I consider this a filler not because it's not important but because it focuses more on Clan life than the plot(which I assure you will come later.) If anything confuses or sticks out to you then by all means, review. Virtual cookie to the reviewer who guesses why I named the chapter the way I did.
Warriors-The Outcasts
Hollyleaf sighed and placed her head on her paws. Breezepelt was smothering her… again. He'd found a way to do it on more than one occasion ( like when they first discovered the tunnels) and now, since he was closer, it was easier for him to do so at his own will.
"We need to talk." Squirrelflight murmured softly. Breezepelt flicked his friend on the nose and she lifted her head to glare at him.
"What?!" She scowled.
"Your mother, that's what."
"Which one?" She growled.
"The only one you know, thistle-head. Honestly, Hollyleaf, you're being rabbit-brained."
"I'd rather be a rabbit than a mouse." She scowled and shoved her head into the space between her paws. Breezepelt rolled his eyes and gave Hollyleaf a look.
"I'm going to talk to Heathertail. Find me when you're not so prickly." He grumbled. She lifted her head up to grin at him.
"Heathertail and Breezepelt-" She started to sing but the black tom slapped his tail over her muzzle. She bit down and he yowled things no kit should hear.
"Go talk to Heathertail, furball. And try not to mess up this time!" She snickered.
She sighed and turned to her mother.
"You wanted to talk?"
"If you want to. Brambleclaw just said to meet us at the entrance by moonhigh."
"Do you always do what Brambleclaw says?" Hollyleaf asked. Squirrelflight smacked her daughter's nose.
"It was an honest question, mom!"
"I don't do what your father tells me to unless it threatens our safety."
CONFUSION CONFUSION CONFUSION CONFUSION CONFUSION CONFUSION CONFUSION CONFUSIONMoonhigh found the six cats padding out of the camp. Breezepelt and Hollyleaf walked side by side, their fur barely touching and neither one of them saying a word.
Ashfur padded beside Thornclaw, glancing around for anything that might have been hidden in the shadows… Thornclaw jabbed his friend with a sheathed paw.
"Brambleclaw can help you fight off any Dark Forest cats. Perhaps the only one of us who hasn't seen a Dark cat yet is Squirrelflight, and she's a perfectly capable warrior. Nothing is going to jump out and bite you-"
"You don't know that." Ashfur hissed darkly.
No… he doesn't know at all. Tell him how wrong he is, Ashkit. Hawkfrost sneered.
Ashfur ignored the bribe and focused on the path they took.
The six cats reached a clearing bathed in moonlight so that everything turned silver. Even Ashfur's matted pelt. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight turned to face the other four, who instantly realized what was going to happen.
"I already know what you're going to say." Thornclaw hissed.
"Crowfeather knows the truth, if you really want it, and Squirrelflight was there when I talked to Breezepelt." Hollyleaf muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Brambleclaw wondered.
"You're not going to ask us why we spend so much time together?"
"Or worse yet, assume we're mates and tell us how wrong you think it is?" Ashfur sneered, glaring at the two cats.
Squirrelflight snorted.
"What you all do in your spare time is not my concern."
"You're not spying for another Clan, are you?" Brambleclaw asked. They shook their heads.
"Okay, then. I just wanted to ask what you know about the Dark Forest."
"Really? They're a vicious group who train cats in their sleep under the claim that they'll be better warriors." Breezepelt began.
"Hawkfrost started coming to me in my dreams and telling me to do stuff to get Squirrelflight. Honestly, I was doing just fine when you broke it off until he started bringing it up." Ashfur scowled. "Then he decides he's gonna take over my mind and make me do his bidding. As a result, your mate and your three kits were almost burned to a crisp and all the Clans know the truth. Ain't it marvelous?" He snorted.
"I'm not mad at you, Ashfur. It's Hawkfrost I'm worried about. Jayfeather said he attacked you in the medicine den and Sandstorm fought him off. Did he say anything?"
"That it was only the beginning. I said I'd do anything to make him stop."
"Figures." He growled. "They just don't quit!" He snarled, scuffing the grass with a sheathed paw.
"I am sort of curious about the other thing… what does Crowfeather know that we don't?"
"That we're not mates."
"Of course you aren't. Even if what he said was right, you still wouldn't be mates." Brambleclaw snorted. Breezepelt pricked his ears.
