Sorry it took so long! I'm busy with school stuff and swimming.

Reviews would be loved!

I still don't own warriors.

Chapter 5

~Tigerstar

As Tigerstar approached the new campsite, he scented RiverClan.

'They must already be here,' he thought.

The dark tabby lead his Clan into the clearing. "This will be our new camp," he announced. The ShadowClan cats looked at each other, then dispersed to explore the new camp.

Tigerstar spotted Leopardstar across the clearing and padded over to her. She saw him from a distance and turned to face him.

"Tigerstar," she mewed as she dipped her head. He returned the greeting.

"Have your Clan sorted out dens yet?" he asked.

"Yes. I can show you, if you would like," she offered.

"I would," he accepted.

Tigerstar followed Leopardstar as she showed him all of the dens that her Clan had established. The RiverClan and ShadowClan cats were beginning to mingle and accept each other as allies rather than enemies. He was amazed at how quickly the cats of both Clans had adapted to their new camp. He was only half listening to Leopardstar as she gave him a tour of what her Clan had established.

Leopardstar looked at him expectantly, her wide amber eyes staring into his.

"Are you listening in there?" she asked, her gaze boring into his.

"Of course I am," he insisted.

"What did I just say?"

Tigerstar had to admit he didn't know. He was too distracted by everything else in the camp.

'You mean you were distracted by her. Entranced, I would say,' the small voice in his head corrected.

"I said, do you have any plans for the other two Clans yet? How will you make them join us?" Leopardstar repeated, annoyance edging her voice.

"I plan on talking to them soon. They must see that this is for the good of their Clans. We could all live in harmony if they would agree," Tigerstar told her.

"And if they don't agree? What will you do then?" Was that a challenge?

"Then they will be enemies. We will treat them as we would any other rival. That behaviour will not be tolerated." Tigerstar tried to feel as confident as his words sounded.

"I hope you can convince them. I do not wish for a battle," she replied, leaving him in the middle of the clearing. A hollow feeling replaced her spot.

'Why do I feel like I'm missing something?' The great tabby shook his head to clear away the unpleasant feeling.

'You are missing something,' the little voice confirmed.

'What then?' Tigerstar demanded.

'Leopardstar's presence. You crave her, depend on her, need her,' Nasty answered.

'No, I don't,' Tigerstar hissed, giving himself a shake as he headed to his new den. An apprentice had been to the den already and arranged the bedding into a comfortable nest. Tigerstar sank into his nest gratefully and fell asleep almost instantly.

•••

Leopardstar's call woke Tigerstar from his nap. "Let all cats old enough to swim- catch their own prey- gather for a Clan meeting!"

Tigerstar smiled inwardly at her cute mistake. 'No, not cute,' he reprimanded himself as he joined the crowd clustered around Leopardstar.

"We have all undergone great changes in our lives today," She started, looking down at the new TigerClan cats. "You have all become Clanmates now. I am proud of your progress. We must continue building and strengthening our new camp to ward off any intruders."

"Will the other Clans join us?" a former RiverClan cat called.

"I am hoping soon. Tigerstar and I plan on speaking to them again tomorrow," she replied.

'Tomorrow? When did we decide on tomorrow?' Tigerstar stared up at her and she gave him a look that said, 'We're going tomorrow. Act like we agreed to it.' He nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Will there be four leaders?" some other cat asked.

"The leadership is yet to be organized," Leopardstar told the cats. She looked so much more confident than she most likely felt. These cats were asking questions she herself probably didn't know the answer to, yet she answered them with a strong voice and her head held high in authority. Was that admiration he was feeling?

'No, I could do just as well as she did, probably better.' He rejected the thought with a small shake of his head. TigerClan was disassembling and Tigerstar saw Leopardstar approaching him.

"We need to work out borders for TigerClan as well as a training system to teach all the cats the skills of all the Clans," she stated as she sat down beside him. Tigerstar couldn't help but notice how close her body was to his. He felt... strange. It was almost like she was warming and cooling him at the same time while giving him an unfamiliar sense of happiness.

'What's happening to me?' he wondered, trying to focus on their conversation.

'I know what's wrong with you,' Nasty butted in matter-of-factly.

'Go away,' Tigerstar willed at Nasty.

'I thought you wanted to know what was wrong with you,' Nasty persisted.

'Not if it comes from you. You're full of mouse dung,' Tigerstar snorted.

'That means that you are full of mouse dung,' Nasty corrected.

