Chapter 15: Greyleaf

Greyleaf hauled herself out of the nursery. She looked around.

No one seemed to notice her, they were all too busy running around the hollow.

She padded over to the leader's den, concealed by the hustle-and-bustle of camp. Even when she climbed the rockpile she wasn't noticed. Greyleaf looked down at the hollow below, smiling because of their obliviousness. Then, she remembered what she was doing, and stomped into Sunstar's den.

"Sunstar," She called brusquely, startling him in his nest, "I demand that you let me come to the battle."

He shook his head. "No, no, no. I will not have you putting yourself in danger like that."

"But-"

"Greyleaf," Sunstar sighed, "We both know that there is no way that you can fight in your...condition. And I doubt that Blackfur would let you go either."

"It doesn't matter to me what Blackfur thinks. I want to be there when the battle happens. I want to be able to help, even if it's not by battling."

Sunstar sighed, "Greyleaf I don't think-"

"I can help Featherheart! I can tend to wounded warriors on the field! I could do a lot of things that don't involve fighting!" She yowled.

Sunstar stood to his full height then, his golden head held high over Greyleaf's and his brown eyes blazing, but she stood her ground. "Greyleaf, YOU WILL NOT GO TO THE BATTLE. Is that understood?" He growled.

"Yes sir." She relented because he was leader, but did not keep the anger out of her voice. She shot him a nasty glare before leaving the den.

I WILL go to that battle.

When the battle-party left for Shadowclan territory the next day, Greyleaf tailed them silently, which was hard, considering. She was almost caught on several occasions, and she did not want to be caught.

Once they arrived at the clearing, Greyleaf sopped in her tracks. She knew to keep away from the actual fighting, she wasn't thatcrazy. So, she climbed a nearby tree and watched from above.

"Pinestar," Sunstar called across the twoleg Greenleaf camping place, " You can end this now. Surrender, and we do not have to fight."

Pinestar growled, his amber eyes wild, his pelt spiked, and tightened his claws on the grass. Greyleaf had never seen him this way. Never had she imagined him to look as savage as he did now, when he did not know of her presence. Greyleaf silently prayed.Please Starclan, don't let him do this. Please do not attack Pinestar. Please, don't.

But her prayers went unanswered.

"I will not surrender Sunstar," Pinestar growled, "Shadowclan ATAAACK!" He yowled, and the battle was on.

Teeth and claws met below her. Pelts were torn and painful yowls were heard. Blood filled the clearing, soaking into the ground. Angry balls of fur clawed and scratched at each other. This looked like more that just a battle, it looked like an all-out death match.

Greyleaf stayed where she was, watching, until Pinestar was backed up against her tree by Mouseflight and Fernfoot. The Shadowclan leader skillfully parried their blows, but couldn't get himself out of his bad position. Greyleaf itched to climb down and protect him, but was saved from doing so by two Shadowclan cats that led the Thunderclan cats away.

Pinestar sighed with relief, and was about to jump back into the fray when Greyleaf jumped down to land beside him.

"Pinestar!" She mewed.

"Greyleaf?" He said, turning to face her, his voice anxious, "Greyleaf, what are you doing here?" He demanded, his voice shrill.

"I wanted to come to the battle. I need to know why your doing this." She replied.

Pinestar hung his head. "I didn't mean for this to happen, but I couldn't look weak in front of my clan. I couldn't let them find out about us."

A tortiseshell Shadowclan cat ran towards them. "Pinestar," She called, "Need a little help?"

"No Cedarheart, I've got this one." He replied, growling at Greyleaf.

Cedarheart nodded, and dove back into battle.

Pinestar and Greyleaf, noticing that they could be seen, started to fake fight. They batted at each other with claws sheathed, growling and spitting. Until...

"Greyleaf!" Leopardheart yowled, charging towards them, "Stay away from her you piece of fox-dung!" He cried, jumping on Pinestar and pulling him to the ground. The two fought viciously in front of Greyleaf, each tearing at the pelt of the other. They rolled away into the mass of cats, and two Shadowclan cats, one black, one gray, joined Pinestar in his battle.

"Father!" Greyleaf yowled as she saw him disappear beneath the three cats. She leaped to her feet and sprinted towards them. In her haste, Greyleaf forgot about the other cats. She was scratched and bitten as she slowly made her way to her father. Almost there, she tripped over a small brown Shadowclan apprentice, who snarled and bit her ear. She cried out in pain, and kicked the apprentice away.

But when she reached her father, she froze. Pinestar stood over Leopardheart, his white muzzle stained crimson with her father's blood. The two Shadowclan cats circled around, nipping harshly at the fallen deputy. Covered in wounds and his stomach ripped open, her father lay on the ground beneath Pinestar. Greyleaf held her breath, still frozen in her tracks. Time seemed to slow down. The battle around Greyleaf melted into blurs of color. All she could focus on was her father, her mate, and the two Shadowclan cats. Leopardheart's blue eyes met Greyleaf's, the light draining from them, and he choked out a few mews.

"Greyleaf, I'm sorry." And he died.

"No!" She yowled, running to her father, shoving Pinestar aside.

She licked his head, trying to get him to open his eyes. Just wanting her father back. Wanting to take back everything she'd said. Realizing her father was gone, her sadness turned to anger. She faced Pinestar, teeth bared, snarling.

"You murderer!" She yowled, and swiped at his face with unsheathed claws.

Pinestar was stunned, he stood there and mutely took the blow. The two angry Shadowclan cats got ready to pounce on Greyleaf, but Pinestar held up his tail to stop them.

"Leave her." He said, and walked away, leaving Greyleaf to weep over her father.

The battle didn't continue long after that. She vaguely heard Pinestar's voice telling his clan to fall back, and then felt pelts rushing past her to he Shadowclan border. Triumphant Thunderclan yowls sounded, but they were cut off when they noticed Greyleaf. She heard gasps of disbelief when they saw Leopardheart, and she felt Blackfur's tail on her back as she was pulled away from Leopardheart's body. He led her back to the hollow, with the dismal battle-party following.

Authors note: I looked at the traffic graphs and saw that more people look at my stories than review on them. I just wanna tell you all that reviews are great. In fact, I check my account everyday for new reviews, and it's like Pinkie-pie and the mailbox for me. No matter how often I check, they just don't seem to show up. Please review what you think. Reading what you viewers have to say makes my day. Oops, rhyme. LOLZ. Well, if your reading this, please review more often.

QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER: Do you think that Pinestar meant to kill Leopardheart?