TWO.
It took a few moments to realize what Rusty had done, but just by the look on the faces of the three ThunderClan cats, it was far from good. Obviously no one expected him to be so openly insubordinate in front of the leader of the Clan he wanted to join - Graypaw looked like he had just seen someone confess to murder and Lionheart looked too stunned to be angry that this tiny ginger kittypet had given him lip service right back to him.
Bluestar's eyes were much more guarded. That's what made Rusty uneasy in those moments of silence. He couldn't read her, couldn't tell if she was furious or not. The ginger tom's guard remained completely up - if there was a time for one of these cats to strike him dead, it would probably be now.
Perhaps it was too good to be true. Bluestar and Lionheart talked of him in those moments like they had found someone they had spent ages searching for and finally found and Rusty really, really wanted to be that cat. Of course he did - he was a cat that came from a small little family in the streets of a city that he had to hide from and spent his youth getting his ambitions of being a great cat stamped out or sabotaged. But was it really to come here? Was it foolish to see this sudden change of his life as an opportunity? But if it wasn't, what else was he to take it for?
Rusty's eyes kept burning, but the muscles in his legs and the knot in his gut began to tighten, preparing for some kind of rejection or retribution…
And then Bluestar laughed.
It wasn't some loud, uncontrollable wheeze as if he had just told a joke, but a quiet, composed one that lit up her face with a gentle, almost prideful smirk. Even when she laughed, did the leader of ThunderClan look all the more regal. "I like this one," she said, looking back at Lionheart who did not share the light-hearted tone. Rusty felt relief surge through him first, followed by the embers of pride for standing up for himself.
"You talk a big talk, Rusty," said Bluestar, self-assured as if every word she said was planned, "And life around here is going to be a lot more difficult than you think right now. But even though we've been on hard times…we could use a newcomer as confident as you. I think you have the making of one of the finest warriors ThunderClan has seen in a long time."
How glorious the young cat felt at that. Sure, it was probably flattery, but Rusty felt something ignite inside him. That ambition that he had felt so long ago to be greater than he once was. Bluestar saw something in him, no one could deny that any longer. Fantasies of being the product of the wisdom and skill of a leader like her flew restlessly through his head, exploding in his brain and making his blood roar. The sloppy, dirty and classless grin on his face grew, spreading so all of his teeth could be seen in the dim moonlight, and his green eyes were so vibrant with life that they almost shimmered.
"One of the finest warriors ThunderClan had ever seen." Oh, Rusty wanted it. He wanted it so, so bad.
"We must return to camp and discuss this with the rest of the senior warriors," said Bluestar, standing up, "Organize things so that we are prepared to send you right into training. You return to your home tonight, say your goodbyes as needed, and meet Lionheart here in the forest by sunhigh. We will escort you to camp then."
The disappointment he felt that he wasn't getting taken back right now was fleeting - the adrenaline was keeping his spirits high at the moment. Rusty nodded after Bluestar as she walked behind Lionheart - eyes clouded with stunned, inarticulate internal conflict - and gestured for him to follow.
"Good night, Rusty. We will speak again tomorrow."
Rusty didn't even bother saying goodnight back, he just looked back at the retreating form of the two powerful ThunderClan cats into the dark, thinking about how that would be him someday. He would be as great and strong as they were. Graypaw didn't follow immediately, still gobsmacked at how he had just watched someone he had nearly chased out of the forest talk and stride his way right into his precious little Clan.
He flashed a cocky smirk back at the gray apprentice. "Still just a 'kittypet' to you?"
Graypaw said nothing, Rusty catching a pretty big flash of guilt across his eyes before he quietly got to his paws and turned back to follow. The ginger felt a little guilty at his remark now - he was his age, so he probably didn't know better. Besides, if he was getting badmouthed by someone like him before he was even in the Clan, he couldn't think about how much more he was going to take in the coming days.
When the three of them were gone into the darkness, Rusty turned back towards his house and began the walk home, wincing at the scrape on his leg that he had completely forgotten about. He'd probably have to take care of that before he made it to ThunderClan as well.
His dreams that night were full of nondescript fantasies of the escapades that were to come. For once in his life, he felt that he was as close to the cat he had always wanted to be.
Half a day was too long. Way, way too long.
Rusty had barely been able to keep himself still, looking up at the sun and groaning as it seemed to move as slow as ever. The adrenaline from the meeting last night had worn off, but the anticipation and the ache in his scraped foreleg made him unable to be still. When the sunlight woke him up that morning he had done laps around the garden - no dice. The world really did feel incredibly small when a massive new one was just a few hours away.
Princess had not returned to her bed last night - a glance over at Smudge's garden gave away that she had slept over. They looked positively giddy, too; Princess looked completely unbothered by Rusty slipping away into the forest, at least, which was bothering him more and more now that he thought about it.
He really wanted to tell someone about where he was going and all the great adventures that awaited him, but his options ranged from his sister and the cat she was infatuated with. Not exactly his ideal audience. But it wasn't yet sunhigh and he would go insane if he had to keep this all to himself until them, so he waited for Princess to slip away back into the house and leave Smudge alone on the garden before Rusty hopped on top of the fence barricading the two and looked in.
