First off, I want to mention a few things that have appeared off in my story. Like with Goldenflower and her siblings and with Spottedpaw (future Spottedleaf) and how I mentioned that she is Tigerclaw's niece. With Goldenflower, I forgot that Lionheart was her brother, so in this chapter, he will be mentioned, however, in my story, he'll be older than Goldenpaw, because if I were to change that, everything would be screwed up. As for Spottedpaw and her relation to Tigerclaw, I realized after I mentioned it that he had barely just became a Warrior, and since she is already an apprentice, I would like to mention that her mother is Tigerclaw's older sibling. Thank you, I hope this cleared things up a bit. Now on to the story!
Chapter 7.
A few moons later.
Goldenpaw closed her eyes and purred, gazing up at Tigerclaw. His amber eyes reflected in the moonlight, and all she wanted to do was stay this way forever. They were on a hunting trip of their own. Leafbare was upon them, so they wanted to enjoy the warmth nights as it lasted. Tigerclaw glanced down at Goldenpaw and purred, before he turned his attention back to the forest. His ears were perked up and his razor-sharp claws were raking the surface of the dirt softly. "Shh." He purred in her ear. It was then that she heard the rustling of leaves.
Goldenpaw perked her ears and watched as Tigerclaw got into the hunter's crouch and made his way through the forest, his tail low to the ground, but he was careful not to touch the ground. His paws were light on the ground, and in Goldenpaw's eyes he seemed graceful and beautiful. As she watched him, she felt like Starclan had graced this own tabby tom and gave him immortality to look beautiful and graceful forever more.
Tigerclaw pounced and from the undergrowth, a mouse flew from the leaves, Tigerclaw's claws raking its sides, flinging to forwards. He jumped in the air and snapped its neck. It didn't even make a sound. He dropped back to all fours and gazed over at Goldenpaw, his eyes glistening with pride. He nodded over to her to follow him, and she did just that. He quickly buried his kill and perked his ears upwards. They were near the Riverclan border and Sunningrocks, and he could hear water splashing. It was evident that some cat was at Sunningrocks and it was Tigerclaw's duty to find out who it was. So, with Goldenpaw by his side, they adventured to Sunningrocks where they found five sleek shapes of Riverclan warriors jumping on top of Sunningrocks. Two young kits were with them and Goldenpaw's heart soared. She could tell even then who they were; Bluefur's kits. But where was the third kit? She shook her head, and then slowly realized what they were doing.
She turned to look at Tigerclaw, flicking her tail in alarm. "They're invading Thunderclan territory!" She hissed.
Tigerclaw nodded, flexing his claws. "Go tell Sunstar and meet me back here." He growled lowly. They were well away from the Riverclan cats, so it was evident that they could not hear them.
Goldenpaw flicked her tail and pinned her ears back. "I'm not leaving you alone to defend yourself! They outnumber you!" She hissed back.
Tigerclaw glanced at her, realizing that she was right and nodded. "Fine. I'll stay behind and watch from here, and I promise I won't attack until Sunstar is here. Besides, there are kits." He pointed out.
Goldenpaw nodded her head before briefly licking his ear as he had done so many times before. "I'll be back as fast as I can." And off she went to go get Sunstar and tell him about the invading cats. It didn't take her long to reach camp, but when she stumbled through the gorse tunnel, she was exhausted. Sunstar and the other cats in the clearing were alarmed and sat up quickly.
"Goldenpaw? What is it?" Bluefur asked as she leaped upwards from her spot in the clearing. She had been sharing tongues with Whitestorm.
Goldenpaw took a few deep breathes before she was finally able to speak. "Riverclan cats . . . they're invading Thunderclan territory on Sunningrocks."
Many other cats sat up in alarm, whispering echoing through-out the clearing as cats spoke to each other, wondering who would be going on patrol to get those mangy fish breathes off their land. Bluefur rose her tail in silence. "How many cats were there, Goldenpaw?" She asked calmly. Just hen, Sunstar arose from his den, padding into the clearing.
"There appeared to be five warriors, two apprentices, and two kits and a queen, Bluefur. Tigerclaw is waiting for us back in the forest by Sunningrocks." She replied just as calm.
