#feathertail maybe??? hmm | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

malkumtend · 5 years ago

Text

I Like Your Laugh - Chapter 9.

“So?” Squirrelpaw began, horribly masking the exhaustion from her voice. “Is this what it’s always like in Windclan?”

Crowpaw turned, staring at the molly stonily. “Yes. But normally we haven’t been travelling for days on end.”

“Hmm.” Squirrelpaw was not impressed by his answer. “So, no advice on how to deal with this heat then?”

“No.”

The Thunderclan molly groaned, her head dipping down towards the ground again. It was getting too tiring to even hold her head up. It had been a while since they had left the forest bordering the Twolegplace, and they’d been traveling on the open country hills since Sunhigh. Now, it was getting close to moonrise. The blue sky had slowly changed into a burning orange, but the heat of the sun persisted, surely draining every inch of energy out of the group as they continued to walk in the direction of the glistening yellow orb.

Every cat was clearly beginning to tire. They could practically sense the pain in each other’s paws and feel the growing heat soaking in their fur. Each walked with low heads and tails, even Brambleclaw was starting to look like he was losing his breath, despite his evident desire to look strong at the lead of the group. Squirrelpaw almost found it admirable, despite his general attitude.

But it wasn’t like she could speak. Her mouth was dry and she found herself licking her chapped lips after every fox-length in order to keep a part of herself cool. Starclan, she was thirsty. But there would be no water on these hills; not even a single drop.

Brambleclaw’s ear had flickered at her and Crowpaw’s conversation and he looked back, eyes narrowed but too dry with fatigue to look remotely fearsome. “There’s no use complaining about it.” He said gloomily, “We just have to carry on until moonrise.”

“And then what?” Stormfur remarked, “Do we even have any idea how far away the sun-drown place is from here?” No cat needed to answer him. The grey warrior sighed, “I can’t even smell anything anymore, just the hills. It could be a moon before we even get there.”

Out of the tense silence that followed, Brambleclaw bared his teeth at the warrior.

“It won’t do you any good to say that!” The brown tom snapped; his head twisted away with a rugged groan. “There’s no way we can turn back now!”

Stormfur let out a soft breath, blinking sluggishly, “I wasn’t suggesting that.”

Brambleclaw scoffed gruffly, “I know you’re thinking about it.”

Stormfur didn’t respond. Of course he was thinking about it. Every cat, no matter how little they wanted to admit it, had thought about the defeat of giving up and turning back. None of them wanted to consider it, but after so much endless, aimless walking the heat and pain was slowly cracking at their resolve which was now as delicate as a freshly laid bird’s egg.

Squirrelpaw looked around at the group, apart from Brambleclaw, everyone looked ready to drop where they were in exhaustion. She felt a mixture of respect and irritation for her clanmate. She could understand how much he wanted to believe in Starclan and follow through on their quest, but he just couldn’t accept how drained the rest of them were. Squirrelpaw was not going to give up either, but she could see the hunger clouding the cats that would soon lead to further injuries if they weren’t careful.

Just behind her brother, Tawnypelt tried to sound supportive. “Brambleclaw, no cat wants to turn back. We’re just tired.”

“I’m tired too.” Brambleclaw said, turning to his sister hotly. “But we can’t afford to suspect the worst, or else it’ll be over for all of us.” His tone hollowed and he looked towards the sun again with a broken pattern of breaths.

The group could tell he was convincing himself more than them.

Squirrelpaw felt Crowpaw nudge her. She flushed absently. “Guess he’s starting to realise how hard it is being a leader.” The tom mewed softly.

“Mhmm.” Squirrelpaw murmured. It was becoming more and more obvious just how stressed Brambleclaw had become; it wasn’t just how quick to temper he was. His proud structure had sagged with his neck slanting like a dead branch. His steps had become small, sapping every time his paw hit the hot grass. The confidence he had shown in front of Purdy was gone, now he looked just as hopeless as cats he was trying to lead.

But he was still forcing himself to look strong, which made the weight of his movement so much heavier.

“Still, maybe we should stop to hunt at least.” Feathertail asked. The normally soft voice was jaded and dry. Squirrelpaw felt her stomach groan at the mention of hunting. No cat had eaten since that morning and they all smacked their lips at the thought of warm meat and blood.

“I think we should make some more ground before moonhigh.” Brambleclaw explained, frowning at the Riverclan cat.

Feathertail shrugged, “What’s the difference? We know which way we need to go and we’ve already said that we don’t know how far it will be before we even get close to the sun-drown place.”

