The Clash of Stars Book 1: The Key

Chapter 19: Thornpaw

Thornpaw sat just outside of EchoClan's cave entrance, watching the sky go from a bloodshot red to a cool, calm purple, getting darker every moment. The clearing in front of them was still gouged where talons had met the earth during the raid from FlashClan.

And, above, the moon was empty.

A twinge of annoyance plucked at Thornpaw, thinking about how they would have had ample time to warn their Clanmates of the attack if they'd gotten to see their vision in full. But StarClan had interrupted their dream. They shook the thought away. If StarClan had interrupted that, this mission for the powers, whatever that meant, had to be important. They sighed and squared their shoulders.

They'd be expected to be at the Hearth soon, to meet Ghostpaw. It was just past sunset, and the first glimmers of Silverpelt were peeking from the sky. They'd need to retrieve Wildpaw soon — not that it'd be easy. Ever since the meeting with FlashClan, Wildpaw had been sneaking off almost every night. That wouldn't bother Thornpaw normally — Wildpaw had lived alone in the caves for the first few moons of her life; if she wanted alone time, that was her business — but Shadowtalon had been asking them where Wildpaw was at a near constant rate. How were they supposed to know? They may be a cleric, but they weren't StarClan!

Thornpaw sighed and shook themself. They didn't care at the moment. It was nightfall, and whatever Wildpaw wanted to do didn't matter, so long as she showed up soon. Getting to their paws, they turned towards the camp entrance, coming face-to-face with Shadowtalon. The tall deputy looked almost more stony-faced than usual, if possible.

"Where's Wildpaw?" she asked.

"How should I know?" Thornpaw retorted. "I've been helping Ashrunner sort herbs. I just wanted to get some air for a bit."

"Wildpaw should have been helping, too," Shadowtalon replied, sniffing in annoyance. "I need her on the night patrol," she added in a grumble before loping back to the tunnels.

Thornpaw shrugged and ducked into the tunnels as well, following the familiar path until they reached the camp clearing and headed towards the cleric's den. Ashrunner suddenly poked her head out before they could enter, startling them.

"Did Shadowtalon say something to you?" she demanded.

"She just wanted to know where Wildpaw is," Thornpaw responded, flattening their fur. "Have you seen her?"

Ashrunner shook her head. "Sorry," she meowed. "She tends to be sharp with you, so I was worried."

Thornpaw ducked into the cleric's den, shooting their mentor a strange look. "I'm almost as old as Howlpaw, and he's basically a warrior," they told her.

Ashrunner snorted. "No, he's not," she replied. "He's ten moons old — not even close to a warrior's assessment."

"My point is that you don't have to keep such a close eye on me," Thornpaw continued. "I don't even get visions anymore." They paused. "Much." They paused again. "It only ever happens if I'm already sleeping."

"Well, that's good," Ashrunner said. She had moved onto the next thing, and was now nosing through her herb store, half-listening to her apprentice. "I know the visions were scary for you as a kit."

Thornpaw replied with a non-committal grunt as they began laying down some of the leaves, flat and spread out so they could dry overnight. "Why are you so defensive towards Shadowtalon?" they asked casually, watching her out of the corner of their eye.

Ashrunner's fur spiked up, and she flattened her ears, still turned away from them. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Thornpaw's ears pricked in curiosity. Somehow they'd managed to land on a sensitive topic. Determination to find out more surged through them. "She's the deputy, I'm the cleric apprentice," they pointed out. "One day she'll replace Emberstar and I'll replace you. I'll need to get used to talking to her on my own eventually."