Goldenspider's POV
A small, slender, golden she-cat trampled through unknown woodland territory, her big sea green eyes glancing around with curiosity. She had no idea where she was, she wasn't any good with directions at all. The she-cat was from CloudClan, but she seemed to have a bad habit of sneaking out of camp to find a certain StoneClan tom… Which on that particular day wasn't such a good idea especially since it was the afternoon when lots of cats were about.
A sudden rustle made the she-cat jump and an orange tabby she-cat with green eyes stepped out from behind a mossy tree. "Goldenspider? What are you doing on StormClan territory?" The orange she-cat asked. She was called Tigerlily. Goldenspider was lucky it was her who caught her and not someone else because Tigerlily and she were good friends.
"Oh, sorry," Goldenspider apologised looking down, somewhat ashamed of herself. "I'm lost again."
Tigerlily smirked. "Looking for Foxspeckle again, huh?" she asked, amused.
Goldenspider felt herself blush at Foxspeckle's name. He was her Senpai, but unfortunately for her, he was from StoneClan. "Umm, no. That's absolutely ridiculous," she lied, still staring at the ground.
Tigerlily shook her head, letting it go for now. Goldenspider was thankful her friend wasn't angry at her for being on her territory. "So, have you heard about the warrior challenge?" Tigerlily asked, changing the subject.
Goldenspider pricked her ears in interest. "No, I haven't. What is it?"
"It's kind of like a special Gathering," her friend explained. "Two warriors from each Clan compete with each other in a series of challenges." Tigerlily stopped to make her voice sound more dramatic. "Alone. All night. Just the handsomest tom, your father and you all night." She sighed happily. Goldenspider smiled, knowing she was referring to her crush, Goldenheart.
The warrior challenge sounded fun! Maybe Goldenspider was in it. "Cool!" she exclaimed. "When is it?"
"Tonight." Tigerlily sighed again.
"How do they choose who's in it?" Goldenspider asked.
"They just do. Anyway, we got off topic," Tigerlily said. "If you're not looking for Foxspeckle, what are you doing?" Tigerlily tilted her head to one side.
"Ummm…" Goldenspider tried to think of a lie. "Hunting?" she replied unconvincingly, looking down at her empty paws.
"In StormClan hunting grounds?" Tigerlily questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Fine. I give up," Goldenspider sighed, supposing there was actually no point in lying. "Where's StoneClan territory at?"
Tigerlily paused, unsure. "Uh…" She pointed in a random direction. "Over there… Maybe." She shrugged. "By the way, Flatface is looking for you."
Goldenspider shuddered at just the thought of him. Flatface was a very annoying GrassClan tom with a flat face, as you may have been able to guess. For whatever reason, he seemed to think that Goldenspider and he were dating. "Well, tell him to find a she-cat with a face similar to his own," Goldenspider told her.
Suddenly, a groan sounded from behind a prickly bramble hedge, causing both she-cats to jump.
"Who's there?" Goldenspider asked.
"COME OUT OR I'LL FLAY YOU!" Tigerlily yelled threateningly.
A familiar speckled reddish-brown tom struggled out from under the bush a few seconds later. Foxspeckle! Goldenspider thought. What was he doing here?
The handsome tom flopped onto the ground in front of the she-cats as if he wanted to cause a scene. "Ow," he said simply, looking from one cat to the other dramatically.
Goldenspider could see painful looking thorns embedded in his pelt. What was he doing in the brambles? Was he hurt? They had to help him! "Oh my StarClan, are you okay?" Goldenspider asked worriedly, stepping closer to him. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, last time I checked, you aren't StormClan either," Foxspeckle responded, not exactly giving Goldenspider the kind of answer she wanted.
"Tigerlily?" Another tom stepped out of the bushes. With his golden fur and green eyes, Goldenspider recognised him as Goldenheart. Well, now they had a crowd.
Tigerlily didn't seem entirely delighted by her crush's presence, as most cats would be. "Now what?" she muttered under her breath.
Goldenheart looked confused, looking from the she-cats to Foxspeckle, who was still lying on the ground. "Tigerlily… Tigerlily, why are with Goldenspider?" Then he inspected Foxspeckle more carefully. Goldenheart dropped his voice to a mutter. "And a good-looking tom…" Goldenspider agreed silently with the good-looking part, but Goldenheart needn't be jealous of Foxspeckle. He only liked Tigerlily as a friend. Goldenheart must have liked Tigerlily a lot…
"Oh, he's just a friend," Tigerlily replied airily, apparently not hearing the last words of Goldenheart's sentence.
Goldenheart frowned as if he wasn't convinced. A few seconds passed without speech.
"Hey, um, Could someone help me?" Foxspeckle asked, breaking the silence. He was now sitting up and looking down at all the prickles in his normally smooth pelt.
Goldenspider jumped at the opportunity to get nearer to him. "I will," she said quickly, sitting beside him.
"Why are you two here anyway?" Goldenheart demanded. "This isn't StoneClan or CloudClan territory."
Goldenspider racked her mind for an excuse. She couldn't tell Goldenheart she got lost in the woods looking for another Clan's territory. "I- I uhmm…" She stammered, lost for words.
"Our leaders sent us patrolling to look out for Twoleg things," Foxspeckle put in for her.
