That night, Lionpaw was back in the hole, the hole where people drowned, he was there early as he was preparing for the arrival of Heatherpaw. Heatherpaw slipped into the tunnels as she was nervous as Lionpaw turned to greet her.
"Heatherpaw, I thought I wasn't going to see you." Lionpaw mewed to Heatherpaw. Heatherpaw turned as she spoke as it was giving the look of nervousness on her muzzle.
"Gorsetail's kits almost spotted me when I entered the tunnels." Heatherpaw responded as Lionpaw turned. The kits were getting more adventurous and were getting curious about the tunnels. "Have the night terrors vanish on you?" Lionpaw thought about it for a moment before turning to Heatherpaw.
"No they haven't, I've just learned to live with them." Lionpaw responded. He also smiled as he wanted to show some tricks off to Heatherpaw. "Want to see what these night terrors taught me?" Lionpaw snickered. Heatherpaw nodded with excitement as she wanted to learn about the powers that Lionpaw might have.
Lionpaw gathered some energy in his paws as he soon got enough power. The power was purple as it was the same power that learned from the bounce that Tigerstar and Hawkfrost taught him. He soon casts it off as Heatherpaw watched, it soon hits the side of the tunnel as a ghost cat squealed as it was hit with the magic.
"Lionpaw!" The ghost cat squealed. Soon Hawkfrost appeared as he spotted the apprentice play. Lionpaw soon turned to Hawkfrost.
"Okay Hawkfrost, I heard the fiasco that went down in Riverclan, where's Hollypaw?" Lionpaw asked him since he was a former Riverclan cat. Lionpaw soon prepared the magic again as he was ready to blast it onto Hawkfrost again. Hawkfrost gulped than he spoke.
"Hollypaw is locked up in Riverclan as she was caught by Leopardstar when trying to escort herself and some medicine to Thunderclan. They are keeping her until the swap back is complete." Hawkfrost mewed as he gave his answer; Lionpaw soon caused the dark magic ball to disappear as he was wondering about the swap back?
"Swap back? I thought I was Windclan through and through?" Lionpaw mewed as he had the best times in Windclan. Hawkfrost spoke as he wanted to tell Lionpaw about where he truly belonged.
"You aren't a Windclan cat you mouse-brained, you're a Thunderclan cat. Firestar and Onestar agreed to swap you apprentices for a moon to see if you could get along better here. That moon is almost up as the gathering had already happened. You can't be with Heatherpaw any longer after a couple of sunsets from now." Hawkfrost mewed to Lionpaw about where he truly belonged, Lionpaw felt frustrated as he knew this couldn't be true. Hawkfrost soon spoke one last time. "Now go, Windclan is preparing to attack Thunderclan over some squirrel drama." Hawkfrost soon vanished in a puff of smoke as Lionpaw realized that something bad was going to happen, he soon took off from the tunnels as Heatherpaw watched.
"Wait, Lionpaw, come back!" Heatherpaw shouted to him. Lionpaw just ignored her and kept going. Heatherpaw soon chased after him as he knew the disaster was imminent.
Lionpaw soon arrived at the border as the Windclan cats were preparing for an attack. Thunderclan cats hissed under their breaths as the clouds covered up the moon, Starclan was having none of it.
"Windclan attack!" Nightcloud shouted. The Windclan cats came barreling down onto the Thunderclan cats as they tried to break them apart but the Thunderclan cats held their positions as the Windclan's cats charge was a failure. Lionpaw raced down wondering if he could break up the fight. Heatherpaw soon arrived shortly after as she spotted Lionpaw running head long wondering if he could separate the cats from each other's throats. Heatherpaw ran after Lionpaw as she wanted to try to reason with him.
Lionpaw ran into the thick of the battle wondering if there was any cat that was willing to reason with him. Berrypaw soon tackled him down as Lionpaw struggled to get the apprentice off of him.
"Get off of me!" Lionpaw hissed as he tried kicking Berrypaw free. Berrypaw kept Lionpaw down as he raked his claws across Lionpaw's face. Lionpaw hissed as he raked Berrypaw across the underbelly wondering if that would deter the apprentice away from him but Berrypaw kept him pinned to the ground. Berrypaw soon raked his claws onto Lionpaw's ear as it managed to sink through. Lionpaw hissed as he chomped down onto Berrypaw's leg as he wanted to free himself from the grasp. Berrypaw wailed as he caused his claw to rip more into Lionpaw's ear. Lionpaw was ready to break Berrypaw's leg when Heatherpaw tackled Berrypaw off of Lionpaw ripping Lionpaw's ear completely open. Lionpaw got up as blood seeped from the ear. Berrypaw hissed as he got up and ran away. Onestar and Ashfoot arrived as they heard news of the attack and they knew it was an attack that they couldn't win.
"Windclan retreat!" Ashfoot called out. She raced along with her tail held up high as the Windclan cats melted away from the fight as it was a crushing defeat to their pride. The Thunderclan cats had held their ground and remained strong. Lionpaw's ear stung as he followed Heatherpaw back to camp. The Thunderclan cats didn't follow them.
