Finding Hope

Welcome and thank you for deciding to read my new story, Creating Hope. Before you begin reading let me inform you of what is in this story and what this story is actually about ^^

*Finding Hope is a sequal to my older story: The Hidden Storm Before you read this story you should probably read that one first! or you may not understand what exactly is going on.*

 For those of you who have already read The Hidden Storm, Finding Hope basically shows the audience what Lightpaw's ( or now Brokenpaw) life looked like after all the terrible events that happened in the previous Book.

In The Hidden Storm, Brokenpaw looks like a 'my life is terrible, Im depressed' sort of character and I personally dont like to roleplay as a depressed chacter all of the time but it would be realistic for me to roleplay as a character like that . When someone has something like what happened in The Hidden Storm, they are not going to shake it off and move on again ( a irl cat might, but not people and warrior cats have people-like phsychology XD ) they probably will be mentally scarred for a loong time (or at least i think so).

So this is my goal of this story, Im going to try to change Brokenpaw's additude to something a little more joyful yet tough which is exactly how I roleplay with her on aj and I am going to cover some things that are slowly begining to fading away in Shadowclan's history and I do not wish for those things to be forgotten.... wish me luck!

**The majority of this story is based off of roleplaying events on aj!** Unlike the Hidden Storm, most of the characters are not even going to be my oc. The only things that are not going to be based off of roleplay is my descriptive writings and Brokenpaw's thoughts and some of the things are more dramatic than they actually were. I also have to make an excuse for characters who were not online during these events. (I was actually pretty perky when all of these things happened)

**And finally** **before you read this story you might want to be aware of the content in this tale:**

**Warning Contains: Dark thoughts, violence, drama, and implications of everything that happened in the previous story**

This story is going to be pretty short so it is not going to take as nearly as long as the older story, Im going to try to post a new chapter at least once a week, unless my winter schedule gets in the way!

Enjoy!!

## ~Chapter One~

It was a frigid and windy day; the falling leaves fluttered down from the interlocking branches above like rain and swirled into the cool late-autumn breeze. In other places, these leaves would have been a parade of breath-taking colors but in ShadowClan’s territory, they were all an ugly shade of brown. The leaves soundlessly landed but they did not land on bright green grass; instead, they dropped onto the cool and moist bare-earth of the woodlands, only to be trampled by several paws that belonged to cats from ShadowClan. They trotted in a calm and formal way with their dark colored pelts shimmering in the sun. The ShadowClan members were traveling to the clanrock for an important meeting that was going to be held in a matter of a few moments.

Amongst the group of cats was a short-haired chestnut brown named Duskpaw. Her large midnight blue eyes twinkled as she worriedly gazed around the crowd. Everyone from ShadowClan except for the kittens who were too young to catch their own prey were supposed to attend this meeting and Duskpaw noticed that someone was missing. She turned her head towards her brother who was a black and white tom named Blackpaw. “Where is Broken?" She whispered. The tom wrinkled his nose and sighed. “Where do you think? She is in the apprentice den, hiding as usual.” He shot his sister a knowing look. The brown apprentice froze for a split second. “Did you not remind her about the meeting, Blackpaw?” The tom flattened his black ears tightly against his head “Well, I… she was sleeping and I was afraid she would get angry if I woke her…”

He glanced down at the ground so he did not have to look into his sister’s slightly aggravated eyes. “Blackpaw! Someone is going to notice she is not at the meeting and she is going to get in big trouble *again*.” She whispered harshly. “Well that’s her problem. She should have remembered this gathering herself. We are not her queen.” Blackpaw snorted. “What if she did remember the meeting and she had just lost track of time and is accidently oversleeping. That would not be her fault then, it will be your fault for not waking her up.” The she-cat’s blue eye’s narrowed into a strong glare at her brother.

Blackpaw did not have to look up to know that his sister was glaring daggers at him. He twitched his ear uncomfortably “Dusky, you know I would have woken any other cat up, but she is mean and I am tired of letting her hiss at me whenever she feels like it," Blackpaw admitted, his voice was softer than before. Though he often argued with Duskpaw, Blackpaw loved his sister and he did not like her being upset with him. Duskpaw sighed and nudged her brother gently, seeking his bright yellow eyes.

“Do you remember what mother used to say about being nice to those who are mean? She said that we must always be kind to everyone even if they are not so kind to us because those cats need it the most.” Both of the kit’s eyes clouded over with sadness from remembering their mother who was now looking down at them from StarClan. Blackpaw scowled deeply, he truly hated it when his sister tried to guilt-trip him into doing things by bringing up their long-lost mother but she was right. “Fine… I will go back to the apprentice den and tell her to come to the meeting. Are you happy now?” He finally hissed. “Very.” Duskpaw smiled and licked her brother’s shoulder gently. “Thank you.” With that settled the tom turned around and sprinted back towards the apprentice den in ShadowClan’s camp.

~♦♦♦~

A slender framed she-cat turned over onto her side in the bend of the apprentice den in attempt to find a more comfortable position. The young cat’s whole body was shaking slightly, her white fur with black spots glistened in the afternoon light that peaked out from small openings in the walls of the den. The ray of sun touched her closed eyelids and she stirred restlessly, a scowl fixed on her face. Rolling over again and curling her head into her paws, she tried to block out the brightness that was interfering with her disturbing dreams. The feelings of fear and sorrow were chasing themselves around her mind as she moved around restlessly.

Tangledclaw laughed malevolently, unsheathing her unnaturally long claws that flashed brightly in the moonlight. “Come here, Lightpaw!” Her tone was bittersweet but Brokenpaw knew better than that. “No!” She cried as she backed away slowly, which did no use at all. Molestep stood behind her, blocking the only way out of the cave. She was trapped. “Don’t refuse my teachings!” Tangledclaw snapped, her harsh glowing yellow eyes blazed angrily. Brokenpaw gulped and trembled uncontrollably. She was alone and helpless.….

This was a terrible slumber, though it was not unlike every other time she tried to sleep.

These dark thoughts had increased since Brokenpaw had joined ShadowClan. Whenever Brokenpaw closed her eyes, memories returned to her. Tangledclaw returned to her, searing her mind with taunts and lies. Every time she tried sleeping, she would always wake up with panic, trying to get away and escape from her aunt that was not even with her anymore.

She hated it. Old memories still damaged her. And the fact that they even bothered her at all was a point of distress to the cat.

She was not a kit anymore and to her mind, apprentices were not afraid of things like the dark even if it had once hidden horrors that still made her shudder at the mere memory. A voice from outside echoed into her ears but Brokenpaw did not recognize or respond to it. “Hey, Brokenpaw, wake up. The meeting is about to start,” Blackpaw meowed as he entered the den. He halted for a split second when he saw the apprentice. She was breathing heavily and her legs were kicking out slightly in her sleep. A small whimper escaped the she-cat’s mouth which spiked fear into the tom. “Brokenpaw?!” Blackpaw’s voice was insistent and he had lost his cheerful tone he had used a few moments before. The tom jogged towards the she-kit and looked down at her, unsure of really what to do. The drawn look on her face frightened him greatly.

Brokenpaw seemed terribly unstable so Blackpaw nudged her gently on the shoulder with his paw. It was the wrong thing to do, but it had been done with the best of intentions.

As Tangledclaw slowly walked towards the shaking apprentice her laugh only grew louder, frightening the apprentice even more. As soon as Tangledclaw touched Brokenpaw with a serrated paw, the she-cat could not help but struggle against her.

Brokenpaw went wild; her eyes instantly snapped opened and she unconsciously unsheathed her claws and swiped her paw as hard as she could at Blackpaw’s muzzle. The tom quickly reeled backwards to avoid her claws. “Broken!” He yelped in surprise.

Even after she had assaulted the tom, it still took her several moments to try to drag her mind to alertness and make sense of her surroundings. When she finally did that, she realized that Blackpaw was staring at her in horror; he had never expected her to try to strike him. Brokenpaw flattened her ears in humiliation and guilt. She had done it again. What in StarClan was wrong with her?! The apprentice had no idea what to do. She wanted to apologize to him but she was not exactly sure how to do that. After finally catching her breath, Brokenpaw stood up onto her paws and awkwardly headed towards the exit of the den. “Sorry,” the white she-cat mumbled as she brushed past a stiff Blackpaw. The tom-kit did not reply at all, he simply stood still and watched the apprentice slowly walk away. As soon as Brokenpaw was out of Blackpaw’s sight, her face fell in shame and she blinked her eyes quickly to hide tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes.

Being touched.

She could not stand any physical contact from anyone she did not know very well, which unfortunately included *everyone* in ShadowClan. The apprentice was so afraid of getting hurt again by another cat that she could no longer deal with being touched normally. Blackpaw was just trying to help her and she nearly sliced his nose open. The apprentice cringed at the realization. This was just one of her fears she had been given from the past: the darkness and tight spaces were another. Every time the she-cat was by herself in a dark and small room, memories of being trapped under that barn filled her mind.  Memories of wooden boards pressing against her fur, holding her down making her barely breathe. Those kinds of memories made Brokenpaw panic too. But that was not the only reason why she had that fear of darkness and tight spaces. Oh yes, she had claustrophobia even before that event. The center of the anxiety of the darkness came from the Hidden Cavern on LeafClan’s territory. While she was in LeafClan, Tangledclaw would take Brokenpaw to a cavern that was unknown to most LeafClanners to “train,” and when Tangledclaw trained with Brokenpaw the she-kit was usually left hurting pretty badly. Brokenpaw shivered involuntarily from those thoughts. She did improve slightly; the young she-cat had learned how to manage sleeping in the apprentice den but nothing else.

Brokenpaw glanced backwards at her shoulder. Three long scars marked her upper front leg. Darkheart, the medicine cat did an excellent job of healing the cuts on her shoulder but these scars she will probably mar her shoulder until she goes to StarClan. They will always be a reminder of her naïve mistakes, a reminder of why she cannot go to where she really wants to be: home. She missed Skystar, Rainysight, her friends, and everyone else in LeafClan, maybe even including Forestpaw. But she could never go back to LeafClan. They would never ever forgive her for nearly destroying them. Yes, that’s right. She almost destroyed all of LeafClan by allowing Tangledclaw to trick her. Brokenpaw’s foolishness made one of her best friends in LeafClan and her grandmother suffer greatly and maybe even die. If she could go back in time, the apprentice would have at least made sure Sunsetpaw and her grandmother were alive before leaving…. or she would have told herself not listen to Tangledclaw’s lies in the first place. The she-cat’s heart was twisted with guilt and she was very homesick but this situation she was in was indeed hopeless.  Even if she tried going back she would not make it. She would get lost and die in the wilderness and nobody would even know about it. Brokenpaw was trapped in this place and there was no way out. It was too late anyways. Brokenpaw had sworn upon StarClan to serve ShadowClan even if it cost the she-kit her life and she would never break such a sacred promise.

After she made the promise she regretted it immediately. Brokenpaw guessed that she was just so afraid of everyone when she first arrived that she was willing to do almost anything that they asked of her. Brokenpaw sighed. Before the incident with Tangledclaw she had been a very different cat. The apprentice was a perky cat who talked constantly had several friends; she was bold and was not afraid to stand up for herself or others. Time had taken a toll on her heart; her soft spirit was hardened like stone. Nowadays, she was just an awkward she-kit who was never noticed by anyone. The apprentice tried to lock her emotions away from the eyes of others but sometimes she accidentally exposed them and it usually came out as rage. She tended to snap at anyone who tried to have a simple conversation with her. Pretty much everyone in ShadowClan had given up on getting to know this new member and that was exactly what Brokenpaw wanted. In the young she-cat’s mind, the worst thing that could possibly ever happen to her in ShadowClan was if the cats figured out who the apprentice *really* was and how much damage she had given her previous clan. The she-cat shuddered to think of what they would do to her: make her clean out the dens until she was an elder? Maybe they would scratch her ears off? Or maybe Stonestar would exile her completely from ShadowClan and make her slowly die off in the wilderness alone. Brokenpaw swallowed hard. She deserved death for what she had done.... But she was terrified of getting punishments, terrified of being seen as what she was on the inside: a selfish, mouse-brained coward. This was why she should be careful and never let any members know a speck of information of her past life no matter how difficult it became.

