Author's Note: Hello everyone, and welcome back to A Greenleaf's Breeze!

So Chapter Two has arrived! Yep, I know it took awhile, but I had to finish Chapter Seven of Slaves before I wrote this. I think I'm probably going to start rotating these two stories, so I'll write a chapter of Slaves, then a chapter of this, and so on. But anyway, here are my replies to your reviews on Chapter One! :)

Silverflame 002: Thanks very much for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter, and the moral support was much appreciated as well. XD

Russian Blue: Thanks for your review! Yeah, it is frustrating how a lot of authors on fanfiction don't manage to finish their stories, but I should hopefully finish this one. I always like to finish whatever I start.

So in this chapter, we start to get some interaction between Leafpool and Ashfur. Obviously, their relationship is still in very early stages, and it will possibly be a chapter or two more before their relationship really starts to blossom. Also, in this chapter we learn more about Leafpool's relationship with Squirrelflight, which I hope you enjoy.

Other than that, please RR!

A Greenleaf Breeze

Chapter Two:

The next day was even hotter than the last. Many of the puddles around the territory had dried up overnight, and the camp was drier than usual. Leafpool looked out over the top of the smooth rocky walls and out into the forest. She felt too hot and oddly tired to go out, and besides, there wasn't much to do. Jaypaw had come back with all the poppy seeds they'd required yesterday. It would've been wasteful to collect any more herbs, so she'd let both her and her apprentice have a day off. Leafpool knew it would do her a world of good. She couldn't remember the last time she'd managed to relax.

The gentle stroke of a cat's tongue washed over her shoulder. Leafpool turned her head to see her sister, Squirrelflight smiling at her warmly. She smiled back. The two of them were sharing tongues, enjoying the feel of the sun's rays on their backs. Leafpool appreciated the comfort of her sister's presence; it was no mystery to the rest of the Clan that the two of them were close, perhaps closer than most. She liked to think that they had a special connection, a kind of bond that linked them together no matter where they were. Squirrelflight wasn't just her littermate, Leafpool also considered the ginger she-cat to be her closest friend. The one that she always turned to when was in need, and how she'd needed that friendship over the past few moons.

Leafpool returned Squirrelflight's gesture by licking her shoulder back, which earned a purr. The intimacy of the moment touched her.

As the medicine cat drew away, Squirrelflight nudged her cheek gently. 'This is nice, isn't it?' she said, stretching out luxuriously. 'Greenleaf has been better than usual this year.'

Leafpool nodded in agreement. 'The last time it was this hot, we still lived in the old forest.'

'Yeah, the old forest was nice, but I actually think I prefer our new territory,' her sister replied. 'We're more protected in this camp, and hunting's definitely a lot easier.'

Leafpool's whiskers twitched in amusement. 'I'm not surprised you prefer this camp!' she laughed. 'You did find it, after all!'

Squirrelflight blushed a little, but the pride was evident in her voice. 'I guess I would like it more if I found it,' she sighed happily. 'Brambleclaw and I fell into this place on that first scouting patrol.'

The brown tabby she-cat almost rolled her eyes. She'd heard the story many times.'How are things with you and Brambleclaw?' Leafpool asked. 'Still happy?'

'More than that, it's going great!' Squirrelflight's eyes were wide with enthusiasm. 'I think you were right when you said that we were destined to be together.'

For some reason, Leafpool felt vaguely surprised. There always seemed to be something wrong in their relationship. 'No arguments?' she pressed. 'No problems?'

Squirrelflight shook her head, sounding relieved. 'Nope.' Then, her voice took on a more serious tone. 'And how are you? Do you still miss Crowfeather?'

Instantly, Leafpool's cheerful mode hadn't wanted the conversation to turn to Crowfeather, in fact, she would've been satisfied if they'd never talked about him again. But she knew she couldn't be annoyed at Squirrelflight. Her sister was just concerned about her.

