Thorntail was a very fierce warrior, admired for her skill and bravery in battle. She was considered one of Thunderclan's strongest cats, well-known throughout the Clans. Some despised her. Some envied her. Most looked up to her. Regardless, she was happy, and life was good - until a terrible accident during a border skirmish deemed her a traitor and she was banished. After that, she seemed to vanish off the face of the earth for the Clan cats.. but some have reported her scent near their borders, along with unfamiliar others. Rumors are spreading, and there are whispers at Gatherings when the leaders' backs are turned. Could it be that the once-great Thorntail has become a spiteful rogue, and is building an army for revenge? Or is there more to Thorn's story than it seems?
Note - words written in italics are thoughts, and words written in bold italics are dreams, memories, and flashbacks.
Thorntail was a loyal and respected warrior. She was a little stubborn and hot-headed sometimes, yes, but she was swift and fierce in battle. Over time, she helped to win many skirmishes for her Clan. Despite her young age, the deputy Preyheart often looked to her as well as the senior warriors when preparing for a bigger fight. She had several friends. You could say she was well-liked.
So it struck her full of shock like a physical blow from an opponent when ThunderClan suddenly turned against her one morning. She never even saw it coming.
All throughout that strange morning there were whispers...
“She must be punished..” “Can't believe I trusted her..” “Traitor..”
Hostile eyes followed Thorntail as she stooped to lap from the puddle outside the warriors' den.
Unsettled, she padded onward toward the freshkill pile, belly growling. The guardian of the prey pile, Frostwillow, stepped abruptly in front of the heap of freshkill, her blue eyes narrow.
“Hey, Frostwillow! Everything alright?” Thorntail tried to keep her tail from twitching uneasily. “Has ShadowClan been acting up, planning an ambush?” She gave a halfhearted growl. “We'll put them in their place!” Frostwillow said nothing.
“Uh.. Frostwillow?” Thorntail tried to nudge her way past the pale she-cat, but the warrior pushed her back again, curling her lip. “What..?”
What in StarClan's name is going on here – Skystar..? The leader is upset with me? Thorntail backed up as the white tom climbed down from his den in the Highrock and stalked over to her, sky-blue eyes cold. Other eyes flashed from the shadows. Is this some sort of weird dream? It has to be..
“You killed her.” Skystar's voice was low, his eyes blue flame.
Thorntail stiffened. How could she have forgotten? Memories of the battle came rushing back to her: dark fur rushing past, claws slicing through her coat, angry yowls ringing in her head. The whole place had stunk of the marsh and of slimy frogs and the distant carrion place. The ShadowClan cats were fierce, and their numbers were more. Trapped. They had trapped her. She whirled, claws reaching for them. Then the sly cats ducked away, and another familiar pelt flashed in front of her. Too late, her claws slit the throat of the leader's mate, and she thudded to the ground, dead and bleeding. Thorntail stared in shock. The ThunderClan cats nearby gasped and shouted things like, “Traitor! She's fighting for them?! After all this time though.. Surely not Thorntail!” The ShadowClan cats took advantage of the pause and flung themselves at the outnumbered ThunderClan, forcing them back. The battle had been lost.. and so had Thorntail's reputation.
“It was an accident, really, it was!” Thorntail insisted, her tail lashing. “I would never kill a cat from my own Clan! That's not right!”
Skystar didn't seem to believe her. The bulky white tom pounced on her and pinned her. “A death is still a death, whether intentional or not. You have killed one of your own Clanmates! How can our other Clanmates live peacefully when they think there is a murderer in their midst? I am sorry, Thorntail, but you must be punished.”
Fear, anger, and confusion filled Thorntail's head. She yanked her paws out from under his and slammed them into his chest, sending him backward. She stiffened, feeling the gaze of every ThunderClan cat watching them. She was fighting her own leader. How could she be doing this? It was a fight for her life. She had to. She prepared to strike again, when paws gripped her from behind.
“You deny being a murderer, and then you attack our leader?” Preyheart yowled in disbelief. “I trusted a traitor!”
“Thorntail..” She twisted around under the deputy's feet and looked up at the orange-and-white tom standing nearby, his golden eyes full of sadness and horror. “My best friend is a killer.” His eyes betrayed his words; in recent moons they had grown closer than just friends. Yet even Birchfur did not stand up for her.
“No! Skystar was going to kill me! I was fighting for my life - “ Thorntail began, but Preyheart stuffed his paw in her mouth as Skystar approached, fur bristling.
“You know me, Thorntail. I am a merciful leader. I only said you were going to be punished.” Skystar's eyes flickered with regret.
“You wouldn't.” Thorntail gasped.
