Prologue: A Quick Death

Snakekit stretched out his leopard spotted form, taking in the scent of pine and marsh drifting in from the nursery's entrance. 'Odd' thought the kit, noting how particularly poofy he was and how large the queens seemed in comparison. Snakekit dismissed the strangeness, assuming it was another case of drift like he was used to. After ensuring he was all stretched out and ready for his apprentice ceremony, he padded through the nursery entrance. Another kit, one known as Badgerkit followed him out.

"Are you excited to be apprenticed?" Cheerily mewed the other kit.

"I don't know. We seem a little young." Answered Snakekit warily.

"I mean, we are. Brokenstar wants us to become warriors faster, so he let us start training a whole two moons early." Badgerkit replied, keeping the same cheery tone.

Snakekit reeled slightly at that statement. Four moons old was still extremely young. They were still about a moon out from their first major growth spurt. It meant that they were absolutely tiny in comparison to any fully grown cat. With their diminutive size also came frailty. It wouldn't be too hard for them to crack a rib or break a bone from a hit that any grown cat could just shrug off. After pondering it a bit, Snakekit dismissed it. Brokenstar probably had a plan that would tutor them in safely. It would likely just be learning techniques early or something.

It wasn't long before Brokenstar made himself apparent upon the high branch. His massive intimidating form was accented but his ever-crooked tail. Brokenstar was somewhat impressive given his history. He started off as a social reject, constantly condemned for his questionable origins. The only known relative was the previous clan leader Raggedstar, who was his father. Snakekit was rather happy that Brokenstar found his stride and managed to make a name for himself.

Padding into position beside Badgerkit, Snakekit looked up expectantly. What variation of the ritual would Brokenstar use? Who would be his mentor? How could he best use his time to best benefit his home? Snakekit was excited to see what his life would bring… until he noticed the concerned glances from his clanmates. They looked at him with pity and fear, fear that something terrible would happen to him. Snakekit tried to push down the anxiety those looks were giving him. They likely were just fearful that Brokenstar's plan would put him in harm's way. He trusted Brokenstar to act a bit more cautiously and was going to teach them lightly. I mean, he had been trusted to be named deputy and gained the title of leader.

Something about Snakekit seemed familiar to Brokenstar, but he just couldn't put his paw on it. It was like a blurry memory. One thing was for sure, he was positive Snakekit wasn't here yesterday. Despite that, after questioning his loyal subordinates, he somehow got the answer that Snakekit had always been here, and that the kit was rather wise for his age. Something in the back of his mind told him to give the apprentice to Clawface, but this kit was an outlier, something strange. He would not allow such a confusing cat to roam freely. Maybe it would be best if he took the kit down now, take no chances.

It was strange to Snakepaw that after he received his name Brokenstar decided to declare a test to see who he'd best fit with to apprentice under. Badgerpaw was also forced into this test. Brokenstar dismissed the other warriors so that he could assess the pair solo. Well, they were pretty young. Maybe this was just the best means to handle a kit getting early training. Shadowclan had always been known as the clan of ingenuity. They say hardship breeds creativity, and no clan exemplifies that more than Shadowclan. If a cat from each clan was tossed somewhere new, the Shadowclan one would adapt first. It just was in their nature, brought about by the common food scarcity their territory provided. Snakepaw didn't mind trying anything new. In fact, he welcomed it. Life was boring without a bit of the spice called change.

Brokenstar eyed up the new anomalous apprentice warily, who only shot him back a pleasant smile. Something about the kit irked him, like he'd seen him before a long time ago. It wasn't unpleasant, but it set him on edge. Was his mind being tampered with? Was this some kind of ghost or hallucination sent by Starclan? Brokenstar couldn't chance it. Whatever it was had to go.

"We're going to do some starter training for me to get a feel for where you need to be." Brokenstar mewed in an authoritative tone. Badgerpaw froze up at Brokenstar's order, but Snakepaw somehow only looked engaged and somewhat excited.

