Warriors: Tigertail's Destiny DISCONTINUED

Chapter 17

Tigerpaw's eyes blinked open. The voice of Iceecho whispered one last thing in her head.

Don't tell anyone...

Funny. She'd just been thinking about telling someone. She really wanted to...But would it be worth it to not be trained with a cat from ancient times? Definitely not. Tigerpaw would keep her mouth closed.

Just then, Ashfur padded in with a blackbird in his jaws.

"Good morning!" She mewed, delighted he'd come to see her.

"Morning," he replied, dropping the bird for her. "How've you been?"

"Better." She meowed, taking a bite. "Yourself?"

Ashfur shrugged, sitting down. "Things around camp have been normal. Preparations for the battle are being made. It's boring."

Tigerpaw yawned. "It's been even more boring in here."

Cloudnight suddenly meowed from the herb stores. "The medicine den is where gossip travels quickly. You'll be up to date on the happenings in the Clan."

Ashfur and Tigerpaw looked at each other. Then they looked back at where Cloudnight apparently was.

"Carry on with your talking, don't let me bother you."

Ashfur stood up. "I'd better be going. You know, apprentice training and stuff."

Tigerpaw nodded sadly. "Yeah. See you."

He padded out of the den and Tigerpaw slowly ate the rest of the bird. She was vaguely aware of Cloudnight coming over to her.

"Tigerpaw, would you be up to walking today?"

Tigerpaw eagerly looked up and nodded. "Yes!!"

Cloudnight purred. "Then come on."

Tigerpaw slowly stood up, sharp pain shooting through her injured leg. She blinked and tried not to show how much it hurt. She gingerly took a step forward. Tigerpaw felt pain again, but not nearly as bad. By the time she'd gotten into the clearing, she was used to the pain and it wasn't nearly as bad.

Some members of the Clan smiled and dipped their heads in acknowledgement as she slowly made her way to the fresh-kill pile.

She sat down in relief as soon as she reached the fresh-kill pile. Bluepaw and Firpaw were sharing a rat. Bluepaw waved her tail in greeting.

"Tigerpaw! Great to see you up and walking. How's your leg?" Bluepaw questioned.

Tigerpaw smiled. "It feels better. How've you been?"

Bluepaw dipped her head. "Good. You've had quite a lot of visitors. I know quite a few other apprentices would've loved to come see you, but everyone has been so busy preparing for the battle..."

"Ashfur told me that-"

Tigerpaw was cut off as a patrol thundered into camp. They all looked furious. The leader, Leafstem, ran straight to Blackstar. The rest of his patrol -Ratpaw, Skyshimmer, Tickpaw, and Ashflower- milled around the entrance.

"Blackstar!" Leafstem yowled. "ThunderClan crossed the border again! This time almost to the broken oak!"

Blackstar's eyes narrowed. "If it happens again before the battle date, I'm leading a patrol to talk with him. We cannot let ThunderClan get the better of us. We will show them who ShadowClan is!"

Most of the Clan had been listening, and they all cheered. The few that weren't came out of their dens and asked what had happened.

Blackpaw came out of his den and questioned. "Huh?" He meowed blearily, eyes half closed against the bright morning sunlight.

Bluepaw and Tigerpaw laughed.

"ThunderClan trespassed again. Far as the broken oak. Blackstar says if they do it again before the battle date, he's leading a patrol to talk with him."

Blackpaw yawned, then realized who'd just replied to his question. "Tigerpaw!" He meowed, suddenly wide awake. "You walked out here!"

"Great observation." Tigerpaw purred.

He ran over to her and purred. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I can walk now, obviously." Tigerpaw meowed, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Blackpaw bounced up and down. "So you'll be coming to the battle?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "No. Cloudnight won't allow me to go."

Blackpaw's tail drooped. "Aw! But it would be your first battle."

Tigerpaw nodded. "I was so excited..."

Then Marshfur padded over. "Bluepaw, we need to get training. Blackpaw does as well. C'mon."

Bluepaw looked from Firpaw to Tigerpaw. "Sorry, I have to go. C'mon Blackpaw!"

They hurried off after Marshfur.

Tigerpaw felt a tail rest on her shoulder and she turned to find Cloudnight standing there. Cloudnight smiled at Tigerpaw as she looked at her.

"Being hurt is hard, especially right before a battle, but you'll get better. They're just busy preparing. I promise it would be different if it wasn't before a battle. Now, I'm sure you're tired. You should be getting back to the medicine den."

Tigerpaw nodded. Her legs and eyes felt like the ground was pulling on them. She slowly padded back to the medicine den, too tired to register the pain of her leg. She stumbled into her nest and curled up, eyes closing instantly and falling into a deep sleep.

She opened her eyes to the forest again. Iceecho was teaching two cats. One was small and white, the form of a RiverClan cat. The she-cat had misty, blue eyes, and moved with grace. The other was black and white and was stocky. This tom had hazel eyes. None of them noticed her and she got the feeling she wasn't supposed to be seeing this.

Iceecho demonstrated a move and the two cats copied her. Tigerpaw raised a paw to walk into the clearing, but the she-cat turned her way and Tigerpaw shrank back farther into the bushes. The she-cat blinked, then turned back to Iceecho. This time Tigerpaw did not move to the clearing. She felt it'd be best to stay hidden...

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A/N: I'm so sorry for the lack of updates and the short chapter! I'm just so busy these days...Forgive me? And please do the media for me! :-)
-Shadow