Spark { Warrior Cats Fanfiction ; Complete }

{nineteen}

"Spruceclaw, do you have bees in your brain? You can't just leave, you have kits!" Asterfoot pleaded, watching the massive dark tabby root through the herb supplies.

"Which of these are traveling herbs?" He growled.

"But your kits!" Asterfoot repeated, huge gold eyes begging for attention.

"Queens take care of kits, not warriors!" He snapped, looking over his shoulder for the remark, before turning back. "Asterfoot! Which of these are--"

"Stop it, you're ruining those dock leaves!" Asterfoot stepped over with light paw steps, gently picking up a small bundle of herbs. Spruceclaw held his gaze before curling his lip and grabbing the bundle.

"Go cry about it. You killed her, it's all your fault. Besides, have you seen how scrawny they are? They'd make horrible warriors!" He swallowed the contents of the traveling herbs with a bitter face. Asterfoot's fur began to rise.

"Even thin, they'll be better warriors than you!" Asterfoot growled. He could practically hear their small whines that cried for their mother, though he knew they were nowhere near, but rather in the nursery next to Lilyfur.

"Yeah right. If you're thinking of doing some weird 'I'm your dad' stuff, don't. You'll ruin them." He leaped up the three large flat stones that made up the stairway to the medical bay. Spruceclaw peeked his head back in to look down at the blue tom. "Besides. They don't need me, they'll probably die without Cherryflower. Nice going by the way, killing the girl you loved." He snarled, padding out of the camp for the very last time.

"Now this... I did not expect." He whispered, circling her. "I figured you'd die under the guiding paws of Asterfoot." He laughed lightly, looking her up and down. "I do suppose you look a lot like your mother, if you ignore that bright fur." He flicked his tail, gesturing to her golden tabby fur. "What'd ya know? I'm a father again."

"You are not my father. You lost that right the minute you walked out and left me and Berryfoot." She straightened up, her eyes bearing into his fur.

"-foot? Now that's a bush-den warrior prefix if I've ever heard one! Or tell me, is he a medicine cat? I bet Asterfoot had him follow in his pawsteps or some--"

"No!" She snapped impatiently. He sounded... Happy. He wasn't allowed to be happy. He murdered cats for a living, he probably murdered Ryeheart... "He's the deputy, thanks to you. And now that I'm not under the threat of you whacking me any second, why did you kill all those cats? Sedgeheart? Ryeheart?" She tried to seem detached when she said the second name, but it didn't come out as well as she hoped. His name still rolled off her tongue with such familiarity.

"Ah, little Sedgeheart! I remember him, he was always so serious! And Ryeheart?" She looked at him intently. "Never heard of him. That's the problem with the clans being so disconnected, I didn't even know a cat that was around during my time. No, I ordered Kole out with a patrol to go and kill a single cat every once and a while. Of course he thought it was some grand mission from father--" he stopped himself, his green eyes lighting up as he paced in a circle. "Oh you'd better not tell him that you're my actual kit! He'd have your tail!"

"I don't care! Before I have your tail, I'll need you to stop the attack on the clans. That's my home!" She added the last sentence, hoping to guilt trip him.

"Do you honestly think I care?" He looked up at her. She tried to make sense if he was telling a joke or if he was for real. "They let Asterfoot go on being a medicine cat without punishment. That's where Cherryflower died. There's no real order-- it's all wrong! Warriors are separated, and you don't even know your own clanmates." He spat the last words out.

"So what is this attack going to solve? That you're some big threat?" She waved her tail.

"Yes. And no. We don't have time to mess around, that's why we've been killing cats. Kind of; it's more of a training exercise for when we really go at your borders. We'll chip away at all four clans territory until we, the rouges, are the fair and just clan I've always wanted," He swished his tail. Sparkfur's mouth was cracked open, the only way she'd let herself show her shock.

"Call it off!" She said firmly, and he gave an amused chuckle.

"I can't just call it off. And why would I? I'd get what I've always dreamed of: a United clan! I'm still working out the leadership roles, but we probably wouldn't need any medicine cats...." He started rambling and she stood up briskly.

"You lack in thinking ahead!" She growled, and he curled his lip.

"How dare you disrespect me-- I could let you live and join our clan as my daughter and one of my deputies! At least, I'm planning on around five and letting them battle to the death--"

"No, you wool-brain! You simply can't have a 'united' clan that's this big!"

"Fine, we won't call ourselves a clan... How about a Gang?" She breathed out in frustration, unsheathing and sheathing her claws.

"Your name doesn't matter-- a big clan has no chance of being United. And it sucks, but that's just how it is!" His fur bristled and he stood up, his tail high and fluffed out.

"I don't have time for this.. This.. Rubbish! I've got plans to execute, and some scrawny warrior like you can't change a thing!" He swung a heavy paw at her, batting her feather-weight body to the ground. A chill ran up her spine as she picked her head up, catching her breath. He lumbered closer to her, his shadow casting over her.

She struggled to her paws, and he swat his paw at the side of her head, right below her ear. She shut her eyes tightly, a high pitched nothing in her ear for a moment. She gained her senses back and set her paws firmly on the rooftop. Spruceclaw's dark pelt blended in with the night, and as he leaped forward on top of her and she felt those claws tear into her shoulder fur, she knew what she had done.

She had failed her clan.

-

Guys.
One
Thousand
Reads.
THANKS SO MUCH.
So I included some art! Earlier Sparkfur mentioned that she was taught how to swim by a FogClan cat, so it's Sparkpaw trying to keep her paws dry next to her FogClan teacher, Reedpaw!