Chapter 8

Tigerpaw leaped to his paws, testing them. The fresh-kill he had eaten was still weighing inside his belly, making him regret not chewing it completely before swallowing. Fortunately, he felt refreshed now, and his paws itched for some movement. His pelt shivered below the scorching sun, scanning the clearing for his new mentor, scratching the earth to make sure he was not dreaming. Longtail was now talking with a dark tabby—his cold demeanor immediately recognizable—Darkstripe. Tigerpaw rushed towards them, not wanting to waste any more time.

He arrived them, yet did not dare to speak. Darkstripe's voice was serious, and the side glances let him know who they were talking about.

"You can't be serious. Your first apprentice is going to be a kittypet?" the tom was saying, knowing Tigerpaw was there, but deliberately ignoring him. "Frostfur is having her kits soon. You could have waited."

Longtail seemed the type of cat that would be crouching in shame at such scolding, but he was purring and motioned with his tail to the apprentice. "You're right, he's a kittypet. That's why I had to take him as my apprentice!" The pale tabby sneered when he saw Tigerpaw begin to protest. "Bluestar would have made him soft," he continued, lowering his voice. "Those claws shouldn't be wasted on warrior codes or empathy."

Darkstripe raised an eyebrow, then stared at Tigerpaw. The apprentice's gaze scorching as fire, while the warrior's eyes cold as leaf-bare ice. They stared for a moment refusing to hesitate.

"I see," Darkstripe meowed, still staring. "You're right, Longtail. If there's anyone who will take away his kittypet softness, it will be you."

Tigerpaw hissed and flattened his ears; even though he wanted to make himself threatening, the very clear height difference between both toms made him look like a scared kitten. Darkstripe laughed, noticing this.

"I hope you teach him battle tactics soon, then," he continued. "If he fights half as good as Graypaw, ThunderClan will become the next WindClan."

The black tabby turned around and left them. Tigerpaw saw him going towards Redtail, perhaps an emergency patrol to mark the borders. Not like your scent is intimidating to ShadowClan! Tigerpaw thought, repressing a hiss.

Longtail audibly sighed. "Darkstripe used to be my mentor, did I tell you that?"

Tigerpaw started, forgetting his new mentor was still there.

"Clanborn, like all of us, and a formidable fighter. He trained under Fireheart's mentorship, so you know he is good."

"I can be better than him," Tigerpaw blurted out. Longtail's eyes widened in response. "Can we go now? I've been stuck in the medicine den for too long!"

The warrior shifted his paws. Maybe he was regretting this already, but it was too late to change his mind.

"Not so fast, Longtail," Bluestar meowed from nearby. She reappeared beside the two toms, narrowing his eyes. "An apprentice and a young warrior, today I will be accompanying you."

Longtail never protested as Bluestar guided them both against his wishes. It was possible the tabby had other plans, but the leader's word was the warrior code—even if he disagreed, he didn't voice it. The three cats marched on in silence, giving Tigerpaw a chance to become more aware of his surroundings. He could not detect many prey animals around this area, and the occasional bird would be heard many, many fox-lengths above their heads. On the ground, only the soft crunch of leaves against their pawsteps was audible. Wait, no—Tigerpaw noticed those were his own pawsteps, Bluestar and Longtail walked on in pure silence.

"Don't press your whole paw on the ground," Longtail commented in a low voice. "You'll alert all prey of our arrival."

Tigerpaw felt hot in embarrassment, yet he nodded and obeyed, following both cats with tip-toe steps.

Bluestar suddenly stopped, reaching a small clearing surrounded by strong trees. Her blue gaze scanned the two toms, as always it was impossible to deduce what she was thinking from her expression alone. Tigerpaw hoped that meant she wasn't thinking about anything.

"How much have you learned about our noble code, Tigerpaw?" her soft meow sounded, awaiting an answer. The tabby suddenly felt nervous; he was aware of how every cat in the Clan knew it by heart, even the smallest kit, but all he's ever heard were bits and pieces of it, and the fact that it was used against him many times to prove he wasn't Clanborn.

Yet he took a deep breath, and as he replied, he stared directly into Bluestar's deep eyes.

