Chapter 4

I changed up some names in the Allegiances to reader requests!

Bubblepaw was sharing a piece of fresh-kill with Runningpaw. They didn't want to eat much because they were so excited, though they should have been eating a lot for energy.

"Oooh, I'm so excited… gah, I can't eat anymore. I'll eat later, okay?" Bubblepaw sat up and walked away from Runningpaw, who still nibbled at the vole.

She spotted Vixenfur and Dreamfur resting under the shade of a tree. They spoke, but their jaws barely moved. Dreamfur shifted closer, and licked Vixenfur's face.

She approached them. "Er…hello." she meowed, dipping her head in greeting and feeling awkward.

They shot apart. "Oh, uh, hello, Bubblepaw…we were just-," Dreamfur stuttered.

"Yeah, yeah, lovers' chat. You don't have to explain." Bubblepaw mrrowed in amusement.

Vixenfur rolled her eyes. "You mouse-brain, Dreamfur…" she muttered. "So, what's new, Bubblepaw?"

Bubblepaw's eyes shone. "Well, I'm just so excited that I actually get to go to the Gathering… I couldn't even eat! It's just like when I was going to be named an apprentice!"

Vixenfur stood and rasped her tongue over Bubblepaw's shoulder. "You really should go eat something, then we'll all go on patrol and renew the border. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great!" Bubblepaw ran off, but disobeyed Vixenfur's order to eat. She went straight off to Nightpaw. "Heya, we're all going for a border patrol now."

He looked up from his discussion with Badgerpaw. "Kay," he said, turning to Badgerpaw. "Well, I'll see you later."

They ran over to the entrance of the camp, meeting up with their mentors there.

"Well, it doesn't look like anyone's been here…" Nightpaw concluded, looking around once more as their session ended.

Dreamfur's fur suddenly bristled. "I smell… something. Something strange."

Bubblepaw caught the scent, too, and began to feel anxious. It was Coyotepaw's. Why are you here? Go back to WindClan! Please! She wanted to cry out to him, but she knew that was a bad idea. "Ummm… I'm going to go mark the border again, I'll be right back!" she thought fast and shot off before some cat could tell her otherwise. She followed the 'phantom cat's' scent until she ran into him. Despite her anger at his stupidity, she was happy to see him again. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I…," Coyotepaw looked away, embarrassed.

"Well, what? The Gathering's gunna be soon!"

"I know, I…" he looked up sheepishly at Bubblepaw. "I couldn't wait that long to see you again."

Bubblepaw's cheeks grew hot. "Oh, well… I…." They looked at each other for a while. Finally, she accepted it. "Thank you, Coyotepaw."

"I… I feel…" he was looking away again now. The scent of WindClan was on him again- his rush to see Bubblepaw had left him with not enough of the clear scent on him.

Dreamfur growled from behind Bubblepaw. She whipped around, gasping. Coyotepaw put on his most innocent face, but his eyes looked troubled.

"Who are you, why are you here?" he snarled, signaling with his tail that Bubblepaw should go behind him.

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm a friend of Bubblepaw's…" he trailed off.

"So?" Vixenfur said coolly. "That doesn't mean you can cross over here just to see her." He looked at her pleadingly. Vixenfur kept her cool composure. "Besides, you're from different Clans-mating would be forbidden."

Bubblepaw felt her whole body go red, and she was going to protest, but Coyotepaw got there first. "Yes, ma'am…sorry." Bubblepaw heard the bushes part and then he was gone.

Vixenfur turned to Bubblepaw. "I'm not going to tell Sapphirestar about this, but if it happens again…"

"I'm sorry… and it's not like that, we're just…" Bubblepaw trailed off.

Nightpaw broke the awkwardness with a laugh. "That's our Bubblepaw, always on the dangerous side! Cut her some slack, Vixenfur, some of the free toms in RiverClan are total dopes!"

Vixenfur cracked a smile. "That's true…" she glanced at Dreamfur.

"Wha-hey!" he retorted to her un-meowed comment.

As they laughed on the trip home, Bubblepaw gave a meaningful 'thank you' look to Nightpaw, who winked at her. "Always got your back, sis," he whispered, his eyes glimmering.

"Okay, its time for the Gathering!" Dreamfur called to the Clan. Bubblepaw almost choked on her fresh kill, then spat it out and ran over to the line.

"Letsgoletsgoletsgoletsgo!" she urged, bouncing. "Lets, like, beat the crap out of a fox or something on the way!"

"Man, you wouldn't notice a fox if it ate you, now calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen, don't get your sadistic hopes up," Dreamfur teased.

When the cats that were going assembled, Sapphirestar lead her Clan out of the camp, following the worn down trail that lead to the Gathering spot.

