*A few days after becoming a warrior*
Fireheart and Graystripe have gone off to find Windclan. I'm back here in Thunderclan. Fireheart told me to do a little spy work for him. So I'm spying on Tigerclaw.
It's harder than it sounds though. If he doesn't have Darkstripe and Longtail around him, he's in the camp.
"Tigerfang, take out a hunting patrol, take whoever you want." Tigerclaw yelled to me.
"Alright, Tigerclaw!" I yelled back.
I went to the apprentices den first. "Sandpaw, we're going on a hunting patrol." I told her.
"Alright, who else is coming?" She asked.
"I haven't decided yet." I said back.
We walked over to the warriors den. I found Longtail and Willowpelt taking naps. "Hey, Longtail, Willowpelt, we're going on a hunting patrol." I told them.
They looked up drowsily. But they both nodded and followed me out.
"Where are we hunting?" Willowpelt asked.
I looked over, feeling embarrassed. I haven't decided! Where should we hunt? The Shadowclan border? That sounds okay to me. "The Shadowclan border." I decided.
Longtail and Willowpelt just shrugged and followed me.
I smelled vole. I used my tail to signal for them to stop. I began stalking my prey. When I was about a fox length away, I pounced. I pinned it down and bit into its neck. I buried it and would come back for it later.
By sunset, Longtail had caught two mice and a thrush, Willowpelt caught a squirrel and a starling, Sandpaw caught a rabbit and two voles, and I caught a vole and two mice. We brought the prey back to camp. We had hunted from sunhigh to sunset. And even though it's Leaf-fall, we caught a ton of prey.
When we got back, Tigerclaw and Bluestar looked at the prey approvingly. "You worked hard today, go to your den and rest, you deserve it." Bluestar told us.
*Days later*
"Fireheart, Graystripe, you're back!" I said happily.
Then I noticed Graystripe looked grief-stricken. I walked over to him.
"Graystripe, what happened?" I asked.
"Whiteclaw, I let him fall into the gorge, I tried to save him, but he fell. His death is my fault." Graystripe said, with grief in his voice.
"His death wasn't your fault! It was stupid to battle right by the gorge!" Fireheart exclaimed.
Graystripe walked away.
I tried to walk after him, Fireheart stopped me. He shook his head. "Let him grieve, he'll get over it." He told me.
I decided to go out into the forest. I found myself walking towards Sunningrocks. I lied down on the warm rocks.
I hope Graystripe gets over it soon.
I noticed a Riverclan border patrol on the other side of the river. I saw Mistyfoot, Stonefur, Silverstream, and Silverpaw. I recognized them from gatherings.
I wanted to say something, but I held it back. Whiteclaw had been a Riverclan warrior. I decided I should let them grieve and save the talking for the next gathering.
I heard some ferns rustle. I turned around and saw Whitestorm.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him.
"I often come here, you just happened to be here now." He said. "Whiteclaw's death wasn't Graystripe's fault and he knows it, he just needs time to grieve."
"I know; I just needed some time alone." I said. But I soon found myself telling Whitestorm the real thing that was on my mind.
"I believe Fireheart, I know Tigerclaw killed Redtail, Ravenpaw wouldn't lie." I told him.
Whitestorm's neck fur bristled. "Tigerclaw is a loyal warrior," Whitestorm's fur lied flat again. "Headstrong and ambitious, yes, but I don't think he would murder in cold blood."
"Ravenpaw knew what he saw, he didn't make it up. I'm not going to let Ravenpaw be remembered as a liar." I said, even though I knew Ravenpaw was actually alive.
"No one is accusing Ravenpaw of anything, but I've known Tigerclaw since we were kits, he wouldn't do something like that, though his mentor Thistleclaw may have influenced him a little." Whitestorm told me.
"Who's Thistleclaw?" I asked.
"Tigerclaw's mentor, he would have been leader now if Bluestar hadn't lost the kits she had. I think Sunstar made the right choice when he picked Bluestar, then Bluefur, to be his deputy. But that's beside the point; Thistleclaw was a cold-blooded Thunderclan warrior. He was also my father. My mother, Snowfur, was Bluestar's sister. Again, not the point. Thistleclaw had two littermates, Sweetpaw an apprentice that was killed by a sickness, and Rosetail, an elder you met when you first joined us. Sweetpaw's death shocked everyone. That was one of the few times Thistleclaw showed any emotion that wasn't anger or rage. If he had become leader, we would probably all be dead now. Do you get the point of who Thistleclaw was?" Whitestorm finished.
"Yeah, I get the point. I think he had a major influence on Tigerclaw. Tigerclaw killed Redtail, that's the only answer I have for you." I told him.
With that said, Whitestorm got up and left me to my thoughts…