"I know every cat has to thank StarClan for prey's life," he started, remembering one of Lionheart's oldest lessons. This was a rule he could not comprehend yet, and he was sure not every cat was understanding either, but knowing Bluestar, she possibly considered important. "And that no warrior needs to kill to win battles."

Bluestar's expression changed to one of satisfaction, and Tigerpaw felt free to relax. She then turned her head to Longtail, saying nothing—as if she was expecting a word from him.

"Uh… very good, Tigerpaw!" he meowed, unsure. "Yes, those are very important rules, indeed." He eyed Bluestar carefully, who let out a short and subtle sigh.

"Yes, but that's not all. Longtail?"

The warrior understood, thankfully. He sat down a little away from his leader, and the two other cats did the same. The pale tabby began recalling his memories, and with some effort, explained to Tigerpaw each rule of the warrior code and what they mean.

"First of all," he decided to start with something that he knew would pique the apprentice's interest, "warriors are wild and free. We reject the soft kittypet life, and run from it like mice run from us."

Bluestar eyed him quizzically. Tigerpaw knew why; it felt like Longtail was making a point by naming that one rule first, and not others that might be more important.

"I rejected it, though," Tigerpaw commented. "That means I am a warrior now!"

Longtail flicked his tail. "Well, that's what I hope."

Tigerpaw attempted to hiss in defiance, but Bluestar shushed him with a motion of her tail. "Indeed, Longtail is right. The warrior code does instruct us to reject your previous life, Tigerpaw, and I trust you to do the same. You've proven yourself to be loyal and willing to learn. That is commendable."

The apprentice sat down and relaxed, staring at Longtail now waiting for his response. Instead, the tom just rolled his eyes.

"Yes, that is commendable," he repeated, but something in his tone told Tigerpaw he wasn't being sincere.

They moved on, once more Longtail explaining everything to Tigerpaw. Bluestar kept quiet for the most part, but she did interrupt Longtail a few times to add some details and opinions of her own. This kept going for long moments, occasionally the leader would test both toms with difficult questions, with various results. Longtail was getting visibly tired by the end of his explanation, often skimming through some of them to be done with it. Tigerpaw was aware that his mentor had other ideas in mind; hunting or perhaps batting was more his style, and that's exactly what he was going to teach him before Bluestar interrupted.

"…and the leader's word is the warrior code. So, don't disobey Bluestar." Longtail sighed, signaling he was done for the day.

The leader nodded. "It is important for all cats to follow one leader, as we were given nine lives to protect our Clans. However, Tigerpaw, never forget to listen to your own heart, and do the right thing." She seemed to be satisfied now, praising both toms on their effort and Longtail on his knowledge. "Don't forget anything you've learned today, young apprentice."

Tigerpaw nodded as Longtail lazily slumped to the ground.

At sunhigh, Bluestar already left the clearing and instructed Longtail and Tigerpaw to return to camp. They rested for a while, knowing well it won't be long before they had to leave once more on a patrol. As Bluestar mentioned the day prior, borders would have to be marked more frequently, so ThunderClan could be prepared if ShadowClan decided to ambush. Nobody mentioned it, but it was clear the border with ShadowClan was patrolled more often than the one with RiverClan; even though they were the ones that took Sunningrocks just before Tigerpaw joined, they weren't as big of a threat as the Clan that exiled WindClan from their lands. Word was running around camp and every cat was anxious, noting Brokenstar's unpredictable nature as the top reason for their fear. The apprentice had to admit that he felt somewhat curious at this cat—he considered ThunderClan to be quite a big Clan, yet Bluestar mentioned that they were struggling. Did that mean the other Clans were much bigger? Clearly WindClan would fight with all of their warriors to defend their territory. How much bigger could ShadowClan be, then?

Redtail interrupted his train of thought. He was ordered to leave on a sunhigh patrol with Longtail, Runningwind, and Mousefur. Whitestorm and Sandpaw decided to join them as well, with no objections from the deputy.

"Going out with the kittypet, eh?" Mousefur was the first to comment as Tigerpaw approached the group. Runningwind shot her a warning look, making her shrug. Whitestorm also flicked his tail to his apprentice, anticipating a comment from her. Sandpaw huffed in frustration, but kept her mouth quiet and dipped her head to the senior warrior.

