named any day now.
The shrubbery thinned out somewhat and slowly she started to see some trees. She opened her mouth and got low to the ground. She could smell the scent markers from Sun Clan, and for now turned so she didn't go into Sun Clan territory. She hid in the shrubbery and suddenly, ahead she saw twitching and movement. Careful steps and holding her breath she narrowed in on the movement and could have cried to Star Clan with what she saw: A plump looking rabbit digging out some roots under a shrub. With the distance from Sun Clan territory, she had to be careful not to allow the rabbit to run across the border and veered right, closer to the border so the rabbit would run farther into Hill Clan if it spotted her. Slowly she approached until she was within pouncing distance and as the rabbit went back to digging in the dirt she pounced, landing on the rabbit and with a furious hiss she gripped it by the neck and pulled, feeling fur and flesh rip. Panting slightly, she looked over her catch with pride. A rabbit this size could feed the surviving elders, or maybe all the kits right now. She swallowed, feeling the blood in her mouth soothing her throat slightly but made her stomach rumbled. The temptation to eat the rabbit herself was high. She had given up the meager share she had been given the last two days to the kits and her hunger hit her head first.
Thornpaw shook her head to clear it and grabbed the rabbit. The Training Hollow wasn't so far and when she arrived Nettlewhisker took the bait and agreed to take the rabbit back while claiming she caught it instead of Thornpaw, so Thornpaw could continue hunting. Yarrowpaw had looked less than thrilled, but he didn't need to know why Thornpaw suggested this. He just needed to keep his mouth shut and not tell any cat about this to make his mentor look bad. Thornpaw wasn't sure how their relationship could turn if he did.
Within a short period, Thornpaw was back in place near the Sun Clan border, hoping to find another rabbit like that or at least some sort mouse or squirrel. She kept her mouth open to taste the air and her ears pricked for prey and potential patrols from Sun Clan. Their scent markers were somewhat faded by this point and she knew another patrol would be by at any point. She found the bloodstain near the shrubbery and kept going, farther north and hoping to find something else to take back. A scuffling of sound up ahead got her attention and she crouched down, slowly approaching it with ears pricked. The scent of Sun Clan was stronger here and she realized with a sudden dread that along with the scuffling she now heard the sounds of cats nearby. She glanced through the shrubbery and could see four cats on the otherside of the scent markers to Sun Clan territory: A brown tabby leading a smaller thick furred white cat with a bushy tail, behind them a dark blue gray cat and a pale gray cat. Thornpaw recognized the warriors: Eaglewing, Stormclaw, and Sootpelt, but she did not recognize the white cat and figured it must be one of the apprentices that she simply hadn't met yet.
Being as slow and careful as possible, taking advantage of the dense shrubbery, Thornpaw edged closer to the scuffling sound and away from the Sun Clan patrol. Her ears pricked forward, she looked through the shrubbery and saw something dart in the grass. Unable to resist the urge, she darted after it at full speed until something slammed into her and sent her sprawling until she hit a tree. Thornpaw twisted and hissed before the bridge of her muzzle was cut open by smaller claws and the attacker climbed on top of her to pin her. Finally Thornpaw got a look and realized it was the smaller white apprentice from before that had her pinned as the mouse scurried away deeper into Sun Clan territory.
"Icepaw get off of them! You, Thornpaw, you realize you crossed into Sun Clan territory right?" the brown tabby, Eaglewing, approached them. Thornpaw sighed and got to her paws, glancing over at the apprentice. The apprentice was staring back at Thornpaw and she couldn't help but shiver at the sight of the apprentice's red eyes. It was unnerving to look at so she quickly turned to look at Eaglewing, but she couldn't shake the familiarity of them.
"I lost track of the border chasing for the mouse. It wont happen again, Eaglewing." Thornpaw meowed, keeping her tail tucked to her side. Eaglewing nodded and looked Thornpaw over.
