The Barn Cat

Chapter Fifteen

Panting, Palepaw sat outside the barn. She turned, panic flared through her when she realized Ivypaw wasn't behind her anymore. However, once he came charging through those bushes, she let herself fall to the ground. Ivypaw padded up to her, "are you okay?" Palepaw nodded, "yes. What was that?" Ivypaw shook his head, "I don't know." "Is that why you left?" Palepaw got to her paws. Fear had taken over her body from the two cats, but as she stared at Ivypaw for a bit, the anger came back, mixing the two emotions together. Ivypaw shook out his pelt, his gaze growing hard instead of scared. "No." "Then why did you leave?" Palepaw's mew was a quiet hiss. Ivypaw looked at her in disbelief, "you're really wanting to fight with me again about this after what we just saw? We need to wake the others and tell them what's happening!" Palepaw blocked his path when Ivypaw tried to walk inside the barn, "not until you talk."

Now Ivypaw's eyes had anger growing in them. "Seriously Palepaw? Why are you so stuck about this?" "Because you are being rude to Hawk and me! I want to know why!" Palepaw hissed. "I'm not being rude," Ivypaw growled, keeping his voice low. "You were ignoring Hawk all day, even when he offered to help you catch the rabbit." "I didn't need help," Ivypaw argued. "How come you didn't come sleep by me?" Palepaw asked, her mew hard. "How could I? Hawk was there," Ivypaw growled, "Hawk is everywhere with you. You never just want to hang out with me anymore, it's always Hawk." Shock overcame Palepaw, "so what if I am hanging out with Hawk too? He's a good friend." "Because I'm jealous Palepaw!" Ivypaw hissed under his breath, hurt and anger flaring all through his eyes, "I'm jealous because you like him more than you like me." Palepaw felt herself relax, "I never said that." "You replaced me," Ivypaw's mew was barely a whisper now, and it was cracking. Guilt overcame Palepaw, "Ivypaw, I never meant it that way. I.. I'm so sorry." Ivypaw shook out his fur, then turned to stare Palepaw in the eyes, his sadness crushing her. "I liked you, Palepaw. I really did. I really do. But you like Hawk. You chose him over me when I thought you liked me back. Of course I am going to be cold to him, he took you from me." Ivypaw shook his head, and Palepaw turned her gaze to her paws. "Ivypaw, I do like you," Palepaw whispered. "No, you don't. You like Hawk." His mew was firm now. "I'm going to wake Leafstride, Mistfoot, and Brightshade. You go back to sleep, I'll explain everything to them." Palepaw shot her gaze up, but it was too late, he was already walking past her into the barn.

Palepaw padded into the barn, watching Ivypaw wake up Brightshade and seeing that he had already awoken Mistfoot. She glanced over at Hawk, who was still sound asleep next to her nest. Maybe she did replace Ivypaw, and she didn't even realize it. Guilt tugged at her heart, she really does like Ivypaw, what happened that made her lose those feelings? Did she not like him anymore? She stared at the black tom as he finally started padding up the ladder to wake Courage and Night. A warm sensation creeped into her, she definitely still liked him. She turned her gaze back to Hawk, and the same sensation filled her stomach. Does she like both of them? That's impossible. You're only supposed to like one cat. She shook out her fur and padded over to join the awaken cats climbing the ladder. Once she climbed the top she saw worried and focussed gazes on Ivypaw. "You were there too Palepaw? What did you hear?" The tallest cat asked, his mew was hard and cold, and his white spot on his black chest could barely be seen in the pitch black of the barn. "Oh, um," she sent a glance to Ivypaw, who's gaze was unreadable. "Well, I heard one of them asking if 'he' was ready to attack the barn cats." Night swished his tail, even though he was the tallest of the cats here, Palepaw was still amazed by how Courage looked exactly like his father, just shorter.

"This is unacceptable. Why would they want to attack us?" Night growled. "Maybe this is the reason we need each other," Leafstride mewed calmy. "What do you mean need each other?" Night's mew was angry now. The clan cats glanced at each other, and Courage shifted his paws uneasily. "Courage," Mistfoot's mew was on the verge of a growl, "you didn't tell Night?" "Tell me what?" Night's gaze flashed over to his son. "I had a dream of these cats. It said that we need them and they need us if we want to survive," Courage's mew was calm, but he had uncertainty in his eyes. Night's eyes filled with rage, "and you didn't think to share this with your leader? You're father?" Mistfoot got on her paws, glaring at the two toms. "It doesn't matter if he told you or not, now you know and now we have to figure out what to do about these cats." Night sat back down, his gaze burning against Mistfoot. The gray-blue she-cat stood her ground until Courage followed after his father, then she slowly sat back down as if testing to see if either of them would get back up. "Good," she was satisfied, "now, what did they look like?" Her gaze flickered from Palepaw to Ivypaw. Ivypaw closed his eyes, and Palepaw watched as he tried to concentrate. "I don't remember what they looked like, I was just so.." She couldn't find the word. "Scared," Leafstride found it for her.

"There was a she-cat and a tom," Ivypaw's mew made her jump, it had gone quiet after Leafstride finished her sentence, and the young tom's mew was loud enough to give her a scare. "The she-cat was a gray bengal," Ivypaw continued, "and the tom was very large. Like, he was bigger than Brightshade." Palepaw watched Brightshade's muscles stiffen, he was the largest cat here, how could someone be larger than him? "What did the tom look like?" Night pushed Ivypaw. "Gray. All gray except for his black paws and ears. Oh! And he had a really long scar down the side of his back. His right side." Palepaw stared at the black apprentice in amazement. How could he remember all that after what they had to remember from them saying? Leafstride started nodding his head, "okay, we know what they look like." "And when they come around," Brightshade added. "What if we stand guard?" Mistfoot suggested. "Stand guard?" Night repeated, "that could work for a bit." "Unless they attack tonight," Courage nodded toward Ivypaw, "they saw you run away, right?" Ivypaw nodded, "they heard us at least." "Then they know we know about them wanting to attack our tribe," Courage retorted, "so they might plan to attack tonight." Brightshade grunted, "what's their problem with you guys anyway?" Courage shrugged. "Everyone wants some power," Night crossed his eyes, "they want to kill us for the power to lead."

"Well, I say we should keep guard for a few nights, and if anyone sees anything, immediately wake Courage and Night, and they can warn the others," Brightshade's mew was firm, this was an order, not a suggestion. Night dipped his head to the big tom, "I agree with you. I'll have guards outside the barn, two of them, just to watch and make sure everything is fine." "Extra patrols might be a good idea too," Leafstride suggested, "maybe we could catch their scents and follow where they go." Night nodded thoughtfully, "that too. For now, we sleep. I'll keep guard tonight." "I'll join you," Brightshade got to his paws. Night nodded, his whiskers twitching with satisfaction, "they rest of you go to sleep. We have a lot to discuss tomorrow." Palepaw dipped her head to Night, as well as the others, and turned to pad down the ladder after Leafstride. Once she got to the bottom she turned to walk back to her nest and paused. She turned to face Ivypaw, but he was walking over to a corner of the barn where no other cat was. Palepaw felt herself get overwhelmed with guilt as she watched him lay his head in the hay and cover his nose with his black tail. She wanted nothing more than to go lay next to him and feel his warmth, but she knew he didn't want that right now, so she padded back over to Hawk and laid down next to him, letting blackness surround her back into a deep sleep.