hi hi hi! Today we have a spooky chapter for a spooky day! (not really, it's just a normal chapter, but if you want to read something spooky of mine... well, i have a comp fic up called "Neither of us will be Missed"! Cats die! It's jazzy! Kinda like this story!
Anywayssss, here we are again- I'm actually publishing on time this is shocking
SucculentLucySofa- Yes they are concerning me as well oopS but yes they are my favorite? Like background sibling dynamics my beloved :D and ooPS LooK He's TruAMATizEd which is also my fault oops but HEY CMON and hey is he alive :))) we dont know do we :))) i say this on the discord all the time but we really just dont know :))) oh boy how shocking :))) anywaysssss thank you! I really like background characters, and like making them important is my favorite thing ever. Like they are my pride and joy and honestly i love them more than the mains most times and i think it shows (Oops) but thank you! and awww ty for the dialogue i do try even though my characters have weird pauses in their talking all the time because well that's what i do in real life ooPS-
and yeah mallow leads to death? Like it happened in SiTA and like man i dont know why i chose mallow as the cursed plant honestly but that's how it is ig AND HEY LOOK IT'S BEEN A MONTH I'M STICKING TO MY SCHEDULE KINDA
Alright, on with the chapter! You can probably tell who my new favorite side character is!
The next few days were a flurry of activity for Leafpaw, with patrols, training, and general life causing busy days and tired nights. She had been up at the crack of dawn for a few days now, and it was starting to wear on her, but luckily Poppywhisker had let her sleep in this morning, and she was taking advantage of it.
The sun was high in the sky as she dozed, bright light streaming into the apprentice's den and illuminating the nests around her. Leafpaw hadn't noticed, however, too tired to even crack an eye at the growing sunlight.
Turning over, she yawned, burying herself back into the reeds and moss that made up her nest, only to get woken up sharply by Poppywhisker.
"C'mon, you!" The calico cat exclaimed, poking her shoulder. "It's well past sunrise by now, if we want to get any training in while it's still light outside you better get up!"
"No training." Leafpaw mumbled around the moss. "Just sleep."
She was about to turn away and sleep more when she was pushed out of her nest, spluttering in surprise when the sun hit her eyes.
"I'm up, I'm up!" She complained, squinting at the bright light. "You didn't have to do that!"
"That's just how my mentor woke me up." Poppywhisker admitted, shrugging. "I was just passing down the tradition."
"That's a stupid tradition." Leafpaw muttered grumpily, shaking scraps of moss off of her pelt. "I think we should outlaw it immediately."
"I couldn't agree more." Poppywhisker laughed, following her out of the den. "But it worked today, so who knows? It may be used in the future."
"I swear I'll get up on time now." Leafpaw blurted out. "In fact, I may be up before the sun has even risen."
"Don't do that." The calico cat shook her head. "You've done that enough. Honestly, I might have to have a word with Hollowsplash if this continues."
"Oh dear." Leafpaw winced. "That'll be fun."
"He's not that bad." Poppywhisker snorted. "Just don't approach him when he first wakes up. I swear, it's like he's a different cat."
The sunny clearing was bustling with activity as the two of them entered, searching for Hollowsplash. The deputy was doling out patrols, snapping at Redwhisker before turning back to the group.
"Shadowclan's markers are farther over than usual." Twigtail was saying nervously, tail twitching.
Hollowsplash frowned, blue eyes narrowing. "You think they're up to something?"
"I don't know." The brown warrior admitted, shifting her paws nervously. "But it seemed intentional."
The deputy bristled, alarm spiking up his fur. "Report to Specklestar now. Honestly, if you thought it was purposeful, you should've gone to her right away."
"I thought you might tell her…" Twigtail murmured timidly, stepping away.
"I'm not your errand boy, am I?" Hollowsplash asked, flicking his tail in exasperation. "Now go! If Shadowclan is a threat, they'll have plenty of time to plan while you're just standing there!"
As Twigtail rushed away, Poppywhisker and Leafpaw shared an uncertain glance, the former stepping forwards cautiously.
"Uh, hey Hollowsplash!" The calico she-cat chirped, shifting from one paw to the other. "What do you want us to do today?"
