Eight
"As an apprentice you will have to learn how to defend yourself and your Clanmates," Dovestar explained as she led Olivepaw across the territory. The young cat seemed enthusiastic to escape camp once her father left with Tigerheart. Dovestar was more than relieved to escape the tension that went on between herself and the dark tabby. He seemed even more annoying than usual now that Forestpelt and his daughter were apart of the Clan. She and Hollyleaf had been working together to show Forestpelt the ways of Clan life, and that in turn added to the tension between them. If Tigerheart was jealous over the fact that she spent so much time with the newcomer, then he certainly let it show. "We haven't had the chance to find a safe place to train our apprentices yet, so for now we'll work on hunting techniques and patrolling the newly established borders."
"What's the point of these stupid borders?" Olivepaw muttered. As enthusiastic as she was over the idea of being on patrol, she wasn't so thrilled with the prospect of learning about Clan life as her father had been. In fact, she looked almost bored as Dovestar explained proper hunting techniques the four Clans used to use. She hoped that by teaching these methods to Olivepaw, it would drive an interest in the young cat. "It seems to me that it's a waist of time considering how large the area is. Plus, this 'Clan' is so small that you don't need a huge territory."
She's rather snappy for a kit, Dovestar nearly rolled her eyes in exasperation. And she's surprisingly intelligent for someone her age.
"The Clans have always had a territory to defend," she replied without hesitation. She hoped she didn't sound as if she was losing her patience. This was the third time that sunhigh they had to stop because Olivepaw questioned her motives. Almost at once, she was reminded of the way Minnowtail constantly pulled at her fur. She needed to maintain her composure; she knew Olivepaw was waiting for an opportunity to swipe at her. "When you're born into this way of life, it becomes more than a form of habit."
"Except that I was born outside the Clans," Olivepaw retorted. "And from what I've seen, the Clans were wiped out because they were too widespread. So what makes your Clan any different?"
Dovestar's ears flattened when she realized Olivepaw made a valid point. As much as she hated to admit it, the Clans were destroyed because they couldn't work together. The warrior code crippled their ability to cooperate with one another in a time of desperate need. She often found herself wondering if things would have gone differently had the warrior code not been upheld so strongly.
"You're right." Olivepaw blinked in surprise when Dovestar admitted that. "The Clans couldn't get along well enough to defend themselves when they were destroyed. In the end, their division was their ultimate downfall. I'm not sure if things will be any different with our Clan, but I'm not going to let the memory of the Clans fade away." The young molly seemed to take those words into consideration before an idea crossed Dovestar's mind. "I want you to attack me." Olivepaw looked even more confused than before as Dovestar dropped into a fighter's crouch, similar to the way Lionblaze used to teach her. "Try and attack me, but keep your claws sheathed."
The tortoiseshell finally seemed to realize what Dovestar was implying. She let out a furious snarl and launched herself from where she was standing. She tried jabbing at her mentor with claws, but Dovestar moved away fast enough to avoid getting scratched. Olivepaw rolled to the ground just a mere tail's length from where her mentor had been crouched, grunting in annoyance from the impact. Lionblaze used a similar tactic when she started her training. At the time, she had been terrified of getting into a fight with a rival warrior let alone her own mentor, but Olivepaw showed no such fear.
She was back on her paws in an instant, whirling around within heartbeats to unleash a flurry of attacks. They were uncoordinated, giving Dovestar enough time to determine where she would attack and where to dodge. It didn't take long for Olivepaw to run out of breath. Dovestar used that to her advantage. She hardly raised a paw while Olivepaw was out of breath and panting with exhaustion. Within heartbeats she had Olivepaw pinned to the ground, watching in amusement as the apprentice struggled to free herself.
"Let me up so I can flay you!" she snarled.
"Right, a small kit-sized apprentice is going to actually cause some damage," Dovestar rolled her eyes in annoyance. She didn't put too much weight on the apprentice. She wanted this lesson to sink in. Olivepaw wouldn't learn unless it was through tough love; Dovestar had seen this enough times with other cats in ThunderClan. "If you thought for a moment before you attacked, you would know that I was well aware of where you would strike next. You're predictable and easily outmaneuvered."
