[C] Golden Heather

[Lightningstar]

Title: Golden Heather
Author: Lightningstar
Chapters: 16
Pairing: LionpawxHeatherpaw
Summary: Heatherpaw and Lionpaw love each other deeply, though they are from different Clans. Will they choose loyalty or love?
Editor: N/A
Cover: N/A

First Notes: N/A
Last Notes: I really hope you guys enjoy this story!

Prologue

A soft breeze blew across the lake, making the moorland grass sway. The rolling hills rippled like an ocean, and they glowed silver in the moonlight.

Farther across the fields was a river, which flowed down towards the lake below. The river's water all came from one source- the Moonpool.

The Moonpool was the place where the Clan's medicine cats spoke with StarClan. Tonight, the gibbous moon above made the pool shimmer like liquid starshine, and the quiet tumbling of the creek leaking into the pool was the only sound you could hear.

Quietly, an off-white paw landed on the rock surface beside the Moonpool. The brown tabby cat that the paw belonged to raised her head gracefully to survey her surroundings.

"Welcome, Leafpool." A voice that seemed to come out of the pool itself greeted her.

"Greetings, Feathertail," the tabby replied.

A starry pelted cat appeared beside her. The she-cat's bright blue eyes and silver pelt meant that she was indeed Feathertail.

Another cat appeared on Leafpool's other side. This one was also a she-cat, but with soft amber eyes and tortoiseshell and white fur. "We have called you here tonight to give you a message," she mewed.

"A message that you cannot ignore," Feathertail continued.

Leafpool turned to the tortoiseshell. "Spottedleaf, what could possibly be coming that's so bad that you have to give me a sign about it?"

Spottedleaf met Leafpool's own amber eyes and told her, "this sign is about forbidden love, tugging at loyalty to the Clan. You have experienced this once, have you not?"

"I have," Leafpool murmured. She knew that Spottedleaf was speaking of her love for Crowfeather.

"Well then, this message is trusted to you," Feathertail purred. "Thunder and Wind shall collide once again, all because of Golden Heather."

Leafpool was confused. "Golden heather?" she asked. "There's no such thing as golden heather?is there?"

Feathertail just shrugged. "You'll have to find out for yourself."

"We shall let you go now," Spottedleaf informed Leafpool. "Take the knowledge you've been given and use it well."

Dipping her head respectively to both StarClan cats, Leafpool backed away. "Thank you," she mewed. "Thank you."

The grass felt spongy under her paws as she ran back to camp. The wind buffeted her, chilling her. When she got to the forest, she slowed down to repeat the prophecy to herself.

Feathertail's voice rang in her head like the call of a bird. "Thunder and Wind shall collide one again, all because of Golden Heather."

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[Lightningstar]

Chapter 1

The only thing in Heatherpaw's mind was Lionpaw. She was mesmerized by his soft, light ginger pelt and his burning golden eyes. She thought of him all the time, and she couldn't get him out of her head. She loved him.

But Heatherpaw was of WindClan, and Lionpaw of ThunderClan. The warrior code forbid them from being together, and it was told that the warrior code was law. But surely StarClan would approve of our love! Heatherpaw told herself. Lionpaw and I would be doing no harm if we became mates.

Heatherpaw sighed and laid back on her nest. The sun streamed through the entwined twigs and branches of the apprentice den, dappling the soft moss below with golden light. Behind the den Heatherpaw could hear a mouse scuttling into the bushes, followed by a rustle of undergrowth.

The sounds of camp comforted Heatherpaw. Her eyelids, feeling especially heavy, began to droop. She felt like falling asleep forever, and dreaming always of Lionpaw…… but if she did, the dreams would be just as they were- never would they become a reality.

"Heatherpaw!" the call of her mentor came from outside the den and shattered the apprentice's peaceful slumber. "Sleeping at sunhigh? That's not like you! Come on, we need to get ready for the Gathering."

"Is that tonight?" asked Heatherpaw lazily, getting up and stretching her limbs. "It seems like the last one was held only yesterday."

Crowfeather nodded. "Time passes," he told her. "Now come on, we need to gather up the other cats."

Padding out into the moorland sunlight, Heatherpaw looked up at Crowfeather. "Why do you need my help?" she queried.

"Because I don't want my apprentice turning into a lazy furball when she grows older," the tomcat teased. He swiped his tail over his apprentice's muzzle. "Go tell Harepaw and Breezepaw that they're going to the Gathering tonight. I'll inform Tornear, Whitetail, and Weaselfur."

Sighing, Heatherpaw padded off. She looked around for her fellow apprentices, her lavender eyes flicking from one side of the camp to the other. Emerging from the split rock that served as the medicine cat's den was Kestrelpaw. He carried a stick in his jaws with a ball of moss dripping with mouse bile at the end of it.

"Have you seen Harepaw or Breezepaw?" she asked the young tom. Kestrelpaw nodded his head in the direction of the elder's den, where he was heading. Heatherpaw followed him in.

"Harepaw?" she asked. "Breezepaw? You're going to the Gathering."

The other apprentices nodded and resumed picking ticks out of the elder's rough and tangled pelts.

***

The WindClan cats descended into the clearing which led to the tree bridge. Heatherpaw had been to quite a few Gatherings before, but she still wasn't used to seeing so many cats. She leaped onto the tree bridge and felt the pine needles prick at her pads, the rough bark scraping her paws like stone. It was a relief to jump down on the other side onto the springy grass of the island.

Heatherpaw glanced around for Lionpaw. At first she didn't see him, but then she caught sight of his golden pelt among the dull browns and grays of the cats around him. She padded up to him, trying her best to control herself.

"Hi Lionpaw," she greeted him. Her voice was tinged with excitement.

"Hello, Heatherpaw," Lionpaw replied, his eyes sparkling. "How are things in WindClan?"

"Perfectly fine, thanks," Heatherpaw told him. She shuffled her paws and then whispered, "can I talk to you alone?"

Lionpaw nodded. "Sure," he mewed. The two apprentices stalked off to a patch of holly bushes near the shore. They sat there, sure that no cat could see them or hear them. There was a long silence, though the chatter of the cats nearest them was not completely muffled. Their voices seemed far away and faded, and each cat only had eyes for the other.

Heatherpaw smiled slightly. "Nice night, huh?" she asked, glancing up at the sky.

"Sure is," Lionpaw mewed in agreement.

Another long silence, but this time Heatherpaw could not stand it. "I love you!" she blurted.

Lionpaw stared at her in surprise. "You- you love me?" he asked her.
"Yes." Heatherpaw was afraid that he would reject her. Her ears flattened and her whiskers drooped.

"I love you too," Lionpaw assured her. He reached over and pressed his muzzle to hers.

The bushes behind Heatherpaw rustled sharply. "What are you two doing here?"

It was Leafpool.

[/size]

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 2

"Leafpool!" Lionpaw growled. He stepped forward to stand next to Heatherpaw.

"I said, what are you doing here?" Leafpool repeated.

Heatherpaw frowned. "I could ask you the same thing." She narrowed her violet eyes and glared at the ThunderClan medicine cat.

Leafpool sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws. "If you were talking like normal Clan cats, you wouldn't be afraid to tell me why you're here. Come on now, you must have some reason for hiding in the bushes." Her eyes glittered with amusement.

Lionpaw flattened his ears. "We- we were talking. I suggested that we get away from the crowd for a while, take a walk, you know?"

Dipping her head to lick her chest fur, Leafpool smiled. "So you wouldn't mind if you asked what you were talking about."

"Not at all," Heatherpaw told her. "We were conversing with each other about how our hunting skills are progressing."

Leafpool looked up and stared straight at Heatherpaw. "I pretty sure you're not telling me the whole truth," she mewed softly. A knowing smile spread onto her face.

The silence that followed was unbearable. Heatherpaw searched her mind for something to say, but nothing came. She shook her head. "Why would I lie to a medicine cat? Everyone's told me that I can't, so I don't." She was growing irritated.

"Aha!" Leafpool meowed suddenly. Both apprentices jumped like frightened prey. "Everyone has told you that you shouldn't lie to a medicine cat. Just because someone tells you that you shouldn't do something doesn't mean that you don't do it anyway."

Heatherpaw and Lionpaw exchanged glances. They were stuck, caught in a corner. Lionpaw opened his mouth to speak, but was instantly interrupted.

"All four Clans are called together tonight under the full moon for the Gathering," Blackstar called out. Heatherpaw let out an inward sigh of relief- the Gathering was starting.

The ThunderClan medicine cat didn't say another word- she just simply turned around and padded up to meet the other medicine cats off to the side of the rest of the group.

For a moment, neither apprentice moved. They just sat there, staring after Leafpool. Then Heatherpaw leaned forward and whispered, "meet me at the stream on our border in two sunrises. We can talk more there." Then she bounded away, her heart soaring, and her whiskers brushing the clouds.

***

Lionpaw could not stop thinking of Heatherpaw. Ever since the Gathering, he had seen or heard nothing but her. Every cat who spoke to him seemed to have the same melodic, flowing voice as Heatherpaw. He could feel the heat of her body pressed against him with every step, and he constantly smelled her musty WindClan scent.

"Is there something wrong with you?" asked Hollypaw, her green eyes shining with worry. "You've been awfully quiet lately."

Breaking out of his daydream, Lionpaw shook his head. "I'm fine," he insisted. He avoided Hollypaw's eyes by surveying the stone walls around him. They stretched up far above his head, towering over the camp like an ominous guard.

Hollypaw sighed. "Come on, Lionpaw," she mewed. "There's got to be something you're not telling me."

"I'm fine! Now go away!" hissed Lionpaw. The sharpness in his own words surprised him, and his heart sunk when he saw the hurt look on his sister's face.

"Hollypaw, I didn't… I didn't mean it like that," he told her. Hollypaw just nodded and whispered, "I got the idea." Then she turned away from him and departed back towards the apprentice's den.

Idiot! Lionpaw thought. Hollypaw is your own sister, mouse-brain! How can you possibly do this to her? It was too much for Lionpaw to bear. Secret thoughts of Heatherpaw should not tear his family apart.

"Nice going, Lionpaw," a familiar voice chuckled. Jaypaw stepped out from the shadows. "I'm sure Firestar would approve of your ability to chase other cats away."

Lionpaw flicked his tail in frustration. "Shut up, Jaypaw," he hissed. He glared at his brother, whose blue eyes were clouded over with blindness.

Jaypaw just laughed some more. "Lighten up," he purred. "But still, you sounded a little harsh there."

"Why were you hanging around in the thorn bushes, anyway?" asked Lionpaw. "Normal cats don't go around sitting in bushes behind their brothers."

Looking back towards the thorn bushes, Jaypaw nodded. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to go look for herbs by the WindClan border. I needed some help, and Leafpool and I are going to speak to Barkface about something. I'm not particularly sure myself."

Is today the day? thought Lionpaw eagerly. He remembered what Heatherpaw had said- two sunrises from the Gathering.

"How many sunrises has it been since the Gathering?" he asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

Jaypaw thought for a moment. "Two," he finally replied. "I think."

Lionpaw's heart leaped. He could see Heatherpaw! "Why don't you go and talk to Barkface, and I'll look for some juniper berries along the border?"

"Good idea," commented Jaypaw. He smiled. "I'm sure Barkface won't mind if I snatched some marigold…"

Both apprentices laughed as they padded towards the camp entrance. Leafpool was waiting for them there. "Good," she commented Jaypaw, "you got him to come." Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "I'm sure he'll be a big help." Her voice told Lionpaw that she remembered when he was talking with Heatherpaw at the Gathering. "Now come on, let's go."

[/size]

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 3

"Heatherpaw, are you there?" called Lionpaw softly as he padded across the stream bank. His paws splayed out on the grass beneath him as he stepped, and the quiet rumbling of the stream calmed his nerves.

"Lionpaw, is that you?" a voice purred from the bushes on the other side of the stream. Heatherpaw emerged from behind them and she smiled. "You came."

Lionpaw stared across the stream at Heatherpaw. Her soft purple eyes reflected the joy that shimmered in his own golden ones. "I did come, Heatherpaw. How could I not have? I wanted to see you so badly, I- I love you. You know that already."

Nodding, Heatherpaw padded closer to the stream. "I know, Lionpaw, and I feel the same. The only problem is that we come from two different Clans; neither of them would approve."

"Nothing can stand in the way of our love," vowed Lionpaw. He took a couple steps forward as well. His eyes flickered to the side for a moment, as he was looking for juniper bushes. "I need to get some juniper berries for Jaypaw and Leafpool, and I'll look suspicious if I don't come back with some. Can you help me?"

Heatherpaw gazed farther downstream. "There are some juniper bushes there, but don't confuse them with holly berries. Holly berries are poisonous."

At once, Lionpaw headed for the bushes at a rapid pace, Heatherpaw running beside him across the brook. They seemed to be flying down the hill, and Lionpaw almost forgot what they were doing.

"Here we go," mewed Heatherpaw at last. Lionpaw quickly skidded to a halt. He gingerly picked a berry off of the bush Heatherpaw was indicating. The smell of juniper overwhelmed his scent glands as he opened his mouth to get the scent. His nose wrinkled.

"It smells strong," he muttered as he picked a few more berries.

"You won't mind it after a while," mewed Heatherpaw. "Kestrelpaw is Barkface's apprentice, and he always comes back to the apprentice's den at night smelling like juniper, or marigold, or even worse, yarrow or mouse bile."

Lionpaw gathered the berries he had collected already into a small pile off to the side. "Jaypaw never sleeps in the apprentice's den anymore, not since he got the position of medicine cat apprentice." He paused to pick a few more berries, and then continued. "He spends most of the day in the medicine cat's den, dealing with sick and injured cats and sorting herbs. He's warmed up to it, that's for sure."

