The Dawn of Night | A Warriors Fanfiction ✔

Chapter 18

Bluestripe woke from her sleep. Stretching, she padded out of the warriors den. It was nice having her littermates finally warriors. Moonpaw had disappeared for a few sunrises, but was back at camp, and safe.

"Bluestripe!" Redflame purred as he padded up to her. "Want to go explore the territory?"

"I would like that a lot," Bluestripe meowed happily. Together they padded out of camp. The sun was just rising, making the sky a beautiful arrangement of reds and oranges.

"Bluestripe?" Redflame paused, his pelt getting warmed in the weak sun. "It's a beautiful day," he remarked, twitching his ears. He shrank back a little. "I don't want this to sound weird, Bluestripe, but... I think you're beautiful too."

Bluestripe's ears flattened and she felt her fur grow hot around her face. "Thank you." She purred very slightly.

"'Course." Redflame let out his breath slowly. "Let's go back to the hollow." Redflame purred as they padded there. As they slipped through the gorse entrance, Tinyblossom looked up from sharing tongues with Fogcloud, who had just ended his night vigil.

"What happened to you, Redflame?" Tinyblossom teased her brother. "Been going on a romantic stroll?" Beside her, Bluestripe felt Redflame's pelt grow warm, along with hers, with embarrassment.

"Yeah, well what about you and Fogcloud?" Redflame muttered. Across the camp, all of the cats were either sharing tongues or eating fresh-kill. Bluestripe watched as the kits tumbling around the nursery, and she watched as Littlerose scolded the kits when they got too rough. Tulipkit and Iriskit were sparring with Scarkit, Darkkit, Duskkit, and Beaverkit; the latter of the two litters were nearly apprentice age.

"Don't worry about it, Bluestripe," Tinyblossom mewed once the two toms had gone to join the hunting patrol.

"Thanks, Tinyblossom." Bluestripe meowed, padded away towards the warriors' den.

"Hi Bluestripe!" Sunstorm called as her sister entered the den.

"Hi Sunstorm - have you seen Moonpaw?" Bluestripe glanced around camp, but didn't see her other littermate. Sunstorm shrugged and Bluestripe walked out of the den.

"Bluestripe! Come over here and share this fresh-kill with me." Bluestripe turned around to see Moonpaw beckoning her over to the fresh-kill pile.

"Okay. One minute, Moonpaw." Bluestripe cast one last glance at the gorse tunnel entrance, then turned and stalked over to Moonpaw. Moonpaw had a plump vole and took a bite, then pushed it to Bluestripe.

About a half-moon later Bluestripe and Redflame sat under an oak tree near the RiverClan border, wind rushing softly through the leaves and making them rustle. Redflame looked rather antsy, fiddling with a ball of moss on the soil between his paws.

"You alright?" she asked him.

"Yea. I was thinking about what I said a half-moon ago. Well, I was wondering..." he hesitated.

"I'm your friend," Bluestripe insisted. "You can tell me anything."

"Well, that's just it." He turned to look at her, looking nervous. "Do you think that maybe... We could me more than friends?"

Bluestripe purred. "I was hoping you might ask that." Her fur bristled with slight embarrassment. "Like, mates?"

"Well, if that's okay with--"

Bluestripe flicked her ear and pushed her muzzle into his cheek. "Of course it's okay," she told him.

Another half-moon passed and Bluestripe woke with a horrible bellyache that made her feel like she had eaten crowfood the day before. Heaving herself to her paws, she trudged over to Emberfur's den, where she found the wise medicine cat grooming herself.