Brambleclaw looked to his side, “Maybe, but-”

“The path there isn’t going away, Brambleclaw.” The cats all felt a prickle of surprise. Feathertail wasn’t the kind of cat to normally interrupt anyone. “But we all need to eat something soon. You must see that.”

Brambleclaw looked determined to argue further, then his mouth closed as he noticed the cat’s begin to mutter between themselves in agreement. His eyes narrowed, but his gaze dropped away. Squirrelpaw hoped that, outside of his pride, he was able to admit to himself that he was as starved as the rest of them.

She could hope. But he would never show it.

He huffed, but he kept his words calm. “Okay, yeah, you’re right.” He admitted with what could be assumed as self-righteous graciousness. “We need our strength, I’m sorry Feathertail.” He seemed genuine but it was hard for Squirrelpaw to tell by how Brambleclaw’s tail waved crossly across the grass.

“You don’t have to apologise.” Feathertail mewed, either too tired or too kind to create an argument. Brambleclaw nodded, a sheepish look in his eyes.

“I suppose we should split up then?” Stormfur asked, already walking over to where his sister was, hope shining in his eyes. “Hunt for ourselves?”

Feathertail smiled at her brother but found herself looking over where Squirrelpaw and Crowpaw stood. Squirrelpaw tittered, waving her white paw at the Warrior. “Go on! Me and Crowpaw will be fine.”

Wait…

Her and Crowpaw… alone. Had that thought always made her insides scurry like a dormouse?

She shook her pelt. It was just hunting with her friend, they’d done it before, it wasn’t any different this time.

Feathertail glanced up at Crowpaw, as if waiting for his confirmation. Maybe hoping that he wanted her to come along, Squirrelpaw wondered. She internally screamed at herself. Oh, Fox-Dung, so that had returned!

Crowpaw’s tail swung in thought, softly meeting Feathertail’s gaze and opening his mouth to say something. Then he glanced over at Stormfur’s stony expression and his mouth closed. He thought again. The apprentice smirked. “Yeah, go ahead. It wouldn’t hurt Stormfur to see how a Warrior can catch prey bigger than a kit’s claw.”

“Go chew on your tail, frog-brain!” Stormfur snapped, his fur prickling with fury. His head dropped when Feathertail giggled at the apprentice’s joke.

The Riverclan molly seemed to think it over a moment longer, then she smiled at her two friends and turned to her brother with a comforting purr. “Come on, Stormfur. Don’t lose your whiskers over that.”

The grey tom growled once more, but he soon calmed down as he followed his sister. “We’ll go over this way.”

“See you later!” Squirrelpaw called, watching as the white and grey pelts shrank in the grassland.

“You’ll be off with him then, I suppose.” A bitter voice hissed.

Squirrelpaw could feel Crowpaw’s fur rise even before she faced Brambleclaw. She’d really hoped she wouldn’t have to argue with him anymore today. The Tom’s frown was stiff and discomforting, amber eyes gawking sharply into her.

“Brambleclaw.” Tawnypelt warned, padding up to him cautiously.

“Is there a problem with that?” Squirrelpaw goaded, her tail curling as she challenged the tom’s stare.

Brambleclaw’s lip curled, “Oh no, of course not.” Brambleclaw gibed, looking away half-heartedly. One eye travelled to meet her, glowing inside an ominous slint. “It’s just good to see where your loyalties lie, that’s all.”

Squirrelpaw’s gaze iced.

‘Especially a loud mouthed one.’

‘She didn’t help herself, after all, shaking like a leaf.’

‘I don’t need to explain myself to you, you’re an apprentice.’

Anger tightened Squirrelpaw’s stomach. Despite everything he had said to her, she had tried her best to be nice to him. And he had rejected every kindness she’d offered.

Yet somehow, he found a way to blame her.

“What did you say?!” Crowpaw started forward, his face full of bloodlust. The apprentice’s claws unsheathed and Squirrelpaw could sense he was determined to rake his claws across the Warrior’s throat. As much as she wanted to see her clanmate pay for his words, it would do no good for Crowpaw to spill blood when he was clearly exhausted.

She stepped ahead of the apprentice, ushering him back with her tail. She could feel Crowpaw’s muscles tense, but he kept still. She stared on at her clanmate, as cold and bitter as saltwater. “You don’t have the right to say that to me.” She hissed, already beginning to turn away. She didn’t have to waste her time on him. She prodded Crowpaw with her tail, beckoning him to follow. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brambleclaw notice this with a hiss of hurt and disgust.

