I know its taking me longer and longer to update, and I'm sorry. These past few weeks have been pretty busy. Also, I only got six reviews on my last chapter. I was feeling kind of discouraged…hence the long wait for Chapter 12. Sorry!

For those of you who are wondering, Tigerpaw didn't show up the others in Initiation because he was only trained in fighting, not hunting. Also, he is FogClan. He was not born to catch seagulls or fish in the sea, but to stalk mice and squirrels through dense undergrowth. Sorry I didn't elaborate on that. :(

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER 12

~Plan~

The sun floated in the very center of the cloudless sky as Stormpaw and the other apprentices padded back into camp. The early morning chill had been replaced by warm rays of sunshine and a fresh, gentle breeze, signifying that Newleaf was well on is way. Stormpaw's jaws were locked around one of the wings of his prize, the seagull he and Skypaw had caught about an hour before, while the other wing was clamped in the white she-cat's teeth as she padded beside him. The seagull hung limp between them for all to see.

Tigerpaw had caught his own seagull soon after Stormpaw and Skypaw had, but he had not been happy at all since he'd lost the race. He trudged at the back of the group, ears flat and blue eyes narrowed, pouting. Two blows to his ego in one day? A new record. He'd be grumpy for a while.

"Well, done!" a familiar voice meowed. Stormpaw looked up to see his mentor padding towards them, his midnight fur glistening in the bright afternoon sunshine.

"Hello, Reedwhisker!" he greeted, his voice muffled as he lifted the bird higher for him to see. "We just got back from Initiation."

"So I see," the black tom chuckled, looking between Stormpaw and Skypaw. "Which one of you caught the seagull?"

"We both did!" Skypaw exclaimed, her mouth full of feathers. Reedwhisker laughed.

"Did you, huh? I don't think that's ever happened before. At least not in my time," he meowed, beaming down at them. "I'm very proud of both of you." Stormpaw felt something stir in his chest, a feeling he couldn't quite place. Reedwhisker was…proud of him? He had never heard those words before. His father had never spoken them. Not even his mother ever had. It was almost as strange as when Coldstar had called him his son…

"Well, I need to get going on the sunhigh patrol soon. I'm sure they are waiting for me," Reedwhisker said as he began to pad away, leaving the two apprentices behind. But then he suddenly stopped beside Stormpaw, flashing him a warm smile. "By the way, Stormpaw, why don't you rest today? I think learning to catch a seagull is training enough."

Stormpaw perked, surprised. "Thanks!"

Reedwhisker nodded, then turned to join the rest of the sunhigh patrol at the entrance of camp.

"Come on, Stormpaw!" Skypaw meowed around the seagull's wing. "We need to pluck the feathers off this thing for our nests. Bluepaw said it takes a while."

Stormpaw nodded, turning to head towards the apprentice's den with Skypaw, when someone roughly shouldered into his side. He dropped the seagull's wing as Tigerpaw padded past, then turned and glared back at Stormpaw, his blue eyes hard as ice.

"We need to talk," he muttered, his voice low.

"And you need to learn some manners," Skypaw grumbled, letting the seagull's other wing drop to the ground.

Tigerpaw's icy eyes slid over to the she-cat, and his lips peeled back into a snarl. Skypaw looked a little taken aback, surprised by the menace in Tigerpaw's gaze. The dark tabby's eyes slowly reverted back to Stormpaw, narrowing slightly.

"Now," he growled.

Stormpaw turned to look at Skypaw, who was giving him a pleading look. He knew she didn't want him to leave her for Tigerpaw like he had done those three moons ago, but…He looked back at his brother's icy stare, how they seemed to command that he follow him, and he sighed and lowered his gaze to the ground.

"Go ahead and start plucking the feathers without me," Stormpaw meowed without looking at his friend. "I'll be there in a minute."

For a moment it was silent; he could feel Skypaw's eyes burning into the side of his head, and then he heard her angry sigh, saw out of the corner of his eye her bend and pick up the seagull. He listened to her quickly turn away, her swift pawsteps fading as she marched into the apprentice's den. Stormpaw's eyes stayed locked on the ground the entire time.

"Come on." Tigerpaw turned and padded in the opposite direction, towards the same place where they'd played as kits; where he'd first tried to show Skypaw how to fight. She was mad at him…again. StarClan, why did he have to keep doing that?

