Seppuku

Chapter 22

Sooo I really didn't like the old cover, and my art has improved a lot, so I made a new cover! I hope you guys like it, I'm honestly pretty proud of it.

~

Pigeonpaw bounded down the slope.  Excitement made the young tom burst.  "Wow!" he squealed loudly.

Cloverpaw scrambled down beside him.  "So cool," she breathed.  "This is the coolest place to ever be.  The PineClan forest!"  Her eyes sparkled happily.

Badgerstripe nudged Twistedsky.  "Nostalgia," he murmured quietly. "Its kicking in for me. You much?"

"Yeah."  Twistedsky shifted his paws shyly. 

Pigeonpaw distracted him.  "Look!" he yowled.  "That tree is so big!"  He was looking at the tree that Twistedsky had bumped his head onto.  He hesitated, as one paw lifted into the air.

"That tree doesn't quite have the happiest story," Badgerstripe purred with amusement, rapidly glancing at Twistedsky.  Then his gaze darted forwards.  "Cloverpaw," he called over his shoulder as he began to walk along.  "Wanna come see the river?  Its by the CreekClan border."

"Sure!"  Cloverpaw skipped after her mentor.

Twistedsky scrambled down the slope to his own apprentice.  "Lets look at the GrassClan side," he suggested.

"Oh."  Disappointment  flickered in the young tom's gaze for a few heartbeats; then right back to his usual excitement.  "Okay!" he decided.  Charging forwards, he added, "Let's go!"

"Wait!"  Twistedsky yowled.  "That's not the the right way!  Silly Pigeonpaw!"

Pigeonpaw scrambled to a halt; then towards Twistedsky again.  "Okay," he meowed.  "Sorry."

Twistedsky led the young tom towards the GrassClan border.  "Have the elders told you how long the grass is there?" he asked Pigeonpaw as he slipped through the ferns.

"Yeah."  Pigeonpaw waved his tail curiously.  "I just don't think I could imagine how tall--exciting."  But his voice sounded distant and unfocused, so Twistedsky stopped speaking.

Once they reached the GrassClan border, Pigeonpaw's excitement had slowly built up.  He was now dancing about in the grass happily.  "Can't see me!"  he yowled.  "Find me, Twistedsky!  Find me, find me!  Please!  I wanna have some fun!"

"Having fun isn't a part of being a warrior," Twistedsky called to him.  "Get out of the grass bef--"

A terrified shriek alarmed Twistedsky, cutting him off abruptly.  Twistedsky tensed, then yowled, "Pigeonpaw!"

There came no reply.

Twistedsky bounded towards where he thought Pigeonpaw might be.                        

He heard a gasp.  "Help!"  It was Pigeonpaw's muffled mew.

Twistedsky jumped; then he dashed forwards.  "Pigeonpaw!"  Fear soared through his paws as he suddenly bounded forwards. Pigeonpaw, no!  Primroseflower could never forgive me if you died today!

Twistedsky glanced frantically scrambled around, then he finally caught sight of Pigeonpaw's gray fur.  "Pigeonpaw!"  Twistedsky yowled.  "Are you okay?"

The gray fur jumped, yowling.

That's not Pigeonpaw!  That's another GrassClan warrior! Twistedsky's heart lurched as paws frantically battered his face.

Twistedsky reared upwards, then a little too easily slammed down the young cat with his paw--then he jumped back as he realized who it actually was.

"Pigeonpaw!"  Twistedsky shrieked.

Pigeonpaw's eyes glittered with amusement.  "Gotcha!"  he happily squeaked.  "I fooled you so hard!"

Anger flared through Twistedsky; he forced his fur to lie flat.  "Look, Pigeonpaw," he meowed.  "If you keep fooling us, we will always think you're tricking us.  If there was to be a real attack, and we thought you were fooling us, then we might not save you in time until you... well, it was too late."  Twistedsky sighed.  "Well, we wasted too much time.  Lets go back to the camp, and see how Cloverpaw is doing."