Chapter 14
Half a moon had passed since Buzzardpaw's swimming lesson in the Dark Forest. He remembered Goldenstar crashing into his den that morning, a wide fearful expression in his eyes as he looked at his soggy and beaten son. Buzzardpaw remembered how worried Goldenstar had sounded when he questioned him, and how proud he had looked when Buzzardpaw told him that Eaglepaw saved him. Buzzardpaw tilted his head at this. Why was he so happy about that?
Now Buzzardpaw was out in the forest, hunting with Russetprowl. The two had caught a nice amount of prey, with Buzzardpaw dragging two mice and a thrush, and Russetprowl carrying a fat squirrel. Hunting was never Buzzardpaw's strong suit, but Newleaf meant abundant prey and warmth, meaning even the clumsiest cats could catch themselves a meal. Buzzardpaw's sprained foot had healed completely, and he was happy that he could finally venture outside of the camp and train with his mentor. The two toms padded through the thorn barrier and dropped their catches onto the well stocked freshkill pile.
Russetprowl nodded at the stock, his eyes flashing with approval. "We get any more, the darn thing may just topple over. Good job Buzzardpaw. You're free to do whatever ya want for the rest of the day." Buzzardpaw nodded in thanks to his mentor, then sat down, wondering what to do.
The camp was lively, many cats eating together or sharing gossip. Buzzardpaw spotted Newtwhisper's kits playing around the apprentice's den their flailing paws kicking up sand and dust. With an amused twitch of his whiskers, Buzzardpaw padded towards them, immediately ceasing their play.
"Hi Buzzardpaw!" Brindlekit squeaked, stepping off of his sister. Springkit rolled on the ground, her cream pelt covered in sand and moss. Softkit sat a few mouse lengths away, her blue eyes peeking sheepishly at Buzzardpaw.
"Hello." Buzzardpaw mewed, sitting down in front of them. "What game are you guys playing?"
"Pin Springkit!" Brindlekit mewed, leaping onto his sister. Springkit squealed and tried to kick him off, but instead kicked Softkit, who yelped in shock. Springkit peered at her sister from under her brother and stuck her tongue out.
Buzzardpaw chuckled at their playing, his laughing cut off by a loud wheeze from his nose. He felt his chest tighten, making it hard to breathe. Blinking rapidly, he opened his jaws to gulp in more air, to no avail. The playing kits noticed his state, stopping their game to look at him with concerned eyes. He opened his mouth to reassure them, but instead was met by a fit of coughing. Not again! Ever since his water training, Buzzardpaw found it hard to breathe at times. He didn't think much of it, not wanting to bother Speckledlight with something small, but sometimes the attacks were so intense he could barely even see. It happened mostly when he exerted himself too much, but sometimes happened when he was simply sitting down. Russetprowl had expressed concern about it, but Buzzardpaw shrugged it off. Finally, the coughing fit ended as soon as it came, and he was able to catch his breath. He blinked at the kits apologetically. "Sorry about that. Got something in my throat." He looked around for something to change the subject, and blinked at Softkit who was sitting a ways away.
Buzzardpaw looked at the she-kit, who had turned away from the two to drag her paws through the sand. Peering closer, Buzzardpaw realized that she was drawing something, though he couldn't tell what it was. Buzzardpaw tilted his head. "Whatcha doing?"
Softkit shrieked and slid her paws dramatically over the sand, wiping the drawing away. She looked up at Buzzardpaw, the same sheepish look in her eyes. "Um… nothing."
"Why don't you play with your siblings?"
Springkit answered for her, still wrestling with her brother. "Because she's boring! She just wants to sit around and draw!"
Buzzardpaw smiled at Softkit, who was looking at her sister with an annoyed expression. "I wish I had siblings I could play with." Buzzardpaw mewed. "I bet it's so much fun."
"You can play with us!" Brindlekit mewed, leaping off his sister. Springkit took the opportunity to pin him, smushing his head into the sandy hollow. Brindlekit kept talking, his voice muffled. "You're cool!"
