Chapter Text
“-and your mentor shall be Lionheart.”
A fluffy gray kitten rushed forward to touch noses with the larger golden tom, garnering a few laughs from the crowd.
“Graypaw! Graypaw!” The clan cheered.
Tigerclaw’s paw’s itched as he called out the new apprentice’s name with the rest of the clan. He had been dropping hints to Redtail that they should try and retake Sunningrocks soon, he was counting on Redtail saying no so that when he went to ask Bluestar, he would be more convincing.
Not that his reasons were unfounded, he had a bone to pick with Riverclan. Two prey with one swipe, deal with Riverclan for murdering Thistleclaw and dealing with Redtail for being a traitor.
As the clearing emptied, cats going about their days, Tigerclaw hurried to follow Bluestar into her den, muttering an apology to Lionheart for ignoring his request to pair up their apprentices for the day. Graypaw and Ravenpaw could get to know each other later, Tigerclaw had more important things to do.
“Did you have something to say, Tigerclaw? Or do you plan on just standing there?”
Tigerclaw gave his pelt a shake and sat down, “My apologies, I was thinking.”
“About what? You don’t usually show up unannounced to share your everyday thoughts with me” Bluestar purred in amusement.
“We need to reclaim Sunning Rocks, and soon.” Tigerclaw replied seriously.
Bluestar sighed, “I know Tigerclaw, but newleaf is late this year. The prey pile is barely stocked most days and I just don’t think our warriors are ready for that, and after so much death already... I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”
Tigerclaw almost hissed, “Not worth the risk! Bluestar, you have to-”
“When newleaf sets in and Thunderclan has had a quarter-moon of full bellies, then we can reconsider extending our territory.”
“But Bluestar, this isn’t just about territory! A half-moon ago, I found Thistleclaw dead in the jaws of the Riverclan leader, they will see us as spineless cowards if we don’t retaliate over that!”
Bluestar fell silent, her gaze darkening. Tigerclaw wondered what she was thinking about when she abruptly stood up.
“Tigerclaw, you are dismissed. I need to speak with Redtail if you see him-”
“I’m right here, Bluestar.”
“Were you listening to our conversation?”
“No, I was going to let you know that our hunting patrols have had good hunting today, the kill-pile is almost fully stocked.” Redtail assured her.
“Good, in that case, Tigerclaw you may go. I’m sure Ravenpaw would appreciate some training with his mentor.”
Tigerclaw nodded and got to his paws, tuning out Redtail as he immediately began arguing against attacking Riverclan. Just as he was about to hop down the rocks, he heard Bluestar say something that gave him hope.
“Tigerclaw has made some good points, but I haven’t decided yet. I’m going to consult Starclan tomorrow.”
“Will you be taking any of the apprentices? They’re all at the right age and far enough along in their training.”
“... No. Relations with the other clans are testy enough as it is, I’ll be going alone this time.”
“It would be ill-advised to go without a guard, but I suppose you know best. May Starclan light your path.”
Tigerclaw nimbly hopped down the slope before they realized he was still listening and went to see if Ravenpaw had decided to make himself useful and clear out the elder’s bedding. When he finished with that, if he started at all, it wouldn’t hurt to go over some more battle moves, and maybe he’d take Dustpaw along as well.
It was just a little past sunrise, Whitestorm had offered to take Sandpaw and Dustpaw hunting, only to receive a swat to the ears from Spottedleaf over bringing the dusty brown apprentice. Never before had Tigerclaw seen Spottedleaf so adamant over something as trivial as hunting.
Well, I suppose that’s exactly the problem, Tigerclaw mused to himself. During leafbare, hunting was anything but trivial. But he knew better than to disobey a medicine cat’s orders.
Ravenpaw was not in the elder’s den as Tigerclaw had hoped, instead he found Dustpaw showing Graypaw how to properly roll up the dirty bedding to be tossed out of the den. And it wasn’t going well.
“Like this?” Graypaw squealed as he pummeled the moss into the ground, successfully flattening the moss back into the bracken.
“I- no, Graypaw. Graypaw stop please, you’re just... Graypaw stop!” Dustpaw yowled as the moss went from being stuck to the ground to flying through the air.
Dappletail and Rosetail were snickering to themselves as Halftail and Smallear tried to get the old bedding out of their fur. Tigerclaw ducked as another scrap of bedding went flying straight towards his face.
