Leaves in Summer

Chapter Two:

For a moment, Leafpool was so shocked that she found herself incapable of speech. A mate?! Leafpool yowled internally. You've got to be kidding me! As if that would make things any better than they are!

Obviously seeing her daughters incredulous look, Sandstorm quickly continued. 'Look, I know you probably don't want to. It's a big ask, what with Crowfeather, but...' She hesitated. 'But it will help. Your clan-mates will-'

Leafpool was barely listening to her mother. Her blood boiled hotter than fire in her veins. 'Don't want to?' She whispered, trying desperately to keep herself calm. 'You know I don't want another mate. How can you suggest something like that?'

Sandstorm's ears flattened against the side of her head: Leafpool could see the guilt in her mother's eyes. 'It's happened before.' She said. 'Crowfeather himself has done it.'

'I don't care if Crowfeather has done it!' She snapped. Her tail lashed from side to side, her anger levels rising. The truth was, Leafpool knew perfectly well that Crowfeather had taken Nightcloud as a mate for this reason; it hurt her deep inside. Every time it was mentioned by anyone, the former medicine cat felt like hitting something. 'In fact, that just makes me want to take another mate even less.'

Sandstorm opened her mouth, but Leafpool interrupted sharply, getting to her paws. 'Besides, who do you know in ThunderClan that would want to have me as their mate.' She said bitterly, pacing up and down. 'If you were a tom, would you want to mate with someone who'd broken both the medicine cat code, and had kits with a warrior from a different Clan?'

She glanced at Sandstorm, waiting for a reply. 'Well, who?' She asked again.

When in answer, all Leafpool received was silence, she laughed bitterly and turned her back, curling up into a spiky ball of bristling fur. 'Yeah.' She replied. 'I thought so.'

Sandstorm was quiet for a moment, before the she-cat huffed and got to her paws. 'Fine.' She said, before she too turned her back and padded away towards the exit to the warrior's den. She paused just as she was about to leave. 'But Leafpool...' she began, before sighing. 'Just think about it, okay?'

And with that, Sandstorm disappeared out from warrior's den, leaving Leafpool alone curled up in her nest. As soon as her mother had gone, the tabby white and brown she-cat hissed. 'I can't believe her.' She said under her breath. 'A mate? She's crazy.'

Brambleclaw sauntered through the forest with ease, leading his patrol along the ShadowClan border. Though on the surface, he seemed calm and cool, he was feeling nervous. At the moment, ShadowClan had been making advances on their territory- that meant it was important to patrol this border more frequently than others.

He spared a glance behind him to make the sure the rest of the patrol were keeping up. The cats with him were Cloudtail, Birchfall, Icecloud and Squirrelflight. His eyes narrowed a little when he saw the ginger she-cat trailing at the back, staring at him. She diverted her gaze as soon as he looked back: Brambleclaw was only too happy to break the contact.

'Brambleclaw,' Icecloud panted. 'Can we slow down a bit? Keeping this pace is exhausting.'

The deputy of ThunderClan didn't reply for a moment, but shook his head, feeling exasperated. I swear, no one in ThunderClan has any real stamina anymore, he thought. Even so, the tom lifted his tail, signalling for the patrol to the stop.

All the cats instantly let out a sigh of relief and sat down, breathing in and out heavily. Brambleclaw smiled a little as Birchfall collapsed on the ground with his tongue hanging out. 'You've killed me!' He rasped, pitifully.

Cloudtail smirked and Icecloud began to giggle. Squirrelflight didn't react. Instantly, the tom found himself staring at the attractive ginger she-cat again. Their eyes met for just a moment- just long enough for tension to build up between them.

Brambleclaw shook his head and looked away, his pelt bristling a little. A memory of the times when they had been happy together washed over him, but the tom didn't linger on the thought. If Squirrelflight had wanted our relationship to last, she should of just told me the truth.

Brambleclaw got back to his paws, feeling restless. 'You guys ready to keep on going?' He questioned.

