Color Me Jealous

TrueColors Series
Preceded by: TBA	Color Me Jealous	Succeded by: Color Me Torn

The following story is rated Moderate. For Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence, and Mild Blood (Copyright: True Colors series by Melody Carlson) (By the way, this is Clover not logged in; I forgot my password)

This page contains a fanfiction written by Clover. This page contains the opinions of the original author(s), and is not patrolled for factual accuracy. Remember that this story is non-canon. It may contain false characters, plots, or locations. Responses, comments & other feedback should be made on the comments section below.

* Name changed to avoid embarrassment.

Allegiances

WindClan

Leader Duskstar: Dust-brown tom with pale yellow eyes

Deputy Amber-eyes: Black-grey she-cat with wide amber eyes

Medicine Cat Brightsun: White she-cat with brown tabby stripes

Warriors

Dawnsky: Pretty silver she-cat with darker tabby stripes and blue eyes, looks like an American Shorthair

Flowerpetal: A dark brown tabby she-cat, so dark she's almost black, with green-yellow eyes

Whitepelt: White-furred tom with black ears and a black tail, and large green eyes

Rainfall: Long-furred black tom with dark green eyes

Silvermask: Silver tom with pale blue eyes

Ashwing: Gray she-cat with clear dark blue eyes

Moonstripe: White tom with single black paw and amber eyes

Mossfeather: Red tom with green eyes

Flyingleap: White-grey tom with swirly tabby stripes, long back

Apprentices

Larkpaw: Cream-colored she-cat with darker spots and blue eyes, mentor - Duskstar

Runningpaw: Brindle-colored tom with sharp leaf-green eyes, brother of Rushpaw and Lightningpaw, mentor - Dawnsky

Rushpaw: Mottled cream-brown tom with yellow eyes, brother of Runningpaw and Lightningpaw, mentor - Brightsun

Lightningpaw: Pale golden tom with yellow eyes, brother of Rushpaw and Runningpaw, mentor - Ashwing

Queens

None:

Elders

Celestialsun: Cream-colored she-cat with swindly tabby stripes

Juniperleaf: Blue she-cat

Prologue - Dawnsky POV

"I can't love you anymore."

I stared at Whitepelt, shocked. What? What was he saying??? He promised me!

"I thought you wanted to be with me forever!" I snapped. I felt the fire rush through my veins. How dare he do this to me, after all we've been through? We'd never actually mated, but we'd been together like we had for one whole leaf-bare!

"I did, Dawnsky." Whitepelt mewed, his extremely long white fur blowing in his eyes.

"Where did that go?"

"With...."

I felt my nose flare. "Who?"

He turned his head away, looking at a tree, and then glancing up at the moon. He sighed. "With...Flowerpetal."

I felt like I could throw up. My best friend? Whitepelt, my mate, had fallen in love with my best friend?

"These things happen," he whispered.

I leered at him. "Why?"

He chuckled slightly, though I didn't find this funny. "Instinct. Come on, Dawnsky, it's not like we're sworn together for eternity."

"Might as well have!" I growled. "And with my best friend? Does she accept this?"

He looked at me, confused, as though, Why should I tell you?. "Ask her yourself."

"Whatever," I retorted, then padded away, flames following my pawsteps. Flowerpetal would pay.

Oh yes, she would pay.

Chapter 1 - Flowerpetal POV

Why are you looking at me like that? Is what I wonder when I see all those icy glares. What, just because Whitepelt moved on, I'm the enemy? I know what they've been saying about me, but is it honestly my fault? We're cats. We can't help who we fall for. Doesn't Dawnsky understand that?

I overheard Dawnsky talking to my old friend, Larkpaw, yesterday. After I became a warrior, I don't know, I just....moved on from my apprentice friendships and became friends with the warriors.

"I don't know why you were ever friends with her, Larkpaw. She's a backstabbing monster."

Maybe Dawnsky didn't know I was on the other side of this hedge. Or maybe she did. I don't know. But Larkpaw did look concerned.

"What could she possibly have done?" She mewed.

"She took away everything I'd ever cared about," She said snarkly.

Why Dawnsky was telling Larkpaw, the cat she never talked to, this, is unknown to me. But I do know this: everyone else was tired of Dawnsky complaining over natural things. Maybe Dawnsky needed a new set of ears.

Everyone knows Dawnsky's out to get me. At least she's not the violent type, that would lash out at her Clanmates. At least, I hope she's not.

What if, in a battle, she "accidentally" attacked me? It would be too easy! Of course, I still look like an apprentice even though I've been a warrior for two moons. I'm easily mistaken as an apprentice, and she would certainly be able to tell it was me.

The really sad thing is I thought that me and Dawnsky were friends. Good friends even. Maybe best friends. And I really liked her. Next to my old best friend, Larkpaw, Dawnsky was the best friend I'd ever had. She's fun and funny, and we have the same taste in things (even toms, as it turns out), and I'd hoped we could be friends for a long time. I'd even wanted her to try and help me become leader someday....

