Chapter Fourteen

Mapleshade watched as Birchface disappeared into the undergrowth. For a second, she considered following after him but decided against it. There was nothing he could say that would make it up to her.

She hated him.

She hated him more than she had ever hated anyone in her entire life. He was, by far, the worst creature she had ever had the misfortune to come across, and that was saying a lot. She doubted there would ever be a cat viler than he.

How could he yell at her like that? How could he accuse her of sympathizing with RiverClan, of wanting to live with them? She didn't want that! She was loyal to ThunderClan with every fiber of her being, and always would be. It was because of her loyalty to her Clan that she didn't want unnecessary bloodshed. That's all.

Why couldn't Birchface see that? Why didn't he understand her? They were supposed to be friends, or at least friendly. But with every further interaction between them, they felt more like enemies. And that thought scared Mapleshade.

Spinning around, Mapleshade continued towards the Thunderpath. Since she was already here, she figured she would check the scent markers along the border. It would give her something to do so that she wouldn't have to return back to camp.

She paused at the edge of the forest, gazing out at the black Thunderpath. Monsters zipped back and forth, their foul stench filling the air. Mapleshade wrinkled her nose. How could the Twolegs stand it? Still, she did not bother to leave. She continued to watch as the monsters roared past.

They were all so different and unique from one another. They were all different colors: some of them were bright and vibrant, while others were dull and plain. Some were small and completely enclosed, while others seemed to have a long tail poking out from the back. Sometimes they were even carrying things on their tail.

The ones that stood out the most though were the behemoths: monsters so big they towered other everything else. They were as tall as trees, with as many paws as a centipede. They were long and fat too. She hadn't seen too many of them before, but every time one passed she watched in fear and awe. How had the Twolegs managed to tame such gigantic beasts?

She then wondered if Twolegs were ever killed by monsters like animals were. While she had never personally known anyone that had been struck by a monster, she knew it happened. According to Rabbitfur, being hit by a monster was one of the worst ways to go. If you were lucky, you would be killed instantly. If you weren't… well, you would spend your last moments begging for death as you writhed in pain.

Looking out at the monsters that passed, Mapleshade fully believed him. She began to imagine a cat, stranded in the middle of the Thunderpath, only to be struck full force by one of the metal beasts. She could envision their body being flung to the side of the Thunderpath, bloodied and broken, the light from their eyes fading as they took their last breath. At first, the cat from her imagination had been a figureless blob.

The figure then began to morph into Birchface. She could envision it clearly — his dead body lying alongside the Thunderpath, crushed beyond repair. He was dead, no doubt about it. The fur along his brown pelt was still and streaked with blood.

Her eyes then widened, and she shook the thought from her mind. No, no, no! She didn't want Birchface to die, even if she did hate him. How could she think something so evil?

The sound of a twig snapping interrupted Mapleshade's thoughts. Heart and mind still racing, Mapleshade turned around. For a brief second, she had expected Birchface to be standing there. She wanted to see him for herself, to make sure that he was alright and not somehow dead. But to her dismay, an unfamiliar she-cat stood several fox lengths away.

She was a smaller cat, with ragged brown fur tinged with flecks of orange. She had white paws and green eyes. She carried an unfamiliar scent, which made Mapleshade believe she didn't belong to any particular Clan. She also didn't smell like a kittypet.

"Who are you?" Mapleshade called out, unsheathing her claws. She took a step towards the she-cat.

The she-cat's lip curled into a snarl. Before she could say anything, the ferns beside her began to rustle and two more cats stepped out. One was a skinny gray tom, and the other was a brown tabby she-cat. Both of their pelts were ragged, and they carried the same unfamiliar scent as the first she-cat.

"Who are you?" the brown tabby she-cat mocked, walking towards Mapleshade.

"You're on ThunderClan's territory. Leave immediately."

"I don't think we will," the she-cat retorted. She was dangerously close to Mapleshade now, so close in fact that either of them could reach out and claw the other across the face. It was a tempting idea to Mapleshade, but she held her ground. As scrawny as these three looked, she was still outnumbered.

"Yes, you will," Mapleshade hissed.

"And who's going to make us? Certainly not you. In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered," the she-cat said.

"Maybe we could teach her a lesson," the gray tom called out. "Rough her up a little bit, and send her back to the rest of those forest cats with her tail between her legs." An amused purr rose up in his throat as he began to walk towards Mapleshade, the first she-cat trailing after him.

