Another short chapter (relatively speaking), but more important stuff. This chapter has some... suggestive content, but I think you can handle it. You all are going to start getting a taste of my sense of humor. hehehe }:)

Reviews:

Talon - Bruh, I think you're starting to learn a little too much about Lionclaw. I have to keep the mystery alive! Maybe I should change some traits...

MistyMoon and SilverWing - Thanks! I'm actually a lot more immersed with this installment than the previous two, so I'll be updating this a lot more often!

Noticing

"Stormfire, you take a hunting patrol with Watersplash, Willowmist, and Larkfern. Catch as much prey as you can; with leaf-bare on the way, the Clan needs to be well-fed."

Stormfire nodded. He and the other three exited the camp and ventured into the forest.

It was a sunny day. White, puffy clouds floated in the sky, filtering some of the sunlight. A cold breeze ruffled the cats' pelts, bringing the smell of leaves and ice. The weather was perfect, in Stormfire's opinion.

"Hmph," Willowmist grunted, looking up at the sky. "Beautiful day, don't you think? Nice and cold too."

"My favorite type of weather," Larkfern mewed sarcastically, "I can't wait until the snow comes in and freezes my paws off."

"Oh, hush," Watersplash chastised, rolling her eyes. "Leaf-bare isn't so bad…"

Stormfire tuned out the rest of their conversation, intent on sniffing the air for prey. It was difficult: the air was thick with the smell of ice. Another stiff breeze ruffled his fur, making him shiver. It seemed that snow was on the way.

Stormfire flinched as he felt something prod him in the side. He glanced to the left and saw Willowmist staring at him.

"What?" Stormfire wondered.

"I asked you what you think of leaf-bare," Willowmist mewed.

Stormfire blinked. What was there to talk about? It came and went, just like the other seasons did. Who cared what anyone thought of it? "It's nice."

"That's it?" Willowmist scoffed. "'It's nice.' How shallow."

"It's not his fault," Larkfern purred evilly. "The poor guy's intimidated!"

"Intimidated?" Stormfire echoed, tilting his head. What in StarClan's name would he be intimidated by? "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you noticed?" Watersplash inquired, blinking with surprise. She exchanged a glance with Willowmist.

"Noticed what?" Stormfire huffed. What was there to notice? They were supposed to be hunting, not noticing things.

"Stormfire," Willowmist chuckled, "you're the only tom on this patrol."

Stormfire blinked. Now that he thought about it, he was the only tom on this patrol. He hadn't even realized. But, why did that matter? Couldn't he just get on with this without having to talk to anyone? "So?"

"You've got to tell us how it feels!" Larkfern exclaimed, a certain look in her eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

"Hunting," Stormfire growled, catching her drift, "which is exactly what we should be doing."

"Oh, come on," Larkfern scoffed, "I'm only teasing. You need to learn to lighten up."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Stormfire growled, the embarrassment burning beneath his pelt making him angry, "but my mood doesn't tend to be light around those who tried to kill me."

An awkward silence filled the air. The three she-cats exchanged uncomfortable glances.

"Way to kill the mood…" Larkfern mumbled.

Stormfire ignored her. His pelt burned. He hadn't meant to mention his kithood – it'd just sort of slipped out. His fur was bristling with anger and embarrassment. He looked straight ahead, aware of the three pairs of eyes scorching his back.

"Sorry."

Surprised, Stormfire pricked his ears and glanced behind him. Willowmist was looking at him, but when their eyes met, she looked away.

Watersplash heaved a sigh. "Yeah, I know where this is going," she murmured. "I'm sorry too." After a moment of silence, she looked at Larkfern. "Larkfern?"

"What?" she mewed, her voice emphasizing her irritation.

"Aren't you going to apologize?" Willowmist questioned, nudging her.

"It's not like I did anything wrong!" she exclaimed, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I… may have given him a… couple… of scars, but still!"

"Larkfern!" Willowmist warned, her voice just on the edge of being a growl. "You know it's the right thing to do."

"Ugh, fine!" Larkfern sighed. She looked Stormfire in the eye. "I'm sorry, okay?"

