New chappie! Goes from Crowfeather to Leafpool's POV.
"I can't believe I said that to her. It was awful." Leafpool fixed her miserable gaze on the moon above them.
"She deserved it!" Crowfeather pressed his shoulder against hers in support. "She shouldn't have been snooping around in your business!"
"She wasn't." Leafpool's eyes were wide. "Don't you see, Crowfeather? We share the same dreams sometimes. The same thoughts. The same feelings. She felt how worried I was and she wanted to know why."
Crowfeather looked at her. He wouldn't have been able to believe it if he hadn't known her so well, if he hadn't seen the truth in her eyes. "Still," he went on, "You did the right thing. Do you want her to find out?"
"No!" Leafpool's fur bristled indignantly. "Nettleclaw's bad enough. He didn't tell anyone in WindClan, did he?"
Crowfeather shook his head. "But he thinks I betrayed the Clan," he admitted. "He won't talk to me anymore."
"Have you tried talking to him?" Leafpool looked at him keenly.
Crowfeather tilted his head. "No. We haven't done anything wrong. I'm not crawling for his forgiveness unless he sees that."
For a moment Leafpool looked exasperated, and then her eyes narrowed with amusement and she reached out and prodded him with a paw. "You're so stubborn."
"Hey, I thought you liked that about me." Crowfeather prodded her back, then reached forward to lick the top of her head. She purred, and he pointed out, "You seem to be acting a bit like me, anyway. Yowling at Squirrelflight certainly was something I'd do."
"Well, if I can act like you, then you can act like me. And trying to talk to Nettleclaw is something I'd do. So go."
He got to his paws, stretching and warming his pelt under the starlight, and then looked back at her. "You'll be all right with Squirrelflight?"
Leafpool shrugged. "I'll be fine."
There was worry in her eyes, though, and Crowfeather looked after her as she padded away through the undergrowth. He wondered if she would be able to stand up to her sister's tongue- which, he knew from experience, was as sharp as her claws. He blinked, and wished that he could go after her.
Then he remembered the patrols that he had to send out, the report that he had to make to Onestar.
I can't waste time. After all, I'm a deputy now.
&&&
Leafpool caught a squirrel on the way back to camp, and was relieved that she would be able to return with the excuse of hunting, especially since it had only been two days before that Squirrelflight had become so suspicious of her. She still hadn't spoken to her sister, though she could feel Squirrelflight's worry and pain pricking sharply in her paws.
Despite what Crowfeather had said, she felt bad about what she'd done. She hardly ever got angry- especially not with Squirrelflight, since they understood each other so well. They certainly didn't lie to each other much. As Leafpool pushed her way through the thorns, she felt the will to keep her forbidden relationship secret begin to ebb away.
But what will Squirrelflight do, if she finds out? wondered Leafpool. Will she tell Firestar? Will she try to get me to stop seeing him? Or will she ignore me, just like Nettleclaw's doing to Crowfeather?
She didn't think she would be able to stand any of those, and she sighed through the squirrel fur as she padded into camp, almost running into Firestar and Graystripe as she did so. The leader and deputy's tails were curled up and their whiskers twitched as if they had just shared a joke, and Graystripe's eyes still glinted with amusement as he looked down at her.
"What's up, Leafpool?" he meowed. "You look like your fresh-kill just bit you."
"It's nothing." The young medicine cat turned her head away, searching for an excuse. "Cinderpelt had me busy with the mouse bile, that's all. If anything can make a cat look sour, that stuff can."
Graystripe let out a mrrow of laughter and nodded, though Firestar peered at her more closely. "Are you sure? Nothing's troubling you?"
"No." Just worried that I'll be exiled for loving Crowfeather, and prophecies hanging over my head all the time.
Firestar flicked her shoulder with his tail. "All right. But you can always tell me, you know, if something comes up. I'm not just your father, Leafpool- you're my medicine cat, and it's your duty to tell me things that may concern the Clan."
Leafpool dipped her head. "I know. Cinderpelt's always told me that."
"As long as you're all right," Firestar mewed. Leafpool managed to hold his gaze until Graystripe meowed, "Well, there's patrols to worry about now. When's the last time we've had a sniff up the WindClan border?"
"I can't imagine that we'd have any trouble from them," Firestar commented. "If the last Gathering is anything to go by, I'd say they already have their paws full with RiverClan."
"And Ashfoot's dead," Graystripe added. "I've known her since we brought WindClan back home when we were barely warriors. That must have been a blow to Onestar."
"He'll be all right." Firestar spoke with the dutiful diplomacy of a Clan leader, though concern for his old friend made his ears twitch. Graystripe blinked at him knowingly. "I'll round up Cloudtail, Sootfur, and Sunpaw to see the border with me. You can be sure that they'll help me rip the fur off any RiverClan warriors that we may see anywhere near WindClan."
