Warrior Cat Cody: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Warrior Cat Tales Of Virtues! So far, this FanFic's going okay, and that's good. If it's not too good, that's not bad. That one's from Wreck-It-Ralph, by the way.

Anyways, we got through the good virtues part...and now we're gonna go through the bad virtues part. It's not gonna be gory like Grimm's fairy tales, but the consequences are not gonna be good. Some may be redeemable while others won't get off that easily. And the opposite of honesty is dishonesty, which is the part of this story.

Now on with the story!

Uploading Date: February 1, 2015

Enjoy!

...

Fractured

After scaling up some rocks, Jaggedpaw was able to finally find a snake slithering over some rocks to sun itself. He crouched low on a rock, his tabby pelt rippling with excitement, and leaped at it. However, the snake hissed, rattling its tail as a warning, before slinking away into the cracks.

The thrill of the hunt was over that quickly. Jaggedpaw glared angrily down at his paws; it wasn't fair that he was the slowest cat in the Clan, even slower than the oldest elder. If StarClan had just given him superb hunting skills, then he would catch the fastest rabbit or burrow deep to catch that snake. He was descending down the rocks and into the forest when he heard a familiar voice ring out through the deciduous trees.

"Jaggedpaw! Where were you? Look what Elkpaw caught!"

Jaggedpaw forced himself to keep his ears straight when he heard Fallowfawn call to him. He hated all the attention his brother was getting for his hunting prowess and his popularity with the other apprentices. The others didn't treat Jaggedpaw badly, but they did pay more attention to Elkpaw more than him.

But he forced himself to go over to where the apprentices being accessed had gathered, at a stump that towered over two different paths. The one on the left led to somewhere deeper into the forest, while the right path led to the rockier areas of the territory and to their camp. Anyway, five cats were sitting in a circle: Elkpaw holding a freshly-caught pheasant on the ground, their mother Fallowfawn, ginger-furred Sunclaw, and Rockpaw and Nightpaw ( dark brown and black respectively).

"You see that?" Nightpaw purred, her blue eyes shining as she looked down at the bird. "He caught that pheasant on his own!"

"I heard those are rare in EarthClan," Rockpaw added.

Elkpaw purred. "Hey, it's nothing compared to what else I caught. A rabbit and a ground squirrel." He looked back at Jaggedpaw and went on, "And this pheasant can really feed the Clan. It's nice and pump too."

Jaggedpaw glanced down at the pheasant and frowned some more. "Yeah...I see."

"Jaggedpaw, don't look so down," Fallowfawn told him, laying a paw on his shoulder. "You're as good as Elkpaw; you just have to let this sibling rivalry go, that's all."

But that made Jaggedpaw feel more dejected. Couldn't his own mother see his jealousy right now? He wanted nothing more right now than to catch his prey, take it back home, and bury himself in a hole to avoid hearing more praise for Elkpaw.

As if noticing this, Sunclaw meowed loudly, "Er...you've got two more pieces of prey to catch, everyone. Let's get to it so you can pass your assessment."

So the apprentices split back up into hunting on their own. Jaggedpaw went alongside the forest path, aware that he was vulnerable like this, open to attacks from bears, badgers, foxes, or rogue cats. Anyway, he had gone and caught a ground squirrel, burying it before wondering what to do to best Elkpaw in their assessment. It had to be something to get their Clanmates talking.

Then he saw a stone lying there just under a bush and looked up. Elkpaw was padding down the path, sniffing for prey, so he ducked under the bush and out of sight and scent. Hoping that no one saw him looking, Jaggedpaw turned around and kicked the stone as hard as he could where he believed would be where Elkpaw would walk to.

A yelp told him that he had succeeded in hitting the brown tom. He ran out to the middle of the path and noticed Elkpaw lying there, grunting in pain and dragging his leg around as he tried to crawl away. It wasn't broken, but it did injure the muscle just as he needed.

"Elkpaw!" Fallowfawn had run over to Elkpaw's side before turning to Jaggedpaw. "What happened?"

