Nettlesting's Legacy

Prologue

     It was a bright day out as the two brothers headed out into the swamps. As the rest of ShadowClan slept, Morningstorm and Sunstripe went out to patrol the border, as requested by the deputy. The two were weary, and the bright sun hurt their eyes. It was silent in the marshes; the crickets and the frogs slept. Like I should be. Grumbled Morningstorm in his head. The golden tabby absolutely hated doing sun patrols, and his mate knew that. Unfortunately, being the mate of the deputy didn't excuse you from any of the unpleasant tasks of being a warrior. Morningstorm made a mental note to not talk to his mate tonight. That would show her. He glanced over to his brother, Sunstripe, whom was padding along as content as could be. It was unfair how different the two brothers were. Sunstripe was so much like their father, Sparrowstar, that the clan automatically respected him. But no. Morningstorm had to work his butt off to be treated as the fine warrior he was. His thoughts took him to the border with the Thunderpath, and only the roaring of the monster's soaring by shook him out of the bad mood he had woken up in, bringing him to a state of caution. This was one of the reasons ShadowClan stayed in camp during the day. The monsters went to sleep at night. They began to do their duty, marking the grass along the Thunderpath. It was much too loud to communicate, but Morningstorm was fine with that. His brother was acting strange, glancing over at him when he thought he wasn't looking. Sunstripe was so dramatic. He just couldn't deal with his brother. With a growl of frustration after catching his brother's gaze for the fifth time, Morningstorm stalked off. If Sunstripe wanted to act like that, he could patrol alone. Confront if you have a sin, not look as weak as a starved mouse.

     As Morningstorm stalked away, he could hear quiet footsteps behind him. Sunstripe was following him, for sure, but he refused to turn around. The tom flicked his tail in great annoyance and picked up his pace. I just want to get back to camp! His dumb brother could deal with his own issues. "Morningstorm, wait!" the tabby behind him called and in fury, the warrior swung around and found him face to face with Sunstripe. His eyes shown with anger, the sudden fury he was named after.

     "What?" he hissed, flicking his tail side to side rapidly. Sunstripe stared him down. A weaker gaze. A scared gaze. The taller tom blinked, and took a step back from his brother. Quietly, he began.

     "Six moons ago Honeyheart and I fell in love." Morningstorm was speechless. Honeyheart, their medicine cat? How dare his brother! But before Morningstorm spoke, Sunstripe kept going. "And yesterday morning she told me she's expecting kits." Sunstripe hung his head in shame. The other warrior hissed, but then a small smirk crossed his face slowly. His mighty brother. A code breaker. Oh, how the clan would respect him now. Morningstorm took a step back and raised his head above Sunstripe's.

     "Have you talked to Sparrowstar about this?" he said firmly, but emotionless. His brother must not know his plans to bring him down. The excitement was almost too strong to ignore and all he wanted to do was turn and sprint back to camp, yowling about his respected brother's wrong doings. But he would wait, and be patient. Sunstripe shook his head.

     "No, Morningstorm. You're the first to know." His words were pained and he sat down with the weight. Morningstorm turned and grinned widely. This was it. This was his shot.

     "I need to think about this. Alone." Morningstorm replied, his eyes dark. He spun around and headed back to camp. Of course he wouldn't be thinking about it alone. He would be thinking about it with Sparrowstar.

     As he made his way back to camp, it was just past sun high. The clan was fast asleep in their dark dens. Curled up happily. Blissfully unaware their precious Sunstripe's wrong doings. Trying to walk slowly, Morningstorm made his way to his father's den. He would be asleep, but this was important. This had to be addressed now. "Sparrowstar!" he called at his father's entrance, not waiting for a reply and nudging the tabby brown leader with a paw. Sunstripe and himself had gotten their gold pelts from their mother. Sparrowstar slowly lifted his head, blinking

     "Morningstorm, what is it? Do you need to talk about it right now." Morningstorm nodded vigorously.

     "Yes, father. It does." The warrior made himself comfortable in the corner. Sparrowstar sat up and blinked sleep from his eyes. Wearily, he faced his son.