Icecloud quickly stretched and nodded vigorously. 'Let's go!' She said, enthusiastically. Brambleclaw purred, admiring the she-cat's youthful energy. She'll turn into a fine warrior one day.

Eventually, the three remaining warriors got back to the paws. They were about to continue with their patrol, when suddenly, a brash and arrogant voice echoed from the bushes. 'Well, well, well. Look what we have here.'

Brambleclaw spun around to see Ratscar, a senior warrior of ShadowClan, strolling out from the pine trees on the other side of the border. Brambleclaw stiffened, but refrained form emitting a growl. He had never like Ratscar. He was bloodthirsty and all too willing to get in to a fight.

Behind him emerged the rest of the patrol. Brambleclaw quickly took note that it looked more like a battle patrol than a normal border one. Some of ShadowClan's best warriors were there. Crowfrost, Redwillow, and even his sister, Tawnypelt. Blackstar must've chosen them purposefully. He realised. So that they'd intimidate our own patrols.

Ratscar stepped forward so that he was almost standing on the border. 'Brambleclaw.' He said, his voice icy cold. 'What are you doing loitering so close to our border?'

'What are you doing standing on the border line?' Birchfall countered him with a growl. His comment caused unrest among the ShadowClan patrol. Redwillow unsheathed his claws and Crowfrost dropped into a crouch, like he was about to pounce.

Brambleclaw gave Birchfall a hard stare, before turning to face Ratscar again. 'We were just resting before we went on.' He said, trying to keep his voice formal.

'Really?' Redwillow snorted, disbelievingly. He snaked forward to stand beside Ratscar. 'I'm sure you caught some of our prey while you were resting as well.'

There was a shriek of rage, and Brambleclaw turned in shock to see Squirrelflight with her fangs bared. 'You're accusing us of prey stealing?' She snarled.

'Hypocrites!' Cloudtail added, his eyes contracting down to slits. 'You're the ones invading our territory!'

The effect was instantaneous. Redwillow yowled with rage, and dug his claws into the earth. 'ThunderClan scum.' He said angrily. 'Always interfering with other Clan's business.'

Squirrelflight shoved her nose into the mottled brown tom. 'You piece of fox dung.' She retorted. 'Just try it.'

Before the situation to could elevate to a fight, however, Brambleclaw shot forth and pushed himself between the two of them. Ratscar intervened too, shoving Redwillow backwards. Brambleclaw spat angrily at Squirrelflight's paws. 'Are you mad?' He said. 'Firestar ordered us to avoid a fight, not create one.'

Squirrelfight looked like she was about to hit him, but before she could, Brambleclaw addressed Ratscar again. 'I apologise for my warrior's insolence.' He told him, smoothly, much to Squirrelfight's displeasure. 'Things are are... tense within our Clan at the moment.'

Brambleclaw half expected the ShadowClan patrol leader to confront him again, but instead, the tom simply purred, hostility lacing his voice. 'Apology accepted, Brambleclaw.' He murmured.

It certainly didn't sound like he was accepting the apology, but before Brambleclaw could speak again, Ratscar had already spun around and ordered his patrol to move on. The ThunderClan deputy's eyes narrowed when he heard Ratscar whisper into Redwillow's ear. 'Don't start it with them. Those frogbrains aren't worth it.'

As soon as the patrol had disappeared back into the shadows of the their territory, Brambleclaw whirled around. 'What in StarClan's name were you thinking?' He shouted at Squirrelflight. 'A fight was the last thing we needed there!'

Squirrelflight looked shocked (and somewhat hurt) at what Brambleclaw had said. But she didn't back down. The she-cat arched her back and her tail fluffed out to twice it's size. 'He accused us of stealing prey!'

'And you reacted like he'd accused you of murdering their leader.' Brambleclaw replied, angrily. 'Honestly, Squirreflight! It's just ShadowClan! You know they speak a load of old mouse dung just to get us wound up.'

