Is this a new chapter you spy? Indeed it is! I'm on FIRE! :D

I've done a ton of work on this today, including a good deal of work on some plot things relating to another possible storyline I want to introduce, but we'll see how it all works out. No sense worrying about it now. Anyways, here's the newest War of Shadows chapter, which is dedicated to our lovely friend Ivypool!

Also, IvyXBumble. I know that this isn't cannon, but screw cannon, because I think Dovewing could have been so much better off if she hadn't taken advantage of poor, innocent Bumblestripe. She would have been a much stronger character, if you ask me, if she had just dropped Tigerheart and understood that she was steady on her own paws. Ivypool needs someone to lean on more than Dovewing/Doveheart does, if you ask me. Just my opinion. Don't sue me.

Enjoy! Once again, I don't own Warriors. If I did...well...

~Elsi

Chapter 19

Ivypool

She hadn't cried in so long, but now the salty bile in her throat and the acidic burn in her chest felt as if it was going to overwhelm her, so she let the tears flow and the sobs rip through her like shadowy claws. They would see, Tigerstar and the rest of them, and maybe they would know. But she couldn't hold her feelings back anymore, not when she was betraying herself at such a deep, deep level.

I guess it is all a lie, she thought, closing her eyes tight to press out a few spare tears. What was a lie, and what was true? How could she even tell anymore? Tigerstar's influence on her was no longer real, she knew that much – but it couldn't be a lie, either, or else she wouldn't be going. She had to keep going, keep in their favor, keep promising that she would be the "general" they wanted her to be. Wearing the smirk and the cruel look she associated with her mask seemed so easy now. It would be so much easier to just let the mask become Ivypool and let this side of her, the side that cried and loved a cat with amber eyes, to just vanish.

"Ivypool?" Bumblestripe's voice was raw, a little nervous. She looked up, startled at his persistence. "Look, I know you might not want to talk, but I have a question for you."

"And what's that?" She couldn't keep the snap out of her voice, the hostility out of her fur. It made Bumblestripe take a startled take backwards, a touch of hurt in his eyes. She was afraid, but she couldn't show it. He was going to ask her to reveal herself to him, and if she wasn't careful, his amber eyes would make her do so.

"What's going on, really?" he asked. "I saw what you said. I saw that look in your eyes. That wasn't you fighting for Firestar, was it?"

Ivypool stared up, her jaw set, ready to snap at him and tell him the truth – that it was all a threat. Wait. Was that the truth, after all? She had phrased her words to keep the Clan under control. She was buying Firestar time, whether they knew it or not. That was the truth. Really. It was.

"Ivypool?" Bumblestripe suddenly bent down, less bitter than concerned, to her level and touched his nose to her ear. She flinched at the contact. "You look like you're about to cry."

"Well, I'm not," she hissed, shrinking backwards. "And what do you think you saw, anyways? Can't you keep your nose out of everyone's business?"

"Not if it hurts my Clan," said Bumblestripe, perhaps remembering his purpose. He puffed up his chest. "So I demand that you tell me what's going on."

Ivypool laughed. She couldn't help it, couldn't restrain a giggle that spilled forth all broken and foreign to her own ears. How could he sit there and demand? How could he be so blind, stupid enough to see that his precious Clan was already hurt? Bumblestripe froze as if a rabbit caught under the scrutiny of a WindClan cat, suddenly looking to defend himself.

"What are you?" she said before she could help herself. "You're so sweet."

"I'm not sweet!" he gasped. "Warriors are not sweet."

"Yes, you are," said Ivypool, warm and lowering her head to her paws so she could stare up at him teasingly. "You're sweet and earnest."

Bumblestripe redirected his attention to her, and his pride softened.

"If sweet and earnest is what you want, then fine. I'll be sweet and earnest."

What she wanted? He would change himself to be what she wanted? Ivypool sat up, feeling slightly sick. No one should have to do that. Only she had to do that, and that was to save the cats like him.

"No," she said suddenly. "No, you don't get to do that. You don't get to pretend to be someone else."

"Like you, you mean?" asked Bumblestripe. The teasing was done. "Tell me the truth, Ivypool."

