Chapter Text
The way to the Moonstone was different. It was longer, and they left so early to get there by moonrise.
It had only been half a moon since he joined ThunderClan but Splinterpaw couldn't wait to be back at the Moonstone. Not for the reasons his pair of mentors suggested, to meet StarClan or to learn more about medicine. No. He just wanted to see his littermates again.
"Remember, you're a ThunderClan cat now," Featherwhisker said.
Splinterpaw flicked his ears dismissively. What did Clan loyalty matter? Not to a medicine cat. Not to him. Loyalty gave him nothing.
As they approached, he spotted Lavenderpaw walking with the RiverClan medicine cats. He went to greet her, only for another yowl to pierce the air.
"Lavenderpaw! Splinterpaw!" yowled Lilacpaw from in front of the cave entrance, her grey pelt stark against the yellowed stone.
Bolting away from his mentors, Splinterpaw greeted Lilacpaw with a firm bunt to her head, then turned to do the same to Lavenderpaw. She crashed into him and they rolled together, a tangle of limbs. Their sister joined them, the three purring in deep unison.
"You're apprentices, not kits," snapped one of the medicine cats. He didn't care which.
"Leave them," Sagewhisker meowed. "It's their first half-moon, and the longest they've been apart."
He licked at their pelts, rubbing against them to familiarise himself with their scents. Different, now, like his own, but they were still his littermates. Nothing would change that, not even being kept apart.
He saw her hover around his littermates throughout the night as the medicine cats talked. Finally, she approached him. He was last, of course.
"How are you getting on in ThunderClan, Splinterpaw?" Yellowfang asked.
He said nothing. She would get the hint.
"You're almost built like one! You've grown so much in such little time."
No, he hadn't. He was almost full-sized already, still smaller than her. Flea-brain.
"What are your Clanmates like? Have you made any friends?"
Friends! As if he needed any. Goosefeather and Featherwhisker took up so much room in the medicine cat den that he had to sleep on his own in the apprentices' den. There were three apprentices, littermates, who curled up together, keeping themselves warm. That's what he should have had. Nesting with his littermates, warm and comfortable. Not here.
"I expect you're--"
"I have nothing to say to you," he snapped, whirling on her. She backed up a step. "Stop pretending to be friendly with me. You abandoned us!"
"I didn't aba--"
"Oh, it doesn't count because StarClan told you what to do?" he spat. Lilacpaw stood by his side, her tail resting over his back, though she made no attempt to stop him. "At least Raggedpelt tried. You might have carried us, but that doesn't mean anything now. Act like we're fleas, pick us away and forget about us, because you were only a host. You were never a mother; just a carrier. That's all you were. We don't want you anymore!"
The hurt in her eyes satisfied him. When her mouth hung open but no sounds came out, Splinterpaw pushed against Lilacpaw's side and walked with her across the cave.
"She's a rotten corpse of carrion," his sister assured him.
"I wish she were already carrion," he answered.
Less than two moons into his apprenticeship, the ThunderClan medicine cats had a new addition.
"What's the point of StarClan choosing carriers if any cat can become a medicine cat anyway?" Splinterpaw snarled, glaring at Spottedpaw as the she-cat listened to Goosefeather's instructions.
"StarClan knows what they're doing," Featherwhisker replied.
"It doesn't look like it."
"Enough." His tone was gentle, but Featherwhisker seemed to be in his own bad mood. "Go replace the cobwebs on Tigerclaw."
"Great, so I can listen to another warrior complain about what I actually want to be doing," he retorted, leaving the den with a pawful of webs.
The tabby warrior sat outside the warriors' den, grooming his chest. When his head raised, his eyes narrowed at the sight of the cobwebs. "Again?"
"You shouldn't have overexerted yourself before you healed," Splinterpaw said. "Take those off."
"I'm not the medicine cat, you do it," Tigerclaw growled.
"How, with all this over me?" He kicked out his webbed-up paw, keeping it off the ground. "Take them off. Or do I have to ask your mother to do it for you?"
The mocking did the trick. He received a glare for it, but Tigerclaw reluctantly stripped the cobwebs from the wound on his hind leg, using his teeth to pull them away. He spat at the ground, pawing his mouth. "Ugh! Disgusting."
"I didn't tell you to try eating them." Splinterpaw pressed in, examining the still-bloodied scratch marks, and began to press the webs onto him. Tigerclaw seethed from the stinging pain. Served him right.
As he patted them into place, the warrior asked: "Are you trying to be as grouchy as Goosefeather, or does it come naturally?"
"Do you try to act like a kit, or are you just a mewling mouse?" he returned.
"I do not--"
"I'm done." Splinterpaw wiped his paw on the ground. "Do as you're told this time and rest. I'm not doing it again."
"You're a medicine cat, of course you'l do it again."
He glared. "Not if I can help it.
"Where's Lilacpaw?" Splinterpaw stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the collection of cats. The moon had almost peaked, every other cat was there, but he couldn't see her.
His mentors didn't answer. Running over to the group, he greeted Lavenderpaw with their familiar bunt and repeated his question.