"Didn't you think she'd get mad when you stole her mate?" Amber-eyes asked me the other day. She looked at me, Like, duh, how mouse-brained are you, Flowerpetal?

But the truth is I didn't think Dawnsky would care that much. "I told you, Whitepelt told me they were over with." I told Amber-eyes in a most convincing tone. "He said she knew that they were history."

"That's not what Dawnsky said." Amber-eyes was giving me her no-nonsense look. You'd better not lie to me! Is what her wide amber eyes seemed to say. Now, Amber-eyes is the type of cat who doesn't put up with anything. And she's really gorgeous too. I mean, this she-cat really turns heads.

Back to me. The really hard part about this latest brouhaha is that I'm the newest warrior in WindClan, next to Ashwing, who became a warrior only about three sunrises ago. Although, she's really popular already and gets by with a lot of screw-ups. Like, she gets moss, ya know, for the elders? And it's soaking wet, right? Well, the elders dismiss that. They let her get by with it. And when I accidentally bring back some slightly damp moss, they freak out and yell at me and I get punished. I mean, I feel like I have to prove myself to these valiant warriors on pretty much a daily basis. And every warrior does sometimes, but me? It's just not fair.

And it doesn't help that all the prissy warriors are siding with Dawnsky on this. But Amber-eyes is keeping neutral ground, but that might be only because she's deputy, and Ashwing is shockingly siding with me. Who would've thought? We were both apprentices at the same time, but we had a strong rivalry. I mean, Ashwing really liked Larkpaw. But Larkpaw didn't want to be friends with her. And we all know how that turns out.

"What should I do?" I asked Amber-eyes. "Should I tell Whitepelt that I think Dawnsky is right now?"

"I'm not about to go there," she murmurs, "But you and Dawnsky had better work this out before another battle. We can't have two Clanmates ripping each other's fur out."

I force my brightest, most fake smile. "I'm trying, Amber-eyes, I really am. But Dawnsky won't even speak to me."

"Well, give her time to chill." Amber-eyes rolled her big eyes dramatically. She looked at me like I was personally responsible for the morale of the entire Clan. She looked up at the leader, who was beckoning her. "Well, I gotta go. Me and Duskstar have business to take care of."

I wish I had said something more convincing. I mean, I could really use someone like Amber-eyes on my side right now. Ashwing is popular, but she doesn't measure up to the deputy. The truth is, I feel pretty lonely right now. Even Larkpaw is treating me like a haughty fox these days. But at least I have my Whitepelt.

I can't deny I've had somewhat of a crush on Whitepelt ever since I was born. He was Whitepaw back then, but he's extremely handsome. I mean, those big, leaf green eyes are so beautiful....

Of course, Whitepelt doesn't have a clue that I used to be infatuated with him. Mostly he didn't even know I existed, since I was still a, you know, nobody. And that just hurts. Of course, I never told a single cat any of this. I didn't even tell Larkpaw. I guess that when you're trying to get something, you keep your prey close, as my father would say. Say, whenever I was hanging with Dawnsky, and Whitepelt was around, I'd act laid back, like, I could take you or leave you, Whitepelt. I can literally fight battles without you. After all, you've seen me in training boughts when I was an apprentice, haven't you?

Maybe I'm just one of those cats who learn things the hard way.

If you didn't like this chapter, don't worry, it's only explaining everything in detail. Stick around, please, for the next chapter, at least. Please???

Chapter 2 - Flowerpetal POV

"Why don't you kill her with kindness?" My father, Rainfall, asked me when we were sharing a red cardinal that same day.

"Huh?" Now, me and Rainfall had been talking about Dawnsky, and that shows just how desperate I truly am. But I felt sure I missed something. What did he mean?

"I'm only saying you should be so nice to her she can't help but forgive you."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah, like that'd work."

"Well, just be so kind to her whatever bad feelings she has just die and fade away. Kill her with kindness, Flowerpetal."

My mother had died when I turned five moons old from a ShadowClan attack, so it was natural I was closest to Rainfall. But I did consider this idea, as I walked away to go on a hunting patrol, who, as luck would have it, was made up of me, Dawnsky, Amber-eyes, and Ashwing. Oh, and this weird little apprentice-tom dude, Runningpaw, who's mentor was - and I'm rolling my eyes - Dawnsky.

As I was going over the hill to meet the patrol, I saw a single bright pink rose. Oh? Roses never grow out here. But this one apparently did, and it was beautiful! I could...uh...kill her with kindness, with that! But not yet. I'll leave it here while I go hunting.

When I caught up with the patrol, Dawnsky rolled her eyes. "It took you long enough to get here."

Runningpaw looked at us questionably, then yawned.

I shrugged. "Oh well." Though, inside, I found her horribly rude.