"Morning, Rusty!" said Smudge in that sickeningly friendly voice, "Back from the forest alive, I see?"
"Yeah," said the ginger tom, leaping down and walking gingerly to keep his scraped foreleg off the ground a bit. He didn't exactly feel completely comfortable talking with Smudge of all people, but he knew that it was between that or getting chewed out by his sister, something he could go without. Besides, the housecat seemed to be interested in his escapades - at least in the way he looked at his bruise.
"Ooh, got a bit scratched up, too. You get into a fight?"
"Just a skirmish," said Rusty, trying to downplay that he had been running for his life, "Got chased around a bit by one of the smaller cats."
"Ohh, glad you got away, then," said Smudge with a solemn nod, "They train the small ones real good. Heard that they're not allowed out until they got enough muscle on their bones."
"Yeahhhh, something like that," said Rusty, glancing away to prevent an eye roll at Smudge reciting Henry's totally true stories of the forest, "But I got a bit of a chase to get scared off, then…you're not gonna believe this, but the leader of one of the Clans came down and said that she'd been watching me .
Smudge's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Like…watching you run away?"
"Not just that! She said that she's seen me sitting on the fence out there just looking into the forest. And the way she talked with the other cats there…I think they've been looking for me for a long time! So they offered me to join the Clan and I said yes!"
Poor Smudge had no chance completely understanding what he had said on the first try, but the ending made him widen his eyes in shock. "Wait… join them? Are you serious!?"
"Yeah!"
"And you said that…they've been watching you?"
"Yeah, I know! Isn't it exciting?"
"Sounds a bit creepy if you ask me," said Smudge, giving a furtive glance to see if one of these wildcats were perhaps also watching him. "But you…you said yes? Why would you say yes?"
"Well… look at the forest," said Rusty, gesturing to it with his tail, "I mean, it's just so big and free…you get to catch your own food, you get to train to be strong…they even said that they've been looking for someone like me for a while! "
"But…why?" said Smudge, looking back at the window to his house, "You get all the food you need here and you can go outside when you please. Isn't that all one needs?"
He didn't get it. Of course he didn't get it - Smudge had been conditioned to live this life of comfort and being satisfied with the small living space and the lack of danger around him. Slowly, Rusty was starting to piece together why ThunderClan didn't think kittypets could possibly live the life of a warrior - if he had grown up in this place all his life, conditioned to be spoiled, there was no way that he would be going out there in the forest and joining ThunderClan.
Rusty looked down, poorly disguising his frustration with the questions. "I just…I need more , Smudge. There's more to life that just eating and sleeping. I've seen that now and I want it. All my life I've been sheltered from danger…and I'm ready to actually live. "
"Okay, but-"
"Why are you so concerned about me going out there anyway?" said Rusty shortly, "It's not like you're going to be following me out there."
"This isn't about me, Rusty," said Smudge, tone suddenly solemn, "It's about your sister."
The ginger tom almost rolled his eyes, but a somber pang deep inside of him made him slow a bit as Smudge pressed on. "Have you considered, Rusty, that if you go out there and live that life, you may never see her again?"
He hadn't. And that thought was much more harrowing than he once thought. He had grown up surrounded by family, been taught to provide and fight for family. Even in moments when he desperately wanted to do things out in the city for his own sake, his family had always been in the back of his mind. And now they were gone, cast to the winds of different parts of the world - all because of him. Princess had been all that was left; that last piece of the city that made him capable of being accepted into ThunderClan, surely. Sure, they rarely got along and the fact that she had latched onto Smudge as quickly as she did and as young as she was…well, the revelation that he would be leaving her behind ate at him.
Yet what was he supposed to do? Pass up the opportunity of a lifetime just so he could stay close to family? He wasn't happy living in this place - Rusty was sure even Smudge knew that, He just couldn't see himself growing old here, living in the same garden and watching his life slowly, painfully pass before him. He needed a purpose. He was getting a purpose. And it hurt that he would be deliberately cutting himself free from the last piece of the world he was raised in, a world with cats he was born to love where he was taught to fight and be strong.
The night when he had to come here, plead for a place to stay with his human owners had only not been completely overwhelming because his sister had joined him. Princess was likely the reason why he was still alive, after everything that he had done. But with all of the stories and dreams he told her about during those meals when she had contentedly listened to him ramble about a life where he was a glorious fighter, a life not unlike the one he was about to enter, she surely had to understand that something like this…he couldn't say no. Not even for her.
Perhaps his purpose was greater than his family.
Oof. That was a heavy thought to shoulder.
"Rusty?" said Smudge, tilting his head in concern at his silence, "You weren't…you weren't thinking of just leaving without telling Princess…right?"
He was, and the slow sigh he made gave it away. "Look…Smudge, I know we don't get along, but she likes you a lot. You'll take good care of her."
