(Note: Hey readers! I've decided that soon I'll post a masterlist of Allegiances so it's easy to remember all of the cats in each clan. It'll be posted after Chapter 17 – hint, that chapter is important for establishing several more characters – and if there's any extra info you want me to add to that post or have any questions you want me to address, let me know in the reviews. Anyway, enjoy chapter 12!)
For the next few days, Thorncloud carried out her duties as usual. The wound on her cheek was healing nicely into a thin scar. If she groomed it the right way, her fur would lie flat and cover it up. Her mind kept turning over everything she had discussed with both Springfoot and Bumblestripe. The new knowledge about her mother was a particular fascination that she couldn't shake. Having learned about her mother's other kit – her brother, she thought with a jolt – there was a lot to stomach.
She didn't dare ask Springfoot more, for fear of arousing suspicion. Not that asking about her past was suspicious, but she didn't want to raise any unwanted questions from her foster mother.
Thorncloud bathed in the mid-afternoon sun in the SnowClan camp clearing, thankful for a peaceful respite from the hectic clan life. A hunting patrol was out, even though the fresh-kill pile was mounting nicely, and there had been no trace of RainClan at Sunningrocks. It seemed that their enemies were licking their wounds – and rightly so – before seeking revenge for the death of their deputy.
Also on the clan's mind was a potential threat from StormClan, who weren't happy about the death of their former leader, either. SnowClan was an unpopular clan at the moment, and Thorncloud completely understood why. Her position in the clan seemed to be shifting uncomfortably.
Ever since her demotion, Tigerfang hadn't talked to Thorncloud – or anyone, for that matter. The tabby kept to herself mostly, which was a surprise to everyone. Thorncloud suspected that Brookpelt's murder might have affected Tigerfang in more ways than the demoted warrior let on.
At least there was no sign of the exiled RainClan cats, Thorncloud thought. That was a blessing. Since Sunstream's exile, there had been no sign of him in any of the clan territories.
Thorncloud stared up at the clouds, deep in thought. She yearned to talk to Mottledfur, Bumblestripe's father and RainClan's new deputy. If her suspicions were correct, the tortoiseshell tom might have a stronger connection to her than she had ever imagined.
It wasn't lost on Thorncloud that there were no other tortoiseshell cats in SnowClan except for her. Previously, she had assumed that her fur colouring had come from her mother, but now she knew that Starflower wasn't similar to her in looks, it arose a whole new question. Was her father from SnowClan at all?
Of course, she couldn't just go asking questions like that. Half-clan cats were fiercely rejected by most cats, and even Springfoot might shun her if she suggested that Starflower had done something as traitorous as mating with someone from another clan.
Slowly, she got to her paws and looked around the clearing. At this hour, most cats were out in the forest taking advantage of the warmth to hunt or train. Nobody was out in the clearing, except for old Pinetail who sat at the mouth of the elders' den, but he was blind. If she slipped out to check by the river, just to see if anyone friendly was nearby, nobody would know….
Thorncloud made a break for the gorse tunnel, and headed for the water.
She should have suspected that the river would be rife with gloating SnowClan warriors, sprawled across Sunningrocks to soak up the newleaf sun. With the shock of Brookpelt's death subsiding, SnowClan was more than confident in their possession of Sunningrocks. Rosewhisker, the pregnant queen whose belly was swollen with kits, was lounging on a large, flat rock, taking advantage of what might be her last time out of camp for a while. Nearby, Windheart trained Ivypaw to hunt the prey that hid between the rocks. By the riverbank, Tigerfang was standing next to Stoneclaw, looking across into RainClan territory. Thorncloud could hear the warrior speaking quietly to Tigerfang, but she couldn't make out his words.
As much as she was upset with Tigerfang, her heart ached for the closeness they felt as kits. Even though they weren't real sisters, Tigerfang had always treated her like one. Tigerfang had no true brothers or sisters, as the only other kit in her litter had died soon after being born. Throughout their apprenticeship, they had trained together and continued acting like sisters. It was only after their warrior ceremony that things began to shift.
Thorncloud missed that sisterhood, more than she could express.
Tigerfang looked over her shoulder at Thorncloud as she approached. Unsurprisingly, she warrior-turned-apprentice didn't maintain eye contact, and looked away.
"Hello, Thorncloud," Stoneclaw greeted. "How are you today?"
"Just fine, Stoneclaw. I thought I would come see how my sister is doing," she replied.
Tigerfang muttered something, too quietly for Thorncloud to hear.
