A Rose's Thorn - Warrior Cats Fanfic

Chapter Two

Rose purred as she stopped to stare up at a pine tree. She remembered how her housefolk had once brought this type of tree into the house once during the snowfall season. They had decorated it with tiny, shiny balls and a glittering star at the top. Rose had loved the scent of it and had felt close to the outdoors.

But a rustle in the bushes behind her tore Rose from her thoughts. She whipped around, hoping it was only a squirrel that sometimes hopped across the fence. Rose was aware of the bell on her collar giving away a tingling noise as she moved toward the bush.

Rose's eyes widened as she heard a merrow come from the bush, followed by a fluffy gray blur erupt from the bushes and tackle her. She was quickly pinned down to the floor and a strange scent filled her nostrils. Her bell jingled as she panicked under this creature's weight.

The housecat quickly kicked up with her hind legs, throwing the other creature off of her. Rose got up and, instead of turning tail and fleeing back home, ran toward the bush behind her. She could hear the gray fluffball give chase behind her, its paw steps thundering against the earth. As Rose leapt through the bush, she wondered if she should've just stayed home after all. 

Rose let out a yelp as the cat behind her leapt on her back and slammed her to the ground once again. Rose closed her eyes and waited for her end. But, to her surprise, she felt the weight on her back lift away, allowing her to climb to her paws. Turning around, she could see the gray cat clearly. He was about her age with a fluffy gray pelt and shimmering amber eyes.

"Hey, kittypet," he purred, licking his paw. "Why didn't you fight back?"

"K-kittypet?" Rose repeated the strange word. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, that's right," Featherpaw purred, looking Rose in the eye. "Kittypets don't know Clan words. What do you call yourself?"

"Rose?" the orange pinkish she-cat tilted her head in confusion. 

The tom just snickered. "I didn't ask for your name, mouse-brain. I asked what you call yourself. I call myself an apprentice because that's my rank. My title. Get it?" 

"Kind of..." Rose muttered, trying to understand what the tom was saying. She was fighting the urge to run back to Ghost and apologize for running off. But she needed to be brave if she wanted to be like him. "I'm a housecat."

"Well then, think of a kittypet as a housecat." The gray tom smiled at Rose. "I'm Featherpaw."

Rose stared at Featherpaw in utter confusion. "Featherpaw? Why is your name so... strange?"

"I'm an apprentice. I just told you." Featherpaw flicked his fluffy tail. "Apprentice's names end in -paw."

"That's weird." 

"Rose is a weird name." Featherpaw looked behind him as if checking for something. "You aren't a 'kit, nor a 'paw. You aren't a warrior or leader either."

Rose's head hurt now. What was this cat talking about? Had he lost his mind? "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Featherpaw stared at her, his eyes alight with humor. "Of course, I'm alright. If I wasn't, I'd be in the medicine den."

"Medicine den?" Rose's eyes widened. "What is that?"

"It's the medicine den," Featherpaw purred. "What else would it be?"

Rose was about to reply when a voice echoed off of the few trees around them. "Featherpaw! Where are you?"

Featherpaw tensed and nodded toward the bush he'd leapt from. "Rose, you'd better hide."

Rose heard paw steps thrum against the forest floor, growing closer with every step. She stood frozen, scared of what would erupt from the trees.

"Rose!" Featherpaw hissed, trying to nudge her away. But Rose didn't get away in time. A gray, white, and brown tom with amber eyes charged through the bushes and stood in front of Featherpaw. An orange ticked tabby she-cat with white paws and gleaming green eyes followed him with a mouse dangling from her mouth.

"Featherpaw, there you are." The tom looked down at Featherpaw before his gaze switched to glare at Rose. "But would you like to explain who this is?"

Featherpaw's whiskers quivered with worry. "I, um, she's just a kittypet, Hawktalon, I promise."

Hawktalon? Rose felt her paw twitching with nervousness as Hawktalon's amber glare looked her up and down. Why are these names so strange?

"Why are you all the way out here in Clan territory?" Hawktalon hissed as the orange ticked tabby dropped her mouse.

"Calm down," she mewed, laying her tail on Hawktalon's shoulder. "She's just a kit. She doesn't know where she's going."

"I'm not a kit," Rose spat at the tabby she-cat. "I'm nine-moons old."

"So am I," Featherpaw muttered. "It's no big deal."

But the ticked tabby stared at Rose with a much friendlier expression. "Feisty. What's your name, kittypet?"

Rose straightened and looked the she-cat in the eye. "It's Rose."

"I'm Wishspark."

Another strange name.

"I'm sure you've already met Featherpaw," Wishspark looked at the so-called apprentice. "Hawktalon," she gestured to the tom beside her, "is his mentor."

"I don't understand," Rose mewed, "why your names are so strange. And what is a mentor?"

"A mentor trains their apprentice," Wishspark told Rose. 

"And our names are real names unlike 'Rose,'" Hawktalon growled with a glare at the housecat, or kittypet as these strangers called it.

Featherpaw looked at Hawktalon and Wishspark. "I was trying to explain that to her, but she was too confused."

"How did you find her anyway?" Hawktalon glared at Featherpaw. 

"I thought she was a rabbit and-"

"A rabbit?" Hawktalon chuckled. "You dimwit. 'Rose' is orange and pink. How do you mistake those colors for the soft, white fur of a rabbit?"

Wishspark gave Hawktalon's shoulder a jab with her paw. "Stop it. Rose," she turned to face the kittypet. That title sounded so dumb. Housecat was a much better word for her, and it suited her way of life. The word kittypet made her sound lazy and stupid. "How would you like to come and learn about these things for yourself?"

"Are you crazy?" Hawktalon snarled at Wishspark. "She has a collar around her neck. Her Twolegs own her, so she'd better run off to them before BushClan shreds her fur off."

"Don't be an idiot," Wishspark spat, curling her tail around Rose and started to lead her away from the two toms. "You'll find BushClan very interesting, young one."

Rose was about to protest, but she looked back at Ghost's fence in the distance. With every step she took, it grew farther and farther from her view. She thought about running over to the fence and saying she was wrong to think she could live on her own.

But Rose straightened and let Wishspark guide her to who-knows-where. She'd make Ghost proud. He'd have wished that he'd never doubted her when she saw him again. 

There'll be more updates to come!