'Not as much anymore,' Leafpool lied. She looked away, avoiding Squirrelflight's gaze. 'I think I'm starting to get over him.'

The ginger she-cat seemed thoroughly unconvinced. 'Look, I know you well enough to know when you're not telling the truth,' she said. 'You can can talk to me about it, you know that right?'

When Leafpool didn't reply, Squirrelflight continued. 'What about…' she glanced from side to side, before whispering quietly. 'What about your kits? I know you see Jaypaw everyday, but what about Lionpaw and Hollypaw? Do you-'

'Please, Squirrelflight,' Leafpool interrupted, with a hint of desperation. 'I don't want to talk about it.'

Squirrelflight looked at her sadly, before shaking her head. 'Okay.'

There was a pause where neither of the she-cats said anything. Leafpool felt aggrieved. She hated that she hadn't wanted to open up to her sister about how she was feeling, the cat she usually trusted with all of her secrets. But Squirrelflight had been so happy! Why should she trouble someone with her own problems, problems that would only ruin that happiness?

Quickly, Leafpool decided to change the subject. 'So what's the gossip around camp?' she questioned, with forced light heartedness. 'There must be something interesting going on.'

Squirrelflight shrugged. 'Nothing much,' she muttered.

'Oh come on!' Leafpool encouraged.

The ginger she-cat stopped to think for a second. 'Well, there was what happened on patrol yesterday, but you wouldn't be interested in that.'

'Yes I would!' the medicine cat exclaimed. She shuffled closer until she was pressed up against Squirrelflight's flank. 'Tell me about what happened out on patrol.' Anything to get us talking again, Leafpool thought in her head.

Still, Squirrelflight didn't say a word, before finally, she opened her mouth and spoke. 'Well, I don't really know much about it, since I wasn't on the patrol. Brambleclaw told me mostly,' she said. 'Apparently, Ashfur was acting up strangely. He was really rude to Whitewing, and then he disobeyed a direct order from Brambleclaw!'

Leafpool's ears twitched in surprise. 'Really?' she echoed. That didn't sound like Ashfur. She'd always imagined the grey tom to be the kind of cat that just got on with things.

Squirrelflight nodded gravely. 'That's what Brambleclaw said,' she replied. 'It spread around the camp really quickly. A lot of cats said they'd been expecting him to do something like that eventually, because of, um,' she stopped, 'particular reasons.'

The brown tabby frowned. Particular reasons? she thought, confused. What does she mean by- oh. Suddenly, she realised. That.

Leafpool had forgotten the affair between Squirrelflight and Ashfur, or rather, the non-affair. After the Great Journey, Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight had squabbled, and Ashfur had been the cat her sister turned to. He had always liked Squirrelflight, and although she was oblivious to his feelings, they started to get quite close. Leafpool had even thought that they might become mates, had it not been for the sign she had seen from StarClan, the message telling her that Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw were destined to be together. In the end, the omen turned out to be true. Ashfur had been heartbroken but she'd assumed that he was over that by now.

Leafpool decided not to mention the subject, just in case it brought up hard feelings. 'Poor Whitewing,' she murmured instead. 'She must feel hurt. I know they're good friends.'

'Poor Whitewing?' Squirrelflight snarled, with an anger in her expression which shocked Leafpool. 'What about poor Brambleclaw? I can't believe Ashfur undermined his authority like that. It must've been so embarrassing!'

For some reason, Leafpool felt her eyes narrow a little. She felt like Squirrelflight was being unreasonable. 'I'm sure he didn't mean to show up Brambleclaw,' she said, keeping her voice as level as possible. 'Perhaps he was just upset.'

'Upset?' her sister retorted. 'It's been moons since all that happened. He should've moved on by now! He was clearly just doing it to wind Brambleclaw up.'

