Broken Code

Chapter 16

Everything was different without Ashpaw around. Even though the two hadn't been around each other much since their apprentice ceremony, Rainpaw still felt a tug in her heart whenever she glanced at the apprentice's den. Even Jayscratch, Ashpaw's mentor, was upset. The clan went on with life as usual, but everyone seemed to be wary. Cats went out in groups of three or four, never going out alone for the fear of Twolegs. Ashpaw was missed, but he wasn't mourned.

Rainpaw distanced herself from other cats, not ready to move on from her captured brother. She kept her head down, busying herself with sorting herbs over and over again. Running to and fro to finish her apprentice duties. The silvery spitting image of Silverdream drug her paws when she walked, an empty feeling of utter loneliness in her heart.

"I understand what your feeling." A voice interrupted Rainpaw's sorting of herbs. She lifted her starry head to find Bluepaw standing in the entrance of the medicine den. Rainpaw didn't respond.

"Rainpaw, I know how much you miss him... so do I..." Bluepaw padded into the den, reminding her of the time she was in Grassclan camp just yesterday.

"You have no idea what it's like Bluepaw." Rainpaw snarled, baring her teeth. "My only family member is gone. Gone! Don't tell me you miss him because you have no idea what it's like when your very soul is ripped from your chest and you can't do anything about it."

Bluepaw took a pawstep back but didn't back down. "I cared more about your brother than you think Rainpaw." She hissed back.

"Yeah and who's fault is it that he's gone?" Rainpaw challenged, her tail lashing, causing herbs to flutter up all over the medicine den.

"I thought-"

"Just shut up." Rainpaw bounded out of the medicine den, making sure to run into Bluepaw's shoulder on the way out. She stormed out into camp clearing.

"Rainpaw please..." Bluepaw called out after the grieving medicine cat, padding after her in the molten sand.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Rainpaw snarled, jumping around to face the blue speckled apprentice. "LEAVE ME ALONE IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU, ASHPAW WOULD STILL BE HERE AND-"

"RAINPAW!" A loud call rang across camp, silencing her. She looked around to find that practically the entire camp had been watching the dispute between the two she cats. Rainpaw looked up to find Flamestar sitting on Hightree. "Rainpaw, my den. Now." He lashed his tail and bounded into the leader's den. Rainpaw drooped her head and padded in as well, a stone in her stomach.

"Rainpaw. You have to learn how to control your emotions." Flamestar sighed. His bright orange fur was ruffled from Starclan knows what.

"Flamestar, Ashpaw was kidnapped by Twolegs. He was my only living family member. My father was killed by Greencough and my mother fell into the river many moons ago."

Rainpaw didn't quite catch it, but at that comment, his eyes flickered with a speck of sadness but he soon blinked it out of his eyes.

"I don't have anyone Flamestar. I have no one..." Her voice broke and she found her vision running blurry and a tear slipped down her muzzle. It fell onto the floor of Flamestar's den, hitting the ground with a small sizzle.

To her surprise, the fiery leader stood up and padded over to her, rubbing his muzzle gently across hers. He laid his head on top of hers and she rested against his chest. "It'll be ok Rainpaw. I promise. And I'm truly sorry about Icestar... and Silverdream." He closed his eyes as if to block out the memories and little did Rainpaw know that his words held a much deeper meaning than she knew.

~

"Rainpaw?" A new voice echoed through the medicine den. She lifted her head off of her paws to see who it was.

Her eyes widened and her heart fluttered with a feeling she hadn't felt often. "Come with me..." She mumbled and ran out of the den, her visitor following out behind her. The camp was rather empty, a few warriors napping, the elders eating, kits playing, but most cats were out patrolling or hunting. No cat noticed as the two cats ran out of camp and into the forest. Rainpaw led them both to a small stream just inside their borders and laid down beside it.

"Moonpaw." Her voice was ever so soft and she could hardly keep a purr from rising to her throat.

"Are you ok?" He whispered softly, his fur catching the sunlight in all the right angles.

She nodded.

"I knew you guys grew up together... it must be so hard to lose your family..." He mumbled.

Rainpaw nodded again, then realized she knew practically nothing about Moonpaw's past. "Yeah... hey um.. what about your life before the clan? Where did you grow up? Who was your family?"

A flicker of sadness paned across his star stricken eyes but he shook his head to clear it. He sat down in the sand and began to tell his life story....

"I grew up on the outskirts of the Twoleg place. I went by the name of Fleck. I was in a group of rogues led my father, Ember. He looked a lot like Flamestar actually. Anywho, there was another group of rogues that we were constantly at war with. Their leader was a rogue she cat named Cadet. She called her little group C1, meaning Cadet 1. She thought she was the best leader in the world... anyway, we fought constantly. I never got to be in the battle for I was too young. I hid deep in the alleys during the nights when Ember fought for his group. One night, during a battle, Cadet got through our wall of warriors and found me. I was completely defenseless. She captured me..." He trailed off, realizing that this was how Ashpaw must have felt.

"Go on." Rainpaw choked.

"And she ran with me, taking me with her... Ember ran after me. And he started to fight Cadet and I ran to safety. But Cadet over powered my father and was about to kill him before this other cat came and saved him. He had stars all in his fur and said he was from Starclan. He killed Cadet and then talked to me and Ember. The tom looked exactly like Ashpaw except for the stars in his fur. He said his name was Icestar... "

Rainpaw held her breath but didn't say anything.

"Then his other friend appeared and she said her name was Silverdream. She looked just like you really..." Moonpaw continued.

Rainpaw could hardly hold her tongue, letting Moonpaw finish his story.

"And they told Ember that they wanted me to come with them and join Streamclan. And I did and here I am now. I never really thought about it much after the fact, but those cats said they were dead... do you know who they were when they were alive?" The silver and white speckled tom tilted his head and the stars of Rainpaw's parents reflected in his eyes. For a split second she thought she could see her parents' reflections in his irises. She nodded and finally found her voice.

"They were my parents..."

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