“Graypaw, perhaps you should listen to your denmate when he’s trying to show you how to do something. Clean up this mess and do what Dustpaw tells you to do, properly this time.”
“Yes Tigerclaw,” Graypaw mewed, bowing his head in shame.
Soon, the mess was cleaned up and rolled out of the den. Dustpaw sighed as the last of the dirty bedding was disposed of behind the dirt-place, “Lionheart’s going to have a tough time with him, I hope Redtail never pairs us up for training!”
“Well, it’s a good thing Redtail is busy right now. I was going to find Ravenpaw to do some battle training, would you like to join us?”
“I’d love to, but Ravenpaw ran off to the medicine den right after the meeting. Maybe he has a bellyache or something.”
“Or something,” Tigerclaw sighed. “Get yourself something to eat while I go find Ravenpaw.”
Dustpaw brightened at the thought of being allowed to eat early and scurried out of the den, Tigerclaw turned to follow as he heard Graypaw call out.“Hey, wait a heartbeat! Dustpaw you haven’t shown me how to make a nest, what am I supposed to do now?”
Tigerclaw chuckled, “I suppose you’ll have to ask your mentor. I’m sure Lionheart will show you the best places to gather moss if you ask him now.”
While the gray kitten rushed to join Lionheart at the gorse tunnel, Tigerclaw made his way to the medicine den.
“Borage, chervil, rosemary, anything else?”
“Umm... Maybe lavender? And mint? I know you’ve gone through a lot of those given... everything that’s happened lately.”
“You’re right though, it doesn’t hurt to stock up. I’d also like to see if we can find any burnet. Grab those leaf-wraps and we’ll find Tigerclaw, I’ll let him know I need you for herb-gathering this morning.”
“You can have him until sunhigh,” Tigerclaw rumbled as he stepped into the den. “I’ll have Dustpaw brush up on his stalking techniques until then.”
Ravenpaw jumped, fur bristling in alarm while Spottedleaf just purred in gratitude as she brushed past him.
“Remember, sunhigh in the sandy clearing. Don’t be late Ravenpaw.” Tigerclaw said.
Ravenpaw nodded earnestly, “I’ll be there!”
“Ravenpaw, come on! We don’t have all day!” Spottedleaf called from the camp entrance.
Tigerclaw nosed his apprentice onwards, “You heard her, quicker you get this done the quicker you’ll be able to join Dustpaw and me for training.”
Ravenpaw sped off behind Spottedleaf just as Dustpaw finished licking his lips from his morning meal. “I’m ready to go Tigerclaw! Where’s Ravenpaw off to?”
“Spottedleaf asked for his help gathering herbs, he’ll be joining us at sunhigh.” Tigerclaw sighed.
Dustpaw scoffed, “Why is he always with Spottedleaf? Does he want to be a medicine cat or something?”
Tigerclaw gently batted at Dustpaw’s ears, “Spottedleaf could have asked any apprentice to help her today, would you rather it be you? There’s still time to catch up if you’d like.”
Dustpaw’s eyes went wide, “No way! I’d rather train, what are going to do today?”
Tigerclaw headed for the entrance, Dustpaw hurrying along at his heels.
“Stalking techniques, you’ve grown enough that Spottedleaf can’t keep you from hunting anymore. Time to brush up on those skills of yours.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days passed by in a breeze, Tigerclaw oversaw Sandpaw’s hunting assessment that she should have taken with her denmates a moon ago while Redtail and Lionheart showed Graypaw the borders with Dustpaw, much to the older apprentice’s dismay.
Spottedleaf decided to borrow Ravenpaw the next day as well for herb gathering, Tigerclaw begrudgingly allowed it, remembering his promise to Ravenpaw all those moons ago. If his apprentice was determined to follow the path of a medicine cat, Tigerclaw wouldn’t stand in his way.
Redtail had taken Ravenpaw night hunting, as he had also promised to meet Bluestar at Four Trees for her return journey from the Moonstone.
The leader and deputy stumbled into camp just before moonhigh, Redtail carrying a small squirrel, Tigerclaw nodded to them as they passed him on guard duty.
“Tigerclaw, good to see you still awake. Go ahead and wake up Willowpelt and have her replace you. Get some sleep, I want you ready for the sunhigh patrol.” Redtail said, briefly leaving his tail on Tigerclaw’s shoulder.
Tigerclaw nodded and stood up, stretching his muscles and shaking his fur out, “I’ll help Ravenpaw carry in his catches, then I’ll head to sleep.”