The black spotted she-cat’s mind was so crowded with thoughts of her past that she nearly tripped over a root that was extending from the ground. The she-cat hissed at herself for being so vulnerable to everything around her and shook her head to depart her bitter thoughts, quickening her sluggish pace. She was already running late for the meeting again and she did not wish to get in any more trouble than she probably already was.

## Chapter One: Notes and Gallery

I am very excited to be starting on story writing again!! I missed it for some strange reason O.O anyways if you dont remember well from last time, this section is where I explain to you who some of the characters are and what they kinda look like. As stated in the introduction, most of these characters are not mine so I will write the person's user here too. I also will give you a small description of what the places featured in this story look like just for fun.

####

* Duskpaw
* Blackpaw
* Brokenpaw
* Tangledclaw( LeafClan member)
* Molestep
* Darkheart(art by me)
* Skystar(LeafClan cat)
* Sunsetpaw(LeafClan cat)
* Rainysight (LeafClan cat)
* Forestpaw(LeafClan)
1/10
**~New cats and places introduced in Chapter~**

**Duskpaw:** A chestnut brown she-cat with dark blue eyes

**Blackpaw:** A sturdy black tom with a white chest.

**Brokenpaw:**A lithe silver white she-cat with black leopard spots running down her back.

**Tangledclaw**: A skinny grey she-cat with bright yellow eyes.(LeafClan cat)

**Molestep:**A short and stubby tuxedo tom with yellow eyes.

**Darkheart:**A blue- eyed, ebony colored, tom with several scars running down his pelt.

**Skystar:**A slender white tom with grey leopard spots running down his very scarred pelt and dark blue eyes(Leaf clan cat and Broken's dad)

**Rainysight:** A gracefull short-haired she-cat with blue-grey fur and dark blue eyes. (LeafClan cat and Broken's Grandmother)

**Sunsetpaw:** An athletic grey and orange she-cat with unique lavender colored eyes (LeafClan cat)

**The Apprentice Den:** A large den on the corner of Shadowclan's camp, its walls are made of thick brambles.

**The Highstone:** A place where all of the Shadowclan members have meetings or gatherings.

## ~Chapter Two~

When the she-cat finally made it to the High-rock, everyone had already started the meeting but to Brokenpaw’s relief the ShadowClan members were too drawn into the meeting to pay attention to the very late she-kit. Brokenpaw quickly seated herself in an empty spot in the back row beside a black long-haired she-cat named Fearheart. The black she-cat glanced at the apprentice and gave her a quick smile before turning her attention towards Stonestar again. Fearheart was supposed to be Brokenpaw’s mentor but she hardly bothered to train her apprentice; in fact, Brokenpaw was not even sure if she has had a full lesson with Fearheart. But the young she-cat did not mind having an uninvolved mentor at all. She loved being ignored, it was much better than what she had to put up with in LeafClan. Other than being the young she-cat’s mentor, Brokenpaw did not know much about Fearheart, except for the things she heard other apprentices say about her such as the black she-cat’s overly enthusiastic personality that was apparently annoying to other ShadowClan members. She even once heard from an elder that Fearheart had a gigantic fear of climbing trees because she severely injured herself from falling out of one when she was a kitten which was kind of funny on Brokenpaw’s opinion. What kind of cat falls out of trees? But of course, the elders could have just been spreading pathetic rumors like they usually do.

Brokenpaw sighed and stared upwards at the High-rock where Stonestar stood. Beside him stood his two loyal deputies.

Two deputies? Yes, unlike LeafClan, Brokenpaw’s former clan, the leader had two deputies instead of one. At first it was rather strange to the young she-cat but now that she had thought about it a bit it made sense; Stonestar could probably get more things done with two deputies at his side and a lot faster too. This was definitely not the only difference between LeafClan and ShadowClan. For another instance, ShadowClan was huge! Brokenpaw used to think that her old clan was the biggest clan, but she was proved wrong when she joined ShadowClan. Everything was bigger in ShadowClan: the dens, the cats, and even the prey was bigger. LeafClan’s camp is very pathetic compared to ShadowClan’s camp. Instead of using hollow logs and fallen trees as dens, the base is completely made out of sharp bramble leaves. This made it harder for enemies to get inside of the camp. What shocked the young apprentice even more was that ShadowClan was not even the largest and most powerful clan. There were many more clans than ShadowClan and they were even bigger than this one such as ThunderClan or RiverClan.

One of the deputies was a ginger tom with brilliant green eyes. Firefoot was his name and it suited him well. His pelt was indeed the color of a blazing fire and his personality was bold and fierce. Firefoot had a very torn right ear and he was blind in one eye. He looked a bit frightening on Brokenpaw’s point of view and he was always in a grumpy mood; the she-kit usually tried to stay away from the orange tom if possible. The other deputy who unintentionally stood out more than Firefoot was named Willowtail and she was… eccentric. Brokenpaw had never seen a she-cat that looked like her. She had crimson red colored fur which was in itself very rare for felines especially forest cats, but the physical trait that this deputy had that really caught Brokenpaw’s eyes was the black spots that were splattered along her fur. The spots were almost exactly like Brokenpaw’s only they looked a little bigger and they resembled patches more than spots. Brokenpaw had never seen a cat besides herself and her own father who had leopard spots. Along with the red fur and the spots, the she-cat smelled of willow oak and she had bright green eyes. Willowtail’s strange looks were distinctive but personally, Brokenpaw thought they looked striking on her.

Even though Brokenpaw already missed the beginning of the meeting, the she-cat could already determine what the main theme of the meetings was: preparing for Leaf-bare.  Apparently, every winter ShadowClan struggles to survive due to lack of prey. They even had to eat frogs and lizards one year just to stay alive which the young apprentice thought was disgusting.

“Since Leaf-fall is now almost over we are going to have several hunting patrols everyday. I was thinking we could…”  Stonestar continued his long speech with his husky voice booming loudly. Brokenpaw was too consumed in her own thoughts to really give attention to the meeting and she did not feel like she needed to have interest anyways. None of what Stonestar was saying was directed towards her personally, so all Brokenpaw would have to do was follow whatever the other apprentices were doing later. When the meeting was finally close to finishing, Stonestar cleared his throat and stood up onto his massive paws which caught everyone’s eyes. “And finally, I have an announcement to make.” Brokenpaw lifted her ears and straightened her back but not because she thought the last announcement was going to be remotely interesting but because she was relieved that this meeting was finally almost over. She finally could get away from this large crowd of cats and be by herself again. “Fearheart and I are now mates!” He meowed in delight. For a second, all of the members in ShadowClan halted in shock, including Brokenpaw.

~♦♦♦~

The apprentice could hear Fearheart purring loudly beside Brokenpaw in joy, which angered the cats who were surrounding her. Brokenpaw gulped and looked down at her paws. From what the young she-cat heard, Stonestar had happily been mates with a different she-cat named Dusktail for several moons now. They had healthy kittens and they always appeared to be very joyful together in front of the clan cats.

But Broken also learned that there had been a few fractures that had almost shattered their relationship before. Stonestar once left Dusktail for another she-cat named Tundrapelt but they were only mates for a few days until Stonestar realized he had made a huge mistake.

Tundrapelt who happened to be a calm and forgiving she-cat, allowed Stonestar to leave her by herself so he could be with Dusktail again without being very angry. Brokenpaw thought that it was rather humble of Tundrapelt to make that hard decision to let him go that quickly. Dusktail forgave him quickly for leaving her and they had not had much trouble since then until now… Before Brokenpaw even joined ShadowClan, Dusktail left to go on a journey to help her parents who were loners. She had been gone for quite a while now but Dusktail promised Stonestar she would return someday. Brokenpaw supposed that Stonestar grew tired of waiting for her which was probably why he was mates with Fearheart now but that was not much of a good excuse in Brokenpaw’s opinion. If you truly loved someone you should be able to wait forever to be with them again. She silently wondered how Dusktail would react to this when she got back from her trip and saw her beloved Stonestar with another she-cat, probably like any other she-cat would, she would be heartbroken. The apprentice’s eyes fogged with sympathy for Stonestar’s former mate. She glanced up at Fearheart with a hate-filled glare, but the black cat did not even notice. She was too taken back with her own joy to pay attention to her apprentice.

Brokenpaw peered around the crowd of cats to see their response. Willowtail’s face was unreadable which was not unusual for her but Firefoot on the other paw looked like he was going to explode with rage and tackle Stonestar. The tom bristled his fur as his breathing became slightly louder. Brokenpaw honestly did not blame him. Dusktail was in fact Firefoot’s younger sister and he was always very protective over her. Firefoot controlled himself better than Brokenpaw thought he would but just barely. He must have decided to speak to Stonestar in private first before using violence. Everyone else seemed upset but not upset enough to do anything about the situation and Brokenpaw did not say anything because she did not know enough about Stonestar and Dusktail’s relationship to argue against this announcement. Stonestar easily ignored Firefoot’s fierce glower and lashed his tail to end ShadowClan’s gathering.

## Chapter Two Notes and Gallery

Omg this is so late!!! I have been so busy pretty much every day that I have not been able to work on my story T,T but don't worry people XD I am going to do a non-stop write-a-thon hopefully.....

* Fearheart
* Stonestar
* Firefoot
* Willowtail
* Dusktail
* Tundrapelt
1/6
### **~New cats and places introduced in Chapter~**

**Fearheart-**A slender black she-cat with green eyes**Stonestar**- A large, longhaired solid grey tom with dark green  eyes.**Firefoot-**A ginger tabby with a white undercoat. His pelt resembles that of a flame and his eyes are an emerald green.**Willowtail-** a massive yet lithe she-cat with black leopard spots running down her pelt.**Dusktail-** A white she-cat with grey markings on her fur. she has yellow eyes**Tundrapelt**- A clever white and grey she-cat with bright blue eyes.

## ~Chapter Three~

Brokenpaw started to stand up to leave but two apprentices caught her eyes. It was Blackpaw and Duskpaw. They were whispering quietly to each other. Blackpaw’s expression was very serious and Duskpaw’s was, too. Duskpaw gasped in surprise and glanced backwards at Brokenpaw from a distance. The brown she-cat’s eyes were filled with shock. Brokenpaw felt her stomach flutter nervously. Even though she could not hear what Blackpaw was saying, Brokenpaw could easily determine by their expressions that they were talking about how she scratched at Blackpaw earlier today. Brokenpaw’s eyes widened. If an older cat heard about what happened she would get in big trouble and that was definitely not what the unstable apprentice needed at the moment.

But that was not the only thing that bothered her. The young apprentice was actually fond of Duskpaw and Blackpaw; she wanted to be friends with the siblings. Unfortunately that was probably not going to happen because Brokenpaw felt like she was always messing things up when she was in their presence. She was never going to make any friends in ShadowClan and the apprentice would be lonely for the rest of her days. Brokenpaw immediately noticed her pessimist thoughts and pushed them aside.

The apprentice could indeed fix this issue, she could make things better. Brokenpaw was going to walk over to them and apologize properly to Blackpaw. Maybe if he could see that she was terribly sorry for the accident, perhaps then he would forgive her?

Brokenpaw slowly stood up and started to walk towards the other apprentices until a voice stopped her.

