Sorry for the lack of updates! I've been working on planning a new story (a sort-of prequel to Celestial Winter, since while the story is pretty much dead I still want to work with the characters) and getting Blood of the Tiger's sequel ready to go, which will hopefully be up before the month is out.

Anyway, here we go!

Chapter 6

"W-What?" Tinyclaw's astonishment made his voice nothing but a squeak. He collected himself as best as he could. "You're saying that their father was ThunderClan?"

"Yes," Goldenflower mewed. She gave her chest fur a couple of brisk licks. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

Tinyclaw was stunned, struggling for something to say. Finally, all he could manage was, "But that's against the warrior code!"

Goldenflower rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know."

Tinyclaw shuffled his paws. "W-Who…?"

Goldenflower's eyes narrowed. "Don't bother asking – I'm not telling you. A queen can choose whether or not to reveal the father of her kits. No cat has any reason to ask – it's no one's business but the queen's," her tone was sharp. "Their father was a noble warrior. That's all you need to know."

"But you betrayed your Clan!" Tinyclaw burst. "How could you?"

Goldenflower frowned, her eyes still narrowed. "Love makes a cat do strange things, Tinyclaw – as I'm sure you're aware. I'm not the first she-cat to seek someone outside her Clan, and I'm not the last."

Tinyclaw frowned. She was right – Graystripe and Silverstream were sure proving her point. He swallowed. "Why, though?" he wondered. "Swiftclaw's father… was he mean?"

"No," Goldenflower replied, her eyes softening. "He was a kind cat. Awkward, but kind. A good warrior, too – always put the Clan first. But… he and I decided to end things after a conflict with WindClan, a season after Swiftclaw became a warrior. I was… distraught, to say the least.

"I met the ThunderClan tom around that time, at a Gathering. We'd spoken now and again, but nothing more than a few sentences. We were far from friends… Perhaps it was my sadness trying to fill the place left by Swiftclaw's father, but I just couldn't seem to get him off of my mind after that.

"We began meeting; once or twice a moon at first but it picked up… soon enough I discovered I was going to have kits." Goldenflower paused, her eyes flashing.

"What did you do?" Tinyclaw wondered.

Goldenflower frowned, eyes flashing. "I... did what I had to. Our last meeting was a disaster; I broke things off," she said simply. "We had our fun, and now there were kits involved. There was no way I was going to let them suffer for my mistakes, so I had to end it with him before any cat began suspecting. I had my kits, and no one asked – I'm not certain even Swiftclaw knew. His father died of greencough not long afterward."

"That must have been hard," Tinyclaw offered.

"It was," Goldenflower agreed, "but I got over it. Raising kits on your own… it's not so difficult. Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw got along just fine."

Tinyclaw shifted on his paws. Something about her story wasn't adding up. He meowed, "I… I think Swiftclaw did know, Goldenflower."

"Oh?" Goldenflower mewed. "He never said anything to me."

"Remember? He mentioned that no ThunderClan cat would harm Brambleclaw," Tinyclaw pointed out. "Why would he say that, if not because of their parentage?"

Goldenflower's eyes flashed, and her whiskers twitched. "I see," she murmured. "Perhaps he did know, or at least suspect. I'd wondered if he'd hold it against me if he knew… that's why I didn't tell him."

She looked at Tinyclaw. "I suppose that answers your original question, though – Swiftclaw loved his siblings, even if he knew they came from a different father. I can't imagine that he'd coddle them… maybe he was just afraid of losing them."

"Perhaps," Tinyclaw breathed. "Those battles did get heated…"

Goldenflower remained silent a moment, as did Tinyclaw. He could see memories beyond counting passing behind her pale eyes, and Tinyclaw wondered if she was remembering her son and the ThunderClan cat she had loved.

I wonder who they were, he thought. He knew she wasn't telling him the whole truth. I wonder if they're still alive, in ThunderClan.

"Do Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw know all this?" Tinyclaw wondered.

