A/N: Had my final essay due this week and it was honestly the worst essay I've ever written in my entire life XD. Oh well, I tried my best. School sucks as always. I think the only thing I'll be glad about finishing it is that I won't have to do boring essays anymore :). That's always a win.
Reviews
Larchwish (Guest)- Hey, sometimes it's bothersome to do capitalization and punctuation haha. I… have never read those books so I don't know what those are. But I'm assuming nightwing is like a black dragon or something and rainwing is… blue? Those are just my guesses. Ah, ah, that's a spoiler, my friend. You'll just have to wait and see. Blossomleaf is having it rough, let's just say that. Literally, the first half of the last chapter was describing how Sagepaw is doing XD. He's not doing too hot either. And the assessments are coming up soon (as in, the next arc soon). That's an interesting question. I didn't even know Warrior Cat YouTubers were a thing. I never read any of the books, so I doubt I'll watch any haha.
Hissing Mist- That sounds pretty enough lol. Blue's my favorite color, so if I were a dragon, I think I would be something with blue scales. Maybe a lightning dragon for me? They definitely are! I haven't read much fanfiction in a while, I focus more on writing it instead, but I don't think I ever read one where the Medicine Cats were truly appreciated or given some time to shine. Yup. Leafstar is trying to do an impossible task, sadly. It's getting to her too.
social anxiety (Guest)- Ooh, that sounds cool. Red dragons are a classic for a reason, they're fierce. I always put so much into every chapter XD. No one is allowed a break, that's a rule in my story. Flarepaw has friends? What's this? Nah, but she does have friends lol, just not much time to actually do anything with them. Yeah, Sagepaw is on the Berrypaw route essentially, it's a shame. I'm glad you liked it! For a bit, I didn't know if I actually wanted to have her perspective in it, but I found it fitting. And yes, I imagine being a leader is as exhausting as I showed, even for someone like Leafstar who has everything seemingly together. Nightstone is an angry ball of vengeful energy. He will get what's coming for him, but Leafstar won't be happy having to do it.
Frsted- Hello, welcome back! Yup, the Nightstone arc is a doozy. I actually never thought about Cherry and Night being a thing. That would certainly be interesting lol (but keep in mind, Nighstone hates High Ranks so much, but I guess that can change). I mean, anything is possible XD. I'm mostly just letting any possible romance do what it wants to do. Whoever Cherry decides to be with, that's who she'll be with. I really wasn't expecting to like Nightstone that much, interesting. The story is slowly coming to a close. There are still many arcs that need to be accomplished, so it definitely won't be finished within 10 chapters lol. It definitely wasn't easy figuring out these separate arcs XD, I spent so long working on the outline to fix it up- and sadly, there were some things I had to cut out just so it could work properly. Second Review: Nightstone just needs all this catharsis, honestly. It's not that he's sloppy, it's that things are getting big enough for others to truly start paying attention now. And it doesn't matter if he gets caught. He has backup plans for that whole thing. It's definitely been a hot minute since we've been in Forestclan and I just love all the chaos happening here. (And yes, I'm aware that things in Blazeclan are going rather slow, but that's mostly my fault because I had to put this Forestclan arc in there so I couldn't just straight up jump to the next major arc for Blazeclan, which is Flarekitty's final trial. One of the downfalls of having so many storylines is that in order for things to line up nice and pretty, one of the clans- most often Blazeclan- is going to have to drag a little bit in order for it to be nicely.) I don't know where you got the number 10 from, but I can safely say the story isn't ending anytime soon XD. I can see it probably lasting all of 2022, into 2023 just with how long the outline is, but we'll see. Third Review: Oh yeah. Cherrypaw's father, I never mentioned it, and considering it's not super important anymore: Cherrypaw's real father was actually Ravenstrike from Stormclan. If you remember, that was the tom that was killed by Sun that set off Rainpaw's monster again, essentially. But, yeah. That was her real father. Fourth Review: Fun fact; we were actually going to get a Sagepaw backstory as the first chapter upon my return of the hiatus, but things didn't fall through for that. I still really want to write one for him, but I honestly have no idea where it could fit. The next one on the outline currently is a dual backstory chapter for Emberpaw and Gingerpaw. Those are interesting ideas for backstories. We'll see if I can fit them anywhere, so fingers crossed.
Thanks to everybody who reviewed!
Let's get started!
…
Forestclan
…
Cherrypaw was hiding.
Well, that was not entirely correct. Cherrypaw didn't hide. She wasn't a coward. Hiding was not something she did because there was no reason for her to do so.
She was just… waiting.
That sounded better.
If there was one thing she hated about having to put her trust into a Commoner instead of herself, it was this. Sure, there was less pressure on her and she just needed to do what she did best and play the distraction so Mothpaw wouldn't suspect anything going on, but that also meant there was less responsibility placed on her. Everything hinged on Nightstone's and the others' capabilities and whether or not they could actually get the job done- and done correctly to exactly how she needed it to be done.
