-looks around- Where'd everybody go? Please review people! I do LOVE reviews! I know i'm being picky here now, since I have trouble even getting a simple review, but I love people telling me what I did wrong, and what I did right (Hey, I'm human.)! That way, I can change the things I'm not doing well, and what I'm doing nicely I can keep doing nicely - without changing it, and making it all...ick. Anyways, here's the next chapter. I know! I'm putting these up quickly! Wow! OO
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The medicine cat's pale blue eyes absent-mindedly dabbed at a ball of moss as she thought about Applefur.
Blindness.
Rosepaw hadn't ever imagined losing her sight. Ever. But if she had lost it to Applefur…she wouldn't have been able to serve her Clan anymore. And ThunderClan would be without a medicine cat. And ThunderClan without a medicine cat… Rosepaw didn't even want to think about that.
But… Rosepw stopped playing with the moss ball, and stared blankly at her paws. When I hear the sound of Thorntail's voice…I don't think I'd mind not being able to see. Or not being able to live. As long as I can at least hear Thorntail…be with him….
Rosepaw's thoughts were interrupted by loud clomping into her den. She purred, thinking that it was Thorntail but looked up to see that Scornpaw had entered her den.
"Hello," Scornpaw purred.
Rosepaw nodded at him, and waited for him to say something else – like if he was hurt, or felt sick. After his first day of training, too…
"Thorntail told me to come and get you." Scornpaw purred, his amber eyes glowing with delight – he had completed his first apprentice mission!
"And?" Rosepaw asked, staring straight into Scornpaw's eyes.
"And," Scornpaw went on, "He told me to tell you to meet him by the Owl Tree."
Rosepaw purred with delight. Thorntail must've figured that Streamstar didn't want her to talk to him anymore. But luckily, his new apprentice could serve as a go-between. Hopefully Scornpaw wouldn't get any ideas, and blab it…
But what was there to blab? Two ThunderClan cats meeting each other in their own territory – as friends? It isn't exactly traitorous behavior. Unless you stretched the truth and threw in the ShadowClan deputy and the WindClan leader pronouncing their love for one another – and declaring to form their Clans as one, with Thorntail as the leader and Rosepaw as a concubine. But if you didn't stretch it to the extremes, you probably wouldn't find anything wrong. Unless…you decided to believe that Thorntail and Rosepaw were rolling around with one another up there.
Still. "Did you tell anyone else about this message to me, Scornpaw?"
"Nope. Thorntail told me not to." Thorntaill had gotten a generic apprentice – the kind that blindly follows orders without question. Nice.
"Thank you, Scornpaw." Rosepaw purred, padding out of her den.
She flashed her eyes to the heavens. The moon was fairly high in the sky. She noticed several warriors disappearing into their dens, and Rosepaw breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed Applefur among them.
Only two cats were still awake – or at least out in the open, and that was Howlingheart, Robinwing's mate, and Spottedlight.
Rosepaw felt a pang of curiosity when she noticed Spottedlight guarding the camp with her father. Streamstar was clearly starting to believe the prophecy was good, for one thing, because Spottedlight hadn't been ordered to guard the camp…for such a long time. But Rosepaw wasn't so sure. Spottedlight had betrayed them once to WindClan. Who could say that she wouldn't do it again? Did StarClan know what they were doing?
"Hello, Howlingheart, Spottedlight." Rosepaw nodded at the two cats as she approached them. "I'm going out to collect some herbs."
"I saw a good supply of Night Flower up by the Great Oak," Spottedlight told Rosepaw cheerfully. Rosepaw wondered for a moment why Spottedlight would know about, or care about Night Flower, when Night Flower was very rarely used, when Rosepaw recalled that, thought for an extremely short time, as Flamesoul had told her, Spottedlight had trained as a medicine cat. Never finished the training, but still had received some.
"Th-thank you, Spottedlight." Rosepaw purred. She was uncomfortable lying to her Clanmates – especially Howlingheart, a highly respected warrior, but she had no choice here. Rosepaw muttered a good bye, and padded from the camp.
…
Rosepaw floated to Owl Tree on winged paws, and too her joy, right under the tree was Thorntail, his gray fur turning silver in the pale moonlight.
"I wanted to talk to you after training Scornpaw," Thorntail explained as she came towards him. "To see how you're doing. I don't want any cat making implications about you, since you're a medicine cat…" he murmured. "That's why I sent Scornpaw."
Rosepaw nodded. That was intelligent of him – she had thought that he done something like that.
"So, back to my question." Thorntail purred. "How are you?"
"Fine." Rosepaw answered simply, but then elaborated. "It wasn't you're fault," she told him, flicking the gray tom's side playfully with her tail, referring to the attack on her by Applefur.
Thorntail shrugged his shoulders. "Well, either way, I won't let Applefur hurt you again." Rosepaw must've been looking at him doubtfully, because he continued, "I know I'm not very convincing, but just trust me."
