Thundering Darkness

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Darkpaw lay at Firbush's paws glowering up at him defiantly. She had expected him to let her up when the fox came, but he didn't, holding her down, even as the brown and red shape sniffed Pebblepaw's blood and prowled ever forward. "Foxdunged Mousebrain." Firbush spat at Darkpaw's face, eyes blazing wildly.

The fox looked up, right at the two cats, and Darkpaw felt cold fear shrill beneath her. Huh! I thought you'd like seeing me attack Pebblepaw, but instead you want to kill me for it? "Just let me go!" Darkpaw squirmed, and Firbush, to her surprise, let her up, and dashed into the bushes.

Am I going to die, like in my dream?! Darkpaw bolted away from the fox, fearing that it would give chase, but it seemed more interested in sniffing around Pebblepaw's fur which Darkpaw must have torn off the she-cat.

Darkpaw ran in the same direction, knowing that she would be at least safer with a warrior. Even if it's Firbush? She trailed the massive paw tracks he had left in the bank, and leaped over the small stream at the edge of the training area. She dodged through clumps of bracken, and into the towering oaks, where she met him on the border with Thunderclan territory. Darkpaw hid between a clump of small bracken bushes, but she almost jumped when she scented another cat... ThunderClan?!

Darkpaw pricked her ears, listening, she only heard snatches. "I... battles... getting worse... it's time?" That was Firbush's mew.

"Stop talking... on the horizon, mousebrain. The... stop it." That was a grey she-cat, who smelled of ThunderClan.

"Alright... do you... run." Firbush snapped.

Darkpaw watched as the grey ThunderClan she-cat raced away. She tried to stay hidden, but Firbush immediately rounded on her.

"Well, my apprentice," Firbush spat, "I think you've gotten yourself into a fine and dandy mess. It was you that probably brought that massive fox here, by drawing Pebblepaw's blood, and all the screeching that every cat made. Troutstar won't be pleased that you hurt his pet."

"Huh!" Darkpaw shot back, "I know you are another one of his devoted followers and pets too. You so much as whined to him about me, when I was a tiny kit getting a little out of line, so..." Would he kill me if he knew I'd heard him talking to the ThunderClan cat? I won't say anything for now, but I'm watching you, Firbush.

Firbush padded up to her, and Darkpaw realised that the massive warrior had been cornering her, in all her confusion and rage. "We don't really know each other that well, apprentice," he sneered, backing her into a rock, "I'm not as dull as you think I am. Hah! As an apprentice, I remember being a lot like you. Volatile. Competitive. Insecure." He flicked his tail over Darkpaw's face and she choked on his fur. "I let that shape who I was, as you will too someday soon, and now I'm too far gone to change the mistakes that I made, so I own my tendencies to anger now."

"I'm nothing like you," Darkpaw spat, unsheathing her claws.

Firbush shrugged, backing away to let her out of the corner he had trapped her in. "Yeah? Good one, kid. Have fun with Trout." Then Firbush was gone.

Darkpaw took the longest route she could think of on her way back to camp so that she could mull over the eventful day. Pebblepaw had been such a piece of mousedung at training, but Darkpaw still felt a prick of guilt about attacking her. I wasn't trying to claw her, she just... got in the way, Darkpaw tried to convince herself. Why was Pebblepaw so arrogant too? Darkpaw knew that the only reason she wasn't good at fighting was because Firbush trained her in fighting with claws entirely unsheathed, which made strategically placed blows deal more damage. The fox was a threat, but nothing the clan couldn't handle, surely? Firbush's words still rang in her head, but he had to be lying. We're not alike! I'll never cower before Troutstar like he does.

When Darkpaw returned to camp, she found it in a state of stress and chaos, with several warriors pacing back and forth anxiously. They're probably worried about the fox. Darkpaw was about to go to her den to have a nice long sleep, when suddenly she found herself face-to-face with the clan leader. Pebblepaw was trembling behind him.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, Shadowpaw," Troutstar meowed to Darkpaw, casting a shadow on her. "What did you do?"