“I’m your clanmate and a Warrior; I think I do!” The tom snarled.

“And I told you before,” Squirrelpaw meowed tonelessly, “I’d treat you like that when you acted like it. Until then, I don’t give a mouse-tail what you think.” She gave him a passive glimpse. “Besides, we’re in the moors. Crowpaw will be more use here than you’ve ever been.”

Momentarily, Squirrelpaw questioned if she’d gone too far after a clear upset sting panged across her clanmate’s face. But the vicious snarl he created within seconds made her throw away that idea into the dirtplace.

Also, it did feel wonderful when she saw Crowpaw grin at her remark.

“Oh yes, you’ll make a fine warrior with that attitude! We’ll see how much those flowers mean when we get back!” Brambleclaw yowled after her. Squirrelpaw held her tongue, ignoring the Warrior. Though she could make out the frantic scolding of Tawnypelt as she sauntered away.

“You’re one to talk about attitude!” Crowpaw spat back heatedly, baring his fangs at the Warrior one last time before following Squirrelpaw. “Rabbit-brain.” He muttered under his breath.

“Don’t waste your breath.” Squirrelpaw advised, though her tail curled in appreciation at how quick Crowpaw was to defend her. “With this sun, you’ll need it for hunting.”

The dark grey cat grumbled, “He acts like he’s a mentor! I can’t stand it!” Crowpaw whipped his tail violently behind him, “He thinks he’s so special, ordering us all around as if he’s a Deputy!”

Squirrelpaw wouldn’t ever disagree with the cat. Brambleclaw had just been getting worse as the days went on. She didn’t understand why the others weren’t as bothered about it as her or Crowpaw. “You don’t need to tell me twice. Be thankful he’s not your clanmate.”

Squirrelpaw felt her face heat up when Crowpaw looked back up at her again. His brow furrowed, creased with protective conviction. “I swear to Starclan, if he treats you like that when we get back to the forest, you make sure you tear his fur off. It’d be my pleasure to help you do it!”

Squirrelpaw laughed, flashing a brash grin. “Thanks, but I’m on it. When I become a Warrior, I’ll make sure he knows he can’t treat me like a kit anymore!” She wasn’t afraid of the tom anymore, the only reason she hadn’t clawed his ears already was that she wouldn’t allow herself to cause divisions in the group over his sake.

Crowpaw made a sound that seemed close to that all to wonderful laugh. “Good! I’d rake through the dirtplace if it meant I could see that fool get a mark or two on his pelt!”

“Well, when you find a rabbit, you can pretend it’s him!” Squirrelpaw quipped, rubbing his pelt against his playfully.

Crowpaw gave a mock gasp of horror, “Are you hare-brained?! That would be too cruel to the rabbit.”

They both laughed with each other. It was becoming more normal.

They padded away, both internally promising to not go too far for fear of losing the scent of the group. That turned out to be easier than expected. Stormfur had been right; the sun had seemed to dry out the air around them, making the scents faint and difficult to cling to. Squirrelpaw let out a soft breath, it was going to be hard to hunt when they couldn’t find prey scents to begin with.

“Anything?” She whispered hopefully. Low to the ground, Crowpaw shook his head but didn’t relax in the slightest. His pelt was on edge, prepared, waiting for something.

“Just wait a moment.” Crowpaw murmured, his whiskers directed high to the air.

Squirrelpaw watched transfixed, trusting. The grey cat’s whiskers drifted with the light breeze of the wind, imitating the swaying grass, then as if turned by the shifting tide, the wind changed, dragging Crowpaw’s whiskers with them. His tail twitched and he crouched down; his whiskers brushing along the grass.

Straightening up, eyes fixed, Crowpaw faced Squirrelpaw again. “This way.” He concluded, nudging her with his tail to follow him. Squirrelpaw’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

“How do you know?” She sniffed the air again and couldn’t find anything.

Crowpaw smirked, cocky but not incredibly condescending. “In the moors, the scents go across the grass with the wind. All you need to do is be facing the right direction and you can find prey that are tree-lengths away.”

Squirrelpaw blinked, “You’re pulling my tail. I’ve never heard of that.”

“You don’t need to. This land isn’t your home.”

True, but Squirrelpaw still wasn’t convinced. She must have looked it too, as Crowpaw stopped walking.

“Give it a try.” He said, too composed to be lying.