Suddenly, Dawnsky looked up. A rabbit was a couple of fox-lengths away. I saw Dawnsky staring at it with a glint in her eye. She dashed off quickly, killing it and dragging it back over here.

"I really liked your form," I said in a cheerful voice.

"Yeah," she said warily.

All three she-cats looked at me curiously. Even Runningpaw couldn't help but slightly stare.

"Did you learn it from Blazingstar?" Blazingstar had been the old leader, but died when Larkpaw was born. He had been her father, and her mother, too, had died in the raids. I felt slightly bad for her.

Dawnsky narrowed her eyes. "Maybe you'd like to steal that from me, too."

I nodded. "I guess I deserve that."

Amber-eyes looked like she was surpressing a smile now. Ashwing looked like she though I was totally losing it. And Runningpaw....looked like Runningpaw.

"But really, you did it great, Dawnsky." And then, I figured I'd better not lay it on too thick, and shrugged.

Later, I picked the rose and walked up to Dawnsky, who was eating the rabbit she'd caught. Selfish! Anyways, I brought it over and hid it behind my back.

"Mind if I eat with you?"

Dawnsky, who was paying in mind that there were other warriors around, lowered her eyes. She just shrugged.

"Kinda lonely eating by myself."

"How come you're not with Whitepelt?" I could hear the cutting edge in her voice.

Now I shrugged. "Hey, I've got a life, too." Okay, maybe it wasn't a 100 percent true, but it wasn't a lie, either!

"Fox dung! I've got a thorn in my paw." Dawnsky complained, shaking her right paw in the air like a mad cat.

"Here, let me help you." I said, then bit the thorn and pulled it out gently. Dawnsky looked uncomfortable. She muttered a barely audible "thanks".

All of the eating cats, not just, you know, us, were quiet. Maybe all of WindClan could feel the lightning-esque tension between me and Dawnsky. I could tell they were waiting for a cat-fight to break out between me and Dawnsky at any moment. I can see it now, all of them cheering (probably for Dawnsky) as the two of us rolled around on the soft, minty green grass, ripping at each other with tooth and claw. Thankfully, neither of us are really like that. At least, we haven't been so far.

"Look," I said to my friends, "Is it okay with everyone if me and Dawnsky end it?"

"Hey, that's what I'm hoping for," Amber-eyes meowed. "But, Dawnsky, is it okay with you?"

She sighed. "I'm thinking about it."

"Great," said Amber-eyes. "I know it would make me way more comfortable."

Somehow, we made it through the meal without any clawing or even name-calling, but my stomach felt like it was tied up in a hundred knots by the time I'd finished my meal of mostly uneaten prey. I felt bad, because a elder could've eaten it, but I didn't care at the moment.

After battle practice (Duskstar commands we all battle practice in case the awful ShadowClan incident happens again), I asked Dawnsky if I could talk to her in private.

Her eyes narrowed. "What? Are you going to try and murder me or something?"

I laughed. "Yeah, you bet, Dawnsky." Like 95 percent of the other cats, she was way larger than me.

Anyways, I think her curiousity got the best of her, and she let me pull her aside.

"I have something for you. It'll probably seem kinda lame, but maybe you could just consider it a peace offering. Like, you know, when Blazingstar would give RiverClan a few hill-lengths of land so they wouldn't attack."

She shrugged.

"I'm truly sorry for hurting you," I mewed. "Here." I went through a bush I'd put the pink rose in, and grabbed it with my teeth. I set it down in front of her. "You like?"

She looked at it then back at me. "Are you serious?"

I nodded.

"Wow."

I felt hope like fire surge through me. "So you like it?"

"Of course. But are you sure?"

"Yes, like I said, it's my way of saying sorry."

She almost smiled. "Well, thanks."

At least she accepted my gift, and I think we're on the road to recovery now. Cool!

I told Whitepelt about it when he talked to me tonight, and he thought I was crazy.

"You gave Dawnsky a pink rose? Where in StarClan's name did you find it?"

"I just wanted to do something to help her move on. And, that's my secret."

"Hey, I would've liked to see it."

I laughed. "Well, sorry, Whitepelt. But I guess it's partly your fault I made that sacrifice."

"You mean because I couldn't stay away from you?" He half-smiled. Awww.

"Yeah." I said. "Dawnsky told me she wouldn't have been so mad if you hadn't actually gotten....you know....near me so soon. Given her time to cool down, I mean."

"Don't be so sure," he replied. "I know Dawnsky. I could have waited a whole month and she still would've been furious. She's possessive like that."

"Well, I think the worst is over now."

And I really do. I actually think that Dawnsky and I will be able to be friends again. Anyway, I hope so. And I'll go out of my way to try and do that. Because, despite everything that's gone on, I really do love Dawnsky, and I wish that we could be best friends again. If we can only get past the Whitepelt thing. I think it would really help if she had a new mate. Now, who could the lucky tom be? I think I'll start making a list of possibilities.

