Good at Hiding

"Larchpaw! Larchpaw!"

Midst the mobbing of cats that mingled around in the hollow, where the moon bathed the clearing in a brilliant white light, a single brown tabby tom darted around in search of a very specific cat with very specific yellow eyes.

He bobbed and weaved around other felines, some his own clanmates, many not.

"Watch it, kit!" snapped an older warrior - thin, wiry, and dark gray in color - as the smaller, much younger cat bumped into her and kept running without apology. She grumbled to herself and melded back in the crowd as she joined conversation with another cat from her own moor smelling Clan.

The little tabby bounded over another group of 'paws, springing over the head of his fellow clanmate, Rootpaw.

"Sorry guys!" the tabby chirped at the same time Rootpaw growled, "Alderpaw!"

"What's his deal?" RiverClan apprentice Eelpaw snorted.

"Larchpaw," groaned Rootpaw and tried to resume their previous conversation.

Alderpaw yowled again, "Larchpaw!" and succeeded in earning more glares from the other cats here. Sure, it was welcome to mingle and speak to everyone of your choice but it was a little rude to scream at the top of your lungs. Many WindClan warriors thought so, at the very least.

"Right here, Alderpaw, no need to be so loud."

A feminine giggle sounded casually off to the tabby's right side. He whirled toward the voice and his face broke out in a huge grin. "Larchpaw!" His tail waved upright and he bounded closer until the pair were barely a tail length apart.

"You'll need to correct yourself, Alderpaw," the brown speckled molly mewed with a curt smile. "I received my warrior name just a few sunrises ago. It's Larchtail now."

"Wow," beamed the little tabby. "That's amazing. Larchtail! It sounds so regal! Just wait some more moons an you'll be Larchstar!"

Larchtail, the brown speckled female of ShadowClan, purred warmly. "If only. I've got a while before that happens. Doestar is very healthy, as is our deputy Sparrowwing." Her tail swished and her head tilted, giving Alderpaw an innocent, curious look. "Speaking of health, Redstar's looking a bit frail," she meowed and cast a small glance up to the ThunderClan leader - the aging Redstar. "How many lives does he have left?"

"Oh!" Alderpaw began mindlessly, "It's pretty bad. He's on his last life."

"I see," Larchtail nodded in thought. "But it's green-leaf. He doesn't have to worry about catching green-cough or anything nasty."

"That's right!" Alderpaw meowed in agreement. "But an attack would probably be fatal. Mothspeck has his paws full in the medicine den. A bunch of warriors tried to chase off a fox two sunrises ago. They're still recovering from some pretty bad wounds."

"I see," Larchtail mewed again, quietly contemplating. "So does that make ThunderClan a little weak?"

"Not at all!" Alderpaw fiercely crowed in defense. "We always have a guard on watch at the front of the camp. They'll be able to see anything and warn the Clan of invasion. We're able to defend ourselves quite well."

Larchtail smiled. "That's good. I'm glad my little warrior's Clan is formidable enough to fend off invaders. How long do you think until you're named a warrior?"

"Aw, it'll probably be another moon or so," a childish Alderpaw kicked at the soil, scuffing up some of the dirt of the hollow in a small cloud which he immediately inhaled and sneezed. "Whitefeather is impressed with my training so far, but he's not ready to name me a warrior so early. I've got more to learn."

"Of course. Well don't forget, I'll be here at the gathering when you're officially named and I'll be cheering the loudest." The sultry ShadowClan warrior purred silkily, her eyes glimmering in the night.

"Really!" chirped Alderpaw with a huge smile on his muzzle. "Gee, thanks Larchtail! You're the best!"

"Certainly, but I think you're better," the brown flecked warrior returned the smile and nuzzled the apprentice's cheek.

Alderpaw let out a happy squeak, flushing in his face, and allowed a purr to rumble in his throat.

"Larchtail, are you here?" an inquisitive Alderpaw revealed himself to the moonlight seeping into the open clearing as he called out for his ShadowClan friend. He took a few more paces forward, pausing in the clearing's center, leaving him completely exposed, but he wasn't worried.

"I'm right here, my little Alder Tree," Larchtail's affectionate lilt resonated from the foliage on the opposing side and the brown flecked warrior stepped out, allowing the light to bathe her pelt in a luminous glow.

"Wow," Alderpaw couldn't contain himself, breathing loudly in surprise. "You look... really pretty in the moonlight."

"Hmm," the molly hummed, approaching the smaller feline with tall, graceful steps. "You don't look half bad yourself, handsome."

"Heh," Alderpaw felt a subtle burn in his cheeks as he glanced down at his paws in embarrassment. No matter how many times Larchtail had complimented his appearance, he still wasn't able to accept it without melting into a puddle of emotions. "So how are you?"

