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ThunderClan's Despair: Chapter Fifteen

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ThunderClan’s Despair
Chapter Fifteen

     You.

     Owlpaw couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe. Staring at Splinterstar, her leader, the cat she had respected above all others, the dedicated, noble tom who had led his Clan with honor and wisdom, her mind was consumed by a raging hatred.

     She took a step towards him, coming to stand beside the redwood stump, every hair on her pelt trembling with pure rage. “You,” she hissed, venom dripping from the word. “You killed my mother!”

     “And my father,” Oakpaw spat, coming to stand beside Owlpaw. Righteous fury blazed in the young tom’s eyes, and a hatred that didn’t suit the cheerful apprentice.

     Chestnutpaw growled, “And my sister.” He was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Owlpaw, and she could feel the tom trembling as he finally confronted the cat who had taken Petalpaw’s life.

     Shrewpaw didn’t speak, but Owlpaw could hear her growling, and she knew that the white she-cat felt as much anger for Dawnbriar’s death as Owlpaw did.

     Splinterstar stood before the apprentices, not so much as flinching at their anger. Owlpaw had always known Splinterstar as a noble, calm old cat, always with a kindness in his eyes. That cat was gone. She didn’t know the tom standing in front of her, even though he wore the thick pelt and yellow eyes of her leader. The stiff way he held himself, the curled lip and leering expression he wore, the hatred burning in his eyes, they all belonged to the monster who had killed her mother.

     “Yes, I did,” he hissed. Even his voice was different, far more ragged and cold than Owlpaw was used to. “I killed all of them. And they all deserved it!” His fangs were bared, hackles raised, eyes blazing. Owlpaw stared him down, her hatred for him far outweighing any fear.

     “How could you do it?” Shrewpaw asked, voice shaking. She was staring at Splinterstar with deep betrayal in her eyes. “You were our leader. We trusted you! You promised to protect us!”

     Splinterstar’s gaze grew disdainful. “Why should I protect murderers and traitors?” he hissed. His gaze flicked over all of the apprentices, hardening as they settled on Owlpaw and Chestnutpaw. “You. You’re their kits. You carry their, their filthy blood!”

     He made a move towards the apprentices, as if to attack, but Shrewpaw and Oakpaw were in front of their denmates before he could take more than a single step. Owlpaw was shocked at the change that had come over her denmates. Oakpaw’s hackles were raised and his eyes burned, looking as dangerous as a warrior many times his age. Shrewpaw’s back was arched, and her green eyes flashed with a protective fury that Owlpaw had not thought her capable of. “Touch them, and I swear I’ll kill you!” she spat, glaring a challenge at the leader she had respected so much.

     Oakpaw added in a vicious hiss, “If you want them, you’re going to have to go through us!” There was no fear in his eyes as he challenged the leader many times his age and strength. Owlpaw felt a rush of warmth as the two apprentices, one she had despised and one she had thought of as only a kit, stood between her and the cat who would kill her given the chance.

     Splinterstar’s gaze swung between Oakpaw and Shrewpaw, giving a frustrated snarl, but he seemed to recognize that attacking would be futile. He stepped back, lowering his head and snarling at the apprentices.

     “Those traitors promised to protect their Clanmates at the cost of their lives, but they lied!” he hissed. Fury was making his jaws foam; his expression was so twisted with hatred that he hardly looked feline anymore. “When my Lucy needed their help, they let her die! Being Clanmates meant nothing to them. And were they ever punished? No! ThunderClan hated my Lucy so much, just because of where she was born, that they would rather let her die and let her murderers go unpunished, than uphold their own precious code and defend their own Clanmate. The warrior code is dirt. There is no honor in being a warrior, and I learned it that day. So I decided to punish them for what they had done, and for ever holding up the warrior code as something to be honored.”

     Owlpaw felt nothing but disgust for the tom in front of her. “None of the cats you killed were the ones who betrayed you,” she snarled. “They never did anything to hurt you, or Lucy!”

     A strange light began to burn in his eyes, his lips twitching upward in a twisted grin. “Brightcloud, Leapingfish, Eagleflight, and Brindlerose took the cat I loved more than life from me, and the unborn kits she carried. So I took the same from them.”

