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"Thornsting, pay attention when I'm talking to you."

I turned away from Sunflight and glared at Berrynose. "What now?"

"Hey, I'm leader here! I deserve more respect!"

I curled my lip. "You're leading a patrol. Every single warrior has led one."

"Not everyone." He said, looking a bit flustered. "Briarlight never led any patrols while she was alive."

"Briarlight was paralyzed. If you've magically discovered a way for crippled cats to lead a patrol, I would love to hear it. Otherwise, you're dumb as a rock."

Sunflight looked at me with mock anger. "Now, don't be rude, Thornsting."

Berrynose lifted his muzzle. "Thank you, Sunflight. It's good to see at least someone respects me."

"Your comment is degrading to rocks."

Berrynose got even more flustered. He tried to come up with a comeback, then when he couldn't think of one, he made that usual grunting noise he made whenever he ran out of ideas and stalked away.

"Hey, guys." Blizzardpaw ran up to us from behind, completely breathless. "Thanks for leaving me behind back there."

Sunflight shrugged. "Wasn't our idea. Old Dummynose insisted on leaving you behind."

"Where is he now?"

"Who cares?" I asked. "Let's go on without him. He probably can't even tell the difference between the ThunderClan border and the WindClan border anyway."

Sunflight grinned. "Or the difference between a cat and a crow." He was referring to a time during our apprenticeships, when Berrynose had mistaken a crow in a tree for a WindClan warrior spying on our Clan. He had burst into the camp screaming about spies and an invasion, and when Bramblestar went to investigate, all he found was a crow feather and no WindClan scent. He'd been pretty mad at Berrynose for stirring everyone up, and had ordered him to do apprentice duties for three days as punishment.

We carried on with our patrol, making fun of Berrynose and coming up with stupid plays on his name, like "how 'bout Berry-no" and "Berryknows" (that one was obviously sarcasm). We eventually made it to the border, marked it, and made it back to camp. When we were almost there, Notail finally found us.

"Hello, Berrynose." I said as casually as I can. "Can we help you?"

He glared at us. "Imbeciles." He muttered. "Stupid, incompetent imbeciles."

Sunflight looked at him pointedly. "Now that's no way to talk about yourself, Berrynose."

"I wasn't talking about myself."

"That's a first."

He glared at Sunflight and stalked away again. I exchanged a look with my brother and followed him, Blizzardpaw right behind us. When we entered the camp, I was expecting Berrynose to run to Bramblestar again and complain about our lack of respect for him. However, he was standing near the fresh-kill pile, open-mouthed.

"Close your mouth, Berrynose." I snapped. "You'll catch flies." I padded into the clearing, seeing that the whole Clan was gathered. "What's going on?"

Bumblestripe, who was closest to me, turned and stared at me with wide eyes. "You don't know yet?"

I shook my head. "I've been out all morning on patrols."

He leaned toward me a little. His voice trembled as he spoke. "The Twolegs from the Greenleaf Twolegplace are setting traps."

"Traps? What kind of traps."

"They- they're like the ones in the forest." Bumblestripe said. "Or at least that's what the older warriors are saying. The traps don't hurt the cats, but they trap them within a really tiny space that they can't escape from. They're really easy to fall into, since they're cleverly disguised."

I pushed through the crowd until I reached the center. My father and Ivypool were standing there. Ivypool looked thoroughly disturbed, while Bramblestar maintained his usual respectable calm. "Everyone needs to calm down." He growled.

"Calm down?" That was Cherryfall. "My kits could be in danger!"

"Your kits are in no danger." Bramblestar assured her. "They aren't allowed to leave the camp. The Twolegs have only set the traps near the ShadowClan border. Shimmerkit and Mistkit will be safe."

"What about my kits, then?" Amberheart asked. I spotted her standing beside her mate, eyes clouded with worry. "They're apprentices now. They could easily fall into one of those traps!"