“Hey, Brokenpaw, come here.” She turned around the see the delicate facade of Fearheart staring down at her with a large grin pasted on her face. Brokenpaw froze and grit her teeth. She would just have to go and talk to Blackpaw later. The young cat obeyed reluctantly and slowly trotted to her ‘mentor’. “Hello Brokenpaw,” she meowed in her fake sweetheart voice that annoyed most cats. “I thought we could go hunting and train so we can get to know each other better.” Brokenpaw narrowed her eyes; she did not exactly like her mentor at the moment after hearing the news about her and Stonestar being mates. She really wanted to go to Blackpaw but of course she could not deny something like that. Training was never a choice, you do it whether you like it or not. It was rather unusual though, Fearheart never worked with Brokenpaw so why would she bother doing it now? Perhaps the black she-cat was so indulged with joy that she decided to make herself more useful by training the apprentice.

Brokenpaw nodded and followed Fearheart out of the camp made of brambles and headed towards the territory. They stopped when they reached a small circular shaped clearing in the woods. Fearheart stood still and gazed down at the apprentice with a very bright smile. “So, Brokenpaw, how much do you know about hunting?” Fearheart asked the apprentice in a bubbly tone. “Not much. Only the basics, I guess.” She shrugged showing no emotion. “Alright show me what you got, Broken, and we can work from there.” Fearheart leaped onto a log and sat down on it.

Brokenpaw sighed and perked her ears, listening for prey. She inhaled but could not smell anything, which did not come to much surprise to the she-kit. She had always been practically nose-blind. Sometimes she could smell a tiny hint of other animals but this time she couldn’t. Brokenpaw scowled slightly. She was just going to have to find prey using her other senses. After waiting for an unusually long amount of time, Brokenpaw heard a shrub that was a few fox-lengths away rustle. Cautiously Brokenpaw trotted up to the bush carefully. She spotted a fat rabbit hiding under the thick branches of the plant. The apprentice silently dropped into a crouch, focusing intensely on the hare.

Fearheart narrowed her green eyes as she watched the apprentice hunting quietly. Brokenpaw, the cat who Fearheart thought was a loner before she joined ShadowClan, was behaving like a clan cat. Brokenpaw had an almost flawless hunting crouch; her weight was on her haunches and her tail was straight. The apprentice knew how to move quickly yet silently to avoid scaring her prey and she was strategizing each of her movements carefully. She was using tactics that only clan cats used. Of course loners can catch critters as well but they use a completely different method of hunting that was less precise and simpler.

If Broken was hunting like a clan cat that must mean that a clan cat taught Brokenpaw how to hunt and if a clan cat taught Brokenpaw how to hunt, then that would mean that Brokenpaw was part of a clan before she joined ShadowClan! Fearheart halted vaguely at the realization, and then she tilted her head in confusion. None of this made sense. The apprentice did not even smell or talk like she was a different clan. But that could be part of the other clan’s plans. Maybe the clan did something to Brokenpaw to change the aroma of her pelt and fixed her speech so that she would not have their accent. Fearheart nervously flickered her tail and bristled her fur. The apprentice *she* was training could be a spy from another clan.

## Chapter Three Notes and Gallery

Dun dun dun ;) XD I am not being lazy now. I am just trying to figure out the direction I am going in O.O

**New cats and places introduced in chapter~**

**Shadowclan's Hunting Territory-** Shadowclan's territory is in the forest, the ground is almost completely bare, thick walls of tangled brambles are scattered around. The majority of the trees are pine and Shadowclan drinks from a creek that is nearby camp. They also have a lake that is not too far away.

## ~Chapter Four~

The idea sounded silly, but the more Fearheart thought about it the more it made sense. Brokenpaw was extremely quiet, too quiet for the warrior’s liking. She only spoke a when it was necessary but Fearheart did notice that Brokenpaw listened well and seemed to be aware of everything. Brokenpaw also tended to act rather unfriendly toward her clanmates. Earlier today after the meeting, Fearheart overheard an apprentice saying that Brokenpaw tried to scratch him. Fearheart did not think anything of it at first but now it was different. And even though Brokenpaw had been in ShadowClan for almost a full moon, she felt as if she knew the youth very little.

All of these things made Fearheart’s mind flare with even more suspicion. This was an interesting situation and Fearheart was now determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

But the cat’s motivation was twisted. Fearheart did not want to find the true identity of Brokenpaw because she wanted to defend her clan. The black she-cat desired to do these things because she wanted more honor and to be praised by the other cats of ShadowClan. Fearheart could only imagine how her new mate, Stonestar, and the rest of ShadowClan would react if *she* found a spy. The idea made Fearheart smile wickedly.

Brokenpaw gracefully leaped forward and crashed into the bramble bush and landed heavily on the rabbit. Unfortunately Brokenpaw’s claws did not have a good grip on the rabbit. The hare easily slipped away from her grip, making its sharp back paws swing backwards near Brokenpaw. The apprentice instinctively stepped to the side to dodge them. The rodent untangled itself out of the bush and darted away from its predator. The slender she-kit stood frozen in the thicket for a couple of heartbeats, watching her prey escape from her. She flattened her ears, she had failed. Brokenpaw slothfully crawled out of the brambles as her blue tinted eyes glanced sheepishly at her mentor. “I’m sorry… the rabbit escaped from me.” Fearheart simply smiled despite the suspicious thoughts that were swimming around in her mind. “Its okay, Brokenpaw, you did well for the most part. I am going to have to teach you how to know exactly where to attack rabbits. But it is starting to get late; we should go back to camp now and rest,” Fearheart chirped while turning towards the path that leads back to camp and Brokenpaw followed behind.

~♦♦♦~

Fearheart decided that this would be an excellent time to question Brokenpaw a little to gather more information, but she would do it in such a way that would not arouse suspicion in the black spotted she-kit.

“So, Brokenpaw,” she meowed, smiling sweetly, “I would love to know how a young apprentice like you learned to hunt like that.” The apprentice shrugged and meowed quietly “You must learn what you have to to survive.” Fearheart chuckled softly at the apprentice’s odd words. “Oh, come on, Brokenpaw, a cat must have taught you at least a few things, those sorts of hunting tactics don’t just come naturally.” Fearheart slowed her walking pace so that it would match the apprentice’s. Interested green eyes locked onto the light-blue ones. Brokenpaw felt discomfort beginning to swirl inside her but she forced herself to ignore it. Of course Brokenpaw could not let the older she-cat learn about her former mentor, Falcontail, because then she would have to give some information about LeafClan to Fearheart and that was out of question. Brokenpaw had prepared for these types of questions in case anyone asked about her past life. She told everyone before that she had come from a family of loners so she needed to build upon that lie and make it more realistic. Even though Brokenpaw did not know much about rogues, she did know that in most cases the parent of the kit trained their young.

“My father taught me,” she replied slowly and turned away sadly. Memories of her father made Brokenpaw upset and it made her statement appear to be truthful. Fearheart’s eyes softened at the she-cat’s sudden change of attitude. “Oh…I am so sorry I didn’t mean-.” Fearheart began to apologize. “Its okay. You did not know,” Brokenpaw interrupted. There was a long awkward pause between them. Fearheart wanted to continue asking questions but she definitely did not want to hurt the apprentice’s feelings during the process. Maybe she was wrong; maybe she made a mistake and her beliefs about Brokenpaw being a spy was utterly false. Fearheart was just about to give up on questioning the apprentice until a sequence of thoughts filled her mind. She could very well be wrong but she could also be right and if her theory was correct…. ShadowClan’s secrets will be shared to enemies and that could make this clan fall apart. Yes, Fearheart might hurt Brokenpaw’s feelings but it was for a worthy cause that she was doing it. With that resolution in mind, Fearheart tried again.

“Which clan was your father from?” The she-cat asked gently, tilting her head. Brokenpaw halted at the question for a second. This was something she was definitely not expecting to be asked of her. How did Fearheart even know that her father was a clan cat? “Excuse me?” Brokenpaw slanted her head, trying to keep a cool, disinterested attitude. “Your father must have been a clan cat in order to teach you those things,” Fearheart meowed observantly, urging the apprentice to answer. She was beginning to grow tired of Brokenpaw’s uninterested, snarky personality.

Brokenpaw twitched her tail nervously. *Did clan cats hunt differently than loners?* Brokenpaw assumed they didn’t but she could very well be incorrect “You must be mistaken, he was a rogue his whole life.” “Are you sure?” Fearheart’s tone was gradually loosing its perky tone and was fading into a rough tone of voice. “Yes, I am sure. Why do you care so much?” Brokenpaw narrowed her blue eyes vaguely as if she too was getting annoyed. Fearheart turned away from the apprentice’s surprisingly harsh gaze. “I don’t. It is fine,” the black she-cat mewed through her teeth.

 Fearheart shook her head at herself, not ready to give up just yet. She would try one more time to get Brokenpaw to slip up and accidentally let loose the words that she thought Brokenpaw was hiding.

Brokenpaw winced slightly. She could easily see that Fearheart was lying; she really was interested in Brokenpaw’s back-story for some reason and the young cat had a feeling that Fearheart was not just asking these questions out of curiosity. Before the apprentice could suppose any further, Fearheart launched another question at the white she-cat.

“So why exactly are you named *Broken*paw? What were your mother’s thoughts when she decided to name you something like that?” She nudged the apprentice gently.

Brokenpaw flinched from the unexpected touch as if she had just been slapped and Fearheart instantly noticed. Now this was the question that Brokenpaw had a difficult time preparing for an answer; indeed she had known that the question would come up eventually but she did not expect it to come so soon. She was out of time so she needed to make up a lie quickly. “Because…” Brokenpaw slowly began. “When I was a newborn my mother thought I was too small to survive and that I was going to die young. So she named me Broken, after her own heart that she thought was going to break,” Brokenpaw lied.

Fearheart smiled slightly, noticing how uncomfortable her apprentice was looking. She was sure the time was about to come any second.“Did you know that ShadowClan once had a leader named Brokenstar?” Fearheart inclined her head, watching Brokenpaw’s every movement. Brokenpaw’s ears perked up in surprise. “I had absolutely no idea. I-”

Fearheart cut her off. “He was a very cruel tom. He killed his own father so that he could become leader and he forced young, innocent kits to become apprentices early. Many cats suffered from his wrath. I personally think he was absolutely wretched. I can’t believe that ShadowClan back then was mouse-brained enough to choose him to…” Fearheart rambled on and on. Brokenpaw’s eyes widened, her fur beginning to rise in fear. Maybe she should have picked a better name.

Fearheart observed the black spotted cat’s nervous façade and felt relief glow inside of her, so she ranted on and on about how terrible Brokenstar was…. Until her apprentice could no longer take it. “Why are you telling me these things?” Brokenpaw meowed rather loudly so Fearheart would end her talking. By now both of them had stopped walking to camp. Now they were standing still, staring at each other in the eyes. The black she-cat gave Brokenpaw a deceptive smile.

"Well I was just thinking of how... silly ShadowClan would look if we let in an unknown cat with the name ‘Broken’ into our clan. And the cat was actually a spy from an enemy clan and figured out all of our secrets and told them to our enemies. Hmmm?” Brokenpaw felt her calm and unemotional face drop. She was stunned by Fearheart’s sudden hostile words and her own temper began to flare. “I am not like this Brokenstar. I would never hurt anybody.” Fearheart felt like leaping for joy. This was it! “I guess scratching Blackpaw does not count as hurting anybody.” She gave Brokenpaw a bitter smile.  Brokenpaw was a little nervous earlier but now she was terrified. How did Fearheart know about that? Did Blackpaw tell everyone?

“T-That was an accident,” Brokenpaw had lost her calm and cool voice by now.

“Oh, come on, Brokenpaw, I am your mentor you should not hide things from me. We all know that is not true and this is just beginning. In time you are going to steal our prey, share all of ShadowClan’s precious secrets to our enemies and you will shatter this clan. You will make it *broken* again.” She hardened her gaze onto Brokenpaw. Instead of reacting in fear, like the black cat thought she would, Brokenpaw let her rage get the best of her.

“YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO QUESTION MY LOYALTY TO SHADOWCLAN!” The apprentice yowled furiously in the massive warrior’s face.

“Brokenpaw! Shame on you for rebuking a cat who is older than you! Apologize immediately or you will face the consequences!” Fearheart hissed, feeling the fur on her back rise in ire.

Brokenpaw ignored her mentor. “At least I am not the one who is stealing another she-cat’s
mate…” The apprentice’s remark was much quieter but her voice held pure venom. Fearheart stood still like a statue for a few moments, her face was twisted in anger but she could not get the words out of her mouth.

“H-how… dare you get into my personal life! Stonestar said it was over between them,” the warrior defended hastily.

Brokenpaw’s tail lashed out. There were flames and well-hidden pain snapping in her cold blue eyes. She stubbornly pushed the she-cat's statement aside and continued her rant. “I thought Dusktail was your friend, Fearheart! And if she was your friend then why did you and Stonestar treat her like dirt?!”

“Did you not hear me? Stonestar said it was over, Broken! I did not break Dusktail’s heart--that was Stonestar,” Fearheart replied hotly, towering over Brokenpaw but the apprentice barely noticed.

“It may have been Stonestar that ripped her heart into shreds but it was you who stood back and watched, watched him and gave him a little lick on the cheek afterwards. If he said he loved her and then left her for you, how could you be so much of a mouse-brain to believe him?! I think you are just another one of his toys he plays with for a while and then throws away for another.” As soon as Brokenpaw let those words fly out of her mouth she instantly knew that she had gone too far. Fearheart’s breath became more ragged as she tried to deal with the anger that was building inside her; she then gave Brokenpaw an eerie glare that spiked fear into her. Broken had seen that same look several times before. Tangledclaw used to always make that kind of face right before she would punish Brokenpaw. Fearheart let out a snarl, unsheathed her claws, and began to take a step towards the apprentice. Despite the wave of panic that was beginning to flare in her heart, Brokenpaw still kept her eyes narrowed into an icy glare. She was not going to let this happen to her again, if the she-cat could help it; Brokenpaw was going to make sure that nobody hurt her again. Within a heartbeat, Fearheart aimed a blow that would hit the she-kit in the face and swung her claws out. Brokenpaw who was somewhat already equipped for the attack, quickly ducked out of Fearheart’s way, making the black she-cat strike nothing but air. Brokenpaw considered trying to attack the warrior but decided that it was too risky; Fearheart was nearly twice Brokenpaw’s size and she had advanced training. Instead, the slender she-kit fled and bolted away from the black she-cat. Fearheart, who was not ready to give up quickly, sprinted after Brokenpaw.

The young she-kit was naturally a very fast she-cat but she was no match for Fearheart and soon the black she-cat was only a couple of fox lengths away from her. Brokenpaw urged herself to move faster and desperately glanced around her surroundings for somewhere to escape. Suddenly her eyes locked onto to a large pine-tree and an idea lit up inside the apprentice. Brokenpaw turned sharply towards the right and launched herself up the tree, silently hoping that the elder’s were not lying when they told her about the older she-cat’s phobia. Fearheart leaped up and snapped at Brokenpaw’s back legs but when her massive paws touched the bark of the tree, fear surged through her and the she-cat slid back down the trunk. Brokenpaw continued racing up the tree until she was high enough to be out of Fearheart’s reach. She then sat down on the thick branches, breathing heavily from running, and stared down at the black she-cat. It was true Fearheart was undeniably dead-afraid of trees. The warrior let out a helpless yowl and buried her claws into the base of the tree. “Brokenpaw, you better come down right now!” She looked up angrily, giving the apprentice a look of deep hatred. “No.” The apprentice’s voice was silent but firm.

“I AM GIVING YOU A DIRECT ORDER! Why are you refusing to listen to me?!” “Because you will hit me as soon as I climb down!” Brokenpaw replied coolly. Fearheart and Brokenpaw glared at each other for what felt like a long time before Fearheart finally gave up. “Fine, fox-dung,” Fearheart hissed, spinning around. “I will tell Stonestar the truth about what you just said about him! Everyone in ShadowClan will know that you are a spy and I will make sure *my* mate gives you the punishment of your life,” she threatened darkly. The she-cat then stormed away, kicking the leaves behind her.

~♦♦♦~

Brokenpaw sighed. Her eyes began to cloud up like an overcast storm. Now that the rush of adrenaline was gone the guilt began to flood her.

She was definitely not going to get out of this one for sure. Her worst nightmare had come true. Once Fearheart told everyone what had just happened, ShadowClan will turn against her and she will be punished. Brokenpaw felt tears of frustration begin to well up in her blue orbs. This was exactly what she was trying so hard to avoid! If she had just remained calm and controlled herself, none of this would have happened. Stonestar was very kind to give the apprentice somewhere to live and now she was calling him names?

She owed Stonestar her life. He deserved more respect than that! Brokenpaw crawled down the tree slowly and hesitated. If she returned to camp she would be punished and probably exiled or worse, but the white she-cat did not see any other option. The last time Brokenpaw ran away into the wilderness she nearly died of starvation. Brokenpaw heard that there was a two-leg village not so far away from here. She could just go over to them and act cute and hungry. Then a two-leg would make her a kittypet and she would never have to worry about anything ever again. The apprentice groaned at her own stupid ideas. Two-legs were horrifying creatures and a kittypet was a shameful, weak thing to become.  If her father could see what a mouse-brained she-cat she had grown into, he would be ashamed. Brokenpaw inhaled deeply and calmed herself. She might as well accept her fate and go back to camp to get this all over with. The she-kit sadly padded back to camp with her tail lowered in shame.

## Chapter Four Notes and Gallery

Gosh I hate myself now the silly thing about this is that I WAS writing I just forgot to post the story on here T.T so to make up for everything I am going to post some parts of the story every other Day I pretty much already finished the story except for like the last chapter anyways.

1/2
**~Cats and places Introduced in Chapter~**

**Brokenstar-** A dark brown tabby tom with orange eyes. He was Shadowclan's former leader many many seasons ago. (Deceased, the character belongs to Erin Hunter)

**Nightsong-** (this one is more just for fun XP) Brokenpaw's birth mother who died when she was just a kit (Mentioned by Fearheart and Brokenpaw once)

## ~Chapter Five~

When Brokenpaw crawled through the walls of ShadowClan’s camp, she was indeed surprised. The young she-cat was expecting everyone to be waiting for her to come into the den so they could all jump at her at once; instead, she saw Fearheart sitting outside of Stonestar’s small den with an impatient expression. Brokenpaw quickly tiptoed out of Fearheart’s sight near the nursery, hoping that the black she-cat did not spot her. Brokenpaw’s mind was swirling in confusion; this is not what she expected at all. Brokenpaw was so distracted by her thoughts that she accidentally rammed into a Shadowclan cat. Brokenpaw fell backwards onto the ground and glanced up dizzily. She saw a pair of bright green eyes looking down at her. “I’m so sorry! I did not see you, Broken!” Ravencloud, a black tuxedo she-cat apologized worriedly to Brokenpaw. Beside Ravencloud stood her friend, a tan she-cat with leaf-colored eyes named Sandflight. “It-its okay. I should have been more careful,” Brokenpaw stuttered, surprised by their gentle words. She expected everyone to be furious with her by now. Brokenpaw rolled over and stood back up onto her paws. “Where is Stonestar?” She tilted her head in confusion. “He is in there with Firefoot.” Ravencloud turned her nose towards the leader’s den with worry-filled eyes. “I think that they are having a disagreement of some sort because they have been talking for hours,” Ravencloud whispered so only Brokenpaw and Sandflight could hear. “It’s probably about him and Fearheart. We all saw how furious Firefoot was when Stonestar made that announcement,” Sandflight added, glancing at Fearheart, who was desperately waiting for their conversation to be over so she could speak to Stonestar. “I wonder what her problem is,” Ravencloud meowed with interest, not noticing Brokenpaw’s guilty expression. Before anybody could say another word, Stonestar trotted out of his den with Firefoot close behind. Stonestar’s eyes were nervously widened and he had a funny expression on his face as he turned towards Fearheart. His long grey pelt fluttering in the wind as he opened his mouth to speak but Fearheart started first. “Stonestar I have been waiting forever to speak with you! Its very important. it’s about Broke…”  She slowly trailed off. Stonestar’s miserable expression made her stop talking. “Fearheart, I made a mistake,” Stonestar whispered guiltily, pulling away from the black she-cat’s gaze. “Wait. What?” Fearheart could tell by the look in Stonestar’s eyes that this was not going to be good. “I don’t know what got into me… I love Dusktail. I love you too but not in the same way. You are more like a sister to me than a mate.” Stonestar’s gaze dropped but he could still feel Fearheart’s horrified expression staring up at him. “I was just so drained from waiting for Dusktail that I tried to replace her with someone else and now I see that I just can't. It was wrong of me to leave her. She deserves better than this and so do you.”

The trio of eavesdroppers hiding behind the nursery, Brokenpaw, Sandflight, and Ravencloud, all froze in shock, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Fearheart’s eyes were now flooding with tears as she pulled away from Stonestar, who tried to reach for her. “Please, try to understand Fearheart; I didn’t want to hurt you….” The massive grey tom meowed feeling his heart twist inside him. The she-cat shook her head, her tail lashed out. “Well, you did!” Fearheart began to stomp away while Stonestar depressingly watched. “I was going to save ShadowClan from being torn apart by telling you…. but I now realize that I do not give two mouse-tails about what happens to this clan!” She yowled as she backed away. All of ShadowClan was now staring at the she-cat. “ShadowClan will fall. I-it will crumble all because of YOU, STONESTAR!” Fearheart spat turning around, suddenly her eyes locked onto Brokenpaw’s. The young white she-kit’s blue eyes were filled with fear and hidden sympathy. The apprentice definitely did not like Fearheart, but she did not want her to suffer like this. Fearheart gave Brokenpaw a final glare before bounding away, out of ShadowClan’s camp into the deep woods.

And that was the last time Brokenpaw ever heard of Fearheart.

## Chapter Five Notes and Gallery

* Sandflight
* Ravencloud
1/2
## ~Chapter Six~

**A few days later…**

Dark. Everything was immensely dark. She shivered. This did not feel right. Something was wrong, very wrong.

*What was this place?* Wherever she was, it felt empty. But it wasn’t empty…. there were trees, their twisted shapes barely recognizable from the darkness surrounding her. She could feel another feline present, a horrible feline. Its sickening voice rattled with laughter. They were breaking something…no, someone. Who?

A soft voice that was eerily familiar filled her ears and made her freeze. “Please, help me, Lightpaw! Don’t leave me with them!” The plea made her choke. A strange sense of desperation began to flicker inside her. She tried to move, to help but she just couldn’t figure out where the heartbreaking pleas were coming from. It felt as if they were coming from all directions. A hidden figure was thrown forward and it crashed onto the ground in front of her. Everything stopped. It was dead silent as she finally acknowledged the injured she-cat.

*“Sunsetpaw!!!”* She screamed as the grey and orange she-cat’s lavender eyes stared up at nothing, but her voice only came out as a hoarse whisper. “No! What have you done to her!?” She cried out in panic. The creature that had hurt Sunsetpaw curled its mouth into a sinister smile and even though she could not see the cat, she could feel its presence.

"I believe you are mistaken. The real question should be: Brokenpaw, what have you done to her? After all, you could have saved her. But you failed.” A familiar pair of golden eyes locked onto the frightened blue ones. A cold shiver was sent down he
spine as the cat that she wanted to see least in the world walked toward her. Tangledclaw seemed to be pleased with her reaction. “No, it’s not true! Y-you can’t be here! You are still in LeafClan!” was all the she-kit could say as a response. Tangledclaw leaned in closer to the younger she-cat. “Did you really think that you could run from me?" She whispered. The cat flinched, reeled backwards away from the grey she-cat, and turned away. Tangledclaw did not move; instead, she watched with silent amusement, her yellow eyes seemed to glow hauntingly in the dark.