Mapleshade clenched her teeth. Who did these fleabags think they were? "The only ones who will be leaving with their tail between their legs is you!" With that, she launched herself at the brown she-cat, knocking her to the ground. A surge of adrenaline flowed through her body as she blindly lashed out.

The brown she-cat let out a scream, which Mapleshade ignored. She continued to claw at the rogue. With every swipe, her claws dug into her skin, sinking as deep as possible. She could feel blood welling around her claws, but she didn't stop. She wasn't going to allow these rogues to think they could push her around like this. She was going to make sure they left with a scar to remember her by.

It wasn't long before Mapleshade was knocked to the ground. Head spinning, she looked up to see the gray tom looming over her. Mapleshade let out a hiss and tried to stand to her feet, but the gray tom held her down. The two of them wrestled on the ground, shrieking and fur flying. The gray tom leaned down and bit Mapleshade on the ear, causing her to scream with pain. She felt a second pair of teeth biting into her tail, and a third coming to bite one of her paws.

She squirmed underneath the weight of all three cats, her eyes squeezed shut. She was afraid one of them would claw her across the eyes, blinding her. Someone had already clawed her across the cheek, a wound that stung immensely. There was also the bite to her ear, which was now bleeding profusely. She could feel the warm blood running down the side of her face and neck.

Mapleshade continued to lash out at her attackers. She kicked out with her back legs, trying to push whoever was on top of her away until someone held down her legs. Mapleshade let out a string of curses and continued to try and fight, but it was useless.

Finally, the weight on her body disappeared. Mapleshade let out a gasp, her eyes opening for a brief second. Her left eye was immediately filled with some of the blood that was running down from her ear, causing her to hiss with pain. She tried to lift a paw to her eye to try and clear some of the blood when she found herself being held back down.

"How should we finish her off?" It was the gray tom who spoke, his voice cold. He dug his claws into Mapleshade's chest.

Mapleshade opened her eyes, blinking away some of the blood. She stared up at him, her teeth bared. "You won't do anything," she whispered, trying to wriggle free from his hold.

"Think again." The gray tom moved his other paw to Mapleshade's throat. He pressed down hard, blocking her airway. Mapleshade's back legs kicked out at him, meeting the soft part of his stomach. The gray tom reeled away for a second, but before Mapleshade could get to her paws, she was being held down again by all three of the rogues.

The gray tom's paws were at her throat again, pressing harder this time. Mapleshade continued to try and squirm, looking for any opportunity she could to free herself. It was useless. All three of them had her completely held to the ground, their grip on her only tightening. By now, Mapleshade's lungs were beginning to scream for air. Despite all of this, she didn't feel afraid.

She didn't feel much of anything, really.

For the second time, all of the weight disappeared from Mapleshade's body. For a split second, she began to wonder if she had somehow died. But… she could still feel her wounds. And as she paid closer attention, she could hear fighting all around her. This didn't seem like StarClan.

Mapleshade staggered to her paws before someone could hold her down again. She wiped a paw across her eye, trying to clear some of the blood away. She then blinked several times, trying to adjust to her surroundings. She was still alive, in the same place she had been before. The rogues were still here as well, along with someone else.

At first, Mapleshade assumed this newcomer to be another rogue. But as her vision cleared, she could make out Appledusk's distinct features.

Appledusk stood before the gray tom, his ears flattened to his head and his claws out. Both toms' tails began to lash back and forth, and the fur along each of their spins was bristling.

As Mapleshade watched, she was surprised that the two rogue she-cat's hadn't bothered to attack Appledusk. But as she looked around, she realized that one of them - the brown she-cat tinged with orange - had fled. The other she-cat remained near the gray tom, her own pelt bristling.

Without thinking, Mapleshade raced toward her. She hooked her claws into the brown she-cat's back legs, pulling her down to the ground. The she-cat twisted around onto her back, her front legs out as she tried to claw at Mapleshade.

As they fought, Mapleshade could hear Appledusk and the gray tom begin to fight as well. From the corner of her eye, she could see Appledusk standing over the rogue giving him repeated blows to the head. Eventually, the gray tom wriggled free from Appledusk's grip and raced off into the undergrowth.

It wasn't long after that the brown she-cat Mapleshade had been fighting did the same. She had tried to grab onto the she-cat's tail, yanking out a few clumps of hair in the process, before allowing the rogue to run off into the forest.

