Despite all their efforts to keep a straight face, the group were quickly losing patience.
They stalked along a series of hedges interconnecting a wall of Twoleg dens, guided by the old cat who had led them along for what seemed like moons. Which wouldn't have been a problem, if it appeared that Purdy actually knew where he was going. But as they walked along the dark space, littered with twoleg rubbish, the craning on the cat's head from side to side made them all wonder whether or not he was making it up as he went along.
"How much longer are we going to put up with this flea-pelt?" Crowpaw hissed under his breath. He looked exhausted after doing nothing but following aimlessly under the hot sun, and his mood seemed sharp and ready to strike.
The only cats who could hear him were the ones beside him at the back of the group. "What else can we do?" Feathertail said morosely, his usually bright eyes dim with fatigue. "It's not like we'd be much use around here without him. At least he knows the place."
"Or so he says." Squirrelpaw muttered, glowering in the direction of the others.
Squirrelpaw had been trying, she really wanted to keep a cool head and show respect for Purdy and the 'help' he was offering. But her paws were aching and the sun's heat was swelling all around her fluffy body. She had to keep calm though, everyone around her was clearly on edge, like her, and it would do nobody any favours if she started chewing out the elder cat.
Surprisingly, Feathertail had no comment against Squirrelpaw's jab. Another sign that the Warrior shared her thoughts. Crowpaw openly agreed though with a displeasing snarl. "His brain is mouse bile. He's leading us like a dog chasing its tail."
Squirrelpaw snickered, her emerald eyes falling cheekily onto the grey apprentice; she was desperate for something to distract her from the pain in her paws. "We'll probably see the entire Twolegplace before he turns back and blames a wrong turn."
The edges of Crowpaw's lips turned up. "His fleas will die before we make it out, we'll be able to count them as they fall off."
Squirrelpaw let out a snort of laughter that made the nearest cat in front, Stormfur, look back curiously. "Everything okay?"
The ginger apprentice nodded sleepily, "Yeah, don't worry." She glanced over at Crowpaw, grinning when he gave her a playful wink. A happiness coursed through her, making the pain in her paws fade away for a second. Stormfur looked up at Feathertail who shrugged meekly with a loving smile. The grey Warrior shook his head and looked forward again.
Feathertail gave the two cats a light swat on their flanks with her tail. "Be careful, you two. I don't think the others will be in the mood for jokes, especially if they're about Purdy." She warned.
Squirrelpaw sniffed, "I didn't hear you arguing against them."
Feathertail stared at her with a stare strangely mixed between hard and soft. "That's because I'm more forgiving than the others." She dictated, swiftly stroking Squirrelpaw's side with her nose, tickling the smaller cat. Squirrelpaw pulled away with a delighted giggle. "I can actually tolerate you two."
Crowpaw snorted, "Yeah, well I don't know how much more I can tolerate of this!"
"Cheer up." Feathertail said, her tail brushing over Crowpaw's back. The gentle connection of her fur with his made the grin drop from Squirrelpaw's face. That sinking, stupid feeling rose up in her gut again. "We'll get out of here eventually."
Squirrelpaw resisted the urge to grimace when Crowpaw smiled, soothed, at the Warrior. Feathertail always seemed to be the one who could calm him down when he got angry. Smile at me that way.
Her eyes found the sky with a quiet sigh as she cursed how she sounded. What right did she have to be sad? What was she even sad about? Crowpaw and Feathertail were good friends, they had been before she had made friends with the both of them. Of course they were closer. But now she was annoyed whenever the two shared even the smallest of smiles!
No. Not just annoyed. She felt sickly. Like a snake's venom was flooding her organs.
Some friend I am. Squirrelpaw felt a bitter sting in her stomach. Who was she to judge Feathertail? It was as clear as a pool how the Warrior felt about Crowpaw. It had become evident when he had bravely risked his life to save her from the dog. Now, whenever the Warrior looked at Crowpaw, there was an obvious glowing fondness around her. Affection that blazed as strongly as the love Feathertail had for her brother.
The most recent example had been yesterday. They'd been inside a Twoleg garden where a small pond rested at the side, brimming with a number of fish. While the others rested for a moment, Feathertail had offered to teach Squirrelpaw and Crowpaw how to fish. It had been much harder than Squirrelpaw had thought, the fish would slip out of her paws and slap her with a drizzle of water. Though it had been funny when Crowpaw had dropped the fish that he had caught in his mouth, spitting and retching over what he had called a salty taste.
Until Feathertail had squealed in delight. Squirrelpaw had figured it out before Crowpaw did as well. He'd received his saltwater sign! It was strange how much joy had gone through Squirrelpaw at that moment. They'd all known how desperate Crowpaw was for his sign, for the instinct that Starclan was watching over him, and now he had finally been awarded it, Squirrelpaw couldn't help but feel absurdly happy for her friend.
He deserved to be proud of himself.
But Feathertail had seemed even happier, brushing her pelt against Crowpaw's and whispering affectionate congratulations to the starstruck apprentice. It had been previously thought that Crowpaw loathed physical contact of any kind. Crowpaw didn't complain once. In fact, he seemed unnaturally content.
Squirrelpaw had strained to keep a smile.