When the responsibility went to others, it meant that Cherrypaw couldn't really do much to affect the outcome because she wasn't a part of every single step of the plan.
Did that make her overcontrolling? Possibly.
Did she care?
Definitely not.
It wasn't her fault that the clan was filled with so many incompetent cats. She left the simple tasks to Bramblepaw; anything that required brute force and the least amount of thinking as possible. Mothpaw was right when he said her fellow Grand Royal apprentice was nothing more than a minion as opposed to an ally. She held the barest hints of guilt for that, so that had to count for something.
It was just… whenever she left the convoluted parts to someone else besides her, they always, inevitably messed it up.
Or they had a chance to turn it against her, and she greatly hated that feeling of vulnerability.
But as it is, all she could do right now was wait.
Everything was going to come to a head today. Quite frankly, it left her feeling antsy. Especially when Nightstone came up to her the night before, explaining to her how the Commoners have been found out by Leafstar. It made her waver, as much as she loathed to admit it. For the Grand Royal herself, the masterful tactician, to step into the arena and play the game Cherrypaw so carefully crafted…
Well, to say she felt panic slowly beginning to rise would be an understatement.
But it was fine! Technically, Cherrypaw herself hadn't touched any of the poisons. Only once had she visited those dangerous little flowers, and she was always great at feigning innocence. It would be the word of a Commoner versus her and there was no way to prove that Cherrypaw did in fact tell them what to do.
She could deal with Leafstar's potential threat later.
Because right now, she was waiting for the dam to break.
Cherrypaw was stationed in one of the many training zones for the Grand Royal apprentices. An obstacle course of sorts that began on the ground and led up into the trees, making a complete circle around the wide clearing, and finishing where she started. She didn't actually attempt the course though, already knowing every part of inside and out. It was one of the final 'big' areas for those in the running to master.
As much as she wanted to be directly at camp to oversee everything as Nightstone and his cohorts got to work, the entire plan depended on her anonymity. She was a lure that Mothpaw would follow- and though he was quite the careful tom, she counted on his own hubris bringing him right to her.
She was dozing in and out of consciousness. Sleep was hard to come by in a camp filled with psychotic Commoners poisoning everyone and a dusty little moth that seemingly held all the power over her.
Just wait.
You just have to wait a little longer.
The morning sun was climbing higher and higher in the sky now and Cherrypaw took a deep breath of the revivifying Newleaf winds. Warm and welcoming. The rays of the sun cast shadows that thinned and fled toward the treeline as the angle continued to slowly change.
Once upon a time, she had a love-hate relationship with sunrise.
But just as with everything, it was tainted by Jinx. She once loved it because Jinx did- "Where I'm from, darling, being able to see the sunrise means you're still alive. And if you're still alive, you can still keep on fighting."- and she once hated it because it often meant Cherrypaw had to leave the rogue in hiding after spending the night with her because she had her own duties to the clan to take care of.
Now, Cherrypaw didn't love it or hate it. Indifference was what she forced herself to feel. Forced herself to enjoy.
A sunrise was just a sunrise.
Nothing symbolic or damning about it.
Stars, she hated waiting. It made her antsy because she was so used to being the one executing her plans. And now all she could do was sit here, watch the darkness run away from the radiance enveloping upon the world, and wait. Sure, she could get rid of some of her nervous energy by doing the obstacle course, but that seemed like too much effort for her tired mind.
Exhaustion was not something she was quite used to. Cherrypaw did not lose sleep for the things she has done. She slept every night like a newborn kit nestled in the space of their mother's belly.
And that's a sentiment she never truly experienced.
It made her chest ache with longing. To be held, to be warm, to be in someone's embrace and let their promise of protection wash over her (even though she was very much capable of taking care of herself). It has been… a while since she last spent a night with anyone. Sure, she still talked and played and flirted, but to actually waste her energy on anything physical was not appealing. Not right now, not anymore.
Cherrypaw had other things to worry about rather than her own pitiful yearning for a warm embrace.
Like the fact that familiar pawsteps were now approaching her.
A wide grin spread across her lips before she pushed herself up, pacing forward to languidly stretch in the sun as though she was merely stretching after an intense bout of training. Even though her paws were a bit numb from having sat still for so long. (How long had she been here for? It must have been hours just waiting, sitting, staring. Thinking, the most dangerous part.)
"I want an explanation, half-clan filth."
Ah. Getting right into it, huh?
Either Mothpaw was really, truly angry to simply not care enough to check if anyone was nearby to reveal his true self. (Not that anyone was, Cherrypaw was alone.) Or he has had enough of her and didn't bother holding back her secrets anymore.
Keep up the act.
She was nothing if not an expert at pretending.
Some may say she even created the concept.
"That's a strange way to say good morning, Mothpaw," the Grand Royal apprentice merely looked off to the side where the tom was now. It wasn't often she got to see his angry expressions; as much as she hated to admit it, he was quite good at keeping himself blank. Not giving anything away. But his ears were flattened, his fur beginning to bristle, lips pulled into a scowl. It was a lovely expression and she couldn't help but purr, "Ah, that's a remarkable face you have there. Wake up on the wrong side of the nest today?"