Mapleshade then collapsed to the ground, breathing hard. Her entire body ached, and the wounds on her face burned. Blood continued to fall into her eyes, making it hard to see.

"Here," Appledusk's voice sounded. A moment later, Mapleshade felt something soft being pressed against her face.

Mapleshade opened one of her eyes a bit. From what she could see, Appledusk was standing over her, a wad of cobweb in his mouth. He pressed it against her face once again. Mapleshade watched as it turned from white to red. Soon, the entire wad was soaked through with her blood. It began to drip down onto the ground.

"I'll go get some more," Appledusk said.

"What are you doing here?" Mapleshade demanded.

Appledusk froze. He turned around to face her. "Helping you."

Mapleshade swallowed. She took a small step forward. It was at this moment she realized how badly she was shaking. She didn't know whether it was from the pain or adrenaline, but there was no time to think about this now. She had to deal with Appledusk. "I didn't ask for your help," she said.

"I know. You were being choked to death. Kind of hard to talk when someone's paws are on your neck."

The fur along Mapleshade's neck began to bristle. She took another step forward. "Leave. Now."

"Is this really how you're going to repay me after I've saved your life?"

"Repay you?" Mapleshade scoffed. "I don't owe you anything! In fact, you're lucky I'm even talking to you. Any other ThunderClan warrior would have clawed your face off for trespassing already." Mapleshade then froze, her previous conversation with Birchface coming back to the front of her mind. The prey… the scent of RiverClan that Birchface had scented.

"It was you," she hissed. "All along! Birchface was right…"

Appledusk's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"You've been stealing prey!" Mapleshade shouted as though it were obvious. "Birchface and I found some half-eaten prey nearby. He said it was RiverClan's doing, but I thought he was mistaken. Now I see he was right all along…"

"I didn't steal any of your prey," Appledusk meowed.

"You're lying!"

"I swear on my life that I'm telling the truth," Appledusk said.

"And why should I believe you? Every time we meet, it's because you're breaking the warrior code. And now you're here at the exact same time we find that half-eaten rabbit. There's no doubt in my mind that you're responsible."

"I didn't kill that rabbit. It was those rogues. They've been stealing prey from us too," Appledusk said.

"I don't believe you."

"Well, it's the truth. We've been picking up their scent along the river for a while now. Darkstar won't do anything about it, so I've decided to take matters into my own paws."

"By trespassing?"

"I'm sorry, but I was trying to figure out where they've been camped out at. Finding out where they live is the only way to deal with them," Appledusk explained.

"And have you had any luck?"

"No."

"That's because you're a liar," Mapleshade hissed. "Those rogues haven't been anywhere near RiverClan, have they?" Appledusk opened his mouth to speak, but Mapleshade continued on. "Darkstar would have done something if they had been. You saw how she attacked us… how she's been provoking us. I don't doubt for one minute she would allow those rogues to walk all over RiverClan territory and do nothing."

"Darkstar hasn't done anything about it, because she's sick," Appledusk finally said.

Mapleshade took a step back. She immediately remembered back to that day on Sunningrocks, where those kittens had been found. She could still envision Darkstar in her mind - how her bones poked through her unkempt fur, how dull her eyes seemed. That had been a while ago. Had Darkstar truly not recovered since then? She was also in shock that Appledusk would admit something like this to her.

"Sick?" Mapleshade echoed. "With what?"

Appledusk grimaced. "It doesn't matter. I don't know why I even told you this in the first place. Sorry for trespassing. I won't do it again." He gave Mapleshade one last look before heading in the same direction he came from.

Just as he was about to disappear into the undergrowth, Mapleshade called out to him. "Wait!"

Appledusk froze. He glanced over his shoulder at her but did not say anything.

"Thank you. For helping me. You didn't have to do that. It was nice." The words came out awkwardly, but she hoped the sentiment would be enough for him. She didn't want to have to thank him twice.

"It was nothing," Appledusk muttered. He stared at her for a second more, before disappearing into the undergrowth.

Once he was gone, Mapleshade collapsed onto the ground. She was so tired, physically and emotionally. Why did nothing ever seem to go her way? Why did she always find herself in these situations? From what she could tell, none of her Clanmates had to deal with this. Dawnfeather never had to deal with this.

"StarClan, help me," Mapleshade sighed.

