The Barn Cat

Chapter Fourteen

Ivypaw padded outside of the barn, watching Leafstride and an orange tabby she-cat with white stomach and paws arrive together. The she-cat nodded to Ivypaw, then padded inside the barn. "How was exploring with Olive?" Leafstride asked, shifting his paws in a weird way. "It was fun." Ivypaw found himself to be telling the truth. He was nervous at first when he followed the strange she-cat around, but the more they talked and explored, the more relaxed he became, which allowed him to have a good time. "Who was the she-cat?" Ivypaw asked. Leafstride shook out his pelt, and Ivypaw had a feeling he had a weird interaction with her. "Flame," Leafstride answered smoothly, "she ran into me after Mistfoot left. Speaking of Mistfoot, have you seen her around?" Ivypaw shook his head, "I've been waiting here for Palepaw and Brightshade to come back from training." Ivypaw saw a flash of concern on Leafstride's face, but it was gone just as fast it came. "Okay, if you see her let her know I'm in the barn." Ivypaw nodded, "will do."

A few moments later Palepaw and Brightshade came padding through the trees, carrying two mice. Ivypaw felt a warmth flow through him as Palepaw gave him a friendly nod, and he felt his tummy turn when she let Brightshade take her mouse while she padded over to Ivypaw. "Hi Ivypaw," Palepaw's mew was warm and friendly as she spoke. "Hello. You went hunting today then?" Ivypaw asked. Palepaw nodded, "Brightshade said he still wanted me to train, especially in new grounds, I'll learn more." Ivypaw nodded, just staring at the she-cat made him happy, and he couldn't tell if this was a good or bad thing. "What did you do today?" Palepaw asked. "I explored the territory with a she-cat named Olive." Palepaw's gaze changed to one Ivypaw has never seen before, but it returned back to her sweet one in a matter of seconds. "Was it fun?" Ivypaw nodded, "their territory is just as large as a clan's would be, you'd think a clan cat planned it out for them!"

Palepaw's eyes were gleaming with happiness, and Ivypaw couldn't help but stare. He must have made her uncomfortable though, because she gave her chest a couple of swift licks and offered that they should go rest. Ivypaw agreed, although it saddened him knowing he wasn't going to hang out with her anymore today, and he had hoped they could stay up a bit longer to just talk. He turned to follow Palepaw as she pushed her way inside the barn, when out of the corner of his eye he saw Mistfoot padding into the camp, her tail dragging on the ground. Hesitation crept into Ivypaw's paws, not letting him walk into the barn. Instead, he trotted over to meet Mistfoot. "Hey," he mewed, stopping in front of the she-cat. "What?" Mistfoot's mew was hollow, sad sounding even. "You looked.." Ivypaw paused, looking for a word to not make her angry, "upset. I came to see if you were okay." Mistfoot raised her gaze, so her head was meeting Ivypaw's. Wow. Ivypaw didn't realize how much he had grown already on the trip. When they first left he was shorter than Mistfoot, and now they are nearly the same size.

"I'm fine," Mistfoot's mew was firm, and her gaze hardened. "You sure?" Ivypaw asked. Mistfoot's tailed swooshed behind her, "I said I am fine Ivypaw. Why aren't you asleep already? It's nearly moon-high." "Leafstride was asking if I saw you, so I decided I should wait and make sure you were okay." He hoped the she-cat couldn't see the lies in his face, althought this was half true. Finally she sighed, "let's just go sleep, okay?" Ivypaw nodded, turning and following the blue she-cat back to the barn. It's weird seeing Mistfoot like this. She always seem to be so defensive, and ready to fight. Right now she seemed like a kit trying to stand up for herself. Vulnerable. The two cats made it to the barn where nearly every cat was asleep. Without waiting to see where Mistfoot went off to, Ivypaw trotted over to a hay-pile where Palepaw was sleeping. he laid down next to her, and her eye opened, making Ivypaw jump. "Where were you?" Palepaw whispered. "Talking to Mistfoot," Ivypaw whispered back. Palepaw gave a slight nod, then tucked her head back in her paws, ready to sleep. Ivypaw did the same, closing his eyes and falling into a black darkness.

***

Ivypaw was running along a field with Jay, a tom his age who looked a lot like Mistfoot. The clan cats have been with the tribe for a while now, and they have all made their own friends. Ivypaw and Palepaw have made friends with all the 'young ones', which were the apprentice aged cats in the tribe. Brightshade became friends with many of the older cats, especially the leader, Night. Leafstride has been hanging out with an orange-tabby she-cat, Flame, everyday now. Even Mistfoot made a friend, Echo, the tribe's healer. "Ivypaw!" Ivypaw turned his gaze over to a light-gray, tabby she-cat. Ivypaw liked her name a lot. Silver Rain. It was weird. "What?" He called back. "Hurry! We're going hunting today!" Silver Rain called. Ivypaw hurriedly ran over to the group of young ones, his gaze meeting Palepaw's as he reached them. "We are going to Rabbit's Field," Flower mewed, her fluffy white pelt with gray striped spots shining in the sun. "How are we supposed to hunt there when your pelt will give us away?" Her sister, Olive, teased. "Just because you have a white pelt doesn't mean you can't hunt," Palepaw mewed, "it just means you're better because you have less of an advantage and you can still do it." Ivypaw watched her trot away, Flower at her heels. "Palepaw sure is something, isn't she?" Hawk, a brown tom with dark brown stripes and a lighter brown chest and front toes purred. Anger spiked in Ivypaw. "She's a clan cat, of course she is." His mew came out a little hostile, and he was fine with that. There was an energy in his chest, feeling like a rock. He turned to follow Palepaw and Flower away from the Bird's Tree, a weird tree Courage called that no one could hunt birds in. Did Hawk like Palepaw? Are they best friends? Does Palepaw like him? Ivypaw stopped in his tracks. Was he jealous of Hawk?