(Oh boy, I owe you guys an explanation as to why I haven't been writing. Ok, so first, I had to move. Then, we had to unpack. Then, school was long, and I didn't ever feel the motivation to write, especially after something very stressful happened that I do not wish to speak about. Then, around a month later, I had to go on emergency leave. I was gone for two weeks, and once I got back a week ago, I've been just downright exhausted. You may notice a difference in my writing, possible a bit more mature and coddling to the characters, and different words to paint a better picture. I hope you can all understand, and will forgive me. Oh, and now, I realized I made a large and awkward mistake, and I'll have to add in a bit more confusion and a bit more backstory and development. It shouldn't effect the story too much, but I do feel stupid for not seeing my mistake. Once I clear that up, everything should go back to how it should be. Anyway, on to the story!)
"And you're sure it was Ashtalon?"
Bramblestar, Brightheart, and Flamepaw were sitting in the leader's den, around a moon after the fight between Ashtalon and Brightheart. There had been a few more border skirmishes with Windclan, but nothing was ever too serious.
"Yes Bramblestar." Brightheart's voice was stern, her eyes narrowed and blazing with fury as she spoke. Flamepaw sat anxiously next to her, her claws creating scars onto the earth. "We've told you before."
"I just had to make sure." Bramblestar shook his head, and stood up. "Then I will speak with Onestar as planned at the gathering tonight about Ashtalon and the other arguments we have been facing. We need to put an end to this." He padded towards the entrance of the den. "Come on. I'm about to announce the cats that will go to the gathering." He glanced over his shoulder, a slight smile on his face. "And, I don't want my den to get scarred anymore."
Flamepaw blinked in confusion, and glanced down at the ground beneath her paws. She had, to no one's surprise, to made long lines and holes without thinking about it.
"Sorry!" She gasped, immediately sheathing her claws
Bramblestar simply nodded, then padded out to his deputy and mate. Squirrelflight's belly was looking fuller over the sunrises, and it was very easily deducted that she was expecting Bramblestar's kits. The whole clan was thrilled to find out, and the news sprouted hope, despite the troubles in Windclan.
In her daze of thinking about possible kits to play with, Flamepaw didn't notice that Brightheart had gotten to her paws and was now trying to usher Flamepaw out of the den.
"Come on, we don't want to miss Bramblestar's announcement." Brightheart said as Bramblestar's voice rang out, calling for a meeting. "We should be going with Bramblestar with the gathering."
"Do you really think he'll bring us?" Flamepaw asked excitedly, already bounding ahead of Brightheart. "Because if so, I'd like to show Ashtalon a few moves so good, he'll regret ever messing with us!" She boasted, puffing out her chest as she padded out of Bramblestar's den.
Brightheart snorted, rolling her eyes. "Well, before you get ahead of yourself, you shouldn't have to. But," she continued on, lightly cuffing Flamepaw around her ears, "if worse comes to worse, you can show him what Thunderclan's made of."
They had settled on a spot near the medicine cat's den, tuning in to listen the remainder of the cats that would be going with Bramblestar to the gathering.
"... Lionblaze, Brightheart, Flamepaw," Bramblestar added with a nod to the mentor and her apprentice. "Fernpaw, Hollypaw, and Riverpaw." Finishing the announcement with a flick of his tail, he jumped off the rock to the entrance of camp. Cats gathered around him, all eager to go to the gathering.
"Let's go." Brightheart touched her muzzle to Flamepaw's ear, then bounded ahead to the knot of cats. Flamepaw was happily running over to join them when Riverpaw seemed to materialized by her side.
"Are you excited?" Riverpaw asked, his eyes gleaming with his own readiness to go. "I can't wait to see what Onestar looks like when we finally confront him!" Riverpaw bounced on his paws lightly as Bramblestar's group began to file out of camp.
Flamepaw fluffed out her fur. "Of course I am! I, personally, can't wait to see Ashtalon's dumb face!" She leaned in close to Riverpaw's ear. "And, I actually kind of hope he starts something so I can test my claws on him!" She whispered fervently, claws digging into the soil as they made their way down to the lake. When she looked up to see what Riverpaw thought, she saw something glinting in his eyes that she thought was sadness. Recoiling, her eyes widened in alarm. "What's wrong?"
Riverpaw looked at her in surprise. "What? Oh, its nothing. Its just..." He broke off, but continued with a renewed breath. "Bramblestar told me that I wasn't his blood kit."