“...” Skystar blinked. “No. I wouldn't. So instead, Thorntail, get out of my camp. I sentence you to exile. If you are seen anywhere near our territory by sundown tonight, my warriors will kill you. This will not be forgotten.” The big white tom raised his paw, unsheathed his claws, and swiped a hard blow across Thorntail's ear, tearing open a wound that Snowheart had tried to heal time and time again. This time, she knew it would scar. He and Preyheart stepped back, and the Clan yowled scornfully at the pale tawny she-cat as she scrambled out of camp.
“What will the other Clans think when they learn that ThunderClan has lost one of their strongest warriors?” Roseheart muttered, eyes dark as she watched Thorntail leave.
“We have lost so much because of her.” Dragonsoul raised his voice to a yowl that seemed to chase Thorntail across the border. “ThunderClan will never forgive you!”
Last Edit: Aug 29, 2015 22:01:37 GMT -5 by Swiftclaw
Thorntail – no, Thorn, now that she was a rogue – fled safely across the border and headed straight for the only safe place she could think off that was close enough: Fourtrees. Panting, she skidded down into the hollow and crashed right into a rogue. “What -"
“Easy, easy. I won't harm you. Quite the opposite, in fact.” The brown-and-white tabby meowed. “Let me guess – new rogue or wandering nomad, down on your luck?” She didn't wait for a reply. “I'm Tune, the rogue trainer. I can help you with your battle skills, if you like.”
Thorn ignored her and looked around. She couldn't make her den here, the Clans would come here every full moon. She'd have to look elsewhere..
Maybe in the meadows beyond RiverClan territory? She set off towards the marsh and the river, heading for the Twoleg bridge. She heard Tune wish her good luck. She scowled and quickly crossed the bridge, turning left and heading through the wetlands and into the fields. She ducked swiftly past the horses, although they seemed to be too busy grazing to notice her. The horses began to snort and paw the ground in their frustration once it began to rain. Soon it was pouring; Thorn sighed and scurried on, past the gorge and its tumbling waterfall, and curled up in the first dry shelter she could find: the roots of an oak tree near the cliffs of the gorge.
I need more protection than this, she thought as rain dripped down through the branches onto her pale fur. The tan she-cat went out to collect some brambles, weaving them into tight thickets to form a barrier around her den. That would do for now.
Her stomach growled.
I never did get my breakfast.. and leaf-fall will be on its way soon. I'd better start stocking up. Thorn heaved herself up and ventured out, pausing to lap from the river along the way. She had just finished drinking when two RiverClan cats sprang out at her.
The warrior's eyes widened in surprised recognition. "Thorntai-?!"
Thorn panicked and lunged, pulling her claws down across the she-cat's throat. The scout attacked with lightning-fast claws, and Thorn suffered many wounds. Eventually she drove the aggressive Clan cat back, panting and wincing. Now she had no medicine cat to go to. Maybe Tune could help her..
Thorn heard a yowl and stiffened. More? A RiverClan patrol and WindClan patrol leaped out at each other, each complete with veteran attackers. Great StarClan – I mean, stars! I'm not coming here to drink anymore! She hurried on her way, across the Twoleg bridge, coming dangerously close to ThunderClan's border. She crossed the meadow where they often battled WindClan and ducked down the slope towards Fourtrees.
“Back, are you?” Tune seemed amused. “How can I help?”
Thorn lashed her tail, annoyed. “Can you heal me?”
“What? No! I can only improve your skills. Teach you to fight rogue-style.”
“Ugh. Some help you are.” Thorn sighed. “Fine. Since you probably won't stop bugging me until I-”
“Great! I see you have at least some experience fighting,” Tune meowed unnecessarily, looking at her wounds. “Alright, watch this move. I call it the Feral Slash..”
“Take care,” Tune called. “Just drink and eat well, and go to sleep regularly each night. You'll heal naturally soon.”
Thorn nodded, already feeling stronger thanks to the new move she'd learned. She eagerly returned to home to her den, collecting some moss and prey along the way. As she set it aside in some thickets for storage, she caught herself wishing for her old, cozy nest by Birchfur. No. She wouldn't admit she missed ThunderClan. They betrayed her. She stepped determinedly over to her den and curled inside as night fell.I fought off Clan cats today and survived. I'll do alright. I can make this place my home yet!
Thorn woke up the next morning with a strange smell in her nose. Her fur bristled. There's a stranger in my den! The pale she-cat crawled out and padded over to the storage place. Nestled in the moss, which now made a comfy-looking nest, gnawing on a thrush, was another cat. He's not from the Clans.. “You there! What are you doing in my camp?”
The gray tabby looked up. Thorn was stunned by his bright golden eyes. They were like a falcon's. “Oh! Oh. Sorry, I thought this was one of those rogue shelters.”
Thorn tilted her head. “How do you mean?”