"Rusty, she's your sister! " protested a baffled Smudge, "You can't just leave her without saying goodbye!"
"She's strong. She'll get over it."
"You're her brother, Rusty! You just disappearing without her knowing would break her!"
"Well, what the cuss am I supposed to do!? Tell her that I'm leaving forever!?"
" What? "
Rusty's stomach dropped as he heard her voice, slowly turning to see Princess halfway out of the house's flap-door. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, as if she just heard a joke in poor taste. Instantly, the ache of the welt on his untreated foreleg began to claw into his skin like old dumpster scraps and his chest began to tighten in dread. Smudge shifted uncomfortably where he lounged, making the grass rustle behind him.
Princess was still incredibly baffled, trying to search for the punchline. "What…what are you talking about, Rusty?"
The ginger tom, who had been so excited and confident about leaving this place not even an hour earlier, suddenly couldn't meet her eyes. As his silence drew longer, she scoffed in disbelief. "You're not serious. You can't possibly be serious."
There was no point in trying to slip out of this with a lie. Rusty knew enough that she was owed the truth - at the very least, a lie would make him feel even more like sewage than he already did. "I…found some cats in the forest. They said that they've been watching me for a while and they offered me…they want me to join them."
Princess didn't believe it. Not for a second . " Really. " she said with a sarcastically amused smirk.
"Yes."
"They've been watching you. They've been watching you in particular. "
"Yes. They have."
"You don't…I…do you actually believe that they actually want you?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," said Rusty, his guilt slowly rotting into a deep-rooted aggravation. Princess saw this change in his eyes and without even a flinch said "Smudge, leave us alone for a minute, will you?"
Smudge didn't need to be told twice. But as he got up and half-scampered to the flap door, he looked back at Rusty to catch his eye. Some twinkle in his usually serene and easygoing amber eyes told the ginger tom that Smudge was convinced that this was the last time they would see each other. Perhaps in the midst of those conflicted eyes was a silent wish of good luck as well, though that was likely just wishful thinking.
He was forced to look back into the icy green eyes of his sister. "No."
Rusty's brows furled. "What do you mean, 'no ?'"
"You are not going out there. I can't believe I have to tell you about the dangers of the forest when you clearly have felt it with that little scrape on your leg, but you will get killed if you go out there."
"Did you seriously not hear anything that I just said?" snapped back Rusty indignantly, "They want me there. They're going to train me to be strong and teach me how to survive-"
" Yeah, right ."
"I mean, is this not what I've always wanted!?" bit back Rusty, "All those nights where I've told you about how much I want to be in something greater, then this shows up and…what, I'm expected to say no!? "
" Yes! " ripped back Princess, "I followed you here because I promised that I would protect you! And I won't let some lunatic wildcats with rats in their brains get in the way of that because I'm not insane! "
" Oh, so it's about you now? " True venom was beginning to sneak into Rusty's voice, " All of the things I do in my life are suddenly about you? "
"You can't possibly talk without acknowledging the fact that you forfeited all of those crazy dreams you had when you made us come here in the first place! "
"Y'know what? Yeah. I did that. And I can't believe that you don't think I feel bad about it every day! "
" Clearly not! Because here you go, trying to tell me that you're just gonna up and leave the last piece of cussing family you have left to chase some fantasy that ends in you getting killed! "
Princess was going for a low blow. Of course Rusty had to go lower.
"And what am I supposed to do here? Huh? Just sit around and rot in the sun and listen to you giggle and lick Smudge like he's some sort of great source of charm!? "
She was immediately furious. " Leave Smudge out of this, Rusty. "
" I will not. Not any longer, " snarled Rusty, getting right into Princess's face, "Because how is it that the second we come here you just… immediately fawn over the first tom you see over the fence? You're not even old enough to have kits yet and you're staying over at his place like you're ready! "
" I told you, Rusty! The cats I hold close to me are not yours to judge! "
" Yet my life is!? "
" Yes! Because you are a delusional psycho who ripped apart our entire family and now wants to go out into the wild and live with wildcats as if they won't rip you to shreds the second they see you! At least I know how to be happy in spite of you trying to…RUIN MY LIFE! "
"Oh, you're happy? You're happy!? "
" Yes, I am! "
" THEN WHY AREN'T YOU CUSSING THANKING ME?! "
WHACK!
Rusty's head flung to the side at the impact, his furious fervor dissolving. He was absolutely fuming ; his blood hammering through his ears, his breath heavy and strained and every exhale almost coming out a snarl. Slowly his face began to throb, and Rusty felt tiny droplets of blood trickle onto the whiskers of the cheek where Princess had slapped him, claws out. His eyelids blinked and he realized that his eyes were wet. It was a struggle to not mewl aloud with how upset he was, teetering on the edge of breaking.
He had never been hit before, not like this. His mother threatened to use claws all the time but never did, electing to just weaponize her words. And though he tousled with his siblings back in the city sometimes, they'd never attacked him unprovoked. And even though he had stood before his entire family with blood covering his fur, the bloodshed that forced them to leave, this one hurt just as bad.
