AN: sorry about the break, that was not intentional lol
Squirrelflight moved to Duststar's side as they started into the brush-filled forest. Leafdawn followed after her and Runningbrook and Ashfur took up the rear with their apprentices.
"I do not want too many warriors on my territory," Duststar began as they walked. "I will not have my Clan feeling threatened."
"None of us want to feel threatened," Squirrelflight agreed. "Which is why I do not want to do this with the warriors, rather the apprentices." A few meows rose from the back of the patrol.
"It'd be us?" Falconpaw asked, his tail raising. Poppypaw looked intrigued by this as well, her eyes round. Runningbrook hushed the apprentices.
"Let them speak," She meowed. "This is up to Duststar and Squirrelflight to figure out." The leader turned back to Squirrelflight.
"And what would it entail?"
"For numbers, them and their mentors," Squirrelflight explained. "And of course, our leaders. Then, it would be three showing of skill."
"How so?"
"Mock fighting, of course," Squirrelflight replied. "See who can last the longest but, as they are waiting, tree climbing and a race." She eyed the forest; rabbit trails could be seen disappearing among the brambles and ferns. "Perhaps on the trails?" Duststar stiffened. His face hardened.
"I am not giving any Clan a sense of my territory," He began. She lowered her head.
"It could just be around the oak," She meowed carefully. The last thing she needed was Duststar rejecting her ideas. "And more challenging than sprinting a short distance in a straight line." The leader's tail flicked; she could practically see him thinking as he regarded her. Her heart raced but she was hopeful. StarClan had approved this, he should allow this. Ashfur stepped forward.
"There is that one trail that goes up the hill a bit and through the briars," he put in. "It loops back around. We'd need to check for fox traps, but it could be good for this." Duststar bristled at his warrior's words and Squirrelflight held her breath. Had she just gotten Ashfur in trouble?
"Fine," Duststar conceded. "We can use that path for this race." Squirrelflight's tail tip curled, excitement making her paws tingle as she mewed a thanks.
Duststar sped up in his pace and Squirrelflight glanced back, flashing Ashfur a grateful look. The tom blinked back at her.
"Here," Duststar paused along the shore. The forest had opened up, revealing a large beach, shaded by a mighty oak. Squirrelflight knew this place, she had been here before. This was where the trap was that had caught Berrypaw!
She also knew that there was a tunnel entrance at the foot of the tree. The tunnelers had found that one last Leafbare. Squirrelflight stepped up to the grand tree, looking up into its branches. "We could use the tree itself for the climbing competition," She meowed. Multiple cats could easily ascend this trunk with ease. Squirrelflight turned, scanning the beach before flicking her tail toward a dip in the sand not too far from where the water met. "Over there for fighting."
"And where would you want to start the race?" Duststar watched the enemy warrior intently.
"Where does the path begin?" She asked. Duststar indicated to one, not far from the Sky Oak. Squirrelflight padded forward, moving across the caked sand. She looked to the path, she was on the other side of the beach from the others. They watched on, silently. The warrior turned her attention to the surrounding brush.
Squirrelflight moved to the tree line, picking a solid stick up in her jaws before dragging it back out. She paused about a tree length away from the path's entrance, turning before setting it down on the ground. "Here," She meowed, waving her tail toward the other side of the Sky Oak. "Then they'll go around and the finish will be on the other side." There would be enough room for the other activities still.
As Squirrelflight headed back, Duststar meowed, "Alright. That can work. I will have a patrol check the trail for fox traps before you arrive at sunhigh." Squirrelflight dipped her head.
"Thank you." The tabby tom gave a nod, his tail twitched as he looked back into the forest.
"I'm heading back to camp," He announced. "Runningbrook, Ashfur, make sure Squirrelflight and Leafdawn make it across the border."
"Yes, Duststar."
Leafdawn dipped her head to the ThunderClan leader, meowing a farewell which the tom returned before he left. Squirrelflight stepped to her side as Runningbrook took the lead back. "That went well," Leafdawn whispered into her ear.
"Yeah." That went as well as Squirrelflight could have hoped. Ashfur was at the rear. Squirrelflight almost wanted to glance back at him but stopped herself. She wanted to talk to him before they left. The apprentices were on either side of the WindClan cats and Falconpaw was still watching them.
"You're half-Clan, right?" Both sisters stiffened.