She shook her head frantically. The truth, the truth! Why did they all keep asking for it?

"You don't want the truth," she said.

"Yes, I do," said Bumblestripe. He could sense her impulse to flee, so he stuck his paw over hers. "I want to know if the cat I've fallen in love with is who I think she is."

"What?" Ivypool sprung back, receding farther away. Her heart was hammering a million times faster than hearts had the right to do. Her mind was in full panic mode – she had no idea what her face looked like. Could he read her heart, or her mask? "I…"

"Don't pretend you didn't know," said Bumblestripe, intensely serious and hurt. "I wasn't going to hide how I feel. I love you, Ivypool. And I think you love me, too."

Impossible. It was impossible. She could never show it like he could, and thus, she could never love him. At least, not until this was all over. The only way to end this was to keep everyone safe until Tigerstar made his attack, and then she could strike back. She was training. She knew how, and she thought that just maybe, the others would follow her if she called them. Besides, she wasn't oblivious to what Doveheart and Lionblaze were doing to counter her actions. Jayfeather had taken a couple of words to convert Blossomfall, and Ivypool was confident that only a few more would turn Rosepetal and the others. She just had to wait.

Her tears had stopped, and her heart had hardened again. She was two parts of a whole – one was the monster Doveheart hated, the general Hawkfrost loved. That was her mask, and if everyone saw it, what did it matter? She was never going to be a hero. Inside, she could hide the part of her that was real. No one could see it – not Bumblestripe, not Doveheart, not anyone. Maybe she loved Bumblestripe. Maybe that was true, and though she hated hurting him more than anything else in the world, this would save him in the long run. A little sacrifice for a larger victory. He couldn't help her, not now.

Taking a deep breath, Ivypool looked around the clearing. She wasn't far from camp, though hopefully far enough away that no one had sensed her distress. Rolling her shoulders back, Ivypool headed back that way, being careful to step over patches of melting frost and avoiding the most widely-traveled pathways. It was nearing sun-down, and she was neither going to the Gathering nor guarding the camp. It would be acceptable for Ivypool to sleep, to dream. It was unacceptable to cry, and Ivypool would have to make up for it.

The warrior's den was empty, as most cats were milling around eating or getting ready to leave. Ivypool wasn't hungry anymore. She didn't want to eat, not for tonight. Her eyes flitted closed, but the only thing in her head was the Dark Forest, the pull at her heart as she considered what Hawkfrost would say.

She floated mildly through in-between space for a while before opening her eyes and finding herself in an empty clearing. Certainly the Dark Forest, and even the clearing where the generals usually met. But there was no Hawkfrost or Tigerstar, not yet. Had she come too early? She didn't usually show up before she was needed, but sometimes, it happened.

"You know, you weren't called," said a voice. Ivypool turned, sensing the slinking form of Mapleshade, half shadow and half tabby. "Not yet. You aren't precisely being subtle."

"Subtle?" asked Ivypool. "With what? I just dreamed."

"Oh, you poor naïve kit," said Mapleshade with a dark laugh. "Still far too young, but a fair general in your own right." She shifted on one paw, then onto the other. "I don't think Hawkfrost is interested in your tears. You should consider yourself lucky."

"I had a moment of weakness," said Ivypool stiffly. "It won't happen again."

"A moment of sentimentality, perhaps for your sister? Or perhaps for your mate?" Mapleshade's eyes sparkled as she began to circle Ivypool.

"I have no mate," said Ivypool. "And Doveheart has long ago proved that she is no sister of mine."

"Clever answer," said Mapleshade. "I wonder, perhaps, if I could make a deal with you."

"A deal," said Ivypool. "What sort of deal?"

"A bet," said Mapleshade. "You see, I'm growing a little tired with Tigerstar and his talk of war and purge. He doesn't understand war. He doesn't understand what he's gotten himself into. He sees my shadows and sees power, but I see punishment. You see punishment, too, don't you?"

"What sort of deal?" said Ivypool again. She had a horrible feeling about this.

