abstract | - When the Tribe came after GorseClan, I had hope in me for StarClan. When the Tribe took me from GorseClan, I still had hope. But when I was imprisoned for four months by the tribe, I lost hope. I was a young warrior in GorseClan when the attack happened. It had happened so fast, a clawhold on my shoulders, then dragged off. I remember having a mate. She was about to have kits when I lost her. But at that time, I thought StarClan would still help. Then everything began to fall around me. The Clans accused the Tribe for breaking rules, and the Peace broke up. The Peace was my only hope of making friends. And still, I had hope in me. But that last act, the one where I was thrown in prison for crimes I didn't do... I lost hope. All I could do was beg that they would have mercy... ~*~ It was dark, and stormy night. "Stormwind! Stormwind!" "Rushingfire! Help!" The tom glanced terrified as his mate was clinging onto a tree, trying to hang on. "Don't move, Stormwind!" The she-cat puffed as she draped herself onto the tree. "Rushingfire, the kits are coming!" The orange tom yowled in frustration as the wind tore at his skin, throwing him off-balance. "Stormwind!" He shrieked as she tumbled from the tree. At that moment, an image flashed through Rushingfire's eyes. Rushingfire screamed inside. He would not let this happen to Stormwind. He raced forward, and latched onto Stormwind's shoulder. The queen gasped as her stomach tensed. "Where's Bramblefur?" Stormwind shrieked. Rushingfire dashed back to the wind-swept camp, desperate to save his mate. "Bramblefur!" "Here!" Together, the two GorseClan cats raced back to Stormwind. "We're too late..." Bramblefur gasped, horrified. "Stormwind!" Rushingfire yowled his loss to the sky. Stormwind lay on the ground, one kit suckling at her belly. "Rushingfire... I'm so sorry... Please take care of him..." "No..." It was like his vision. "No! Stormwind!" He yowled as his beloved mate died. "Stormwind..." Bramblefur whispered. "StarClan, please have mercy on this kit..." The story of Tornclaw had only just begun. "Tornkit!" "Yeah?" "Come down from that tree!" "Yes, Echosilver." Tornkit obediently climbed down, feeling remorse as he scrambled down the tree. "Why can't I climb it?" He whimpered. "It's too dangerous." Echosilver nudged Tornkit, checking for scratches. He knew that his mother had died falling from a tree in the storm the night he was born, but that didn't mean he was afraid of trees. He also knew that Bramblefur hadn't gotten to Stormwind in time to save her. Nor did Rushingfire. Bramblefur had died one moon after the storm in an outbreak of greencough. The old medicine cat had an apprentice, Snowpaw, now Snowfire, who didn't manage to save the medicine cat. The loss still affected the Clan. Rushingfire had left GorseClan. He felt that he had to kep moving to reduce the pain of losing his mate. Tornkit didn't even remember Rushingfire anymore, but he knew that his father was once a great warrior, but was broken when Stormwind died. Now, Tornkit was nursed by Echosilver who nurtured him and cared for his like he was her kit. His "siblings", Firekit and Silverkit played like bulls. They rammed each other while toppling into the fresh-kill pile and crashing into other warriors. Tornkit didn't like to play with them. "Go enjoy some fun." Echosilver whispered. "Go play with Firekit and -" "No!" Tornkit wailed. "All they do is ram into each other and hurting each other. They hate me anyways!" His voice rose into a shirl wail. "No." Echosilver soothed. "They don't hate you. Their just a moon older, and they play more roughly. And since you don't play with them, they aren't used to you. Go on." Tornkit's foster mother nudged him forward. "I don't want to." He wailed, sitting down stubbornly. Echosilver sighed. "Tornkit." That was her dangerous voice. He sighed, and padded forward. "Firekit, Silverkit! Play with Tornkit please!" His five moon old sister smirked. "Silverkit, let's go!" They both clashed against each other, and Tornkit hopped back. "Don't hurt me!" He squealed. Silverkit laughed. "Fighting's all about hurting, Tornkit. Man up!" She then charged towards him. He let out a wail of fear and rolled away. Silverkit hurtled on, eyes widening as she headed straight for the leader's den. BAM! There was a loud crash, and Firekit shrieked in terror. "Silverkit!" Tornkit screamed, scrambling up the rocks and nudged himself