"Don't play dumb with me, it's not a good look on you."
"Darling, everything is a good look on me."
"Why haven't you been doing your duties?" Mothpaw approached closer and she could see his claws digging small grooves into the grass below. His tail lashed once and the sight of it only made her grin more. There was something resembling panic that seeped into every one of his features, burying deep within his bones, making him weary.
"As far as I'm aware," Cherrypaw shook out her pelt, tilting her head back to soak in the rays of the sun, keeping herself as relaxed as possible. She had to remain calm… no matter how much she wanted to leap at him and rip him to shreds. Everything hinged on her not reacting to his threats and button-pushing. "I am doing my duties as a Grand Royal apprentice. What else is there for me to do?"
"I told you," Mothpaw got out through gritted teeth, "to protect her. Is that really so hard for you to understand?"
"Oh, right! You're talking about that," she chuckled. A hint of a smirk appeared, "The Low Ranks really have a lot of pent-up emotion to let out, huh? I'd say they're bullying her harder than what the High Ranks are capable of."
Forgoing the fact that a majority of the High Ranks are busier with their own fears and paranoia over the sickness to even bother looking in a Cripple's direction at the moment.
"Two days. Two days, half-clan," Mothpaw scoffed. "And already, her injuries have doubled. You haven't done what I told you to do, so I want an explanation as to why you've been slacking so much."
"Hmm," Cherrypaw hummed to herself, looking up to the sky as if in deep thought before icy blue returned to livid light blue. She shrugged (as carelessly and unbothered as he always did), "I'm not really feeling up to it anymore, you know?"
"Excuse me?" Mothpaw gave the best surprised expression she could have ever asked for. It made her want to burst into laughter, but she held it in.
At least, she tried to. She couldn't stop herself from snickering, "You're excused."
If the tom looked angry before, now? Oh, now he was furious. A faint growl rumbled in his chest and it was one of the greatest achievements in the world.
"You seem to forget," he took another step toward her and she properly faced his direction, sitting down but ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Her tail curled around her paws, the tip of it flicking playfully against the ground, eyes glinting with mischief. Yes, she has wanted to do this for so, so long. "That I am the one who gets to decide when you're done."
"Funny. I don't seem to recall ever agreeing to obey everything you say."
"You're just asking for me to tell everyone about how much of a fraud you are, half-clan."
"Go ahead," Cherrypaw struggled a bit to keep the panic, the fear, the anger out of her voice. But she managed, swallowing the emotions back down. Her smile took on a sharper curl, strained now, but she kept it up. "I'm actually a little curious to know who will believe you."
"What's gotten into you?" Mothpaw was attempting to calm herself. To look at everything rationally. Cherrypaw let him, her gaze unwavering. "The day before, you were so paranoid of me even mentioning it. And now, you're…"
"Let's just say, I've had a reality check," she got to her paws, stepping over to him. He held his ground, regarding her with narrowed eyes all the while. Trying to pick her apart, trying to get to the root of her outlier behavior. To keep him guessing, Cherrypaw began to circle around him. "You are completely right. The clan is full of idiots… Idiots who believe the word of the higher rank in most situations. And if there's one thing I have over you, it is rank."
"What, you don't think they will believe me?" Mothpaw turned his head side-to-side to follow her for the most part, but he didn't try to keep her permanently in his line of sight. "Everyone knows I have something against them. A secret they've always wanted to keep. And they know that I will never lie about them."
"But you see," Cherrypaw stopped beside him, gingerly brushing against him just to make him uncomfortable. Distraction, distraction, distraction. "You're also vain."
"I'm not you, half-clan. If you wish to see someone who's vain, then find a puddle to see your reflection."
"You don't want to give away those secrets and spill them all," she continued her walking, her tail lashing and hitting the tip of his nose as she did so. He wrinkled it, fangs bared. "After all, they are the only things you have to fall back on. Once they're all revealed, once you have nothing to hold over others, you have nothing else to rely on. All this threatening you've done to me… I'd like to call your bluff."
"You think I'm bluffing?"
"No. I know you are. You're nothing without those secrets, Mothpaw," Cherrypaw stopped in front of him now, nothing more than a tail-length away. She gave a fake frown of sympathy, cooing, "Just a bitter, lonely tom who hates every one of his clan members. It's really a shame. You have no loyalty here, it's why you don't care that a majority of them are doomed to die from this sickness."
"Sickness," Mothpaw snorted, rolling his eyes. "Please. Don't pretend like you don't know."
"Don't know what?" Cherrypaw tilted her head. Pretend, pretend, pretend. The tom will spell his own downfall.
"It's no sickness. It's a poisoning. And the only reason Blossomleaf hasn't figured it out is because each concoction is different from the last, making it difficult to track each one used, but they result in the same symptoms. The same death."