Glancing around, Heatherpaw replied, "that's too bad. Jaypaw is blind, isn't he?"

"Yes," meowed Lionpaw. For some reason, Jaypaw's blindness didn't seem like such a touchy subject anymore.

"He does a good job despite it all, doesn't he?"

"Of course."

Both cats paused in speaking, because neither of them knew what to say. However, the silence was not awkward; in fact, Lionpaw saw it as an opportunity to think about what he was going to say next. He flicked his tail in frustration and muttered, "mousedung!" as a single red berry rolled into the bubbling stream beside him.

"Don't worry," Heatherpaw assured him. "You'll get more."

Lionpaw continued to pick berries. "I'm still worried," he admitted. His voice was full of sorrow.

"About what?" asked Heatherpaw, though she was sure that she knew the answer.

"About everything!" exclaimed Lionpaw. He met Heatherpaw's gaze evenly. "We come from two different Clans, and our love would never work out. But despite it all, I want to be with you! I want to know that we will love each other forever! And I'm worried that our loyalties will tear us apart."

Heatherpaw shook her head. "I don't know what's going to happen," she told him, "and that's the truth. I'm sure that fate will play out just as it likes to."

Suddenly, Lionpaw spotted Jaypaw and Leafpool leaving the WindClan camp. "You'd better go," he warned her. "I'll see you at the next Gathering." Then he watched as Heatherpaw scampered off upstream.

Lionpaw glanced down at the small pile of juniper berries at his paws. He had collected a good amount. Leafpool would have no reason to scold him for goofing around now. He plucked a leaf off of the bush and rolled the berries into it. Lionpaw cupped the leaf and held it tenderly in his jaws.

"Hello again, Lionpaw," Leafpool greeted him. "You gathered quite a few berries, I see."

Jaypaw flicked his tail. "I still can't believe that Barkface wouldn't give us any marigold," he hissed.

"He had good reason not to," retorted Leafpool, "with you being so rude like that. I've never been so embarrassed in front of another Clan."

Her apprentice winced. "I'm sorry, Leafpool," he murmured.

Leafpool turned her attention to Lionpaw. "Let's go back to camp," she told him. "There you can drop off the berries in my den and then go see if Ashfur has any training planned for you."

***

Ashfur did have some training planned for Lionpaw, and the mentor and apprentice got started on it right away. Lionpaw followed Ashfur through the sun-filled forest, listening to the birds sing and the undergrowth rustle with the movement of prey. "Are we going hunting, Ashfur?" Lionpaw asked, taken aback by the sounds of the forest.

"I've got some battle tactics I want to show you," replied Ashfur without looking back. "But perhaps after that's over we could hunt a little."

Battle training! thought Lionpaw excitedly. Battle training was something that could take his mind off of Heatherpaw for at least a little while- he needed a break from the intense thoughts that whirled around his head.

At last, Ashfur stopped in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. It was washed in sunlight, and the sand sparkled in the light. "Let's get started," purred Ashfur, crossing the clearing.

Lionpaw tried to concentrate on his mentor's movements. He narrowed his eyes and watched as Ashfur gave him instructions.

"We need to work on tactics that will work on cats from different Clans. Let's say WindClan was attacking. What would you do to unbalance a WindClan cat?"

Groaning inwardly, Lionpaw replied, "I would use strong, crushing attacks to stop them while they're rushing around. Or if they were tangled in battle with me, I would trap them underneath me. WindClan cats aren't as strong as ThunderClan, so it would be easy to trap them."

"Good," purred Ashfur. "I can't run as fast as WindClan, but you can still practice your leaps." I'm going to be rushing towards you head on. You need to make sure I don't tackle you first."

Lionpaw braced himself for Ashfur's charge, his muscles tightening. As his mentor moved closer and closer, his gray-dotted pelt turned to a light brown color, and his blue eyes turned smoky, the color of… heather.

Soon it was not Ashfur leaping through the air, but Heatherpaw. Lionpaw was frozen in astonishment. The only thing that shattered his daydream was a jolting push on his shoulders. He rolled backwards into a thorn bush and lay there, stunned.

"Lionpaw?" Ashfur called, padding over to the thorn bush. He winced and mewed, "you're covered with thorns! What's wrong with you?"

"I… I don't know," Lionpaw fibbed. He got up slowly, pulling a thorn out of his pad. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, thrusting his paw into his mouth and sucking on it.

Ashfur narrowed his eyes. "I don't think battle training is such a good idea for right now," he offered. "Let's go back to camp; you need a rest."

Lionpaw was too tired and sore to object. He painfully stood up and padded slowly towards camp, Ashfur beside him.

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 4

Heatherpaw's paws tingled as she headed back for the WindClan camp. The tall moorland grass under her paws felt soothing compared to the dusty and rocky ground on the stream bank. She took in the musty WindClan scent around her. It smelled good, but not as good as Lionpaw's scent. He smelled like damp leaves and forest plants, plus the smell of fresh prey.

Shaking the thought out of her head, Heatherpaw squeezed through the patches of heather that led into the camp. She saw Breezepaw sharing tongues with Harepaw on one side of the clearing, and Crowfeather talking with Nightcloud just outside the nursery. The two cats looked almost identical as Crowfeather leaned forward to brush Nightcloud's muzzle with his whiskers. Heatherpaw sighed. Why couldn't it be that way between her and Lionpaw?

"For StarClan's sake," the young apprentice muttered under her breath. "He's a cat from another Clan. I'm not supposed to love him!" But there was no hiding the truth- Heatherpaw did love him, with all her heart.

The sun was quickly reaching the highest point in the sky, and it cast elongated shadows across the WindClan camp. Heatherpaw padded towards the apprentice's den, planning to get some rest. She glanced over towards the Tallrock and gasped as she spotted glowing golden eyes peering out at her from the shadows. They weren't attached to anything; they were just staring at her, blinking steadily.

Heatherpaw averted her eyes from the Tallrock only to spot the same eyes gazing her way from a small patch of birch trees. She closed her eyes and ran towards the apprentice's den. She opened them just as she came close to the den entrance, and she slid her paws behind her to slow down.

The whole den was empty, and it was pleasantly warm inside. The brambles did an excellent job of keeping out a lot of the cold weather, after all. Heatherpaw padded in and settled down in her nest, sighing with delight as she sunk into the soft moss beneath her. She smiled and let herself fall into a deep sleep, calming herself down tremendously.

Suddenly, Heatherpaw sensed another pelt brush against hers. She opened her eyes and spotted Crowfeather staring at her.

"We need to talk," he growled. His blue eyes glinted with mixed emotions; surprise, anger, and… sadness?

Oh great, Heatherpaw thought. Maybe he knows about Lionpaw. She stood up nervously and followed her mentor to a place on the open moorland where it was just them, no other cats around.

As soon as both cats were settled, Crowfeather blinked steadily at Heatherpaw. "Why do you love Lionpaw?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Heatherpaw in mock astonishment.

"Don't try to hide your feelings from me," hissed Crowfeather. "I know that you love him, so there's no use in denying it."

Heatherpaw couldn't stand to look at her mentor. "He's amazing," she breathed. "His pelt, his eyes, his heart… I love him because there is so much to love. But… how do you know?"

"Feathertail told me," he replied. "I used to love her. When she was alive. But she was in RiverClan." His eyes glazed over with sadness.

"Are you ok with it?" Heatherpaw questioned. "Me loving Lionpaw?"

Crowfeather nodded. "I'm fine with it, because I can't put anything against you, but you need to think of the consequences."

I don't care about the consequences! Heatherpaw told herself. Lionpaw and I are going to be together, and that's that!

***

"Ouch, I hurt all over," Lionpaw groaned as Leafpool plucked the thorns out of his pelt.

"You should have been paying attention," Leafpool scolded him gently. "If you had done what Ashfur told you to do, then you wouldn't be in this situation right now." She extracted the last thorn and retreated to the herb storage.

Lionpaw shifted his position, but it hurt so much that he just gave up. He gritted his teeth and hissed in pain. "Hey Leafpool, are you in a good mood today?" he asked suddenly. Where did that come from? He wondered.

Leafpool turned around and glanced at him. "Are you going to tell me about Heatherpaw?" she asked softly.

"You know?" Lionpaw suddenly jumped onto his paws, ignoring how much it hurt. "But how?"

"Spottedleaf visited me in a dream the night we got back from the Gathering," the medicine cat replied. "She was the medicine cat when Firestar joined the Clan."

"Yes, I love her," Lionpaw scoffed. "So what?"

Leafpool nodded. "I know how you feel," she mewed. "I know exactly how you feel."

"What are you talking about?" Lionpaw snapped at her. "You're a medicine cat; what do you know about love?"

Lionpaw noticed immediately that he had hurt Leafpool. Her eyes clouded with hurt, and she winced. "More than you'd think," she choked.

"I'm sorry," Lionpaw apologized. He padded up to Leafpool. "It can be our secret."

"Agreed," replied Leafpool. She smiled at Lionpaw, and he knew right away that he had a new friend.

***

Crowfeather paced impatiently around camp. He still couldn't believe that his own apprentice loved a ThunderClan cat. Why did she have to fall into the same rut as he had so many seasons ago?

I've poisoned her, he thought. Everything that I do affects other cats, mostly in a bad way. His heart stung as he remembered how his affection had killed Feathertail, destroyed Leafpool, and now induced Heatherpaw to love a cat from another Clan.

He still couldn't believe that Feathertail had told him about Heatherpaw. He also couldn't believe that Spottedleaf had told Leafpool. Why does she have to get tied into this too? he wondered. My relationship with Leafpool is over and done.

That doesn't mean that it didn't exist, a soft voice whispered in his ear.

Crowfeather stopped pacing and stared out past the birch trees that protected the camp. Maybe it was his connection with Leafpool that had pulled him into this, and her too.

Please, StarClan, he pleaded silently, guide my paws- and the paws of all other cats involved -to find the solution to this problem.

***

In the ThunderClan camp, Leafpool was watching Lionpaw as he slept. She had applied all the marigold and had given him some poppy seeds to make him sleep. Sunlight streamed through the den entrance, making Lionpaw's golden fur shine like a pool of liquid sunshine. I can see why Heatherpaw loves him, she thought.

Suddenly, a thought came to Leafpool's mind. Thunder and Wind shall collide once again, all because of Golden Heather.

Of course, Leafpool realized. The prophecy. It's talking about Lionpaw and Heatherpaw. And now I'm entangled in all this, as well as Crowfeather. She thought of what he would be thinking about the situation.

Leafpool sighed and sat down next to Lionpaw. She ran her tail down his spine and whispered, "you'll find a way, Lionpaw. You'll find a way to make it work."

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 5

Lionpaw woke with the oddest feeling that he was being watched. He blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes and twisted his head around lazily. Then he spotted Leafpool's amber gaze eyeing him from a corner of the den.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked groggily.

"A long time," Leafpool told him. "I'm worried about you." Then she shook her head and changed the subject. "Are your wounds healing?"

The golden apprentice stretched his limbs and sighed. "They're alright," he mewed. "I'm still a little bit sore, but the wounds don't sting or hurt." He gave his forepaws and front legs a quick look before standing up on all fours and facing the medicine cat. The two cats had formed a new friendship since Lionpaw had told Leafpool about Heatherpaw.

"That's good," Leafpool purred. She padded across the den, her brown tabby fur rippling like waves in the early morning sunlight. She headed straight for him and reported, "you can go back the apprentice's den now, if you don't hurt anymore. I'm sure Ashfur is eager to get you training again. He probably isn't too proud of you after the incident with the thorns." Her eyes gleamed with amusement.

Nodding, Lionpaw backed out of the den. "Thanks, Leafpool," he murmured. "You've been a big help." He smiled at her before turning and bounding towards the warrior's den.

"Ashfur!" he hissed. "Are you in there?"

The gray speckled tom emerged from the den and yawned. "Up already, I see," he purred. "You know what they say; the early cat gets to go on dawn patrol." He snickered at his own joke.

Lionpaw flicked his tail back and forth impatiently. "Can we do battle training today?" he pleaded his mentor. "Please, Ashfur?"

Ashfur looked over at him, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile. "Promise me you won't fall into any thorn bushes this time," he meowed.

"I promise," Lionpaw laughed. His eyes sparkled. "Can we just go, please?"

"All right," purred Ashfur. He slipped out of the camp entrance, Lionpaw close behind.

Thoughts of Heatherpaw clouded Lionpaw's mind the moment he set foot outside of camp. Suddenly he turned to Ashfur and asked, "Ashfur, have you ever been confused about someone?" What did I do that for? He scolded himself silently.

"What do you mean?" Ashfur questioned, tilting his head slightly.

Lionpaw shook his head. "Like, you think you love someone, but you aren't sure if it's right?"

His mentor was silent for a moment, but then spoke slowly. "Once, yes." Then he turned to Lionpaw. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason."

It wasn't hard to tell that Ashfur didn't believe that, but he didn't say anything else about the matter. "Let's go, then," he mewed stiffly.

Lionpaw winced. He hadn't meant to ask that question; it had sort of just come out. Since he was thinking about Heatherpaw, he pretty much spoke what came to mind.

"Let's stop here," Ashfur suggested. This clearing was different from the one that they had been in previously, and this one had no thorn bushes surrounding it. Lionpaw galloped to the center of the clearing and lashed his tail, waiting for instructions.

