Enjoy! I'm proud of this chapter, and a lot of things begin to pick up here :)
Sandpebble let out a screech of relief and raced over to Leopardtooth, covering his brother in licks like a concerned mother finding a lost kit.
"Great StarClan, Sandpebble, I didn't even leave the territory!" Leopardtooth exclaimed, indignantly shrugging the sandy-furred tom off. With a swift but meaningful glance at the deputy, who was sauntering toward them with Dewpaw in tow, he added, "We really didn't leave the territory."
"I understand, Leopardtooth," Harescar assured the tom, though the hint of fury in his tone was unmistakable. "It's not you I have a bone to pick with."
Brownpaw winced and promptly tucked his tail between his legs. Of course. How could I ever have thought I couldn't get caught? We didn't even bother to disguise our scents, we were so eager. The long-legged dog straightened himself, however, and connected his unwavering gaze with Harescar's narrowed amber slits. But this cat is my friend. I must do anything I can to make him realize I had good reason to sneak off… and he needs to know about ThunderClan's newest threat.
The image of the enormous black-and-brown dog was crystal clear in Brownpaw's mind… so clear it was like Tuffy was standing right there. Despite his name, he was far from amusing. Underneath that pointed muzzle were rows of teeth that would gladly tear "Talon" into shreds.
Brownpaw glanced down at his black paws for a moment, and followed up his legs, the black fading away to brown, to his white chest dotted with brown flecks. Then with a sudden movement, he snapped his head up so fast that his neck cracked. "Harescar, there's a new threat to the safety of your cats."
"Is there now?" the deputy drawled. "Why don't you tell me all about it on the way back to camp."
Dewpaw shot Brownpaw a sympathetic glance as Harescar beckoned to the puppy with a lashing tail. But Brownpaw stood his ground, forcing himself not to curl his lip. I don't need to get into deeper dirt. I just need to gently resist so he'll listen. "I think you should check it out. It might be better to get rid of it now before it… spreads." Brownpaw smirked as a misty vision of Harescar driving Tuffy into non-Clan territory glowed before him. It faded quickly, however, replaced by Harescar's steaming face shoved right up into his.
"We're going," hissed the ginger tom. Brownpaw still wasn't much taller than Harescar, and the angry cat easily half-dragged him back to camp. Brownpaw refused to explain. Not with Dewpaw, Sandpebble, and Leopardtooth watching us like hawks.
"Oh, thank StarClan they're okay!" breathed Skyclaw, rushing up to the patrol. Frostpaw was bouncing by her side, beaming up at Brownpaw. The puppy felt awful; they were so worried about me. It's easy to see Frostpaw was terrified. Why did I venture away and worry them again?
Breezepaw touched noses with her sister and gasped as Dewpaw proudly spilled how she had (helped) discovered their lost Clanmates. Sandpebble was still chiding Leopardtooth roughly as they headed toward the warriors' den. Brownpaw eyed the sky. Night had almost completely set in now, so it would be pointless to bring Harescar back there and confront Tuffy.
"I'm glad too, Skyclaw," Harescar addressed the tabby queen gruffly. "But I'm afraid Brownpaw and I have some business to settle in m- Brokenstar's den."
The ginger tom turned away immediately, but wasn't fast enough for Brownpaw to miss his teeth gritted in pain, and the glistening in his hard eyes. He's far from ever calling the leader's den his. But he still nearly did.
He trailed the orange tom, deciding he might as well buy all the points he could. Brownpaw kept up with Harescar's pace climbing up the rocky cliff side, and was right there already sitting by the time the deputy was settled in his nest.
"Brownpaw, you promised me you wouldn't go up to the abandoned Twoleg nest anymore," Harescar mewed, launching right into it. He bit his lip to keep it from trembling and nudged away an old nest. Brownpaw watched the dusty bedding roll into a shadowed corner, so old and dry that the moss was curled and crunchy. Brokenstar's nest. She's been in the medicine den for so long…
"I- er, well… you see, the Twoleg nest isn't abandoned, Harescar. Soon after I came to ThunderClan, a Twoleg and his dog moved in, and now it's an… inhabited Twoleg n- nest. But the thing is, there's now a second dog."
Sounding exhausted, Harescar grunted, "Which... which one were you visiting?"
Brownpaw lowered his head, the chilliness of the stone seeping into his pads all of a sudden. A shudder rippled down his spine, and he choked out, "The first dog. And she's fine. But it's the new one who's a problem…" He went on to explain, among stutters and pauses, all about Tuffy. Harescar listened silently the whole time, staring right at Brownpaw, though almost absently. It was obvious that somebody else was on his thoughts as well, and it wasn't difficult to guess who. We're both obsessed with the ones we… Brownpaw's rambling came to a halt as he recognized the word he had been about to think of. Love.
Love. What a bittersweet word. It could be so wrong but feel so right, or the opposite. Love was tough in the Clans: medicine cats couldn't have kits, and no cat was allowed to be with cats from another Clan. Countless felines had broken the rule, and Brownpaw could think of so many forbidden couples off the top of his head that he felt he'd heard too much about those stories. Carly is not a member of ThunderClan. Therefore, she's off-limits as long as I'm living here. Sharp, cruel envy made Brownpaw's pelt pulse with fierce heat. His relationship is okay. He has all he wants here.
"I know what you're thinking," spat Harescar, rising abruptly to his paws and stepping out of his nest, shaking bits of moss off his hind legs.
