I know you guys are used to a BoT to come with this, but I can't manage that this week since BoT's buffer is too small for my liking.

Chapter 14

Tinyclaw stared at the two, horrified. He looked between them, too stunned to speak. Graystripe's eyes were glowing, and Silverstream was quivering with excitement and pride. To himself, Tinyclaw wondered how he hadn't been able to tell before – Silverstream had been looking a little fuller than her Clanmates, but he figured it was because of her build. Now that he knew the truth, he wished it wasn't so.

"K-Kits…?" Tinyclaw finally managed. He focused on them and meowed, "Are you both out of your minds?"

Graystripe's eyes flashed, and Silverstream pinned an ear. Obviously it wasn't the reaction they had been expecting from him. They looked at each other, and then back at Tinyclaw. It was Graystripe who spoke, but he did not meet Tinyclaw's eyes: "These kits will bind us together forever. Isn't that… isn't that a good thing?"

'Isn't that a good thing', he says! Tinyclaw thought. He dug his claws into the soft earth. Doing his best to keep his voice low, he meowed, "Graystripe, did you forget that you two come from different Clans? You'll never be able to claim these kits as your own, and Silverstream won't ever be able to tell them or her Clan who their father is! Think about how these kits will grow up, not knowing their father!"

"I'll know," Silverstream countered, as Graystripe seemed to look ever further away from Tinyclaw. "That's what matters."

Tinyclaw narrowed his eyes at her. "Those kits will be constantly questioning who their father is and where they came from." He recalled Cloudkit, and how she reacted to learning the truth of her origins. "They might grow up bitter because of it, and when they do find out the truth they might hate you and Graystripe for what you did! That's not even considering what the Clan will do if they find out – Crookedstar might be your father, Silverstream, but even he knows the warrior code, and the Clan won't just turn a blind eye if he doesn't follow it!"

Silverstream's chest fur fluffed up, and she looked rather offended. Her blue eyes burned, and she growled, "If you think that Crookedstar, my father, would even think of banishing me, you've -"

Graystripe cut her off. He butted his head into her shoulder. "Silverstream," he murmured, "he's just worried for us."

"Yes, but -!" Silverstream began, exasperated. She looked between Graystripe and Tinyclaw, the whites of her eyes showing. Then, she pinned her ears and relaxed herself with a great sigh. "I know," she breathed. "I know."

"It's so stupid," Graystripe hissed. He looked up from Silverstream, his yellow eyes burning. "Our kits should be able to know who their father is. No kit should go without that knowledge!" Looking exhausted, Graystripe murmured, "We haven't done anything wrong…"

Tinyclaw sheathed his claws and stepped forward. "I know," he breathed. You just fell in love, he thought. You shouldn't be punished for that. "But the Clans… they won't see it that way. These kits will be RiverClan."

Inside, he couldn't imagine the turmoil Graystripe would face in the future. Now he would be the one looking across the river, wondering how his kits were doing. Now he would be in battle for Sunningrocks, wondering if the RiverClan warrior he was biting would turn out to be his kit. Now he was torn between Clan and kin, home and blood, and Tinyclaw feared it would rip him to pieces.

He's finally realizing the gravity of the situation, Tinyclaw thought soberly, but this isn't how I wanted him to come to terms with it.

Briefly he thought of Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw, and their ThunderClan father. Had he ever wondered, worried, looked for them? Did he know about them at all? In battle, did he give Brambleclaw the nick in his ear, or the scar on Tawnypelt's flank? During Gatherings, did he look for them?

Tinyclaw pushed the thoughts out of his head. The sky was growing lighter, and over the river he knew that ThunderClan was waking up. He meowed, "We can talk about this later… but we need to head back to camp before we're missed."

Graystripe nodded. He turned to Silverstream and pressed his muzzle against hers. "He's right, we need to be going." After a pause, he meowed, "Don't worry, my love; they'll be the most beautiful kits in the forest."

Silverstream purred. She meowed, "I know. We'll find a way through this. Together."

Tinyclaw let them have a moment – thankfully he didn't need to wait long. Graystripe parted from his mate, and joined Tinyclaw at the shoulder. He nodded to Tinyclaw, and the two of them padded through the bushes without another word.

Yet as they walked, Graystripe couldn't hide how he looked back, again and again. Worry was a cold stone in Tinyclaw's stomach – how long could this go on, before someone found out?

"I think we ought to hunt for a bit," Graystripe offered as they stepped off of the fallen log and onto ThunderClan territory. Tinyclaw kicked water from his paws, while Graystripe didn't bother. "It'll dry us off and we can at least say we were hunting."

"I suppose," Tinyclaw breathed. Anxiety weighed heavy, keeping his tail low. Yet he forced the thoughts from his mind, scrambling for something to tell the Clan about their absence. Coming back with prey might not be enough – they had lingered too long in RiverClan territory. "We can try near the Owl -"

"Tinyclaw! Tinyclaw!"

"Oh, StarClan," cursed Graystripe.

