Was Ivypool too harsh on Dovewing and Tigerheart?
Oct 24, 2021 22:42:12 GMT -5
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Post by Aqua on Oct 24, 2021 22:42:12 GMT -5
Here's Ivypool's reactions about DovexTiger. I've added the most significant scenes and her feelings toward DovexTiger:
Dovepaw’s heart seemed to drop in her chest like a stone. Ivypaw knows about Tigerheart! “How did you find out?” “Did you think I wouldn’t smell him on you?” Ivypaw’s tail lashed. “Not very loyal, is it? Spending every night with a tom from another Clan?”
Dovepaw stiffened. “At least we’re not putting anyone in danger.” “What do you mean by that?”
“Every time you go to the Dark Forest, you betray your Clanmates.”
“That’s not true!” Ivypaw hissed. “I’m learning to be a great warrior so I can help my Clan!” “Yeah, right!” Dovepaw snapped scornfully. “Just like Tigerstar. He was a great warrior!”
“He was!”
“He became ShadowClan’s leader. He tried to kill Firestar!” How could Ivypaw be so dumb? Ivypaw glared at her, eyes cold as ice. “Aren’t you going to ask how I recognized his smell?” Dovepaw blinked, confused. “What?”
“Don’t you think it’s odd how easily I recognized Tigerheart’s scent?” Dovepaw froze, her blood draining into her paws. She remembered the look Ivypaw and Tigerheart had shared in battle. “H-how did you know?” Dovepaw cringed beneath her pelt. She didn’t want to hear the answer. She didn’t want to hear that Tigerheart had been seeing Ivypaw, too. That he’d lied to her. That she wasn’t the only ThunderClan cat that occupied his thoughts.
“I meet him almost every night,” Ivypaw crowed. “You can’t; he’s with me!”
“Not all night.”
Dovepaw backed away. “Don’t say that! He likes me, not you. Have you been following him? Find your own mate! Leave him alone!”
Ivypaw padded closer. “Oh, I don’t like him in that way. I’m not a soppy dove like you. I’m a warrior, and so is Tigerheart.”
Dovepaw wished she were deaf, wished she could see Ivypaw’s mouth moving without hearing the words.
“Tigerheart doesn’t spend every night cooing in your ears,” Ivypaw taunted. “He’s one of the best warriors the Dark Forest has. That’s where his loyalty lies. Not with you!”
“That’s not true! You’re just jealous!” Dovepaw shrieked at her sister. She couldn’t believe these lies. “You’re jealous that I’m a better warrior than you. I always have been and I always will be, and you can’t stand it. And now you’re jealous that Tigerheart loves me and not you! You want to destroy everything I’ve got because you’re jealous. That’s all!”
Ivypaw’s eyes gleamed. “Really? Why not ask Tigerheart?”
“Shut up!” Dovepaw scrambled up the bank. “If you tell anyone that I’m seeing Tigerheart, then I’ll tell the whole Clan you’ve been training in the Dark Forest with Tigerstar, and then you’ll have no friends. Everyone will hate you as much as I do!” She pelted through the trees.
“You forgot your catch,” Ivypaw called after her.
“You take it!” Dovepaw yowled back. “Then your Clanmates might think you’ve done something right for a change!” -Night Whispers
Tigerheart!
Ivypool stayed in the shadows as Tigerheart skirted a nearby bramble thicket and padded toward her. Ratscar and Applefur were with him. As he drew level, Tigerheart hung back, letting his Clanmates go on without him. He waited, nostrils flaring, until they were out of earshot. “I can smell you,” he meowed at last. “So there’s no point hiding.”
Ivypool sprang out of the gray bracken clump and faced the tabby warrior. “I wasn’t hiding!” she retorted. “I only just got here.”
“And why are you here now?” Tigerheart asked icily. “Do you think you can avoid me if you come here at a different time? But it’s too late for that,” he went on before Ivypool could reply. “I know the truth about you. What would Dovepaw say ifshe knew that you were prepared to kill an innocent cat?”
For a heartbeat Ivypool froze at the terrible memory of how Brokenstar had tried to make her kill Flametail, wandering in unexpectedly from StarClan, as proof of her loyalty. Would I have done it, if Tigerheart hadn’t interrupted? “I had no choice—” she began.
