"Let all available warriors appear under high ledge," the Thunderclan deputy's voice roared through the camp.
At his command, four warriors and one apprentice appeared before him. Talonclaw sighed because he was expecting more to show up, especially one that was actually a warrior. However, he decided to take what he had and be grateful for the additional help.
"What do you want us to do, Deputy Talonclaw," squeaked Yellowpaw.
Talonclaw looked down and saw the apprentice shake his tail around, eager to perform a task for the sake of the clan. A purr erupted from the older tom's throat as he looked at the determined cat.
"First of all, it's Talonclaw only," Talonclaw corrected. "Second, I thought it would be time to set up some groups."
Every cat present nodded in unison. Talonclaw looked into each cat's eyes and could see how ready they were and how prepared they were to prove themselves. Talonclaw gave a curt nod, indicating that he approved of their zeal.
"Good, then let us began," Talonclaw commanded. He stared at Yellowpaw and his large, calico mentor, Blackshell. Using his tail, he pointed the two toms in the direction of the forest. "Blackshell and Yellowpaw, find another warrior and apprentice, and go search for prey."
"All right," Yellowpaw chirped in delight before running off into the forest.
"Get back here, Yellowpaw," Blackshell hissed, but his command fell on deaf ears. Shaking his head in annoyance he darted off in the direction Yellowpaw was heading to.
The rest of the cats looked on in humor, except for one. The dark red she-cat glared at the spectacle and merely shook her head in disgust. Her eyes locked onto Talonclaw's and all amusement he felt evaporated as he stared into the warrior's hypnotic, blue eyes.
"Is there something you wish to say, Bloodlock," Talonclaw asked.
All eyes fell on her after Talonclaw called her out. She ignored the questionable gazes she received from her clan mates and remained focus on the deputy.
"Nothing at all," Bloodlock meowed sarcastically. "I'm just waiting patiently for my next mission, Talonclaw, if you don't mind?"
A low growl began to form in the tom's throat, but he forced himself to relax and ignore his clan mate's remark.
"All right then, Bloodlock," Talonclaw ordered. "If you're so eager to do some work, gather any available apprentices and take them to the training ground to better their performances in defensive and offensive attacks."
Bloodlock bowed before the Thunderclan deputy and stalked in the direction of the apprentice den. Once that was finished he turned toward cats and gave out their roles.
"Stonepelt," he looked at the brown tom. "I need you to go the entrance and help repair the outer walls. There should already be some warriors in that area to help you. And Tornear," he faced the lavender fur molly. "You're coming with me; Gentlefeathers needs someone to escort her while she collects herbs for the medicine den."
"Oh, okay," Tornear began awkwardly. "But...why doesn't Cloudstripe assist her?"
"Because he's busy experimenting with the other herbs to help...again." Talonclaw let out a sigh before heading toward the medicine den.
Tornear was quickly by the tom's side and followed his lead. Upon reaching the entrance way, they were greeted by a gentle purrfrom the apprentice. Her fur was a mixture of orange and red, and her eyes were sky blue. In short, she was a very attractive she-cat to moon over.
"Greetings, Talonclaw and Tornear," Gentlefeathers bowed before the pair. The two warriors accepted her welcome and returned it with salutes of their own. "I thank you both for giving up your free time to help with the restacking of fresh herbs."
"No problem," Tornear reassured. "Without your remedies, you wouldn't be able to heal any of our warriors; it's only fair that we help out."
"She's right," Talonclaw added in.
Gentlefeathers blinked in gratitude for the two warriors help. With a beckon of her tail, the three cats began their march into the forest.
Upon reaching the grass - colored garden, Gentlefeathers asked the two warriors to assist her in gathering the right ingredients: sambucus, dandelions, poppy seeds, and algae. Though they agreed to help they remained silent because they had no knowledge of what each herb were used for. As they continued to scavenge the forest floor, Talonclaw found it difficult to find the right ingredients; he was a warrior and warriors didn't follow the same path as a medicine cat would. Despite the level of difficulty, Talonclaw continued with his search for Gentlefeathers' sake.
