Rogue's Legacy

Prologue
My name's Blazepaw... and I've got a secret.

My mother is a rouge, not a proud warrior. Not Creekshine.

My father is a loner. He gave me to the warriors and ran for his life.

I fear that some cats suspect I'm not a Clan cat. After all, I don't look like Creekshine. I'm not a stunning, sleek silver tabby with blue eyes. I'm flame-coloured, and my eyes are a deep, emerald green. Creekshine has a real daughter, Nightpaw. She's supposed to be my sister...

But I know deep in my heart that she isn't.

In truth, I'm Clanless.

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Chapter 1
"Blazepaw! Wake up, you lazy old scrap of fur!"

Blazepaw's eyes fluttered open to see Nightpaw prodding her with one black paw. The she-cat's amber eyes were alight with excitement.

"It's our final assessment today! We will be warriors soon!"

Blazepaw shot out of her nest, scratching herself on a bramble thorn. She bit back a hiss of pain as she and her sister padded into the main clearing. The other apprentices were already up and were sharing tongues at the large stump in one corner of the camp. Lightpaw's tongue rasped over Frogpaw's head. Aspenpaw licked her chest thoroughly, spitting out clumps of dark grey fur.

"Yuck, I'm shedding!" she exclaimed.

Aspenpaw's brother, Bearpaw, let out a mrrow of laughter and licked his own chest. "I don't shed," he teased, showing her his tongue.

"Sure you don't! There are no other apprentices in all the Clans that have your shaggy, dark brown fur!"

Bearpaw rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to Nightpaw.

"Hi Nightpaw," he mewed. "We saved you some prey."

Nightpaw gave Blazepaw a look of apology. Blazepaw shook her head dismissively.

"Have something to eat," she told the black apprentice. "I broke the warrior code; I don't blame Bearpaw for not leaving me some."

Two sunrises ago, Blazepaw had travelled to the Moonpool with her mentor, Quickstar. Blazepaw had woken up early, but went to ForestClan's territory to catch prey. Quickstar had seen her eat the prey, so she had forbidden Blazepaw from eating again until three sunrises passed.

"Feel my wrath, ShadeClan crowfood-eater!"

"Never!"

Blazepaw turned her head to see two kits tumbling in the dust beside her. One was pretending to be a ShadeClan warrior, and the other was pretending to be fighting it. They crashed into Nightpaw, knocking the mouse she was eating out of her mouth. Bearpaw leapt onto the stump, hissing and spitting, just as the kits rolled past him. Nightpaw twitched her whiskers in amusement and went to break up the troublesome playfight. The kits were rolling towards a hole in the camp's rock hollow shelter where long grasses spread out into the shorter grass of the moor. It was just big enough for a large apprentice, and the perfect size for two kits. Nightpaw pulled the two kits apart.

"Unfair!" mewled the smallest kit, a tortoiseshell she-cat. "I was just about to chase him out of camp!"

"I would have won!" protested the larger kit, trying to puff out his white chest to make him look bigger.

The two kits padded back to the nursery, arguing.

"Those are Sweetwind's kits, aren't they?" remarked Aspenpaw. "Stillkit- that's the white one, I think- and Flowerkit."

"Yes, they're almost apprentices," replied Frogpaw casually.

"Ugh. The apprentice den is full enough without those two running around like foxes in a fit. Stillkit? Hardly." Lightpaw looked at the young kits disapprovingly.

Suddenly, Bearpaw yowled a warning to Nightpaw. He leapt a fox-length to shove Nightpaw away from the hole, crashing down on top of her just as a snake slid out of the long grass. It struck at the dark brown tabby but he scrambled out of the way. He drew himself up to his full height and hissed at it. It slunk away into the long grass resentfully.

"Thank you, Bearpaw! You saved my life!"

Nightpaw's eyes were aglow with admiration and had a moony look in them. Blazepaw knew her sister was in love with Bearpaw, but did she have to act like a trapped rabbit around him? The Nightpaw she knew was brave and kind.

He'd better not hurt her, otherwise I'll claw his fur off, she thought.

Chapter 2
Blazepaw stalked the plump crow silently, pricking her ears so she could hear the sound of it crunching on a mouse. She waited until it was upwind of her, then scrunched her haunches, ready to pounce. Then she leapt onto the animal and killed it in one swift bite. ''Yes! This will make me a warrior for sure! ''She buried it were she killed it. The foul stench of the rotten prey it had eaten for moons would lead her back to it. After that, Blazepaw caught two mice and a squirrel. As she gazed proudly at her catch, she picked up a strange scent. It was coming from some bushes to her right. She quitely padded up to them and pounced on whatever was in them, screeching violently. She bowled a dark flame-coloured, almost red ginger tom out of the bushes. The tom rolled over and tried to rake her belly but she was too quick for him. He was still struggling to figure out what was happening when she brought her paw down hard on his stomach just under his ribs, winding him. He managed to struggle out of her grip but sauntered into a tree. She twitched her whiskers in amusement when he slid down to the ground, groaning. She expected him to turn tail and run. But instead, the loner turned to look at her, his eyes twinkling with amusement through the dull cloud of pain.'''