"Applefur really cares for you," Rosepaw meowed blankly. "It is my fault for getting in the way."
"In the way of what?" Thorntail asked, sounding as surprised as if the WindClan leader and ShadowClan deputy really DID just come out of no where and declare their love for each other. "Applefur is not my mate. Just because she THINKS that she's in love with me, doesn't mean I'm going to humor her. I mean, why should I?" Thorntail was talking more to himself then Rosepaw, but Rosepaw answered him anyways. "Because she does care about you."
"Just because she's under the delusion that she loves me?" Thorntail asked, his eyes thoughtful – though his tone was sarcastic. "And…what part of me does she eh…love?" Thorntail asked Rosepaw – to which, the medicine cat had no answer. "Gingerleaf – you know, my old mate?" Rosepaw nodded, and he continued: "Well, Gingerleaf told me that I'm like an award. A source of pride. Like your warrior name." Rosepaw looked at him like a third eye had spontaneously grown on his tail, so he went on. "You flaunt it around, and you get respect. You hear the name…Speedtail," he mewed naming his former mentor in RiverClan – or a random name that he just thought of for an example. "You hear the name Speedtail," he repeated. "And you have respect for that cat. Why? Because they are a warrior. You wouldn't have as much respect for a cat named Speedpaw, or Speedkit, would you?" Rosepaw was silent for a moment, and looked thoughtful.
"So you mean…she-cats want to be with you, because it gives them respect?" she asked. Thorntail nodded. "Other she-cats get jealous, and toms suddenly look at her in a different light. It's not about love." Thorntail chuckled to himself, and raised his gaze to Silverpelt. "Not that I care though. She-cats are best under the moon, at night…alone. So you can…" Thorntail didn't finish his sentence – Rosepaw got the message, and shifted uncomfortably. She happened to be under the moon with him, at night, and alone. She hoped he wasn't implying anything.
He wasn't. He didn't make a move on her, he just continued. "That is the cat I am." He murmured, lowering his gaze from Rosepaw. "It's about having fun at the moment – living for now. I…don't like to think about it too much. But there's not much in my head, you know." He explained. He purred to himself, and was silent.
Rosepaw took his silence, and used it to think. "But that's not true." She meowed, her voice scarcely over a whisper. Thorntail turned to her, and she went on. "There's something in you. I feel…something all around you." It was Thorntail's turn to look at Rosepaw like she had told him that she wasn't a cat – but a thrush that LOOKED like a cat. Rosepaw ignored that glance, and continued. "Something warm."
"Warm?" Thorntail asked her curiously. "Like fire?"
"Yeah." Rosepaw murmured, staring at the gray tom in awe. "And…not just feelings. But…colors, too. All around you. Wherever you step."
"What kind of colors?" Thorntail looked at his side curiously, as if checking his fur color. "Stone gray?"
"No. A fantastic color." Rosepaw purred. "Strong, and beautiful."
"Stone gray isn't beautiful?"
Rosepaw ignored Thorntail's comment. "And…"
"And?" Thorntail asked, looking down at his paws.
"A sad color too. A sad emotion."
Thorntail looked at her in awe for a moment, and if you shaved Rosepaw right at that instant you would find her skin as red as her fur.
"Well, we'd better get back to camp." Rosepaw mewed awkwardly, turning her back on Thorntail. She took a step forward, and instantly felt a sharp pain on her paw. "Ouch!"
Thorntail rushed towards her, and stood at her side, staring at her curiously.
"I just…" Rosepaw lifted her paw and examined it for a moment. "stepped on a thorn or something. But it already fell out."
Thorntail leaned against her, and Rosepaw realized with a jolt that their pelts were touching. Rosepaw started to breathe heavily. She was a medicine cat! She couldn't…
Thorntail stepped away from her, and Rosepaw wanted to yowl for him to come back. That feeling she had just felt…
She didn't have to yowl. Thorntail had moved in front of her. He took a step towards her, and he was closer to her then ever before. His whiskers were touching hers. His chest was touching hers. She suddenly realized with a jolt, that he had wrapped his tail around hers.
What should she do? She was a medicine cat…but this feeling…this joy…Rosepaw had been alone for so long. Too long. A companion…a friend… or a mate…whatever Thorntail really was, Rosepaw liked it.
'StarClan,' she thought. 'This is plenty. I don't need anything else.'
Rosepaw thought that they were touching enough, but suddenly, Thorntail wrapped his neck around her own. For a moment, in the pale moonlight, they looked as one figure. One beautiful figure.
It lasted just a moment. But the emotions, the swirls that rose in Rosepaw's heart made her want to fly into the sky and thank all the cats of StarClan personally, face to face.
