Here's chapter 6 c: Hope you enjoy, please review! I'd like to know your thoughts on Dear Brother!
Tigerpaw's dreams were... quite complicated that night.
Really, they were just bursts of different colors and scents and sensations all at once. The first one was a wind rushing through his fur, and all of the smells of the forest coming at him at once. If he had to describe it, he felt exhilerated- euphoric, even.
But then pain grabbed his body. The colors around him became a mixtures of browns, white, and reds; the scent of blood wafted through the air, and a paralyzing pain went throughout his body, and he felt like he was going to faint...
... Until the pain went away. All around him were soft hues of reddish pink, and an unknown feeing crept through him. It was how he felt for his mother, but... stronger. Less like the feeling was for a mother, and more like it was for... a mate. He'd never witnessed this kind of feeling before, and the way it tugged at his heart was painful yet amazing.
Just as he felt he was going to burn up from this unknown feeling, a white light flashed through the area, burning up all of the reds. All around him was gray that dipped in and out of a darker shade periodically.
The gray... pattern seemed familiar to him, though he couldn't place where he'd seen it before. But... just staring at the gray made his heartbeat quicken. His eyes widened, and he found himself rushing forward until his vision faded to black. His lungs were squeezed tight, and as he opened to grt a breath of air, imaginary water filled his mouth.
He let out a scream and thrashed, but to no use. He was stuck. Looking down at his paws, he was no longer Tigerpaw, but another cat. His blue eyes widened as he looked at the silver tabby pelt he had on.
Who am I? Who is this cat? he asked himself, the thrashing becoming less and less as he slowly gave away to unconsciousness. Just as he was about to cut the cord between himself and the waking world, a cacophany of noise rose up out of the water until he thought he was going to go mad from it all.
Then, just as he was about to snap, that same, haunting phrase from his kithood filled his ears once more.
"Don't let him in!"
Tigerpaw's eyes flew open and he let out a strangled yowl. Never before had he been so afraid. He hated this feeling of weakness.
No! he thought, shaking his head as his eyes furrowed in anger. I will not allow myself to fall into this... grasp of weakness! No! he glanced down at his brother, anger bubbling beneath the surface. How can he just lie there? He looks so weak, how was he even made an apprentice?
No. a thought came up against all the angry ones, and he suddenly felt very sad. Stoatpaw is your brother! How could you say that? He was made an apprentice just like you were- a mewling kitten. Sure, he's a little weaker, and has a lot more extra weight than some other apprentices, but he's your brother all the same.
Tigerpaw sniffed, settling back down in his nest, glancing at Stoatpaw. The pudgy little white tom's chest went up and down evenly, and just by watching the motions, Tigerpaw fell back into sleep.
Tigerpaw was utterly exhausted the next day, and he could tell it was a surprise to Stoatpaw. He was glad that the nick in his ear had stopped bleeding, thanks to him going straight to Darkseed in the morning to get it checked on.
Leafclaw and Shiningeyes were discussing their schedule for the day, so he had a minute to talk to Stoatpaw.
The two had definitely become a little distant since they were apprenticed, and Tigerpaw wanted to put an end to it. He padded up to his brother, who was gazing around the forest as he waited for the mentors to finish.
"hey Stoatpaw," Tigerpaw meowed, sitting next to Stoatpaw. The white apprentice looked at his brother as silence fell between the two. "So, uh, how're you?"
"I'm okay," Stoatpaw meowed back, looking down sadly. "I just hope Leafclaw and Shiningeyes finish because I'm ready to leave."
"Hey!" Leafclaw meowed, looking down at the white tom. "Don't say that, Stoatpaw. Shiningeyes and I are almost finished." he glanced back at the split-faced warrior, who nodded. She and Leafclaw then headed into the forest with their apprentices on their heels.
The walk was long and tedious, and Tigerpaw, already exhausted, was about ready to fall over when their group stopped. A vicious, thundering noise hit his ears; Stoatpaw seemed to hear it too, as his fur began to stick out in fright.
"W-What is that?" he mewed quietly, his voice trembling. Tigerpaw took pity on his poor brother, because he was quite frightened as well. The two warriors ahead of them glanced back with a twinkle in their eye before they ran forward through the ferns.
Tigerpaw and Stoatpaw followed, and were presented with one of nature's most stunning features: the Swishing Trout River.
Thousands upon thousands of water droplets rushed forward and downwards, and the thundering roar of a miniature waterfall was what Tigerpaw had heard. On the other side of the river, Tigerpaw noticed a group of cats fishing.
"Hello, Oakclan!" Shiningeyes called over to the warriors, who called back a greeting in response. Shiningeyes turned to Tigerpaw, explaining, "Neither Oakclan nor Steamclan own the river, as it is too large and big for either to control. Oakclan mainly feeds on the fish it provides, but Steamclan does occasionally."
Tigerpaw nodded, looking out across the river. He spotted only one familiar cat: Silverpaw, who seemed bored as two other tom apprentices smothered her. He narrowed his eyes at them, catching Silverpaw's gaze, to which her eyes lit up almost immediately.
