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Tigerpaw was excited to be going to the gathering. I just hope that Silverpaw- no, Silverdust will be there! he thought to himself, purring quietly. The thought of seeing the pretty silver tabby made his breakfast prey come to life and start bouncing around in his stomach.
For the past three moons, Tigerpaw had gone out to the border to visit her. She'd earned her warrior name, Silverdust, only a moon ago. She and him had a bond that was unbreakable. He knew that, even though the clan would disapprove if they ever found out, he never would.
He loved her.
Even as an apprentice halfway through his training, he knew he loved Silverdust. He wasn't sure if she loved him as much as he loved her, but he knew something was there. A little spark had ignited when they first met, and it had led them all this way.
The clan dispersed, and the three apprentices were left alone. Stoatpaw bid farewell to Mothpaw and Tigerpaw, heading up the cave wall to meet Leafclaw for hunting practice. The two were then left alone, together, in the cave.
Mothpaw cleared her throat and licked a paw. Her pelt shimmered even in the dim light provided by the cave. Tigerpaw looked at her, and compared her to Silverpaw- no, Silverdust. She was definitely pretty, but not Silverdust-pretty. Mothpaw cleared her throat loudly again.
"You're staring again, Tigerpaw."
"R-Right." Tigerpaw stuttered, looking away. Mothpaw stood, her tail sweeping against the floor of the cave. The way her silvery eyes looked at him was a look he knew well: she was becoming shy. Tigerpaw wondered if she liked him.
"Tigerpaw! Mothpaw! Come here, we're going to do some training!" It was Shiningeyes, who was standing right beside Rowanleap. Tigerpaw knew that Shiningeyes would be in the nursery as soon as he became a warrior, especially with the way she and Rowanleap acted around each other.
"Coming!" Mothpaw shouted, her silver-blue eyes glinting as she turned to Tigerpaw and flicked him playfully with her tail. He blinked at her awkward and obvious display of affection. "C'mon, Tigerpaw! Let's see who can get to the top of the cave wall the fastest!"
She purred, leaping forward and dashing towards the cave wall. Tigerpaw dashed after her. Elation filled inside of him, and he was happy to be a Steamclan cat. He was happy that, for one moment, he didn't have to worry about loving Silverpaw- dust. He didn't have to worry about loving Silverdust.
The two clambered up the wall, using all their strength. Tigerpaw was sure he'd win, but Mothpaw's lithe body gave her the advantage. She won, and gave a yowl of triumph. Then, she shrunk in on herself thanks to the cold.
"M-Man, I don't ever remember Hailclan being this cold!" she exclaimed, shivering. Tigerpaw nodded, looking longingly back at the cave.
Rowanleap chuckled, his ginger fur glinting in the sunlight. "That's because you were most likely a kit in the cold months up there. You were always surrounded by warmth!"
Mothpaw gave a sheepish look, curling her tail around her feet. With a twinkle in her eye, Shiningeyes stood and beckoned the other three cats to follow her. They did, and soon ended up at their training grounds. A thought rose in Tigerpaw's mind.
"Did any other cats use this area to train?" he asked, looking up at the looming mountain ahead of them. The cats spread out, going to each part of the training field to scan for falling branches or any stray prey.
Shiningeyes responded, "Yes, though not many. I know that Wheatstar, when she was still Wheattail, trained my mother here." Tigerpaw's ears perked. Who even was Shiningeyes's mother? He'd never even met any cat who looked like Shiningeyes! "My mother, Spottedheart, was killed by a fox along with Rowanleap's parents, Foxnose and Amberpelt." She glanced at Rowanleap, whose tail had drooped. The two shared a moment of silence for their lost family, before Rowanleap bounced back to his usually cheerful self.
"Okay! Now, you two, I know that you've been training hard these past three moons. You both will be warriors very soon. You're practically half way there! So," he sat down, his tail sweeping against the ground, "Show me what you've learned! Fight like a warrior!"
A look of command glinted in his eyes, and Mothpaw and Tigerpaw scrambled to get into position. As soon as they were settled, Rowanleap gave the signal to begin. Tigerpaw hissed at the she-cat, leaping forward. Mothpaw believed he was going to land on her back, so she swiveled to the side with such quickness that it made Tigerpaw a little dizzy.
