Ahh! I wrote this chappy in less then two hours and uploaded it yesterday. But the ending was so dark and angst it bugged me all night. So I just rewrote the ending. It's shorter, but not as sad. Whew!
Three days had passed since Shallowstar had journeyed to Highstones. Three days since Passionpaw had last seen her friend. She found herself longing for his comforting words and his tongue rasping over her ear. Mudstreak had always supported her unconditionally. How many times had she wished Mudstreak was her mentor and not Sablefrost? She felt his eyes on her as she lay in the sun in front of the apprentice's den. She had felt his eyes on her ever since she had returned with Shallowstar from Highstones. She knew he suspected something… how would she sneak away tonight to meet Mudstreak without him on her tail?
She had not chosen to leave WindClan. She loved the broad windy uplands. It hurt to think of leaving her birth Clan.
Yet what would she have to gain by staying? She had no friends in WindClan. Ever since she had delivered Mudstreaks message three days ago, she felt the Clan draw away from her slowly as if they didn't trust her. Mudstreak had always been able to shield her from the Clans careless whispers. Now that he was gone, she heard them everywhere, haunting every move she made. What did I do to deserve this from you? she wanted to shout to them.
She glanced up. The sun would be setting soon… She was going to meet Mudstreak at moonhigh and she still had not made her decision. Stay here with her overprotective mentor or go to NightClan to be with Mudstreak?
"Hey, Passionpaw," meowed a voice. She jumped and rose to her paws.
"Sablefrost!" she mewed. "I didn't hear you." She stared at him icily but he didn't seem to notice.
"No wonder. You had your head in the stars!" he purred. She didn't reply. "Er, it's been a while since we've gone training. How about joining me by the Old Badger Set? We could practice our battle skills," he suggested. She shook her head.
"I don't really feel like it today, Sablefrost. I've been on my paws since dawn," she mewed evasively. She turned away, but she knew he was still standing there.
"All you've done today is care for the elders and go on a short hunting patrol. You shouldn't be that tired."
She closed her eyes, trying to fight down the boiling rage the rose in her like a river. Sablefrost's tone had changed subtly. She knew he was accusing her for something. She turned and glared at him, her neck fur bristling.
"And what have you been doing all day?" she hissed, her voice like poison. "Watching me? Why is it I can't even leave the camp to gather moss without you knowing? Have you nothing better to do?" Her voice had risen steadily until she was almost shouting. Sablefrost growled slightly to silence her.
"I'm your mentor, it's my duty to know where you've been. Now come on… We're going training," he meowed, voice soft and steady. She suppressed a frustrated hiss, but she knew it would do no good to argue… and she wanted nothing more then to get out of camp and away from the stares everyone was giving her. So she followed Sablefrost out of camp, heart sinking slowly as she watched Azurepaw lean into Goldenpaw and whisper something, staring at the two cats as she did. Can't you all just leave me alone?
As soon as they were free from the thorn barrier surrounding the camp, Passionpaw broke out into a run. The clear moorland air filled her lungs and she took long, slow breaths, trying to soothe herself. She could hear Sablefrost behind her and she ran faster. She didn't want him following her. She closed her eyes, trusting her paws to carry her blindly to the old badger set. For a brief moment she pretended she was flying, her paws skimming across the dry earth as if it wasn't there. She could just run… Ran away free and forget everything that had happened to her. Or at least, she wished she could.
Too soon she arrived at the set and she was forced to slow down. The set was where mentors generally took their apprentices to train. The ground was mostly free of gorse or bramble thickets and it was very springy, easy to train on. The old badger set had collapsed long ago and it was barely recognizable, just a mound of soft dirt.
It didn't take Sablefrost long to join Passionpaw, shaking his fur free of dust that had stuck to him.