Snakepaw was about to take a step forward to get tested first, but Badgerpaw mustered up his courage and pushed Snakepaw back. He'd go first. He already saw the looks Brokenstar was giving Snakepaw and wanted to protect the other kit. Brokenstar looked at the apprentice, a snarl growing on his face. This hadn't been how he wanted things to go down, but Badgerpaw was in the way. He'd need to be dealt with as well.

Snakepaw watched with rapt attention as Brokenstar began to circle the other apprentice. For his part, Badgerpaw tried to remain brave and match the leader, arching his back and baring his teeth, but his eyes displayed his very visible fear. It was probably just a test of will, Snakepaw thought, letting the test continue. It was only when Brokenstar's claws came out did Snakepaw realize the severity of what was going on. Brokenstar lashed out at the other apprentice. Badgerpaw got lucky and managed to stumble back and only get scratched, but Brokenstar wasn't finished. He closed the distance and sent Badgerpaw tumbling with a hard smack. Snakepaw raced to the other apprentice's side to assess the damage. The scratch had been deeper than he thought. It went right through Badgerkit's eyelid, ripping through his iris as well. Then there was the damage from the second hit. One of Badgerpaw's front legs was twisted in an unnatural way. His breathing was shallow, so Snakepaw got close to feel what other damage the apprentice received. His ribs were cracked in three places. There was nothing fatal yet, but the apprentice was unconscious with shock and pain. This wasn't something a kit as young as him should ever have to endure.

"You have to stop!" Snakepaw yowled urgently. "If you go any further, you'll kill him." He pleaded.

His pleas fell on deaf ears as Brokenstar only cared that someone had tried to command him. "You dare try to tell me what to do?" He hissed with venom.

Snakekit somehow seemed unafraid as he gave his answer. "If it means keeping a clanmate alive, yes, I'm telling you what to do. You knew he was too young for that type of training, and yet you did it anyways. Even if we get him to the medicine cat now, he may die. You already took his eye."

"A half blind cat is a useless cat." Brokenstar growled in response, sinking into an aggressive stance.

"You're going to kill him! I won't let you do this." Snakepaw cried in response.

"And what do you think a kit could do to me?" Brokenstar cruelly teased.

In a level tone begetting year of experience, Snakepaw gave his reply. "Why don't you come over here and find out?"

Brokenstar charged in with a howl of rage. Snakepaw, despite his age, was ready for it. He slipped under Brokenstar easily, his claws scratching along Brokenstar's belly. Kit claws are extremely sharp, but they're also short, so the wounds were only stinging. Brokenstar spun quickly, attacking with his superior reach. Snakepaw spun and ran, as if to flee the situation. Brokenstar was quick to follow, not wanting the anomaly to get away.

The run turned out to be a ruse as Snakepaw used the run to leap up at a tree and rebound onto Brokenstar's back. There was only one surefire way to deal with a cat like Brokenstar, and unfortunately that was killing. Snakepaw sunk his teeth into Brokenstar's neck, blood pouring out readily at the wound. Brokenstar, in a panic, threw himself against the tree to try and force the kit off him. It worked. Snakepaw struck the tree with plenty of force. Brokenstar slammed sideways, totally unknowing if the kit was still on him, accidentally sandwiching the kit in the slam.

Snakepaw heard a tell all crack at that hit and fell limp. This wasn't something he'd done willingly. He was still conscious, but he couldn't move his body. He knew Brokenstar had broken his spine. He could feel his life fading. Brokenstar tumbled onto his side as that bite wound stole one of his lives as well. Snakepaw contented himself in the fact that he'd at least punished Brokenstar, if only inconveniencing him by taking one of his lives. It's not like dying meant all that much to Snakepaw. He'd be back before you knew it. As his life left him, Snakepaw gave one last silent goodbye to Shadowclan. In an odd twist of humor, Snakepaw's last thought was 'Thunderclan here I come.'