My World Ends With You

Sootpaw and Thornpaw.

A set of twins that were so similar, yet so different at the same time.

They were eachother's worst enemies and closest friends. They told each other about everything and exploited the other's weaknesses every single chance they got. Even as kits, they vowed to be the strongest cats in all the clans. Thornpaw aspired to one day take over as leader of Shadowclan. She was going to make her clan the strongest of all. Sootpaw didn't need or want leadership. He promised to take over as her deputy one day. After all, there was no one he could trust but himself to watch his sister's back.

Some time in the next moon or so these two would become warriors, and as the duo exited the apprentice's den you could see in their eyes that they were ready to take on the world. Together. They would burn it down and build a better clan from the ashes of what it once was. They would make Shadowclan the strongest clan in all the forest. They would inspire respect in Shadowclan's allies and strike fear into the hearts of it's enemies. No one would ever think to take them on. Their bond was the strongest in the forest, and nothing could tear that apart. They were ready for anything. For everything.

The two were bickering again, as was their nature. Sootpaw wanted to go on a hunting patrol and invite one of their friends from kithood, Wildpaw. Thornpaw wasn't interested in inviting the offensive little brat. He would just open his fat mouth and say something infuriating again. Sootpaw insisted however, and it wasn't long before the two approached the spirited tom.

Sootpaw looked rather excited, "Wildpaw! Hey, want to go on a hunting patrol with us? It can be like when we were kits! C'mon, it'll be a blast." He nudged the tom's shoulder encouragingly. His goal here was ultimately to try and patch the rift that had grown between his sister and friend. He knew his friend had some rather unsavory opinions of she-cats but he hoped that by rekindling their friendship, Wildpaw would grow out of his current line of thought towards them.

Thornpaw looked sullenly at the two of them before huffing and stalking off towards the camp entrance. She wouldn't be there to hear any of Wildpaw's snide remarks. She wanted nothing to do with the fox-heart. Sootpaw may be right. This hunting trip might be good for them. It might be nice to be on friendly terms with him once again. However, her pride forced her to whole-heartedly block the thought from her mind as soon as it reared it's ugly head. Forget that. Wildpaw was only useful as her personal punching bag and that was all.

Sootpaw laughed, shaking his head as he followed, "Heh, you don't have to tell me twice. That's one particular experience I'd prefer not to relive." And as they approached Thornpaw he bumped her shoulder "Though I gotta make sure I watch over this overgrown kit here. She might wander off while I'm not looking" The tom's lighthearted humor did wonders at disarming his prickly sister. She was strangely less physically volatile when he was poking fun at her.

Thornpaw nodded back to Wildpaw, then huffed in annoyance at her obnoxious brother, "Shut it ratface, I can take care of myself for crying out loud!"

They caught up to him quickly and set off towards a far end of the territory. Sootpaw turned to grin at Wildpaw, "So, who do you think will become a warrior first?" The tom asked, already knowing his sister's answer before he even voiced the question. The impulsive little she-cat was so predictable sometimes.

Thornpaw quickly confirmed his thoughts when she bluntly spat, "Me, obviously. You two are too dull and fragile to become warriors. Get on my level, kits."

Her brother snickered, pleased that he was right, "Puh-leeze, we all know I'd knock you out in less than a heartbeat if I wanted to, frog-breath."

Sootpaw simply couldn't contain his gales of laughter at Wildpaw's quick comeback and Thornpaw's outraged face.

Thornpaw huffed angrily and stalked off a few fox-lengths. "You must have bees in your brain if you think I'm going to let you achieve warriorhood before me. I'll show you kittypets how it's really done, just you wait and see!" she snapped, stalking ahead of them.

Sootpaw nudged Wildpaw's shoulder with his in a friendly gesture, "Awesome catch brother, and beautiful comeback I gotta say." He grinned, saying it in a low enough voice that the hot-tempered she-cat ahead of them wouldn't overhear.

Sootpaw nodded "Of course, gotta take care of her after all. No matter how strong and sassy she may be, I still gotta keep her safe." The tom mused before flicking his tail in the direction of his sister. "C'mon, brother."

