*Loosely* based off Dawn Frost by KatieK101. I don't own Warriors. If I did, then TigerShrew would've happened during AVoS.
Chapter 1: I Hate Myself Sometimes
Tigerheart POV
I hate myself sometimes.
No, really, I mean it. I really do hate myself sometimes.
Tigerheart, the Strongest warrior in Shadowclan who walks on thin ice because of his name.
Call me a depressed cat that wants attention if you want to, I really don't care. In my defense, I'm so defensive because of what I overhear my older clanmates say behind my back. 'How are we sure he won't turn out like his namesake?' Was it sad that my Younger Clanmates believe in me more than my older ones? Yeah, I think so, but why would I tell them not to think of me as a very loyal cat?
"Hey, Tigerheart." a voice in front of me mewed and I recognized it to be Toadfoot, one of my few actual friends in this clan. The dark brown tom was sitting in front of me, his smirk giving all kinds of Snark. "I feel as if another she-cat wants to be yours." his mew was sing-songy.
I clicked my ears and used my hot Amber gaze took a quick glance at a grey tabby she-cat. Cloverfoot. After a few seconds, she noticed I was staring at her and licked her chest fur in embarrassment. "I'm alright." I mewed stoically, my voice betraying no emotion. I decided to stand up and walk away from this stupid Tom, going to the Freshkill Pile. As I walked away, I could feel my friend's emerald gaze freeze my heart but I ignored it. Wouldn't be the first time.
Toadfoot wouldn't ask why the teasing bothered me. He always did it to mess with me. Cloverfoot was a pretty she-cat but her father was, how do you put it? Extremely overprotective.
I gave a light sigh as I sat down, grabbed a Lizard to Chow down on. Toadfoot followed me, like always. He was always by my side and a good friend of mine. "You know, you can't ignore them forever, Tigerheart." His mew sounded like he was scolding a kit. He was the only cat who knew about my little fling with Dovewing, though he would never tell anyone.
"Don't blame me." I mewed curtly. I felt Toadfoot roll his eyes before sitting next to me and taking a frog from the pile. "Be careful." I mewed matter of factly, attempting to lighten the mood. "You're sounding like an elder."
Toadfoot gave a quick glance at me from the side before rolling his eyes and batting at my head once with his paw. "I'm your age." he responded. I purred and rested my tail on his back, chuckling a bit. He didn't press it though. I was glad about that.
"You know I was just teasing. Learn to calm down."
Toadfoot rolled his eyes yet again. "Glad to hear that advice from you, Mr. "I wear my emotions on my insides." He retorted.
It
"Honestly, you wish you were as strong as me." I joked. Toadfoot guffawed heartily.
"Oh, that's rich. First off, you need to kill that arrogance, it's seeping into your scent and prey will be able to scent it from miles away."
"Sure, Toady, sure."
"Secondly, your cockiness is just dull and uninspiring. I feel like I should teach you how to be cocky because you obviously don't know how." I flicked my tail on his nose and mewed 'Mouse Brain' at that..
"Thirdly, if you don't start taking an interest in she-cats soon, cats will begin to think you're...you know." I almost choked on my Lizard once he finished. Cats were seriously thinking I like Toms?! Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, fifty thousand ews, a million nopes, and three billion nevers
"It's not my fault that I haven't found the perfect she-cat yet."
"So, what was that thing with Stoatfur a few moons ago?" He asked, his eyes shining with Sarcasm.
"In my defense, I was half-tired from Battle training and just plain bothered due to Heat Season." It wasn't a lie, per se. What? I'm a sucker for Tortoiseshells. They're beautiful, like my mother...fox dung, that came out wrong!
"You're awful."
I licked my chest fur in embarrassment and continued to devour my Lizard. I couldn't handle the silence forever, though. "Ok, ok, so I might have been with a she-cat or two in the past. But I...I." I sighed, letting my frustration get to me. I couldn't exactly word this properly. "I prefer to work for my clan rather than pad after some she-cat. Shadowclan needs better warriors than that."