Buzzardpaw chuckled, shaking his head. "No, I'm much too big to play with you guys. I bet I could crush you with my paw."
"Nuh-uh!" Brindlekit squeaked, leaping onto him. Buzzardpaw pretended to fall to the ground, letting the kit pin him. Springkit leapt on afterwards, swatting at his face. Buzzardpaw glanced at Softkit, who was still in the same spot as before.
"Don't you want to play?" Buzzardpaw mewed to her, lifting his head. Springkit immediately pushed it back down, making him chuckle.
"She never wants to play fun games!" The Springkit mewed, her whiskers twitching. "And she told me that she likes you!"
Softkit leapt to her paws, crashing into Springkit and throwing her off of the apprentice. "No I don't!" She squeaked, her face turning red. Springkit easily threw her off of her, then pinned her down too. Buzzardpaw smiled at them, placing his head back on the ground. His smile quickly faded as he noticed a figure sitting at the top of the gorge. Gently pushing Brindlekit off of him, he narrowed his eyes at the figure, who seemed to be staring back at him. Without a word, he bolted for the camp's entrance, ignoring the protests from the playing kits.
Running along the edge of the gorge, Buzzardpaw got closer, the cat coming into clear view. It's that cat from before! The mottled tom was still peering into the gorge, his tail twitching in Buzzardpaw's direction in acknowledgement. Buzzardpaw halted mouse lengths away from him, his eyes narrowed.
"What are you doing here?" Buzzardpaw growled. "I thought I told you to not come back."
"You didn't say that." Orion mewed, his eyes still on the cats below. Buzzardpaw was unsure how literally no cat noticed him. The tom had a very peculiar sweet scent about him that surely didn't smell like ThunderClan. Orion finally turned to Buzzardpaw, a playful look in his eyes. "I came here for you, actually."
Buzzardpaw's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "For me? Why?"
Orion circled around him, whisking his tail over Buzzardpaw's shoulders and nose. "Because we're friends, duh!" He pretended to pout. "Don't tell me you treat all of your friends like this."
"I have no friends." Buzzardpaw growled, watching the tom circle him. "Even if I did, you certainly wouldn't be one of them."
The dappled tom scoffed, holding a paw up to his chest. "That hurts, mister None of Your Business, truely." The camp's thorn entrance twitched, making Orion's whiskers twitch. "Say, we should talk somewhere else." He mewed, turning towards the forest. "Come on!"
Buzzardpaw remained where he was, his tail lashing. "I'd rather not."
"Fine. Guess I'll just have to hunt in your territory then."
Before Buzzardpaw could retort, Orion whisked away deeper into the forest, his long tail flowing behind him. Unsheathing his claws in frustration, Buzzardpaw raced after the tom, muttering to himself. That mouse brained cat!
Buzzardpaw finally caught up to the tom, who was peering over the stream that marked the WindClan border. BUzzardpaw leapt onto the tom, making him yowl in shock.
"I'm getting tired of your games, rogue." He hissed in the tom's face, his just a whisker length away from Orion's. Buzzardpaw felt his pelt flush with anger as the tom simply stared back at him mischievously.
Orion pressed his paws against Buzzardpaw's chest, fluttering his eyelids. "Why, I do like getting roughed up every once and awhile, but normally the toms warn me first." Buzzardpaw wrinkled his nose in confusion, and Orion used the opportunity to fling the bigger tom off of him. "Gosh, you're heavy." The dappled tom mewed, shaking the dust from his pelt. He turned back towards the WindClan border, beckoning Buzzardpaw over with his tail. "Come on, we're wasting daylight!"
"I'm not going." Buzzardpaw mewed, sitting on the ground. His whiskers twitched as he glared at the tom before him.
"Why not?"
"Because you're a rogue. How could I know if you're tricking me or not?"
Orion scoffed, stepping closer. "Oh, please. I'd never raise a claw to that pretty face of yours." Buzzardpaw's whiskers twitched in irritation. Does he only speak through flirting? StarClan this tom is weird! "Besides, I'm sure you dont want to spend the rest of your day playing with kits like some dumb queen."
