Chapter TWO:
Third Person – Leafpool
A drop of sweat trickled down Leafpool's forehead and she shook her head irritably to get rid of it. Sensing that the droplet was still there, she let out a long sigh and mopped her brow with the already-damp rag beside her. Picking up her knife again, she pressed the point into the wood and began to carve the pattern of feathers onto her masterpiece.
After the near-drowning experience, Leafpool decided that she had to avoid Squirrelflight and her friends at all costs—despite how rude and devastating it would be on her sister's side. Although it broke her heart to see the deflated expression on the redhead's face, Leafpool convinced herself that she was doing what was best for everyone—even if it meant her bond with her sister would be weakened. Their father had made it very clear—that time was the last time that Squirrelflight would be punished lightly for her mistakes.
With a sudden opening in her schedule created by her avoidance strategy, Leafpool turned to her art as a way to escape boredom. A few days ago, she asked her father for a large, fourteen by twelve-inch chestnut board. In the summer heat, she set to carving the image of a crow and a cat sitting side by side.
She had spent at least twenty hours on this project so far, painstakingly making sure that each detail was precise and placed perfectly. She worked on it as soon as she woke up, after breakfast, before lunch, until dinner, and even after dessert. She would go to bed, however, when one of the maids knocked on her door to give her the five minute warning when either Firestar or Sandstorm made their nightly rounds.
The hours of work made her hands cramp uncomfortably and whatever ice she brought with her to ease the pain melted quickly in the summer heat. She had to wipe her hands every few minutes in order to make sure that the knife wouldn't slip out of her hand. The fruit of her labor made the grueling process seem insignificant. With a nearly finished crow and the outline of the other figures carved out, Leafpool knew it wouldn't be long before the piece would be finished.
Shifting slightly so that she could work on the space between cat and crow, she dug her carving knife into the firm surface. "What are you doing?" A voice asked suddenly. Startled, Leafpool's hand slipped and she let out a cry of anguish when her knife gouged a jagged line into her wood piece.
"Oh, no no no no no no…" She whimpered, smoothing her hands over the new cut in the wood. It was ruined—the cut was too deep to cover with other marks. The balance of the piece was upset. Staring at her half-finished masterpiece, Leafpool felt a wave of anger crash onto her. So many hours, she thought bitterly as she traced her finger over the jagged line again. So much hard work. Wasted. Whoever caused this would most definitely be given a piece of mind.
"Why did you have to—" She broke off when she saw who was standing behind her. Immediately, the words died in her throat. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, feeling the blood rush to her face with embarrassment and fury. Instead, she ground her teeth down, catching the inside of her lip as she clamped her mouth shut. She always found it hard to talk around Crowfeather.
His icy eyes looked over her frustrated expression before traveling over to her piece. They widened slightly when he saw the mistake his words had caused. "I-I…" He started, a guilty expression crossing his face.
"I-i-it's nothing," Leafpool quickly stammered, lifting her hands and blocking Crowfeather's view of her carving. Inwardly, she cursed herself. Why did she always have to shy away from him? Speak your mind! "A s-small mistake. I can fi-fix it easily…" She groaned inwardly at her words. Well, so much for that. Her timid nature never helped her with coming out with her true feelings. Her hand trembled violently and the knife slipped from her fingers. She yelped and quickly bent over to pick it up again, inwardly cursing herself for saying that she could fix it. Who was she kidding? The piece was ruined.
Just as she raised the knife to her piece again, a cool hand tugged the knife out of her hand while another gently nudged her to the side. She watched dazedly as Crowfeather knelt down beside her and dug the knifepoint into the hard surface. Immediately, it felt as if the air around her had been sucked out by some mysterious force. She was almost overwhelmed by the sudden closeness and the sudden lack of personal space. When she felt herself gravitating toward him, she pulled back with a blush. He seemed not to notice as he carved into the wood, his hand unsteady and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
Alarms were going off at the back of Leafpool's head when she realized his carving hand was blocking whatever he was working on. A part of her wanted to rip the piece of out of his hands to keep the damages to a minimum, but the sincere diligence in his movements quickly reassured her fretful side. She felt herself relaxing as she submerged herself in the sounds of the forest and the rasp of metal against wood. Whatever Crowfeather made of her piece would be acceptable, she decided. I can't deny anyone when they're that sincere, she thought with a sigh.
"I don't know if this makes it alright but…" Crowfeather leaned back and Leafpool snapped out of her thoughts to peer at her altered piece. In the place of the jagged line was a roughly carved leaf. As she studied the newest score into the wood, warmth spread through her body.
It was almost as if the black-haired boy had touched her heart with this carving. She stroked the surface of it gently, feeling the awkward catches in the blade. It was perfect. Although the carving screamed amateur, the leaf fit Crowfeather perfectly. This was the side that Squirrelflight frequently told her about—and for once—she was seeing it for herself. She turned and smiled at him. "Thank you," she whispered. "It's wonderful."
"It's not the best craftsmanship…" Crowfeather mumbled begrudgingly, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I'll work on it." He paused and studied the wood again. "Why are you making this again?" At his words, Leafpool furrowed her eyebrows together. Do I need to have a reason to make art? Once again, her thoughts didn't resonate in the answer she gave him.