Jaggedpaw glanced around, trying to come up with any kind of story, any kind. Then he noticed a branch sticking out on the path, the bark having been peeled away to reveal the splintery wood beneath.

So he turned around and, keeping his face straight, meowed, "Elkpaw was running down the path when there was a branch in the way. I tried to tell him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. Then he just went ahead and crashed into it, breaking his leg."

"Oh my..." Fallowfern looked down sorrowfully at her other son. "Elkpaw, why didn't you slow down?"

"It's not broken; I just bumped against it," Elkpaw grunted, trying to get to his feet. "I'm fine, Mom. Seriously."

Fallowfern covered him in motherly licks, her brown fur a quiver. "Nonsense! Look at your leg!"

"Nothing to do now except take him back and let Branchfur check on it," Sunclaw's voice spoke up, he and some warriors heading over to them. "Now let's get the fresh-kill up, pick Elkpaw up, and talk to Lionstar. And Jaggedpaw, Rockpaw, and Nightpaw might be becoming warriors tonight!"

Offering to pick up his brother, Jaggedpaw felt a little nagging voice tell him that he shouldn't have said that lie. But he wasn't bothered by it now. He was going to be a warrior before his brother.

...

The night had arrived at last. Jaggedpaw was getting excited about finally becoming a warrior, all thoughts of Elkpaw out of his mind. Earlier, Elkpaw was confirmed to have a sprained foot and couldn't get back to training for a little while. Now Jaggedpaw was the talk of his Clanmates, and he was enjoying the talk and attention for once.

When the moon and stars appeared in the sky, all the cats were gathering in the center of the underground camp. The leader's den rested in a huge pillar of rock holding the entire cavern in one piece, and that was where Lionstar appeared from while calling for a Clan meeting. He was a huge ginger-furred cat with a flat face, long fluffy fur, and eyes the color of newleaf trees. As the cats gathered, he looked down upon his Clanmates fondly, as if they were his own kits, before he began the ceremony.

"I, Lionstar, leader of EarthClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down onto these cats. They are now ready to step into the lives of warriors, ready to serve their Clan until the end, and I commend them to you as warriors." He looked down to meow on in his booming voice, "Jaggedpaw, Rockpaw, and Nightpaw, do you agree to take on the name of the warrior, to protect, feed, and serve your Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do!" Jaggedpaw cheered, the other two following him.

"Then I hearby make you warriors," Lionstar meowed. Touching Jaggedpaw's forehead with his nose, he went on, "Jaggedpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Jaggedtail. StarClan honors your courage and honesty, and I welcome you as a warrior of EarthClan."

But when Lionstar said "honesty", Jaggedtail looked down at his paws, now feeling guilt well up inside him. The same thing could be said for Elkpaw...but his brother wouldn't be back in training for a while. Suddenly, the feelings of becoming a new warrior faded away until he no longer felt good about himself. He watched on as Rockwing and Nightfeather got their warrior names too before the Clan started chanting their names to the crisp starlit air.

"Tonight, you three will sit vigil for the camp until dawn," Lionstar finished the ceremony. "May StarClan be-"

"Wait!" Jaggedtail yowled, causing surprised yowls to occur. "Lionstar, can I speak to you?"

Around them, the cats were murmuring, elders even talking about "disrespect for tradition". Even Lionstar looked disapproving as he asked, "Can't this wait until tomorrow morning? This is a time for you to guard the Clan at night, on your first night as warriors."

The EarthClan leader was right, Jaggedtail realized. He sighed and muttered, "Yes, Lionstar. I'll wait until dawn."

...

After a night of keeping vigil, the sun was now rising over the land. Jaggedtail could barely keep his eyes wide open while Rockwing and Nightfeather had kept each other awake by nudging each other. From the way the sunlight was hitting the trees outside the cave, the sun was rising from the west. Now Jaggedtail was feeling so tired that he nearly forgot what he was going to tell Lionstar about; perhaps they could talk after some rest?

