The Barn Cat

Chapter Twenty-Five

Once the cats went back to the barn cats, they were met with questioning gazes and murmurs, but also welcoming mews. "All right, let's go." Night called. All the cats got to their paws, and after making sure that everyone was there, the cats started their trek again. Side by side, the cats walked. Mistfoot was a few cats ahead of Leafstride, walking next to Night while Courage hung a little bit behind them. "Should I go talk to Courage about what I saw?" Ivypaw asked Leafstride in a whisper. The two toms had been traveling together for a bit now, and Palepaw was back with Hawk while Brightshade walked along with Fang. "Why not? We have to do a lot of walking anyways, why not walk and talk at the same time?" Leafstride mewed teasingly, but stopped when he noticed Ivypaw's nervous gaze. "C'mon, I'll take you there. We can do this together." Ivypaw dipped his head the slightest bit that made Leafstride have to decide if he actually did nod his head or not. The only way to find out was to see if Ivypaw would follow after him when he walked away. He pushed his way past Clove and Dawn, and knew Ivypaw was behind him when he apologized for bumping into Clove. Leafstride padded between Rose and Storm, Ivypaw doing the same. Finally, they met Courage.

"Hey, Courage." Leafstride meowed. The tall, black tom turned his green gaze to Leafstride. Giving him a friendly nod, "hello." "Ivypaw wanted to ask you about something," Leafstride glanced at Ivypaw. Now's when you ask. "What is it?" Courage asked. Ivypaw shyly padded up to Courage's right side, now Courage had clan cats on both sides of him. "I wanted to ask if you've ever seen some, er, weird things?" Ivypaw asked. Courage's ear twitched, he was interested. "What kind of weird things?" He asked, his mew wasn't giving anything away. "Like, um, cats that aren't really there that only you can see?" Ivypaw mewed, "maybe ghosts or just, well, cats." This time Courage's muscles tensed a little bit, "why do you ask?" "Because I saw a cat that none of the other clan cats could see," Ivypaw mewed simply, he must have seen how Courage tensed up and how that was a sign of yes, yes he has. Courage nodded his head slowly, "okay, what did this cat look like?" Ivypaw shivered, "he had huge claws. But his fur was black and he had these weird, gray eyes." Courage spun to Ivypaw, his gaze stern and angry, and his hackles were starting to rise. "What did you say?" Ivypaw stared at him, a little bit surprised. "He also had scars on his body, like he was in a fight or something." Courage got closer to Ivypaw, and Ivypaw started sinking towards the ground. "What did he say to you?" Courage's mew was near a growl.

Ivypaw looked scared, and Leafstride felt the need to step in. "I guess he tried to kill Mistfoot by making her fall out of a tree, Ivypaw stopped him though by grabbing her." Courage stared at the tom, and Courage caught a glimpse of fear. The black tom turned to Night, "I need to speak with my father." He trotted up to his father, then turned and called for Heather, who came trotting up within a heartbeat. Mistfoot dropped back next to Leafstride, "what's going on?" "I told them about the cat I saw," Ivypaw mewed, "and Courage kind of freaked out I guess?" Leafstride nodded, "he acted like he's seen this cat before, so it must not of been Iyvpaw's imagination like we thought." Mistfoot stared at the whispering cats ahead of them, her gaze a questioning look as she watched. Leafstride couldn't blame her, he had a lot of questions as well. He always had questions now that he thought about it, he's just curious. He turned to Mistfoot, but she was still focused on the cats in front of them. He felt heat start to come off his pelt. He wanted to walk closer together. He started curving into her, and stopped when their fur started brushing against each other. He didn't look to see her reaction, he didn't need to. He knew she liked him, and why not enjoy it before they aren't allowed to see each other again? He liked her too, he had decided he truly did when he had his heart nearly come out of his throat when she was hanging from that branch. He wanted to change places with her, or catch her before she fell. He didn't want to lose her, in a different kind of way than how warriors would normally feel.

He kept his gaze ahead, but his legs were shaky as he walked. He noticed Ivypaw staring at him out of the corner of his eye, and Courage turned his gaze to the black tom. Ivypaw nodded his head towards Mistfoot, then whispered quiet enough for only Leafstride to hear. "Do you like her?" "What do you mean?" Leafstride asked. He knew that Mistfoot wouldn't want anyone to know about their feelings, especially a clan cat. "I mean, does she like you and do you like her?" Ivypaw murmured. Leafstride shook his head, and Ivypaw responded with a little snicker. He clearly didn't believe him. Feeling awkward, Leafstride turned his gaze back ahead, accidentally locking gazes with Heather, who was staring back at them.