Chapter Text
Bluefur slowly stalked through the undergrowth near the Twolegplace border, with Thistleclaw and Tigerpaw trailing behind her. It had been a hard leafbare, with far too little prey, and border skirmishes with WindClan and RiverClan had gotten all the more common. It hadn’t been a moon since Snowfur’s demise on the Thunderpath, and Bluefur couldn’t get the idea of Whitekit being all alone with only Thistleclaw ‘guiding’ the young tom.
Ughh, Bluefur thought. Thistleclaw. That obnoxious prick.
She was only patrolling with him and his apprentice because Sunstar said that she had to. StarClan knows Bluefur would’ve been pleased to stay and play moss-ball with her nephew, especially because then she wouldn’t have to listen to Thistleclaw drone on about what Tigerpaw should do when they find a kittypet.
Poor Leopardfoot. Bluefur hoped that she would find out how exactly Thistleclaw was training her precious only son.
I’ll never let him poison Whitekit like that. Not him nor any cat in the Clan. I’d give my life before Thistleclaw could influence any other-
“Run up ahead and check for scents,” Thistleclaw ordered.
Tigerpaw, ever the battle-hungry apprentice, rushed forward without a moment’s hesitation, leaving Thistleclaw and Bluefur alone.
“I know what you’re doing,” Thistleclaw growled.
Bluefur was alarmed by the ferocity of his mew. “What?” “
Playing with Whitekit every time my tail’s turned.”
“He’s my nephew!” she snapped, anger surging in her paws. “He’s my kit!” he retorted. “Just remember that! I can stop your dumb games anytime I want.” “How?” Bluefur challenged. Thistleclaw flashed her a menacing look. “Right now, I’m letting you play with him. But the moment I think you’re turning him soft, the games will stop, get it?”
Bluefur glared at him, but Thistleclaw went on. “He’s my son, not yours!”
Stung, Bluefur opened her mouth to tell him exactly what she thought about his kit-rearing methods.
“Kittypet scent!” Tigerpaw came tearing back. “Come on!” The dark young tabby led them to a sparse strip of woodland not far from a row of bright red Twoleg nests. Light filtered through the bare branches, striping the forest floor.
Tigerpaw started sniffing tufts of grass. “The trail leads this way.” Bluefur could smell a faint trace of kittypet. Not strong enough to belong to a full-grown cat.
“It’s just a kit,” she meowed. “Not worth following.” “I forgot you had a soft spot for kittypets,” Thistleclaw growled.
He followed his apprentice along the scent trail as it led through long grass at the edge of Twolegplace. They pushed through the grass and emerged in a sunny patch of scrub beside a fence.
A tiny black kittypet was snuffling at the ground. As the three Clan cats advanced, he spun around, eyes wide. “Hello.” He blinked happily, tail high. Tigerpaw bristled, and Thistleclaw had already unsheathed his claws. Bluefur tensed, willing the tiny tom to run.
The fence wasn’t far. There was a chance he might escape. A growl rumbled in Thistleclaw’s throat. “What are you doing here? This is ThunderClan territory!”
“Thistleclaw, he’s only a kit. He’s no threat,” Bluefur pleaded.
“An intruder is an intruder, Bluefur! You’ve always been too soft on them.”
Bluefur felt sick as Thistleclaw turned to his apprentice.
“Here, let’s put it to my apprentice. What do you think, Tigerpaw? How should we handle this?”
“I think the kittypet should be taught a lesson,” Tigerpaw hissed. “One it’ll remember.”
Bluefur stepped forward. “Now, hold on, there’s no need for this—” Thistleclaw turned on her, arching his back. “Shut up!”
Tigerpaw lunged at the kit, sending it flying like a piece of prey. The kit skidded across the rough earth and landed, gasping for breath.
Get up!
Tail bushed in terror, the kit tried to scramble to its paws. But Tigerpaw pounced again. The tabby apprentice pinned the kit to the ground.
With claws unsheathed, he swiped at its muzzle, then raked its flank. The kit squealed in agony.