"You fight well, sister," he wheezed.

''Sister? ''she thought, puzzled. He must be joking- or maybe that's what loners call each other.

"You must have me confused with someone else," she mewed.

"I don't, Blaze." The tom heaved himself to his paws.

"Blazepaw. Anyway, who are you? I bet you're a ForestClan apprentice. You smell like wild garlic- you probably rolled in it to hide your scent. They're always teasing us and coming into our territory. And that's how you know my name."

The tom let out a mrrow of laughter. "You are quite the confident one, dear sister. You are right; I did roll in wild garlic to hide my scent. But I'm not a ForestClan apprentice. I'm a BoneClan rouge."

"BoneClan? You mean the rouge Clan that rules outside our borders?"

"The very same, Blazepaw." The tom said the last bit of Blazepaw's name sarcastically, as if it wasn't her name.

"What's your name then, so-called seer-of-all?" Blazepaw teased.

"It's Blood. But I was born as Eagle- as you were born Blaze."

"I was born Blazekit."

"No, I remember mother saying you were Blaze, I was Eagle, and our sister was Sun." Blazepaw was getting tired of this tom's arrogant tone.

"My only sister is Nightpaw."

"I think you'll find you're the daughter of a rouge."

Blazepaw stepped back, shocked.

"How could you say that?!" she mewed, outraged.

"Come on," he replied calmly. "You really think you're Creekshine's daughter?"

"Yes," she mewed loyally.

"Think again."

Blazepaw did think again. She had asked Creekshine a moon ago how she had known to name her Blazekit, and Creekshine had just replied hurriedly that she had to go hunting. She looked nothing like Creekshine, their father Darktail or Nightpaw. Creekshine was a silver tabby with blue eyes. Darktail was a black tom with amber eyes like Nightpaw. But Blazepaw was flame-coloured with green eyes. She looked at Eagle and saw that his pelt was a darker, ginger shade of her own, and he had the same deep emerald eyes. Piece by piece, a horrifying truth formed in Blazepaw's head.

"Look, Blazepaw. I'll meet you here tomorrow, and we'll talk more. Continue with your hunting assessment. I want you to become a warrior. Make mother and father proud."

With that, Eagle turned and left.

Blazepaw continued with her assessment. When she got back to camp, the whole Clan was amazed by her efforts.

"Wow, a crow!" mewed Flowerkit.

"I can't wait to be an apprentice!" One of the other kits, Rustlekit, was bouncing up and down, her mottled light brown pelt fluffing up.

"You've got four moons to go," mewed Drippingfur, one of the senior warriors. He bent down and nuzzled his kit.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!" Quickstar's dignified yowl echoed through the camp.

"Go join your mother in the nursery. Quailflight will have noticed you're missing. Don't get her upset. You know how fretful she gets." Drippingfur nosed Rustlekit towards the nursery.

"Congratulations on catching that crow, Blazepaw," he mewed.

Blazepaw dipped her head to her mentor shyly. He had been in a much better mood since his mate, Quailflight, had given birth to Rustlekit. Blazepaw turned her head back towards the Clan leader.

"Today the Clan welcomes two new apprentices. Stillkit and Flowerkit, please step forward."

The two kits did not step but leapt forward, their eyes shining. Sweetwind watched her kits proudly, purring encouragingly.

"Stillkit, from now on you will be known as Stillpaw. Wolftalon, you are ready for your second apprentice. I hope you will pass the skills Sprucefur taught you onto young Stillpaw." She turned her gaze towards a long-furred gray tom in the corner of the clearing, who padded up to touch noses with his new apprentice.

"Flowerkit, from now on you will be known as Flowerpaw. Shiningfeather, you are ready for your first apprentice."

A glossy white she-cat dipped her head to Quickstar before bounding forward to touch noses with Flowerpaw.

"Stillpaw! Flowerpaw!" The Clan caterwauled the new apprentices' names with joy.

"We also have two new warriors to make. Nightpaw and Blazepaw have impressed their mentors greatly, especially young Blazepaw with the fat crow she caught. Heronstep should be proud of her apprentice. I am certainly proud of mine" The lithe light brown she-cat looked down on Blazepaw with warmth in her eyes.

"Blazepaw and Nightpaw, please step forward."

Blazepaw stepped forward without thinking, but Nightpaw boldly leapt forward.

"Blazepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Blazeheart. StarClan honours your intelligence and bravery."

Blazeheart out her head on her mentor's shoulder, feeling the familiar warmth of Quickstar's fur.

"Nightpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Nightbreeze. StarClan honours your quick thinking and kindness."

Nightbreeze rested her head on Quickstar's shoulder eagerly.

"Blazeheart! Nightbreeze!" The Clan greeted their new warriors.

Blazeheart padded towards the center of the camp where she would sit vigil with her sister. Nightbreeze followed. The rest of the Clan was padding back to their dens as the sky was darkening. As she sat vigil, Blazeheart thought about Eagle's proposal.

Why am I sitting this vigil? she thought guiltily.

I'm not a true warrior.