"Wow..." Stoatpaw breathed, leaning closer to the river's edge. "I've only ever seen the Hot Springs. This... this is amazing!" his shout was very loud, and several birds flew out of the trees due to shock. Stoatpaw shrank, smiling sheepishly.
After the group had spent their fair share of time at the river, they decided to turn back. The sun was already beginning to sink below the horizon, and Tigerpaw could barely keep his eyes opened. As soon as they entered the camp, he made a beeline for the apprentice's den when Stoatpaw locked a claw in his fur.
"Tigerpaw, we should go see Brambleoak's kits." he meowed, his blue eyes wide as he stared at his brother. "They're Leafclaw's kits. I want to at leadt see them as his apprentice."
Tigerpaw rolled his eyes, grumbling as they made their way to the nursery. Brambleoak was sleeping inside, while Mistyspots sat there, licking her fur and meowing a quiet greeting to the apprentices. Her stomach was absolutely huge, and Tigerpaw was sure she'd kit any day now.
Stoatpaw seemed astounded by the kits. Tigerpaw glanced rowards Brambleoak's belly, his eyes widening as he spotted the three bundles. "Wow..." he breathed, taking a careful pawstep forward. "Look at them. One of them's got a ticked pelt that looks like Brambleoak's. This one's fur is super dark! Is it brown, or black?"
"Brown." Brambleoak's eyes opened, and she sat up, smiling warmly at the apprentices. She flicked her tail over the ticked gray kit. "This little kit's name is Cloudkit, after Leafclaw's grandfather, Cloudmask." she flicked her tail towards the second kit; this one was the dark, dark brown kit. "This little one's name is Larkkit. I just thought the name fit, so she's my little lark." her tail flicked towards the last kit, a very dark gray she-kit. "Her name is Hollykit, after my mother, Hollythroat."
"They're so small..." Tigerpaw exclaimed, leaning down and sniffing a kit. It moved closer to its mother, and Brambleoak gave a laugh, curling her tail around her three kits.
"You young apprentices should go and get some sleep. I bet it's almost moonhigh!" Brambleoak shooed them away with her long tail, and the two brothers made way for the fresh kill pile and back to their den.
Tigerpaw went to sleep relatively easily that night, his stomach full of field mouse. It was quickly becoming his favorite. But, while sleep weighed heavily on his mind, he couldn't get Silverpaw out of his head.
Excluding Stoatpaw, she was one of the only friends he had. He glanced at his pudgy little apprentice brother, who was sleeping soundly, a sparrow's feather drifting lazily in the air with each exhale he made.
Resting his head on his paws, Silverpaw and the two Oakclan apprentices on his mind, he fell asleep.
This dream was quite new to Tigerpaw. He'd never experienced anything like it before!
Tigerpaw was in a clearing, and the two Oakclan apprentices were standing before him, nasty grins plastered on their faces. Silverpaw wailed behind them, and Tigerpaw unsheathed his claws, falling into a battle stance.
"Haha, look at Tigerpaw! Too tiny to even move!" one of the toms jeered, lifting a claw to reveal needle-sharp claws.
"Yeah, all he's got is a pudgy little brother who clings to his side like a newborn kit to it's mother!" the second tom, this onw with a gray tabby pelt, cackled out his insult. It sent Tigerpaw into an even more vicious rage. Silverpaw meowing helplessly behind them.
"And look here, I've gotta go up against Uglypaw and Stinkypaw!" Tigerpaw shot back, and the toms growled. He leapt forward, falling into a vicious fight between them.
His body moved almost mechanically. He slashed and hissed at his opponents, his body whirling around like lightening that could only scream one word: power. He liked the way it felt; the tingly feeling in his paws. Once the two toms were on the ground, his chest was heaving, a vicious pride rising in his chest as he hissed at them, his tail lashing.
Silverpaw darted up behind him, ducking under his chin. "Oh, Tigerpaw! My hero!" she exclaimed, and Tigerpaw smiled goofily, his tail entwining in hers.
The dream wobbled, and Tigerpaw was plunged into a deep, dark place, a yowl escaping his mouth as he clawed at the fading form of his love.
Tigerpaw woke up in the dead of night, his heart racing and his mind reeling. Silverpaw was on his mind in a matter of seconds: her sleek tabby fur, her pretty blue eyes, and the way she talked and laughed...
No. he shook his head. I can't like her, she's with Oakclan! Even though the clans are at a time of peace, interclan relationships break one of the most important clan rules. And I doubt she even feels the same way!
He sat and thought until sunrise. He was extremely tired when Stoatpaw awoke, trying with all his might to pull his brother out of the den. Tigerpaw looked over Stoatpaw; how much of a kit he resembled! Pudgy face and body, big round eyes, tiny paws.
Tigerpaw stood, moving an arm and pushing Stoatpaw away. He saw something flicker in Stoatpaw's eyes; was it fewr? He wuickly stood up and said, "Uh, we should probably get going, Stoatpaw."
He couldn't shake his feeling of sickness and horror throughout the rest of the day.