Ashfur stood in front of Lionpaw. "Let's practice your leaps again. It's basically the same drill as last time, but I'd like you to leap when I come at you." He flicked his tail across Lionpaw's nose and stalked across the clearing. When he reached the other side he turned around, facing Lionpaw. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready." Lionpaw's eyes narrowed in concentration as Ashfur raced straight for him. Lionpaw bunched his muscles to spring, and leaped into the air as Ashfur came down on him.

"Oof!" grunted Ashfur as the wind was knocked out of him. Lionpaw stood over him triumphantly, his paw resting lightly on his mentor's throat. "Give up yet, Ashfur?"

Laughing, Ashfur pushed Lionpaw off of him. "Very good," he purred. "I'm impressed, Lionpaw." A tingle of satisfaction ran up Lionpaw's spine.

"Now that that's taken care of," Ashfur mewed calmly, his body loose. "Let's work on your reflexes!" He jumped suddenly towards Lionpaw, who rolled out of the way a heartbeat before Ashfur came crashing down. Lionpaw turned and leaped onto his mentor, beaming at his performance.

Ashfur thrust Lionpaw back, catching him off-guard. "Always be ready for anything!" he told his apprentice. "Real battles don't automatically stop if you've done well on a move."

Lionpaw bowed his head. "Sorry, Ashfur," he muttered.

"Don't be sorry!" Ashfur purred. "You did well! It's just that you need to learn to be ready for an attack, no matter what the circumstances are."

"Alright," Lionpaw purred. He lashed his tail. "Can we go hunting? I'm tired of battle training." What Lionpaw didn't add was that they could get closer to the WindClan border by hunting.

"Hunting?" Ashfur asked in disbelief. He shook his head. "Good grief, you apprentices have so much energy. First battle training, then hunting- I'd give anything to be you!"

Not if you knew what I'm going through, Lionpaw thought. He simply smiled up at his mentor and mewed, "c'mon, let's go towards the WindClan stream! I want to catch a rabbit!"

Ashfur tilted his head. "Rabbits are WindClan prey," he meowed. "And besides, they're stringy anyway. Forest hares are much better; they're more full-bodied. We can find some at the edge of the forest." He trotted ahead of Lionpaw. "Follow me," he ordered.

Lionpaw obediently padded after his mentor as they strolled through the forest. The early morning sunlight was streaming through the trees, dappling the forest floor with gold and shadow. Lionpaw scented Thornclaw, Whitewing, Squirrelflight, and Dustpelt's scents somewhere nearby; they must have come by on the dawn patrol. The forest was so full of sights and sounds that Lionpaw thought he might faint from it all.

"Here we are!" Ashfur called at last. The thinning line of trees allowed the sun to shine its rays farther into the forest, bathing everything with light. Lionpaw gazed out onto the moorland, where he spotted the dark shape of a WindClan cat dashing across the plains, in quick pursuit of a rabbit.

"Who's that?" Lionpaw questioned his mentor, indicating the WindClan cat.

Ashfur glanced over at him. "That's not important right now," he mewed. "We need to hunt."

Lionpaw shrugged. "I was only curious," he told his mentor innocently. Secretly, though, he had been hoping it was Heatherpaw. He shook all thoughts of her out of his head and opened his jaws slightly to catch the scent of prey.

"Smell anything yet?" Ashfur asked quietly.

"Not yet," replied Lionpaw softly. He rotated his head and at last caught the faint scent of mouse and he dipped to the ground. His ears swiveled and picked up the sound of tiny nibbling and a short cracking noise. The mouse was patiently eating a seed near a tree.

Lionpaw glided forward towards his prey, paws sliding out in front of him. He felt as light as air as she stepped carefully over twigs and past clumps of bracken. He neared closer to the mouse, watching it intently with his golden eyes…

Suddenly, there was a cream-colored flash and Lionpaw hopped back in surprise. Not far away, Berrypaw sat up proudly, the mouse dangling from his jaws. "That was a pretty good catch, don't you think?" he boasted.

"Yeah, my pretty good catch!" snapped Lionpaw irritably. "I was going to get that mouse, Berrypaw."

Ashfur padded up to the two apprentices stiff-legged. "What did you do that for?" he accused Berrypaw. "Where's your mentor?"

"Right here," snarled Brambleclaw's voice from behind a fern bush. He emerged into the light and glanced over at his apprentice. "Berrypaw, that was Lionpaw's catch. You should have let him take it."

"But I had it first!" argued Berrypaw. "I don't see what the big deal is!"

"You're acting like a kit," Brambleclaw pointed out with a sort of chuckle in his voice. "It's embarrassing." He nodded towards Ashfur. "Sorry about that. It won't happen again."

Berrypaw turned to Lionpaw and smirked, nearly dropping his catch. "Thought you had it, didn't you?" he taunted, having to speak around the mouse. He dropped it at his feet and batted it a few times with his paws.

"I did have it," Lionpaw told him as calmly as he could muster.

"Well, you've got to be fast if you want to catch prey!" Berrypaw sneered. "A turtle could have gotten to that mouse faster than you, flat-foot!"

A surge of pure rage ran through Lionpaw's body, filling his veins with anger and making his eyes burn with a deep golden fire. "You're not in much of a position to say that, kittypet!" he snapped.

All three cats stared at Lionpaw in amazement. They had never heard Lionpaw talk to any cat like that before. He himself had kittypet blood! "Did you just say…?" Ashfur broke off, horrified.

The fire in Lionpaw's eyes died down and was replaced with worry. "Oh no," he muttered, "I didn't mean it like that…" But Berrypaw's hurt expression told Lionpaw that he wouldn't be forgiven so easily.

At last, Brambleclaw spoke. "You aren't one to call Berrypaw a kittypet," he mewed flatly. Even as he spoke calmly, his eyes flashed with anger, and Lionpaw knew disaster was coming next.

"Leave me alone, all right?" he snarled at Brambleclaw. "Just… leave me alone! I apologized already; isn't that good enough?" Then he spun around and raced for the border, not even daring to look and see if anyone was following him.

He ended up by the Moonpool. There was no sign of another cat around him. He let out a sigh of relief that echoed among the rocks. He glanced around and then, seeing no form of danger, lay down to sleep.

***

"Lionpaw?" Heatherpaw asked softly, prodding the apprentice with one paw. "What are you doing?"

Lionpaw awoke from his slumber and stared wide-eyed at Heatherpaw. "What are you doing?" he questioned her. "This is ThunderClan territory!"

Heatherpaw shuffled her paws awkwardly. "That may be so," she mewed, "but I saw you sleeping and I wondered what you were doing sleeping near the Moonpool in the middle of the day." Her whiskers twitched in amusement.

"I've been thinking about you all the time!" sighed Lionpaw. "I can't control my emotions, and it's killing me!"

Heatherpaw pressed her muzzle into Lionpaw's. "It'll be ok," she assured him. "I'm here now."

The two cats lay next to each other in a peaceful silence, and at last Lionpaw felt better. "Thanks, Heatherpaw," he purred.

"No problem." Heatherpaw smiled shyly as she stood up and stalked away. "Goodbye!" she called to him before jumping the stream.

As Heatherpaw walked away, Lionpaw noticed faintly the two pairs of eyes watching them from either territory- amber and blue orbs, observing carefully.

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 6

"WindClan is attacking!"

Lionpaw thrust his head outside the apprentice's den, his hackles bristling. His gaze darted around camp, but he neither saw nor scented any WindClan cats. Then he spotted Foxkit and Icekit playing just outside the nursery. Icekit wiggled her tail and dashed around her brother Foxkit, laughing playfully.

"Scared, huh?" teased Hollypaw, appearing beside her brother.

"I was not!" declared Lionpaw bravely, although he admitted to himself that the kit's sudden outburst had shocked him a little bit.

Hollypaw shrugged. "Whatever you say," she purred, flicking Lionpaw's nose with her tail as she left the den. "See you later, Lionpaw."

Lionpaw sighed, taking a few steps out of the den. He felt the early morning sunlight bath his fur, making him feel warm. He wondered if Heatherpaw felt this all the time over on the WindClan moors. He couldn't imagine that WindClan would ever attack ThunderClan. The neighboring Clans had been peaceful ever since the badger attack before Lionpaw and his littermates were born. Why would they think of attacking now?

***

"Heatherpaw!" Crowfeather called his apprentice harshly as he met her outside camp. "Did you reset the border with RiverClan like you were supposed to?"

"Yes," Heatherpaw lied.

Crowfeather snorted. "I checked them," he snarled, "and they were stale." He shook his head. "Where did you go, Heatherpaw?"

"Nowhere," replied the apprentice. She was getting annoyed with all of Crowfeather's questions. Ever since he had found out about her secret love for Lionpaw, he had been seemingly watching her every move.

"You went to the stream again, didn't you?" questioned Crowfeather suspiciously.

Heatherpaw opened her mouth to reply, but her mentor beat her to it. "You have, haven't you?" he accused her. "You've been visiting Lionpaw, I know it." He glanced around. "I've seen you before, staring after him as he walks away from your secret meetings. You stand there and watch him until he becomes nothing but a golden speck on the horizon." His tail lashed. "Well?"

There was nothing else to say; Crowfeather had told it all. "It's true, Crowfeather," Heatherpaw admitted. "I went to see him again. He can't stop thinking of me, and I can't stop thinking of him!"

Crowfeather nodded curtly. "If it's becoming so bad that you abstain from your apprentice duties, then I'll have to inform Onestar about it."

"You wouldn't!" cried Heatherpaw.

"Try me, then."

Heatherpaw sighed. She wasn't stupid enough to test Crowfeather. "Alright," she agreed, "I'll set the borders." She started past her mentor, but he stopped her in her tracks.

"I already set them," Crowfeather said coldly. "I went all the way out there; there was no use wasting my time."

"Thanks, Crowfeather," Heatherpaw muttered. She looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry I didn't reset the markers."

"You should be," Crowfeather snapped, turning to re-enter the camp. Suddenly he paused and looked at Heatherpaw over his shoulder. "Don't think I'm not being serious," he warned her. "If you keep slacking off to go visit Lionpaw, I'm going to tell Onestar for real. Now follow me."

Heatherpaw lagged behind her mentor, her whiskers drooping. Who knew that love would be so hard? It wouldn't be, she reminded herself, if you loved a WindClan cat. But Heatherpaw didn't love any other WindClan cat that way; her feelings were only for Lionpaw.

Crowfeather squeezed through the heather entrance to the camp, and Heatherpaw followed him. "Can we at least go hunting or something?" she asked her mentor.

"Onestar has picked us to go on the evening patrol," Crowfeather explained. "We need our rest."

"Heatherpaw!" a voice called to her from the other side of the clearing. She looked over to see Breezepaw bounding towards her, his amber eyes sparkling. "I caught the biggest rabbit you've ever seen! Want to come see it?"

"Sure," Heatherpaw agreed, following the other apprentice to the fresh-kill pile.

Breezepaw poked an abnormally large rabbit with his front paw. "This one's mine!" he purred proudly. "Isn't it huge?"

"Yeah," mewed Heatherpaw, smiling. "It is pretty big."

"Bet you couldn't catch one this big!" There was a challenge in Breezepaw's voice.

"Nope." Heatherpaw gazed off past Breezepaw's shoulder, once again lost in thought.

The excitement died from Breezepaw's eyes as he asked, "Heatherpaw? Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine," Heatherpaw replied. "I'm just not in a hunting mood right now." She turned and padded towards the apprentice's den, leaving Breezepaw staring after her.

Harepaw was also resting inside the den. "Hello, Heatherpaw," he greeted her as she entered. "Did Breezepaw show you his catch yet?"

Heatherpaw nodded absentmindedly. "He dared me to catch a bigger one, but I'm really tired right now." She tilted her head as she lay down. "He seemed a little disappointed."

"I'm not surprised," Harepaw chuckled.

"What do you mean?" questioned Heatherpaw.

"He really wanted you to go hunting with him," Harepaw explained. "He'd been talking about his battle training with you all this morning on patrol." He smiled. "He likes you, Heatherpaw; a half-blind kit could see that."

Heatherpaw's stomach flipped. "You think so?"

"I know so." Harepaw shrugged. "Now rest up for the evening patrol; I'm coming too." Then he closed his eyes and his breathing slowed down a bit to show that he was relaxed.

Heatherpaw stared out at Breezepaw, who was pacing the camp impatiently. Did he really like her? She felt a surprising pang of guilt as she realized that she could never like him back- she didn't want to. Breezepaw was a loud-mouthed show-off, and was extremely judgmental and impatient. Just like his father, Heatherpaw thought, shocked at her own harsh thoughts of Crowfeather.

Lionpaw was a different story. He was patient and kind, and not to mention smart and funny. Even though he was younger than Breezepaw, he was certainly more mature than the WindClan apprentice was. Heatherpaw smiled just thinking about him.

She shivered at the thought of a ThunderClan apprentice liking Lionpaw. Of course it would happen, but she still didn't want to think about it. How would Breezepaw and Lionpaw's unnamed admirer take the news when they found out?

***

Back at the ThunderClan camp, Lionpaw was also beginning to notice that he had an admirer. He glanced towards the apprentice's den to see Poppypaw staring out at him again; when she saw him she ducked her head back inside, obviously embarrassed.

"Great," Lionpaw muttered sarcastically. "Now Poppypaw's going to be following my every move." He rolled his eyes and sighed, not wanting to have to worry about Poppypaw as well as Heatherpaw.

"Poppypaw was looking for you earlier," a voice echoed in his ear. Lionpaw swiveled his head to see Poppypaw's sister, Honeypaw, talking to him. "She's been looking for you practically all day." By her tone of voice, Lionpaw could tell that she was exasperated, too.