"My bedroom is…simple," she said slowly, tracing over the leaf again. "Squirrelflight always complains about how boring it is and she told me that I should hang up my art." She chuckled softly, stroking the surface of her crow and marveling at the difference in texture between her carving and Crowfeather's. The levels of experience between the two of them were drastically different, but amazingly, they seemed to fit well together. She felt an unexpected wave of fondness and tenderness wash over her as the two of them stared at her wood carving. For some reason, at that moment, it felt as if she had known him for all of her life.
"A crow and a cat," he commented, breaking their few moments of silence. Inwardly, Leafpool mourned the loss of the connection she felt with him. "Where did you get that idea?"
"…It's from a dream that I keep having," she admitted. "But the leaf wasn't there before—at least I don't remember anything about a leaf." Leafpool nearly slapped herself for the awkward silence that followed. "Well then again, it's your leaf. I mean—uh…" She swallowed the lump in throat. "…Have you seen Squirrelflight?" She asked, quickly changing the topic.
"She's with the others by the river. Why?"
"I-I-I just wanted her to see it and tell me what she thinks. Umm, why did you come here?" Now that the moment was lost, Leafpool was quickly settling back into reality and she gazed uneasily at Crowfeather. Of all people, why had he been the one to seek her out?
"Is it against the rules to go into the forest if you're not Firestar's kid?" Crowfeather snipped irritably. All warmth inside of her dissipated; it suddenly felt as if she was being held at sword point. At the brunette's startled expression, Crowfeather shook his head and scowled at her. "Look, your sister asked me to come and look for you because she hadn't seen you all day yesterday or all morning today. I got stuck with the job because everyone else was 'busy' having a good time playing around in the water." At his words, Leafpool's heart hardened and she cursed herself for thinking that he had come out on his own accord. Of course Squirrelflight told him to come and look for me, she thought. She always gets uncomfortable if she doesn't see me often enough.
"Just tell her that I'm here by the border of the forest," Leafpool replied coolly, collecting her knife and her art piece. "And thank her for wanting to check up on me." When Crowfeather didn't move, she turned her back to him and added, "Thank you, too. Even if my sister told you to find me, I appreciate you actually coming." She began carving again, pausing only when she heard him step away. As his footsteps faded from the clearing, Leafpool reached forward and stroked the hastily carved leaf with her fingertips.
"Just who are you, Crowfeather?" She murmured softly, remembering the myriad of sentiments that had filled her in his presence. "And just what do you do to me?"
Third Person – Crowfeather
"How was Leafpool?" Squirrelflight called from the shade of a willow tree, wringing her hair out. Crowfeather blinked at her before giving his answer.
"She's fine. She's working on a wood carving of some sort. She says that she wants you to see it sooner or later," he reported blandly. When he spotted Feathertail and Stormfur relaxing in middle of the river, he settled down by the trunk of an oak tree. Although the water would be comforting on his burning skin, it would wash away Leafpool's lingering scent.
Crowfeather plucked a plump blade of grass from his surroundings and began to tear it into tiny pieces. What was he doing? Squirrelflight had originally planned to check up with her sister herself, but Crowfeather had volunteered in her stead, muttering something about how she had to be a good hostess for the rest of their friends. It was a stupid excuse, but it had convinced the redhead to stay behind with the others. Despite being part of the group, he often felt as if he was the odd one out. Stormfur and Feathertail had each other while Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt often stuck together. The two Herobexy aristocrats were also extremely close to Squirrelflight, who sort of acted as a connecting point in their group of friends.
He had volunteered out of selflessness and curiosity. Although he and Leafpool crossed paths often, they hardly spared a glance at one another. Being part of Squirrelflight's tightly-knit circle of friends, he felt somewhat obligated to befriend or at least familiarize the redhead's twin sister just a little bit. That was probably what drove him to offer his time to seek out the brunette. Deep inside of his mind, however, was a stubborn protest that there was something more than respect and obligation. There was something mysterious and weirdly attractive about Leafpool that drew in his interest like a fly to a Venus flytrap.
He shivered as he remembered her proximity as he carved his leaf into her piece. He could still smell the delicate vanilla-and-lavender scent that wrapped around her like a blanket. He could feel the warmth that radiated off of her body and forced its way into his, raising the hair on his arms and sending his sense into overdrive. Crowfeather didn't know what was happening to him—from a young age, he had always marveled and fawned over Feathertail. Feathertail was beautiful, graceful, and easy to be with. She always had kind words to say and a friendliness that drew people toward her like a magnet. She was—and still is—the center of his interests, but at the same time, he felt a pull from Leafpool that he couldn't deny.
Leafpool had a similar delicacy to Feathertail. However, where the silver-haired girl was bold and courageous, the brunette shied away and kept to herself. While Feathertail was open and kind, Leafpool was like an endless maze, full of secrets and whispered promises. He often had a hard time believing Squirrelflight's description of the brunette, but after his most recent encounter with her, he was quickly having second thoughts. Leafpool was someone more than a timid, reserved girl. She had a certain touch of pride to her—one that lit her eyes a fiery amber and made her raise her head high. While Feathertail was a sight for sore eyes, Leafpool had a certain beauty to her that only seemed to grow as more sides of her were revealed.