Tigerheart lashed his tail. “There is always a choice,” he hissed.
Anger pulsed through Ivypool like a fire through dry grass. “You mean, like you had a choice about using my sister to find out about ThunderClan’s store of herbs? No wonder she doesn’t want to see you anymore!”
“I didn’t use her.” Tigerheart’s amber eyes grew shadowed. “But I don’t expect you to believe me.” He spun around and stalked after his Clanmates. - SotM
- TLH
“I’ll get you home,” Ivypool growled through gritted teeth. “I promise I’ll get you home.”
A tabby pelt crashed through the gorse toward them. Ivypool braced herself, ready to fight again. “Let me help!”
Tigerheart stopped beside her and shoved his nose beneath Hollyleaf’s shoulder. Taking half the weight, he pressed his flank against Ivypool. “We can do this together.” The screeches of the battle for WindClan faded behind them as they began to haul the injured warrior away. - TLH
Bramblestar noticed that Tigerheart was still talking to Ivypool, though Cherryfall and Ratscar had moved on.
Faintly curious, he eased his way into earshot. “Where’s Dovewing?” Tigerheart was asking.
Ivypool had a guarded look, and her tone was distant as she replied. “She’s in the camp.”
“With Bumblestripe?” Tigerheart glanced around as if he was looking for the pale gray tom. “I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Ivypool mewed.
- BrS
Dovewing opened her eyes to see the rays of the early morning sun slanting through the gaps in the branches of the warriors' den, and she stretched her jaws into a yawn. She had slept badly, and though her bedding was soft and thick, she felt as if thorns were stabbing into her pelt from every direction. The night before, she had gone to her nest angry - and she was feeling just as irritated now as she woke up.
I can't believe Ivypool argued against the patrol. Alderheart said he'd had a vision of a cat who looks like Twigpaw - surely Ivypool, as Twigpaw's mentor, would want to help find her kin.
Fury still burning in her belly, Dovewing rose to her paws, gave her pelt a brisk shake to scatter the scraps of fern and moss that clung to it, and then padded across the den until she stood over her sister.
The pale tabby she-cat was just waking up, and she blinked in surprise when she saw Dovewing looming over her.
"Yesterday... what was that about?" Dovewing demanded.
Ivypool didn't reply at once. Instead, she rubbed a paw over her eyes, then thrust her forelegs, raising her hindquarters to give her whole body a good long stretch.
Dovewing knew when her sister was stalling.
Finally, Ivypool sat up and cocked her head to one side. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Don't play dumb," Dovewing retorted, unable to stop her claws from digging into the moss that covered the floor of her den. "You know what I mean. What got into you when you argued against a quest to find Twigpaw's kin?"
"Nothing 'got into me'," Ivypool replied, an edge to her tone. "Do you really think ThunderClan can afford to send warriors away when we're in the middle of all this trouble with Darktail? Besides," she went on before Dovewing could respond, "I don't think Twigpaw needs the distraction right now. It would be wrong to get her hopes up - she'd only be more hurt if the search turned up to nothing. Why do that to an apprentice? My apprentice, in case you've forgotten."
"I haven't forgotten," Dovewing spoke through gritted teeth. "But Twigpaw's already upset. As her mentor, you should care about that."
The tip of Ivypool's tail twitched slowly to and fro. "Might I suggest that you mind your own business?" she hissed. "It's about time you concentrated on things that matter to ThunderClan, and not one of our guests."
Dovewing wasn't sure what her sister meant by that. Is she hinting something about Tigerheart? Did she insist that the quest was a bad idea because he was so quick to volunteer to join it? Would she have had much of a problem if a ThunderClan warrior spoke up?[\i]
As Dovewing thought over her sister's words, she noticed that Ivypool's gaze was fixed on something behind her. Dovewing turned to see that Bumblestripe was padding slowly toward them, half-eager, half-cautious.
Ivypool angled her ears toward him. "You should find everything you want in ThunderClan," she muttered.
