Chapter 2

Marsh-Fragment/Sloe

The pine trees creaked softly in the breeze as their branches swayed. She could feel the soft earth and pine needles beneath her paws as she crept out into the open. Her heart and mind racing as she crept closer and closer to the pale gray striped cat before her. Her steps as light as the wind itself. At the last heartbeat, she lunged, pouncing on the pale gray striped mound with all of her weight. Her black tabby pelt fluffed in excitement at the exclamation beneath her paws. Her claws kept sheathed as the cat beneath her writhed, rolling enough to dig the tips of their claws into her long, thick fur and pulled her off with a grunt.

She slammed into the ground, rolling with the hit even though she was struggling to breathe and jump onto to her paws. Sky-colored eyes gleamed in the half-light of the forest, tail ruffled as a playful sneer crossed their face. "You dare challenge me?" They taunted teasingly, "I shall let you know, I have been trained to battle since I was a few moons old!"

She arched her back with mock-aggression and lashed her tail. "That may be so Great Primrose, but I have the upper-paw in this!"

"How so?" the young she-cat inquired, flexing a paw to unsheathe her claws in a visual threat. "What could you possibly know to get the upper-paw?"

Sloe watched her sister carefully, her shadowy brown and black striped tail flicking with the excitement of play. Her sister was far more skilled than she was, but her sister also clumsily taught her everything she knew. "The element of surprise!" She roared playfully, leaping forward in a mock-pounce as her sister ducked down low to the ground, right where she wanted her. With a well-placed swipe of a sheathed paw, she ran her pads just a hair offset from her sister's pink nose.

Primrose yelped as she flinched back, almost as though she had been struck by claws. "Hey!" She cried out, the light of play being replaced with amazement. "You're getting tricky to play-fight with. I should stop teaching you everything I learn."

With a small sense of pride, she lifted her head high. "Then I have bested the Great Primrose."

"I'm not even that great." Primrose corrected her with a flick of her tail. "I still have lots more to learn from Mother. Especially if I am to lead the Marsh Fragment someday."

"That's true." Sloe conceded, before a thought crossed her mind. "Would that mean that you would take Father's spot or be right behind him?"

"Probably behind him." Primrose answered warmly. "He has to teach me how to be a second-in-command as it is."

"Perhaps; but he hasn't really looked very happy recently." She confessed, remembering a look he had in his eyes before going to hunt. "It's like he has been letting his mind wander more and more the older we get."

Primrose trilled softly in sympathy. "I'm sure it's nothing. You can be reading too much into his actions is all. He could just be concerned about the lack of prey is all. Things are a bit rougher, but soon we will be hunting as well and bringing in more prey to give back to everyone for it! We'll be fragments just in time to save the Marsh Fragment."

Sloe nodded, trying to share her sister's enthusiasm. "Right, maybe I'm worrying about nothing."

Yet, it was hard for the black tabby to even believe it herself. Shadow, her father, has always been a little distant for as long as she could remember. Sometimes his paws would hesitate in mid-step before finally coming their way. She always wondered why, but he always assured her that it was nothing. Even Primrose was telling her it was nothing from time to time. Every time she wanted to discover the mystery behind his actions, she was closed off from potential answers. She knew this, but she wasn't sure either. Maybe she was looking too into it? What if that small hesitance was just him realizing how much they have grown already? What if Primrose was right and he was worried about the Marsh Fragment as a whole?

The warm sun between the shadows of the pines felt less warm and far colder now. Her frosty blue eyes downcast in concern and worry. Was she being too much of a shard to even consider that things may not be so black and white and there are real things to worry about? As though reading her mind, her sleek-furred sister approached and gently rubbed her head and body comfortingly around her, encircling her with gentle care and affection.

"It's alright, Sloe." She told her warmly. "Just focus on becoming a wonderful fragment by next moon. I doubt we will see each other much since the training for second-command will start for me. So just you wait, the Great Primrose will continue to teach you or at least help you learn even more."

Warmth spread through her chest. "Right, I can handle it." She promised, trying to play it off the best she could. "I won't let anyone down."

"Then let's head back before someone starts sticking their noses in our business." Primrose pointed out cheerfully, turning to leave just as Sloe heard the sound of leaves rustling.

"Those shards!" She groaned as she bounded forward just as the pair of moon-old kits fell into few. "Coyote, Fallow; why are you two here?"

