Chapter Text
Lionpaw stalked through the woods after his fight with Ashfur. Although he talked to Brambleclaw about it he wasn't in the mood to face any of his Clanmates. He felt almost bad for harming his mentor in such a fight, yet he didn't think much of it at the time. It felt like Ashfur wanted him to get hurt. He's just trying to make me a good warrior. Lionpaw thought with a dismissive shrug. I don't have a right to judge him. He's trying to make me stronger. I've slacked off ever since I met Heatherpaw. The thought made him let out a sigh. He walked through ThunderClan territory until he reached the edge of the lake, where he sat down and pulled his tail close to him.
How was I ever foolish enough to make nice with a WindClan cat when my Clanmates need me? Lionpaw wondered as he stared blankly at the lake water lapping at the shore. But for some reason he couldn't push away his feelings for Heatherpaw. Although he had left her alone in the tunnels and vowed to never meet with her again silently in his own mind, he couldn't forget how much fun he had with the tabby she-cat, as well as the stuff they survived together when saving the kits from the flooded tunnels below the Clan territories.
Lionpaw heard a yowl of laughter and he jerked his head to the right, his fur standing on end. He recognized the voice of Heatherpaw. He was not too far from the WindClan border. I have to ignore it! He told himself, angry that he had allowed himself to feel any emotion for the she-cat's laughing voice. He stood up and stalked over in the direction of her laughter, deciding to make sure she wasn't on ThunderClan land.I sure hope she doesn't think she can just barge onto out territory whenever she feels like it just because I was her friend once. He thought with bristling fur.
The light brown she-cat was sitting with Breezepaw by the stream that marked the WindClan border. She was splashing water with her paws while Breezepaw watched, baffled.
"This is much better than messing with dogs, isn't it?" Heatherpaw meowed to Breezepaw.
Breezepaw grunted and gave his tail a sharp flick. "Hmph. If we had gone to fight the dogs on our territory at least we'd be certain our Clanmates are safe."
"Leave that to the warriors." Heatherpaw said softly. Almost so softly that Lionpaw had to lean forward to hear what she had said. "You'll get into trouble if you run around putting yourself in danger."
Neither cat noticed Lionpaw, so he slid back into the trees to catch his breath. Heatherpaw and Breezepaw...they're...are they flirting? He wondered with a pang of sorrow and even anger. Why was he angry? He left Heatherpaw so that he could be a better warrior to his Clan, didn't he? Yet there was something painful about seeing her getting so cozy with the ornery black tom. He wasn't sure why but he felt like the pretty she-cat had betrayed him in some way.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Lionpaw turned to run through the woods when a soft voice called out to him. "Lionpaw?"
Lionpaw whirled around to see Heatherpaw standing only a few tail-lengths away from him now. He guessed she had leaped over the stream. Her blue eyes were soft as she gazed at him.
"What are you doing on our side of the border?" Growled Lionpaw as he faced her. Looking past her he saw that Breezepaw was nowhere to be seen. "And where is Breezepaw? How did you know I was here?"
"The wind is blowing in our direction and I smelled you." Heatherpaw explained. Her voice was just as soft as usual, as was her gentle blue gaze. "Breezepaw went back to camp. I told him to go because I wanted to go for a hunt by myself. I caught your scent so I came to see if you were nearby. And you were."
"This is ThunderClan territory." Lionpaw said with an anxious glance over his shoulder to make sure none of his Clanmates caught him with Heatherpaw. "You can't just come here whenever you please." When he looked back at Heatherpaw he saw that there was hurt in her eyes. She looked down at her feet.
"I just want to see you again, okay?" She whispered. "I'm sorry, Lionpaw, but you mean so so much to me. Can't we still be friends?"
Lionpaw didn't know what to say. He felt torn between doing what was best for his Clan and doing...anything for the cat he had met in secret for many days. "I...I'll see you at the next Gathering, alright?" He started backing away. "Just...go back onto your territory. We'll talk more then, alright?" He mumbled, feeling dizzy with emotion.
"Of course." Heatherpaw said. She turned and went back to her territory, waving her tail in a friendly fairwell. Then Lionpaw ran as fast as he could back to ThunderClan camp.