Chapter 10

As if a switch had been flipped, the battle was over. Thorncloud could feel the tension building in the air as Goldenstar pushed Rainstar and Stoneclaw off of him. They didn't bother to stop him; it was clear that there was no more fighting to be done. The RainClan leader padded closed to the form of the motionless deputy but stopped several fox-lengths away.

Thorncloud saw Tigerfang hunched in the bushes nearby, and though she couldn't see her sister's face, she could hear a distinctive retching sound. A sour scent filled the air, mingled with the stench of blood.

Goldenstar whipped his head around, his eyes blazing with fury. "Take your warriors away from here," he spat at Rainstar. "Keep Sunningrocks; this fight is not worth the lives of noble cats."

Thorncloud looked at her clan leader. Where Goldenstar's eyes were alive with fire, hers were an icy chill. "SnowClan. With me," she ordered, and headed away from the scene, back towards the river.

Slowly, as the shock subsided, the SnowClan cats followed her. Thorncloud watched as the RainClan warriors began converging on their fallen deputy, touching noses to her pelt and saying their goodbyes. Several warriors, among them Cloudstorm, whose pelt was stained with drying blood, grabbed hold of her to carry back to their camp.

A sudden flare of rage bubbled in Thorncloud's chest as she headed after her clanmates. Even after what Rainstar had said to them, Tigerfang had killed Brookpelt. Thorncloud couldn't imagine singlehandedly sending another cat to StarClan, even in a serious battle, let alone for a border dispute. This was the second time this had happened from SnowClan lately – first Woodstar's death in the fight with StormClan, and now this.

By the river, Thorncloud caught sight of Tallfeather struggling to carry several unused herbs. Wordlessly she moved to his side and took some of them. His eyes flashed thankfully at her and she just nodded, following him and the other cats back to camp in silence.

When they reached camp, the cats filed through the gorse tunnel. Thorncloud heard Windheart's voice rising up from inside. "Back already?" she asked.

The tunnel opened to the clearing, and Thorncloud followed Tallfeather to his den as the other cats began to explain what had happened. Thorncloud wasn't in the mood to hear the recounting of the tale; her fur was still bristling at the thought of Tigerfang.

She set down the herbs in the middle of Tallfeather's den. He set down his own mouthful of herbs and flicked his tail to gesture her closer. "Come here," he said, shuffling through the herbs until he picked up one and began to chew it. He spat out the paste and daubed his paw in the mixture, then raised it up to dab on her cheek. "That looks like it hurt," he said softly.

"Only a little," Thorncloud said. It might have hurt more, if she wasn't so distracted by their proximity.

"It might leave a scar," he warned.

"That's fine," Thorncloud said through gritted teeth as the cut began to sting.

A moment of silence passed between them. "Did you see what happened?" Tallfeather all but whispered.

"No," Thorncloud said. "But… StarClan, she practically ripped out Brookpelt's throat!"

"We don't know the full story yet," Tallfeather said.

"Oh, you think she just accidentally killed the RainClan deputy?" Thorncloud snapped. "My own sister… I can't believe it!"

Tallfeather's eyes shifted away, and he stepped back. "I'm sure she'll received her due punishment," he mumbled, and stalked away to his herb stores. Thorncloud watched him go, thinking that he might return; but after several moments passed, she realized that he wasn't. She turned and left the den, her cheek throbbing uncomfortably.

Every cat had gathered under the Highrock. Rainstar stood over them, and Tigerfang huddled at the base of the rock with Berryleaf at her side. Guarding her, probably, Thorncloud thought bitterly.

"Sunningrocks remains part of SnowClan's territory, but at a great cost," Rainstar was saying, her eyes staring coldly at Tigerfang. "What have you to say in your defence, Tigerfang?"

Tigerfang shivered, and her eyes darted around. "I–I didn't m-mean to kill her," she stammered. "It was t-the heat of the battle, and… I meant to give her a warning bite to the back of her neck." Tigerfang blinked, seeming to regain some of her confidence. She dug her claws into the earth. "Brookpelt flipped over at the last moment, and I bit her throat instead. I must have bit too h-hard, and…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry won't repair the damage you've done," Rainstar said. "RainClan won't forget this in a hurry. We must keep on our guard, in case they strike us in revenge. Berryleaf, double the patrols along the border just in case. And as for your punishment, Tigerfang…"

The angry warriors of SnowClan started shouting ideas.

"Banish her!"

"Give her extra patrols!"

"Make her care for the elders!"