Crowfeather suddenly felt as if he was one of those hopeless characters in the frivolous romance novels that Feathertail and Tawnypelt seemed to love. While he longed for Feathertail's attention, he also felt himself yearn for Leafpool's acknowledgement. He felt a wave of frustration wash over him. He cared for Feathertail, not Leafpool. He only noticed her out of obligation and respect. Yet at the back of his mind, a voice disagreed with him. If you don't care for her, then why did you even try to fix the mistake she made? It asked, scowling at him.
He felt guilty for startling her, but was it his remorse what drove him to take up the knife and start carving? He was never good at the arts and often preferred athletics and logistics to art. The leaf that he had crudely carved into the wood screamed amateur, and beside Leafpool's extremely talented work, it stood out like a sore spot. He wondered if she had called it wonderful just to make him feel better. But was it possible to fake that amount of sincerity in her voice?
"…It's from a dream that I keep having." The cat and the crow were from one of her dreams? Strangely enough, the two creatures were present in his dreams whenever he stayed over at the Zephyra manor. The only difference between his interpretation and hers was that there was always a leaf and a feather sitting between the two animals.
"Just tell her that I'm here by the border of the forest." The cold, icy tone of Leafpool's voice had startled him when he informed her of Squirrelflight's concern. As usual, he had little control over his arrogant manner of speaking and had too much pride to apologize for the rudeness of his tone. However, Leafpool's reaction to his words had dumbfounded him. The confused and shy look in her eyes had quickly faded into a cool indifference as she gazed at him. She hadn't shied away like she usually would; she didn't duck her head and absorb whatever harsh words he had to say. Instead, the Leafpool that had poked her head out to smile at him had quickly withdrawn and locked the door to her heart. And hanging from her doorknob was a sign that had "KEEP OUT AND STAY OUT" written in bold.
Suddenly, it felt as if she had become an alien to him. He had always seen her as a shadow, fading away into the background when no one bothered to pay attention to her. She was obedient, quiet, and chose appeasement over confrontation. Now she was proud, shameless, and bold—standing with her chin high and her back straight. Her amber eyes burned a hole into his mind as she stared at him from his memories, daring him to tuck her away into a corner and forget her forever.
Crowfeather shook his head irritably and exited his reverie. He was overreacting to this new side of her. The two of them were most likely going to keep to themselves and avoid each other at all costs. Knowing Leafpool, she was most likely going to do whatever she could to keep their encounters to a minimum. With her extensive knowledge of the layout of the Zephyra manor, it wouldn't be difficult to see very little of her for the last few days of his stay. Either way, a small voice screamed out at him from the depths of his mind and challenged his indifference toward Leafpool.
"There's no reason for me to know her," he reminded himself quietly. But the feeling gnawing at his heart begged to differ. "But who are you…and what do you do to me?"
Third Person – Squirrelflight
If she were asked to make a list of things that she loved about her sister, Squirrelflight was sure that she would need yards and yards of paper to even get half of those things down. But toward the top of the list, close by her love for Leafpool's gentle smile and melodious laugh was her art. Without a doubt, the brunette was a stunning artist and Squirrelflight often found herself begging her sister to show her the sketches of the day.
Today's art project was no different from any others. She had been excited to hear that her sister was working on a new piece and had raced upstairs as soon as she was finished playing "hostess" to her group of friends. When Leafpool opened the door to her bedroom and dragged the redhead in, Squirrelflight's jaw suddenly decided that it would be a good time to dislocate itself and refuse to function properly. It currently hung, suspended by the skin and muscles of her face as she stared at the wood carving on her sister's bed. Leafpool, who was used to her antics, fidgeted excitedly beside her.
"It's not finished yet," she said bashfully when Squirrelflight finally gathered enough willpower to tear her gaze away from the piece. She gave Squirrelflight a shy, delighted smile when the redhead turned her awestruck gaze back to the carving.
"Eight years old and a prodigy of art," she murmured in wonder, a grin spreading across her face. "You have to show mama and papa this." After receiving an approving nod from her sister, Squirrelflight ran her fingers over the grooves in the wood. Each cut was smooth and expertly executed, only adding to her delight as she explored the piece with her hands. Her fingers brushed over a roughly cut area and she frowned, pulling her and away and leaning forward to study the spot curiously. "What happened here?" She asked, nodding to the crudely carved leaf. "This isn't your carving style."
An embarrassed and wary look crossed Leafpool's face as she crossed her arms and stared at the leaf. "It's not," she agreed. "It's Crowfeather's."
"Crowfeather?" Squirrelflight repeated in disbelief. "Are you crazy? He can barely draw a tree—let alone carve a leaf!" She scowled at the ragged and crude carving, inwardly cursing her friend for ruining her sister's masterpiece. "He ruined it," she protested, wrapping her arms around herself in frustration.
"Well, it was ruined before that," Leafpool replied exasperatedly, shooting her sister a fond look. "He did a good job for someone so inexperienced. I like it," she said, shrugging at Squirrelflight gave her another taken-aback stare.
"'Ruined before that'? That implies that a mistake was made." A conflicted look crossed Leafpool's face and Squirrelflight frowned. "Leafa, are you hiding something from me?" The thoughtful expression on her sister's face passed quickly and she smiled stiffly, shaking her head slowly.