If you still didn't like it, just give it one more try on the next chapter. I promise, it gets better each chappie! :D

Chapter 3 - Dawnsky POV

I'm actually laughing in my head right now. Does Flowerpetal really, and I mean, really think we can be friends again after she pulled a fast one on me? I could tell she was buttering me up when she complimented on my form. And that rose? As if she's really sorry! C'mon!

In fact, I saw her climb right out of her nest and sneak off with Whitepelt. Oh, that doesn't bug me at all.

Haven't you heard of stalking?

I climbed out of my nest also, following their scent. Where in StarClan's name did they think they were going? It turns out, it was Fourtrees. I'm rolling my eyes now. Seriously? Yeah, Whitepelt, real romantic.

I hide behind a bush and watch them lean in towards each other. It's pitiful, really. Whitepelt is whispering something in her ear. She's giggling. Ugh, this is disgusting! Now they're rubbing heads together all hungrily like they can't get enough of the other. Puh-leeze.

He touches her nose with his nose. Now, if it were with some forbidden Half-Clan couple, I'd go, "Awww." But this? Blea!

Hmmm....how bad would you say murder is? What? It's not like StarClan won't forgive me. I'm so doing the right thing! I can say I only smelled Whitepelt's scent and was worried about him. Yeah. That'll work. And I'll attack Flowerpetal because I thought she was some ThunderClan freak.

I jumped out of the bush, dashing over at that midget of a she-cat and leaping on her back, screeching a battle cry. "Get away from Whitepelt, you ThunderClan crowfood!" I snarled, sinking my teeth into Flowerpetal's neck.

Now, as many cats know, Flowerpetal is very small. There's no way she could shove me off. I'm not large, but I'm waaaaay bigger than her.

"Dawnsky, stop! It's okay!" Whitepelt pleaded with me. But I ignored. I would ignore until I was sure Flowerpetal was dead.

But suddenly, I was pushed off the top of her. I looked up in shock to see Whitepelt, bewildered.

"Dawnsky?!?! What did you think you were doing?!?!"

I widened my eyes innocently, and looked at Flowerpetal like I was confused. "Flowerpetal?"

She swiveled her neck around quickly to lick some blood off of her neck, then snapped around to look back at me. "Dawnsky? Why would you do that?"

I looked at her innocently. "I....I didn't know it was you! I thought you were a ThunderClan cat harming Whitepelt!"

Flowerpetal looked skeptical, but Whitepelt seemed to believe me...a little. "So....you didn't mean to do that to her?"

"No, of course not! Why would I?" I widened my eyes even more and I even felt the need to yawn, but held it, so tears were brought to my eyes.

Whitepelt's eyes softened. "Oh, it's okay, Dawnsky. Uh...accidents happen."

Oh, yes, they do... I thought evily.

Flowerpetal glared at me warily. "So...why are you out here the same time as us?"

I frowned. "I was going to make dirt, but I smelled Whitepelt's scent alone and wondered where he was going. So...I followed him. Honestly, I'm sorry! Oh, Flowerpetal don't you forgive me?" Okay, it's official; this is my best performance ever!

Flowerpetal smiled, more like she believed me. "I-it's okay."

StarClan, how gullible are these two? They truly are made for each other.

Anyways, we walked back, all together, and Flowerpetal looked very uncomfortable, and once we got back to camp, Flowerpetal snuck into the medicine cat den to get some supplies and heal herself. She didn't want the Clan to know what I'd done, and she'd kind of been apprenticed as a medicine cat for a while, but quit pretty soon as she began. Although, I must say, she was fairly gifted.

Once we were all back in our nests and Flowerpetal had doctored herself, I was still awake, and apparently so was Flowerpetal, even though I'm sure it had been hours.

She peered at me, like she was trying to see something better. "Dawnsky? Are you awake?"

I tightened my eyes, and ignored her.

She shrugs, then gets up and heads over to the apprentice's den. I'm obviously curious, so I watch.

She brings out Larkpaw. I have relatively good hearing, but even so, I have to strain to hear what they're saying.

"What? Really? Are you sure, Flowerpetal?"

Flowerpetal then says something about mates.

"I don't think so," Larkpaw replies.

"I do...maybe." Flowerpetal says uneasily.

Larkpaw says something, very very low, so low I can't even pick up a whisper. Flowerpetal replies in an equally low voice, but since she's got an unusually higher pitch, I could hear her.

"And...and I could tell, you know, he really loves me, Larkpaw. He really wants to be my mate. I think he's the one."

"And how do you know that for sure, Flowerpetal?"

I saw that Flowerpetal did not reply, but shook her head sadly. "I don't. Why do you care? You're not exactly the most experienced when it comes to toms." And, even though I think Larkpaw is a little stupid, I think that would hurt anybody. I could even see the pain in that apprentice's eyes from here.

"Oh?" Larkpaw meowed. "Do you really think that? Do you even know what I feel inside, Flowerpetal? Don't you know?"

