Chapter 13: Intruders
"Bluepaw, what are you doing here?" exclaimed Goldpaw, his ears flattened, his voice just a hiss.
"Me?" Bluepaw growled. "What were you doing in ThunderClan territory?"
The ThunderClan warriors around them started arguing as well, until Jaystar cut them off.
"Cats of ThunderClan!" he yowled. "Quiet, please!"
The voices all dropped and utter silence filled the atmosphere, until a white she-cat spoke up. Goldpaw immediately recognized her. The memory of her wasn't good.
"Then what do we do about these irresponsible WindClan apprentices?" the she-cat hissed, glaring at Goldpaw and Bluepaw through narrowed sapphire slits.
"For now, we keep them here at camp, Iceriver," Jaystar replied calmly. "We need to clear things up and understand what made them intrude into ThunderClan territory." He shot a look to the two WindClan toms. Bluepaw lowered his head while Goldpaw glared back. "And maybe some cats from WindClan can come and bring them back to WindClan."
"There's a small, unused den beside the elder's den," a ThunderClan apprentice piped up. "Maybe we can keep them there."
"What!" another tom—one that was also very familiar to Goldpaw, as he recognized them from their dispute with ThunderClan at the border—exclaimed angrily. "They're prisoners here and they get their own den? This isn't a luxury stay!"
"Calm down, Flameshade," Jaystar said. "We haven't fully assessed the situation. We aren't clear of why they're here. Maybe it's for a reason."
Or maybe it's just a foolish young apprentice looking for revenge, Bluepaw thought inwardly, biting back insults for Goldpaw and trying to keep a calm composure. He knew what had happened with ThunderClan at the border from Whitepaw telling him.
"Stoneclaw, please escort these apprentices to the unused den beside the elder's one," Jaystar commanded. Stoneclaw dipped his head to show he understood, and swept his dark grey tail as he lead Bluepaw and Goldpaw to the den. They followed—though Goldpaw reluctantly.
They were kept at the den and forced to wait while some of the ThunderClan cats were told to go fetch WindClan and clear things up. A ThunderClan warrior guarded the entrance. The den was quite dark, a thick layer of brambles covering the entrance, only a narrow passageway uncovered to enter the den. Goldpaw sighed and Bluepaw spun around to glare at him.
"What do you think you were doing, intruding into ThunderClan grounds?" Bluepaw growled at the golden tabby.
"You heard what happened the other sunrise!" Goldpaw retorted back. "It was ThunderClan's fault and WindClan did nothing wrong!"
"Revenge is never the answer," Bluepaw hissed, his voice a low whisper. "It was a misunderstanding. Now let it go and stop making the situation worse!"
"Well, they shouldn't have gotten angry at us in the first place! I was only—" Goldpaw stopped when he saw a familiar ginger-and-white blur flash by amongst the brambles. The sleek shape halted and then proceeded into the den Bluepaw and Goldpaw were staying at, ignoring the guard's commands.
The brambles parted and revealed a thin, ginger-and-white she-cat with soft orange eyes.
"Who are you?" Bluepaw asked, eyes narrowing. "Another cat Jaystar sent to keep an eye on us? Well, no need. We aren't going anywhere."
"I just…" the young she-cat started. "I just wanted to ask if you were hungry or anything."
"Hungry?" Bluepaw repeated. "No, we're not. And correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't we prisoners and not respected guests?"
"Yes, well…" the she-cat trailed off.
Bluepaw suddenly glanced at Goldpaw and noticed he was staring at the young ThunderClan she-cat, his amber eyes slightly narrowed. The she-cat also caught his eye.
"I recognize you!" the she-cat exclaimed. "You're that apprentice we ran into that time at the border."
"And you're that apprentice we ran into at our border," Goldpaw argued back. However, the young golden tom couldn't help but notice she was quite pretty. Her pelt was well-groomed and she had a lithe figure. Her eyes were a soft orange, like the last glow of the sunset…
"Well, if you could please leave us alone," Bluepaw suddenly spoke up, snapping Goldpaw out of his thoughts. Goldpaw was about to retort to that, but quickly shut his mouth before any words dared to come out.
The she-cat sighed and was about to pad away, but Goldpaw's voice called her back.
"What was your name again?" he asked. Bluepaw stared at him in surprise and the she-cat turned around and answered before walking away again.
"My name is Dawnpaw."
