Chapter 4: The Broken One
ReefClan huddled around the still-wet body of Nightpaw, murmuring softly to one another in the steadily dawning night. Tinystar and Dolphintooth were among the closest to the fallen apprentice, speaking hushed and serious words about how to handle the situation. Stripedtail and Sealpaw weren't much further away from the clan's leadership, both wearing solemn expressions as they awaited Tinystar's orders. Then, a circle of the oldest cats had formed around Nightpaw and the other four cats, with the youngest cats skirting the edges of the crowd. Foxy Lady found herself being the furthest from even the young and intrusive apprentices trying to catch a glimpse of the downed enemy cat.
They had been like this for a while, and though Foxy Lady was uncomfortable in her spot distant yet close to the ReefClan cats, she was grateful for the focus on the dead apprentice. When she and Sealpaw had returned to camp, Tinystar was the first to notice them and saw Foxy Lady first. Had Sealpaw not been carrying Nightpaw's limp form, she was certain Tinystar would've hurt her so any distraction for the short-tempered tom was most welcomed.
Foxy Lady's head snapped up in attention when the cats around her quieted and Tinystar rose to his paws. The stocky tom, despite not being propped up on any stone or tree, stood tall over his clan, his voice steady as he spoke. "All cats who are old enough to catch their own prey gather before me for a clan meeting!"
She watched to see if any cat left the crowd. A golden tabby she-cat with three kits who looked only a few moons younger than Foxy Lady filed promptly away from the group's outskirts. The kits yowled and complained at being ordered away, but were quickly silenced by their mother's stony expression and assertive voice as she led them to a fallen kiawe near the back of camp.
Once the young clan members were put away, Tinystar continued. "An insolent apprentice and the kittypet broke my command to stay in camp and consequently found the MistClan apprentice along the cliffs in the sea."
Foxy Lady couldn't see Sealpaw's reaction very well anymore, but she about wanted to sink into the ground at his words. She knew it was a terrible idea leave camp with Sealpaw before she left, but now, with foreign eyes glancing warily at her slumped form, she was tempted to run out and never come back.
"Once again, the ocean has favored the righteous and expelled the weak and unworthy. This is a sign from the Island of Stars, ReefClan. We will be victorious against the wicked MistClan, for it is the will of the Island of Stars. We have long since received the creed of our ancestors through the sea, and now that the ocean has spoken, we shall act accordingly. To show MistClan the ocean's judgement of protection and goodwill towards ReefClan, the apprentice's body will be returned to MistClan." Tinystar yowled, looking proudly at his clan as they returned his enthusiasm.
Foxy Lady, however, felt shaken by Tinystar's speech. Though some of the things Sealpaw had told her earlier in the day, the things Tinystar just said were downright terrifying! In the city, the idea of her ancestors influencing reality never once crossed her mind, but it seemed like it was all these cats were able to talk about.
"First, however," Tinystar's gaze shifted to a very uncomfortable Foxy Lady, "because the kittypet found the body with Sealpaw, it seems fitting that she should go with the journeyers to MistClan territories. I will not, however, have a cat not under my leadership go to hostile territory to potentially ruin our already fringed clan relations."
Foxy Lady's eyes widened even further, if it were possible, picking up on what Tinystar was going to do next. She should've stayed with her housefolk.
"Kittypet, come forward." Tinystar demanded, gesturing with an authoritative swish of his tail for his clanmates to let the black she-cat through.
Foxy Lady froze up when the ReefClan cats moved to make a thin path to Tinystar through the crowd. Tinystar looked at her expectantly, his patience clearly running thin at her inability to follow orders swiftly enough. When he looked like he was going to repeat his demand, Foxy Lady was able to find it in herself to move forward towards the tom who had yet to look even neutrally at her.
When the former kittypet was a tail-length away from him, Tinystar spoke. "Kittypet, from this moment on, you will accept me as your leader and ReefClan as your clan. In turn for your allegiance, you will be known as Brokenpaw, in recognition of your mutilations and lack of completion. Longshadow, you have persisted that this cat will be a good addition to ReefClan, so you will be mentor to Brokenpaw. Teach her everything she needs to know to prove me wrong."
Brokenpaw was surprised to hear yowls of outrage come from the rest of ReefClan, with Longshadow being among the loudest of protesters.