Sh tried to run, but hidden thickets and roots that extended slightly from the ground kept on tripping her. She barely managed to escape from Tangled’s sight. The she-cat was still not safe. The sickening voice, the laughter of her aunt was still taunting her. It was still following her, ringing loudly in her ears.

"No matter where you go, I will always be with you, inside you. I will haunt your dreams at night and make you shiver at the memories during the daytime. You can’t escape me, Broken. I told you my lessons were hard to learn.”  The she-cat skidded to a stop. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. “You’re wrong, Tangled! I am in a better place now. My new clan won’t let you near me!” She cried out, her voice unnaturally echoing through the forest. That only made Tangledclaw laugh insanely even harder. “You are a liar, Brokenpaw, and the most pathetic thing about you is that you lie to yourself. What do you think ShadowClan will do with you once they find out who you really are?”

The she-cat's blue eyes widened as fear painfully spiraled through her. Tangledclaw appeared out of nowhere again with her abnormally long ears pointed upward. “I think we both know what will happen. ShadowClan has no room for weaklings. You brought this upon yourself, Brokenpaw. You have nobody to blame. Your whole clan suffered from your stupidity and soon ShadowClan will someday see that you deserve a worse punishment than what I have ever given you!”

The small she-cat's eyes dropped onto the floor. She should have known they were only lies, but the scars that were laid heavily on her soul made it harder to rationalize properly. The apprentice’s legs buckled and she soundlessly crashed down to the cold ground. She flinched at the feeling of the earth. It felt like the floor of a cave. She curled into a tight ball and pressed her ears against her head, but no matter what she did Tangled’s voice still boomed into her ears and it was growing louder and louder. She pressed her eyes that were becoming blurred closed and her paws shivered uncontrollably. She wanted everything to just stop…..

Brokenpaw stood bolt upright in her nest. Her paws were tucked tightly under her stomach and her chest was heaving. An expression of fear was still on her face. She blinked at the familiar but unexpected sight of the apprentice den. It was still dark outside but the sky had an orange tint to it, indicating that sunrise was near. The apprentices were still sleeping soundly. Brokenpaw must have been more still and quiet than usual or they had just grown used to her making random sounds or flinching in her dreams.

Normally when Brokenpaw woke up from a nightmare, she would wake up half the cats in the small den. The apprentice glanced down at her paws. They were shaking. The nightmare felt so real that Brokenpaw could have sworn that what she just dreamed happened but that was not right. She fearfully lifted her black striped ears upward to listen for Tangledclaw but all she could hear was the soft snores of a tom-kit. It was all just a dream as usual. Though she was still slightly confused, the apprentice still managed to stand up and maze her way through the apprentice den without bumping into any sleeping cats. She desperately needed some fresh air.

~♦♦♦~

When she exited the den a small breeze of wind slapped her face gently. The dark was a little chilly but Brokenpaw found it soothing. She was practically baking inside that burrow. The apprentice silently padded through camp until she reached a small pine tree that was pelting the wall of the dens. It was her peaceful hiding spot that the apprentice spent a lot of her time in. Brokenpaw swiftly leaped onto the tree and easily climbed up.

She sat down on a thick branch and let her long black-striped tail dangle freely. The she-cat tiredly gazed up at her surroundings. The signs that Leaf-fall was quickly fading towards Leaf-bare were everywhere. Brokenpaw stretched her shoulders gently and yawned. She was still tired but she did not dare go back to sleep. It was like this almost every night, she would sleep but not rest; it was impacting her health greatly. Brokenpaw found herself struggling to stay awake for a full day and her movements were sluggish and less agile than the others. But the black spotted she-cat forced herself to fit in as well as she could. Ever since Fearheart left ShadowClan, Brokenpaw had been trying her hardest to not act suspicious so that she would not have to endure what she did in the past. Based off of what happened with Fearheart, mentors in ShadowClan were just as worse as Secondary mentors. They were just sluggish and Brokenpaw learned that the hard way.

Brokenpaw improved her ability to withdraw from ShadowClan cats without them noticing since she now lived in fear of getting exiled from making a simple error. Brokenpaw mistakenly thought that being unnoticeable was the only way to stay out of trouble, but trying to do that was not helping her a bit. She was constantly stressed out and she was lonely. It was only getting worse. The voices in her head reminded her that this was what she deserved and the apprentice was beginning to believe it. Brokenpaw sighed, shaking her head at herself. She could not move forward from the past. She was trapped.

~♦♦♦~

“Momma!” A small voice cried out repeatedly as it dizzily pelted its way through the evergreen forest. It shivered from the cold and hopelessly looked for somewhere safe to rest. “Mom-” The kit stumbled over a small rock that was hidden in the grass and fell. It cried softly. He lay still for a second. He was not injured, but the kit was used to his caring mother running to him when he hurt himself. She would gently lick him and make everything better. This time she didn’t come. This time he was alone.

The kit stiffly rolled onto his paws again. The small feline tried to breathe around his soft sobs that escaped from him, but he could not catch his breath and his gulps for air turned into hiccups. His lemon tinted eyes gazed around as he stumbled uneasily on his tiny paws. He was lost in a part of the woods that he was unfamiliar with. His mother warned him not to go to far into the forest. Dangerous cats lived within these woods and they would gladly make a meal out of a small creature like himself. That was what he was told. He should have listened but his curiosity got the best of him and now it was too late. No one would ever find him. How could they possibly even know where to look? He crawled into a nearby thicket and curled up tightly as tears streamed down his face. The gentle sounds of the tree branches brushing against each other slowly swayed him to sleep.

## ~Chapter Seven~

The sun rose up in the sky for the first time that morning and shattered through the interlocking branches surrounding the camp. The sun filled with bold colors of red and splashed the clouds with a dainty pink tone. Today looked like it was going to be promising indeed.

Brokenpaw swayed her tail back and forth as she turned her gaze from the bright sky. Her eyes lazily observed the ShadowClan members slowly crawling out of their dens.The apprentices and warriors then circled around the fresh-kill, their fur was slightly messy from sleeping. When the young she-cat noticed the delicious looking prey, she realized that she was starving. The she-cat gracefully ascended from her tree, landed, and walked towards the pile of prey.

After spending a few moments of awkwardly trying to figure out how to get to the food without talking to the apprentices surrounding the pile, Brokenpaw finally had a small mouse in between her jaws. The apprentice could feel her stomach rumbling but she did not want too look like a pig. Brokenpaw seated herself a safe distance away from the cats. The hungry apprentice cautiously glanced back and forth to make sure nobody was watching her. She almost behaved as if she was a thief who had stolen prey. As soon as she was sure the coast was clear, Brokenpaw dug into the small prey with ravenous hunger. She listened in slightly on the other cat’s conversations but none of them were actually interesting.

~♦♦♦~

The apprentice stared down at the remains of her prey. She was still famished but she will just have to wait until sundown. Willowtail exited her den and inhaled the cool autumn air, with her green eyes gleaming brightly. She walked over to the cluster of cats near the prey pile and spoke in a calm yet firm voice that gathered everyone’s attention. “We need to set up patrols for this morning.”

Everyone in that area immediately stopped whatever they were doing, dipped their heads in respect to the second deputy, and obligingly encircled around the crimson colored she-cat. Willowtail paused for a heartbeat to smile in gratitude at her clan.

“We will be doing our patrols a little differently today. All of the apprentices in ShadowClan will either hunt or patrol along with their mentors who will teach them. I would like the apprentices to pair up with their mentors and stand in a line right now so I can decide who will hunt and who will patrol.”

The cats quietly met up with each other and did exactly as they were told... except for Brokenpaw, who of course did not have a mentor. When Fearheart left ShadowClan, Stonestar completely forgot that Fearheart was Brokenpaw’s mentor and it was not at all an issue…until now. The slender she-kit twitched her whiskers and sheepishly placed herself at the end of the almost perfectly straight line of warriors and apprentices. Her paws nervously swiveled around in the earth.

Brokenpaw did not want another mentor. She did not want to have to go through everything that had happened again.  Willowtail slowly walked through the line of cats, dividing each of them into small groups. Brokenpaw pressed her eyes closed with tense apprehension. She silently prayed that perhaps Willowtail would overlook her and not notice she was without a mentor. That was nearly impossible though but it was all Brokenpaw could do at this time. As expected, Willowtail paused when she saw the apprentice. Even though she knew she inwardly she was caught, Brokenpaw held perfectly still as if that would make her invisible.

The deputy stared down at the uncomfortable apprentice. Her feathery white-dipped tail swayed slowly back and forth. “Brokenpaw," She meowed in an authoritative tone. The apprentice’s head popped up and her blue eyes stared into the deputy's green ones. “Where is your mentor?” Willowtail asked. “I-I don’t have one, Willowtail,” Brokenpaw stuttered as she began to feel her stomach churning.

The older she-cat slanted her head in confusion. “Wait just a heartbeat,” she meowed and trotted to Stonestar’s den. Within moments the big grey tom was standing in front of the apprentice. “Brokenpaw says she has no mentor,” the deputy informed the leader. Stonestar scrunched his thick brows, also perplexed. “Is that so? Who was your mentor?” He gently asked the younger feline. If she was in a different situation, Brokenpaw would have smiled. It was strange that a leader would not know who mentored who; after all it was his clan. That was one of the differences between Stonestar and Skystar. Stonestar was more laid back and forgetful while her father was uptight and exceedingly organized.

“Fearheart, sir...” She mumbled quietly. Realization suddenly hit Stonestar and his mannerisms turned very awkward. “Oh.” He paused uncomfortably. The leader then studied his toes for a couple of heartbeats. “Well, then…. We will have to give you a new mentor,” he meowed, clearing his gruff voice. Brokenpaw felt her face drop. *No! Not again!* Her mind screamed.

"Greysong!" Stonestar called out loudly. A she-cat who looked only a couple of moons older than Brokenpaw ran up to them. “Yes, Stonestar?” Her relaxed, modulated voice somewhat surprised Broken for a heartbeat. The leader gestured towards Brokenpaw. “This is Brokenpaw.” The she-cat turned her gaze towards the apprentice and dipped her head in acknowledgment. “You are her new mentor,” Stonestar added. Both of the she-cats froze.

"What!?” Greysong stammered. “No offense, sir, but I only just became a warrior half a moon ago. I can’t possib-“ the short she-cat started. “You will be fine, Greysong. You had a great mentor who taught you everything you need to know. And we don’t have much of a choice. You are the only she-cat available right now,” Stonestar interrupted the she-cat. “But, Stone…” Greysong whined. “There is not another option, Greysong,” the grey tom meowed firmly, his voice now held an edge of warning. Greysong immediately realized she was crossing the line. “Yes, Stonestar. My apologies,” she mumbled, dipping her head submissively towards the large tom. “Good.” The leader smiled as he walked away. “You may finish arranging patrols, Willowtail.” The deputy nodded and quickly continued.

An unhappy Brokenpaw and Greysong said nothing as they stared up at each other, examining each cat for the first time. Greysong was a petite feline who appeared to be much younger than her actual age. She had a short, well kept light grey pelt that had darker marble patterns spiraling along it. Her eyes were a soft pale shade of green and she had a small insecure smile that was evidently masking nervousness. Although Brokenpaw tried to never make premature opinions about anyone, she thought Greysong looked cool and gentle. Of course that did not necessarily mean that the apprentice would trust her ‘new’ mentor; in fact, it was quite the opposite. Broken knew very well that the felines who look the most innocent could be the worst.

