Sparkfur tried to block out the sound of Kole writhing around in the snow, yowling in pain, painting it red with blood. She instead, turned her attention to Thrushcall, ducking her head so that she could groom his fur gently.
"Ryeheart believed in StarClan with all of his heart and soul.. I hope you did too, so that you can join him there." She whispered, glancing up as she heard a cat call her name.
A large, familiar, dull ginger tom with dark tabby stripes. There was a cut under his eye, and his ear had a new, bleeding nick.
"Waspclaw.." She murmured. He nodded in understanding as he saw the trembling form of Kole.
"I've got a scent trail on Spruceclaw.. I know Berryfoot wants you to stay safe, but honestly, I know you want to see him again." Sparkfur glanced down at Thrushcall's body one last time. He, like Ryeheart, wouldn't get a special burial.
"No tricks?" She narrowed her eyes, doubtfully. He scoffed.
"No tricks. We've got to go now. I've waisted enough time to find you." Sparkfur limped after him, the injury from falling down the hillside still aching in her hind leg.
She looked back over her shoulder for a quick look at Kole, regretting it. Blood was covering one half of his face, dripping down his muzzle. He had stopped squirming, and his left eye, which she hadn't raked her claws over, was narrowed with a chilling hate. She quickened her pace, even though the tom wouldn't stand a chance against her with the recently acquired injury.
"How do you know Spruceclaw's scent, anyway?" Sparkfur murmured, trying to not let her mind wonder to images of Kole.
"Spruceclaw was my mentor for my first two moons as an apprentice. Then you were born, and he left." Waspclaw glanced over at her, his face unreadable.
"It's not like it was my fault. It was his own choice to leave." She flicked her tail. Waspclaw checked the air, then continued along the snow covered meadow. A thin forest was just up ahead, and Sparkfur suspected it must be where Spruceclaw was. The broad tom swallowed, his ears flicking back.
"I bet you didn't think that when you were younger..?" He looked over at her with copper eyes. She shrugged.
"I suppose some cats might have blamed it on themselves... But Asterfoot told me every second that story got brought up it wasn't our fault." She blinked calmly. They trudged through the snow for another few moments in silence.
"I thought it was your fault." He murmured. "I thought you took my mentor away from me. But.. I've realized that he wasn't really.. You know... As great as I thought he was." Sparkfur stopped, her eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Are you telling me that this whole time you've been a pile of moldy leaves to me because you thought I, a newborn kit, made your mentor leave you?" Waspclaw breathed in indignantly.
"We need to hurry up." He growled. She trot after him, kicking up snow, her mind racing.
"We're so talking about this later.." She growled lightly. He held up his tail, crouching to the ground. She did as well, glancing at the scattered snow-covered bushes. Tall, thin oaks were spread about, but a cluster was just a tree-length away with thick foliage. He suddenly plunged into a bush, yanking out a white, scarred cat. He pressed a heavy paw to the cat's chest, and Sparkfur limped over quickly. The cat struggled around, but seeing as it was now two-on-one it slowed to a burning glare.
"Spruce was right about you clan cats-- you're savages!" The she-cat growled. Her white chest fur began to be stained with red as Waspclaw dug his long claws in deeper.
"Where is Spruceclaw?" Sparkfur demanded from Waspclaw's side. The she-cat bared her teeth.
"He's not to be disturbed, he's with the Lady."
Waspclaw glanced over at Sparkfur uneasily. The Lady? What's a 'Lady.' Or should I be asking who is the Lady?
"What do he want from the clans?" Sparkfur said suddenly, looking to Waspclaw. The she-cat bared her teeth and struck Waspclaw in the face. The white cat darted away as soon as his grip loosened, running in the direction that they came from. Waspclaw pinned his ears back, his fe on end, but turned. I thought he was going to tear into her... She shivered, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the lead-bare winds, or if it was something else.
"I wonder who the Lady is." Waspclaw murmured, his fur flattening. He turned, picking up Spruceclaw's scent trail once again.
"Me too.. He didn't mention a 'lady," whatever that is, when we met." Sparkfur thought aloud quietly. The snow covered foliage had started to get denser, but nowhere near as tangly and overwhelming as DrizzleClan's territory. The trees were thin and tall, a poor excuse for the thick trees that the warriors called home.
Waspclaw flicked his ears, hunkering down, swishing his tail for Sparkfur to follow suit. She didn't understand why they were trying to blend in, they stood out like blood on white fur.
