Heyo peeplez! Here's the next chapter for you! I'm SOOOO SORRY this didn't go up last week! I could've SWORN I clicked the upload button! DX

FerncloudLover: XD Well, that's very nice, but Noire's a stone cold witch. If she was a human, she'd come complete with a hat and broomstick! XP And thank you, I'm glad you enjoy it so much! :D

Ye'oldmuffins: :D Nothin' wrong with that! I wish I had the time to just read and stuff!

Nninja: Harry Potter is amazing, so I don't blame you :P

CHAPPIE TIMEEEEE!

Chapter 37: Nightpaw

After the night's… disturbance, he guessed he could call it, Blood summoned Nightpaw to his lair. Why, Nightpaw did not know, but it was likely to be something important.

Stepping into the large, black cave, the former apprentice mutely followed the Scourge as he led him through the cavernous space—its premises riddled with pools of watery blood and spires of rock—until he reached the sight of an overly large nest. Shade was resting in it, her eyes closed. This had to be Blood's bedding place.

"You're probably curious as to why I've brought you here," the russet tom stated, and Nightpaw slowly turned his dulled gaze to him. "But then again, you might not be."

The way that Blood said it with a sly grin, and the presence of Shade slumbering below them, made a jolt of fear shock through him. It was only by sheer will and practice that he remained dumbly taciturn and just stared ahead.

"Well, I suppose that'd be due to your simple-mindedness," the Scourge continued, and the gray-brown tabby breathed an internal sigh of relief; Blood only thought that he was too mouse-brained to be surprised. "But nonetheless, I have a surprise task for you."

Nightpaw, keeping up his facade flawlessly, blinked his amber eyes slowly in a response to his uncle's words.

Blood twitched his tail at this and then swept his paw over the space above Shade's curled form. "You see my Bride, yes?" Nightpaw nodded, following the arc of the blood-red appendage with his eyes only. "Count yourself honored to do so—if you can, that is. I'd be surprised if you even understood the gravity of the task I am about to give you."

Nightpaw blinked again, letting the Scourge do all the talking for him.

"Night, I am tasking you with the honor of guarding my Bride."

At this, Nightpaw cocked his head to the side in confusion, though he remained careful not to show too much of it on his face.

Blood chuckled, seeing the bewilderment tainting his usually stoic mien, and dictated, "Since you pose no threat to me or my line of successors, due to your complete lack of intelligence, I have decided that you should be the loyal member of Bloodclan to watch over my Bride until she bears my heirs." Then, all joking set aside, he slowly and carefully enunciated each sentence as if he was talking to a kit. "You will not leave her side. You will stay with her wherever she goes. You will not speak to her unless she speaks to you—though I doubt you could effectively hold a conversation, anyway. You will get her the best blood-meat after I choose my own. You will not eat until she eats. You will follow her every order unless it threatens her or my rules. And you will never, under any circumstances, leave her alone. Is that understood?"

Nightpaw, marveling at his luck, sluggishly nodded in a dumb fashion and watched as the black-striped Scourge reached down and roughly shook the black she-cat awake. Shade opened her pale blue eyes and sat up, alert, waiting for the command to speak or an explanation as to what was going on.

"Rise and shine, my Bride," Blood crooned, and Nightpaw felt the hotness of indignant anger seep through him. He, despite this, remained taciturn. "I have a surprise for you."

Shade tilted her head to the side and asked, "What kind of surprise?"

He grinned back, though not in a friendly nor malicious manner. It was more… predatory. "You'll now have someone to keep you company. Granted," he added with a dry, sideways look at Nightpaw. "He's not much in the way of brainpower, but he'll be an excellent bodyguard for you."

"Bodyguard?" Her expression was completely inquisitive, showing no attention to or recognition of her companion.

"Well, if you're to safely carry my heirs, then I must take every precaution to keep you intact. There's rumor of an uprising, you know."

Mouse-dung! Nightpaw cursed silently. Blood had somehow caught wind of Goldenpaw's plan! How, he would have to find out, but until then… well, he'd just have to figure that out as well.

"Yes, my Scourge," Shade answered submissively, dipping down her head a little. "That is a wise decision."

"I know," Blood bragged, holding his head high. "Which is why I've instructed Night here to follow your every command."

The white-pawed she-cat turned her head towards him, raising a brow. "Is that so?"

Nightpaw nodded slowly, careful to keep his eyes zoned out and unresponsive.

"Now," Blood chimed, "I have some important sacrificing to do, so if you'll just stay stationed here, Night, then I'll get on with it and return once the moon has gone past its highest point." Then, with that falsely cherry note, he walked away.

As soon as the sound of crazed yowling and tearing flesh boomed into his ears, Nightpaw breathed a sigh of relief, physically doubling forward. "That," he said, "was close."

Shade puffed out a laugh. "You think so?"

"Yes, yes I very much do think so."

