Warriors || Hopestar's Choice: Book 1 (1 of 3)

Chapter 14

Graystripe padded up to Hopepaw. The dark gray warrior studied her with a quizzical look. "So how's Sandstorm?"

Hopepaw gave him a look. "Why do you care about my mother?"

"I used to live in ThunderClan, you know. She was my friend." Graystripe answered, ignoring her hostility. "So, how is she?"

"She's fine," Hopepaw answered and she became sad, missing her mother already. "I wonder what she thought when she woke up and I was gone..."

Graystripe touched his nose to Hopepaw's forehead in an attempt to comfort her. She tried not to flinch away from him. "You did the right thing coming here, Hopepaw. TigerClan isn't a safe place anymore."

Hopepaw nodded, "I know." She shook those thoughts from her mind. "Can we begin training now?"

Graystripe's nose twitched with amusement. "Sure, let's go to the river. If you're going to live in RiverClan, you will need to know how to swim."

Hopepaw followed Graystripe out of camp and across the shallow stream. It went up to her bellyfur and she cringed. They traveled across the marshland and Graystripe led her down a slope to the riverbank. Here the riverbank was made mostly of sand and there were a few rocks jutting out from the river.

"I know that you fear water, you have a better reason than most cats," Graystripe mewed. "But you'll get used to it, who knows, you might even like it."

He stepped into the water and Hopepaw's heart started racing. She followed Graystripe into the water since she didn't want to show fear. She missed Thornclaw, he wouldn't have asked her to swim after what happened.

"Once, I almost drowned, too." Graystripe mused and his amber eyes glazed over with memories. "It was leaf-bare and I was hunting with Fireheart, Cinderpelt, and Brackenfur. It was when Brackenfur was Brackenpaw and Cinderpelt was Cinderpaw-before she was hit by a monster."

Hopepaw stiffened at Fireheart's name. How dare Graystripe speak so fondly of such a traitorous cat?! Didn't he understand that Fireheart killed Bluestar? Even this traitor must've respected Bluestar. Sandstorm always told her stories about how honorable Bluestar was.

"I went onto the ice after a vole, or was it a mouse? I don't remember." Graystripe chuckled. "The ice cracked and I nearly drowned, but a RiverClan cat saved me. Her name was Silverstream."

Hopepaw pinned her ears. She knew this story, to some extent. Tigerstar used this story to explain how disloyal Graystripe was. He had chosen a cat from another clan instead of his own flesh and blood. Of course she didn't know the details, but the main plot remained the same.

Graystripe noticed her look because he stopped talking. "I'm sorry. Tigerstar probably told you that Fireheart killed Bluestar, didn't he? I was there at the battle, you know. But I left with the RiverClan cats, I had my kits to think of." Graystripe sighed and lowered his head. "Fireheart did not kill Bluestar, Tigerstar did."

Hopepaw flattened her ears in disbelief. "You're lying! You are a liar!"

"No, Hopepaw, it's true." Graystripe insisted. Somewhere in his amber eyes, Hopepaw saw his determination for her to believe him. Why would it matter? The past was in the past. Graystripe couldn't change what happened. "Fireheart was trying to save Bluestar."

Hopepaw shook her head. "It's not true...it can't be!" If what Graystripe said was true, then that made Tigerstar a liar. What other things had he lied about?!

"I'm sorry, Hopepaw," Graystripe sighed. "I believe that you've been taught a very twisted version of what happened. Allow me to tell you what really happened that day and every day before."

Hopepaw and Graystripe settled down by the riverbank. The dark gray warrior told Hopepaw about Fireheart, Firepaw at the time, and a cat named Ravenpaw. "Fireheart was born a kittypet in the twolegplace. His name was Rusty, and I was the first forest cat he'd ever met. Bluestar was the one that welcomed Rusty to join the clan and named him Firepaw."

"I became really close friends with him, Ravenpaw, too." Graystripe smiled at the happy memories. "We trained together and Tigerstar, Tigerclaw at the time, was Ravenpaw's mentor."

"The day that Firepaw arrived, Ravenpaw had been on a patrol with Tigerclaw. Ravenpaw ran back into camp and shouted 'Redtail is dead'. Redtail had been the deputy. Tigerclaw came back into camp with Redtail. Everyone thought that Oakheart, the RiverClan deputy, had killed him. But it was, in fact, Tigerclaw."

"Tigerclaw killed Redtail in the hope that Bluestar would make him deputy, but she made my mentor, Lionheart, the deputy instead. Lionheart was killed in battle and Tigerclaw finally became deputy." Graystripe shivered. "Firepaw and I knew of Tigerclaw's treachery. We had investigated because Ravenpaw insisted that it was Tigerclaw that had killed Redtail."

"Firepaw and I were forced to help Ravenpaw flee the clan because he was the only one that knew the truth. Tigerclaw would've killed him. In the final battle that killed Bluestar, Tigerclaw had sent out nearly all the warriors on patrol. He led a patrol of rogues and a few ShadowClan cats to attack the camp. Fireheart tried to save Bluestar, but Tigerclaw was too strong."

Graystripe lowered his head as if he were mourning Fireheart all over again. "Fireheart was my closest friend. Did you know that he was in love with your mother?"

Hopepaw shook her head, "No, I didn't know that." Was Fireheart her father? Sandstorm had never named their father, so could it be him? Hopepaw felt a small thrill at the possibility of finally knowing who her father was.

"He's not your father, Hopepaw." Graystripe mewed and he lifted his eyes to her.

Hopepaw's heart sunk. "Do you know who my father is, Graystripe?"

Graystripe nodded, "Yes, I do."

Hopepaw became excited. "Well, who is it?! Who is my father?"

Graystripe met her eyes again. "Hopepaw, I am your father."