"... And we'll need to sort out time schedules for the training for warriors as well as apprentices. They all need to know the skills of all the Clans if we're to be using all the Clans' territories." Leopardstar looked up at Tigerstar expectantly, waiting for his reply. Tigerstar fought to come up with something to say. While she had been talking to him, he'd been battling a little voice inside his head instead of paying attention to her.

"Uh, great!" Tigerstar replied, unsure of what to say.

"Why do you never listen to me?" Leopardstar sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Leopardstar," he apologized. "What did you say?"

Leopardstar rolled her eyes again. "We have to enforce the new camp and boundaries and create a training system for warriors and apprentices so they can learn the skills of all the Clans," she repeated.

"We can use the current outer Clan boundaries," Tigerstar suggested.

"That's too much territory to patrol. There should be all the territory types, but not too much to control," Leopardstar countered. "We also need reinforcements for the outer camp walls."

"We can have some of the warriors do that now," Tigerstar offered. "I can arrange it."

"Good. I'll arrange hunting patrols. We'll need the fresh-kill." Leopardstar padded away to organize the hunting patrols while Tigerstar called some warriors to build a camp wall.

"Blackfoot!" he called. "Take a few cats and look for anything that would help with building a camp. We need strong walls to guard the clearing."

Blackfoot nodded and rushed to find helpers. Tigerstar glanced around the clearing and saw Brightspots talking to a silver she-cat with their heads and voices low. He wondered what they were talking about that had to be so secretive. He also noticed that neither of the two she-cats seemed happy. Tigerstar hoped it didn't have to do with TigerClan and that they were just getting used to the new Clan.

"Brightspots! Bring a few cats and look for reinforcement for the camp walls," Tigerstar ordered her. She looked at him for a moment then raced off with her friend to a group of RiverClan cats. They all padded out of the entrance, none looking too content.

Tigerstar stared after them. Something about the look Brightspots gave him was bothering him. What was it about that stare? She seemed like she was about to refuse, but then thought otherwise. The look she had given him was chilling. It was cold and disapproving. What was it that she and her friend were so cautious about? Did she not like TigerClan? Tigerstar knew that not every cat would easily accept the alliance, but Brightspots seemed to resist it with all her heart.

Tigerstar gave himself a shake, convincing himself not to worry about it. 'She'll come over it eventually. Not like she has a choice. She's in this Clan for the rest of her life.'

The dark tabby stretched and bounded over to the camp exit to hunt alone and clear his mind. He decided to keep a watch on all of the cats to make sure that they all fit in to the new camp.

'Wait and see,' he told himself. 'Everything will be fine.'

•••

The next day, Tigerstar set out for WindClan with Leopardstar. He hoped that Tallstar would agree this time to join TigerClan. Surely he must see how much TigerClan would help his Clan?

As soon as they reached the border, they were confronted by a WindClan patrol.

"What are you doing here?" Mudclaw hissed.

"We need to speak with Tallstar." Tigerstar stepped forward, crossing the border.

"Why? What business do both of you have with Tallstar?" Mudclaw asked suspiciously.

"That is between us and Tallstar. Please take us to your leader," Tigerstar answered smoothly.

Mudclaw considered Tigerstar a moment longer before whipping around and leading the two leaders into WindClan territory.

Tallstar was waiting for the other leaders when they walked into the WindClan camp.

"You have come to speak with me?" Tallstar asked as he dipped his head to Tigerstar and Leopardstar.

"Yes. Is there a place where we can speak without all ears listening?" Tigerstar stepped forward, returning the polite gesture.

"Come to my den. We can speak privately there." Tallstar lead Tigerstar and Leopardstar to his den and sat down, gesturing for them to sit as well. "What have you come to ask of me?"

"Do you have your answer about joining TigerClan yet?" Tigerstar prayed that Tallstar would say he would join. Was it wrong to lie about the reason? Surely not.

"I do," Tallstar responded curtly.

"Well?" Tigerstar pried.

"I have decided not to join TigerClan. There is no problem with having four Clans in the forest. Why change ancient traditions?"

Tigerstar was fuming. How dare he? How blind could Tallstar be, not seeing the benefits of TigerClan? He looked at Leopardstar, but her expression was calm and unreadable. Was she agreeing with him? He shuddered at the thought pf Leopardstar going back on her decision.

"As you wish," Tigerstar meowed in a strained voice. He dipped his head and stalked into the camp's clearing, Leopardstar trailing after him. He scanned the suspicious warriors before exiting the camp.