"Yes, yes," Goldenspider agreed, looking at him thankfully. She wasn't very good at lying. Goldenspider still wondered why Foxspeckle was actually here though…
"Whatever," Goldenheart meowed, not entirely convinced. "Who are you anyway?" he squinted at Foxspeckle, and then his green eyes lit up in recognition of the cat. "Oh! Aren't you the cat Goldenspider is in lov-"
Goldenheart stopped as Flatface had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Goldenspider was half grateful since she was pretty sure Goldenheart was about to expose her secret, but then again, it was Flatface who had probably used black magic to get there.
"Babe," Flatface purred to Goldenspider in his version of a seductive voice (which isn't quite what a normal person would label 'seductive', but all right). "Flatface is here for you-"
He was interrupted as Tigerlily had kicked him away, using such force that he was sent flying over the hills, yowling the whole way. Goldenspider shuddered. Well, at least that episode kept Goldenheart from telling Foxspeckle about her crush on him. How did Goldenheart even know anyway?
"Thanks Tigerlily," Goldenspider mewed, relieved. "That was close."
Tigerlily nodded. Both toms looked very confused, which Goldenspider didn't blame them. Flatface was a very strange cat.
Goldenheart shook his head. "Anyway," he started to Foxspeckle. "Are you the cat Goldenspider is in lov-"
He was luckily interrupted again, this time by Tigerlily. "Who likes mice?" she asked, jumping about overenthusiastically. "I know I do! Let's go hunt mice! Silently. With no talking about words beginning with the letter 'L'," she said, looking pointedly at Goldenheart.
Foxspeckle was looking more and more confused by the second. This was a good thing, Goldenspider decided, because that meant he had no idea about her feelings for him.
"I'm not hungry- Ow!" Tigerlily stepped on Goldenheart's tail, interrupting him. "Why is it always violence with you?" Goldenheart growled at her.
Tigerlily grinned. "It's not violence, it's communication!"
Goldenspider glanced at Foxspeckle, who was staring in wordless confusion at the two cats. She shrugged and pulled another burr from his shoulder.
"Ouch," Foxspeckle said, flinching slightly. "What are you two fighting for, anyway?" He asked Tigerlily and Goldenheart. "I thought Tigerlily lov-"
Again with the exposure of secrets! Secrets were meant to be kept secrets! "Hey look! There's one on your back!" Goldenspider exclaimed, saving her friend. She bent down and ripped the deeply embedded thorn from Foxspeckle's back viciously.
"OWWWWWW!" Foxspeckle yelped in pain. Goldenspider cringed, feeling sorry for hurting him. She threw the thorn aside.
Goldenheart raised an eyebrow. "You were saying?"
Tigerlily stood behind Goldenheart, making a motion at Foxspeckle by dragging her paw across her neck as if to say she would slit his throat if he said anything. Foxspeckle stared blankly for a moment, trying to understand.
"Foxspeckle, you were saying?" Goldenheart urged.
"Oh yes, uhmm… Tigerlily loves her… Potato. Yes," Foxspeckle nodded rapidly, satisfied with his answer.
Tigerlily paused. She suddenly started hopping around in circles crazily. "POTATOEZ!" she shouted psychotically, trying to prove Foxspeckle was right.
Goldenheart furrowed his brow, looking either worried, confused, or both. "…Right," he said. "Anyway, I came here to tell you, Tigerlily that we have to go back to camp and train for the warrior challenge!"
"Whoa," Foxspeckle stated with his eyes wide. "You got in?" Goldenspider thought it was pretty great too. They only picked the best warriors, right?
Goldenheart just looked at Tigerlily, realising she wasn't really listening, but staring at a burr on Foxspeckle's nose. Goldenspider noticed he was glaring and she wondered why. Perhaps he thought Tigerlily was staring at Foxspeckle for other reasons…? Like- oh no, he thought Tigerlily liked Foxspeckle!
Goldenspider quickly peeled the burr from Foxspeckle's nose to prevent any arguments between the two. "I wonder if I got in," Goldenspider wondered aloud, continuing the conversation. "Although, it's meant to be the best warriors, isn't it?"
"Yeah, so you'll definitely get in," Tigerlily told her.
Goldenspider smiled at the compliment. "Thanks," she replied, although she didn't really think she'd make it into the challenge. Goldenspider thought of herself as an average warrior; while pretty good at tree climbing and hunting, she was horrible with fighting, directions and loads of other things.
"Oh well, let's go see!" Foxspeckle suggested enthusiastically. Goldenspider thought he would probably get in. "Fancy me walking you home, Goldenspider?" he offered.
Goldenspider blushed. How could she refuse? "Sure," she replied happily.
"I don't think so!" Goldenheart bursted out, causing the three other cats to look at him curiously. "I'll walk her home," he hissed.
Why would he do this? Goldenspider wondered if he might still be mad about Tigerlily staring at Foxspeckle. But that was a misunderstanding! And how would ignoring Tigerlily help him anyway?
Foxspeckle leaned in towards her ear. "Man, I think he's gone psycho!" he whispered. "Let's just run for it?" Goldenspider nodded at him and the couple bolted away in the direction of their Clans' territories, leaving a sad Tigerlily and an angry Goldenheart behind.