"We're WindClan," Leafdawn replied. Squirrelflight gave the young tom a confused look. Where had Falconpaw gotten this from? They had not been called half-Clan before.
That was not true. Tigerstar had called them half-Clan.
"Yeah, but your mother was in TigerClan, right? She's ThunderClan." Falconpaw meowed, "And your father's a kittypet." Squirrelflight's eyes widened and Runningbrook turned on her apprentice, ears flattened. Everyone had stopped, Poppypaw stared at her denmate with round eyes.
"What has gotten into you recently?" Runningbrook cuffed him and the apprentice ducked away, ears flattened. The fur on the tabby's back had risen slightly. "That is Firestar you are talking about! Apologize."
"But –"
"Now."
"I'm sorry I called Firestar a kittypet," Falconpaw mumbled, his ginger tail flicking.
"And?" His mentor's ears had flattened.
"And that I called you half-Clan." Squirrelflight's mouth opened, wanting to respond. She was not truly bothered by that part of Falconpaw's comments. However, Leafdawn's tail brushed against her back, signaling for silence. Squirrelflight closed her mouth, nodding to the apprentice instead. It was silent the rest of the way.
Runningbrook stayed with the apprentices in the tree line as Ashfur walked them across the brook. They paused, just over the steady stream when Ashfur spoke, "Sorry about Falconpaw, I don't know why he said that."
"It's alright," Leafdawn meowed. "He's just curious, you know how apprentices are." The tom meowed his agreement.
"Thanks for helping me out earlier," Squirrelflight added, looking intently at the older warrior. Ashfur's tail rose and their eyes met.
"Of course," He meowed. "Duststar was going to give you a hard time about that either way. It's just what he does." Squirrelflight chuckled.
"I don't believe any of the leaders would be too comfortable in this position," She responded. The warriors were not going to either, but that could be worked on. That was the point of all of this. Ashfur nodded.
"Probably not." Goodbyes were exchanged and Squirrelflight and Leafdawn headed back into the hills. Leafdawn pressed her shoulder against her sister's as they headed over the first hill, out of view of the ThunderClan border. The sun was lowering in front of them, disappearing past the hills.
"Weren't exactly subtle at the end," She commented. Squirrelflight scoffed.
"You're not someone I want to hide things from," The warrior meowed, bunting her head against her sister's cheek. If she could not tell Leafdawn something in confidence, Squirrelflight did not know what she would do. "The others didn't notice." The medicine cat hummed.
"Just be careful, alright?" Amber eyes looked at Squirrelflight. "Don't be getting into trouble."
"I won't," Squirrelflight promised. "I'm more concerned about what Falconpaw said." What did bother her was he had called Firestar a kittypet. Was that how he was thought of in ThunderClan? He was leader of WindClan and his name had been cleared! Firestar had certainly earned respect throughout WindClan, not to mention the other Clans. It was bizarre hearing a cat call Sandstorm TigerClan, too.
"He's technically right," Leafdawn pointed out. "Sandstorm was pregnant before she joined WindClan. You know what happened, we easily could have been born in TigerClan." Squirrelflight curled her lip back at the thought. A shudder ran down her spine.
"Glad we weren't," She muttered. Leafdawn shook herself.
"Yeah."
Firestar's paws were tucked under his belly as his daughters reported their journey. The leader meowed his approval.
"We'll see how things go tomorrow." Squirrelflight and Leafdawn rose at the dismissal. "Squirrelflight." She paused as Firestar meowed, "Stay here for a second, please."
"Of course." She waved her tail at Leafdawn as the medicine cat headed out of the leader's den, giving the warrior a questioning look. Squirrelflight did not know why he wanted to speak to her, but she could guess. It was not going to be anything bad. Firestar shifted onto his side as he regarded her.
"How do you feel after that?" He asked. She shrugged, sitting and wrapping her tail around her paws.
"I've not done anything like that before." She meowed, "It was…different." It had been exciting. They had not upset any of the warriors they met. She would consider that a success "It was good," Squirrelflight cleared her throat as she emphasized. Firestar nodded.
"I'm glad you feel that way," He meowed. "Though, you should have gone to ShadowClan yourself." Squirrelflight's ears went back.
"Mistyfoot offered," She began. They would have been back well after dark had she not!
"I know," Firestar interrupted. "But this is new and for something new, this is how diplomacy works." Squirrelflight nodded.