"Watching the play-fight?" The golden and white tabby she-kit mewed out shakily. "Should we not have?"

"But it was so cool! You fight like real fragments!" The gray and white tabby tom-kit squealed out, his eyes wide with adoration.

"It isn't the kind of play-fight that is safe for little shards." Primrose growled softly, chiding them as gently as she could. "And it is far from becoming for a future leader."

"I'm sure Mother has play-fought before." Sloe pointed out.

Coyote nodded happily. "Exactly! But your moves are even cooler than Sloe's! More... more... awesomer!"

Primrose rolled her eyes, half amused. "That's besides the point, Coyote. You aren't supposed to be learning or watching so closely."

"Then why does Sloe get to learn and not us?" Fallow asked curiously.

"Because we're from the same litter." Sloe answered patiently. "So we are both the same size and it's safe for us. When your a bit bigger we can teach you cool stuff, too."

"When will that be?" The golden and white tabby pressed in a small whine.

The young heiress blinked softly. "At least a moon or two. Whenever your mother picks as safe enough for you two."

"Really?" Coyote asked, ice-blue eyes wide.

"Yes, so be very good for her and maybe she will pick within a moon or two." Sloe added in gently. "Now, let us slip back into the clearing you nosey shards."

"Okay!" The pair called out, vanishing back beyond the bushes.

With a chuckle, Primrose led the way back into the clearing; her tail being a beacon in the shadows with how pale her fur was. However, as Sloe pushed her way through, she could see Timber dozing in a sunny patch. Close beside her was an older she-cat, one that recently joined some moons ago when Sloe and her sister were very young shards themselves. A scarred pale gray she-cat with light blue eyes who called herself Crystal. She had no where else to go and had followed her son and his mate to their small Fragment. Her fur was ragged from every scar that riddled her skin, her light blue eyes seemed to be full of wisdom and fear. An icy tone always escaped her lips when having to speak towards the brown and black tom she knew as Pounce.

Pounce had seemed like a friendly cat, so Sloe had no idea what was really going on with them. Pounce's brown eyes shimmered with an emotion so deep and full of some sort of regret, as though he had missed catching his prey and felt genuine guilt for failing the Marsh Fragment. She didn't understand and when she asked, it was simply brushed aside. Something was going on and her curiosity was brimming to understand what it was. However, she also knew it wasn't her business no matter how much it burned to know. She could only suppose they known each other and something had happened. Whatever it was, the need to survive overran whatever happened in the past.

Scanning a bit more, she spotted the familiar pale gray striped pelt of her mother, Shatter. The leader of the Marsh Fragment carrying her head high with a catfish in her jaws. Close behind her was Coyote and Fallow's father, Reed. The golden tabby tom carrying a bright red cardinal, while the familiar black tabby pelt pushed its way through. Green eyes glinting in the speckled sunlight while carrying a couple of toads by their legs. They didn't know they had been play-fighting. Sloe glanced to the low hanging pine branch where a pretty silver tabby lay across with his claws on the branch securely. Beautiful blue eyes lazily watching the clearing. Shimmer was a laid back advisor on the outside, fighting not something he held an interest in; but he made up for it with his deep intelligence and wisdom. Just below him was the large and muscular crow-black tom watching the camp with sharp judgement and attention with his dark amber eyes. Jackdaw was a powerful tom, built and trained for battle. Yet, his soft spot was with Shimmer, his mate. Together they brought out the best in one another's skills and the Marsh Fragment.

Both toms had came to their group with Crystal and swiftly found their position when they displayed their ability to mediate both skirmishes within the group and when it came to aggressive loners and rogues. Shimmer was enchanting with his voice, Sloe knew this full well. When she was only five moons old and growing jealous over the attention Primrose was getting as the first born, Shimmer had explained to her what was really going on and had promised to speak with her parents about the situation on her behalf. Only then were they allowed to play together again and got shared lessons about hunting. Ever since, Jackdaw and Shimmer continued to teach them hunting techniques equally to ensure Sloe felt included somehow. When it came to fighting, Primrose taught her in secret while play-fighting as Sloe wouldn't actually be taught for another moon.

"Welcome back, Mother, Father, and Reed." Primrose meowed warmly. "I see that hunting had gone well today."

Shatter put her catch down. "For now it has. I'm sure it won't always be like this, so I'm grateful for any amount of prey we can bring back."