Goldenpaw could have sworn she saw a look of fear in Bluefur's eyes, but the she-cat quickly buried it, masking it.
The blue she-cat gazed up at her leader, as did every cat in the clearing. They waited for what their leader wanted them to do.
"Bluefur." He announced, letting his voice ring through-out the clearing as he leaped on top of the Highrock to make himself heard. "Take Goldenpaw, Rosepaw, Lionheart, and Mousefur and head to Sunningrocks. If a battle is issued and we are outnumbered, have Rosepaw or Goldenpaw come back to us to let us know. I pray to Starclan that you are safe."
Bluefur nodded her head as the cats that had been called circled around their deputy, including Goldenpaw. "I'll see that they know that Sunningrocks is ours." She promised, bowing her head. The group of cats turned to leave, when Sunstar stopped them.
"And Bluefur, make sure those kits aren't harmed if a battle is to be issued, because every kit is precious." Bluefur nodded again and led the cats out of the gorse tunnel, leading them to Sunningrocks where Tigerclaw stood waiting, tense.
When he heard them approach, he perked his ears without turning around. "Look at them." He snarled under his breath. "Sunningrocks is our land!"
Bluefur laid her tail against Tigerclaw's shoulder. "Calm down, Tigerclaw. We're not here to fight yet. Goldenpaw told us there were kits nearby." Tigerclaw nodded reluctantly, pointing with his tail at the two kits that were playing in the water.
Goldenpaw watched her deputy carefully, waiting to see if her eyes betrayed any emotion, but she remained a rock. "Goldenpaw, Mousefur, come with me." The she-cat ordered, flicking her tail at them. "The rest of you, stay hidden. We don't want to seem like a battle patrol." The other cats disappeared back in the shadows, obeying their deputy's orders.
Goldenpaw followed Bluefur into the moonlight, glancing back once to see amber eyes staring back at her. She purred deep within her chest and turned back to her destination. The three Thunderclan cats appeared at the water's edge. A young Nursery queen ushered the kits out of the water as she caught sight of them. Goldenpaw knew her as Graypool.
"Riverclan!" Bluefur yowled.
The shocked Riverclan cats leaped up from their places to see the three Thunderclan cats standing in front of them. "What are you doing on Thunderclan territory?" Bluefur hissed, her tail flicking back and forth.
It was Oakheart who approached. He wasn't the deputy, but Goldenpaw had heard rumor that Riverclan's former deputy was dying, so it was only evident that Oakheart would take his place. Gazing back at Bluefur, she could understand why she had fallen in love with Oakheart. He was just as powerful as she was, and he held the same pride in his eyes that Bluefur did. Goldenpaw knew that Bluefur's kits would probably never know that she was their mother, but if they were to ever find out, she would hope that they would be proud to call her Mother, and perhaps they too would realize why Oakheart had fallen in love with the Thunderclan deputy.
The tom flicked his tail, tilting his head back. "We are claiming this as Riverclan territory now!" He yowled. "It is rightfully ours!" The other Riverclan cats yowled in agreement. Goldenpaw noticed that Graypool had taken the kits and run off back to camp.
Good, she thought, now a battle can issue.
"Over Thunderclan's dead body!" Bluefur yowled and threw herself at Oakheart, tackling him down into the water. Goldenpaw winced; former lovers in combat was not a beautiful sight for one who knew.
The other Thunderclan cats emerged from the trees and launched into battle. Goldenpaw followed suit. Within seconds of flying into battle, Goldenpaw had a golden tabby warrior on her back, and he was strong! She tried throwing him off, but found it more difficult, so she went limp in his paws. The tom yowled in victory. It was obvious that he had never fought a Thunderclan apprentice before. Once his grip on her went loose, she sprang at him, clawing at his chest and body. It didn't take her long to reach his underbelly, scraping a big one across his stomach. He yowled in pain and ran off, back to Riverclan camp.
