"Leopardstorm! You're on patrol with Mousefur and Whitestorm!" Fireheart's voice called. I yawned and padded out of the warriors den. My eyes were soggy and red and my head was throbbing. Fireheart looked at me in concern. "Are you alright? You look like you've been crying all night." he meowed. I rubbed my eyes with a paw and nodded.
"I'm fine." I muttered. Fireheart gave a brief nod then beckoned to Mousefur.
"They're waiting." he said. I nodded and padded over to them. Mousefur looked at me as I came over. I gave her a friendly smile.
"Hey, Mousefur." I mewed.
"Leopardstorm." she meowed briefly. Then she led us out into the forest. Whitestorm padded beside me with his nose twitching in the air.
"What are we patrolling?" I asked.
"Riverclan border." Whitestorm meowed. I nodded and looked at Mousefur. Her neck fur was bristling and her ears were flattened. Whitestorm noticed this too. "What's wrong, Mousefur?" he asked. Mousefur jumped at his voice then forced herself to calm down.
"Nothing." she snapped. I shared a look with Whitestorm. He nudged me then beckoned to Mousefur. I sighed and padded to her side.
"Mouse-"
"I said, I'm fine! Stop treating me like a frightened kit!" Mousefur spat. I flinched at her tone.
"I was just-" I broke off as Mousefur scoffed.
"I am an older, more experienced warrior that once trained you. Don't you think you can trust me? I'm not the cats who followed Tigerclaw!" she hissed. I gaped at her.
"That's not what I was saying!" I protested. Whitestorm walked up to Mousefur.
"Mousefur, Dustpelt, Darkstripe, and Longtail were just persuaded to do the wrong thing. They're trying their best to fit in with the clan. They are shaken up as much as the rest of us are." he meowed calmly. Mousefur glared at me then spat. I couldn't help but feel that it wasn't the three toms she's worried about. Is Mousefur suspecting that I'm disloyal?
We padded back into camp. Mousefur was silent the whole time and her fur prickled when I came near her. I looked for my siblings as we padded into the entrance. Brambleclaw was eating a sparrow while Tawnypelt was rolling a bundle of moss from the elders' den. I narrowed my eyes. Isn't that the apprentices job? And why is Brambleclaw eating alone? He always has a friend sitting with him! I beckoned my tail to her and padded over to Brambleclaw. Tawnypelt abandoned her moss pile and walked over to me. Her ears were flattened as gazes turned to her. I sat beside Brambleclaw while Tawnypelt sat too. "What's wrong?" Brambleclaw asked. I took a deep breath.
"Do you two think the clan is acting strange?" I asked. Tawnypelt nodded.
"Bluestar's been putting me on apprentice duties lately and everytime I see Brambleclaw, he's been sitting alone for the longest." she muttered. Brambleclaw bristled defensively.
"I just don't want to talk to anyone right now!" he protested. I rolled my eyes.
"All you ever do is talk!" I retorted. Brambleclaw grumbled and shoved his muzzle into his prey. Then pawsteps sounded near us.
"What are you three doing?" a snap sounded. I looked up to see Bluestar. Her eyes were narrowed into accusing blue slits. I flattened my ears under her gaze.
"We were just talking…" I mewed. Bluestar hissed and her tail twitched.
"Talking? When you should be helping your clan? Tawnypelt. You should be cleaning the elders' nests! Why is that moss ball sitting in the middle of the clearing?" Bluestar growled. Tawnypelt opened her mouth to answer but Bluestar ignored her. "And Leopardstorm! You should be out on patrol! Why are you here instead of out there?"
"I-" Bluestar silenced me.
"Brambleclaw, instead of stuffing your face with the clan's fresh-kill, go and do something productive! Honestly! You three are like kits!" she spat. Brambleclaw flattened his ears and moved his muzzle away from his food. Fireheart padded over.
"Bluestar, Leopardstorm was on patrol. They just came back. And Brambleclaw hasn't eaten anything since yesterday at sunset and he just woke up. Tawnypelt was just taking a break." he meowed. Bluestar hissed and stomped back to her den. I sighed and looked at Fireheart.
"Thanks, Fireheart." I murmured. Fireheart smiled friendly but I still caught the look of distrust in his eyes.
"No problem." he mewed. Before I could say anything, he quickly padded away. Tawnypelt scoffed and a growl rumbled in her throat.
"Why are we being treated like this?" she spat. Brambleclaw looked at his paws in shame.
"The clan's just shaken up by Tigerclaw. Bluestar especially. She trusted him." I meowed.
"Bluestar's right… How could've I have been so selfish?" Brambleclaw murmured. I gaped at him.