"I don't know," she whispered, shooting a glance at Barkface. Alone. "He won't say."
Anxiety scratched at his belly. He'd become so used to these half-moon meetings, reuniting with his littermates and defying the medicine cats to spend time together. The past four moons had been difficult but the twice-a-moon meeting with his sisters made it worth it. Why wasn't Lilacpaw there?
"I have an announcement before we begin," Barkface meowed. "Lilacpaw has... Lilacpaw has joined StarClan."
The reaction from the others was audible, yet no words met his ears. Joined StarClan? How could she be...?
"What did you do to her?" he yowled.
Barkfaced stared at him. "I didn't do anything. Greencough has spread through WindCl--"
"How could you let her die?" Splinterpaw demanded, despite the other cats' orders for him to be quiet. "You're meant to be her mentor! You should protect her!"
"I did, but a medicine cat's duty is to their Clan. She died doing her duty."
His claws slid out. "No. You let her die for your Clanmates. She was never... She would never have wanted to die for cats she didn't care about!"
He didn't need to look at Lavenderpaw to know that she agreed. Despite attempts to keep them separated, the litter were as close as ever. Or... They had been. He knew as sure as he knew himself that Lilacpaw hated being in WindClan. She had even joked about running away... He'd dismissed her so easily, because how could three apprentices survive outside the Clans?
Now he wished he'd taken her more seriously.
"You killed her. You and WindClan!" he snarled. "I won't let you get away with this!"
"Barkface still hasn't said anything more. Brambleberry hasn't either," Lavenderpaw reported.
They crouched under a bush on the RiverClan–ThunderClan border, their voices hushed despite the lack of patrols there. Splinterpaw had watched them long enough while collecting herbs to know that it was only patrolled at dawn. He needed somewhere safe to talk with his sister.
"He must have forced Lilacpaw to take care of the sickest cats," he said bitterly. "WindClan are so weak, of course they needed her to look after them. Except they killed her instead!"
"Even if they didn't mean to," she meowed, "she should never have died. She should have been with us."
"We should have left," he agreed. "We could have gone to the farm past RiverClan. Or found our own forest."
"Or stayed in ShadowClan." Her tone was wistful. He didn't waste time reminding her that ShadowClan had done nothing for them.
"We could still leave." He didn't believe that though. Nor did he want to. Not without making WindClan pay. "Or... We could make them leave."
She tilted her head. "How? We can't get rid of a whole Clan!"
"We can, if we're smart." He leaned in. "All we have to do is convince the other Clans that WindClan are a threat."
"Oh, is that all?" Lavenderpaw asked sarcastically.
"It'll be hard," he accepted, "but we can do it. I'll think about it. For now, we need to convince every cat we can that they're plotting against us. Not the medicine cats though, not yet. They might warn Barkface."
"I could convince Blackclaw. He's easy to trick, and he hates WindClan already."
He nodded. "I should be able to convince some of the warriors. Especially Thistleclaw and Tigerclaw."
"Then what do we do?"
He didn't know, not yet, but he took a moment to think about it. "We need RiverClan and ThunderClan to stop fighting. They'll need to work together to get rid of WindClan, especially if we can't convince ShadowClan."
There was a moment of silence. Both of them thinking of the same cat.
"We're not involving her," he said aloud. "She's just as much at fault as Barkface."
"I know."
"Then that's what we'll do. Let's meet again at the claw-moon." He backed out of the bush, his spirit returning despite the grief piercing his heart.
As he walked back to camp, he murmured, "I promise, Lilacpaw... I'll make sure they suffer worse than you did."
"You were right."
He'd never get sick of hearing those words, though they sound strange from Tigerclaw. "About Sorrelpaw?" he asked.
Tigerclaw's whiskers twitched. "What else? She was glaring at me from across Fourtrees until we left."
It hadn't been difficult to convince Thistleclaw or Tigerclaw, but the Gathering tonight had sealed it. After a moon of plotting, he'd jumped on the smallest hint of animosity between Tigerclaw and a WindClan apprentice. Simply pointing it out was enough, given their conversation on the way back to camp.
"WindClan are pathetic," Splinterpaw commented. "They must see you as a threat."
"Yes. Well..." There was a story to be told. "I caught her hunting a rabbit on our territory last moon. I made sure to teach her a lesson."
Intrigued, he looked at him properly. "WindClan was stealing our prey?" he emphasises. "Did you report it to Sunstar?"
"Of course I did."
"I hope our patrols are keeping an eye out for more. I don't trust WindClan. Not one claw."
Tigerclaw flexed his claws. "Nor do I."
"If I were a warrior, I'd remind them of that every time I saw them." He saw understanding dawn in Tigerclaw's eyes. "Like you do."
"You don't want to be a medicine cat, do you?"
He'd gotten it wrong. Tigerclaw didn't understand the feeling of revenge, the flea-brain had finally noticed the obvious.
"I've never wanted to be a medicine cat," Splinterpaw meowed. "I was born to be one, but I'd far sooner be a warrior. If I had the chance, I'd change in a heartbeat."
"Tell Sunstar."
He scoffed. "You think I haven't already?"