"As true as that is, it's still a meager amount. We have a lot of mouths to feed after those freeloaders came around." Reed grumbled.

Her mother turned her sky-colored eyes onto the golden tom and snarled lowly. "Jackdaw and Shimmer have earned their right to be here as much as any of us. Not to mention, Crystal needs a place to live out her sunsets, nor have you complained about Pounce doing the same as her."

"Pounce is different, I know him!" Reed argued back.

Shimmer flicked his ears as he gracefully leaped from the low hanging branch and sauntered over with his tail held high in a friendly curl. "Reed, Shatter; what in the marsh is the matter today?"

"You!" Reed spat viscously. "You do nothing all day and still get to be fed!"

The silver tabby tom tilted his head to one side. "Is that so? Have I not mediated between you and my mother before to find a compromise?"

"Well, yes; but-"

Shimmer interrupted him sharply with another question, "Have I not mediated between you and Shatter as well? Or even between Pounce and my own mother?" Reed fell silent, twitching his whiskers a little as he glanced around, suddenly uneasy. "I may not hunt as actively as you do, but I am keeping an eye out so your mate and kits can be safe. If it comes down to it, I would fight until my last breath for every cat here."

"Leisurely laying across the branch gives you that much sight?" Reed asked, a little more subdued.

"If you don't believe me, climb up there and take a look." Shimmer flicked his tail to the low branch. "It's not as easy as it looks either. It's not very high, but it's high enough that you need to respect the tree."

"Respect the tree!? Hah! Don't make me laugh." He grouched as he trotted over to the low hanging branch and scaled up the tree.

Sloe felt her heart race as she stared in terror. There was no way she would ever dream about climbing a tree, even if the branch was low enough to the forest floor. The spongy pine needle strewn ground was far from welcoming. All it took was a pine needle sticking straight up to prick a pad or through the fur. Even if her black tabby fur was thick and long, it still reached through and hurt a lot. So much so, she willed Reed to be careful.

The older tom reached the branch, his claws digging into the bark as his blue eyes stretched wide in fear. Sloe could only imagine how high it must look from up there. Shatter was silent as Timber woke from her doze with a yowl of horror.

"REED! GET DOWN FROM THERE!" She charged over as Reed jumped back out of the tree and landing safely back on the ground. "You mouse-brain! You have kits to think about!"

"I can climb a stupid tree!" He snapped.

"This isn't about climbing a tree!" Timber hissed in return, worry and anger flashing in her eyes. "This is about you staying healthy. The kits still need you as much as they need me. Who are they going to learn the best hunting skills from? You know you were one of the best hunters of FearClan back in the day. You don't have to prove anything, Reed. No cat has to prove it."

"These cats don't do anything!" Reed loudly complained. "They don't hunt or defend the territory!"

"Defend it from what?" Timber asked hotly, narrowing her eyes. "I haven't hunted or defended this territory either, if you have forgotten. Shatter didn't either for the first five moons of her kits' lives." Reed flinched slightly as Timber continued on. "Coyote, Fallow, Primrose, and Sloe haven't hunted or defended this territory as well. Are they doing nothing, too?"

"N-no." He looked away sheepishly.

Shatter blinked, stepping forward. "Shimmer, I believe it's time we update the goings of our fragment."

Sloe perked her ears, watching intently as the sleek silver tom gave her mother his full attention. "I'm all ears."

"Advisors will need to start hunting if possible. Which means, taking out the heiress and her sister to bring back prey." Shatter announced, looking to Shadow.

The black tabby tom nodded his head stiffly. "Shatter and I talked about it when we met up every once in a while. We wanted to see how well they can hunt. When the full moon comes, we will choose who will train Sloe in the art of defending the territory."

"Kit-mothers will not be permitted to train fragments. Especially of their own kits." Shatter meowed, "Jackdaw and Shimmer will be in charge of shards learning basic hunting skills when the kit-mother wishes for them to. Which leaves us to look to the council cats for a lending paw."

"Shadow is Primrose's father, could he be trusted to raise her properly into the heir of this fragment?" Reed countered harshly.

"I trust him." Shatter growled, "Far more than I trust you."

"Then who will train Sloe or even my kits?" Reed growled.

Sloe could only watch and listen, her heart thudding in her chest as a thoughtful expression crossed her mother's face. Her blue eyes looking over the clearing. Her eyes catching the council-cats who nodded.