Lionpaw nodded. "I'll go talk to her," he told Honeypaw. He padded over to the den and thrust his head inside. "Poppypaw?" he called.

"Yes?" Poppypaw's head shot up, her amber eyes sparkling. "Lionpaw, is that you?"

"It's me," Lionpaw mewed. "I was wondering if you'd like to go hunting soon… we don't have to go right now if you're tired, because I just went on patrol not too long ago."

"That's alright," Poppypaw purred. She leaped up to stand beside Lionpaw and her fur prickled. "Let's go!"

Lionpaw slipped out of the den and paused halfway across camp, waiting for Poppypaw to follow. She was speaking with her mentor, Thornclaw, probably asking permission. At last, the tabby tom nodded and Poppypaw raced up to Lionpaw.

"Thornclaw is going to tell Ashfur that we're out hunting," she informed him. "Oh, I hope they won't be watching us! My warrior assessment isn't going to come for a long time yet."

You just want to be alone with me, Lionpaw thought bitterly. All he said was, "I hope so, too."

Poppypaw bounded ahead of him and slithered out the bramble tunnel that protected the entrance to the camp. "Hurry up!" she called to him, sprinting across the woodland.

"Poppypaw, slow down!" Lionpaw snarled. "You'll scare away all the prey from here to RiverClan!" He couldn't believe how immature Poppypaw was being. She was much older than he was, and yet she still insisted on acting like a kit.

Lionpaw pushed back on his powerful hind legs and chased after her. He at last slowed down in a tight grove of oak trees, where he had lost Poppypaw's scent. He looked around frantically. Where was she?

A flash of tortoiseshell fur blinded him and he felt himself being thrust aside. He pushed back with all his might, flinging Poppypaw off of him. "You scared me!" he snapped. "I thought you had wandered off alone!"

"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" Poppypaw asked snootily, pausing to lick her paw and swipe it over one ear. "And besides, I could manage out here on my own if I wanted to."

Annoyed, and now very sore, Lionpaw glared at her. He couldn't stand this cat! "Just don't do that again, all right? I don't like acting like your mentor when I'm younger than you!"

"Don't be so snappy," Poppypaw scolded Lionpaw. "I just wanted to have a little fun, that's all."

Lionpaw only turned away and lifted his head to the sky. Poppypaw's chasing after me and I have Heatherpaw to think about too! He mused silently. StarClan help me.

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 7

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!"

Firestar's call rang across the quarry, echoing through the dens. Lionpaw's ears pricked and he raised his head wearily, blinking the sticky sleep out of his eyes. He had been dreaming about Heatherpaw again, and he was confused. Why was Firestar calling a meeting now?

The rest of the Clan was assembled underneath the Highledge, gazing up at Firestar and Brambleclaw, who stood atop it. "The sunhigh patrol has brought me news," Firestar informed the Clan. "Heavy WindClan scent has been detected by the border and across it as well, very close to the Moonpool."

"It might have well been Barkface!" Leafpool insisted. "He might have visited the Moonpool on medicine cat business!"

"Would a medicine cat have to cover up their scent with damp ferns and rabbit dirt?" Firestar asked her. "And would Barkface go halfway to the Moonpool and turn around?"

Leafpool hung her head. There was no explanation for that. Lionpaw stared at her, wide-eyed. Was she trying to cover for him?

"I will attempt to speak with Onestar today, if possible," announced Firestar. "I need to ask him to keep his warriors under control."

"Did they steal any prey?" Brambleclaw asked the patrol.

Spiderleg shook his head. "Not that we could see. There was no blood up there, or fresh prey-scent."

Brambleclaw turned to Firestar. "I think it's wise if you don't go and talk to Onestar," he mewed. "They didn't steal any prey, even though what they did was weird-"

"No!" Firestar's sudden outburst scared Lionpaw, and he jumped back a little, bumping into Mousepaw. "We will not be such pushovers- WindClan will not be permitted to trespass on our territory, whether they stole prey or not." The fur on the back of his hackles bristled angrily.

"But Firestar, WindClan has been our ally for so long!" Brambleclaw protested. "I've never seen you act out against them over a thing like this. Are you suggesting that we fight them?"

Firestar's burning green gaze stared down at his Clan triumphantly. "If that's what it takes, then yes," he mewed.

A murmur rippled throughout the camp, which turned into normal meows, which turned into shouts of protest. Soon everyone was so busy arguing that they didn't notice Lionpaw sneak out of camp and race for the border.

***

Heatherpaw heard her name called from the border. She stopped walking and swiveled her head to see who was calling her. At first she didn't recognize the voice, but then it called her name again. "Heatherpaw!"

It was echoed by a very annoyed tone of voice as Crowfeather bumped into his apprentice. "Why are you stopping?" he questioned her.

"I heard someone call my name," Heatherpaw whispered. "It was coming from ThunderClan territory." Her eyes lit up. "Lionpaw needs to speak with me, Crowfeather. Can I please go?"

Crowfeather glanced around and then nodded reluctantly. "All right, but be quick about it," he told her. "We're supposed to be battle training."

Heatherpaw had started running before Crowfeather had finished speaking, pumping her legs endlessly as she ran towards the stream. "I'm here!" she replied, skidding to a stop at the stream bank.

Golden-furred ears stuck up from behind a holly bush. "Heatherpaw, is that you?"

A sigh of relief escaped Heatherpaw's mouth. "Lionpaw, come out. It's me."

Lionpaw padded out from his hiding place behind the bush. There was a worried look on his face, and Heatherpaw knew immediately that there was something wrong. "What happened?" she asked.

"Listen, Heatherpaw, you can't tell any other cat what I'm about to tell you," Lionpaw whispered frantically.

"Of course I won't," Heatherpaw agreed.

Lionpaw took a deep breath and blurted, "Firestar is thinking of attacking WindClan!"

A stunned silence followed this statement. "But… Firestar? Why?" Heatherpaw asked worriedly. "Why would Firestar think of attacking WindClan?"

"Because of us!" Lionpaw mewed. "A patrol found your scent over the border, but thankfully they couldn't identify it."

Heatherpaw drew in a sharp breath. "Great StarClan," she whispered. She buried her muzzle into Lionpaw's shoulder. "Crowfeather's going to murder me when he finds out!"

"Calm down, Heatherpaw," urged Lionpaw. He licked comfortingly behind her ear. "It'll be all right; I'm sure Firestar wasn't serious about attacking WindClan. He always wants what's best for the Clan, and that isn't it."

Heatherpaw was still nonetheless frightened. "Oh, Lionpaw, I hope so," she murmured, pulling back from him and looking straight into his eyes. There was worry glimmering deep in his golden eyes, she could tell.

Lionpaw glanced around. "We can't risk this again," he warned. "Heatherpaw, we may have to stop seeing each other so frequently."

"You mean I can't see you again except for the Gatherings?" Heatherpaw mewed sadly, her shoulders dropping in an exasperated sigh.

"No, no," Lionpaw corrected her, "I'm just saying that our meetings will have to be less conspicuous. You can come and visit me every once in a while, but not too often. All right?"

"All right," Heatherpaw purred softly, reaching out to touch noses with Lionpaw. "I trust you." She closed her eyes and stood there for what seemed like a lifetime. At last, she stepped backwards and mewed, "I have to go. Crowfeather's waiting for me."

Lionpaw nodded. "StarClan be with you," he meowed as she turned away from him. Then he watched as Heatherpaw took off, her sleek figure growing smaller and smaller as she met up with her mentor.

"I hope it will turn out all right," he whispered. Then he padded away from the stream, hoping that no one had missed him while he was gone.

***

"You what?" Crowfeather demanded, his fur bristling with rage. "Heatherpaw, what did I say to you about seeing Lionpaw?"

Heatherpaw turned her head away from her mentor defiantly. "You told me I could keep seeing him as long as I didn't abstain from my apprentice duties, remember?"

"This is worse than missing battle training or forgetting to post scent markers," the dark gray tom snarled. "Heatherpaw, we can't turn ThunderClan against us. If it came to a fight, you would possibly battle Lionpaw. How would that make you feel?"

There was no reply. Crowfeather nodded; he was sure that he had made his point. "I thought so," he mewed flatly. "Anyway, Heatherpaw, this is bad. I've got to report this to Onestar."

"No, Crowfeather, please don't!" Heatherpaw cried, her eyes filling with tears. "Don't tell him I love Lionpaw, please! He'll prevent me from being a warrior, Crowfeather! He'll exile me, or kill me, or something!" Her voice became choked with frantic tears.

Crowfeather couldn't bear to see his apprentice like this. He swiped his tongue comfortingly over her ear, a gesture that Heatherpaw had not been expecting. "Listen, Heatherpaw, I won't use your name. And I'll mix it around a bit. I'll say there's been ThunderClan scent on our territory, because there have been recent patches of it here and there. If you'd like, I can even say that they've taunted you. That gives you an excuse for your tears."

Heatherpaw brightened considerably. "Really, Crowfeather? You would do that all for me?"

A smile crossed Crowfeather's usually grim muzzle. And it was a real smile too, not one of those half-smiles that he gave Nightcloud. It made Heatherpaw feel good, seeing him smile like that. "Heatherpaw, you're my apprentice, and I can see how much you love Lionpaw. I know how forbidden love feels. You can't do this on your own."

Heatherpaw wanted to bury herself in her mentor's fur, but she thought that would look awkward. "Thanks, Crowfeather. You're the best mentor anyone could ever have."

Crowfeather didn't reply. He only turned around and flicked his tail. "Let's go talk to Onestar."

***

"Lionpaw, where were you?" Hollypaw asked as her brother came into camp. "Jaypaw and I have been looking for you everywhere."

"Sorry, Hollypaw," Lionpaw apologized. "After everyone broke out in that big fight earlier, I needed to get some fresh air. What did Firestar decide after I left?"

Jaypaw joined his siblings. "Brambleclaw finally persuaded Firestar to hold off an attack on WindClan. He'll wait for Onestar to make the first move. He's still really annoyed, though. He said that he himself was surprised at wanting to attack WindClan, but he thought it might be necessary to ThunderClan that we set things straight. Firestar doesn't like feeling betrayed, you know."

A twinge of guilt seared deep inside Lionpaw's chest. They're right, he thought painfully, they are being betrayed. Only I'm the one that's betraying them. He couldn't shake the thought out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. He began to speak, but his mouth was so dry that he could hardly utter a single word.

"Lionpaw, are you all right?" Hollypaw asked worriedly. "You seem a little… delirious."

"No, no, I'm fine," Lionpaw replied, feeling his words coming back. "Just a little scared about the future, you know."

A soft chuckle came from Jaypaw. "So the brave Lionpaw is finally scared, huh?"

Lionpaw cuffed his brother lightly around the ear. "Aren't you?"

"Nope." Jaypaw nodded curtly. "Listen, Lionpaw, don't worry about it. It's Firestar's decision; we have to trust him to make the right decision for the Clan."

Hollypaw sighed. "You're sounding more and more like a medicine cat every day."

All three siblings burst out laughing. How can life be so great, Lionpaw wondered, if I'm so miserable?

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 8

The night passed ever so slowly, crawling by at a snail's pace. When the sun finally rose late the next morning, Lionpaw was still worrying about Heatherpaw. After what had happened yesterday, he had been constantly paranoid. Was WindClan going to attack them?

"I hate rhetorical questions," Lionpaw muttered as he stretched, half to himself. He had no idea if WindClan was going to attack them, though a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that they might. But would they have reason?

Honeypaw looked up. "Lionpaw, have you heard?"

"Heard what?" asked Lionpaw, turning towards the she-cat.

"Mousepaw, Hazelpaw, and Berrypaw are going to get their warrior names today," the light brown tabby purred. Her eyes lit up at Berrypaw's name. "Isn't that exciting?"

Lionpaw nodded. "Is Firestar going to do the ceremony this morning?"

As if in reply, Firestar called the Clan to the Highledge. Lionpaw padded out of the den, and he noticed the three oldest apprentices sitting on the other side of the camp. Ferncloud sat next to them as well as Daisy; the young gray queen had Icekit and Foxkit held to her side.

Firestar glanced around the clearing and began the ceremony. "This is a good day for ThunderClan…" but beyond that, Lionpaw heard no more: he was still daydreaming of his forbidden love.

***

"So… they taunted her?"

"Yes, Onestar, they did."

Onestar shook his head. "That's the last straw," he snarled. "If ThunderClan thinks that they can do whatever they want to WindClan, then they're mousebrains!" He lashed his tail irritably. "Well, no questions about that. They are mousebrains."

Crowfeather smiled wryly. "So we attack?"

"Yes," Onestar replied. "We will attack ThunderClan at sunhigh. We must inform the Clan."

The mottled tabby padded out of his den, followed closely by Crowfeather. He called the Clan to the Tallrock. Once nearly the whole of WindClan was gathered, he announced, "ThunderClan has done great wrong to WindClan. We must attack."

A startled gasp passed through the cats below him. "Attack?" demanded Ashfoot. "Onestar, don't you think that's a little rash?"

"Not with what they have done to us," the leader snarled. "ThunderClan has pushed closer and closer to the edge, and they've finally gone over." He surveyed his Clan disapprovingly. "Are you questioning my judgment?"

No cat spoke. Onestar nodded, satisfied. "Good," he purred. "Now listen, here's the plan- we surround the quarry, but keep out of sight. Hide your scent somehow. I will go in to speak with Firestar alone, and when I give the signal, you'll jump in and fight. None of them will be expecting it."

The battle plan was approved. "We attack at sunhigh," Onestar reported, glancing up at the sky as he spoke. "It's nearly that time- we start our raid now."

