Chapter 11

"Rising Tensions."

8/5/16 - 8/6/16

On the same day of ShadowClan's ambush, nighttime came and the moon was full and bright. Thornstar brought his assigned warriors and apprentices, except for Stealthpaw, as part of her punishment.

Stoatpaw was actually looking for Stealthpaw, and found her listening to Mooneye's story.

"-And I told Thornstar time and time again not to attack the adder, but he-!"

Mooneye paused and glared at the entrance.

"Don't spy on us, Stoatpaw! I'll cuff the ears right off your head!"

Stealthpaw looked over her shoulder to the white tom.

"What is it?"

Stoatpaw suddenly felt his paws itch being in Stealthpaw's line of sight.

"Are you sure you won't be alone?"

Stoatpaw cringed at the mouse brained question.

"Of course she's not alone," said Silverlight. "Us and Jaystripe will keep her company while you're gone."

"Now get before Thornstar leaves you!" Mooneye hissed. Stoatpaw bowed his head and quickly returns to the group as they leave the thorn barrier.


Halfway across the edge of WindClan, Thornstar sees Branchstar and his cats coming down the slope.

"Branchstar." He said, dipping his head. Branchstar dips his head as well.

"Greetings, Thornstar."

The ThunderClan and WindClan groups travel together; although several warriors were glaring at each other.

Stoatpaw even saw a few apprentices glaring at him.

"So…. How's the wind?" He asked jokingly.

"Oh, because we're WindClan cats, we must get wind in our territory all the time, right?!"

Stoatpaw blinked. "Uh, isn't that why you're called 'Wind' Clan?"

The apprentices hissed at him and Squirrelpaw grabs Stoatpaw's scruff and moves him further up with the senior warriors.

Stoatpaw crosses the tree and the first cat he sees is-.

Crowstar.

The ShadowClan leader was talking to Ivystar, like nothing happened.

Stoatpaw won't forget seeing Stealthpaw cry, and the fury on her face when she attacked him, it made his blood boil.

The ThunderClan cats were snarling at the ShadowClan warriors, who flicked their tails arrogantly on the other side. The RiverClan and WindClan cats moved further away from the tension between the Thunder and Shadow cats.

Flamepaw and Rainpaw stood next to him, Flamepaw could barely hide his disdain as Crowstar pads toward them. His blue eyes scans over them.

"Someone seems to be missing."

Stoatpaw narrowed his eyes, while Flamepaw took one paw step forward until Rainpaw places his paw on his shoulder, looks him in the eye, and shakes his head.

"Oh, yes, where's the slow apprentice?" Crowstar jeered.

Stoatpaw got up and stood face to face with Crowstar.

"You leave her alone! It's your fault that she's not here!"

Crowstar blinked in shock, Rainpaw and Flamepaw were equally surprised to see the jokester tom so aggressive. But Crowstar returned to his arrogance.

"It's her own fault for breaking the warrior code. But what do you expect from a rogue-?"

"You broke it too!" Flamepaw hissed. Rainpaw stood in front of Flamepaw and glares at Crowstar.

"Look, stop being a coward picking on apprentices and go back to your Clan," he warned Crowstar, despite the fear in his wobbly legs.

"This is a time of peace and we refuse to stoop to your level to disrupt it."

Flamepaw seems to have calmed down hearing Rainpaw's wisdom, he sits down but continued to glare at the ShadowClan leader. Crowstar growled as he turns around and goes back to where the leaders were.

"Wise words, Rainpaw." The three toms look to see Thornstar gazing at them warmly.

"I'm impressed with how you two handled the situation. You already proved that you're ready to become warriors."

Stoatpaw didn't miss the words "you two", he lowered his head when he heard Thornstar address him,

"I'm surprised that you lost your cool, Stoatpaw. It's okay to protect your friend's honor, but you mustn't let your anger control your actions."

"Yes, Thornstar…" He said glumly. Thornstar leaned in his ear and whispered,

"Maybe you should look into why you feel so strongly about Stealthpaw, hmm?"

Stoatpaw saw the ThunderClan leader wink before padding away, leaving him confused as well as Rainpaw and Flamepaw.

"What was that about?" Flamepaw asked him. Stoatpaw shrugged his shoulders, but Thornstar's words rattled his brain.

Rainpaw coaxes the two to go to Foxpaw, Duckpaw and Squirrelpaw.