Goldenflower shook her head. "No," she answered, "and I don't expect them to find out any time soon." She gave Tinyclaw a long, hard look.

"I won't tell them," Tinyclaw told her. "I promise. I won't tell anyone else, either." I doubt this has much to do with what happened to Redtail anyway; I don't think Tigerstar would like hearing about this. I'll only bring it up if I have to.

"Good, good," Goldenflower purred, nodding. "Is that all you asked of me? My joints are beginning to ache in this chill."

"Yes," Tinyclaw told her. He got to his paws. "I don't know what this means in relation to what I already know, but thank you. You've helped a great deal, and I'm sure this will benefit both our Clans."

Goldenflower flicked an ear. "That may be," she rasped, "but now that I'm done, you need to leave this territory."

"I will," Tinyclaw agreed. "And… thank you, again."

Goldenflower frowned. "Don't mention it."

Tinyclaw's head was spinning as he pushed through the thorn tunnel and into the camp. Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt were half ThunderClan! But they clearly had no idea of any of it, and other than looking a bit thinner than their Clanmates their fur was just as sleek as any RiverClan cat. Their loyalty was set.

Perhaps now that Tawnypelt has confirmed how Swiftclaw died, Tigerstar will believe me, Tinyclaw thought. He hadn't wanted to hear any of it before, since it implicated Redtail as a murderer. But now that Tinyclaw had proof that Swiftclaw's death was an accident, perhaps Tigerstar would open his eyes!

Hope filled his paws as Tinyclaw headed for the Highrock. There could be no more delaying – Bluefur was dangerous, even if she was lying in a nest nursing kits. She had killed Redtail and now Tigerstar had to believe Tinyclaw!

"I'll try near Snakerocks," called a voice. Oakheart! Tinyclaw pressed himself to the shadows as the tabby warrior stepped out of Tigerstar's den. "No one's been there for some time."

"Good luck," came Tigerstar's rumble. "And be careful!"

"Of course," Oakheart replied. He padded off towards the warrior's den without acknowledging Tinyclaw hiding in the shadows.

Tinyclaw got to his paws and smirked with satisfaction. Having a black pelt does come in handy! He padded up to the mouth of Tigerstar's den and announced himself. "Tigerstar, can we talk?"

"Of course," Tigerstar called back. "Come in."

Tinyclaw obeyed. The Highrock den was surprisingly warm, the air free of the smell of sickness. Tigerstar was sitting in his nest, paws tucked beneath his big, broad chest. Amber eyes focused on Tinyclaw as the small warrior settled down a fox-length from his leader.

"What is it?" Tigerstar asked.

Tinyclaw could not beat around the bush: "Remember when I told you about Ravenpaw's story? The one about Redtail and Swiftclaw at Sunningrocks?"

Tigerstar's eyes narrowed. "Yes," he rumbled, "and I remember telling you that the discussion was over. Too little proof, and Ravenpaw is a well-known exaggerator. Tinyclaw, if you've come to -"

"Please!" Tinyclaw insisted. "Hear me out, Tigerstar – I've found out something new!"

Tigerstar's whiskers twitched. "Very well," he meowed. "Proceed."

Tinyclaw's heart was pounding in his ears. Don't mess this up, now… "No cat killed Swiftclaw – not Redtail, not Bluefur. It was an accident. Swiftclaw died because some loose rocks fell on him."

Tigerstar's eyes flashed, and he frowned. "How do you know this?" he asked.

Tinyclaw sighed. "I… I went to see Ravenpaw again, after the Gathering." He braced himself for a lashing, but Tigerstar remained where he was, his expression calm.

"Go on," he said.

"I had to find out the truth," Tinyclaw said quickly. "I -"

"A moment," Tigerstar offered, raising his tail. "Didn't Ravenpaw say that Redtail had killed Swiftclaw? Why is he changing his story now?"