Goldenpaw glanced around and noticed that her sister was fighting a black tom two times as big as she was, and things weren't looking good, so Goldenpaw leaped in beside her and attacked the tom from the back. She nipped his ear and caught him by surprise. Rosepaw then took advantage and had time to knock the tom off his paws, slashing his underbelly.
He ran off yowling.
The two apprentices were exhausted, but their eyes gleamed with the sound of battle and blood roared in their ears. Glancing around, Goldenpaw noticed that Bluefur had Oakheart pinned to the ground and was snarling in his face. She knew that they could never really hurt each other and turned her attention away from the scene. Looking around again, she noticed that Mousefur and Tigerclaw were in a paw-in-paw combat with a massive warrior, while Lionheart was defending off the two apprentices. It was evident that the battle was won to Thunderclan's favorite.
And Oakheart saw it too.
He yowled and got to his paws. "Riverclan! Retreat!" And the Riverclan cats ran off back to their camp after their defeated battle.
Goldenpaw had never felt so alive.
Bluefur and the rest of the battle patrol padded up to the apprentices. "Well done, you two." Bluefur purred. Goldenpaw beamed with pride. "You fought well enough to become warriors, don't you think?" She glanced at the three warriors, all in which mewed their agreement.
Goldenpaw purred loudly, as did her sister.
"Come. We must go back to camp and tell Sunstar about the great news." With that being said, the battle patrol headed out after their great victory.
Goldenpaw fell back in step with Tigerclaw, her eyes shinning. "Warrior! Can you believe it?" She purred. "Bluefur thinks I'm good enough to be a warrior!"
Tigerclaw purred and licked her ear. "You are good enough to be a warrior, Goldenpaw. You're great." She bristled in embarrassment, nudging him playfully.
Before entering the gorse tunnel, Bluefur turned to overlook her warriors. "I want you all to check in at the medicine cat den, and then meet me back in the clearing." The cats nodded, obeying their deputy's orders and entered the clearing with ruffled and torn pelts, but their eyes shone with victory.
After every cat had been checked on and cared for by the young Spottedpaw and her mentor, the cats headed back into the clearing and sat in the middle, staring up at the Highrock. Almost every cat in the clan was in the clearing.
A few moments later, Sunstar approached the Highrock and stared down at his clan, pride in his eyes. "Since every cat is already here, I don't need to announce for you all to be here." Amused purrs were heard from all around the clearing. "Tonight is a good night. Thunderclan became victorious over Riverclan once more!" Yowls of appreciation echoed from the cats. He silenced the cats with his tail and continued. "But tonight, we will not only celebrate out victory, but we will also celebrate two new warriors tonight."
Goldenpaw's ears perked up in astonishment.
"Goldenpaw, Rosepaw, will you please come up here?" The two apprentices obeyed their leader and stepped up onto the Highrock. "Shallownose, Dappletail, are your apprentices ready to become warriors?" He called out to their mentors.
"She is." Dappletail purred.
"As is Rosepaw." Shallownose announced.
Sunstar nodded and turned back to the two apprentices who were shaking with excitement. "Then from this moment on, Rosepaw, you will be known as Rosewing, may your pride and stealth guide your way to becoming a great warrior." She licked her leader's shoulders, her eyes shinning and stepped back. "Goldenpaw." He turned to the other sister. "From this moment on you will be known as Goldenflower, may your selflessness and the strength of your heart guide you to becoming a great warrior."
Echoes of Rosewing and Goldenflower echoed through-out the clearing and the newly named warriors shone with pride.
"Blackpaw would be proud of you, Rosewing and Goldenflower. If not for the inevitable, he would still be here with us tonight. You will sit vigil tonight. You are not to speak to any cat or move from your spot until someone tells you you can rest. Your clan is lucky to have you."
The Clan meeting was over and Goldenflower didn't think she could be any happier than she was at that very moment, but as she glanced into the crowd, she caught Tigerclaw's eyes and knew that she would always be happier with him.
It was then that Goldenflower finally admitted it to herself.
She was in love with her best friend.
/ I know I haven't mentioned the real medicine cat's name, but the truth is, I'm not sure who it even is. So if someone could tell me, that would be much appreciated. I would like to something right. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this. I had fun writing it.:)