Thorntail backed away from her, his eyes sparkling like Silverpelt above them. Rosepaw felt guilty for a moment, but then realized that she hadn't done anything against the warrior code. Thorntail and she hadn't done…what mates did. They simply touched. Touched.
"Go," Thorntail rasped, licking Rosepaw's ear playfully. "Go. I'll stay here."
Rosepaw looked at him curiously. "Why can't we go back together?"
Thorntail shook his head. "You and I, coming into camp together, at night? Rumors will spread faster then Robinwing gobbles down voles. And that's fast." He murmured, touching her cheek with his tail playfully.
…
Rosepaw blinked open her eyes, as the sun peeked down even in her den. Instantly she remembered the night before, and purred to herself, and left her den. Breakfast.
"Morning, Thorntail." She purred, flicking her tail to greet him when she noticed him by the fresh-kill pile, sniffing curiously at a mouse.
"Uh…about last night…" Thorntail murmured softly. Rosepaw felt cold.
"What about last night?" she asked.
"The…bond we shared," he lowered his voice, and Rosepaw nodded at him, recalling how their whiskers touched. "In RiverClan," Thorntail mewed, "Its something friends do. An everyday thing."
Rosepaw nodded, understanding. "I understand! That moment you enjoy, right?" Thorntail looked surprise, but he nodded, saying that Rosepaw was correct; even though Rosepaw was pretty sure RiverClan customs mirrored ThunderClan's. "That's fine," Rosepaw murmured, using her tail to gently roll a thrush towards her so she could still speak to him. "It's you, Thorntail." She picked up her thrush, and gave him a curt nod, and bounded towards her den.
Friends. They were friends. Rosepaw chuckled to herself. She hadn't had one of those in so long.
…
Thorntail watched the she-cat go, his tail tip twitching as he thought for a moment.
He didn't get to think for long however, because he felt someone's tail on his shoulder. He turned to that someone, and saw Blackshadow's amber eyes narrowed into slits.
"Hey, Blackshadow." He purred.
"She's a medicine cat." Blackshadow mewed simply, and Thorntail wondered for a fleeting moment if Blackshadow had somehow seen them last night.
Luckily, Blackshadow went on: "You didn't come into the Warrior's Den last night, until late. And I was just talking to Howlingheart, Rosepaw left last night too. You didn't… uh…"
"She's still a medicine cat. A pure, medicine cat." Thorntail mewed. "Untainted by the evils that mates endure."
Blackshadow looked at him doubtfully for a moment, but finally sighed. "Fine. Anyways, I'm going on a hunting patrol."
"Can I come?" Thorntail asked.
"I'm going with Bearmoon and Furrytail." Blackshadow meowed. Thorntail stared at him, wondering if Blackshadow had some grudge against him, and Blackshadow picked it up, and shook his head. "Robinwing ordered it. And don't you have to train Scornpaw?"
Thorntail nodded, recalling Swiftfoot's advice on making Scornpaw an amazing warrior beyond belief, so it would shine well on Thorntail when Robinwing retired.
"Another thing," Blackshadow meowed. "Robinwing was organizing the patrols as usual…you weren't there. You will still sleeping the day away," Thorntail nodded and let Blackshadow go on. "And Robinwing had Spottedlight confined to the camp – you know, 'guarding', as normal, but Streamstar had Robinwing send her on the Dawn ShadowClan border patrol, and the Sunhigh hunting patrol. Spottedlight." Blackshadow spat Spottedlight's name out like it was a bad piece of prey.
"What's odd about that?" Thorntail asked, taking a bite out of his mouse, and chewing it obnoxiously – just to annoy his friend.
"Well," Blackshadow glared at him for chewing so rudely for a moment before continuing. "It's just odd, that's all. Spottedlight is hated by everyone one day, and the next Streamstar's pushing her on her warriors. Do you know why?"
Thorntail shrugged his shoulders. That was odd, admittedly.
A yowl behind them interrupted the two cat's chat, and Thorntail and Blackshadow turned to see Furrytail with her fur bristling.
"Blackshadow, are you going to stand there gossiping all day? We need to hunt. Now."
Blackshadow purred and got to his paws. "See 'ya, Thorntail." He purred, and stared at Thorntail's mouse for a moment. "You hunted already?"
"Technically. I hunted after Moonhigh so…" Thorntail shrugged, and Blackshadow mimicked the gesture. "Fine." He meowed simply, and then went with Furrytail on the hunt.
…
Rosepaw had just swallowed her fresh kill, when she felt a tail tip on her shoulder.
"Hello," she purred getting to her paws and turning to the cat. "What's…oh…"
The ginger cat before her, was Applefur, who's gaze burned into her own.
"If I were you," Applefur snarled, gently hitting Rosepaw's neck with her tail. "I'd stay away from Thorntail."
If those words weren't enough to make even a Clan leader like Streamstar run off and join ShadowClan, the next ones were.
"You might join StarClan sooner then you'd like."