Petalnose eyed Littlecloud cautiously as he stepped back.
"Leafpaw's right," He meowed. "You're doing fine – just keep off your paws when you can." Leafpaw's shoulders relaxed as Petalnose nodded, mewing her thanks.
Rainfur glared after the enemy cat as he stepped away. Petalnose touched her tail to her mate's side. "Relax," she said. "He's a medicine cat."
"He's TigerClan," the warrior responded. "There was no reason for that – we've got medicine cats." Leafpaw's ears went back.
"I just wanted to be sure," She began. Barkface was off taking care of Firestar presently. It was just her and this was more than dealing with wounds. Petalnose blinked at her.
"There's no shame in that," The queen assured her. "He's just being ridiculous. It did not bother me."
"You're growing into a fine medicine cat, Leafpaw." Rainfur looked at her. "Do not doubt your skills." Leafpaw dipped her head at the warrior's praise, glancing at Petalnose's belly again.
Barkface had said she would be kitting within a quarter moon! Leafpaw hoped they would find this new territory before. She turned away as the warriors rose to leave.
They had pooled their supplies together – something which surprised Leafpaw Tigerstar would allow. But it was happening and cats from both Clans were stopping by as needed. She headed over to where they were laid out.
They were settled in the grove now. A few colony cats had come down for a bit, but Leafpaw had not seen any for a while. Hunting patrols were out. She glanced up at the cat lying near the herbs.
Leafpaw had seen Mothwing before, she seemed to be sticking with the medicine cats. The pretty tabby raised her head, looking back at Leafpaw. "Hi."
"Hi," the apprentice looked down at their supplies. "Just looking over what we have," She muttered, clearing her throat. Littlecloud and Runningnose were working with other cats presently.
"What would happen if we ran out of something?" Leafpaw looked up again, surprised. "It's not like we know what's around here."
Leafpaw gestured above them, answering cautiously, "Those are spruce. If there are trees we know here, I don't see why there wouldn't be other plants." Leafpaw certainly knew who this cat was. She had to know who Leafpaw was! Why did she want to talk to Leafpaw? Mothwing nodded.
"Anyway," She continued, "if we don't know something, there's a cat who knows some herbs in the colony – she can tell us."
"I imagine what they know would be closer to what we will be using soon," Mothwing mewed. "Tawnyclaw was saying those different animals are past the mountains too – don't see why plants would be different." Leafpaw nodded, looking down again. She put her paw on some raspberry leaves.
"I've seen some of these," She commented. "Hopefully, there will be more herbs we're already familiar with where we end up." Mothwing looked intrigued. She opened her mouth when a voice called out.
"Mothwing!" A look of terror came across the queen's face at Tigerstar's call. Leafpaw looked at her, alarmed as she rose to her paws.
"See you," the warrior's voice was hushed as she stepped away.
"Bye." Leafpaw could do nothing but stare after Mothwing.
"Yes?" Mothwing dipped her head to her father as she approached. Hawktalon glanced at her.
"They said you were alright, right? Why were you still over there?" Mothwing gave him a confused looked.
"You told me to stay with Runningnose or Littlecloud," She began. Tigerstar scoffed.
"We've stopped for the night," He meowed. "You're fine." Mothwing dipped her head, gritting her teeth. She had been enjoying her conversation with Leafpaw.
"The patrols are all out," Hawktalon meowed. "They should be back soon with food."
"No one is fishing, right?" Mothwing asked. She knew that Tawnyclaw had mentioned this to the others. Tigerstar looked more annoyed than anything at her question. Hawktalon nodded.
"Yeah, they know not to." He flicked his tail, "There's no loss with that, really." Tigerstar snorted.
All three turned at the sound of hissing. Mothwing's eyes widened as she realized it was two of their cats. She rose to her paws, rushing over to the bristling warriors. A squirrel lay between them.
"Excuse me!" She exclaimed. Both warriors looked at her. "What is happening?"
"He's taking more than his share!" The tom's ears flattened.
"I was taking this to the queens!"
"Oh, sure you were, you lying fishfur!" Growls rose. Mothwing placed herself between them as Hawktalon exclaimed.
"Spiderfang, there's no need!" The young warrior's ears flattened but stepped back.
"What is happening?" Leopardstar demanded. As she approached, Mothwing realized Tigerstar had not responded. He was watching from where they had been.
"He's taking more than his share," Spiderfang reported. The other warrior's ears flattened.
"I'm taking this to Mosspelt and Tallpoppy," He repeated. Leopardstar sighed.
"Volefang, go give it to them." The tabby dipped his head, picking the squirrel back up. As the young tom stepped away, Leopardstar turned her attention back to Spiderfang. Her voice was hushed, "We have enemy warriors right there! There is no need for this!"
"And why should we believe your warriors?" Amber eyes glared at the TigerClan leaders, "You're nothing more than half-Clan fodder!" Mothwing's eyes widened. Meows arose from cats around them.