They broke through the bracken, Bubblepaw getting slightly scratched, but the moonlight filtering beautifully through the trees washed the pain away. It was amazing. All the cats looked up at them-by the looks of it, ShadowClan wasn't there yet.

Bubblepaw slid down the hill and ran to the cluster of chatting cats. A body bowled her over; Coyotepaw's eyes shone as he met up with her again.

"Coyotepaw!" Bubblepaw licked his shoulder.

Runningpaw came up behind them. "Hello." He said coldly to Runningpaw. Rumours went around that Runningpaw liked Bubblepaw a lot, so naturally he wouldn't like Coyotepaw very much.

Coyotepaw noticed this and decided it would be fun to annoy him. Bubblepaw was still pinned under him, and he leaned in closer to rasp his tongue fondly over her ear. "It's nice to see you again," he purred, his eyes darting from Runningpaw to Bubblepaw. Runningpaw stiffened.

Vixenfur's voice purred over the three apprentices. "You kids enjoying yourselves?"

"Very," Coyotepaw replied, winking. Vixenfur laughed.

"Bubblepaw, I don't think you've met my good friend Dragonheart? She's in WindClan, just like your friend there."

Dragonheart stepped forward, her eyes shining. "Hiya! Now, now, Coyotepaw, always the play-cat." She purred. "That Bubblepaw's a keeper… ohh, yes…" she muttered. Vixenfur stepped on her paw, and they had a silent argument.

"What's that about?" Bubblepaw asked.

"Who cares? So what's new?" Coyotepaw quipped.

The two chatted happily for a while, until ShadowClan finally appeared. The Clan ran down into the clearing, and the leader leapt instantly up to the leaders.

"I'm very sorry to be late, one of the warriors had a spasm, and we were forced to turn back and drop her off to the medicine cats' den- I like to see them off personally- and we got another warrior. Again, my apologies. May I start?" he asked the other Clan leaders after the apology.

The rest of them nodded.

"That's Darkstar-he's the best thing that ever happened to ShadowClan," Dragonheart told the apprentices.

"The phantom cat struck again, my friends… Treepaw was seduced by him." He sighed, thinking about the dumb apprentice at ShadowClan. "We have some new warriors-Candypaw and Cornpaw are now Candyfur and Cornpelt. Other than that, everything's fine."

The Gathering rolled through quickly. Sapphirestar passed on the sad news of Gooseflight's death, and warned the Clans about the eagle. Eaglestar was cut off by sudden thunder. "StarClan is…unhappy?" The ThunderClan leader was confused.

Then lightning struck, straight at Bubblepaw. She was frozen in fear and shock, so Coyotepaw jumped and dragged her, in a flash, to safety. His eyes held nothing but concern. "Are you all right?"

Bubblepaw nodded, speechless.

"Wha… StarClan is trying to tell us something about this apprentice from River…" he trailed off, looking troubled. He turned to Sapphirestar. "Is that the one? The apprentice from all those moons ago?"

"Hush, Eaglestar, not many know of that…" She replied, looking troubled herself.

"Answer the question."

Sapphirestar hesitated. "…Yes."

Eaglestar's claws scraped the rock under his paws. "That… that unknown cat, StarClan is mad because she is in its presence once again! A blessing you called her, but now look what's happened!" the leader fumed.

"Now, Eaglestar, stop your whining!" Sapphirestar meowed.

"Whining? You call it whining, my concern for the forest all because of an apprentice with an unknown origin? No scent, no familiarities, nothing! No, Sapphirestar, I call that deathtrap blasphemy!"

"Silence!" Cranestar bellowed. She was the oldest and wisest of the leaders. She snapped to Eaglestar. "We promised never to speak of it again, and you rise the problem at a Gathering? And I don't believe you would call the poor apprentice blasphemy, when she's thinks she knows of herself!"

Sapphirestar was hissing, sheathing and unsheathing her claws.

Bubblepaw was scared and confused. "Are you talking about… me?"

Eaglestar whipped around to her, ignoring Cranestar's criticism. "What do you know of yourself, girl, of your family?"

"Th…that it consists of Lionfoot, Goldenclaw, Nightpaw and Mistypaw of RiverClan, sir," she managed to scrape her voice together.

"WRONG, you foolish apprentice!"

"Take that back!" Lionfoot howled, hate in his eyes.

"Then…who is my family?" Bubblepaw asked the question on everyone's mind.

"No one knows." Sapphirestar told her sadly, looking her square in the eye. Bubblepaw was so overwhelmed with everything that was happening… family? Phantom cat? StarClan? Unkown origin?

She fainted, Sapphirestar's sad face fading away.

Strangely, the blackness held her tom likeness, staring proudly at her.

What...? She's not part of RiverClan after all? And who is this mysterious tom in her dreams? Review to find out!