AtlierSky- Don't worry, Thunder will make his grand escape soon. He's meant to save TC after all, so he had to go and somewhat bond with them. Plus, the reason he's
ilikebackgroundcharacters- Thank you, I really appreciate your support.
Gray Wing woke with the dawn light. He stretched and stepped out of the warriors den, waiting for the rest to wake to organize patrols.
He noticed Fire Heart slip out of the den and pad over to him. "Gray Wing…Ravenpaw told us something the day Skystar went to meet Thistlestar…about Tigerclaw."
"What?" Gray Wing lowered his voice.
Fire Heart quickly explained. "And if they kill their own clanmates…no one is safe and ThunderClan will be wiped out. What if they're not all bad?"
Gray Wing closed his eyes. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't think right now.
Were they all murderers?
"Okay, well, we'll have to deal with that later," he sighed as more warriors appeared from the den and padded over to join the two. "I want you to lead a patrol to the ThunderClan border. And take Fircone and Nettle."
The ginger tom nodded, still looking troubled before he beckoned the gray tom and the mottled red one, leading them out of camp.
Fire Heart barely focused on the border patrol and was relieved when it finished and they went their own ways to hunt on the way back.
Maybe next time you visit you can see the kits, Princess' words suddenly popped into his head and he paused.
He could visit her now.
Looking around, he turned and raced back to ThunderClan territory and headed for Twolegplace.
Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a flash of black in a tree, but shook it off.
Thunder walked beside Thistlestar, nervously. He was testing him out for the first time. He shivered as he hopped through the snow after the ThunderClan leader.
Thistlestar led him to what Thunder recognized as the Great Sycamore. He had sometimes wandered around on his own, surprised no one stopped him when he could just run away.
But then again, Thistlestar probably had someone follow him without him knowing.
Across the frozen stream, Thunder could see the snowy forest of SkyClan.
"Today, we'll work on tree-climbing," Thistlestar announced.
"Okay," Thunder muttered, inwardly groaning. "What do I need to do?"
Thistlestar nodded toward the Great Sycamore. "Jump from tree to tree. It's an important skill for hunting or ambushing enemies. It'll be easier without the leaves, so you can see better."
Thunder gazed in dismay at the big bare tree. It looked like it was covered in slippery ice.
"You seem doubtful," Thistlestar said. "That's exactly why you need to climb the tree. The only way you'll become powerful is by squashing out fear. That's how cats become powerful. Like me."
Thunder reached up to grip the tree. His claws hurt and he winced. He hesitated, but refused to turn around and see the annoyance in Thistlestar's eyes.
Thunder braced himself before heaving up the tree, grabbing at the first branch. Finally, he was crouching on the bottom branch. The tree shook beneath him.
"Move!" Thistlestar called up. "Don't be a coward!"
For a few moments, Thunder clung tightly while chilly wind buffeted his fur. He knew he wasn't the best at jumping, and he didn't know how to tell which branches were the best to balance on.
"Jump!" Thistlestar shouted.
Taking a deep breath, Thunder launched himself off the branch. He landed with a thump against the next tree, scrabbling to grab hold of a branch while he dangled in mid air. He climbed back up desperate, not to fall. Even if the snow would cushion him, Thistlestar wouldn't be happy.
"Too slow!" The spiky gray-and-white tom shouted.
Thunder looked down at him, who stood at the foot of the tree, staring up at him with narrowed eyes.
"What's the point of this?" he asked. "Except for being unnecessarily high up!"
"Stop being stupid and slow and MOVE!" Thistlestar yowled, ignoring his question.
Irritated, Thunder pushed off the branch, jumping from tree to tree, always looking ahead and never at the ground.
He would show Thistlestar what he could do. He'd show all of ThunderClan how strong and reliable he could be.
Crack!
As soon as Thunder touched the next branch, it splintered off the tree. Thunder fell with a scream. The snow cushioned him as expected, but he still felt a sharp pain and realized he'd hit a rock hidden under the snow.
Thistlestar snorted and headed back to camp, meowing over his shoulder, "You've failed. We'll try again later."
Thunder stood up, wincing as his back ached. He trailed after Thistlestar, tail twitching with frustration more than anything.
As they neared camp, a hunting patrol appeared. Bluefur was in the lead, closely followed by Longtail and Willowpelt. All of them were carrying prey.
"How did training go?" Willowpelt asked.