For just one moment, Rusty wanted to apologize. He didn't like this pain, not one bit.
Princess didn't let him make that choice.
" You said you're leaving forever? "
Her voice was quiet, trying not to break. She sounded aggrieved - Rusty knew that he had cut deep with what he had said. Slowly, the ginger tom gulped and spoke, voice hoarse from the shouting.
"Yeah."
Princess turned back and Rusty saw her green eyes. Soaking wet, dampening the fur along her muzzle. Yet there was no pleading in her eyes. Absolutely no conflict, not like Smudge's.
Just raw, unfiltered hatred.
" Good. I never want to see you again. "
She turned away and walked towards the door, claws digging into the grass of the garden, and dipped into the flap door to the house. Rusty could only stare in shock as the black flap moved back and forth, back and forth, forward and back, forward and back…
Until it was still. And still the ginger cat sat in that garden for a while longer, jaw slack, eyes wide and staring right at that flap, convinced that she would come back moments later and at the very least, plead for him not to go.
The door did not move. Princess would not come back for him. She truly had meant every word that she said to him.
Something burned in Rusty's gut. Wild, uncontrollable thoughts that whirled into his throbbing head with the cold, devastating revelation that Princess, the last member of his family, was gone. His eyes squeezed shut; he wanted to storm into that flap door and hit her back, hit her worse, make her bleed and apologize for saying those things to her. He wanted to beat the ratspit out of Smudge for taking Princess's heart and making her content to live here and not support him. He wanted to just wait out here until they came back out just so he could get the last word. Oh, how Rusty wanted the last word.
But it was no use. He wished that he left without her knowing now, wished that he could have just kept the events of the previous night to himself and just made it his own journey. At least then, Princess wouldn't have to make him feel horrible for choosing a new life over the last of his family.
The ginger cat closed his eyes, took a shaky breath and glanced up at the sun. It was nearly sunhigh. Lionheart would be here soon.
Without another word, another glance to try and catch his sister's eye again, he turned around and hopped the fence, landing on the meadow between his house and the forest. His old life and his new one.
It was Rusty against the world now. For the first time in his life, he knew that he was walking alone.
"Said your goodbyes, kittypet?"
Rusty clearly hadn't done a good job to try and cover up the fact that he had an ugly goodbye as he walked over to Lionheart, who was standing a few paces outside the forest. The ginger tom was still swelteringly hot, face almost burning in the sunlight, and his ears still were pumping blood so loudly he could hear the beating of his own heart. "I'm fine. I'm ready to go."
Rusty turned to walk into the forest as if he had any idea where he was going before Lionheart's paw slamming down in front of him made him freeze, giving the younger tom a vivid reminder about how any of these warriors could easily annihilate him with a swing of their claw. " Just a minute, kittypet, " he said, voice low and in a very controlled growl as he leaned into his ear, " Let me just remind you…that you are a stranger that we are welcoming into our home. With that comes expectations, including respecting your fellow warriors. "
Rusty winced, feeling that familiar jitter of fear that just came naturally from being reprimanded by a cat almost thrice his size. He was clearly still pissy about him talking back last night. " Since I will likely be your mentor…if you need a reminder about this expectation, I will happily take it upon myself to remind you. "
"Trying to give the new kit a good scare, eh Lionheart?"
A new voice, lighter and less growly than the bright amber warrior's rang out from through the edge of the forest, and Rusty looked up to see a new warrior walk out to greet them. He was not as large as Lionheart, but graceful in his steps and composure. His glistening, long white fur seemed to flow delicately with every passing breeze, accentuating a certain kind of beauty that Rusty couldn't really place. It at least seemed to make Lionheart move away and sit at attention as he approached with a gentle smile and a playful glimmer in his yellow eyes. He actually looked excited at the idea of bringing in a new cat to ThunderClan.
"Took you long enough," said Lionheart, voice still gruff but noticeably lighter, "I was just about to leave without you."
"Leave without me?" gasped the white tom in a very well-trained mock-offended voice as he turned to playfully flick at Lionheart's face with his tail, "You wouldn't." Lionheart sneezed, looking away as he seemed to… blush ? Rusty couldn't really tell, but the newcomer soon cast his eyes on him. "You must be Rusty, right?"
Rusty noticeably flinched at this stranger knowing his name already. "Uhh…yeah."
"Lovely," said the tom, voice almost flowery yet deep enough to not sound completely patronizing as if he were talking to a kit, "Well, I'm Whitestorm. I'm one of the senior warriors of ThunderClan. And I know you've already met this gorgeous looking tom right here. That's Lionheart - he's the new deputy of ThunderClan. He's also the strongest and best looking warrior in the forest, but he doesn't believe me when I tell him that."
Lionheart was definitely blushing now, coughing and keeping his gaze away from the two. "That'll do, Whitestorm. We should get a move on - Bluestar is expecting us."
"Well, lead the way, glorious deputy."