Leafpool knew that was uncalled for. Squirrelflight was being completely unfair. She has no idea what might be going on in Ashfur's head! she thought sympathetically. He might be feeling awful for all she knows. Suddenly, Leafpool found herself looking around the clearing, searching for one cat amongst the ThunderClan crowd, and soon her eyes rested on Ashfur. He was sitting alone, just outside of the warrior's den. There was a piece of prey by his side, but he wasn't eating. Instead, he was staring absently out into the distance, beyond the camp, and out onto the horizon. The sight of him like that made her feel desperately sorry for him. Poor cat, she thought. Squirrelflight's wrong about how he should've moved on. I know better than anyone that time can't heal some wounds.

Ashfur, seeming to notice that a cat was looking at him, turned his head towards her. For a moment, their eyes met. He glanced to her side, to where Squirrelflight was sitting, before snorting and looking away.

Leafpool blinked, before shaking herself. What am I thinking? she asked herself, before she turned back towards her sister.

'Squirrelflight,' she rasped, as softly as she could. 'I think you're being a little harsh. It's not like he was just rude to Brambleclaw, remember, he snapped at Whitewing as well. We all need to let out our anger now and again, after all.'

Squirrelflight's face was sour. 'If you say so, Leafpool,' she said, getting to her paws and pulling away from her sister's warmth. 'I have to go out on patrol. I'll see you later.'

Leafpool watched her go, regretting she'd said anything now. Her sister clearly hadn't been too happy that she'd disagreed with her, and even though she was certain Squirrelflight had been wrong, she didn't want them to argue. It seemed she had a habit of messing things up though. The she-cat rested her head against the camp wall, trying to forget all the things that were preying on her mind. It was strange that the sun didn't feel quite so satisfying on her pelt anymore.

For some reason, she found herself glancing back at Ashfur. He was watching Squirrelflight pad away as well.

Despite the beautiful weather, Ashfur felt remarkably melancholy. His blue eyes trailed the figure of the ginger she-cat as she headed over to a few of the other warriors, who were collecting for their patrol. He was glad that Brambleclaw wasn't there as well. Watching the two of them together, he had found, was painful.

Making sure to keep one eye on Squirrelflight, he thought about what he'd just seen between her and Leafpool. The main reason he'd sat down with his prey had been to get some time away from his clan-mates. Ever since what had happened out on the patrol yesterday, he'd been the gossip of the Clan. Ashfur hated the way they looked at him. It hadn't been anger that they'd shown towards him, more… well, he could only describe it as pity. Ashfur didn't want their pity. He didn't want anything from them.

Which was why he had been so surprised when Squirrelflight and Leafpool had chosen to sit down nearby. He hadn't been able to listen in on their conversation, but he'd known that, after awhile, they'd started to talking about him. The way that Squirrelflight's face had contorted with a mixture of anger and frustration had made it obvious enough. But then, Leafpool had turned her head towards him. He had stared straight back at the medicine cat, refusing to be unnerved, but there had been an emotion in her eyes that had done just that. He'd had to look away. He'd had to.

Quickly, Ashfur shoved the thought away. Don't think about it, the furious voice inside his head told him, she's just the same as her sister.

His tail writhed like an angered snake as he went back to watching to Squirrelflight. The she-cat was leaving the camp with her patrol members at her side, but Ashfur wasn't interested in them. As she padded out, he could see some of the tufts of her ginger pelt being upturned in the light breeze, and as the shape of her flank disappeared into the forest, Ashfur wasn't sure what he was feeling. Fierce passion burnt within him, but a part of him hated Squirrelflight. The part as frozen as ice. She needed to understand the pain that he'd felt, what he suffered every day-

Suddenly, he heard the sound of paw steps heading towards him. Ashfur looked towards where they came from to see a young tom padding over to him. There was a slightly apprehensive look on his face. It was Lionpaw.

