Chapter 19
Thorncloud took a step back, but had no more time to react before the two cats were on her. Twitch's long claws sank into her flank, and Scorchback's weight pinned her down. The former RainClan cat's expert claws raked at her, and she felt them snag on her ear. Her own cry of pain mingled with Duskfur's battle cry as somewhere, off to the side, he lunged at Sunstar. She lashed out wildly with unsheathed claws, but Scorchback's fur was in her eyes, and she couldn't see where she was aiming.
Then Scorchback's weight disappeared, and Thorncloud saw Pebblefoot throwing him to the side. She kicked up with her hind legs, and found purchase on Twitch's soft skin; the SunClan warrior hissed and lunged for her throat.
Thorncloud rolled away just in time, and brought her front paw down hard on Twitch's head. The cat's head smacked onto the rock under him and he let out a howl of pain. Giving him a final rake of claws down the side, Thorncloud sent the warrior running. It seemed that the former kittypet still had much to learn about how to fight like a warrior.
Around her, the battle had broken out, the other forest cats having descended on the camp from the shadows. Duskfur was wrestling with Sunstar, while the two former RainClan apprentices Turtlepaw and Eaglepaw were fighting Flameclaw. Even against odds, the seasoned warrior clearly outdid them in experience. Shadepool was grappling with Dawnstrike, while Newt, the ginger SunClan warrior, had Bumblestripe pinned down.
Thorncloud bounded over and bowled the ginger cat over, sending him rolling across the rocks. He hit the rock wall roughly and lay, stunned, as Bumblestripe scrambled to his paws. "Thanks," he panted. Blood dripped from a wound on his shoulder, but he ignored it, and jumped back into the action.
Thorncloud saw Copperfur fighting for dominance over Simba, the huge yellow cat that had been on guard. He was much larger than Copperfur, but Thorncloud suspected that like Twitch, he was not as good a fighter. He kept trying to pin Copperfur down, but Copperfur would use the momentum to his advantage and continue to roll until he had the other tom pinned. Thorncloud turned away – he clearly didn't need help, nor would he probably appreciate it – and rushed to help Ebonystreak, who had two SunClan warriors closing in on her.
Twitch had apparently recovered enough to try attacking the younger warrior, but his side was bleeding badly. He circled Ebonystreak as a long-furred black cat she didn't know the name of pounced. He wrapped his teeth around her tail as Twitch swatted at her muzzle. Thorncloud tackled the black tom, but he didn't release his grip on Ebonystreak's tail. Both cats shrieked in pain as Thorncloud raked her hind claws along his back.
"Let go, you ugly rogue!" she screamed, and dug her claws into his shoulders. The tom snarled and released Ebonystreak. Thorncloud used the moment to bite down on the back of his neck. With a yowl of pain, he struggled out from under her and bolted for one of the caves.
When she turned on Twitch, the hairless cat's wide eyes flickered between her and Ebonystreak, advancing on him at the same time. Deciding he was outnumbered, he turned and bolted.
Ebonystreak turned to Thorncloud. The white fur on her chin was stained red. She gasped. "Your ear, Thorncloud!" she said.
Thorncloud tried not to think of the tearing pain she felt when Scorchback ripped her ear. She winced. It was throbbing, and blood trickled down her face. "I'll deal with it later. You're okay?"
"I'm fine, I–" The CloudClan cat's eyes went as wide as the full moon and she gasped. "Copperfur, watch out!"
Thorncloud whipped around. Simba had Copperfur pinned down, less than a tail-length from the edge of the plateau. The warrior didn't seem to hear, and rolled over, pinning the SunClan cat down. Simba snarled, and kicked wildly with his powerful hind legs. Thorncloud watched in horror as Copperfur went flying – straight for the edge.
Thorncloud ran for him. Time seemed to slow as the SnowClan warrior's front paws gripped the rock, the rest of his body dangling dangerously from the cliffside. Simba was on his paws; Thorncloud realized she would never make it in time.
The SunClan warrior hissed, and brought down his claws hard on the SnowClan warrior's paws/ Copperfur's grip slipped away. A horrified scream ripped through the camp as he plummeted down the rocks.
"Copperfur!" Thorncloud yelled, fear rising in her throat. Simba turned on her, his eyes blazing with the fury of battle. She growled, and prepared to jump on the SunClan warrior, when a bolt of golden fur ran past her.
