Ugh.
Guys, I'm so sorry about how sporadic these chapters are. But I do have reasons. One, I started school. Two... oh wait, I don't have a second reason, other than *jazz hands* writers blockkkkK!
Well, I finished this eventually, but I hate it. So if it seems forced, it's mostly because I just wanted to get it done. I'm sorry. I won't abandon this story, but... updates are going to be slower. I got a lot to do. On a brighter note, though, this story has hit exactly 100 reviews! That is CRAZY, and I just-
Thank you so muchhhhh
SomeStormLeaf- You'll have to see if Sunpaw lives or not... and yeah, Lightningclaw is great even if he's done bad things, he's hovering in the morally grey area right now. And YES Fleetflame he's going to show up in future chapters so don't worry, you'll get more of him. Thank you for your kind review!
Stacy Rockfall- YEAH, she's not a great character. And UH yeah school sucks, I'm also in impossible classes this year which is greattttt. You too!
Rabbitflight- She's... she's got a few mental issues. But don't kill your son's boyfriend y'all that is bad
Anyways, on with the chapter!
There wasn't really anything to report, no, not to Ember, because Leafpaw admitted, Riverclan was the most chill out of the four Clans. Well, that's what Articpaw had told her.
"Shadowclan is stuck-up and well, shadowy, Thunderclan is paranoid and not our problem and Windclan… is Windclan.
One thing was confirmed for sure in the midst of all the turmoil and rumors; Thunderclan was at war with Windclan. That was for sure.
Ember's smirk had widened when Leafpaw had told her that, a signature glint coming into her eyes, as if she was planning something. Leafpaw wasn't sure if she should be looking forward to that or not.
She shook her head, dispelling those thoughts. Of course I should be looking forward to it. It's revenge. I've been waiting for it for my entire life.
Well, most of my life, anyways.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Articpaw's loud voice distracted her, and Leafpaw startled.
"Oh, uh, nothing." She replied immediately, sitting up straighter.
"Huh, whatever you say." Articpaw replied teasingly. "But uh, Poppywhisker asked me to find you. She wants to see you."
"Uh, okay." Leafpaw didn't know her new mentor very well, they hadn't talked much on their past lessons, but got to her paws, following Articpaw.
As they emerged from the apprentice's den, Leafpaw caught sight of the calico she-cat, who turned from her conversation with her mate Bluestrike and Leafpaw's arrival, breaking into a smile.
"Ah, Leafpaw, there you are." Poppywhisker mewed calmly.
"Hi." Leafpaw replied awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
Poppywhisker only flashed her an encouraging look before motioning her to follow as they headed out of camp.
"So, I assume you know how to hunt land prey, yes?"
"Land prey…oh, like regular prey?" Leafpaw tilted her head.
"Right." Poppywhisker gave a little chuckle. "I've been here for a while, so I got accustomed to calling it that. Gotta say, you get pretty good at fishing here, but most Riverclan cat's land prey hunting is rubbish. Trust me, I know."
"How long have you been here?" Leafpaw tilted her head, flattening her ears as she walked beneath an overhanging willow, the long branches brushing her head.
"I'm not sure. I came here at about nine moons." Poppywhisker explained. "I, uh, when I was a kittypet, well, I went to the Cutter, so I never could have kits, but Bluestrike is expecting now."
"I'm sorry." Leafpaw mewed immediately, slightly disturbed, before continuing. "But it's good that you'll get to have kits."
"Well, it'll be a learning experience, that's for sure." Poppywhisker explained. "My sister was lucky enough to have her own kits, though I'm sure that they were separated when they were old enough. I think one or two stayed in the neighborhood…"
"Really? What were their names?" Leafpaw was genuinely interested, it didn't seem so bad to be a kittypet, actually…
"I'm not sure about one of them, but there was a little tom named Leo. A real sweetheart, though he never shut up." Poppywhisker replied with a smile.
What?
"Oh, I know Leo!" Leafpaw blurted out, not even sure why she was revealing this. "He's… yeah, talkative."