Flowerpetal looked very confused now. And I don't mean, like, confused as in, which way do I go? I mean confused like, I am seriously lost.

"Runningpaw is my best friend now that you've ditched me." I hear the bitterness in the she-cat's voice. Wow. She always came off to me as so sweet. "He's always there for me, and listens to me complain about you. But when I critisize you, to your face, in a friendly way, that shows I really care about you, Flowerpetal, you fire off in some way that makes me regret I even know you!"

Flowerpetal blinked, but didn't miss a beat, although I could tell she was shocked. "I didn't know you felt like that, Larkpaw."

Larkpaw huffed. "No. And I bet you didn't know my warrior's ceremony was tomorrow either."

Flowerpetal was surprised. This was really juicy. "Oh. No."

Larkpaw bared her teeth. "My point is made. I presume, anyways. Did you get that?"

Flowerpetal nodded, sighed, and then turned away, coming back to the warrior's den. I quickly ducked my head down and pretended to sleep.

Perfect. Not only did I know that Whitepelt only wanted Flowerpetal to mate with her, but I also knew that Larkpaw is fed up with her not caring.

Tomorrow was going to be good.

Ohhh, Dawnsky is baaad! Have you ever seen such a possessive cat??? If you're still reading up to this point, then yay! I love you1 If not, then......*cries* LOL

Chapter 4 - Flowerpetal POV

Just when you think you can relax in life, the roof caves in.

For one thing, I know that Dawnsky was putting on a pretty good show when she "accidentally" tried to kill me because she thought I was a ThunderClan cat. And when Larkpaw blew the top...wow. She's never usually like that. Oh, and in case anyone wants to know, her warrior name is Larkfeather. And another thing I didn't know that Runningpaw's ceremony was today too. I mean, wow. His name is Runningfoot. I didn't know that Larkfeather cared about Runningfoot that much. I thought she thought the world revolved around me. And today...worst day of my life. Yes, worse than Dawnsky trying to kill me. Let me explain.

I mean, I wanted for me and Dawnsky to be friends again. I really did, no matter what she thinks. I even wanted us to be best friends again because I really like her (okay, used to like her). I mean, even Amber-eyes was proud of us for seemingly patching things up. Life was good.

But life as I knew it ended today. As I said before, I'll go into detail to explain.

Now, there was a Gathering today, and actually, quite a few cats were chosen to go. I mean, a lot, a shocking ammount. But Duskstar seemingly thought there were going to be lots of other cats from other Clans going to the Gathering, too. I'll list some of them; Duskstar, Amber-eyes, Larkfeather, Runningfoot, Rainfall, and a lot of others I don't feel like mentioning.

And so, for some reason I don't think half of the Clan understands, or will understand when they get back, they left Ashwing in charge. I don't know why! Oh, I don't think I've mentioned this before; Ashwing is Duskstar's daughter. And he thought his only child would be good and responsible and orderly while he was away. Not.

And Ashwing got this great idea! Peachy great. It was that we all went crazy and kinda trashed the camp while the majority of the Clan was away. No elders were there, and there were currently no queens or kits anyways, so who would get hurt? It was only warriors and two stupid apprentices, Rushpaw and Lightningpaw, anyways.

Let me tell you, Ashwing is one gutsy cat, not only in battle, but life in general, too. I mean, I would never, ever try and pull this stunt when Duskstar was away. Ever. Still, I have to admire Ashwing for her boldness.

Anyway, to my recent relief, Dawnsky has been showing interest in one of our handsome but not-so-talented senior warriors, Silvermask. Actually, I wouldn't call him a senior warrior, but he's not new, so he's somewhere in between. Of course, I was encouraging her in these lines. I mean, Silvermask is a great cat. Oh, he's not Whitepelt, but he's not exactly Runningfoot, either, if you know what I mean. Naturally, I thought that if Dawnsky could find a new mate, it could really help restore our friendship.

Meanwhile, Silvermask was really flirting wtih Dawnsky. Not surprising, especially since Dawnsky is one of the most beautiful she-cats in the forest. I was thinking, All right, my troubles are over. Like this should really cinch the deal. Yeah, right.

So Whitepelt came over to me with a couple of his friends, and he was acting really strange.

"Tell my pals how much you love me," he demanded.

Um....this was kind of....awkward. I mean, that he would command me to say something like that in front of his friends. One of them, Moonstripe, was laughing like this was all a joke. Seriously, it wasn't funny.

"Well? Don't hesitate." He growled.

"What? Uh, Whitepelt, you're acting really weird."

His friends billowed in laughter, embarrassing both Whitepelt and me. He waved his tail in a lashing way, and looked at me worriedly. His friends backed off, still laughing. Whitepelt lowered his voice.

"Don't you think everyone should know what we have is special?"

I glanced at him uneasily. "Sure, but....I think they already know."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I..."

He sighed. "I know how we cats are. Instinct. But I really thought we loved each other. I guess not." He sighed, turning away. He just stared blankly at the moon.