"What's that, Tigerfa–I mean, er, Tigerpaw?" Stoneclaw asked, his ears flattening slightly in embarrassment.
Tigerfang whirled around to face Thorncloud. "I said, I'm not your sister!" she snarled. "So stop calling me that, okay?"
Now it was Thorncloud's turn to flatten her ears. She backed up slightly, shock rippling from her muzzle to her tail. Nearby, Rosewhisker sat up in alarm. "W–Why would you say that?" Thorncloud stammered.
"Because we're not sisters!" Tigerfang yelled. "We don't share parents, Thorncloud! Just because my mother took pity on you and nursed you doesn't make us kin!"
It was as if she had ripped out Thorncloud's heart with her claws. Thorncloud backed away, her tail between her legs, and bolted towards the trees. Her heart was racing as she ran through the undergrowth. Tigerfang's words echoed through her head. I'm not your sister! Had she been wrong all along? Was the closeness she felt to Tigerfang one-sided, and she truly had no one to call her family?
Her paws led her to the stepping stones that bridged SnowClan's territory to RainClan's across the river. Thorncloud, unable to bear the thought of going back to camp now, knew that she had brought herself here for a reason. She jumped to the first rock, and delved into RainClan territory.
She stayed low in the reeds, her ears pricked for sounds of cats stomping around. In the middle of the afternoon, it was unlikely that there were border patrols, but there could be hunting patrols or warriors training their apprentices.
Thorncloud stayed clear of the riverbank, knowing that she might be spotted by the SnowClan cats on the other side. Her paws prickled with anxiety at the thought of being in an unfamiliar territory. A flowery smell reached her nose, and she realized that she was hiding in a plant she didn't recognize. She knew the aroma would cover her scent.
"Are we going fishing?" a familiar voice said nearby. Thorncloud quickly crouched lower in the shrub, trying to gauge the direction of the voice. She recognized it as being Scalepaw; her high-pitched voice was distinctive.
"Yes, we are," came another voice. Thorncloud's ears perked up. Maybe that was Mottledfur, Scalepaw's apprentice – just the cat that Thorncloud wanted to speak with.
"I'm going to catch a trout!" Scalepaw boasted. Thorncloud followed the sound of the she-cat's voice. The footsteps were nearby, but she wouldn't be able to leave the safety of the reeds to get her attention.
The tomcat chuckled. "I'm sure you will. Come, let's go downstream."
As quiet as a mouse, Thorncloud trailed them all the way downstream. Her muscles tightened as they came close to where she had crossed into RainClan territory. She hadn't thought to mask her scent at all.
As she suspected, one set of pawsteps came to a halt near the stepping stones. "Mottledfur?" Scalepaw said, and the other paws stopped. Thorncloud peered through the reeds, catching sight of Scalepaw sniffing the air. "It smells like SnowClan."
"This is probably where they crossed over for the fight for Sunningrocks," the deputy said, his voice sullen with grief. "The scent would still be here, but stale. Let's keep going."
"But it smells recent, doesn't it?" Scalepaw asked. Thorncloud grit her teeth. The mouse-brain didn't even recognize her scent! "Should we–" The apprentice stopped suddenly. "I mean, you're right, it's probably stale, we should–"
But it was too late. She had gotten Mottledfur's attention. "No, Scalepaw, you're right. I had dismissed it, but it is more recent. Whoever it was might've crossed recently." Thorncloud saw his fur bristle angrily, and she silently cursed the apprentice for realizing her mistake too late. "The scent leads this way. Scalepaw, you try to track it – think of it as an assessment."
Scalepaw looked nervous now. Thorncloud backtracked, finding a more suitable shelter to wait to reveal herself. She heard the apprentice coming through the reeds, following her scent. Thorncloud waited in the shelter of a bush as she came closer.
"Scalepaw!" she hissed, as quietly as she could. "It's me, Thorncloud."
Scalepaw ran towards her, looking over her shoulder to make sure Mottledfur was far enough behind. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes full of worry. "Mottledfur will see you, he's coming!"
"You have to tell him I'm here."
"What?"
"Trust me, Scalepaw." Thorncloud tried to sound confident, but even she wasn't sure if this was a huge mistake. "Tell him Starflower's daughter is here. He'll come."
Scalepaw hesitated. Then she turned and disappeared. There was a murmuring of their voices. Thorncloud's heart beat faster in her chest. If her suspicions were wrong, she was about to be flayed from ear to haunches.
Mottledfur appeared. Thorncloud had never seen him this close up; he was a tortoiseshell, his fur a mass of black, orange, and gold. She cautiously slid out of her hiding place, and his green eyes fell on her.
