POV switch! Might continue onto the next chapter.
Chapter starts!
Later that afternoon, the rain still hadn't let up, still as cold as it was in the morning. To make matters worse, the wind got stronger. After all the cold, dry moons, this was something that nobody expected, including Archpaw. Ivystar ordered cats into their dens, with warriors on constant alert in case they noticed anything dangerous happening. The ground was weak, and a tree could very well fall into the camp again, like it did many seasons ago.
Archpaw lay down on her nest inside the apprentices' den and began licking her fur dry, making sure to remove any tangles. In a short while, Archpaw finished her work, pelt now well groomed. She tucked her paws under her.
"This is boring," Sandpaw commented from her spot in one corner of the den.
"I'll say," she agreed with her denmate.
Sandpaw groaned, turning over in her nest. "Why does it have to rain so much? I actually preferred the snow! At least it doesn't get under my fur!"
"It'll stop soon," Archpaw assured her.
Sandpaw exhaled sharply. "I wonder if it's still raining."
Archpaw sensed the question, and was quick to oblige. She got up and peered out through the entrance. The rain was still pelting down on the clearing, muddy puddles gathering under the dark sky. Archpaw never thought the camp could look so empty.
She grit her teeth, raring to go out. Hunt, patrol, talk with one of the warriors... it didn't really matter what she was going to do. She just wanted to get out of this den!
"Still raining," she sighed, walking back to her nest.
The larger cream cat huffed in annoyance. "I might as well go and sleep, then." She gathered up the moss in her nest and fluffed it up. She lay down, closing her eyes.
Archpaw observed as her breathing slowed. After she was sure the older cat was really asleep, she shifted her gaze around the den.
Twigpaw was deep in slumber, his flank rising and falling like waves by the lakeshore. Sleep always seemed to come easily to the silver tom. Sometimes, she envied it. Right now, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if she wanted to, with the rain roaring outside.
Her eyes landed on Warmpaw's empty nest, and immediately, she turned away. She recalled earlier that morning, and what she said to him.
She wasn't used at all to saying things on instinct. Usually, she chose her words carefully before saying anything at all, even when it was with someone she was annoyed with. However, the words sort of just flowed out back then. They just tumbled out of her mouth, one by one, and she didn't even stop to look at his face before stalking away.
The fact that he had gone out on a hunt with someone else had made her heart twinge painfully. Thinking about it made her chest tighten, like she was inhaling thick smoke. At that moment, she probably would have scratched him if he had tried following her.
Archpaw wondered, moving her brown tabby tail to where she could catch it in her paws. Why was she so affected by it anyway? Was it because she was disappointed that she wasn't able to go on a hunt with her best friend? Or was it because he had gone out with Hazelheart? She clutched her tail tighter. Why did it have to be Hazelheart, anyway? I probably wouldn't have minded if it had been Hawkeye… or even Rainstorm. Why her?
The more she thought about the tabby, the more a burning feeling rose up in her throat.
She corrected herself, eyes widening in shock. She shouldn't think that way about a fellow Clanmate. Besides, Warmpaw seemed sincere when he was explaining everything to her. He was probably speaking the truth.
But all the signs are there! Why else would he keep disappearing too?
Archpaw forced herself to stop right there. Am I jealous?
Her thoughts drifted to Warmpaw, with his sleek black and white pelt and sparkling orange eyes. The way he winked at her as a signal during paired hunts, and the way his whiskers twitched whenever he was amused. She also knew his detemination; he wanted to show everyone that he was not going to let others define what he is, and what he could be. She couldn't help but like him. He just never really seemed to notice.
She sighed deeply. She was Warmpaw's friend, and if he wanted to be with Hazelheart, then she should just accept it, if it is what will make him happy. It was just that… it was never how she imagined their future to be like.
She ran a claw across the floor. If only he wasn't such a stupid mousebrain and ta—
She stiffened, noticing the brambles swish as Warmpaw entered the den. He shook out his soaked coat. Archpaw pretended to flinch away. "Watch where you spray that!" she hissed. "Can't you see there are cats trying to sleep in here?"
"Sorry," he mewed curtly. His eyes flashed an apologetic look before padding towards his nest. He looked exhausted. He must have been on the hunting patrol Redstep organized earlier. The last time Archpaw checked, the freshkill pile, well stocked in the morning, only had a couple of small mice and a blackbird. I wonder how much they caught?
Warmpaw was sleeping with his back to her. Archpaw looked at him, finding her gaze slowly softening.
She closed her eyes, and this time, it wasn't hard to sleep.
...
"Hey, Archpaw?"
A gentle mew woke her up, and she could feel a paw shaking her by the shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open, and she found herself staring face to face with Warmpaw.
"Whoa!" She jolted up in surprise. She straightened herself out, giving her shoulder fur a few brisk strokes with her tongue before facing him. He was sitting next to her nest, with a dry coat and twitching whiskers.
"What time is it?" Archpaw asked.
"It's sunset." Warmpaw answered with a slight purr. Archpaw looked at the entrance, and sure enough, dark orange light was filtering into the den.
"Are you still mad?" Warmpaw leaned forward a little, hoping to catch her answer.
Archpaw felt a fog cloud over her eyes. "A little," she responded, looking away.
She could hear her friend sigh as he dipped his head. "Look, I'm sorry for earlier today. I know we haven't gone out as much as we used to, and I think I understand you now."
Archpaw faced him, her eyes narrowing. "Really?"
Warmpaw nodded, turning around to grab something behind him. When he turned back, he had a squirrel, hanging from its tail from his jaws.
Her heart skipped a beat. All of a sudden, the fog that seemed to cloud Archpaw's mind earlier disappeared. She blinked at the freshkill, shifting her gaze from it to Warmpaw's orange eyes. This is for me?
