Ivypool's Story

Chapter 18

Dovewing's POV
Dovewing stretched out beside the elders den on a warm patch of rocks. Her tail flicked lazily and she smiled, thanking the sun for being out. Squirrelflight rolled her eyes at her, but in a playful way, and Dovewing returned the gesture. It felt good to finally relax.

Ivypool's POV
Sandstorm curled her lips back, and Ivypool hissed. "At least we aren't stealing prey!" Brambleclaw snarled, lashing his tail. A black ShadowClan cat snickered. "Well, your Clan certainly hasn't been using the territory, so we thought that we could use it." Spiderleg snarled. "What do you think StarClan thinks of you for that?" He challenged. A thin but strong cream colored cat smiled. "What do you think they think of you, for sitting in your camp and sobbing for a few moons?" That silenced both of the clans. After a while of quiet, Brambleclaw gave a dismissive flick of his ear. "Don't let us catch you taking our prey again." He growled, and turned to continue the patrol.

Dovewing's POV
Dovewing stood and trotted over to Squirrelflight, Dustpelt and Lionblaze. "We're going on a hunting patrol." Squirrelflight informed her and she nodded, following them out.

Ivypool's POV
Leaping over a fallen tree trunk, Ivypool turned her head to see if the patrol was still following her. Brambleclaw showed up first, then Spiderleg. Sandstorm came next over the trunk, and Cinderheart last. "I'll report what happened during the patrol to Firestar." Brambleclaw offered. Ivypool nodded and padded into camp, passing her sister. She sat beside the warriors den and began to groom her fur. Her thoughts roamed to Tigerheart, so perfect when he sat in the Twoleg home... She sighed and shook him away. She couldn't think about him anymore.

Later that night, at the gathering
Ivypool trotted behind Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight who were murmuring quietly. She sighed and looked over at the big lake, admiring the shining surface. Firestar stopped ahead to let WindClan go first, and she heard irritated sighs from ThunderClan's warriors. "I don't care if we are using a little bit of their territory, we should get to go first." Dustpelt muttered. Dovewing, of course, was patiently waiting with a smile on her face. She didn't seem to care about anything except having a smile. Once we finally reached the island, every clan but ours was there. Great. Ivypool settled with Sandstorm, Spiderleg and Lionblaze nearby while ShadowClan lingered on my other side. With a scared feeling, she turned her head and saw... Tigerheart. Of course he's here. And of course he has to be sitting near me. She thought with a sigh and turned to look at the leaders, waiting for this Gathering to end.

Dovewing's POV
Dovewing noticed Ivypool sitting somewhat alone and stood to go over to her sister, but paused when she noticed Tigerheart inching closer to Ivypool. Curious, and a little frightened, she trotted over. "Hey," she greeted the two of them. Tigerheart gave her a friendly smile and met her eyes for a moment. Flattening her ears in embarrassment, she looked toward Ivypool. "Hi." Ivypool said simply and flicked her tail tip. She noticed a tense hostility between the two and shook her head. Firestar announced the news for ThunderClan, then Onestar. RiverClan went next, and finally ShadowClan. Everything seemed to be going well for each clan.

Later, after the gathering
Ivypool trotted silently with ThunderClan back toward camp. Her paws were half dragging with fatigue, and she blinked dreariness out of her eyes. Firestar even looked like his shoulders were sagging. Not to mention the leader only had a few lives left. She didn't know for sure. Dovewing looked suspiciously quiet for the happy cat she is. Ivypool picked her way through the cats to reach her, but Jayfeather got there first. With an irritated snort, she continued behind Spiderleg.

Dovewing's POV
Dovewing didn't even notice the medicine cat come up beside her, for she was too deep in thought. Why did Tigerheart ask me to meet him? And at such an early time? What was going on between him and Ivypool? She sighed and jumped as Jayfeather spoke. "You seem concerned about something, I can tell by the way your paws are scuffing." He meowed, staring ahead, as always. Dovewing shook her head even if he couldn't see it. "I'm just tired." She murmured and thanked StarClan when they reached camp. Going straight to the warriors den with the others, she plopped into her nest and shut her eyes. She would need as much time for sleep as she could get if she were going to meet Tigerheart.