"He was scared," Tinyclaw told him. "Worried. Not thinking straight. At the barn, he was calm and able to remember more – but he wasn't totally wrong." He took a breath. "Redtail may not have killed Swiftclaw outright, but he was partly responsible for his death. Redtail drove Swiftclaw beneath the rocks that killed him - but Redtail didn't know about them; the rocks, I mean. That's what you couldn't believe, that Redtail killed another cat."

Tigerstar's ears twitched.

"I wanted to make sure the story was true," Tinyclaw went on. He took another big gulp of air. Seeing Ravenpaw is one thing, but confessing to having seen RiverClan cats? That's another. "So… I went across the river and spoke to a RiverClan cat, one who'd been at the battle… just to make sure. What she told me… she said it was true: Swiftclaw died from a rock fall."

He braced himself, preparing to face Tigerstar's legendary fury full-force. However, nothing happened. Tigerstar was still looking intently at Tinyclaw, his expression unreadable.

Tinyclaw swallowed. He's listening, he thought. He's really listening this time! He took a breath and went on, heart pounding in his ears, "Tigerstar, we know for a fact that Swiftclaw died from a rock fall. Bluefur said she killed him in revenge… but that's a lie! Isn't it possible that she could be lying about Redtail's death, too?"

He'd tried not to sound desperate, but he needed him to understand. Tigerstar's whiskers twitched, and to Tinyclaw's shock the great cat began to look troubled. His eyes narrowed into slits. "Bluefur is a great deputy and warrior," he meowed carefully. "She's proven herself many times over. These are series charges, Tinyclaw."

Tinyclaw's ears shot up in shock. He's considering it! "I know," he told Tigerstar. "She was my mentor, and I owe her a lot. But Tigerstar… can't you see how dangerous she is? How dangerous she could become?"

Tigerstar's eyes flashed, and he looked at his nest. He seemed to be thinking, and Tinyclaw couldn't help but feel ecstatic that he might actually be considering what Tinyclaw had said. The small tom felt like he was flying – finally, finally, his story would he heard and listened to!

"There was another thing," Tinyclaw offered, "about two RiverClan warriors."

Tigerstar's head shot up at that, his ears pricked. Tinyclaw was walking on clouds as he meowed, "I'm not sure if it's related, but Ravenpaw told me that Swiftclaw had been very protective of a RiverClan warrior during the battle. He'd said that no ThunderClan cat would harm the warrior – which confused me to no end… until I had the chance to speak to one of the RiverClan elders.

"She said that two warriors, Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw, had a ThunderClan father," Tinyclaw told him. "Do… do you know anything about that? Who their father might be?"

Tigerstar stared at Tinyclaw for a long, long moment. Then, the huge warrior got to his paws. He spat, "You are a fool!"

Tinyclaw flinched. The sound of anger in Tigerstar's voice felt like falling to the ground from a high place. Tinyclaw took a step back as Tigerstar went on: "It's the middle of leaf-bare, and you have the time to waste listening to idle RiverClan gossip? The Clan is practically starving and you're gallivanting to and fro like borders mean nothing!"

"I…"

Tinyclaw's protest was drowned out by the leader's roar: "Go!" he snarled. "Go, and find something to do, something that befits a warrior! I never, ever, want to hear anything like this again from you, understand?"

Swallowing, Tinyclaw offered, "I understand…"

"I had thought you'd learned better," Tigerstar snarled, curling back up in his nest. His striped back faced Tinyclaw. "But now I can see that there is still some kittypet to be worked out of you yet."

Shame and embarrassment flooded Tinyclaw, threatening to drown him as he turned away from his leader and out into the camp. His settled on his haunches just outside, his paws too heavy to carry him,

It had been going so well, Tinyclaw thought, reeling. And then… I got swatted down like a mayfly. He had risked so much gathering this information – what if Tigerstar begins wondering just how Tinyclaw had known who to talk to? What if he found out about Graystripe and Silverstream, and how they'd helped him?

What about Bluefur? If Tigerstar wasn't going to listen, who was going to stop her?

What have I done?