Thorn growled irritably as brambles snagged onto his tail's brown fur, pulling him backwards as he tried to walk.
"Are you okay!" gasped a she-cat's voice from behind him.
"I'm fine, Sparrow!" he snapped, yanking his tail out of the undergrowth. His sudden yank caused tufts of fur to escape from his tail and remain trapped in the grasp of the brambles.
There was a rustle in the vegetation behind him before the she-cat appeared, rushing over to his side. "Are you sure!" Sparrow mewed, sniffing over his tail before giving it a swift lick with her pink tongue.
Thorn's pelt prickled with annoyance as he whipped his tail away from her. He had set out a few hours before dawn to check around Feather's den when the brown she-cat had run into him. From then on, he had to put up with her endless chatter on topics that were meaningless to him as he trudged through the dark, wet forest. Why out of all the she-cats he knew did Sparrow have to like him! Thorn could not understand this. He was handsome and strong and not to mention one of Storm's favorites. It was more than embarrassing for him whenever this brown, white-splotched she-cat began to follow him around. Their differences made it even more aggravating. Thorn loved to fight; Sparrow was terrified of using her claws. The tom was keen when tracking his prey; the she-cat was lucky if she caught the scent of prey. He tried killing clan cats while she avoided getting killed. All these factors fueled Thorn's agitation when he'd lash out at her. Though he knew Feather had never been interested in him, he was grateful she was not as mouse-brained as Sparrow.
Shaking away his thoughts, Thorn began to focus on his mission instead. He was glad it had stopped raining though. The forest was a lot quieter since it wasn't getting hammered down by steady showers of water anymore. The only sounds Thorn could hear now were the chirps of crickets and the trickling sound of droplets of water as leaves released their loads onto the ground. As he began to pad towards the direction of Feather's den again, Sparrow interrupted him once more.
"Thorn…?" she meowed, padding up to him.
"Yes?" he growled, glancing at her as she stood beside him.
"How come you haven't told me what you're up to? It'd be sort of weird if you were out hunting at this hour," she commented. "It's hardly dawn yet!"
"I'm doing something that's too important for you to know about," Thorn responded flatly, walking off into the undergrowth.
Sparrow's eyes shone with curiosity in the dim nightlight as she followed after him. "Is it something relating to Storm?" She asked, unaffected by his insult.
"Maybe," the tom muttered, leaping over some ferns glistening with water.
"Are you turning this into a guessing game?" Sparrow purred, flattening the ferns as she walked on top of them.
Thorn felt himself slowly going insane. "Sparrow, why don't you try some hunting? Maybe the rain has left some mouse-brained prey in shock and you'll be able to catch it!" he suggested, faking a smile.
Sparrow stood there silently as she pondered over the suggestion. Eventually, she frowned at him. "But will you be okay on your own?" she asked in concern. "What if a clan cat has been watching us this whole time and it tries to attack you when I leave!" she gasped in horror.
"I'm sure I'll be able to handle it with you out of the way," Thorn growled.
"Well…if you say so," Sparrow purred happily. "What should I try catching?"
'Something already dead would be a pretty astounding accomplishment,' Thorn mused before blinking at her. "Catch a rabbit."
Sparrow nodded vigorously. "I will, Thorn! Then we can share it after you finish whatever you're up to!" she purred, racing off. "I'll catch up with you later!"
"How great," Thorn muttered. He watched the she-cat lengthened the distance between them as she pelted through the forest. Only after he lost sight of her did Thorn start walking again. Getting close to Feather's den, his paws began to make sucking sounds as he padded around some puddles on the ground. The cold mud surrounding the pools of water soon began caking itself over his black claws. Letting out a silent sigh, Thorn gazed around until he spotted something that looked useful. He strolled up to a sturdy looking tree, its bark dark from all of the rain water it had absorbed. Getting up on his hind legs, Thorn reached up against the tree's rough trunk and slowly dragged his claws down it, freeing each of them from the wet mud. Satisfied, he began to back away from the tree when suddenly he was tackled from behind.