"That's a cruel name!" An old reddish tom snapped, eyes blazing.
"Her deformities aren't her fault!" A young-looking light gray tom protested.
"The poor thing!" Another cat, a splotchy calico, yowled sympathetically.
"Silence!" Tinystar hissed, quieting his angry clan. "I stand by my name choice for ReefClan's newest apprentice. I was named after my tail, just as Brokenpaw is named after her physical shortcomings. It is a fair and just name that should not hinder her performance in any way or form."
ReefClan still hissed and lightly snarled amongst one another, showing their distaste for Brokenpaw's new name. Longshadow, though displeased with Brokenpaw's name, padded up to her new apprentice and lightly touched noses with her, making the black she-cat flinch in surprise. "We will prove him wrong," Longshadow said firmly, determination burning within her dark amber eyes.
When Longshadow moved back to the crowd, she beckoned for Brokenpaw to follow her, which she gladly did, eager to get out of Tinystar's direct line of sight. Tinystar went on, "Brokenpaw will be going with a patrol to return the apprentice's body to MistClan. She will be treated as every other apprentice in this clan and expected to pull her weight in the patrol, should she fail to do so, I will expel her from this clan and strip her of her name. This is my condition for initiating the incomplete kittypet. The patrol who will test Brokenpaw and return the MistClan cat will be led by Canestalk. The rest of the patrol will consist of Coconutpaw, Longshadow, Coldpool, Sharkpaw, Risingsun, and Darkwhisker. The patrol will leave at dawn."
XxXxX
"It will be a day's journey to the MistClan border and another day's journey back. I would have preferred it if Tinystar did not have you go, Brokenpaw, but you are going, so just try to do as minimal damage to your poultices as possible." Stripedtail instructed, sticking another poultice on her wounded paws.
Brokenpaw twitched her ears in acknowledgement, glancing towards Sealpaw, who was hyper-focused on sorting the already relatively well sorted herbs. Since bringing Nightpaw back, Sealpaw and Brokenpaw hadn't spoken or made eye-contact. It was strange for Brokenpaw for the normally chatty she-cat to be dead-silent. She presumed Sealpaw didn't want to make Stripedtail any more upset with her than he had to be already, but it still felt odd.
She felt the green eyes of Coralpaw boring into her back and shifted with discomfort. Brokenpaw could sense she wanted to say something to her, but Stripedtail spoke again. "Do your best to avoid physical conflict with MistClan, Brokenpaw. Clearly, the members of the Island of Stars are unhappy with this war Stagstar seems so eager to initiate. The ocean has already killed one and harmed another in warning. You won't be in control, but I know Canestalk is a level-headed tom and will maintain order. The MistClan cats, however, are far less honorable than he is and will most definitely try to bait you. No matter what they say, Brokenpaw, do not speak to them, do not make physical contact with them, do not even make eye-contact with a single MistClan cat. Give them no reason to be any angrier at ReefClan, do you understand?" Stripedtail demanded, his voice steely and unyielding.
"Brokenpaw will be doing nothing of that sort, do not waste your concerns, Stripedtail." Longshadow's voice filled the den area, taking a seat in the reddish dirt.
Stripedtail dipped his head in greeting, "Longshadow, I am glad to hear that. And I know Tinystar told you to treat her as though she were Coconutpaw or Coralpaw, but please keep in mind that her paws are still healing. Do not let my herbs have gone to waste."
"Understood," Longshadow said coolly, looking to Brokenpaw. "Brokenpaw, Canestalk is waiting on us, let's go."
Brokenpaw stood up in response, glancing up at Stripedtail. "Thank you, Stripedtail," she shifted her gaze to the ever-focused Sealpaw, "and I'll see you in two days, Sealpaw." Sealpaw didn't verbally respond, but Brokenpaw noted the subtle quiver of her tail and took that to be a proper goodbye.
The large patrol of cats had gathered near the camp's main entrance. Nightpaw's body, which had been treated with ginger to hold off the strong odor of decay, was there as well, cast off to the side. Brokenpaw hoped she wouldn't be forced to drag the body, ginger-treated or not.
Longshadow padded past Brokenpaw and arrived to an impatient looking black and white tom. She flicked her tail at him, "we apologize for the wait, Canestalk, we are ready now."