"Are you sure about that?"
Ignoring him, I continued. "I mean, I guess it would be nice to have a mate? Someone to cuddle up to and tell my biggest fears to without fear of reprisal. I don't know if any she-cat is right for me though. It's like... how do you feel about Wasptail whenever you're with her?" I hated asking him stuff about his love life. He'd always rub it in. His smirk couldn't be bigger if he wanted it to be.
"Like I would sacrifice my life for hers in a heartbeat. I want to always protect her and keep her safe from harm." His gaze met mine. "I'm quite Protective of her. It's no other feeling than pure love with her."
I chuckled lightly, finishing up the last of my Lizard. "I guess that Stoatfur and 'she' can be removed from the list of cats then. I've never really felt that way about any she-cat except Dawnpelt and I doubt that Shadowclan would approve of me mating with my sister, especially Tawnypelt and Rowanstar." I grinned, thinking this would get him. "If only you were a she-cat, Toady. This would be oh so perfect."
My hope faded once Toadfoot grinned back. "Kinky. I like." he meowed flirtatiously. I felt my left eye twitch.
"Seriously, you would solve everything, Toadfoot, if you were a she-cat. Or I guess Toadpelt fits better."
"Toadpelt is a great name. Why didn't Blackstar make that my warrior name?" He mewed back, his grin making me inwardly fume. I-I...urgggggggh. This Tom is so impossible.
"Uh, am I interrupting something?" someone asked from behind us. We looked to see Mistcloud standing there, her eyes filled with confusion. Toadfoot gave me a glance before winking. 'Nope, I don't want to feel like I'm with a thorn bush every time I'm mating with a she-cat.'
"Nope." Toadfoot mewed coyly. "What's the matter, Mistcloud?"
The spiky furred gray she cat stood up straight and cleared her throat. "Rowanstar wants to see you in his den, Tigerheart." I nodded and she began to walk away.
"Aw c'mon! You didn't even try to flirt! She was easy pickings." Toadfoot groaned aloud.
"Again, not interested in any she-cat right now." I retorted before I decided to add something. "Besides, I don't want to have my stomach ripped to shreds every time I mate with her." I purred loudly at my joke. Hey, who said I couldn't joke about my clanmates?
Toadfoot had a thoughtful on his face and for once in his life, I think he was using his brain. "Hmm, true." We both snickered. "Good luck with your pops." He said once we both calmed down, going back to his frog. Oh boy, I wonder what Rowanstar will do with me this time.
Soricidae Tigris
I could feel several cats staring at me as I walked into my father's den. Some were she-cats who watched my muscles ripple under my pelt (my grandfather passed them down to me. Why does my genetics taunt me?) and drank it in like they were kits suckling their mother for milk, though most were Toms. Their jealousy shined brightly but as usual, I ignored it. Not only was I Shadowclan's strongest Warrior, I had a lot of youth in me despite being a senior warrior. I was stoic. I was quite strong. I was able to do almost anything and get away with it because daddy was leader. I know I had nothing to prove to them and yet I felt like I had to prove everything to them.
'Just ignore them.' I would be out of their gazes soon.
I paused outside Rowanstar's den, listening closely. Even though both voices were hushed, I could hear him talking to someone. "Are you sure he's ready? Not many cats trust him after he-"
"He's more ready than ever before, Crowfrost. Plus, it would do him some good." I bit my lip in anger. Crowfrost, clan deputy and my sister's mate. To say I was overprotective of my sister was the understatement of the year. A few moons ago, me and her were patrolling near Twoleg place when a kittypet began chatting it up with us and got a little too close to Dawnpelt for me to be comfortable. I let him live but let's just say that the Kittypet will never be able to mate again. Back to my little thing, I hated Crowfrost with a lot of passion.