He bounded away towards the warriors' den, and Firestar followed him after giving Leafpool a swift lick. The tabby she-cat looked after her father, longing to confide in him as she had as a kit, with his warm flame-colored fur wrapped around her and making her feel safe. Now the winds felt like cold claws around her, and try as she might to bring it back, that long-ago image wasn't as clear as it had once been.
&&&
After bringing a poultice to Longtail, Leafpool sat with Sorreltail outside the nursery, chewing on a vole. Sorreltail stretched out on her side, warming her tortoiseshell fur and the kits that lay inside her swollen belly.
Brackenfur padded over, a rabbit in his jaws. He set it down beside her. "Have you eaten yet?" he fretted. "Has Cinderpelt come to see how you were doing today?"
"Yes, Mother." Sorreltail opened her eyes drowsily, reaching up to bat his muzzle with a paw. "I'm all right." She rolled onto her back. "This queen stuff isn't as difficult as you might think. Laying in the sun...stuffing myself with the fresh-kill that the big, strong warriors bring me."
"Yes, I imagine that's very rough." Brackenfur purred as he sat down beside her, and they began to share the rabbit. Figuring her friend would want to be alone with her mate, Leafpool snapped up the rest of the vole, murmuring a good-bye through the mouthful. She sighed as she went.
Things were so easy for Sorreltail. She was a warrior, she had Brackenfur, and now her kits to look forward to. Her path was carved so clearly before her, and she had nothing to worry about- no breaking codes, no prophecies from StarClan, not even any quarrels with anyone. Sorreltail got along with everyone.
Leafpool shook her head as she made her way to her den. She had always thought that she was doing what was right- for herself and ThunderClan- by becoming a medicine cat. She had only been a kit when she had seen Cinderpelt at work and wonder if she could do it too, the healing.
But there's a lot more to it than healing. Leafpool's ears twitched at the memory of what Cinderpelt had once told her. It is about always being there for your Clan leader and Clanmates. It is about reassuring them in troubled times. It is about letting yourself explore the mysteries of StarClan and having our warrior ancestors share what they wish with you.
Leafpool lifted her head again, and she found herself meeting the eyes of Squirrelflight, across the clearing. Her sister looked back at her, ginger fur bristling uncomfortably. For a couple of heartbeats they only looked at each other, and then Squirrelflight bounded over to her. "Leafpool, will you talk to me?"
Leafpool nodded, sitting back on her haunches and letting out her breath, unable to put up an argument or even force herself to walk away. Squirrelflight looked relieved. "I...I'm sorry, Leafpool. Whatever it is I did to make you mad, I'm sorry."
The medicine cat was surprised. She had expected Squirrelflight still to demand to know what was troubling her. But she seemed willing to let her keep it to herself.
That's a first for Squirrelflight, she thought dryly.
Squirrelflight stared at her with huge green eyes. "I thought you'd want to tell me what was bothering you," she admitted. "I thought that I could help you. But maybe I can't. You're a medicine cat, Leafpool. I'm a warrior. I know we share dreams, but we can't share everything, can we?"
"No, we can't," she agreed, and then went on, "I'm sorry too, Squirrelfight. For yelling at you. I was just upset and being mouse-brained."
"Just a bit," Squirrelflight teased.
"Just a bit." Leafpool purred. "And you're right. We can't share everything. Cinderpelt told me once that I've chosen a very different path from yours, and she's right. I have to worry about things that you shouldn't know about- StarClan and prophecies and healing the Clan."
"And hunting and fighting for the sake of ThunderClan isn't so easy, either," Squirrelfight addded. She paused. "You could still tell me, Leafpool. It's not like I'd tell anyone- even Brambleclaw."
Leafpool blinked, imagining what the result would be if she revealed her terrible secret. Would you?
Squirrelflight pressed against her, and Leafpool closed her eyes briefly, reminding herself that she wasn't alone. No matter that Squirrelflight didn't know- the fact that she was willing to understand that Leafpool didn't want to tell her. Even with their differences, and even with all they'd been through, Leafpool knew that she'd never lose the link with her sister that she'd tried to hard to keep all her life.
The young medicine thought of all her troubles- her relationship with Crowfeather, Brambleclaw's warnings from StarClan, and her own visits from her warrior ancestors. The chilling message made her fur bristle: Blood will spill blood, and the lake will run red.
Then she looked into her sister's trusting green eyes and purred to herself. No, things weren't right again. But they were starting to be, and that meant everything to her.
Reviews are appriciated!
