So, this has been sitting around in my dropbox for a while now, and I just today realized that it was there. Oops! Anyways, I decided that I'd publish it, because the last chapter does sort of drop off a cliff. It wasn't quite resolved. Anyhow, this chapter is all about the end of that big battle you saw last time - so it wouldn't hurt to re-read the last chapter.

I created an updating schedule last night, and this story is going to chug along much faster than the others. I want to finish it around the same time I wrap up Elemental: Book 3 (which will also be the same time as Sunstrike's Story). So, expect it to go pretty quickly in comparison to the other things. Anyways, here's a Doveheart chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I know you guys know that I don't own Warriors, but I thought I'd re-emphasize it. :)

ALSO - I know you guys are out there! My traffic tells me so! Could you guys pretty please press the little button and drop me a review? I love getting feedback on my work, be it positive or negative, and review count helps a story to get read (which is, you know, why I'm writing). Thanks, everyone! 3

Elsi

Chapter 12

Doveheart

When the last signs of Icecloud's white pelt had vanished into the trees, Dovheart returned her attention to the battle ahead. Squaring her shoulders, she leaped towards the shadowy cats, trying to restrain her senses so she didn't get distracted. Had they crossed to the ShadowClan side of the border? There was the stench of ShadowClan everywhere, and it was tougher to fight through it.

Focus, Doveheart! She gritted her teeth and let out a huge yowl, running her claws through the starry material of the shadow cat ahead of her. It screeched and dissipated into dust before her, only for another to take its place. Doveheart lashed out, but this time, her paws couldn't make contact, and those dark jaws snapped down with a cold crack inches from Doveheart's ear. She squeaked in surprise, imagining Squirrelflight and Cinderheart and the others who had been bitten. That couldn't happen to her.

Then something massive barreled towards her, another cat, and the shadowy cat was dissolved as a dark cat rolled before her and sat up. Doveheart recoiled, for a moment forgetting who she was fighting in this battle.

It was Tigerheart. The young tabby tom looked over at her with a smile and a wink before leaping into battle again. Awestruck, Doveheart stared after him, unsure of what to say or do. Then a shrill screech pierced her ears and the rage of battle surged back into her system. It was a scream unidentifiable, but Doveheart tumbled in that direction anyways, just in time to prevent a monstrous shadow cat from snapping down upon another warrior. Wild eyes looked up, and Doveheart nodded her presence to Ferretpelt. Her memories of their last vicious encounter behind them, Doveheart pushed on to another battle.

Around and around she went, mercilessly battling these dark, spiritual foes, until she was left panting between a limping Foxleap and a barely-standing Hazeltail. They realized then that they were not alone in the clearing – no, before Firestar, perched on the other side of the ShadowClan border, stood Blackstar and a reasonably-sized patrol of his warriors. Doveheart met Tigerheart's eyes from across the darkness, and he grinned at her. She averted her eyes at once, shame and disappointment brewing in her chest.

"Thank you, Blackstar," said Firestar quietly. "You had no reason to help us, yet you sacrificed your warriors for our sakes. We are grateful for your support."

The big white tom dipped his head in reply.

"We have fought, Firestar," he pointed out, and no one denied it. "We are not friends, your Clan and mine." Again, no one denied it. "Despite recent events, however, we are coming across a foe more powerful than anything you or I have ever seen. I suggest that, until this threat is eliminated, our Clans give up our personal feuds and work together."

Firestar's muscles tensed and his tail stuck up straight from the sheer shock of the statement; after a moment, however, he relaxed and gave a great dip of his head.

"You are right," said Firestar. "These dark warriors threaten all of the Clans. It would be foolish of us to pursue any tensions between our Clans." The two leaders separated from their Clans and bowed politely to each other.

"Until the dark warriors are eliminated," said Blackstar cordially.

"Until then," agreed Firestar. He glanced around at his tired troops. "ThunderClan, let's go home. You have all fought valiantly."

Doveheart smiled to herself under the praise, and began to turn away, but a glimmer of movement caught her attention. Tigerheart was waiting behind as his tired Clanmates turned away.

"Doveheart," he hissed, and she grudgingly trudged over to him. "I haven't seen you lately."

"That's because I don't want anything to do with a fox-hearted traitor like you," snapped Doveheart. Tigerheart pulled back from her words, pain in his eyes.

"Doveheart, you don't understand," said Tigerheart. "I was the one who brought Blackstar here."