What Tigerpaw laughed in speed, he made up for in quick-thinking. Tigerpaw soared right over his opponent, much to Mothpaw's surprise. He instead bowled over her and kicked her with his hind legs. Mothpaw yowled as she was sent flying, and stopped when she hit the ground. Fear welled up inside Tigerpaw. Had he majorly hurt her? He scrambled towards her, panic in his movement. He reached, and bent down to inspect her when she twisted to face him and kicked him square in the chest.
All the air rushed from his body, and he fell to the ground. As he staggered to his feet, he yowled angrily, "That- That was a dirty move!" He lashed his tail as Mothpaw flew towards him and began her attack.
"Learned it from Stoatpaw!" she wheezed, striking in and out like a wasp. "He kept doing it before I got the message- he pretends he's dead!" she leaped at him while he was still distracted. She knocked him off his feet, pummeling his stomach. A loud meow from Rowanleap declared her the winner.
"Sh-She shouldn't have won!" Tigerpaw exclaimed, struggling to his feet. He lashed his tail. "That was a dirty trick she pulled on me, and-"
"And you let her trick you," Shiningeyes finished, a challenging look in her eyes. She stalked up to her apprentice and looked him straight in the eye with disappointment. Tigerpaw hissed, his tail lashing with anger as she continued, "You believed that a simple push was enough to kill a clanmate. Tigerpaw, you're not as strong as you think."
Tigerpaw became aggravated and somewhat relieved at her reply, yet said nothing. The angry monster that hid inside the depths of his stomach gurgled and growled as he felt the need to tear something's throat out. "Fine," he snorted. "Let's just hurry up and spar."
He and Mothpaw continued to spar the rest of the day, until the sun began to set. Then, the four of them practiced their hunting, much to Tigerpaw's relief. He was able to sink his fangs into the necks of some very juicy-looking squirrels. The mentors and apprentices returned back to the cave and rewarded themselves by eating some of their catches.
Two days had passed since Tigerpaw's fight with Mothpaw, and now it was time for the gathering. The cats going had all gathered; the three apprentices were chatting amiably, and Tigerpaw felt oddly at peace. He noticed Stoatpaw acting rather skittish around Mothpaw, and wondered if something happened between them when he was out training with Shiningeyes and not them.
"So, I hope to see Daisypaw at the gathering. I can't believe it's been three moons since I saw her!" Mothpaw meowed, her tail sweeping over her feet. She looked very happy and pleased to be seeing her sister. "I wonder how she and Icepaw are-"
Right in the middle of her sentence, she was cut off by Wheatstar's regal yowl. "Steamclan, move out!" she called, watching as the clowder of cats going to the gathering began to climb up the cave wall and out of the cave.
The entire way there, Tigerpaw had to suffer through Mothpaw being a chittering bird and Stoatpaw acting as skittish as a mouse. He breathed in, thinking of Silverdust and if she would be there.
He couldn't wait to see her silvery pelt and hear her precious laugh. The way the moon hit off of her fur just right to make it shine so prettily. The way her blue eyes sparkled whenever she saw him. He got lost in his own thoughts, and bumped into Sandfoot when the group stopped. The ginger tom turned and glared at him.
"S-Sorry, Sandfoot." Tigerpaw muttered as an apology. Annoyed, Sandfoot just swished his tail.
Tigerpaw perked his ears and tried to see over Sandfoot. Wheatstar had stopped at the entrance of the peach orchard. Meowing could be heard about thirty-or-so tail-lengths ahead of them, and excitement coursed through Tigerpaw's veins. He hadn't even realized they'd walked that far in such little time!
"My paws are killing me," Mothpaw wheezed, pulling up beside him. He turned to look at her. Her silver orbs held an emotion he couldn't place. Maybe... tiredness? Contentment? Some odd satisfaction? He couldn't place it. "What about you, Tigerpaw?"
Before he could answer, the cats in front of him began walking again. It was time for the gathering! He bounced on his paws as he searched the crowd of cats for Silverdust. Just when he thought he wouldn't see her, he spotted her silver pelt right next to a dark brown tabby. The two looked like they were having fun. A little too much fun. A bit of jealousy filled Tigerpaw, and a possessive growl came from his throat.
Ignoring Stoatpaw and Mothpaw, who had gone to sit with the apprentices, Tigerpaw made a beeline for Silverdust and the surrounding warriors.