She tipped her head slightly to the side as she heard quiet murmuring. She crept past Waspclaw, peeking through blanketed, sparce bushes that encircled a clearing with a large tom. Spruceclaw. He was just a big as she remembered, thick and dusky brown tabby fur rippling under a starving frame. The rogue territory never had nearly enough prey to feed every cat, most food was taken from two-legs... that must be why he's led his cats to the forest. Not just to get rid of DrizzleClan, but to use our territory as their own! He was pacing at the top of a small dip in the ground, a large rock sheltering it and whoever was inside.
"What's happening?" Waspclaw whispered, moving next to her. Under the cover of the bush, the howling wind wasn't biting at her fur and nipping at her sensitive ears quite as much, which she was grateful for. She flicked her ear, not quite knowing just yet.
"Lady, you have to stay here!" Spruceclaw was growling.
"I'm not expecting kits, for the last time!" A she-cat growled. Sparkfur couldn't see the cat, but she found the words most perplexing. The Lady is a she-cat.
"I'm not arguing about this with you now-- I need to go into battle. I have cats to lead!" He turned, and the golden tabby's fur rose sharply. She swore he was looking right at them. But his eyes seemed to glance right over them.
"Please, Spruce!" the Lady cried out. A growl rumbled in Waspclaw's throat and he stepped out of the shelter of the bush, snow shaking down and covering Sparkfur's pelt. Spruceclaw's eyes narrowed in surprise, fur fluffing up.
"Wasppaw!" He purred, malice lacing his voice. Sparkfur crept out after him, trying not to put weight on her hind leg while also trying not to look as injured as she was. "...and Sparkfur." Something harsh, something she couldn't identify, was all she could hear now.
"It's Waspclaw."
"Not in my opinion. You haven't earned that name yet, not for me." Spruceclaw was just as big as Waspclaw, and Sparkfur stood as her full height to try to compete in size. She was nowhere close.
"I guess I'll just have to prove it to you!" Waspclaw growled, unsheathing his claws. Spruceclaw scoffed, waving his thin tail.
"Alright. We'll get into the whole battle thing later, I've got a kit to talk to," he completely changed his attention from the DrizzleClan deputy to Sparkfur. "Amazing-- maybe you are worth something!" Waspclaw glanced over at Sparkfur to see her reaction. Cold, icy stair, fur flat and buffeted by the wind.
"Of course I am, I know my worth. What you think of me.. It's completely irrelevant." She narrowed her green eyes. Waspclaw's chest fur ruffled, baffled.
"My, what a sharp tongue you have. We've already been over this sort of thing, though, right? How disrespectful you are to me?" He took a step to circle Sparkfur, but Waspclaw took a step forward.
"You don't get to talk to my clanmates! You aren't one of us!" Waspclaw hissed.
"Ack. Touchy." Spruceclaw glanced over at Waspclaw with emerald eyes. "I guess it's my fault, I didn't stick around long enough to teach you about bad manners." Sparkfur remembered back when Waspclaw had jumped at Frostheart just for not speaking to Mintstar, she was surprised how composed he was keeping himself now.
"Spruce, what's going on?" the Lady called out. Spruceclaw's face brightened.
"Sparkfur! I.. I want to show you something." Waspclaw glanced over at his clanmate, who looked just as confused. The long-legged warrior tipped her head up.
"What is it?" She demanded. Spruceclaw turned, trotting over to the dip in the ground sheltered under the shade of the rock. He waved his tail.
"Come.. Meet the Lady." He purred. Sparkfur narrowed her eyes slightly. Curiosity tugged at her fur, the want to learn making her move her paws. She heard the crunch of snow as Waspclaw followed close behind her.
The golden tabby stepped to the top of the dip to look down, her eyes growing wide. A she-cat was staring expectantly up to Spruceclaw, before her warm amber eyes shifted to the warriors. She had a smooth dark pelt with patches and flecks of gingery red.
"W-What?! That's not possible!" Sparkfur gasped. "Cherryflower?!"
AN
OMGOMGOMG 100 FOLLOWERS AGGHAHHHH AND AND AND ALMOST SIX THOUSAND READS!!!
Thank you guys so much!!! I've come so far since when I started Spark. I JUST went through my entire activity tab and found the exact date I posted the prologue, which was September 12, 2015. So just over six months. This is really exciting.
Also I absolutelyz love writing Spruceclaw. He's such an unpredictable character I don't even know what he's going to say until I write it.
I did the white cat REALLY wrong in the art, I'm just now realizing how I could have made it right so don't judge lol I'm still learning xp
Longer chapter than usual :-OOOO