With a heavy sigh, Watersplash sank into her nest, her exhalation stirring its contents. A few stray feathers floated a couple whisker-lengths above the ground, settling again within a few seconds in slightly different positions. It was little changes like these that Watersplash noticed the most- the most minute differences were the ones it was hardest to control. It could be something as small as a few feathers out of place in her nest, or as simple as a couple of leaves that were already starting to change colour, or as quick as a single sentence that changed an entire relationship.
It had been half a moon since her reconciliation with Grasstail- and the revelation on the night that had followed. She still couldn't believe he'd told her he loved her. She'd had the feeling he felt that way, but she hadn't thought he'd be so bold as to tell her up-front- at least not yet. And she'd had no idea that she could have felt the same way, but as soon as the words had left her mouth, quicker than she'd known what she was saying, she'd realized that she meant it. Or at least she was pretty sure she did. She'd never had those kinds of feelings before, and it was hard to know what was going on.
Now that the truth was out in the open, Watersplash had expected everything to suddenly change between them. But the scariest thing about all this was that it hadn't. Everything about the way they acted around each other had stayed exactly the same.
One thing that definitely had changed was how frequently the two young cats spent time together. As apprentices, they'd only ever met up intentionally once- at a Gathering that felt so long ago now. And even then it hadn't exactly been her intention to meet him there; he'd just come running up to her and she'd happened to recognize him. All the other times they'd crossed paths- when they first met, when they'd found each other by the lake after Grasstail found out the prophecy, that night when the owl carried them off- had all been accidents. Even when he'd told her that he didn't want them to see each other anymore, Grasstail hadn't suck Watersplash out to tell her so. He'd simply stumbled across her and told her what had been on his mind. But now that they were warriors, things were different.
Upon receiving her status as a warrior, Watersplash's world had changed along with her name. She now had freedom and responsibility the likes of which she could have only dreamed of before. It was much the same as going from a kit to a 'paw had been. However, even that wasn't really a good comparison, because Watersplash's "special" status had led to her having more freedom than other kits. Minnowleap had often let her wander around wherever she wanted, sometimes even escorting her outside of camp. It was fuzzy, but Watersplash could have sworn she even remembered being taken to a Gathering once as a kit so Minnowleap could show her off to the other Clans. All that had changed after Splashkit had died, of course- her mother had become understandably terrified of losing her only remaining kit, and restricted her to the RiverClan camp. It was somewhat ironic that it had taken the death of a littermate for Watersplash to have been treated like an ordinary kit.
Kithood experiences aside, now that she was a warrior, it was far easier for Watersplash to leave camp whenever she wished. All she had to do was tell Miststar that she was going for a walk, or going hunting alone, and he'd simply nod and tell her to go ahead. Then, as long as she was back within a certain time, she could simply take a walk by herself like she'd said- or she could meet with Grasstail. She just had to make sure to actually catch something when she said she was going hunting, because she was too skilled for her Clanmates to believe her story if she came back empty-pawed.
Watersplash and Grasstail had met up on five separate occasions since becoming warriors- six counting the night of their vigils, but Watersplash still felt so bad about breaking the sacred laws of the vigil that she tried to pretend it hadn't happened. Other than that, while not all of their meet-ups had been planned, enough of them had been to make it all feel very different from when they were younger.
First there had been the night by the lake, then an unplanned encounter when they had both been on a border patrol at the same time and had almost turned into a border skirmish (Watersplash had managed to calm everyone down, and although she and Grasstail had only been able to look at each other that time, he'd given her a glance that had sent a chill down her spine). Next had been the night of a very special Gathering. Watersplash and Grasstail had gotten themselves alone together, and though it had taken a bit of work to do so, it was well worth it. After that, they'd arranged to meet at the border in the morning a few days later- a plan which had come to fruition in twenty minutes of pure bliss. Last but certainly not least had come the outing that Watersplash had just returned from, slogging into camp with her head still spinning and a dumb, love-struck smile plastered on her muzzle.
They'd met on the island where Gatherings were held; Grasstail had tried to show off while crossing the log and had almost fallen in, but had regained his balance right after Watersplash had rushed to his side. They'd spent the night chasing each other around the clearing, talking about their lives, looking out at the lake, and trying to climb the great oak while wondering how ThunderClan cats managed to make tree-climbing look so easy. Watersplash hoped she'd get the method down before she became leader, if such a thing were ever to happen. She'd never really thought about her future that much outside of the prophecy, but having a relationship like the one she was developing with Grasstail opened her eyes up to a new world of possibilities outside of simply fulfilling her destiny.
Now, as she lay in her nest and contemplated what she'd do next, Watersplash was disturbed by movement next to her. She rolled over to see Beavertail, an older tom she'd never cared much for, sitting up and scratching himself. As great as being a warrior was, it came with its fair share of drawbacks, and one of those was definitely having to share a den with more cats.