Squirrelpaw tried her best to imitate what she saw, waiting for the wind to stroke her whiskers before pressing them near to the grass. She didn’t need to wait a moment before her nose twitched at a faint trace of prey.

“Fox-dung.” She was relieved, but she still whined.

“You were saying?” Came the good-natured jeer.

Squirrelpaw rose brashly, now stuck on the same trail Crowpaw had found. “If you need the wind to hunt properly, it’s no wonder you’re so skinny.” She said, sticking out her tongue at the apprentice, before walking ahead, taking the lead.

“Yeah, that’s real mature.” He followed her, strides short and comfortable.

But even though Squirrelpaw was trying to look disinterested, she had to praise Crowpaw’s technique when it had granted them with a large rabbit, caught and dispatched within minutes.

Squirrelpaw licked the blood from her fangs, quivering as the tasted gave her a sudden burst of energy. “That’s better.”

Crowpaw looked over the prey, glancing around with a stiff expression. He faced the air again, but his whiskers barely swayed at all. “The wind’s dying down, it’s going to be harder to catch another if that sun gets any worse.” His relaxed look didn’t match his next words at all. “You want to share this one?”

Smiling, laughing, sharing. Squirrelpaw was finding it harder to believe this was Crowpaw but it didn’t stop her from taking up his offer within the first beat of her pacing heart.

With every bite, Squirrelpaw felt her tiredness ease, and her muscles begin to stiffen comfortably. Hopefully, the others had been just as successful with their hunts; it was going to be a long night otherwise. In the, admittedly too often, glances she’d snuck at Crowpaw, she found that he was gulping his share down as quickly as he could. Already he’d stripped one leg down to the bone.

“You going to chew any of that, Crowpaw?”

After gulping down half a foot, he answered. “Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry, more far off than anything. “You take your time, I’m in no rush to see your clanmate again.”

She felt like she was meant to laugh. She didn’t. “What’s up?” From the dim gaze to the twitching whiskers, Squirrelpaw was able to catch onto when something had Crowpaw riled. She still didn’t know if she entirely knew what to do to cheer him up.

He didn’t answer straight away, only after a stoic pause with a bite and a tear and a swallow. “How long is it going to take now?”

Squirrelpaw bit softly on the inside of her cheek. Of course. “I wish I knew.” She took another bite, hoping the flavours would sate the uneasiness creeping on her back. “It’s like they said earlier, it could be days, it could be moons in fact.”

“Well that’s comforting.”

“You asked.”

Crowpaw swallowed less forcefully, “I just wonder what’s going on back at home.”

Squirrelpaw stared at the floor, trying to imagine what it was like back in Thunderclan; what was it like for her parents or for Leafpaw? She could only hope for the best. She couldn’t think that Starclan was going to send them on this journey only for it to mean nothing in the end.

Well, she hoped not at least.

Hoping. There was a lot of it these days.

“I know how you feel.” Squirrelpaw purred, “But we can’t just lose faith in Starclan. We’ve got to get there, no matter how long it takes, even if that does mean spending moons with your grumpy face.”

“Hey!” Cropaw scolded, though his voice was soft. “I haven’t lost faith in Starclan. I’m just sick of going nowhere.”

“Well, there’s a somewhere at the end of nowhere, Rabbit-brain.” Squirrelpaw chirped. She was as sick of everything as he was, but she had to stay positive about it, especially when confronted with a cat as moody as her friend.

Crowpaw frowned, tilting his head at her. “Doesn’t do us much good until then, though, does it?”

“Well it’s all we’ve got for now.” Squirrelpaw said, swallowing her words like a bone. It was aggravating, but it would do no good to lie. “Just try to relax and you might be able to sleep for once.”

Crowpaw sniffed but he also laughed. Squirrelpaw counted that as a win. He pulled away from the bones now littered in front of him. “I’m done. Don’t rush for me, I can wait.”

“Oh, you’re such a gentletom.” Squirrelpaw said with a mocking reverence, ignoring that she actually meant it. Crowpaw stuck his tongue back out at her, but his eyes were warm and inviting. Squirrelpaw felt her heart stutter again.

What was going on with her? It was becoming way too frequent now that this tom could cause her brazen attitude, that she had perfected over moons and seasons, to crack even a little. It had never been something that hit her even once before, never to this degree at least.

But as he looked, not stared, just a the few glances he struck her with, as she ate, Squirrelpaw’s face felt like water boiling under the sun of Crowpaw’s grin.