Sunstar was retreating to the far side of camp. His yellow fur was stained orange as it mixed with blood; whether it was his or another cat's, Thorncloud couldn't be sure. "SunClan! Stand down!" he called. At once, the other cats fell back and went to their leader's side. Simba gave Thorncloud one last hateful look before joining his clan. Sunstar hissed as the motley crew of forest cats came together around Thorncloud.
"SunClan will not forget this," Sunstar threatened.
"Your pathetic excuse for a warrior killed Copperfur!" Thorncloud screamed. She started to move forward, but Bumblestripe bounded forward to block her path. "Move out of the way!"
"The fight's over, Thorncloud!" Bumblestripe hissed.
"I swear by StarClan I'll kill you nine times if I have to!" Thorncloud yelled. "And I know I'll have all of SnowClan behind me!"
Sunstar just laughed. "We'll see," he said. "You all have until sunrise to leave our territory. Any cat left by dawn will be slaughtered where they stand."
Pebblefoot nudged her side gently. "Come on, Thorncloud," he murmured in her ear. "We'll finish this, but not today."
Thorncloud grit her teeth, but nodded. Together, the group of seven cats turned and made their way out of the camp. Some of them were in okay shape, but no one was without injuries. Shadepool was limping, and Duskfur's claw was bleeding heavily where it seemed something had been torn; Pebblefoot's white fur was matted with red, and Bumblestripe had a nasty bite mark on his shoulder. Ebonystreak's tail was bent in a strange way at the end. Thorncloud's own ear was throbbing, and she was sure it was split in two, while Twitch's claw marks burned on her side.
And Copperfur was dead.
Bumblestripe wanted to stop to tend to their wounds, but Flameclaw said that daylight wasn't far enough away to take that risk. "They'll follow our trail to make sure we're gone," Duskfur added, grimly reminding them of their fate if they didn't move quickly enough.
About halfway across the rocky distance to the Thunderpath, Thorncloud stopped suddenly. "Copperfur's body!" she exclaimed.
Pebblefoot stopped at her side. "I'm sorry, Thorncloud. We can't risk retrieving him," he murmured. He looked up at Silverpelt above their heads; it was easy to see here, without the cover of trees. "He's hunting with StarClan now."
Thorncloud nodded, and allowed him to prod her forward. Even though she'd hated Copperfur towards the end, she couldn't help feeling that it was her fault he had died. If she had acted faster, or gone to help him instead of Ebonystreak, or at least sought revenge for his death instead of fleeing….
And maybe if he hadn't died, they would have reconciled their differences one day. Copperfur had always been a noble mentor to her. If one day he had realized his mistake, and apologized for acting the way he had, maybe Thorncloud would have forgiven him. Maybe…
Morning was dawning when they reached the Thunderpath. Both Pebblefoot and Ebonystreak crossed with her to make sure she didn't fall behind. Flameclaw helped Duskfur across, and Bumblestripe let Shadepool lead on him as she limped across. Though only one cat was missing from when they last crossed, the group seemed so much smaller.
Back in CloudClan territory, a sense of peace fell over Thorncloud. Sunstar couldn't hurt them here. They dawdled along the open moorland, exhaustion weighing on them, their injuries making them wince with every pawstep. They had found the information they sought when they ventured into the rocklands, but at a cost.
After a while, Duskfur stopped the group. "CloudClan camp is closer to here than Fourtrees," he said. "I'd rather not limp there and back… if it's alright, we'll depart from you all here."
The cats nodded somberly. Everyone bid their goodbyes; Ebonystreak touched noses with Thorncloud delicately and said, "I'll never forget you helped me in that battle, Thorncloud. Thank you."
"Thank you, too," she murmured. Ebonystreak had been friendly from the start, and Thorncloud had come to like her over the course of the trip. "I'll see you at the next Gathering."
Ebonystreak nodded, and went to Duskfur's side. The two CloudClan cats waved their tails in goodbye and then slipped into a dense field of heather.
The five remaining cats trekked back to Fourtrees in silence. Without any parting words, Flameclaw and Shadepool slipped away towards StormClan territory, saying goodbye with a only a look.
That left Thorncloud with the two RainClan cats. She felt at ease with both of them – Bumblestripe, her secret brother, but also Pebblefoot, who she had liked from the start, but had proven to be a noble friend as well as warrior. How depressing, she thought, that she had more friends outside her clan than in.