"Where's Sweetpaw?" Stoatpaw asked Duckpaw. The fluffy she cat nods toward the RiverClan group. Sweetpaw was sitting close to the new warrior Ashcloud; their pelts were brushing and they were talking softly to each other. No one in RiverClan notices them, though.

"They seem… Pretty close." Squirrelpaw commented. Flamepaw flattens his ears.

"A bit too close."

"Ooh!" Stoatpaw cooed. "Someone's jelly ~!"

"Am not!" Flamepaw hissed.

"The Gathering is about to begin!"

Sweetpaw reluctantly pulls away from Ashcloud and pads to the other apprentices.

Ivystar was first to announce that RiverClan was going great, and the two apprentices Mudpaw and Nightpaw have become warriors, Mudfoot and Nightfang.

Branchstar announced that three kits became apprentices and named two new warriors. Stoatpaw noticed that Branchstar's fore legs were shaking.

And that the brown tom looked sick. Rainpaw told him that Branchstar was two moons younger than Thornstar, so it was weird to see him look so sick.

Crowstar took his place, but he also had Stormtail standing with him.

"Stormtail has something he wishes to say to Thornstar."

Crowstar gave Thornstar a snide look and allows Stormtail to stand in his place.

"I understand that you have an apprentice named Foxpaw?"

Stoatpaw heard a curse and sees Foxpaw glaring at Stormtail with pure hatred and fear.

"He's my son." Stormtail said. "I want him raised in ShadowClan."

Cats were whispering to each other as ThunderClan cats yowled in protest.

By this time, Foxpaw was bristling with fury. The others knew that Foxpaw's father was a ShadowClan cat, but they never knew that his father is the ShadowClan deputy!

Thornstar wasn't pleased with it, and Eaglecry could hardly contain herself as she said, "You have some nerve! You attacked us while we were sleeping and you have the nerve to demand one of our apprentices like prey?!"

Thornstar gave her a warning stare and looks at Stormtail.

"You could have done this while Foxpaw was a kit, too young to remember us. Why would you ask for him now after so long?"

Stormtail waves his tail.

"Hawkstorm never told me she was expecting kits. Only when he first came to the Gathering did I recognize my build and her pelt color in Foxpaw, that's when I knew he's my kit. It's only fair that I take back what's mine."

ThunderClan still wasn't backing down, but the other Clans were beginning to talk.

"I never Foxpaw was half-ShadowClan!"

"And he's Stormtail's son? What if he's just like him?"

"He seems like such a polite cat, too."

"I say ThunderClan should give him up."

Foxpaw bows his head and growls. Squirrelpaw nudged his shoulder.

"Don't listen to them." Foxpaw pushed him away and ran off the island, straight for ThunderClan territory. Thornstar gave Stormtail a hard glare.

"You lost your right to be Foxpaw's father the moment you abandoned him," he growled. "Especially when you attacked my Clan with such cowardice and disrespect! Foxpaw is a ThunderClan cat through and through, just like Hawkstorm, so you should take whatever self respect you have left and never do this again."


Stealthpaw somehow became held captive by Spottedkit and her sisters and Timberkit. They buried her in leaves that left her tail out, and now they went to the elders den. Stealthpaw shook the leaves off her head and saw Foxpaw stalk through the thorn barrier.

"Hey," Stealthpaw gets up from the leaf pile and approaches him.

"How was the-."

Foxpaw snarled at her, making Stealthpaw jump back with her fur bushed. The ginger tom disappears in the apprentices den. She reluctantly pads in the den and finds Foxpaw curled in a small ball.

"Go away, Stealthpaw!"

"What happened?" She asks him. Foxpaw growled and glared at her.

"Everyone knows!"

Stealthpaw stares at him in confusion. Foxpaw sits in his nest and said,

"My mom mated with Stormtail and died giving birth to me! And thanks to them, everyone made my life a living Dark Forest! I had to work twice as hard to make them forget about it, but now Stormtail brought it all back! I hate him! I wish he wasn't my father!"

"At least you have a Dad." Stealthpaw said. She suddenly sees two people, a man and woman, screaming at each other before the man walks out the door, and never returns.

Stealthpaw sees Duckpaw padding toward Foxpaw, with Rainpaw and Squirrelpaw following.

"Foxpaw, Thornstar isn't going to let Stormtail take you." She said.

"What's the point of fighting for me?!" The ginger tom wailed.

