Warriors #1: Kittypet Clanborn

Chapter 14

I couldn't help but hiss at Flamepaw's words.

"That Sol!" I growled, my claws sinking into the ground. But immediately after I had spoken, I slapped my tail over my mouth. I hadn't meant to sound so harsh. Great StarClan, Lilypaw, calm down!

I heard a quiet purr next to me, and I glanced over to see that Thornclaw was staring at me, his eyes filled with a mix of admiration, love, and amusement. I returned the look briefly before looking back at the three ShadowClan apprentices. My soft kittypet ways really have gone, haven't they? I joked to myself.

I then shook my head quickly and took a deep breath, trying to stay calm despite how frustrated that calico Sol made me. "So, Sol hasn't left ShadowClan?" I asked the apprentices. "He's still causing trouble?"

Tigerpaw nodded, his eyes dark. "Yes, and he's making things worse!" He hissed. "I thought that Blackstar was better than this."

Dawnpaw nodded in agreement to her brother's words. "We didn't know what else to do except leave," she meowed, sighing.

Then Flamepaw spoke. "We didn't want to stay in ShadowClan if they weren't going to believe in StarClan at all," he explained.

"We thought we could stay in ThunderClan," Tigerpaw meowed, his amber eyes gleaming with hope.

Thornclaw and I exchanged a nervous glance. "But won't your mother... Tawnypelt miss you, or wonder where you are?" I asked them, not having had the experience of being a mother yet, but understanding to some extend how terrified Tawnypelt would be if she realized her kits were missing.

Dawnpaw simply shrugged. "Dunno. Once kits are apprenticed, Queens don't really pay attention to them anymore," she mewed.

I felt a quick wave of sadness and shock run through me at Dawnpaw's words. Is that true? I never got to be apprenticed back in the old forest when Mistpelt was still a queen. I was taken way before that, I realized. Glancing at Thornclaw so quickly that he probably didn't even notice, I then thought, If or when we have kits one day, I'll make sure my children never feel that way.

I heard Thornclaw sigh before turning to face me, his gaze looking reluctant. "I suppose that there's not really a choice here," he murmured to me. "They won't go back if we tell them to."

"We won't," Flamepaw responded evenly.

"I figured."

Without another word, Thornclaw turned, waited for me to catch up with him, and then began to head towards the direction of the ThunderClan camp. I beckoned the three younger cats to follow with my tail.

As the five of us got closer and closer to camp, I realized that Thornclaw had been silent since we first decided to bring the apprentices with us. I looked at him to see that his eyes were dark with anger and disappointment. I tilted my head in confusion before touching Thornclaw's shoulder with my nose. As he lifted his head to look at me, I nodded my head forward to tell him to move further ahead away from the apprentices.

Once the three young cats were out of earshot, I ran my tail along my mate's flank and meowed softly, "Is something wrong?"

Thornclaw immediately sighed. "I can't believe how stupid I was to lead Sol into our camp," he muttered, looking too ashamed to even meet my gaze. "I should have just told my patrol to leave him there at the border waiting, instead of falling for his stupid words and antics-"

"Hey, hey!" I meowed back to Thornclaw, stopping him from making him feel worse about himself. I pressed my muzzle against his cheek. "Stop talking like that. None of this is your fault."

"But if I hadn't brought him with us, he probably would have just given up and left!" The golden warrior insisted.

"Don't be silly," I responded. "I mean, look at what he's done. He's convinced Blackstar, who has been leader for moons and moons and directly received nine lives from StarClan, to not believe in StarClan. He is persistent and manipulative!"

I felt relieved as Thornclaw lifted his head to meet my gaze. "That's true," he murmured.

"Of course it's true!" I meowed, continuing to try and bring Thornclaw out of his guilt. "Whether or not you brought him into our camp, he would have caused trouble anyway, and I'm sure of that."

I then touched my nose to Thornclaw's ear. "I know that you would never do something if you felt that it wasn't right. Don't be so hard on yourself!"

I pulled away to see Thornclaw's pale blue eyes glowing with love and gratitude. "Okay, I'll try," he murmured softly before licking my cheek. "I'm with quite the smart cat, aren't I?"

"You're smarter," I meowed affectionately, nuzzling my muzzle into his neck for a heartbeat just as the camp entrance was coming into sight.

I sighed, anxious to face the Clan as we were about to bring in three ShadowClan apprentices.