Why did Tigerpaw keep doing that?

"What was that all about?" Stormpaw demanded as soon as they were behind the bush and out of sight from the rest of the Clan. "That was completely uncalled for. Why do you always have to be so rude to everyone? You-"

"You need to stop hanging out with Skypaw."

Stormpaw's mouth fell open in shock at Tigerpaw's words. His brother was staring at him levelly, his face completely deadpan. For a moment it was silent, neither one moving or saying anything, when suddenly Stormpaw felt the anger rise in his chest and his ears pinned back against his head.

"What are you talking about?" he hissed. "You're the one that said we should be friends!"

"She's distracting you from the mission," Tigerpaw growled back. "We have one week to figure out how many lives Sunstar has, and today you acted like you'd forgotten you even had a mission. You were too busy catching seagulls!"

Stormpaw's fur bristled. This was the angriest he'd felt in a long time. Possibly the angriest he'd ever felt. "You were catching seagulls, too! It was Initiation!"

"Initiation?" Tigerpaw scoffed. "Initiation for what, exactly? A Clan you'll never be a part of? A Clan that would turn around and rip your throat out if they knew just who you truly were? You're the son of the leader of FogClan, for StarClan's sake! Or have you forgotten that? Do you not remember the last thing he said to us before we came here?"

Stormpaw jerked his head away, glaring at the ground beside him. Of course he remembered. He remembered the way his father's eyes flashed as he told them probably the most meaningful thing he ever had, and ever would.

"No matter what happens, no matter where you are, what you're doing, or who you're with, you will always be a FogClan cat. And you will always be my sons. Remember that."

Stormpaw closed his eyes, shutting out the memory.

"I know what he said…" he meowed, calmer now than he was before. He lifted his head to look back at Tigerpaw, whose eyes were narrowed into angry slits. "…And I haven't forgotten the mission. But…I'm not going to stop being friends with Skypaw. She's not a distraction, and I'll never let her become one. I…I promise."

Stormpaw gazed evenly at Tigerpaw, his stare unwavering. His brother looked at him for a moment, his ears still pinned back against his head and his eyes narrowed, before he sighed and relaxed, shaking his head at Stormpaw.

"Fine," he meowed, a little skeptically. "But you'd better keep your promise. FogClan needs you more than she does."

Stormpaw felt a pang in his chest. "I will."

"Good." Tigerpaw's fur laid down flat again, and the fire faded from his eyes as he looked back at his brother. He smiled, but to Stormpaw it looked forced. "Now, we have to make a plan on how to figure out how many lives Sunstar has left. Any ideas?"

Stormpaw shook his head. "Not a clue."

Tigerpaw sighed, frustrated. Stormpaw hadn't really given much thought on what they were going to do about the assignment Coldstar had given them the night before. And it was a difficult one. They couldn't just walk up to Sunstar and ask him how many lives he had left. But really that seemed like the only way they'd ever figure it out…

"How about we just sleep on it? We're bound to figure something out sooner or later," Stormpaw meowed. "And we still have a week left. There's plenty of time."

"Agreed," Tigerpaw said, giving a nod. "We'll talk about it in the morning. Right now I have to go clean out the elder's den."

Stormpaw chuckled to himself as Tigerpaw turned to leave. He pictured his brother gathering up the dirty moss while the elderly cats of the Clan berated him for disturbing their sleep, or asking him to get a tick off the base of their tails. It was a funny image. Tigerpaw stopped and glared when he heard him, however.

"What?"

"Nothing," Stormpaw meowed, then chuckled again. Tigerpaw's eyes narrowed further.

"Go pluck your bird," he grumbled, then padded away.

Stormpaw stood in front of the apprentice's den, his paws frozen in place. Skypaw was in there…and she was probably still mad at him. He sighed, hanging his head. He wished she could understand. He'd had to go with Tigerpaw. Like his brother had said, they couldn't afford distractions.

With that in mind, Stormpaw steeled himself, then padded inside.

All conversation between Skypaw and Rosepaw stopped as soon as Stormpaw entered. The two she-cats sat facing each other in the back of the den, a half-feathered seagull lying between them. Skypaw stared down at the bird while Rosepaw smiled half-heartedly at him.

"Hello, Stormpaw," she mewed quietly.