"What did Crowfeather say?" The black tom demanded.
"Ask him. It's not my place."
"So can we go back now?" Ashfur sighed. Brambleclaw nodded and they went home.
LOVE ACTUALLY LOVE ACTUALLY LOVE ACTUALLY LOVE ACTUALLY LOVE ACTUALLY LOVE ACTUALLY
Ashfur sighed and wrapped his tail around his nose, squeezing himself into a ball and wishing desperately that he could go back to sleep. Hawkfrost haunted his dreams and the stars were nowhere in sight. He knew then that StarClan had forsaken him, and he felt more alone than ever.
"It'll be okay." His golden friend's breath warmed his ears and he flicked his tail for Thornclaw to join him. He still wasn't welcome in the Clan, so he (and of course Thornclaw,) remained in the medicine clearing, where they spent their nights until it came time for them to maintain their warrior duties. Clan hatred aside, they didn't need another reason to get snapped at.
"I can't find them anywhere! No matter how far I run, I can't escape the Dark Forest."
"StarClan watch over us all, Ashfur. Especially those who believe in them and those who choose to do right." Squirrelflight had overheard his remark and padded over to join the two toms.
"From the smallest kit to the bravest elder, we are all united. They come to us when they know we need them the most. If anything, you two of all cats deserve to run with them."
"I don't think they'll accept me… not after all the things I've done."
"Try to sleep, Ashfur. Maybe you'll realize it in the morning. You too, Thornclaw."
"Goodnight, Squirrelflight." They chorused. She dipped her head and headed for the warrior's den. Ashfur let himself relax, breathing in Thornclaw's scent and eventually drifting off to sleep.
Thornclaw's eyes snapped open and he pricked his ears for any signs of danger.
"Just your stupid imagination." He grumbled. A starry cat who called himself Lionheart interrupted his hunt to say something about how the Dark Forest was gathering to destroy StarClan.
"Tell me something I don't know. They've probably done things ten times worse than what happened to Ashfur. I wouldn't know, though. Ask Breezepelt. He and Ashfur will know more than I do."
"Indeed they have, young one. I'm afraid StarClan is losing allies amongst the Clans as we speak."
"That's mouse-brained!" Thornclaw snarled. "Who would dare to train with those murdering, fox-hearted excuses for cats?!"
"Those who feel abandoned or have been lured in with false promises of helping their Clans. They won't know until it's too late. StarClan and the living will need all the help we can get if we are to defeat them."
"You can count on me, Lionheart. Those mangy fox-pelts won't know what hit them!"
"I hope so." The kind-hearted tabby purred in amusement before fading away.
"Ashfur!" He hissed softly, prodding his friend with a sheathed paw. The grey tabby shot to his paws with a snarl, only sheathing his claws when he recognized the solid golden pelt he sought.
"I take it we didn't have the same dream?"
"It was Whitestorm for me, but we were interrupted. He couldn't help me like he wanted to."
"Clearly." Thornclaw growled, taking notice of the fresh blood welling beneath the other tom's eye. "Go get that patched up and tell Jayfeather-"
"About the dream. Do you think they came to anyone else?"
"No idea." He shrugged. Thornclaw yawned and shook himself out. No chance of sleep now. He mused on what Lionheart had informed him of. If the large tabby was right, then there were other cats who trained with Tigerstar and Hawkfrost at night, who sought revenge or felt misplaced in the Clans. He was sure that were it not for Hollyleaf, Breezepelt would have gone the same route as those other cats. He felt for them all, knowing, as he did, what it felt like to be an outcast in your own Clan.
THE OUTCATS THE OUTCATS THE OUTCATS THE OUTCATS THE OUTCATS THE OUTCATS THE OUTCATS
Breezepelt got to his paws and padded over to Heathertail, who was sharing prey with Cinderheart and Hollyleaf.
"Um, sorry to interrupt but… can we talk?" He asked. Cinderheart smirked and Hollyleaf nodded.
"You two go right ahead." She purred. Heathertail narrowed her eyes in confusion and followed the black tom into the forest. When they reached a secluded meadow far enough from the camp, he stopped and turned to face her.
"I thought you wanted to talk to Hollyleaf." The brown she-cat murmured quietly. Her violet-blue eyes were trained solely on her paws as she waited for a response.
"That's ridiculous!" He snorted. It's physically impossible for me to even think of Hollyleaf the way I think of you!