As soon as she spoke, the entire Clan broke into a chorus of yowls.

"What if the Twolegs kill the trapped cats?"

"I don't want to die!"

"We're all going to get captured!"

"StarClan help us!"

"Enough!" Bramblestar yowled. The Clan instantly fell silent. I felt a flicker of pride for the level of control my father had over his warriors. "These traps do not mean the end of ThunderClan. We have survived trappings before. We survived the battle with the Twolegs. We survived the Dark Forest, and the flood. We can survive this. This only means we need to be more careful, not that we are all going to die."

To my relief, his words seemed to calm the ThunderClan cats. However, despite myself, I just had to ask,

"Who got captured?"

Several cats turned to look at me, including my father. His amber eyes met my own green ones. "Rosepetal." He said gravely. "She was out hunting by the ShadowClan border when she accidentally ran straight into one. By the time the rest of her patrol noticed, a Twoleg was already carrying her away."

I bowed my head, feeling a flash of rage. First these Twolegs barge in uninvited and kill Tawnypelt. Then they use their fire-sticks on us in battle and kill four of our cats. Now they set traps and take away more of our own? Who did these things think they were?

"What are we going to do?" Spiderleg asked, his voice hoarse. I looked up, only then remembering that Rosepetal was Spiderleg's daughter.

"I am thinking over the possibilities now." Bramblestar growled. "We can't just barge into their camp demanding they give Rosepetal back." He paused for a moment before shaking his head. "Regardless, there are still duties to be done. I will ponder over the options we have and tell you my decision tonight." He pushed his way through the group and retreated into his den.

"Okay, ThunderClan!" Berrynose's annoying voice rose over the chorus of voices that broke out as soon as Bramblestar was gone. "You heard what he said! Mousewhisker, get a couple of warriors together and go hunting. Firelight-"

"Hey, who in StarClan's name put you in charge?" Cloudtail snarled at him. "Ivypool's the deputy, not you."

He sniffed. "Fine. Who wants to go on a patrol with me!"

Nobody jumped at the chance.

To save himself from the embarrassment of going out alone, Berrynose called to his apprentice. "Tumblepaw! Hunting, now."

"But I can't leave the camp without-"

He lashed his tail. "I said we're going out, and that means we're going out!" He stalked out of the camp.

I shook my head. "Stupid rock." Turning to Sunflight, I added, "We should go out and see if we can find some of those traps. Maybe we can mark them so that the others know to avoid them."

He straightened. "Hmph. Not bad. Let's do it. We can take Blizzardpaw with us."

We found Blizzardpaw eating a mouse near the half rock. We quickly explained to him our plan. His eyes grew wider and wider with each passing word. He lashed his tail in excitement as I finished. "Finally! This might be just what I need to make Bramblestar see I'm ready to become a warrior!"

I grunted. "You need to be careful. Remember that what happened to Rosepetal will happen to you if you aren't careful."

He nodded quickly. "I'll be careful, Thornsting. I promise."

"Careful about what?"

I turned. Hollyheart was standing right behind me. I felt a flash of jealousy when I saw her. She and my brother Barkfoot were mates now, and he'd only been a warrior for almost a quarter moon. Turns out she was expecting his kits, too. Figures.

"We were just going out on a patrol." I growled.

She blinked. "A patrol? Can I join you?"

Sunflight started to say something, but I cut her off. "No."

She stiffened. "No? Why not?" Her eyes suddenly glimmered with mischief. "Afraid a she-cat's going to show you up?"

"I- um, I-, well-" I looked at Sunflight for support. He shrugged and mouthed, "Your problem". I curled my lip at him and turned back to Hollyheart. "Fine." I said. "I guess you can come." I briefed her on what we were doing.

She nodded slowly. "Interesting. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get moving!" She darted toward the camp entrance. Blizzardpaw gave a squeak of excitement and ran after her.

Sunflight stood up and started walking. "You need to stop being so jealous of her. She's Barkfoot's mate, and that's never going to change."