"Poisoning," she gasped. "Are you the one responsible for that? Are you really that against your own clan you'd result in getting rid of them?"
"Poison is such a torturous way to go," Mothpaw sighed, shuffling the weight between his paws. "But I will admit, such a fitting way for many."
"That is horrific, Mothpaw. The lengths you would go," Cherrypaw hid her grin, a frightened expression painted across her features. She kept silent for a few beats as if mulling over his words… before she peeked just over her shoulder. To the figures just within earshot, footsteps muffled by her walking earlier. "Did you hear that, lead Royal Addermask?"
Mothpaw's expression and ease dropped and it took every ounce of willpower she had to contain her laughter.
The Royal apprentice spun around, and there, indeed- standing just within the treeline of the clearing- was Addermask. The aged tom was unaffected by the bout of poisonings, considering he hunted for his own meals as well (looks like being picky had its virtues after all). Over one of his shoulders was Brightclaw, and on the other side, Coalshade. The group apparently were out searching for them.
She met Coalshade's eyes and… Nightstone taught the others well. Coalshade looked thoroughly surprised as well.
Brightclaw's eyes were wide and Addermask…
Addermask was silent. His expression, stony.
Oh, they heard it. They heard it indeed. And though she was stretching the story a bit, bending the rules… it was her word against Mothpaw's.
In the end, the higher rank would always be trusted more.
"I-I…" Mothpaw seemed to understand the mistake he made as well by bringing up the poisoning. "It's not what you think."
"...All clan members are to report back to camp," Addermask spoke with a steely tone, giving nothing away. But Cherrypaw could see it in his eyes (the eyes always gave everyone away). The hidden horror, the growing anger, the pure shock. "Something horrible has occurred… and now we know who is responsible for it."
"What's happened?" Cherrypaw kept up the act, stepping a few paces forward, making sure not to get right beside Mothpaw and taking the long route around. And just to drive things home, she turned her gaze to him and hissed, "What did you do?"
Mothpaw could only gape, looking her in the eye, and because she was now positioned in a way where the other three couldn't see her face…
She winked.
"Grand Royal Bramblepaw," Addermask murmured, a quiver in his voice, (she almost felt sorry for him, considering that was his son), "is in critical condition. Overnight, the sick- the poison hit him incredibly hard."
"It wasn't me!" Mothpaw shouted in his defense. Feeble. Useless.
"That's enough out of you," the lead Royal narrowed his eyes. "The Grand Royal will want a word with you."
"I knew you always hated him," Cherrypaw murmured, aghast. "But to really go to this extent…"
"You- I don't-" His eyes were wide with panic and he took a step forward, gathering the air in her lungs, and yelling, "She's half-clan!"
Hearing it out loud with others nearby made her heart seize in her throat, ears falling flat as she stumbled back as though hit. Pretend, pretend, pretend. Cherrypaw had to keep it together. Panic was Mothpaw's downfall and she will be damned if she let it be hers too.
"First, you kill my father," she stood up tall, padding in his direction- and rejoiced when the others didn't interfere. It was a lie, sure, but the others didn't know that. Robinwing was dead and the only one who knew her secret was the tom who just made himself suspect number one. "You poison more than half the clan. You ruin the running by targeting Grand Royal Bramblepaw. And now, you slander me with a flat-out lie?"
"I-"
She didn't let him continue. Cherrypaw positioned herself exactly where she needed to dart forward and throw the tom to the ground. Just like she always wanted to do for so long. Stars, it felt good. She leaped onto his back, claws digging into his shoulders to keep him down before he could retaliate, restraining him.
And the greatest thing?
Addermask didn't tell her to stop. Brightmask looked like she wanted to join in. And Coalshade took a step out of the eyesight of the other two so he could stop his act and just regard everything with that usual bored expression of his. Perhaps the Artisan would find a way to use this information against her, but as far as he knew, it was a lie anyway.
Even if they found out half the things Mothpaw did on his own, no one would believe them.
Even if Leafstar did, the only one who could possibly make things difficult coming up, the rest of the clan wouldn't. Ultimately, the strength didn't go to the Grand Royal.
It went to the clan itself.
"We will return to camp," Addermask said after a moment. "Mothpaw. You will come peacefully… or I will have Grand Royal Cherrypaw drag you back if she must."
With that, the lead Royal turned around and began marching his way back to camp, pawsteps heavy with his held-in anger. His son was the one on the line here. With one son Crippled, all he had left was Bramblepaw, and now…
Just as she planned.
Nightstone was never meant to poison Mothpaw.
No, she promised they would help each other out- and she meant it.
With Mothpaw taking the fall, the group of Commoners truly responsible for it would be overlooked by the rest of the clan that was no doubt just hungry for someone to take the blame for this. And Cherrypaw wouldn't have to worry about him anymore because no one would believe the word of a Prisoner.