***

"Crowfeather, why didn't you tell me that your plan was going to hurt Lionpaw?" Heatherpaw snapped at her mentor as the WindClan brigade made their way over the moors.

The dark gray tom turned his head to face her. "It's all for the best," he assured his apprentice. "Heatherpaw, you've gone over your head with this. You can't love him anymore."

Heatherpaw turned away from her mentor. "Go away," she snarled. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

Crowfeather shrugged and then turned to walk away. As he departed, Breezepaw walked up next to Heatherpaw. "Our first Clan raid!" he purred, obviously excited. "Isn't this great? I can't wait to show Whitetail all my battle skills!"

"It's not all that great," mumbled Heatherpaw.

"Why not?" Breezepaw tipped his head in confusion.

Heatherpaw shook her head. "I don't want to be fighting another Clan. Especially not a Clan that used to be our ally. ThunderClan and WindClan did so much for each other; how could they forget that?"

Breezepaw sighed. "They tried to hurt you, Heatherpaw," he mewed, "and that's all the proof I need that ThunderClan's gone past forgetting. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I can take care of myself," snarled Heatherpaw. She desperately wanted to tell some other cat that it was actually her fault for upsetting ThunderClan, but she knew she couldn't.

"Ok," meowed Breezepaw, "you don't have to get so fussy about it." Then he bounded ahead to meet his mentor, Whitetail.

StarClan, I ask you at this moment, right now, to protect Lionpaw and his Clan, wished Heatherpaw as she jumped the stream into ThunderClan territory. I don't want them to get hurt. Please, StarClan, help them. Help me.

***

The whole of ThunderClan stiffened as the thorn tunnel rustled with the motion of an approaching cat. Poppypaw huddled next to Lionpaw and he politely nudged her away. His eyes widened as Onestar appeared in the camp. What would Firestar say to him?

"Greetings, Onestar," mewed Firestar, trying to sound as calm as possible.

Onestar dipped his head to the ThunderClan leader. "I've come with news, Firestar," he announced.

Staring down menacingly at Onestar from the Highrock, Firestar asked, "what's so important that you thought you could cross the border without an escort?"

Lionpaw stiffened. Surely Firestar wouldn't be hostile to Onestar now- or would he? He gazed up at his grandfather in astonishment. He didn't want this to happen; he knew that Firestar didn't either, deep down.

"If I'm not allowed on your territory without a patrol, then why should your cats be allowed on WindClan territory?" Onestar challenged.

Tension crackled in the air, and Lionpaw felt it. It was so thick he could slice it through with his claws, and it blanketed the camp. Finally, Firestar leaped down off the Highledge and mewed, "what are you talking about?"

"There have been reports of ThunderClan scent over the border," Onestar replied.

A chorus of angry shouts echoed across the quarry walls as the ThunderClan cats sent up an uproar. "We haven’t set a single pawstep over your border!" Firestar yowled over the din. "Don't tell me you're just doing this to cover up for your warriors!"

Onestar's fur bristled. "Is that a threat?"

"Go away, Onestar," snapped Firestar, "and leave us in peace. ThunderClan has done nothing to you!"

"I'd rather settle it, right here, right now," replied Onestar. He glanced around and yowled, "WindClan, attack!" He lunged at Firestar and the two leaders locked shoulders in battle.

With yowls of outrage, WindClan cats poured down from the top of the quarry, scrambling down the rock walls. Lionpaw noticed Leafpool and Jaypaw ducking into the nursery to protect the queens, and Berrynose, Hazeltail, and Mousewhisker all got up from their vigil to fight.

"Get out of camp!" Cloudtail called as he and Thornclaw rushed for the bramble tunnel. They both slipped in and came writhing back as two more WindClan warriors snaked their way through.

Suddenly, Lionpaw heard a rushing of pawsteps and he turned to see Breezepaw running at him full speed. He slipped out of the way and brought his claws scoring down the apprentice's shoulder. Lionpaw lunged for Breezepaw again, knocking him down. The golden tom reared up on his hind paws, and the WindClan apprentice parried, getting up and copying this move.

Lionpaw ducked his head and slipped through the gap between Breezepaw's hind legs. He turned and pinned Breezepaw down from the back, but the dark tom unexpectedly flipped over quickly before Lionpaw could tighten his grip enough to hold him down securely. Breezepaw sneered down at Lionpaw. "Who's the tough one now, Lionpaw?" he snarled. Then he brought his mouth down, snapping his jaws together just a whisker length from Lionpaw's neck.

A sudden burst of anger and disbelief surged through Lionpaw. He pushed Breezepaw over his head with his hind legs and scuttled to the back of the clearing, searching the ledge above for Heatherpaw. Sure enough, a dark figure crouched at the top of the camp, staring straight at Lionpaw. Heatherpaw got up and began to descend into the clearing, and Lionpaw went to meet her.

But he wasn't quick enough. Suddenly, he felt a crushing weight come down on his shoulders. He felt the breath drain from him suddenly, and he started hyperventilating. This cat, whoever it was, was definitely not Breezepaw. The cat was heavier and stronger, and much more subtle about surprise attacks.

"Crowfeather, no!" Heatherpaw cried, racing across to meet Lionpaw. She glared at her mentor. "Let him go. Now."

"I will do no such thing!" Crowfeather replied. "Heatherpaw, this has got to stop." Lionpaw felt his gaze burning into him from behind even though he couldn't see him, and he felt Crowfeather's claws slide into his shoulders. He cried out in pain.

"You'll kill him, won't you?" Heatherpaw demanded accusingly. "I know that's what you'll do!"

"Like father, like son!" spat Lionpaw as loudly as he could. He felt Crowfeather sheath his claws and loosen his grip.

"What did you say?" the dark gray tom demanded.

"I just thought you should know to teach your son how to refrain from attempting to use the killing bite during battle!" hissed Lionpaw, feeling his breath return.

Heatherpaw's eyes widened. "I'll get him for that!" she snarled. "I'll tear him to shreds!"

Crowfeather stepped away from Lionpaw, staring at the claw marks deep in the golden apprentice's shoulders. "No, Heatherpaw. Don't get so upset. I'll deal with him." Then he bounded across the clearing in search of his son.

Heatherpaw's gaze met Lionpaw's, and her eyes burned with intensity. "Lionpaw, I'm sorry," she mewed. "I'm sorry it had to be this way."

"I'm sorry too," he mewed. "If only we had been more careful… oh Heatherpaw, I can't believe this."

The two cats stood facing each other in silence while the battle raged on around them. At last, Heatherpaw reached forward and pressed her nose to Lionpaw's. "Forgive me," she whispered. "I'll be back to meet you soon. Be at the Moonpool by sunset tomorrow."

"I will," vowed Lionpaw. He watched sadly as Heatherpaw scrambled back up the cliff wall to the top. He broke down, crying as he had never cried before. And still yet, the battle went on.

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 9

The sun was just setting by the time Spiderleg was chasing the last WindClan cat out of camp. Leafpool and Jaypaw were in the medicine cat's den, tending to injuries. Even Mousefur had to be brought out to fight, and she too had many deep scratches.

Lionpaw hardly felt any of his bruises, but the claw wounds in his shoulders stung so painfully that he could hardly move his front legs. Hollypaw offered to help him to the medicine cat's den, and Poppypaw leaped in to help. Lionpaw was dragged to the den, his shoulders still hurting.

"Great StarClan, Lionpaw!" Leafpool mewed when she noticed the wounds. "What happened to you?"

Hollypaw looked down at Lionpaw, who groaned in pain. "Can you heal him first, Leafpool? His wounds need tending right now."

Leafpool finished applying the marigold to Brightheart's cuts, and she nodded. "Your injuries are severe, Lionpaw," she mewed. "How did they happen?"

Lionpaw glanced upwards. "Crowfeather," he murmured. "He dug his claws into my shoulders. I was scared, Leafpool… I thought he was going to kill me."

"Crowfeather did this to you?" Leafpool demanded softly, trying not to make a big deal out of it. Inside, she was furious. "Why?"

"You know that he doesn't approve of me and Heatherpaw having our secret meetings," Lionpaw grumbled.

Leafpool simply nodded. "I don't either, Lionpaw, but you don't see me hurting Heatherpaw just because of it."

"Well, yes. You're a medicine cat, remember?"

"That doesn't make any difference," Leafpool snarled, her tail lashing. "I could fight if I had to."

By now, the rest of the cats had cleared out, going to see Jaypaw instead. Leafpool at last regained her normal voice. "Lionpaw, you've got to have a more subtle way of meeting Heatherpaw. You're making it way too obvious."

"Are you suggesting that we should see each other only at Gatherings?" Lionpaw asked her as the medicine cat licked marigold into his shoulders. He hissed. "It stings."

The next words Leafpool spoke were in a comforting tone. "Listen, Lionpaw, why don't you agree to meet at the Moonpool? I'm sure Heatherpaw asked you to meet her before she ran off."

"That's where we planned to meet," replied Lionpaw. "Leafpool, I'm so confused." His eyes grew warm with gathering tears.

Leafpool ran her tail tip along Lionpaw's spine. "Have some poppy seeds," she encouraged him. "I can't do much else for now." Her eyes gleamed with sympathy. "Go ahead and cry, Lionpaw. It's all right."

And so Lionpaw cried for the second time that day. His whole face grew warm as tears slid down his cheeks, dripping onto the moss below. He laid down his head and felt the tears soak his fur. "Thank you," he choked.

Hollypaw re-entered the den, with Jaypaw tagging behind her. "Jaypaw wants to-" then her eyes widened as she saw Lionpaw. "What happened?" she asked worriedly.

"Go away!" snarled Lionpaw from his position on the floor.

"His wounds are bothering him, and they really hurt," Leafpool told Hollypaw. "Send Jaypaw in, if he wants to see me."

Jaypaw nodded, stepping ahead of Hollypaw as his sister backed out of the den. He padded over to Leafpool and whispered something in her ear that Lionpaw didn't catch. He slowed down his breathing enough to hear Leafpool reply, "are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Jaypaw whispered back, glancing down at Lionpaw briefly. "I think it was Heatherpaw."

Lionpaw stiffened. What was Jaypaw talking about? He tried to keep his fur from bristling in anger as Leafpool spoke.

"Don't worry about it, Jaypaw," the brown tabby assured her apprentice. "I'll talk to him." She dismissed the gray tabby and waited until he was out of earshot before leaning down to Lionpaw and mewing, "he saw you two talking, but not fighting."

"Just great," Lionpaw muttered, rolling his eyes. "What else did he say?"

Leafpool's tail tip twitched precariously. "He thinks something's up. He hasn't told any other cat yet, but he thinks it might be necessary to tell if you were talking to a WindClan cat and not fighting it."

Anger flooded through Lionpaw like a wave. "Heatherpaw's not an it," he snapped.

"You get the idea," Leafpool sighed. "Lionpaw, you have to be more careful! I want you to be happy, you know, since you are my nephew, but I'm not able to be constantly standing up for you."

"Jaypaw can mind his own business," Lionpaw told Leafpool. "Tell him that."

The medicine didn't reply. She turned and bowed her head in thought. "Just keep it safe, all right?"

"All right, Leafpool."

***

At the WindClan camp, Barkface and Kestrelpaw were also busy helping their Clanmates. Heatherpaw tried to avoid everyone else, seeing as she hadn't fought; there wasn't a scratch on her body except for where she had snagged her fur on a thorn bush when she was running through the forest.

Instead, she lay in the apprentice's den, curled up and trying to sleep. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't force herself to go to sleep. She sighed and rolled over in the nest, trying to find a comfortable spot. She narrowed her eyes as Breezepaw entered the den. He let out a long, angry sigh and sat down tensely.

"What's up with you?" Heatherpaw asked, her ears flicking. "Why are you so grouchy?" Not that that’s so different from every day, she reminded herself.

Breezepaw's amber eyes flashed. "Crowfeather somehow found out about me trying to use the killing bite on Lionpaw."

Heatherpaw feigned surprise. "But you know that's dishonorable in battle, Breezepaw!"

"I know," snarled the black-furred tom. "I'm plenty aware, thanks." He flexed his claws in annoyance.

"What did Crowfeather say to you?" she asked, hoping that Breezepaw wouldn't get too mad at her.

Sighing, Breezepaw told her everything that Crowfeather had said. "He told me never to use that move again unless I absolutely had to. And quickly after, he added that I couldn't make up excuses to use it. He and Whitetail banned me from going out of camp for a whole quarter moon starting tomorrow. I have to do apprentice duties all day, every day, for a quarter moon." His whiskers drooped.

Well, you got what you deserved, thought Heatherpaw. She nodded. "Can I help you with any of it?"

"Nope," Breezepaw mewed, "I have to do all the work on my own. Whitetail nearly shred me to bits when she found out I tried to kill a ThunderClan cat."

Heatherpaw nodded. "Well, Breezepaw, it is really bad…"

"Don't try and tell me how perfect you are!" Breezepaw spat. "Look at you! You haven't got a single scratch on you." His eyes glimmered with fury.

"Breezepaw, you don't understand…" Heatherpaw explained, but Breezepaw cut her off again.

"I don't want to hear it, Heatherpaw," he snarled. "I don't see why I ever liked you."

Heatherpaw didn't say another word; she simply turned and fled from the apprentice's den, tearing across camp and pushing through the heather tunnel. She exited into the fresh moorland air, breathing in the musty scent of WindClan. If only she could do this every day without worries, without duties…

But it was all a dream, and that was what it would remain. Heatherpaw, however hard she tried, couldn't bring herself back into reality. She looked out over the hills, which were stained golden by the setting sun. "I'll be waiting, Lionpaw," she whispered.