---

Thornpaw had stormed off decently far ahead of them and was now stalking a mouse that had strayed a little too far from home. She took her time with it, (as hunting was far from her strong suit) but before long pounced and landed on the little furry critter. One quick snap of her jaws and her quarry's cry was silenced in it's throat. Purring, the she-cat lifted her head proudly with her catch dangling from bloodied fangs. "That'll show them, now I just gotta bring it back." She snickered, then practiced her line with a haughty, mocking tone "Hey Wildpaw, look what I found! It's your mother!"

However, her moment of pride was soon interrupted by a low, menacing growl of something much larger than her only a fox-length or two away. Quickly, the apprentice whirled around to face the direction of the sound with a defiant glare as flashbacks of the raccoon encounter from her kithood raced through her mind. She hoped it was the same one so that she could get her revenge this time around. Something struck her as odd though. This didn't quite sound like a raccoon.

Then she saw it. A huge, hulking black and white beast staring just as hatefully back at her. It's growl was low, terrifying, and it had claws larger than her whole paw. Panic flooded her as she quickly realized...

This wasn't a raccoon.

This was a badger.

She felt as helpless as a kit as she watched it stalk towards her. Her legs wouldn't move. In fact all she managed to do was drop the freshly caught mouse to the ground. What did she do? What should she---

Suddenly the badger leapt at her, and instinct drove her to finally move. However, she was just a heartbeat too late. The badger's razor sharp claws raked over her eye in what would have been a fatal attack had she not moved in time. Pain seared through the young she-cat and suddenly she was blinded. Blood quickly began gushing from her face and a bloodcurdling howl of agony tore from her throat. She had never felt like this before. She couldn't think, all her senses were overwhelmed.

Starclan, help me!

---

Sootpaw's ears pricked at his sister's scream, and instantly terror flooded him. He knew his sister. She didn't make sounds like that. He launched forward in double time, speeding ahead of Wildpaw and racing towards the sound like his life depended on it. What he saw when he got there turned his blood to ice. His sister was bleeding profusely from a horrible gash over her eye and a very angry looking badger stood only a fox-length away from her.

No.

No...

Nononononono

"Thornpaw!" He cried out, drawing the attention of the badger. He locked his gaze on the hulking beast, his blood quickly heating. Boiling. This... this thing had hurt his sister.

It was going to pay.

With a vehement cry of complete and utter fury Sootpaw launched forward at the badger, leaping atop the beast and sinking his fangs deep within it's scruff. Holding on tight, the crazed tom tore into the badger's thick hide, shredding anything he could reach with his claws. He and his sister always had particularly long claws. He thanked that now more than ever as he fought for her life. The beast wailed in pain and fury as it tried to shake the feral tabby off of it. Eventually, it's flailing managed to shake him loose, and Sootpaw went flying. He hit the ground and bounced up quickly, ignoring the pain to launch at the beast again. This time he went for it's belly, digging his claws in and tearing at whatever he could reach.

However, the tom soon realized he had miscalculated. A sharp pain tore through his belly, and he was once more sent flying. The badger had clawed him, badly. He looked down, and realized very quickly that he wasn't making it out of this alive. He attempted once more to stagger to his feet, collapsing instantly in his own blood. Summoning his remaining strength, he croaked out Wildpaw's name as loud as he could.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

All Thornpaw could hear was her own heartbeat. The thunderous throb pounded through her ears and drowned out everything else. All she could see was darkness. Nothing but darkness. Pain overwhelmed her. Not the sharp lance of pain from your average claw wound. Not the dull ache of impacting with the ground from too high. This was all consuming. She could barely think, let alone move. Vaguely, her foggy mind registered the warmth of blood streaming down her face.

What happened?

Almost instantly upon that thought crossing her mind, images of the badger barraged her.

Am I dead?

No... I wouldn't be in this much pain if I were in Starclan, would I?

It was then her ears seemed to clear, and sound started to come back to her slowly. It was distant and tinny sounding at first, like she had pressed her ear up to one of those funny looking cylindrical silver two-leg objects at the Carrionplace. As sound returned to the she-cat, she became less delirious. She heard growling. Labored breathing. Wildpaw screaming. Forcing her uninjured left eye open, she jerked her head up quickly. The world spun for a moment and she quickly had to force the rising bile down again. The badger stood a few feet away, swiping desperately at it's bloody, mud covered eyes. Someone had done a number on the thing from the deep, open tears in the beast's underbelly to it's shredded eyes. Even so, it didn't look like it was done. It seemed to have just been stunned for a moment. Wildpaw's agonized wails caught her attention then, and she swiveled her head to find...

