Life 2:18
Tensions were high since Windclan now knew that there was some unknown threat at the Shadowclan border. Tallstar, fearing for Snakepaw's safety, decided that Snakepaw wouldn't be partaking of any border patrols. Of course, Snakepaw disagreed with Tallstar's decision on premise. Snakepaw would come back from death. The other Windclan cats wouldn't.
Snakepaw wouldn't take Tallstar's decision lying down. He needed to be out there finding out what the real threat was. He knew it was something obvious, but he just couldn't place it. Maybe if he could find even one more of those bone piles, he could place the scent. He'd have to sneak out. Snakepaw waited for the heat of the day, when the camp was at its most sluggish and when an apprentice slipping out would be unlikely to be caught. Tallstar was laying with Onewhisker, discussing the tunnels. This was Snakepaw's chance.
Snakepaw slipped out of camp with practiced ease. He knew every paw step of this territory, so he knew where the land sunk but grasses made seem flat. He knew the patrol schedules. He even had a few tunnels in mind in case Tallstar sent anyone out looking for him, not that he thought Tallstar would notice.
Snakepaw had to stop once because a hunting patrol was passing by, but he managed to reach the border unmolested. There, he knew he'd have to tread carefully. Whoever this outsider was had slipped past all previous patrols, which is impressive given that they likely had to travel along the border. 'Now, where were they likely to leave another pile,' Snakepaw pondered, scenting the air as he followed the edge of the border. Perhaps they'd be more brazen near the edge where they would more safely get away. Snakepaw set off in that direction, pausing every once and a while to try and catch the off Shadowclan scent. Motion caught Snakepaw's eye, so he sunk into a crouch. Windclan doesn't even mark this far out besides about once a moon. There shouldn't have been anyone out here, but someone, no a few were. Snakepaw crept closer to get a better look.
That tail that bent half over a paw's length from the tip was a dead giveaway. It was Brokenstar. With him appeared to be two rogues, each with a couple of bones resting at their paws. Brokenstar looked irritated at the pair. "What do you mean that you couldn't plant the bones?!" Brokenstar demanded.
"It's not our fault. You told us to learn the timing of Windclan's patrols, so we could slip in, except their patrols are too frequent now. We won't be able to get in and out without being spotted. You said it yourself. The jig is up if they even catch a whiff of us. We just can't do it." The first rogue complained.
Brokenstar huffed at the response. "And Shadowclan's patrols? Is there room to slip into that territory to get you closer? Shadowclan is severely lack in cat power right now, so they can barely run patrols on the regular without running their cats ragged." Brokenstar replied, questioning the usefulness of the rogue in front of him.
"We… didn't think of that. We'll get right on it." The second rogue answered.
"Then do so and stop being so useless." Brokenstar growled.
The two quickly trotted away, clearly harboring a bit of fear. Snakepaw caught the tail end of their conversation as they trotted away.
"Why do we even listen to that guy?" The first rogue asked.
"That cat is immortal. Saw it myself. He died right in front of me, but a few moments later, he was back on his paws. Besides, it'd be nice to finally have some territory without having to sleep with one eye open." The second replied.
Snakepaw was just about to sneak away when the wind flipped, blowing his scent towards Brokenstar. Brokenstar picked it up pretty quick, letting out a hiss. "Who is there?! If you don't come out, I'll find you. I promise I'll make it quick."
Snakepaw could already hear Brokenstar approaching. If he made to run, Brokenstar would clearly spot him. Given his recent luck, Snakepaw had no doubt that he'd trip if he tried retreating, and he didn't fancy another death by torture. He had to confront Brokenstar.
"I'm right here Brokenstar." Snakepaw called out standing tall. "I was tracking down whoever was leaving bones on the Windclan border. How I didn't guess that it was you is beyond me."
Brokenstar took in the strange cat who rose to his challenge. He had to do a doubletake as soon as he saw those snake green eyes on a leopard spotted pelt. Brokenstar flinched at the sight. "How? I killed you! I made sure to slit your throat even after I was sure you died! Tell me!" He demanded, his fur risen in an unusual mix of rage and fear.
Snakepaw sauntered forward, knowing that his confidence unnerved Brokenstar. "I existed long before the clans ever even formed. I continue to exist and likely even will when the clans are but forgotten history. If you thought something as trifling as a slit throat and a broken spine could keep me down… Well, you are sadly mistaken."
