The moon was as silver as the StarClan warriors that guarded it, and a light, shallow breeze warmed Rosethorn's fur as she padded in toe with Thorntail, and her two dearest pals: Applefur, and Blackshadow. It was the first time in awhile, that they were able to patrol without some looming worry of doom hanging over their heads.
"Anyways," Blackshadow continued on with a story he was telling about his old mentor, Grasswhisper, "I set down the last vole she caught at our deputy's paws, and then Swiftfoot looks suspicious asks her if I caught it all – and truth be told," the amber tom's eyes sparkled gold in the moon light, and Rosethorn was surprised at how they were like two extra suns to light their path on the dark night, "Grasswhisper was the one who hunted for me during my last-apprentice assessment. She told Swiftfoot that I had caught it all, and I got to eat with him and Streamstar that night." Blackshadow shook his head – at least, Rosethorn thought he did. The only thing visible about the black cat were his eyes. Everything else abou
t the ebony-colored tom was as dark as the night around them – and therefore, invisible.
"The next day I got my warrior name. I didn't really deserve it." Blackshadow went on, and Rosethorn had to stifle a purr. Grasswhisper had always been a quirky she-cat!
"Tom!" Thorntail let out his forest-famous exclamation of surprise, and the smoke-colored cat shook his head violently as he leaped over a low-hanging branch that was in his way. "Grasswhisper sounds…"
"Psycho?" Blackshadow finished his friend's sentence for him.
Thorntail nodded vigorously. "Pretty much. But I think I can top that story."
Rosethorn pricked her ears, wondering how her favorite tom could possibly top a mentor catching all the prey for her apprentice during his last assessment, so he could become a warrior – and she could mentor one of her sister's kits.
"Which mentor?" Applefur asked curiously. "Speedtail in RiverClan, or Swiftfoot here, in ThunderClan?"
"Speedtail - but there's another one too," Thorntail's sapphire eyes sparkled, and Rosethorn knew that she was in for a real juicy piece of prey that was a story.
As Thorntail began his tale, Rosethorn stared straight at him, using her sense of smell and touch – and memory – to avoid tripping over anything. She didn't want to miss a word of Thorntail's story.
"Well," Thorntail began, "I was mentored by Speedtail, but my brother – Graywhisker, was mentored by Speedtail's mate – Puddlespots." Rosethorn remembered the friendly gray she-cat from the night at FourTrees before the attack on WindClan – that though had been won, had ended in disaster. Rosethorn heard Blackshadow and Applefur gasp in surprise – they wouldn't know that Thorntail had had a brother, but the gray cat went on as if he hadn't heard them. "One time, Puddlespots and Speedtail got into an argument about their apprentices."
"What do you mean, 'argument?'?" Blackshadow asked. "Do you mean…who was a better fighter, or hunter?"
"Nope," Thorntail shook his head. "Who was the better mentor –me, or Graywhisker."
Rosethorn purred with amusement, and Applefur exclaimed: "Great StarClan! You were only apprentices!"
Thorntail nodded in agreement. "You're telling me! Puddlespots and Speedtail didn't seem to understand this however, and they went into the nursery, and well…more or less stole some queens' kits while they were out hunting, so that we could mentor them - for just a day."
"Oh!" Rosethorn couldn't help but mew a surprised gasp. Two mature warriors, stealing kits from a queen of their own Clan…just so their apprentices could mentor them?
"Keep in mind," Thorntail continued, "This was just the day after Graywhisker and I got our apprentice names!"
"You mean to tell me," Blackshadow meowed, flicking his tail – Rosethorn felt the breeze – "that they expected two hardly trained apprentices to mentor a couple of kits?"
"Puddlespots and Speedtail had the mental capacity of apprentices themselves." Thorntail sighed. "Anyways, I was to 'mentor' a kit named Shadekit, and Graywhisker was told to 'mentor' a kitten named Owlkit."
Rosethorn heard Applefur gasp beside her, and she couldn't help but wonder why she was so astonished by the kittens' names. What was the big deal? Shadekit and Owlkit were perfectly normal names.
Thorntail went on to say that they both failed miserably at mentoring the kits – and in fact, got themselves lost in the middle of ShadowClan territory, leaving Puddlespots and Speedtail no choice but to come to rescue them. Apparently, the two immature warriors were punished by Duststar, by forcing them to live as apprentices for a few dawns, telling them that they were probably more comfortable with cats around their own maturity.
