oneshot WHO WILL GREET YOU AT HOME \ a visitor

[THUNDERGLEAM]

In darkness, Thundergleam moved like running water. Rosy eyes gazed through the low light, swelling in silver moon-gleam to find her way, best she could. A protective ember had sparked within her, placed there and fostered by Stormywing; since she had scented that rogue, she had not been able to relax. Not truly. The perpetrator had not yet been found. Whoever had strayed close to their borders had seemed not to want to taunt them any further.

And yet, still… the uneasy look in Palefire’s eyes lingered in Thundergleam’s memory like a sunspot, a dark patch in her vision. Haunting and haunted. Her skin prickled beneath pale fur, uncertainty squirming up her throat and threatening to evolve into sickness.

But she could not falter, no… not now she was a true ThunderClan warrior. StarClan would protect her, she was sure of it, but she had vowed to risk her life to save the Clan if the need did arise. And if the same hiss-spitting rogue she had threatened not long ago was tempting the righteous, executioner’s hand of fate, she knew that ThunderClan was in danger. And she, she... as the Stars had deemed, as the Truth had dictated, she would be ThunderClan’s saviour!

And was this how? So soon into her warriorhood… it was a shame. But perhaps this was merely the beginning. She would orchestrate the beginning of her destiny by making an example of this rogue, and show that she was to remove all suffering from ThunderClan by purging the borders of these killer beasts who tore the Clan apart at the seams, carving deep wounds into wonderful warriors. Yes, yes, that had to be it! Euphoria buzzed within her at the thought- that she was so close to knowing for certain how she was meant to save ThunderClan. No one would suffer at the rapacious claws of these rogues again- they would die, all of them!

Their entrails would encircle the Clan’s borders- it would form a shield, a deterrent. She could see it in her mind’s eye, that image that ensured ThunderClan’s protection, as the scent of rogue flooded through her nose again- this time, fresh. She could nearly taste the blood on her tongue.

Thundergleam stalked forward with silent footsteps, masterful at stealth in the undergrowth, a true Thunderclanner. Between the gaps of the plants, she saw the terrible beast- a rogue, cinnamon-furred and… and golden eyed. Grey flecked his muzzle, tatters dotted his ears- one was folded, and those rheumy eyes were squinted with his tusk-toothed smile.

Thundergleam’s heart skipped a beat, a sickening leap- she stopped in her tracks, blood blooming cryogenic, frost crawling up her throat. Slack-jawed, unbecoming… she stared as those golden eyes found her, and lit with recognition.

He smiled, silent- welcoming. He was not star-dotted, not a ghost…

“Father?”

Hopeful, joyful… bewildered. All rogue-revenge was forgotten, for he was here... he had come to help. At last.
​

penned by pin ☾​

 

[TRUFFLEPELT]

It had been too long. She had been too long. Nothing promising had been sent his way, from the Stars or by word of mouth. Trufflepelt had been unable to resist following her, a few quarter-moons after she had departed… Stars forgive me, he had thought, But I do not believe she can do it alone.

The dream of the Thunderstorm had beckoned her to her true home, but he had not been ready to let her go. His tears had been from pride and sorrow both, that day… his daughter, given to him by the stars themselves, entering that place. A place that may not understand her- may have persecuted her just as himself. He had to know she had made it there, at least… and that the skeptics in ThunderClan’s walls, who resisted so heavily the pleasure of being saved, had not crushed her prophecies under boot.

The likes of Emberstar, of Raccoonstripe- they would clamp claws around her mouth, refuse to listen to her just as they had failed to heed him. Howling Wind bled into the earth, and now frolicked alongside the Stars! Could they not say she was better off, with her granddaughter at her side? With her fallen mate? Was ThunderClan not better off without her incurable sadness poisoning them all?

And he saw her, like new snow in the greenleaf undergrowth… even in this moonlight, he recognised her instantly. Eyes of pink, a glowing, holy thing. His life, his daughter, his prophet. She was a wonderful thing he had crafted from birth, taken from her mother who had failed to see her potential, who had- again- failed to heed him. Heathens, blasphemers, the lot of them- they stomped upon, bloodied the word of StarClan.

His Thundergleam- she was destined to be so. Even among ThunderClan, she was his creation- she was the reason he was cast from ThunderClan’s walls. ThunderClan’s true saviour had always been her, and it had simply been his mission to find her, and to teach her what she needed to interpret prophecy, to be a perfect Thunderclanner.

And here she was, these three moons later; alone, trusted enough to guard ThunderClan’s border. He beamed with pride as he met her eyes, her blurry figure haloed by his tears of joy. “My Starlight,” he purred, tail flicking. He took a step closer, but his Thundergleam shot forward.

“No, you- you cannot cross the border. What… what are you doing here?”

Ah, he had no intention to cross it… was it such a crime to embrace his creation? But he heeded her warning, knowing what ThunderClan’s more savage warriors were like.

“I came to find you…” His voice was raspier than it used to be, guttural, rattling and no longer the loud, rallying light that had once spilled from a tusked maw. “To ensure you are carrying out your destiny. Have you earned their trust?”

“Only just.” His Thundergleam looked at her paws. Trufflepelt looked at her blankly. How, how only just? She was accepted into their ranks moons ago now, surely… what had she been playing at? Dawdling- did she not know how important her destiny was? Did she not know how long he had been waiting?

“What?” His tone was tense, and his tail flicked more rapidly now, a lashing blur.

Her eyes, stark-pink against her pale face and easy to see past the blur of his old age, widened. “Well- they have only just named me a warrior. And Father, it was much harder to join than you insinuated. Howlingstar is not eager to accept outsiders.”

