Warriors: Pebblescar's Reality

Chapter 5

Pebblescar opened his eyes, and his chest was heaving as he sat up in his nest. Another nightmare—another visit to the strange reality. He padded out of the warrior's den, needing some fresh air.

Everywhere he looked, he saw Oakfire haunting over him, her copper eyes gleaming with sadness. "Why? Pebblescar, why?" Her mew echoed across the camp, only audible to his ears. 

Troutstar's light-hearted meow awoke him from his trance.

"Good morning, my deputy," the leader meowed, leaning forward and touching noses with the dark gray tom in a friendly manner. "Are you going to ask to organize patrols again?" His tone was light and humorous as he teased.

Pebblescar shook his head. "I-I was just going to do that, if that was fine with you."

Troutstar tipped his head back and let out a soft laugh. "Yes, it's fine." The hazel-eyed tom padded away smoothly, leaving Pebblescar confused in his wake.

Swallowing his confusion about Oakfire, Pebblescar padded away from his leader to organize patrols. He put himself on patrol with Featherlight, a young warrior, and Pikenose. They were supposed to patrol near the WindClan border.

Featherlight looked a lot like Minnowfrost, with pale gray fur and sparkling copper eyes. In fact she was the sister of Pebblescar's love interest. So, as he padded down the edge of the gorge, he couldn't help but sneak a few glances at her.

"So, Pebblescar," Pikenose rasped. Pebblescar suspected that the tom was due to retire to the elder's den any time soon. "I heard that you and Oakfire are hitting it off well." The tom's eyes sparkled.

He shook his head. "No, we're just friends."

The green-eyed tom seemed surprised. "Really? That's not what Oakfire told me," he muttered, shaking his head. 

Featherlight turned to him, her copper eyes bright and wide. "Really?" she meowed to him. "I never thought that you would be after another she-cat."

That statement piqued Pebblescar's interest. Was his liking toward Minnowfrost that obvious? "No, no, no," he quickly meowed. "I never have liked Oakfire, and I never will."

Featherlight looked surprised, just as Pikenose had. "Okay," she muttered, turning her eyes to the ground.

They walked further, toward the border, where they marked the edge. The walk back was awkward and silent, with Featherlight and Pikenose glancing strangely at Pebblescar. He didn't know what he did. Not liking Oakfire seemed kind of normal! She was a lot younger than him.

Most of his other patrols and discussions with other cats involved Oakfire, and that same, confused look from all the others. He wondered what was wrong as he settled in his nest.

"Hi Pebblescar," a she-cat purred. The dark gray tom looked up, hoping to see Minnowfrost, but he was greeted by the white face of Oakfire. She settled in a nest next to him. "How's your day been?"

"That's—that's Minnowfrost's nest," he replied carefully.

Oakfire looked a bit confused, but then she shook her head, chuckling. "We traded nests. She's by my brother now." The white warrior pointed her tail where her nest usually was. "I thought you would enjoy sleeping next to me . . ."

He suddenly felt tired. "I'm just confused, okay? Where did all this gossip come from?"

"What gossip?"

"About you and me!"

Oakfire blinked innocently. "You don't remember?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side. "We had a great talk by the river, and I guess Lakestrike was listening in. Gossip spreads like wildfire in this Clan, and soon I heard the news, thinking you started it. So I kinda told a few friends that we were together."

His eyes almost bulged out of head. "We talked once!" cried Pebblescar, keeping his voice low. "How is that any sort of permission to tell cats that we're mates?"

She shrugged. "You've been very forward before. Pebblescar, what's gotten into you?"

It was true. Though he chose to forget it, as an older apprentice he had pined over the young Oakpaw. She was so beautiful, and she knew it. She flaunted it, she manipulated toms, and she even got him mixed up in some messes before. Oakfire was a player, no doubts there. But Pebblescar had begun to think that she wanted power.

Closing his eyes proved to be an escape from the world.

But not from all worlds.

Pebblescar opened them next to the riverside. The sun had barely risen, and he felt exhausted. Dragging himself off the muddy banks of the river, the dark gray tom found that the camp was empty. Every cat was still asleep.

Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Pebblescar sat down in front of the warrior's den and waited.

"Good morning," Reedstorm meowed, padding out of the den. Though the brown tom didn't deserve it, he harbored a grudge against him. Reedstorm had temporarily taken his position as deputy, after all.

Pebblescar nodded. "What patrol should I lead—I mean, be on today?"

Reedstorm gave him a smile. "Oh, there's something we have to do first." The dark brown tom padded into the nursery. Pebblescar settled back into a comfortable position; Reedstorm was probably just visiting the kits. 

A steady flow of morning greetings kept Pebblescar from dozing off. After what seemed like forever, something happened. 

"Let all cats old enough to swim gather for a Clan meeting," Troutstar called.

A/N: This chapter (as usual) was brought to you by Rio. Sorry for the lame ending; it was getting kinda long. :)