The Tom's arrogance burned off of him like a forest fire. To make it worse, the Tom always had a habit of curling his tail around my sister and licking her cheek whenever I watched. Every time he did that, I wanted to rip him to shreds but Dawnpelt would always but in and tell me to look after myself with all the she-cats after me. I had more important things to do, though. Like, for example, serving my clan and, oh right, PROTECTING MY MOUSEBRAINED SISTER FROM BEING A TROPHY FOR OUR PATHETIC DEPUTY! Sorry, my anger showed.
Crowfrost had a fierce personality and was quite smart, even if he didn't usually seem like it. He was also incredibly loyal and cocky, even if he didn't act like it, the loyal part. He earned the Cocky to a capital C, for... well, I'm sure you know the word. Every time he opened that mouth of his to speak, I wanted to rip his tongue out.
It just so happened that the cat incarnate of a two-leg came out of the den and saw me standing there. "Oh, hello, Tigerheart." He mewed soft, before getting out of the way. "Please, come in." He mewed once again. There was no hostility or smugness in his voice...strange, he was always like that. This could be serious. I walked in, seeing my Father standing in his nest ever so proudly, his green gaze glowing brightly on me. I heard Crowfrost enter behind me.
"Ah, hello Tigerheart." He greeted me eagerly, his smile somewhat infectious as I began to smile with him.
"Hello, Rowanstar." I wouldn't call him father. I respect him as my leader too much. "Why did you call for me."
"Me and Crowfrost have been discussing for a while and we agreed that it was time you had an apprentice." My own Apprentice? A chance to actually prove my skills and loyalty by passing it down to a young Warrior and make the clan proud of me? YES, OH STARCLAN YES!
"Who is it? When is the Ceremony?"
"Beekit. Tomorrow afternoon, once the hunting patrols are finished."
"Oh, thank you! I swear, you won't regret this, Rowanstar." I purred at the thought of me training a cat myself and showing them everything I knew.
"I'm not done yet, Tigerheart." well, there goes the chance for a quick visit. I looked at Crowfrost, the Foxheart's face was contorted in a grin. Yeah, keep smiling. Very soon, I'll swipe it off your muzzle. "Crowfrost please leave." The deputy looked surprised and opened his mouth to protest only for Rowanstar to shut him up. "Go!" It was my turn to smirk. We both hissed at each other as he walked out. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that he was clan deputy, I would've killed him by now. Once I was sure he was gone, I turned around to face Rowanstar.
"What do you want to discuss with me?" I asked and Rowanstar gave me an 'are you really asking that?' look. Oh, my hatred for Crowfrost. "I can't control my hate for that Fox Heart! He's so smug simply because he's clan leader. You try dealing with him for a day. I doubt you'll last even an hour!"
"I can and I do." Oh, fox dung...I forgot that Leaders and Deputies talk a lot...oops? "You need to put your anger aside for the good of the Clan. Yes, he does it to you as well but you do it far more than him. I can't recall the amount of times Dawnpelt has come into this den and tell me about your venomous glares at Crowfrost and demand I fix your attitude." He sighed. "I know you and him have differences but from now on you and him will be training cats together." Wait, what?! "He'll be given Yarrowkit as an apprentice." Well, I don't expect training sessions to go well. "And in order to keep the peace between you two, I'll be having Shrewfoot train Needlekit as well." Shrewfoot? The daughter of Blackstar and Tallpoppy? Huh, I guess she could work. She is sweet and kind, when she isn't so resigned. I briefly remembered training her a while ago with Owlclaw, Olivenose, Scorchfur, and...Redwillow the Night Ambush battle Tactic when they were apprentices. My heart was pained a little at the remembrance of Redwillow. The tom was a friend, until he betrayed us for the Dark Forest. "All three of you will have shared training sessions once the ceremonies happen today. This will allow all three of you to trust each other." I nodded.