Feathertail really liked Crowpaw.
Squirrelpaw had discomfort whenever she saw it.
But not for the reasons she thought.
Most cats would have been repulsed simply because of how the thought of loving a cat from another clan went against the Warrior Code. To most it created disloyalty. Feathertail knew that better than any cat on the journey. And yet…she still didn't care.
And while Squirrelpaw thought she did originally, it wasn't that. It wasn't that kind of disgust. Every cat was guilty of clan disloyalty at this point; according to the code, none of them should have really been friends at all. The fact that she saw Feathertail and Crowpaw as better friends than Brambleclaw was practically a crime.
But Squirrelpaw didn't give a foxtail! She'd tried her hardest at her clan, and they all treated her as less because she didn't look like she was ever going to live up to their perfect image of their perfect leader, her father! It wasn't fair! No cat had the right to judge her for becoming close friends with the cats who actually treated her with respect!
So why did she feel so sick at how closely Feathertail viewed Crowpaw?
Did…Did Crowpaw even feel the same way?
If he did, he certainly hid it well. But Crowpaw hid all of his emotions well! It was impossible to figure out if he was in a good or bad mood half the time! So it wouldn't be too hard for him to cover his thoughts if he actually…
Squirrelpaw shuddered. It was still bewildering how much she was actually thinking about this. Feathertail was her friend, if she actually liked Crowpaw that way, she should be encouraging it. That was what being a good friend meant. Especially if it looked like Crowpaw…
Again, it struck. That panging ache. That worry.
Fox-dung! Why am I being so ridiculous? Her teeth clenched. She needed to stop this! There was nothing to get worried over! So what if Feathertail liked Crowpaw? She didn't…care. There were more pressing matters to attend to! Like how stupidly long they had been following this kittypet to nowhere!
In a stranger turn of events, it looked like Brambleclaw actually said what Squirrelpaw wanted to hear.
"Purdy, are you sure this is the right way?" Brambleclaw asked, an obvious strain in his polite tone.
The older cat flicked his tail, "Of course I'm sure." He meowed in vague amusement. "Don't you youngins worry now. We're just heading to higher ground, then we'll get a better idea of where we're headin'."
Every cat's head jerked up. "What?" Crowpaw snapped. "You said earlier you recognised the path like the back of your paw! We could have found higher ground ourselves!"
"Crowpaw." Feathertail sighed, but she looked just as perturbed as the rest of them. Squirrelpaw was furious as well. Did Purdy even have any idea where they were? Were they actually walking in circles?
"Now now." Purdy replied, his voice infuriatingly lacking any sense of concern. "No need to get snappy. Sure, I know this place, there's a high wall near here that'll give you lot a better idea, that's all."
Sounds like rabbit-dung to me. Squirrelpaw thought, a glare growing on her face. Crowpaw was right, if they'd wanted to find higher ground by now, they could have done it without the old tom's help. He was wasting their time.
"So where is this wall then?" Tawnypelt growled, her patience thin.
"Just by an upwalker place. Just a couple a' steps away." Purdy either didn't realise, or didn't care, that every cat around him was clearly fed up of his false promises.
Squirrelpaw frowned. Knowing you, a step takes half the day.
"This is mouse-brained!" Crowpaw growled at the rest of the cats, "Why did we even trust you to begin with? Come on, we can find our own way!" He proclaimed.
Only Tawnypelt muttered in agreement, the other four kept silent in frustration.
"We might have been able to find higher ground earlier." Stormfur said, giving a harsh sideways stare at Purdy. "But not now. Just look around us."
Squirrelpaw grumbled. Stormfur was right, they were surrounded by thin walls that offered no area for climbing, and in front of them were still a series of different paths that could easily catch them off guard. They really had no choice.
"Stormfur's right." Brambleclaw agreed reluctantly, "We'll get lost either way, we have to trust Purdy now." He gave Crowpaw a warning stare, daring him to object. For a moment it looked like Crowpaw would, but the rest of the cats around him murmured in agreement and the apprentice had to fall silent, sulkily flicking his paw across the dirty floor.
Squirrelpaw frowned when she saw Brambleclaw smirk in his 'victory', she rubbed her pelt against Crowpaw's encouragingly. "Don't worry about it." The other cats began to follow Purdy again, out of unwilling trust.
The grey apprentice frowned at her. "You know he's as mouse-brained as he looks. Why didn't you agree with me?"
Squirrelpaw shook her head with a tired sigh. "Come on, Crowpaw. What choice do we have? He's the only one who might know where he's going around here." She tried to be gentle, she didn't want Crowpaw to think that she didn't trust his judgement. But, right now, they had to follow Purdy.
"And he might instead have maggots where his brain should be." Crowpaw muttered.
"Look, I don't like it as much as you do." Squirrelpaw huffed. "But there's nothing else we can do."
"She's right, Crowpaw." Feathertail added in, walking by his other side. "We'll end up lost if we leave Purdy now." Squirrelpaw gave the Warrior a thankful look.
Crowpaw still looked bitter but he relented, seeming to see the cat's points. "I still think we're going to end up lost."
Squirrelpaw batted his side with her tail, "That's because you always assume the worst." She chided.
