Chapter Seventeen: Lionesses

The heat was finally dying. As night yawned over the jungle, shadows began to leak across the grass as the sun slowly set, streaking the hot sky with flaming colors of red and gold.

Lionpaw sat in front of the apprentice's den. His head was between his paws, and he was stretched out, pressing his belly against the cool earth.

It had been almost a whole moon since WaterClan attacked them. Ever since their ambush, the jungle had been quiet, and their border had been empty. Almost like they didn't care anymore.

It had taken Brightpaw several days before he was allowed to leave the medicine-lion den. He'd gotten some bad scratches and a mildly serious head injury, according to Amberpaw. But he was back in the apprentice den.

As for Blackscar, the skinny warrior was still weak. He'd almost been killed that day, when Featherfoot had almost ripped his throat open. He now had scars all over his throat, and his wounds had been serious. Lionpaw sighed, pressing his eyes shut. The saddest part about the whole thing was that the Clan's worry for Blackscar and Brightpaw had been minimal and forced, almost like they truly didn't care about either lion's future.

But even worse, the mystery surrounding Pebbleheart and Longfang was no closer to making sense. He'd tried to make time and talk to Amberpaw about it, but between patrols, hunting, and training, there seemed to be no extra time.

If nothing else, Lionpaw knew he did have one thing to look forward to: the Gathering. It would be his first, as he'd been training about two moons now, and the first chance he'd had at a Gathering had been squashed when he, Frostpaw, and Brightpaw had stumbled into WaterClan territory and nearly caused that border fight, and they'd been punished from going to it. But this time, he'd made sure to be on his best behavior so he could go.

He blinked and yawned, gazing up at the pale sky. The full moon glowered faintly from behind rows of inky clouds, and he flicked his tail. It would be the first Gathering since WaterClan launched an ambush on
LightningClan, and the deputy's daughter, Featherfoot, had tried to kill Blackscar as well as Brightpaw.

Lionpaw sighed and slowly stood up, shaking his head. From the stories of the other lions, Featherfoot wasn't a bad tigress; she was really a good warrior. But he would probably always see her as the deranged tigress that almost killed his best friend; who just happened to be her nephew.

But how could a warrior possibly want to kill another soul? He shook himself, and glanced across the clearing, where Buzzardpaw and Cricketpaw were sharing a large, bloody piece of meat with Rowanpaw. Featherfoot had been Littlecloud's sister, and enraged towards Blackscar and even Brightpaw when she learned of her affair. He guessed he'd be angry enough to take a life if his own sister, Cricketpaw, died from choosing a mate from
another Clan. But that wasn't the point. Snowstar was still mad about the attempts, and would voice his thoughts on it tonight.

There came a rustling noise behind him, and Lionpaw glanced over to see Pebbleheart passing by. His other sister, Amberpaw, the medicine-lion apprentice, padded after her mentor, head high and jaws stuffed with herbs.

"Hello, Lionpaw," Pebbleheart purred, glancing at him as the older lion passed. Lionpaw wrapped his tail around his paws and nodded to her, smiling. Despite her strange fear of Longfang, she was a great lioness, and
Lionpaw found himself thinking of her a lot lately.

"Hey, furball," Amberpaw mumbled around her mouthful of herbs, giving him an amiable flick of her tail as the two lionesses slipped back into their den.

Lionpaw gently rasped a greeting back, and lifted a paw, swiping his tongue around it and rubbing his paw over his face. Amberpaw had grown a lot in the past moon; not just physically, but mentally. She was becoming wiser than their mother, Bluefur, he thought.

Yet Amberpaw wasn't the only one showing signs of growing up. As he glanced around, placing his paw back on the ground, he saw the others apprentices doing their duties and sharing tongues, and thought of how different everyone was. Buzzardpaw was the largest and oldest apprentice. Lionpaw wondered when he'd become a warrior; soon, probably. A sense of envy stirred in his chest; the thought of finally becoming a warrior appealed to him, but he tried to squash the hope. He was only two moons into his training; he had a long way to go before that.

"Lionpaw." The apprentice glanced over to see Frostpaw and her mentor, the wise old Curlclaw, approaching him. It had been Curlclaw who spoke.

"Yes, Curlclaw?" he meowed, pricking his ears and his eyes flashing warmly at Frostpaw.

"Snowstar had decided you, Brightpaw, and Frostpaw may all come to the Gathering. You three have been a lot better this moon," he added, eyes twinkling.

Lionpaw jumped up, tail waving. "Yes! Thank you!"

"Don't thank me," Curlclaw replied as Frostpaw gave an excited mrrow of excitement. He chuckled and gave his apprentice a fond flick of his tail. "Thank your leader. Anyways, we'll be leaving soon, so go gather Brightpaw."

With that, the warrior nodded, and turned to find the other warriors chosen to go to the Gathering.

"We're going to our first Gathering together!" Frostpaw exclaimed, rushing forward and touching her nose to Lionpaw's. He was taken aback by the amount of warmth in her eyes, and just smiled meekly, taking a step back.

"Yeah. It's gonna be great," he added, forcing a grin.

"So you two made it to the Gathering this moon?" came a voice. Lionpaw and Frostpaw turned to see Leafstorm and Emberfoot gazing at them, whiskers twitching in amusement.