Tinyclaw pricked his ears, his heart in his throat. Cloudkit was bounding through the soggy bracken, eyes bright and white tail perked up. She skidded to a halt, breathing heavily, her pelt streaked with mud.

"C-Cloudkit?!" Tinyclaw breathed. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I spotted… Darkstripe!" Cloudkit panted. "H-He's coming this way, with Oakheart and W-Whitestorm!"

Panic seized Tinyclaw's muscles, and Graystripe let out a hiss of frustration. If he could have cursed in front of a kit, he would have. Tinyclaw asked, "What are you doing out here?"

Cloudkit seemed to be getting her breath back. "You said it was a secret mission, right?" Tinyclaw nodded in reply. Cloudkit meowed, "Well, I saw Darkstripe just before you left. He was listening! I don't know if he was supposed to, but he did and he went and waited for Whitestorm and Oakheart to come back from their patrols. I listened in, I listened real good, they didn't see me – when I heard that they were coming to find you, I ran as fast as I could. I tracked you! And, and…"

She took a breath, her eyes glazing over the river and Tinyclaw's damp paws. "And what were you two doing?"

"That's what we'd like to know."

Tinyclaw froze. Just up the slope stood Whitestorm and Oakheart, and beside them like a dark shadow was Darkstripe, grinning a secret grin. Whitestorm and Oakheart padded down the slope and Darkstripe followed, looking haughty and proud.

"I told you they were up to no good," Darkstripe purred on his way.

Whitestorm and Oakheart ignored him, and Tinyclaw smiled a secret smile when Darkstripe looked hurt. The three warriors stopped before Tinyclaw and Graystripe. Oakheart narrowed his eyes.

"What were you two doing over the river?" Whitestorm asked.

Graystripe opened his jaws, "We -"

"They were on a mission!" Cloudkit burst. She rushed before them, as if to protect them. "A secret warrior mission!"

Oakheart and Whitestorm glanced at one another, looking confused. Then, Oakheart turned back and said, "I don't remember hearing about this. You?"

Whitestorm shook his head.

Darkstripe rolled his eyes. "Oh please, they're lying," he scoffed. Narrowing his eyes, he growled, "That kittypet is a traitor, and so is his friend."

Cloudkit lashed her tail. "They were spying on RiverClan!" she spat.

"Spying, eh?" Whitestorm repeated. Cloudkit nodded, and Whitestorm sighed. "Little one, ThunderClan does not spy on its enemies."

Cloudkit flopped onto her haunches and grumbled, "Maybe we should…"

Cloudkit, please, Tinyclaw thought. I love you, but don't say anything more…

"We were checking to see how far the floods went," Graystripe offered, now that he had a chance. Tinyclaw glanced at him. It wasn't a total lie, really. But would they buy it?

"Who sent you?" Oakheart wondered. "Neither of us did."

Tinyclaw scuffled his paws. "We… wanted to do it without being told," he offered. "We were going to hunt afterward!"

"Likely story!" Darkstripe snarled. He stepped forward, thrusting his muzzle right into Tinyclaw's face. "You want to know what I think?"

"No, not really," Tinyclaw growled.

"I think these two were spying for RiverClan!" Darkstripe spat. "Why else sneak off so early, why else make up such blatant lies? I think this kittypet is nothing but a traitor and -"

"Enough, Darkstripe," Whitestorm growled. "Tigerstar will decide their punishment, and whether or not their story is the truth."

Darkstripe frowned, but stepped back. Tinyclaw resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at the dark tom.

"And you, little one," Oakheart meowed, looking at Cloudkit. "You know that kits aren't allowed outside of camp alone."

"I know," Cloudkit mumbled.

"Come," Whitestorm meowed. "We'll settle this back at the camp."

When they arrived, Tigerstar was sitting below the Highrock. The meager remains of his meal was between his paws, and he was speaking with Mousefur and Longtail. As they drew closer, their conversation became clear:

"… if the waters don't go down before the Gathering," Longtail was saying, "we might not be able to make it."

"I see," Tigerstar rumbled. His eyes flashed, catching on Whitestorm. "Thank you. You're dismissed."

Longtail and Mousefur padded away, Brightpaw following. Whitestorm and Oakheart took their place, Tinyclaw and Graystripe and Cloudkit trailing behind. Darkstripe was there too, but Tinyclaw preferred not to even acknowledge the warrior's presence at the moment.

"What's this?" Tigerstar wondered.

"It's complicated," Whitestorm meowed. "The least complicated of it, however, is that Cloudkit was found outside of camp alone."

"I see," Tigerstar meowed. He looked at Cloudkit. "Cloudkit," he meowed gently, but sternly. "You know what I said about kits going outside of camp – a Clan leader's word is law. You must be punished, do you understand?"

Cloudkit nodded. "Yes," she meowed.

"Go help the elders," Tigerstar decided. "It's a task that needs doing, and you seem to enjoy it at least. You will bring them food, clean their bedding, and check their pelts for ticks, just as any apprentice would. Understand?"

