Chapter Text
The cool night was comforting to the ginger she-cat. After the disaster of a gathering the previous night, she really needed a walk. She just wandered the dried and burnt forest, feeling shame as she remembered her confrontation with Ashfur. She took a pause in her steps and looked at her paws. Everyone in the clan is going to think she killed him now.. Her fur fluffed up at that and she shook it off, continuing her walk through the forest.
Soon she scented the Shadowclan border. Still not ready to go back to camp, She just sat and listened to the wind blowing among the pine and burnt trees. Her mind wandered to everything that happened the night before. The scornful look from Hollyleaf as she revealed that the medicine cat of Thunderclan, the ginger’s sister is her mother, the betrayed and hateful look from her now former mate, and… the disappointed look from her leader and father. She shook her head desperately to get rid of all those memories but it seemed as if they were burned, much like how the forest was, into her memory. She can feel her eyes starting to water and she desperately tried to blink them away to no avail. Being distracted with her thoughts, the ginger she-cat did not notice the Shadowclan patrol nearby.
The tortoiseshell she-cat in the lead looked at the Thunderclan cat with small sympathy. The dark brown tom next to the she-cat scoffed in disgust, “What in Starclan’s name does Thunderclan need now? Especially her.” The tom spat out the last word with malice. The she-cat whipped her head and glared at the tom. “Quiet, Toadfoot. She’s already been through enough.” The tortoiseshell shifted her gaze back to the ginger. “The rest of you go towards the lake, I will deal with Squirrelflight.” The she-cat commanded. “But Tawnypelt.. Wouldn’t it be easier to just chase her off all together?” Toadfoot protested. Tawnypelt once again glared at the tom. “Why would that be necessary? You think a Thunderclan cat can take me out?” She said darkly. Toadfoot cowered for a bit and then grumbled, walking off to the border near the lake while taking the patrol with him.
Tawnypelt flicked her tail and made her way to the ginger she-cat. Squirrelflight stiffened as she scented the Shadowclan warrior. The ginger slowly raised her head and caught sight of her long time friend. Tawnypelt quietly sat in front of her Thunderclan friend and gave her a caring smile. Squirrelflight’s posture relaxed and she let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry, am I interrupting any important patrols?” The ginger asked with a light playful tone. The tortoiseshell let out an amused mrrow and looked at the other she-cat warmly. “Not at all. You’ll never be an interruption for me.” Tawnypelt said with a gentle purr in her throat. The younger she-cat blinked in appreciation to the other cat. At that moment, Squirrelflight felt like she was back when the territories were first established. When the two would meet up at the same border and just talk, relaxing from the day’s stress. Squirrelflight purred at the memory.
The ginger she-cat then frowned and looked away from Tawnypelt. “I wish I could go back to the way it was before. Before I…” Squirrelflight dug her claws into the dirt. The tortoiseshell’s ears pricked at the aggressive gesture and laid her tail on the other’s paws. “I know. I wish I could as well.” Tawnypelt admitted. She remembered the moons after the two stopped meeting. The tortoiseshell desperately tried to put behind her fond feelings of the she-cat but was unable to. Even after having had a mate and kits, she still tried to lose those feelings. She could feel for the ginger, so much so that she wanted to help her as much as possible.
For a small moment, the older she-cat stepped over the border and sat against the younger. The younger she-cat melted in the warmth of the other. “I-I’m sorry.. I really shouldn’t be bothering you. I just…” Squirrelflight started and then stopped. Tawnypelt just listened and licked the ginger’s fur. “I understand your situation, Squirrelflight. I… I dealt with the same thing when my father became the leader of Shadowclan..” The tortoiseshell admitted quietly. The ginger’s ears perked at that. It had been so long that Squirrelflight forgot that Tawnypelt used to be a Thunderclan cat. “I.. I’m so sorry..” The younger she-cat let out. The tortoiseshell shook her head and purred. “No need. It was seasons ago.” She said softly. The ginger blinked and purred. “Thank you for this, Tawnypelt. I really needed it.” “Not at all, my friend. If you ever find yourself in need of help, I will be there for you.” The older she-cat said with a final lick on the younger’s ear.
The younger one stood up and nodded. “Thank you.” The ginger then turned and left the border. Tawnypelt’s gaze lingered on the leaving she-cat and sighed. She quickly moved back to her side of the border and shook her pelt.
—
Squirrelflight couldn’t take it anymore. The scrutiny from Brambleclaw. The sad glances from Lionblaze. The cold dead gaze of Jayfeather. The worst of them all was Leafpool’s sad looks and her sister’s attempts to speak to her kits. It saddened her all the time.
Squirrelflight found herself subconsciously at the Shadowclan border once more. She remembered the last encounter with Tawnypelt. After the scrutiny from Thunderclan, Tawnypelt decided to join Shadowclan to be with her father and stayed even after his passing. The ginger thought about the situation and her fur fluffed at the thought of staying in Thunderclan.
The ginger heard pawsteps and quickly searched for the comforting scent of her dear friend. She soon found it and waited patiently. She heard the singular pair of pawsteps and saw the familiar pelt of Tawnypelt. “Tawnypelt..” The ginger whispered the other warrior's name as if it was sacred. The tortoiseshell sat in front of the Thunderclan cat and smiled. “Squirrelflight. Is there something you need?” The older she-cat asked as she rested her tail on the younger’s paws. Squirrelflight felt her muscles tense as she realized what she was about to ask. Thunderclan already didn’t trust her so what would make her think that Shadowclan would? The ginger just sighed and looked at the tortoiseshell with sadness in her eyes. “I can’t handle being in Thunderclan.. The hostility... Brambleclaw doesn’t even acknowledge me anymore!” She shouted unexpectedly. Tawnypelt flinched back as the ginger shouted out her frustrations. When the younger she-cat calmed, Tawnypelt gave her a look of sympathy. The tortoiseshell hesitated before she motioned with her tail for the ginger she-cat to cross. Squirrelflight glowed a bit before carefully crossing the border that had separated the two. Tawnypelt smiled and gave the younger’s ear an affectionate lick. “I’m sure Blackstar will be glad to have such a strong warrior join his ranks.” The tortoiseshell complimented as she stood and led the timid ginger to the Shadowclan camp.