Goldpaw peeked his head out of the den's entrance, not noticed by the guard (who was getting distracted), hoping to catch a last glimpse of the ginger-and-white apprentice she-cat. Bluepaw noticed and padded up silently to stand beside his brother, following his gaze.
"What are you looking at?" Bluepaw whispered, his voice a slight hiss. "Just get inside the den and wait patiently before we get into more trouble!"
"No, look at that!" Goldpaw whispered back, pointing with his paw.
They saw a large, long-haired flecked tom—who looked quite old—with piercing yellow eyes who caught his attention. The tom's grey-and-white pelt was matted with dirt and filled with scratches and scars. One ear was missing and he only had half a tail. He noticed the commotion and growled, eyes just slits, as he padded toward Jaystar and hissed to the leader, revealing his crooked, yellow fangs.
"What now?" he rasped irritably. "It was quite peaceful and suddenly, the whole of ThunderClan is in a commotion."
"Spottedfeather," Jaystar greeted first, dipping his head slightly in respect. The large flecked tom just growled and shook it off.
So his name is Spottedfeather, Bluepaw thought, staring at the scene. There's just something about him that…
"Apparently two apprentices from WindClan have intruded into ThunderClan territory," Jaystar started.
"Oh, for the love of StarClan, stop using 'intrude' already!" Goldpaw hissed. Bluepaw shot him a glare, silencing him.
Spottedfeather scoffed. "WindClan? Pfft!"
"We still need to keep them here until we figure out what's going on and until we have some WindClan cats bring them back," Jaystar explained. "They need to know too and train their apprentices better also."
"Clearly," Spottedfeather growled and turned away.
"Jaystar! The patrol has returned with the WindClan cats!" a black and brown tabby tom reported. Jaystar followed his gaze and saw some ThunderClan cats escorting a small group of WindClan cats into the ThunderClan camp. Goldpaw and Bluepaw saw Echostar in the lead, with Ravencall, a white and grey she-cat named Willowfern, and Whitepaw's mentor Stormheart trailing behind.
They must be here to take us back, Bluepaw thought with guilt. Great, we're going to be in huge trouble this time.
Bluepaw could hear Goldpaw groan beside him.
They saw Jaystar talking with Echostar. Jaystar's expression was an unpleased one, while Echostar showed disbelief and shock. The ThunderClan leader walked the silver she-cat to the den Bluepaw and Goldpaw were staying at. The two brothers ducked away and tried to hide but it was too late.
"Bluepaw? Goldpaw?" Echostar gasped. "It's true?"
Stormheart growled. "You two are in a lot of trouble."
"You see?" ThunderClan's deputy, a russet-colored she-cat, padded up to join Jaystar and Echostar, accusing Bluepaw and Goldpaw of "invading".
"But I know Goldpaw and Bluepaw," Echostar retorted, ears flattened, tail lashing. "I know them, and I know they wouldn't intentionally do that!" The cats of WindClan and ThunderClan started a heated argument.
Goldpaw sighed in regret and Bluepaw felt extremely guilty, but the more half, angry at his brother. But then again, just because Goldpaw had, didn't mean he had to follow him. Yet he couldn't just leave Goldpaw, right?
"Echostar," Goldpaw said suddenly, stepping forward out of the brambles. Bluepaw was about to talk, but Goldpaw had beat him to it. All eyes were on him.
"I just wanted to say that… it's true. We did," Goldpaw announced, guilt lacing his voice, but his tone still confident and clear. Echostar's eyes widened and many of the ThunderClan cats started yowling that they were right. Jaystar silenced them.
"But don't blame Bluepaw," Goldpaw continued. Bluepaw stared at him in great surprise. "I was the one who purposefully went onto ThunderClan territory first and Bluepaw here was just trying to save me."
And despite everything, and even though he was still furious, a faint smile somehow forced its way onto Bluepaw's face.
"And above everything, I just wanted to say… I'm sorry."
This chappie was kinda shorter than the previous ones, but oh well. It was a pretty fast update. :) So Goldpaw's anger kinda blinded him in the beginning and he just rushed to ThunderClan without a plan, really. But after some time he did realize he was stupid to do that. (And I am proud of him for saying sorry. :) One of the only times in his life he's ever mustered that word. XD)
Btw, as I said before, do try to remember the new characters I introduce (if you don't, it's ok too haha, but I'm just saying it is better to) 'cause I guarantee you almost every one of them will make another appearance and have something to do with the story's plot. (In this case, cats like Dawnpaw and Spottedfeather.)
Alright, review please! :D