When moving into the warriors' den, it had come to Watersplash's attention just how few of her Clanmates she actually knew. To make matters worse, the only bit of available space was next to Foxfang- where Lakesplash's nest had used to be. Watersplash would have rather died than have to sleep next to her former mentor, and in the spot where his dead mate used to sleep, no less! Luckily, a few warriors had shuffled their positions around and she'd wound up next to Smokefur and Patchfur. Not so luckily, she'd also ended up with her nest in close proximity to that of their father and her somewhat estranged uncle, Beavertail.
With a yawn, Beavertail gave Watersplash his signature squinty half-smile that was part of the reason she wasn't crazy about him. "Good morning," he meowed. "I must say, it's unusual for you to still be asleep by now."
"Mmn." While it was true that she was an early riser, it was barely past sunrise, and she seriously needed a bit of rest after her night out with Grasstail. Their relationship was fun but taxing. "Lemme sleep."
"I won't stop you," Beavertail muttered as he lumbered outside. Watersplash was glad to be left alone. It looked like Smokefur had already gotten up, and surprisingly enough, so had Patchfur. She was momentarily impressed by her cousin's uncharacteristically early rising until she realized that he'd probably been out all night with Birchstripe. While she still didn't approve of the relationship, she was no longer any cat to talk, so she'd decided not to tell Miststar after all.
Watersplash closed her eyes and sank deeper into her nest. She seriously needed some sleep.
"This is so unfair," Grasstail grumbled, poking disdainfully at a clump of heather. "We're warriors now! How come we still have to do apprentice tasks?"
"Well, there are no apprentices in WindClan right now," Appleshine sighed. "We're the next best thing, I guess."
"Whatever." Grasstail knew his sister was right, but it still annoyed him that he was stuck fetching water for Gorsewind while Seedpelt and Barkstripe got to go on a hunting patrol. Just because they were the youngest warriors didn't mean they weren't equally mature as any other cat!
Then again, he thought bitterly with a glance at Berryheart, who was frisking around in the meadow like she didn't have work to do, maybe some of us are less mature than others.
At least the task of fetching water would require them to go down to the lake. It was highly unlikely he'd run into any RiverClan cats down there, let alone Watersplash, but just being by the lake in general had been almost a surefire way to improve Grasstail's mood lately. Although they never met too far into one another's territories so as not to arouse suspicion, it was still nice to look out at the water and remember their rendezvous of a few nights ago.
Appleshine must have noticed the far-off look in his eyes. She gave him a gentle nudge in the ribs that could have been interpreted as playful were it not for her inquisitive stare. "Uh, what's with the daydreamy look?" she demanded, keeping her voice low- probably so Berryheart wouldn't overhear. "You got something going on in your life that I don't know about?"
"No," Grasstail answered immediately. Appleshine was always prying into his personal business, and Seedpelt was nearly as bad as her. At least he'd generally be the one to change the topic when Grasstail didn't give him the answer he was looking for, though. Appleshine was more persistent- annoyingly persistent. If Grasstail wasn't careful, he worried she might find out about him and Watersplash one of these days.
"Are you sure about that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "If I didn't know better," she added, "I'd say you were in love!"
Grasstail gulped, picking up his pace. The sooner they got to their destination and completed their dumb task, the better. He kept his gaze fixed ahead of him as he walked so she couldn't read too much into his face.
But Appleshine wasn't going to back down that easily. She picked up her pace too, catching up with him and running ahead of him to block him off. Grasstail tried to move around her; he had no time for these rabbit-brained games! But Appleshine was a stubborn one. She blocked off his attempts to move around her, even going so far as to bare her fangs at him. Spooked, Grasstail gave up and told her at least part of the truth. He sat down, lashing his tail, and she sat as well, an eager look about her. No doubt she couldn't wait to gossip to the whole Clan about his scandalous relationship.
"Okay, fine, there's a cat I like," he muttered, letting a snarl creep into his words so Appleshine would know how irritated he was. "But she's in a different Clan, so it doesn't even matter, okay?!"
Appleshine did not look convinced. "So what you're saying is it's totally one-sided?" she meowed.
Grasstail nodded slowly. He reflected that it was a good thing Watersplash had no littermates; he doubted she'd have the heart to lie to them like he did.
Still looking sceptical, Appleshine opened her muzzle to pry further, but she stopped when Berryheart came padding up to them, her eyes wide and inquisitive. "What are you guys talking about?" she meowed. Grasstail and Appleshine exchanged a glance; neither of them said anything to Berryheart, but Appleshine shot him a look that said we'll talk about this later.
Although she didn't bring it up again, Appleshine kept shooting suspicious glances at Grasstail for the rest of the day. He tried not to pay her any mind- she had no proof of anything! But guilt wormed in his belly nonetheless. What had he gotten himself into?