Buzzardpaw bristled. "There's nothing wrong with spending time with kits."
The sleek tom hummed , his tail rising behind him. "I guess that's true." He shrugged. "Suit yourself then. While you waste your time kit-sitting, I'll be going on an adventure." He crossed the WindClan border, bounding away.
Buzzardpaw stared after the tom, conflicted. It was true, he didn't have anything better to do, and would much rather be outside instead of the boring, stuffy camp. Hissing to himself, he shook his head. StarClan, am I really debating this? The answer is obvious! He turned his back to the border and began his trek back home, glancing behind him one last time. Orion was just a speck on the horizon now. Closing his eyes, Buzzardpaw raced off, his tail whipping behind him.
Buzzardpaw's black paws pounded against the grassy moor as he pelted after the tom, the wind racing through his fur and roaring past his ears. He halted, suddenly realizing what he had done. I crossed the border! I'm in WindClan territory now! Turning his body back to the ThunderClan border, Buzzardpaw felt his heart fill with dread as he saw a WindClan patrol head towards the area that he had left. No turning back now… He continued to race after Orion, finally catching up to the tom, who had a sly look on his face.
"Took you long enough." He mewed, his yellow eyes flashing towards Buzzardpaw.
Buzzardpaw fell into step with the tom, grunting. "Whatever. Where are we going?"
Orion grinned. "To the barn. There's some pretty cool cats there." Buzzardpaw grew silent, feeling slightly guilty. What am I doing? He was broken from his thoughts by Orion, who was still speaking. "Say, since we're friends now, do you mind telling me your name?"
"Buzzardpaw." Buzzardpaw mewed reluctantly.
"Ruzzardraw? Well that's interesting."
"Buzzardpaw!" He mewed more clearly, glancing at the tom. Orion's whiskers were twitching in amusement, making Buzzardpaw groan inwardly. He's messing with me. StarClan, why did I agree to come?
"I'm just messing with you." Orion purred, his pace getting quicker. "Look ahead. Do you see that large red building? We're almost there."
Buzzardpaw peered ahead, the Twoleg structure coming into view. It looked broken down and old, the red paint a ruddy brown. The place didn't smell of Twolegs, but there were many structures around it that were obviously built by them. The two toms came to a fence which Orion leapt over gracefully. Buzzardpaw clumsily clamored up behind him, finally landing on the other side. What he saw surprised him.
The area within the fence was bustling with cats, many talking to each other or dragging materials around. Buzzardpaw's eyes widened as he saw a few kits playing near the fence, a brown she-cat looking over them fondly. This place… this place is just like a clan! He glanced at Orion, who was looking at him with a cheerful look.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Orion purred, his tail tip curling. "There's a lot of cats here, so each house is considered a different section. This section that we're currently in is the general one. All cats of all backgrounds gather here."
The two crossed the clearing, a few cats sniffing at Buzzardpaw curiously. He tried to ignore their gazes, feeling even worse that he was there. They leapt over another fence, coming into another clearing. Orion's positive demeanor quickly changed into a more sneaky one, making Buzzardpaw follow in suit. They hid in the shadows of a nearby bush, making the apprentice raise an eyebrow.
"Why are we hiding?"
Orion hissed at him. "Keep it down!" Buzzardpaw glared as Orion slapped his tail over his mouth. "We aren't supposed to be here. This is the leader's quarters."
"So it is like a clan then!" Buzzardpaw mumbled, his voice barely coherent.
Orion rolled his eyes. "You wish. It's more like a big family. We were all just random loners, fending for ourselves, when this tom came along to 'fix us'. He's the one that organized the sections of the place, and he's also the one that makes sure everyone is fed and taken care of. He's helped us out a lot, and he's promised us a lot more in the future." Orion's eyes became thoughtful. "I've never seen the guy, but he's a pretty big deal, and his closest comrades don't like it when we stray into his section."