"Oh, really?" Poppywhisker gave her a playful nudge. "What a small world, I suppose."
Leafpaw instinctively stiffened a bit at the contact, but forced a nod and a smile. "Yeah, I suppose so. A small world…"
Poppywhisker must have noticed her expression, because her next question was voiced with concern. "Hey, something wrong?"
"Huh?" Leafpaw replied, before snapping out of it. "Oh, uh, no, I just was thinking of something. Nothing important, though."
"You sure?" Poppywhisker prodded, but Leafpaw nodded firmly.
"Positive."
"Okay then." Poppywhisker shrugged, before brushing through some reeds to the river, calico tail waving behind her, Leafpaw not far behind.
"Breathe in the air. Tell me what you smell." Her mentor ordered, before stepping back, waiting for Leafpaw.
Taking a deep breath in, Leafpaw sorted through the different scents best she could, trying to figure out what each one was.
"There were some water voles here not long ago… hmm, a patrol also passed by…" She frowned. "And… Timberpaw?"
The scent was definitely fresh, as if he had just passed by, but just as Poppywhisker was going to open her mouth to reply, the brown cat burst out of the bushes, breathing heavily.
"Oh, there you guys are!" He panted, before straightening up. "Uh, Skystar is in camp for some reason. She wants to talk with Specklestar."
"And you told us this… because?" Poppywhisker raised an eyebrow, even though shock flitted into her indigo gaze.
"Well, I…" Timberpaw shuffled his paws nervously, before shrugging. "Well, it seemed really important.."
"It probably is. What would Skystar want with Riverclan?" Leafpaw piped up, unsure of why she was speaking, as she barely understood what was going on.
"What would she want with any other Clan? Excluding Windclan, of course." Poppywhisker's gaze darkened, but she turned and started to follow Timberpaw back to camp, Leafpaw hurrying to catch up, her shorter legs causing her to lag behind slightly.
"Maybe she wants to kill us too!" Timberpaw joked.
"I think you could turn to Flamestar in that department, not Skystar." Poppywhisker gave Timberpaw a soft cuff over the ear. "Remember, Skystar is a wise and trusted leader, she has been for many moons. You should respect her."
"I know, but she's really paranoid now! At least, that's what Lionpaw told me last time we chatted." Timberpaw replied with a flick of his tabby tail.
"Lionpaw has no business sharing private information like that." Poppywhisker replied disapprovingly, raising an eyebrow at the brown apprentice. "I would advise you not to do the same."
The reeds around the camp entrance brushed gently against Leafpaw's pelt as they headed into camp, where Skystar was, the dark cream leader was near Specklestar's den, waiting for the gray-and-brown leader to appear.
"Told ya." Timberpaw hissed in her ear. "Whatever this is about, I'm not excited for it."
"Neither am I." Leafpaw replied evenly, heart pounding as she watched Specklestar pad up to Skystar, Hollowsplash hovering by her side.
"Skystar." The Riverclan didn't bother with the formalities, not even dipping her head to the Thunderclan leader, just getting straight to the point. She obviously was low on patience today.
"Not to be rude, but I have a very busy day today. If you'd mind letting me know why you're here, and what I can do, if it comes to that, that'd be preferable."
"Of course, Specklestar." Skystar replied politely. "I promise you, I wouldn't want to take up your valuable time. May we… talk in private?"
"That sounds ominous." Specklestar replied with a dry chuckle, but forced a nod. "Yes. We'll talk in my den."
The two leaders headed towards the small den, Hollowsplash preparing to follow, but Skystar turned and raised an eyebrow at him with a frown, obviously implying the black deputy wasn't welcome in this conversation.
Returning her gaze through a freezing blue glare, Hollowsplash whipped around, sitting stiffly near Eaglespark, who only sighed, tail twitching with annoyance.
Dawnpaw and Darkflame had come as well, the latter chatting to a small group of Riverclan warriors, she caught the word 'Windclan', along with several more, er, questionable words.
"Dawnpaw!" Articpaw exclaimed, making her way over to the cream apprentice. "How are you?"
