𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝑨 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒕 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒄

CHAPTER 25

"I told you that you'd pass all your trials!" Shadepool giggle-whispered to the golden she-cat as he nudged Briarwish's chin.

Maplethorn rolled her dull spring-green eyes as she gagged at their affection towards each other. It didn't help that they were only two nests away from her and somehow, decided it would be appropriate to already share a nest with each other. She watched as Briarwish smiled as she gave Shadepool a tender lick on his forehead and he gave a contented purr as the golden she-cat rubbed her head against his.

"I should probably volunteer for today's dawn patrol though," Briarwish meowed, getting up from their nest.

"Please," Shadepool meowed, almost...begging Briarwish to stay with him. "Don't leave me just yet. You have moons upon moons for patrols."

"I want to appear as a diligent and hard-working clanmate, so that I can prove to the clan that I didn't only join to live a life of peace," Briarwish meowed, her voice resolute as she puffed out her chest. "Don't worry though, I'll make sure to spend as much time as I can with you."

Her tail ran underneath Shadepool's chin as he stared at Briarwish, half-lidded eyes looking as though he was in a reverie. He gave a satisfied sigh as his gaze lingered on Briarwish as she left the den. Maplethorn felt Shadepool turn into her direction and she immediately averted her gaze, finding a certain portion of the den wall intensely exciting and began studying it.

"Jealous that you don't have a lover, Deformedthorn?" Shadepool sneered at her and she twisted her neck around, staring at her brother in the eye as she replied,

"I have a lover, in fact, lovers, all right."

"Ooh," Shadepool snickered, feigning disinterest, even though his entire posture displayed anything but. "Who are they? Tinycloud and some random rogues you picked up outside MistClan?"

She could feel the rest of the warriors still inside the den listening to their conversation and shot them one of her dagger-sharp glares, one that she spent hours perfecting with her mother. She literally sat in front of Scorchflame, glaring at her mother until she approved of it and then ordering her to glare at random Starless Forest cats, trying to scare them away. Certainly enough, they immediately began analysing each other, themselves, their nests, or the den wall.

"It's me, myself and I," Maplethorn smirked at her brother as she left the den without allowing him to reply, tail deliberately smacking into his face.

Waspsting approached Maplethorn and she internally rolled her eyes. Her father never came to her unless he was going to complain or order her to do something.

"You're coming on dawn patrol," Waspsting growled, eyes narrowed, until he inhaled her scent as she passed by and bared his fangs at her.

"What?" Maplethorn asked, feigning innocence, even though she knew that Scorchflame's scent of violets, the night air and a whiff of smoke and pine sap was infused in her pelt from having spent so much time with her mother. It was subtle at first, but eventually, she noticed that her scent began to change until it practically was the same as Scorchflame's.

"Nothing," Waspsting snarled, shaking his head, as he beckoned for Maplethorn to follow her.

Briarwish was indeed in the patrol, much to her dismay. The bubbly she-cat continued to ask Waspsting questions and converse with him, however, every so often, placed in a couple of phrases and words that would soften the wall between them. Even her father began talking to Briarwish like an ordinary cat would by the end of the patrol.

"Wow!" Briarwish mewed at Waspsting as they entered camp again. "I've learnt so much, thanks to you! Waspsting, you're so knowledgeable that I'm certain you'd make the best leader that MistClan has ever seen!"