The Barn Cat

Chapter Seventeen

Leafstride got to his paws, stretching and glancing down at Flame who was still asleep. A warm bubbly feeling burned inside him whenever he looked at her, and he didn't care why. He was just happy that she felt the same to him. Or at least, he thinks she does. He padded outside the barn, letting the coolness of the fresh air blow into his fur. Cats were all around, some heading out in groups and others just walking around talking. The air was growing colder and colder, and Leafstride knew leaf-bare was coming soon. "Leafstride." Leafsstride turned his head to greet the sand-colored tabby tom walking towards him. "What's up Dust?" Leafstride mewed with a warm welcome. Dust dipped his head to him, "you're up earlier than normal." Leafstride stretched his front legs, "body wanted to get up, so I got up." Dust gave him a purr, "I thought you'd still be asleep with Flame. You two seem to be getting close." Leafstride gave an embarrassed lick of his fur, "we're just friends." Dust gave him a friendly shove, "just friends can into so much more, trust me." The tom turned his hazel eyes over to Flake, the white she-cat that was born from a clan cat. "That's what we used to say too, and now look at us." Leafstride poofed out his fur, "maybe one day we will."

"Leafstride!" Leafstride turned his head to see a hard gaze matching him from Mistfoot. "We need to talk. Now." Leafstride nodded to Dust, who in returned gave him a look of 'good luck'. He turned and followed Mistfoot out of the clearing, trying to keep his pace a steady one as he kept up with her. Finally, after what felt like moons, she stopped and turned to face him. Her gaze were unreadable, but stern. "What did you need to bring me all the way out here to talk to me for?" Leafstride asked as he sat on his hindquarters. "It's about Flame," her mew was hard and serious, which made Leafstride stiffen up. "If it's about the gossip going around about us, er, becoming mates, all I can say is-" "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about," Mistfoot cut him off, her tail flicking irritably. "Okay, so what about Flame?" Mistfoot took a step backwards and sat down, now looking a bit uncertain as if she couldn't decide if she was going to tell him anymore. "She snuck out last night." Leafstride shook his head, "she was sleeping with me." Mistfoot gazed into his eyes now, hard and firm, "she snuck out Leafstride, I followed her." Leafstride was getting irated now, "why are you accusing her of sneaking out when she was sleeping next to me? I fell asleep against her Mistfoot, I think I would know if she left or not." Mistfoot tail twitched angrily, "why would I lie about this?" "I don't know, maybe because you want us to go home and your last resort is tricking me into hating the she-cat I became close with? Or maybe you're jealous?" Mistfoot looked shocked. "Jealous? I don't care about your love life, you're not in my clan. I am a loyal clan cat and I don't try looking for mates outside of my clan!" She was angry now, "if you were still a true warrior you wouldn't have fallen for her anyways and I wouldn't be having to explain this to you!"

"I am a true clan cat," Leafstride spat. "Oh really? A clan cat who mates with a rogue and doesn't want to return back to his clan and would rather lazy around with a group of lazy cats? Some clan cat you are," Mistfoot spat back, her hackles raised. Leafstride noticed his own hackles starting to rise too, and his claws unsheathing. "That's besides the point!" Mistfoot shook her head, relaxing her fur and narrowing her eyes, "I did see her sneak out, you can follow her scent if you still had a warrior's nose. I followed her because she snook out through a hole in the back of the barn. If she had gone through the front past Midnight and Flake I wouldn't have followed her, but she was sneaking out, which to me is suspicious so I did follow her. And you want to know where she led me to?" She gave Leafstride a hard gaze, waiting for him to answer, but he just returned the gaze and refused to speak. "She led me to a group of the Whisperers, Leafstride. She is the inside cat." "This is unbelievable!" Leafstride got to his paws now, his whole body boiling with anger. How dare Mistfoot accuse Flame of doing such a thing? She would never betray her family, or Leafstride! "You must have bees in your brain if you think Flame is like that Mistfoot," Leafstride growled then turned and started trotting away. "What happened to trusting each other? If you don't believe me then you can ask where she went last night and if you know her so well you can easily see her lying to you!" Mistfoot's angry call blazed into his ears, which made him shake his head till they were gone.