"Pounce and Crystal always could teach them just as much as Sloe can when she is old enough." Shatter meowed at last. "So can Jackdaw and Shimmer." She added in haughtily.

Reed scowled, but turned away with a huff. "Fine, but not my fault if Primrose ends up a Clan-cat seeker too."

"How dare you!" Shadow snarled defensively, his ears pinned back in fury. "She won't! I wouldn't dream of making her into a Clan-cat!"

"You sure, because all the others did!" Reed spat back.

Jackdaw moved quickly, stepping between Reed and Shadow, his tail lashing. "What happened in the past has no bearing on what will happen now, Reed."

"All his other kits betrayed us! Took all of Shatter's Fragment with them!" Reed snarled, "It wasn't fair!"

"Was it fair that all of you dwindled under the rule of his former mate?" Shatter challenged in a cold, calm tone.

Reed curled his lips, yet he looked away, ears pointed in opposite directions. "No..."

"Was it fair that she used a tom to have a litter without true love in her heart?" She went on, her tone sharp as a thorn. "Was it fair that she went to war that would have killed her when she had such young kits?"

"No, it wasn't. But what does that have to do with anything?" He growled.

Shimmer sighed softly as he shook his head. "Can't you see? Everything that you were back then was so awful that those kits had to make their nests and lie in it. Those kits didn't want to leave their father, but he loved a she-cat who didn't even love them. Their own brother and aunts loved them in their place. From all the stories I've heard, I doubt it was a punishment from them, they just wanted to be with the cats who understood them."

"As for Shatter's fragment?" Timber asked, although more curious compared to her mate.

Shatter answered more thoughtfully. "It is the ways of BloodClan Fragments to follow a leader to the end. It is entirely likely they followed our tradition to keep Willow as their leader, even if he is now a Clan-cat. He does as he was taught, which is to become leader, while they do as we would: follow their newly made leader. It was their choice entirely, if they are unhappy, they will leave of their own accord."

"So BloodClan are cowards?" Reed challenged.

Jackdaw hissed viciously. "Far from it! We are proud and strong as ever, we just choose our place in the world. We may not be as tyrannical as previous leaders of our time, but we are trying to survive. Fighting senseless battles is where the Great Late Scourge had done as well as many other leaders. Choosing battles and putting survival first is what makes us stronger than a stranded cat in the Twoleg's stone-forest."

"There is so few of us, we won't survive." Reed pointed out harshly. "With cats lost to them, we have to take action and sway those weak-hearted cats that they are stronger with out whatever Clan-cats think make them strong."

"Enough." Shadow spoke at last, his green eyes glaring at Reed. "I know you miss the company of more cats than this, Reed. I understand you wish for fairness and the security that your kits will survive; however, you challenging Shatter, Shimmer, and Jackdaw will not provide that. I took that path already, it chases away cats like the alarm call of a failed hunt. We will work it out and figure out how to best provide fairness and security. I refuse to fall back into the past and repeat it. I won't let you make the same mistake, Reed. I won't let you experience loss like I had to."

Silence stretched in the clearing, Sloe felt uneasy as she glanced at Primrose who looked absolutely astonished. Everything they were taught seemed to have been destroyed. Their father had a first litter with another cat and Primrose was still chosen as an heiress to the fragment. Everything they had known was on the verge of collapsing. Yet, Sloe found herself far more interested in what this means for her. She had kin that were so-called traitors, those who left because of the way their shared father was like in the past.

The hesitance she had noticed since her eyes and ears opened finally made sense. Shadow was afraid of repeating his past mistakes; afraid to lose his daughters forever all over again. Unbridled curiosity flowed into her mind and filling her to the brim. She needed to meet these older half-siblings and figure out what went wrong, perhaps even have a kinship grow between them.

"If you have another litter, does that mean I'm not actually destined to be a leader?" Primrose asked softly in a gentle tone.

Shatter shook her head. "You are destined to be leader as my firstborn. Shadow's firstborn is already leader of his own group; thus it doesn't break any rules."

Sloe blinked, looking to her sister, who seemed so sullen. "Right." Primrose answered, not sounding convinced at all.

"It could be worse." Pounce spoke up, becoming the new center of attention, his brown eyes narrowed. "Being leader is not always what it is cracked up to be and being a parent doesn't make one a true one until they act like a proper one."

"You would know about that last part." Crystal added in icily.