"I just want to get out of this place! Kittypets must be stupid if they can call this place home!"
Squirrelpaw made a sound of acknowledgement. How any cat could prefer this filthy, stinking place over the freedom of the forest was a mystery to her.
The group took a left, walking onto a path where the hedge disappeared, replaced by a thick wall of brick, still overshadowed by Twoleg dens though. The light shone easier around here, at least, which gave every cat a small flicker of hope in the kittypet's direction. Taking a right, they came to a small wall, clearly leading to the back of a Twoleg den. Squirrelpaw sniffed the air and sighed in relief, any scents of Twoleg, dog, or kittypet were stale by now. They weren't in any danger around here.
Without warning, Purdy took a leap up the wall, landing clumsily on his worn paws. He glanced down at the group at cats, grinning.
"Well come on up then!" He ordered, his greying whiskers rising in amusement. "Just across this here garden."
"Not another Twoleg garden." Squirrelpaw heard Tawnypelt mutter.
"It's alright, there's none of them around here." Squirrelpaw mewed.
Stormfur took a sniff and beamed to the apprentice. "Good nose, Squirrelpaw!" The apprentice smiled back at the praise.
"Yes, well done." Brambleclaw added, with an audible lack of enthusiasm. Squirrelpaw rolled her eyes. Why do I even bother with him? "Okay, Purdy, we're coming up."
"Who made him leader?" Crowpaw whispered to Squirrelpaw.
"No one, as far as I know."
"Oh shush." Feathertail meowed, getting ready to pounce. "Let's head on up." She did just that, waiting at the top for the two.
Squirrelpaw exchanged a glance with Crowpaw. The Windclan apprentice shrugged and followed the rest, Squirrelpaw being the last to do so. On the other side of the wall was a wide garden, flat grass except for a small stone wall at the sides which encompassed a large collection of flowers. Squirrelpaw's eyes widened, there were so many, some she recognised from the forest, but most she did not remember ever seeing before. Some buds looked as large as her own body, some were domed and slanted to an unnatural angle. It was like a forest created by the Twolegs alone, bursting with colours that gave the garden its own streaming rainbow.
"It's beautiful." Feathertail said, her jaw hung in surprise.
"Isn't it just." Purdy purred, "Say what you want about them Upwalkers but they have their uses."
"No offence, Purdy." Stormfur said carefully, but with an unimpressed stare. "But we didn't come here to see a garden. Where can we find higher ground?"
Purdy shrugged and nodded over to the other side of the garden. "Over there is a wall that goes upwards, past the top of these here 'dens' as you call em'." The cats looked over to where he indicated. A wall did stand there, near its back it slanted upwards towards another wall that carried into the next Twoleg garden; it was above the top of the dens height if they looked closely enough.
"If we just go on up that wall and go along it for couple a' paces, now, we'll end up in front of this Upwalker place with a good eye of where you kits want to go."
"What about this den?" Tawnypelt questioned, "I'm not risking anymore Twolegs grabbing at us."
Purdy waved his tail carelessly, "Ah, don't you worry about them. Just a old couple of em' live here. Older than me in fact." He laughed at his own joke. No one else did. "They won't be able to catch you youngins, don't you worry."
Tawnypelt eyes narrowed with distrust, but she drew back. There was no point in arguing anymore. But still, even Squirrelpaw had her doubts about whether Purdy's directions would actually lead them well.
"Well lead on then, Purdy." Brambleclaw sighed.
The old tabby nodded and jumped down into the garden. He looked up at the other cats, all looking between themselves nervously. "Don't be shy, the flowers won't bite you." He snickered.
Crowpaw let out an irritable growl, "Stupid old fool." He muttered to himself, shutting up when Stormfur gave him a harsh glare.
"Oh, shut up." The Riverclan tom grumbled, jumping first onto the glittering grass. The others followed close behind. As soon as Squirrelpaw met the grass, she tensed for any trouble; you could never be too careful in this place. Luckily, the den remained undisturbed and no Twoleg scent came to her. She let out a sigh of relief.
"Wow." She heard Feathertail say to herself. "This is more like it."
All of the cats would have agreed with her. The vibrant colours of the flowers and the grass, as they twinkled burning light of the sun, was certainly a better sight than the dirty pathways and Thunderpaths that made up most of the Twoleg place. The air was full of the fresh, pungent smells of the flowers, many reminding Squirrelpaw of the wildflowers at home that Leafpaw used in her training. She felt a calming presence soar across her body, and the pain in her paws began to subside now they were against the familiar softness of grass rather than the cold Twoleg stone.
"You can say that again." Squirrelpaw exhaled peacefully.
"Yeah, yeah, very pretty." Brambleclaw rasped, "Can you please just get to the other side?" Squirrelpaw's eyes burned on her clanmate. He just seemed against everything she liked.
"Of course." Purdy stated with a toothless grin. "Jus' this way-"
"Wait a second!" Tawnypelt demanded, making every cat freeze in place. Purdy frowned as the molly glowered at him. "How do we know this isn't just another wrong turn?"
"Feisty, ain't ya?" Purdy sneered, an irate rasp in his voice. "This is the way, no doubt about it! Trust me here!"