"Not good." The other apprentice's voice was dull, finally raising her green gaze to meet their eyes.
"Oh." Timberpaw came up behind Articpaw, and the three of them sat down, Leafpaw rather awkwardly.
"Is there a reason… why, other than that terrible situation with Windclan?"
"It's all because of that terrible business with Windclan." Dawnpaw spat. She let out a long sigh, trembling slightly, voice shaky when she spoke again.
"L-Lionpaw is dead. T-There was a fight after the Gathering… to get A-Amberpaw back… and he d-died…"
Her words cut off in a sob, and Articpaw shifted closer to her, eyes wide with sympathy. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, shutting her eyes tightly.
"I don't know how I'd feel if something that awful happened to be, but I just… I'm so sorry…"
"It wasn't your fault." Dawnpaw muttered under her breath. "But the fact remains that Flamestar has killed two Thunderclan apprentices, and captured another one, even if he's home now. Skystar is…" her voice shook. "She's so bent on revenge, it's making her do unspeakable things… you should be glad that you're not in Thunderclan right now."
"I am." Timberpaw piped up immediately, shutting his mouth immediately before continuing hesitantly. "But… is there, er, a reason that you're here?"
"Of course there is." Dawnpaw shot back, flicking her tail irritably. "Skystar wants Riverclan to be her ally."
Everyone froze, shock flitting into their expressions, but Leafpaw didn't see anything wrong with it, couldn't Clans do that if they wanted to? After all, it made sense, Windclan would be cornered then, but everyone else seemed so astounded by the prospect of an alliance, so Leafpaw assumed that there must be some dumb Clan thing she was missing.
"Against Windclan?" Articpaw forced out, blinking rapidly as she attempted to process this.
"No, against Shadowclan." Dawnpaw replied snarkily. "Yes, against Windclan!"
"Sorry." Articpaw winced, flattening her ears, Leafpaw felt a sudden surge of pity for her friend, shifting closer to her before glaring at Dawnpaw.
"She was just asking a question!"
Before the conversation could escalate further, Timberpaw stepped in the middle, amber eyes wide as he glanced at both of them in turn.
"Woah, woah, calm down. We all have a lot to process, and if we are going to be allies in the future, we'll have to get along." The brown apprentice explained gently.
Leafpaw only gave a stiff nod, narrowing her eyes, before shooting a glance at Articpaw, who looked starstruck, staring at her with a goofy smile and adoring eyes, though she looked away quickly as Leafpaw met her gaze, slightly confused by the attention.
That was a bit weird…
"Sorry." Dawnpaw muttered. "I shouldn't be acting up like this… it's just…"
Articpaw only gave a sympathetic nod. "Don't worry about it. You've gone through a lot."
Just at that moment, Skystar and Specklestar emerged from the den, causing Hollowsplash to get to his paws almost immediately, shooting the Riverclan leader a questioning glance, while Eaglespark only sighed, getting to her paws slowly.
"I hope I didn't waste too much of your valuable time, Specklestar." The Thunderclan leader mewed smoothly.
"No, on the contrary." Specklestar replied politely. "You've given me a great deal to think about. I think, though, your offer will go through. It has great opportunities for Riverclan."
Only nodding, Skystar gathered the rest of her patrol with a sweep of her tail, departing from the camp just as quickly as she had come, leaving a shocked camp behind.
"What did she talk to you about?" Hollowsplash hissed almost immediately, the fur along his spine prickling uneasily. "It obviously was something bad, because she didn't want me to be in there-"
"Oh, please, Hollowsplash. Eaglespark wasn't there either, and she takes herself a lot less seriously than you." Specklestar replied teasingly. "Still, because you're my deputy, I'll tell you."
The other apprentices looked at each other, obviously dumbfounded by the exchange, but Leafpaw had a pretty good idea of what it was about.
Riverclan and Thunderclan were now allies.
Well well well, some more development... anyways, leave a review letting me know what you think! I love hearing your thoughts. Stay safe!
Have a good day (or night) and keep writing!
-Mintflight