"Whitepelt." I said flatly, sitting by him for a long time. Neither of us said anything. I even licked his cheek! Some tom, huh?

Suddenly, I saw Dawnsky and Silvermask talking and giggling like...like...well, it's hard to explain. But I'm not the only one who noticed. Whitepelt was staring intensly at them. I could see a fire in his eyes. I heard this term from a kittypet once...what was it, hungover? That might describe how Whitepelt was acting. The kittypet told me twolegs drank things from long brown sharp bottles that made them act strange, and the term to say what it was was hungover, yes. Wasted, too. But I'm sure he didn't drink anything from the long brown bottles....did he? And if he did, it wouldn't affect him....would it?

Whitepelt stood up, and feebly waddled over to Dawnsky and Silvermask. Whitepelt tapped Silvermask on his shoulder with his tail. Whitepelt turned around, and I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I could tell from his expression he was probably telling him to back off.

Now, how would I describe Dawnsky's look? It was like a starving rogue that saw a bounty of raw meat. Nothing would stop it from getting it's prize, now that it was so close. She looked up at Silvermask like she was in a trance, and said something to him. Silvermask looked shocked, but shrugged and walked away after a moment. Whitepelt whispered something into Dawnsky's ear, and then put his head across her shoulders. She did the same, but saw me and smirked. Oh, Flowerpelt, don't you know you can't win? Is what her expression seemed to say.

Now, you can't imagine the millions of emotions that surged through me at that moment. First of all, I was hurt, deeply hurt. But then, I was embarrassed too. More like humiliated. But I just told myself to chill, to be mature. I'm not an kit anymore, so I should stop acting like it! Whitepelt was probably talking to Dawnsky for old time's sake. Before long, he'd be over here again. But then, they just sat there in that posistion for the longest. What was happening? Where was my life headed? I went into one of the burrows, where I found Ashwing.

"What's up with Whitepelt and Dawnsky?" Ashwing inquired.

"I don't know."

She shook her head. "It looks like they're patching things up. Don't go falling apart on us, Flowerpetal. You knew all too well when you got together with Whitepelt that this could happen."

"I did not!" I glared at her.

She laughed. "Come on, Flowerpetal, don't be mouse-brained. You know what goes around comes around, and you should've known Dawnsky wouldn't give up Whitepelt without a good fight. That's why I was on your side. You needed me."

"But Dawnsky and I are frie--"

"Good," Ashwing snapped. "Let's keep it that way. But if Dawnsky becomes Whitepelt's mate again, and I mean, really real mate, then I don't want to hear any complaining out of you. I'm sorry, Flowerpetal. But I'm stressed and I don't have time to deal with your problems."

That makes two of us, I thought bitterly. "But--"

Ashwing cut me off again. "No buts. All is fair in love and war, right, Flowerpetal?"

Well, I had no answer for that, and feeling shamefully close to tears, I decided to just split. You know, just go into the forest for a while. So I really started running out of that burrow and through the hills. StarClan, maybe I'd even go as far to ThunderClan territory! I didn't care.

It's a shame that WindClan aren't designed to run even faster. I could have made a really spectacular exit.

Sorry it's so very short, I promise it will be longer next time!

Chapter 5 - Flowerpetal POV

I didn't want to go back to WindClan yet. I was still fuming over what had happened. So, I walked along a small little forest path when I thought I saw...

"Larkpaw!...Er, I mean, Larkfeather!"

She peered at me like she was an old elder. "Flowerpetal?"

I leaped and ran over to her, and literally fell at her paws, sobbing uncontrollably. Okay, maybe I was being a bit of a drama queen? Tonight, I had a good reason.

"What's wrong?" She asked. "Did someone die? Flowerpetal, what is it?"

"I-It's Whitepelt," I cried.

"Is he okay? Did he get hurt?"

"He's with Dawnsky. Th-They're back together," I stammered. I heard Larkfeather try and surpress a giggle, so I stepped back, feeling silly. "It was awful," I told her, looking at my paws. "I just need someone to talk to."

She shook her head in this dismal sort of way, and I suspect she thought I was a mouse-brain, and maybe I am, but then she invited me to talk with her under a bush.

"So...are WindClan coming back?"

"No, they're just having a huge heated fight over why SkyClan left. You know, that old Clan that used to stay here? If I ever have kits, then I'm not going to tell them about SkyClan. There's enough fight as it is. Anyways....maybe it's for the best. Dawnsky and Whitepelt being back together, I mean."

"For the best?" I cried. "How can it be for the best, Larkfeather? I think I love him."

She glanced at me, and her eyes softened, like she wasn't looking at the same cat anymore. Maybe she wasn't. "Does he love you?" She asked lightly.

I shrugged. "He'd been hungover, I guess you'd describe it."

She looked at me questioningly. "Hungover?" Oh, I forgot. She hadn't been with me when I met that kittypet.