"Yeah, because trusting you has done us so much good this far?" Tawnypelt mumbled, but still clear enough for the cats to hear.
"Tawnypelt." Stormfur interrupted, his voice almost pleading.
The molly ignored him, "Listen Purdy, we're all exhausted, we can't just waste more time on wrong turns!"
"And I'm telling you, there is no wrong turn here!" Purdy's voice rose a little. Then he turned away with a bitter sniff, "If you're all so tired, why don't a couple of ya rest here while I take a couple to check if it's straight?"
"Leave cats behind because you want us to trust you?" Crowpaw scoffed, "Yeah, no thanks."
Purdy gave the apprentice a taunting smile, "Okay then, you stay here. You're a scrappy little warrior, right?"
Crowpaw's eyes widened in a fury and his claws looked ready for a fight. Squirrelpaw acted fast; a fight now wouldn't do any of them any good. She stroked her tail against the apprentice's back, curling down softly.
"Come on." She purred, "It's not worth it."
Crowpaw's back slackened again, and his eyes softened when they met the ginger molly, making her heart skip briefly, but the snarl never left his muzzle.
Brambleclaw's frown left the grey apprentice as he thought for a few seconds, his lips tight against his fangs. "I suppose that's reasonable." He pondered, "No offence Purdy, we really are thankful for what you've done. We're just…not used to trusting kittypets."
Squirrelpaw held back the urge to vomit. What's he kissing his paws for? So Brambleclaw would treat kittypets with respect but not her? Brilliant…
Purdy scoffed, "Ya don't say?"
Brambleclaw forced an apologetic grin. "It's not a bad idea though. How far away is the wall that you're taking us to?"
"Just a couple ol' steps, be as quick as a flea."
Brambleclaw seemed to consider this, then he turned to the others. "Okay, how does that sound? A few of us will head up to check it out, the others will stay here, and if it's right we'll come back and get the others?"
"Sounds fine by me." Tawnypelt meowed, before her eyes narrowed dangerously at Purdy. "I'll go with you, because if you're wrong again I'll be lining the wall with your fur."
Purdy responded to the threat with a sly, mocking smile. "Oh, I really like this one." The tom jibed.
Before Tawnypelt could respond with another vicious growl, Brambleclaw stormed in. "Okay, that's settled! So, me and Tawnypelt will go with Purdy, anyone else?"
Squirrelpaw rose up with a spark, "I'll come too."
"No." Brambleclaw didn't even look at her. The apprentice drew back, anger crawling across her fur. "For all we know, we could run into some more Kittypets on the wall, it's better to keep the apprentice's safe." He said, exaggerating the word with a poisonous snarl.
Purdy rose a brow, "Wha? I doubt that-"
"It's a risk!" Brambleclaw stated, the strong ferocity in his tone made the kittypet's mouth snap shut.
Squirrelpaw was astounded. Was Brambleclaw really going to change his tune so easily just so he could have another go at her? What was wrong with him? Furthermore, she was disgusted with how much Brambleclaw talked like his word was final. What gave him the right to order her around like that?
"Excuse me, Flea-pelt?" Crowpaw started forward, his stare boiling with malice. "Just because we're apprentices doesn't mean you can treat us like soft elders! We don't need to be protected, much less by you!"
Squirrelpaw almost marvelled at how unafraid Crowpaw was at speaking his mind. Brambleclaw had humiliated him when they had fought before, yet Crowpaw didn't care at all. Everything about him just screamed that he was confident that he would tear the tall Warrior to shreds.
It might have been mouse-brained, but mostly it was brave. Squirrelpaw expected nothing less from him.
"That's right!" Squirrelpaw stepped forward beside her friend. Her mind whirred and she smirked devilishly. "Anyway, who are you to talk about kittypets? The last time we fought with them you were hidden under a bush!"
Brambleclaw kept his temper held, but the shaking of his paws and the prickling of his tail conveyed his fury. Through grit teeth came a frustrated groan. "I'm just trying to look out for you! I don't want to risk any cat getting hurt!" He rose on his shackles, making himself look larger than before. It was not so intimidating anymore.
"Oh, well thank you so much." Squirrelpaw said, her voice laced with dry sarcasm, "But I can take care of myself!" She was all the more determined to go now she knew Brambleclaw didn't want her to.
Tawnypelt took a tentative step towards the apprentice, "Of course you can, that wasn't what he meant." The Shadowclan cat gave her brother a deadly glance to silence him. "But, maybe you guys should stay here while we check it out."
Squirrelpaw looked up at the molly incredulously, "What?" Tawnypelt was meant to be on her side.
"It won't be for long. You two have arguably been the bravest out of all of us, so far." Tawnypelt mewed, pressing her muzzle against Squirrelpaw's pelt softly. "Let the rest of us have the action, if it happens, eh?" A prideful grin rose on Squirrelpaw's face as the two mollies shared a small laugh, before Tawnypelt indicated Squirrelpaw to look to her side. "Besides, I think Feathertail might like to see a little more of this garden." She whispered.
