'I'm going to be a warrior soon. I wonder what my warrior name will be?' she wondered to herself as she padded towards the apprentices' den after another long day of training. Her assessment was a quarter-moon away! 'I hope Beetlestar names me well.' There wasn't a doubt in her mind that Beetlestar would select an accurate name for her - especially since Palecloud would also offer some suggestions based on her progress. Still, she fretted like any other warrior to-be.
She spotted Spiderpaw sitting in front of Bramblingpaw's and Goosepaw's nest the moment she entered the den. His head was slightly bowed in embarrassment, but his green eyes remained bitter. 'Acornstripe is making him apologize,' she realized with amusement. She settled down in her nest and watched the trio.
"Sorry for scaring you," Spiderpaw muttered, barely making eye contact.
Lightningpaw stifled a snort. This morning, she had been woken up by a pair of squealing, panicked apprentices dashing out of the den as if they had seen a spirit of StarClan. They had woken the whole Clan, which didn't amuse anybody.
"So you should be!" Goosepaw growled.
"It wasn't very nice," Bramblingpaw agreed with a glare.
"It was just a joke," Spiderpaw said. "Goodbye." He turned around and walked to Lightningpaw, rolling his eyes as he did. "Such kits!" he sighed exasperatedly.
"Oh, you're just lucky Willowface didn't come after you," Lightningpaw teased. "I think she's plotting your death."
He snored and fluffed his black fur as if to intimidate. "I can take her on," he said. "She hates to get her paws dirty, you know."
She twitched her tail tip in agreement. Willowface was quite aggressive, picky, and particularly unpleasant to be around. Well, at least that's what Lightningpaw thought. "I have a plan," she whispered suddenly. Ever since she had reaffirmed her goal with Spiderpaw a moon ago, she had been planning out different ways to help her Clan.
"Oh?" He scooted closer to Lightningpaw and laid down.
"Well, Sedgetail's been using Owlfoot's secret against her," she said quietly, eyeing Goosepaw and Bramblingpaw in the distance. Luckily for her, the two siblings seemed far more interested in a moss ball. "We should discover Owlfoot's secret. Maybe that will help us discover a way to solve this."
He blinked. "I'm sure that the secret is well worth keeping, right? That's why BarnClan is able to use it against us. What if it does more bad than good when we discover it?"
"That's exactly my point!" she hissed under her breath. "If BarnClan discovers that they no longer have leverage on us, then Owlfoot can easily refuse them."
"...I guess," he said uncertainly.
"Great." She curled her tail around herself. "Owlfoot's been leaving more often now to meet Sedgetail. We can follow tonight - but we have to be extra careful."
"Alright."
Like clockwork, Owlfoot sneaked out of her den just as soon as the moon rose. Lightningpaw and Spiderpaw watched from their own den as the brown tabby sneaked off into the forest and towards the river.
Once she had gone, Lightningpaw stepped out and beckoned Spiderpaw to follow with a flick of her tail. The two apprentices quickly followed after their deputy, sprinting through the forest. Not a noise resounded from their pawsteps; they were experienced, now, with stealth.
They arrived at the familiar scene and deftly fell into positions behind a berry bush, careful to avoid thorns that would catch their fur.
Sedgetail appeared from the other side of the river. "Owlfoot," he said coolly with a nod.
Owlfoot nodded in acknowledgement. "Sedgetail."
"How is your Clan?" the dark brown tom asked, though his tone was cold.
"We are doing well enough." Owlfoot stiffened underneath his stare. "H-how are my kits?" she tentatively asked. "You didn't bring them today?"
'Kits?!' Lightningpaw was barely able to hide her horrified gasp. Her heartbeat nearly halted. She knew that Owlfoot's secret was bad, but this bad? Breaking-the-warrior-code bad? 'How could have Beetlestar chosen you?'
"Reedpaw and Cinderpaw are doing well," he said. "They're adapting to BarnClan life rather well. I didn't bring them because they were tired."
"And you are treating them well, I hope."
He rolled his eyes. "Owlfoot, please. As their father, I am raising them perfectly well."
The apprentice stared, wide-eyed. 'Sedgetail is the father?' She flattened her ears against her skull. 'How mousebrained can you be, Owlfoot?' Had Owlfoot completely forgotten about the warrior code? For StarClan's sake, she had basically thrown it away! Forgotten the way of Clan life!
"I could have, too, you know," Owlfoot said somewhat mournfully. "I could have raised them in my own Clan perfectly well."
"Not if you wanted to become deputy," he reminded her. His tone was hard and tired, as if he had explained this to Owlfoot many times before. "And after Troutfur's death, too."
Troutfur. Lightningpaw vaguely recalled that name and tom. He was deputy before she was born, Brambleflower had told her. But one day they had discovered his broken body near the river - an odd find because LakeClan cats were taught to swim. But after Ravenleaf had examined him, she had ruled cause of death to be a fox attack.
Owlfoot seemed bitter to hear the old deputy's name. "I deserved to be deputy."
"And so you gave me the kits," Sedgetail finished the conversation. "I should be organizing dusk patrol," he said, looking up at the dark sky. "Goodbye, Owlfoot." Then, just like that, he disappeared into the forest.
She could barely contain her anger and disbelief any longer. The cat she had once admired as a kit had done so many wrong things. Had turned her back on the Clan. Disobeyed the fundamentals! How dare Owlfoot?
"Hey! Light-"
Too late. The apprentice exploded from the bush and barely registered Owlfoot's shock. Anger made her feel alive. Anger made her paws tingle and head rush. She was faintly aware that she was yelling, but she couldn't stop herself - not like she wanted to, anyway. "I knew that your secret was bad. I was hoping you help you, you know! Even though I wanted to tell Beetlestar! I thought that maybe you had a shred of decency left in you as the deputy of LakeClan! But instead, I find out that you've been breaking the warrior code for as long as I have lived - even longer. You're not even a Clan cat, much less a deputy!"
"What did I say to you?!" Owlfoot growled, baring her teeth. "I told you to keep your head out of this. I told the both of you!" She glared at Spiderpaw who stayed hidden in the bushes. "I have made mistakes, Lightningpaw -"
"Your whole life was a mistake."
"But my kits are something I won't regret!"
"Is that what Sedgetail is using against you? Your kits?"
"It is more than that," Owlfoot admitted. "But I must feed my kits, and I can't let anyone find out about this."
"BarnClan can surely feed themselves! How about us, your Clanmates? Or have you forgotten that you have to take care of us, too?"
Lightningpaw couldn't remember anything else after that aggressive accusation. Why? Because all she could remember were her deputy's furious, malicious yellow eyes only inches away from hers. She could smell Owlfoot's hot breath against her sensitive whiskers. She could feel Owlfoot's claws pierce her skin and draw blood. And she could hear Spiderpaw's frantic yowls in the distance.
Then, she blacked out.