The group decided to leave in silence. Whitestorm took the lead with Sandpaw following closely behind, taking this moment as another teaching opportunity. The siblings—Runningwind and Mousefur—were right behind them. Longtail and Tigerpaw took the rear, despite Runningwind's offers to switch positions. In case of an ambush they were the most vulnerable, but they trusted their abilities to handle it and alert the rest of the patrol.

They were heading directly towards ShadowClan's border, Tigerpaw noticed. It had not been long since it was marked; they were taking warnings very seriously now.

"ShadowClan is just like us," Longtail commented. "Just a Clan of warriors that live in the dark. If it weren't for Brokenstar, nobody would fear them so much."

Tigerpaw wondered how much of that was true. He had heard a lot of stories in camp—how the cold winds would freeze ShadowClan cats' hearts, how skilled and proficient in battle they were, how they could only feed off carrion and not proper fresh-kill. It was certainly strange, but not any weirder than RiverClan cats enjoying a swim by the rivers of their territory, Tigerpaw thought.

They trekked for a long time, the other warriors engaged in a conversation that Tigerpaw did not care to listen to. There was a question going on his mind that he needed to ask his mentor, and he figured this was a good time to do so. "Why did you offer to be my mentor?"

Longtail's ears perked. He was attentive to the conversation that he almost forgot the tabby was there. He gradually decreased his pace, putting some distance between the two of them and the rest of the patrol, hoping to stay out of their sharp earshot.

"Right, I never told you why, huh?" he thought out loud, making a pause to think further. The warrior sighed. "It was because of Bluestar."

"Bluestar?" Tigerpaw echoed, a bit louder than Longtail anticipated. He received a hiss to shush him up. "Okay, but what about her?" he asked in a whisper.

"You have a lot of potential, Tigerpaw," the tabby started, unsure. "I could tell by the first time we fought that you would stop at nothing to defend your pride."

The unexpected praise made Tigerpaw fluff out his pelt and raise his tail. Longtail narrowed his eyes at him.

"That doesn't mean you're a good fighter yet, so stop looking so confident." They kept walking. "But like I said, you have the potential to be one, despite being a kittypet. Perhaps not as skilled as Whitestorm or Fireheart, but as fierce as me or Darkstripe."

Tigerpaw nodded, understanding. Darkstripe and Fireheart were both strong cats, yet their strengths came from different places. Darkstripe was fierce, cunning, and cold; Fireheart was loyal and formidable. While one cat would fight to defend their Clan from trespassers, the other would fight simply for the thrill of battle.

"Bluestar knows this," he continued, "and I know that, if it were up to her, she would attempt to train you to be more like Fireheart, or Lionheart, or Redtail."

"Is that a bad thing?" the tabby asked.

Longtail shook his head. "No, but we think that is not what ThunderClan needs right now." His tail pointed towards their destination—only a few fox-lengths ahead and they would reach the ShadowClan border. They quickened the pace, catching up to the rest of the patrol; the casual conversation turning into a more serious and anxious one the closer they got to ShadowClan territory.

The older warriors began marking the trees. Whitestorm was speaking with Sandpaw in a serious tone, both cats were staring ahead at the Thunderpath. Tigerpaw approached it, monsters running back and forth from it, but luckily for them, none daring to leave the hard surface and cross into them.

On the other side of the Thunderpath, a group of eyes was staring right at them with fiercely lashing tails. Tigerpaw stared at them with curiosity—they were definitely ShadowClan warriors.

Whitestorm took the front, shielding all other cats behind him. "Let's mark the border quickly and leave. We don't want a border skirmish now," he instructed, not taking his eyes off the other warriors.

The other warriors obeyed, rubbing against every tree in their path, leaving a thick scent trail behind their pawsteps.

"Isn't that a kit?" Tigerpaw heard Sandpaw's meow beside him. She was staring at the ShadowClan cats, one of them was looking unusually small and frightened. "What is a kit doing out here, at the Thunderpath?"

"Let's move on, you two," Whitestorm interrupted her thoughts by passing in front of her. "There will be time for questions later."

Despite her usual sappy nature, Sandpaw was happy to follow her mentor away from that place. She kept going without protesting, with Runningwind and Mousefur flanking her.

"You two, come up!" Mousefur shot back at Tigerpaw and Longtail. "Unless you want to turn into ShadowClan food!"

