Embarrassing Love (For Spooky_Love_Raven's Contest)

Chapter 9

A paw prodded Lifepaw awake. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and stretched. Her mentor, Tumblefire stood at the entrance to the den, waiting for her to follow. She quickly groomed her fur and slipped out of the den after Tumblefire. As they passed by the nursery, she heard the mewls of Morningsong's kits. They were hushed and the den fell silent. Flamestorm eagerly waited for Lifepaw by the fern tunnel. She padded up to him, somewhat shaky.

"So...do we, you know, travel through Windclan?" Lifepaw asked.

Flamestorm nodded, "Yeah. Don't worry, they won't hurt us." Lifepaw sighed with relief. Vinestar raised his tail for the patrol to follow. The ferns ruffled Lifepaw's pelt as she padded through the tunnel. Vinestar set the pace at a quick trot as the moon rose ever higher. Lifepaw nervously crossed the moor, pressing close to Flamestorm.

"We're almost there." Flamestorm meowed when they reached a marsh. Lifepaw clumsily splashed in a pool of water. She clambered out with mud covering her feet. She tried to lick it, but Tumblefire nudged her from behind to keep moving. She grumbled and reluctantly trotted on.

To Lifepaw's relief, the island came into view. It was small, with a pebbly shore and thick undergrowth that surrounded a grassy clearing. The scents of many cats made her nervous. Vinestar confidently leaped on the thick trunk of a fallen tree that lead to the island. He was followed by Deerheart, Softwing, then Kinkpaw. The warriors ahead of Lifepaw strutted confidently across the fallen tree.

"Just don't look down." Flamestorm whispered back to her before crossing the log himself. It was Lifepaw's turn. She glanced warily at the murky water below. It would be hard even for a Riverclan to swim down there.

Lifepaw carefully placed a paw on the end of the trunk. She pulled her other three paws up and crept towards the other side. When she reached the middle, a breeze made the trunk sway slightly. Lifepaw's claws clung to the trunk. After the breeze stopped, she reluctantly released her grip on a branch. She sighed with relief when she leaped on to the island.

"Great job!" Flamestorm purred.

"Thanks!" Lifepaw replied.

"Come meet my friend from Riverclan. His name is Beetlepaw." Flamestorm meowed as he beckoned to a cream colored tom sharing tongues with a golden tabby she cat.

"Hi Beetlepaw!" Flamestorm greeted. The two cats turned to them with friendly expressions.

"Hi Flamepaw!" Beetlepaw replied.

"Flamestorm." he corrected.

"Your a warrior! Congratulations!" the tom purred. Flamestorm nodded his thanks.

"Also, this is Lifepaw." Flamestorm meowed. The two Riverclan cats turned to her.

Beetlepaw smirked, "So is she your mate?"

"W-what? Well, uh, no... Stay out of my business fish-face!" Flamestorm stuttered. Beetlepaw and the tabby she cat exchanged amused glances. Beetlepaw was about to say something else, but the five leaders, Vinestar, Eaglestar, Wetstar, Splashstar, and Rabbitstar, leaped on the hightree and yowled for the clans' attention. A hush fell over the clearing. Vinestar and Eaglestar exchanged angry glances. Rabbitstar, the Windclan leader, broke the silence and stepped forward to speak.

"Windclan has had a hard leaf-fall. The rabbits have been smaller than normal, but we are as strong as ever." he announced, "Sadly, our elder, Grassclaw has joined Starclan. We wish him good hunting." The leader stepped back. Wetstar, the leader of Shadowclan took his place.

"We are saddened to hear about your loss, Rabbitstar. Shadowclan too wishes Grassclaw a safe journey, " the wise leader yowled, "Although the leaf-fall brought its challenges to Shadowclan too, we have good news. Cloudkit and Ravenkit are now apprentices. They will be fine warriors." A small white tom with gray patches and a jet black she cat puffed out their chests proudly, eyes shining. Wetstar stepped back and motioned for Splashstar, the Riverclan leader to take his place.

The pretty she cat gazed down at the clans. "Riverclan has been fishing well this leaf-fall, despite the bitter conditions. We hope that the other clans will have the same luck." she stepped back to let Eaglestar take her place. The tom glared at the cats of Lifeclan.

"Lifeclan has been stealing our prey!" the leader hissed. His thin and tired clanmates yowled their agreement. Lifepaw looked around to see the apprentice she had grappled with throwing her an accusing glare. The Lifeclan cats yowled their protests. Vinestar raised his tail for silence.

"My warriors have stayed in Lifeclan territory. What proof do you have that we stole your prey?" Vinestar meowed, surprisingly calm. Eaglestar unsheathed his claws.

"You have scared all of the prey away! We wouldn't be starving if you hadn't started your new clan!" The Thunderclan leader lashed his tail angrily.

"So we have not been stealing prey, just Thunderclan is too weak to catch their own prey." Vinestar retorted. The Thunderclan cats bristled at his remark. Eaglestar readied himself to leap at Vinestar, but clouds quickly covered the moon. The cats' attention turned to the ominously dark sky. Thunderclan sheathed their claws and the moon shone again. Eaglestar stepped back with his head held high. Vinestar took his place.

"Our clan has been doing well and it will continue to, even through a tough leaf-bare. We have two new warriors, Flamestorm and Lilyflight." The two cats held their heads high. "I would also like to address that Thunderclan attacked us and they lost. Although our clan is new, we are strong. Let that be a lesson." Vinestar warned as he shot Eaglestar an accusing glare.

Before clouds could cover the moon again, Wetstar yowled, "Gathering dismissed."

Lifepaw looked to Flamestorm. He seemed as worried as she was. He struggled to push through the mass of cats that blocked his path to the fallen tree. They made it and sighed with relief that they hadn't seen any Thunderclan cats on their way there. The clan quickly made it back to their camp.

"Thunderclan has gone insane." Lifepaw muttered to Flamestorm. He nodded in agreement. Vinestar leaped on to clanrock and told the cats that didn't come to the gathering what happened. Lifepaw yawned and slipped into the apprentices den. She quickly fell asleep while the clan murmured noisily outside about Thunderclan.