He recognized the dark brown tabby as Tiger-something-or-other, and it made him angry that she was around a guy who was essentially him but not as good.
Seating himselves among the warriors, Tigerpaw suddenly shrunk back at all the questioning looks he received, mainly from older-looking she-cats and toms. Silverdust seemed happy to see him, at least.
"Uh, Silverdust, who is he?" Tigerpaw turned to see a ginger she-cat with dainty white paws glaring at him. "He seems to know you. Are you seriously friends with this kit?"
"Oh, Tigerpaw's just a friend from my apprentice-hood. He just came to say hi, Palestripe. Why don't you and Tigerstorm go on over to where Applefang and Littledoe are?" Silverdust suggested, perking her ears. The ginger she-cat and the dark brown tabby exchanged looks, shrugged, and went off in another direction. Silverdust turned to Tigerpaw, love filled in her eyes. "Oh Tigerpaw, I was hoping I'd see you here. I am so sorry I haven't been meeting by the border... my warrior duties have been taking up so much time! And I'm sorr about Palestripe... she can be really insensitive sometimes."
Tigerpaw purred. He loved being able to sit here in Silverdusts's company, but... cats were beginning to stare. He could see it in their eyes: they were beginning to wonder and think about how close he and the OakClan warrior were. Just as the two were about to start chatting again, Nettlestar gave a loud meow that silenced them all.
"Now, everyone is here. Wheatstar, would you care to begin?" Nettlestar turned his big head towards Wheatstar. The ginger she-cat nodded and stood.
"Today, we have our newest apprentice, Mothpaw, present at the gathering!" the ginger leader announced. The clans all cheered her name, except for a few Hailclan cats. Tigerpaw spotted a tortoiseshell she-cat with a particularly nasty look on her face, a black and white patched apprentice with yellow eyes scowling next to her. Wheatstar raised her tail for silence and continued, "We have welcomed four new kits into the nursery! Their names are Whitekit, Copperkit, Hawkkit, and Emberkit."
The crowds then roared in delight, with Steamclan cheering the loudest. The cats quieted down as Nettlestar stood up. The tom cleared his throat and began, "Now, I would like to welcome a new warrior and a new medicine cat. Silverdust, and her brother, Duskfeather." Silverdust stood forward, pride glinting in her eyes. Love for her swelled inside Tigerpaw, and he thought he might burst. He was having trouble keeping it all in when he spotted her brother, Duskfeather, sitting next to an elderly brown tom with pride.
The clans cheered for them as Nettlestar backed up on his branch. Jaystar came forward, looking graceful and powerful. Like he was a force to be reckoned with. He held himself like he ruled the clans, and Tigerpaw's stomach twisted. Jaystar seemed like such an arrogant mousebrain!
"Now, I would also like to welcome new warriors. We have Turtletail and Sparktongue. If you both would please come forward." Tigerpaw watched his old friends step forward, pride practically coming off of them in waves. Silverdust cheered loudly for them, and Jaystar silenced everyone with a swish of his tail. He continued, "Prey is running well in our territory, and we have two tiny mouths to feed. Featherfur's just had two kits, Birchkit and Brackenkit." the clans gave a weak cheer; Tigerpaw noticed that Hailclan wasn't cheering at all.
Finally, Beetlestar came forward. He was hunched over on the branch of he beach tree, glaring angrily at all of the gathered cats. His black fur stuck out in fear, and he kept casting wary glances towards Jaystar. His claws gripped the branch he was seated on tightly. "Well," he began, looking rudely at Jaystar out of the corner of his eyes. "We've received new kits as well. Poppypelt has given us three kits to feed, Heronkit, Spottedkit, and Blackkit. Sadly, prey hasn't been running so well in Hailclan. I fear for the lives of our kits this coming leafbare. And I know exactly why."
What he did next shocked the clans; Tigerpaw didn't even know that the leaders could do this.
Beetlestar spun around to face Jaystar, his back arched. His pelt was sticking out in anger, and the cats of the crowd began meowing frightfully. Tigerpaw could feel the tension in the air thicken so much that he could probably slice it with his claw.
All Beetlestar did was howl at Jaystar, "Hailclan declares war on HollowClan!"
Oooh! Look at what Beetlestar's done! This chapter was full of plot, and I hope you all enjoy!
The chapter was beta'd by SilverMidnightMoon! Go check them out!