"Sparrow!" he yowled in confusion, slamming into the tree from the force of the impact. The rough bark that was helpful cleaning his claws now scraped against his body, causing Thorn to hiss in pain.
"Wrong cat!" cackled a voice.
As gray fur smothered him, Thorn realized it was Storm. Growling, the brown tom tried to force himself to his paws, but he was soon overpowered. He scowled angrily as the older tom pinned him down, making his back get pressed down against the muddy ground.
Storm stood over Thorn in triumph, holding the brown tom down by his shoulders. "Why hello there, Thorn! I hope I'm not interrupting your romantic night out with Sparrow," he sneered, his yellow teeth glistening maliciously as he looked down at the tom.
Thorn lashed his tail angrily, making sure he hit Storm's flank with it. "How long have you been watching us…?"
"Well I've been watching you ever since I assigned you to watch over Feather," Storm mused, still on top of him. "Tonight I just happened to be around," he chuckled, digging his long claws into Thorn's shoulders.
Thorn began to thrash wildly which only resulted in Storm digging his claws deeper into him. "Let me go!" he snarled loudly.
Storm frowned, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "No. I need to talk to you first, so you better listen or you'll be losing an eye," he growled loudly before letting out a purr of amusement. "Or maybe you'll lose an ear or a tail or just a couple of claws…"
"Just tell me what you want!" Thorn demanded. He hated when Storm acted like a mouse-brain with his purring, but he knew he had to be careful when dealing with this tom.
"Very well then," Storm snorted. "I want to know how it went with Feather. Did you gather any worthwhile information…?"
Thorn blinked his amber eyes slowly before nodding. "Yes…I think I know who the tom is," he responded.
"You only think you know!" Storm snapped angrily.
Thorn began to cringe but quickly stopped himself. "I've caught the scent of a tom around her den," he lied smoothly. "It doesn't smell like anybody we know so I was thinking it might be her mate. I came out here to investigate more while apparently you and Sparrow stalked after me," he ended flatly.
Storm's fur bristled slightly as he narrowed his eyes again. "Show me where you caught the scent," he ordered, leaping off the brown tom.
"Uh what?" Thorn blinked, caught off guard.
"Get up and show me where!" Storm hissed, cuffing Thorn's ear harshly with his large, gray paw.
Thorn let out a hiss but rose to his paws. Ear throbbing, he began to lead the way towards Feather's den, Storm following his claws unsheathed. When the toms reached the den's clearing, Thorn quickly gazed around before pointing to a random bush. "There," he meowed. "That's where I caught the scent."
Storm eyed him questioningly before going over to the bush. Flicking his scarred tail, the gray cat began examining the bush. Thorn watched quietly from across the clearing, his injured ear flicking. After a few minutes of sniffing, Storm whipped his head around and glared at him. "I smell nothing!" he spat.
Thorn shuffled his paws slightly, glancing at the den to see if Feather had heard them yet. "Uh, maybe the rain washed away the scent!" he suggested quickly.
Storm began growl when suddenly, he stopped. Perking his ears, he slowly began walking towards his daughter's den.
"What are you doing!" Thorn frowned in confusion. "You'll wake them all up and then she'll know we've been snooping around here!"
Storm flashed his fangs silently at Thorn which instantly made him stop talking. The gray tom reached the entrance of the den with a frown. "Nobody is here…" he mumbled, peeking in through the opening.
"What do you mean?" Thorn blinked in puzzlement.
"It's empty!" Storm hissed back in annoyance before walking into the den.
"They're gone?" Thorn gasped in actual surprise. As he watched Storm disappear through the entrance, Thorn couldn't help but wonder if Feather had actually left permanently like he had told her to. Was she really this determined to hide the identity of who she had mated with? He didn't get any more time to think as Storm emerged from the den's entrance.
"They're all gone!" he spat. "Feather and all three kits! Where could they have gone!" he growled, turning to face Thorn.