Squirrelpaw followed her gaze and stifled a laugh when she saw Feathertail absently examining a wide range of flowers that Squirrelpaw didn't recognise. She looked like Leafpaw whenever she discovered a new herb in her training, bursting with wonder and excitement.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stay a little longer. Squirrelpaw thought. Her paws were still aching after all, it could do her some good to relax for a little while. Besides, it would be nice to spend a little more time with her friends. As long as she thought about it as her choice, rather than Brambleclaw's, it didn't actually sound so bad.
Squirrelpaw let out a small whistle as she turned back to the others, puffing out her chest to look authoritative. "Alright then." She remarked, "I'll stay here with Feathertail." She looked over at Crowpaw who had rose a bewildered brow.
She felt a small nervous prickle on her neck. "Do you want to stay as well?" She asked hopefully.
Crowpaw looked like he was about to interject, then he looked over at Feathertail, who was still admiring the flowers, and his expression softened. An empty discomfort came back into Squirrelpaw's stomach.
Crowpaw sighed, giving Brambleclaw one last disrespectful scowl. "Sure."
Tawnypelt rose up, satisfied. "Okay then, that's settled. You three will stay here while the rest of us go with Purdy."
"What? I don't want to leave Feathertail behind!" Stormfur cried, glancing protectively at his sister who looked back at him with a touched expression. Squirrelpaw blinked, had the Warrior really been listening the whole time she was looking at the garden?
"Oh, don't worry about me." Feathertail said.
"But what if kittypets come into this garden?"
Feathertail stifled a chuckle, "We'll be fine, I'm a Warrior and we've already seen how brave these two are." Squirrelpaw and Crowpaw flushed at the cats' comment. "You go on ahead, Purdy said it isn't far."
Stormfur shuffled uncomfortably, but he soon nodded and retreated with the others. Him and Tawnypelt both waved the cats off with their tails, but Brambleclaw didn't offer anything but a disdainful sniff as he led the way behind Purdy.
"Won't be long!" Stormfur called back at them. They trailed up the slant of the wall until they disappeared behind the back of the Twoleg den.
"What is his problem?" Crowpaw grumbled, turning away to pad over to where Feathertail sat.
Squirrelpaw followed him. "Thinks he's a leader I suppose."
Crowpaw scoffed, "Really, well most leaders don't think out the place where the worms gather."
The Thunderclan apprentice burst out laughing. "Since when were you up for a joke?"
The Windclan cat craned his head, but he looked pleased that the cat liked his quip. "I am when I'm not in the company of mouse-brains."
Squirrelpaw snorted. She hadn't realised how much fun Crowpaw could be when he wasn't such a grump. Did he even realise it? She hoped he did, he really could be a good time to be around, as long as he didn't know he was doing it. She just wished that he'd shown this side before, then they wouldn't have wasted so much time fighting.
Oh well, better to live in the present.
They found Feathertail near a patch of tall white flowers with stalks as twice as large as any Warrior. The cat was shaking her head as she looked over the long plant which was embedded with small, chalky white petals that smelt remarkably like honey.
"I wish Riverclan had these kinds of flowers! They'd be amazing in any den!" Feathertail exclaimed.
Squirrelpaw had to sit back on her tail to look up to the top. "Take it back with you." She said, only meaning it as half-a-joke.
"I wish I could. This place almost makes up for everything else." The Warrior said, moving along to inspect an abnormally large bunch of sunflowers. "How were Twolegs able to do this?"
Crowpaw shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe they hoard it."
"Maybe they have their own Starclan?" Feathertail pondered. Squirrelpaw laughed at the idea.
"All I know is that this place is beautiful!" Squirrelpaw stated, before pausing to sniff at a strange smooth rock in the shape of a hairy Twoleg with a tall red thing on its head. "Except that. That's creepy." She shuddered. The Twolegs could keep that ugly thing.
"You said it." Crowpaw agreed, backing away from the thing slowly. He glanced over at Feathertail, "Guess we know what you'll enjoy telling Riverclan about the most when we get back."
Feathertail paused, a strange, sad expression flashing on her face. "Oh… yeah. I suppose so." Her tail went flat against the ground, the fur hanging low in the grass.
Squirrelpaw's heart thumped with worry. "What's the matter?"
Feathertail started up, her face returning to its usual brightness. "Nothing. Sorry about that."
The two apprentices looked at each other then back at their friend. "Are you sure?" Crowpaw asked, her voice dropping with softness.
Feathertail faltered a little but she kept a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…" She looked distantly at a red flower with petals closing in on the others. "Won't you two miss this a little?"
"Huh?" Squirrelpaw craned her head, puzzled.
"I mean, this journey hasn't been as bad as we thought." Feathertail mused, "None of us have ended up that hurt."
"If you don't include fights with kittypets and being chased by a dog." Crowpaw said bluntly, making Squirrelpaw nudge him roughly.
Feathertail chuckled humourlessly, "Yeah… But I don't know." She looked back at the two with a sad smile. "At least I've made some good friends."
The meaning dropped over Squirrelpaw like a boulder.
Feathertail gave a small laugh. "I've had fun on this journey, despite everything. It'll be strange when it's all over."
Squirrelpaw blinked. She'd never thought of that. The ending of their journey and what it meant. She missed home and Leafpaw with all her heart, but the journey had given her the most excitement and thrills she had ever felt in her life. Plus, she had made some amazing friends.