"ThunderClan is gonna turn against me again anyway!"

"You don't know that." Squirrelpaw pointed out.

"ShadowClan has already disgraced themselves, they're only looking for ego points."

Foxpaw curled his nose in his tail and sobbed.

"Why?! After all this time, he chooses now to claim me! I suffered because of him! I never got to know Hawkstorm because of him!"

"That's not true." Rainpaw said.

"Isn't Eaglecry her sister?"

"Half sister."

"She's still your kin." Stealthpaw said.

Duckpaw nodded. "That's right. Eaglecry wouldn't let them take you away. You're the last piece of Hawkstorm she has left."

Stealthpaw slowly backs away as she heard Foxpaw cried louder, by then all the cats came back.

"Maybe Thornstar should reconsider." She heard Blazefrost say to Fallencloud and Badgerleap.

"After all, Foxpaw didn't know about Stormtail until tonight. It might be best if he went with ShadowClan."

Stealthpaw stalked toward him and said,

"So you're just giving up on Foxpaw?!"

Blazefrost, Badgerleap and Fallencloud stared at her in shock.

"That's not what I meant-."

"It sure sounds like it! Foxpaw has been nothing but good, how can you turn against him now?!"

Badgerleap flicked his ears impatiently.

"Stealthpaw, you're an apprentice. This is something you don't understand-."

"I understand that you're turning your back on Foxpaw because he's half-Clan! And it's easier because none of you trusted him anyway!"

The three cats stare at Stealthpaw as she stalks to the apprentices den.

Palewhisker was uncomfortable with the discord in her own Clan. She decided to sleep her troubles away.


Palewhisker found herself near the lake in the daytime.

"Palewhisker." The light brown tabby sees a black she cat pad toward her with amber eyes.

"Darkheart!" Palewhisker brushed muzzles with her beloved mentor.

"How is Yellowpaw - I mean, Yellow - flower?"

Palewhisker twitched her whiskers.

"She's fine. Although she said she wanted to delay mentioning her name ever since…"

Darkheart nods in understanding.

"I know… Whitestar is devastated by what her Clan has become. She's blaming herself for making Crowstar her deputy."

"She didn't know. Crowstar is a very persuasive cat, after all."

Darkheart says, "Even so. He's a threat that uses weakness to his advantage, and Stormtail is no better."

"I know. What can we do?"

Darkheart hesitated, then she said, "You must convince Stealthpaw to go to Moonpool. This is only for her ears to hear."

Palewhisker tilts her head.

"Why specifically Stealthpaw?"

"She's not who you think she is. She was chosen by Hallowstar from a previous life."

"What was she, previously?"

"A Twoleg kit."

Palewhisker gaped in shock.

"A Twoleg?! Why, it's no wonder why I couldn't find a scent on her! But… What happened before she-."

"I don't know. Not even Hallowstar knows."

Palewhisker frowned. "Then could you please tell me why she acts so...strange?"

"It's not acting." Darkheart replied. "She has a disability called Autism."

"Autism? I've never heard of it."

Darkheart nodded.

"That's because it only shows in Twoleg kits, sometimes Twoleg elders.

Anyway, the Twoleg kits would learn normally like others, but as it becomes a certain age they just regress back as newborns. Sometimes they learn to speak, sometimes they don't speak at all. Some of them are often singled out by Twolegs their own age, mocked, shunned. Even grown Twolegs aren't any better when they don't understand. Stealthpaw was one of them."

Palewhisker felt a rush of sympathy for the golden she cat.

"I see… But, she's learning…"

"Yes. Autism doesn't mean that she's unable to learn, it just means she learns differently from others."

Palewhisker nods. "So you want me to take Stealthpaw to Moonpool, then what?"

"Just let her dream of StarClan," Darkheart replied. "Someone wishes to meet her, and it's not Hallowstar."

Done! Yes! As you can see, I'm writing two stories, but this is my main priority. I have the second chapter of "Stockholm Sympathy", but it's still being written.

And as you can see, Stormtail is Foxpaw's dad, and we learned the name of Foxpaw's mother. Foxpaw is even more upset now that his origins is reminding the ThunderClan cats, which puts him directly in Silverhawk's paws. Will he be able to handle it?

And Stealthpaw is recalling a brief memory of her own father, who abandoned her and her mother, and she's going to meet a warrior in StarClan! So much is happening, even I'm getting excited!