When Thorntail finished his story, the four cats were silent, probably thinking about the immaturity of Puddlespots and Speedtail. Rosethorn herself was busy thinking about her own mentor, Flamesoul…and why he had left ThunderClan.
"Hey, Rosethorn," Applefur jabbed her in the side with her tail, and Rosethorn let out a squeaky of alarm. "Did Flamesoul ever do anything quirky, like Grasswhisper or Speedtail did?"
Rosethorn nodded blankly, a shiver crawling down her spine as she thought of Flamesoul's pale, cruel emerald eyes, burning into her own… "Uh…quirky?" Rosethorn asked curiously. "Uh…no, not really. The oddest thing he ever did was uh… try to replace my father with himself once Crimsonspirit died. He made me call him Father for a couple of dawns."
"That's sort of creepy." Blackshadow mewed softly, though Rosethorn almost didn't hear it.
"Hey, Rosethorn," Applefur piped up, changing the subject – to Rosethorn's joy, "Why did Flamesoul leave ThunderClan anyhow?" Never mind.
"I know why," Blackshadow purred, and Rosethorn looked where…she thought, the black tom was padding along. "Didn't he fall in love with a loner she-cat or something, and run off to live with her?" Rosethorn stared blankly at him, and he simply shrugged. Maybe. She was having trouble seeing him. He continued, "I don't know. I asked Streamstar about it a few sun-rises ago, and that's what she told me."
"And she told the truth…" Rosethorn murmured softly, hoping to get off the subject of Flamesoul as soon as possible. He was a shame to ThunderClan for what he did. He didn't deserve for them to dwell on his name for long. Though, in a way, she thought, I'm repeating what he did.
"Oh, alright." Applefur purred cheerfully. Now it seemed that Applefur was truly changing the subject. Thank StarClan! "I had always wondered. Anyways, Thorntail… I was talkin' to a RiverClan cat earlier,"
Thorntail pricked his ears.
"She mentioned that you had lived in ShadowClan for two moons. Care to explain?"
Rosethorn almost doubled back a few paw-steps. ShadowClan? Alright, so Thorntail had lived in RiverClan, ShadowClan, and ThunderClan? Was his goal in life to live in every Clan, and sleep with every she-cat or something? Seeing as this was Thorntail, that was a safe bet.
Thorntail started purring hysterically. "Alright, here's the story! You annoying friends of mine seem to want to hear every single incident that ever happened in my life…might as well tell you, yes?"
"Please do," Rosethorn heard Blackshadow hiss.
"Well," Thorntail began, "I uh…well, When I was in RiverClan, I really clawed this one Clanmate of mine - A warrior... he had to stay in the Medicine Cat's den for a few dawns…"
"Wait," Rosethorn interrupted, "You told me that you joined ThunderClan just a little after you got your name."
"I did," Thorntail agreed. "This happened when I was an apprentice." Rosethorn stifled a shock mew. Thorntail clawed a RiverClan warrior into the medicine cat's den for days – as an apprentice?! "Anyways, Duststar wasn't too happy about that. He told me that he would show me what would happen if I kept on you know…clawing the dirt out of his warriors. So he exiled me from the territory for two moons – to show me what life would be like for a loner. He told me that any warrior would chase me out if I returned before then." Thorntail was having trouble keeping a straight face as he told the story, for a reason Rosethorn didn't understand. "Graywhisker felt guilty – because I only hurt the warrior because he was picking on my brother a tad bit too much. So he joined me in my exile, volunteeringly. But being the soft cat he was, he really didn't want to live as a loner. So, he told me that we should go live with our father in ShadowClan for the two moons. And that's what we did."
"Wait," Blackshadow interrupted, "Your father's a ShadowClan cat?"
"Yup,"
"But…" Rosethorn was confused, "I thought that your father didn't like you. And why would ShadowClan let you stay for just two moons?"
"Ah, but he looks better, Rosethorn, if he makes his Clan thinks that he gives a mouse-tail about his son. I think…" Thorntail blinked a few times, as if he wasn't sure of his father's motivations himself. "And we didn't tell them about the exile. We just told them that we left RiverClan, and wanted to be with our father. Well, I did the telling. Graywhisker never was good at lying. It made him feel guilty," Thorntail added. "Anyways, we stayed in ShadowClan for our two moons of 'exile'. We even got new mentors, and everything! My mentor was a beautiful she-cat named Rubyheart. She taught me ShadowClan fighting techniques, and I showed her true love."