"You're a fast runner," he remarked. Passionpaw rolled her eyes. Tell me something I don't know! she thought dully. Sablefrost was speaking, but she had tuned him out. For the first time, she realized that they were not far from the NightClan border. Before it had been no problem, but now she realized that a NightClan patrol could easily watch as mentor and apprentice's trained. Was it her imagination or did she see a cat at the border now? Two eyes glinted in the darkness then disappeared. She glanced at the sky. The sun had set and the moon was just beginning to rise. Mudstreak wouldn't be waiting for her already, would he?
"Passionpaw! Are you even listening to me?" growled an irritated voice, waking her from her thoughts.
"Wha?" she mewed guiltily. Sablefrost sighed. "You didn't hear a word I just said, did you." he mewed dejectedly. She didn't answer, gazing at her paws instead.
"I said, let's practice fighting with paws only." he repeated patiently. She nodded, wondering why anyone would want to fight paws-only. They started circling, Passionpaw concentrating on Sablefrost's dark eyes. He suddenly dashed towards her, but she was ready. She jumped to one side and pounced on him when he landed where she had been only seconds before. She clutched his lean shoulders and sank her teeth in his ear, not hard enough to draw blood but hard enough to make him hiss. He reared and fell backwards, crushing the breath out of her in an instant. She gasped and tried to roll onto her paws, but already Sablefrost had her pinned.
"Mouse-brain!" he hissed, releasing her. "I said we were fighting paws-only!"
She shrugged. "You were the one who told me to do what my enemy least expected!" she explained. Sablefrost looked uncertain for a moment and then laughed.
"Of course I did. You're smart. Okay… Let's do it again, but this time we're really going to do paws-only, okay?" he mewed, already circling. She nodded and copied his circling motion, but her concentration was broken by a familiar scent. Sablefrost recognized it to and hissed, spinning around to glare at the cat who was standing only feet from them. Passionpaw's heart leapt.
It was Mudstreak!
The white warrior stood, staring coolly at Sablefrost. Sablefrost bristled and growled deep in his throat.
"Get off of our territory, Mudstreak!" he hissed. Passionpaw stared from one tom to another, suddenly unsure of herself.
"Is that a way to greet an old friend, Sablefrost?" meowed Mudstreak silkily. Passionpaw shivered and backed away, ignoring the sharp glance her mentor gave her.
"You're not an old friend, Mudstreak. You're a traitor and you're not welcome here! Now leave, or we'll chase you across the border!" Sablefrost threatened.
"Oh, I have no intention of staying… I was just coming to see what Passionpaw's answer was." he meowed calmly. Sablefrost visibly stiffened and Passionpaw felt like falling into a rabbit hole and never coming out.
"She'll never come to NightClan with you!" hissed Sablefrost. Passionpaw twitched and felt anger rise slowly inside of her. There was no mistaking Sablefrost's tone. He had known all along! No wonder he had been watching her all the time. He was afraid she would run off with Mudstreak! She flattened her ears and hissed at him.
"Not that you have any say in it!" she growled. Sablefrost half-turned to look at her. She glared at him, blue eyes alight with fire.
"Passionpaw – Your place is in WindClan!" he hissed gently. She looked away, staring at the moorlands.
"My place is where I can be accepted," she mewed softly. "WindClan doesn't want me… You don't want me."
Sablefrost's eyes widened. "That's not true! Passionpaw, you—"
"No!" she hissed, unsheathing her claws. "I don't want to hear it! You never cared about me! All you cared about was whether or not you looked good! Well sorry, Sablefrost. I'm leaving!" She glared at him. For one moment their eyes were locked, his full of hurt and bewilderment… hers filled with defiance and resentment.
"Passionpaw… Please!" he whispered. But she ignored him. She stalked away, the warm wind buffeting her fur. The smells of the highlands were rich and inviting but Passionpaw didn't look back. She was leaving the only place that had ever been her home. She was going where she was welcome.
Did I metion reviews make me update faster? Well, they do. I wrote this chappy in less then two hours 'cause I got a pwnsomeful review from NN.