     "Well, what is it?" he prompted, annoyed. Morningstorm did his best to look concerned.

      "Sunstripe and Honeyheart are having kids." A firm delivery. Blunt. Sparrowstar's face went blank.

     "What?" he whispered, looking down.

     "I said the same thing." His eyes bore into Sparrowstar. What would he say? What would he do? Morningstorm dug his claws into the floor of the den. Sparrowstar remained quiet for a long time. Finally, he looked up, and moved closer to Morningstorm. His face looked stern.

     "Morningstorm, you must never speak of this to anyone." Sparrowstar said low, firm. Leader-like. Morningstorm stared ahead. "This would ruin the clan. You must keep this a secret and protect Honeyheart and Sunstripe. I will discuss with Honeyheart a cover story. Do you understand?" No, Morningstorm did not understand. His brother had broken the code. He had to be punished. But he nodded anyway.

     "I understand." he said shortly, taking a stand and moving past his father, forcing his fur to lie flat. "I will act normally, Sparrowstar. For the clan." Sparrowstar nodded, and Morningstorm stalked off to the warrior's den. If Sparrowstar didn't want to punish the code-breakers. He would.

***

     Morningstorm kept his promise to his father and did not tell any cat about the kits. Not even Firesong. A few sun highs passed before Morningstorm couldn't take it anymore. They both deserved to be punished. He began to plan and watch. Honeyheart was getting ready for a trip to the Moonstone, tomorrow's morning. It was then he decided that he would talk to Honeyheart then. Talk, yeah. Just talk. Morningstorm grinned. He would go prepare.

***

     The next morning came quickly for Morningstorm, and it was hard to act normal as the clan went about their nightly life. He did his patrols dutifully, and hunted with ease. He even brought back a large catch for the clan! Wasn't he a good warrior?

     Time eventually came where the warrior watched his medicine cat slip outside the camp, around halfway to sun high from his hiding spot behind the camp's tree stump. He settled in to doze in the warm sun a bit. He could wait to move to his second location. He knew where Honeyheart was going and about how long she would be gone. However, eventually the suspense got to him and he couldn't take it anymore. His stomach was buzzing with the excitement. Quietly, Morningstorm stood and slipped out of the camp quietly.

     Morningstorm quickly made his way through the territory, making his way to the swamp's muddiest place. It reeked, and the mud was thick and slimy. Wrinkling his nose, the golden warrior dove into the stinking mud and rolled around until the reeking substance coated his fur. He growled as he stood, and shook off the excess mud so he could move more easily. He hated the smell of mud. But this had to be done. His personal scent couldn't be near Honeyheart's location. With a glance up at the sun, he knew he had to get to his spot. He breezed across the swamp to the border where Honeyheart would be crossing soon. Crouching behind a tree, he waited.

     As the sun started to lower in the sky, Honeyheart's familiar sweet scent crossed Morningstorm's nose. His heat began to race and he kneaded his paws into the ground. The blood roared in his ears and time slowed as Honeyheart crossed his eyesight. With a growl, he leapt.

     "Does StarClan know of our deeds?" Hissed Morningstorm, towering over Honeyheart's limp body beneath him. Her eyes stared up at him. Scared. Terrified. She shook beneath his paws, and he dug his claws into her flesh.

     "N-no... A-at least they haven't said anyt-thing." She almost whispered out. Morningstorm reveled in her fear.

     "Well, Sparrowstar does. But he wanted to protect you and Sunstripe. But I think you need to pay for breaking the code." He growled, teeth barred in aggression, fur sticking out with fury. She said nothing. "So say something in your defense!" He screeched, fully digging his claws into her. He could feel the blood rush over his paws. "Now!" But she remained silent. So in fear. Morningstorm's fury reached his peak.

     In a swift movement, Honeyheart's throat was tore open. Blood gushed into his mouth, and Morningstorm backed off, blood soaking his muzzle. His eyes shown with hatred. Those ragged kits would never be born, and both Honeyheart and Sunstripe will pay. He will be respected.