By the time Watersplash finally roused herself, the sun was high in the sky. She went outside to greet the day, shame heating her pelt as she observed her Clanmates' silent but judgemental reactions to her getting up so late. She selected half a fish that hadn't been eaten the previous night from the fresh-kill pile and ate it in a few quick bites.
As she gulped down her fish, her eyes flickered upward and she noticed Miststar sitting at the base of the Shale Hill. He was deep in discussion with the deputy, Graysmoke; they both had grim expressions on their faces. Watersplash gulped; she had hoped she'd be able to make up for sleeping late by joining a patrol, but it looked like she'd have to wait, as the deputy was clearly preoccupied. She wondered what they were talking about.
Miststar must have seen Watersplash looking at him, because his ears pricked and he sternly met her gaze. She could tell that what they were discussing wasn't meant for her ears, so she looked away, instead casting her gaze around the camp to see if her friends were there.
It was then that Watersplash realized something was wrong. Cats gathered in clusters, heads close together, whispering to each other with bristling pelts. She padded over toward Minnowleap, who was over by the nursery having a chat with Storkflight as the latter's kits frisked around them. Maybe her mother would have something to say about what was going on.
Minnowleap's eyes lit up as soon as she saw Watersplash. "Oh, thank StarClan you're finally up," she cried, taking Watersplash by surprise by rushing up to give her a flurry of fearful licks. Then she drew away as quickly as she'd come in, her eyes round and questioning. "Tell me, do you know anything about any of this?"
Watersplash was confused. "What are you meowing about?" she asked, regarding her mother curiously. Dread began to settle in her belly as she saw how distressed Minnowleap looked. Could she have found out about Grasstail somehow?! Storkflight seemed worried as well, although it didn't look like Watersplash was the cat she was worried about.
"Oh, it's terrible," Minnowleap tittered, sounding like one of the songbirds that would fill the forest with their sounds every morning. "Haven't you heard?!"
Watersplash admitted that she hadn't. "What's going on?" she pressed, beginning to feel frustrated by Minnowleap's vagueness. "Just tell me!" She knew she was being rude, but she wished her mother would just get to the point. She loved her, really, but her theatrics were tedious at times.
Minnowleap simply shook her head and went back to pacing. She chewed on her lower lip as she paced; her silky tail swished as she shuffled back and forth. Watersplash dug her claws into the ground, holding back her irritation and forcing her fur to lie flat. If she snapped at her mother, it would probably earn her a good swipe across the nose.
"It's nothing you have to worry about," she muttered finally. She leaned in to give Watersplash a reassuring nuzzle, but it felt cold and distant, as it often did when Minnowleap was trying to hide a bad mood. "All that matters is that you're okay. Just go play with your friends, okay?" she added, whisking her tail across the rocks and sending a tiny cloud of dust up into Watersplash's nose. She sneezed, and Minnowleap mumbled a half-apology before practically bounding over to a group of senior warriors and joining their conversation.
Puzzled, Watersplash turned to Storkflight, who thankfully spoke up in Minnowleap's stead. "It's your cousin Patchfur," she supplied, giving Watersplash a soft, sympathetic look.
It was the same look she'd given Foxfang when Lakesplash had died and she'd offered to take in her surviving kit. That look alone made Watersplash's heart skip a couple of beats- had they found out about his relationship with Birchstripe? Maybe he'd bragged about them to the wrong cat by accident and the word had gotten out. And if that secret relationship was public knowledge, how long would it be before some cat found out about her and Grasstail?
But Watersplash didn't have to worry about that- at least not just then. She definitely did have something to worry about, though.
"What about Patchfur?" she asked, afraid to hear the answer- especially once she realized she hadn't seen him in camp.
"…He's gone missing," Storkflight confessed. There was that sympathetic look again- and suddenly it made a lot more sense. "No cat has seen him since last night. We sent out a patrol to search for him this morning, but they still haven't come back."
"What?!" Watersplash scanned the camp, desperately searching for Patchfur's familiar black-and-white pelt despite common sense telling her he wouldn't be there. Storkflight would have no reason to lie about something like this.
With a sinking feeling, Watersplash recalled Patchfur's empty nest earlier that morning. She'd assumed that he'd simply been out meeting with Birchstripe- and her guess had probably been right. The only thing she hadn't counted on was him not returning to camp by sunrise. Now that she thought about it, she could have sworn she remembered Patchfur saying something about wanting to run away with Birchstripe. She'd never thought he'd actually go through with it! Patchfur said all kinds of dumb things about the cats he was infatuated with, and none of the things he said ever came to pass.
But he's not just infatuated this time, she reminded herself, the swirling dread that filled her mind settling down in the pit of her stomach. This time he's in love.