Chapter 3

Exiled

Once again, when his vision cleared, there was an extreme pain in his paw. But Brambleclaw was in the same spot as he was before he fell. The clearing was empty, so he struggled to his paws, gasping in pain, and began to limp toward the thorn tunnel.

"Hey Brambleclaw. You've forgotten your punishment." Brambleclaw jumped, and then spun around. Firestar was sitting a little way behind him, his ginger tail curled around his paws.

Brambleclaw shook his head. "No...Firestar. I'm...leaving." he rasped. "I'll exile myself before I let you blind me." Firestar let out a snort of laughter.

"Much as the truth hurts, you won't survive long by yourself. You can't hunt. Why not, at least stay until your paw's healed?" Firestar showed a flash of his old sympathy. But he was changed, and so was Brambleclaw.

"No. If I leave to die, at least I'll die with my sight." he turned and as confidently as a cat with a severe limp can walk. "Good day,"

Firestar was silent until Brambleclaw reached the thorn tunnel. "Very well, Brambleclaw. I had expected better of you. I give you until sunhigh tomorrow to leave."

"Tomorrow?"

A sneer crossed his leader's face. "I'll take that long!" Brambleclaw winced. This was not his old leader. This was a different cat. This was not his mentor. This was his tormentor.

"You have forever made ThunderClan my enemy. This is a different Clan than in the old forest. But-" he turned and stared hard into Firestar's face. "I guess that's all I can expect from a kittypet. Maybe my father was right." Brambleclaw didn't even think what he was saying. He whipped around and limped down the tunnel, leaving Firestar standing there with an appalled look on his face.

As soon as the tunnel swallowed him up he slowed his pace. He tried not to let regret overwhelm him- what was done was done. He limped on, falling every few steps. It was a hard and painful journey. But he couldn't slow now.

By sunhigh he had gotton to the training hollow. It was empty, so he sat down for a rest. Brambleclaw decided to think where to go. WindClan? Would they accept him? There was always the chance...and if not, he could try horseplace. The life of a traveling loner was not for him.

By the time darkness fell, he had succeeded to cross the stream, and let out a huge breath. At last he was out of his- no, ThunderClan's territory. There was not a chance he was able to hunt, and the last WindClan patrol would have already been here.

So after getting a drink, Brambleclaw curled up in a ball with his injured paw sticking out and closed his eyes. He tried to fall asleep, but when he did, all he saw was Gingerpelt, hurt in her eyes, and Firestar, his fur fluffed up. But the worst was when he saw a crumpled ginger body, covered in blood.

"Squirrelflight!" but there was no reply. Brambleclaw let out a long, mournful yowl. What had he done to abandon her?