Flamepaw gaped. "I'm so sorry!" She gasped, pressing herself against Riverpaw in apology. They were walking along the shore of the lake now, and Flamepaw saw that her sisters were with their mentors, and Hollypaw was with Jayfeather.
Riverpaw shook his head, and to Flamepaw's surprise, he laughed a bit. "No, its fine, really. I always kind of knew. Daisy raised me the most, and Squirrelflight didn't have any milk. But, I think this makes me even special!" He went on after seeing Flamepaw's confused face. "I could be from some amazing cat, and my blood is unique. I have no parents, and I'm my own self for everyone to get to know. Besides, Squirrelflight deserves these kits she's having. She's been so strong." He smiled lightly, relief and happiness burning in his eyes.
Flamepaw tilted her head in confusion. She didn't understand how he was able to shrug off how he wasn't Thunderclan blood. If someone ever told her she wasn't actually Cinderheart and Lionblaze's daughter, she wouldn't be able to live with herself anymore. 'Then again, he is proud of it, and he has always kind of knew...'
She was cut off mid-thought. They had reached the fallen tree, and the group was moving slower as one cat at a time crossed the tree. Fernpaw and Sorrelpaw fell behind to walk along with Flamepaw, and Riverpaw had bounded ahead to cross the tree with his mentor.
"Do you think Bramblestar is going to announce his kits?" Sorrelpaw turned to Flamepaw, joy and curiosity on her face.
Flamepaw nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I would be surprised if he didn't!" The sisters all laughed in agreement, and once they had stopped, it was their time to cross the tree. Flamepaw leaped on first, her claws digging in fiercely. Slowly, she waddled across until she leaped off. The tree creaked slightly as Fernpaw jumped off.
"What, have you gained some weight?" Flamepaw snorted, her eyes rolling. She earned a cuff around the ear from Fernpaw, but also a laugh from Sorrelpaw who had just joined them.
With a beckon from Bramblestar, they entered the island's clearing, full of bustling cats. Peering over the large group of huddled and chattering cats, Flamepaw narrowed her eyes as she watched Riverpaw's tail mysteriously disappear out of sight and into a secluded area behind the Windclan cats. Deciding to put it behind her, Flamepaw padded over to where Brightheart was sitting, in the heart of the Thunderclan group.
Bramblestar stood up first. "I think I shall begin." He announced sternly. "Prey has been flowing well, and Thunderclan is at its strongest. However," he stared at Onestar. "There have been many problems with Windclan."
Yowls of protest broke out beneath the tree, all from Windclan.
Bramblestar ignored this with a flick of his ear, and he carried on, earning a cold hard glare from Onestar. "The first event, I must point out, was the most troublesome. My warrior Brightheart and her apprentice Flamepaw, had a fight with Ashtalon. He was Breaking the warrior code, and my warriors stepped up to stop him. A fight broke out, and even though Brightheart and Flamepaw managed to overpower Ashtalon, there have still been arguments on the borders." He ended, his chin high. By now, all of Windclan was shouting and hurling insults at Bramblestar. But Onestar raised his tail to silence them.
"Part of what you say is true Bramblestar. Yes, there has been arguments between our cats, starting with the fight between Ashtalon and your warriors. However, I am under the assumption your warriors have been trespassing on our territory and stealing our prey, and I trust my warrior's judgement just as much as you trust yours, Bramblestar." Onestar added as Bramblestar tried to protest. "So one of our warrior's are lying, and it seems as though Windclan stands to be more honest." He finished with a sneer.
Hisses and outrage broke out below the leaders. A battle had started between the two clans, and Riverclan and Shadowclan hung back, unsure of what to do. EYes wide in alarm, Flamepaw looked up at Brightheart for help.
"What do I do?" She half wailed, half begged as two fighting cats tumbled by in a flurry of hissing and spitting. Brightheart was on her paws, fur bristled and puffed out. She looked terrifying, and she clawed at any cat that came near. The leaders were yowling, trying to get the battling to stop. They leaped off their branches to stop the fight, but they were only swept along in the fighting. Flamepaw had never seen a battle so big, and the moon was heavily covered with clouds, so the clans were fighting in darkness.
"Protect yourself and the others!" Brightheart spat, her lips curled in a vicious snarled as she swept at a small tom that kept trying to bite her ankles. Nodding numbly, Flamepaw raced off to help her sisters. She almost had Hollypaw in sight when something large and heavy bowled her over, pinning her to the ground and exposing her soft stomach. Terror shocked her cold as she saw her attacker's eyes. Bright, yellow, and lusting for blood.