With Bramblepaw poisoned, Cherrypaw secured her place in the running. Even if he did recover from it, he would be debilitated, especially with the final trials just around the corner. (She ignored the guilt that came from it.) And the Commoners got rid of one of the High Ranks that definitely attacked them frequently.
Win-win.
And oh, did Cherrypaw love to win.
Before she let him up so he could walk in the middle of the patrol, she purred in his ear, a faint whisper;
"I warned you~"
For his part, Mothpaw understood that addressing her or attacking her right now would only make things worse. As such, he only obeyed as soon as she let him go, padding over to follow after Addermask. Coalshade and Brightclaw leveled him with narrowed eyes and he ducked his head as if in shame, his tail fluffed out with his nerves. Quiet. Perhaps trying to find a way out of this.
Cherrypaw hung back a little, not immediately following.
She drew in a deep breath, exhaling slowly, slowly, slowly.
A smile pulled at her lips.
Victory never tasted so good.
…
Blazeclan
…
"Hey, brat. Stop getting distracted."
"Huh? What?"
"Case in point. If you're going to keep daydreaming, we might as well cut today's training short and-"
"Ravenflight. Be a little patient. Sootblaze might just be tired, we have been training a lot more after all."
"Thank you, Swiftleaf," Sootblaze nodded his head to the light grey she-cat, who beamed in his direction with an adorable smile, and he narrowed his eyes playfully at Ravenflight. "Be a little patient, Ravenflight."
The black-furred Commoner grumbled something incoherent beneath her breath, probably a threat of some kind that only made him smirk, but she did stop in her complaining. Most likely because of Swiftleaf rather than him. On the other side of her, Owlpelt was sitting there, his shoulders bouncing with silent laughter as he shook his head fondly at their interactions.
Ravenflight was right though. He did keep getting rather distracted.
But not because he was daydreaming…
Wildfire wasn't difficult to find for someone who liked to avoid them at every waking moment until now. Sootblaze kept a couple of steps back as Flarepaw and him entered the area.
And immediately, he regretted coming at all.
Not because he didn't want to be here in support of Flarepaw, but…
Of all the places Wildfire chose for this 'talk,' why did it have to be in the clearing where Bluepaw and Shrewpaw died? The leftover boulders from that avalanche lingered, forever unmoveable no matter how hard he always tried pushing them. Compared to nature, Sootblaze could do nothing against it.
It was as though Wildfire knew he would come along.
"I was wondering how long it would take for you to show up," Wildfire hardly even spared him a glance, eyes only on his daughter. "You know better than to keep me waiting, Flarepaw."
"Let's just skip the introductions and everything else," Flarepaw cut straight to the point. "I know it was you. It's always you. Are you happy? Do you want me to congratulate you? Do you want me to cry? What? What do you want now, Wildfire?"
"So testy you are," Wildfire sniffed disdainfully. "I didn't touch him. I didn't hurt him, just as I assured you."
"No, but you told someone else to," Sootblaze found himself speaking before he could stop and consider it. Dark amber eyes drifted over to him, a spark of… of delight glinting in them as Wildfire grinned.
"Ah. The Commoner. I knew you wouldn't give in so easily," Wildfire curled his tail around his paws, leaning back against the stone behind him with a rolling sigh. He held himself casually, relaxed. As though he wasn't in the presence of a daughter who wanted nothing more than to tear him limb from limb. "You always like to put up a challenge. I'll admit, I missed it a little. No one puts up a resistance quite like you. I will savor the joy of breaking you again."
"If all you have to do is throw threats around, I'm tired of hearing them," Flarepaw took a small step forward, to the side. Her body attempting to subconsciously shield Sootblaze. Always protecting him- but things were different now. He wanted to protect her too, so in response, he took a step forward as well until he could press into her side. If she was startled by the contact, she didn't show it. "I'm tired of doing this with you over and over."
"I'm not."
"Just listen to me for once, father, and get through that thick skull of yours." Despite her exhaustion, her voice was strong and Sootblaze couldn't help the small smile at the corner of his lips. "I'm not giving in. If you wish to target the Commoners or my brother, I will continue to defend them with everything that I am. But better yet… Are you so much of a coward that you can't even face me directly?"
"I am no coward," Wildfire stood up from his place and the two of them stiffened, but held their ground.
"Then why else would you go after those who are weaker than you?" Sootblaze tilted his head as though with genuine curiosity. Feeling a familiar spark igniting within him, that same flame that always made it such a thrill to antagonize the High Ranks. To break their careful control and pompousness they liked to carry themselves with. "Commoners, kits, a Servant, ganging up on a Noble. It's probably just because you're afraid."
"That is for the pleasure of breaking your will," he hummed, turning his eyes to Flarepaw. "Do you let all Low Ranks speak for you?"
"Is that meant to be offensive? I'm not prideful like you. I don't really care."
"How far your reputation has fallen," Wildfire sighed, something melancholic (and bitter) about it. "It's going to be such a hassle for me to clean up. Do you realize how disgraceful you've been to your bloodline?"