Lionpaw was Ashfur's apprentice, and also the one cat in the whole of ThunderClan that Ashfur hadn't wanted to be his apprentice. Why? He was Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's son. As if seeing his mother everyday wasn't bad enough, Firestar had felt the need to make things worse for him by giving him Lionpaw. It didn't help that even if he hadn't been Squirrelflight's son, Ashfur wouldn't have liked the apprentice anyway. He was loud and frustratingly confident in his own abilities.

'Ashfur,' Lionpaw said, as he reached him. He seemed nervous. 'Can we go out training today? We haven't in awhile.'

Ashfur glared at him, before shaking his head firmly. 'No,' he replied. 'I'm busy at the moment.'

'Doing what?'

'Resting,' the dark grey tom murmured. He considered adding, "thinking about your mother", but then thankfully decided against it.

After that, he'd hoped Lionpaw would go away like he usually did. Whether Ashfur liked him or not, his apprentice was loyal enough to obey an order from his mentor. But this time, he stayed where he was. 'You said that two day ago,' Lionpaw returned, sounding disgruntled. 'And the day before that.'

Ashfur wished he could open his mouth and protest, but he knew it was true. He'd been purposefully avoiding Lionpaw for a few sunrises now, and he was perfectly aware that Brambleclaw would get involved if he delayed a training session for much longer. Still, he was desperate to find a way out of it. Any excuse not to spend time with his apprentice would've been valid.

He sighed in exasperation. 'Alright Lionpaw,' Ashfur rasped, getting to his paws. 'I'll take you out for training now.'

Lionpaw's eyes widened in surprise. 'Really?'

'Really.'

'Great!' the ginger apprentice said. He tried to keep his expression level, but the tom's paws were bouncing from side to side excitedly. 'Let's go!'

Ashfur led the two of them away from the fresh-kill pile and over to the camp entrance. A few cats looked up curiously as he passed, but he ignored them them as they padded out into the forest. The sun, at the highest point in the sky of the day, meant that the shadows of the trees were short. Ashfur refused to look back at Lionpaw, who he could tell was looking at him. Instead, the warrior stared straight ahead.

'So, what sort've of training are we going to do?' Lionpaw asked. The enthusiasm was still present in his voice, but the slightly more reserved element he had taken up beforehand was back.

Ashfur stayed silent for a second, before replying. 'Battle training. We'll go to the sandy hollow.'

Although he didn't look over his shoulder, he could tell that Lionpaw was happy with what he'd chosen. It had indeed been a long awhile since they'd done any battle training all, and the last time he'd gone out with Lionpaw they'd done hunting practice. However, the reason Ashfur often decided against doing any battle training was because Lionpaw, admittedly, seemed to have a natural gift for fighting. He had quick instincts and reflexes, and his physical strength would make him into a good warrior in the future. Despite this, Ashfur hated the way Lionpaw used his talent. Whenever he fought, arrogance seemed to crawl of his pelt. Just like his father, Ashfur thoughtspitefully.

When they reached the sandy hollow, Ashfur took up a position on the edge of the dusty ground, facing Lionpaw head on. His apprentice settled down, watching him carefully.

'Right,' Ashfur said, diving straight into the training. 'Tell me, what would you do if I was to charge at you.'

Lionpaw's eyes widened. 'What, right now?'

'Yes, Ashfur hissed impatiently. 'What would you do.'

The young ginger tom eyed him warily. Ashfur could almost hear his brain ticking, working out what would be a good answer to his question. He glanced up at his ears. They were pricked up sharply.

'Well, I guess I would try and block your attack,' the apprentice said finally. 'Try and stand you up.'

Mousebrain! Ashfur thought. He overestimates his own ability. Lionpaw had obviously decided that he had about the same heft in terms of muscle as his mentor, even though he was just an apprentice and his opponent was a fully grown warrior.

'Let's put your tactic to the test,' Ashfur said, smirking a little. Without giving Lionpaw a moment to think, the dark grey tom dropped into a crouch, and with a snarl, charged straight at him.