Redtail shook his head, voice barely concealing his nervousness when he replied to Tigerclaw. “That won’t be necessary, Ravenpaw is just behind us with the rest. He did well for hunting at night during leafbare, Bluestar and I will share this squirrel while we discuss her visit to the Moonstone.”
As the duo left him at his post to talk about Bluestar’s trip, Ravenpaw made his way into camp carrying only a vole and a sparrow to show for his efforts.
Tigerclaw was too tired to comment on what little his apprentice managed to catch and let him pass without a word. But as Ravenpaw passed his mentor, Tigerclaw caught a whiff of the heavy scent of ferns, as if he had rolled in a patch recently.
Curious, Tigerclaw opened his jaws to try and taste the scent better, but to his dismay, the senior warrior found the unmistakable scent of marshes and pines on his apprentice’s pelt.
Exactly what he had noticed on Redtail as he passed by with Bluestar.
Redtail had been no surprise, given his recent activities. But why Ravenpaw? Had he gotten too close to the border again? Why had Redtail even taken such an interest in Ravenpaw recently?
Tigerclaw shook his head, he had no reason to doubt Ravenpaw’s loyalty to his clan. Maybe Redtail had been meeting with Shadowclan again and Ravenpaw decided to follow him, he’d ask about it in the morning.
As Tigerclaw made his way to the warrior’s den, he caught the tail-end of Redtail and Bluestar’s conversation.
“So, did Starclan share the wisdom that you sought?”
“Yes and no, I cannot tell you what exactly we spoke of but I can say this. I found exactly what I thought I would and dealt with it accordingly. We’ll be taking back Sunningrocks tomorrow after sunhigh.”
“Very well Bluestar, I trust you and Starclan’s judgment. Goodnight.”
Gleefully, Tigerclaw hurried into his den, prodding Willowpelt awake so that she could take his place as guard.
Don’t worry Thistleclaw, Tigerclaw thought to himself. You will be avenged, may your spirit rest easy among the stars tonight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Thistleclaw, these aren’t Starclan’s hunting grounds. Why are you here?” Tigerclaw asked.
Tigerclaw’s dreams took him to a familiar place, though he didn’t expect to find Thistleclaw here. The Place of No Stars was where those who irrefutably broke the code were sentenced. Many of its inhabitants hoped to redeem themselves by training their more vulnerable living clanmates in their dreams and told their stories to keep the living from following in their pawsteps.
Tigerclaw was one of those cats, he had been so angry for so long when his father chose to become a kittypet rather than continuing to lead his clan. Mapleshade came to him in a dream, sympathetic and kind, her story was a gruesome one, but Tigerclaw decided that she was truly strong for the decisions she had to make.
He had heard her story before, but from Thunderclan’s elders instead. The elder’s version of the story depicted her as some lying she-cat who cruelly mocked her dead mate’s memory by having kits with his murderer, who then proceeded to kill that tom’s sister and her medicine cat before dying to the claws of a Riverclan apprentice. She was also rumored to have purposefully drowned her own kits upon her exile, using that as an excuse for her killing-spree.
Mapleshade’s story was different, her side was that she had never loved that Thunderclan tom but saw him as a good friend, her mate (who he learned was called Appledusk) hadn’t meant to kill him or the apprentice and was incredibly remorseful for what he did.
Personally, he thought it was Ravenwing’s fault (the medicine cat at the time) for all that followed. If he hadn't told the clan of those kit’s half-clan heritage, Mapleshade wouldn’t have been so driven to get them across the river.
Her exile was a quick one, Mapleshade confessed that she feared that if she had been caught by a Thunderclan patrol still on their territory because she was trying to get to the Twoleg Bridge with three young kits, they would have killed them all. To her, she had to cross the river as soon as possible to give her kits a chance at life. It was nothing short of bad luck that things happened the way they did.
If Ravenwing hadn’t told the clan, the kits may not have died and been raised as loyal Thunderclan warriors, never knowing they were any different from their clanmates.
If Frecklewish had acted and tried to save the kits instead of assuming the Riverclan patrol would intervene, the kits may have been accepted into Riverclan, with or without their mother. But at least they would have been safe.
Mapleshade did not try to defend herself for the murder of those two queens, or attempted in Reedshine’s case, the molly who Appledusk took as a mate to save his own pelt after meeting with Mapleshade. And even though killing a medicine cat was considered one of the worst offenses to the warrior code, Mapleshade couldn’t bring herself to feel guilty for that. And Tigerclaw didn’t blame her.