Stormfire couldn't even begin to describe how surprised he was. This was actually the first time that anyone had apologized to him. The whole Clan had tried to make up for their actions by acting cordial toward him – which never really worked. There was still that bitter resentment. But, this – he'd never realized how much he needed to hear those two words.

"Thanks."

"No need to thank us," Willowmist mewed. "We should have apologized a long time ago. It's just… when things had gone bad, Tornstar had given us something to blame. Unfortunately, that was you."

"It's all right," Stormfire murmured, remembering his days as a kit. He'd been angry and afraid then, no different than how they Clan was feeling when he'd been kitted. If it'd come to it, he probably would've done the same thing they'd done.

"Why, though?" Willowmist piped up, tilting her head to the side. "I mean – we've done so much to you. Not just us, but the Clan as well. Why don't you hate us?"

"I bet it's because we're so beautiful!" Larkfern chided. "Just look at us; we're irresistible!"

"That's a matter of opinion," Stormfire commented slyly.

Larkfern laughed. "Oh, so you've got jokes, huh? I'll remember that."

"Back to what Willowmist said," he glanced back at the silver she-cat. "I don't hate the Clan because it would be pointless. What's done is done, there's no point in dwelling on it. We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we already are. If I want to be a great warrior, then I can't just sit around being angry all the time."

"Whoa," Watersplash breathed, her eyes sparkling with surprise.

"Not so shallow now, huh?" Stormfire meowed, turning his attention back to finding some prey.

"Well!" Larkfern piped cheerfully. "Now that the awkward part is over, we can get down to business. I realize things may be a little uncomfortable for you in the Clan, so you've just earned yourself a new friend! Let's see if we can work on that personality of yours."

"What's wrong with my personality?" Stormfire questioned, a small flame of hurt sparking in his chest. Sure, he wasn't talkative, but that's all there was to it… right? "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

Larkfern laughed. "Nothing, if you like the antisocial and serious types. Plus, yeah, I heard what you said, and I must say that I'm impressed. You're a lot less resentful than I thought you to be."

"So, why do you want to change me, then?" Stormfire questioned, narrowing his eyes.

"Okay, okay," Larkfern conceded. "Well, I'll just make you a little more talkative, how's that?"

"Sure…" Stormfire sighed, rolling his eyes. "Now, can we start doing what we came here to do?"

"Sure." Larkfern raced forward.

It was almost sundown when the patrol returned. The sky was a mix of dark red and orange, casting a blood-resembling light over the forest. Stormfire deposited his prey – a squirrel and a mouse – and stretched near the pile. He picked himself a juicy-looking vole and sat down to eat.

"You want to come eat with us?" Larkfern suggested, depositing her prey – two mice. "Come on, the first step to becoming more talkative is talking to others."

Stormfire shook his head. "No thanks – I'm pretty tired. Maybe some other time, okay?"

Larkfern shrugged. "Suit yourself." She padded off toward the warriors den, ducking in behind Willowmist. Stormfire went back to eating his vole, finding that it wasn't exactly as juicy as it had first looked.

A soft wind ruffled Stormfire's fur, making him squint his eyes against it. Not too many other cats were awake at the moment. Cloudheart was entering the medicine den with her jaws full of herbs and leaves. Hollyfur was entering the warriors' den, her fur spiked even more than usual – probably because of the cold. Glancing around, Stormfire blinked as his eyes fell on Tornstar's den.

Tornstar was standing at the entrance.

Watching Stormfire with an intense stare.

Their eyes met.

He looked away and padded back inside the tumble of rock.

Weird, Stormfire thought, continuing to eat his vole. Once he'd finished, he groomed his pelt and padded toward the warriors' den.

It was warm inside, and Stormfire released a sigh as he curled up in his nest. He ignored Larkfern chatting with Willowmist and closed his eyes. His mind wandered back to the conversation he'd had on the patrol earlier. He still couldn't believe the fact that they'd actually apologized to him. This whole time, he was worried about his Clanmates not really accepting him, even after he'd killed Lionclaw.

It seemed like things were going to be just fine.