Lol, this was fun to write! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Brambleclaw padded into the ThunderClan camp, trying not to look self-conscious as his eyes flickered backwards and forwards. At least today he'd caught some fresh-kill: a plump shrew, a small mouse and a hairy squirrel.
The usually dark-brown tom dropped his prey onto the fresh-kill pile and sat down beside it, running his tongue over Squirrelflight's teeth to remove all the hairs the squirrel left. Huh. Squirrelflight caught a squirrel, he couldn't help thinking, a small smile playing across Squirrelflight's features.
"Hey, Squirrelflight," a voice meowed next to him. Brambleclaw jumped, turning around to face the cat behind him.
"Oh," he sighed. "Hi, Spiderleg."
Spiderleg gave his chest a few rough licks. "Nice catch today," he remarked, glancing at the fresh-kill pile.
"Yeah…" Brambleclaw agreed slowly, watching the tom's gaze closely. He couldn't help remembering that Spiderleg had been an apprentice alongside Squirrelflight - what if he mentioned something Brambleclaw couldn't possibly remember?
Then Spiderleg said something that took Brambleclaw off guard. "So, have you made up with Brambleclaw?"
"Brambleclaw?" Brambleclaw repeated, unnerved by the sudden glow in the younger warrior's eyes. "We… uh… yeah, we've made up."
The glow in Spiderleg's eyes vanished. "Well, see you Squirrelflight." He turned and stalked off.
Brambleclaw let out a sigh of relief and turned his own head away - straight into another pair of amber eyes. He let out a surprised yelp.
"It's me, mousebrain," Squirrelflight muttered in Brambleclaw's voice. She had a strong scent of fresh-kill on her - oh good, she'd caught something. "What were you doing with Spiderleg?"
"Err… just talking."
His answer didn't seem to satisfy Squirrelflight, who sat down heavily beside him.
"Still not grasped my body's heaviness, then?" Brambleclaw meowed quietly, nudging her with a forepaw.
Squirrelflight glared at him. "I meant to sit down heavily!" she hissed, digging her claws into the ground.
Brambleclaw rolled his green eyes. "Uh-huh."
"So…" Squirrelflight glanced at him. "What were you and Spiderleg talking about?"
Brambleclaw shrugged. "He asked if you and me had made up."
"And you said yes?" Squirrelflight prompted, sheathing Brambleclaw's claws. "And then that's when he walked away."
Brambleclaw nodded, bewildered. "How'd you know?"
Squirrelflight sighed. "Brambleclaw, ever since I became an apprentice I've had toms padding after me. You, Shrewpaw, Ashfur, Stormfur…"
"Stormfur?" Brambleclaw couldn't keep the disbelief out of his voice.
"Oh, didn't he tell you? Before we met the Tribe he had a crush on me." Squirrelflight paused, then added "Of course, he only told me after he joined ThunderClan."
Brambleclaw's head reeled - he considered Stormfur to be one of his closest friends. If he'd been leader on the journey to the sun-drown place, Stormfur had been his deputy.
And then what Squirrelflight was saying suddenly hit him. "Oh, StarClan!" he yelped, his eyes wide with horror. "Are you saying that Spiderleg actually…?"
Squirrelflight slapped her dark brown tail against his mouth, shooting him a warning glance. "Not so loud," she hissed under her breath. "And yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. I've seen the way Spiderleg stares at me sometimes."
If possible, Brambleclaw's eyes widened even more. Oh StarClan, just kill me now. He knew that Squirrelflight was attractive, and since he was in her body it was him that was attractive… but to be hit on by another tom was a completely different thing. His stomach twisted.
"I think I'm going to be sick," the ex-tomcat mumbled, tearing free of Squirrelflight's hold and dashing out of the camp.
Squirrelflight glanced across at Spiderleg; the young warrior looked puzzled as he watched 'Squirrelflight' run off. A small grin spread across Squirrelflight's face. She could have some fun with this.
If that's how he acts when he realises Spiderleg was checking him out, she thought mischievously, I wonder how he'll take it when Ashfur gets him alone…
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Leafpool was busy fixing herbs when Brambleclaw padded into the medicine cat den.
"Hi, Brambleclaw," Leafpool greeted him, rubbing the poultice off of her paw.
"Hi, Leafpool," Brambleclaw replied, then added hesitantly "Hi, Ashfur."
The gray-flecked tomcat gave a low growl and turned his head away.
"What's wrong?" Leafpool asked.
Brambleclaw shifted from paw to paw, not meeting her gaze. "I've gained quite a few painful bruises," he meowed finally. "Is there anything you can put on them?"
"Let's see." Leafpool padded over. "Where does it hurt?" As she neared him, she could smell the strong stench of Squirrelflight in his fur - at least they appeared to be spending more time together. Leafpool suddenly recalled how she'd asked StarClan several nights ago if they could stop them fighting. Maybe they'd actually helped the two cats stop arguing.
Squirrelflight, in Brambleclaw's body, refused to meet her sister's eyes as she pointed out the bruises on Brambleclaw's head and chest. Although their telepathic bond had lessened slightly as they grew apart, they were both still attune to one another's feelings, and Squirrelflight was certain that if their eyes met, Leafpool would recognise her in an instant.
"Here we go," Leafpool meowed, smearing one of her poultices over Squirrelflight's bruises. "Just leave that on, and it should help."
Squirrelflight sighed with relief. "Thanks, Leafpool." She padded out of the den into the cool leaf-fall air, and came face to face with her own emerald stare.
"Oh, hey Bramble… Squirrelflight," Squirrelflight corrected herself quickly.
Brambleclaw growled. "Please tell me you've found a way to switch us back."
"Nope," Squirrelflight replied, her voice light. "Sorry."
Brambleclaw turned abruptly and stalked off. "That's it. I'm not staying in the camp until we switch back."