"It looks even I'm not perfect with my art," she replied, laughing softly. Squirrelflight hesitated at the slight edge in her sister's voice, but decided not to push it. She knew Leafpool hated being pressured, and even if it bothered her that her sister was keeping secrets from her, the redhead kept her mouth shut. Everyone thinks that I'm oblivious and simple-minded, she thought irritably. Yeah right.
"So Crowfeather looked a bit distracted when he came back to us. Anything happen between the two of you when he came to check up on you?" At her question, Leafpool stiffened slightly, and the redhead felt a stab of suspicion at the wary gleam in her sister's eyes.
"No, nothing of the sort." Squirrelflight narrowed her eyes as she watched the brunette. Leafpool was blatantly lying to her. For the first time, the redhead realized that she didn't know her sister as well as she initially thought.There's a wall between us now, huh? She thought sadly, gazing at her sister forlornly. Leafpool tugged at the ends of her hair and Squirrelflight sighed inwardly, recognizing the action as a signal that the brunette was going to change the topic. "Anyway, thank you for sending him to check up on me."
"Sending him?" Squirrelflight repeated slowly. "Leafa, I planned on finding you myself! I was going to come find you but he told me that he'd go in my place. Mumbled some mumbo jumbo about how I had to play the role of a good hostess and whatnot." She shook her head in exasperation.
"What?" Squirrelflight stiffened at the shrill tone of Leafpool's voice. It wasn't like her to suddenly raise her voice like that. In fact, it was rare that the brunette would ever raise her voice at all. "He told me that he was 'stuck with the job' of checking up on me! He said that everyone else was too busy 'playing around in the water'!"
"Playing around in the water?" The redhead spluttered. "I was going to check up on you myself! What the heck, Crowfeather!" What in the world does he think he's doing? She was definitely going to give him a piece of her mind after all this. He practically told Leafpool that she was worthless and a waste of time! Nobody just walks away after talking to my sister like that, she thought furiously, turning on her heel and stalking toward the door.
"Not so fast, Squirrelflight." The redhead felt herself being held back as her sister stepped forward, her face contorted in rage. Immediately, the green-eyed girl felt her anger extinguish at the look of fury on her sister's face. She had never seen Leafpool this angry before and she mentally decided that she would never want to cross paths with her sister ever again. She shrunk away slightly, fearfully taking in the stiffness of Leafpool's figure. "My fight, my responsibility. I'll deal with him."
"R-right now?" Squirrelflight choked out as her sister stalked out of the room.
"Yes!" Leafpool snapped.
Third Person – Crowfeather
"Check." Crowfeather stifled a yawn as he watched Feathertail corner Bramble claw's king for the fifth time. The two of them were engaged in a rather intense chess match—each person dancing around the other's army as they tried to beat the other. Although Feathertail was older than the dark-haired boy by three years, and therefore more experienced than him, Brambleclaw often found ways to put the Riverside aristocrat in a tight spot. In the past ten minutes, she had been put in a few compromising situations where it seemed that she would lose the battle, but she always managed to find a loophole in the younger aristocrat's strategy.
The remainders of Squirrelflight's friends were strewn around the den, each keeping to themselves. While Crowfeather watched Brambleclaw and Feathertail's chess match with feigned interest, Tawnypelt dozed by the fire and Stormfur thumbed his way through a thick, dusty book from the shelves lining the walls of the room. Neither of the two spared the other three a single glance as the chess match went on.
The hour between dinner and bedtime was often the least exciting portion of each day—everyone was drowsy and satisfied after dessert. In this time, Squirrelflight often chose to leave her friends in the den to seek out her sister and Crowfeather would have to find a way to amuse himself while the others did the same. Just further down the hallway, their parents were probably drinking wine and talking each other's ears off. They would probably be arguing over some sort of petty disagreement or chatting about their childhoods. It seemed that all adults were interested in talking about was the past; Crowfeather wondered distastefully if he would eventually grow up to do the same.
Crowfeather sighed and slumped against the sofa in boredom. Today seemed to be the most restless and boring day of all. Just as he was about to lose himself in his thoughts, a figure stopped before him and a menacing aura washed over him. Startled, the blue-eyed boy lifted his head to see Leafpool staring down at him with a murderous expression on her face. Taken aback, he recoiled slightly, all the more unnerved at the satisfied gleam in her eyes. "Can I help you?" he asked, carefully hiding his discomfort under a layer of indifference.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room became stifling. Crowfeather could almost imagine everyone abandoning whatever they were doing and turn their eyes on the brunette. For once, she didn't seem to flinch under the burning scrutiny of multiple eyes as she glared down at him. At his question, a sickly sweet smile crossed her face and she crossed her arms across her chest. "Yes, actually, there is something you can do." The icy tone of her voice made it feel as if the temperature of the room had just dropped ten degrees. "I'm afraid you owe my sister and me an apology."
"An apology?" Damn. There was his pride again. "For what?" The grin on Leafpool's face only grew wider and suddenly Crowfeather felt as if he had just tangoed with the devil.