"Excuse me, Talonclaw," the deputy turned his head and saw Gentlefeathers looking at him in amusement, much to his embarrassment. He looked down and saw that she already had half of the flowers she needed. His eyes went in search for Tornear and saw her mouth full of algae. Seeing that he had nothing to present the medicine-cat with, he held his head down in shame. "There is no need to feel sadden, Talonclaw," she went on. "You did your best and that is all I can ask from you."
Talonclaw didn't fill entirely convinced, though. But what surprised him the most was when he received a lick from Gentlefeathers, herself, much to his disbelief. He quickly scanned the area for any signs of Tornear, praying to Starclan that she didn't see that. Gentlefeathers must have sensed his discomfort because she let out a small chuckle.
"Don't worry," she assured. "I'm not trying to take you away from Tornear or anything,"
Talonclaw was about to respond, but Gentlefeathers held up her tail for silence.
"I know that you've been mooning over Tornear for quite some time," she led on. "To be honest, I think she fills the same way about you too. The problem is that she doesn't know how to express herself."
Talonclaw began to fluster as his fur began to stand on ends and his body grew hot. He faced the medicine-cat's cobalt irises with his purple - colored eyes and growled half-heartedly.
"I don't know what you are talking about," he whispered.
Gentlefeather did not seem, at all, affected by the talon's false threat. If anything, she purred even louder.
"You don't like meeting her eyes when you both speak. Your fur brushes against her whenever you're padding together during an assignment. Finally, you try to avoid her whenever you're with her for too long."
Gentlefeathers listed down all the facts concerning his relationship with the scarred she-cat. Talonclaw remained silent. He knew when he was defeated and it was clear to both former den mates that Gentlefeathers had outwitted him, yet again. Unable to hide his doubts any longer, he finally gave in.
"Any advice, then" Talonclaw asked.
"Just be yourself and find out what you both have in common."
Talonclaw nodded. It sounded silly, but when it came to Gentlefeathers she was the she-cat to consult to when it came to these kinds of situations. The medicine-cat picked up her ingredients and beckoned Talonclaw to follow her, who called out Tornear's name and let her know that it was time to go. Once the three cats arrived back to camp, they were greeted by the face of the older medicine-cat. His yellow irises remained lock on his apprentice as she padded past him and into the storage space. Once she was gone, the white - colored tom faced the two warriors.
"There you go," Tornear meowed after dropping her supply by the older medicine-cat.
Without showing any form of gratitude, the older tom clenched onto the rest of the herbs and stalked back into the den. What a creepy tom. Talonclaw thought as he and Tornear padded toward the fresh - kill pile. Talonclaw looked at the she-cat and noticed her glaring at the ground. The red tom guessed that Tornear felt disrespected by Cloudstripe's disrespect; he felt the same way, but he didn't let it get the best of him.
"What's with your sister," Talonclaw asked, hoping to break the silence. "She seems colder than she usually is."
"She's just upset because she wasn't chosen to be deputy," she explained "I'm not surprised; I would choose you over my power-hungry, self-centered, half sibling!"
"If only I could understand what you were going through," Talonclaw sighed.
"Trust me, you don't want to have a sister like mine," Tornear assured her friend.
They both laughed at the joke until they made it to the hole containing the clan's food. Picking out a fresh squirrel the two warriors found a place to sit and began devouring their meal, all the while ignoring snickers from other campers.
"While we're on the topic of siblings," Tornear went on. "How is being an older kin working for you?"
"I'm a bit happy," Talonclaw admitted. "I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be very exciting to have another member to join the clan."
"Just as long as he doesn't act like my sibling," Tornear meowed.
The two cats balled in laughter. After they had finished their meal Talonclaw bid farewell to his friend and padded toward his leader's den. When Talonclaw approached the open den, he was greeted with a grunt from his father. Talonclaw bowed before his leader and took a seat before the aged Thunderclan leader.