She stiffened. Oh, right. When the journey was over, they would all have to return to their own clans.
Probably never able to gather like this again.
Back at Thunderclan, where no cat thought of her the way her two best friends did.
The three cats seemed to share the same thought, a melancholy silence temporarily enveloping them. Then Feathertail coughed.
"Oh well, it's not like we won't be able to see each other at the gatherings." She said quickly, "Besides, I bet you two are itching to get your Warrior names?"
The two apprentices visibly lightened up at that. "Oh yeah!" Squirrelpaw exclaimed, that was something that she had dremt of for moons! "Just think what'll they'll call us when we return." Her nose rose proudly into the air. "Heroes of the forest!"
"How about "SquirrelPurr-at-a-Twoleg?" She could hear the grin in Crowpaw's voice.
The ginger furred cat shrank into herself, her chest coiling with embarrassment at the memory of that morning. "I-I told you not to talk about that, CrowFood!" She stammered, trying her best to glare at the chuckling cat. It was so hard to not laugh along when he did it.
"Squirrelpaw, don't be embarrassed! It was a great idea!" Feathertail exclaimed through her soft laughter. "You saved me, remember!"
Squirrelpaw had, but it did little to quell the heat rising in her cheeks. "Look, just don't mention it again, please? Just forget it!"
"Aww why?" Crowpaw mocked playfully, "Don't want Thunderclan thinking you're a cute little Twoleg lover?"
Squirrelpaw inhaled tightly, she could feel the blood rushing to her head. "D-Don't c-call me cute!" She demanded, feeling humiliated by the lack of anger in her voice. She was flustered beyond control. Her heart thumped so loudly that she wasn't sure if the others couldn't hear it.
"Your secret's safe with us." Feathertail mewed, she bumped Crowpaw's shoulder with her paw. "Right, Crowpaw?"
The apprentice snickered, "Sure, sure. Maybe it'll make for good blackmail-Ow!"
To be fair, he should have seen her paw coming.
Crowpaw glowered, rubbing his sore ear while Squirrelpaw walked ahead, her nose proudly in the air, despite the rushing blood in her cheeks. It was odd how quickly she could become ruffled these days. This was not like her at all.
Suddenly, Feathertail let out a tight gasp, her eyes locked on something in the distance. "Oh! That would be great!" She piped, bursting with energy.
"What would?" Crowpaw questioned, trying to find where Feathertail was looking. But the Warrior ran off without an answer, jumping into a bed of flowers, scrambling through them excitedly. Squirrelpaw and Crowpaw shared a clueless look.
Just a moment later, Feathertail had returned with something small and blue flashing in her mouth. Before anyone could say anything, she jumped in front of Crowpaw, extremely close to his face.
Squirrelpaw felt her breath catch as Crowpaw began to splutter, the darkenss draining from his fur a little. "F-Feathertail? W-What are you-"
"Shh!" She ordered, as she placed something over Crowpaw's ear and began to fiddle with it using her paws. Squirrelpaw only stared on at the scene. At Crowpaw's flustered expression. At how Crowpaw didn't offer no resistance to Feathertail.
Her stomach sank lower.
When the Warrior finally let the apprentice go, there was a light blue flower tucked in the fur of Crowpaw's ear. The petals came together in a delicate dome, the yellow pollen tucked away inside the sky-blue petals, the flower struck out all the more against Crowpaw's dark fur.
In fact, Crowpaw actually stuck out more with the flower. In a good way, Squirrelpaw thought.
Crowpaw tried to hide the flower behind his paw, his face burning with embarrassment. "Get it off!"
"No!" Feathertail smacked his paw down, frowning rigidly.
Crowpaw moaned, "I look ridiculous!"
"No, you don't!"
"It actually doesn't look bad on you." Squirrelpaw said, coming closer, and putting on a cheeky smile. "It's small and delicate, just like you."
Crowpaw glared at her, then turned so the flower wasn't facing the mollies. "What's it even for, anyway?"
Feathertail fumbled meekly with her paws, "I just thought it would be… nice to have something to help remember the journey." She said, her gaze sinking to the floor. "I've never seen those flowers around the Clans before, so…"
Crowpaw's glare faltered, his eyes going back up to the flower tentatively. Squirrelpaw felt a tender pang in her gut for the molly, she really just wanted to show how much she viewed the Tom as a friend. Something to remember their journey. Maybe, something to remember…her.
Squirrelpaw suddenly felt angry. She took it out on Crowpaw.
"Come on, mouse-brain!" She snapped, whipping the tom with her tail. "Don't be so ungrateful!"
Crowpaw glowered at the ginger molly, his eyes returning to the flower again. An embarrassed panic came over him again and it looked like he was going to rip the flower off. Then his paw froze in place, his face stiff, and he sighed, his paw returning to the ground: defeated.
"It…" He sounded vulnerable. "I don't look stupid, do I?" He asked, abashed.
"You sound stupid is what it is!" Squirrelpaw yowled, ignoring how cute he sounded when he was clearly flustered beyond belief. "It looks fine!"