"And the one who is training with Tigerstar!" hissed Doveheart. She felt the fur on the back of her neck pull up. "How could you ever think I would want to be with a cat like that!"

Tigerheart's face visibly drooped, and he stared at the ground.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Doveheart, you have to understand. I thought…I thought Tigerstar could help me improve my skills. I wanted to help ShadowClan." He raised his eyes then. "But if it means losing you, then I'm out."

"What?"

"I mean I would leave the Dark Forest," replied Tigerheart evenly. "I'll change. I will. I'll leave them as soon as I can, and then I can prove myself to you. Just…give me a second chance?"

Doveheart was silent, not really processing his quick words. All of a sudden, he would leave, just like that? There had to be a reason that he was in the Dark Forest. Tigerheart stepped forward, touching his nose to her ear.

"I love you, Doveheart," said Tigerheart in his deep, heart-melting voice. "And I would do anything. I'm sorry, I've been a fool. And I'll change for you. I will. I'll change. Just…give me a chance, please. Let me make it up to you." His amber eyes pleaded with her, deep and beautiful, and Doveheart was captivated. It felt as though she couldn't breathe.

He was offering to change for her. He loved her. She could only process that – Tigerheart loved her. Her! This beautiful, brave, majestic cat…he loved her. He would leave the Dark Forest for her? After all this time? Doveheart believed the look in his eyes, and she almost nodded.

Almost. Then the rational part of Doveheart's mind kicked in, the way her Clan-mates had smiled at her upon her actions in the battle against ShadowClan, and how Ivypool had screamed at her. Ivypool had been keeping secrets with Tigerheart, and she had been warning Doveheart not to trust him since the beginning. Though she couldn't trust Ivypool, could she really trust Tigerheart, either? She considered Lionblaze, so loyal to the Clan, and Jayfeather, who gave everything up to help ThunderClan. They were like her brothers. Could she really shame them by going with this ShadowClan, half-dark cat?

Doveheart forced herself to take a step back, and Tigerheart's eyes widened in shock and what she thought was despair. She shook her head, though it pained her.

"I can't do this," she said. "I can't be with you."

"But I'll change…"

"But I'm in ThunderClan. And I want to be loyal to ThunderClan, not you." It hurt to say the words, but Doveheart was convinced that she was doing the right thing. "I'm sorry, Tigerheart. If this were some other world…"

"But it's this world, and in this world, I love you," said Tigerheart. "Do you not love me?"

She did, she really and truly did.

"No," Doveheart lied, holding her head high. "I love ThunderClan. Nothing else."

Then Doveheart turned, bowing her head, and fled into the trees before Tigerheart could read the lie on her face or see the tears in her eyes. It felt as though StarClan had taken her heart out of her chest and threw it for the shadow cats to eat. Such darkness and anger consumed her entirely, and all Doveheart felt like doing was crying. But she knew that she couldn't waste any more time, because her Clan-mates would start to wonder after her. She was wounded, too, from the battle, and she knew that Jayfeather would have her head for not coming to him right away. And Lionblaze, too.

Doveheart coughed her little sobs away as a bitter smile crossed her face. Jayfeather and Lionblaze would support her, no matter what. They were more like her littermates than Ivypool was. They understood her pains and her struggles, and everything they did for her was for her own good. She knew that.

Suddenly, another pelt brushed against hers lightly, if only for a moment, and Doveheart stopped her tears with all the force she had and identified Ivypool. Her sister separated from her right away, as if she hadn't actually meant the contact. But with Ivypool, everything was purposeful. Ivypool had meant to touch Doveheart, be it for comfort or other reasons.

"Ivypool?" Doveheart managed in a broken voice. Where had her sister come from, anyways? The silver tabby turned her head slightly.

"I saw what you did," said Ivypool quietly. Doveheart swallowed hard, awaiting the condemnation from Ivypool, but her sister was quiet for a few more seconds. That was good – Doveheart didn't really want to talk about Tigerheart. Nonetheless, Ivypool walked beside her for a few paces, keeping out of touch but still present. That was more than Doveheart had obtained in moons.

"Tigerheart is a jerk anyways," said Ivypool quietly. Doveheart almost wanted to defend the tom, but she forced herself to stop. She was done with Tigerheart. He couldn't influence her any more. "You were right to not trust him."

"Why, because he's yours?" spat Doveheart viciously. "Because he's a Dark Forest cat and he's just going to use me? Because he loves me?"