I snorted. "I don't care that she's Barkfoot's mate. I care that he got a mate before me."

"Relax." He said. "You'll find someone someday. She's out there. You just have to be patient."

I let my claws slide out and said nothing.

When we got to the ShadowClan border, we split up. I headed off to the northwestern side, which was where Hollyheart had said Rosepetal had been when she'd fallen into that trap. I opened my jaws and tasted the air.

Nothing.

I looked around, checking for signs that there had been activity here recently.

Still nothing.

So why did I suddenly feel as if something bad were about to happen?

Taking a deep breath, I started searching. It was fairly difficult, since I couldn't use scent to guide me. I eventually found one concealed underneath the roots of an old oak tree. Sweet-smelling food was tucked in the back of it. I forced myself to ignore it as I took a stick and slashed at it with my claws. I then bit into it in a few places before leaving it directly in front of the trap. Whoever got near it would likely either see or trip over the stick, realize it was a marker, and then avoid the area after realizing it marked a trap location.

I was about to move on when a shriek echoed through the forest.

"Somebody help me!"

Hollyheart!

My paws were moving before my brain had registered who it was calling for help. I was quickly joined by Blizzardpaw as we found Hollyheart.

She was crouching in one of the traps, cleverly concealed inside a hollowed out log. She was bashing against the sides of the trap, wailing. "Please, let me out!" She begged, seeing Blizzardpaw and I.

Sunflight came up behind us. He saw Hollyheart almost immediately. "Great StarClan." He whispered. All of a sudden, his voice rose to a yowl. "Run!"

I looked up to see what he was talking about as a shadow fell over us. A huge Twoleg stood over us, brown eyes glimmering menacingly. It held a fire-stick in it's paw, which it pointed at us without hesitation.

I felt teeth sink into my scruff and drag me to the side. I screeched in surprise as I was dragged into a bush, kicking and biting. I stopped when my captor let me go and I realized it was Sunflight.

"We need to get out of here!" He hissed.

"But what about-" I looked over at the Twoleg just in time to see him seize Blizzardpaw by the scruff. The white tom shrieked, thrashing and slashing at the Twoleg. The Twoleg pointed his fire-stick at the apprentice's head, and he froze in fear.

The Twoleg muttered something comprehensible and started walking. As soon as he was gone, I hissed to Sunflight,

"Now's our chance."

"Wait." He held up a paw.

"What?" I spat. "You're seriously telling me to wait when our Clanmate is in danger?"

Before he could answer me, another Twoleg appeared. This one was different, with blue eyes instead of brown. The fur on his head was also white instead of brown like the other's. He reached into the log and pulled out the trap holding Hollyheart. She spit at him, fur fluffed up to make her look twice her size. The Twoleg ignored her spitting threats and started walking away. Hollyheart shrank back against the back of the trap, clearly terrified despite her brave display just before.

I darted forward, but teeth sank into my scruff before I could get beyond the bush. Sunflight hauled me back. He placed his paws on my shoulders and pushed down, forcing me to stay put against the ground.

"No!" I snarled, struggling against him. "They'll kill them both! We have to rescue them!"

"Would you knock it off?" Sunflight leaned around me so that I could see his face. "I'm just as worried as you are. But running after them without a plan is suicide. If they're kind enough to spare us now, they'll surely capture us so they can kill us later!"

"I don't care!" I wailed. "They're gone because of me! It's my fault..."

"And he said he didn't care about Hollyheart." He muttered. Raising his voice, he added, "Blaming yourself isn't going to fix anything either. The only thing we can do to help Hollyheart and Blizzardpaw now is to go back to camp and explain what happened. Bramblestar has to take action now."

"Oh, no." I whispered. "We can't go back! Bramblestar is going to kill us!"

"Well, so would those Twolegs, if we had gone after them."

"At least we would have died in bravery rather than shame!"