"I understand Rowanstar. May I leave now?" I asked and Rowanstar nodded. Padding out of the den, I saw the she-cat in question taking a bite out of some Fresh Kill. Her pelt was an almost smoky gray and her paws were a solid black. Her yellow eyes were also somewhat cute. She saw me and smiled a very cute smile and flicked her tail for me to join her. I walked right next to her.
"Hey, Tigey!" She mewed in greeting. Tigey was Shrewfoot's little nickname for me. She's used ever since she was a kit. Of course, only she and Dawnpelt could call me that. If I heard Toadfoot, or Starclan forbid, Crowfrost call me that, I would shred them alive. "You want some?" She gave me some of the rather large Toad she was eating. I wasn't that hungry but meh, who am I to reject offered food? As I took a rather large bite, I swear I heard her say "Oh Starclan, even his neck has muscles." Ok, weird. As I chewed, she began to start sharing tongues. "So, Rowanstar tell you the big news?" She mewed out curiously.
"Yep. My first apprentice. I'm really happy." I meowed out after swallowing.
"I know, right? I know Ratscar trained me well so I'm hoping to train Needlekit some of the things I learned from him." She purred. I guess she was nice when she purred. She was usually resigned but never with Dawnpelt, Olivenose, Snowbird, or me, which was a bit weird but I never minded it. "Tigerheart, you know that even if the older warriors don't respect you, I do." I almost choked.
"W-what? You trust me? Even though I could become like my namesake and I trained in the Dark Forest?" I stated quickly. She gave me a look that told me to shut up.
"Starclan's sake, Tigerheart. It's just a name and you proved your loyalty to this clan by fighting for us in the Great Battle! If that doesn't prove your loyalty, then I don't know what will." She mewed out angrily. "Plus, Crowfrost is a Fox Heart. Even Dawnpelt admits it, even if she does so reluctantly." Ok, so she was able to get Dawnpelt to agree that Crowfrost is a fox heart but I couldn't? What power did this she-cat have and when did she get it? After a few more minutes of just mindless chatting, I began to get a fuzzy feeling. I guess that I was somewhat enjoying her company. She was good to talk to and a great friend to have.
"Well, I have to go on patrol. Talk to you later?" She mewed out calmly and I nodded before she walked away. Looking at the Elders den, I shrugged and decided to go there. Oakfur always had some wisdom to share with me. Maybe he could help me in this dilemma?
Soricidae Tigris
Great Starclan, how wrong I was! The small light brown Tom couldn't stop chuckling after I told him. I glared at him and wanted him to stop this behavior. I didn't need this from my former Mentor, especially considering he also was perhaps the gossipiest of the Elders in the Clan. His chuckles finally halted as he gave a few light coughs, his old lungs not being able to handle the long chuckles he gave. After several minutes of him coughing, my anger faded and was replaced with care. "Should...Should I get Littlecloud?" I asked and the tom raised his tail as if asking me to stop as he gave a final few wheezes.
"I haven't laughed like that in a long time." Should I tell him he chuckled, not laughed? "Getting back to what you came here for, Rowanstar asked you, of all cats, to partner up with Crowfrost and Shrewfoot? You and Crowfrost certainly aren't friends and Shrewfoot, well…" He trailed on. Shrewfoot what? "Nevermind. So you came here to get some advice?"
"Yes." His amusement was wid on his face. Why wasn't he taking my dilemma seriously?
Oakfur had a thoughtful glance for a second before he opened his mouth. "In Rowanstar's defense, you two are causing a bit of uneasiness in this Clan with your apparent distaste for one another, so I don't blame him to force you two to put your differences aside and train your apprentices together. Though I'm glad he's having Shrewfoor as the Peacekeeper. Starclan knows what would happen if it was just you two."
Feigning offense, I gave a mock gasp. "Who's side are you on?!"
Oakfur gave a small chuckle and a sly smirk before responding. "I'm not on anyone's side, Tigerheart. By the way, I know you're faking. Remember, I trained you and your mom and she was just like you when she was younger." Dangit, he knows me too well.