"Daydreaming again?" Crowfeather's voice snapped her back to the situation. Her mentor stood next to her, his amber eyes shining.

"Crowfeather, you scared me," Heatherpaw breathed. She glared at her mentor. "Besides, it's none of your business, anyway."

Crowfeather flicked his tail. "Listen, Heatherpaw, I'm sorry about the battle."

Heatherpaw bowed her head in frustration. "Why did you hurt him like that?" she asked. "Tell me, Crowfeather. I want to know."

"I thought it was for your own good," Crowfeather told her. He blinked uncomfortably. "I was wrong."

This explanation wasn't enough for Heatherpaw. "You would have killed him, I know you would! There's no forgiving that!" She turned her back on her mentor, her pelt tingling with anger.

"Who are you to try and understand my true motives?" Crowfeather asked lightly. "Heatherpaw, I wouldn't have killed him. That's dishonorable, remember? I wouldn't have done more than what I had already done."

"That's a lie," Heatherpaw hissed, "and you know it."

"It's not a lie!" protested Crowfeather loudly, his eyes blazing with anger. Then he calmed down and mewed, "Heatherpaw, you can trust me."

Heatherpaw shook her head. "I'm sorry, Crowfeather, but I can't believe you anymore," she told him. "Not after what you've done to me." Her eyes shimmered with tears. "Now go away. I don't want to see you anymore."

Crowfeather's eyes were wide with surprise. "Heatherpaw, you're my apprentice; I can't just…"

"No," Heatherpaw mewed, "you're wrong. You're not my mentor; you're no more than an enemy to me. You're certainly more of an enemy than ThunderClan." Her tail tip twitched back and forth irritably as she turned to face Crowfeather again.

A stunned silence followed. Crowfeather stared straight into Heatherpaw's eyes. "You'll have to trust me," he whispered. "Just trust me, please."

Shaking her head, Heatherpaw replied, "I can't do that. I can't trust anyone in WindClan anymore, not after what they did to ThunderClan!" A thought struck her and she nodded firmly. "I'll run away, that's what I'll do!"

"Where will you run to?" Crowfeather asked her, "ThunderClan? They'll turn you away; they won't even let you past their borders."

Heatherpaw refused to believe what her mentor was telling her. "But Crowfeather, I… I need to be with Lionpaw. The only way to do that is if I join ThunderClan or he joins WindClan."

"Neither way will work," Crowfeather told Heatherpaw. "Stop being so ignorant, Heatherpaw; see the truth."

And Heatherpaw saw it. As she sat down to think, her mind cleared, and she could at last see the truth. She could trust Crowfeather after all- he was her mentor, her friend, the only one that understood… How could she turn away from him at a time like this?

The young she-cat smiled. "I'm sorry, Crowfeather. I was being unfair to you."

"When do you two meet again?" Crowfeather asked, changing the subject.

"Tomorrow at sunset," Heatherpaw replied slowly. "We're meeting at the Moonpool."

Nodding, Crowfeather turned to go back to camp. "Come with me," he mewed. "You need to get some rest for tomorrow night."

Heatherpaw padded after him, and dashed for the apprentice's den as soon as she set a single paw in camp. She curled up in her nest, unaware of the still irritated Breezepaw sulking in his own nest near hers. She fell into a peaceful sleep, dreaming once again of Lionpaw.

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 10

As the moon rose in the sky, Lionpaw laid his head down to rest. Leafpool had applied some more marigold to his shoulders, and he had eaten a couple of poppy seeds to help him sleep. His eyelids drooped from fatigue, and he at last closed them, falling to sleep almost right away. It seemed like only a couple of minutes before he heard a cat call his name.

"Lionpaw, where are you?"

Lionpaw sat up in surprise, his shoulders burning. "I'm here! Who's calling me?"

A starry figure emerged from the depths of the medicine cat's den. Her pelt was tortoiseshell and white, and immediately Lionpaw mewed, "Sorreltail, is that you?"

"No, little one," the tortoiseshell purred. Her voice was soft and caring, and Lionpaw felt relaxed around her. "My name is Spottedleaf."

The name seemed familiar to Lionpaw, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. "Who are you? Are you from StarClan?"

"Yes, I am," mewed Spottedleaf. "I used to be the ThunderClan medicine cat, even before your grandfather came to the forest."

Of course! Lionpaw thought, nodding. "Leafpool's told Jaypaw a lot about you," he mewed, "like how you guided her and helped her, and how you helped her uncover Hawkfrost's evil plan."

Spottedleaf smiled lightly. "This time, Lionpaw, I have a message for you." She padded forward and mewed, "I know more about you than you may think. For example, I know about you and Heatherpaw."

This did not come as a surprise to Lionpaw. He remembered that Leafpool had told him this when she had first asked him about it. "What do I do?" he asked Spottedleaf.

"The time will come when things get harder for you two," she mewed, "and it will seem impossible. When that time comes, don't give up on each other. Know which cats to turn to, and you will be fine. You can't wait forever, Lionpaw, but I trust your judgment. After all, you are the one who loves her."

"So I'm supposed to do this all on my own?" Lionpaw asked in disbelief.

"I never said that," Spottedleaf told him. "Have faith, Lionpaw. You'll pull through." Her figure fading into starlight, and Lionpaw stepped forward, calling her name.

"Spottedleaf, tell me more!" he begged. "Help me!"

But the old medicine cat was gone. Lionpaw sat down with a long sigh, wondering what the future would bring him. When would things get harder for them? How would things get harder? Lionpaw wanted answers, but he hadn't had the chance to ask the questions.

A small voice whispered suddenly in his ear, "be strong for her, Lionpaw."

Lionpaw nodded his head, his eyes shining determinedly. "I'll be strong," he vowed, "for Heatherpaw!"

***

The harsh call of an eagle pierced through Heatherpaw's sleep, and she sat up quickly. Breezepaw had already left the den; his nest was cold. Heatherpaw stepped into the camp, looking around at the bustling cats surrounding her. She had woken up late, she was sure of it.

"Heatherpaw, would you be interested in a hunting patrol?" a voice asked. Heatherpaw turned to see Harespring talking to her. Crowfeather and Tornear stood close behind him, waiting patiently for the patrol to start.

"Sure," Heatherpaw replied, still sleepy. She lazily followed the group out of camp and out into the open moors.

Crowfeather gazed out to the horizon. "Heatherpaw, can you scent any prey?" he asked his apprentice, his tail swishing back and forth.

The smell of rabbit flooded Heatherpaw's scent glands, and she nodded. "Rabbit, as usual," she reported. She flicked her tail in the direction of the strongest scent. "Over there, towards the border."

Harespring and Tornear stiffened, and Harespring spoke out. "Heatherpaw, that's near ThunderClan territory. We can't risk going over there, not after the battle."

"Harespring, please," Crowfeather interrupted, "I'm the one leading this patrol, and I say that we should go hunt near the border. It's not like we're going to invade their territory again. We'll stay on the moors, and try to avoid the stream. If we avoid an area abundant with prey, then we're only showing ourselves as cowards and fools. Are WindClan cowards and fools?"

Nobody said anything, but finally Heatherpaw piped up. "No!" she said. "Crowfeather's right. We need to prove our strength to ThunderClan."

"Yeah… what Heatherpaw said," murmured Harespring uncertainly. Tornear sighed, but didn't dare to say anything against Crowfeather.

Crowfeather turned and nodded. "Good," he smirked. "Now follow me." He sprinted across the moors, the rest of the patrol racing to keep up with him.

Wind rushed through Heatherpaw's fur, buffeting her tall ears. She loved the feeling of being weightless, her paws seeming to lift off the ground all at once as she ran. She at last skidded to a stop as Crowfeather halted.

The dark gray tom scented the air and his eyes widened. "Great StarClan," he muttered, "there's a fox around here."

"Fox?" demanded Tornear. "Why didn't we scent it before?"

Heatherpaw's fur bristled. She also sniffed the air. "There's more than one," she added, "and their den isn't far off. I smell milk; maybe there are cubs."

Suddenly, a growl sounded from behind Harespring. The unmistakable bark of a fox echoed around the hills, and three dog-foxes and two she-foxes surrounded them. One of the females smelled of warm milk. She must have cubs to protect, Heatherpaw thought, fear rising in her throat.

The largest dog-fox, perhaps the father, barked once again and lunged for Tornear. The tabby went down with a yowl, slashing his claws wildly. The four WindClan cats plunged into battle.

"They're too much!" Harespring cried, trying to fend off a she-fox. "We have to get out of here!"

But the foxes seemed to have no intention of that happening. They would fight to the death- either the cats', or theirs. Heatherpaw was tussling with the younger she-fox, slashing the vixen's ear to ribbons. The she-fox howled and retaliated, bringing a paw down on Heatherpaw's shoulder and knocking her down.

Battle cries sounded from all around, and more cats plunged into the clearing. At first, Heatherpaw thought that WindClan had come to save them. Instead, there were five ThunderClan cats, claws unsheathed and jaws open wide in shouts of protest. Lionpaw's golden pelt stood out to Heatherpaw, and she nearly cried out in joy.

Heatherpaw sprang up and pushed the she-fox away from her, readying herself for another leap. She and the vixen both leaped for each other at the same time, but the vixen was stronger. She pinned Heatherpaw to the grass, an evil smirk on her face.

"No!" a voice yelled, and a flash of golden fur pushed the fox off of Heatherpaw. The brown tabby apprentice got up and lunged for the fox again, fighting side-by-side with Lionpaw. She scratched the vixen's shoulder and Lionpaw, whose own shoulder wounds had healed, clawed at her flanks.

At last, the vixen jumped up with a yelp and dashed away from the clearing, bleeding heavily. One of the younger dog-foxes lay dead, blood trickling from his throat. The Clan cats were winning, pushing the foxes farther towards defeat.

Crowfeather kneeled at the edge of the battle, his nearly black fur stained red. He was breathing heavily, and Heatherpaw dashed over to make sure that he was all right. "Crowfeather, are you all right?" she asked him.

"I'm fine," Crowfeather snarled. "We need to get these foxes out of here!"

The remaining she-fox bolted from the clearing, and was tagged by the youngest dog-fox. Tornear dragged the young fox back towards him and the dog-fox yelped. The vixen, not noticing her son's demise, kept on running.

At last, the oldest dog-fox was taken care of, having suffered much blood loss. All nine cats stood with their fur fluffed out and blood along their pelts. Heatherpaw noticed Harespring standing back-to-back with Ashfur, and Tornear standing over a dead fox with Sandstorm by his side.

The cats split back into their Clan groups and stood opposite each other in a line. Heatherpaw and Lionpaw were on opposite sides of the lines; they made strong eye contact until Crowfeather spoke.

"Why did you help us?" he asked, standing opposite Brambleclaw. Heatherpaw looked down the line and noticed Lionpaw, Brambleclaw, Brackenfur, Sandstorm, and Ashfur standing there.

Brambleclaw flicked his tail. "You would have been killed if we hadn't stepped in."

"That's not true!" Harespring protested. "We didn't need ThunderClan's help!"

Crowfeather glared at Harespring and opened his mouth to comment, but Ashfur broke in angrily, "Brambleclaw's right! Those foxes would have ripped you to shreds! You were outnumbered."

Brackenfur licked his paw and swiped it over his ear, cleaning some blood off of it. "You could at least say thank you," he mewed, a tense tone to his voice.

"I won't say thank you to ThunderClan for anything," snarled Tornear. "You're just intruders to us. We could have handled those foxes."

Sandstorm nudged Brambleclaw. "They're right about the intruder part, Brambleclaw," she pointed out, "this is their territory, after all. We should go."

"Go back to camp," Brambleclaw instructed his patrol. "I'll be right there." The other four cats went back over the hills, and Heatherpaw stared after Lionpaw until he disappeared. Brambleclaw narrowed his eyes in a glare of contempt. "Don't think that this means we're friends again," he snarled. "We've chosen to show you respect by not letting you get killed, and we expect to see some respect from you. Don't expect ThunderClan to send out a border patrol every time a fox attacks you."

Crowfeather nodded. "We won't expect it, Brambleclaw."

Without another word, Brambleclaw turned and ran after his patrol. The WindClan cats sat in silence, contemplating what had just happened.

"That was stupid," Tornear spat as soon as Brambleclaw was out of earshot. "We didn't need their help!"

"All they did was prove how weak we were!" Harespring agreed. "I'm sure Brambleclaw will be telling the whole Clan about how they saved WindClan." His voice took on a mocking tone.

Crowfeather glared at him even more. "Who was it that fought side-by-side with Ashfur?" he demanded. He turned to Tornear. "And who was it that killed one of the foxes with Sandstorm's help? Huh? You accepted plenty of help then."

Harespring turned his head away. Crowfeather kept on ranting. "You would rather die than get caught thanking ThunderClan cats for saving your life? Is that it?" he snapped, his fur bristling.

Heatherpaw cowered down, shivering. This side of Crowfeather scared her. Her mentor flicked his ears. "Get back to camp, you ungrateful badgers," he snarled. "Get out of my sight."

Harespring leaped up in fear and sped back to camp, Tornear following behind him slowly. Crowfeather turned to look at Heatherpaw and he instantly calmed down. "I'm sorry, Heatherpaw," he murmured. "I just got so angry at them for what they had said to ThunderClan."

"So you don't want ThunderClan to be at war with us, either," Heatherpaw mewed slowly, regaining her composure.

"No," replied Crowfeather. "I don't." His fur was still fluffed out from anger.