Greysong’s head tilted in curiosity as she inspected this kit who apparently was her apprentice now. Brokenpaw was slender and tall. She had a short yet smooth silver-white pelt with extraordinarily unique leopard spots splattered along her back. The attribute that caught most of Greysong’s attention was the icy and untrusting gaze that stared straight up at her. Brokenpaw’s blue eyes were young but when Greysong looked a bit deeper into them she could see a jewel of bitter wisdom hidden well inside them. Wisdom that could only be gained through a bad experience. Though the warrior could not explain it, something about this apprentice immensely interested Greysong and she was not sure if that was a good thing or not. The grey she-cat would just have to wait and see how training with her goes.  Greysong turned towards Willowtail who was still giving them tasks.

“Greysong, you and Brokenpaw will patrol the southern parts of the Forest of Plenty. Report to me if you see anything suspicious,” Willowtail ordered. “Of course, Willowtail,” Greysong replied, glancing once again at Brokenpaw.

After Willowtail finally finished splitting everyone up, the ShadowClan cats quickly moved out of the old camp made of brambles and went their own ways.

~♦♦♦~

The two she-cats quickly yet silently traveled through the marsh-like forest and occasionally stopped to listen for intruders. Though she looked perfectly calm, Brokenpaw was getting nervous. Her gut told her that even though Greysong looked nice, she should still be on guard. She was alone with Greysong and anything could happen. *This is only a patrol,* Brokenpaw argued with herself. *Yes, but last time you were only hunting with Fearheart, and remember how that went?* The voice in her head reminded her.

A gentle voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

“Just so you know, Brokenpaw,” Greysong meowed as she leaped over a log and landed gracefully on all fours. “I am new to this ‘mentoring’ stuff, so if I end up failing as your teacher and you can’t even hunt a mouse… Don’t blame me, blame Stonestar,” the she-cat said. The remark caught the white she-kit off guard. Then Greysong gave Brokenpaw a smirk and shook her head, showing the apprentice that she was not being serious.

*It was a joke.*

Brokenpaw did not remember being involved in a joke in a long time, not since she was in LeafClan that is. Most of the ShadowClan cats were far too serious or Brokenpaw distanced herself so far from everyone that nobody felt comfortable talking light-heartedly to her. Evidently Greysong was not most of ShadowClan. The lithe she-kit lifted her long black striped ears in amusement. “Don’t worry, Greysong, I will.” Her voice was lighter than normal. That made Greysong let out a small chuckle.

After that simple exchange, Brokenpaw’s mind lightened up a little.

Maybe this was not such a bad thing. Maybe Greysong was different than the rest. The two felines stopped moving when they reached their destination. Large pine trees swayed along with the wind. The sun peaked through the clouds and pierced through their branches. Broken’s paw pads squished into the cold sponge-like soil. “We are here. Now…” Greysong sat down on a large boulder. “Let me think of what to teach you.” The short grey she-cat glanced down at her paws as if she was in deep thought. Brokenpaw obligingly waited with patience. A few awkward heartbeats later, Greysong bounced her head up once more. “Oh, I got it!” The warrior chirped.

“The first thing every cat must do while patrolling is to learn how to use your senses properly.” Greysong winced as she silently tried to remember how Tundrapelt, her old mentor, gave her this information. “We must always be prepared for an intruder; they could be lurking on our territory at any part of the day. Let’s start with our most powerful tool, our noses. Just with a simple sniff into the air, we can tell what creature they are, if they are she-cat or tom, and where they have been,” Greysong lectured Brokenpaw. The apprentice already knew most of what Greysong was speaking of, this was something that most cats learned on their first day of training and Brokenpaw was almost nine moons old. But of course the she-cat would not tell Greysong because that would be considered rude. Instead the apprentice pretended to listen carefully. “Now, Brokenpaw, sniff the air and tell me what you smell,” Greysong ordered and watched the apprentice carefully with bright green eyes. Brokenpaw obeyed even though she knew very well that her nose did not work nearly as well as most cats. Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, the apprentice tried to pick up a scent of any sort. “I-I can smell you, Greysong.” She could hear her new mentor let out a small sigh. “And I can smell-” Suddenly her nose picked up a small scent, a kind of scent that gave Brokenpaw the urge to crinkle her nose in distaste. It was the scent of unknown cats (that had not had a proper bath in a while).

Brokenpaw’s eyes rapidly opened and she instinctively turned towards the aroma. The apprentice could not smell very well but her eyes and ears were keen. A blurry shape of felines, male and female, that were only a couple of tree lengths away entered Brokenpaw’s vision. Greysong, who was following Brokenpaw’s gaze, spotted the mysterious cats too.

“I wonder what they are doing,” Greysong said quietly to her new apprentice. “Let’s go see what these loners want.”

## Chapter Seven Notes and Gallery

Holy crap that took way too long! Geez ,., I only have like 2 chapters left til I am done with this story that is shorter than The Hidden Storm but took almost twice as long to write.

* Greysong
* The Forest of Plenty
1/2
**~Cats and places Introduced in Chapter~**

**Greysong:** A grey marbled tabby with striking green eyes.

**The Forest of Plenty:** The forest section of ShadowClan's territory. It has the most abundant amount of prey but it also is one of the more dangerous parts.

## ~Chapter Eight~

“Snake, come here right now! Snake? Snaaaake!” A skinny she-cat hollered as she stumbled through the forest with a big and fluffy tom following behind. When she did not hear a reply, her one working eye blazed angrily. “I am going to kill that kit when I find him,” she hissed through her teeth. “Maybe we shouldn’t yell like that, Flare,” the burly tom beside her whispered in a nervous voice. “We both have heard the stories of those clan cats that live in these woods and that they can be utterly vicious. I don’t think we want to run into them.” The hotheaded feline scoffed and looked straight into her mate’s eyes, making him flatten his ears slightly.

“Milo, how is *he* gonna find us if we don’t make ourselves heard? I know you must be scared and all but we can’t stop looking! The scent isn’t too far off and even if we did run into some forest folk, we are full grown cats and can take care of ourseeeee-”

The she-cat’s foot tripped over a root and it sent her falling face forward onto the ground. “Flare! Are you okay?!” The nebelung ran to her side and awkwardly attempted to help her up off the ground.“Get off me.” The she-cat let out a tired growl as she forced herself back onto her paws again. “Alright. If you say so,” Milo meowed, rocking backwards with deep concern in his eyes

Flare was often a feisty feline, but she never behaved this bitter. The tom knew that the tension was getting the best of her and once they found what they were looking for, everything was going to be okay. Ignoring her mate, Flare lifted her head and glanced around her surroundings carefully. "I hate this place. You can’t even walk a fox length without runnin' into something. It is a wonder how he could have run off that far. How those forest folk ever make it around out here?”

"Hey, you stop right there!” A demanding voice of a stranger made both of the loners pause. Greysong and Brokenpaw easily trotted through the thick woods that the other felines had so much trouble walking in. The loners quickly turned their gazes towards the young she-cats. Brokenpaw winced as she got a closer look at the two felines. The first one was a scrawny she-cat. She had a short white pelt with red-orange patches. She was dusted with layers of dirt, indicating she had not cleaned her pelt in ages. On her left cheek a large scratch from where a bramble snagged the side of her face, was bleeding freely but the horrifying-looking she-cat did not seem to notice the wound at all. She had something more important on her mind. The other feline was a large grey tom with a long and thick coat. Unlike the she-cat beside him, this tom was not in nearly as bad shape. He only had a few stickers stuck to his pelt and he was obviously weary but he looked healthy. His wide dark blue eyes cautiously glanced from Brokenpaw to Greysong. The tom’s expression told Brokenpaw that he was terrified. At first the orange-patched she-cat looked the same but within only a heartbeat her facial expression transformed into an annoyed look. Greysong hoped the couple would be very peaceful but something told her otherwise. “You are on ShadowClan’s territory. Would you mind telling us who you are and why you are on our land?” Greysong meowed calmly.

The she-cat looked at Greysong and Brokenpaw as if they were filthy creatures and it made Brokenpaw’s temper rise. “I don’t need to give you any names… and I DON’T have time for this... forest kitties," she hissed. Greysong was rather small and appeared to be very young, it often made cats mistakenly think she was younger. The she-cat was used to being called a kit but she still hated to be interpreted as an inexperienced youngster. “Flare, they could be dangerous. Let’s just go the other way…” Milo tried to whisper but his nervousness made his voice end up being loud enough for everyone to hear. He then nudged his mate, trying to get her paws going the opposite direction, but Flare shook her head. "We will be fine. We are too close to be changing our directions,” she hissed in his ear quietly.

To Brokenpaw and Greysong’s surprise, the she-cat said nothing more. She padded around the two felines with the tom close behind and continued walking deeper into their territory.

For a heartbeat Greysong stood in shock, not sure of what to say. Then, she cleared her voice once more but a certain apprentice spoke first. “How dare you address a warrior of ShadowClan as a lowly kit! You better watch yourself, *Flare,*” Brokenpaw snapped, using the name that she heard the grey tom call her. Her icy blue eyes narrowed dangerously at the intruder.

“Brokenpaw, let me do the talking!” Greysong said in an irritated tone. The lanky she-cat stopped. She turned around with a threatening glare painted on her face. Her paws began to shake but Brokenpaw was not sure if they shivered from rage or from stress. The she-cat was angry alright but Greysong could not help but notice the nervous glint peaking through the feline’s working eye. “I need to find Snake! Stop botherin' me!” She spat and lashed her tail out. “Flare!” Milo meowed, the tone he was using was begging her to stop talking. Greysong winced in confusion*.* Snake? What could she possibly mean by that? ShadowClan had no snakes on their territory at the moment because it was simply far too cold. That was common knowledge. Perhaps she was just mistaken? Or did she mean something else?  Brokenpaw, who was a little bit less insightful, growled and opened her mouth to speak. “Wait, Brokenpaw.” Greysong reminded the apprentice of who was in charge. Brokenpaw held back and listened to her mentor. “We have no snakes… or adders on our territory, and even if we did they would not be for you to hunt. The prey belongs to ShadowClan and nobody else. Please, let us escort you out of our territory.”

Flare groaned as if she was speaking to a mouse-brain. “I don’t want ya’ll touching me! And I am not leaving until I find Snake! Leave me alone, fox dung! Or I will claw your pretty grey fur off!” Flare unsheathed her claws and waved her paw to show them she was serious. Milo let out a deep sigh, knowing where this was going. Greysong was not at all moved by the threats. She knew very well that she and Brokenpaw could easily take down this injured she-cat and the cowardly tom but Brokenpaw, on the other hand, reacted differently. “Don’t you ever talk to my mentor like that. Take that back now or I will shred your ugly pelt to bits!” Brokenpaw had her claws flexed and bared her teeth. “Brokenpaw, calm yourself this instant!” Greysong demanded in a tone that Brokenpaw was not used to. The short grey feline knew very well that Brokenpaw was making this situation worse for both of them and it could cause an unnecessary battle. This time, the angry feline ignored her mentor and widened her paws into a fighting stance.

“Hey, leave my mate alone you, mouse-brained kit! We will leave you and your frail body alone if you just let us in.” The tom too had his fur bristled. Yes, he was afraid and was definitely not the best fighter but he was always willing to push aside his feelings to protect the feline he loved dearly…. even if she was the feline who started this messy situation in the first place.

Flare shook her head, almost smiling at the she-kit who was almost half her size. “You need to learn how to keep that mouth of yours shut. Stay out of this and let the *adults* talk, you pathetic weakling.”

"Aaargh!!" Within seconds the small black and white feline was racing forward at Flare with as much power as she could, with a front claw aiming at the older feline’s face. However, her blow did not meet her target. A large black flash of fur launched out from what seemed like nowhere and forcefully knocked into the she-kit, making her land hard on her side. Large paws pinned the young feline on her side to keep her from getting up. Brokenpaw froze in panic and dizzily gazed up at a black tom with dark blue eyes. It was Shadowmoon, and trotting towards the cats from behind was an orange tom with yellow eyes named Lavaclaw and their apprentices, Nightpaw and Whitepaw.