With a huff, Lionheart began to walk into the forest, Whitestorm following and Rusty scampering behind in tow. He gave one last look back towards the house, but decided not to linger much lest he completely fall out of sight of the two warriors. He walked quickly ahead until he was right next to Whitestorm, panting a bit at the pace he had to move to keep up with their walks.
"So," said Whitestorm, looking at the ginger tom keenly, "I'm sure you have questions…feel free to ask them."
Rusty had plenty of questions, but his mind almost went blank trying to think of one. After a moment he pulled out a new one. "What's a deputy? What do they do?"
"Okay, so you know how we all have to hunt for food to keep ThunderClan fed?" said Whitestorm, who seemed quite eager to talk about his life, "Well, the deputy sets up patrols of cats who go hunt together. We also have cats who go out and make sure our borders are marked, since we're sharing this forest with other Clans and all. They also make sure that everyone gets fed - we have some cats that can't go out and hunt for the Clan because they're too old, so they get the first dibs at prey because they've had a lifetime of service. And they're specially appointed by the leader because when a leader dies, the deputy is the one that takes their place, so they're seen as the best fit for the future."
Rusty was not ready for that much information, but he did his best. "So…cats go out in groups and stuff? For hunting? And where are the borders?"
"Oh, don't worry about all that," said Whitestorm with a wave of his tail, "You'll learn all of this when you begin training."
Training. Rusty's paws tingled at the thought of that. "So Lionheart is gonna be my mentor?"
"Well, we don't know yet," said Whitestorm with a shrug, "He's already mentoring Graypaw - I heard you met him as well last night. It's a lot of work training one apprentice altogether, so we don't know if he'll be your mentor yet." He paused to take a few steps forward so he could give Lionheart an affectionate nudge, "But I know that if there's anyone that can handle it, it's Lionheart."
Rusty couldn't see Lionheart's reaction, but he did seem to nudge back playfully. "You two seem close. Are you two…?"
"You couldn't guess?" said Whitestorm with a gleeful smile, "Yes, Lionheart is my mate."
Rusty blinked. "But aren't you two…?"
"Yes."
He looked down a minute. "So who…who has the kits?"
"Kittypet, there's a time and place for questions like these," said Lionheart with an embarrassed tension in his voice, "And now is not the time." However there was a beat of silence before Whitestorm spoke again.
"It's Lionheart."
Lionheart stopped where he stood and immediately whipped around to give Whitestorm a whack on the head, claws sheathed. The white tom giggled, murmuring an apology to an incredibly flushed deputy. Rusty felt a little uncomfortable, not because these were two toms that clearly liked each other very much, but because he hadn't really seen affection like this before. The way they looked at each other and moved with each other showed that they really did like each other - like the way Princess liked Smudge, but stronger. More intimate. Rusty almost felt like he was intruding on a moment between the two.
For a moment, he wondered if he would ever know what that felt like. But it didn't linger long - his priority right now was to become a warrior.
Onward their trek went, with the two warriors leading Rusty across streams and over high-reaching roots. When they stepped onto a rock resting over a small ravine, the ginger tom was panting since he needed to keep a light job to catch up.
"Nearly there," said Lionheart. Rusty took a moment to look around, even down the ravine to try and see signs of a camp - to which Whitestorm gave him a friendly nudge. "Use your nose. You'll know which way to go by scent."
Rusty opened his mouth enough to allow the scents to hit his nose, but almost regret doing so immediately. He had forgotten just how much there was in this forest - prey, trees, scents of cats. Even here, Rusty couldn't pick up a distinct scent on either of the two warriors standing next to him. He licked his lips and tried again, narrowing his eyes to try and pick out a distinct scent when… there. Some strong scent was nearby, off to the west. Confidently, Rusty gestured with his tail and said "Strong scent, that way."
There was a pause as Whitestorm and Lionheart exchanged very amused looks. "Erm…close enough. Let's go," said the white tom, setting off in a completely different direction, down the ravine. Frustration pumped through him at his miscalculation and Rusty took a deep breath to exhume his irritation.
Soon enough, after scaling some boulders down the side, they pushed through a patch of gorse. The first thing Rusty could feel was his nose almost clogging with unique scents, making his brain buzz and nearly making him sneeze. But as he pressed through the gorse barrier, his eyes widened as he entered the camp for the very first time.
"Welcome to ThunderClan, Rusty," said Whitestorm proudly.
There were cats. So many cats. Well, growing up in a family of nine had made him see this many cats in his life, but this was almost too many for his young mind to comprehend. Everywhere he looked, cats were either lounging about in small, sheltered dens or laid out on the grass before him, some dragging their tongues through the others' fur. He thought he could briefly hear the squeal of young kits nearby as well. All of them looked better-fed and better-trained than he was - Rusty felt like the smallest cat who ever lived standing among them.