"That's what I was talking about," Longtail meowed, appearing behind Tigerpaw and motioning with his tail for him to follow. "We lost territory to RiverClan, and we can't afford to lose more to them. If we want to defend ourselves against ShadowClan, then we might as well become as fierce as they are."

Tigerpaw looked at the border one last time, the ShadowClan patrol was already going on about their lives. He nodded finally, understanding his mentor's words, yet unsure if he agreed with them or not. "You wanted to train me so I could become a fierce fighter?"

"It wasn't something I planned," Longtail replied, shifting his paws slightly. "Hearing the news about WindClan was as shocking for me as for everyone else, and…" He made a short pause before continuing. "…and, as for the apprentices we have now…"

Tigerpaw looked ahead, wondering if Sandpaw was overhearing any of this. She seemed to be preoccupied with getting praises from the other warriors by guiding them to where they needed to go next.

"I don't think Ravenpaw is willing to risk his own life for the sake of our Clan," Longtail kept going. "I trust Fireheart to make him more brave, but most warriors are not hopeful about it. As for Dustpelt, well… Redtail is a fantastic warrior I'm sure, but he would rather retreat to prevent injuries than to risk all fighting."

"Why wouldn't you risk all, though?" Tigerpaw wondered, getting him a satisfactory purr from his mentor. "I thought the warrior code said warriors don't have to kill."

"You get it now," Longtail replied with a flick of his tail. "Most other warriors don't get lost in the thrill of battle, instead they retreat when things become difficult. When Bluestar announced she would mentor you, I knew that was the type of warrior she would try to turn you into: suppressing your fighting spirit in order to become a wiser cat, I guess."

Tigerpaw pondered over his last words. "Wisdom doesn't win any battles?"

Longtail suppressed a laugh. "Well, do you think the elders would win in a battle against a ShadowClan patrol?"

The apprentice nodded, finally getting it. Wisdom might be good, but battle skill is what mattered in order to protect the Clan—that was what Longtail was trying to teach him. His natural abilities proved to be fruitful when he chased Yellowfang out. He wondered how different it would have been, if only he was softer. Tigerpaw imagined himself hunting and feeding the trespasser, helping her as she was hungry and frail. He winced in disgust.

"I did not expect Bluestar to supervise us," Longtail continued. "I would much rather teach you battle moves as soon as possible, before the warrior code. Bluestar knows we have to hurry with your training, I don't know what she's thinking."

Tigerpaw nodded, but he said nothing else. The duo decided to stop the conversation there and catch up with the others, joining in their conversation. The sun was still in the air, but sunhigh had passed, and now it was sinking very slowly giving way to sundown.

"Hey, good job there, Tigerpaw!" Runningwind commented as he approached. "Most apprentices flinch at the sight of ShadowClan warriors, but you didn't back down. They will know we mean business!"

Tigerpaw flicked his ear. "Oh, thanks."

Mousefur interrupted. "That wasn't important, did you see the patrol?" She looked at Sandpaw, who nodded back. "There was definitely a kit there."

"I knew it!" Sandpaw sprung up. "Why is ShadowClan taking kits out of camp? They can't be that desperate for warriors, can they?"

The patrol kept silent for a moment. Runningwind knew that everyone was thinking the same, so he was the one to break the silence. "We took a kittypet in… no offense, Tigerpaw," he injected quickly, "but that means we are also desperate for new warriors."

Sandpaw eyed Tigerpaw and let out a deep sigh. "I don't like to say this but… I'd rather have a soft kittypet than having to train with kits."

"We will inform Bluestar of this," Whitestorm interrupted them. "Tomorrow will be the full moon truce. She might consider bringing it up at the Gathering."

The patrol eventually reached camp. Everyone went their separate ways; Whitestorm immediately went to speak with Redtail, Sandpaw went inside the apprentice's den, Runningwind and Mousefur wandered around camp simply relaxing for a moment, and Longtail decided this would be a good time as ever to take a nap.

Before leaving, however, he ordered Tigerpaw: "None of the apprentices changed the elders' bedding today. Which means…"

Tigerpaw let out a sigh of impatience. "I know, I know." Clearly, his new mentor was enjoying this a little too much.