     “You killed innocent cats because of something other cats did.” Oakpaw hissed. He lashed his tail, crouching low as he glared down the leader. “I’m sorry about what happened to Lucy. It was wrong, and they should have answered for it. But you’re doing it all over again! Your Clanmates saw Lucy only for what she was, a kittypet. You only saw the cats you killed as kin to the cats you hated, not as their own cats, with their own worth. You’re just as bad as the cats who betrayed you!”

     Splinterstar’s eyes widened, and his screech rose in pitch as he demanded, “How dare you-!”

     “He’s right!” Shrewpaw snapped. “Petalpaw, Dawnbriar, Redbird, all of them, they didn’t do anything to deserve what you did to them. How can you possibly justify murdering a kit for her mother’s crimes?”

     The thick-pelted tom's eyes lit up with new hatred at the mention of the kit. “Brightcloud is the worst of them all!” he shrieked, every hair on his pelt rising in anger. “She always hated Lucy! When she died, that snake told me to my face that Lucy got what she deserved for trying to be a wild cat!” He lifted his chin, his tail lashing. “So I took everything from her! She never deserved a mate, or kits, or any happiness! I set it right!”

     “Mistkit and Redbird were innocent!” Chestnutpaw growled.

     Splinterstar gave a humorless laugh, teeth flashing. “No innocent cat could mate with that, that rat of a she-cat. He was as guilty as she was! And Mistkit was the image of her mother. Nothing resembling that murderer deserves to exist.”

     “What about Fawnmist?” Shrewpaw demanded. Splinterstar betrayed no surprise that they knew his accomplice. “How in StarClan did you get her to help you? She’s Brightcloud’s kin, why would she help kill her mate and daughter?”

     The leader’s anger turned to a cruel amusement. “She’s no kin to Brightcloud,” he hissed. Owlpaw’s ears flew back in surprise. “I found her on a cold leafbare night. A kittypet kit, abandoned and alone, and freezing to death.”

     A kittypet? Owlpaw thought, amazed. She never would have guessed that the medicine cat wasn’t pure ThunderClan in blood. The she-cat listened in shocked silence as Splinterstar continued, “Snowfoot had only given birth that morning. No cat had seen her kits yet. And I knew how it would punish Brightcloud, to make her sister raise a kittypet right under Brightcloud’s nose. So I made her lie to the Clan and tell them that Fawnmist was one of hers.”

     Slow realization came over Owlpaw. “But Fawnmist knew,” she realized aloud. “You made sure she did.”

     “She deserved to know her heritage,” Splinterstar said. There was no fondness for the she-cat in his mew. “And she deserved to know how ThunderClan had let one of her own die, and they would let her die if they ever learned the truth.”

     “So you turned her against her own Clanmates and raised her to hate them,” Shrewpaw spat bitterly. “You had her cover up your scent on the bodies and places where you killed cats. When you heard me coming when you were trying to kill Seedspeckle, and he was taken to Fawnmist to be treated, she let him die, or killed him herself.” Her green eyes narrowed. “You even had her take one of your lives so you would look innocent, didn’t you? She was a hare’s leap away collecting herbs when Leapingfish and I found you. You had her kill you.”

     The leader sneered, “I knew my warriors wouldn’t suspect me if I was one of the victims. And I had lives to spare. I could afford to lose one to assure my Clan of my innocence.”

     Owlpaw growled, “And then you killed her mentor, leaving her as the only healer in the Clan who had any chance of telling how her Clanmates had died.”

     Splinterstar glared at the ginger she-cat. “Brackentooth hated Lucy as much as the rest of them,” he growled. “She did nothing to save her as she bled out on the sand.”

     “That’s not true,” Oakpaw growled. “The elders said Brackentooth tried to save Lucy.”

     The thick-pelted tom shook his head violently. “She looked her over and said there was nothing she could do,” he growled, mocking the ancient medicine cat. “But she just wasn’t willing to try! She grumbled about kittypets not belonging in the wild as much as the rest of them. She deserved to die as much as all of them! You all deserve to die!” A wild light shown in his eyes, his speech becoming more frantic. “I will kill you all, you will never be able to warn them, and I will kill your Clanmates one by one, until the only ones left are the ones who betrayed Lucy. I’ll leave them alive with their loss, and their wretchedness, and then my Lucy will finally be avenged!!”