Brokenstar, in a twisted sense of bravery, threw himself forward, claws raised to meet this impossible cat. Snakepaw, a cat with an unimaginable amount of combat experience, twisted beneath Brokenstar, raking his claws along the exile's body. Brokenstar hissed at the wound, but he wasn't deterred in the slightest. He charged, keeping a slightly slower pace so he could redirect the attack if Snakepaw evaded. In response, Snakepaw made to leap over Brokenstar. It worked, but Snakepaw's luck decided to deal him a bad hand at that moment, It wasn't much, but his paw hit a rock beneath the snow, sending him into a tumble. Brokenstar capitalized on Snakepaw's compromised position, leaping on top of the apprentice, forcing a pin.
"Tell me who gave you this power! What divinity or god did this?" He ordered.
Snakepaw, with eyes were unnaturally calm, as if Brokenstar's command was beneath notice. Snakepaw then said something that chilled Brokenstar to his very core. "Can you feel your heart burning? Can you feel the struggle within? The fear within me is beyond anything your soul can make. You cannot kill me in a way that matters."
Brokenstar's eyes widened in fear, but he did not falter. "I'm not afraid of you, you snake in cat skin!" He yowled before lunging for Snakepaw's neck.
Snakepaw had anticipated this outcome by goading Brokenstar. At the last second, Snakepaw dislocated his shoulder so he could twist just far enough to get a bite on Brokenstar's neck as well. Teeth met flesh, and blood pooled on the ground.
"Just like last time." Brokenstar gasped out, in his own death throws.
"Yes. Cyclical." Was all Snakepaw could reply, as his own life was ending. He was a good bit calmer that Brokenstar. After all, this was nothing new to the immortal apprentice.
"I'll come back." Brokenstar growled as his eyes began to fog over.
Snakepaw didn't have the strength to speak, but his response was clear. It was a slight smug smile, a message that even this death would not be his end.
All the way back in Windclan's camp, Tallstar was still discussing the tunnels with Onewhisker when a comment set off an unusual reaction. "I'd love to hear some of Snakepaw's thoughts on your tunnel ideas." Tallstar commented.
Onewhisker suddenly pressed his paws against his head, as an unnatural bout of pain hit it. Something was wrong. Onewhisker seemed dazed as he answered. "Snakepaw? I swear that I've heard the name. I can feel it at the edge of my memory, but it just refuses to clear up. I don't understand. What's going on?"
Tallstar's eyes widened in shock as the implications of that statement hit him. He bolted out of camp, knowing Snakepaw must be out there somewhere. He hadn't concealed his scent, so Tallstar began to track it. It went far. Every second felt agonizing to Windclan's leader, already knowing what he'd find at the end but denying it all the same. Windclan's border markers were already fuzzy given that it was a rarely patrolled area. The scent grew sharper, meaning Tallstar was close. Then the scent of blood hit him. Tallstar pushed himself into a full sprint towards the scent. Then he found it, a single body laying in the grass. That small smug smile was still present on his face. Snakepaw looked content. The scent of Shadowclan was also heavy in the clearing. There was far too much blood to have just been Snakepaw's. Tallstar could see a chunk of skin still clenched tightly in Snakepaw's jaws.
Tallstar ignored the blood, curling up next to his fallen apprentice. Tears fell freely from his eyes, and he quietly groomed the cat who'd made so much of a change to better Windclan. He already knew that most of the clan had forgotten the apprentice, as was evident by Onewhisker's reaction.
"Why couldn't you have just listened to me? I still need you." Tallstar sobbed, looking upon the still body of Snakepaw.
The smile, it seemed to mean more. Tallstar could just tell. This smile wasn't just for whoever felled him. It was a message for Tallstar. It seemed to say, "I've done my job. You don't need me anymore, but I enjoyed the time we had." Others might say that Tallstar was just overreading something as small as a smile, but he knew that this is what Snakepaw meant. It just was the way Snakepaw was. Quiet, unassuming, but filled with meaning. It made Tallstar mournfully chuckle.
"My strange little apprentice. Even in death, you seek to comfort me. Well, since you said you never receive one in life. I bestow upon you a warrior name. I know it likely will not travel with you, but I grant it all the same. I grant you the name Snaketail. I wish I could have seen what you'd have become if given the chance to overcome your curse. If you see my father in Starclan, let him know that I'm not letting his legacy die." Tallstar mewed, looking skyward.