“We heard yelling so we decided to follow you and your scents,” Lavaclaw explained. “The other patrol members are coming too,” Nightpaw added. “Let me go! Let me go!” Cried Brokenpaw as she wildly kicked and struggled from underneath the gigantic paws that held her down onto the ground. Shadowmoon grimaced and strengthened his grip on the fearful apprentice.

Whitepaw silently peaked behind Shadowmoon’s shoulder, curious to see what was going on. “You are no larger than a kit. Brokenpaw, she *can* hurt you.” The large tom shook his head softly, trying to sooth the angry yet confused apprentice. “Well, SHE is nothing but a weak kittypet!” Brokenpaw yowled in both rage and embarrassment.

Flare timidly backed away from the felines and stood closer to her mate with flat ears. The fact that she was now out numbered made her courage slip away from her. If Snake was with these reckless felines he surely must have not lived.

“Listen here, forest folk! My pack is coming to help us any moment now. They are like an army and they will kill you!” Milo’s gruff voice was wavering but it still caught all of the Shadowclanners’ attention.

Greysong glanced back at her anxious apprentice and then back at the intruders. Of course the tom could very well be lying but this was a threat that should never be ignored. Brokenpaw was out of control at the moment and she was going to get herself and others hurt unless something was done quickly.

“Brokenpaw.” Greysong’s serious tone made the slender black and white she-cat stop wrestling enough to give attention to the warrior “I want you to go get Stonestar.” Brokenpaw grit her teeth in aggravation. “But I want to help fight!” The apprentice half-whined with a fringe of discomposure in her voice. The apprentice was beginning to grow anxious.

She wanted this tom to let go. Brokenpaw felt like she was about to get hurt and more importantly she felt like her new mentor and clan were going to be harmed unless she took charge. Of course this was not at all the case. Shadowmoon was only trying to keep Brokenpaw from doing something foolish, but the inexperienced apprentice was not being reasonable at the moment for old reasons.

Without thinking, Brokenpaw released her claws and swung them at Shadowmoon. The tom instinctively flung backwards, releasing the apprentice. “Brokenpaw, calm down!” He rasped as Brokenpaw leaped onto her paws. Her fur lifted off her back in fear at both Shadowmoon and the rogues. “Brokenpaw, stop being a mousebrain!” Her mentor snarled making the apprentice freeze. "Go find Stonestar and tell him about what is happening. This is an order! Don’t let me and ShadowClan down!” Greysong barked as her green eyes desperately fastened onto the apprentice, spooking her. Brokenpaw was still outraged and humiliated but this was not an option. The apprentice clenched her jaws and nodded. Saying nothing more the young she-cat turned away from the group of felines and scurried away. Greysong sighed as she watched her apprentice go. *What in StarClan am I going to do with her?*

## ~Chapter Nine~

Anger boiled like lava in Brokenpaw’s system. She slapped through tall grass as she made her way rapidly through the marsh forest. *Mousebrain? I was only trying to protect the clan!* The young apprentice deliberated. *They are the mousebrains to think that I was too weak to fight! They didn’t’ event attack!* Brokenpaw lashed her tail outward in rage. *I will show them that I can handle it. Once I get Stonestar I will show those kittypets which clan they were messing with. I will make them....* Brokenpaw froze suddenly. Something had alerted her. Slight sounds that were only audible to felines with keen hearing drifted into Brokenpaw’s senses. The feline turned her gaze towards the direction of the sounds. There was someone or something hiding between a tree and a small shrub. Whatever it was was watching Brokenpaw and was trying to hide its presence. Brokenpaw knew that rogues from Flare’s “pack” could be in this part of the territory and she did not want any of them watching her, especially if they intended on following her to camp. Fading back into the shadows of the tall grass, Broken made her way quietly around until she flanked the intruder. The she-cat moved so quietly and quickly that the being hiding did not know she was near until Brokenpaw leaped into its hiding place. Shoving the dark hidden figure forward, Brokenpaw knocked the feline into the light. ”Who are you and why are you watching… me.” Brokenpaw’s voice faltered as she took in the young kit who was staring up at her with wide fearful eyes. He attempted to stand up and make a run for it but his jumpy actions made him stumble onto the ground again. Thick fluffy orange and white fur spiked in fear. The kit’s large innocent eyes were red trimmed, indicating that he had been crying recently. The kitten could not been much more that three moons and regarded the fierce looking apprentice with horror. Brokenpaw quickly let her claws slide back into her paw and softened her gaze. The young kit began to cry again. “I’m sorry,” Broken meowed in a more approachable way. “I thought you were a spy or an evil cat.” “I’m not evil!” The kit croaked angrily through its tears, feeling ashamed for getting so worked up. “I can see that now.” She smiled. The small creature shivered as he tried to collect himself. “P-please d-d-don’t eat me, forest cat. I won’t run away again, I learned my lesson. I promise. I don’t taste good!”

Brokenpaw’s head cocked in confusion at the chubby kit. The request could have made the apprentice laugh, but the serious way that the strange cat looked up at her made it unnerving. She knew that wicked certain tom cats do eat younger kittens but none of them lived in ShadowClan. The kit was a bit too young to know that but it still surprised her. “There is no reason to fret. I am not going to eat you. I have never ever eaten a cat in my life and I don’t plan to ever.” “Really?” The tom narrowed his teary yellow eyes. “I promise you, I won’t.” Broken padded closer to the kit who was rubbing his eyes dry and sat beside him. “What are you doing here?” Brokenpaw meowed as gentle as her voice allowed. The tom kit then burst into tears once more. “I was exploring and… and I went too far and I got lost.  Momma and Dad told me not to come here but I did and now I will never ever see them again!” He wailed rubbing his face into Broken’s front leg. The she-cat tensed slightly but allowed the tom to stay there. "It's okay. Please don’t cry. I can help you find them.” The kit immediately popped his head up. “Really?” His adorable wet golden eyes widened in happiness. “Sure. It’s no big deal.” Brokenpaw shrugged her slender white shoulders. “Anyways, I am Brokenpaw. Do you have a name?” She meowed realizing she did not know what to call him by. “Of course I have a name, silly. I’m *Snake*.” Then Broken froze. Her blue eyes widened as if she was standing in front of a monster and it made the kit nervous. Suddenly everything made sense. The rogues weren’t trying to take the territory nor wanting to steal prey. They were looking for their lost kit! Everything was messed up and Snake was not going to have parents unless she fixed this now!

“Are you okay?” He asked, wanting to help his new friend. Brokenpaw shook her head to push aside her thoughts. “Come follow me. I know where your mother and father are!” The tom bounced up on his paws. “Really?!” She started jogging heading in the other direction. “Yes! But we have to move quickly!” With a quick nod, Snake followed as quickly as his stubby legs could go.

“Now listen, rogues, you better get off our territory NOW or we will shred you to bits,” Sandflight barked at the intruders who were cornered by Shadowclan cats. “Not until we get Snake!” replied the now slightly bigger group of cats. Milo was telling the truth when he said that his pack was coming… but evidently they were not like an army, only about the size of a family. However, the assemblage of rogues would have stood a chance against the patrol if Sandflight’s group had not come. “We don’t have any snakes for the last time!” Hollered the tan she-cat with her green eyes blazing. The warrior had little patience with these lunatics. “That is IT,” she hissed. “ShadowClan, when I give the command, attack!” Sandflight crouched down slightly and unsheathed her razor sharp claws. “Wait, Sandflight!” Greysong lashed her tail. “We still don’t know what they want, and you are the same rank as all of us. That means *you* are not in charge of us! I was supposed to patrol this section of the territory so I decide when we attack.” Greysong briefly interrupted the suspenseful moment. Sandflight let out a huff. “The warrior code says we are supposed to protect our territory, Greysong, which is exactly what I am going to do. And besides I am older than everyone here.” “But, that- ” the grey she-cat started. “SHADOWCLAN, ATTACK!” The other clan cats were more than happy to oblige. Felines from both groups charged towards each other. Things would have gotten very messy if a loud cry hadn’t interrupted them. “WAIT, WAIT!!!!”

## ~Chapter Ten~

Brokenpaw tumbled into the small space between the groups. Surprised by the she-cats sudden entrance, the creatures froze. The Bengal took a couple of seconds to catch her breath. Because their time was restricted, Broken had to run ahead of Snake (who was a slothful tom) to inform the others. “Brokenpaw! What is this?” Sandflight broke the silence with a fuming expression written on her facade. “You can't attack them.” The apprentice forced herself to talk. "She is a queen.” Broken gestured to Flare. The loner’s eyes immediately widened by the trainee’s words. “How do you know that?” Sandflight glared, suspicious of the troublesome she-kit. “Well, uh, you see…” Brokenpaw began, not knowing how to explain herself. “Mommy?” A tiny voice squeaked from behind. All eyes locked onto a small ball of fluff running to Flare. “Snake!” The loner cried out in a much softer tone than what she has been using. The two cats met and the rogue began to groom her kit’s tiny head.

“Where have you been Snake? Pa and I have been so worried.” She was so relieved to see her son, that she no longer gave any care to the others. Brokenpaw’s gaze brightened as she watched the family reunite. Then she turned towards Sandflight and the other patrol members who were still hesitant. “The warrior code says that we cannot harm kits. If we attack the queen, we will be harming the kit.” “But we can’t just let them stay and hunt on our territory,” Lavaclaw testified. “That won’t be a problem anymore.” Flare handed Snake to Milo and padded up to them with a peaceful face. “Now that we have found our son we will be leaving now, unless ya’ll say otherwise. Pardon me for acting like a nut. I was stressed and I wasn’t thinkin' right. I accept any consequences for my actions.” Her yellow eyes told them that she was speaking the truth.

Sandflight nodded finally, accepting the apology. “Thank you, you and your pack may leave.“ Flare glanced down at Brokenpaw with gentle orbs. “Thank you,” she whispered. The Bengal dipped her head in acknowledgement. The expression on Flare’s face warmed her heart. One by one, the cats padded off the perimeters and headed towards the Two-leg village, their home. Lavaclaw broke the long silence that was formed after the rogues left. “Well, I guess that wraps up the patrol…” He turned towards the path to camp and headed off, flicking his tail for Shadowmoon and their apprentices to follow. “Good work, Broken.” Sandflight smiled quickly at the Bengal before running after them.

The apprentice nodded tiredly and moved her paws forward. It looked like she had finally done something right for ShadowClan. “Wait, right there,” Greysong meowed, stopping her. The grey she-cat’s tone was cold. Brokenpaw’s tail dropped. Her mood changed in an instant. She then remembered her revolting actions that caused the majority of the chaos. The apprentice’s black striped ears flattened against her head in shame. Greysong pressed her eyes closed for a moment.

The warrior was angry. She was angry at Sandflight for taking control of a mission that was not hers to take, she was angry at herself for not being a good mentor, and she was angry at Brokenpaw for making foolish decisions and acting so recklessly. This entire patrol was a wreck and it almost resulted in injury or death for cats… and the fact that nobody noticed this but Greysong only made things worse. “What in StarClan made you act like the way you did?” She finally asked.

The smaller feline took in a deep breath. “I-I wanted to protect you and the clan. I wanted to show you I could defend myself like a real warrior...” Her voice turned into a whisper as she realized how foolish she must be sounding. “I fail to see how trying to claw a fellow clanmate, disobedience, and uncontrolled behavior can protect anyone, Brokenpaw.” Greysong was very relieved that her apprentice managed to find and return the kit in time beyond words... But her willful behavior was what had caused a major amount of trouble in the first place. “I know, Greysong. I understand that now. I’m very sorry.” The spotted feline dipped her head.