At least she was friendly. She had a scar on her neck and Thunder wondered where it had come from. She refused to tell anyone though.
"It was fine," Thunder replied.
He was determined to show everyone here what he could do, especially Thistlestar. He'd train on his own, too. And then he'd fit in!
As Gray Wing headed out, he heard pawsteps behind him, along with giggles of excitement. He stopped and turned.
His three kits were following him.
"We want to hunt with you," Owl Eyes meowed. "Mama said we could come with you."
Gray Wing shook his head. "Sorry, kits. You're all still too young."
"Please!" Sparrow Fur whined. "You could teach us."
"Fine," he sighed. "But stay close to me, and do exactly what I tell you."
"Yes, Gray Wing!"
"Let's go then."
Gray Wing led the way into the forest, alert for any signs of prey. The kits followed, actually behaving for once, their eyes shining.
Soon Gray Wing picked up the trail of a hare, and saw it in some long grass near a stream. At first he could only see the tops of its ears, but soon he distinguished the outline of its body against the grass. It seemed young and small.
"Be very quiet," he murmured. "Look over there." He flicked his tail in the hare's direction.
The kits stared in the direction of the hare. Pebble Heart turned to him, looking distressed. "It's so young!"
"Won't its mommy and daddy be upset when it doesn't come home?" Sparrow Fur asked.
For a moment Gray Wing wasn't sure what to say. Then he sighed. "I get it," he said. It seemed they weren't as ready for hunting as they thought. "Badgers and foxes hunt us to eat, we hunt hares to eat, and hares hunt grass to eat. It's just how life works. We have to kill if we want to survive. Do you understand?"
They exchanged uncertain glances. "I guess so," Owl Eyes replied.
"Then let's hunt," Gray Wing went on. "And remember that hares can be dangerous. They have powerful back legs and sharp claws." Gray Wing looked at the hare again. It had its back to them. "The breeze is blowing towards us," he said. "Do you know why that's good?"
All three thought for a moment.
"Because the hare won't be able to smell us," Sparrow Fur mewed brightly.
"Good!" The she-kit puffed out her chest pridefully. "Now stay here and don't move."
Gray Wing crouched and began stalking toward the hare. The hare suddenly sat erect. Knowing it had sensed danger, Gray Wing pounced and pinned it before killing it.
Gray Wing beckoned the kits closer. As they moved towards him, sudden spots danced before his eyes. Pain gnawed at his lungs and he gasped.
The kits gathered around him anxious.
"Are you okay?" Owl Eyes asked.
He pulled in a deep breath. It wasn't as bad this time. If he could just gather himself.
He hadn't noticed Pebble Heart had left until the tom-kit came back holding something small in his mouth. "May I listen to your chest?" he asked.
Gray Wing eyed him, not in the mood for games. But Pebble Heart looked serious, and Gray Wing felt as if he had to agree. "Okay," he rasped, crouching.
Pebble Heart pressed his ear to Gray Wing's chest. After a moment Pebble Heart pulled away. "It's not as bad as before," he said. "I brought you a juniper berry to help." He set the dark berry down at his paws.
Gray Wing stared at it for a moment. It wouldn't hurt to try. He picked the berry up, chewed, and swallowed.
Almost at once Gray Wing felt his breathing return to normal. Astonished, he stared at Pebble Heart. "How did you know juniper berries would help?"
Pebble Heart looked at his paws. "I figured it out myself."
Gray Wing blinked anxiously. "You haven't been going around eating random berries, have you?"
Pebble Heart shook his head. "No, no! I heard Dappled Pelt, Cloud Spots, and Yellowfang talking about it."
Gray Wing nodded thoughtfully. Pebble Heart was turning into a young healer. He wondered if his son wanted to be a medicine cat when he was older.
"Pebble Heart, do you ever dream?" he asked.
Pebble Heart looked away quickly. "No."
Gray Wing could tell it was a lie, but decided not to press further.
"Thanks for helping," he said. "I feel much better now. Let's get back to camp."
He grabbed up his hare, then led the way back home.
Fire Heart found Princess' twoleg nest again and called out softly.
Princess emerged. In her jaws was a tiny white kit.
"You came," she purred and set the kit down. "I want you to take him, Fire Heart," she meowed softly. "I want you to take him back to your clan so he can be raised as a warrior."
Fire Heart's eyes widened. "I…dunno what to say."
