Warriors Cats Short Stories

Cindertail and Yarrowwhisker

Ayy, we're getting back into some cutesy romance Warriors couples stories. This little romance story revolves around Cindertail, a SnowClan she-cat and the daughter of Skycloud, and her interactions with Yarrowwhisker, who joins her clan one day. 

Some DISCLAIMERS, because I know the annoying comments are incoming. There is a cat named Cottonnose in this. Before anyone comments, I KNOW CATS PROBABLY DON'T KNOW WHAT COTTON IS! Though it is a plant, I'm sure it does not grow naturally in the woods. You guys try coming up with different names for white cats besides "white" and "snow." Secondly, a spoiler, I guess, but Cindertail has two toms who are technically "calico/tortoiseshell." My dumb 12-yr-old self did not comprehend the complexities of genetics. In case you did not know, calico/tortoiseshell cats are almost predominately female because of their two X chromosomes (it has to do with the way the gene is expressed in both chromosomes. Essentially, one X chromosome will express one color gene, while the other x chromosome will express another color gene, thus making that pattern) My nerdy science rant over, I tried to characterize them as having more brown/mottled pelts than specifically calico/tortoiseshell. I suppose it could work if the toms were XXY, but they wouldn't be able to reproduce that way, and well, this is getting too complicated, so we're just gonna say they look kinda tortoiseshell but aren't lol.

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Cinderpaw had paid little attention when Yarrowpaw joined the clan. She knew he was not born in SnowClan, that he was a rogue of sorts, and that his pelt was mottled color, but other than that, she knew very little of him. She had little time to think of him, especially when she kept pining over Blazepaw, a handsome ginger tom who had won the hearts of many she-cats in the clan.

"You'd never stand a chance," her brother, Ashpaw, liked to tease. 

"You don't know that," Cinderpaw had hissed, even if she knew it deep down. Because when it came down to it, she and her brother were nobodies. They were orphans, never knowing their father and remembering little of their mother besides the fact she never seemed to care much for them. She and Ashpaw felt like outsiders most of the time.

Yarrowpaw had joined the clan shortly into their apprentice days. He was around the same age as Blazepaw and his siblings, so Cinderpaw expected him to hang out with them, though sometimes he held back and talked to Cinderpaw instead. She knew Yarrowpaw had a crush on Ivypaw, the mute she-cat whose beauty could transcend words. The only issue was, Cinderpaw knew her brother was crushing on Ivypaw hard, and if she was reading the situation right, Ivypaw seemed to like Ashpaw back

For a while, Cinderpaw never knew Yarrowpaw that well, then. While she pined over Blazepaw, who had an obvious crush on Dawnkit, she learned from Cottonpaw that Yarrowpaw had fallen head-over-heels for his sister, Ivypaw, and that Ivypaw did not like him back.

"He's discouraged," Cottonpaw told Cinderpaw. "He's upset about it."

"Well, did he actually expect it to happen?" Cinderpaw snapped.

Wasn't she telling herself the same thing? Since when did she think she stood a chance with Blazepaw? They barely spoke, only when they played when they were younger. She mostly followed him around all day, only managing to get in a small greeting. 

"Ashpaw should be happy. I think Ivypaw likes him," Cottonpaw told Cinderpaw. "You can't tell him I said that though."

"Your secret is safe with me," Cinderpaw promised. "But I thought she liked that tom that died long ago. What was his name? Stonepaw? I heard she would never recover."

Cottonpaw hung his head. She had forgotten Cottonpaw had been good friends with the tom too.

"What happened to Stonepaw was unfortunate, but it's good to see Ivypaw taking an interest in someone again. Unfortunately, it's just not Yarrowpaw. He's really taking the loss difficult. Maybe you should talk to him," Cottonpaw offered.