With his scent being so different, it didn't take long before other cats picked up on it and turned in his direction. The general chatter and livelihood of the camp wavered in his presence, observing him closely with some narrowing their eyes in particular scrutiny. Whitestorm and Lionheart didn't look phased, but Rusty felt that same hammering feeling inside him - the one where he realized that Graypaw was watching him through the bushes. So many eyes looking right at him, perhaps wondering why such an undernourished weakling cat from far away was standing in their camp.
Anyone in this camp could kill him if they wanted to. Easily. His collar, something he had started to rarely notice, felt like it was clamping down on his throat, suffocating him.
"Lionheart, give him a tour, will you?" said Whitestorm, his friendly, playful face now wiped away and replaced with a very formal one, "I'll alert Bluestar that we've arrived."
The deputy nodded and gestured for Rusty to step out of the entrance and into the camp. "Don't worry about remembering all of these right now," he said, "You'll pick them up quickly." He pointed out the leader's rock, where Bluestar stood to make announcements, then the different dens where cats slept. The apprentice den was on the opposite side of camp from the warriors' den - the largest one in the camp - and would be where he stayed with Graypaw and the other apprentices. In a cleft of rocks was the medicine cat den, where a designated healer would treat wounds and illnesses (Rusty had a feeling that Lionheart was only pointing that out because he noticed the cut on his foreleg, but he knew better than to make a remark on that). Finally, there was the nursery where queens nursed their kits and the elders' den where the retired warriors stayed. Rusty gave his best shot to try and remember where everything was, reciting the names under his breath and all, but the shock of him being here and being watched by every member of ThunderClan was overwhelming to him.
" Breathe, kittypet, " whispered Lionheart, " You don't want to be passing out when you don't even have your name yet. " Rusty hadn't even thought about the fact that he would be losing his name "Rusty" in favor of something else Bluestar desired. At this point every nugget of information he was learning just seemed to stuff his brain to the point where he was losing sense of what was up or down, left or right.
He wasn't even fully grown yet and this was his third home. And this one had more rules, risks and essentials to remember than he had even worked with before. Rusty gulped. He had nowhere else to go back to now. He had to make this home work; all he had to do was survive.
"Ah, he came."
Rusty looked up at the leader's rock to see Bluestar approaching, looking at him. She looked more gray than blue in the sunlight, though her regal form still pierced the very air around her. Though her eyes remained focused, Rusty swore he could see the smallest glint of relief in her eyes. "How was the journey, Lionheart?"
"Well enough," he said, "He'll need some time to settle in, but he followed without protest."
"Excellent. Whitestorm said good things about him - do you agree?"
Rusty glanced up at Lionheart, who paused. "Well, he's got work to do. But some training and some muscle in his shoulders and he has as much potential as all of our apprentices." That was probably the closest thing to a compliment Rusty would receive from Lionheart.
"Then I'll make the announcement." Bluestar turned away and leaped towards the highrock, strides as graceful as water as she ascended to the edge and called out to the Clan. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting." The voice resonated throughout the camp, drawing all the cats to their paws, some more emerging from various dens, and bringing them forward towards the lip of the rock. The authority she clearly had over everyone in this Clan almost intimidated Rusty out of his mind.
"Cats of ThunderClan," began the leader, "As you know, we have fallen on hard times as a Clan. Prey is scarce in this season and we have the lowest number of apprentices in seasons." Rusty glanced through the crowd and saw Graypaw sat near the den next to three other cats who matched his size and gulped - apparently only four apprentices was drastically low when it came to training cats of this physique. "I've been in discussions with many of our most senior warriors in this Clan and we've decided that in order to further boost ThunderClan, we will be taking on an outsider for training."
Murmurs broke out, and more than a few cats turned back to look at him closely once more. This time, though, Rusty could tell that they were looking at his collar and the word "kittypet" was the only word he could pick up. Slowly he ducked his head so that his collar was less visible.
Bluestar sighed and gestured to the ginger tom with her tail, so now all of ThunderClan was looking right at him. "This is Rusty. And starting tomorrow, he will begin training alongside the other apprentices to become a warrior of ThunderClan."
More talking, louder this time. Though a voice louder and rougher than others seemed to rise above the rest. "You can't be serious, Bluestar! You're bringing in a kittypet for training!?"
Rusty's eyes moved through the crowd and saw a tabby brown tom looking right at Bluestar to protest. "Longtail, that's enough," said Bluestar, who looked exasperated at the expected negative response.
"I mean, look at him!" said Longtail, gesturing to the ginger tom with his very long tail that was probably the source of his name, "He's so tiny a blind warrior could mistake him for a mouse! And he's got Twoleg scent all over him!" Some chuckles came from near where the tabby stood, but there was a collective murmur of agreement and Rusty was suddenly very conscious of just how different his scent was from everything else in camp. Everything was different, he had a collar, a different accent, a foreign scent…at this rate, he felt like he would never be able to fit in. He glanced up to Lionheart, whose eyes were firmly up on Bluestar.
