Thunder Rising/Chapter 24

==Chapter description==
:Thunder heads out from camp with his father and Petal on a patrol to expand the borders. They stop at the edge of a stream, and Clear Sky tells his son that he gets the honor of setting the first scent markers. He begins to mark their new borders across the stream when some cat attacks him. The cat growls at him to get out of here. Thunder hesitates to attack, but his father tells him to do what he has to do. He crouches to spring but is knocked off balance by the gray-and-white she-cat.
:Petal flings herself on the cat, claiming that she knows her. Thunder starts to take a few steps towards the fighting she-cats, but Clear Sky stops him, telling him that this is not his fight. His father explains that Petal has a history with that cat. Clear Sky tells Thunder that the rogue she-cat's name is Misty and that she had refused to help Petal and her brother when their mother died. Petal has managed to pin Misty down, and both cats are shrieking. Petal offers an opportunity for Misty to leave, but the rogue refuses. Misty throws Petal off from her and her teeth snaps at Petal's ear. Clear Sky flings himself at Misty and thrusts Misty aside, forcing the rogue to release Petal. They pin Misty down again, trapping one of her paws. Clear Sky holds one paw to the rogue's throat. Thunder begs Clear Sky to give a chance for the she-cat to leave, but when he had asked the rogue, she refused again. Misty tried to free herself, but Clear Sky rips at her throat. The rogue falls back, blood gushing out as she tries to yowl something before falling limp.
:Clear Sky says that if she had not been so stubborn, the rogue would not have had to die. He then declares that the she-cat has finally paid for what she did to Petal and Fox. He congratulates Thunder on showing compassion to a defeated enemy, stating that that requires a leader's spirit. Clear Sky tells Thunder how much his son is like his father, but Thunder feels threatened by Clear Sky's words. Clear Sky continues that Gray Wing has raised him well, but he will make the young tom a leader. The gray tom goes on setting boundaries again. Thunder wonders how many more cats will have to die before his father is satisfied.
:Thunder hears faint squeaking nearby. Thinking it is mice, he goes to find the source of the noise. He stops uncomfortably as he discovers two very young kits in a nest, their eyes still closed. He realizes they are Misty's kits and notes that must have been why the queen fought so fiercely, and they just killed their mother. He calls over Clear Sky who is dumbfounded. Thunder and Clear Sky carefully remove the two kits from the thorn thicket they were in. Thunder says they cannot leave the kits here as they would die. At this moment, Petal walks over and asks what is going on. Petal is shocked by the revelation that Misty had kits and shows admiration for the queen's bravery.
:Clear Sky is distressed by the kits' predicament, knowing that they will die without a mother. He suggests killing them quickly so that they would not suffer for long. Thunder protests this, but Clear Sky asks who will give them milk now that their mother is dead. Petal offers to care for the orphaned kits. Clear Sky is surprised by this, especially since Misty was the cat who rejected Petal and her brother when they were young. Petal replies that Misty is dead now and her kits have not done her any harm, and she knows what it is like to be a helpless kit with no cat to care for her. Thunder reconsiders his opinion of Petal as harsh and hard-bitten, as she has shown compassion to her enemy's kits. Thunder offers to hunt for Petal while she looks after the kits. Petal accepts this offer and asks him to help carry one of the kits back to camp. She reassures them not to be afraid and that they will soon have a warm nest and food in their stomachs. Clear Sky supports her decision and urges Thunder to do as she says.
:As Thunder carries a tiny ginger tom, he cannot stop thinking of Misty's dead body, blood pooling around her. He mournfully reflects that Misty did not have to die. Clear Sky is claiming territory that he does not need. If the mountain cats had never come, none of this would have ever happened. Thunder wonders if Clear Sky really would have killed the kits if Petal had not offered to raise them. With a sinking horror, Thunder realizes he cannot answer that question.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Important events==
===Deaths===
*Misty: killed by Clear Sky.
==Notes and references==
Category:Thunder Rising
Category:Dawn of the Clans arc
Category:Chapter subpages