Heatherpaw looked around at the dead foxes. One had received the killing bite, one had gotten his throat torn open very messily, and the other had slits all down his belly. The young apprentice turned away with a shiver and bowed her head in pain.

Crowfeather licked behind her ear comfortingly. "Just be calm," he purred, "and everything will be all right." He sat beside his apprentice as the sun rose to its highest peak in the sky. But no light could ever brighten the darkness that surrounded them, not even if it came from StarClan themselves.

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 11

Graystripe and Spiderleg stood watch outside the ThunderClan camp. Brambleclaw pushed past them in anger and shoved through the bramble tunnel. The rest of the patrol followed as the two guards looked on in interest. "Don't ask," Lionpaw muttered before he entered the tunnel. "Come back in; Brambleclaw's going to ask Firestar for a Clan meeting."

Sure enough, Lionpaw saw his father disappear into the leader's den as he wiggled through the bramble tunnel. A few minutes later both Brambleclaw and Firestar emerged, and they leaped up onto the Highledge and called a meeting.

"Brambleclaw has come to tell us about what happened at the border," Firestar announced. He nodded towards the brown tabby that stepped forward and began to speak, his wounds no longer bleeding.

"I had just taken a border patrol out towards the stream," Brambleclaw reported, "when I suggested that I go up on the big hill to get a better look. I climbed to the top and saw a patrol of about four WindClan cats racing across the moors. I didn't want to assume that they were going to trespass on our territory, but I warned my patrol to be ready if anything happened.

"Suddenly, the WindClan cats stopped and were surrounded by foxes. They were outnumbered and I decided to help." Brambleclaw paused and let this sink in before continuing, "after the foxes were taken care of, we had a short talk and the WindClan cats- Crowfeather, Tornear, Harespring, and Heatherpaw -insisted on arguing…"

Lionpaw leaped up in protest. "That's not true!" he insisted. "We argued with them, you know. Ashfur snapped at Harespring, you know. Don't pretend it didn't happen."

Brambleclaw glared down at his son. "Lionpaw, I'm surprised at you!" he meowed. "You mustn't tell lies, you know."

"But I'm not telling lies!" Lionpaw yowled. "I'm telling it as it is!"

"Talking back to your father doesn't give you much credit," mewed Brambleclaw flatly. "Don't do this, Lionpaw, not to me."

Poppypaw pressed herself close to Lionpaw's side, but this time he didn't push her away. "We were on their territory! They had a right to be mad!"

"We saved their lives," Ashfur snarled, "and they weren't grateful in the least."

"It was only Tornear and Harespring!" called Lionpaw. "Didn't you see that Crowfeather was trying to apologize for them? And Heatherpaw is only an apprentice! What malice could she have against us?"

Firestar stepped forward. "Enough!" he snapped, his deep voice ringing around the camp. "Stop, please. I don't like to see my cats arguing amongst themselves." He sighed and shook his head. "Lionpaw, come talk to me."

This was the Clan's cue to split. The cats each went their own direction, and several of the apprentices stopped to talk to Lionpaw. He pushed past them and padded over to Firestar.

"Lionpaw, I have punishment for you," Firestar announced. Lionpaw felt a stab of guilt hit him. I haven't done anything wrong! He pleaded silently. But Firestar continued talking. "You'll help Leafpool collect herbs and heal the sick and injured cats today while Jaypaw takes a break."

A surge of relief washed through Lionpaw. At least the punishment wasn't too bad. He could spend some more time with Leafpool, and he'd have an excuse for going to the Moonpool at sunset. If he had been imprisoned in camp all day, he didn't know what he could have done.

Leafpool appeared beside him. "Ready to get started?" she asked, her amber eyes shining.

Lionpaw heaved his shoulders in an almost over exaggerated sigh, just to show Firestar how unhappy he was with his 'punishment'. He then smiled up at Leafpool and nodded slowly.

"So far," Leafpool reported, "there's almost no one in the medicine cat's den except Cinderpaw. She upset her leg again during the WindClan battle a couple of days ago, and she needs to make sure it heals properly again."

Poppypaw hopped up to Leafpool. "I got a thorn in my pad," she whimpered, turning over her front paw. A large, golden-brown thorn was wedged deep in-between her front toe pads.

Leafpool sighed. "That makes two cats in the medicine cat's den today," she corrected herself. "I'll watch Cinderpaw, and you can see to Poppypaw's thorn."

"But what do I do?" asked Lionpaw, glancing warily over at Poppypaw. Her eyes were shining with admiration for Lionpaw, and that worried him a bit.

"Just pull out the thorn and then apply some cobweb to soak up any blood or pus that might come out," instructed Leafpool as if she had explained this a million times. "If the spot's infected, chew up some marigold and apply the juice to the infected area."

The medicine cat's den was dim and airy, and Lionpaw found it very relaxing. The only thing that irked him was the fact that Poppypaw couldn't stop staring at him, occasionally batting her eyelids like a bashful little kit. Lionpaw took the thorn in his teeth and pulled.

Poppypaw let out a short cry of pain and recoiled back into a ball. "Lionpaw, that hurt!" she exclaimed. Then she noticed her paw and gasped. "It's bleeding!"

"Just calm down," Lionpaw hissed. He took a small piece of cobweb and dabbed the blood away. "There," he mewed, "now just rest for a while." He sighed and checked the wound for infection before turning away.

"Lionpaw!" Poppypaw called out to him. "Don't leave! I wanted to talk to you!"

Groaning inwardly, Lionpaw padded back over to her. "What do you want to talk to me about?" he asked, sitting down and politely wrapping his tail around his paws.

Poppypaw smiled. "You know that I like you, right?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Oh great, Lionpaw thought, confession time. He nodded. "I thought about it, that's for sure."

"Well… I just wanted to know if… you felt the same way," Poppypaw stammered.

Lionpaw gulped. "Poppypaw, I don't know how to say this, but…"

"Yes?" the tortoiseshell leaned her head forward expectantly.

"Um… I'm really sorry, Poppypaw, but I… can't really return your feelings."

Silence followed. Poppypaw's amber eyes widened and brimmed with tears. "You… you can't? What is that supposed to mean? Is there some other cat I should know about?" Her voice rose threateningly.

Backing away, Lionpaw tried to calm Poppypaw down. "Poppypaw, I don't like you… not like that, at least. Can't we be friends?"

"You know I'm not happy with just being friends!" Poppypaw snarled. "Lionpaw, I thought you really liked me!"

Lionpaw realized how much this resembled his own mother's polite rejection of Ashfur. He hadn't been there, of course, but he'd heard plenty of stories about it. He cringed at Poppypaw's harshness and mewed, "Poppypaw, please! Just be my friend, for StarClan's sake!"

"But you know I can't," Poppypaw murmured. "I'm either right beside you all the time, or away from you. I have to make that choice. You're the only cat I…" she trailed off uncomfortably. "I can't handle your rejection this way."

"Then you're a complete idiot."

These words shocked Poppypaw, but Lionpaw said them with every ounce of truth. He turned around and walked out of the den without another word. Poppypaw cried out to him. "Lionpaw, come back!" But the golden tom just kept on walking, oblivious of all others around him.

He was angry; spitting angry. Lionpaw tossed his head from side to side as he barged past the bramble tunnel and stormed into the forest. He didn't care that he was breaking his punishment; he was as angry as an irritated dog right now. In fact, he would have walked right into a tree without noticing if Leafpool hadn't caught him.

"Why did you call her an idiot?" the medicine cat asked slowly, trying to calm Lionpaw down.

"You heard all that?" Lionpaw sighed, still breathing heavily. He tried not to claw the ears off of Leafpool. "I don't want to talk about it."

Leafpool sat down and lashed her tail back and forth patiently. "Lionpaw, I suggest that you…"

The golden apprentice cut her off. "How can I calm down?" he snapped. "I mean, she's such a mouse-brain! She 'can't handle my rejection'!" he mocked Poppypaw's tone of voice.

"I was going to say that you should apologize," Leafpool mewed skeptically. "I mean, you just turned down a cat that loved you. Imagine if Heatherpaw did that to you. Would you accept being just her friend? Would that be good enough for you after all you two went through?"

Lionpaw thought about this. "No," he finally answered. His head was spinning, and he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. "Love is confusing."

"I know," purred Leafpool. "But the world doesn't stop if something's confusing. Some things you need to figure out right away- like how much you hurt Poppypaw."

The bushes rustled on the opposite edge of the clearing, and a tortoiseshell pelt swam before Lionpaw's eyes. "Lionpaw, are you all right?" a soft voice asked. "I was worried about you."

"Poppypaw, I'm sorry," Lionpaw murmured; his eyes half closed. "I'm sorry I was such a mouse-brain to you."

"I'm the one who should be sorry," Poppypaw purred, sitting down next to Lionpaw. "What you said was true. I am a complete idiot. I want to be your friend, Lionpaw. I'd give nearly anything to have you by my side, but I would never compromise our friendship."

As his vision cleared, Lionpaw could see Leafpool out of the corner of his eye. A smile was spread across her face, and her eyes glinted with pride. Had she planned this whole thing out? Lionpaw thought with a smirk. Of course. Leafpool always has a plan.

-x-x-x-

Author's Notes: So sorry that this chapter contained only Lionpaw's view! The next chapter will be all Heatherpaw to make up for it. =D

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 12

After hearing the patrol's news, the WindClan cats were extremely tense. Heatherpaw could tell that Onestar was partially frustrated and partially grateful to ThunderClan, though he tried not to show much of the latter. This was a difficult time for both Clans, and to Heatherpaw it seemed as if ShadowClan and RiverClan didn't exist- they simply weren't part of the problem.

Tornear and Harespring shot death glares at Crowfeather all day, and Crowfeather glared back. Heatherpaw felt uncomfortable around them, and tried to keep herself busy with things that didn't involve them.

"So you killed three foxes?" Breezepaw mewed in admiration as he followed Heatherpaw out of camp to go hunting. "That's amazing!"

"Well, we killed three foxes," Heatherpaw mewed, laughing nervously, "with ThunderClan's help."

Breezepaw frowned. "That's not Harespring's side of the story," he told Heatherpaw. "Harespring says that ThunderClan only slowed you down in the process, and if they hadn't been there you would have killed the other two foxes as well."

"Never believe everything that comes out of Harespring's mouth," snapped Heatherpaw. "We were outnumbered until ThunderClan came. It was nine against five after they came; they didn't slow us down, they helped us!"

Crowfeather stepped in between the two arguing apprentices before either could say anything more. "No fighting," he snarled. "Just leave it alone." He turned with a snort of discontent.

Heatherpaw broke eye contact with Breezepaw and didn't dare to speak. Breezepaw did the same, but Heatherpaw could tell that he wanted to talk to her some more. She didn't answer his silent plea.

Whitetail sighed. "Okay, here we are," she announced. "Let's do some hunting." She ushered Breezepaw over to talk with him, and Heatherpaw padded up to Crowfeather. "What are we going to do?"

"Well," mewed Crowfeather, "I think we should get started by having a little contest. Don't you think, Whitetail?"

"That sounds fabulous!" purred Whitetail. She smiled at Breezepaw. "Crowfeather's challenging us."

Breezepaw lashed his tail behind him. "Bring it on!" he hissed playfully, crouching down and wiggling his hindquarters.

Crowfeather smirked. "Breezepaw, Heatherpaw, I'm setting you up to a hunting contest. Whoever can catch the most prey by moonhigh wins."

"Moonhigh?" Whitetail echoed. "Isn't that a little long?"

Heatherpaw's paws tingled. Crowfeather was giving her time to visit Lionpaw! "Of course not, Whitetail!" Breezepaw broke in. "That way we get more prey for the Clan."

"And whoever wins," Crowfeather mewed mischievously, "gets their mentor to do their apprentice duties for two days straight."

"Really, Crowfeather?" Heatherpaw teased. "I thought you grew out of those."

"I should be getting ready, then," Crowfeather purred. "You're not going to lose, are you?"

"Of course I'm not going to lose, Crowfeather!" Heatherpaw assured her mentor. "I'll beat Breezepaw by ten fox-lengths!"

Breezepaw's eyes twinkled with competition. "Oh really?" he asked, his voice edged with a challenge. "Let's see if you live up to that promise!"

Crowfeather nodded. "And the challenge is on!"

The two apprentices took off across the moorland, Heatherpaw bounding for the RiverClan border. She would visit the ThunderClan border when it was time to see Lionpaw. Smoky blue eyes raised to the sky and prayed for good hunting. Then Heatherpaw dropped to the ground and stalked a field mouse, getting closer and closer…

With a swift pounce, the mouse was dead. Heatherpaw was extremely proud of herself. Her first catch of the contest! She buried the mouse and scouted for other prey- it was going to be a long time until sunset.

***

At last, Heatherpaw had brought her final piece of prey to Crowfeather before sunset fell. She and Breezepaw agreed to swap hunting spots, and Crowfeather leaned down to murmur in Heatherpaw's ear, "good luck. And don't get caught."

"I won't," promised Heatherpaw. She smiled and raced for the Moonpool. She couldn’t believe that she was pulling this off! Good old Crowfeather, she thought, always thinking of something.

The young apprentice slowed down as she reached the border. She followed the stream all the way to the Moonpool, and gaped at it in awe. She had been here only once, when she had taken the trip with Crowfeather, and the beauty of the sunset reflected in the pool left her breathless.

"Enjoying the view?" a voice asked her, and she caught a flash of golden fur out of the corner of her eye. She laughed and batted Lionpaw's ear playfully.

"It's very pretty, isn't it?" she breathed, staring at the Moonpool again.

