Woot, new chap. I'm almost done- maybe three or four more chappies. Brambleclaw's POV.
"Hey, Brambleclaw, are you paying attention?" Sootfur's meow brought Brambleclaw sharply back to earth, and he quickly returned to instructing Birchpaw. Graystripe, Sunpaw, and Sandstorm were also part of the patrol, and he knew that the deputy and senior warrior would be watching him carefully to report to Firestar on how well he was mentoring. But how could he pay attention when there was so much on his mind?
The large patrol was heading for the ShadowClan border to renew the scent marks, and to make sure that the marsh-dwelling, dark warriors had stayed on their side of the border. The mention of ShadowClan had made Brambleclaw of Tawnypelt, and then the quarter-moon meetings. He had been watching the moon carefully, and knew that he had two nights before the next meeting would be held, and a chill went down his spine when he realized he had to make his final decision as to whether or not to go.
Birchpaw bounced ahead, his green eyes bright as he sniffed the air. Sunpaw was just behind him, her whiskers twitching with the wind. Sandstorm was just beside her, making sure that the patrol was heading in the right direction, with Sootfur and Brambleclaw behind. Graystripe brought up the rear.
"I smell shrew!" announced Sunpaw, looking back at her mentor eagerly.
"Yes, but we're not supposed to be hunting," he replied. "What else do you smell?"
"ShadowClan," mewed Birchpaw.
"No more than what's to be expected- we're near the border." Sandstorm flicked her ears.
"A bit of stale fox...maybe a few days old," Birchpaw went on, lifting his muzzle to the air. "And rabbit from a few moons ago, they must have had a warren near here."
"Right." Graystripe sounded pleased, and he nodded to Brambleclaw, who felt a prick of pride to have his apprentice praised by the deputy of his clan.
"Come on, then," Sandstorm meowed. "Let's walk along the border."
She pointed out the border markings to Sunpaw, and as Brambleclaw bounded forward to do the same for Birchpaw, he caught a new scent filtering through the air. Sootfur jerked his head up at the same moment, amber eyes narrowing. "More ShadowClan. Fresh, this time."
There was a rustle in the bracken beyond the border just then, and Brambleclaw recognized her scent just as Tawnypelt appeared, her dark tortoiseshell pelt lying flat and beckoning Cedarheart came just behind her. Though he too didn't look hostile, his unsheathed claws scratched the soil beneath him.
Sandstorm had arched her back defensively, but as Tawnypelt gave her a respectful nod she relaxed. The rest of the patrol joined her at the edge of the border, Graystripe flicking his tail on Sunpaw's shoulder to stop her from baring her teeth. "Hello."
"Hello, Graystripe," returned Tawnypelt. "I trust all is well in ThunderClan? My mother and brother?"
"I'm fine," mewed Brambleclaw, coming up behind Graystripe.
"And Goldenflower enjoys Longtail's company very much now," added Sootfur, with a mrrow of laughter that was silenced by a look from Sandstorm.
"ShadowClan is well, too," Tawnypelt meowed. "Plenty of newleaf prey."
"Yes, no cat can complain," Graystripe agreed. His tone was polite, but the uncomfortable twitch of his tail reminded Brambleclaw of the oddness of this meeting.
"And ShadowClan has kept to our own borders," Cedarheart went on, with a bit of a suggestive growl that made Sootfur flatten his ears.
Tawnypelt flicked Cedarheart with her tail- an affectionate flick, Brambleclaw noted- and then dipped her head. "It was good to see you," she mewed, touching noses with her brother. "See you around."
Eager to end the awkward meeting, Graystripe quickly led the patrol back around. Brambleclaw followed, herding Birchpaw and intensely grateful that his apprentice hadn't asked for news of Applepaw and her brothers- a query that he knew would have been relayed back to Firestar. And how would the Clan leader react, knowing that Brambleclaw's apprentice was in touch with ShadowClan?
"I can't believe we just had a whole conversation with ShadowClan cats without getting our ears clawed off," growled Sootfur. He caught Brambleclaw's eyes and added, "Sorry. I didn't mean-"
"No, it's all right." Brambleclaw opened his mouth to say something further, and then closed it when he heard an odd sound. It was sharp, like a twig being snapped underpaw, but instinct told him it was a hiss- sharp and quick.
Swallowing, he turned back around. Fleetingly, he saw the back of Tawnypelt as she disappeared in the undergrowth. Though he didn't see her face, she raised her tail and beckoned him, once, twice, three times.
She was calling him back. What could his sister have to say that was so important? He was always the one that tried to stay in contact with her by forbidden meetings- Tawnypelt had always been in favor of sticking rigidly by the warrior code.
Forcing his voice to be light, he called to his Clanmates, "I'm going to try for that shrew Sunpaw smelled earlier. We could always use a bit more fresh-kill."
Graystripe nodded good-naturedly. "All right. We'll see you back at camp."
"Okay." Relieved that he had gotten away without argument, Brambleclaw slipped into deeper undergrowth while to patrol padded away. Once he was sure they were out of earshot, he warily approached the border again, mewing quietly, "Tawnypelt?"
"Good, you heard me." Her head peeped out of a bundle of thorns. "I...well, Cedarheart has something to tell you."
The dark gray tom came out of the thorns as well, his eyes narrow as if he couldn't believe he was here talking to a ThunderClan cat. "You can't tell Firestar," he warned.
Brambleclaw's fur bristled, uncertain whether or not he should keep that promise, but Cedarheart looked at him insistently, and Tawnypelt nodded encouragingly, so he mumbled, "Okay."