Squirreflight stared at him. Brambleclaw couldn't tell what the she-cat was thinking. Her facial expression was conflicted between guilt and defiance, but Brambleclaw refused to back down. I'm the head of this patrol. He thought. She'll obey me, or else.

Finally, the she-cat huffed. 'Fine. I don't care.' She said: she cast a look back at her the other three cats on the patrol, to see their eyes wide with disbelief about what was transpiring in front of them. 'It's obvious I'm not needed on this patrol, so I guess I'll just get out of your way.' Then the she-cat sauntered away into the undergrowth with her head high and her tail straight, but the tom was sure that he saw the glint of tears reflected from her eyes as she slunk away into the forest, back in the direction of the ThunderClan camp.

For a moment, Brambleclaw felt regret at what he'd said. Was I too harsh on her? He wondered. The tom tried to imagine him going after her and apologising, but his pride wouldn't allow it. Instead, he just looked down at the ground. 'Why can't things be like they used to be?' He whispered, under his breath.

Suddenly, Brambleclaw realised that Icecloud, Birchfall and Cloudtail were still there. Embarrassed, he jumped to his paws and began grooming self-consciously, not daring to meet their eyes. 'Come on.' He said, bluntly. Brambleclaw padded away in the opposite direction to where Squirreflight had gone. 'Let's get back to camp.'

It was later the next day that Leafpool found herself wandering aimlessly around the ThunderClan camp. It was deep into the afternoon, and the she-cat had just finished a fatty sparrow. Usually, she would at least try to do something active for the Clan, but she couldn't see the point today; she was useless at hunting, and no one wanted her on border patrols. Also, what her mother had said the previous day was bothering her.

The she-cat was conflicted. She wanted desperately to be accepted by the Clan- she'd often wished in her dreams at night that some miracle would happen, some special event that would cause all of ThunderClan to bow in admiration at her paws. She just wanted her clan-mates to talk with her again! But if the only way to do it was to get a mate... then it was hopeless. The former medicine cat was terrible with toms. She didn't really know how to act around them. Well, she was fine with just having a normal conversation, but with something so private and sensuous like getting a mate? No! Definitely not. With Crowfeather, she hadn't really had to do much. It had all been Crowfeather's work in getting them to meet at night.

Besides, she didn't want another mate if it wasn't for love. Leafpool hated the idea of letting someone be her lover for her own selfish reasons- if she was going to get a mate, it would have to be out of what made her adore Crowfeather so much.

So that pretty much ruled the possibility out.

In that moment, Leafpool felt an utter hopelessness and despair wash over her. She sat down underneath the Highledge, and closed her eyes. Nothings right in my life anymore! She felt like yowling. Everything's gone wrong. She looked up at the entrance to the ThunderClan camp, staring into space.

She needed something to comfort her. Something to pick her up. Leafpool thought about Brambleclaw, and how kind he had been to her the other day, and smiled a little at the memory. But today, there was no Brambleclaw to help her. This is what the rest of her life would be like. Sadness and broken dreams.

Out of sheer desperation, the leader's daughter leapt to her paws and dashed out of the ThunderClan camp and into the forest. She didn't know where she was heading, but her paws carried away into the distance. Her whole life flashed in front of her eyes. She saw everything. Her sister. Her mother. Her father. Crowfeather. Everyone.

Suddenly, she found herself by the lakeside. Leafpool found that her vision seemed blurry and unfocused. She looked into the water, a wild look in her eye. It sparkled like diamonds. It was so pristine and untouched. So beautiful; so perfect.

Without thinking, she padded forward toward the lake, her gaze fixed firmly upon the ripples that walked across the surface. It was almost hypnotic, and Leafpool found herself entranced by the water. The lake tempted her closer and closer towards it. It lulled her to pad into it's depths and drown in it's aesthetic water.