Rosethorn's hackles rose and she let out a threatening hiss. Thorntail looked at her, startled, and then he seemed to realize that he had mentioned a former mate. He was quick to try and save himself. "True love…in prey. I showed her that the best kind of prey, are robins. You got to love robins. Mmm…"
"Oh, I'm so sure…" Applefur muttered, and Rosethorn sensed anger rising from her ginger pelted counterpart. But, she herself, just purred. Thorntail was Thorntail. She had always known what he was. If he had been in ShadowClan, she had no doubt that he might have been a mate of one or two she-cats (or three. Or four) …as an …apprentice.
The rest of the patrol was more or less uneventful – Applefur shared a short story about her old mentor, Badgerclaw, and an impossible task he had given his apprentice so that she would be preoccupied for the day – and he could spend time with his mate, the late Scarface.
Blackshadow tried to top her story with another one about Grasswhisper, and though Rosethorn felt guilty, she didn't listen. Instead she just took comfort. Took comfort in the fact that she had three friends who were, in her eyes, as perfect as StarClan warriors. Applefur the best friend a cat could ever ask for, Thorntail – who though he had his 'crazy' moments – was probably the cat nearest dearest to her heart, Blackshadow who she knew would stand by her until the end of his days. He had given up his right to his kits for Rosethorn's honor. He had paid a high price. Rosethorn would not let that be forgotten.
And most importantly, Rosethorn belonged. Finally, after moons and moons of doubt, Rosethorn knew that she would never be alone again. And maybe soon…her nightmares would disappear.
"Well," Applefur meowed, as the four cats came to the WindClan border. "Coast looks clear to me."
Rosethorn mewed an agreement. She had forgotten about WindClan on the way here, and she suddenly felt a wave of fear rise within her heart. She hadn't had much time to think about it before, but suddenly Rosethorn was hit with a monster of realization. Half her Clan had turned traitor, Spottedstar was still alive – and her kits would live in ThunderClan – all thanks to Rosethorn's mouse-brained faith in the Warrior Code, Dusktail had become the most distraught cat that she had ever met – probably because she had just realized that she was pregnant with Shadowfire's kits – Shadowfire who had betrayed her and his Clan for Spottedstar. And she felt a thorn in her pad too!
"I wonder what's going on over there," Blackshadow sighed, jerking his head towards WindClan territory. "Who do you think they'll make their leader?"
"They have a good four cats to choose from." Thorntail meowed sarcastically. "I don't think we'll have to worry about them, to be honest. We wiped out a lot in the battle – when we fought alongside RiverClan and ShadowClan…and then we didn't exactly keep our claws sheathed when they attacked our camp."
Rosethorn mumbled an agreement. Though, she couldn't be completely sure. WindClan was low enough to accept loners and kittypets into their ranks – just for the sheer strength of it.
"Blackshadow," Thorntail meowed suddenly, turning to the shadow-pelted tom. "Take Applefur and go back to camp. Tell them that I went to hunt, and Rosethorn had to collect some poppy seeds…I want to speak to her alone."
Rosethorn's eyes widened. What was Thorntail doing? It was awfully sudden!
"Why?" Blackshadow asked curiously, his amber eyes wide.
"Why are you going back to camp, you mean? So they won't worry about us."
"That's not what I meant!" Blackshadow snapped. "I meant…why do Applefur and I have to leave?"
Applefur seemed to be wondering the same thing, because she nodded vigorously, with her ice-blue eyes narrowed into slits.
"I have to tell Rosethorn something important," Thorntail purred. "Something that every tom should tell his mate, yes?"
Blackshadow's eyes widened even more so as he realized what Thorntail was saying. Applefur had a look of pure joy on her face, and Rosethorn felt her heart fly into her mouth. Mates? Mates? He hadn't ever referred to her as a mate before! In fact, Rosethorn had had a nagging suspicion that he had considered them as close friends.
Apparently not!
"Okie-dokie." Blackshadow purred, and without even exchanging a glance, the black tom and his mate sped off deeper into ThunderClan territory, leaving the two cats alone.
Thorntail turned to Rosethorn, and she felt his blue eyes burning into her own. Her heart fluttered, and she felt him intertwine his tails with her. Love mingled with fear at that moment, but she tried not to show the fact that she was afraid, and let pure love rest in her eyes.
Thorntail opened his mouth as if to say something, but he then seemed to think the better of it. "Let's go to Sunningrocks," he mused. "It shines brighter then the sun in Leaf-bare. The setting's better."
Rosethorn felt that fear linger once more, wondering if Thorntail was going to try and do what mates did…Rosethorn wasn't ready for that yet!