"Ashtalon!" She gasped, and she struck out with her hind paws, tearing at Ashtalon's exposed stomach. The smell of blood filled her nostrils, and she heard him yowl in pain. His grip lessened, and she wriggled free, aiming another blow at his stomach. She felt blood on her paw, and when she looked at her paws, they were covered in blood. Amazed at the fact she fighting just fine, she felt a hard, painful strike on her skull. Dazed and in pain, she aimed blows blindly at her attacker. Ashalon cackled, enjoying the fact that she had no idea what was going on. Shaking her head, she brought her mind back into focus and her eyes cleared of blood. But as soon as she regained her senses, claws raked down her side, and she felt pain like fire sear through her right side. Yowling, she struck out at Ashtalon, but her claws connected with softer fur.
"Don't hurt him!" Riverpaw's voice filled her ears, and instantaneously, she knew Riverpaw had taken the blow. Her eyes widened and blood pulsed through her ears.
"Riverpaw? What are you doing?" She cried out, crouching low to the ground. Behind Riverpaw, Ashtalon was grinning maliciously, as if he knew this would happen. Ashtalon leaned in and whispered something into Riverpaw's ears, and then returned to his safe position. "Get out of the way!" She hissed, and tried to push past Riverpaw, but she was met with a blinding kick to the ribs. She tumbled onto the ground, and she suddenly became aware of the fight dying out. There were still fights going on, but the leaders were doing a good job of breaking up the battles. Her eyes flitted to Riverpaw, who had a look of horror written on his face.
"Flamepaw... I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" But his pleas fell upon deaf ears. Flamepaw struggled to her paws, chest heaving. She looked for Ashtalon, but he had fled, pretending to have not been apart of the fight. Now, all that was left was a horror-struck Riverpaw, and a betrayed, wounded Flamepaw.
"Are you two alright?" Bramblestar ran between them looking both of them over. "Good... Riverpaw, you're alright." He turned to Flamepaw, and began to look her over, already cautious of her visible wounds. "Flamepaw! Why are you injured so badly?" But before she could answer, Bramblestar had already called over Jayfeather and Brightheart. "She's injured badly, Riverpaw is alright." He began to explain, but Jayfeather cut him off.
"We need to get back to camp, she's not the only one. I'm assuming the gathering is over?" Jayfeather didn't look up as he was nosing Flamepaw.
Bramblestar nodded. "Of course. Shadowclan already left as soon as the fight stopped." He said sternly, looking over the wounded cats. Onestar was glaring furiously at Thunderclan, as if everything was their fault.
"Good. We need to get back to camp. Help the wounded back." Jayfeather instructed as Bramblestar sped off to check for more injuries. "And would you stop moving?" He snapped as Flamepaw tried to get to her paws. Flamepaw leaned onto Brightheart the remainder of the time, never once looking at Riverpaw.
"You were so brave, I am so proud of you." Brightheart soothed, gently licking the top of Flamepaw's head.
Sinking lower as the pain set in and the adrenaline left her body, she asked only one question. "Is my family okay?"
Jayfeather, not Brightheart, answered. "Yes. Everyone is alright. I fear more for Windclan then for us." He said smugly, finishing checking up Brightheart's injuries. "Brightheart, I need you to help her back to camp. Once you get back, put her in an empty nest in my den, alright?"
"Yes Jayfeather." She got to her paws, and nudged Flamepaw's hindquarters up. "It's all right," she murmured, "just lean on me." Putting her weight onto Brightheart's shoulder, Flampaw began to limp back to camp. It was hard to cross the bridge, but once she made it across, she was aware of all the cats around her, shuffling solemnly back to camp. She didn't know where Riverpaw or Windclan was, but neither did she care. And before she knew it, she was back in camp, the loud muttering filling up her ears.
"What happened?"
"Some are injured!"
"Was it Windclan?"
Flamepaw was aware of the cats around her, including her own mother, but she did not care. She was too tired... Too achy... Brightheart lead her to a small nest in a dark den that smelled of herbs. She crumpled down immediately, an she felt a cat, but she wasn't sure who, curl around her comfortingly, and in the blink of an eye, the darkness over took her and she was asleep.
(Muahahaha... I made this one extra long for you guys, I hope you enjoyed it! And I lied, the mistake fixer thing could possibly be a plot changer! As always, please tell me what you think, and anything you think I should improve on! See ya!)