They led her through RainClan territory. A sense of dread filled Thorncloud has they neared SnowClan territory. She would have to be the sole deliverer of news to SnowClan. Not only would she have to recount the entire journey, but also Copperfur's death, which she hadn't had the chance to mourn. At that moment, padding across the Twoleg bridge in RainClan's territory, all she wanted to do was curl up with Tallfeather and sleep for several moons.
A strong RainClan scent alerted Thorncloud to the presence of a patrol. She edged closer to Pebblefoot, wary of being told off by an enemy warrior. She was nowhere near ready for an argument. To her relief, the patrol was made up of Mottledfur, Scalepaw, and Cloudstorm; three cats she was more than happy to see.
Cloudstorm gasped when she saw them and ran forward to entwine her tail with Bumblestripe. He nuzzled her happily while Mottledfur came forward to greet Pebblefoot. He looked at Thorncloud with concern, his eyes widening at her torn ear. "You three look like you've been to StarClan and back," he said.
"It's a tale to tell back at camp," Pebblefoot said. "First we were going to accompany Thorncloud back to SnowClan territory."
Scalepaw looked around. "Aren't there supposed to be two cats from each clan?" she asked.
Thorncloud lowered her head. "Copperfur didn't make it back," she said.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Cloudstorm whispered.
Mottledfur glanced at Pebblefoot and Bumblestripe, frowning. "You two look dead on your paws. Cloudstorm, Scalepaw, take them back to camp. I'll make sure Thorncloud gets home safe."
She looked up at her father, hoping he could see the gratefulness in her eyes. The other cats seemed too tired to protest, and they turned toward camp. "Goodbye, Thorncloud," Bumblestripe called.
"We'll meet again at the Gathering," Pebblefoot promised. Thorncloud could only nod, and let Mottledfur herd her towards the riverbank.
The silence of the forest was unsettling and peaceful at the same time. Thorncloud sniffed as she thought of her dead clan mate. It had to be a SnowClan cat… not that she wanted the other clans to lose their warriors, but her position in the clan was always changing lately. How would the other cats feel about her once they discovered she had let a more experienced warrior die?
"The stepping stones are quite far," Mottledfur said, breaking the silence. "Would you be able to cross the river here?"
Thorncloud looked up. The water wasn't terribly fast. She nodded glumly. It wouldn't do her any good to draw out the trip back to camp. Better to get it over with.
"I'll help you across if you have trouble," Mottledfur added.
"I can do it myself," Thorncloud said, speaking more harshly than she intended. The RainClan deputy recoiled; she deflated and shook her head. "Sorry. It's been a long journey."
"It's alright," Mottledfur murmured. "I'm sorry about Copperfur. He was a good warrior." He gingerly licked her between the ears, being careful to avoid her torn ear. "I wish there was more I could do to help."
Thorncloud's claws dug into the damp soil. The water bubbled past. "There is more," she said through gritted teeth. The words came spilling out of her like the river that flowed at her paws. "You could give me the chance to have a real family. Copperfur was young and healthy. He could have lived to an old age. Instead he died young. That could happen to any of us, too." She looked up at him defiantly. "You, me, Bumblestripe – we could be a family, but instead you refuse to even tell him…"
"Thorncloud, I–"
"You have no idea what it was like! I went on that mission with him, sharing prey and talking like friends for the first time," she went on, ignoring him. "And the whole time he didn't even know that he was with his sister! You have no idea how angry that made me!"
"I do know." Mottledfur stared at her with so much intensity that it made her pause. "I do know, Thorncloud. I spent your whole life watching you across this river, trying to hear any news of you at the Gatherings. I spent so long sneaking around with Starflower, unable to tell people about our love. So I know. I know what it's like to have something just out of reach." He sighed. "But what good would it do to tell Bumblestripe? It would tear him apart."
"It would give him answers," Thorncloud said firmly. "It would stop him from living a lie, thinking Blossomheart is his mother. It's not fair to keep it from him."
She waded into the water without another word, and paddled furiously with her paws. She heard Mottledfur splashing in behind her, and she called, "Don't follow me, I'm fine!" Pulling herself up on the opposite bank, she shook her fur and stared across at Mottledfur. "You might be able to lie, but I can't. If you're not going to tell Bumblestripe… then I won't speak to either of you. I'll live my life here, and you live yours over there. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
She turned and fled, running as fast as she could into the trees, ignoring Mottledfur's calls behind her. Emotion was mounting insider her like water behind a dam, and she felt as if it could burst and overflow at any moment.