"Oh, nevermind," I hissed.

Anyways, she nodded. "So, he'd been....uh....hungover, and he was flirting with Dawnsky?"

"Yeah."

"He sounds like a really great cat, Flowerpetal."

"He is," I insisted. "You just don't know him like I do. When it's just him and we're talking...well, it's like we're the only two cats in the world. He's not really the guy you see at battles and on hunting patrols. He's got a sweet, sensitive side."

"Obviously," Larkfeather rolled her eyes. I studied her closer, wondering when she'd become so outspoken. She never used to be like this....

"I'm sorry," she said. Well, that's better. I thought. But I just nodded my head in this pitiful way, to see if I could garner more sympathy.

"It's too bad you had to get hurt, Flowerpetal." Larkfeather meowed. "You never know, something good may come out of it."

"Something good?" I snapped. "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. But when I had to go through something hard " - She glared at me like I had to do with something - "Well, it made me grow up in some ways, and it made me realize I needed Something in my life."

I hardened my gaze. "Listen, Larkfeather, I just had my heart stomped on tonight. I don't need you preaching a sermon to me."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever."

So we just sat there in silence, listening to the Gathering cats fight. Finally, I realized Larkfeather just wasn't going to get this. If I wanted sympathy, I had come to the wrong place.

"Thanks," I told her as I got out from under the bush. "I better go."

"I'll be praying to StarClan for you," she mewed.

"Whatever," I snapped.

And then I left. But instead of staying away from WindClan like a smart kitty, I became curious and went back. And they do say, curiousity killed the cat.

I decided to walk around the camp and go around the hills and enter that way unexpectadly, save for the humiliation. And for some reason, I began getting this hopeful feeling, like maybe Whitepelt had left Dawnsky by now. And perhaps he'd noticed I'd gone missing and went looking for me. I imagined him apologizing to me with big, moist green eyes, telling me that his Dawnsky involvement was just a fluke, that his judgement had been impaired for some reason and never happen again. And then, Silvermask and Dawnsky would go to the Moonstone and promise themselves to each other and have millions of kits and create SilverDawnClan! Hey, call me a perennial optomist, but I felt it could happen.

As I went over one hill, I saw Ashwing with a very large leaf in her mouth, holding it out as far as her neck could stretch and looking disgusted.

"What's wrong?" I asked as she set down the leaf. It unraveled to reveal a very nasty-looking chunky green-yellow substance.

"Everything," She snapped as she stared at the mush.

"What's going on?" I replied.

"It's a disaster, Flowerpetal. What started out as a little game I wanted to make of trashing the warrior's den turned into an outrage! Cats I don't even know are showing up. I don't know, maybe they heard Dawnsky screaming."

My heart started to race. Why would Dawnsky be screaming? Maybe for the thrill of it all.

"Some random tom vomited in the leader's den, and I had to clean it up all by myself. No one would help me."

"Can I help you?" I offered. Honestly, I didn't know what I could do. I just wanted to find Whitepelt and get out of here.

"Would you?" Her eyes lit in sheer joy.

"What can I do?"

"Help me start by clearing out the place. Maybe you could say our guards are sure that WindClan is coming home."

"What guards?"

"None," she smiled, then lowered her voice. "Look, what I said before about Dawnsky, and ignoring whatever happened, I didn't mean it. Sorry."

I shrugged. "It's okay," even though it wasn't.

So I went into the shockingly larger crowd of cats, whispering and telling them we were going to get busted any minute. And let me tell you, it was amazing how the word spread like wildfire, and pretty soon all the cats who didn't belong, at least on the main level, were gone. All the ones who'd stayed on land who were WindClan themselves went into the dens to clean them up.

"You are a lifesaver, Flowerpetal," Ashwing complimented me as she picked up a baby eagle carcass and buried it.

"I think there are still some cats under the ground," I told her.

"Wanna go tell them there's a raid going on?"

Getting into the spirit even more, I ran over to the burrows and shouted into them. "WindClan are coming back! Hurry, get out immeditely!" Let me tell you, it was really fun. But when I yelled into one burrow, no one came out, even though I could smell cat-scent in there. I thrust my head in, and what I saw shocked me.

Whitepelt and Dawnsky...

Were mating. (A/N: Sorry if that disturbs you, it even disturbs me, but I had to put that in to move the story along. At least it's nothing too explicit. Sorry.)

Without saying another word, I just backed out of the burrow and went back over the hill to where Ashwing was. "What's wrong?" asked Ashwing when she saw me. "Oh, please tell me you didn't find a dead body down there somewhere?"

I just shook my head, and, in the same moment, I saw Whitepelt and Dawnsky dash across the plains and leap into the Warrior's burrow.

Ashwing's mouth gaped in awe. "Oh, poor Flowerpetal," she said soothingly. "Those two are such total pieces of fox dung, they deserve each other. Just forget about them, Flowerpetal."