"We'll let you off this time. Head back to your territory Thornpaw, I'd rather keep the peace on a day of a Gathering," Eaglewing said then turned to Icepaw, "Icepaw, good response but next time don't run ahead of the patrol. Thornpaw is as big as a standard warrior and that could have gone wrong in any number of ways without a patrol to back you up." the apprentice nodded their head, but Thornpaw wondered if it got through to Icepaw with the way their fluffy tail was still held high and the fight still in their eyes. Thornpaw nodded to the patrol and made eye contact with Icepaw.
"Again, I'm sorry for crossing the border between our clans. I hope this won't be brought up in tonight's Gathering?" Thornpaw was hopeful. It would already cause a stir when Whitestar didn't show, the last thing she wanted was to embarrass her clan by causing an incident. Eaglewing nodded.
"I see no reason to call it to attention if you don't, now go." She replied. Thornpaw nodded and padded off, making every effort to get as far away from the border before she attempted to hunt again. The bridge of her nose stung and Thornpaw struggled to come up with a way to explain how it got cut as she settled down to clean the smell of Icepaw off of her fur. Sighing she figured that she could say it was one of the bramble bushes, and resigned herself to, once again, shoving herself through thorny bushes to hide the fact she had gotten into a fight. It worked when she got her lower jaw split open, so she figured it would work to explain her nose injury as well.
Along with the myriad of scratches she was about to receive. Hopefully Maplepool wouldn't keep her from going to the Gathering.
Thankfully she was able to find and catch a mouse and a vole before taking the plunge into a bramble bush. Her entire pelt stung as she clambered back to the camp and dropped her catch into the fresh kill pile. She didn't see the rabbit she had given to Nettlewhisker, but looking around she saw it had already been devoured by the kits now laying on their side near the nursery in full stomach bliss. Thornpaw purred happily and dropped the mouse and vole into the fresh kill pile, limping slightly as she headed towards the medicine cat's den. Inside smelled comforting, the fragrance of the herbs stored in cracks in a wall to her left wafting through and making her nose tingle. Rabbitwhisker looked up at her from his place near the back. He had been tending to the clan's remaining three elders Brightclaw, Snakefur, and Poppyheart. None of the elders looked well, and neither did the two kits Pebblekit and Mosskit in the other corner. The Warrior Ripplepelt was asleep on a nest nearby, his breathing labored and the stain of his sickness on the stone next to the nest.
"Run into another bramble bush, Thornpaw? Well, come here and let me see those scratches." Rabbitwhisker's sigh came. Rabbitwhisker was an older tom, his coat gray and white but his amber eyes were as clear and kind as when Thornpaw was a kit. Thornpaw flinched as Rabbitwhisker prodded her scratches, particularly the one on her nose.
"Hm.. The one on your nose is fairly deep so it may scar. The rest will heal on their own but here, let me get you some cobwebs for your nose." He said, turning and looking through the rocks for what he needed. Thornpaw sat patiently and looked around.
"Where is Whitepaw?" She asked. Rabbitwhisker came back and carefully began applying the cobwebs.
"I sent him to find more poppy seed. With all of these cats falling ill, I'm having a hard time keeping everyone comfortable." He said. Thornpaw nodded.
"Do you want me to have someone sent after him? Last time he got caught sneaking into Rain Clan territory and got his flank scratched up pretty badly." She meowed. Rabbitwhisker shook his head, but he looked amused.
"Listen to you, Thornpaw. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were clan Deputy! But regardless, he will be fine. I told him off for doing that so he will be more careful this time. Willowclaw and Nettlewhisker came back with quite the catches this time so I'd recommend going to get something to eat. I know you havent yet and Maplepool said she was taking you to the Gathering tonight." He meowed softly.
Thornpaw left the medicine cat's den and went back to the fresh kill pile. The vole she had caught was gone, but the mouse was still there so she took that as a good sign about Willowclaw's hunt and grabbed it, finding a sunny spot on some rocks that rose above the clan. It wasn't the platform Whitestar or Maplepool used for clan meetings, but the sun felt warm on her fur as she slowly ate, taking her time to stretch out the mouse.