“I’m afraid understanding has come a bit too late,” Greysong scolded as she tried to remain calm. Brokenpaw kept her eyes glued to the floor. She knew she deserved whatever her mentor said or did to her now. Last time she was challenged by Fearheart, it was for unfair reasoning but now she held no plausible excuse. What she had done had been stupid and selfish.

“What do you think I should do, Broken?” The mentor was unsure how to proceed. She tried to think what her teacher would have done, but it was useless. Greysong had never done anything like this before to Tundrapelt. “Whatever you think is best, mentor,” the apprentice chanted quietly as she showed no feeling on the outside even though she was frightened. Greysong exhaled at Brokenpaw’s reply. She took the collected phrase and the apprentice’s cool attitude to be a sign of defiance. The last thing she needed this day was to be disrespected once more. “Keep acting like a reckless apprentice and you will be treated like one,” she growled.

Brokenpaw tried not to show how that threat hurt her. The she-cat had intended no challenge by her speech, but she felt as if she was running with her eyes closed. She didn’t understand Greysong. Tangledclaw had a type of unstable behavior that Brokenpaw had learned to understand. She knew what to say, what not to say, and when she should talk. Greysong was a completely different she-cat, so Brokenpaw felt like she was struggling and unintentionally making a bigger mess of this whole thing. The she-kit held her breath and straightened up every so slightly.

Greysong could see the tension in the icy blue eyes, but failed to fully comprehend the feelings behind it. She was silent for several long moments, trying to know what to say, how to tell Brokenpaw of the foolish danger she had placed herself in without raising her ire. She did not want to do that. Getting angry will not help Brokenpaw nor herself. The pause caused Brokenpaw to shift uncomfortably.

Greysong flattened her ears and let out a tired sigh. The white she-kit’s pelt was messy and light splashes of mud tinted her stomach from running through mud puddles. There was a light scratch on her neck.. Greysong supposed that it had been a long day and they could both use a rest to clear their minds and then they could get back on the topic afterwards. It would do no hurt at least. Greysong began to walk forward, gesturing her grey striped tail for Brokenpaw to follow. She still had a fumed expression on her face. “I will make sure to settle this situation. Let’s go.”  The shocked apprentice stood frozen. Her heart pounded in her chest like a hammer. She had no way of knowing what was going on in Greysong’s head, besides the scowl that was on the she-cat’s features. “Brokenpaw,” Greysong ordered. She was not going to put up with anymore disobedience at this instant. “Now.” The apprentice struggled to shake the fear off her enough to get moving. “Yes, Greysong,” she whispered quietly as she fumbled after her mentor. The uncertainty of this situation made the she-cat want to panic but she took deep breaths and attempted to calm herself. *I can do this,* she told herself. She had behaved recklessly and she would do anything necessary to be forgiven. Anything would be better than being disowned by the clan, even getting thrashed. However, that willingness did not replace her fear.

Greysong frowned impatiently, her attention on the paths ahead. She was exhausted and didn’t favor the thought of travelling any further. Of course she did not really have a choice. She took a detour through the forest plains instead of taking the usual path through the swamps. It was slightly longer and a bit more rugged than the original but Greysong decided it was better than splashing through the icy swamps another time.

Brokenpaw shrank back slightly as Greysong moved off the path. The apprentice had never been in this section of the territory before and the unfamiliarity frightened her. The feline swallowed hard. She had really done it this time. Fear and adrenaline had left the apprentice exhausted

She tried not to tremble as Greysong led her farther and farther into the dark forest but dread inside her was growing quickly. Her mind wondered what exactly Greysong intended to do to her that she had to go somewhere other than the pathway to camp.  A new punch of terror shot right through her aching mind that caused Brokenpaw to press her eyes tightly shut against the humiliating, burning sting. StarClan, why had she pushed her new mentor to this point? Tangledclaw had told the young apprentice that she often shoved others until they had no choice but to hurt her. Obviously, she had been right.

As time dragged on, Brokenpaw felt worse and worse. She wanted to become accepted, and be honored, this was one of the worst things she could have done. She must have broken any chance she had ever had with ShadowClan.  When Greysong glanced back at the young cat who had grown hauntingly silent in the last couple of minutes, she was surprised. She realized that Brokenpaw was trembling. No.. she was crying. Crying ever so softly and trying to desperately choke it off so that she would not be heard. Her heart clenched. Yes, she was upset with Broken, and more irritated than she had been in a while, but Greysong knew that the she-cat was worn out and she now was afraid that the apprentice could have an injury that was hidden from sight.

She halted silently and brushed her tail on Brokenpaw’s shoulder and the kit flinched sharply, her body tensed under the touch. Greysong jerked back in surprise. Why in StarClan was she so afraid? She was in trouble, but had the mentor been that harsh with her moments ago? Brutal enough to make the apprentice petrified of her? The thought hurt the she-cat. She wanted respect certainly, but she never wanted her apprentice to be afraid of her, not like this.

“Brokenpaw?” Greysong’s questioning voice was now gentle again but Brokenpaw was far too upset to notice it. The feline started. She wanted to beg Greysong not to beat her, but Brokenpaw wouldn’t do that. If it was the only way to be accepted, then she must prove herself strong enough. She would accept the consequences of her faults and not give her mentor or herself any more shame.

“Brokenpaw, what are you doing? What’s wrong?” Brokenpaw blinked in surprise when she saw the large bramble bushes of ShadowClan’s camp only about ten tree-lengths away. Greysong was only taking her to camp. “Am I... not going to be given a punishment now?” She asked quietly. Having to wait would be much worse than getting it over with right away.

Greysong considered the apprentice for a moment. She stared down at her thoughtfully. Seeing the feline like this had softened her heart in spite of her best intentions. She determined they could even wait till tomorrow. Perhaps she was expecting too much of Brokenpaw. “No, Broken, not right now. You are exhausted. We can wait to deal with this issue later.” She could talk to Stonestar about a suitable punishment for the apprentice. Most likely it will be Brokenpaw cleaning out the dens for a moon.

The she-cat swallowed hard. She did not know what Greysong had in mind and didn’t want to have to wait. She was grateful for the mentor’s consideration but she would never get any rest fearing the future. Besides, she did not want her mentor thinking she was too weak to take on her punishment.

“Greysong,” he meowed, hesitant. “I am so sorry. I know you may not believe me, but I swear I am. I accept the penalties of my actions, but please, couldn’t you do it now? I am all right, really, and I would…. rather not wait.” Greysong paused at the odd request. A sudden suspicion entered her mind. What if she and Broken hadn’t been talking about the same thing? “Do what, Brokenpaw?” The warrior asked, noting how wide the spotted she-cat’s eyes had become. “What do you expect me to do?”

The young she-kit shifted, not sure where this was going exactly and fearful of giving the wrong reply. Hot tears shed down her cheeks. “To…beat me,” Broken whispered. “I-I know I have earned it, Greysong, I just...”

Greysong suddenly brushed up against Brokenpaw, curling her tail up tightly, cutting off the rest of the apprentice’s words. Greysong shook her head unable to speak at this moment as she lapped the apprentice’s forehead.  It hurt deeply that she would even think her enough to take her out in that fashion, but at the same point if that was the assumption that Brokenpaw had been working under, some of her actions made much more sense.

Greysong did not fully understand Brokenpaw but things had become clearer. It was obvious that the apprentice had been hurt by someone. The idea angered the warrior. “Brokenpaw, I have no intention of doing something so wicked. Not now and not ever. Do you understand me? I will never do what they did, I promise. Never.” For a moment the she-cat was stiff with surprise; it had been too long since she had let anyone get this close. Brokenpaw felt a sob shake her frame again. She was unbelievably relieved. Hearing the older she-cat speak so gently towards her when she had only expected pain, filled a gap in her heart. She could not even comprehend the sudden shift.

“But you were so angry...” “Yes, Brokenpaw, I was, and I still am to one degree because you could have gotten yourself or others hurt and that upsets me. Don’t doubt that there will be consequences for your behavior, but they will come because I care about you and I want you to become the best warrior you can be. And because I care so much, I would never hurt you like whoever did. Do you trust me when I say this, Brokenpaw?”  The apprentice nodded against Greysong's shoulder. “Yes, thank you,” she whispered. Greysong let out a small chuckle. “You don’t have to thank me for not being cruel, silly.” Brokenpaw relaxed finally. The weight of her dull spirits had lifted immensely. As weak as the apprentice looked right now, it was soothing to not bottle up all of her emotions like she usually did.“No, I mean thank you for caring."

## ~Chapter Eleven~

“Catch me if you can!” Brokenpaw taunted as she darted away from Duskpaw with Blackpaw at her side. The spotted she-cat leaped into the air and over a stump, allowing the crisp wind to flutter her thin pelt slightly. Brokenpaw had grown accustomed to the territory and knew which paths to take when playing running games with her friends. Blackpaw and Duskpaw were so adventurous and determined; it was such a joy to be with them. Brokenpaw was grateful that they accepted her into their little group. The siblings were not the only ones Broken had befriended. Over the past moon, Brokenpaw learned to socialize with a variety of ShadowClan members, including warriors such as Sandflight and Ravencloud or higher ranking cats like Willowtail, the deputy. Out of all the friends Brokenpaw had made, she had the tightest bond with Greysong, her mentor. Brokenpaw had never thought she would live to see herself making friends with a teacher, but she was proved wrong. Looking behind her shoulder, Brokenpaw stuck her tongue out at her chaser. Duskpaw galloped forward with determined eyes. Her friend and brother were fast, but she was not going to let them outrun her. Gradually, the athletic feline inched closer to them until she was close enough to make a move. Duskpaw was hoping to tackle Brokenpaw but her aim was off; instead, she knocked hard into the apprentice’s side, sending her tumbling into a steep downgrade. The poor she-cat was unable to stop herself from rolling; she could only close her eyes and hope for the best. The apprentice somehow missed the sharp rocks and thickets that surrounded the hill and landed on a soft grassy floor. Brokenpaw chuckled softly and stood up onto woozy paws. She blinked dizzily around for a moment to take in her surroundings. Brokenpaw suddenly froze. The sunlight was almost gone in this area due to the large rocks and trees overhead blocking it. She stood in front of an old cave like structure that was halfway collapsed. Even though Brokenpaw was not even inside the place, it gave her chills. A barely audible voice of a familiar she-cat whispered to the apprentice. *­­“You coward, weakling, traitor…”* Tangledclaw taunted quietly inside Brokenpaw’s head. "No matter where you go your past will always haunt you. Your fears will always remain and your foolish emotions will bring you to the ground. You are cold and broken.”

“No,” Brokenpaw answered bravely. “You are a liar, Tangled, and nothing more. I may be weak... and scared but I am no traitor. I am loyal to ShadowClan and still to LeafClan. I have betrayed nobody. I may have wrecked my past, I know I cannot go back, but I can still change my future. I let my previous life down, but I will try harder this time to keep this one. I once thought I was cold, but now I know I am far from it. I can still feel the *light* inside and I will remain this way until I go to StarClan. Leave me be Tangled! You will never have me!” Brokenpaw called out into the darkness.

Brokenpaw lifted her ears for some sort of response. There was a long pause. *“We shall see….”* The voice distanced away from the she-cat.  Brokenpaw stood still for a while before letting out a breath of content. There had been so much pain and hurt and rage. It was at this moment when the apprentice realized that it had finally ended (or so she hoped).

Perhaps she wasn’t as broken as she thought she was… “Brokenpaw, Brokenpaw!” Brokenpaw jerked her head up, spotting a brown she-cat and a black tuxedo tom. Their faces were filled with worry as they raced to meet her. “We kept on calling for you but you wouldn’t answer!” “Are you okay?!” Blackpaw asked. He saw a slightly drawn look on her face so he kept his distance just in case she decided to lash out again. Brokenpaw smiled. Her smile only lasted for only a heartbeat or two but it was still pleasant. It made the two felines relax. “You know what, Blackpaw? For the first time in a while… I am okay.”

~**The End**