"Good, let's go then. This body is going to get more and more disgusting as the day wears on." Risingsun muttered, lashing her tail in irritation.
Canestalk gave Risingsun a condescending look and twitched his ears in acknowledgement to Longshadow. "It will be fine, Risingsun." He nodded at the black tom behind him next, "Coldpool offered to carry the body for the first section of the journey. When it begins to strain him, Darkwhisker will take over. We will decide who carries Nightpaw after Darkwhisker when the time comes. You may never even have to touch the body, Risingsun."
"I'm not touching that." Risingsun hissed, "Sharkpaw won't either. I won't have my apprentice dragging that filth around."
The younger cat nearest to Risingsun, a black tom with fascinating light gray tabby markings, held his head up at her words. Coldpool, the solid black warrior, glared at Risingsun. "Why did Tinystar see it fit for you to be a mentor again, Risingsun?"
Risingsun's ears flattened and her lips drew back into an intimidating snarl, "know your place, Coldpool."
Coldpool growled lowly, but withdrew himself without another word, his tail lashing in frustration with the golden she-cat.
Canestalk hissed at the two cats. "Enough!" The two warriors flinched at the older warrior's tone, lowering their heads in respect and flattening their ears. "You are both warriors of ReefClan about to take a dead enemy into enemy territory. Stop squabbling like kits and start acting like warriors!"
Canestalk whipped his head towards Risingsun, who seemed reluctant to continue cowering away from him. "Risingsun! Yes, by clan law you have authority over Coldpool during patrols when you are the senior-most warrior in a patrol, however, I am the senior warrior in this patrol. You don't have authority over Coldpool and cannot order him around, understand?"
Risingsun's eyes flashed with irritation. "Yes, Canestalk."
Canestalk turned his attention to Coldpool, who fought fruitlessly to fight a smirk at Risingsun's reprimand. "Coldpool!" He began sharply, causing Coldpool's satisfaction to immediately fade and his pelt to prickle with unease. "While Risingsun was acting like an ungrateful kit and being a poor example for Sharkpaw, you are a young warrior. Do not challenge warriors who are more senior to you, you should know this by now."
"Yes, Canestalk. Sorry, Canestalk." Coldpool murmured, keeping his gaze lowered in respect.
Canestalk shook out his pelt and blinked with a huff. "Alright then, Coldpool, pick up the body. We shouldn't be wasting any more time."
He dipped his head at the senior warrior, suppressing a gag when he picked up the limp, still-soggy remains of the MistClan apprentice. Risingsun had a triumphant gleam in her eyes at the sight of the young warrior, but didn't say a thing, merely flicking her tail in satisfaction before muttering a snide remark to Sharkpaw.
Brokenpaw drew in a deep sigh, absentmindedly flexing her claw-less paws at the dirt. Her belly twisted and she couldn't decide if it was from that nasty blue fish Stripedtail made her eat before putting poultices on her paws again or from nerves. Maybe it was a little bit of both.
Though Longshadow was a little intimidating to Brokenpaw, she was grateful at least one cat who sort of liked her was going along. She would have preferred Sealpaw's company, but Longshadow was nice enough, she supposed. At least she knew Longshadow would stick up for her if any cats on the patrol tried to mess with her.
XxXxX
It was just like when Brokenpaw had arrived on ReefClan territory: hot. The only shade around was provided by the thorny kiawe trees, and even that was sparse. However, this time, the black rocks they walked upon were smoother and didn't cut into her paw pads like the sharp rocks she'd walked on a few days prior.
The hot trek drained the cats of their strength almost instantly upon leaving the kiawe forest, and the stinking body had been passed around from Coldpool to Darkwhisker to Canestalk, to Coconutpaw, and then Longshadow shouldered the burden of dragging him across the burning landscape. It was clear ReefClan wasn't very used to full on sun, seeing as they lived in near-constant shade along the rocky shoreline of the sea with a consistent breeze. There was still a breeze to be felt, but it just made things worse. The winds were stronger out in the open, sometimes even threatening to lift Brokenpaw off the ground, and kicked up debris that embedded themselves into the eyes of the traveling cats. It made Brokenpaw wonder why her housefolk wanted to leave the nice, cool city with pretty trees and bushes for this scorching, barren wasteland.