- SS bonus scene
“Tigerheart.” There was anger in her yowl. He stopped as she marched toward him. She was alone, her pelt bristling as she glared at him. “You’re on our land. And I know why. You’ve come to lie to me again. You’re here to persuade me that you have nothing to do with Dovewing’s disappearance. But you know where she is, don’t you?”
“No.”
“You knew she was going to leave!” Ivypool accused.
“I did,” Tigerheart admitted. “I tried to stop her, but she was determined.” “Where has she gone?”
A huge Twolegplace with nests that reach into the sky . . . He could still hear Dovewing’s words clearly. He pictured the desperation in her green eyes as she told him. He couldn’t betray her. She was convinced that their kits’ lives depended on finding a gorse-spined den. He looked at Ivypool. “I tracked her as far as the Thunderpath beside the marsh.”
“But no farther?” Ivypool’s eyes flashed with disgust. “Did the monsters scare you away?”
“My Clan needs me,” Tigerheart meowed simply. “I couldn’t abandon them.”
“But you could abandon Dovewing?” Ivypool flexed her claws. She abandoned me!
Frustration flared in Tigerheart’s belly. “I thought you didn’t want us to be together,” he snapped.
Ivypool spat at him. “Do you think I’d prefer she was out there alone?” Guilt swamped Tigerheart. Ivypool was right. He had chosen to stay with his Clan. He’d left Dovewing to face the land beyond the forest alone.
Ivypool thrust her face closer. “I always knew you were trouble. You never cared about Dovewing. If you had, you’d never have let her leave.” With a snarl, she lashed her claws across his muzzle. Tigerheart didn’t flinch. He deserved it. He felt the sting of torn flesh and the wetness of blood welling on his nose. Without moving, he held Ivypool’s gaze.
“I love her,” he confessed. “I should have stopped her, but I couldn’t.” He’d let Scorchfur and Juniperclaw keep him from meeting her. If he had let his Clanmates go to SkyClan, he could have met Dovewing before she left. He might even have been able to persuade her to stay. Instead he’d given up everything he loved for his Clan. His eyes grew hot with grief.
Ivypool stared at him with hatred. “You’re a coward. And a fox-heart. Dovewing deserved a better mate than you.” Tail lashing, she turned away and left him alone beneath the dripping pines.
-TS
So what do you think?
Dovepaw’s heart seemed to drop in her chest like a stone. Ivypaw knows about Tigerheart! “How did you find out?” “Did you think I wouldn’t smell him on you?” Ivypaw’s tail lashed. “Not very loyal, is it? Spending every night with a tom from another Clan?”
Dovepaw stiffened. “At least we’re not putting anyone in danger.” “What do you mean by that?”
“Every time you go to the Dark Forest, you betray your Clanmates.”
“That’s not true!” Ivypaw hissed. “I’m learning to be a great warrior so I can help my Clan!” “Yeah, right!” Dovepaw snapped scornfully. “Just like Tigerstar. He was a great warrior!”
“He was!”
“He became ShadowClan’s leader. He tried to kill Firestar!” How could Ivypaw be so dumb? Ivypaw glared at her, eyes cold as ice. “Aren’t you going to ask how I recognized his smell?” Dovepaw blinked, confused. “What?”
“Don’t you think it’s odd how easily I recognized Tigerheart’s scent?” Dovepaw froze, her blood draining into her paws. She remembered the look Ivypaw and Tigerheart had shared in battle. “H-how did you know?” Dovepaw cringed beneath her pelt. She didn’t want to hear the answer. She didn’t want to hear that Tigerheart had been seeing Ivypaw, too. That he’d lied to her. That she wasn’t the only ThunderClan cat that occupied his thoughts.
“I meet him almost every night,” Ivypaw crowed. “You can’t; he’s with me!”
“Not all night.”
Dovepaw backed away. “Don’t say that! He likes me, not you. Have you been following him? Find your own mate! Leave him alone!”
Ivypaw padded closer. “Oh, I don’t like him in that way. I’m not a soppy dove like you. I’m a warrior, and so is Tigerheart.”
Dovepaw wished she were deaf, wished she could see Ivypaw’s mouth moving without hearing the words.
“Tigerheart doesn’t spend every night cooing in your ears,” Ivypaw taunted. “He’s one of the best warriors the Dark Forest has. That’s where his loyalty lies. Not with you!”