"Longtail, my word is final," said the gray leader, "I apologize if you don't agree, but you will come to learn that he has the capabilities to make him just as good a warrior as-"
"You serious? This little runt!? " snapped Longtail. He marched forward through the crowd, right at Rusty and it took everything inside the younger tom to not scamper backwards all the way to the wall. Longtail wasn't as big as Lionheart but still doubled him in size, not even mentioning the muscles that every cat in this Clan seemed to have except him. There was a different look in his eyes that he had seen from the ThunderClan cats he had met, though - something that told him that he was absolutely keen on slashing him to pieces as if it were a game. "We'll be the laughingstock of the whole forest once the other Clans find out we're taking in kittypets for training."
Rusty held his ground, though it was definitely a struggle. Yet as Longtail continued to publicly berate him, he noticed that no one was stepping up to defend him. Not Whitestorm, not Bluestar, not even Lionheart who was standing beside him. Dread was the first feeling that began to pump through his veins, but he caught something in Bluestar's eye - something meant just for him.
Are you going to let him beat you down like this?
This was a test. Everything was a test. Not that they had set up Longtail to say all these things, but they had known that Rusty would get ratspit for saying he wanted to be here. Bluestar was waiting to see how he would respond. She was waiting to see the cat that had corrected Lionheart on his name and said he wanted to be a warrior of ThunderClan.
He didn't know this tom besides his name, so there was only one way to stand up for himself that he could think of. Summoning everything he could possibly bring, Rusty's claws began to unsheath as he glared right back at Longtail, a snarl forming on his face.
The tabby couldn't believe his eyes. "Aww no, come look at this! The kittypet's getting maaaaad-"
And he attacked.
Longtail yelped as Rusty threw himself into his side, knocking him down and making the other ThunderClan cats jump back in a clamor. Trying his best to get his claws in a grip on the fur, he swore that he could hear his mother's training playback in his head.
"You need to get a solid grip, especially if your opponent is bigger than you. Latch onto him and don't let them have any power over you in a position they want to be in. "
His grip was weak, though, and Longtail soon sent a hindleg right into his side to launch him off and send him tumbling towards the ground. Rusty was right back on his paws, though, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he got a clear look at the fury in Longtail's gray-green eyes before he ran forward again, leaping and grappling onto his flank and sinking his claws as deep as he could. The ThunderClan warrior whipped around, still completely unprepared for battle and eventually just fell onto his side, crushing Rusty's hind legs between his opponent and the ground and making him lose his grip with a yowl.
He couldn't outlast Longtail, he knew that. But Rusty had to think quickly before he was pinned and injured too much that he couldn't battle.
"With every opponent, winning and losing is depending on who is still standing. If you are off your legs, you lose. You knock your opponent over, you win."
Just in time did Rusty roll away from a crushing slam of Longtail's paw, back on his paws quickly. Panting through his teeth, the ginger tom tried to slam his whole weight into Longtail's shoulder, but the warrior read him perfectly and whacked him away so he tumbled onto his flank. Rusty knew he was hit hard when the warriors around him were groaning in pain, but he was just able to get on his paws before Longtail could pin him for good.
He had probably done enough to show he wouldn't back down from a fight - Longtail would at least be embarrassed at the realization that he had been shown up like this. But Rusty wasn't satisfied. He wanted to win.
Rusty attacked again, the impact of slamming right into Longtail at full force rattling him more this time. But as he slashed blindly across the skin of the warrior's flank, the tabby wound up to swing at him again. Rusty ducked just in time, the claws nicking the tip of his ear as Longtail awkwardly tumbled onto his flank.
"The belly is the weakest part of every cat. Even a firm whack can knock the breath out of a cat with their belly exposed. "
Longtail reared back to swing a forepaw at Rusty - the ginger took the blow on the side of his face, but lunged his head forward and locked his teeth into the leg before the tabby could rear back for another hit. A strained yelp, and Longtail turned just enough to try and kick him off so that… yes , he was vulnerable. Rusty kicked out with his hind leg, right into the soft skin of his belly. It didn't completely incapacitate him because Longtail was still twice his size, but he crumpled suddenly and completely lost control of his form, rolling onto his back as he coughed.
Beyond the deafening pounding in his ears, the silence of the Clan members around him were telling enough. They were speechless. Rusty had just taken down one of ThunderClan's most capable warriors. He could have stopped, relished in his victory and perhaps spit in his face to embarrass him more.
But Rusty felt everything pushing him onward. The life of disrespect for what he wanted in life…from his mother, his siblings, his own sister. Everyone in ThunderClan had dismissed him as nothing but a kittypet, gagging at his Twoleg scent. He came here chasing greatness with nobody by his side. He wanted to make sure that no one disrespected him again. That there would be no one here in this Clan, in this forest, that would dare to dismiss or disrespect him again.
Time was as slow as can be.
"Rusty, besides your family, you will be alone in this world. You want to survive, you must make everyone that isn't your family your enemy. And you must never discriminate between enemies and show unequal mercy. Because a wrong choice is one that costs your life. "
His mother's firm voice played through his head. Rusty looked down at Longtail, vulnerable, defeated, completely exposed.
"Always go for the throat. "
And Rusty lunged forward and sunk his teeth into Longtail's throat.
