Pretty Little Kittens Who Lie (Warriors (cats) Fanfiction)

Chapter Two: Denied truth

 Chapter Two: Denied truth

As Graystripe had predicted, Sandstorm didn’t like it one bit. When he had gone over his nocturnal adventure again, with his lover, this time, the ThunderClan leader was hoping she would find a rational part in those incredible issues like Cinderpelt had, or say that he had mistaken another cat for the former ShadowClan leader, but he had never thought that she would question his sanity. She looked at him like she would look at an elder who was losing his mind, who would hear and see things that were not there. The tale he told made her angry and she denied it all, like nothing had happened and suggested that he do the same for his own sake. It would be easy to ignore what he saw. Still, what if he was really back? In that case, they would be in serious danger. Not only his clan, but all the clans. Tigerstar had been a threat to every living cat of the forest and beyond. He had to warn everyone. That was the reasonable thing to do. Moreover, he had to inform the other leaders.

“Firestar?”
The small voice came from outside his den and he meowed his permission to enter. A slim, pale brownish, tabby she-cat approached him.

“Yes, Leafpaw?” he asked his daughter.

“Sandstorm said you’re not feeling well.” said the medic apprentice, shyly. Cinderpelt had assured her that her father was fine and just had a bad dream, but she wanted to see for herself.

“I’m okay.” he reassured her. “Can you fetch Brambleclaw for me, please? There’s something I need to discuss with him.”

She meowed softly in agreement and disappeared by the mouth of his nest where he saw another cat, a dark brown tabby with amber eyes, entered not long after.

“You wanted to see me, Firestar?” asked Brambleclaw.

“Sit down.” he invited him, gesturing to the space in front of his bedding with his nose, “You might not believe me, however, I swear over all of our ancestors, I saw Tigerstar. Alive.”

The young warrior, so physically alike his cruel father, blinked without uttering a word. Surely, this was a joke. Firestar was testing him somehow, even though it was not like him to do such harsh loyalty check.

 

Brambleclaw was saved from answering properly this impossible statement, when a black cat crashed into the ThunderClan leader’s den at full speed. The dark furred tom stopped abruptly beside him, his pelt ruffled and his eyes opened like huge yellow balls. The newcomer was out of breath and before he could recover, it was Graystripe’s turn to join the group.

“Ravenpaw!” cried the deputy, “What’s wrong! You flew like your tail was on fire!”

“It’s worse than that, Graystripe! Guys, you’re not going to believe me! But, I swear, it’s the truth!”

“What is it?! Tell us already!” Firestar yelled, losing his nerves, impatient to learn the dreaded news. Was it the same as him? Could it be…

Ravenpaw breathed loudly before spilling the impossible words: “Tigerstar is alive.”

The whole group of cats fell silent. The loner had seen him too! It was all true.

“I knew it!” Firestar exclaimed at last, puffing his chest, victorious.

“You did?!” wondered the black cat, surprised.

“Yes. At Fourtrees, two nights ago. StarClan showed me the way.” explained the leader.

Graystripe was uneasy on his paws, his nervous eyes switching restlessly between his two old apprenticehood friends.

“A rogue, who used to be part of BloodClan, came to our barn and told us that he caught sight of Tigerstar. Of course, we thought he was saying rubbish, but then I saw him myself! Near WindClan territory! He was… standing there, in the sunlight, distinct against the stony path. At first, I wasn’t sure, you know. Maybe it’s just some loner that happened to be similar, but Firestar, he looked at me, the way he always had… It was him.”

Ravenpaw was shaking with emotion while the younger warrior was completely stunned by the story. His father? Back from the dead?

“I… I don’t understand. What....” he began, but the ThunderClan leader furiously turned on him, showing his sharp teeth.

“I--WE saw your father. Tigerstar.”

“I… don’t know what to say, Firestar.”

“Try telling me what you will do about it, Brambleclaw!” he growled, suddenly angry, like he was facing his newly returned enemy and not his innocent son.

What was he supposed to do? What exactly was his old mentor implying? That this was somehow his fault? That he had helped him in some way? That he would go to him? How could he think such a thing? After all that he taught him. Brambleclaw was deeply wounded, nonetheless, he could not manage a single word to defend himself. Sensing the young, dark brown tabby’s uneasiness and perhaps regretting yelling at him, the flames in Firestar’s green eyes faded and he dismissed him less aggressively. “You can leave now.”

Brambleclaw did not waste another heartbeat. He bolted out of the leader’s den, running with his head low, not wanting to meet any cat’s stare. Suddenly, he found himself crashing into a ball of deep orange pelt and the two cats rolled over on the yellowish grass, their bodied tangled.

 

“WOAH! Where do you think you were going in such a rush? Are you blind or just stupid!” cried a high pitched voice belonging to a pestering she-cat who kicked him with her hind legs. She scrambled to her paws and furiously licked her chest fur. He had collided into Squirrelpaw, Firestar’s difficult daughter. “Or you might just be mute?”

Brambleclaw looked up at her with an expression of such dismay that even someone as arrogant as the flame coated apprentice was taken aback, pity squeezing her stomach.

She flinched for a moment and when she spoke again, her tone was still hard, but more considerate, betraying her disguised kindness.

“What? Are… Are you going to mewl like a wimpy kit? Get a grip, Brambleclaw!”

The warrior tom did not answer right away, clearing his thoughts and recovering from his outburst, unfazed by her fake provocative words.

“Sorry… I didn’t see you back there.”

The hot-tempered she-cat gave him a suspicious glare. “So?! Are you going to tell me which cat bit your tail or what?”

Brambleclaw, calmer now, whispered to her in a hushed voice about his meeting with the clan leader, the deputy and the loner. When he finished,  her sole response was a mere shrug, as if it was no big deal.

“Really?” He frowned.

“If my father says so, then it’s good enough for me. Or are you saying he’s a liar?” scowled Squirrelpaw.

That was not what he intended, though he wished that was the case.

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To be continued...

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