She laid there for a moment longer. Once she felt rested enough, Mapleshade staggered to her paws and began the long walk back to camp. Her ear had stopped bleeding by now, but it stung horribly. She would have to see Ravenwing about it as soon as she got home.

She then wondered if Birchface had arrived back to camp yet. She assumed that he had, given how long it had been since their argument. She wondered what he was doing now. Was he still angry with her? Probably. Not that she cared.

There were more important things to think about, like what Appledusk had said.

But can I even trust anything he said? He's a RiverClan warrior, Mapleshade thought. The enemy.

And yet, he had saved her. This wasn't the first time he had done such a thing for her, either. Surely he couldn't be all bad if he had gone out of his way to do such a thing? Those rogues could have easily killed him, just as they had almost killed her. And he still didn't back down. He fought for her as though she were one of his Clanmates.

Then there was what he had said about Darkstar. While he hadn't disclosed much information, Mapleshade knew what he said had to be true.

By now, the ravine had come into view. The pain in Mapleshade's body was more apparent as she stumbled down the rocky path that led to camp. As she approached, she could hear the sound of several voices coming from the clearing. It sounded as though Oakstar had called a meeting of some sort.

As Mapleshade pulled herself through the gorse tunnel, the clearing went silent. She looked around, her blood running cold as the gaze of the entire Clan fell on her. Their eyes were wide with shock and fear as they gazed upon her. It was at that moment she realized that she still had blood caked across one side of her face, running down her neck and onto her shoulder.

"Mapleshade, what happened?" Dawnfeather's horrified cry came from somewhere in the crowd. She pushed her way through the sea of cats, running to her sister's side. Hazelheart and Rowanfur were not far behind.

"I got into a fight, but I'm okay," Mapleshade tried to assure them.

By now, Oakstar had jumped from the Highrock and was coming towards her. "You were attacked?"

"Who did this?" Hazelheart demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Birchface hissed. Mapleshade flinched at the sound of his voice, not realizing he had come to stand beside her. "It was RiverClan. Their scent is all over her."

Mapleshade's eyes widened. She hadn't thought about Appledusk's scent rubbing all over her until now. How would she explain to them that Appledusk hadn't been attacking her, but helping her? Even if they believed her, they would still be enraged to learn a RiverClan warrior had been trespassing on their territory, thus proving Birchface's earlier accusation to be right.

"You're mistaken," Mapleshade tried to say, but by now she was being ushered towards Ravenwing's den by her family.

"I shouldn't have left you. I'm sorry," Birchface apologized.

Mapleshade stopped. Dawnfeather tried to urge her onward, but Mapleshade stood her ground. "I don't need your help," she told Birchface. The fur along her neck was bristling again.

"You can talk about this later. You need to see Ravenwing," Hazelheart meowed.

Mapleshade glared at Birchface for a second more. He didn't say anything, nor did he look angry with her. He simply dipped his head to her and walked away. Once he was gone, Mapleshade turned back to her family and allowed them to escort her the rest of the way to Ravenwing's den.

Inside, Ravenwing had already prepared an assortment of herbs. "I'll take it from here," he told Hazelheart.

Hazelheart nodded and walked off.

Once they were alone, Ravenwing began to apply a poultice to Mapleshade's ear. "I've never seen a cat get hurt as much as you," he grumbled, applying another dab of the medicine to her wound.

Mapleshade hissed, ducking her head away from his paw.

"Stop moving," Ravenwing scolded. "Do you want to get better or not?"

"Sorry."

The den fell silent. Mapleshade closed her eyes, trying her best to remain still as Ravenwing worked. Once he was done, he took a damp bundle of cobwebs and began to rub it against the blood on her face in an attempt to wipe it away.

"Birchface told us what happened with the prey," Ravenwing said suddenly.

Mapleshade opened her eyes. "He's mistaken. RiverClan didn't steal it from us. Rogues did. I saw them. They're the ones who attacked me."

Ravenwing stopped what he was doing. For a second, Mapleshade thought Ravenwing had stopped working in response to what she had said until she noticed another presence standing at the entrance to the den.

Both Mapleshade and Ravenwing angled their heads toward the entrance. There, Oakstar stood. The ThunderClan leader's head was held high as he looked toward Mapleshade. "Once you're done here, I'd like you to come with me. There are some things we need to discuss."

I'm sorry this chapter took so long to post. This past year has been stressful for me.

Thank you to everyone for reading this story though, and for leaving reviews and favorites/follows.