Paws Of Stars book #1: Rising Tides

Chapter 20

Lionpaw awoke to the now familiar scent of decaying leaves. The thick fog blanketing the forest floor made it seem even darker than it already was with the impenetrable barrier of trees. For once, Tigerstar didn't seem to be around. "Hello?" He called.

His cry echoed out through the trees, bouncing back and quieting for several heartbeats before it faded into silence.

Where could he be? Lionpaw thought, straining his eyes to look as far as he could. Come to think of it, where was anyone? In all the nights he and Tigerstar had trained, he had never seen another cat here. Well, if he's not here... Lionpaw stepped out of the clearing, picking up speed as he raced through the forest. The trees flashed by him as the paths diverged and disappeared. It wasn't an easy place to navigate, but he didn't have anywhere specific to be. He just wanted to find someone.

"Are you lost?" A voice sounded from behind Lionpaw. He thought for a moment it was Tigerstar but it was too high pitched to be him, and as Lionpaw turned around the tom who faced him had blue eyes instead of amber.

Lionpaw surveyed the tom. He was a brown tabby like Tigerstar, and had a similar build, but this definitely wasn't his mentor. "Who are you?" He asked.

The tabby tom narrowed his eyes. "I don't answer to you. But you are going to answer my question now. Are you lost?"

"Why would I be lost? I was just exploring." Lionpaw growled, puffing up his chest. This cat was acting like he was a wandering kit. He was invited to be here. But a thought struck him. Was Lionpaw even allowed to be in this place, or had Tigerstar snuck him in?

The tom looked put off for a moment by his words. "I didn't call..." but as he trailed off he shook his head and locked his gaze back on Lionpaw. "Why did you come here?" He growled.

"I was looking for someone." Lionpaw raised his head to match his adversary. He hadn't realized how much he had filled out, standing next to a massive tom like Tigerstar, but next to this cat he looked almost full grown.

"Who?"

Lionpaw wondered if he should say. Would this cat even know Tigerstar if he tried to explain? He shook the thought away. They lived in the same place, and Lionpaw did need to find him. "Tigerstar."

Immediately the tabby's frosty blue eyes widened and he took a step back. "T-Ti..." He trailed off, jerking his head around the clearing to look in every direction. And, as if called by name, from behind the tom came his imposing brown mentor.

"Lionpaw." Tigerstar's deep voice resonated as he stepped past the other tabby and up to his apprentice. "What are you doing here?"

What was he talking about? "I came in for training and you weren't there!" Lionpaw wasn't going to be blamed for Tigerstar's absence. "When I went looking for you I found this tom."

Tigerstar finally looked back at the cat he had walked past. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the other cat and it seemed he was staring back. Do they know each other? They must. A moment of silence passed before Tigerstar turned back to him. "Well it seems you've done something right," he meowed, going to stand beside Hawkfrost. "Lionpaw, this is Hawkfrost, my son."

His son? "But I thought that was Brambleclaw!" Hawkfrost was that Riverclan cat who died on Thunderclan territory.

Tigerstar dipped his head. "Your father is one of my sons, but not the only one. Unfortunately my other son didn't live to see your birth." Tigerstar had a son in Riverclan? Lionpaw had never heard about Hawkfrost coming from Thunderclan, or even Shadowclan originally. But maybe that was why he died on Thunderclan territory!

"Then why are you surprised?" Lionpaw asked Hawkfrost. "Didn't Tigerstar tell you about me?" Did Tigerstar do this for so many apprentices he'd forgotten to mention Lionpaw? Maybe he wasn't the special apprentice he thought he was.