Leopardstar looked furious. Her claws had extended and Mothwing almost thought she was going to hit the ThunderClan warrior. "Get out of my sight," the leader's voice was low. Spiderfang stepped away.
As he disappeared, Leopardstar looked to Tigerstar who was still watching. Her tail lashed as she headed over to him. Mothwing and Hawktalon followed.
"Why didn't you stop that?" She still sounded angry. "They could have gotten into a fight!" Tigerstar blinked at the other warrior, shrugging.
"Who am I to stop someone from speaking the truth?"
Feathertail watched as Stormfur turned away from Ivy, a vole dangling from his jaws. "Hey," She mewed as he padded up. He bunted his head against her shoulder as he approached.
"Hey," He set the rodent down. "This is for you." Something hard formed in her chest as she took it.
"Thanks." He hummed; settling next to her. There was a pause before he spoke, his voice hushed.
"Do you think there's something up with Brambleheart?" Feathertail glanced at him.
"Why?" She had not noticed anything in particular. "Where is he?" She asked, looking around. Feathertail knew he had been out with Stormfur.
"He wanted to check on Firestar," Stormfur replied. Feathertail nodded, last she had seen the WindClan leader was sleeping. "Though, I believe Squirrelpaw's badgering him right now." Her whiskers twitched but Stormfur continued, "He didn't catch anything when we were out. He seems…down, too."
"Not everyone always catches something." She glanced over to where Ivy was now talking with Tornear. She knew that Stormfur's friendliness had thrown her off a bit, she wouldn't be surprised if the same thing was happening with him. She continued, "And you know what happened while they were away."
She looked at Stormfur as he did not answer. "It's not your fault," She meowed. "We didn't know what would happen."
"I know," He answered.
"There's a lot going on and there's a lot on his mind – all of ours!" Feathertail continued, "Especially with what is happening with Firestar right now. It's not like that's abnormal for him." Stormfur shook his head.
"Of course. I don't mean to trouble you."
"You're not troubling me," She licked her brother. "He's my friend." She understood his concern. Anyway, it was good to be of some use.
"It's quite sad actually," Tigerstar commented. "Tallstar was old – frail when I knew him, and that was seasons ago." He regarded Fisher, "He took advantage."
Crowpaw glanced at the colony leader. Her ears had flattened and her eyes had narrowed. "I can't explain his outburst but," Tigerstar sighed. "I know him better than others – I've known him longer than most. Nothing good comes from him."
"Then why is Brambleheart with him?" She looked at Tawnyclaw, "You are littermates, yes?" The queen looked at Tigerstar, "And you have got to be his father. Why did he leave?"
"He had no choice," Tawnyclaw replied. "He stole him as a kit – you'd hear the same story from them. They admit to it."
"Would they?"
"Talk to my son," Tigerstar meowed. "He knows the truth." Tawnyclaw glanced at her father. Crowpaw's tail twitched. Last he had heard, Brambleheart refused to listen to anyone in TigerClan regarding this. Although that was before his time with them. The queen nodded.
"I'll keep this in mind. Thank you." Tigerstar dipped his head to Fisher as she stepped away. Tawnyclaw looked at her father.
"Why tell her that?" She asked. "We'll be gone tomorrow."
"You never know where you can find allies," Tigerstar replied. "Anyway, it provides an explanation for the kittypet's behavior. Unfortunately, due to being together, we're all responsible for that." Crowpaw stiffened as Tigerstar looked at him, his lip curled back, "He's always been so rude."
"We know," Tawnyclaw interrupted as she rose, looking over to where the fresh-kill pile had formed. "I'm going to go get us something to eat." Crowpaw watched after her.
"You've spoken with it." The apprentice's ears went back as he looked up at his leader. He nodded.
"Yes, Tigerstar."
"Good," He murmured. "You're running out of time." Crowpaw felt as though his heart had stopped. What did that mean? "Run along now and do not fail, do you understand?"
"I do." Crowpaw dipped his head as he stepped away.
Brambleheart's tail twitched as he stepped away. His gaze went to Feathertail and Stormfur's sleeping forms.
The sun had not risen yet. Cautiously, he settled next to the tom. He took a deep breath as he rested his head on Stormfur's shoulders. He could try to get some more sleep.
He cursed himself as Stormfur shifted. One eye opened. "What are you doing here?" His voice was heavy with sleep.
"Firestar's starting to stir," he replied quietly, chest tightening. "They don't want him to see me. Do you mind?" He added quickly. Brambleheart could have slept by himself.
Stormfur shook his head, closing his eyes again. Brambleheart relaxed. It did not take long for both toms to fall back asleep.
It was light when Brambleheart woke again.
A tongue was making its way through his fur. He remained still, his eyes closed as he breathed in the other tom's scent. It was easier to stay here.