Mapleshade would eventually fade away in the Dark Forest, no matter how long she repented if she could not feel the guilt for killing Ravenwing, Starclan would never let her into their hunting grounds. Though they were at least kind enough to allow her to see her kits at the border. A small mercy if there ever was one.
But it wasn’t Mapleshade who stood before him tonight, it was Thistleclaw.
“I used to be in Starclan,” Thistleclaw rasped.
“I was at peace, sitting with my mother, father, and dear sister when she came along and ruined it.” Thistleclaw spat.
“She?” Tigerclaw echoed, confused.
“Bluestar,” The spiky-furred warrior growled. “Bluestar came and questioned Starclan about why I was there, then she had the nerve to chase me out!”
“I don’t understand, I know you two never got along but-”
“It was more than that, Tigerclaw. She was always jealous of me, for loving her sister when she couldn’t, for being more respected than her when she moped around the camp while I actually did something.”
“Grief can make-”
“Grief should never stand in the way of a warrior providing for their clan, I taught you that. The only reason Sunstar chose her over me was that she shared his soft-hearted ideals.”
“Why can’t you just go back? If Starclan granted you access the first time then surely you’d be able to cross the border now?”
“It would seem that Bluestar managed to convince Starclan otherwise, I can longer find the border, not even to see my mate.”
Tigerclaw winced, it was when he spoke of Snowfur that led to Thistleclaw’s death.
“I know that look, it’s not your fault.” Thistleclaw said gruffly, “I’ll give Bluestar this though, she was always crafty. She preferred peace to fighting and has never been afraid of using dirty tactics to get there, she must have learned that from Pinestar.”
Tigerclaw growled softly at the mention of his father, everyone always said he was wise and deserved respect, but all Tigerclaw saw was a coward who ran from his problems, and would sooner let another cat die than put himself in harm’s way.
“I don’t understand though,” he protested. “Bluestar went to Starclan after I demanded she avenges you. Why would she consult Starclan to drive you out, but avenge you tomorrow?”
“Like I said, she’s crafty.” Thistleclaw replied shortly. “She hates me, always has. She wanted to ensure I’d never find peace before attacking Riverclan to save face.”
“Otherwise she risks Riverclan taking more of our territory,” Tigerclaw finished. “I just...”
“Nevermind that, what’s done is done. I learned something while I was in Starclan though, I don’t know all the details but there’s something you need to know.”
“What is it? Is there danger coming?” Tigerclaw asked. His mind was spinning, it was bad enough that his leader was so... So petty that she would drive a loyal warrior from his resting place, but now there was more potential danger? Didn’t Thunderclan have enough problems thanks to Redtail?
“Fire is coming Tigerclaw, an all-consuming blaze that will destroy-”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!” Came the piercing voice from beyond his dreams.
Tigerclaw’s head shot up, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes as the other warriors filed out of the den.
“What’s going on?” he asked Whitestorm as the white warrior brushed past him.
“Bluestar’s called a meeting, not sure why,” Whitestorm grumbled.
Tigerclaw sighed and stood up, squinting at the dawn light that hit his eyes as he left the den. Bluestar stood on the Highrock, patiently waiting for the clan to assemble in the clearing. Redtail sat beneath the rock, looking remarkably well-rested for someone who had been up half the night like Tigerclaw was.
The apprentices’ den shook as the four young cats rushed out for the meeting, Graypaw was the only one who looked energetic enough to be there. The others were stifling yawns and leaning against each other so they wouldn’t fall asleep on their paws.
“As some of you may know, I went to consult Starclan yesterday seeking their wisdom. I have received their blessing to carry out an attack on Riverclan to reclaim Sunningrocks!”
Murmurs rose up from the crowd, some were worried that they weren’t strong enough yet while others, mostly the younger warriors, were flexing their claws in anticipation to see some action.
“I understand your concerns, but remember! You aren’t just fighting for territory, you are fighting to avenge your clanmates who starved in their sicknesses when we couldn’t find enough food! You fight for the queens and their kits to ensure their futures and for the elders who we swore to take care of for the rest of their days!”
Tigerclaw leveled a challenging glare at Bluestar, he knew what she did at the moonstone but that didn’t mean he’d let her stop pretending that this was about Riverclan’s act of war. She met his gaze and nodded to him.