Trufflepelt’s heart plummeted to the ground- he swayed, feeling as if a ravine had opened beneath his feet. “Howlingstar?” he repeated, cold fury beginning to spread through his body. That… that heathen, had she failed to give in to the beckoning of the stars? Oh, she had succumbed to her suffering, instead of allowing herself to join those silver skies! He could not believe it, that ThunderClan had rejected the Truth so strongly that they allowed someone ignorant enough to fight against death’s numbing embrace to lead them now!

“Yes, Howlingstar.” His Thundergleam’s voice sounded more certain, as if she knew more than him- she dared to be confused, to act as if she was teaching him. And… in truth perhaps she was enlightening him, and it almost made Trufflepelt feel as if ThunderClan was not worth saving with her at the helm, no doubt flocked by all those who chose to live in misery when they could be freed from it by his Thundergleam’s claws. Almost.

“I see.” Gilded eyes narrowed, but soon Trufflepelt regained his composure, his snaggle-toothed smile growing warmer again. “It will be a while before you truly save them, then.”

His creation faltered a little on her feet- he could not read the look in her pale eyes. “Father, I… I do not want to disappoint the Stars.” It was not often he had seen her without her smile. “That is to say, I… I still have not received the Truth. I know to alleviate suffering, once I have learned that it is unfixable… but how, I could not say…”

He tutted. Must everything be illustrated? He supposed that was why StarClan had given him the strength to get this far; to tell her of how she must end it. “My Starlight,” he said, voice vaguely humoured- he shook his head softly, slowly. “You kill suffering fledgelings. You kill cats, quickly. You know how to do it…”

He gazed at her with the chiding glint of disappointment. “Emotional suffering is just as unfixable as a rotten core, or a bird’s broken wing. Rip their spirit out quickly, and send them to the Stars, so the Earth may be in perfect balance.”
​

( PENNED BY PIN )​

 

[THUNDERGLEAM]

Thundergleam felt her soul plummet- it burrowed into the ground and spat up dirt. To fix a life by severing it … to silence suffering that was unfixable. Pink eyes swam for a moment, watery with emotion.

Oh, but this was supposed to be a good thing … she was meant to find her destiny and know that it had been imprinted upon her very being, so wonderfully undeniable. A part of her, now and forever. Perhaps it was that Father had been forced to tell her that made it seem so unsatisfactory. Knowing felt like a terrible sickness- a curse, now … and why, why would StarClan curse her?

And she was a silly girl, wasn’t she? Foolish and… and so incredibly unbecoming. "Father…" her voice was a whimper, and she felt awfully pathetic. But, but- he knew all, and … and surely he would know how this was a good thing, would he not? “How … how do I know when pain is severe enough for these measures?”

His sigh was harsh, rumbling … like metal rattling in glass. It struck her how old and frail he seemed. Her throat was thick with worry, for him and… and for the thinning of his patience that she could feel in the air. Her cheek stung with a memory. No, no… he was so much wiser than she. Father had given her everything - had raised her, had taught her all she knew, had enabled her to find her place in ThunderClan. Her true place. She could not doubt him now, when her destiny was so-very-close.

“Your intuition.” His tone was growing shorter by the minute. “You have developed it your whole life.”

Thundergleam swallowed. Yes, then… she supposed she would know in her heart when suffering was deeply unfixable, extreme enough to have to destroy the body that housed it. “Yes. Yes, of course.” Unfixable. What grief could possibly be unfixable? What loss, what… internal scar?

The loss of family, perhaps … a child, certainly. She searched Father’s face for approval- his tusk-toothed mouth curved into a smile. “It will cause you sorrow, my Starlight. But you have been chosen for a reason. It is an honour to have to carry this suffering,” he purred, and the sweet symphony of his wisdom brought a smile to Thundergleam’s face, too. “You have trained to kill painlessly, to save cats from drowning themselves in their own tears. It is a selfless cleansing that will end in both the Stars and the Earth purged of all irreparable pain.”

Rosy eyes swam, still, with the sting of tears. Droplets struck the earth, and Thundergleam’s soft smile quavered- a headache pressed into the sides of her skull, feeling a deep pit in her stomach. Oh, this… these were joyful tears, yes! They had to be… they had to be. She had a wonderful destiny, a path brimming with mercy. “Th-thank you, Father …” and very voice was raked a little bit. Not with sorrow, with joy… it had to be joy.

Who would it be that she would have to free? Many queens dwelled in ThunderClan; if one kit met an untimely end, they would be inconsolable. Then, then … holy claws would meet their throats. Send them to the Stars to be with their kits once again. Oh, but … she would miss them terribly. Thundergleam alone was the chosen one to carry the pain of death, so that everyone else may live their most immaculate lives in the throes of bliss.

“I cannot linger here.” Father interrupted her thoughts - Thundergleam gazed at him with a little twinge of pity. He coughed in tandem with her concern, and Thundergleam’s heart lurched forward. “I must leave you, my Starlight. Dry your tears. You are not meant to drown in them.”

And she would not. And no one else would … if it was her destiny to release suffering bodies from the living world, their spirits free and happy in StarClan’s hunting grounds, then that she would do. Father … Father had to be correct. To doubt that he knew her destiny was to doubt all he had ever done for her, all he had given her, all he had taught her.

She would save ThunderClan. Thundergleam had been put on this earth to do it … even if she had to push past sorrow to do it, she would shoulder it for them all, and keep her head above the rising water. And she walked home with that in mind, an antidote to the poison stirring in her chest.​

penned by pin ☾​