     Owlpaw watched the leader, amazed at the change that had come over him. It was becoming clearer and clearer by the moment that the kind, noble leader she had known had never really existed. The cruel, righteous, half-mad killer was the real Splinterstar, and he had no remorse, or mercy. “You can lie to yourself all you want about how justified you are,” she spat. “You’re a murderer, and we’re not going to let you hurt anyone else.”

     Splinterstar’s eyes flickered with a sudden satisfaction. “Try and stop me,” he hissed.

     Without warning, something exploded from the bushes beside them, screeching towards them in a mass of teeth and claws and fury. It slammed into Oakpaw, its paws shoving him against the redwood stump. His head connected with the stump with a sickening thud, the tom crumpling to the ground in a motionless heap.

     “Oakpaw!” Owlpaw cried, panic flaring in her heart. She couldn’t do more than cry out his name before Splinterstar lunged, roaring with the fury of battle as he slammed into Shrewpaw. The cat who had attacked Oakpaw turned towards Owlpaw, golden eyes gleaming with cruelty. Owlpaw’s blood boiled as she got a proper look at the cat who had hurt Oakpaw. “Fawnmist!” she spat.

     Fawnmist’s fangs flashed in a snarl, eyes lighting up with a cold glee. “One down,” she hissed mockingly. Gone was the sweet, nurturing medicine cat, and in her place was a savage, hateful creature who looked positively delighted at what she had done to Oakpaw.

     Owlpaw glared viciously at the medicine cat. “Is this really want you want?” she demanded, lashing her tail. “Betraying your Clan for a cat who doesn’t care two mousetails for you?”

     There was no warmth whatsoever in the tabby’s eyes. Fawnmist’s golden gaze held nothing but cruelty, a savage delight at the havoc she had wrought. “ThunderClan wouldn’t care two mousetails for me if they knew I was born a kittypet,” she hissed. “Why should I have any loyalty to them? At least Splinterstar is honest with me.” She lowered into a crouch, pelt bristling and claws unsheathed. “And I get to feel fur tear under my claws. That’s more than enough for me.”

     Before Owlpaw could retort, Fawnmist threw herself at Owlpaw, snarling. Owlpaw saw the attack coming, and slipped easily to the side. She wasn’t expecting Fawnmist to land and instantly whirl back around, tackling Owlpaw before she had a chance to counter.

     Owlpaw yowled as they were both sent to the ground, tumbling away from the redwood stump. She broke free, scrambling towards Oakpaw’s motionless form, but Fawnmist’s claws snagged onto Owlpaw’s flanks, pulling her closer. The ginger she-cat screeched, whirling on her attacker with claws aimed at Fawnmist’s face. She managed to score her claws across the pale tabby’s muzzle before Fawnmist buried her fangs in the side of Owlpaw’s neck and her claws in her shoulder, yanking her towards the ground.

     “Ree-ee-owr!” Owlpaw thrashed wildly in an attempt to tear herself free. She had expected a medicine cat with little to no battle training to be a soft opponent in a fight. But Fawnmist fought with a strength and a ferocity of a seasoned warriors. With a rush of horror, Owlpaw realized that Splinterstar must have been training Fawnmist to kill her Clanmates all along. This was not going to be an easy fight.

     Suddenly, Fawnmist’s fangs were pried from her, and her weight thrown off of her. Owlpaw hissed at the fresh pain in her neck, wincing as she looked up. Chestnutpaw had tackled Fawnmist, carrying her off of his denmate. The two cats were wrestling now, Chesnutpaw having Fawnmist pinned, Fawnmist pressing her paw up against Chestnutpaw’s neck with her claws pressing into his jaw. He scored his claws against her cheek, making her yowl.

     Satisfied that her friend could handle Fawnmist, Owlpaw leapt to her paws, racing towards Oakpaw. She had to see whether he was alive. But before she could reach him, Splinterstar barrelled into her, snarling in her ear as he sent her flying to the ground. Owlpaw was flooded with rage. She flipped over on her back, hind legs striking out hard at Splinterstar. The apprentice felt a jolt of satisfaction as her paws connected hard with his jaw, sending him reeling back. Quick as a snake, she twisted back onto her paws, rising up on her hind paws to bat wildly at Splinterstar’s face with her front claws.