"I understand, Firestar." Her father blinked, pushing himself up onto his haunches.
"I understand why you chose Tawnystar, but it's good to hold onto friendships when it comes to this. I would maintain that connection if I were you." Squirrelflight shifted.
"I wouldn't call her my friend," She began. Tawnystar was admirable but in their time together, they hardly saw eye to eye. Firestar interrupted.
"You should," he said. "It's beneficial to do so. These cats are my friends as much as they are my enemies. They have to be." Squirrelflight nodded. There was a pause before she asked.
"Did you feel that way about Tigerstar?" Firestar stiffened at her words. Squirrelflight's eyes widened as her father seemed to stare right through her. She rose to her paws, had she set him off? That was not what she intended to do! Firestar spoke.
"I believe I knew him better than just about any other cat," He replied, focusing his gaze back on her face. "I certainly knew him better than Leopardstar. Though, no. He was not a friend." Squirrelflight nodded, sitting back down. Firestar continued, "Maintain this connection with Tawnystar. We will see how ShadowClan responds tomorrow."
"You don't seriously think they're going to react badly, do you?" They got the message, Squirrelflight was certain of it. Mistyfoot would not have lied to her. Firestar shook his head.
"Not from you and not with Tawnystar," He meowed. "But some leaders are not going to be as accepting." She nodded.
"I understand." The leader settled down, tucking his paws back beneath his chest.
"Now, get some rest," he said. "And, if you see Tornear, tell him to come here."
"I'll send him this way," She replied, rising at his dismissal.
"Have a good night, Squirrelflight." Firestar blinked at her, "Tomorrow is going to be exciting."
"Good night," She echoed, turning to leave.
"Hey, Squirrel," A paw dug into her side, pulling her from her sleep. "Can't be sleeping in today, alright?" Squirrelflight forced herself to blink. Blue eyes looked down at her.
The warrior forced herself to roll over, kicking at Cloudtail, who jumped back at the attack. Squirrelflight yawned, arching her back as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. She was alarmed to see most of the den was empty.
"How late is it?" Squirrelflight sprang to her paws, turning to the tom as she hastily licked down her pelt.
"Past sunrise," Cloudtail replied. "Though, not too much so. Tornear sent out a few early hunting patrols and cats are excited." She paused in her grooming, surprised. Squirrelflight had not been there for most of the day, she did not realize how eager the Clan had become.
"They know not everyone is going right?" She had discussed this last night with Firestar. He or Tornear had to have mentioned it to the rest of the Clan.
"They do," Cloudtail assured. "But it's still exciting. Come on," He turned around, "We can get something to eat." Squirrelflight rose, following her kin out of the warrior's den.
Warriors were scattered in groups throughout camp. It looked like at least one patrol had already returned; the fresh-kill pile was bigger than when Squirrelflight had gone to her nest. She looked around, amazed. This was not what she was expecting.
"Firestar's wanting you," Cloudtail added. Squirrelflight followed his gaze to the base of the Tallrock. A rabbit lay in front of the leader, Sandstorm and Tornear with him. Squirrelflight looked back to the white tom.
"Thanks," She meowed. "I'll see you later." Cloudtail nodded.
"Of course." They parted ways and Squirrelflight's tail rose as she headed across camp. This had become a formal meal. Even though Firestar was her father, she had not eaten a formal meal with him since she was a kitten. This was an honor.
The leader and deputy's conversation paused as she approached. Greetings were exchanged and Squirrelflight settled next to her mother. Conversations continued as Sandstorm pushed a rabbit leg to Squirrelflight.
After they ate, Squirrelflight stepped away. The sun was over halfway up, they would be leaving soon. Her paws felt like they were tingling. "Oh – Squirrelflight!" She turned at Berrypaw's call. The ginger tomcat stood with his siblings and mentor outside the apprentice's den.
"Yeah?" She padded over. Brambleheart shot her a bemused look.
"I got an idea," Berrypaw's tail was held up. "Could we use the tunnels? They go around there, right?" Squirrelflight's ears went back.
"For the last time, we're not using the tunnels," Brambleheart meowed. "Actually – we're not even going to talk about them, alright? It's the same rules as any other Gathering."
"Brambleheart's right," Squirrelflight turned to the apprentice. "Duststar would not take kindly to finding out about those. Anyway, it'd be unfair to the other Clans."
