The situation was salvageable. In fact, it might even turn out better than before. First he needed to speak to the kittypet. Hopefully Firepaw hadn't heard about his outburst the previous night(Tigerclaw doubted it, there had been few cats around and he was almost certain that only Bluestar had heard his exact words). It would make gaining the kittypet's trust that much easier.
Slitting his eyes against the rising sun, Tigerclaw padded up to the apprentices' den, where the kittypet was grooming himself. "Firepaw."
The kittypet looked up. "Yes, Tigerclaw?"
"Have you spoken to the rogue yet?"
Firepaw blinked. "No, I haven't. I didn't realize I was supposed to tend to her. I'll fetch her some prey right away."
Tigerclaw raised his tail to stop him. "Wait, Firepaw, a word of advice." The kittypet halted in his tracks. "You must be aware of the... opportunity ThunderClan gains from the presence of a former ShadowClan cat in our midst."
Firepaw tilted his head. "I don't understand."
"Use your brain, kittypet," Tigerclaw spat, lashing his tail in annoyance at the ginger tom's naiveté. "As much as she claims she won't betray the Clan that she is no longer a member of, Yellowfang is a well of ShadowClan secrets waiting to be tapped. But she won't reveal this information to anyone; a cat will need to gain her confidence first. She will be more likely to trust a cat who is not a full warrior." Tigerclaw paused, shooting a significant look at Firepaw. "An apprentice, perhaps."
Firepaw frowned. "And you think I could be that cat." Judging from his thoughtful expression, he wasn't as opposed to the idea as Tigerclaw thought he might. Tigerclaw supposed it made sense; the kittypet hadn't bonded with the old medicine cat yet, so he had no reason to care about her. "Do you really think she would reveal ShadowClan secrets?"
Tigerclaw lowered his voice. "In time, possibly. I would encourage you to spend some time with her, get to know her. You might just learn something."
Still looking a bit confused, Firepaw nodded. "Yes, Tigerclaw."
Tail curling up in satisfaction, Tigerclaw watched as the kittypet approached Yellowfang. Excellent. For his plan to work, he needed the Clan to notice the amount of time Firepaw spent around the former ShadowClan she-cat, so the earlier the kittypet started the better. Luckily the kittypet hadn't objected; Tigerclaw hadn't been sure what he would have done if the kittypet hadn't taken his suggestion, since there was technically no reason for him to associate with Yellowfang in this timeline.
Tigerclaw arched his back in a long stretch. He had already hunted this morning, after his troubled sleep, and he was looking forward to taking a good, long nap.
Yawning, Tigerclaw told himself that he'd think of everything soon. Because certainly there were more things he had to do: plan for the next Gathering, train Ravenpaw, avoid Redtail...
And he needed to earn Bluestar's trust again. That would be more difficult, but it was doable, given enough time. Obviously, he was not about to walk up to her and apologize; that would be a sign of weakness. Instead, he would continue to occasionally mentor the kittypet. Once Bluestar saw the close bond he'd formed with him, she would think he'd changed his mind about him. Of course, it wouldn't stay that way for long; when Tigerclaw's plan was complete, no cat would deny that the kittypet was a traitor, even Bluestar.
The only problem with this was that he'd have to spend time with the kittypet. He'd thought he'd been done with Firepaw when Bluestar had named herself his mentor, but now he would have to volunteer to train him. As much as he hated spending time around the ginger tom, it was necessary.
Noticing the kittypet attempting to make conversation with a grumpy looking Yellowfang, Tigerclaw suppressed an eye roll. From his tone of voice, Tigerclaw could tell that the kittypet was being much too friendly. The old rogue would never respond to him if he was overly kind; she was probably suspicious of his intentions right now. Finally the kittypet gave up, leaving a piece of fresh-kill in front of her before padding away. Tigerclaw shrugged; this was a reasonable start. If their friendship grew too fast, the Clan would ask questions, and Firepaw might reveal that it was all Tigerclaw's idea.
Resolving to teach Firepaw how to socialize with an enemy later, Tigerclaw began to make his way back toward the warriors' den. The ginger apprentice was even more annoying than Redtail.
