Warrior Cat Clans 2 (WCC2 aka Classic) is a roleplay site inspired by the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Whether you are a fan of the books or new to the Warrior cats world, WCC2 offers a diverse environment with over a decade’s worth of lore for you - and your characters - to explore. Join us today and become a part of our ongoing story!
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11.06.2022 The site has been transformed into an archive. Thank you for all the memories here!
Here on Classic we understand that sometimes life can get difficult and we struggle. We may need to receive advice, vent, know that we are not alone in our difficult times, or even just have someone listen to what's going on in our lives. In light of these times, we have created the support threads below that are open to all of our members at any time.
Her name was Sagebristle now. He'd heard it repeated in murmurs throughout the camp, and that she'd been promoted to the guard. It had made him proud of her, but also very sad. He should have been graduating next to her, although definitely not in the guard. He'd been looking for her since the invasion. She was one of the only two NightClan cats that he wanted to see: her foster sister and Rosypaw. Yet, every time he had moved in her direction, it seemed like she was carried off on some other duty as fast as possible. Was she avoiding him? Rosethorn had said something similar, that Sagebristle had been just as evasive towards her. It made him sad to think about: did she just not want anything to do with him? Worse, did she think he blamed her for what was happening? Even if she took him by the throat, he wouldn't blame her. No, there were two cats and two cats alone to blame for this: their father and Aspenstar. He understood that she was just doing what she had to do.
His gaze slid across the camp, resting on her. She was turned away from him. Perfect, this could be the only time she didn't see him coming. She couldn't run away from him after he walked up to her, right? Nervously, he made his way over to her.
"Uh... hey, Sagebristle," he meowed quietly when he approached her. "I was wondering if maybe you'd chaparone me out of the camp? I'm not... really supposed to leave by myself without a NightClan guard, but it's a little stuffy in camp tonight..."
There wasn’t a curse word strong enough for the sense of dread that overcame the loyal guard member. Foxpaw was absolutely wrong, and she could’ve run- would’ve, too, if Stormstar hadn’t been nearby. It was part of her job to escort cats around, and she couldn’t appear flaky in front of him.
Sagebristle stiffened, then turned to Foxpaw after a long moment. “Yeah, fine. Whatever. Let’s go.” Without anything else she whirled around and moved towards the exit, praying that he wouldn’t try to talk to her. Her heart was already thudding in her throat at an uncomfortably fast pace.
His frown deepened at her words, although he followed her in silence for a moment until they were far enough a way from camp that the two of them would have some privacy. He didn't really know if privacy would make Sagebristle any more willing to talk to him, although he desperately hoped that it was. The duo had been raised alongside each other, and it hurt him to even consider the idea that maybe Sagebristle didn't want anything to do with him.
Once they entered the field, the tom opened his mouth. "I'm sorry, you know," he meowed awkwardly. "I... didn't know I was staying here. It wasn't until two weeks into being here that mom told me we weren't going back. I... would have said a better goodbye had I known."
“Bullcrap,” Sagebristle said, venom and resentment bound up tightly in the word. Now he was claiming he had no idea? That he was some passive agent in the whole thing? Her world had shifted, crumbled apart under her feet once more and he would’ve said a better goodbye?
Her heart was thump thump thumping in her mouth and she could barely breathe and this was exactly why she didn’t want to walk with him in the first place. She was going to cry, she absolutely was going to sob and she was terrified that he’d be witness to her pathetic little breakdown. So up the anger went, climbing until her voice was bubbling from her throat like lava and leaving a burning sensation along her vocal chords. “That is absolute bullcrap, Foxpaw. Screw you.”
There was a part of him that wanted to lash out in anger. Did she think that he wanted to suddenly be whisked away to a land that wasn't the one that he was raised in? Was she so selfish that she didn't recognize that she wasn't the only victim? Anger was a new emotion for Foxpaw. It boiled inside of him, but the tom knew that to act out in it was to let his father win. Phantomfox wanted to see him crumble, wanted him to 'turn into a man' and see the world the way it was. If Foxpaw submitted to the anger, he'd let his father win. He'd lose the parts of him that he held closest to his chest. No, he couldn't do that.