"I don't know if Tigerheart loves you or not," said Ivypool. "But either way, he'd just break your heart." Glancing around, Ivypool brushed her tail across Doveheart's flank. The movement seemed almost accidental, but it made Doveheart's breath catch in her throat.

"Ivypool?" she meowed, hoping that this meant what she thought it meant. Was she about to get her sister back? "Ivypool, are you…?"

Ivypool scoffed suddenly, picking up her pace and nearly running away.

"Get your head out of the clouds," said Ivypool harshly. "This doesn't change anything."

Doveheart watched her go, not bothering to pick up her pace, but a spark of hope had lit in her chest. It had been such a brief moment, and carefully planned, but it had been there. Ivypool had expressed a care for Doveheart, and just those cautiously chosen words and hidden touches meant the world to Doveheart. No, she didn't have her sister back. But Ivypool still cared, no matter how she tried to hide it. This proved that.

She wandered into camp in a daze and only a few steps after Ivypool. The first cat to reach her was Whitewing, who hastily draped her bushy tail over Doveheart's back.

"Where have you been?" she asked. "You and Ivypool didn't come back with the others. Doveheart, you're hurt! You must see Jayfeather right away."

"I'm fine," lied Doveheart, pulling away from Whitewing with care. "Ivypool fell back a little ways, and I stopped to help her. I'll go see Jayfeather now."

Whitewing's eyes were sad, and it occurred to Doveheart that Ivypool had probably said the exact same thing. She imagined how she would feel if she were in Whitewing's place, and that feeling hurt. Being pushed away by her own two kits…

No, Doveheart had to stop thinking about such things. She pushed her way into Jayfeather's den, unsurprised at how full it was. Most warriors, at this point, were resting their aching muscles or evacuating the den, mended enough to clear out.

"Oh, good, there you are." Jayfeather's curt tone wasn't enough to disguise the inside worry, and just that little bit of concern warmed her heart. The medicine cat disentangled himself from his little crowd of patients and wiggled over to her. "Let me take a look at you, and then you can help me."

Doveheart protested with a groan, but Jayfeather swatted her nose gently with his tail. The gesture made her smile, although smiling hurt. Tigerheart's face still swam in her vision, dejected and pained from her rejection. She tried to shake the image away - Jayfeather pressing a wad of something sharp made her eyes water enough for everything to fade, but then her tears didn't want to stop. Jayfeather stopped his work, his cloudy eyes fixed blindly on her face. This time, his concern was undisguised. Gasping back her pain, Doveheart hastily licked her chest fur, trying to banish her tears.

"I'm fine," she promised Jayfeather. "Do you need me to help out?"

"If you could," Jayfeather asked. "I was going to ask Lionblaze, but he's too busy confessing his love to Icecloud or whatever cats do when they're in love."

The words were too bitter to be derived from Jayfeather's normal attitude, but Doveheart decided not to ask. He hadn't delved into her own affairs, and she would give him the same respect. Maybe she would tell Lionblaze and Jayfeather the whole story later, now that she had nothing to hide. But right now, the pain was too sharp. Her heart wept far more than she ever could, and stung more than a thousand shadowy claws. In all honesty, Doveheart would have much rather been bitten. Then she could slip into unconsciousness and forget all about this Tigerheart business.

No, that wouldn't do. She was Doveheart, warrior of ThunderClan. That meant that her first priority was the Clan. I will put the Clan before myself, always, she thought angrily. No matter what else she did, Doveheart vowed to stick to that promise.

Yay Doveheart! I know that Tigerheart and Doveheart is a really popular couple. I know. I think that they really worked together, except for the whole different-Clans, Dark Forest stuff. A big part of Dovey's storyline - through this and through the main Elemental series - is how she chooses between duty and love. Plain and simple. So, I'm really sorry if you guys are sad that this fic doesn't center on Tiger-Dove, but...I mean, it wouldn't have worked out for the story (or for Doveheart).

Alright, random disclaimer thing aside, I'd love it if you guys could review! Like I said before, I really appreciate it. It also helps motivate me to write, because if enough people whine about getting more, I want to write more, and I prioritize writing this! So...more reviews = more chapters. I think that's fair. I had fishing for reviews, but I'm getting kind of worried that people aren't actually reading this...

Okay, see you next time! It's a Jayfeather chapter. And, seeing as the LionXIce thing finally happened, I think that Jayfeather is going to have a lot to say...