—
“Another Thunderclanner coming to join Shadowclan?!” Crowfrost, one of the only voices Tawnypelt had heard through the sea of voices, exclaimed. Tawnypelt felt the fur on her back rise angrily at the hostile words being tossed at her. The tortoiseshell sat by her ginger friend’s side, who had her head hanging low as if she was a kit that was scolded for using claws in play.
Blackstar just calmly stood up and raised his tail for silence. His eyes were cold but not as cruel as she had remembered previously. She restrained the shiver that tried to wrack her body and she stood up. “Please, Blackstar. I rarely ask this much of you. Squirrelflight has been shunned from Thunderclan due to horrible circumstances and she would like to seek shelter in Shadowclan.” She said calmly. The tortoiseshell saw Squirrelflight carefully look up at the white tom. Blackstar pondered for a moment and then looked to the rest of the clan. “Tawnypelt and I will discuss what to do with Squirrelflight privately but for the time being she is to be treated with respect.” He announced and then jumped off the Pinebranch. He looked to Tawnypelt and beckoned her with his tail to his den.
When Tawnypelt entered the den, she saw the look of concern coming from the leader. “Tawnypelt..” He started. Tawnypelt sighed and felt her fur bristle. “Don’t start, Blackstar.” She said sternly. Blackstar ignored the comment and continued. “I know that your mind has been.. duller since having kits but.. accepting a Thunderclan cat in our ranks? Don’t you want to keep your kits away from your roots?” He said coldly. The tortoiseshell stood up suddenly with her tail lashing angrily behind her. “Don’t you dare bring my kits into this! This is about letting a helpless cat who can’t find peace in her old clan, not keeping my kits pure .” She hissed.
Blackstar’s ear flicked back at the sudden hiss and nodded. “Okay.. but how can we trust her? She lied to her own clan about her kits- no, her sister’s kits. How do we know she won’t lie to us?” He said logically. Tawnypelt glared at the tom and explained, “I know my friend. I spent moons traveling to this lake with her. I know that she would not lie about things unless it's for a good cause.” She felt her fur settle as she continued.
“She lied about the kits to protect her family, Blackstar. Her sister, who, at the time, was the only medicine cat for Thunderclan, made a stupid decision and had kits that were against her code.” She sat down again and looked out the mossy curtain of the leader’s den. She saw Tigerpaw out in the clearing, sharing prey with his sister, Dawnpaw. She felt a wave of sadness as she imagined having to give them up for her duties. “If I had to give up my kits to be a warrior… I would trust my brother to keep my secret..” She said finally.
The tom and she-cat stared at each other for a moment. Blackstar sighed and nodded. “Alright. Squirrelflight can stay but she must prove her worth to us. Any trouble caused by her, she will be exiled.” He said calmly. He walked to the entrance of his den and looked back at the tortoiseshell. “Don’t make me regret my decision..” He hissed before exiting.
Tawnypelt waited only a moment before relaxing her fur. She took a minute to recover before making her way to her friend who was now surrounded by her three kits. “I really hope you can stay! I now have someone who will listen to my cool patrol stories!” The brown tabby apprentice said excitedly to the former Thunderclan cat. Squirrelflight just gave a purr of amusement and nodded at Tigerpaw. “I would be happy to listen.” She said softly. The tortoiseshell sat next to her ginger friend and gave a purr of amusement. “I hope my kits haven’t been bothering you?” She said with a joking tone. Dawnpaw and Tigerpaw opened their mouths to complain but stopped when they saw Blackstar once again climb up onto the Pinebranch above his den.
“All cats, young and old, gather around the Pinebranch!” The mostly white tom announced. Tawnypelt watched as her kits dispersed among the crowd and she stood up, touching her nose to Squirrelflight’s ear. She then moved to go sit in the crowd, subconsciously sitting next to Rowanclaw. The ginger tom looked at her and blinked in greeting. Tawnypelt blinked back awkwardly and looked up at Blackstar.
—
Squirrelflight watched as Tigerpaw and Dawnpaw argued over which of their prey was bigger. She looked down at the small shrew she caught and sighed. The ginger took a small bite out of the prey and continued to watch the activity happening in Shadowclan. Flamepaw and Littlecloud were carrying herbs over to their den, possibly having a chat. Snowbird and Ratscar were sharing tongues with each other. Blackstar and Russetfur were discussing in front the entrance to, what she assumed was, the white tom’s den. A brush of fur at her side is what snapped her out of her staring.
Squirrelflight snapped her head toward the source and relaxed when she saw it was Tawnypelt. “Starting to feel comfortable?” The Tortoiseshell asked. Squirrelflight looked back at Blackstar and Russetfur and felt uneasy. She looked away and nodded. “A little bit. I think some are still uneasy..” She said softly. The ginger heard Tawnypelt hum with an unknown emotion and felt a nose to her ear. “You just have to give it time… I promise to try and help you settle in.” The tortoiseshell said softly.
Squirrelflight just purred and leaned into Tawnypelt’s side. “Thank you…” She stayed by Tawnypelt’s side for a moment, feeling comforting licks from her friend.