Crowfeather x Leafpool: The Aftermath (Book 1)

Chapter 2: Onestar's Order

~Crowfeather's P.O.V.~

(Narrarator) Crowfeather sighed wearily as he padded into the warriors' den. It had been a long day. 2 hunting patrols and a border patrol at the ThunderClan border. ThunderClan! thought Crowfeather. Leafpool's Clan... Leafpool. Just the thought of her made him want to cry. He had lost so much after he'd returned to the Clans - ThunderClan, WindClan, his Clan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan - with Leafpool, the ThunderClan medicine cat. They had run away together just so that they could be mates; and it had all been Crowfeather's idea. He had loved her so much: it was devastating to think that she might not care about him anymore. He sighed again as he drifted off to sleep.

~In the dream~

"Crowfeather, help me!" Leafpool yowled. "I'm slipping! I can't hold on much longer.." Crowfeather was thinking of Feathertail, the RiverClan she-cat who'd been his first love. "Feathertail, it's all my fault that you died in the fall.. I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have let you fall!" I murmured. "Crowfeather, it wasn't your fault. Please help me!" she cried out. Just as her grip gave way, I shot forward, grabbing her scruff and hauling her up. "I... saved you." I whispered. "Thank you," mewed the beautiful she-cat. Our eyes met. "Don't you know how I feel about you? And how much I hate myself for feeling that way about another cat so soon after Feathertail's death? I loved her, I really did! How can I love you too?" Leafpool gasped. "Crowfeather, I...." she started to say something, but then the dream changed.

~In the new dream~

"Leafpool, let's run away together! We can live a life outside the Clans, one without secrecy and misery. A life where we can be happy together!"....

~New dream~

"I'm so sorry, Crowfeather. I can't leave my Clan." Leafpool mewed softy, crying. "It's ok, Leafpool. Your heart never truly belonged with me. It will always belong to your Clan."

~Wakes up~

     Crowfeather grunted. I heard Ashfoot, my mother and the WindClan deputy, call my name, so I figured I was needed for patrol. Better go see what Ashfoot wants me to do. I picked my way across the warriors' den, careful not to disturb any late sleepers. I padded out and trotted over to where Ashfoot was organizing the morning patrols. "Whitetail, lead a border patrol by the RiverClan border. You can take.. Harespring, Gorsetail, and Owlshisker. Hey, Emberfoot!" Ashfoot called. "Can you lead another border patrol, please? ThunderClan border." "Sure," mewed Emberfoot. "Who should I take?" "Hmm.." Ashfoot thought. "Take.. Sunpaw, obviously, Dewspots, Sedgepaw, and Crowfeather." Border patrol! Ok, great. Are they starting to trust me enough to mark borders? more often? Or is this just a test? I thought.

     "Alright, let's go." Emberfoot mewed to his patrol. "Come on, Sunpaw!" he called to his apprentice, who was exiting the apprentices' den. "Coming!" She called back. We set of towards the ThunderClan border. Ugh! I really don't want to go to ThunderClan right now! That could end up very bad. I sighed, but I didn't complain, because I didn't want to cause trouble. While he was marking a border marker, he scented ThunderClan cats coming close to the border. Probably just a border patrol. I scented the air again. Hmm.. it's only two cats, not enough for a whole patrol. I'll tell Emberfoot. I decided. "Emberfoot!" I yowled. "What's wrong, Crowfeather?" Emberfoot asked, running towards me. "I've scented two cats coming towards our border. Not enough for a whole patrol, though." I explained, proud of my scenting skills. I peered through the trees and saw the cat that I didn't want to see on this patrol. Oh no! I thought, a feeling of foreboding welling up inside of me, It' s LEAFPOOL! 🙀 Crowfeather studied the other pelt, knowing it but the cat's name just out of reach. Squirrelflight! I realized. "Do you know who it is?" Emberfoot inquired. "Y-yes," I stuttered. "It's L-leafpool and Squirrelflight." I managed to choke the words out of my mouth, hoping Emberfoot hadn't notice me stutter at Leafpool's name. "Well then, they shouldn't mean us any harm, so let's finish this patrol and be on our way." (Skip to returning to camp)

     "Crowfeather! Can you come here please?" Ashfoot called when she saw me come into camp. "Sure" I muttered, trying to catch my breath after that run back to camp. "What do you need?" I asked, slightly unsure if I wanted to know. "Onestar would like to see you in his den," she answered. Her eyes were pools of sympathy. "Ok, I'll go there straightaway. Thanks, Ashfoot," I mewed.

     As I walked over to the leaders' den, I racked my brain for something he would want to talk to me about. Hunting? No, probably not. Behavior? Maybe, it depends though. Leafpool? Most likely, yes. I gathered my thoughts and entered Onestar's den. "Hello, Crowfeather," Onestar greeted me smoothly, his voice nor expression held any sign of emotion, so I couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Hello, Onestar," I said, equally smooth. "Have a seat," Onestar invited me. "Ok. What do you want to talk about?" I asked, annoyed that he was so calm and I was so worried. "See, Crowfeather, this past moon your loyalties have been... shifted, so to speak." I groaned inwardly, knowing exactly where this was going. Damn it, he's going to ask about Leafpool! I knew it! "Yes, and?" I say, not really sure how I should respond to this comment. "Honestly, Crowfeather, are you going to say or will I have to?!" Onestar mewed, a hint of a snarl in his voice. "You took a ThunderClan she-cat, and the MEDICINE CAT no less, as a mate! You met her at night, you RAN AWAY to StarClan knows where!" the WindClan leader paused to catch his breath. "And you still moon over her!!" he finished angrily, curling his lip in disgust. "No I don..." I started to prostest, but Onestar stopped me. "None of that, Crowfeather, I don't want to hear it. There are plenty of good, WINDCLAN she-cats that you could take as a mate. One in particular would love to have you as a mate." again he paused to let what he had said sink in. "You will take her as a mate to prove your loyalty to WindClan. You have my orders!" Onestar said. "Onestar? Who is this said she-cat?" I asked. "Very well," Onestar sighed. "Nightcloud."