Heart Of A Fighter (Book 1): The Story Begins

Chapter 5: Prickly Answers

Warning: This chapter is a little long.
TW: Slight mention of sensitive topics, don't read if you're uncomfortable with it.
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Aldertrail gently curled her tail around her apprentice's, guiding her towards a small den that seemed in terrible condition.

"Go in there and ask the Prickles what they need, and tend to them if they have issues. Afterwards come right back to the Nettlecave, I may still have time to bring you out to see the herb locations."

Goslingpaw nodded numbly and walked into the den, and immediately her eyes widened in disbelief. All her life she'd been used to big and cozy dens lined with many soft nests made with moss, feathers and ferns.

The den she was in was in such terrible condition that there were patches gone from the walls of it. Leaves and twigs were clumsily inserted into the holes to try patching it up to no avail.

Puddles of rainwater, broken feathers and prey bones were scattered around the floor, and as the wind blew in through the den entrance, she heard the sticks in the patched holes rattle.

When Goslingpaw looked up, she jumped in fright when she saw five pairs of eyes staring at her, two of which were green, one blue, one amber and one a strange shade of orange.

"W-who are you?" She managed to stutter out, bracing herself. The owner of the pair of amber eyes, a skinny she-cat with a ragged sandy pelt and bony form, dragged herself out, and Goslingpaw nearly screamed at her appearance.

The she-cat's pelt was covered in many scars that seemed like they would never heal, and she was so thin her ribs were visible through her coat. Her cheeks were sunken in slightly, and sharp yellow teeth poked out from under her upper lip.

Her body was so bony that her sparse fur looked like they had been stuck to the bone by tree sap, and the colour from them had clearly faded over the course of time.

"Little one, there is no need to be scared of me. I don't bite, unlike what you've probably been told before coming here," the she-cat chuckled in a raspy voice.

The rest of the cats slowly slunk out of the shadows, and Goslingpaw gaped at how sick and malnourished they all looked.

"What brings you here?" She snapped out of her shocked trance at the elderly she-cat's voice.

"I...I was sent here to tend to you all for defending myself and standing up against the royal heirs, along with these markings under my eyes," she mewed in a nervous tone.

"I see. Those markings look nothing out of the ordinary, so rest assured we will not judge you for them," the she-cat rasped in her hoarse voice.

"We do not require anything at the moment, young one, but I suppose we should introduce ourselves and tell you how we got here so you know what mistakes you should not commit in this clan," meowed the sandy she.

"Come, fellow Prickles. Let us introduce ourselves; shall we?" The five Prickles then surrounded Goslingpaw in a circle, and it was only then that she realised, much to her surprise, that one of the Prickles was a tom.

"I shall start off. My name was Rabbithum and I was a Shine to the previous Leader in my younger days. I believe you weren't born yet when I was," The sandy she-cat purred.

Goslingpaw gazed in wonder at the she-cat before her, imagining her as a younger and much more beautiful version of herself.

"How did you end up here then, if you were the Leader's Shine?" Rabbithum flattened her ears and sighed.

"I was sick of being treated like a toy, a mindless pawn to the old Leader. I was even more afraid of his deputy back then, a stupid but brawny tom called Spikefrost. He vowed to force me to be his mate once he was Leader so I would bear his children."