Tigerclaw's eyes searched his. "When I'm leader of ThunderClan, I'll make you a warrior. We need warriors like us, not like Bluefur."
"What do you want your name to be?" Lavenderpaw asked as they walked up to the Moonstone.
"As long as it's nothing soft like Splinterfluff or something mouse-brained, I don't care." He didn't ask about hers. They weren't meant to be talking, as usual, given the hard look from Barkface. The WindClan medicine cat was alone as always, yet always seemed to jump on them when they took the moment to talk.
ThunderClan medicine cats were never alone, even with Goosefeather dead. Though he was always pleasantly amused watching Spottedpaw curl up in a nest on her own, now that her littermates were warriors. He made sure there wasn't enough space for her in the den.
RiverClan's ceremony was first.
"Lavenderpaw, will you protect and care for your Clan in all ways you can, through the use of herbs, omens, and care?" Brambleberry asked.
"I will."
He watched his sister with pride, knowing that, if possible, Lilacpaw would be watching over them now. She must be. Though she should have been sat beside them.
"You will be known as Lavenderwisp."
It wasn't a terrible name, though he could only imagine what awful name Featherwhisker was about to bestow upon him. His brother, Sunstar, had recently named Redtail, after all.
"Splinterpaw, will you--"
"I will do everything in my power to protect for and care for my Clan," he interrupted.
Featherwhisker stared at him, a long moment of silence between them, before he replied, "Then you will be known as Splinterthorn from now on."
Outside, in the chill of dawn, Yellowfang shouldered him away from the others. He bared his teeth, his claws unsheathing as he turned on her.
"You shouldn't disrespect the ceremony," Yellowfang snapped. She'd gotten grouchier since Sagewhisker died, he'd noted. "You're a medicine cat. Set an example to all cats around you!"
"Like you did?" he retorted.
"She's right." Featherwhisker eyed him as he approached. Splinterthorn kept his teeth bared. "I should have kept you an apprentice for longer. You clearly haven't learned how to conduct yourself properly. Or how to respect any other cats, least of all StarClan."
"Well, you got your little joke in, at least," he said. "I'm just a thorn in your side, aren't I?"
"Something like that," he agreed. "But enough is enough. It's time to grow up, Splinterthorn. You'll be in charge of healing your Clan in some seasons."
Moons, if he could help it.
Perhaps it was the stress of Bluefur's kits going missing that drove Featherwhisker's weakness to the greencough that infected ThunderClan in leafbare. As the medicine cat coughed and spluttered, Splinterthorn sorted herbs far away from him, fearful he might catch it. He'd snuck herbs for himself to ensure that he wouldn't meet the same fate as his sister.
"Make sure... to keep Darkkit away from any coughing... cats," choked out Featherwhisker.
"You should be mroe concerned for yourself than that pawful of fur," he commented.
"The Clan... comes first."
Splinterthorn scoffed. "Is that what the other medicine cats told you? That sounds like Barkface's excuse for my sister's death." He looked over at the heap of fur and bones in the corner of the medicine cat den. The rasping of his breath spelled death, especially if he didn't receive the herbs he needed.
And he hadn't been.
Splinterthorn had taken over Featherwhisker's care once the greencough had taken hold. Spottedleaf, her name as new as the moon in the sky, had been easy to convince to leave the den. The other cats needed her. Let him care for the greencough victims.
And that he had, at times. Those he believed were strongest, those who suited him and his goals best. Featherwhisker was so out of it most of the time that it had been easy to coat ordinary leaves with juices and fragrant petals to drown out that they were the wrong herbs. He'd watched him decline each dawn with approval.
"Is that what he told her, do you think?" Splinterthorn pressed.
"I don't... know."
"You must have an idea. All of you older medicine cats seem to agree on everything!"
"Of course... we don't."
"You agreed with StarClan's plans, didn't you?" he pointed out. "You agreed to take three siblings and split them across Clans. You agreed to stop them from talking to one another."
"Tr... Tradition," rasped Featherwhisker.
Splinterthorn gulped down his herbs, wiping the taste around his gums, before padding over to his former mentor. "What was that?"
"It's... tradition."
"Ah." He bent over him. "Did you ever consider whether StarClan was wrong?"
Featherwhisker's eyes flashed. "N... Never."
"No, I suppose you wouldn't." He tapped his claws on the stone between them. "You were taught not to think for yourself. Your reliance on StarClan is pathetic, really."
"What...?"
"Well. You rely on them to notice everything for you. Your omens? You could see those if you paid close enough attention. Prophecies? You spend so much time interpreting them when you could actually be guiding your Clanmates." Splinterthorn purred. "You could have noticed more... like how I'm letting you die."
Featherwhisker's eyes dulled, a wordless noise passing his lips.
"That's why I had to keep Spottedleaf out of here. She would have noticed. She'd not quite as stupid as you." He pulled back as a splutter almost splattered spit on his muzzle. "When you join StarClan, as you will very soon, I hope you'll pass my regards to them. Tell them... Oh, I don't need to tell you, do I? Supposedly, they hear everything!" He flicked his tail, turning away. "I hope they can hear you suffer as you die."