"I'm only thinking about how we can remove Tuffy from our territory," Brownpaw retorted. If he ever knew what I was really thinking…
"Hardly," Harescar whispered, his voice deadly low. His claws were unsheathed and made awful noises as he scored them across the ground. "You're thinking about that yellow dog. You're infatuated with her. And it's getting old. Brownpaw, there's a famous quote that a warrior named Lionheart once said to Firestar when he was just a kittypet, Rusty…
"'You cannot live with a paw in each world.' Does that mean anything to you? When you agreed to join this Clan, you accepted the ridicule and scorn you would face. But did you ever fully accept the rule that your loyalty must remain to your Clan?"
It was all the speckled apprentice could do not to leap on Harescar, pin him down, and talk him straight. But considering the tomcat's anger level right then, that would only lead to heavy punishment.
Instead Brownpaw placed a trembling paw on his chest and muttered, "If you've ever loved, then you'll truly understand."
Harescar said nothing. He kept his copper optics fixed on the dog, his face screwed up in a grimace.
"And I know that you know what I mean," Brownpaw went on, his voice steady for the first time. He, too, stood and made his way over to the deputy, where he briefly pressed his cold, wet nose against Harescar's warm, gray nose. Then he stepped back and focused on the ginger tom's twitching face. His frown was starting to subside, and his brow was indenting. "You love Brokenstar. You went through a lot to get her to accept your love for each other, and you desperately sought her father's approval. Now she is sick, and no one knows what's wrong with her. Yet you spend your time, waste your breath on me, of all mongrels. Let me be. I can focus on my own issues."
Brownpaw whirled around to leave, but an icy voice froze him in his tracks. "You speak like you've been stalking my and Brokenstar's relationship ever since it was just a seed in the earth."
The dog felt like he had been tromping through a blizzard for days, only to finally be frozen into a dogcicle. Gradually he coughed up a half-true response: "When I first saw you and Brokenstar in one setting together, I thought you were mates." He twisted, not even bothering to meet those amber eyes anymore. "For dogs, the 'leader' is called 'alpha', and the 'deputy' is 'beta'. Alphas and betas are mates, most of the time." With a sigh, he closed his eyes and murmured in conclusion, "So don't think loving her is so wrong."
He swung his broad head back around and padded out, not opening his eyes until the darkness behind his closed eyelids brightened. Sweet daylight, he thought. Outside of that dreadful cave.
Brownpaw's paws had barely hit the ground at the base of the Highledge when Frostpaw was in front of him. The dog sighed. "What's the matter, Frostpaw?"
The white tom looked perplexed. "Are you in trouble?"
"No," Brownpaw answered curtly. And not even StarClan knows what's going through Harescar's mind right now.
"Oh!" Frostpaw grinned. "Well, in that case, want to go training?" His bright blue eyes flicked up to the dark leader's den, then back to Brownpaw. "I guess your mentor is busy, so I figured…"
Berryfang padded up, dipping his head to Brownpaw and then rolling his eyes at his apprentice. "Don't bother Brownpaw, now. I'm sure he's exhausted after his… expedition with Leopardtooth."
"Actually, a training session sounds wonderful right now," Brownpaw barked warmly. "I've always wondered what a nighttime session would be like."
"Well, Frostpaw slept in late, so I decided I'd let him nap most of the day," Berryfang meowed as the three headed toward the thorny exit. "But then he begged to practice some night hunting, and I think it's a good idea."
"Me too," Brownpaw smiled, ignoring the weariness in his bones. I just have to get away from that ginger cat.
They weren't too far from the common training clearing when a familiar sour scent engulfed Brownpaw's senses, and he staggered in disgust. Rainsnow and Streampaw were approaching, laden with prey.
Rainsnow ducked her head to them, jaws too full to comment. But Streampaw stopped and set down his bushy-tailed squirrel.
"Shouldn't the dog have his scent disguised?" The pale gray tom gave a disdainful sniff. "RiverClan will be able to pick up his stench."
Rainsnow let go of her catches and glared at her apprentice. "They'll also scent your nasty attitude. Come on, we need to get back to camp before the 'kill gets too cold."
"No, wait," Frostpaw interjected, stepping in their path. "Streampaw, is that really the best you can come up with? What, did Minnowcloud tell you that one?"
His brother growled and aimed a very close swipe at the white tom's ears, which Frostpaw flattened just in time.
Rainsnow crammed herself between the littermates, baring her teeth at Streampaw. "You still have kit fluff and you're acting like a ShadowClan warrior! Stop attacking your brother and apologize."
Streampaw wrinkled his nose. "I could've landed that blow if you'd taught it to me better," he mumbled, but either the gray-and-white she-cat didn't hear him or ignored him. Louder, he refused. "I believe I'm the one who needs an apology. Thanks to Skyclaw and Frostpaw, we're the strangest family known to the Clans."
"Our father's half-RiverClan," Frostpaw hissed.
Streampaw shouldered away his mentor and blue eyes met with blue. "But still full Clan blood. No loner blood."
With a malignant spit, Frostpaw pounced onto Streampaw, but Brownpaw easily pulled him off within heartbeats. Streampaw blindly swatted, and his claws snagged onto the skin on Brownpaw's belly. The puppy swallowed a yelp and just jumped back.
The warriors were shocked. "Streampaw, your behavior will be reported to Harescar," Rainsnow snarled. She glanced at Frostpaw. "I suggest Frostpaw gets an honorable mention in this skirmish as well." The dappled female's eyes glowed in the darkness among the shadowy outlines of bushes and trees. "I would never fight like this with Firetail." As she pushed Streampaw back to camp, she muttered, "Fighting with your own littermate…"
Berryfang uttered to Frostpaw, "Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Brownpaw?"
"Y- yeah," Brownpaw grunted, showing the red droplets welling on his flank. "Streampaw got me a little. It's nothing—"
"Go straight to Ratpelt," Berryfang interrupted. The ginger-and-white warrior sighed as he glanced at Frostpaw. "And you, to bed."
See you at the AND update!