"You spend so much time with her… is she the reason you know so much about the Dark Forest?"
"I know from experience. She knows because I told her. I tell her a lot of things."
"You don't tell me anything."
"You're… you're different. You shouldn't have to know what happens there, but you will someday. I can't be the one to show you that and that's not what I wanted to talk about in the first place. Why does everything always go back to Hollyleaf?"
"Probably because you think she hangs the moon and the stars." Heathertail scowled.
"Wow." He sneered. "I- if that's what you really think then I guess I shouldn't have asked you to come." He growled and stalked out of the clearing.
"Breezepelt… wait!" He rolled his eyes and kept going. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"
"Nothing!" He snarled. "It doesn't matter anyway."
JEALOUSY JEALOUSY JEALOUSY JEALOUSY JEALOUSY JEALOUSY JEALOUSY JEALOUSY JEALOUSY
"She thinks I'm in love with Hollyleaf." He snarled when they got back to camp.
"Her and half the Clan." Cinderheart muttered. "You stay glued to her side and she doesn't bother pushing you away."
"But that's mouse-brained! She's my sister! Why would I- Ugh! What is it with you she-cats that makes it so hard to understand that someone might actually like you?!"
"Think about it. If Heathertail started parading around with Lionblaze again, wouldn't you be jealous?"
"That's different! They're not related!"
"Same sentiment, though. Heathertail thinks she's second-best because you don't give her the time of day compared to how you talk with Hollyleaf."
"That's hare-brained." He snorted.
"You had your chance. What happened?" Hollyleaf demanded.
"She thought I wanted to talk to you. Then she started raving about how I was always around you and-"
"Which proves my point." Cinderheart told him. "You need to just tell her before she can cut you off and slip away."
"Preferably now, please? I'm getting sick of these conversations."
"At least I have a love life." He snorted.
"Whatever. Go tell her." The black tom shook himself out and padded off.
"Come to talk about Hollyleaf some more?"
"No." He scowled. "StarClan please let this work."
"I love you." He muttered.
"What did you say?" Heathertail asked.
"I said I love you, alright?" He snarled. "If you and the rest of these dense ThunderClan cats would stop focusing on how close I am to Hollyleaf and actually listen to us talk,-"
"Why would I want to hear your talks?"
"You'd realize that you're half the reason I'm constantly bugging her in the first place and she's sick of it." He smirked.
"Really?"
"Yes, Heathertail." Hollyleaf snorted. "He's been trailing me for advice all this time on how to get you to realize that he's been in love with you since we were apprentices."
"How did you know-?"
"Long story short, we took on a fox and kept up ever since. He was scared you would reject him and he completely gave up when you pranced off with Lionblaze of all cats." She scoffed. "So by the time he broke things off with you, Breezepelt here was ready to throw himself off a cliff."
"I never would have guessed…" She whimpered.
"I never wanted you to." Breezepelt muttered.
"So I finally convinced him to take a shot and he decided to drag his paws since he was so nervous. Badgered me for advice from the day you guys got here, and now here we are. I hope you don't reject him again. I would hate to have to sharpen my claws on you. You're pretty nice, all things considered."
The black she-cat walked away, leaving the new couple (and the rest of ThunderClan) in complete shock.
"Tell me she didn't just say that…" Breezepelt broke the awkward silence with a question.
"No, because that would mean this wasn't real." Heathertail purred. "Come on. We're going hunting." She announced. He grinned and let the light brown she-cat lead him out of camp.
"Nicely done." Cinderheart snickered.
"Thanks!" Hollyleaf smirked.
"Now we just have to find you a tom to-"
"No, you don't."
"But Mousewhisker-"
"Doesn't know me and happens to like Poppyfrost."
"I thought Berrynose-"
"Likes Honeyfern. You'll never guess who's been mooning over you for the longest time."
"No one."
"Lionblaze."
"What?!" She shrieked and leapt to her paws, glaring at her friend in disbelief.
"Go ask him." the black she-cat chuckled. "I'm going to do some hunting and probably check the borders. Good luck!" Hollyleaf shoved her friend toward her brother and padded toward the thorn tunnel entrance.
This was one of my favorite chapters... along with the next one but... NO SPOILERS FOR YOU! Can anyone guess the connection between the bold line-breakers and the story? That's a poptart if you can. REVIEW PLEASE!