"I want to play a game with you, Ivypool. For their lives." She smiled. "If they live, you get your happy ending. If they die, they become mine. But you live."

"How do you know I won't just fight for myself to live?" said Ivypool.

"Oh, I don't know," said Mapleshade with a smile. "You've seen nothing, Ivypool, but I've seen wars beyond your wildest imagination. I've crossed more lines than even you. I've seen the lines blur and the tables turn. I've brought warriors to corruption, Clans to ruin. Someone always dies in the end. But here, there is no death. Here, we are eternal."

"Eternal darkness is eternity nonetheless," said Ivypool. "You're saying that if they die here, I live here?"

"You live," said Mapleshade. "I'll leave it up to you to determine my meaning."

"And who is they?"

"The cats you have bound yourself to, of course," said Mapleshade with a wink.

"I have no one," said Ivypool harshly. "I work alone."

"Cats like you, Ivypool, were not made alone," said Mapleshade.

Ivypool turned back to face her, but Mapleshade had somehow taken her speeches about shadows and become them. She considered calling out, but who knew who was watching her now? Instead, she pulled her tail around her paws and tried to think about anything except Mapleshade's offer. If she thought about it, the mask would crumble.

Redwillow, Mossytail, and Breezepelt arrived and spared her from having to think about it anymore.

"You're here early," said Mossytail, turning her nose up in the air as she pranced past Ivypool to sit in her normal spot.

"I'm here on time," said Ivypool evenly, but she returned to where she usually sat in the circle, pausing to glance at Breezepelt and Redwillow.

She had gotten in the habit of scanning Breezepelt each meeting, purely to see if he had figured out what to do about the accusations of him having a mate. This time, Breezepelt was staring her down, as if she was a weak link that he could exploit. Did he know something she had missed all along? Ivypool swallowed away her fears and turned towards the far edge of the clearing in anticipation for when their mentors appeared. Sure, enough, they slunk through the shadows: dark shapes made just out of fallen stars and shades cast upon them by the evil forest.

Mapleshade was among them, as if she had never spoken to Ivypool at all. Her dark eyes flitted from Ivypool to Breezepelt, and back again. And Brokentail was sizing her up like a piece of meat. Ivypool sucked in a breath and straightened. She had nothing to be afraid of – none of these cats could hurt her. She had nothing to hide.

"Hello, everyone," said Tigerstar, who took a seat in the center of the semi-circle of Dark Forest cats. "Before we begin, I wanted to bring your attention to a weakness of one of our fellows."

He had done this before, every so often, and when he did, it chilled them all to silence. Breezepelt had been called out for loving Sunstrike, Mossytail for crying over her mother's death, Redwillow for losing his temper at a Clan-mate. Ivypool felt sick to her stomach and detached, letting her mask hang up and meet Tigerstar's dark amber eyes. Inside she was cringing and writhing, a kit desperate to get out of trouble.

"Ivypool seems to have fallen in love with a cute little kittypet," said Thistleclaw, a smirk on his face. "Shed a few tears over it, too."

"I cried over my sister," said Ivypool suddenly, silencing the beginnings of laughter that had begun in Brokentail and Mossytail's throats. "And I'm not in love with Bumblestripe."

"Oh, is that his name?" said Mossytail. She wrinkled her nose. "It isn't very cool."

Ivypool's pelt burned like a thousand suns, but she focused all her humiliation into a glare down her nose at her comrade, who suddenly found the situation much less funny.

"I was crying over my sister," she said again. "Bumblestripe is a silly tom that has gotten too attached. He means nothing."

"We overheard that conversation," said Brokentail accusingly. "You admitted to feeling something for him and then ran off in tears."

"You must have heard me incorrectly," said Ivypool harshly. "I said that everything with Bumblestripe was a lie." She flexed her shoulders and unsheathed her claws – at least, that's what her mask did. "How do you expect me to properly infiltrate ThunderClan without a cover?"

"So this silly tom is a cover?" said Tigerstar darkly. "And what of your sister?"

"I had to give Doveheart up," said Ivypool quietly. This was real, she could feel the emotion threatening to spill over and escape the mask. These words weren't something that the general Ivypool would have said. "Yes, I had a moment of weakness. I miss my littermate. But there is no way that she can ever have a place in the new order."

