Tigerclaw slipped into the camp through the gorse tunnel, his dark tabby pelt blending into the shadows. The sun was setting now, casting its pale orange light across the clearing. Countless cats were sharing tongues in the cool evening darkness. Calmer than before, he began to make his way to the warriors' den.
He hadn't walked more than three pawsteps when Darkstripe hurried over to meet him, looking concerned. "There you are, Tigerclaw! Where were you?"
"Sometimes I like to walk around outside of the camp by myself," he spat. "Or is that a problem for you?"
Darkstripe ducked his head. "Sorry, Tigerclaw. I just saw you leave and I was wondering-"
"Last time I checked you were my apprentice."
Darkstripe mumbled something that Tigerclaw couldn't make out. He pushed past him, unsure of how to react to his former underling. Darkstripe had been a worthless ally in the Dark Forest. Then he realized that if he ever wanted to lead ThunderClan again he might need the dark tom's support.
He turned back to Darkstripe, purposely lightening his gaze. "You weren't waiting the whole day for me, were you?"
"No," Darkstripe answered, a bit too hastily. Tigerclaw narrowed his eyes. "I was just er, wondering... I set some prey aside, if you want it."
Tigerclaw's gaze snapped to the rabbit lying next to the warriors' den. He hadn't recognized the odd pain in his belly as hunger until that moment. He began to pad over to it, and turning back, beckoned Darkstripe with his tail. "Well? Are you coming or what?"
Darkstripe trotted after him, not quite able to hide how pleased he was at Tigerclaw's invitation to join him.
Tigerclaw stared down at the rabbit, breathing in its delicious scent. Without another heartbeat's hesitation he leaned over and took a bite. It was even better than he remembered. He chewed thoughtfully for a long time, savoring the long forgotten taste. After he had finished the rabbit, he looked up at Darkstripe, who had been silent the whole time. The dark tom lingered awkwardly, waiting for Tigerclaw to speak.
When he didn't say anything, Darkstripe glanced in the direction of the apprentices' den, curling his lip. "So our newest apprentice is settling in."
With a lash of his tail, Tigerclaw sat up.
"Can you believe it? A kittypet," Darkstripe meowed in an undertone. "Did you see what he did to Longtail's ear?"
Tigerclaw gave a tense nod. He hadn't seen Longtail up close here, but he definitely remembered the clawed ear that had marred his features. "Kittypets do not belong in our Clan."
Darkstripe nodded his head vigorously. "Exactly. I don't know what Bluestar was thinking."
"He won't last," Tigerclaw growled. "Trust me on that."
Darkstripe seemed to be waiting for him to say more, but Tigerclaw was lost in thought. The kittypet was here, only a few fox-lengths away, and Tigerclaw was sorely tempted to just walk over to the apprentices' den and murder him right then and there. A low growl rose from within his throat.
A voice interrupted his thoughts. "Tigerclaw, may I speak to you?" It was Bluestar, sitting in the entrance to her den.
Tigerclaw snorted irritably, and padded up to her. Lionheart or Whitestorm had probably blabbed about his reaction to Firepaw. He met her gaze straight in the eye, deciding that he should maintain his respectful facade for now. "Yes, Bluestar?"
"It's about Firepaw," she meowed. Tigerclaw glanced away angrily. He had hated how easily a kittypet had received a Clan name in his first life, and he hated it now. Bluestar kept going, ignoring his annoyed glance. "I've decided to place you and Lionheart in charge of his training. It will do him good to be around apprentices that aren't too far above his skill level." Tigerclaw blinked in surprise. With Redtail alive, he had expected Bluestar to give the task to her trusted deputy.
She narrowed her eyes. Tigerclaw knew that she was probably aware of his dislike of the kittypet. "I suggest you and Lionheart show him the territory tomorrow. See how he does."
"Yes, Bluestar." He dipped his head. Bluestar nodded in return, flicking her tail to dismiss him.
Tigerclaw turned and padded a few tail-lengths before he impulsively whipped back around, deciding to ask the question that had bothered him the first time around. "Why me? There are plenty of cats with no apprentice that could train him."
Bluestar tilted her head. "I need someone to push him, to test him. I know I can trust you of all cats not to show any favoritism in your assessment."
Tigerclaw nodded absently and padded away. He had originally thought she had chosen him in recognition of his warrior skills, and now hearing that it was because she had trusted his judgement, well... he wasn't sure what to think.
The camp was mostly empty now; even Darkstripe wasn't where Tigerclaw had left him. Supposing he should get some sleep, Tigerclaw pushed his way into the warriors' den. He picked his way around his old Clanmates to his familiar spot at the center of the den.
Curling up in his nest, he thought through the events of his day. The morning hadn't been great, being killed by Firestar and all, but it had brought about a new chapter to his existence. I will plan better this time, he told himself. He just had to be patient. He decided that he would try to act as normally as possible for the time being, though he knew deep down that it would be impossible. StarClan or whatever higher power that had sent him here was expecting him to do things differently and one of those things was training Ravenpaw to become a warrior. Perhaps I could use him to my advantage.
Tigerclaw snorted at the thought. He was already in a great position with his knowledge of the past; he didn't need the scrawny runt. Tigerclaw knew with certainty that if he wanted power, all he had to do was grasp it in his claws, and ThunderClan would be his once more. If he wanted to he could get rid of the kittypet. It was with that thought that he finally drifted to sleep.
The next day Tigerclaw was up at the crack of dawn. It was strange how it felt completely normal to wake up, since it had been the first time he'd slept in seasons.
He stretched out his legs one by one and then made his way out to the clearing. Lionheart was already waiting.
His old friend dipped his head. " 'Morning."
Tigerclaw jerked his head stiffly in greeting.