     Shrewpaw joined her in her attack, throwing herself against Splinterstar’s shoulder to send him to the ground. He fell, but used the momentum to roll onto his side, kicking Shrewpaw clear and sending her skidding. Owlpaw rushed in while he was on the ground, hooking her claws into his pelt and sinking her fangs into his hind leg. She nearly gagged on the thick fur, but kept biting down, harder and harder, until Splinterstar twisted and swung his forepaw around, slamming it into Owlpaw’s head.

     The force of Splinterstar’s blow made Owlpaw let go with a shriek. Her ears were ringing, her cheek aching where the leader’s paw had struck her. It took a few shakes of her head to clear her head again, Splinterstar was already on his paws, fending off a fresh attack from Shrewpaw. With a snarl, Owlpaw threw herself back into the battle.

     Even as she faced Splinterstar again, snarling a challenge, a wave of hopelessness crashed over Owlpaw. No matter how many times she and Shrewpaw came at Splinterstar, he just deflected their attacks with ease, coming back with strikes twice as strong. Owlpaw and Chestnutpaw were almost fully grown, but still clearly smaller than the average warrior, and Splinterstar loomed over them both. Even the fully-grown Shrewpaw, as highly skilled in battle as she was, couldn’t strike with the speed and strength of the larger, stronger Splinterstar. Even with two of them, Splinterstar had the upper paw, and Owlpaw could hear Chestnutpaw squealing as Fawnmist’s jaws closed around his leg. They were losing, and if they died, the truth would die with them.

     Owlpaw dodged a strike from Splinterstar’s paw, slicing at his shoulder with one paw. “Go!” she spat at Shrewpaw, who currently had her teeth buried in Splinterstar’s leg. “You’re the fastest! Go get help!” She screeched as Splinterstar’s claws hit their mark this time, scoring across her ears.

     Splinterstar kicked out hard, dislodging Shrewpaw. The white she-cat was sent skidding, but quickly got back to her paws, jumping back into the fight. Spitting out fur and blood, she snarled, “There’s no way you two can take Fawnmist and Splinterstar on your own. I’m not going anywhere.”

     “It doesn’t matter!” Owlpaw snapped. She snarled in frustration as Splinterstar easily dodged a swipe of her claws. While her paw was still raised, Splinterstar ducked low, using his low position to swipe her other front leg out from under her, causing her to fall forward. She narrowly dodged the snap of his jaws, rolling out of the way. As she leaped back onto her paws, she growled, “One of us has to live. We have to get the truth to ThunderClan. Just go!”

     Shrewpaw paused in her attack just for a moment. Her green eyes met Owlpaw’s own green eyes. The light of battle raged in her eyes, but there was something else there, something intense and urgent. The white she-cat growled in the most serious tone Owlpaw had ever heard from her, “There is no way in StarClan that I am leaving my friends to die.”

     Owlpaw couldn’t find anything to say in response. She hesitated, but before she could try and argue further, an agonized screech distracted her. She turned to look, seeing Chestnutpaw pinned by Fawnmist, her fangs in this throat. Her eyes widened. “Chestnutpaw!” she screeched.

     She shouldn’t have turned. Splinterstar took advantage of her distraction, bearing down on her with his fangs flashing. Owlpaw was only aware of her mistake for a moment, beginning to turn to face Splinterstar, aware that she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Then, suddenly, there was a screech of “No!” behind her, a rush of movement, a dreadful snarling, and a thump of a body against the ground.

     Owlpaw whirled around, stiffening at the sight that awaited her. Splinterstar was crouched over Shrewpaw’s still form. The white she-cat lay motionless on the forest floor, the snow-white fur of her head stained red with blood. Owlpaw’s blood ran cold as she realized that Shrewpaw had thrown herself in front of Owlpaw and taken the blow meant for her.

     Splinterstar rose from the white apprentice, yellow eyes burning as he gazed at Owlpaw. “I’m going to leave you mangled and bloody,” he rasped, cruel satisfaction in the gleam of his eyes. “And I’m going to savor every wail and cry that Leapingfish makes when he sees his precious daughter torn apart like a piece of prey. Ending you meddling apprentices is going to be my pleasure.” He stepped carelessly over the body of the white apprentice, stalking towards Owlpaw.

     She tried to glare him down, but inside, her heart was tripping over itself with terror. With Shrewpaw and Oakpaw down, it was only Chestnutpaw and herself against two powerful opponents completely bent on killing them. She knew without being told that they weren’t going to win this fight.