Thorn shook his head slowly. "I have no idea…maybe the rain was flooding their den so they went to higher grounds?" he suggested earnestly.
Storm shook his head. "It was completely dry inside there."
"Oh," Thorn mumbled before glancing up at the sky. Silverpelt was slowing fading away as the sky began to brighten up. "Well it's almost dawn," he meowed to Storm. "Maybe they'll come back from wherever they went to…"
Storm suddenly stiffened. "They're with him…" he hissed lowly.
"With the father…? How would you know that?" Thorn frowned as he sat down in the clearing.
"Well where else would they be!" Storm snapped. "It's the only logical explanation! Feather used the cover of the rain to hide all their scents to go meet up with the tom!" Growling, Storm began to pace the clearing. Flicking his tail, he shot his gaze at Thorn. "You have to go find them. Shouldn't be that hard since there's five of them," he mused. "Forget about Feather and the kits. Focus only on finding out who that tom is! I'll even distract Sparrow for you if I need to."
Thorn stared down at his paws. He could see some mud still wedged in between his claws now that the clearing was growing brighter with the approaching daylight. For a second he wondered if Sparrow managed to catch a rabbit like she had promised him. Hesitating for a bit, Thorn then flicked his ears and looked up at the gray tom. "Alright, I'll go searching. I'll go looking all day if need be and then I'll report back to you, Storm."
"Wonderful," Storm purred darkly. "This could be your big break, Thorn. You find me that tom and I'll let you be second in command of the forest after we beat those clan cats. Who knows? Maybe you'll even get to be a leader like me one day," he chuckled.
"Leader," Thorn echoed to himself before nodding. "I will not fail you, Storm," he bowed his head as he stood up.
"Good, now go," Storm ordered. "I'll be waiting for your return, Thorn. Try not to come back empty-pawed unless you want to face some unpleasant consequences…" he chuckled again before vanishing into the undergrowth.
Thorn stood in the clearing for a while in silence. Letting out a silent exhale from his nose, he padded towards the abandoned den. He glanced warily over his shoulder to see if Storm was still around before slipping in through its entrance. His eyes gazed around the darkness before he made out the shape of a nest. Slowly, he went over and sniffed its moss, causing him stiffen. It smelled just like Feather. "Why couldn't you have just liked me instead?" Thorn hissed silently in sadness. Lashing his tail, he lied down on top of the moss and rested his head on his paws. He could smell the distinct scent of the kits mixed in with the she-cat's now that he was inside of their nest. Their scent was similar to Feather's but still had its own uniqueness to it which made Thorn sigh.
The tom was at war in his mind. Dread, sadness, and anger were overlying his thoughts as he tried to make a decision. If he were to find Feather's mate and reveal his identity to Storm, he would become the second most powerful rogue in the forest. What would this mean to Feather and her kits though? Thorn knew Storm could go off and kill her mate if he wanted to. What he didn't know was what the gray tom would do to his daughter and her kits. Would he kill them all too if he ended up not liking Feather's choice of mate? Sighing again, Thorn rolled over in the nest and stared up at the dark ceiling. Then there was his other option to think about. He could continue to lie to Storm and not go searching at all. Feather and her family would probably be safe –for now at least- since her father wouldn't know where they were. The only problem with that plan was Thorn would then be in danger of getting attacked by Storm…or killed.
Getting up, Thorn shook his pelt and thoughts away as he got out of the nest and den. He knew it was time to make a decision, one that could either hurt him emotionally or hurt him physically but still have a rewarding feeling in the end. Of course the time to choose was now.
A/N: AMG THAT WAS SO HARD TO WRITE AND I DON'T KNOW WHY D: I knew what to write but I just couldn't find the right way to put everything into order! Oh well, I have a clear view of how the next two chapters will play out :) I was wondering what Thorn and Storm were up to! By the way, I added a new "status" section to my profile page. It tells you how far I am writing out the next chapters. I'll update it every time I write so you'll know when to expect a new chapter. Thanks for reading! :D