Warriors: Sharptalon's Mist

Chapter 12

Sharppaw leaped on Darktail, his paw catching the tom's cheek. The large white rogue shoved him away with his hind paws. Sharppaw hit the ground hard, clenching his teeth. Before he could even move, Darktail had pinned him down. 

"Good fighting, Sharppaw. It was nice to train with you," Darktail praised. "You and Ambertuft probably never trained roughly like this?" He prompted. 

"No," Sharppaw meowed. He thought about telling the tom how he trained roughly in the Dark Forest, but he thought better of it. He'd been in DarkClan for about a day and a half. Maybe Darktail was right about his Clan not caring about him. 

"You know, Sharppaw," Darktail began, "ThunderClan hasn't come to look for you. How awful. Well, they've just a great fighter."

Sharppaw glanced at the tom, his neck fur slightly rising. He felt so alone. Maybe he should join the rogues. 

"They don't want you, Sharppaw. They just don't understand what good of a fighter you are," Darktail meowed, his voice smooth. "You're like me. If you stay, we can be good friends. You could lead beside me."

Sharppaw gulped. If he stayed with the rogues, Snowbreeze would be so happy as well as Frostpaw. But Lightpaw and Fluffypelt would miss him. He didn't want to break their hearts. He had a hope that maybe they were searching for them. 

"Why don't we go back to camp? I bet you're hungry after all the training," Darktail meowed. He flicked his tail. 

"No, lets train more, until I win," Sharppaw growled. He pushed himself to his paws and stood his ground. "Do your worst." I will win!

"Ok," Darktail meowed cooly. He darted forward, lashing at Sharppaw's shoulder.

Sharppaw flinched back but Darktail's other paw hit his shoulder. He mewed with surprise and, distracted, was hit in the legs by Darktail's lashing paws. 

"Don't get distracted," Darktail growled, slashing at Sharppaw's ears. 

Sharppaw rolled clear of the third blow and darted towards Darktail's shoulder. He landed a hard blow as Darktail turned, surprise lighting in his eyes. Sharppaw kicked out with his hind paw, catching Darktail's paw. He knocked the tom over with a hard shove.

Sharppaw leaped on Darktail, putting a paw to the tom's throat. "Give up?" He hissed, lashing his tail.

"You forgot," Darktail panted. 

Sharppaw was confused for a second, then panic surged through him as he felt paws pummel his belly. He was knocked back, falling hard on his shoulder. He gasped with pain. 

Darktail leaped on Sharppaw. "Enough training, we should go back to camp," he hissed, unsheathing his claws now. They were long and sharp. 

Sharppaw glanced at him, looking into his blue eyes. "Fine," he spat. He pushed himself to his paws as Darktail padded through the undergrowth, heading to a gap in the pines. 

Sharppaw quickened his pace catching up to Darktail. He padded by his side, shaking dirt and dust from his pelt. He flicked his tail. 

"What's your least favorite Clan?" 

The question took Sharppaw by surprise. He didn't know how to respond. "I don't really have a least favorite Clan," he admitted.

"Huh, well, I hate all the Clans, especially WindClan," Darktail huffed, puffing out his chest.

The two cats padded along in an awkward silence until they reached the camp. Thorn and Rain were arguing again, their pelts bristling.

Sharppaw stopped beside Darktail. He looked up at the tom. His eyes were narrowed with his tail lashing back and forth.

"Rain!" Darktail yowled, has voice clear. "Enough!"

Rain turned towards him, his green eyes narrowed. He lashed his tail. "But Thorn is doing such a bad job! He can't even fight-"

His sentence was interrupted as Thorn leaped on him, his claws raking his flanks. Fur tore from his sides and a scratch formed on Rain's flank, leaking blood. Rain turned on the tom, lifting a paw to slash at Thorn's cheek. Blood splattered on the ground.

Darktail stared at them, his gaze calm. He sighed. 

Sharppaw began to pad forward, his gaze fixed on the two vicious fighting cats. A tail blocked his path. "Don't," Darktail growled. "Lets see who wins."

Rain overpowered Thorn with his size and clamped his jaws around the golden tabby's throat. Sharppaw thought he would kill him, but Thorn responded by pummeling him back roughly with his hind paws. 

Rain was knocked back, a clump of golden fur in his mouth. He spat it out and shook out his pelt. His belly fur was torn and matted and blood stained it, dripping on the ground. He flattened his ears and leaped on Thorn, clawing at his face without mercy. 

Thorn yowled as Rain's claws raked his eyes suddenly. Large gashes ran down his face, covering his eyes. Blood streamed from the gashes. He stumbled on the ground, his lips curled in a snarl, his teeth clenched with pain. 

Darktail stood up and padded over before Rain could finish it. He glared down at Thorn. "What a shame," Darktail sighed, "my own deputy can't even beat one of his Campmates." 

Thorn turned weakly towards him. "I fought just as hard, Darktail, I swear. I didn't know he would blind me!" He yowled, pain clenching his mew. 

Darktail shoved the tom aside, twitching his whiskers. He turned to Rain. "You'll be my new deputy, Rain. But listen, buddy, challenge me for leadership, and I know where you'll end up," he growled.

Rain blinked at him, nodding. 

Darktail glanced down at Thorn. "As for you, you shall be exiled from the Clan. You're blind, and you'd be no use here. Scram!" He hissed. He glanced at Sharppaw. "Escort him to the border, Sharppaw. Leave him in the forest to rot."

Sharppaw quickly padded over to Thorn. He helped the rogue get to his paws. As they headed across the clearing, Sharppaw helped the tom out through the entrance. Padding deeper into the forest, Sharppaw let Thorn cross over the ThunderClan border. 

Thorn turned to look at him, his eyes closed and red. One eye looked better than the other, but blood still trickled from the gashes along his face. "Sharppaw, you can leave with me."

Sharppaw blinked at him. "No, I can't. If I leave, Darktail will kill those two apprentices."

Thorn dropped his tail, then padded closer. "Will ThunderClan let me in?"

 "Probably not. They don't like rogues. Especially Cloudspark," Sharppaw meowed. "But go to their camp. Tell them where I am. I don't like this rogue camp," he murmured.

Thorn nodded and turned away, leaving behind a dotted trail of blood.

Sharppaw turned around and headed into the ferns, his pelt prickling. I hope Darktail didn't follow me. Sharppaw sighed as he padded on, his tail flicking.