Instead, he let out a defeated noise, trying to collect himself. She's hurting, remember that, he thought to himself, a tiredness in his eyes. What was there even for him to say in response? He was at a loss for words, trying to find the kindness he knew was in him. "I know you don't understand. I don't understand. I don't understand anything that's happened in the moon and a half." Everything had changed so quickly. "But once she told me about dad, I couldn't leave her. You gotta unde-..."
“You left me behind!” Sagebristle said, whirling on Foxpaw and giving him a sight he’d never seen before- starry tears across her amber gaze. There was fury in them, yes, but there was infinitely more sorrow and grief. The flood works had started, and as pent up as Sagebristle was all the time, it would take a long time for them to subside. “Just like he did! I thought you two were different- I thought you cared.”
Nearly choking on her words, the loyal guard folded in on herself, crumpling under the pain in her words. There was truth in what Foxpaw was saying, she knew that, but she’d always had a hard time seeing past her own messy emotions. “Wasn’t I supposed to be your sister? I know- I know I wasn’t the best one sometimes, but I thought you might’ve asked me to come- or at least come back for me when you knew.”
Did she know if she would’ve left Nightclan? She didn’t- but she’d never been given the chance to consider it. “But no, that’s all I am apparently- a pretend sister, a pretend daughter. When the going gets rough, Mai- Sagebristle gets left behind.” With her energy spent, she fell into silence, staring down at her feet as the tears pooled on the ground and wishing Foxpaw would go away so she could be pitiful in peace.
Foxpaw looked like he had just been punched in the face. Perhaps this was in part because the other cat looked like she was about to fall apart, something he wasn't used to. When the tears broke through, he felt the pieces of his heart shatter again. Why did things have to be so complicated? What had he done to deserve the situation he was in now?
Knowing damned well it would probably get him actually punched in the face, the tom closed the distance between he and Sagebristle. He touched his nose to her shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. He didn't know what to say to her, honestly. Was there anything he could say that could even possibly make what was going on okay? No silly platitudes would heal the hurt that Sagebristle felt, the hurt that was more tangible than perhaps even the hurt of Rosethorn the night she told him the truth. He let her yell and cry until she was done, and then the tom opened his mouth.
"I..." he started, although the way his words immediately trailed off suggested that he really didn't know what to say. "I... I didn't mean to hurt you. I... I should have come back for you after Mom told me. I... I didn't even consider the fact that you wouldn't want to be left with Phantomfox. I just... I assumed you'd be happier with him. I assumed you'd be happier at home. I didn't realize that... this," he gestured to SummerClan, "was what I was leaving you to deal with on your own. I... shouldn't have done that. Just like Phantomfox took my choice, we took yours. I'm sorry, Sage." He knew this wouldn't be enough, but he didn't know what else to say, so instead, he let his gaze drift from her to the world around them.
Sagebristle was unaccustomed to touch, mostly because she avoided it vehemently, and when Foxpaw first touched her she flinched, glancing up at him with an almost fearful expression. It wasn't that she feared her foster brother's touch necessarily, but she feared what that touch represented. She feared the hope it planted in her chest that someone cared about her, because she knew how easily that hope could be squashed or burned or ripped apart.
But she was hurting right now, and Foxpaw wasn't leaving like she feared he would. There was a fresh wave of tears and a choked noise from her throat as she threw himself into his side, burying her face in his shoulder as she sobbed. The tears before had been silent, angry, resentful, but these sobs were the pent-up ones of a child, the tears she hadn't shed in the wake of her first abandonment. They were wild and shattered from grief, leaning into Foxpaw in the way she had refused to be comforted as a kit. It took a long time for her to quiet down again, sniffling into his neck fur, before she pulled back, embarrassment etched into her features.
"S-sorry..." she muttered, glancing down at the ground. "I know it's not your fault, not really. It's not really Rosethorn's either. I just... Sorry. I didn't want to add to the pain you've been going through. And Starclan this is embarrassing, so please never mention this to anyone."
Lacking the eloquence to issue an elaborate apology, Sagebristle finally raised her gaze, speaking quietly but sincerely. "I am sorry. And... I'm glad you were the ones who took me in. You're a good brother, Foxpaw."