"You've been talking to Toadfoot, haven't you?"
"He may have came by the Elder's Den while you were talking to Rowanstar, yes." He gave me an honest look. "Were you seriously trying to surprise him by saying that everything would be fixed if he were to be a She-cat?"
I groaned aloud and hit the ground with a loud PLOP! Starclan dammit, Toadfoot! "Yes, and it really didn't work out the way I thought it would! I just wanted to try and get the jokester but he got me instead." I paused for a second before grinning. "Did he really just come in here to tattle on me?"
Oakfur gave a small laugh. "No, no. He wanted to say that Wasptail was pregnant with kits. He's extremely glad to have his own kin." I blinked in surprise. He must've just found out.
"Oh, well then, I'm excited for him. He'll be an excellent Father." I gave a smile. I would most likely be the extra Father for his kits and I always loved to care for kits, even if I wouldn't admit aloud.
"What about you? Are you interested in any she-cats recently?" Oh, well, he popped the question right out of the den, huh?
"No, not really. I just don't know anyone who's perfect for me. And don't bring up the Stoatfur incident! It was a one time thing and I have more control over myself now." He laughed at me!
"You have no idea how many she-cats are padding after you. Especially after Stoatfur told them how good at mating you are and how you like to use both holes." OH GREAT STARCLAN, STOATFUR, I WILL MURDER YOU! "There's Stoatfur, of course, Applefur, Olivenose, Cloverfoot, Mistcloud, and I think that Beekit might have a small kit crush on you." A Kit?! "Don't go after Beekit, though. Seriously, you even try and I'm sure Shadowclan will rip you to shreds." Oh thank Starclan.
"Oakfur, Littlecloud told me to-oh, hello Tigerheart." we turned to see the new voice, my Mother, Tawnypelt. She was a strong warrior, even if she seemed old. Honestly, if there was ever a cat that deserved to be Deputy, it would be Tawnypelt. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No, I was just about to leave." I got to my paws and began to walk out after Tawnypelt nodded.
"Let's continue our talk some other time, alright Tigerheart?" Oakfur meowed aloud and I flicked my tail back to him in acknowledgement, my own thoughts going deep.
'Maybe my father has a point in this. I mean, I should respect my deputy, no matter my personal feelings to him. Not to mention, I'm going to be the Uncle to his kits when they're born and I'd rather not have them have a hostile relationship between their father and uncle. Plus, it might prove to this clan I'm actually loyal. If I can convince Crowfrost, the cat who hates me the most, that I'm loyal, I think the rest of the clan will give me another shot.' I stopped walking for a few moments and looked over Camp. Shrewfoot's patrol had just returned. Beekit, Yarrowkit, and Needlekit were playing with Dawnpelt as Berryheart and Snowbird watched. Rowanstar was talking to Crowfrost, most likely about patrols for tomorrow, and Toadfoot and Wasptail were celebrating the news of kits by eating a large lizard together. I sighed inwardly. Oh boy, the next few moons were going to be tough, weren't they?
I hate myself sometimes.
Question of the Day: Who's your favorite of the Vanoss Crew?
Hello Tigerdovefaners and those who have no fucking idea who I am, welcome to the new story I shouldn't be starting only a month into Senior Year of High School :P
To Clear up confusion, here's the AU: Toadfoot, Applefur, and a few other cats are born earlier, closer to Tigerheart's Birth, and Shrew, Toad, and Apple all survived the Dark Forest Battle. This is based off Dawn Frost, as I said earlier, but one thing that ticked me off a bit was in Chapter 1 when Crowfrost noted that Shrewfoot was an elder when she's younger than Tigerheart, as was shown when Tigerheart trained them in BotC. AVoS will not happen as in the real world, since this is an AU, so expect quite a few changes from here onwards.
Next Chapter will be from Shrewfoot's POV and I get to really test myself. Fun, yes?
Ciao 4 meow!
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