Brokenpaw wasn't ashamed to say she had quickly fallen to the back of the group, trailing miserably behind the more experienced wild cats. Coconutpaw, a fluffy, thick-furred light brown and white she-cat, wasn't faring much better than her, though, moving just a tail length ahead. The other apprentice had her head bowed, tail dragging behind herself, and her jaws parted into a fruitless pant. She by far had the most fur and Brokenpaw couldn't imagine her misery, especially after carrying Nightpaw.
Brokenpaw observed Longshadow, who was trailing just behind Canestalk, who kept the lead. She was clearly exhausted, but her form maintained an air of determination that pushed her to keep ahead of most every cat even with Nightpaw's body weighing her down. It made her wonder if she'd ever be as strong and driven as her new mentor. Growing up, Brokenpaw had always been a placid yet affectionate cat towards her housefolk, but now that she was wild, the black she-cat knew her personality needed to change in order to survive. She could still be quiet and placid however, she would need to develop some of Longshadow's determination and even Risingsun's snarky attitude could help. Each of the ReefClan cats had attributes Brokenpaw needed to learn to live in the wild properly, even if she ended up running away before officially becoming one of them.
Though Brokenpaw admired the ReefClan cats to an extent, she still feared them and their ideologies. They were insane and any time the Island of Stars was brought up, Brokenpaw wanted to run away and never see Tinystar and his cats ever again.
Brokenpaw's fearful thoughts were interrupted by Longshadow's sudden gasp of exhaustion followed by the sound of Nightpaw flopping onto the searing hot rocks.
"Alright," Longshadow panted, "I can't carry him anymore, I need a break."
Canestalk gave a nod and looked directly at Brokenpaw. "Alright, Brokenpaw, prove your worth. Carry the MistClanner."
Brokenpaw, exhausted and weak from the heat, wanted to flop over and die at the thought of carrying the extra, stinking weight. Touching the dead apprentice would forever haunt her, but if Sealpaw could do it, then so could she. The black she-cat dutifully trudged towards her mentor, suppressing a gag when she gripped his scruff firmly between her teeth. Nightpaw's body was roughly the size of her own and, for a decaying body, was heavier than she'd anticipated. She tried her best to lift her head, straining her neck in her fruitless attempt before spitting the body out of her mouth. Brokenpaw looked hopelessly at Canestalk and protested, "I can't do it, he's too heavy, he might even be bigger than me!"
Canestalk's eyes flashed at the perceived disobedience from the latest ReefClan member and he hissed. "Tinystar ordered me to test you, kittypet, to see if you are really worthy of being a member of the greatest clan on the island and, so far, you are failing miserably. You are lagging behind and cannot bear the burden of carrying a body more than a single step. ReefClan is a clan for the strong, Brokenpaw, if you cannot prove your strength to me, then I doubt Tinystar will allow you to stay, no matter how hard Longshadow will fight to keep you. You must contribute something to this clan, do you understand?"
Eyes wide and ears flat, Brokenpaw cowered at the older tom's harsh voice, unsure of what to do next. She was telling the truth, she was dehydrated, tired, and weak. There was no way she would be able to carry Nightpaw, she even had some doubts about surviving this journey.
She breathed a sigh of relief when a furious Longshadow snarled and stalked towards Canestalk, standing between Brokenpaw and the snappy senior warrior. "She is young, Canestalk! Brokenpaw can't be much older than seven moons! She is by far the youngest in this patrol and has more or less no experience traveling! Hardly any kittypets do, take it from me! She is proving her strength and determination by keeping pace with the rest of the patrol even with cut up paw-pads. I don't care if you're the senior warrior, Canestalk, you will not snarl at my apprentice like that for lacking age and the experience of an older apprentice!" Longshadow spat, her lips peeled back in a fierce snarl.
The great black warrior hissed at Longshadow, lashing his tail angrily behind him. "I am in charge of this patrol by Tinystar's orders, Longshadow. That makes me the leader of this patrol and all cats in it, do you understand? What I say is code while we're out here, this has been ingrained into you since the day you arrived here and you would do well to keep it in mind. Brokenpaw is not performing to Tinystar's expectations and I am merely making her aware of this, alright?"
Longshadow hissed again, her pelt bristling in defiance. "She is basically a kit, Canestalk. It would do well to keep that in mind." She mocked, eyes narrowed at the other warrior.
