Warriors Ironheart's Love

Chapter 9

Whispypaw noticed it and attempted to lighten the mood, "Rosefall is a real pretty cat from Riverclan. Maybe Longpaw would go and get her!" He snickered, instantly receiving a nip on the ear from a sudden attack by Longpaw. "Shut it you! How about you go and get some Shadowclan she-cat to like you! You're lucky that our mentors are here or I would-" He stopped mid-sentence to a glare from Loudstorm. Longpaw and Ironpaw hung their heads in defeat. This was going to be a long walk.

~~~~~

They had arrived finally in the other hollow before any other clan. Ironpaw has stopped dead in her tracks in amazement. It was so large! How many cats are there in the other clans? It was cut short from Redpaw's head butting against her shoulder. Her attention was horrible tonight compared to the previous. She would need serious improvement if she wanted to be the best warrior she could. She needed to make Nightspot proud!

Redpaw watched anxiously. Her tail swooped side to side slowly, never quite staying still. Ironpaw padded with her her, letting her fur brush against Redpaw. "Don't worry, I'm acting like an apprentice on their first day out. I don't know how you're not excited like your littermates." She murmured to her, keeping her voice low so the others didn't hear. Redpaw rolled her eyes, attempting to respond by scratching at the dirt. There was too much grass thought for it to be effective. The rusty she-cat sighed silently, letting her eyes trail away from Ironpaw to watch for other cats when they arrive.

I just really botched that conversation, didn't I? She thought bitterly of herself, wanting to slash her own fur out. I could've waited at least until we got home to completely talk to her. Idiot! Recently, Redpaw has come up with an idea of using the dirt patches on the ground to her advantage. It was most of the time just nonsense, but in the last few days it had finally clicked to Ironpaw what some of the symbols meant. For example, a line with a cloud on top meant 'tree' and two circles close together meant 'I'. She really was trying to communicate with others instead of being trapped in her own mind.

Ironpaw snapped herself to attention when she heard the voices of other cats. The first cat to show was a dark brown tabby, followed closely by a dark gray tom. The tabby jumped onto the Great Rock, sitting next to Ferretstar. The Windclan leader dipped his head respectfully towards the cat. "Good evening, Owlstar. I assume things are running well within your borders?" Ferretstar spoke with over politeness.

It dawned then on Ironpaw that it was the Thunderclan leader on the rock with Ferretstar. He looked so small compared to the massive Thunderclan cat, like a kit just barely allowed out of the nursery. "Things are fine, but shouldn't we save the discussion part for when Lakestar and Wolfstar arrive?" He spoke coldly, and Ironpaw felt a chill run down her spine. His gaze was terrifying, so much so that she found herself pressing against Redpaw. The rusty she-cat did the same.

Just as soon as Owlstar spoke, nearly instantly the other two clans arrived together. They were timed perfectly, as Ironpaw could almost feel the silent tension slowly rising. The two cats climbed with ease on top of the rock. The cat that Ironpaw assumed to be Lakestar had a limp in her front paw. She sat down shakily, letting smalls pants finally come from her mouth. "That seems to get harder each moon!" She exasperated, letting out a long and steady breath.

"Next time, you don't have to shouldn't come up here yourself. You could always let Puddlewhisker assist you instead of trying to be the oldest independent elder in the forest." Ferretstar snorted at his own little remark. "You should listen to your own words! You're nearly as old as Lakestar yourself!" Wolfstar chortled, turning her head away from the other two leader's glares. Ironpaw could've sworn she heard Owlstar muttering 'brat' under his breath, but no other cat seemed to be paying attention to him.

The tom seemed to be growing more irritated each heartbeat. He was forcing his fur to lie flat, but it was starting to fail him. "Can we just stop the idle chatter and get on with the gathering? We're losing moonlight and Starclan can't bless us with more." He let out a hiss that rivaled a snake. His eyes were mere slits, barely even noticeable from where Ironpaw was. "Calm your fur down! You're acting like an impatient kit, and I will not have such a conversation with one so young." Lakestar snapped at him, but kept her calm demeanor in front of the other clans.