"You are a cruel, cruel person," she murmured coldly. "You pretended that my sister was inconsiderate enough to send someone to check up on me on the premise that she was too busy 'playing in the water'." The look in her eyes grew hard. "And I understand. You may think I'm overreacting about your choice of words, but I have something to say to you." A sadistic smile tugged at Leafpool's lips as she leaned forward slightly, nearly bringing herself down to eye-level with him. Crowfeather distractedly noticed the sound of quickly approaching footsteps as Leafpool's amber eyes narrowed at him. "Swallow your damn pride," she whispered.
"Leafpool!" Everyone's eyes turned to the den doorway, where a slightly flushed Firestar and Squirrelflight were staring at the brunette in horror. "Language!" Ignoring her father, the amber-eyed girl redirected her attention to Crowfeather.
"You're only going to hurt the people around you with the way you talk," she told him bitterly. "And you're going to suffer because of it. People will walk away from you if you can't learn to say something nice for once. Say something right for once. If you don't…" she cocked her head to the side slowly. "You're going to find yourself alone very, very quickly. And you're going to break because of that. You're going to break because you can't wrap your mind around the fact that your pride is what hurts the people around you!" Her voice rose angrily and her upper lip curled slightly in a snarl.
"I'm not your friend," she said suddenly, the fire in her eyes quickly being washed over with a frosty sheet of ice. "So I'm not scared of telling you this: put my sister down in any way and I will hunt you down to the ends of Zendiria, You underestimate me, Crowfeather. I am more than capable of breaking you, and I'm not hesitant to do it." She stepped back, gave him one last glare and walked over to her father.
"Father," she greeted him curtly. "Do you wish to have a word with me?" Firestar and Squirrelflight, like many others in the room gaped at her as she raised her head to meet his eyes. Crowfeather, quickly overcoming his shock, noticed the fearful and wistful glance that Leafpool tossed at her sister. What a girl, a small voice inside of him mused dazedly. She doesn't regret a single thing that she said. She really loves her sister, doesn't she? Crowfeather begrudgingly agreed with the look that Brambleclaw, who was the second to recover from Leafpool's words, shot in his direction. I had it coming, he thought dejectedly.
"I do." Sandstorm's face appeared in the midst of chaos as Firestar closed and opened his mouth multiple times in an attempt to find his voice. He cast a startled look over his shoulder at his wife as she beckoned to their daughter. "Upstairs. I'd like to have a word with you in your bedroom." Suddenly, it looked as if all the adrenaline that had powered Leafpool had disappeared from her bloodstream as her shoulders sagged and she stepped out of the room to follow her mother upstairs.
Crowfeather heard Sandstorm's voice cut through the silence as she addressed her husband and her daughter. "Firestar, Squirrelflight; remember to close your mouths before the flies crawl in." Both aristocrats snapped their jaws together like bear traps and stared dazedly over their shoulders after their retreating family members.
Squirrelflight, who somewhat recovered from her sister's outburst faster than her father, gave Crowfeather a bone-chilling glare. "You heard her, Crowfeather," she growled. "And the same goes for me. Put down my sister, and I'll give you a piece of my mind. I'll go easy on you since you're a friend, but…consider yourself warned."
Third Person – Leafpool
To her complete and utter surprise, she did not receive the scolding that her mother's words had implied. Instead, once the door to her bedroom had been shut, Sandstorm had wrapped her arms around her daughter and smiled proudly at her. "My little girl is finally standing up for herself," the auburn-haired woman cooed, absentmindedly stroking her daughter's hair. "I'm so proud of you."
"Mother?" Leafpool asked weakly.
"Ah—right." The serious look reappeared on her mother's face and the green-eyed woman regarded her daughter sternly. "You're eating alone for three weeks and you're not allowed to stay up late to work on your art." At Leafpool's startled expression, Sandstorm smiled wryly. "You thought I wouldn't notice?" She teased, a mischievous light sparkling in her eyes. "You're my daughter! Of course I'd notice!" She paused and cleared her throat awkwardly. "You'll also be required to help the maids with the chores for a month and you have to help the stablemen with the horses for a week. I'm sure they will not notice if you decide to take long breaks in between duties."
Her mother quivered slightly before her façade cracked and another proud smile spread across her face. "I am so proud of you right now," she whispered. "You're growing up to be a strong woman."
"Mother…" Leafpool was at a loss for words. How in the world could her mother be proud of her right now? Now that her anger had faded, she realized just what she had said to Crowfeather and she faintly remembered catching a glimpse of his parents as she followed her mother upstairs. She probably ruined the relationship between the houses of Zephyra and Ebenwing just by speaking out like that. "I just insulted one of the most prestigious families in the house of Ebenwing? Aren't you…being rather lenient with my punishment?" A look of concern crossed her mother's face and Sandstorm frowned thoughtfully at her daughter.
"Leafpool, I understand that you think that the punishment is insufficient. And as much as I know you're going to hate the answer I'm about to give you, I need you to know that the punishment is more than enough." When Leafpool opened her mouth to protest, Sandstorm raised a finger to silence her. "Ashfoot and Deadfoot are both agreeable and understanding people. They may be a little shaken up, but once Squirrelflight—or one of the others—explains what happened to them, they won't take offense to your words. In fact, they'll probably agree with you." Sandstorm frowned softly. "I won't lie to you; the rest of Ebenwing may not agree with their judgment once this news reaches out to them. But as a secret between you and me, the house of Ebenwing is weakening. Right now, they'll do whatever they can to keep some sort of power in our political system even though they're running out of heritage blood.