Barkface and Jaypaw were busy patching Lionpaw back up as Berrypaw had beaten him up really good, Lionpaw soon spoke to the medicine cats.
"How bad is it?" Lionpaw asked Barkface as he applied some cobwebs to his ear.
"Your ear has a small scratch on it but I'm afraid it will leave a scar." Barkface mewed as he inspected the damage. Lionpaw was bummed out as he was wondering what impact it had on his looks with Heatherpaw. He was afraid that Heatherpaw will snap at him seeing how he got a scar on his ear. Barkface soon mad a temperorary replacement for the hole in the ear as it would prevent an infection. Barkface soon turned to Lionpaw. "A scar would make the she-cats more interested in you. Your looks don't matter what makes a good warrior, Heatherpaw needs to learn that. However, I will certainly miss Jaypaw when the day when you three or rather two will leave Windclan and we get Breezepaw back. I wonder what adventures it will bring when Breezepaw tells me about his vacation." Barkface soon went off to help Kestrelpaw treat another wounded cat as Lionpaw knew that he needed to cut ties with Heatherpaw before he could go back to Thunderclan.
"I have to say goodbye to Heatherpaw." Lionpaw muttered to himself, but how would he do that.
The next day was the apprentice's last day before they would be swapped back to their old clans. Lionpaw did his business with Crowfeather as usual who was impressed with the apprentice's skill for combat as well as hunting out in the open. Once he was done, he decided to sit down with one last meal with the others as he was still wondering when Hollypaw would be back seeing she was still in Riverclan's dungeon for spying. He soon decided to head for the tunnels as he wanted to speak to Heatherpaw for one final time. He soon entered as Heatherpaw was finishing something up.
"Oh Lionpaw, I wasn't expecting you." Heatherpaw mewed as she was hanging her artwork of her and Lionpaw. It was clear that Heatherpaw was very creative when it came to art but it wasn't what Lionpaw was interesting to speak to her about. "You like my artwork?" Heatherpaw wanted a response but Lionpaw soon spoke.
"Yeah but Heatherpaw that art work is interesting and all but I'm afraid we can't be together any longer. Me and Jaypaw are heading back for Thunderclan tomorrow morning as it's clear that the time for the swap is coming to an end." Lionpaw explained the reality to her. Heatherpaw's happiness turned to despair, was she going to lose Lionpaw forever?
"What? Going back home? I thought we had more time together?" Heatherpaw's words turning into sobs as her tears began to drip down from her cheeks. Lionpaw knew it but it was true, they couldn't spend any more time together. "We were destined to be together our original characters, original clan, why would Starclan end all of this on us?" Heatherpaw was pleading for Lionpaw to stay but Lionpaw knew that the truth was harsh and unforgiving but he knew he had to cut ties with Heatherpaw if it meant returning to his own clan without anything serious. He soon turned and gave one last glance to Heatherpaw.
"Our OC's should see other people." Lionpaw responded. Heatherpaw knew that this was the straw that broke the camel's back as her sadness was replaced with rage. She soon took one of the pictures as she began ripping it apart wondering if Lionpaw would be happy. Lionpaw got up and walked away as Heatherpaw was ripping up the ship art in anger. After all the pictures were ripped to shreds, she soon shrieked.
"I hope being a warrior would make you happy!" Lionpaw was nowhere in sight when she shrieks out the sentence. She soon collapsed sobbing in her own tears. Lionpaw just returned to his nest as he went to sleep. He knew home was near.
Crowfeather escorted Jaypaw and Lionpaw to the Thunderclan border as he wanted to exchange the apprentices with Ashfur as he was bringing Breezepaw back. Crowfeather stopped as Ashfur padded up with Breezepaw as Breezepaw had a look on his face that Crowfeather made out that Breezepaw was surely going to miss Thunderclan. Crowfeather spoke.
"Windclan is sorry that we attacked you over some dumb squirrel drama. Onestar didn't think the attack was necessary. Nightcloud messed up big time." Crowfeather apologized to Ashfur thinking the attack wasn't right. Ashfur nodded as he accepted the apology. Soon Crowfeather spoke again. "Also Hollypaw isn't with us since she went missing for some time now. Onestar wanted to organize a raid on Riverclan to bring Hollypaw back to Windclan, once again, Nightcloud is leading this." Ashfur soon spoke to Crowfeather as the apprentices were shifted.
"Yeah, we got news about the fact that Hollypaw was captured. We sent Squirrelflight to retrieve her from Riverclan seeing Windclan is very volatile. After this, we need to strength ties with Windclan again to make sure they can call off the attack on Riverclan. When Squirrelflight brings Hollypaw home, the attack will be useless. We could tell that Hollypaw was captured since Leafpool was expecting a bundle of herbs from Riverclan to treat several apprentices with bellyache, the herb bundle never arrived as we heard from Onestar who visited the night before that Nightcloud sent the apprentices packing in the opposite direction. Nightcloud must be up to something." Ashfur responded as he gave the news that Hollypaw was captured by Riverclan and that Squirrelflight was on her way to pick her up. Crowfeather soon gave a glance at Breezepaw before turning back to Ashfur.