"You three." All three cats looked around to see Lionstar standing before them. "You're allowed to speak now. Nightfeather and Rockwing, you can go get a bite to eat and then rest until you get on a patrol. You deserve a good sleep." And with that, the two cats nodded and left right before Lionstar finished, "As for you, Jaggedtail, you come with me first and then rest. I recall you wanted to speak with me."

Jaggedtail nodded, feeling more awake now. Lionstar turned around and headed towards his den, the smaller cat following him. Just like the pillar, the leader's den was big and wide, a big group of rocks sitting on the other side of the room. Lionstar sat on top of this pile of rocks, meowed "Explain", and waited until Jaggedtail sat down before him.

"I have a confession," Jaggedtail meowed after taking a deep breath. "Remember when Elkpaw tripped and broke his leg?"

Lionstar nodded. "Yes. Go on."

Jaggedtail looked down at his paws now. "Well...I lied about him doing that. I was the one who tripped him."

"Why didn't you say something before?" his leader growled, now glaring down at him. "You should've told the truth or asked for help during hunting. And you know how I feel about littermates turning against each other. I don't suppose I should tell you again about what happened to my brother?"

"No..." He had heard about how, jealous of Lionstar, his brother Mallowclaw tried hunting a bear and ended up getting killed for it.

Lionstar did not drop the glare. "Then you'll have to admit your mistake in front of everyone. And after that, I will take away your warrior name and go back to being an apprentice." Jaggedtail opened his mouth to speak, but his leader overrode him, "No, don't argue. You had gotten your warrior name in a dishonest way, and until you learn true honesty, you'll have to wait to get your name back."

I guess I can't argue, Jaggedtail thought. He watched as Lionstar stalked out of his den and out onto the rock where he looked over his Clanmates. The big ginger cat kinked his tail towards him, a signal to walk over. So Jaggedtail slunk over and sat next to him before Lionstar finally spoke.

"Let all cats old enough to catch prey come for a meeting at the Big Rock!"

Confused voices rang out through the camp as they came out before gathering at the foot of the pillar. He looked to the side, seeing Elkpaw at the entrance of the medicine den between the apprentices' den and the elders' den. His brother's face was curious when he met Jaggedtail's gaze, making the latter feel even more uncomfortable at what Lionstar was going to say.

"Cats of EarthClan, it appears that I have made a mistake," the big ginger tom was announcing. "Jaggedtail had told me the truth behind Elkpaw getting injured. Would you like to tell them?" he added to the younger warrior.

Jaggedtail cleared his throat, stepped forward, and meowed, "Lionstar's right. I know what happened to Elkpaw. I was the one who had done it." Gasps rose up from the Clan, and several angry hisses were aimed at Jaggedtail. The tabby tom himself dipped his head in shame as he continued, "I was jealous of him getting all the attention, so I set up a trap for him to get injured."

"Until he learns to put jealousy and dishonesty aside, he will go back to being Jaggedpaw," Lionstar went on. "However, he will not be entirely punished. Due to having learned almost everything, he will learn the last bit from other mentors. And anyone else who tried to punish him more than needed will be punished themselves. This meeting is at an end."

With that, the cats dispersed, some muttering while shooting Jaggedpaw dark looks. Jaggedpaw watched them go before heading out of the camp until he arrived at the edge of the forest, staring out into the dark woods and beyond. Elkpaw would be bound to get his warrior name now, but he wouldn't blame him for that anymore.

I'm sorry, brother. I shouldn't have done all that. You should've been the warrior today, not me.

To be continued...

...

Warrior Cat Cody: That's the lesson of this story: little lies can lead to some big trouble. And when it comes out, the consequences will not be good. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, because I can try and fix it if you find a mistake, and please be polite and constructive about it.

I don't believe I told you about the Clan camps yet. EarthClan's camp camp is underground, beneath the deciduous trees, but there is a hole in the side of a cliff so they can see the setting sun. There is a large pillar in the middle of the cave, where the leader's den is at. The elders and queens rest at the back of the cave, protected by the apprentices and warriors at the entrance of the camp. And you can all see where the medicine den is at.

So that's it for EarthClan for now. I'll give more information of the other Clans later.

See ya next time! And Happy almost Groundhog Day!