She was just about to do this, when suddenly, she heard the sound of paw steps rustling the leaves and twigs. Leafpool looked to her right and saw Brambleclaw sitting about twenty fox lengths away from her. He too was staring into the look, a forlorn and melancholy look in his eyes.

Leafpool wondered what the tom was doing out by the lake. Is he doing the same thing as me? Feeling sorry for himself? She frowned at this thought. She didn't know why, but she'd always imagined Brambleclaw to be the kind of cat that wasn't very good at sharing his emotions with others, and was quite solitary. One that even though he had feelings just like other cats, preferred not to show them. So the idea that the ThunderClan deputy could be so affected by emotion that he had to come out into the forest all alone surprised her.

The tom hadn't noticed her yet, so for a few seconds, Leafpool just watched him curiously. He didn't blink; he kept his unwavering stare fixed upon the lake, just as she had done.

The realisation of what she had been about to do before she saw Brambleclaw hit Leafpool like a sledgehammer. Her eyes widened to the size of the moon. Had I really- had I really been about to- Her alarm levels rose even further when she saw the tabby tomcat pause for a moment, before lifting one of his paws and placing it firmly on the ground in front of him. He couldn't have made his intentions any clearer. Like her, Brambleclaw was being tempted by the thought of the unthinkable.

Leafpool couldn't stay silent anymore. 'Brambleclaw!' She said, attempting to keep her voice calm. She began to trot over to the tom, pretending like she'd only just discovered he was there.

The deputy blinked at her for a moment, as if confused by the presence of another cat. But after a few moments of confusion, recognition sparked in the Brambleclaw's eyes, and the tomcat let out a purr. 'Hi Leafpool!' He said. His voice (like Leafpool's) held a fake happy tone. 'What are you doing out here?'

The she-cat sat down beside the tom, but inhaled deeply, for some reason feeling embarrassed. 'Oh, uh, no reason.' She said quickly. She saw from Brambleclaw's eyes that he wasn't satisfied. 'Well, what are you doing out here then?' She asked him.

She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw Brambleclaw's expression matched her own embarrassment. 'What am I doing out here?' He began. His mouth stayed open as if he had been about to speak, but suddenly decided against.

There was a long pause.

'I'm not really sure what I'm doing out here.' He murmured, before looking back at the lake. 'I guess I'm just… thinking.'

Leafpool nodded, agreeing with him. 'Me too.'

And in the silence that followed, Leafpool felt something burn inside. A desire. A desire to release everything she had kept inside of her chest for the past moon- all her sadness and all her pain. And that was exactly what she did. She told Brambleclaw everything that she'd kept secret. Everything thought and every emotion (she saw him look strangely at her when she told him about what Squirrelflight had suggested earlier that morning). And in return, Brambleclaw spoke to her. He told her about how insecure he felt around Squirrelflight; how he'd only made it worse through the patrol. He told Leafpool about how he still loved her, but knew that he couldn't just accept her love again. Not after she'd lied to him on such a massive scale.

She had to admit, Leafpool found it strange that Brambleclaw was telling her this: it was, in one sense, her own fault that Brambleclaw and Squirreflight's relationship was in such a mess. But Brambleclaw didn't seem all that bothered about it. He just seemed relieved he had someone to talk to.

After it was all over, Brambleclaw got to his paws, and flashed her a smile. There was a new found brightness and light in his eyes. 'Well thanks Leafpool.' He said, brightly. 'You've really made me feel better.'

She smiled back, and a memory of the previous day appeared in her mind. The time when he had comforted her in front of the whole Clan. 'Good to know I've returned the favour.' She replied.

All Brambleclaw did was nod in understanding, and the two of them started to head back to the ThunderClan camp. In just a few minutes, a new and stronger bond of friendship had formed between them.

One that would be required to get through the coming moons.

Yes yes, I know. This chapter is a long time in the making. But it's finally up now!

Hope you enjoyed it, and I've already started writing chapter three. I think I'm gonna adapt this into a ten or twelve chapter thing.