“That’s not true! You’re just jealous!” Dovepaw shrieked at her sister. She couldn’t believe these lies. “You’re jealous that I’m a better warrior than you. I always have been and I always will be, and you can’t stand it. And now you’re jealous that Tigerheart loves me and not you! You want to destroy everything I’ve got because you’re jealous. That’s all!”
Ivypaw’s eyes gleamed. “Really? Why not ask Tigerheart?”
“Shut up!” Dovepaw scrambled up the bank. “If you tell anyone that I’m seeing Tigerheart, then I’ll tell the whole Clan you’ve been training in the Dark Forest with Tigerstar, and then you’ll have no friends. Everyone will hate you as much as I do!” She pelted through the trees.
“You forgot your catch,” Ivypaw called after her.
“You take it!” Dovepaw yowled back. “Then your Clanmates might think you’ve done something right for a change!”
Tigerheart!
Ivypool stayed in the shadows as Tigerheart skirted a nearby bramble thicket and padded toward her. Ratscar and Applefur were with him. As he drew level, Tigerheart hung back, letting his Clanmates go on without him. He waited, nostrils flaring, until they were out of earshot. “I can smell you,” he meowed at last. “So there’s no point hiding.”
Ivypool sprang out of the gray bracken clump and faced the tabby warrior. “I wasn’t hiding!” she retorted. “I only just got here.”
“And why are you here now?” Tigerheart asked icily. “Do you think you can avoid me if you come here at a different time? But it’s too late for that,” he went on before Ivypool could reply. “I know the truth about you. What would Dovepaw say ifshe knew that you were prepared to kill an innocent cat?”
For a heartbeat Ivypool froze at the terrible memory of how Brokenstar had tried to make her kill Flametail, wandering in unexpectedly from StarClan, as proof of her loyalty. Would I have done it, if Tigerheart hadn’t interrupted? “I had no choice—” she began.
Tigerheart lashed his tail. “There is always a choice,” he hissed.
Anger pulsed through Ivypool like a fire through dry grass. “You mean, like you had a choice about using my sister to find out about ThunderClan’s store of herbs? No wonder she doesn’t want to see you anymore!”
“I didn’t use her.” Tigerheart’s amber eyes grew shadowed. “But I don’t expect you to believe me.” He spun around and stalked after his Clanmates.
Then she spotted Dovewing heading out of the clearing behind a group of ThunderClan cats. Ivypool hurried after her, creeping under the bushes and running down the shore to catch up to her as Dovewing waited to cross the tree-bridge. “What did Tigerheart want?” she asked in a low voice.
Dovewing looked stressed, working her claws into the sandy ground. “It’s nothing,” she snapped. “He’s just trying to stir up trouble over Flametail.”
A chill ran through Ivypool from ears to tail-tip. Has Tigerheart told Dovewing what he saw me doing in the Dark Forest?
Her belly heaved as she remembered the moment when Brokenstar had tried to make her kill Flametail when he wandered into the Dark Forest from StarClan.
“What sort of trouble?” she pressed Dovewing, unable to bear the uncertainty. “You know, you can’t believe everything Tigerheart says.”
“Too right!” Dovewing burst out loudly, then lowered her voice again with a swift glance around to see if any warrior was listening. “He’s trying to make me believe that Dawnpelt has a grudge against Jayfeather because he didn’t save Flametail. She thinks Jayfeather murdered him. According to Tigerheart, Dawnpelt is planning something really bad for ThunderClan.” She twitched her whiskers. “Does he think that’s going to scare me?”
Ivypool relaxed, trying not to let her sister see how relieved she was. “Maybe you should tell Brambleclaw,” she suggested. “He might want to put extra cats on ShadowClan border patrols.”
“And get into trouble for talking to Tigerheart?” Dovewing responded. “I don’t think so.” She leaped up onto the end of the tree-bridge and looked down at Ivypool. “Honestly, what damage can Dawnpelt do? It’s all a lie, and she knows it.”
-SotMDovewing looked stressed, working her claws into the sandy ground. “It’s nothing,” she snapped. “He’s just trying to stir up trouble over Flametail.”