Chaos. Pandemonium broke out around them. Longtail's scream of terror pierced right through all of it and Rusty thought that he could feed off of that fear for the rest of his life. Suddenly, he was yanked off roughly by the collar, the blood only touching the tip of his fangs as Lionheart dragged him off. The tabby pressed his front paws to his throat, eyes wide in abject horror as he didn't know if he would die right there on ThunderClan camp's soil, before he was swarmed by other cats. Family, perhaps? Or maybe the medicine cat that healed ThunderClan cats. Panting with furious growls and drool dripping down his mouth, Rusty was yanked away and thrown to the ground before getting pinned down by Lionheart to prevent him from trying to finish the job.
" HE TRIED TO KILL ME! THE FOXBRAIN TRIED TO KILL ME! " wailed Longtail out of view. As he was held down, the primal grip on his brain faded and Rusty slowly came to his senses. The metallic taste of blood on his teeth made him nearly gag and cough. Slowly, he looked up at Lionheart, who looked absolutely furious.
" What…in the Dark Forest…was that!?" he snarled dangerously. Part of Rusty was convinced that he was going to kill him here for what he had done. But the ginger tom's response was quiet, hoarse.
" He wanted a fight…I gave him one. "
He glanced around at the cats around him, his maybe soon-to-be Clanmates. They couldn't believe it, eyes ranging from shock to abject horror as if he were not even a feline. Off to the side, though, were the four apprentices with quite diverse expressions on his face. The bracken tom on the far side looked almost disgusted as if someone had made dirt in front of him. The sandy molly to his right seemed to keep her true feelings locked away with a deeply stern gaze, but she definitely looked unsettled. The poor black apprentice nearby looked as if he had seen a ghost, abject terror written on his face.
And then Graypaw…well, he looked more astonished than anything. As if he hadn't just seen a near murder in ThunderClan but someone stood up to a bully. He didn't seem pleased at the outcome, but the way he seemed to marvel while looking at Rusty gave the ginger a brief sense of satisfaction. Perhaps this showed Graypaw that kittypets can, in fact, be like him.
"He'll be okay," said Bluestar's voice to Lionheart, "Only broke the skin, throat is untouched. Nice reflexes, by the way."
"Thank StarClan. What do we do now?" said the ThunderClan deputy, "I didn't think that…well, this was a possibility."
"Nobody did, Lionheart. But I know that the responsibility of teaching him to not do that will not be yours."
"Splendid," said Lionheart, voice thick with uneasiness still. Rusty blinked and looked at Bluestar as she slowly leaned in, voice dangerously close. A razor sharp edge to her words pierced right into his soul, making him shiver.
" Never again. Never do that again. Understand? "
Rusty gave a nod. "Yes, Bluestar."
" Good. "
Bluestar moved away and Lionheart relaxed his grip on Rusty enough so that he could sit up. Longtail was nowhere in sight, having probably been moved to the medicine den, but the cats' eyes were very much on same range of unsettlement he was met with, but he caught a particular glimmer of anger in a couple of the other cats in a group near the edge of camp. Rusty tried not to flinch as his eyes passed over them - the standouts being a particularly intimidating dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes and a dark gray tom with green eyes and black stripes - but he couldn't help but swallow down a shiver as he wondered openly about the cats that he had pissed off just now.
"Cats of ThunderClan!" called out Bluestar, bringing everyone's attention back to the highrock where she had gone. "I understand that the presentation of our new outsider did not go as planned," she paused to send an icy look in Rusty's way, "But I hope you can now at least understand why he will be a benefit to ThunderClan. While there will be no more unwarranted throat biting, you can now see the potential he shows to help protect our Clan. Ask yourselves…are you not glad that we have someone with this proficiency in fighting this young rather than one of our enemies?"
That got some murmurs, some nodding in agreement. Rusty felt a swell in his chest at that, being called someone grateful to be on their side. There was only one impression that many cats of ThunderClan surely had of him now - that he was dangerous in battle. And being dangerous in battle, feared in battle, was exactly what he wanted to be."
"I will be personally overseeing the training of this young tom," said Bluestar, leaping down from the Highrock and striding over until she stood in front of Rusty, "Rusty, though your methods of combat are…uncouth, you have fought well."
Rusty grinned as Bluestar continued. "Rusty, in honor of your ginger coat, shining like flames in the sunlight…by the power vested in me through StarClan, from this day forward you shall be known as Firepaw."
Firepaw.
Firepaw.
Firepaw.
Yes. It was perfect.
Standing as proud as he could, Firepaw grinned as Bluestar touched her nose to his, ceremoniously solidifying the change in his name. But before she pulled away, she moved to his ear and whispered "Hold still."
Gingerly, she fastened her teeth onto Firepaw's collar and with a yank, the collar snapped off and fell to the ground.
And as Bluestar pulled back with a smile, Firepaw took a deep breath.
He was free once more.
a/n: chapter three will be released tomorrow.
any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.
with love,
cj