"You're not being selfish!" I protested.
"Then why am I sitting here stuffing my mouth with food while the clan is going out hunting or patrolling? They're probably starving and I'm sitting here eating all the food!" Brambleclaw snapped. Then he ran off into the forest. Tawnypelt scoffed and padded off to collect her moss pile. I watched them both go their separate ways in dismay. Will they ever go back to being the fun loving siblings I once knew? I closed my eyes and sighed. Tigerclaw torn us apart. He may be gone… but his presence still haunts us here. What is becoming of my family? Then I padded off into the forest. I made my way to Sunning Rocks while looking at the ground in thought. The ground grew familiar under my paws and my mind flashed back to my memories. What is up with you running into things? Riverfang's words rang through my ears. I smiled sadly and stopped as the tree I ran into when I was an apprentice came into view. I chuckled and shook my head.
"Not this time." I murmured. Then I sat onto the rocks and looked at the river. I sighed as I saw an image of me and Riverfang on the banks. I smiled as we laughed together. Why can't I just go back to the old days? Back to when Killing Storm never haunted me… when I was just an innocent, young apprentice wanting to be the best warrior I could be. I closed my eyes and let the river fill my ears with soothing sounds of ripples and whirlpools.
"Excuse me…? But why are you sitting here all alone?" a voice asked. I jerked my eyes open to see a tom. His fur was sleek and dripping as if he just came out the water. His fur was a dark brown with a faint white underbelly. He also had faint white spots dappling his back and shoulders. I looked at him suspiciously.
"Who are you?" I asked. The tom lifted his head friendly, his deep blue eyes sparkling.
"Name's Fuzz. I live near here." he mewed. I narrowed my eyes. He doesn't have a collar so he can't be a kittypet. Fuzz looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "And you are…?" I blushed but cleared my throat and lifted my head defiantly.
"I'm Leopardstorm of Thunderclan." I meowed. Fuzz smiled.
"Oh so you're one of those cats?" he smirked. I narrowed my eyes.
"What do you mean by those cats?" I asked. Fuzz chuckled and pranced around me. I kept my eye on him but couldn't help but snort in amusement.
"You're one of those cats who claim a part of the forest." Fuzz said. Then he crouched low in front of me and wiggled his haunches in the air. "So are you going to chase me out of your 'territory' or are you gonna go patrol your boundaries?" he asked in a teasing manner. Is he mocking us? I scoffed and flicked my ear.
"Well I should claw your ears off for being an ignorant tom or I might just feed you to my clanmates." I sniffed. Fuzz widened his eyes and stood up properly.
"Hey, I was just kidding!" he chuckled. I rolled my eyes. I can't believe he actually fell for that.
"Where do you live?" I asked. Fuzz nodded over to a path down the river.
"It's in a sandy hollow covered by ferns and bushes so enemies won't find it." he meowed. I nodded, slightly impressed. So he's not so dumb after all.
"That's very clever of you." I stated. Fuzz smiled and flicked his ear.
"I know." he mewed with smug. I rolled my eyes.
"Are there more of you?" I asked. Fuzz shook his head.
"There used to be more but the wilderness was too much for them so they went back to their housefolk. Me and my brother were the only ones who stayed. But…" his gaze darkened as he continued. "My brother was killed by a badger…" I looked at him in pity.
"I'm sorry to hear that." I murmured. Fuzz sighed then looked at me back in his friendly gaze.
"So what about you? You're not like any other clan cat I met." he mewed.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well the clan cats I met, they usually would have chased me off by now. You're still sitting on that same rock, listening to a handsome tom talking about his life." Fuzz chuckled. I rolled my eyes and scoffed. Well you have to admit he is kinda cute. I scolded myself for thinking that.
"Well I don't see you as a threat and you're actually a pretty nice cat." I said. Fuzz smiled and lifted his snout in the air.
"You still didn't answer my question from before." he mewed. I tilted my head.
"What question?" I asked.
"Why are you sitting here alone?" Fuzz asked. I shrugged.
"Just sitting here thinking about defending my clan and patrolling borders." I said in a mysterious tone. We both laughed. "Just kidding. I just need to take a break from everyone." I chuckled. Fuzz rolled his eyes.
"But aren't they your family?" he asked.
"Well even family can get overwhelming sometimes." I giggled. Fuzz sighed and looked at me.
"Any family is a blessing." he murmured. I looked at him. "I would do anything to have my brother back. He was the only family I had left. Spend time with your family before you have to say goodbye." he mewed. Before I could say anything, he padded off to the river. "See you later, Leopardstorm!" he called, waving his tail at me. I waved my tail back.
"Bye Fuzz…"