"Yes, actually," Lionpaw replied, tail waving.

"Well, Redflower and I were chosen to go, too," rumbled Grasstail as the tall lion strode up to the group. Redflower's eyes sparkled as she blinked in greeting to Lionpaw and Frostpaw. "Maybe you two could stick with us when we leave."

"You'll need someone to show you around, after all," Redflower purred.

"Thanks, but Brightpaw's going too. You can show him as well," Lionpaw meowed, chest puffed out.

Leafstorm exchanged a glance with Redflower, and Grasstail's eyes darkened at the mention of the cross-Clan apprentice. Lionpaw felt frustration prickle at his paws. They still didn't trust the apprentice, not even after all these moons...

"That's nice," Emberfoot meowed, glaring at his Clanmates, as if he'd read Lionpaw's mind. "You two can show them all around. Come on, Leafstorm, we have to finish that patrol," he rumbled. With a flash of their tails, the two lions had gone, and Grasstail murmured a goodbye as he slipped away, Redflower at his heels.

"Well... should we go find Brightpaw?" Frostpaw offered, not mentioning the tense situation that had just played before them.

Feeling troubled, Lionpaw just sighed and nodded. Brightpaw, Firerunner, Pebbleheart... how many lions with problems could he possibly be connected to? Could he really help all of them? "Fine. Let's go."

As they turned towards the clearing where Brightpaw would hopefully be hanging out somewhere, they suddenly knocked into Pebbleheart and Amberpaw, who'd just left their den and were once again crossing their path.

"Whoa! Hey!" Amberpaw gasped, tail lashing. "Watch where you're walking," she meowed, ears flat but eyes still holding their normal sparkle.

"It's alright," Pebbleheart spoke, whiskers twitching with amusement.

"Could have been fatal, though," Lionpaw added, hoping he'd get her to laugh. She did- her eyes crinkling and lips pulled back in a smile. Amberpaw snorted, and Frostpaw just looked on, silent.

"You guys going to the Gathering?" Pebbleheart inquired softly.

"Yup. We actually made it this moon, didn't we?" Lionpaw nudged Frostpaw, who just nodded absently.

Pebbleheart purred. "Well, it's about time. You're going to love it."

"They are pretty amazing," Amberpaw meowed.

"Maybe you could show us around?" Lionpaw inquired, blinking at Pebbleheart. He heard a little spit from Frostpaw, and turned around, startled. What could be wrong with her?

Pebbleheart shook her head. "No, Amberpaw and I have to meet with the other medicine-lions, but maybe another time. Well... see you there. Come, Amberpaw," she added. Within moments, the two lionesses were gone.

Lionpaw stared after the for a moment, then turned when Frostpaw spoke. "Why do you like her so much?"

His eyes widened, and his tail lashed. "What?"

There was a trace of almost bitterness in her voice now. "You know what I mean, Lionpaw. Everyone sees how you look at her."

Lionpaw scoffed, turning his body towards her, sheathing and unsheathing his claws into the ground. "I don't love her, if that's what you're after."

"Oh really?" He voice got high, her eyes glassy. "You're just kidding yourself, Lionpaw. And listen me you, it's wrong. She's older than you and a medicine-lion."

"So?" Lionpaw snapped, fur bristling.

"So, it's against the warrior code! Don't you know one thing about that?" she snarled.

Lionpaw blinked, truly bewildered. "Okay, I know that. But what's it to you?"

Something washed over her face, and her blue eyes stretched wide. "Everything!" she spat, and tore off, leaving Lionpaw alone, his heart racing.

Lionpaw spat, and stalked back and forth furiously. How dare she say those things... but maybe she was right. Maybe he felt more than friendship for Pebbleheart after all.

"Um... is this a bad time?"

Lionpaw threw his head up to see Brightpaw standing just inches from him, looking uncertain.

"No, it's fine," he managed, skin crawling with annoyance. Never before had he felt this much anger towards one of his friends, and it almost matched his feelings when dealing with the prickly Rowanpaw. "Just... lioness
problems."

Brightpaw chortled. "Already? Aren't you a bit young for that?"

Lionpaw just spit, but sat, trying to calm himself. He'd do no good at the Gathering in this mood, and he couldn't let Frostpaw see how upset he was. What had she meant, anyways? Everything. Somehow his situation with
Pebbleheart meant everything to her.

"They make no sense," he growled.

Brightpaw blinked sympathetically, whiskers twitching in amusement. "I suppose they same the exact same thing about us."

Lionpaw took a deep breath, grateful towards his friend for trying to cheer him up.

"Now come on," Brightpaw whispered into his ear. At the base of the High Rock, a ring of warriors had gathered, the ones chosen to go to the Gathering tonight. Snowstar stood on top of the High Rock, shafts of milky
moonlight hitting his bulky frame, and bouncing off onto Longfang, crouched effortlessly in she shadows of the High Rock. They were all ready to go to the Gathering, and probably waiting for him. "Let's go to our first
Gathering, and not let any lionesses spoil it."

Heyy. Wow. That felt long. I hope it wasn't too much? Anyhoo, thanks for the reviews, guy, you're all amazing. But I wonder, what will Lionpaw's first Gathering be like? And what's up with Frostpaw? Hmm. A penny for your thoughts, friend.