She released her hold on Olivepaw, letting the apprentice shake off her earlier frustration. She was still clearly annoyed with her mentor, though at least now she wasn't going to flat-out attack her.
"Where'd you learn how to fight like that?" she demanded. "My father always treated myself and my siblings like we were kits, but we're older than five moons."
It took a split second for Dovestar to register what Olivepaw was implying. She eyed the small cat warily, realizing with a start that Olivepaw was right.
Though she was small in size, she was older than her father led everyone to believe. That explained why she had been skin and bones when they were found.
Then another thought crossed her mind.
Maybe she would cooperate more if she understood what it means to be a warrior, she reminded herself.
"My mentor, Lionblaze, taught me everything I know," she explained once they settled in the clearing. Olivepaw still put some distance between herself and her mentor, but she noticed how much more relaxed the apprentice looked now. "He taught me how to defend myself and how to protect my Clanmates."
"A lot of good that did them," Olivepaw scoffed under her breath. Dovestar narrowed her eyes furiously as Olivepaw gave her a side-eyed look. "Considering they're all dead, I'm guessing that training didn't do you any good."
It took everything she had not to snap. She knew Olivepaw was trying to get under her skin. That was just another low blow on the apprentice's part, one that stung a little deeper than she would have liked. The worst part of it was seeing the smug look written across Olivepaw's face when she noticed the way Dovestar tried restraining herself.
"I think that's enough training for today," she muttered after clenching her teeth.
Olivepaw merely feigned a look of disappointment, "But I thought we were making progress? Did my comment bother you?"
"Are you trying to get yourself into trouble?" Dovestar snapped. Her fur bristled with fury when a light swept across Olivepaw's eyes. She didn't miss how amused the apprentice looked as she whipped around and led the way back to camp. "Unless you're willing to cooperate, then you have no place here in the Clan."
"I never wanted to be a part of this stupid Clan in the first place!" Olivepaw spat. "My father dragged me across the city thinking it would be safer out here. He couldn't keep our family safe so he fled like a coward, taking me with him!"
Dovestar paused in her stride when she realized what Olivepaw was implying. Forestpelt had explained that Lightning and his gang of rogues were responsible for the loss of his family. He seemed to be so sure of it that Dovestar hadn't bothered questioning it. Her eyes narrowed with annoyance as she realized there were two sides to their story.
She never had the chance to grieve, she realized. She was suddenly grateful that she had that opportunity. There was one advantage to being involved with the Clans. No cat was left alone for long back in ThunderClan. Death rarely occurred back when she was an apprentice, but when it did, ThunderClan always held vigil for their fallen Clanmate.
"Were you close to any of your siblings?" she asked carefully.
Olivepaw was taken aback by her sudden question. At first, she didn't answer. Dovestar glanced at the young cat thoughtfully when she noticed that she was trembling. Whether it was from grief or fury, she wasn't sure.
"He fled before I had the chance to know if they were dead!" she finally cried out. Dovestar's heart broke at the grief in her voice. While she tried denying those emotions and the fact that she was letting those emotions dictate her decisions, it was obvious she felt something in regards of what happened. "I never had the chance to say goodbye to any of them…"
She was lucky to have the chance she had with her family. She had time to mourn over their deaths and provide them with a proper burial. While it still hurt on the inside to know that they were no longer their physically, she had the knowledge that they were with her spiritually. She wasn't sure if the same could be said for outsiders, but it was clear Olivepaw needed some form of comfort.
"You don't have to go through that alone," she quipped. "I know how hard it is… I know what it's like to lose someone you care about. The hardest part is learning how to cope with that loss."
To her relief, Olivepaw didn't argue this time around. In fact, her shoulders relaxed a little when she realized what the older molly was doing.