“Show it your teeth, Tigerpaw!” Thistleclaw goaded.
The apprentice laughed, exhilarated to test his skills on a living target. Tigerpaw bared his teeth ferociously at the kit, who was crying and trying to huddle itself.
The dark tabby backed up the slightest amount, and with a lunge, pounced back on top of the kit, grabbing his left ear in Tigerpaw’s jaws, and tearing it off with a heave.
The kit screamed. Starclan, he screamed.
The blood pooled around the kit’s head, and Bluefur was reminded, horribly, of Whitekit, screaming for Snowfur when the little tom saw his mother’s dead body; pain and anger all in one.
“Stop, Tigerpaw!” Bluefur pelted past him and stood in front of the kit. “That’s enough!”
She bared her teeth, prepared to fight. Tigerpaw would kill this kit if she let him carry on. He really was no bigger than Whitekit. The thought wrenched her heart.
“Warriors don’t need to kill to win a battle, remember?”
Tigerpaw halted and glared at her.
“I was just defending our territory.”
“And you’ve done that,” Bluefur reasoned. “This kit has learned its lesson.”
The kit stood up on shaking paws and gazed at Tigerpaw with terror in its eyes. “Yeah,” Tigerpaw agreed. He leered at the kit. “You’ll never forget me!”
Bluefur held her ground while the kit huddled against her hind leg.
“If I ever see you do something like that again”—her eyes flashed from mentor to apprentice —“I’ll report you to Sunstar!”
“We were only defending ThunderClan territory from invaders,” Thistleclaw snarled.
“That so-called invader was a kit!”
Thistleclaw shrugged. “That’s his problem.”
He turned and stalked away between the trees, his spiky pelt soon swallowed in shadow.
Tigerpaw trotted after him with his tail up, proud of his brave victory. Rage throbbed in Bluefur’s paws as she stared after them.
How dare he?!
The kit’s whimpering broke her out of her anger. Bluefur hadn’t noticed the little black tom huddled against her hind leg, trying to dry his tears quickly, even though they just kept falling.
“Little one…” she started gently, “go back to your housefolk. Your mother must be worried for you.”
The kit sniffled. “Mama doesn’t care about me. She likes Socks and Ruby better. She tries to hide it but I know she does.”
“What about your housefolk?”
The little kit flinched terribly, as if struck.
“R-ruby and Socks…” He sniffled, “they said the housefolk don’t like the little ones. They told me the housefolk would tie m-me in a sack and drown me in the river.”
The kit began to wail and bury his face in Bluefur’s thick fur. She knew that Thistleclaw would be getting impatient about her whereabouts, but that wouldn’t be important right now.
Bluefur licked the kit’s head, trying to comfort him, then began grooming his torn ear, which was still oozing blood.
“It’s okay.” She murmured. “Your housefolk aren’t here. I’ll bring you to my Clan. You can be safe there, and we need new warriors.”
The kit sniffled and wiped his eyes.
“W-what’s a Clan? What does a warrior do?”
“It’s a group of cats who follow a leader,” Bluefur started. “They believe in StarClan and hunt and fight for their Clanmates, and always obey the Warrior Code. Some do not…”
“L-like the dark one?” The kit’s eyes were full of wonder.
“Yes. It’s against the warrior code to hurt kits. Tigerpaw never should’ve put his claws on you, and Thistleclaw, his mentor, never should’ve let that happen.”
As Bluefur sat down and explained the warrior code, the kit went very still. He was paying acute attention, surprising for one who looked to be about four moons old, and the only movement was his right ear, trying to compensate for the torn left one.
Oh mouse-dung, the ear!
Bluefur stopped explaining and the kit looked confused, as well as vaguely disappointed.
“If you would like to join ThunderClan”, Bluefur started, “I can take you to Featherwhisker and he can patch up your ear. You’ll be safe and cared for, and I promise you that I will never let any cat ever harm you for as long as I am able.”
The kit got misty-eyed.
“Tiny.” He quietly, almost shyly, whispered. “My name is Tiny. I want to join Thunderclan.”