Skypaw said nothing.

Stormpaw sighed. "Hi, Rosepaw," he meowed, padding further into the den. He walked right over to where the two she-cats sat and stood over them, looking down solemnly at the sleek white she-cat he had learned to call his best friend.

"Hey, Skypaw," he meowed.

Skypaw clamped a few of the seagull's feathers in her teeth, then roughly pulled them out.

"Well…" Rosepaw stood slowly, her eyes flicking uncertainly between Skypaw and Stormpaw. "I'm going to go, uhhh…back to the medicine cat den, um…I'll see you later."

"Bye," Stormpaw meowed, still looking down at Skypaw. She refused to meet his gaze, instead placing the feathers in her nest beside her. Rosepaw quickly exited the den without another word. It was just the two of them now.

Stormpaw took Rosepaw's place across from Skypaw and sat down. The she-cat still refused to look at him, staring down at the bird instead. Neither of them said anything for a moment, until Skypaw finally broke the silence.

"You did it again," she muttered quietly.

Stormpaw sighed. "I know. I'm sorry."

Skypaw finally looked up at him, and he was surprised to see that it was not anger in her eyes, but sadness. "You can't let him push you around like that, Stormpaw," she meowed. "He's your brother, not your leader. You don't always have to do what he says, you know."

Stormpaw looked down, at the bird with half its feathers missing. "I do know that. It's just…he really did need to talk to me."

Skypaw gave him a look. "And was it really important enough that it absolutely couldn't wait until after we plucked this seagull's feathers?"

Stormpaw said nothing, staring at the bird guiltily. He heard Skypaw sigh.

"Just promise me you won't do it again," she meowed. "Promise me that you won't do everything your brother says from now. Promise me that you'll be your own cat, and not your brother's shadow." Stormpaw finally lifted his head to look at her, into her clear blue eyes that reminded him so much of the ocean. He let out a breath, then slowly nodded.

"I promise," he said.

Skypaw smiled. "Good," she meowed, her tone much lighter than it had been a few moments ago. She pushed the half-feathered seagull towards him. "Now get plucking."

Stormpaw laughed, and the two of them got to work- him pulling the feathers off the seagull and her weaving them into their nests. They slipped into the easy conversation they'd always been able to have together; smiling, laughing, and playfully teasing each other. Like it had always been.

Easy.

The day was somewhere in the middle of sunhigh and sunset by the time they were done plucking all the feathers off the bird and had woven each one into their nests. Eagleheart took Skypaw out for a training session, Rosepaw was off learning where different herbs grow with Willowsong, and Tigerpaw was still cleaning the elder's den with Thornpaw. So, with nothing else to do, Stormpaw picked up the featherless seagull and carried it into the nursery.

Echostep was grooming herself in her nest at the back of the den, smoothing down the silver fur on her chest. Her belly was swollen with Adderstrike's kits, and Stormpaw realized that she would be kitting soon. Probably in the next two or three weeks.

"Oh! Hello, Stormpaw," she she-cat greeted when she noticed him standing there. Her emerald eyes slid down to the bird in his jaws. "Is that for me? That's your initiation seagull, isn't it though?"

Stormpaw nodded, padding further into the den and dropping the bird in front of Echostep. "Yes, it is. I brought it for you."

Echostep smiled graciously. "Well thank you, Stormpaw. Though, it is custom in SeaClan that you eat your own initiation seagull…"

"I'm not really hungry," Stormpaw meowed with a shrug. "Skypaw and I caught it together, and she's out training with Eagleheart. So I came to see if you wanted it. Also, I figured you might want some company, seeing as you're all alone in here most of the time. It must get lonely."

"How nice of you, Stormpaw," Echostep purred. "But I won't be lonely for long." She gazed down fondly at her swollen belly, her green eyes swimming with warmth and love for her unborn kits. Stormpaw felt a twinge in his heart at the sight. Did his mother ever look at him like that? He couldn't remember her ever doing that. She'd been nice enough, but…had she ever really loved him?

"Well, I uhh…I'm gonna go now," Stormpaw meowed uncomfortably, turning to leave. "Bye."

"It was good to talk to you again, Stormpaw," Echostep mewed kindly. "Thank you for coming to see me."

Stormpaw gave a terse nod and quickly exited the den.