"I don't know." Hollowsplash muttered, seeming distracted. Pacing nervously, he barely looked at the two of them. "Go… train or something." He snapped his head up to look at them. "Battle training. Right away. If Shadowclan invades, we have to be ready."
He glanced around, panic lighting up in his eyes. "Starclan… I need to warn Specklestar, and prepare, and… Why is everyone else in this Clan so incompetent?"
He hurried towards Specklestar's den, shoving a confused Twigtail out and entering himself.
"Oh dear." Poppywhisker giggled. "Hollowsplash is in quite a tizzy over nothing again. It seems that life is normal."
"He'll work himself to death if he keeps at that pace." Leafpaw commented, watching him go. "Hopefully it is nothing, though."
"Oh, I'm sure it is." Poppywhisker replied breezily, heading towards the training clearing. "Hollowsplash tends to make something out of a lot of nothing."
When they reached the training clearing, Flashpaw was already there, with, strangely, Fogpaw and Hollysong. The two apprentices were chatting, and, well, flirting, not very subtly. As Leafpaw watched, Flashpaw reached out to bump Fogpaw's nose with his, smiling dopily at the other apprentice. Fogpaw flushed, returning his grin with one of his own.
"If you two are done being sappy, I'd like to start training." Leafpaw called out, strutting over to them.
"Well, we were waiting for you." Flashpaw retorted, rolling his eyes. "And we weren't being sappy, we were just… talking."
"Okay, sure." Leafpaw rolled her eyes to the sky, exasperated. "Whatever you say, Flashpaw."
Flashpaw only scoffed at her jokingly before looking at Poppywhisker. "Oh, I'm stuck with you two all day, by the way. I was going to train with Specklestar, but Hollowsplash burst into her den yelling something about Shadowclan, so I guess not." He wrinkled his nose. "I'm not sure what about Shadowclan, honestly. It's not like they've done anything productive recently."
Leafpaw nodded before glancing at Fogpaw. "And why are you here?"
"To get some form of training." The gray cat shrugged. "In case I need it. And Hollysong is here to make sure none of us die."
"It's likely one of you will." The old medicine cat muttered under her breath.
Poppywhisker looked around at the three of them, obviously trying to figure out what to teach. "Well, alright!" she exclaimed, putting herself at one end of the clearing. "I guess that if we just spar a little, and figure out what's going on, that should work. Plus most of you know what you're doing." She finished, glancing at Fogpaw. "And you… mostly know what you're doing."
"Kind of." The medicine apprentice shrugged.
"Alright then!" The calico she-cat beamed, glancing at the three of them. "It'd be great if we had Articpaw and Timberpaw, but one of them was on the dawn patrol and the other one is hunting right now."
Leafpaw stiffened at the mention of Articpaw, guilt flooding her. Ever since the strange interaction with Amberpaw, the she-cat had barely talked to her. Leafpaw didn't like it, she missed her friend, and she hated that she had messed that up.
It's too late now. She thought forlornly. You'll just have to live with it, I suppose.
Poppywhisker made her and Flashpaw spar first, of course, probably because she wanted to see Leafpaw get beaten quite badly. She wasn't a bad fighter, Flashpaw was just annoyingly quick and annoyingly strong, so she never could get the upper hand against him.
Crouching, she stared across the clearing at Flashpaw, who's slightly relaxed pose suggested that he was expecting this to be an easy win. He sent her a smug smile, yellow eyes glinting in the sunlight.
Leafpaw only scoffed, rolling her eyes. I'll make sure, this time, it won't be easy.
This time I'm going to win.
Poppywhisker brought her tail downwards to signify the start of the spar, and Leafpaw stuck to the side, circling towards Flashpaw cautiously. The black cat hadn't moved, watching her through narrow eyes, before lunging, one of his paws nearly hitting Leafpaw's eyes.
Startling, she ducked, managing to slip out and onto Flashpaw's blind side. She pounced, but the older apprentice dodged nimbly, aiming a blow at Leafpaw's shoulders in retaliation.
Leafpaw staggered, off-balance, and Flashpaw tried to use that to his advantage, ramming into her side forcefully. She managed to catch herself, planting her back legs wide as she swatted him away, tail lashing.