She flinched back slightly at his acidic tone. "Woah there! What's your problem? I thought that you'd be glad—or at least relieved to not have to sneak around—to be forced to spend the entire day with me."

Nightpaw sat down heavily and rubbed his eye with a paw. "Heirs?" he stated simply.

Shade immediately narrowed her eyes. "No."

"Overeating?" Nightpaw, deciding to back out of discussing this, leaned on humor to relieve the tension and lightened his vocal tone. "You just had to have that whole eagle to yourself, didn't you?"

"Nightpaw," she hissed warningly, her fur bristling. "Shut it. And no. I've been eating normally. Also, you're terrible at jokes."

Nightpaw licked his chest in embarrassment before piercing his amber gaze into her. "Well—then what is this?!"

Shade narrowed her eyes and hissed, "Lower your voice!"

The gray-brown tom clamped his mouth shut. He'd let his frustration drag him around again.

She began whispering, and he leaned in close to hear what she was saying. "—stupid, stupid tom. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one! They're not his kits, you eagle-brain!"

"Then whose are they?" he demanded, knowing where this could go, but not really believing it at the same time.

Shade sighed heavily, closing her icy blue eyes and spasmodically shaking her white paw. "They're yours, you mouse-brained mute!"

Nightpaw froze, just stuck in the pose of leaning forward and staring at her face. "What?"

"Dear Tribe," she muttered, shaking her white paw again.

"B—b—but how?" was all Nightpaw could say. His mind had just shut down. Completely.

The tiny, midnight black she-cat stood up and walked a few steps away to stand with her back to him. He could barely make out her words as she calmly said, "As soon as I noticed, I asked the Tribe whose they were, Nightpaw. They said that Blood wasn't the father, that he couldn't be. When I asked why, all they could tell me was 'the wrath of Lightfrost rests upon him.' Fox-brained riddle-speakers; I never get a clear answer out of them."

"Lightfrost?" Nightpaw asked dumbly, his tongue feeling dry in his mouth.

Shade turned her head around to look at him. "I was just about to sneak out and ask you about it, if that's any consolation."

The light-chested tom felt a little better at that, but he was stuck on the name… Lightfrost. After a minute of pondering, a flash of recognition jolted through him. "Lightfrost was the third cat in Firestar's famous Three. As in, the three cats who would transcend Starclan's powers and save the Clans from the Dark Forest."

Shade smiled in amusement, chuckling a little. "I didn't need the full history lesson, but I guess that works."

"But…" Nightpaw trailed off, clenching his paw in deep thought. "Lightfrost had the power to heal without using herbs… so what you said doesn't make sense…. And besides, why would she even get involved?"

Shade shrugged. "Maybe she's mad at what Blood did to Sparrowpaw? She was a medicine cat, right? Aren't they specially protected or something?"

Nightpaw furrowed his brow. "Maybe…. But it still doesn't make sense to me. Why Sparrowpaw? Why now?"

"Beats me." The tiny she-cat came over to him and nuzzled her head into his chest. "But let's just forget about all that and not focus on the bad, confusing things."

Nightpaw laughed silently. "Isn't that something I told you?"

"Yep."

He held her close for a while, his mind racing at this new revelation. Sure, he knew that he and his siblings were certainly old enough to be warriors by now, but still. The thought of being a father was unsettling, especially since he didn't even have a solid model to go off of. And then there was the fact that they were still in Bloodclan, and their kits would grow up in this terrible place….

"Shade, we're getting out of here soon." His voice grew steely. "I promise."

So yahhhhh... This was pretty much a plot-pusher. I am very aware of how many fillers I have in here, but I'm actually glad for it. I feel that Greyleaf's Choice was really rushed, honestly, and I didn't pay much attention to building characters and their interactions much. I just hope I'm not boring yall with all this stuffing in the turkey!

Alsoooo, since I work very closely with Storm of Golden Fire on this and other of my writings, we've schemed up a world of how my characters can all be related to whom they are! So, I mentioned Lightfrost. She's from Storm of Golden Fire's fanfiction "Bloodclan's Revenge," which is an AU of the original Warriors plotline. I had originally had Greyleaf's Choice take place after the main series in cannon, but Storm showed me Bloodclan's Revenge and we worked out a plot for it and I decided: "What the heck? Why not connect them! It'll be cool!" So yeah! This takes place in an AU world, but don't worry: it isn't much different from the canonical series, and Lightfrost will introduce herself either late in this installment or in the third and final one in order for this to be explained.

Also, just in case no one guessed, here are the cats who are supposed to be related to whom:

Goldenfur- direct Lionblaze descendent

Pinestar- direct Firestar (and Tigerstar? I forgot LOL XD) descendent

Greyleaf- direct Graystripe descendent (with Silverstream, not Millie)

Question Of The Chapter: How do you think Blood would've caught wind of the uprising? (because I haven't figured it out yet! XDDD)

Bible Passage

Paul's Principles of Marriage

"Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:

It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.

Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment.

For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that."

1 Corinthians 7:1-7