The warrior slunk closer, encircling the apprentice like a cat corners prey, complete with her toothy, predatory smile that Alderpaw seemed to be blind to in his haze of romanticism. "I'm doing very well," she meowed in a velvet soft tone, her tail dragging along the tomcat's spine. She grinned wider at the other's visible shudder. "ShadowClan is thriving." Larchtail seated herself right next to the 'paw, pelts brushing together with a sparkly tingle. "How is ThunderClan? All is well."

"Well and silent," the tabby tom warbled. "Whitefeather's on guard and boy he almost caught me slipping out. He knows the scent of his apprentice well."

"Hmm, I know your scent very well, too," Larchtail said slyly, nuzzling the 'paw again on his fluffy cheek fur. He squeaked again, overwhelmed by the affection.

He looked up quickly, locking eyes with the female. He took in a large inhale and burst out rather quickly, "Larchtail I think I'm in love with you!"

Larchtail's ears perked up instantly and she smiled.

Alderpaw's heart swelled and he was ready for the molly to confirm his thoughts that she loved him back.

"Oh, my little Alder Tree," she meowed with a cruel edge.

Alderpaw felt his swelled up heart start to crack. He was used to her calling him 'my little Alder Tree', but her tone now was so different. It used to be bathed in love and adoration, but now...

"My little sapling. You're cute. But I don't love you."

The little 'paw thought he heard his own heart shatter.

"No..." he meowed breathily, unbelieving. "You call me sweet names, you snuggle my fur, we sleep under the stars -! You love me!" His head bowed quickly, teeth clenched as his closed eyelids filled to the brim with tears.

"I really don't," Larchtail crooned, raising Alderpaw's head with a sharp claw underneath his chin, forcing him to look at her. "But I'm really talented at manipulation. You were such an easy mark." She giggled and an icy chill ran down the apprentice's spine.

"I don't get it then," Alderpaw sniffled, trying to quell the streams leaking from his eyes. "Why... why me?"

"You were an easy mark," Larchtail insisted, puffing out her chest. "You give away information too easily without even a second thought."

"Information?"

"Can't you hear it?"

The clearing was suddenly lapsed in silence and Alderpaw had a chance to actually listen to the noise of the forest. Deep into the heart of ThunderClan territory, Alderpaw was able to make out the sounds of war: battle screeches, hissing, and snarling.

ShadowClan at war with ThunderClan.

"No!" Alderpaw gasped in realization. "You're attacking ThunderClan!"

"Of course," Larchtail smirked. "We didn't know our way around the territory before you came along and told me everything. Oh, and nice tip about Redstar being on his last life by the way. He won't last long against Doestar. ThunderClan should be weakened long enough a while. ShadowClan will thrive through green-leaf and into leaf-bare. We are superior."

"Rootpaw was right about trusting ShadowClan," Alderpaw continued sniffling, now from raw, wet anger. "You guys are horrible!"

Larchtail merely licked her paw and ran it over her ears. "We're good at hiding."

Hatred burned in the tabby apprentice's eyes. He hoped she would catch aflame and die a slow, painful death.

"Now, why don't you stop with the death glares and run along back to your Clan. I'm sure you'd love to see the damage we've done." Larchtail whirled around and leaped back into the shadows. Alderpaw, furious, wanted to chase her down but the concern for his Clan overrode his feelings of revenge.

He ran, ran as fast as he could. He tripped over brambles in the darkness, yelping as the thorns bit at his pelt. But still he ran, determined to get back. The crunching of forest foliage caught his attention, barely, alongside the flashing of silhouettes as the wave of warriors fled the scene of the crime. ShadowClan had left. Finally.

Alderpaw burst into view of the camp, right in front of the guard post outside the entrance. He would have kept running if a stark white pelt didn't stick out like a sore paw midst the moss.

The apprentice gasped and rushed over. "Whitefeather?"

The senior warrior's white throat was splashed with red. More blood smeared his stark colored coat alongside his flanks that were clearly no longer rising and falling. Whitefeather, his own mentor, had died at the claws of a ShadowClan cat.

"This shouldn't have happened..." the tabby whined pathetically, collapsing by the white warrior and burying his muzzle in the fallen's chest fur. "If I wasn't so foolish, you'd still be alive. You would have lived to see me become a warrior. Whitefeather, please wake up."

Whitefeather's golden eyes stared hollowly out into the darkness, unblinking.

Alderpaw cried harder.

If only he hadn't trusted that damn ShadowClan flea-pelt.

If only.

Challenge for TorrentClan

A/N:

poor babu, poor little Alderpaw, I just wanna hug him

but the snark trend continues - every story I write ends in tragedy and death

whoops

- Thornlight