"I'll see you at the next gathering." Crowfeather mewed to Ashfur. Ashfur nodded as Breezepaw went up to Ashfur.
"Goodbye Ashfur, I'll miss you, Leafpool and Honeypaw the most." Breezepaw mewed. Ashfur rested his head on Breezepaw's cheek as he gave the apprentice a goodbye. He soon turned as he lead Jaypaw and Lionpaw back to camp.
Squirrelflight soon arrived in Riverclan as she was going to retrieve Hollypaw. The Riverclan cats saw her and recognized her as they knew it wasn't Windclan coming. They soon let her in as Leopardstar came out to speak to Squirrelflight with Mistyfoot by her side.
"I see that you haven't changed a whole lot Squirrelflight." Leopardstar began as Hollypaw came out as she was free to go home.
"Why were you holding her in Riverclan?" Squirrelflight asked wondering why they were keeping her in their clan. Leopardstar looked at her as she soon spoke to her.
"We couldn't trust Windclan especially with the violent behavior that some of the warriors are putting up nowadays. Mothwing sent her, Willowpaw and Fernpaw with a bundle of herbs to Leafpool and all we know what Windclan must have stolen the goods seeing how the apprentices went in the opposite direction. I'll prepare another bundle of herbs for you to take." Leopardstar responded as she told her side of the story. Mothwing soon came out with the herb bundle as she knew the apprentices in Thunderclan desperately needed it.
"Thanks Mothwing." Squirrelflight mewed as she grabbed the bundle. Leopardstar smiled to her.
"You're welcome, take the route through Shadowclan to get home. I don't trust Windclan." Leopardstar responded as she gave them a safe passage back. Hollypaw was finally heading home. The two cats turned and began to walk back.
Squirrelflight and Hollypaw were walking along as they wanted to get the bundle of herbs back to Thunderclan. Squirrelflight was upset with Hollypaw.
"Hollypaw, what made you have the thought to go to Riverclan for those herbs?" Squirrelflight glared at the apprentice as she was feeling really infuriated about picking up Hollypaw.
"I wanted to talk to Willowpaw, the warrior code says that we should help out someone in need." Hollypaw responded. Squirrelflight turned to the apprentice.
"You know, even though you want to help, you went against the code therefore clouding your own judgement. I would say let the cats come to you for help instead of going to them, they don't know when they will trap you." Squirrelflight spoke to her. Hollypaw was angry over the fact that she was being bossed around by Squirrelflight but she knew she had to hide her anger.
Arriving back at camp, the whole fiasco was calming down as Cinderpaw was walking around on her leg again. Jaypaw was happy about this since he was back with Poppypaw and Leafpool. Firestar soon went to speak to Hollypaw.
"Hollypaw, what makes you think you have the audacity to go to Riverclan?" Firestar asked her. Hollypaw turned her head to the leader as she didn't want to put up with him.
"I felt the urge to meet up with Willowpaw. Mothwing told me to give you some herbs that you needed. Windclan forced us to go in the opposite direction." Hollypaw mewed as she wanted to tell the truth about this and avoid punishment but Firestar knew he had to discipline the apprentice.
"I know I can't be too hard on you since you're coming a long way but you still need to be punished for your actions, so you'll be taking care of the elders and staying in camp just for today. Understood?" Firestar mewed as he knew he couldn't be hard on Hollypaw. Thornclaw was displeased seeing Firestar was going soft on Hollypaw.
"Understood." Hollypaw sighed. Firestar nodded as he turned away and walked off leaving Hollypaw very angry. He knew he needed to mend their relationship with Windclan. Firestar soon arrived with Leafpool and Jaypaw as he had an assignment for them.
"Leafpool, Jaypaw?" Firestar called for them. They soon looked up their heads as Firestar entered their den.
"What is it Firestar?" Leafpool asked wondering what he had in mind. Firestar knew he had a plan.
"I want you two as well as Hollypaw and Lionpaw pay Windclan a visit, I want to fix their relationship with us over the squirrel drama and convince them not to attack Riverclan seeing how Hollypaw isn't there. Visit them tomorrow since we need to get the apprentices to resettle back into old habits." Firestar made a request for them to go pay the clan that they swapped a visit mainly like a thank you. Leafpool and Jaypaw nodded as their relationships can be fixed. Jaypaw soon followed Firestar outside as he looked up to see huge gray clouds gathering overhead.
It was clear the rain was on its way. Little did the clans know, a storm was coming.
[A/N]: Going to leave it off here seeing how I want to save the next chapter for when the apprentices go off to rescue the kits in the tunnels which I will put up hopefully around tomorrow seeing how I want to get as many views before the winter vacation ends and the viewer base plummets to nothing. Let's hit 600 views for this month as the next chapter will be up tomorrow hopefully. See you later, cheers.