As though summoned by Tigerclaw's thoughts, his former murder victim approached, tail held high. "Morning, Tigerclaw," Redtail meowed. "Ready to finish our hunting mission? Perhaps the apprentices could come along as well."
"I've just finished hunting for the morning, as a matter of fact," Tigerclaw pointed out through gritted teeth. "I can take the next RiverClan border patrol though." He knew it was a bit much to volunteer himself, but he was running out of excuses to avoid training apprentices together with Redtail.
"Oh, no, it's quite alright; you've led many border patrols over the last few days." Tigerclaw lashed his tail Redtail continued; the tom's obnoxious voice was like a claw to his ears. "I thought you deserved a break so I sent Whitestorm and Mousefur."
Tigerclaw scowled. Redtail knew that Tigerclaw didn't want to be around him, but he kept bothering him anyway. He had probably been encouraged by being asked to hunt the previous night. Tigerclaw wished he could explain that the invitation had only been a ruse to murder him; perhaps that would make the insufferable tom stop trying to be his friend.
"Now that I think about it," Redtail continued thoughtfully, "you have been hunting a great deal lately as well. Perhaps we could do some battle training with our apprentices. Ravenpaw was just telling me how he'd like to practice with Dustpaw sometime." The blasted apprentice! Tigerclaw lashed his tail, inwardly cursing the mouse-hearted tom. "Meet me in the training hollow at sunhigh." Redtail tilted his head, waiting for Tigerclaw's answer.
Tigerclaw had no choice, of course. Redtail was ThunderClan deputy, and he'd given a direct order. "Very well."
"Excellent," Redtail replied, dipping his head. "I will see you then. We shall see whose apprentice comes out on top."
When Redtail vanished through the gorse tunnel, Tigerclaw let out a wordless hiss. Fox-dung! He'd wanted to rest, not associate himself with the cat who had ruined his plan to obtain the ThunderClan leader position! And Ravenpaw, he thought with a growl. This was all Ravenpaw's doing! Tigerclaw whipped around to find the skinny black apprentice; the idiotic kit needed to be taught to keep his mouth shut- a lesson he would have done well to learn the first time. He found him curled up in a patch of sunlight, and Tigerclaw jabbed him with a forepaw.
When Ravenpaw stumbled to his paws, Tigerclaw bared his teeth, giving his apprentice the most accusatory glare he could manage. "Is my mentorship not enough for you that you had to go running to Redtail?"
To his credit Ravenpaw looked horrified. "Wha- no, I didn't-"
Tigerclaw cut him off. "I suggest you start paying attention if you ever want to be a warrior, since as of right now one of Frostfur's newborns could defeat you in battle! And think you can keep up with Redtail and Dustpaw?"
Ravenpaw ducked his head. "I just thought-"
"You thought that you might be able to get out of my training!" snarled Tigerclaw.
"Wha- no, I didn't-"
Before Ravenpaw could say anything else, Tigerclaw let out a low growl. "Well, you got your wish. We're training with Redtail and Dustpaw today at sunhigh." Tigerclaw paused, a sneer working its way across his muzzle. "You won't last one round against Dustpaw in a mock battle. Be thankful Redtail will stop the fight when you get injured."
Bowing his head, Ravenpaw looked away from him.
"Go fetch moss for the elders, then meet me in the sandy hollow."
"But- but Tigerclaw..." Ravenpaw's voice was tiny. "...sunhigh, isn't for a long time. I'll be done fetching moss for the elders long before-"
"Do as you're told, you mousehearted excuse for a cat! Get out of my sight!"
"Yes, Tigerclaw," the useless tom squeaked, scuttling away.
A shadow was rippling across the ground, and it took a few moments before Tigerclaw realized it was his own. It was on the wrong side of him relative to the sun, warping and twisting in the dawn light. Not again! The shadow cat couldn't be back so soon, could she?
Thankfully it slid away, leaving the clearing sunny and bright. Why was she bothering him now; it wasn't like he was going to kill Ravenpaw. The tom might end up being a useful follower if only he could actually hunt and fight.