A meow called out to her followed by a sweet scent and Maplepool's arrival. Thornpaw nodded to her, using a paw to offer some of her mouse but Maplepool shook her head and laid next to her, using a paw to inspect her fur for ticks and to get a better look at her scratches.
"Did you actually run into a bramble bush on accident this time or did you get into another fight?" Maplepool asked, nuzzling into Thornpaw's fur and crunching down on a tick. Thornpaw murmured around a bite of mouse and swallowed.
"Fight. I was trying to catch a mouse and crossed the border into Sun Clan just as a patrol was going by." She explained, feeling herself grow hot with embarrassment. Maplepool nuzzled the side of her head.
"If they don't bring it up at the Gathering, it's fine. But be careful. You know how I feel about you hunting near Sun Clan."
"I know. How is Whitestar?"
"If I'm honest? Not to well. He doesn't have the strength to go to the Gathering tonight."
"Mentally or Physically?" Thornpaw asked, crunching down on the last of the mouse. Her stomach wasn't completely sated, but she felt better and knew that with more warriors having eaten they'd have a better chance at finding prey later in the day. Maplepool was silent for a long moment, watching warriors go about their day in the clan. Nettlewhisker was hissing something at Yarrowpaw, and Thornpaw wished her sister would take it a bit easier on the apprentice.
"Both. I truly fear that he has perhaps lost his mind. In any case, be prepared. I am certain he will lose another life tonight and after that he will likely become more erratic." Maplepool said. Thornpaw nodded and looked over her clan.
"I have discussed it with him, however, and hopefully soon he will make you into a warrior. You should have become one a moon ago but..." Maplepool trailed off. Thornpaw shook her head.
"We can't dwell on what 'should be'. We need to fix 'what is'. But if he makes me a Warrior he needs to also make Emberkit and Cinderkit into apprentices. The two are only two days away from six moons and won't listen to 'Whitestar isn't feeling well' for long. And Reedpaw has also been an apprentice for long enough in my opinion. It will do the clan some good, especially since Swiftclaw is getting to old to continue with his clan duties and will be joining the elders soon." Thornpaw stated factually. Maplepool meowed in amusement, looking over the clan.
"Needlefur and Foxtail have been spending quite a bit of time together lately. Perhaps more kits are on the way?" Maplepool meowed. Thornpaw purred in amusement.
"I heard Thistletail earlier complaining how Ripplepelt got sick and now the two can't go on their own at night. With the way her stomach is getting bigger, she might be having kits first. I hope my sister finds a mate soon. Perhaps that will calm her down a bit." Thornpaw mewed the last part of a joke. Maplepool nodded, purring an amusement.
"Both would be good for the clan, as would Nettlewhisker getting... well. Hopefully she would become less grumpy about her whole ordeal. Or maybe just complain that her mate underperforms. Now go rest Thornpaw, I don't want you falling asleep at the Gathering tonight like Sunstripe did last moon." She said, hopping down to get a report from the latest patrol. Thornpaw remembered that and inwardly cringed. Sunstripe had spent most of the day hunting so by the time they had reached the Gathering place she looked ready to pass out, but Whitestar refused to replace her with a different warrior. Half way through the Gathering she had fallen asleep up against the deputy of Mist Clan, Applepelt.
To be honest, she still hadn't lived it down and Thornpaw still heard it brought up every afternoon when she relaxed in the sun to share tongues with other clanmates. She hopped down from her sunny spot and padded over to the apprentice's den to take a quick nap. It would be difficult at tonights Gathering without Whitestar, but at least if there was an incident tonight outside of that it wouldn't be Thornpaw falling asleep on a cat from another clan.
As she settled in on her nest, shuffling slightly, she wondered if Icepaw would show to this Gathering. Her red eyes had been unnerving, but intriguing and Thornpaw wanted to talk to her more.