Broken Honor

Chapter 10

It was midnight. The young tortoiseshell apprentice was trotting carefully through unfamiliar grounds. Every pawstep was quiet and filled with caution. A lump of dread sat in Rushpaw's throat. She couldn't  help but constantly look behind her, fearing that some cat from IvyClan had noticed her absence and was following her scent trail. The long grass Rushpaw was roaming through brushed up against her fur, making her itch, but she knew she had to stay focused on her objective.

The faint scent of familiar cats like Dapplewing, Sunbright, and Hailsky, still lingered. Rushpaw needed to track them down. It was her only option. She couldn't bear to stay in the mess that IvyClan had become.

A few minutes later, Rushpaw had left the long grass and found her way to a creek. She let out a small sigh of relief. If any IvyClan warriors did follow her scent trail, they wouldn't be able to track her past the creek. The water would wash it all off. 

Rushpaw bent down and slowly placed one paw in the shallow water. She drew in a quick breath and lifted her left forepaw, preparing to wade through the creek. But before she could steady herself,  Rushpaw slipped and with a splash she fell into the water.

"Ahh!" She let out a small squeal as she fell. Within half a second, Rushpaw's belly and legs were completely soaked. She stood up and grumbled in annoyance. Water droplets clung to her fur, making her feel sticky and wet. 

As Rushpaw was climbing out of the creek, there was a rustling behind her. Rushpaw froze. I'm on rogue land, she realized. The Warrior Law doesn't protect me here. Anybody can hurt me. I need to hide! What if there's a cat nearby?

Oh, please! Just take the risk and keep going! You can't possibly be thinking about turning back now. I've had enough of you being so indecisive, hissed the strange voice.

Rushpaw was too afraid to pay much attention to these cold words. She stayed where she was, silent as a shadow, trembling slightly. Just as she feared, a cat stepped out from behind a nearby tree. 

"Please don't hurt me..." Rushpaw pleaded, her voice barely a whisper.

"Rushpaw? Is that you?" A wave of relief washed over Rushpaw. The cat was Sunbright. She was safe.

"Y-yes, it's me!" Rushpaw answered. She stepped out of the shadows to face the ginger she-cat.

"Oh! Thank the stars. Your mother was so worried about you! Come, follow me, I'll show you to our camp," Sunbright mewed. The former IvyClan warrior gestured her tail for Rushpaw to follow her.

"C-camp?" Rushpaw replied, stunned.

Sunbright tilted her head in confusion. "Yeah," she responded. "Camp. It's just temporary until we really find a place to stay, that's all. We only have one den set up, anyways. Are you alright?"

"Oh...yeah, I'm fine," Rushpaw lied. The word "camp" had struck something within her. It was truly sinking in now...IvyClan would never be whole again. They would have to seperate from it. And that invovled finding an entirely new place to live.

Without another word, Rushpaw padded after Sunbright as the ginger she-cat led her to the new camp. 

Just moments later, they arrived at a cluster of birch trees. In the middle sat a tiny bramble den that had been hastily thrown together. It hardly resembled the well crafted, tightly-woven-together bramble dens that a proper Clan camp would have. 

Rushpaw poked her head in. Gentlebreeze was sleeping right beside the sloppy den while Dapplewing was sitting up, presumably keeping guard. Through the brambles Rushpaw could see the pelts of Hailsky, Diamondfrost, and Autumnfire sleeping. 

Dapplewing turned her head to face Rushpaw. The calico's eyes brightened with joy and she immeadiately got to her paws and bounded over to her daughter.

"Rushpaw!" Dapplewing cried. "I was so concerned about you! What's going on in IvyClan?"

"I..." Rushpaw's voice caught in her throat. She drew in a deep breath. "Viperfang..er..star- she...she exiled Elmleaf, and then...she declared war on MossClan."

The happy glint in Dapplewing's eyes faded immeadiately. "W-war? On MossClan? But MossClan outnumbered IvyClan before...battling with them has always been dangerous for us but...IvyClan is even smaller now! What does Viperstar think she's doing?"

A lump formed in Rushpaw's throat. "I don't know...I'm sorry. I don't understand what she's trying to do."

"That's okay," added Sunbright, padding over to where they stood. "What's most important is that you're safe. Now we have to figure out where to go from here."

Dapplewing gazed at the younger warrior sympathetically. "Sunbright...what about your kits? Surely you haven't forgotten about them."

Rushpaw tilted her head, puzzled. Sunbright has kits? 

"No, I haven't forgotten." Sunbright shook her head sadly. "But I think they're a lost cause. There's nothing we can do to convince them to leave IvyClan. They're in support of Viperstar."

"They're young, Sunbright. They don't know what they're doing," Dapplewing protested.

"My kits don't even realize I care about them. And I've just made things worse by not even asking them to come with us when we left."

Rushpaw lifted her head. "Hold on, I'm in the dark about all this. Who are your kits?"

Dapplewing curled her tail around Rushpaw and explained in a low voice. "Birdpaw and Rubblepaw are Sunbright's children, dear. They're just...not very close to their mother. Sunbright also never moved into the nursery. Rippledusk took care of Rubblekit and Birdkit instead. That's probably why you never realized who their mother was."

Rushpaw said nothing, but remained confused. I never thought Sunbright would be the type to take a mate or have kits. She always seemed so serious about warrior duties and loyalty to the Clan. So then...why are Birdpaw and Rubblepaw so distant from her? And what about their father?

Sunbright blinked. "We can finish discussing this in the morning. Rushpaw, it's pretty late, you must be tired. Why don't you settle down inside of the den? I'm sure the other warriors can make some room for you to sleep."

Rushpaw nodded, only half-listening. As she laid down beside Autumnfire under the brambles, her mind was alive with questions. She anxious, yet, there was a sense of hope traveling through her. Even if she didn't feel at home in this unfamiliar place, it was better than IvyClan. She was safe. In the end, it was going to be okay.

Right?