Her shoulder stung already, even though Flashpaw hadn't used claws, and she winced, trying not to lift it off the ground.
Flashpaw's eyes darted towards her shoulder, and she knew that he was going to target it for the rest of the spar now that he knew it was a weak spot. Gritting her teeth, she lashed out, one of her paws catching his forelegs.
The black apprentice stumbled, and Leafpaw used that to her advantage, using his own trick against him. Practically bowling him over, she glanced around wildly, trying to pin him down, but she took too long. Flashpaw threw her off with a grunt, getting to his paws again and pacing towards her determinedly.
Leafpaw hauled herself back up, rearing herself onto two legs and practically falling on him, trying to use the element of surprise and her meager weight to her advantage.
Flashpaw let out a surprised gasp at the new weight, trying in vain to throw her off before realizing it wouldn't work. The two of them practically rolled around the training clearing, both of them wildly trying to pin down the other. Flashpaw kept aiming his blows at her face, which Leafpaw did not appreciate, but she tried to parry them the best she could.
Finally the two of them separated, panting, and Leafpaw spared a glance towards the small audience they had. Poppywhisker looked proud, a smile of satisfaction on her face. Fogpaw looked awed, mouth open in a gasp of shock, and Hollysong looked indifferent, probably already having seen something like this before. Leafpaw wasn't surprised, frankly, she hadn't seen Hollysong get excited about anything.
She blocked another blow from Flashpaw, who seemed to have just gained energy from the fight, yellow eyes glowing with exhilaration. Leafpaw couldn't share that feeling, she was starting to get tired, and hoped that he'd just give up so that she could finally win.
Trying to expel those thoughts from her head, she lunged forwards, aiming blows with more vigor than before. Flashpaw parried them easily, but Leafpaw wasn't finished yet, far from it. Leaning in, she kicked his leg roughly, before charging him again.
Flashpaw obviously wasn't sure how to put off this attack, so decided to meet her in the middle. The two of them hit the ground, Leafpaw luckily on top, and she slammed her front paws on his shoulders, trying to keep Flashpaw on the ground. The other apprentice wasn't having it, however, and Leafpaw nearly lost her grip several times, eyes narrowed with concentration.
"Just… give… up." She panted, her grip beginning to slip. Luckily, she heard Poppywhisker's voice ring out, signaling the end of the spar, and she flopped on the ground beside Flashpaw, relief flooding through her.
"Beat you." She muttered out of the corner of her mouth, smirking at Flashpaw. The other apprentice just rolled his eyes, splayed out on the ground still.
"You're stupid." Flashpaw mumbled back before heaving himself to his paws, his black pelt coated in sand. Walking over to Leafpaw, he shook himself off, much like a dog, showering Leafpaw in sand.
"Hey!" Leafpaw spluttered, spitting sand and dirt out of her mouth. Glaring at Flashpaw half-heartedly, she tried to get as much sand off of her pelt as possible, though the effort was futile.
Fogpaw rushed over to Flashpaw, excitement glowing in his green eyes. "That was amazing!" He chirped, practically bouncing on his paws. "You were so good! Like, amazing, like I already said, but wow!" He glanced at Leafpaw. "You were great too, but just, spectacular! I'm in awe!"
Flashpaw sent Leafpaw a lofty smile over Fogpaw's head, ego obviously already inflated by the praise. Leafpaw only sighed and rolled her eyes, but she didn't mean it. She was more happy that she had won more than anything.
"That was great, both of you!" Poppywhisker exclaimed, padding over to the three of them. "It's good that you two are both so experienced, and well, competitive-" She raised an eyebrow. "But Leafpaw, I really have to commend you on that end trick! That was good thinking."
"Thank you very much, Poppywhisker." Leafpaw replied politely, sending Flashpaw a smug smirk as she did so. The black cat only stuck his tongue out at her in response before going back to being enamored with Fogpaw, who was pressed into his side, now checking his boyfriend for any scratches. Leafpaw knew there weren't any, there had been no claws at all in that fight, but she decided not to say anything. After all, Fogpaw probably just wanted to stare at Flashpaw's muscles anyway.