     Chestnutpaw had managed to wrestle free of Fawnmist’s grasp, but his neck was bleeding heavily, and the glazed look in his eyes told Owlpaw he was weakening fast. She shared a brief glance with her best friend, saying without words what they both knew to be true. One of them had to live. ThunderClan had to know the truth. They both gave each other the tiniest of nods, agreeing without having to speak; if one of them could get away, they would leave the other to die so they could bring the truth to ThunderClan. It broke Owlpaw’s heart to think of leaving Chestnutpaw to be slaughtered, or him leaving her, but they both knew it had to be done. If one of them didn’t leave the other, everyone would die.

     Owlpaw turned back to face Splinterstar, crouching low, every hair on her pelt bristling. She had little hope of surviving long enough to make it to camp, but if she could trip him up and run past him, she might be fast enough to make it.

     She was ready to lunge at him, when suddenly, something hurled itself from the ferns, a huge mass of something slamming into Splinterstar and wrestling him to the ground. Owlpaw faltered, staring in shock as a massive black warrior pinned Splinterstar to the ground, her jaws fastened around the leader’s spine. She gasped. “Ravenfrost!”

     Ravenfrost didn’t look up. Even as Splinterstar thrashed and squealed and tried to rip free, Ravenfrost kept him pinned with her greater weight, surprise having allowed her to get a good grip on him. She dug her fangs deeper and deeper into his pelt, until she finally hit his spine. Owlpaw saw the precise moment his spine snapped and the life left his eyes. He fell still beneath Ravenfrost, yellow eyes glazed over.

     Owlpaw stared, completely stunned. It took her a few moments to remember that Splinterstar would not be taken out so easily. “He has nine lives,” she realized aloud. “He’ll get back up.”

     Ravenfrost released her hold on her leader’s neck, stepping off of him and glancing over towards Chestnutpaw and Fawnmist. The pale tabby she-cat was staring with wide, golden eyes at Splinterstar’s body, rage heavy in her snarl. “You killed him!” She made a move towards Ravenfrost, but Chestnutpaw blocked her, snarling. Fawnmist tackled him, sending the smaller tom to the ground.

     The deputy’s ice-blue gazed snapped back towards Owlpaw. Her jaws dripped with Splinterstar’s blood as she snapped, “We can handle Fawnmist. Go now, before he gets up!”

     Owlpaw was still too stunned to move. She had spent the last half moon believing that Ravenfrost was the monster who had murdered her mother. And now, Ravenfrost had killed Splinterstar and saved her life. She hesitated, mind racing.

     “Go!” Ravenfrost snarled, eyes flashing with anger. “Go warn ThunderClan!” Without waiting to see if the apprentice followed her order, she whirled away, roaring with rage as she rushed to Chestnutpaw’s aid.

     Owlpaw shook her head sharply, forcing herself to snap back into reality. Ravenfrost was right; they could take Fawnmist, and ThunderClan had to be told the truth.

     The apprentice turned and raced away, leaving the snarls and shrieks of battle, and the motionless bodies of two friends, behind her as she fled into the forest. When she got to camp, she could warn her Clan, she could bring a full battle patrol back with her, they could stop Splinterstar with the full might of ThunderClan and save Ravenfrost and Chestnutpaw.

     She only hoped she wouldn’t be too late.
COVER: N/A
ALLEGIANCES: link
PROLOGUE: link
PREVIOUS: link
NEXT: link

Dun dun duuuuuuun! >: )

So yeah, lots of stuff happened in this chapter. ^^ I hope this chapter cleared up any questions you still had. If there's any questions that are still fuzzy for you, let me know, and I'll try and make sure it gets cleared up.

Okay, so this chapter and the next chapter (Chapter Sixteen) were originally plotted out as one chapter, assigned to me. But when I started writing, it started getting so long that I had to chop it in half. And this seemed like a good spot to end the first chapter. ;) This chopping up of the chapter resulted in two things.

One, the next chapter is also written by me.

Two, the next chapter is also written in Owlpaw's POV.

Also, the next chapter will not be posted until tomorrow, so I can leave you to stew in suspense for a bit. ^^

Also, see if you can spot the references. ^^
© 2015 - 2024 Jayie-The-Hufflepuff
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KalahariMeerkatfan's avatar
I hope little Oakpaw lives, but noble Shrewpaw...I hope StarClan honors her with a warrior name when she joins their ranks.