"That doesn't make the fact that we left them any better," she muttered crossly. "I was never really close to my siblings or to my mother, but I wanted to at least have the chance to say goodbye to them."
Dovestar of all cats understood what that was like. She experienced more loss than she wanted to admit out loud. Her entire Clan had been destroyed by the Dark Forest. Yet she still had family through Hollyleaf. She was lucky in a sense. Even though they weren't directly related, Hollyleaf was still a distant cousin to her. She realized with a start that she was incredibly lucky in that aspect. Maybe it was time to stop acting like a kit and get a hold of herself. She didn't need to keep mourning over the loss of her family, especially since she had the chance to see them again in StarClan. While Ivypool hadn't been the first cat to greet her, she still saw her sister nonetheless, and that meant more to her than she could ever admit out loud.
"What if you hold a vigil for your family?" she suddenly suggested. Olivepaw merely looked at her in confusion as they made their way back into camp. Fortunately Smoketuft and Hollyleaf weren't around to hear their conversation. Flosspelt was busy sunning herself outside the nursery while Minnowtail's kits tumbled around one another in mock play fights. "Vigils are a ceremony we hold for our fallen Clanmates. It gives us a chance to properly mourn them, and honor their memories. It can last all night or end sooner than that if you're not feeling up to it."
She swallowed hard as memories of their recent vigil came rushing back. Though that was only a few days ago, it was still fresh in her mind. The bodies were now properly buried once the vigil was over. She knew their fallen Clanmates were at rest… or at least, she hoped that was the case.
Olivepaw seemed to contemplate her suggestion. It wasn't that difficult of a task. Even if it didn't give the apprentice peace of mind, it would exhaust her enough to sleep properly. At least, Dovestar hoped that would be the case. Ever since she and her father joined the Clan, Olivepaw hadn't been sleeping properly. Dovestar knew thanks to her super hearing. She recognized the signs of a cat on a mission when she heard them, and she certainly heard some of the things Olivepaw complained about when she thought no one was listening.
"I suppose that isn't such a terrible idea," the apprentice sighed dramatically. "Not like I'm gonna get much sleep tonight anyways."
Dovestar nearly rolled her eyes at the way Olivepaw dismissed her lack of sleep so easily. She wasn't any better in that aspect. Admittedly, her dreams were still plagued with nightmares revolving around the battle. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret over not sharing that information with Mothwing or Hollyleaf.
Mothwing was busy enough as it was taking care of Flosspelt and Minnowtail. The last thing she wanted was to be seen as a burden or a poor excuse of a leader. It was bad enough Minnowtail constantly questioned her leadership, she didn't need it from any other cat. She hoped her sleep deprivation wouldn't start to show, otherwise, cats would start to see through her ruse. Something told her nothing good would come out of that.
...
It was eerily quiet as Tigerheart reluctantly followed Forestpelt across the forest. The younger rogue seemed to have every intention of leading him into the unknown, and he wasn't thrilled with the prospect of what they might run into. They hadn't spoken much during the majority of their trek for the last couple of days. It was incredibly awkward, and Tigerheart could tell that Forestpelt was on edge around him.
He knew how intimidating he could be around younger cats, especially cats that knew his background. That was part of the reason he tried to make himself seem smaller and less of a threat around those who didn't know him. Most cats that recognized him saw Tigerstar, and he hated every aspect of that.
That was part of the reason he put some distance between himself and Dovestar. As difficult as it had been to make that decision, he knew he couldn't be a distraction to her. She was already struggling enough without him making it worse. Though the more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt for pushing her away just when he started to feel comfortable around her again. In fact, he enjoyed her company to the point where he considered her as more than just a friend or a kit crush.
Maybe that was why he felt a twinge of jealousy when he saw Forestpelt with her. Maybe that was why he thought he saw admiration sweeping across the young cat's eyes when Dovestar took him and the apprentice in. Either way, he didn't like the emotions that suddenly weighed him down like a heavy stone. He knew those feelings wouldn't go away until he admitted them out loud. Though it would also mean admitting that he truly loved Dovestar, and the doubt suddenly came rushing back.