"Yeah," Hazelpaw mewed. "Also, aren't they, like, haunted? I don't think it'd be a good place for a Gathering." Haunted? Squirrelflight shot her brother a questioning look. She had not heard this before. His ears had flattened.
"It's not." Mousepaw turned to the warrior.
"How can we be so sure?" He asked, tail flicking. "Feathertail says –"
"Feathertail hasn't been down there much," The tabby interrupted. "I have." Berrypaw was looking up at his mentor.
"Tinywing says the only reason you think like this is that your deaf," He meowed. "Everyone else thinks otherwise."
"Do they?" Squirrelflight asked. She did not pay a ton of attention to what was happening in the tunnels. Brambleheart lifted a forepaw, ushering the apprentices off.
"We're leaving soon," he said. "Go do what you need to get done." Squirrelflight watched after the apprentices as they started away. Her gaze lingered on Berrypaw.
"He looks like he's doing better," She remarked. The apprentice was certainly not limping anymore. Brambleheart turned to her.
"He swore it was hurting when he was supposed to help Goosepaw and Mousepaw with dens yesterday," He said. "Now it's suddenly better!" Squirrelflight chuckled.
"Can't blame him for that." Brambleheart scowled.
"I wouldn't have done that to Stormfur or Feathertail," He muttered. Squirrelflight shrugged.
"There was only the three of you," She pointed out. "There are more apprentices now and more when I was an apprentice." It's not as though any apprentice had to do it alone.
"Still wouldn't have," Brambleheart repeated. Squirrelflight continued.
"What was that Hazelpaw was saying?" She had been in the tunnels a few times, they were useful when the snow was too high to get around the territory, but she had not heard of this before. Brambleheart rolled his eyes.
"There's something," He admitted. "Technically, but rabbits go down there and other animals – we smell them often enough. I think it's dark and things feel and sound different down there – because it does. We haven't caught any weird scents." Squirrelflight nodded.
"Does Firestar know about this?"
"Of course," Brambleheart replied. "He's never been in the tunnels though and no one's been hurt, so." He shrugged. Squirrelflight glanced to the sky. The sun was continuing up, the earth was starting to warm beneath her paws.
"Why don't you go gather up the others?" Squirrelflight suggested. "We'll need to be leaving in a bit to make it there at Sunhigh."
"Sure," Brambleheart waved his tail as he stepped away. "See you in a bit."
"See you."
Squirrelflight stuck by Firestar's side as they entered the clearing. A few ThunderClan warriors had met them at the border, escorting the WindClan cats to the Sky Oak. Excited chatter died down as they entered. Her heart beat against her chest. Squirrelflight pulled away as Firestar turned, calling for his warriors to stop.
"Announcements will be coming soon," he said before turning back to Squirrelflight. The warrior was surveying the clearing. The other three Clan were already here, eying each other cautiously. Squirrelflight's tail twitched, she hoped things would become different as time went on.
They had to.
The leaders were seated on a log not far from the oak. Duststar rose, moving to greet the newest arrivals.
"Duststar," Firestar dipped his head to the ThunderClan leader. "Squirrelflight told me about your new litter. It's always good to hear about new kittens."
"It certainly is," Duststar agreed, turning. "Come, let us talk with Tawnystar and Leopardstar first." Firestar and Squirrelflight followed.
The toms jumped up, joining their fellow leaders. There was a pause before Firestar gestured for Squirrelflight to follow.
The warrior dipped her head to the leaders as she stopped by her father's side. Leopardstar gave a slight nod while Tawnystar blinked at her. "Well, what do you want to start with?" Firestar asked.
All eyes were on her. "Which apprentices should go first on sparring?" She asked. "Others can watch or do the racing or climbing for now." The mentors would certainly help organize them enough.
"And how do you plan to judge them on this?" Tawnystar put in. "Will it be all you or will you have a warrior at each?"
"It will be you," She looked across the leaders. She had been considering this. The leaders made the most sense. "There's a good view from here of the whole clearing. Sparring can be monitored by itself." If there were any issues anywhere, it could be easily resolved.
"Sounds good," Tawnystar replied. "I can offer up Stagpaw for the first round of sparring. He's been quite eager." Some chuckles rose from the leaders.
"He can go against Minnowpaw," Leopardstar spoke up. Expectant gazes moved back to the warrior. Firestar blinked at Squirrelflight encouragingly as she turned, beginning to address the Clans.