Pounce flinched as though he was struck, shame glittering in his eyes as he looked around the clearing as he cleared his throat before going on. "On that note, Shadow's grief and anger is what chased his kits away. As a younger tom I have made terrible mistakes and held a much shorter temper. There was no excuse for that either, I should have been a better cat. In the end, I cruelly chased off my mate and kits. I was angry and distraught over that loss, but a river-cat I was friends with pointed out every thing I had done wrong. That this was not a punishment from my mate, but her escaping the cruelty that I gave her. For many moons I grieved and festered with a rage. So much so, even when my friend who stood by my side was slaughtered before me, I still chose to act like a fragment-cat. I betrayed her daughter until the very end. I never expect to be forgiven, I may never be, but I forgive my mate for putting her kits before me. I only hope that my friend and her daughter could ever forgive me or even allow me to forgive myself for turning my back on being a river-cat."

"Thanks, but what are you talking about?" Reed snorted, "You never showed remorse for it before, why now?"

"He is an old cat making amends for the sunsets he may have left." Crystal replied coldly. "But the point was, you have your heart in the right place while he never had that much. Shadow had his heart where he believed was right, but found out it was wrong when it was too late. Now, you are on the edge of the cliff, so to speak, on making the same cruel mistakes if you aren't careful. You are still a young tomcat, you have to put your family first and keep in mind that our advice is from the heart where past experiences are hidden."

"Even you have one?" The golden rom scowled in question.

"Of course." Crystal replied coolly, "I left my mate after he kept striking me. I only joined because Shimmer and Jackdaw promise to keep me safe. They chose to stay here, so I stay with them as Shimmer is my only surviving kit. I want my final days to be with the kit I have left. Is it wrong?"

"No?"

"Then what is wrong with Shatter and Shadow working hard to not only provide prey, denning, and nesting materials; but to try and figure out who will train your kits so that they can also provide when their time comes when they are old enough?" The silver tabby tilted her head to one side.

"Nothing." Reed conceded. "I just want things to change now."

"Change will come." Shatter promised, "Just have faith in us to get there. We are depending on one another for a reason and its to ensure our young survives into the future."

Sloe blinked, she had known that their group was quite small and fragile, but imagining that it had once been much larger was something she could scarcely fathom. Still, pushing her curiosities down, she knew what needed to be done. Soon, she and Primrose would be old enough to hunt and provide for the group, hopefully bringing Reed's worries and worst fears to rest.

Reed, on the other paw still seemed unsatisfied, but he at least seemed more relaxed now. "I'll hold you to it." He mewed at last, his blue eyes locking into Timber's brown ones.

Timber nodded, "Come, you can tell the kits about how your hunting has gone."

Their small haven was struggling to find joy and happiness, but Sloe had faith that it would change. Somehow, someway, they will survive and be living proof that those fears were unfounded. Yet, not even the young black tabby could believe her thoughts. She had so many questions and so little answers, even the answers from questions before had grown new ones. Deep down, she wondered if the half-siblings she had learned to forgive yet; but she also knew that it was near impossible.

How long would it take to find them and the answers? She wondered, looking out to the fragment she called home. She could only imagine how different it all would have been. Yet, it was hard to imagine her father being anything but hesitant and crippled to his past self's actions. Sloe's curiosity grew stronger and stronger, making it harder to ignore. Until she was old enough, she was trapped in the camp of the Marsh-fragment. Even after she was twelve moons old, she needed to learn how to defend herself first. Leaving her a challenging path to overcome in order to finally understand what the shadows of her father that made him seem so reluctant to be close to them.

It was the only way. After all, even with things said and done, she needed to know what it looked like from her older half-siblings perspectives. Yet, an unnamed emotion was thrashing its way in her stomach, making her feel sick. Even if she found the truth, what use would it be? Would it open old wounds of the heart or would it only create a much larger fissure between the now broken family? She didn't believe she could fix it, but what if she could become a bridge and somehow repair it, even a little?

Or, is that just me having wishful thinking like a kit?

Author Note:

Meet Sloe, the daughter of Shadow and Shatter. Wonder how they got so close? There might be a story coming before you know it on how this could have happened!

If you wonder what this is about, this is just to see how the Marsh-Fragment is coping after the events from the previous conclusion and for more character development work.

As always, thank you for reading; have a nice morning/day/evening/night! - NightSky