And finally, I stopped sobbing. So, I helped her clean up.

Sometimes there's nothing like good, hard work when you're depressed.

Awww, poor Flowerpetal! Imagine how that must feel!

Chapter 6 - Flowerpetal's POV

Now, I told you the story. Awful, huh? It's been two days, and Ashwing has been my best friend since. Me and her, we eat alone on the other side of a hill, where no one can hear us.

"Has one of your mates evern left you like that, Ashwing?" I asked her.

She looked at me like I was mad. "I haven't been a warrior for that long, although, I do have my eyes on Silvermask."

Uh-oh.

But then I remembered the day before yesterday. Now, there was no chance for poor Silvermask to get together with stupid Dawnsky.

"Oh, it's okay, Flowerpetal. You know. He's free now, anyways."

I looked at her, confused. "Actually, I don't know. To be perfectly honest, I'm still new at this fox dung."

She turned her head to look at me and smiled - a sincere smile. "You're really a sweet cat, Flowerpetal. It's almost a shame."

I frowned. "A shame?"

"That you've gotten yourself mixed up in this crowd."

"Huh?"

"Sometimes I just get so sick of us. You know, warriors like me and Dawnsky. The senior warriors aren't like that. I just really am influenced by them. I think they're way different than mouse-brained Dawnsky, and I just want to be one of them. I don't even care if I'm outcast - I'm sick of this game."

"O-oh." I stammered. Then, all of a sudden, I started going on about Whitepelt and Dawnsky, and she listened, probably because I'd helped her clean up just before Duskstar and the rest of WindClan got home.

But finally, she said, "You know, Flowerpetal, you just need to let it go."

"Let it go?"

"Uh-huh. Let it go."

"How do I do that?"

"You've just got to get on with your life."

"What if I can't?" I noticed my paws were fidgeting, a habit I thought I'd given up a long time ago.

"Well, then ask yourself, what good is it going to do to be consumed by jealousy?"

"Consumed by jealousy?" I echoed, cocking my head.

She sighed. "Okay, quit repeating everything I say. It's annoying. Anyways, that's how you seem to me, Flowerpetal. It's like it's eating you alive that Dawnsky got Whitepelt back."

"But it was wrong," I told her. "It should be against the rules to...do....that to get a mate back."

Now, this made Ashwing laugh so hard I thought she would vomit. "The rules?" She finally sputtered. "What rules, Flowerpetal? Don't you know there are no rules when it comes to this kind of thing?"

"Yeah, yeah", I rolled my eyes. "All is fair in love and war. But you'd think when cats are friends - "

"Friends?" She looked at me like I was a kit. "Did you really think that Dawnsky was your friend?"

"We used to be good friends - "

"No, I mean, after you moved in on her tom. Did you honestly think she was your friend after that?"

I considered this. Well, she did try to murder me...

"Get real, Flowerpetal. Dawnsky was just using you, to worm her way back into your world so she'd have the upper paw and gain some control over what was happening with you and Whitepelt. Didn't you get that?"

I shook my head. Call me dumb or naive or just plained mouse-brained, but I did not get that. "I thought she was my friend," I said in a mousy voice.

"It's how the game is played," she hissed. "StarClan, we've been playing it since we were kits, and Dawnsky was a warrior then, too. She's pretty old. Anyways, I guess this really is new to you." She pushed her rabbit carcass away. "I guess that does put you at a serious disadvantage, Flowerpetal."

"You're telling me", I looked at her hopefully. "I'm open to any advice."

She sighed. "That's just what I'm saying. Like I told you, I'm getting kind of sick of the game. I mean, maybe you're just catching me on a bad day, but I just wish everyone would grow up. Dawnsky is old enough. I act more mature than her!"

Yeah, real mature, crashing the camp last night, I wanted to say. But I held my tongue because I felt bad for Ashwing. But then I remembered something she'd told me earlier. "What about Silvermask, Ashwing? Would you lower yourself to play the game if you could get Silvermask?"

She shrugged.

"You know that he and Dawnsky aren't mates at all. You could easily get him. I mean, didn't you see him last night? He looked pretty annoyed."

"Oh, right," She said sarcastically, "I wanna get him on the finchin' rebound. You bet!"

"Yeah, I guess that's not such a good idea."

"If Silvermask and I are meant to be, then fine. But I'm not going to go chasing after him."

"Right." And I told myself I wouldn't be going after Whitepelt, either, but unfortunately I didn't exactly believe myself. We talked for a little while longer, and I really tried to take her advice about letting things go. I even put on this happy face like, Hey, everything's cool. But the pitiful truth is there is something inside me that just won't let go.

Later, when I was going for a walk (I was really supposed to be looking for prey, whatever), I smelled Whitepelt's scent. I thought about stalking him, just like Dawnsky did.

Now, I ask you, how lame is that?

I'm sorry, this is kinda a filler. Oh well. And sorry it's uber-short, too....