[*+ ravenpaw's betrayal +*] a warriors au

|two| Unexpected Ambush

     "This is the best place to hunt." Darkstripe leaded Ravenpaw to a dusky, forested area.
"Really? Isn't it too compact?" Ravenpaw questioned, grunting as he squeezed himself through two patches of brambles. Picking off twigs, he added, "A cat can't even get through here!"
"Hush!" The shadowy tabby hissed, pricking his ears.  He scented the air, his eyes widening in slight alarm.
Catching his fearscent in the clear sky, Ravenpaw began to sniff the air.  His claws unsheathed and slid them into the dry, crisp leaves beneath him.  Thunderclan? 
"Get behind the ferns!" Darkstripe warned, lowering his slim, black-ticked tail.  Arguing broke out among the ThunderClan patrol.  Ravenpaw stopped dead as he spotted Goldenflower.  What's she doing? She's a queen! 
Sliding out from the brambles, he ducked beneath a patch of thorned undergrowth.  His heart skipped a beat as he felt pressure against his pelt.  To his relief, it was only Darkstripe.
Ravenpaw attempted to make out more of the cats: Whitestorm, Graystripe, and Sandstorm!  With a jolt of terror, he suddenly realized that those three cats were all linked to Firestar in some way- Whitestorm and Graystripe being his loyal friends, and Sandstorm being his mate!
They're looking for us! Ravenpaw gulped, pressing his smoky black paws against the firm soil.  He couldn't imagine how angry Goldenflower was at Tigerstar. The senior queen was mates with the fierce warrior, having Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw as kits.
He's with Sasha, he hissed to himself.  Poor Goldenflower. I hope she doesn't know about her...or Hawkpaw and Mothpaw.
"We'll find Tawnypaw," Sandstorm meowed to the golden, shivering she-cat. "She wouldn't have gone far. You need to leave us to find her."
"Absolutely not!" The queen snapped back. "I want to scold her as soon I lay eyes on her fur!"
"It's okay," Graystripe meowed. "Don't forget that she is an apprentice now.  She is allowed to go out of camp. She probably just wanted some fresh air."
"Hide." Whitestorm warned, his voice lowered and levelled.
"Wha-?" Graystripe started.
"Hide!" The white warrior snapped, leading the patrol toward a dense bramble thicket.   Sandstorm, though, refused to move.  She scented the air, her eyes turning from fear to a narrowed fury.  
"Come on out!" She demanded.  "We know you're there!"
Ravenpaw, gulping, slipped beneath a tree trunk, peaking his head over a gentle slope that ended his hiding place. 
"R-Ravenpaw?" Graystripe stammered, causing the patrolling cats to prick their ears in shock.  Ravenpaw felt warm breath tickle his neck fur.  He turned toward Darkstripe, and then behind him. Then, he spotted the strong muscled tabby. Tigerstar!
"Oh, hello friends." He meowed in a cold, deep tone.  "I see you've met two warriors of mine.  Come on, Darkstripe."
Peaking his head out cautiously, the dark warrior ducked under intertwining vines that lashed out among him, their thorns scraping at his cheeks.  Graystripe gazed fiercely at him.
"T...Tigerstar!" Goldenflower's jaw drooped open. "Tawnypaw is missing!  Bramblepaw and I looked all around the camp!"
"Missing? Well, I thought this was Tawnypaw." The brown warrior swiped his tail to the side, unveiling a white warrior with tawny, tortoiseshell markings.  
"Tawnypaw!" The queen's tail lashed in shock -- and anger.  "What are you doing?  You made Fire--I mean, Whitestar,  send out a whole patrol looking for you!"
Whitestar?  Ravenpaw realized. Is that..Whitestorm's leader name?
He never knew who was appointed deputy of ThunderClan.  If anything, he thought Firestar was mousebrained enough to skip the whole ceremony!
"Mom, I missed dad.  He is starting a clan of his own.  Isn't it best to support him? My own father?" Tawnypaw meowed, her eyes burned with unexpected anger.
Before Goldenflower could reply, The tawny she-cat went on.  "You're his mate, and my mother.  You shouldn't have pulled me apart from him.  Remember, he didn't kill Firestar.  Ravenpaw did." The fury in her eyes faded into a sorrowful mist that clouded her green gaze. "There is just too much going on right now.  I can't bare to deal with it.  Please...let me stay with him. I miss him."
"Your father did horrific things.  Not to mention, your half-siblings."  Her mother replied, her voice soft as she spoke, but a fierce emotion still stalked her gaze.  
"My what?" Tawnypaw meowed.
"Sasha has nothing to do with anything!" Tigerstar defended. "Neither does Mothpaw and Hawkpaw!"
"Go on then, Tigerstar! Tell our daughter about her unknown siblings and her new mother!"  Goldenflower snapped, a tone of fierocity that sent Tigerstar over the edge.  He lashed out at his former mate, sending deep claw marks along her muzzle.  Darkstripe lunged forward, grabbing his scruff and pulling him back.  His black paws skidded on the soil as he fell over, Tigerstar wrestling with the queen.  Whitestar -- the new ThunderClan leader -- launched his front paws out at the powerful warrior.  Sandstorm and the rest of the patrol joined in, clawing and biting the fur off of Tigerstar.
"Stop!" Tawnypaw cried, but the battling cats ignored her.  Ravenpaw glanced at Darkstripe, but he wasn't there.  He scanned the thrashing hindquarters and claws, spotting his dark pelt among the mixed furs and tails.
"Stop!" Tawnypaw screeched, her meow loud enough to stop all the cats.  "Get off of Goldenflower, Tigerstar!"
Pity, the warrior sprang off his former mate, spitting at her paws.  He let out a low growl, blood trickling along his sides, throat, and forehead.
She fights well for a queen! Ravenpaw noticed, surprised.
The rest of the patrol shot up, even Whitestar.  They were treating Tawnypaw as their commander.
"I can't believe this." She hissed, her tawny sides heaving.  The screech nearly took her last breath away.  She began padding toward her battle-scarred mother, turning to Tigerstar.  "I hope you starve to death in the dark forest, Tigerstar.  You deserve nothing and nobody.  Why would it matter to you anyways? You only worry about your infamous life and pride!"