However, she didn't object, and simply followed the gray cat as the two padded down the border, to find the Sunningrocks.
Thorntail was right.
Rosethorn had usually thought of Sunningrocks as a pretty place just in newleaf…but…it didn't compare to this. Every single stone was more or less buried in the deep, powdery snow – and the stars seemed to reflect within it. What's more, hanging off of the snow-covered rocks, were icicles – pointing towards the ground, and shimmering with all the light of Silverpelt. And… the River, which seemed to have frozen over, surprisingly, was not only reflecting the Warriors of StarClan and the moon above them – but Rosethorn could see herself – and SunningRocks as well! She couldn't describe it exactly, if any cat ever asked her too… but it was beautiful. Just beautiful.
"Rosethorn," Thorntail mewed, sitting down on his haunches in front of the medicine cat's vision, "You are the most beautiful cat I think I've ever met."
Rosethorn felt hot under her fur. She knew she was pretty, but she wasn't beautiful. Shadenight of RiverClan, Icepelt…even Streamstar surpassed her in every way.
"To be honest," Thorntail went on, "Originally I had no intention for our relationship to ever go this far. You were so hard to get…and I had to try… I really just wanted to well…mate with you. Not be your mate." The gray cat hesitated for a moment, his eyes flashing around, as if he wasn't sure what to say. "Rosethorn, I really don't know how to say this… you chase me."
Rosethorn stumbled back in surprise. What did he mean by chase?
"I mean, chase me in my mind." he explained quickly, probably seeing her confusion, "I'm not good with words Rosethorn. I'm mouse-brained, try to remember…Rosethorn; I think you need to know that I will always be there for you. And I will come through with my promise – I will protect you. But not just from the fury of ThunderClan." He nodded vigorously as he aid this, clearly agreeing with himself.
"Rosethorn, I think what I'm trying to say is…"
Rosethorn's heart lifted into the sky. She knew what was coming! The three words that every she-cat wanted to hear! The words that a medicine cat isn't meant to!
"Is…"
"What is it, Thorntail?" she prompted.
"Rosethorn," the gray cat repeated, "I think that I…that I…"
Rosethorn stared into his sapphire eyes, knowing what he was trying to say just from them.
"That I…"
Rosethorn nodded slowly, to show her favorite tom that she was listening.
"Rosethorn," Thorntail sighed, rising to his paws. "I'm just going to say it. I think that I L-"
The last beautiful word was cut off abruptly, and Rosethorn's eyes widened as she saw claws being scraped across his face.
"Thorntail!" she screeched, unsheathing her own claws to fight off his attacker. She wasn't the greatest warrior in forest (possibly because she wasn't a warrior,) but she doubted that even StarClan themselves could fight her off now, when she was fighting for the most important word in Thorntail's sentence! They cut him off at 'l'! Rosethorn didn't even know if he was going to say, 'Rosethorn, I think I like you' or, 'Rosethorn, I look like a hedgehog in the moonlight, don't I?' She needed to hear the whole sentence! She couldn't fill in the blanks herself!
However, she suddenly realized that Thorntail wasn't in any danger. The cat that had slashed him had dug its muzzle into his flank, and the gray ThunderClan warrior was simply looking down at the cat in amazement.
Curious to whom it was, Rosethorn sniffed the air. RiverClan. And she knew who it was.
So did Thorntail, it seemed. "Shade…paw?" he mused.
The black cat that had slashed him shook her head – from her position of digging her muzzle into his side. "Shadenight," she corrected.
"Of course…" he murmured.
Rosethorn twitched her whiskers. Shadenight had just slashed him, and yet…he didn't show any retaliation! What was wrong with him?
Suddenly, the wind and scent alerted her to another arrival. Another RiverClan cat. Were they invading?
She turned her head, to see the brown cat, Owlpelt padding towards them in a brisk trot. Rosethorn was once again startled by how small the RiverClan warrior was, but she didn't comment.
"Owlpelt!" there was no mistaking the joy in Thorntail's mew.
Owlpelt let out a purr, and he rushed to the gray ThunderClan cat's side, and the three cats started to bring up a conversation, and Rosethorn stared blankly at them. What happened to the time Thorntail had promised to be alone with her?
Things weren't going so well anymore.
The emotion Rosethorn had just felt recently – when she was with Thorntail, Blackshadow, and Applefur – that feeling of safety, was gone. And Rosethorn flattened her ears, hoping that she'd get it back soon.