Brokenpaw heard a barely muffled purr from behind her. "Yeah, just a kittypet-kit." The voice of Sharkpaw remarked haughtily, the fascinating-looking apprentice staring gleefully at the conflict. It was only then that Brokenpaw realized most of the patrol had formed a thin circle around herself, Longshadow, and Canestalk to watch the battle of wills unfold.
Brokenpaw flattened her ears at the snide comment. It wasn't her fault she wasn't born in the same place as he was. His comment made her wonder how many other clan cats shared his sentiment; though they'd protested Tinystar when he named her Brokenpaw, most of them still seemed to resent her presence around camp.
Her eyes widened and her body further pressed itself into the burning hot stone when wicked snarls left Longshadow and Canestalk. The two had leapt into battle against each other, claws unsheathed and sharp teeth bared, clashing fiercely. Canestalk easily slammed Longshadow against the ground, the older, larger warrior having more power and experience than the tortoiseshell warrior. Longshadow didn't let Canestalk's size and strength keep her down for long, twisting violently in his grip and ferociously snapping her sharp, white fangs dangerously near his throat. Canestalk yowled in surprise when Longshadow managed to tear through a layer of skin on his neck, giving the younger warrior the opportunity to slip out of his claws. She whirled around and bit viciously into his muzzle, her teeth barely missing one of his eyes, earning another screech from Canestalk.
Brokenpaw hoped dearly that would be the end of the battle, but it wasn't. Canestalk shoved her mentor off of him with a single leg's effort, making the tortoiseshell ungracefully stagger a few paw-steps away from him. He didn't allow her to regain her senses, however, and leapt at her again, his front paws expertly landing squarely on her shoulder and hip so that she landed flat on the searing hot rocks.
Crimson trickled down Canestalk's face, running a small stream down the contours of his muzzle as he clamped his jaws firmly around Longshadow's throat. Brokenpaw panicked when he did that and looked around wildly at the other cats on patrol. None made any move to intervene, instead keeping a fair distance from the fight as they waited it out. Brokenpaw wasn't sure of the rules ReefClan followed, but she expected that clanmates wouldn't be allowed to fight amongst one another like that.
Longshadow snarled and thrashed around in his grip, her claws occasionally managing to tag a piece of Canestalk's pelt. Whenever her claws made contact, Canestalk would growl and clamp down harder in warning. Brokenpaw's fear diminished as the fight wore on. It became obvious that Canestalk wasn't trying to kill Longshadow, he was merely trying to subdue the unruly warrior. Brokenpaw couldn't help but feel guilty though, seeing as the fight between them had only happened because of her inability to carry Nightpaw; she would have to make it up to Longshadow somehow.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Longshadow conceded, a long and irritated huff leaving her nose as she allowed her body to go limp. Canestalk held on a moment longer before releasing his grip on her throat and backing up. When Longshadow got up, she wore a look of ire and shook out her coat ruefully. She seemed okay, a few streaks of blood soaked the surrounding fur from where the sharp, hot rocks had cut into her during the fall, but it didn't seem like Canestalk did hardly any damage to her.
Canestalk didn't say a word, simply swishing his tail before going and picking Nightpaw's body up and continuing forward. Longshadow followed, ears flat and tail nearly dragging against the ground. Brokenpaw felt someone nudge her flank and she glanced to her side to see a smug Sharkpaw. The black tabby couldn't look more pleased, "looks like kittypet blood is a little more diluted than I thought. Of course, you probably already knew that, with you being a broken one."
He passed forward, tail raised in triumph as he went to greet Coconutpaw and Risingsun up further, leaving Brokenpaw standing still in shock. A pang of sorrow and anxiety hit her. If her mentor couldn't fight Canestalk off properly, how was she supposed to survive out here?
Hi guys! Sorry about how late this is... I was in Hawaii again at the end of July and I meant to update while I was there, but that didn't happen! I'm also moving back to college tomorrow so updates might be slow-going (hopefully no longer than this wait, but I'm not making any promises). I also apologize about this chapter, I'm very unhappy with it and towards the end I was basically looking for some way to end it at least somewhat competently... hopefully next chapter will be of a better quality! Oh and I've been trying to convey that the island clans are actually fairly distinct from our five clans we read about in the books in morals and customs. I hope I'm at least sort of doing that!
See you all next time!
~Blondie