A chill ran through Ivypool from ears to tail-tip. Has Tigerheart told Dovewing what he saw me doing in the Dark Forest?
Her belly heaved as she remembered the moment when Brokenstar had tried to make her kill Flametail when he wandered into the Dark Forest from StarClan.
“What sort of trouble?” she pressed Dovewing, unable to bear the uncertainty. “You know, you can’t believe everything Tigerheart says.”
“Too right!” Dovewing burst out loudly, then lowered her voice again with a swift glance around to see if any warrior was listening. “He’s trying to make me believe that Dawnpelt has a grudge against Jayfeather because he didn’t save Flametail. She thinks Jayfeather murdered him. According to Tigerheart, Dawnpelt is planning something really bad for ThunderClan.” She twitched her whiskers. “Does he think that’s going to scare me?”
Ivypool relaxed, trying not to let her sister see how relieved she was. “Maybe you should tell Brambleclaw,” she suggested. “He might want to put extra cats on ShadowClan border patrols.”
“And get into trouble for talking to Tigerheart?” Dovewing responded. “I don’t think so.” She leaped up onto the end of the tree-bridge and looked down at Ivypool. “Honestly, what damage can Dawnpelt do? It’s all a lie, and she knows it.”
Tigerheart’s gaze raked over her contemptuously. “Are you worried I said something about what happened with Flametail? You shouldn’t be. I haven’t told Dovewing anything—not for your sake, but because I don’t want her to know what you did.”
“I didn’t do anything!” Ivypool hissed, her neck fur beginning to rise.
“Only because I stopped you,” Tigerheart growled.
Ivypool’s claws worked in the cold, dark grass. “It was a test! What could I do?” “Nothing could justify you destroying my brother’s spirit,” Tigerheart retorted. Ivypool knew that he was right. But there’s no way I can tell him. I have to hide the fact that I’m spying for ThunderClan. “So what’s all this about Dawnpelt?” she prompted.
Tigerheart hesitated. “Dawnpelt blames Jayfeather for Flametail’s death in the lake,” he meowed at last.
“That’s ridiculous!” Ivypool exclaimed.
Tigerheart shook his head, his hostility swallowed up in sadness. “You don’t know what it’s like to lose a littermate,” he told Ivypool. “You want to blame anyone, anything. Not just a crack in the ice.”
Ivypool felt a claw-scratch of sympathy. I couldn’t bear it if I lost Dovewing. Then she reminded herself that Tigerheart had been listening to Mapleshade’s tirade. She couldn’t trust him. He doesn’t deserve pity! “I don’t know what Dawnpelt thinks she can do against ThunderClan,” she went on aloud. “Or maybe you’re thinking of bringing her here?” “That’s not up to me,” Tigerheart replied. “I’m sure you could put in a good word for her,” Ivypool suggested mockingly.
-SotM“I didn’t do anything!” Ivypool hissed, her neck fur beginning to rise.
“Only because I stopped you,” Tigerheart growled.
Ivypool’s claws worked in the cold, dark grass. “It was a test! What could I do?” “Nothing could justify you destroying my brother’s spirit,” Tigerheart retorted. Ivypool knew that he was right. But there’s no way I can tell him. I have to hide the fact that I’m spying for ThunderClan. “So what’s all this about Dawnpelt?” she prompted.
Tigerheart hesitated. “Dawnpelt blames Jayfeather for Flametail’s death in the lake,” he meowed at last.
“That’s ridiculous!” Ivypool exclaimed.
Tigerheart shook his head, his hostility swallowed up in sadness. “You don’t know what it’s like to lose a littermate,” he told Ivypool. “You want to blame anyone, anything. Not just a crack in the ice.”
Ivypool felt a claw-scratch of sympathy. I couldn’t bear it if I lost Dovewing. Then she reminded herself that Tigerheart had been listening to Mapleshade’s tirade. She couldn’t trust him. He doesn’t deserve pity! “I don’t know what Dawnpelt thinks she can do against ThunderClan,” she went on aloud. “Or maybe you’re thinking of bringing her here?” “That’s not up to me,” Tigerheart replied. “I’m sure you could put in a good word for her,” Ivypool suggested mockingly.