"If I could take the part of my blood that is you and your kin out of me, I would," Flarepaw flashes her fangs, claws prickling against the grass. "Don't speak to me about bloodlines because quite frankly, I don't give a damn about yours. You have more to lose from my decisions than I do- and that's why you want me to obey you. But Sootblaze is right. You are afraid of me. And yes, my heart is soft and I am not you so I have allowed myself to care and to love others so much to the point that it hurts me when they are hurt. It's why you're using them against me."
The Grand Royal apprentice shook her head slowly. Disappointed.
Just… tired.
Tired of the same routine with Wildfire. They have suffered enough from him to know exactly what he likes to do. And Sootblaze was taking measures to counter them. Training the Commoners was only step one. If they could hold their own better, then that was less stress on Flarepaw's shoulders.
If they had more help…
He blinked to himself.
If we have more help…
"But I'm done, Wildfire. The next time you wish to hurt me? Do it directly. If you want to hurt me, at least have the decency and courage to do it yourself instead of having others do your dirty work for you," Flarepaw subtly nudged Sootblaze's shoulder, an indicator. She turned around and he hesitated only a moment before following her lead. "Now, I believe we're done here. I've said what I wanted to say."
"I have not dismissed you," the Royal behind them snarled, and though it pricked at his nerves to have his back facing Wildfire of all cats, Sootblaze followed Flarepaw's lead out of the clearing. Moving a bit faster than her because he really hated that clearing. "Don't walk away from me!"
"I don't need a dismissal from you, father."
It certainly wasn't what he was expecting out of this. Sootblaze, in complete honesty, had been expecting her to just straight up rush at him and rip into his pelt with her claws. To end it all, then and there. No matter the consequences, no matter the potential danger of it.
Not just…
Walk away.
He was even more surprised that Wildfire didn't make chase. And sure, maybe it wasn't the smartest decision to actively antagonize him or push his buttons like this, but…
Well. They've gone past the point of caring.
Sootblaze briefly wondered if exhaustion was making them delirious and reckless. (He then wondered if it mattered.)
The two continued in a straight line for a short while with a tense silence following after them like a storm cloud. He kept his breaths shallow, listening behind them to make sure Wildfire didn't actually chase after them, but nothing was around but the sound of their own pawsteps and the occasional distant harmony of birds. The wind was lazy today, only appearing every once in a while to ruffle the freshly budded leaves overhead, adding to the symphony.
He finally glanced at Flarepaw out of the corner of his eye.
"Are you okay?"
She stopped walking almost instantly, he maneuvered a few steps ahead to look her in the face. Not that it mattered, she lowered her head with a heavy sigh, a faint laugh.
"Stars, I needed that," Flarepaw paused for a beat, adding, "I mean, I probably just made everything worse, but I needed that."
He didn't know whether to frown or smile at the sentiment. He wasn't going to scold her, he definitely needed that too even if he didn't know it at first.
"Are you okay though?" Sootblaze asked again, taking half a step closer and fighting with himself when he felt the innate desire to step away again. So conflicted.
"No," Flarepaw shook her head, shrugging. "But that's not anything new, so… It doesn't matter."
"It does," another step. Another internal battle. Flarepaw definitely noticed this time, her gaze lifting to his. Silver-blue with golden-yellow. Fatigue was an eternal gleam in both. He murmured softly, "It does matter."
"I'm just…" She couldn't seem to find the right word to sum up everything, so all she settled with was, "Tired."
"I know," Sootblaze muttered sympathetically before biting his lip, tipping his head a bit to the side. "But… I have an idea. That can maybe help us be, I don't know, less tired?"
"Get an actual sleep schedule?"
"That can work too, but I was thinking more on getting some outside help."
Flarepaw furrowed her brow, humming curiously, "What do you mean?"
Sootblaze stared at her for a few seconds. Unsure if he should actually present it, mulling over his thoughts. Because, yes. They needed help. Badly, they needed help. The Commoners offered as much assistance as they could, but- and as much as he hated saying it- they were simply not strong enough. Not yet, at least. Part of the stress was keeping them safe.
And besides, he meant what he said with Feathersong.
He wanted to try to start trusting the High Ranks more.
Starting with…
"Why don't you tell some of the others you trust about… everything?" Sootblaze tried his best not to hesitate. "You know. About what Wildfire has done and just how terrible he is, about wanting to get rid of the hierarchy system, about…"
"...Us?" Flarepaw whispered.
"Umm, sure, yeah. About us," he nodded quickly. Wanting to ignore the lingering thought of: Is there even an 'us' still? He liked to believe there was. "Whiteshadow is great, but he's just one cat. I'm pretty sure Roseberry knows, and so do Hollypaw and Sagepaw and Feathersong and the others and-"
"The others know?!"
Oh. Right. He didn't tell her that.
Whoops.
"They promised not to say anything," he paused before scoffing, "And now I have to live through Ravenflight teasing me about it."