Lionpaw purred. "Not as pretty as you."

Heatherpaw's fur flushed with heat. "Lionpaw, I thought you were above silly compliments," she murmured in embarrassment.

"It's true," insisted Lionpaw, sitting down and wrapping his tail around his paws. "Well, how are things in WindClan?"

"They're okay," sighed Heatherpaw. "The whole camp is kind of tense, especially Onestar. He's pretty frustrated." She lashed her tail back and forth uneasily. "What about you?"

"I'm on punishment for talking back to my father," mewed Lionpaw. "I'm helping Leafpool gather some herbs right now. She said that she wanted me to see you tonight."

This didn't come as a surprise to Heatherpaw. If Crowfeather knew about them being together, why shouldn't Leafpool? As long as it was only Leafpool that knew, then she was okay with it. "Where is she now?"

"I'm here," purred Leafpool, standing on the rock overlooking the Moonpool. The small stream trickled into the pool beside her, and it nearly cut out her words.

"Hello, Leafpool," greeted Heatherpaw, leaping up to touch noses with the medicine cat. "I'm sure you know that Crowfeather knows about us, too?"

Leafpool nodded. "I do," she replied, her voice a little stiff.

Lionpaw tilted his head. "Leafpool, I've never got the chance to ask you- what happened between you and Crowfeather?"

The ThunderClan medicine cat tensed, and Heatherpaw inferred that this was a subject that Leafpool didn't like to talk about. "Well," the brown tabby mewed, "a while ago, before either of you were born, when the Clans first came to the lake, I fell in love with Crowfeather. It took a while for either of us to realize it at first, but when Mudclaw rebelled against Onestar, I almost fell off a cliff, but Crowfeather saved me. He confessed his feelings and I returned them."

Heatherpaw's eyes widened. "He never told me about that!" she meowed.

"He's got a good reason not to," Leafpool replied. "We ran off together once, but I insisted on coming back when the badgers attacked ThunderClan. After that, we didn't really speak to each other, and Crowfeather became his normal self- ignorant of the past."

No one spoke for a few moments. There wasn't anything to say. Finally, Heatherpaw spoke up. "Lionpaw, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh yeah, that," muttered Lionpaw, his tail tip flicking back and forth across the stony ground. "We can't keep on meeting each other like this," he admitted. "I still do want to be with you, Heatherpaw, but eventually our Clans will find out about… about… us."

Heatherpaw nodded curtly. "I agree, Lionpaw. But what else will we do? Our Clans are at war with each other; how can it work out that easily?"

Lionpaw glanced over at Leafpool. "Do you think we could… run away; like Leafpool and Crowfeather did?"

The ThunderClan medicine cat hissed. "Lionpaw, I know it'll never work. I've tried it before."

Both of the apprentices were looking at Leafpool now. Heatherpaw could see pain swirling in her eyes, and she frowned. "Leafpool, it's the only way for Lionpaw and I to be together."

"I don't want you risking your life!" Leafpool protested. "You're only apprentices; who knows what's out there in the moors beyond our territories? There's a reason that the Clans don't go out there, you know."

"Yeah, because they're too chicken," Lionpaw snorted.

Heatherpaw sighed as the sun dropped further down into the horizon. "I'm sorry, Lionpaw, I've got to go," she apologized. "I'll see you soon, if everything works out." As Heatherpaw walked away, she glanced back over her shoulder several times to make sure that it hadn’t been just a dream- no, a nightmare.

And it hadn't been. The nightmare was real.

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 13

Lionpaw and Leafpool returned to the ThunderClan camp just before moonhigh. The whole camp was still as a fallen leaf, and Lionpaw bid goodnight to Leafpool before ducking into the apprentice's den. He took his spot next to Hollypaw and lay down as quietly as possible.

"Lionpaw, why were you out so late?" a voice whispered in his ear. It was Hollypaw. Lionpaw flipped over to face his sister, staring straight into her bright green eyes.

"I was out collecting herbs with Leafpool," he replied. "I got a punishment from Firestar earlier. Why do you think Jaypaw was hanging around camp all day yawning?" He smiled.

Hollypaw nodded, or at least Lionpaw thought she nodded. It was hard to see in this light. "Say, Lionpaw, you seem stressed. Why is that?"

"I've only tried to go to sleep just now," Lionpaw lied. "Of course I'm stressed; I've been working all day."

"If you say so, Lionpaw," Hollypaw murmured. She rolled over and eased her breathing, falling back asleep quickly.

The same was not so for Lionpaw. He was up half the night thinking about Heatherpaw, and when the sun rose, he stumbled out of the apprentice's den, tripping over his own paws. His heavy eyelids drooped, clouding his vision with sleep. His mind whirled; he had come to a conclusion at last.

"Are you all right?" Poppypaw asked him. Her amber eyes shone with friendship. "You look really tired."

"I didn't get much sleep," Lionpaw grumbled. He spread his jaws wide in a gaping yawn, his teeth flashing brightly in the early morning sun. "I have to speak to Firestar."

Poppypaw tilted her head in confusion. "What do you need to talk to Firestar for?"

Lionpaw smiled. "You'll see," he promised, slipping into his grandfather's den. Firestar raised his head as Lionpaw entered. "Firestar, I have to talk to you about something."

Firestar smiled. "Of course," he purred, luring Lionpaw closer with his tail. "You can tell me about anything you wish."

"Well, I…" Lionpaw was starting to get nervous. Was this really such a good idea? "I wanted to give a request."

"A request?" Firestar asked. "What is your request?"

Shuffling his paws uneasily, Lionpaw answered, "you need to take a patrol over the border. I have something to confess to WindClan."

***

Heatherpaw had lost to Breezepaw by just a couple of pieces of prey. She sighed. It looked like Crowfeather wouldn't be doing her apprentice duties for two days. Her mentor flicked a tail across her nose and whispered, "you got to speak to him, right?"

"Yes, Crowfeather," Heatherpaw replied. "I did. And we discussed some things."

Crowfeather nodded. "Let's talk about it," he suggested, motioning for his apprentice to follow him out of camp. Heatherpaw padded behind until the pair reached a cliff on the moorland overlooking the lake. "So, what did you discuss?"

"Leafpool was there," Heatherpaw reported, "and she told us both about you and her."

"Will she ever give that up?" Crowfeather hissed. He was annoyed by the mention of his relationship with Leafpool.

The light brown-pelted apprentice frowned. "She really loved you, Crowfeather. And you loved her for a time, right?"

Crowfeather bowed his head. "Yes," he answered slowly. "I did. But that was then, Heatherpaw; I don't love her anymore."

"It's only because you can't love her due to Clan boundaries, I'm guessing."

A pair of striking blue eyes glared over at her. "That's not it," he tried to defend himself. "Really, that's not it, Heatherpaw."

Heatherpaw smirked. "Oh really?"

Sighing, Crowfeather continued, "what else did you talk about?"

"Well, after Leafpool told us about you and her, Lionpaw suggested that we run away, just like you did," Heatherpaw told him. "I think it's a good idea."

"Run away?" Crowfeather asked in disbelief. "Heatherpaw, when Leafpool and I ran away, we thought it would work out, we truly did. Eventually, though, loyalty to our Clans overcame our love for each other. When we came back for the fight with the badgers, we couldn't possibly leave again."

"It'll be different for us!" insisted Heatherpaw. "Lionpaw and I will do fine out there."

Crowfeather shook his head. "You're only apprentices," he snarled. "I don't want either of you getting hurt."

"That's what Leafpool said, too."

"Can we stop talking about Leafpool, please?"

Heatherpaw sighed. "Crowfeather, I really think that this is the best thing for me and Lionpaw. If you don't think so, fine. You still can't convince me to stay."

"Well, I hope you know what you're getting into," mewed Crowfeather. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Is that Firestar?" His voice was full of disbelief.

And sure enough, Firestar, flanked by a large ThunderClan patrol, was making his way across the moors.

***

Lionpaw felt uncomfortable in the WindClan camp. He had curtly greeted Heatherpaw before standing next to Firestar once more. "Onestar, I have come here for a good reason," the ThunderClan leader explained.

"Well then, what is it?" Onestar snapped, aggravated by the intruders.

"Lionpaw has something to confess," Firestar stated loudly. Cats from both Clans fell silent.

Fox-dung! thought Lionpaw. He trembled like a leaf, suddenly feeling weak and small. Onestar flicked his tail, inviting him onto the Tallrock. What have I gotten myself into?

All the WindClan cats were staring at him, as well as the ThunderClan cats. There stood Leafpool, Poppypaw, Jaypaw, Hollypaw, Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw, Ashfur, Brackenfur, Thornclaw, and Firestar, all eager for him to speak his mind.

"C'mon, Lionpaw, we haven't got all day," scoffed Breezepaw.

Exhaling loudly, Lionpaw opened his mouth to speak, knowing that the next words that came out of it would decide his destiny.

[Lightningstar]

Chapter 14

"I love Heatherpaw."

It was amazing how much impact those three little words had on the Clan cats. Poppypaw and Breezepaw both cried out "What?!" at the same time, and Hollypaw and Jaypaw glanced at each other nervously. The WindClan cats were outraged, and the ThunderClan cats were all surprised, except for Leafpool. She was smiling, a look of pride for her nephew plastered across her face.

Heatherpaw admired Lionpaw's bravery. She certainly wouldn't admit her love to ThunderClan so openly. She leaped up on the rock next to him and the two apprentices touched noses delicately. Heatherpaw smiled down at her mentor, who was sitting a little closer to Leafpool now.

"I love you too," she admitted, her voice strong despite all her doubts. "I'll always love you."

Breezepaw called out in protest. "You're in separate Clans!" he challenged them. "You can never be together!"

Onestar and Firestar met gazes at the base of the Tallrock. "Well, Onestar?" Firestar meowed calmly.

"Breezepaw is right," Onestar snarled. "Heatherpaw and Lionpaw will never be together."

"It's not in your position to choose the future of another cat," Firestar retorted. "Only StarClan may do that. And StarClan has willed these two to be together."

Shouts of protest rose around the clearing, mostly from WindClan. Onestar narrowed his eyes. "Who are you to try and understand the will of StarClan?"

Leafpool stepped forward, Crowfeather at her side. "I received a sign from StarClan," she explained, "just a couple of nights before the last Gathering. Thunder and Wind shall collide again, all because of Golden Heather."

Heatherpaw shivered. There had been a prophecy about them? She wished she had known this earlier.

"But later," continued Leafpool, "just last night, I had another dream. The second of the prophecy was revealed to me- may it be through rain, snow, or wrath of the Clans, the Golden Heather will still grow strong beyond the boundaries of all that is common."

"Beyond the boundaries?" echoed Firestar. "But that means that…"

Lionpaw and Heatherpaw crowded together in fear. They had both analyzed the meaning of the final prophecy. It was up to Firestar and Onestar now.

"Yes," Crowfeather announced sadly, "it means that we must exile them." He looked sadly at Leafpool, who returned his gaze. Then he stared up at Heatherpaw pitifully. "I'm sorry."

The air crackled with tension, and finally Heatherpaw nodded, smiling. "I won't forget you, Crowfeather," she purred. She pressed closer to Lionpaw, her heart soaring.

Firestar jumped up beside them, and Onestar followed. "Before they go," the ginger tom announced, "I think that we should give them what they deserve- warrior names."

"Yes!" agreed the ThunderClan apprentices that were present. Ashfur and Crowfeather both nodded in agreement, and Leafpool mewed, "they're both worthy."

"Then so be it," Onestar replied, lashing his tail. His gaze had softened a bit; he was getting emotional all of a sudden, and so was every other cat in the camp. "Crowfeather, do you, in letting go of your apprentice, accept her warriorship?"

"I do." Crowfeather couldn't have been prouder.

"And Ashfur," Firestar questioned, "do you, in letting go of your apprentice, accept his warriorship?"

"I do." Ashfur's voice was bursting with sadness as he spoke.

Onestar and Firestar looked at each other before Onestar spoke. "StarClan, we ask you to look down on these two apprentices. They are leaving us for something more, something bigger, and we ask you to protect them under their warrior names." He raised his head to the cloud-dappled sky.

"Lionpaw, Heatherpaw, do you accept you warrior names as a sign of your new lives?" Firestar asked.

"I do," the two agreed in unison. It was the most important question of their life, but they both answered without hesitation.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, we give you your warrior names," Onestar proclaimed. "Heatherpaw, from this day on, you shall be known as Heathergaze. We recognize you for your kindness and devotion, and we hope that you will live your life to its full extent."

"And Lionpaw, from this day on you shall be known as Lionclaw," Firestar told his grandson. "We recognize you for your bravery and loyalty, and we hope that life will be kind to you and Heathergaze." He touched his nose to Lionclaw's forehead as the former apprentice licked his shoulder respectively. Onestar and Heathergaze mirrored them.

The clearing filled with shouting cats. "Lionclaw! Heathergaze! Lionclaw! Heathergaze!" Leafpool and Crowfeather were cheering the loudest. They met gazes peacefully, instant friendship forming between them again.

Lionclaw and Heathergaze jumped off of the Tallrock and snaked through the crowd, exiting the WindClan camp. The rest of the cats followed them, stretched across the moors as they watched the two walk peacefully away, tails intertwined.

"They'll be all right," Leafpool murmured to Crowfeather. "And I suppose we will too." She smiled.

Crowfeather smiled back. "I suppose so." He sat down next to Leafpool, glad to have his friendship back.

In the distance, the two new warriors were finally free, pushing away their fears. Where they were going, they didn't know. But that didn't matter anymore. They had each other now, and that was all they would ever need.