Chapter Text
It was a cold leaf-fall night. The stars of silverpelt twinkled overhead, and the full moon shone around the clearing. The four clans were meeting at Four trees for the annual full moon gathering. Longtail sat with his friends. He looked up at the Great Rock, waiting for the gathering to begin. Bluestar was sitting beside the other clan leaders, her blue-gray pelt blending in with the stone of the Great Rock. Turning away from the Great Rock, Longtail looked around the clearing. He saw a group of young warriors sitting nearby. One of them was Fireheart. Longtail found himself staring at the orange warrior. Shaking his head, he looked back at the Great Rock. But he kept glancing at the former kittypet.
Fireheart had once been a kittypet, but decided to join Thunderclan (or more, Bluestar asked him to). When Fireheart joined the clan, Longtail had fought with him. He had been protesting against Fireheart joining the clan, when the little kittypet attacked him. He left Longtail with a cut on his ear. Longtail had hated him for the longest time, but, for some reason, he found himself watching Fireheart often. Or he would find himself being excited to be on patrol with him. Longtail hated the feeling, especially since all his friends hated Fireheart also. And Fireheart and Sandstorm were already so close.
Longtail was pulled back to reality when he heard Bluestar yowling to start the gathering. He turned to look at his leader. He saw Tigerclaw sitting at the bottom of the Great Rock with the rest of the deputies. "To start this gathering, we have some good news, we have a new warrior," Bluestar said. Longtail didn't hear the rest. He found himself staring at Fireheart again. "Get it together, Longtail!" He hissed to himself. He tried to pay attention to the gathering, but he couldn't stop looking at Fireheart, with his stupid tabby orange pelt and his green eyes. . .
"Why do you keep staring at that Kittypet?" Dustpelt's mewed making Longtail jump. "Do you like him or something?" The brown warrior joked. "No! Of course not!" Longtail hissed. He gently cuffed Dustpelt around the ear. "Really? Are you lying?" Dustpelt continued. Longtail glared at him, but didn't reply. And as he tried to listen to the rest of the gathering, he told himself that he wasn't lying. But even he didn't know if he was.
+++
On the way back to camp, Fireheart and Graystripe walked nearby. They were talking about something that Longtail didn't hear all of. "Longtail! Were you even listening?" Darkstripe hissed. Longtail turned to look at his friends. Darkstripe and Tigerclaw both looked annoyed. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Longtail asked. "I asked if-" Tigerclaw began, but Bluestar interrupted. "Tigerclaw! Get over here!" She yowled. Tigerclaw glared at Longtail and padded off to Bluestar. Longtail felt himself grow hot with embarrassment. He cast a glance at Fireheart, watching him run with Graystripe by his side up into camp. Dustpelt followed his gaze.
"Why do I keep I seeing staring at Fireheart?" Dustpelt asked jokingly. Longtail tore his eyes from Fireheart. "I- I don't know," He lied. Dustpelt looked at him skeptically. Longtail sighed. Why couldn't Dustpelt believe him? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧? He thought. Longtail didn't want to think about it anymore, and tried to push his mind to the thought of getting sleep. He only now realized how exhausted he felt. He padded into camp, and followed Darkstripe and Dustpelt to the warriors den. Then, he took his spot by Tigerclaw's nest. He curled up, tail over his nose, and tried to sleep. But he couldn't.
Finally, Longtail decided to go hunting. He quietly snuck out of the warriors den and padded out of camp. "Where are you off to?" Whitestorm asked. He had been guarding camp. "Hunting. I can't sleep," Longtail explained. Whitestorm nodded in understanding. "Alright. Stay safe," he mewed after Longtail. He flicked his tail in acknowledgement, then plunged into the ferns. He walked aimlessly out into Thunderclan territory. Suddenly, he caught the smell of prey. It smelled of thrush. Longtail instinctively dropped into a hunter's crouch and followed the scent trail. He saw a flicker of brown feathers and leaped forward. He felt pinned the bird down and broke it's neck.
He buried the thrush and was about to move on, when someone said, "Good catch." Longtail whipped around. He saw an orange tabby sitting nearby. The first on his shoulders bristled. "Were you following me?!" Longtail growled. "No, I was out hunting, like you," Fireheart replied. The former kittypet met his eyes. Longtail stared into his green eyes. "I can take that back to camp for you," Fireheart suggested, breaking the silence. "Oh, uh, thanks," Longtail muttered briskly. He turned and went further into Thunderclan territory, desperate to escape the embarrassing moment. He couldn't believe he just stood there like an idiot.
The scent of mouse made him focus. He crouched and crept up on the creature. With a flash of pale fur, he pounced on mouse and quickly killed it. He picked it up in his jaws, then started back toward camp. While walking, he thought about Dustpelt. He seemed to be able to tell what Longtail was feeling, even though Longtail didn't know what he felt. He was deep in thought, so it scared him to hear a screeching bird, and an angry Fireheart. "Hey! I was trying to catch that!" The young warrior hissed. "Sorry, I was just. . . thinking," Longtail apologized. Fireheart's look softened. "Whatever," He glanced up at the setting moon, "we should probably go back to camp."
The two warriors picked up their catch and went back camp. Longtail was completely aware of how close to his flank Fireheart was. Their fur would brush occasionally. Whitestorm nodded to them as they entered camp. Dropping their catch on the fresh kill pile, Longtail re-entered the warriors den. He curled up in his nest again, and put his tail over his nose. He shut his eyes tightly and finally fell asleep.