“And just as importantly, we fight to avenge Thistleclaw, who was found dead in the jaws of Crookedstar himself! We took our time recuperating from the harshness of leafbare, but now is the time to strike! For Thunderclan!”
“Thunderclan! Thunderclan!” Came the cheers in the clearing. The other warriors looked to be on board now, eyes shining with grief and determination as they thought of their lost clanmates.
Bluestar nodded to her deputy, “Redtail shall announce the battle patrol, anyone not going must be ready to be sent out as reinforcements. Dismissed!”
With a wave of her tail, Bluestar headed back to her den, content to allow Redtail to finish the preparations.
“Darkstripe, Runningwind, Mousefur, and Tigerclaw! We’ll be heading out immediately. Whitestorm and Lionheart, you’ll be on standby with the apprentices- Not Graypaw though, he’s too young.”
Graypaw rolled his eyes and huffed, Sandpaw cuffed him around the ears and hissed something at him. The fluffy young apprentice pinned his ears back and went back to his nest, hopefully, Lionheart would give him something to do.
Tigerclaw growled softly as he followed Redtail through the gorse tunnel, One thing at a time, he told himself. Riverclan first, then you can deal with the traitor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tigerclaw stifled a growl as Spottedleaf tended to his wounds, Mousefur was curled up in a nest near the back of the den, as she was the most injured Spottedleaf decided she’d have to stay until she recovered.
Redtail had called for a retreat as soon as the Riverclan reinforcements arrived, Tigerclaw knew that with Mousefur so injured they wouldn’t have been able to send for their own patrols on standby and hold off the oncoming warriors as well.
Be that as it may, even Riverclan had been surprised to win so easily, they were obviously prepared to defend the rocks.
Bluestar even managed to look disappointed, but she attributed it to Thunderclan’s unusually small numbers. Without enough warriors to defend their borders, it made sense that they lost this battle.
“Peace, Tigerclaw,” the old leader sighed. “Perhaps when our apprentices have their warrior ceremonies, we’ll be ready to reclaim our territory.”
Tigerclaw nodded stiffly and shouldered his way out of camp, maybe he could relieve some of this stress by doing some hunting. It would be a while until sunset, but he needed something to keep his claws busy, which meant no training with Ravenpaw for the time being.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The stars were just lighting the sky as he made his way back, carrying a small load of prey for the queens to enjoy. He stopped in the gorse tunnel when he heard voices, Bluestar and Spottedleaf were speaking.
“-Thunderclan has not been beaten in its own territory since I became leader,” She murmured.
“These are difficult times for our Clan. The season of newleaf is late, and there have been fewer kits. Thunderclan needs more warriors if it is to survive.”
“But the year is only just beginning,” Spottedleaf pointed out calmly. “There will be more kits when greenleaf comes.”
Tigerclaw carefully backed out of the camp entrance, straining to still hear what the two were talking about while remaining undetected.
“Perhaps. But training our young to become warriors takes time. If Thunderclan is to defend its territory, it must have new warriors as soon as possible.”
“Are you asking Starclan for answers?” Came Spottedleaf’s gentle mew.
Tigerclaw glanced up at the stars, for all Spottedleaf knew, Bluestar had already done that.
“It is at times like this we need the words of the ancient warriors to help us. Has Starclan spoken to you?”
“Not for some moons, Bluestar.”
Suddenly, a shooting star blazed through the sky, Tigerclaw’s fur bristled as Thistleclaw’s words rang in his ears.
Fire is coming, an all consuming blaze that will destroy-
“-from Starclan. Fire alone can save our clan.”
Save? Thistleclaw said it would destroy us! Why would his message be different from Spottedleaf’s? Tigerclaw was broken from his inner turmoil when he heard Bluestar stand up and shake out her fur.
“If Starclan has spoken then it must be so. Fire will save our clan.”
The senior warrior stayed still for a long time as he waited for the coast to become clear, Tigerclaw tried to reason out what the prophecy could possibly mean but he came up with nothing.
Groaning as he stretched his now stiff muscles, Tigerclaw decided that this new omen would just have to be another thing on his list to deal with. First, he had to focus on taking back Sunningrocks for Thistleclaw, then he’d deal with Redtail.
Who knows? Maybe this fire could help him in his mission, Thunderclan seemed to be getting further and further from the noble clan he once knew it to be.
But as long as he knew the truth, nothing would stop him from bringing peace to his clan.