Crowpaw scowled at the Thunderclan cat's tone, but he didn't argue. He looked to Feathertail, who was waiting with a patient, hopeful look, and his coldness crumbled with a shy beam. "Sorry, Feathertail. T-Thanks for this, I appreciate it."
Feathertail brightened with delight, her eyes closing as she let out an ecstatic chirp. "O-Of course, not a problem!"
Squirrelpaw's anger directed onto herself as she felt her claws tighten on the grass. "That's better!" She meowed, batting Crowpaw on the leg again, making him look down at her angrily. "By Starclan, I don't know why you make these things such a big deal." She wasn't really sure who she was directing that towards.
"Oh, so I'm overreacting, am I?" Crowpaw snarled with a twisted smile.
Squirrelpaw looked away, unimpressed and undeterred. "Obviously, yes!"
Crowpaw made a small, pondering sound which made Squirrelpaw shudder a little. "Hmm? Okay then. Don't move." He said, stalking away to the flowerbed on the other side.
Squirrelpaw watched him curiously as he began traversing the flowers, sniffing and clawing his way through, his face hard with thought.
Feathertail's sweet laugh came into her ear and she turned to her. "He's really something, isn't he?"
Squirrelpaw felt it would be true to agree, but she was tempted away by a small nagging at the back of her mind. "Hmph, he's something, alright?"
"Oh?" Feathertail sounded disappointed, "I thought you were getting along with him?"
Feathertail's discouraged tone made any anger Squirrelpaw had subside. She groaned, her anger morphing into a curious guilt. "I am. He can just be a vole-brain sometimes."
"I wouldn't say that; I think he's just honest."
"Honest?"
"He doesn't hide anything from anyone. I like cats that don't act fake just to please others."
Squirrelpaw's looked at her dubiously, "So you liked it when he clearly hated us all?"
Feathertail chortled, "Hey, I didn't say that they couldn't change overtime."
It felt weird talking about him with Feathertail – no, not weird. Uncomfortable. Empty. Squirrelpaw cringed, feeling the need to change the subject. "So, you'll miss this journey, right?"
Feathertail looked down, lingering on something that she looked too shy to say. "Won't you?"
Squirrelpaw wasn't even sure why she even thought she'd say no.
At home, she was scoffed at, yelled at, a nuisance, a troublemaker, a disgrace.
On this journey, she'd fought kittypets, done more hunting than Dustpelt had ever let her do before, had been able to stand up to that mouse-brained clanmate of hers, and made friends with cats she'd never have considered once upon a time.
"I suppose?" Why did she make it out to sound like a question?
"I will." Feathertail said breezily, "I miss home but, there's just been so much to see out here. Things I will never do again in my life. It's odd, but I kind of wish there'll be more."
"There will be more, we haven't even found Midnight yet."
Feathertail's pelt twitched a little, her vision resting on the grass again. "I know. But it won't be long now."
Squirrelpaw realised that. Everything had gone by so fast around here. For a second, she felt scared to close her eyes in case she would blink and be back at Thunderclan. It would feel like that soon enough, she knew it.
But she could not change that.
"Well, at least we've had fun." Squirrelpaw said, pressing her tail against the Warrior. "And it's not like we won't be able to say hello to each other once this is all over. You've still got Stormfur, after all."
Feathertail craned her head back, making a noise of understanding. "Yeah, I do." Her voice sounded strangely hollow, but it didn't seem to register when she looked back down at Squirrelpaw with a simper. "You really will make a good Warrior, you know."
Squirrelpaw wondered if she did know that, or if was just what she wanted to hear.
Probably both.
"Thanks. I had a good teacher." She hoped Feathertail would realise she didn't mean any Thunderclan cat.
The grass rustled again, and the quick scampering of paw's came back to Squirrelpaw. She turned and found her nose inches from Crowpaw's devilish smile.
"Hold still." He'd said it before she began to blush. She could just catch a glimpse of white.
Even before she could protest, she could feel him softly messing with her fur, her nose almost buried into his chest fur as he placed something onto the ear. It was like everything around her was Crowpaw; his scent was all around her, misty and calming. The soft fur of his chest tickled her nose as he fumbled with her ear. She couldn't even remember being this close to a cat before outside of her family.
Squirrelpaw took in deep, almost panicked breaths. Her cheeks felt like they would burn away and she worried that Crowpaw would feel how fast her heart was beating. She didn't want him to pull away-
What was she even thinking?!
His paw brushed against the side of her head and she was surprised at how soft he was, half expecting Windclan fur to be coarse and rough. Then again, they would probably need to be sleek in the moors.
And he was sleek, no doubt about that. But toned as well despite his short structure. He was thin, but refined, the muscles bulging in his legs. That explained how he could go so fast at least.
Squirrelpaw realised all this in the five seconds that Crowpaw was near her.
"There we go!" He said, his fur brushing against Squirrelpaw as he spoke. Then he drew back, admiring whatever it was he'd put on her with smug smile. Starclan above, she hoped he couldn't tell how much she was internally breaking right now.
"Ohhh!" Feathertail mewed, her tail curling with joy. "That's adorable! What is it?"
"I'm not sure. I just thought it fit."
It fit? What was that supposed to mean? What did it look like? Squirrelpaw looked up to where the flower rested and she could make out a series of large white petals, but mostly she was taken in by the intoxicatingly sweet scent it gave out.