He sighed, sounding irritated. He pushed his way out of the bush. "Look, Thornsting. You can sit here and mope if you want. You can go after that Twoleg and get killed. I'm going back to camp and telling everyone the truth."

He walked away.

I stayed in that bush for way longer than I should have. I felt insurmountable guilt over what had happened. It was my fault, and my fault alone, that Hollyheart and Blizzardpaw had gotten captured. I had been stupid and selfish and thought that I could help my Clan when I really couldn't. Now, Hollyheart and Blizzardpaw were going to get killed, and it was my fault. Hollyheart's kits would never get to live. Blizzardpaw would never get to know the joy of being a warrior. He would never even know what his warrior name would be. I felt sick to my stomach.

I wasn't sure how long I had been crouching there milling over my guilt when someone found me. The sun was beginning to set as I heard a voice, gentle but firm.

"Thornsting?"

I lifted my head. "In here."

Someone nosed aside the leaves, and I saw that it was my mother, Squirrelflight. Her voice was gentle as she said,

"Come out of there, Thornsting. I want to talk to you."

I dragged myself out of the bush, keeping my head low. "If you've come to reprimand me about letting Blizzardpaw and Hollyheart get captured, don't. I already know that what I did was wrong."

"I know that you know that. I'm smart enough to know that you are old enough to understand the consequences of your decisions." She sat beside me. "Sunflight told us everything that happened. You can't blame yourself and only yourself for this, Thornsting."

"But coming out here was my idea!" I protested. "I wanted to prove myself to the Clan, and now Hollyheart and Blizzardpaw are gone because of it!"

Her eyes clouded. "Blizzardpaw and Hollyheart both should have been more conscious of their decisions and their consequences. It is not entirely your fault that this has happened, Thornsting. You can't let yourself believe that."

I didn't say anything.

She sighed. "Well, I've said my share. You can stay here and feel guilty over what happened, or come with me. Your choice."

Her words were so close to Sunflight's it was haunting. I forced myself to follow her.

When I got back to camp, I was expecting an onslaught of accusations and threats. But I got nothing. Some cats stared at me, but most ignored me completely.

I froze, ears flattened in shame, when I saw my father. He was speaking to Ivypool at the foot of Highledge, looking deeply troubled.

"Go on." Squirrelflight murmured. "Talk to him. He will fix this problem, Thornsting. He always does."

I couldn't bring myself to believe her as I walked over to Bramblestar. When he saw me coming, he murmured something to Ivypool, who nodded and quickly departed.

I saw that Bramblestar was waiting for me to speak, so I did. Taking a deep breath, I explained my side of what happened, making sure to repeatedly state how guilty I was over the whole thing.

After I finished, Bramblestar just sat there for a while, nodding and murmuring to himself. Finally, he spoke up.

"You are correct in saying that you were wrong to assume you could carry the weight of this entire problem on your shoulders. You were in no position to organize a patrol to try and prevent cats from falling into those traps. Because of your poor decisions, two cats are gone, and likely dead by this point."

I bowed my head, feeling like I just wanted to curl up and disappear.

"However, your attempt at protecting your Clan was brave, and I admire you for that. Still, your impulsiveness has created yet another problem for me. Now we have a queen, a warrior, and an apprentice missing. No telling how many other cats will fall into these traps before all is said and done. If you wish to alleviate your guilt, you can respect my orders and refrain from going on any more of these adventures to prevent something like this from occurring again. You are a warrior now, Thornsting. I expect you to start thinking like one. Do you understand me?"

I nodded. "Yes, Bramblestar. I understand."

"Good." The tabby leader growled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I-"

"Bramblestar! Bramblestar, come quickly!"

My father was moving before the cat speaking had even finished talking. I bounded after him, my guilt momentarily forgotten.

Bumblestripe was standing at the camp entrance, Dewdrop pacing behind him. The grey and black warrior's eyes were so huge I thought they were going to pop out of his head.