Imagine if Articpaw had been here to see you win.
Leafpaw shook that thought from her mind, but not without a twinge of sadness. She wondered if Articpaw would've been as happy to see her win as she had. She would've liked it if she had been there, but…
But she's busy, and doesn't want to see you. Leafpaw finished her own sentence with a sigh, glancing mournfully towards the entrance. She wished she hadn't fucked it all up, but she couldn't change the past.
"Anyways, I think that we'll-" Poppywhisker started, but was interrupted by Timberpaw flying through the entrance, skidding to a stop in the sand, getting it all over him.
"Hollowsplash says he wants you three on patrol!" He exclaimed, pointing to Flashpaw, Leafpaw, and Poppywhisker. "And we have to get there fast, because…" He took a deep breath before continuing. "He said that if I don't get you guys right away, he'll make sure I never become a warrior!"
"I don't think he meant that." Poppywhisker rolled her eyes, but Leafpaw could see worry shimmering in her indigo eyes. "But let's go, you three. Hollysong, you and Fogpaw should go back to camp. Check in with Specklestar and find out what's happened."
The old medicine cat nodded, exiting the clearing with Fogpaw behind him. Flashpaw sighed sadly, watching them leave, before glancing at Timberpaw, who was struggling for breath.
"So," Flashpaw started, flicking his tail leisurely. "What's this patrol for?"
They found out soon enough as they began trekking towards the Shadowclan border, Hollowsplash far in the lead. The deputy seemed more agitated than before, occasionally telling them to hurry up, and glancing around like Shadowclan cats would appear out of thin air.
They could. Leaf sighed. If anyone could do that, it'd be Shadowclan.
"Do you even know what happened?" She asked, turning to Timberpaw, who had finally gotten his breath back.
"Border markers." The brown apprentice replied. "Apparently they were like… super far over or something? I mean, they were, but Hollowsplash just freaked out."
"That's strange though." Leafpaw commented, wrinkling her nose in confusion. "We haven't had any conflict with Shadowclan for ages, why would they want to bother us now?"
Timberpaw only gave a shrug, obviously just as confused as her. "They're Shadowclan. I guess they like to stir shit up."
The border came up, at the top of a small hill that was a good few fox-lengths away, but Leafpaw caught the stench of Shadowclan long before that, letting out a surprised gasp as she did so. Shadowclan really was farther up, they must be pulling something.
"See?" Hollowsplash growled, tail bushed out as he paced. "Something is going on."
"Maybe they… made a mistake?" Poppywhisker asked lightly, before wincing. "Sorry, there's no way that could happen. I just… don't understand why they would do this."
"Maybe because you killed our leader." A sharp voice snapped at the top of the hill, causing the patrol to look up.
A Shadowclan patrol stood there, both looking angry and standing way too close to Riverclan territory. Leafpaw felt her hackles rise, and only stared back, raising a challenging eyebrow to the cat in front.
She didn't recognize a lot of the cats in the patrol, but made eye contact with a pale gray tom, who was staring at her rather fearfully. However, the other apprentice just scoffed and looked away, whispering in the ear of a ginger cat next to him, who she recognized as Birchpaw from a few Gatherings ago.
"Kill your leader?" Hollowsplash repeated, disbelief written all across his face. He let out a sharp bark of laughter, blue eyes like chips of ice as he refocused his gaze on the Shadowclan patrol. "Are you insane? Why in Starclan's name would we do that?"
"I don't know, why don't you tell us?" Another cat in the patrol chimed, glaring back at Hollowsplash. Leafpaw couldn't believe that this was why they had done this. What reason would Riverclan even have to do such a thing?
Maybe Shadowclan cats are crazier than I thought.
"What do you want me to tell you? That it was our secret plan all along?" Hollowsplash was still laughing, but the tinge of exasperation in his eyes signaled that this conversation was taking useful time out of his day.
The Shadowclan cats shared a look, obviously of confusion, and when the leader spoke, her voice was more shaky.
"But it was you! It had to be you!"
"What had to be us, exactly?" Poppywhisker piped up, gaze piqued with interest as she looked around. "Because we have no reason to kill your leader. In fact, I thought Specklestar and Tansystar were quite well acquainted."