"How much further until we get to wherever it is you're taking me?" he demanded after realizing that the sun was setting again.
They had been gone for two days now, traveling through the forest beyond the Thunderpath and the lake territories. Forestpelt flicked an ear towards a grove of trees ahead of them. It was clear Forestpelt knew the area well from the way he confidently moved through the undergrowth. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach when he realized this could just as easily be a trap.
"I know a small group of rogues that live together in that grove," he explained. "Before my family was ambushed by Lightning, these cats fled to avoid getting attacked. I was close friends with one of the queens that left, and she told me where they were going before they left."
"Why didn't you go with them?" Tigerheart asked curiously.
It was obvious the newcomer wasn't being entirely honest. Tigerheart had been suspicious of him from the beginning, especially the apprentice he brought with him. When the apprentice first looked like a kit, he knew something was wrong. Then the kit started snapping back with the intelligence of an apprentice. He might be a ShadowClan cat through and through, and maybe that was why he didn't entirely trust this newcomer. But he also smelled a rat somewhere deep down.
"I couldn't," Forestpelt replied. "My mate was sick at the time, along with half of our litter. She was in no condition to travel. We were hoping that the housefolk would take her in and give her proper treatment, but it was too late."
"Your family was ambushed," Tigerheart guessed as realization dawned on him.
"Lightning killed her, along with my other kits." A deep growl resonated in his throat as Forestpelt narrowed his eyes. "He claimed that she and the kits were too weak to get involved in his gang. Olive was the only kit that didn't get sick, and I knew I had to leave before she saw what happened to her littermates, and before Lightning found her."
A knot formed in the pit of his stomach as Tigerheart finally understood why this cat was so defensive. As someone who personally experienced the loss of his family, he knew what it was like to be in that position. Guilt clawed at his heart as he pictured his Clanmates and his family around the clearing before the battle.
While the fight itself happened in the middle of the night, ShadowClan was mostly awake at the time. The battle happened so quickly and out of nowhere that no cat was prepared for it, aside from the cats that fought alongside the Dark Forest. He still felt incredibly guilty for training alongside the traitors at one point. He would always live with that guilt and regret for the rest of his life.
"This Lightning character sounds like bad news for the Clan," he muttered after deciding not to dwell on the topic. He could tell it was putting the young tom on edge, and understandably so. "So I'm guessing that you've dealt with him before all this?"
"When I was younger," Forestpelt admitted guiltily. "Lightning has always been a brute around Twolegplace. He and his followers are more than happy to rip apart families to make his gang stronger. They'd take kits or younger cats and train them in their ways… and my family happened to be one of their targets."
That almost sounds like the beginning of a Clan, Tigerheart realized. He was well aware that there were other cats out there with similar ideals to the Clans. They might not follow the same ancestors or even have the same beliefs, but their way of life was similar. So he wasn't surprised to hear that cats near the lake territory had begun doing the same thing. The question is, how big of a threat are they to the new Clan?
A shiver of unease swept through him. The elders used to tell horror stories of BloodClan and TigerClan. Both Clans hadn't officially been part of the original four Clans, and they didn't share the same traditions as the original four Clans. BloodClan was much more ominous than TigerClan. According to those stories, the rogues that formed it would wear collars made of teeth from their victims. Tigerheart had never personally seen this, but he knew some cats that actually had. His mother being one of them.
"Forest, you're alive!" He didn't have time to dwell on it when a younger cat suddenly rushed out of the thick undergrowth and ran into Forestpelt. The newcomer looked equally surprised at the young cat's arrival before breaking into a purr. "Molly wasn't sure if you'd make it, but I'm glad that she's wrong."
"It's good to see you too, Percy," Forestpelt replied without hesitation. "You've gotten bigger since I last saw you."
The young tom puffed out his chest with pride at the praise. Tigerheart couldn't help but watch the scene in amusement. He didn't miss the fact that Forestpelt's demeanor changed the moment he saw a familiar face.