For a moment, they just stared at one another. Thorncloud trembled slightly. Mottledfur was staring at her, his gaze blank and calculating –
– Until his eyes softened, and he let out a long sigh. "You've figured it out, then?" he said softly. Relief flooded Thorncloud. She nodded. Mottledfur stepped forward and greeted her properly, resting his chin on her head and wrapping his tail around her. "My kit," he sighed. Emotion filled his voice. "My kit, a warrior."
Thorncloud felt tears well up in her eyes. "It's true, then," she whispered. "You're my father?"
"I am."
Thorncloud leaned into his embrace. They stayed like that for a few long moments. Now Thorncloud had completely forgotten about Scalepaw, who seemed to have left them alone and gone StarClan-knew-where.
Finally, Mottledfur stood back. He took a long look at her, as though sizing her up. "You've become a formidable warrior," he said proudly. "And smart, too. How did you figure me out?"
Thorncloud shuffled her paws. She began to recount her conversation with Springfoot, her new knowledge about her mother, and the realization that there wasn't any toms in the clan who looked remotely like her. "Really what gave me the last clue was finding out I had a brother," she said. "Springfoot mentioned him looking like a bumblebee, so when I met Bumblestripe and he mentioned you were his father…"
Mottledfur nodded. "The pieces fell into place. I see."
"I know I shouldn't have been meddling with other clans," Thorncloud said, the words tumbling out, "but as soon as the thought came to me I couldn't leave it alone! I've spent my whole life without any kin, and now my foster sister hates me and my friends are turning against me and I just didn't know what to do! So I had to find my family." Her breaths came out ragged and desperate. She looked up at Mottledfur. "And now, finally, I have a father… and a brother." The realization hit her like a monster on the Thunderpath – she was no longer alone!
But Mottledfur was shaking his head. "Thorncloud, I'm happy that you know," he said, "but this has to remain a secret. Nobody in either of our clans can know that Starflower and I were in love. It would dishonour both our clans."
Thorncloud looked at him with disbelief. "So I… I can't see you?"
"It's too dangerous," Mottledfur said. His eyes were full of pain. "I'm the deputy now. I have many duties that keep me busy, and if anyone were to find out, I might lose my position in the clan."
"So being deputy is more important to you than I am?"
"Of course not." The warrior sighed. "Try to understand, Thorncloud. Nobody would look at you the same if they knew. Half-clan cats are shunned by everyone. And it would tear Bumblestripe apart if he knew that his whole life was a lie; he doesn't even know that Blossomheart is not his true mother."
Thorncloud clenched her jaw, and nodded reluctantly. He was right. It would destroy all of their relationships with their clanmates if anyone found out. "We can still see one another at Gatherings," Mottledfur promised. He began grooming her messy fur that stuck up oddly from crawling through the reeds. Thorncloud let him; it was her first time sharing tongues with her own kin.
"Why did you give me up?" Thorncloud asked quietly. "You kept Bumblestripe… but you left me in SnowClan."
Mottledfur nuzzled her cheek. "Starflower and I had a plan. We didn't want either of you to grow up without kin. So we agreed one kit would stay in SnowClan, and one would come with me to RainClan. I didn't even know she had died until the next moon, when Rainstar announced it at the Gathering." He hung his head, as if ashamed. "I would have come for you, but it was too late. One kit disappearing made sense, but two? Besides, you already had a foster mother. I couldn't take you away from that."
Thorncloud nodded. She understood, even if she didn't like it. "Well, better I found you late than never," she sighed. Mottledfur purred in agreement.
"You should return to your clan," he said. "I have to return to mine, too."
Thorncloud wished they could stay there, hidden in the cover of the undergrowth forever. But she knew he was right. Their clan duties waited for them. "I'll see you at the next Gathering, then?" she asked hopefully.
"You will," Mottledfur agreed. "Goodbye, Thorncloud."
"Goodbye," Thorncloud muttered. The RainClan deputy blinked at her, turned around, and left their hiding place. Thorncloud sat there for a few moments, letting her discovery sink in, and then dashed back towards the river before any other RainClan cat could catch her scent.
As she rolled around in a patch of wild garlic in SnowClan territory to rid herself of the RainClan scent, a thought struck her.
No wonder both she and Bumblestripe spoke to a SnowClan cat in their dream – Starflower was both of their mothers after all!
But Bumblestripe would never believe it was Starflower who had spoken to him. In his eyes, she had no reason to. And Thorncloud had no choice but to keep silent about the reason why.