Leafpaw suppressed a snicker at the word 'acquainted', knowing that Poppywhisker was being more formal than usual. Her mentor never used terminology like that, especially in a normal conversation.
Even if this conversation isn't exactly normal.
"Well, who did?" Another warrior asked, flicking his gray tail. "Because Tansystar ended up dead, and his body had Riverclan scent all over it."
Hollowsplash was silent for a long moment, blue eyes narrow with thought. Finally, he gave a small shrug, obviously at a loss for an answer.
"Specklestar didn't order that to happen, at least. Maybe someone went out in the middle of the night for a murder stroll."
"And you're not concerned about that?" The leader of the patrol asked pointedly.
"Of course I'm concerned about it." The black deputy hissed back through gritted teeth. "And I'll figure out who did it. No need for you to be pissing all over our border."
"Why should we trust you?" The gray-furred warrior asked, curling his tail nervously.
"Why should I believe you?" Hollowsplash pointed out snidely. "I mean, you could be lying. Still, I'm hoping this overreaction is a real problem and not some poorly masked battle strategy, so I'm going to try to fix it. Y'know, because I don't really want a murderer walking around in Riverclan."
"Your Clan is full of rogues, I don't know how you can say that." The lead warrior observed, glancing at Poppywhisker in disgust, but the calico cat only frowned back, narrowing her dark eyes. Leafpaw wasn't sure how she managed to keep her temper so well contained, but it was admirable.
"Yikes, you're old fashioned." Flashpaw muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes to the sky. "Imagine being xenophobic to the point that they critique other clans for it."
Hollowsplash shot the black apprentice a warning glare before turning back to the patrol, who were finally starting to back off.
"Even though I wouldn't put it exactly that way, Flashpaw's not completely wrong. It's not your place to criticize our choices."
"Well, you didn't hear us saying a word about your alliance with Thunderclan." The gray warrior whispered tauntingly.
Hollowsplash let out an exasperated sigh, obviously wanting to end this debate. "Look, I didn't come out here to start some petty fight with a petty Clan. I came to figure out what this is, and now I know. We'll find whoever did it and kill them or whatever you crazy Shadowclanners do. Now, please get off our land."
"Well, only because you asked so nicely." The lead warrior snarked back, but led her patrol back towards their territory. Leafpaw watched them go, letting out a relieved sigh once they were out of earshot.
"Starclan above." Hollowsplash groaned, flattening an ear. "I forgot how stupid Shadowclan was all the time. It's exhausting."
"Yep, that's Shadowclan." Poppywhisker sighed. "I also forgot how incredibly xenophobic they were."
"Why are they like that?" Timberpaw asked nervously, catching up with them as they headed back towards Riverclan camp. "Like, outside cats aren't bad! One of them is a pretty good friend of mine." He shot a grin towards Leafpaw as he spoke, and she gave an uneasy smile back, trying to ignore her stomach churning with anxiety.
"It's a pretty deep-set thing." Hollowsplash shrugged. "Outsiders have caused the Clans a lot of trouble over the many moons we've been around. At a certain point, they started to not let them in anymore." He paused. "Not us, though. We adapted, and well, we've been fine."
"But now we have a murderer in our Clan." Flashpaw fretted. "What if something happens? What if Fogpaw dies?"
"Now, let's not jump to conclusions right away." Hollowsplash replied cautiously. "If Shadowclan is right, then we'll talk. But I have a suspicion that they're not."
"What do you mean?" Leafpaw asked quietly, aiming a glance at the dark-furred deputy.
"Well, I think they're right about the murder, at least. Something must've happened for them to be that paranoid." The black cat pointed out. "But I don't think that anyone in this Clan killed Tansystar."
"Then who did?" Timberpaw asked curiously, tilting his head.
"Well, I don't know that." Hollowsplash admitted. "But I do know one thing for sure."
"We've been framed."
see, things were supposed to be chill in Riverclan but now they're just Not. Like OOPS
Anyways, huh, i wonder who did kill Tansystar? That's really interesting HUH just like leave your guesses i wanna know if this mystery thing is working or not LMAO
Be crime do gay and have a spooky day!
-Minty