For a moment, it seemed as though the whole world had gone silent. Ashfur had expected to plough straight the apprentice and knock him down to the ground. After all, everything was in his favour: he was older, presumably stronger and he had the advantage of surprise. But to his shock, Lionpaw stood his ground, raising his paws and using his own momentum to push Ashfur away. His attack hadn't been completely without success though. The force of the impact had knocked Lionpaw off balance. The apprentice rolled on the floor for a moment, breathing heavily.

Ashfur hated to praise the young tom, but he didn't have much choice. 'Well done,' he said reluctantly. 'You did well.'

Lionpaw sat up, looking pleased with himself. At this, Ashfur knew he couldn't let the apprentice think that he'd outfought him. 'But there's still things to improve on,' he snapped. 'The charge still knocked you off balance. If it was a real battle, I would've got up and pounced on you while you were still on the ground. Blocking is a good method if the cat you're facing is the same size as you, but not if they're older and more experienced.'

The young tom nodded, his eyes full of determination. 'Yes Ashfur. I won't make that mistake next time.'

Ashfur spat onto the dusty floor, before getting back up to his paws. 'Again,' he growled. 'And this time, try a different approach.'

They carried on training until late in the day. The warrior continuously battered Lionpaw with charges and leaps, honing in on his apprentice's defensive manoeuvres. It frustrated Ashfur that his apprentice always seemed to have an answer to whatever he threw at him, whether he used brute strength or a more tactical approach. They trained relentlessly for a long, long time, but Lionpaw didn't seem to get tired. It was almost like attacking the wall of the camp. He had known that Lionpaw was talented, but this sort of fighting ability he hadn't expected.

But in a way, this made Ashfur enjoy it all the more. Sometimes, he found himself imagining that it wasn't Lionpaw he was attacking, but Squirrelflight. Battering the she-cat in his mind brought a kind of pleasure to him, one that allowed him to take out the fury inside him without actually hurting anyone. Once or twice, he had to suppress the urge to unsheathe his claws and start attacking her properly. The only reason they finally stopped the training session was because Ashfur started to feel tired himself.

'Okay,' Ashfur said, sitting back on his haunches. His heart was beating furiously against the sides of his chest. 'That's enough.'

'Already?' Lionpaw looked disappointed. The apprentice hadn't even broken a sweat. 'But there's so much more to learn!'

Ashfur stared at him incredulously. How can't he even be tired? he thought. 'We've training for a long time now,' he retorted. 'Look, the sun's beginning to set.'

Lionpaw glanced up at the sky. He too seemed surprise at how the time had passed. 'Whoa,' he said. 'I hardly noticed.'

'Clearly,' Ashfur muttered, through gritted teeth. Slowly, he got to his paws, before padding away from the centre of the sandy hollow. 'Come on,' he called out to his apprentice. 'We're going back to camp.'

Lionpaw didn't argue, instead just choosing to follow him quietly.

On the way back, Ashfur suddenly began to realise just how exhausted he was. Every muscle in his body ached, like he'd run through a thousand bramble bushes backwards. He knew he hadn't been doing as much work as he could've been doing recently, but neither had Lionpaw. So how in StarClan's namehad he been unaffected by the session?

Ashfur despised the fact that Lionpaw appeared to have more endurance than he did. He felt like he'd been shown up, by an apprentice no less.

When they got back to camp, he watched Lionpaw pad back over to the apprentice's den. Somehow, Ashfur was certain that he'd missed something. No matter what appeared to have happened, it just wasn't possible that Lionpaw couldn't have been tired. All the dislike he'd previously felt boiled up in his blood once more. Maybe the sun had been getting to him. It was much hotter than usual, after all.

As he padded down into the camp clearing, Ashfur sniffed the air currents. Squirrelflight hadn't come back to camp with her patrol yet. If he was lucky, she'd never come back again.

As always, I really hope you liked this chapter! Chapter Three of this should be posted after I've finished Chapter Eight of Slaves. Please consider dropping a review, I really appreciate them!