in. Silverkit lay panting on the floor, and Briarstar was knelt over him. "She's hurt badly." Tornkit let out a mournful wail, which aroused Silverkit. "Tornkit!" She growled savagely. "You weren't supposed to duck!" "I wasn't, huh?" Suddenly, Tornkit felt anger rise in his chest. "So I was supposed to let you hit me, like you always do!" He let the anger wash over him. "I'm not a play toy for you to toss around!" Firekit strolled in. "Well at least you could have prevented Silverkit's injury!" "It's all about you two." Tornkit's eyes misted. "It's always about you." He then whisked around and tore out of the leader's den. I'll prove to them that I'm the best warrior! I'm going to defeat all of our rivals! He stomped out to Echosilver who rushed past him and hurried into the den. I'm going to make everyone proud, and then no one can tell me how I'm a failure. "You failure!" Firekit squealed after him. Well, maybe they can now, but when he's the best warrior... Two moons went by, and Tornkit waited eagerly for his ceremony. Silverkit and Firekit were sulking because they had to wait another moon just to wait for Tornkit. Silverkit's leg was still swollen, and she was still limping. Snowfire said it would take a long time to heal. "GorseClan! Gather around to hear the news I shall share." The three of us bunched forward, desperately wanting to become apprentices. I'm going to be the best! At the top! Tornkit thought. And I'm going to be Tornpaw soon. "Today, three kits shall become apprentices. Two have been waiting impatiently for their little brother to become six moons old." Silverkit shot me a whithering glare. "Firekit, step forward." The orange she-cat's eyes blazed with excitement. "From this moment on, until you become a warrior, you shall be known as Firepaw. Whiteheart, you are a great warrior, teach Firepaw your skills." The white she-cat dipped her head and bent down to bump her nose against Firepaw's. "Silverkit, step forward." Several cats gasped when they saw Silverkit limp over. "This kit may have been injured two moons ago, but she's about recovered to become an apprentice. Silverkit, from this moment on-" Snowfire stepped forward. "She cannot be a warrior." Silverkit's face fell, and Tornkit could see tears glinting in her eyes. He went over, and laid his tail over Silverkit's shoulder. "It's alright," he murmured. "You'll get better and then you can train!" "It's your fault anyways. Why do you care." Silverkit snarled, wrentching herself away. "You shouldn't have ducked in that mock fight." Tornkit didn't reply. For the past two moons, the three of them had been arguing about who's fault it was. But Tornkit didn't care about that. He wanted to be the best warrior anyone had seen. "Snowfire, what do you mean?" Briarstar questioned. "Silverkit's leg has not healed in the two moons she has been resting. I fear that she will not be able to keep up as a crippled kit." Silverkit glared defiantely at the cats who sighed dramatically. She snarled. "I will become a warrior. I'm going to be the greatest!" No, I will! Tornkit thought. Briarstar dipped her head to Snowfire. "What do we do then..." "I'm afraid Silverkit will have to become a medicine cat, or she'll have to help with the easier duties that does not include fighting." "Will my leg ever heal?" Silverkit whispered. "I don't know..." Snowfire sighed, come to my den, dear, and we'll discuss what you will become." "I'm going to be a crippple." Silverkit snarled. "What more can we do?" She limped towards the nursery, tears slipping from her eyes. "Tornkit! You tore my dreams away!" She wailed as she disappeared from sight. Tornkit lowered his head, knowing some of it was his fault. Silverkit wouldn't have crashed if he had fought back instead of rolling away. She didn't have to leap at me like that. Firepaw's eyes were full of shock, and her eyes blazed with rage. "This isn't fair! My sister and I were going to train together, fight together, hunt together, and be together!" Firepaw let out a frustrated yowl. "Tornkit had to make her crash!" It was all his fault, and he felt his Clanmate's eyes watching him. "But it was hers too." Tornkit mewed quietly. "She didn't have to go so roughly." Briarstar sighed. "Tornkit, its time you stepped forward. From this moment on, until you become a warrior, you shall be known as Tornpaw. Your mentor shall be Dewfur. Dewfur, you serve as a great deputy, and I expect you to