"Well, first of all, my name is Darkpaw," Darkpaw muttered mutinously, "and secondly... the whole Pebblepaw incident is an accident, I swear.

Pebblepaw walked up to Darkpaw, eyes upset. The black she-cat widened her eyes as she looked down at Pebblepaw. A trickle of dry blood ran down her face, from where a small part of her ear had been torn off. "You should get the blood cleaned up," she said bluntly.

"Wh-why did you do this, Darkpaw?" Pebblepaw was stammering, touching her broken ear, "I thought we were rivals, friends even."

"Friends mock each other's skills? Use each other as a way to lift up their already overinflated ego? I guess you're right then, we must be the best of friends," Darkpaw spat.

Pebblepaw looked miserably at the ground. "Do you all hate me? All the apprentices?"

Darkpaw was about to open her jaws to speak. When suddenly Troutstar flashed in front of Pebblepaw, blocking Darkpaw's view of her. "Stop it," he snarled. Darkpaw fluffed up her pelt. It's just the truth. She's always been this arrogant. Troutstar's eyes were blazing with fury, and before Darkpaw could react, he neatly tore off the tip of her own ear. "There. Now get lost," apprentice."

"You and Peb... What now?

Darkpaw was sitting in a well shaded spot just outside of camp, alongside Min, Thornpaw, Nightpaw, and Batpaw. She had just told the apprentices the entire story of Pebblepaw's ear's misfortunate story through her obviously less biased perspective. Min, who had been missing out on a lot of outside adventures, was struggling to take everything in.

"Yeah. Ears are kinda fragile and bleed a lot, it's honestly not that bad a wound," Thornpaw told the group, "Pebblepaw'll be fine, physically. Easy fix."

Min looked at her, "that's great Thor, but... why did you do it Dark? Peb's not the easiest kit to get along with, but still..."

Darkpaw sighed. "I've felt this way for a long time, Min. Pebblepaw has always been annoying, cocky, and unsociable, but it just boiled over here. I can't stand her; the way she holds herself, the way she talks to all of us like she's better than us, the way she doesn't care to talk to us about her troubles after a long day of training, instead flexing about her achievements. She's always out to make herself look good, and the rest of us bad in the eyes of Troutstar."

Nightpaw glanced at all the apprentices, and then shifted to speak to Darkpaw. "I don't think that's entirely fair, Darkpaw. She's not the most empathetic cat in the world, but I'm sure she tries. If we're kind to her," her brother mewed, "surely she'll be kind and open back eventually?"

Darkpaw acknowledged Nighpaw's sentiment with a half-hearted grunt. My brother always saw too much good in Pebblepaw.

"I, for one, agree with Darkpaw," Batpaw offered. He hadn't said anything this whole meeting, but now he spoke up. "But that doesn't mean anything. We're just here, like talking in circles... what's the point?"

Darkpaw sighed. "I just wanted to see if we're on common terms," she mewed to her friends.

As the meeting broke up between the apprentices, and they made their way back to camp, Nightpaw remained and glanced at Darkpaw. "Your ear's good?" he mewed. As Darkpaw nodded, he added, "remember what I said when I was a kit?"

Darkpaw nudged him affectionately as the two of them walked back to camp. "You said quite a lot of things as a kit. Are you thinking of the time you said to Min and me 'Have you ever eaten snails, they're delightful?'" Darkpaw asked, pretending to be serious.

Nightpaw nudged her, "Nah," he said with a laugh, "Don't follow that advice, please. I meant that sentiment about how sometimes we make mistakes, and we shouldn't go too hard on each other for them."

Darkpaw touched her littermate's shoulder with her tail tip, "I'll remember," she promised softly.

"Thanks!" Then he was off bounding after his best friend, Min.

Darkpaw watched him, as the moon began to rise. I'll remember it, but that doesn't mean I'll use that advice right now. She walked toward her nest, and curled up for the night. Yes, she thought, Pebblepaw doesn't need pity right now.