Chapter Text
It had been a moon since Longtail had talked with Dustpelt. His mind seemed a lot clearer, and he was able to focus on his warrior tasks. He was back to his old self again, mostly. He still felt excited for patrols with Fireheart. And every time they ran into each other, Longtail struggled to act normal. But, he was mostly okay now. It was time for the gathering again, but Longtail couldn't go. He felt a little disappointed, but as Bluestar listed who else would go, he realized she didn't list Fireheart. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮? Longtail asked himself. He thought it over, and decided he would try. It's not like he would get anywhere if he never talked to Fireheart.
Longtail caught Dustpelt a bit before he went to the gathering. "Hey, Dustpelt. I was thinking about telling Fireheart about. . . y'know," He said. "Nice, tell me how it goes," Dustpelt replied. "Okay, only if you tell me what happened at the gathering," Longtail joked. Dustpelt smiled and was about to reply, when Tigerclaw called, "Dustpelt! Are you coming or not?" Dustpelt padded over to join the group. "See you later, Longtail!" He called over his shoulder. Longtail watched as his tail disappeared through the brambles. Now, to find Fireheart.
It was easy to find the orange warrior, somewhat because of his bright pelt. "Hey," Longtail mewed. Fireheart flicked his tail in acknowledgement. Longtail hesitated, then said, "I need to talk to you." Fireheart looked up. His green eyes filled with confusion. "Uh, okay. What's up?" He asked. Longtail sat down. He took a deep breath, quickly running through what he planned to say. He took a deep breath, then he was ready. "Recently, I have been thinking about something. A certain cat in this clan has been on my mind constantly. I couldn't focus on warrior tasks, or pay attention when someone talked to me. I know why now," Longtail began to explain. Fireheart was listening intently. "The cat I was thinking about was you, Fireheart," Longtail said.
Fireheart was stunned. The two cats sat in awkward silence for a moment, until Fireheart asked, "Why? Why me?" Longtail couldn't reply. "I don't know," He answered finally. But, really, he did know. It was something about his blazing tabby pelt and his eyes that were as green as a tree in newleaf, and his determined and curious personality. All of it had made Longtail fall in love, without even knowing it. Fireheart opened his jaws as of to reply, then paused. He was at a loss for words. "I- I thought- I thought you were, like, friends with Tigerclaw?" The young warrior stammered. And this was the part Longtail didn't think over. "Well, umm- Yeah, kinda. But, Tigerclaw can't control what I do," He replied, though it wasn't entirely true. Fireheart looked deep in thought.
"I need to think about this. I'll try to get back to you by sunhigh tomorrow," The orange warrior decided. Longtail nodded. "Okay." He padded out of the den, feeling worse than before. Fireheart was going to decline and then Longtail would be embarrassed and every interaction with Fireheart would be awkward. Great. Looking for a way to relax, Longtail went to a secret spot behind the warriors den. He had found it with Mousefur, when they were apprentices together. It had tall, soft grass that was perfect for napping. Longtail curled up and shut his eyes. It reminded him of his apprentice days and how badly he wanted to go back. Everything used to be easier. Why can't it be easy now?
When Longtail woke up, it was barely sunrise. He quickly remembered his promise with Dustpelt and went to find him. He padded out from behind the warriors den and saw Darkstripe stretching just in front of the den. "Hey, Longtail. Where were you last night? Dustpelt was looking for you," The dark warrior asked. "Oh, I was behind the warriors den. There's a spot of really soft grass that I found when I was an apprentice," Longtail explained. Darkstripe nodded and yawned. Then he stalked off to the fresh kill pile. Longtail peaked into the den to see if Dustpelt was there, which he was not.
Frustrated, Longtail picked a juicy shrew of the fresh kill pile and sat down to eat. He ate it quickly, then lay on the grass. Tigerclaw and Darkstripe sat nearby, talking. "Longtail, would you like to go on the sunhigh patrol later?" Tigerclaw asked. Longtail thought for a moment, then responded, "Who else is going?" The deputy narrowed his eyes. "Brackenfur, Fireheart, and Runningwind. Why?" "No reason, just curious," Longtail lied. "Alright, then you can go?" Tigerclaw growled. Longtail nodded. "Good." Just then, Dustpelt re-entered camp. He must've been on dawn patrol. Longtail padded over to him.
"Hey!" He said. Dustpelt twitched his whiskers. "So, how did it go?" The brown tabby asked. "Um, well, he said he'd be back to me by sunhigh. I'm actually supposed to be on sunhigh patrol, with him," Longtail answered. "Mm. Alright, well, when he gives you the answer you tell me about it," Dustpelt said. "Okay, okay. But not until you tell me what happened at the gathering!" Longtail meowed, nudging Dustpelt playfully. "Hey!" The two warriors froze. Tigerclaw was staring at them, furious. "You have a patrol to be on, Longtail! Go, now!" The dark tabby hissed. Longtail quickly rushed over to the rest of the patrol and followed them out of camp. As he left, he could feel Tigerclaw's amber eyes staring at him. At least he was on patrol with Fireheart.