pass on your skills in battle to Tornpaw." Finally! Tornpaw's dream to become the best warrior was only started. Then he glanced at the nursery where Silverkit was sitting. Tears were flowing down, and Firepaw had her tail wrapped around her sister, glaring at Tornpaw. He looked away. How can I make her happy? Silverkit and Firepaw weren't really related to him. They were his adopted sisters, and that meant they weren't related in blood. To be honest, Tornpaw had always liked Silverkit's hot-headed personality. But after the accident, he felt her slip away. "Tornpaw, are you going to sit there all day?" The brown tom glanced up quickly, and saw Dewfur standing ther amused. "Come on, we're going to visit FlameClan's border today." He leapt up and chased after his mentor. "Are they scary?" "No, but they aren't good friends of GorseClan. FlameClan always pick on us, and they can easily raid through the moors that surround their borders." Dewfur started to pad out of the camp. Tornpaw shot a glance at the nursery where Silverkit sat. The dejected silver she-cat was staring at the ground, her leg still propped up next to her. She didn't look up as he turned away again, and she had been in that position for the whole morning. "You look a bit...depressed." Dewfur commented as his apprentice slid in beside his mentor. Tornpaw sighed. "I'm worried about my sister." The word still felt weird on his tongue, and Dewfur noticed his hesitation. The black tom sighed, and looked down at the young tom. "She's crippled because she attacks recklessly. She doesn't have the mind like you do to duck when an attack like that is thrown at you. Firepaw's a bit like her, but she thinks faster than her sister does." "But she's angry, and I'm worried about her future. Silverkit can't become a warrior can she?" Tornpaw looked up at his mentor with worried, green eyes. Dewfur's gaze flitted towards the trees as they swerved through to get to the border. "I don't know, Tornpaw. I just don't know." Tornpaw stayed silent the rest of the way, and he jumped every time there was a crackle or a leaf snapping. He slowed his breath down and closed his eyes. He could just imagine Firepaw leaping out from the bracken, bowling him away. That's it! I can help Silverkit learn fighting moves, and then she'll be happy! But he knew that was almost impossible. She only had three legs, and they weren't enough to really support her in a fight. Maybe I can teach her simplified moves so she can adjust. "Here we are, the FlameClan border." Dewfur mewed as he halted, sniffing the air for signs of intruding. Tornpaw lifted his head, mouth open. "I don't smell anything." He pointed out as Dewfur bent his head down to snuffle at a bush. "You never know with FlameClan, Tornpaw. I have to make sure." His mentor circled the area three times before settling down. "You're right, there's no scent here." Tornpaw sighed as he pawed at the nearest bush. He imagined it was a FlameClan warrior invading GorseClan territory. He lifted a paw, attempting to strike the bush. "You seem excited about learning battle moves, why don't I teach you a few?" Dewfur purred as he watched the fake battle. Tornpaw sat up excitedly. "Right now?" "Why not? Follow me." Dewfur mewed as he stalked off, tail high towards the training area. Tornpaw raced after his mentor, eager to learn a few moves to teach Silverkit. Stopping at the training area, Dewfur whipped around and launched himself at Tornpaw. His eyes widened and Tornpaw ducked quickly. He wasn't going to face such a move. Dewfur tumbled over but got up quickly. "Nice thinking, but you gave the enemy another chance to attack from behind." Tornpaw inched away. "How should I face such an attack then?" "You can duck or roll away, but you need to unbalance the enemy. Notice my move was much lighter and balanced than Silverkit's reckless charge, so I had my balance when I landed." Dewfur explained. Tornpaw nodded, starting to understand how to counterattack the charge. Almost immediately, Dewfur launched himself at Tornpaw again. The apprentice quickly rolled away, but he also kicked out with his hind legs. He caught Dewfur in the stomach, but didn't manage to push Dewfur away very far. "Good try," his mentor mewed, "But there wasn't enough power in that kick. I should have went flying, but I only landed a few inches away, giving me an advantage." TBC~
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