“Where are you going?” Tigerheart challenged.
“I don’t have time to wait!” Ivypool kept going. “The battle’s begun!”
“But you don’t know who to fight!” Frustration raged through her. “Of course I know who to fight!” She turned on Tigerheart. “I’ll fight any Dark Forest warrior I meet.” She glared at him. “And any Clan cat who fights with them!”
“But I thought the Dark Forest warriors were your Clanmates now.” Tigerheart took a step closer. There was menace in his mew. “Isn’t this what you’ve been training for?” Ivypool shook her head. “I know which cats deserve my loyalty. I’ll die before I fight beside Brokenstar and Hawkfrost.”
Tigerheart showed his teeth. “You may have to,” he growled. “You heard what Brokenstar said he’d do if we betrayed him.”
Ivypool met his gaze, anger surging beneath her pelt. “I don’t care.”
"You sound like your sister,” Tigerheart spat back.
Ivypool frowned. “What’s Dovewing got to do with this?”
"She put her Clan ahead of me.”
"So?” Tigerheart’s gaze darkened as Ivypool went on. “You should put your Clan first, too! Have all these moons in the Dark Forest made you forget the warrior code?”
Tigerheart bared his teeth. “I haven’t forgotten anything.”
“I don’t have time to wait!” Ivypool kept going. “The battle’s begun!”
“But you don’t know who to fight!” Frustration raged through her. “Of course I know who to fight!” She turned on Tigerheart. “I’ll fight any Dark Forest warrior I meet.” She glared at him. “And any Clan cat who fights with them!”
“But I thought the Dark Forest warriors were your Clanmates now.” Tigerheart took a step closer. There was menace in his mew. “Isn’t this what you’ve been training for?” Ivypool shook her head. “I know which cats deserve my loyalty. I’ll die before I fight beside Brokenstar and Hawkfrost.”
Tigerheart showed his teeth. “You may have to,” he growled. “You heard what Brokenstar said he’d do if we betrayed him.”
Ivypool met his gaze, anger surging beneath her pelt. “I don’t care.”
"You sound like your sister,” Tigerheart spat back.
Ivypool frowned. “What’s Dovewing got to do with this?”
"She put her Clan ahead of me.”
"So?” Tigerheart’s gaze darkened as Ivypool went on. “You should put your Clan first, too! Have all these moons in the Dark Forest made you forget the warrior code?”
Tigerheart bared his teeth. “I haven’t forgotten anything.”
- TLH
“I’ll get you home,” Ivypool growled through gritted teeth. “I promise I’ll get you home.”
A tabby pelt crashed through the gorse toward them. Ivypool braced herself, ready to fight again. “Let me help!”
Tigerheart stopped beside her and shoved his nose beneath Hollyleaf’s shoulder. Taking half the weight, he pressed his flank against Ivypool. “We can do this together.” The screeches of the battle for WindClan faded behind them as they began to haul the injured warrior away.
Bramblestar noticed that Tigerheart was still talking to Ivypool, though Cherryfall and Ratscar had moved on.
Faintly curious, he eased his way into earshot. “Where’s Dovewing?” Tigerheart was asking.
Ivypool had a guarded look, and her tone was distant as she replied. “She’s in the camp.”
“With Bumblestripe?” Tigerheart glanced around as if he was looking for the pale gray tom. “I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Ivypool mewed.
- BrS
Dovewing opened her eyes to see the rays of the early morning sun slanting through the gaps in the branches of the warriors' den, and she stretched her jaws into a yawn. She had slept badly, and though her bedding was soft and thick, she felt as if thorns were stabbing into her pelt from every direction. The night before, she had gone to her nest angry - and she was feeling just as irritated now as she woke up.
I can't believe Ivypool argued against the patrol. Alderheart said he'd had a vision of a cat who looks like Twigpaw - surely Ivypool, as Twigpaw's mentor, would want to help find her kin.
Fury still burning in her belly, Dovewing rose to her paws, gave her pelt a brisk shake to scatter the scraps of fern and moss that clung to it, and then padded across the den until she stood over her sister.