"Anyway, the punishment that I've given you is mostly to appease the Ebenwings that might be ruffled up by what you said to Crowfeather. And also to see if our new maids respect us enough to keep to themselves and not gossip with servants from the other houses." A scowl crossed the auburn-haired woman's face and Leafpool mentally noted that her mother seemed to have some standing resentment toward gossiping staff. "Your father is proud of you too—just give him a time to realize that his daughter doesn't need to hide behind him anymore and he'll tell you just how proud he is." Sandstorm smiled gently at her daughter. "You did the right thing. You stood up for your sister and you and for yourself. That's all I could ever ask for.
"Leafpool, that was the first time that I have ever seen you lose your temper with someone. Even when you disagree with things, you don't speak up for yourself. And the dedication that you showed to Squirrelflight today makes it clear to me that you love her very much." A wistful smile crossed Sandstorm's face. "I'm not scared of this family breaking apart anymore. I was always afraid that you would break away because of how everyone thinks that you're just living in the shadow of your sister. But you're not. You proved that tonight—to everyone."
Despite the overjoyed haze that was clouding Leafpool's mind at her mother's praise, she couldn't help but feel a dark shadow settle over her heart. Not scared of this family breaking apart anymore? Our family was breaking apart? But something inside of Leafpool inhibited her from asking her mother for clarification. The haunted look in her mother's eyes made the brunette wonder if her world was going to start falling to pieces around her.
The last few days flew by with little incident. Leafpool stood respectfully by the doorway as Squirrelflight hugged her friends and waved goodbye as their carriages rode away. Tawnypelt stopped by the brunette and gave her a tight hug, giving her a gentle smile before promising that she and her brother would pay them another visit sometime soon.
Out of all of Squirrelflight's friends, Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw lived closest. Herobexy manor was approximately forty-five minutes away from the Zephyra manor and the two aristocrats took to visiting Firestar's family at least twice a month. Graystripe was usually the one who drove them over on the weekends, seeing that he practically lived at the Zephyra manor with occasional visits to his childhood home. Crowfeather's home was much further away—it took about eleven hours to travel to and from his manor to Firestar's. As for Stormfur and Feathertail, their manor was at least ten hours away. The two Riverside aristocrats usually spent an entire day getting to and from the Zephyra manor. Because of how much further away the two of them were, their visits were much less frequent and with luck, they would visit at least three times a year with Graystripe bringing them over.
Dustpelt, who was responsible for bringing the Herobexy aristocrats home, saluted to Sandstorm and flicked the reigns. Leafpool watched as Squirrelflight brushed past Crowfeather and moved over to hug Feathertail and her brother. The redhead and the silver-haired girl kissed each other on the cheek and waved goodbye before they climbed into their carriage. Graystripe, who was responsible for getting them home, hugged Sandstorm and gave Firestar a warm squeeze on the shoulder. "See ya in a bit, Leafpool," he murmured affectionately before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"See you in a bit, Graystripe," she whispered back. His amber eyes twinkled at her before he climbed onto his coach and started up the horses. Leafpool watched nervously as Squirrelflight turned to her remaining friend—Crowfeather. The two of them shared a cautious hug and Leafpool felt a stab of guilt for creating a rift between her sister and her friend. Lifting his head from Squirrelflight's shoulder, Crowfeather directed his icy blue eyes to where Leafpool stood and she flinched at the intensity of his gaze. The two of them stared at one another until Squirrelflight pulled away from him and he stepped back to follow his parents into their carriage. As they drove away, Leafpool stared after the coach, wondering if Crowfeather was staring back at her through the tinted glass.
"You okay, Leafa?"
"I'm fine," Leafpool affirmed quietly. "But I should be asking you that. After all, our tutors are returning tomorrow." She couldn't help but smile at her sister's dramatic groan and disgruntled mumbles at the thought of their tutoring sessions.
"Why can't we just give them vacations for the rest of their lives? I'm sure hunting will do me much better," Squirrelflight declared loudly throwing a look in her father's direction.
"That's because we don't have enough money to do that for all of your professors," Sandstorm replied curtly, her lips twitching in amusement.
"Not to mention that, but the whole reason why we pay tutors to teach you is because we want you two to grow up to be educated young women," Firestar quipped, snorting affectionately at his two daughters. "Tell you what; if you attend each and every session for the weeks to come, I'll reward you by taking you to self-defense lessons with me. Leafpool can come too, if she's interested."
"Whadaya say, Leafa?" Squirrelflight asked immediately, whirling around to face her sister. "Doesn't that seem fun? Now you can actually figure out how to take down Crowfeather!"
"Figure out?" Leafpool echoed. "What are you talking about? I know exactly how to hunt him down." She paused and added, "But the lessons do sound interesting. I'd like to come too, father."
"Hunt him down?" Firestar repeated, a stricken expression coming across his face. Beside him, Sandstorm's eyes glittered with amusement. "I don't remember any of the tutors having hunting lessons in their curriculum."