Buzzardpaw looked around the clearing, seeing a few cats hanging around. They were all well built and muscular and their eyes gleamed with a cold determination. Squinting, Buzzardpaw noticed a few cats sitting around the farthest corner of the fence, their bodies surrounding something as if they were protecting it. He was unable to tell what it was from there, but with the way the cats stood around it rigidly, he knew that it was important.
"Come on." Orion mewed, slinking from under the bush. Buzzardpaw followed, trying his hardest to not be seen. A she-cat glared in their direction and opened her mouth to speak, but the two toms had already leapt to safety on the other side of the fence. Peering back, he realized that he was closer to the strange group of cats, and could finally see what they were sitting around. The sight confused him greatly.
Four cats were sitting around a body, their backs turned to it as they sat around it protectively. Peering closer, Buzzardpaw could make out that the body was a gray she-cat, who was very obviously dead. Faint red marks streaked through her pelt, but for the majority, her silky fur was clean and shiny. Buzzardpaw starred in horrified amazement. Why in StarClan's name are they guarding a dead body?
Orion seemed to be asking the same question in his mind, his face scrunched up in confusion. He shook his head then looked up towards the sky. "The sun is setting. And just in time!" The two toms bursted from the bushes, coming into a clearing with yet another barn. A few cats sat at its entrance, dashing towards the toms once they noticed them. Orion's grin returned. "Welcome to my humble abode!"
Buzzardpaw looked around, humming quietly. This barn's fencing area was much smaller than the others, and a few ragged weeds grew along the edges of the creaky wood. Buzzardpaw blinked at the cats as they approached, his pelt bristling slightly.
The four cats halted in front of the two, their faces warm as they gazed at Orion. Orion touched his nose to all of them in greeting, then turned his attention to Buzzardpaw. The cats followed in suit, two of the cats looking uncertain and slightly hostile, and the other two looking thoughtful.
"Everyone, I'd like for you to meet Buzzardpaw." Orion mewed. Buzzardpaw dipped his head awkwardly in greeting, trying to force his pelt to lie flat. They haven't threatened me yet, so I'm fine. No need to be hostile, Buzzardpaw. Orion was still talking, pointing to each of the cats with his tail. "Buzzardpaw, this is Snowball," Orion pointed to a snowy white tom with soft blue eyes, "Icey," a snow white she-cat with ice blue eyes, "Argus," a brown and gray tom with a melancholy expression, "and Tom." a tabby brown she-cat with a large frill of fluff around her neck. Buzzardpaw's eyebrow raised at the sound of her name.
"Tom?" He mewed, his head tilting. "That's a she-cat."
"Don't ask." Tom growled, her voice surprisingly deep. Buzzardpaw tried to hide his amused expression.
"Well, hello Buzzardpaw." The white she-cat, Icey, mewed. Her eyes were wide and sparkling as she gazed at him. Buzzardpaw felt slightly uncomfortable under her intense stare, and awkwardly nodded to her. Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but notice how familiar she looked. I think I know this cat from somewhere, but where? Searching his brain, he shrugged it off. Ah, I'm just being silly. I know a lot of white cats.
Buzzardpaw looked up to see Argus staring at him. He was wearing a black kittypet collar with small studs on it, and four more studded collars on his ankles. I've never seen kittypets wear collars on their legs. The long fur that draped over the tom's eye was oddly painted red, and the rest of his long hair was tied back with some sort of Twoleg rope. Argus was certainly an interesting cat. Buzzardpaw dipped his head to the tom, prompting him to speak. "So, are you Orion's new tom-friend?" His voice was monotonous and bleak, as if he didn't want to be there.
Buzzardpaw felt his pelt grow hot from the embarrassing question. He suddenly realized how awkward it was, with Orion bringing some random tom to meet his family. Buzzardpaw shook his head quickly. "No! We're just…" Orion was looking at him expectantly. Oh mouse dung! "..friends." Buzzardpaw mewed at last, earning a quiet 'yes!' from Orion. Buzzardpaw rolled his eyes.