"I told Graypaw to join us with Firepaw in the sandy hollow," Lionheart explained, starting to go over his plan for training today. As Tigerclaw expected, Ravenpaw's shoulder still hadn't healed enough to train, so they set off without him.
Tigerclaw led the way out of the camp. They made their way to the sandy hollow, and Tigerclaw ignored Lionheart's pointed glances at him as they went. The golden tabby certainly hadn't done that the first time. Was Tigerclaw acting so obviously out of the ordinary that his Clanmates were noticing?
When they reached the hollow, Lionheart settled himself a few tail-lengths from Tigerclaw, wrapping his tail around his paws. "I was thinking we would start by showing them the RiverClan border and then taking them to the Thunderpath."
Tigerclaw grunted noncommittally; it didn't matter to him.
As the sun rose higher, Tigerclaw dug his claws into the ground. The kittypet was late, just like he'd been the first time. He grumbled inwardly. When he was an apprentice, he wouldn't have dared to be late to one of Thistleclaw's training sessions.
Finally a rustle sounded from the surrounding undergrowth. The ginger kittypet padded out to meet Tigerclaw and Lionheart, Graypaw padding along close behind.
Rising to his paws, Tigerclaw glared at Firepaw. "You're late. If you can't put in the effort to be punctual, I don't know how you think you'll survive in this Clan." He tried to put the full force of his hate toward the ginger tom into his gaze. It seemed to work; Firepaw inched backward as though hit by an invisible blow.
"Oh, don't be too harsh, Tigerclaw," Lionheart meowed, his tone lightening the mood. "Last night was a busy night. I expect they were tired."
Tigerclaw watched Firepaw, his eyes narrowed, but the apprentice seemed to have shaken off most of the hostility.
Lionheart continued. "Firepaw, since you haven't been assigned a mentor yet, Tigerclaw and I will share your training for the time being."
For some reason the kittypet seemed pleased about his temporary mentor placement. Tigerclaw recalled that Firepaw had seemed glad the first time but he hadn't expected it now as well; he'd been much clearer about his dislike of the ginger tom. But there he was, his ginger tail flicking in barely disguised happiness.
"What are we doing today?" Graypaw spoke up curiously.
Lionheart stood. "We'll be showing you our borders."
Graypaw's eyes lit up. "All of them? Will we see the-"
Tigerclaw cut him off. "Let's get on with it then, shall we?" He used his broad shoulders to push through the undergrowth at the edge of the hollow. Then he and Lionheart sprinted together in the lead, making no allowances for the young apprentices.
Walking alongside Lionheart, Tigerclaw allowed the golden tabby warrior to take charge of the tour. He felt like he was in a dream. It was strange; if he was remembering correctly, the conversation was almost the same as the first time.
They soon made it to Sunningrocks and were now walking beside the river to Fourtrees. "What is Fourtrees?" Firepaw asked, panting. Somehow the kittypet was even more annoying this time. His voice grated on Tigerclaw's ears whenever he asked a question.
Graypaw's mew echoed off the river as he answered Firepaw.
"Be quiet!" Tigerclaw snapped, remembering the apprentices' obnoxious chattering from the first time he'd lived it.
When they came upon Fourtrees, Lionheart gave Firepaw a quick explanation of the four Clans' territories. The ginger tom watched him with wide eyes, a serious expression on his face as he took it all in. "Now that you've seen why prey is so precious," Lionheart meowed, "you see why we must protect what little we have."
"But that seems foolish!" Firepaw exclaimed. "Why can't the Clans work together and share their hunting grounds, instead of fighting each other?"
Tigerclaw whipped around, feeling something snap within him. "You dare enter our Clan and the first thing you do is question our ways?" He spat wordlessly, fury rising within him. How had this cat ever become leader? "I suppose I should have expected it from a kittypet!"
Firepaw ducked his head. "I'm sorry. I just- I didn't understand." His tail trembled as Tigerclaw continued to glare at him.
Lionheart rested his tail on Tigerclaw's shoulder, warning him to stop. "Don't be too hard on him, Tigerclaw. The ways of the Clans are new to this apprentice." He turned to Firepaw. "You speak from the heart, young Firepaw. This will make you a stronger warrior one day."
Tigerclaw lashed his tail, not trusting himself to speak. After a moment Lionheart turned back to Fourtrees and explained Gatherings to the apprentices.
"Then there must be a meeting very soon?" Firepaw meowed after Lionheart mentioned the meetings taking place at the full moon.
Lionheart nodded. "Indeed there is!" He sounded impressed. Tigerclaw ignored Lionheart's speech about Gatherings, and squashed his desire to claw something by examining a blade of grass. "But you must realize that longer alliances bring more trouble than they're worth," Lionheart finished.
Firepaw was frowning in concentration. Tigerclaw guessed the kittypet couldn't understand why too much friendliness between the Clans weakened them. Or why kittypets and half-Clan cats weakened them.
Tigerclaw turned to the ginger kittypet, narrowing his eyes. "Our loyalty to our Clan is what makes us strong." Like the loyalty you showed, right Tigerclaw? He flicked his ears, ignoring the voice in his head.
Lionheart waved his tail, beckoning them onward. "Come on. Let's keep moving."
They had soon reached the ShadowClan border, and slowly approached the Thunderpath. Tigerclaw tuned out Firepaw's questions and squinted through the trees, trying to get a glimpse of the territory he once ruled. He wondered how he would deal with Brokenstar; he certainly wasn't keen to repeat what happened the first time with the ShadowClan rogues.
Firepaw was staring at the Thunderpath, his eyes wide and curious. Tigerclaw watched the ginger tom warily. This was the one cat who had destroyed his life, destroyed his Clan, and destroyed his future. If whatever higher power that governed this land thought he could make peace with him, they were wrong.