"Thanks for the heads-up, I'll be sure to avoid her," Flarepaw's smile was short-lived before she shuffled the weight on her paws, glancing around. Just to double-check that they were truly alone. "I don't know, it's just… The more others know about everything, the more I feel like it'll all fall apart. Or someone will use that information against us in some way."
"I know," his ears drooped. "But we can't just… We need help, Flarepaw. Wildfire clearly doesn't know when to give up. I-I don't want to give up either. And I know-" he cut her off before she could say something. "I know I said I did and… and I'm sorry. I was just…"
"You don't need to apologize." It was Flarepaw's turn to take a step forward and his nerves jumped. Longing to feel her warmth press against him. "You were grieving. You still are."
"...Just because I'm grieving," Sootblaze frowned, "doesn't give me the right to hurt others."
As addicting as it could be. To make others feel as hurt as he was.
But that didn't change anything.
At the end of the day, Thornblaze and Mousepaw would still be gone. And so will everybody else.
"I'm here," Sootblaze placed his tail surreptitiously between them, hesitantly twining with hers on the ground. "And I want to… try. I want to try. To make it up to you, to help, to-" Trust.
"You don't need to make it up to me."
"I do. Please. Will you let me?"
Needless to say, he had a lot on his mind. In the mess that was their lives, slowly reconciling with each other didn't seem like one of their most pressing priorities, but it was to him. His top priority.
Ultimately, Sootblaze left it up to her. If she wanted to let him back in. If she wanted to continue this fight with Wildfire.
If she wanted to tell others and ask them for help.
(And apparently, she decided yes.)
It was very simple, almost too simple, to register the sudden tension that entered the other three from where he stood. Ravenflight instinctively- always- stepped closer to Swiftleaf beside her. Ever protective of the other she-cat, even while Swiftleaf steadied herself to do the same. Owlpelt stiffened in place, the fur along his shoulders rising. Amber, dark green, and light green all directed behind Sootblaze.
He could hear the pawsteps approaching and he took in a slow breath in preparation. Not really knowing what he had to prepare himself for.
He was expecting Wildfire or his usual posse of cats that liked to torment him (like Ashtail or Blazefang or Tigergaze).
He was not expecting it to be Gingerpaw and Emberpaw. But it was. Brother and sister moved with single-minded purpose into the clearing usually reserved for the Commoners and he was as surprised as he was cautious that they actually knew where this place was and that he would be here.
"Grand Royal Gingerpaw," Owlpelt was the only one who could find his voice, bowing his head respectfully. Ravenflight and Swiftleaf did much of the same, with the former noticeably keeping her eyes on them even as she did so. "Royal Emberpaw. To what do we owe this visit?"
"At ease," Gingerpaw peered at the others before focusing back to Sootblaze. "We merely wished to have a word with Sootblaze here. If he doesn't mind."
"Am I in trouble?"
"That's yet to be determined," Emberpaw said with a saccharine smile, her usual mischievous glint in dark green eyes.
"Should I be afraid?" Sootblaze met her in the eye, a teasing tint to his tone. He did kind of like Emberpaw, she was fun to talk with. (Well. When she wasn't threatening him.)
"I'm involved," the she-cat said, just as he predicted. "So, absolutely."
Regardless of it all, it made him laugh. A small chuckle. Maybe they were here to beat him up or something, but strangely enough, he felt… calm.
"It's okay," he said to the others behind him, nodding his head to each of them. "You can go."
"Are you sure?" Swiftleaf asked. Always so worried about everyone else.
"Yeah," Sootblaze nodded, waving them off with his paw. "I'll be fine. We'll all go hunting later?"
"Later, then," Ravenflight clearly didn't like it. She was the most reluctant, and distrusting, out of everyone. Especially with the idea of leaving him with two very powerful and dangerous High Ranks.
Owlpelt bowed his head to him and the others before the three other Commoners began to slink away from the clearing. Leaving him behind with the only other Grand Royal apprentice remaining and a she-cat who may or may not be a tad bit crazy and more than a bit renowned for her violent nature. Sootblaze watched them go, half of him more at ease with them gone and the other half starting to grow concerned for himself, and turned to face his two guests.
Out of nothing but habit, he prepared himself to spring away in case one or the other charged at him.
"So, uhh," Sootblaze looked between the two, uncomfortable. Emberpaw, he knew, was a bit easier to talk to. And the only time he spoke with Gingerpaw was very briefly when they led Flarepaw to her brother in the Medicine Den. "What did you need me for?"
"Hmm," Gingerpaw studied him closely, eyes roving carefully over every inch of the other tom. Before taking a small step back and admitting, "I don't see it."
"What?"
Gingerpaw met him in the eye, "I don't see what's so great about you that it'll make Flarepaw completely upturn her life over."
Huh.
So, she did decide to tell someone else.
But did she really have to go straight to these two? She couldn't have started with someone easier like Shadepaw?