The tom stopped chewing. “Some rogues like to set up extra dens and make a home-base for other rogues to come and stay for awhile. The visitors get shelter and food, and in exchange, the rogue leader has them help out with hunting and checking territory.”
Thorn blinked. “Like a Clan?” “Sort of.” “There have been rogue Clans on the outside of the Clans' territories all this time?” The rogue blinked. “Yes.. you're a Clan cat aren't you? Or was?”
Thorn said nothing. How clever of them! Maybe I should do that. Leaf-fall is coming soon.. much as I hate to admit it, I need all the help I can get. The tom was standing up to leave. “Well – wait!” He looked at her. “...you can stay. But only if you help me.”
The gray tabby smiled. “The name's Perigrine.”
Perigrine quickly proved himself. He helped Thorn hunt and later helped to gather more thickets to strengthen their dens. That night, when Thorn went to sleep, she was feeling much more confident about her situation. Maybe I could make a Clan.. then I'd show ThunderClan! She thought jokingly. But no, the other Clans would probably just attack us. A 5th Clan in the forest? As if that could ever happen!
The next morning, Thorn was woken by meows. Annoyed, she got up and went to see what Perigrine was doing. Beside him was a ginger she-cat. She looked up in surprise. “Oh, hi! Perigrine told me there was another rogue setting up camp.”
Thorn looked at Perigrine, who shrugged. “I told you cats would come.”
Thorn sighed. “Alright, look – you can stay as long as you do your fair share. You know, help hunt and stuff like that.”
The ginger she-cat nodded. “That's fine, it's only fair. I'm Blaze, by the way.”
“Great. Two more helpers. Let's get started.” Thorn led the way out to hunt. Both cats were very clumsy at first.
“My bad.. usually I'm better than this..” Perigrine muttered as another thrush escaped. “Guess you'll have to put up with training us, too!”
Like apprentices – Thorn pushed the thought down. “It just takes a little practice to warm up. She nodded toward Blaze, who had caught a mouse right off the bat. She was fast.
Before I train them, I have to train myself in the way of the rogues, thought Thorn. “Go ahead and take those back to camp. I'm going to visit Tune. Maybe he'll have advice.” She set off towards the Twoleg bridge, crossing in front of the gorge where she had been attacked before. She moved quickly, afraid of being caught- oh great.
“Stop right there, rogue!” A Riverclan cat shouted as he bounded toward her, followed by another warrior and a novice.
Thorn was still healing from the night before, but she had to defend herself and her territory. The tawny she-cat fought back as best as she could, but they were already outnumbering her. Just as the novice pinned her again, she heard another burst of yowls.
WindClan! Shoot! They'll distract them, right? The two Clans did fight, but when a warrior had spare time, they dove for Thorn. Caught between two Clans! Oh mouse-dung! A warrior pinned her again, and as she was struggling to heave the heavy tom off, the weight suddenly vanished.
“Need a paw?” Perigrine grinned down at her. Thorn sprang up and together they drove off the tom, while Blaze kept more cats from attacking them. Finally, they managed to drive them back long enough to escape to camp.
“Listen, you two.. um.. well,” Thorn panted. “You were – you did good. So.. thanks.”
Blaze snorted and exchanged an amused glance with Perigrine. “We'll take that as a compliment.”
The next morning, Thorn woke up feeling even more achy. She went to check on Perigrine and Blaze to see how they were healing. “Good morning -” She padded in and stopped, spotting 3 more cats gazing back at her.
Blaze and Perigrine smirked and gave Thorn a knowing look. She ignored that. There was a dark orange tabby tom, another ginger she-cat, and a spotted tabby tom with several scars. He seemed vaguely familiar.
“And who are you?” Thorn asked, trying to look and sound like she was in charge. Act like Skystar, she thought before she could stop herself. Cool, calm, and confident.
“I'm Smolder,” offered the dark orange tabby.
“And I'm Breeze.” Said the lean ginger she-cat. They all looked expectantly at the silent spotted tom.
He lifted his head, as though he'd just realized they were talking to him. “I'm Jaguarcla-” He stopped. “I'm Jaguar.”
Thorn narrowed her green eyes. “I see. Well. Welcome to our little.. group. You will all be expected to help out in some way. Shall we start with hunting practice? Leaf-fall won't wait for us.”
As the cats got to their feet and trotted out, Jaguar bumped past her. He muttered a quick apology and slid out. His scent still hung in the air around her, strong and unpleasant. Aha. She wrinkled her nose and stared after him, heartbeat quickening with unease. Another Clan cat in my camp. A ShadowClan cat, in fact. This will be interesting...
CHAPTER 3 coming soon!
Last Edit: Aug 30, 2015 15:50:27 GMT -5 by Swiftclaw
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Last Edit: Aug 29, 2015 22:17:28 GMT -5 by Swiftclaw
