A Traitor's Shadow

Chapter 3

"Don't be so dramatic Larchpaw!" Petalkit suddenly intervened, padding over from where she had been sitting with Cloudberry who was already heading away towards the Medicine Cat den and was shaking her head in what seemed to be disapproval.

And before Larchpaw could protest, Petalpaw went on with a sharp edge in her tone.

"Oakstar says she will mentor you, and his word is law. You need to accept what he has decided," Petalpaw roughly meowed, and Patchpaw shuffled uncomfortably beside Larchpaw and looked up at him. He could see the anger contorting his face and could even feel the anger radiating off of him at her words and the injustice of his situation.

So, Patchpaw decided to try to calm him down and distract him from it all.

"Don't worry about it right now Larchpaw! Bloomheart said he would take both of us out to see the whole territory!" Patchpaw cooed excitedly, and he was relieved when he saw Larchpaw's dark angry eyes spark with interest and excitement, pushing out the angry flames seemingly very quickly.

"The whole territory...?" He repeated with awe clear in his voice and in his eyes, and Petalpaw snorted in what sounded like scorn and somewhat amusement.

"There you go mousebrain! Just go with Patchpaw and try not to complain so much," Petalpaw purred in a sort of taunt, and Larchpaw just sharply whipped around and growled lowly.

"You wouldn't exactly be so excited or happy either Petalpaw if you had been given Frecklewish as your mentor today..." Larchpaw sharply snapped, huffing angrily and still facing away from her with his tail lashing back and forth behind him angrily.

And then, before Petalpaw could react, he went on quickly.

"You're so lucky...! You've gotten everything you've ever wanted...You get to be a Medicine Cat with Cloudberry and sit around all day stuffing cats with herbs instead of working your tail off hunting and fighting like a REAL cat!" Larchpaw snapped bitterly, and then quickly began stalking away towards the entrance of camp, and Patchpaw was too shaken to try and stop him.

His temper is really getting worse...But I can't really blame him. He must be so disappointed and hurt...He was looking forward to this day since he opened his eyes...

Patchpaw managed to snap himself out of his thoughts and shock, glancing towards Petalpaw to see her reaction to all that, and he could see her  watching Larchpaw go with a clearly troubled look in her eyes and he could easily see the rigid tension in her body.

Then she turned to Patchpaw and shook her head in the what seemed to be disbelief and disappointment.

"I may have gotten to be a Medicine Cat, but I didn't get to have a mother or even a father to congratulate me today. So I don't think I got everything I really wanted," Petalpaw murmured, her voice now thick with weak emotion as she stared at him with dulled and sad green eyes.

Patchpaw felt an anxious sad squeeze in his chest as he heard that, and he couldn't help but try to offer her some support to his grieving kin, leaning himself against her and gently nuzzling her sleek and soft side.

"Neither of us did...But it's best not to think about it now..," Patchpaw murmured weakly, at a loss of words to sooth both of their aching wounds, but he was relieved when he felt Petalpaw relax against him, and he felt her press her muzzle into his shoulder; heaving a heavy shuddering breath.