"You are the reason she's been acting so differently," Gingerpaw hardly gave anything away in his voice and it nearly sent Sootblaze into a panic. Was the Grand Royal apprentice disappointed? Mad? Disgusted? "But I can't wrap my head around what's so special about you that it'll make her do that."
…Was he being insulted? He felt like he was being insulted. It was hard to tell with that tone of voice.
"I don't control Flarepaw. Or her choices or actions or ideals," Sootblaze settled on saying. Because if it was the truth they wanted, then it was the truth he'd give them. "If I helped her become who she is now in any way, I think that's insane. Because I didn't make her do anything. I didn't make her into who she is… She made herself. And she- I'm assuming she told you everything. But she's not doing it for me. Not completely, at least. And I didn't ask her to do it, I didn't force her to do anything. The only thing I asked her to do was-"
"Break rank," Emberpaw cut him off. "By teaching you how to fight better."
He bristled slightly, "I left the choice up to her. I didn't pressure her to do it. She could've ignored me entirely and I would've been fine with it."
"Would you have?"
"I…" His ears flicked back to flatten. "It would've sucked, but. I would've made do. Somehow."
Probably a lie, but… he made it that far without Flarepaw's training. He was certain he could've continued going farther. (But her training has been very helpful and he will forever treasure their moments together.)
"I just want her to be happy," Sootblaze continued before either of them could say something first. It felt like tearing a part of his heart open, but if he had to do so just to be honest here, then he would dig his claws in harder and pull. "Whether that's with or without me, that's up to her. No one deserves the kind of father that Wildfire is and I just want to help her with whatever she needs."
"...Flarepaw is very important to us," Emberpaw's unnerving smile disappeared and he could tell that she was being as honest with him as he was to them. "To me. For a variety of reasons that are none of your concern. Quite frankly, I don't really care about the hierarchy or Low Ranks or whatever, I just do what I want. I can't speak for my brother here, but all I need to know is that you will treat her nicely."
"I'll try," he lowered his gaze to the ground in shame. "I'll admit, I haven't been doing the best at that recently-"
"Oh, that's all I need to know."
The she-cat attempted to lunge at him, so abruptly all Sootblaze could do was recoil with a flinch, but to his surprise, Gingerpaw stepped in her way as nonchalantly as possible before she could even leave his side. Knocking her off-balance a little. It made her scowl at him, but her brother didn't even look in her direction, his tail flicking against her side in some kind of signal.
Emberpaw groaned, "Fine."
"You said you'll behave," Gingerpaw still didn't turn to her, his eyes remaining on Sootblaze.
"I am!"
"Sit."
"You're not the boss of me."
"Emberpaw."
"Ugh," the she-cat sat heavily on the ground, sighing forlornly, "you're no fun."
"I…" Sootblaze looked between the two of them, whiskers twitching. "I'm so confused."
"I don't entirely like the idea of her being with a Low Rank. Nor with her quest to dismantle the hierarchy. I'll need more time to think about it, but be that as it may," the Grand Royal apprentice finally turned his gaze away, eyes closing as he sagged with his sigh. "But Flarepaw is her own cat. As worried as I am that she'll be charging headfirst into her own demise, I made a promise to protect her that I fully intend to keep."
Sootblaze couldn't stop himself from smiling when Gingerpaw looked back at him, a slight upward curl to his lips as well.
"And I know that at your core… you can be a good tom," Gingerpaw suddenly narrowed his eyes again. "But if you ever actually hurt her-"
Emberpaw interrupted him with a chipper, "I'll kill you."
"She'll kill you," Gingerpaw tipped his head to his sister.
It was said almost comically simple, for a second, he thought they were joking. But he saw the gleam of protectiveness in their eyes and knew they were dead serious.
"I… Yeah, noted."
"Wonderful," Gingerpaw gave another small smile before shifting aside, bumping his shoulder against his sister's. "We'll leave you be then. I suppose we'll be talking more in the future from now on."
"We'll be best friends," Emberpaw's mischievous grin returned, and before she turned to leave, she sang over her shoulder, "Oh, I feel so sorry for you."
Despite it all… it made him laugh.
That could've gone so horribly, but Flarepaw trusted in him and actually told others. And not just anyone, but Gingerpaw and Emberpaw. Two incredibly powerful cats to back them up in the neverending war. Gingerpaw might need a bit more convincing to truly get on board and he was convinced Emberpaw was here mainly for the chaos of it all, but it was a start!
Sootblaze had a feeling that if things continued like this, they might actually start to turn around.
And no matter how much it scared him…
He began to hope.
…
A/N: Another one for the road, y'all. We are coming so close to the start of Flarepaw's grand trials and I'm so excited for that- but before that, holy moly. Forestclan. It's a riot there XD. Everything is falling apart and I am here for it.
…
Question of the Day
If you had the option to completely explore either space or the ocean, which one would you choose?
(For me… probably space. I'm afraid of drowning, so the ocean is a no-go XD.)
…
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Let me know what you think of the story and give constructive criticism where you see fit.
Thank you and peace out!
~Wolfcreations22