Voices overlapped as cats shouted different punishments. Rainstar closed her eyes and sighed, waiting for the commotion to die down. Thorncloud could only stare at Tigerfang. The thin level of trust she had for her foster sister was crumbling away by the second.

Rainstar's tail flicked irritably, and the clearing fell silent. "Tigerfang, you are clearly not experienced enough to possess a warrior's duties. For the foreseeable future, you will return to sleeping in the apprentices' den, carry out apprentice duties, and all cats will refer to you as your warrior name, Tigerpaw." She paused, as if waiting for a protest, but nobody raised their voice. It was a cruel, and fitting punishment. "Your former mentor, Stoneclaw, will accompany you wherever you go and report your progress back to me. Once he and I feel that you have learned your lesson, you will be reinstated as a warrior. Is this clear?"

Tigerfang – Tigerpaw now – looked up at her leader with contempt. Thorncloud saw her fur bristle slightly. "Yes, Rainstar," she said, and looked at the ground.

"Good. This meeting is over." Rainstar jumped down from the Highrock and went directly to her den. The throng of cats began to break up, muttering to one another. Thorncloud made her way to the warriors' den, unable to stomach the idea of speaking to any cat.

She curled up in her nest among the other warriors. Across the den, Copperfur met her eyes, and pointedly turned away. Her sister's usual spot was cold and empty next to her. Springfoot was curled up near the centre, Foxtail at her side; Windheart was still out guarding the camp, and Berryleaf must have been with her. Stoneclaw padded into the den last, shaking his head to himself. Thorncloud wondered how he felt about his former apprentice, but she didn't have the energy to ask.

She rested her head on her paws and closed her eyes. Despite the cats around her, Thorncloud felt completely and utterly alone.

The first thing that Thorncloud felt when she woke up was an itch like fire on her cheek. She was about to scratch it when she remembered her injury. Her stomach was rumbling, but she ignored this for the time being and left the warriors' den, immediately heading over to see Tallfeather.

The bundle of herbs she had left behind in the centre of the den were gone when she entered. To her chagrin, Copperfur was sitting in their place, cobwebs wrapped around one of his front paws and plastered to his flank. He looked up when she entered and instantly narrowed his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he sneered.

"Nothing of your concern," Thorncloud said, not giving any of her annoyance away. "Is Tallfeather here?"

Copperfur just flicked his tail towards the herb storage area. As he did so, the calico tom emerged with a few leaves in his jaws. He nodded at Thorncloud, and placed the leaves by Copperfur's side. "Chew those up, Copperfur, and put them on your wounds. As for your paw, there's not much else I can do for you. Just keep your weight off it, it should heal up in a few days."

Copperfur just stared at him. "You want me to apply it myself?" he asked.

Tallfeather nodded. "Yes, Copperfur. You can manage that, can't you?" His mocking tone made Thorncloud bite back a snicker. "If you don't mind, I have another patient to help out."

"Right, because a tiny scratch is more important than a senior warrior's hunting tools," Copperfur grumbled, getting to his paws and limping out of the den. "Really impressive how you managed to escape the battle barely without a scratch, Thorncloud. I wonder how that happened?" he said as he brushed past her and out into the clearing.

As soon as he was gone, Thorncloud let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "He's so annoying," she muttered.

"You two used to be close," Tallfeather commented, a clear look of surprise in his eyes. "What happened?"

Thorncloud shook her head. "He got angry with me when I told him I didn't have, um... feelings for him," she said, feeling awkward discussing this with Tallfeather of all cats.

Was it just her, or was the medicine cat bristling? He just let out a hmph, his eyes narrowed slightly, and Thorncloud had to suppress a smile. "Are you jealous, Tallfeather?" she teased.

"No."

"Good. You don't need to be." She moved closer to him and her cheek twitched. "Now please tell me you have something for itchiness. This is killing me!" she complained.

"I've got just the thing," Tallfeather assured her, and fetched a plant from his stores. "This should soothe it."

When he was done, Thorncloud purred and thanked him. Tallfeather rested his chin on her head, and she could hear him purring, too. "Rude as he was, Copperfur was right. You're lucky to get away from that fight without many wounds," he murmured.

Guilt rose in her throat, but Thorncloud pushed it away. "Yeah," she whispered. "I'm glad you weren't hurt. I didn't even see you."

Tallfeather pulled back, and his eyes were sparkling. "A medicine cat can be invisible when he wants to," he said. "You should probably go. You're fit for any kind of patrol that Berryleaf might throw at you today."

"Yay," Thorncloud said, her monotone voice making Tallfeather laugh.

"Go on."

"Alright, alright. Thank you, Tallfeather."

"Any time."