Sunrise

Chapter 2

Sunshatter trekked through the woods, hungry, bedraggled. Two moons since he had been exiled from Riverclan. He supposed he should change his name now, since he was a rogue again, but it didn't seem right. It carried a bit of his past with him, and at least he had that. As he continued, in riverclan territory even though he'd been warned to keep out, he smelled a familiar scent. Mudpaw emerged for, behind a tree. "Ah, hello. Right on time!" Sunshatter greeted his friend, for the Tom had two mice dangling from his jaws. Mudpaw snorted light heartedly. "I should think so! Do you know how long it took to get away from Dumbbranch?" He ranted. Sunshatter laughed, then frowned. "Owlbranch? He's  your new mentor? Owlbranch?" Mudpaw stopped giggling. "Yeah. Boooooooring, amirite?" Sunshatter smiled despite himself. The apprentice brought humour to everything, and he liked that about Mudpaw. As they both settled down to eat, Sunshatter spoke first. 

"So what's happening in the clan? Any news?" He said as subtly as he could. Mudpaw glanced at him with amusement, and answered slyly, "I don't know, none that I can think of." He said, pretending to think. "OH!  There was the fact that Houndstar has declared war on windclan, did I forget to mention that?" Sunshatter was alarmed at first, then elbowed the young apprentice. "I'm serious! What's happening? I wanna know!" For a moment he sounded like an impatient kit. Mudpaw purred. "Relax, nithing's happening. Houndtsar got his nine lives, but nothing else. Oh! Cherryblossom and you have a son, did you know?" Sunshatter gaped at him. "W-what? A son? Us? She never mention that when we-" he broke off. Mudpaw laughed. "You think I didn't notice you sneaking off to meet with her? You're not the stealthiest cat." Sunshatter wrinkled his nose in feigned outrage. "Is that how you talk to your mentor?" He taunted. The brown apprentice shrugged. "Not anymore." He seemed sad, so Sunshatter beckoned him closer, aiming to cheer him up. "Look, I'll introduce you to a friend I found on the way." 

Mudpaw jumped as a shape emerged from the shadows. Broad shoulders heaved to clear ferns and brambles from the path of a large Tom cat, littered with scars, as he pushed his way to the light. Brown and gold fur gleamed in the harsh amber lighting of the sunrise, matching the rogue Tom's eyes as they glowed against dark matted fur. "Who's this?" He rasped, and Mudpaw looked confused, though not afraid. Good. Sunshatter did not greet the Tom, only dip his head slightly, to let him know who was in charge. "Lionmane, this is Mudpaw. My apprentice." He added coolly, and Mudpaw nodded hesitantly, eying The mottled bulk of the rogue tabby. "Mudpaw, this is Lionmane, an... ally of ours. He's an exile fork shadowclan, so I'd imagine we'd get on well." He said dryly. Lionmane huffed. "Weak fools. Couldn't see past their own noses." Sunshatter decided not to ask him what he was referring to. "Well, I suppose this one can't be worse than the last." The big Tom finished, glaring, or rather looking with great interest, at Mudpaw, who shifted uncomfortably. Sunshatter couldn't even begin to wonder what that meant. 

"Well, now that we're all here, let's get on with our plan." Sunshatter whisked his tail across the dusty ground as the four cats sat with each other. "It's a shame, really, that Mudpaw is not yet old enough to mentor Scorchkit." He looked disapprovingly at his son, who gazed back up at him with striking blue eyes he'd inherited from his mother, who sat behind him. Mudpaw shrugged. "Any mentor would be relatively ok, as long as it's not Stormwhisker." Sunshatter scowled. "Don't even mention it. The idea! No, one medicine cat in the family is hard enough. We don't need more." Sunshatter spat out the word like it was crowfood infested with maggots. "Darling, you should ask Houndstar  to give Scorchkit to Kindletail. I hear she's quite an ambitious warrior." He looked meaningfully at Mudpaw. "Alright, enough talk of mentors." Lionmane interrupted, earning a frown from Sunshatter. "I want to know the battle plans." Sunshatter struggled to hold in his frustration. "All planned out, so be patient." He snapped. Lionmane only snorted. The calico Tom rolled his eyes and continued. "Mudpaw, you get the chore of doing the honors this time," He began, while the apprentice tingled with excitement. "You've done it before, you'll know how to do it again."

The money was tense as Sunshatter let the words flow from his mouth. "At sunset tomorrow, as soon as he's open, bring me Houndstar, lead his to this very bridge." His voice echoed ominously around the dark wood. "After that, all I can say is, prepare to fight."