"We don't have hunting lessons if we're not out hunting, father," Leafpool giggled. "It's easy enough to learn how to hunt and take someone down."
"Enlighten me."
"Well…acupuncture." At her father's raised eyebrows, Leafpool flushed uncomfortably. "They teach you about pressure points and everything. If you were to apply enough pressure to certain spot, you could easily kill someone…"
"And who's teaching you acupuncture?"
"Your library?"
"My libr—what? My library? What kind of books do I have in there?" Firestar slapped his forehead in confusion.
"Obviously the kind that can teach Leafpool how to take someone down," Sandstorm retorted. She smiled thoughtfully at her daughter. "I think it's alright that she knows all of this, though. I trust Leafpool to be reasonable and rational." She shot an amused glance at Squirrelflight, who protested at not being considered reasonable or rational. "After all, she's only read about the different pressure points, right? It takes practice to actually learn how to work with them."
"That's true," Leafpool agreed. "But I can't say that it's impossible to work through trial and error."
"That, I would like to say no to," Firestar said quickly, completely missing the mischievous smiles his wife and daughter shared. "I don't need you killing half the population before deciding how much pressure is really needed to kill someone."
"Don't worry, father. I'm more interested in saving lives than taking them." She puffed her chest out slightly. "Cinderpelt says that she wants to teach me how to be a doctor. She says that she'll start letting me dissect animals if you'd let me."
"We'll see," Firestar sighed.
"The best doctors come from those who have had experience early on," Sandstorm pointed out.
"Are you with me or are you not?" Firestar looked exasperatedly at his wife.
"I'm doing what I think is right, and that is to allow my daughter to study things that will only benefit her." She gave her husband a pointed look. "Now you're not going to divest our daughter of that, are you?"
Third Person – Crowfeather
He bid his parents goodnight despite the fact that it was early in the morning. Although the trip had only taken about six hours, he was exhausted. It was nearly impossible to fall asleep on the road, especially with how bumpy the roads could be if the driver was not careful. Thankfully, his parents understood his need to take the day off and quickly went to do the same.
Crowfeather climbed up the spiral staircase of the house, nodding sleepily at the butlers who bowed to him on his way to his room. Closing the doors behind him, he stripped himself quickly and dazedly reminded himself that his little vacation was over. Tomorrow's schedule would undeniably be the same as usual. Tutoring, fencing lessons and other activities that Crowfeather would have to participate in order to inherit the role as the head of the house of Ebenwing.
Although it was most reasonable for Deadfoot to become the next head of the house after Tallstar (seeing it as he was the only adult male with heritage blood in Ebenwing), the current head insisted that it would be easier to teach both father and son the responsibilities of being the head at once. In all honesty, Crowfeather wasn't looking forward to the idea of becoming head of Ebenwing. Now that there were only three members of the house in possession of heritage blood, a lot of the inherited aristocrats feared that they would lose their status as nobles and clung onto their current leader like limpets. Becoming head seemed like a suffocating position that Crowfeather was less than willing to occupy, but he was still forced to attend Telstar's lessons.
As his throbbing head reminded him of his body's need for sleep, the blue-eyed boy walked over to his windows and quickly pulled the curtains over the glass. Yawning, he slid under the covers and shifted for a few moments before drifting off into sleep.
Crowfeather stepped along the pebbled shore of a wide river, turning over the smooth stones as he passed. He shook his body irritably—the light drizzle was making his pelt thick and heavy. As he continued to walk along the water, he began to wonder what he was even doing by the river. Windclan cats were probably the most resentful toward water—rabbits disliked the rain just as much as felines did. Although it was good to have rain bringing in the new shoots of grass for rabbits, it forced the outdoors-obsessed cats to take shelter in caves, tunnels, and under trees. Crowfeather shook his head irritably at the thought—he would much rather sleep outside with the wind blowing over his head like a caress. At the same time, a damp pelt often equated to the contraction of greencough or whitecough.
The river spilled into a pool that reflected the stars that filled the sky above. He glanced back at the mouth of the river and watched the starlight glittered across its moving surface. 'Father, can you hear me?' Crowfeather thought to himself as he lifted his nose to the lights that twinkled overhead. 'Tallstar, are you watching over me?' Two of the most respected figures of his life were gone—leaving him alone in an unfamiliar land that was just recently discovered by the clans.
"Crowfeather," a gentle voice called. Crowfeather whipped his head around just as a stunning silver tabby stepped out of the grass. Her blue eyes shimmered as she padded toward him, her feathered tail lifted high above her head in greeting. His heart melted at the tenderness in her eyes.
"Feathertail," he whispered. "I knew you'd be here." He leaned forward to touch noses with her. When her figure passed over his, he felt a twinge of bitterness. It was hard to love a cat who no longer walked on the face of the earth. It was even harder when she still visited his dreams.
"Of course, Crowfeather. I'll always be here." Crowfeather drew back in shock when the cold, ghostly muzzle solidified and became warm, pressing against his gently. Instead of meeting the crystalline blue eyes of Feathertail, he found himself drowning in the depths of Leafpool's amber eyes.