The pale tabby she-cat was just waking up, and she blinked in surprise when she saw Dovewing looming over her.
"Yesterday... what was that about?" Dovewing demanded.
Ivypool didn't reply at once. Instead, she rubbed a paw over her eyes, then thrust her forelegs, raising her hindquarters to give her whole body a good long stretch.
Dovewing knew when her sister was stalling.
Finally, Ivypool sat up and cocked her head to one side. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Don't play dumb," Dovewing retorted, unable to stop her claws from digging into the moss that covered the floor of her den. "You know what I mean. What got into you when you argued against a quest to find Twigpaw's kin?"
"Nothing 'got into me'," Ivypool replied, an edge to her tone. "Do you really think ThunderClan can afford to send warriors away when we're in the middle of all this trouble with Darktail? Besides," she went on before Dovewing could respond, "I don't think Twigpaw needs the distraction right now. It would be wrong to get her hopes up - she'd only be more hurt if the search turned up to nothing. Why do that to an apprentice? My apprentice, in case you've forgotten."
"I haven't forgotten," Dovewing spoke through gritted teeth. "But Twigpaw's already upset. As her mentor, you should care about that."
The tip of Ivypool's tail twitched slowly to and fro. "Might I suggest that you mind your own business?" she hissed. "It's about time you concentrated on things that matter to ThunderClan, and not one of our guests."
Dovewing wasn't sure what her sister meant by that. Is she hinting something about Tigerheart? Did she insist that the quest was a bad idea because he was so quick to volunteer to join it? Would she have had much of a problem if a ThunderClan warrior spoke up?[\i]
As Dovewing thought over her sister's words, she noticed that Ivypool's gaze was fixed on something behind her. Dovewing turned to see that Bumblestripe was padding slowly toward them, half-eager, half-cautious.
Ivypool angled her ears toward him. "You should find everything you want in ThunderClan," she muttered.
- SS bonus scene
“Tigerheart.” There was anger in her yowl. He stopped as she marched toward him. She was alone, her pelt bristling as she glared at him. “You’re on our land. And I know why. You’ve come to lie to me again. You’re here to persuade me that you have nothing to do with Dovewing’s disappearance. But you know where she is, don’t you?”
“No.”
“You knew she was going to leave!” Ivypool accused.
“I did,” Tigerheart admitted. “I tried to stop her, but she was determined.” “Where has she gone?”
A huge Twolegplace with nests that reach into the sky . . . He could still hear Dovewing’s words clearly. He pictured the desperation in her green eyes as she told him. He couldn’t betray her. She was convinced that their kits’ lives depended on finding a gorse-spined den. He looked at Ivypool. “I tracked her as far as the Thunderpath beside the marsh.”
“But no farther?” Ivypool’s eyes flashed with disgust. “Did the monsters scare you away?”
“My Clan needs me,” Tigerheart meowed simply. “I couldn’t abandon them.”
“But you could abandon Dovewing?” Ivypool flexed her claws. She abandoned me!
Frustration flared in Tigerheart’s belly. “I thought you didn’t want us to be together,” he snapped.
Ivypool spat at him. “Do you think I’d prefer she was out there alone?” Guilt swamped Tigerheart. Ivypool was right. He had chosen to stay with his Clan. He’d left Dovewing to face the land beyond the forest alone.
Ivypool thrust her face closer. “I always knew you were trouble. You never cared about Dovewing. If you had, you’d never have let her leave.” With a snarl, she lashed her claws across his muzzle. Tigerheart didn’t flinch. He deserved it. He felt the sting of torn flesh and the wetness of blood welling on his nose. Without moving, he held Ivypool’s gaze.
“I love her,” he confessed. “I should have stopped her, but I couldn’t.” He’d let Scorchfur and Juniperclaw keep him from meeting her. If he had let his Clanmates go to SkyClan, he could have met Dovewing before she left. He might even have been able to persuade her to stay. Instead he’d given up everything he loved for his Clan. His eyes grew hot with grief.
Ivypool stared at him with hatred. “You’re a coward. And a fox-heart. Dovewing deserved a better mate than you.” Tail lashing, she turned away and left him alone beneath the dripping pines.
-TS
So what do you think?