He placed it down in front of her. "I caught this while we were on patrol," he explained once his mouth was empty, "and I thought about giving it to you, as a little gift." He turned his eyes to the den roof embarrassedly. "I hope this makes up for whatever I did, and I promise, I won't go on a hunt without bringing you along ever again."
"Yeah," Archpaw mewed, a warm feeling spreading from her nose to her tailtip. "Thank you."
Warmpaw mrrowed in delight. "You do know this means I'll wake you up whenever I do."
Archpaw just nodded vigorously as a response.
Warmpaw got to his paws. "I have to go," he apologized, "I promised Yellowleaf that I'd go visit Nightfall in the nursery." He padded through the entrance.
"Wait!" Archpaw called.
Warmpaw poked his head back in through the brambles. "What?"
"I…" Archpaw fidgeted, trailing off and stuttering on her words. Was she really going to try saying it? "I… do you… I mean… have you ever, like… liked a cat before?" she blurted out.
Warmpaw looked amused as he looked into her eyes. "What?" he half-chuckled.
Archpaw's heart beat faster. "It's just… Flametrail said one time that it was normal for young cats like us to feel something about another cat… like a passing affection. You know? And… I was just a little curious, that's all. Have you ever thought about another cat in that way?"
Warmpaw's eyes glinted. "You seem nervous."
Mouse dung! "I'm not!" Archpaw retorted, but it came out as more of a kit-like mew.
"Oh! You like someone!" Warmpaw grinned. "Don't you? Quick! Tell me!"
Archpaw's cream coat fluffed up in embarrassment and her brown tabby tail whipped from side to side uncontrollably. She forced herself to purr, despite the nervousness clawing its way up her throat. "You're dodging my question!"
"Well, let's see…" Archpaw watched as Warmpaw's expression changed from pleased to thoughtful. Something lit his eyes, and for a moment, it seemed like he had the eyes of a startled mouse.
Warmpaw hesitated before speaking, voice hitching a little. "I… have a friend who I really like, and she—"
"Warmpaw!" Yellowleaf beckoned to her son. "Go help calm Sprintfoot down. Nightfall just started kitting, and now he's wheeling around the camp like a crazed owl."
Warmpaw's eyes widened, mouth open. "Coming!" He turned to Archpaw, his eyes flashing apology. "Sorry." His head disappeared through the brambles.
Archpaw forced herself not to curse out loud, rushing out into the clearing. She narrowed her eyes and flattened her ears against the rain. Sure enough, there was Sprintfoot, running in circles around the rain-soaked clearing. Warmpaw and Thornseed tried their best to stop him. Warmpaw had his tail wrapped around his neck, while Thornseed was whispering something into the white warrior's ear. Archpaw felt a spark of delight, watching them. Sprintfoot's so nervous.
Meanwhile, most of the other warriors were looking of the warriors den, and were eagerly awaiting the birth of the new kits. For a heartbeat, Archpaw wondered if she should chance a peek at the nursery. A piercing yowl was heard over the rain. Sprintfoot stiffened, as if he was feeling the pain as his own.
Doesn't Nightfall have a stick to bite down on? Archpaw shivered. Maybe she won't chance a peek.
"Sprintfoot!" Cloudcover emerged from the nursery. "Help us lick the kits dry!"
Sprintfoot nodded briskly, and whispered something into Warmpaw's ear. The apprentice looked surprised. When the white cat entered the nursery, Warmpaw followed him in.
What? Archpaw watched as her best friend's white tail disappeared.
"Archpaw," Thornseed approached her, "why're you waiting here in the rain? Stay somewhere shady."
Archpaw allowed herself to be escorted back inside the apprentices' den.
"What happened? Why did Warmpaw follow Sprintfoot into the nursery?"
Thornseed shrugged. "Hard to know for sure. But Sprintfoot himself told me that Warmpaw apparently helped him get the courage to tell Nightfall he loved her." He purred, ear dropping to the side.
"Warmpaw?" Archpaw felt her ears heat up again. "How?"
"Again, I'm not sure. It was way back when he was still a newly made apprentice, so, maybe I could have remembered. I just forgot. Yep." Thornseed nudged her back into the den. He trotted back to the warriors' den.
Archpaw sat down on her nest. She looked at her fur, now messed up from its earlier state. It was going to take ages to lick the leaf bits from her pelt. She snorted. So Warmpaw played middle for the two, huh? He never told me that!
She began licking her fur again, when Warmpaw burst in. He smelled of herbs.
"The kits are beautiful!" he exclaimed.
Archpaw felt joy rush through her. "Really?"
"Yes!" Warmpaw couldn't keep the excitement from his voice.
"How many kits?"
"There are two! Olivekit's dark ginger tabby, and Cedarkit's brown."
"What's all this commotion?" Sandpaw stirred from her nest. "I just got to sleep!"
"Nightfall's kits have arrived!" Archpaw piped.
The other cream apprentice jumped from her nest. "No way!"
"Trust me, they look so adorable." His gaze was proud. He knew he was one of the reasons these kits existed.
Archpaw shuffled her paws, remembering their interrupted conversation. "About what I was asking earlier…" She glanced back at Sandpaw, who had her ears pricked forward. She swallowed before continuing. "You were going to say something, right?"
Warmpaw's glance roamed the den. A fear flashed in his eyes. "I'll explain some other time," he meowed before running back out of the den.
Archpaw felt something sink within her as she watched him leave. It would take time, for sure. It's not wrong to hope, right?
Sandpaw was confused. "What was that all about?"
Archpaw flopped down on her nest. "I wish I knew," she sighed. She pulled the squirrel Warmpaw gifted her closer, and tore off a large bite.