"How is the role of deputy coming along for you," Lockestar questioned.
"A bit of a challenge," Talonclaw admitted. "I had no idea that organizing patrols or activities could be so hard."
"You will learn to accept it," Lockestar responded as he readjusted himself. "If you think being a deputy is hard, wait until you become leader; you will wish that you stayed a warrior after that."
Talonclaw had to suppress a laugh. He had never once heard his own father make a joke. Actually, Talonclaw didn't even know that his father could form a joke. However, in the back of his mind, Talonclaw knew that his father didn't summon him just for good humor; knowing the ancient tom, this meeting had to do with his training progress.
"To be honest, Lockestar," Talonclaw began. "Auraheart sounds more like a medicine-cat than a warrior." Lockestar looked at the deputy quizzically, but he proceeded. "All she does is talk about different herbs and how they work. She also tells me about the warriors of our past and what they did during their previous life."
"That does sound like Auraheart," Lockestar yawned. "She was originally a medicine-cat apprentice before becoming a warrior, and she was prone to telling the history of our clan. Don't let it upset you; she has strange ways of teaching her apprentices. One another subject: how has your training been?"
"Apparently, the prophecy is true..." Talonclaw sounded awkward. "Yesterday, I asked some of the warriors for a mock battle; I told them that it would help with the apprentice's training. I was injured a few times, but...I felt as though I could keep fighting. I even performed techniques that I didn't know I knew. After the fight, I was the only one who was still standing, despite having been struck down the most. Everyone was shocked to see what I did, including me."
"Your powers must be developing as you progress in your training." Lockestar concluded.
The Thunderclan deputy still felt uncertain about his abilities. Ever since the Shadowclan cat told them that they must train for the approaching danger, Talonclaw had been pushing himself every day to improve his skills. Though he would get stronger, he didn't like the idea of being "special" from the other cats: there was no challenge, no honor, and no fun if it was easy to defeat. Part of him enjoyed the idea of being different from his clan mates, but one side felt as though he was being dishonest about not telling his other clan mates. It was all so confusing to the newly-made deputy.
"You seem distracted," Talonclaw awoke from his father's meow. His head jerked up and saw concern flash in those aged eyes of his. Talonclaw began to stutter, unable to respond to his leader. Instead, Lockestar stalked past him and beckoned him with his tail. "Follow me." he commanded.
With Lockestar leading the way, the two cats made it toward the entrance where Lockestar ordered his son to heel. He did as he was instructed to do and they both stood at the edge of the high ledge. Talonclaw followed his father's gaze, but all he saw was the forest, grass, and the cats - alive and at work. What is the meaning of this? Talonclaw thought.
"Beautiful, is it," Lockestar questioned his son, not taking his eyes off the scenery ahead of him. "Look at this place, Talonclaw. This all belongs to the clan and no one else: the prey, the trees, grass - everything we have, we worked and fought for. Something evil will come and try to take it all away. We cannot allow that to happen." There was a growl at the end of his sentence. Talonclaw remained silent as his father continued with his speech.
"I know you feel as though I'm putting a lot on your shoulders, Talonclaw, and for that I am sorry," the Thunderclan leader placed his tail on the deputy's shoulders. The dark red tom felt surprised at the leader's gesture. "I won't be around forever, so it's imperative that you are strong and ready for whatever happens. If anyone can do this it's you."
Talonclaw could not believe what he had just heard. Lockestar, the proud leader of Thunderclan, was actually afraid of the future. He knew that his time was coming and it was important that his son was prepared for inevitable. Talonclaw looked down at the camp, the home he grew up in over the years, and turned away. The idea of it all being wiped out; it was all too much for the deputy. As though a fire had been lit, Talonclaw's eyes opened and audaciously faced the blue sky. No matter what darkness befell his clan, he was determined see it to the end and protect his home, even at the cost of his own life. Everyone he loved was counting on him and he was not about to let them down - not by a long shot.