"Of course you will," Crowfeather murmured quietly, a warmth spreading though his entire body as rubbing his head against her chin. "Always." Instead of hearing her familiar, rumbling purr, and the sleekness of her pelt as she intertwined her tail with his, he felt Leafpool pull away from him as the image of Feathertail stepped between them.
"Crowfeather," the silver cat whispered, her eyes glowing passionately at him.
"Feathertail…Leafpool?" Torn, the dark-haired tom glanced back and forth between the two she-cats. Leafpool watched him woefully before bowing her head and retreating. Feathertail padded over to him immediately, purring as she wrapped herself around him. Staring after Leafpool, who stopped a few fox-lengths away, he felt his breath catch in his throat. "I-I don't understand. What's happening here?" Feathertail blinked at him and glanced over to Leafpool, who turned to face an advancing shadow. Crowfeather bristled slightly when a black tom walked out of the darkness and touched noses with the honey-brown cat.
"Crowfeather, you didn't know?" Concern and uncertainty shone in Feathertail's blue eyes as she blocked his view of the two cats. "You have been chosen." Peering past Feathertail, he saw Leafpool pick up a jet-black feather and gaze at him with forlorn eyes. "And you have chosen."
"Chosen? Chosen for what?" It was difficult for him to pull away from Feathertail, but the heartbroken expression in Leafpool's eyes as the black tom wound around her tugged at Crowfeather's heartstrings.
"Chosen for—"
"Wake up, young master. You've been asleep for well over fifteen hours. Your tutor should arrive soon. Please eat your breakfast while it's still fresh." Crowfeather blinked blearily as rays of sunlight flooded his room. He stared dazedly at his butler, who patiently stood with a tray in his hands.
What was all that about? Crowfeather thought to himself as he lifted himself up into a seating position and took the tray from his butler. Feathertail and Leafpool? In a dream together? What was Feathertail talking about—with chosen things and whatnot? Why were all of us cats? Who was that black cat that just popped up out of nowhere? Crowfeather paused. Why was Leafpool holding a black feather?
"Young master, the food is spilling over." Startled, the black-haired boy quickly repositioned the tray on his knees and let out a sigh of relief when the glass of orange juice didn't tip over. "I have news from a maid. It seems that your tutor will meet you in the library in about fifteen minutes. I suggest you hurry, young master." Crowfeather looked down uncertainly at the food on his plate before wolfing it down. Thrusting the tray in his butler's direction, he stumbled over to the bathroom in order to compose himself.
Third Person – Omniscient
A woman studied the stars above and swirled the teacup within her fingers as she leaned against her screen door. The starlight glittered on the white-streaked hair and her tired eyes lifted up to the heavens. She took a small sip from the tea in her hands, relishing the subtle bitterness of the beverage. All was quiet until two stars from opposite ends of the sky streaked across the dark night and disappeared at a single point. The woman stiffened and raced inside, downing the rest of her tea and racing to her kitchen table.
She grabbed a stack of cards, a notepad, and set her empty teacup down. Pulling up a chair, she quickly seated herself and took to analyzing the contents of the porcelain cup. She made note of the two crossed items at the bottom—both which where pointed at one end and rounded off toward the end—and what seemed to be a sprig of grass or a sapling of some sort.
Two leaves (?), Sprig of grass, Sapling (?)
She briskly pushed her teacup away and pulled the cards toward her. She shuffled the deck, split it in half, and shuffled it. She flipped over the first card and froze at the image. Quickly, she drew eleven more cards and laid them out in the order in which she had drawn them.
The first card was split diagonally between a black figure and a white figure. The friend and the foe. The second displayed a glowing orb that filled the entire card with light and purity. The truth. The third depicted a crowned lion in a plain of grass. The king. The fourth contained a picture of a hive of some sorts. The kingdom. The fifth revealed a shooting star. Dreams and achievement. The sixth showed a crouched man with bleeding calves who was clenching his fists and shouting in a hunched-over position. Hardship. The seventh was of a serpent coiling around a skeletal figure. The viper. The eighth contained a scale. A choice. The ninth card was of a shadow towering over a figure. The Shadow. The tenth was of a beautiful woman cupping a star in her palms. Destiny. The eleventh depicted a skeletal figure with a dark cloak and a long, curved scythe. Death. The twelfth showed two pathways weaving together until they disappeared into the distance. Lover's destiny.
The woman spread out the twelve cards and trailed her fingers over them. "The friend and the foe, the truth, the king, the kingdom, the dreams and achievement, hardship, the viper, a choice, the shadows, destiny, death, and the chosen lovers." Frowning at the ominous message of her cards, the woman pulled over her teacup again all while adding to her notes.
Two leaves, raindrops, feathers (?) – Unity of two people? Birds of a feather? Leaves of a tree? Sprig of grass/herbs (?) – healing, cooking, the earth, Sapling (?) – earth, life, trees, stability
Her furious scribbling stopped just as the point of her quill snapped clean off. She stared at the notebook and her cards, alternating between the two as she quickly made connections between them. King…the king of the cards, the grass of the earth, the tree… Suddenly, the realization hit her. "The next king has been chosen," she whispered, eyes darting around her empty home. Puzzled, she tapped the Death card and frowned. "But this death is not of Willowpelt the Third…"