"You see?" said Hawkfrost, speaking for the first time. His icy blue eyes were dark and spiteful. "No harm done. Now, can we please get to training?"

Tigerstar tilted his head and observed Ivypool for a moment, which invited the others to do the same. She wanted to meet Breezepelt's eyes, or Hawkfrost's eyes – she needed to find someone from whom she could elicit some sympathy. Even Hawkfrost had a personal attachment to her, and he would presumably drop his gaze.

"Very well," he drawled. "Each to your mentors."

Ivypool shot a look over her shoulder at Breezepelt, who was still staring. He tilted his head to the side, as though thinking; the two could almost read each others' thoughts. A cover? It was as if Breezepelt hadn't dared to think of the idea himself, but now...Ivypool gave a small incline of her head to confirm his thoughts. He could know just how real Bumblestripe was.

No, Bumblestripe wasn't real. He was a silly tom that followed her around. She would not find comfort with him.

Hawkfrost turned around crossly once they were out of earshot.

"You fool," he spat. "Can't you guard yourself better? I thought I had taught you more than to cry when your emotions got the best of you."

"It was one moment of weakness," said Ivypool, a little cross that he would not listen. "Even you should know the importance of having a sister."

Hawkfrost's eyes were dark and cold, and Ivypool swallowed. Perhaps she had spoken incorrectly.

"You'd better watch yourself, Ivypool," he said. "Brokentail is trying to get in your head, and he'll use everything he has against you."

"Why?" asked Ivypool. "Brokentail is on my side. Why would he care?"

"Because Brokentail thinks that Breezepelt will outlast you. He thinks you're weak." Hawkfrost spat the accusation at her paws, making Ivypool flinch. "Don't prove him right."

He whirled around, beckoning her with a sweep of his tail. For a long moment, Ivypool didn't want to follow. She wanted to protest, to give up, to lie down and curl in a ball and refuse all movement. But that wasn't an option anymore, so she breathed out through her teeth and followed Hawkfrost towards where her Clan-mates awaited her instructions.

When at last she woke with aching bones and a spinning head, she could make out the snoozing form of Bumblestripe, not far from her nest. Hardly daring to believe what she was doing, Ivypool slowly pulled her nest towards his, until she could brush up against him and breathe in his scent. She didn't know what she was doing.

"Ivypool?" Bumblestripe turned around lazily, speaking quietly enough so as not to wake the rest of the den. "Is this a dream?"

His amber eyes gleamed at her in the darkness, heavy-lidded with exhaustion. Her insides screaming with the danger of the situation, Ivypool pushed her head into his chest fur and breathed in and out. Bumblestripe smelled like dew on grass and sunlight on rocks.

"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, this is a dream."

"What…I don't understand…" His words were strung together with sleep, but he seemed to care, so Ivypool raised her eyes to his.

"You don't want to understand," she said. "It's bad, Bumblestripe, it's worse than you ever could imagine. And I can't…" She choked on her words, but forced them out. "I can't be with you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But I can't be with you."

"Ivypool…"

"Please, don't." She closed her eyes again, unable to see the pain in his eyes. He was so good – how could he be so good? How could he still want her? She was dark and horrible, just as the world was, but he was different from all of that. Bumblestripe was good. Ivypool had forgotten that good existed.

"Okay." He touched his nose to hers and cuddled closer, sweeping her side with his tail. "Okay. You can leave if you want to. I won't stop you."

"Thank you," said Ivypool. She breathed in his scent and thought about a dreamless sleep, where she could escape the battling cats within her head. "You're perfect. Thank you."

He didn't respond – her words and actions had shocked him into silence. But Ivypool didn't need his words, so she drifted to sleep with him beside her, knowing that for a little bit, she wouldn't be accused of treachery from any angle.

Please review, favorite, and follow! 3

There are subtle references to DANGER, the latest one-shot in Sunstrike's Story. Actually rather blatant references, but that's because the stories run parallel.

Next chapter is Lionblaze!

~Elsi