I HAVE ASC#4 THUNDER! THUNDER SPOILER THREAD

While hunting, Nightheart thinks about Waffle’s excitement when hunting and Rook’s preference to hunt alone. Frostpaw is hunting with them too but has a faraway look. Waffle can’t believe he is hunting with Rook and a warrior. They spot a rat and they try to catch it but when Waffle sees a bird he gets distracted, alerting the rat but Rook eventually catches it. Waffle asks if it was it fault the rat got away and Nightheart tells him it was but can’t be angry with him, remembering how Lilyheart chided him for mistakes, and tries to reason with him how to hunt properly. Nightheart tries to tell him that cats hunt and don’t scavenge/rely on Twolegs for prey, which Rook adds to. Waffle declares to practice hunting every day. Rook looks at him pityingly and says he was born a kittypet - his Twolegs put him in a bag and threw him in a river. She and Scruff found him and had to to tear apart the bag with their teeth. Waffle blinks fondly at her and Nightheart realizes the bonds at the park are stronger than he realized.

Rook asks Frostpaw why she isn’t meditating tonight and she tells her she needed a break. Frostpaw confirms she saw what she was mainly looking for, something she didn’t want to admit to herself. Nightheart narrows his eyes, remembering she told him it was Splashtail who attacked her. He wonders how much longer they will have to stay here. He doesn’t want to pressure Frostpaw but he thought of Sunbeam every day. Frostpaw tells Rook she faced a lot of stuff she wasn’t ready to face, like betrayal. The cat she loved is the one who betrayed her and isn’t sure he ever cared for her and was using her to take over RiverClan. Rook and Waffle wash her cheek, to Nightheart’s surprise. Frostpaw tries to back away but eventually gives in and purrs. Waffle tells her this is what the park cats do when a cat is suffering or unhappy. Nightheart understands the comforting effect of sharing tongues but thinks what he just saw looked pretty intense. Frostpaw wonders if she might have encouraged Splashtail to take advantage of her and admits to being naive and clueless. Nightheart tells her she might have been naive but certainly was not clueless as he traveled with her and she proved herself one of the strongest, bravest cat he knows. Rook affirms this, saying that she is a member of Riverstar’s Clan and he sent her here to learn how to save her Clan and go back and defeat treacherous Splashtail for good.

They catch more rats and Nightheart is impressed by how quickly Waffle learns and absorbs information. When they return, Frostpaw decides to meditate more. Scruff gives her a rat to eat. Nightheart frowns and wonders how long this will go on as he needs to return to Sunbeam. He remembers how much time Bee spent with Frostpaw and asks him about her progress. Bee tells him she can do the meditating anywhere but even so is still not ready to leave the park as the truth Frostpaw needs to face is buried and she’s frightened to uncover it. Bee assures him Frostpaw will be able to uncover it. Nightheart recalls how he tried to meditate but only ever thought of Sunbeam, which he could accomplish without meditating. Nightheart thinks that maybe meditating was a medicine cat thing and asks Bee if he’d ever have visions. Bee tells him he keeps dreaming of walking along a frozen river and seeing cats he doesn’t recognize watching him curiously as he passes, but none of them speak.

Waffle asks Nightheart to teach him and Wasp battle moves he was showing the kits and after considering teaching his own kits to be warriors and being able to mentor one of Sporfur’s kits, he promises to after speaking to Frostpaw. He approaches her, the rat next to her lying untouched. She is staring across the water and when he calls her name, she looks at him, her eyes wide and round with fear, clearly having seen something dreadful. She tells him she is beginning to understand- she knows what is happening in RiverClan and it’s even worse than she imagined.