"Maybe he can be your apprentice soon after your other one finishes his training." Princess looked earnest and he knew he couldn't refuse now or she'd be crushed.
"Okay," he agreed. He scooped up the kit and started to head back to SkyClan territory.
Fire Heart suddenly felt happy. He was going to have kin in the clan now! But as he reached the entrance, that happiness dissolved into dread. How would he explain this to the clan? Skystar, Gray Wing, Turtle Tail, Jackdaw's Cry and the medicine cats knew of his visit to Princess, of course. But he never said anything about bringing her kit back with him.
Several doubletakes were done as Fire Heart walked into the clearing.
Both hunting parties had returned. One by one, the clan drew closer to stare at the kit Fire Heart held. No one made a sound. Fire Heart noticed some of them were looking hostile, like Frost and Shattered Ice, while others were just puzzled.
Only Hawk Swoop, Jackdaw's Cry and Ravenpaw didn't look upset yet Jackdaw's Cry mouthed, 'You're an idiot' to his friend.
Thanks Jackdaw's Cry.
He felt a rush of relief when Skystar emerged from his den. His eyes widened in surprise. "Who's this?"
Fire Heart set the kit down. "This is my sister's son," Fire Heart explained.
"Your sister?" Shattered Ice growled.
"You have a sister?" Turtle Tail asked. "Where?"
"In Twolegplace, duh!" Shattered Ice growled, disgusted.
Skystar sighed. "Well, when you went to visit her for information that could be helpful, I didn't expect you to return with an extra mouth to feed…" he shook his head and muttered, "I need to think." He left for his den.
The rest of the clan slipped away, muttering darkly. Gray Wing padded up. "You'd better hope Skystar allows him to stay or your sister will be disappointed if you have to bring him back."
"And what were you doing in ThunderClan territory?" Ravenpaw added, walking up to the two. "You can't just go frolicking around in Thistlestar's territory. They'd either kill you or make you a minion like they did Thunder."
Gray Wing flinched at the mention of his nephew, who had run away to be in ThunderClan.
Turtle Tail interrupted them, padding up and meowing, "He needs food and warmth.
Fire Heart smiled gratefully and picked the kit up before following her to the nursery.
Turtle Tail snuggled Fire Heart's nephew in with her kits. Her own kits eyed the new kit curiously.
"Who's this?" Sparrow Fur asked.
"Your new brother," Turtle Tail meowed.
"Really?" Owl Eyes asked. "He's so small."
"And he's so white! Like snow!" Sparrow Fur added, but Fire Heart was relieved they didn't appear hostile. Satisfied, the kit was safe, he backed out of the nursery.
He spotted Skystar climbing onto the Flat Boulder. "Let all join here beneath the Flat Boulder for a clan meeting!"
The cats emerged from their dens again. Fire Heart sat between Hawk Swoop and Ravenpaw. Lightning Tail and Acorn Fur huddled beside their mother. Behind them crouched Air Leap and his half-sisters.
Fire Heart's breath was quick and shallow. Would Skystar kick him out? It's not like Bumble would stay permanently. She was just getting better.
What would he tell Princess?
Once everyone had settled, Skystar began. "No one can deny we need warriors. We've already lost so many clanmates in the past." Skystar's eyes flashed with sorrow as he gazed at his kits for a moment. Fire Heart guessed he was thinking of Thunder too. "We need to strengthen our ranks."
"Like another kittypet will help with that!" Shattered Ice sneered.
"This kit is Fire Heart's nephew," Gray Wing spoke up. "I'm sure he'll make a fine warrior." Some of the clan glanced at Fire Heart, whose heart leaped with hope.
Skystar hesitated for a moment, but gave his brother a nod. "I have decided to take this kit into the clan."
No one made a sound.
"It seems Turtle Tail has decided to raise him already," Skystar went on. "Fire Heart will help hunt and care for her in return. Finally, the kit should be given a clan name."
"How about Puffball?" Jackdaw's Cry asked. Fire Heart gave him an incredulous look as some cats snorted.
"Maybe Snow Claw?" Air Leap suggested.
"No, he's too fluffy for that name," Frost said. "Maybe Cloud Spots?"
"We already have Cloud Spots, silly," Petal meowed, rolling her eyes. "And he doesn't even have spots."
Fire Heart thought for a moment and then meowed aloud, "Cloud Tail."
Skystar nodded. "Cloud Tail it is."
And here is Cloudtail! This time Turtle Tail will foster him.