"Mother thinks I'm growing up too fast, but I'm happy to provide for our family," Percy exclaimed before glancing at Tigerheart. "Who's he?"
Forestpelt glanced between Percy and Tigerheart before letting out a heavy sigh, "We've got a lot to talk about, I'm afraid."
...
"We were all so worried about you," a gray and white she-cat meowed after greeting Forestpelt with a head bump. Tigerheart felt incredibly awkward as the rest of the forest cats emerged from their dens or their nests to greet the newcomer. Most of them looked well fed and muscular, much like the cats that were a part of Lightning's group. The only difference was the fact that these cats seemed friendlier compared to them, aside from the suspicious glares some of them gave him. "How were you able to get away from Lightning alive?"
"It's a long story," Forestpelt let out a heavy sigh. The she-cat's eyes widened when he shared the same story he told Tigerheart. Everyone else shared looks of worry or gasped over the way his family was treated. Tigerheart suddenly felt more like an intruder than anything else as everyone shared their condolences. "When I managed to get away from Lightning, all I had was Olive. But then I ran into this group of cats that weren't anything like Lightning or his gang. They took us in and treated our injuries, and they even gave us new names."
"More cats means bigger threats to us," another cat growled under their breath.
"But they took Forest and Olive in," Percy reminded them with a pointed look. "Maybe they're not so bad after all."
At least one cat believes in the Clan.
"What if Lightning finds us again?" a third cat asked nervously. "We'll have to flee again and find a new home."
"I'm not ready to leave my new den… we just finished setting everything up."
The gray and white molly flicked her tail, and everyone suddenly went silent. Tigerheart perked up at that, realizing with a start that this cat acted like their leader.
"While it's true that we searched for days to find a proper place to call home, that does not mean that every territory will be perfect," she meowed. "If what Forest has said is true, then it might be best for some of our cats to join him and this group."
Everyone started talking amongst themselves over the prospect of leaving once again. Tigerheart couldn't help but feel like an outsider when they kept giving him suspicious looks. Not that he didn't blame them for feeling so wary. He hadn't given them any reason to trust him, aside from bringing Forestpelt back.
"I want to join." All eyes turned towards a dark gray queen that spoke up. Tigerheart eyed her thoughtfully when he noticed two young looking cats sitting on either side of her. "I want my kits to have a proper family to live with. They deserve that much."
"I'll go too, and Maroon has already decided to go with me," a ginger and white she-cat put in.
They must be siblings, Tigerheart guessed from their appearance.
"Can I go too?" Percy suddenly asked. The gray and white she-cat looked at him in surprise as he stood up and joined Forestpelt. "I don't want to keep running either."
The gray and white she-cat seemed to take his plea into consideration. It wasn't an easy choice. Tigerheart guessed that this cat was around Olivepaw's age, and the cats beside the dark gray queen were a moon or two younger. There would be more apprentices in the Clan, which was exactly what they needed.
"As much as I hate to see my son leave, I suppose it would be wise for you to join them," the gray and white she-cat let out a heavy sigh. Percy's ears pricked forward with surprise when she stood up and approached him. "Take care of yourself, Percy. I didn't just give you that name because it was the first name I thought of."
"I know, mother," Percy ducked his head in embarrassment, though there was warmth in his voice.
The stone from earlier suddenly came rushing back as Tigerheart watched the group say their goodbyes. He realized with a start that he could be leading them to their doom without realizing it. Once again, guilt clawed away at him as he thought of how their deaths could be avoided. The last thing he wanted was to be seen as his grandfather.
I will never be like Tigerstar, he promised himself.
"We'll make sure that they're well taken care of," he promised out loud.
"I will hold you to that promise," the she-cat nodded in understanding.
Tigerheart swallowed hard before flicking his tail to signal their departure. He gave them enough time to say their goodbyes. It was time for them to return to the Clan and make it stronger than ever. He just hoped that he wasn't leading these cats down a darker path, otherwise they would all pay the price.