"What's going on?" Bramblestar asked. When Bumblestripe said nothing, my father snarled, "Tell me now!"

Bumblestripe's muscles tensed. After a moment's hesitation, he cried,

"We found the missing cats! Rosepetal, Hollyheart, and Blizzardpaw!"

I felt a flash of excitement. They weren't lost!

Bramblestar, however, did not look so pleased. "Where, exactly?"

"On the edge of the Greenleaf Twolegplace."

"Of course." Bramblestar spat. "We can't go there."

Dewdrop stopped pacing when he said this. "What in the name of StarClan do you mean we can't go there? We have to rescue our Clanmates!"

Bramblestar looked straight at him. "It's on the edge of the Greenleaf Twolegplace Dewdrop. Do you know how many Twolegs are there right now with their fire-sticks? We can't afford to try and rescue them."

Dewdrop scowled. "So are we just going to sit around like lumps on a log and do nothing?"

Bramblestar sounded regretful as he said, "We cannot. I'm sorry, but we can't risk the lives of more of our warriors. Everyone is needed here and now to help keep us safe from this danger." He walked away to prevent the discussion from continuing.

Everyone was completely still for no more than a second before flying into a frenzy. As everyone started moving around to discuss the situation with their friends and family, I got pulled into a group consisting of Thornclaw, Birchfall, Dewdrop, and Bumblestripe.

"We can't just sit around and do nothing." Dewdrop spat. "I don't give a load of fox dung what Bramblestar thinks. It's our duty as warriors of ThunderClan to help our Clanmates escape from these Twolegs."

Thornclaw nodded in agreement. "We did it in the forest, so we should have no problem doing it now."

"Except for the fact that these Twolegs are stronger and armed with fire-sticks." I pointed out sharply.

Dewdrop jerked his head around to look at me. "When we all became warriors, we promised to die to protect our Clanmates. I don't care if a Twoleg hits me with his fire-stick. I would rather die knowing I was dying for a good cause than die knowing I wasn't doing enough."

I wanted to argue, but realized that he was right. When Bramblestar had made me a warrior, he had made me promise to defend this Clan with my life. Now was the time for me to do that. Besides, Thornclaw had experience with Twolegs trapping cats. He would know what to do.

"I'm in." Birchfall said. "I agree with you guys. Bramblestar's wrong. Our loyalty is to our captured Clanmates, not to him."

Thornclaw nodded in agreement. "I'm in, too. This is our duty."

Dewdrop glanced at Bumblestripe. "What about you?"

He shrank back. "I-I don't know..."

Dewdrop twitched an ear. "Don't you want to rescue your mate?"

"I..."

"You'd be doing ThunderClan a great service." Dewdrop went on. "You'd be doing your duty as a warrior. Think of it- everyone will hail you as a hero when we bring everyone back safe and sound."

Bumblestripe studied his paws for a few moments before mewing, "Alright. I'll do it. For ThunderClan."

Dewdrop nodded. He looked at me. "What about you, Thornsting? Will the great son of Bramblestar stay loyal to his father, or to his duty as a warrior?" His voice was full of contempt.

I thought about it. My father had told me that I wasn't to go on any more of my "adventures". The warrior code bound me to obey him, for a leader's word was law. But when I was younger, Squirrelflight had told me many stories about my grandfather, Firestar, and how he had broken the warrior code many times during his early days in ThunderClan, with positive results. Plus, I had promised to defend my Clan with my life when I had received my warrior name. It would be going against that promise to back away from the opportunity to rescue Rosepetal, Hollyheart, and Blizzardpaw.

"I'm in. For ThunderClan."

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'd really appreciate some feedback as to what you guys think of Thornsting and Sunflight. I always hated how the later arcs didn't give the background characters very much personality or involvement in the story, so I'm trying to do what the series didn't by involving some minor characters in what will end up being a major contribution to the progression of the plot. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to R&F! More coming soon!