Brambleheart tensed as he got to his side. "Don't touch me there," His voice was low. Stormfur paused. When he spoke, it was into Brambleheart's ear.
"Sorry, I didn't realize," he began. Brambleheart shook his head.
"I didn't expect you to." He blinked, pushing himself to his feet as he shook his pelt. They should go talk to the others.
He turned his attention to Feathertail, who was talking with Tinywing and Shrew. Brambleheart eyed the young black tom. He had been a surprise and seemed nervous but Brambleheart understood why Tallstar had taken him in.
Stormfur rose as he called out to the she-cat.
"Let's go find the others," He suggested. "We should figure out what we're doing." Feathertail nodded, rising to her paws.
"I saw Squirrelpaw over there," Tinywing put in, tilting her head. The tabby nodded.
"Thank you," He meowed, "I'm going to go find Firestar – why don't you two get her?" The littermates agreed and Brambleheart stepped away.
Tawnyclaw would be easy enough to find and though Crowpaw was largely being excluded, Brambleheart had seen him around. That was about as much as he could hope for.
The warrior turned, trotting over to where Firestar was already talking with Fisher and Tigerstar. Blizzard and Bear were there and Tawnyclaw was by her father's side. She glanced at the other warrior but Brambleheart stayed a few steps back. He had come up on Firestar's blind side and he could tell his leader was still on edge. Sandstorm was at his side.
"You'll still want to stick to the high ground," Fisher was saying. "Any hawk is better than wolves." Firestar dipped his head.
"Of course," He meowed. "Thank you for letting us stay." The colony leader was eying Firestar but nodded.
"I wish you well on your journey," She responded, looking out at the warriors who were getting ready to move. "This is certainly a lot of cats to feed."
"We manage," Tigerstar responded. He looked away and Brambleheart followed his gaze.
Feathertail, Squirrelpaw, and Stormfur were heading over as were Leopardstar and Tornear. They would be leaving shortly.
The conversation ended and Firestar turned, padding over to Brambleheart as he saw him. The leader's head went on his warrior's back as he asked, "You're staying with me, correct?" Brambleheart nodded and Firestar licked him a few times.
"I just need to talk to the others first." He glanced toward his Clanmates and it felt as though Brambleheart's heart had stopped as he saw Stormfur exchanging words with Blizzard.
"Be quick," Firestar glanced at his deputy. Brambleheart turned his attention back to his leader. "Get everyone up and ready to go. We leave immediately." Tornear dipped his head before stepping away.
Firestar turned away, raising his tail as he headed to where the TigerClan leaders had gone. Sandstorm looked at Brambleheart.
"Has he been grooming you?" She asked. He looked at her, surprised by the question. He nodded and she sighed. "Don't let him do it too much – he's been pulling out my fur as much as his own recently."
"Yes, Sandstorm." He had noticed the leader's pelt had been thin. She gave him a look.
"I'm serious. If he starts, stop it." He dipped his head.
"I understand, I'll stop him."
"Good." She glanced in the direction her mate had gone, "I'll go up and see to him – I'll see you in a moment." Brambleheart meowed his goodbye before heading over to the others. Feathertail was speaking.
"I don't understand why Crowpaw can't be here too," She regarded the TigerClan warrior.
"I'm telling you, he's fine." Tawnyclaw sat back on her haunches. "He's doing what he needs – I'm not going to let anything happen to him." She sounded serious. Squirrelpaw shot the warrior a look but, to Brambleheart's surprise, said nothing. Stormfur waved his tail at the two she-cats.
"Let's just get ourselves ready," he glanced to the sky. "I think that actually did help with the eagles and hawks – for now. We still need to keep our Clans protected though." Meows of agreement rose.
Brambleheart glanced at Stormfur as they stepped away. Thoughts raced through his head. Feathertail and Squirrelpaw had stepped ahead, talking. The other warrior nudged his shoulder. "You're good?" he asked.
"Yeah." Stormfur looked like he did not believe him.
"Don't lie to me." Brambleheart's ears went back.
"It's nothing." Stormfur stepped in front of him.
"You're not doing this to me, Brambleheart." A serious glint had come to his yellow eyes, "What's wrong?"
After a pause, Brambleheart spoke, "Do you want to stay?"
Since they arrived, Brambleheart had been surprised by how friendly Stormfur had become with the colony cats – Feathertail hadn't become this friendly! Brambleheart's chest tightened. He did not know what he would do if the answer was yes.
Stormfur looked surprised. He asked, "Do you?"
"Don't answer my question with a question." The warrior's tail twitched.
"That determines my answer," Stormfur replied. "I know Feathertail does not want to stay, do you?"
Had he and Feathertail discussed the possibly? "No." Brambleheart shook his head. He would not leave Firestar.
"Then that's my answer," The warrior pressed his head against the other tom's shoulder. "I'm sticking with you two."