"Ticks?" Cloudkit repeated. To Tinyclaw's knowledge, she hadn't done that sort of work before.

Tigerstar nodded. "Ticks," he repeated. "Now go."

Cloudkit sighed and padded off, her tail low. Tinyclaw glanced her way. He would speak with her later, if Tigerstar left him with any means to do so after this.

"Now," Tigerstar meowed, "what's all this about?" He sat up, adjusting his great paws beneath him.

"These two were found near the RiverClan border, by the stepping-stones," Oakheart reported. "They claimed to be checking how far the flooding had gone, but neither of us had sent them to do so."

"They were spying, I tell you," Darkstripe hissed. "Spying!"

"… Darkstripe insists they were spying for RiverClan," Oakheart added, his tone betraying how little faith he had in the claim.

Tigerstar's tail flicked. "Very well," he rumbled. "You may go – Tinyclaw, Graystripe, you two stay. I want an explanation for this."

Whitestorm and Oakheart padded off without another word. Darkstripe lingered a moment, glaring at Tinyclaw, before heading for the warrior's den. Tinyclaw hoped he would be sulking for the rest of the day.

"Now," Tigerstar meowed when they were gone, "tell me what really happened."

Graystripe opened his jaws, but Tinyclaw interrupted. He began, "You see…" He explained about the kits they'd found in the river, and how they'd saved them. Then, he told Tigerstar about returning them and finding RiverClan in such a sorry state.

"Their camp was underwater," Graystripe explained. "They couldn't go back to it, so they were hiding in some bushes."

"The flooding had poisoned their fish and scared off most of the prey," Tinyclaw added. "We couldn't just leave them to starve, so we offered to hunt for them until they got back on their paws. We hunted for ThunderClan, too – twice as hard! But we could just leave them to die."

Tigerstar narrowed his eyes. "I see," he rumbled.

He was silent for a long moment. Then he sighed and meowed, "What you did was noble – your intentions were good. But you both broke the warrior code in a way that cannot be ignored."

"But we were -"

Graystripe was cut off. "You were hunting for another Clan," Tigerstar growled, "and that is very much against the warrior code. A Clan should be able to sustain and keep itself without outside help, unless under extreme circumstances. RiverClan's territory has flooded before, and they've handled it before – they did not need your help."

Tinyclaw doubted Graystripe saw it that way, but Tinyclaw knew that Tigerstar had a point. RiverClan had to have dealt with floods every newleaf and the lack of prey it brought, and they had to have survived.

"Not only that, but you two lied," Tigerstar meowed. "Not just to Oakheart or Whitestorm, but to me as well. You could have told me about what had happened, instead of diving in yourselves. You've broken more than one tenant of the warrior code this time, and I will not let that go unpunished."

Tinyclaw winced at his tone, and at the way he curled his lip in disappointment. It was one of the worst feelings he'd ever felt, seeing that Tigerstar had so little faith in him.

"We're sorry," Graystripe offered. "We were just trying to do the right thing."

"Feeling sorry isn't always enough," Tigerstar growled. "If 'sorry' was enough to pardon all the crimes committed in the Clans' seasons, we would be in a very different place. Since you two cannot seem to remember how to be warriors, then you shall be treated like apprentices until you recall. You will clean dens, tend to the elders, and when you hunt you will be supervised."

"Supervised?" Tinyclaw repeated.

"Yes," Tigerstar meowed seriously. "If you cannot be trusted to go out alone you will be sent with someone who can, and you will be sent again and again until I see that you are worthy of being considered warriors. There will be no more visits to RiverClan."

Graystripe was appalled. "But… we… we won't be 'paws again, will we?"

"No," Tigerstar meowed. "A leaf cannot return to the bud from whence it came – but you will sleep in the apprentice's den and be treated as they are until I say so. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Tinyclaw sighed. At least it's better than being banished, he thought. If Bluefur were deputy right now she'd be howling for it.

"We're really sorry," Graystripe offered again.

"I know," Tigerstar meowed. "But we are done here. Graystripe, you may go. Tinyclaw – stay a moment."

Graystripe sighed and muttered, "See you in the apprentice's den, I guess…" before padding off with his tail low. Tinyclaw sighed and turned to Tigerstar.

"What is it?" Tinyclaw wondered. Is there some further punishment for me?

Tigerstar's eyes did not meet his. Tinyclaw was stunned – was this the first time that had ever happened? When Graystripe was out of earshot, Tigerstar murmured, "Tell me, Tinyclaw – have any RiverClan cats died in the flooding?"

Tinyclaw blinked. "No, not that I'm aware," he replied. "The kits came close, but Graystripe and I rescued them."

"Good," Tigerstar rumbled. He was still looking away from Tinyclaw. "Find Graystripe and tell him that you can eat. Your duties start tomorrow."

Tigerstar got to his paws and padded away, round the Highrock. Tinyclaw looked after him, stunned and confused. Only when the tiger-striped tail of his leader disappeared did Tinyclaw dare to wonder just why Tigerstar had been so concerned about RiverClan warriors dying.