Argus' ears twitched, unimpressed. "That's it? How boring. Just like my life." Buzzardpaw tilted his head in confusion at the last comment. Argus noticed his confused expression and blinked at him a few times. "Existence is pain." The tom mewed matter-of-factly. Buzzardpaw shook his head, still not following. Argus rolled his eyes, turning away. "You don't get it." The brown tom sighed dramatically and walked away, his voice trailing behind him. "No one gets it, and no one gets me."
Buzzardpaw looked at the others, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Tom shrugged her shoulders. "That guy is weird. He just mopes around all day and talks to himself." She hummed thoughtfully. "Though, I probably don't seem that much better, being a she-cat named tom. Sorry Orion decided to introduce you to the misfits first, and not the normal cats."
Orion scoffed, stamping his paw dramatically. "You guys are great! The greatest cats I know."
"The only cats you know, because we're the only cats that put up with you." Icey mumbled quietly, so quiet that only Buzzardpaw could hear. The she-cat was glaring at the tom intensely, her tail lashing behind her. Her gaze flickered between Buzzardpaw and Orion, making Buzzardpaw confused. Does she have a problem with me? Or him?
Shaking his thoughts away, Buzzardpaw glanced at Snowball, who was quiet the entire time. The tom was glancing at him shyly, his shoulders hunched. Buzzardpaw gave him a small smile, which the white tom returned awkwardly. Buzzardpaw shifted on his paws, looking up at the sky. The sun had set almost completely, and the shadows around the barn grew longer and darker. Orion seemed to notice his expression and beckoned him over to the barn. Buzzardpaw followed behind him slowly, his ears twitching.
The group emerged into the warm barn, the scent of mice and hay filling Buzzardpaw's nostrils. His mouth watered as he suddenly realized how hungry he was. Blinking, he eyed a small pile of mice not too far from him, which he assumed was the fresh kill pile.
Orion glanced at him, then nodded towards the pile. "Help yourself." Buzzardpaw padded forward hungrily, but stopped at Orion's voice. "Wait, those mice are a bit stale. Wait here so I can catch you a fresh one." Before Buzzardpaw could protest, Orion leapt into a pile of hay, emerging heartbeats later with two mice in his jaws. Buzzardpaw nodded at the catch, impressed. He's pretty quick! Orion dropped the mice in front of him, which Buzzardpaw accepted gratefully. He finished the mice in a few swift bites, then stood to his paws. Orion looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"That was quick. Would you like me to catch you some more?" Orion turned to the haystack, his muscles bunched to leap in.
"No thank you." Buzzardpaw mewed, making Orion rise to his paws. "I was just about to leave."
Orion tilted his head. "Leave? But it's night time! Come on, stay the night. The hay is very comfy."
Buzzardpaw shook his head turning towards the barn entrance where pale light streamed through as the moon slowly rose. "I can't. I shouldn't even be here. Russetprowl would claw my ears off if he found out."
Orion nodded, though seemingly disappointed. "Oh, alright. But at least let me walk you home."
Buzzardpaw nodded, and after saying goodbye, the two toms started their trek to ThunderClan territory. As they crossed the border, Buzzardpaw turned to Orion, nodding.
"Thank you," He mewed. "I can make it from here."
Orion blinked at him, his pelt shimmering in the moonlight. "You'll come visit us again, right?"
Buzzardpaw shook his head, opening his mouth to speak. "N-" He was cut off by rustling bushes, indicating that a cat was nearby. Without a second's notice, Buzzardpaw dashed for the camp, not wanting to be caught. After gaining some distance between the border, Buzzardpaw glanced back to see Orion still standing on the hilltop, his tail curled behind him. Staring for a moment more, BUzzardpaw shook his head, finally reaching the camp.
Crawling in through the dirt place, Buzzardpaw slid into his nest without encountering any cats. He quickly noticed the strange scent of ShadowClan, but was too exhausted to question it. With a tired sigh of relief, the tom sank into the warm moss. What a day.
Author's note:
Two chapters in one day! (and a long one at that) Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up by Monday.
I absolutely LOVE Orion, so expect a lot more chapters featuring him. He's pretty important to the story as well, so hopefully you'll start to love his character as much as I do.
Thanks for reading!
~Melting Popsicles