Squirrelpaw felt the embarrassment all the way down to her paws and she instinctively pressed her face into her pelt. She couldn't help it; something was just making her panic.
"Oh, I thought I was overreacting for being embarrassed." Crowpaw teased, making the heat in Squirrelpaw's cheeks burn a little more. What could she say? The apprentice was giving her a taste of her own medicine, and she was reacting worse than he did!
"Hey, hey. Don't worry about it." Crowpaw said. Squirrelpaw could hear the smile in his voice, but it wasn't mocking, it was friendly. Trustfully, Squirrelpaw let her eyes meet his. The cat had his head craned to the side with a satisfied, but kind smile.
The flower over his ear appeared to make his smile gleam a little more. Maybe it was just the sun in Squirrelpaw's eyes.
"Honestly, Squirrelpaw, you look beautiful!" Feathertail assured, walking beside the cat and giving her an affectionate lick on the cheek.
Beautiful. That was something she'd never been called before, not that she had wanted to. She'd never really cared about looking great in Thunderclan, unless it meant kicking the others flanks in training.
But, strangely, it actually felt quite nice.
She looked back at Crowpaw, not wondering why she wanted to hear the same from him. And her heart soared when he nodded along. "Hey, I wouldn't have picked it if it didn't suit you."
Squirrelpaw's heart began to beat even faster, not stopping even as Crowpaw dressed Feathertail in the flower he'd picked for her. A pale purple flower with small golden stalks in its centre. Feathertail didn't even flinch as he did it, just gracing him with a thankful gaze. It was all the more obvious to Squirrelpaw how absolutely gorgeous Feathertail was, in every conceivable way.
She wondered how much Crowpaw noticed it?
There was a small hope in her heart.
"Thank you so much, Crowpaw!" Feathertail purred, nuzzling his side. Crowpaw flushed but said nothing. Squirrelpaw felt that green sickness inside her once more. She had to push it down, Feathertail didn't deserve it. The Warrior looked between the two, her paw stroking the flower tenderly. "Now we all have something to remember this journey by."
Squirrelpaw looked over to Crowpaw, he shrugged with a small smile. The ginger cat smiled back, the flower on her ear growing deeper into her fur with a greater desire.
When this was all over, it would be there to help her remember these times. Remember her friends.
Remember…whatever this was.
"Hey guys!"
The three turned and found Stormfur, he noticed what the three wore and he rose a brow. "Uh… Purdy was right about the view. W-We've got a great idea of where we're going now." He didn't say anything else, either too weirded out or too concerned about upsetting one of the cats.
Most likely he subconsciously realised it was Feathertail's idea and that she would claw him if he said anything negative about it.
The three looked between themselves, blushing, then deciding to laugh off the cat's reaction.
Miraculously, and to Crowpaw's abject horror, it turned out Purdy was right. The path along the wall was short, only needing to walk a few paces and one turn before they'd reached a high wall that reached above the height of a Twoleg den. The other three sat there, waiting for the other's to arrive.
There it was. The forest stretched for what seemed like the length of the world not far from where they sat, if they continued for the rest of the day, they would have easily been able to rest the night in the forest. Even better, the Twolegplace only continued for a short distance from where they were.
Purdy chuckled as Crowpaw approached, "Not bad for an ol' tabby, eh?"
The grey apprentice narrowed his eyes, his old temper returning. "Yes. You did what we should have done a day ago, thanks a lot!" He sneered. Purdy laughed him off with a shake of his tail. Crowpaw turned to Tawnypelt who looked just as sullen. "He's not stopped bragging, has he?"
"No." Tawnypelt fumed, her ears flat against her head.
"What… are those?" Brambleclaw sniffed.
Squirrelpaw didn't even look at him, she could hear his desire to mock. She wasn't going to fall into his trap. "It's called a flower. It's a type of plant." She said dryly, still admiring the view of the forest.
"I gathered that." Brambleclaw hissed, "Why're you wearing them though? You look ridiculous."
Squirrelpaw's claws unsheathed, but she breathed in deeply. No matter what, he wasn't worth it. The ending of the journey was just over the horizon, and she wasn't going to taint the remainder of it because of a flea-pelted tom.
Besides, Crowpaw had it covered. "We wanted to match you, out of pity, of course."
Squirrelpaw's heart leapt up again, and this time she couldn't stop smiling no matter how hard she tried.
Brambleclaw was too proud to lose his temper in front of Purdy. But it didn't matter what he said as far as Squirrelpaw was concerned. All that mattered was what her friends thought. Because it was what mattered to them.
The flowers were going to be there when they went their separate ways.
But for now, they would make the most out of the time they had together.
...
Couple things:
1. I'm not including the Tawnypelt rat bite thing because that only exists to show off Squirrelpaw's connection with Leafpaw, which I'm not including as it is not a relationship necessary for this story.
2. In case you were wondering what the flowers are meant to be. Crowpaw's is a Crocus. Squirrelpaw's is a Freesia. And Feathertail's is a Hellebore.
3. This is now the longest story I've ever written, and I'm incredibly proud of that.
4. This ship is my life.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to leave a review.
Bye!