Cedarheart drew himself up. "Well, I've seen Rowanclaw and a few others sneaking off a lot lately," he meowed. "At night, and they make sure that no one else comes with them. They say they're hunting but they never come back with any prey- or certainly not enough for as long as they had stayed out."
"He told me," Tawnypelt took up the story, "and we followed them one night. You can guess where they went."
Brambleclaw blinked. "The island?" he meowed. "With..." The name caught in his throat. "Hawkfrost?"
"Yes. There are RiverClan and WindClan cats there too, Brambleclaw."
"But I thought we would only meet every quarter-moon!"
"Hawfrost lied to us. They meet almost every night now." Tawnypelt's green eyes were wide.
"He tricked us," Cedarheart snarled. "That first meeting- that was just so that he could see which of us he knew he could trust for whatever he's really planning."
"And what is that?" Brambleclaw wondered.
"We don't know," Tawnypelt admitted. "But whatever it is- it's happening soon. Maybe the night of what was supposed to be the next meeting."
"Two days from now." Brambleclaw's fur stood straight out as he realized it. "If you're right, and they're planning some sort of attack two nights from now...what if I went to the island at moonhigh and I didn't know what was really going on? Once ThunderClan found out they'd think that I'd had something to do with it."
"Hawkfrost would have framed you?" murmured Cedarheart. He shook himself. "I think we're the only three that weren't told about the more frequent meetings. We have to stop them."
"And why can't I tell Firestar, or you Blackstar?" Brambleclaw demanded. "They'd end it. What would you do if you knew about betrayal in your own clan?"
"No." Cedarheart spoke fiercely. "Blackstar would banish them- he hates Hawkfrost. I know that if I could just speak to Rowanclaw..."
"He'd rip your fur off," Tawnypelt noted.
Cedarheart ignored her. "Rowanclaw's my brother, my littermate," he explained. "I can't get him in trouble- not when I might be able to end it without Blackstar knowing." He looked up. "Will you come with us, Brambleclaw, two nights from now? To see what they're doing?"
For a moment his cold, angry expression fell away and his blue eyes were shadowed with a mixture of hope and worry. Brambleclaw shifted from paw to paw, unconvinced and still half-wanting to sprint back to the ThunderClan camp and confess what he knew to Firestar.
Tawnypelt came forward. Her dark green eyes were large in her head, and they glinted like ice. "Brambleclaw," she meowed. "Come on. Cedarheart and I want to talk them out of whatever they're going to do- and if any cat can convince Hawkfrost out of doing something, it's you."
Brambleclaw felt his fur bristle. It wasn't an insult, but it felt like one. "Because I'm so much like Hawkfrost?" he spat.
Tawnypelt looked taken aback. "No," she meowed. "Because he listens to you. Only you, Brambleclaw."
He thought of the meetings, of Hawkfrost's stubborn decision to stretch the warrior code to help himself, and the forest, he believed. But Cedarheart and Tawnypelt said that they were planning some sort of attack. How could they be helping the forest doing that?
He's my brother. Even if he's a traitor he's still my brother, and I have to help him. Or at least try to make him see sense.
"Okay," he meowed.
"We'll meet you at the grass before the fallen log on the island in two days' time." mewed Tawnypelt, brushing her tail past his shoulder in thanks.
Brambleclaw chanced a look at Cedarheart, and he saw his own feelings mirrored on the other tom's face. He had no time to dwell on it, however, for it was then when Cedarheart nodded briskly, turned away and disappeared in the undergrowth, only pausing to wait for Tawnypelt.
&&&
What does Hawkfrost tell the others at these meetings?
What are they planning?
Is it good or bad?
Why didn't he tell me about them, too?
Thoughts like these plauged Brambleclaw for the next two days. He had a hard time concentrating, and an even harder time hiding it from Squirrelflight. She was on patrol with him and Cloudtail and Brightheart the day after his run-in with Cedarheart and Tawnypelt and she kept looking at him anxiously. She'd wondered for a while if there was something up with him, and now she seemed certain, her green eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
Still, in a completely un-Squirrelflight-ish way, she didn't say anything about it, only shot him odd looks with a stormcloud of emotion on her face. Brambleclaw wanted nothing more than to confide in her and find comfort in her warm fur. Truthfully, he would have felt a hundred times better if Squirrelflight could go with them to spy on Hawkfrost. But he knew that he couldn't tell her, because she would, firstly, be angry with him for not telling her about the quarter moon meetings. Then, if Cedarheart and Tawnypelt were right in thinking that Hawkfrost was up to no good, she would never trust his half-brother again.
Why should I care? He's nothing but a traitor...isn't he?
Brambleclaw didn't know, and he didn't want Squirrelflight to know unless he was certain one way or another. He didn't want to bring up the argument that had arisen from their arrival at the lake again.
Finally, the sun set on the second night. Brambleclaw stepped carefully out of the warriors' den, sliding silently past Squirrelflight and looking back at her sadly, wishing that she was coming with him to make jokes and break the tension that stayed around him like thick mud.
The thorns seemed unbearably loud as he made his way through them. They snagged in his pelt, almost as if they were trying to pull him back. When Brambleclaw had finally cleared them he threw himself into tall grass, hiding for a few heartbeats as he made sure that he wasn't followed. So intent he was on being steady and silent, he didn't even notice Leafpool, a couple of tail-lengths in front of him. He still didn't see as she looked over him curiously, worriedly, making sure he hadn't seen her, and then leaped away. When he did look around, all he saw was a flash of light brown fur, disappearing in the direction of WindClan territory. For a moment he stared after what he'd seen. Then he shook himself and set off for the island, dismissing it as nothing to worry about.
Leafpool and another POV next chappie...