Now he was at a loss. What could he possibly do until Skypaw got done with training? Or until Tigerpaw finished cleaning out the elder's den? He padded aimlessly through the camp, thinking of ways to pass the time. He could go down to the beach and practice catching seagulls, or battle train on his own outside…

Stormpaw looked up as something at the edge of his vision caught his eye. The sunhigh patrol was coming back through the entrance tunnel, and by the way Icestorm padded purposely towards Sunstar's den above the Redrock told him that they had found something bad. Interested, he hurried over to Reedwhisker as his mentor walked into camp.

"What happened?" he inquired, looking up at the black tom questioningly.

Reedwhisker's brow was creased in something that looked like worry, but he could tell that he was trying to hide it. "We scented foxes in the northern part of our territory," he meowed. "Two or three, maybe even four."

Stormpaw's eyes widened in alarm. "Foxes? Will they come this way?"

Reedwhisker shook his head quickly. "No. They'll probably just pass right on through our territory. As long as we don't bother them, they won't hurt us." He looked up at the Redrock, where Icestorm had disappeared into the leader's den. "Sunstar will probably hold a meeting with more of the details."

As if on cue, the massive golden tabby appeared on the top of the Redrock. Icestorm padded out behind him, leaping down from the rock to seat himself at the bottom.

"Let all cats old enough to fish in the sea join here beneath the Redrock for a Clan meeting!"

Reedwhisker padded towards the crowd gathering beneath Sunstar, flicking his tail for him to follow. Stormpaw joined his mentor near the front of the group, tilting his head back so he could see the SeaClan leader.

When all the cats were assembled, Sunstar began.

"I've just been informed that there are a group of foxes near the northern border of our territory," he meowed, his voice carrying throughout the entire camp. "Until a patrol scouts the area to be sure that the foxes have gone, no one may be allowed to hunt in that part of the territory."

"What if they're still there?" someone asked near the back of the crowd. Stormpaw couldn't be sure who it was.

"Then we will drive them out," Sunstar answered, and his voice hardened as he added, "Foxes have caused enough trouble in our territory over the last few moons. We're not going to let any more come anywhere near our camp."

Stormpaw's eyes slid over to Mistflower, whose head was bowed and her blue eyes unfocused. She was probably remembering her kit, the one who'd been killed by a fox before Stormkit and Tigerkit had arrived in SeaClan three moons ago.

"I will send out a patrol tomorrow morning," Sunstar finished, and leaped down from the Redrock. The crowd began to dissipate, each cat going their own way. Stormpaw looked up at Reedwhisker.

"Do you think I could be on the patrol?" he questioned hopefully. He'd never seen a fox before, and he'd never been on a patrol either.

Reedwhisker shook his head. "No. Foxes are very dangerous, Stormpaw. An adult one could easily severely injure or kill a grown warrior, much less an apprentice. Even Sunstar would have trouble if there's more than one." The black tom yawned, his eyes blinking sleepily. "Well, I'm going to go take a short nap. Good-bye, Stormpaw," he meowed, then padded off towards the warrior's den.

But Stormpaw didn't hear the last part of what Reedwhisker had said. He was staring at the spot where his mentor had been standing, eyes wide.

"Even Sunstar would have trouble if there's more than one…"

He had a plan.

Of course I remember that day.

I regret everything about it. I regret looking for ways to harm another cat. I regret that it was even something that I wasn't bothered about doing. I regret leaving Skypaw when she didn't want me to go. I regret making promises that I knew, even then, that I would fail to keep…

It may not seem like it now, but that day was the real turning point. If I could change any day of my life, it'd be that one. Because from then on, everything, every mistake I would make and life I would destroy, would be a result of everything I didn't do that day.

The promises I should have made.

Ah, finished. My chapters keep getting longer and longer don't they?

So, what do you think of Chapter 12? Can you figure out what Stormpaw's plan is? It definitely has something to do with foxes. And what do you think of the narration at the end? Review, and tell me what you think!

For all of you that have been asking for action these last few chapters, I'm sure you'll like Chapter 13. ;)

Oh yeah! I also have another story out, but it's not on my profile. It's on my sister, Fading Eclipse's, profile. It's an AU parody that we co-authored together, and it's on my favorites list if you want to check it out. Warning: It is extremely odd. :D

Thanks!