No...!

"NOOOO!!"

Thornpaw's yowl of torment and vehement rage tore through the marshland like a frenzied Monster. Birds shot into the sky and any nearby prey fled in terror at the unnatural sound. Her brother lay bleeding on the ground, his breathing raspy and labored. He was dying.

The pain was gone now.

All she felt was a crazed fury that swallowed her entire being whole. Before she knew it, the she-cat was on top of the recovering badger, tearing at the open wounds her brother had created only moments before. The badger screeched in agony and began wildly shaking her off. Thornpaw let go of her own accord, diving under the beasts' belly and rolling onto her back to rake both her fore and hind claws over it's soft underbelly. The badger swiped at her desperately, only to find she wasn't there anymore. Using it's flesh as her leverage, she clawed her way up it's underside before digging both sets of front claws into it's throat and, with every ounce of force in her body, she tore her elongated claws down to it's chest. "DIE YOU MANGE-FACED MONSTER, DIE!!" She screamed, repeating the action again and again and again until the badger's throat was in bloody ribbons, unrecognizable at this point. It's eyes had already glazed over by the time the feral she-cat had collapsed in a mess of blood and tears.

Weakly, she crawled over to her brother and buried her face in the thick fur of his neck, ignoring the pain radiating from the right side of her face. "Don't go Sootpaw. Please, please don't leave me. I can't... I can't do this alone. No... Don't go. Sootpaw!" the she-cat wailed in anguish, sobs wracking her body.

---

His sight was beginning to fade. He knew he couldn't hold on much longer. His voice weak but somehow still carrying the lighthearted tone he always used to cheer his sister up, he rasped "Aww... don't cry over me pidgeon-brain. You'll see me again some day. I promise." He chuckled softly before falling into a fit of coughing, blood oozing from his jaws. He looked at it apprehensively. His time was running out. Turning his now dull, green gaze to his long time friend Wildpaw he mouthed his last words. His sister couldn't know. She could never know. It was then that the brave tom's eyes closed for the last time, his final breath leaving his body as a hollow sigh.

He was gone.

Yet still, his unspoken plea hung still in the air.

"Take care of her."


^{_{(How to break hearts 101 ;;-;;)}}

For a time, Thornpaw's broken sobs overtook her. Her world... no, her everything was shattered. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She just... hurt. Inside and out.

Why??

The she-cat lifted her head to shoot a one-eyed glare at Wildpaw after his tactless question. "Tell me something. Do. I. Look. Okay. To. You?" She bit out. her eye had finally stopped bleeding, but her fur was so matted it was impossible to see how bad the damage was. She had torn some of her claws out when she was fighting the badger, just as her brother had.

"You're beyond mouse-brained if you think I'm going to be okay... after losing him." she hissed, turning her gaze back to the dark pelt of her brother. Her voice had fallen to a whisper, just barely audible to Wildpaw. "He was the only one I had... the only one left. Mom and dad are both gone... and now him. Not him..." She turned her gaze to the sky, her voice rising in an agonized cry, "Starclan why?! Why not me? Why him? He was all I had left! Why?!"

How could they be so cruel?

Thornpaw leapt to her paws, gritting her teeth through another wave of dizziness and pain. She wasn't sure what it was that kept her going at this point. She felt like she was running on empty. She knew she needed Nettlesting and soon, but currently she didn't care. Maybe the blood loss was making her loopy? Whatever. Her gaze trained on the tabby ahead of her she let loose a torrent of words that not even she expected. "Oh no you don't. Walking away from this won't fix anything. Your pigeon-brained self was his friend too, and if you feel like this is your fault then do something about it! I will not bury my brother alone while you go off and feel sorry for yourself. If you want to blame yourself do it. I don't care. But learn from it instead of crying about it. Man up, or you'll never be a warrior."

The she-cat had beyond had enough of this. Her world was broken, her heart was shattered, so she did the one thing she knew how to do best.

She fought

Turning back to her brother's rapidly cooling body, her voice grew softer, carrying a weight that no apprentice should ever have to know. "Now get your pathetic mange-ridden hide over here and help me take him back home where he belongs. I will not leave him here for the rats." Thornpaw knew she wouldn't be able to carry his much larger frame all the way back to camp, and definitely not in her current condition. She could hardly walk on her own. She needed Wildpaw's help.