It maybe shouldn’t have been a surprise to her. This cat hadn’t been the Crowpaw she’d known before in any way or whisker. That Crowpaw had been an enemy. This cat was one she would maybe even call one of her best friends.

Maybe that was why she didn’t want this journey to end so soon.

It was nice that the flower would be there to remind her of her friends, but Squirrelpaw knew it would never be the same. Not really anyway. Even if they met through patrols or gatherings, it would be under a thousand watching eyes, all judging and making sure they never went to far against their loyalty to the clan.

It’s just good to see where your loyalties lie.

Her hunger suddenly faded underneath, perhaps motioned on by the clouds drifting above them, minutes from blocking the sun. More likely perturbed by reality.

She wanted to tell herself that being a warrior was her greatest duty, and that completing this journey was all that she was ever meant to focus on. That was clearly why Starclan favoured Bramblelclaw over her, anyway. She had the chance to prove to her clan how she could and would live up to the name of her father. She could be his reflection rather than his shadow.

But, when this was all over, what would it be that she’d remember?

She didn’t see this journey as an opportunity to prove herself anymore, she now looked back on the past, all that she could focus on were the friends she had made.

Friends that would naturally leave.

Did that thought hurt them as much as it did her? She’d probably never know.

And it would be best not to ask. Just because she had problems left to sort out with her clan didn’t mean she had to drag other innocent cats into it. She was strong enough to deal with it on her own.

“Are you finished?”

Squirrelpaw looked up to Crowpaw’s patient expression. She examined the prey, there wasn’t much left now, besides she was full enough.

“Yeah, let’s get back to the others.” She stretched her stiff back, sighing from the sudden feeling of her full stomach. “Much better.”

Crowpaw stood up as well, leading the way with a shrewd sneer. “So, it looks like you Thunderclan cats actually could learn from us after all, huh?”

Squirrelpaw scoffed, her tail flaring. “Yeah, yeah. What do you want? A stroke on the ears?” She pouted at him. “I’d consider us even after I was the one who taught you how to stalk instead of swallowing muck.”

Crowpaw’s smile dropped, he groaned to his side. “You’re never going to let that go.”

Squirrelpaw leapt beside him with a smirk. “Besides, I’ve been able to catch your prey now. I bet you’d never be able to catch ours.”

“What? You mean I’ll never have mole breath? Oh, what a shame.”

“Try birds, flea-brain.” Squirrelpaw snapped back.

Crowpaw shrugged, his tail swaying coolly. “Eh, rabbits make for a better meal.”

Oh, he wasn’t getting away that easily! “Spoken like a true tail-chaser.” Squirrelpaw perked her nose up for effect.

It worked. Crowpaw’s right eye twitched and his smile looked much more artificial. “If I wanted to catch one of your little sparrows, I could! But there’s no trees for them to roost on near Winclan!” He insisted, making use of the small height he had above Squirrelpaw as he looked down at her.

“Hmm, I’ve heard better excuses.” She winked. “Why don’t you show me?”

Crowpaw’s brow furrowed, “How am I supposed to show you? There’s no trees around here!”

Squirrelpaw walked on as if disinterested, her tail curling under Crowpaw’s chin. “Oh, don’t worry, Crowpaw. You don’t need to make anymore silly excuses for me. I won’t judge you.” Her voice sounded as if she had drained all the sugar out of a stalk and was now spitting it onto the grey apprentice.

Crowpaw drew a sharp breath, now fully pulled into Squirrelpaw’s trick. “Okay then.” He drawled; one eye cold on the molly. “Then, most divine robin catcher, please do tell me; how do you such amazing cats catch those birds? I’ll catch on, no problem!”

Squirrelpaw’s tail flicked in victory. She was going to enjoy this. “Oh, I suppose I could tell you. As long as you don’t come stealing our prey that is.”

“Same goes to you, vole-brain.” Crowpaw shot back, his smirk becoming more genuine.

Squirrelpaw’s eyes brightened with delight. “Okay then, watch this!” She took a few paces away from him and got into a stalking position. She slowly crawled, facing imaginary prey. “First, we stalk the bird once we spot in in the tree.” She lowered her voice dramatically. “We slooowwwly crawl up to it, making sure it doesn’t see us.”

“What mystical advice.” Crowpaw said dryly, though his mouth snapped shut at Squirrelpaw’s thunderous look.

“Anyway as soon as we get close enough,” She paused, getting into a pouncing crouch and tensing her legs with all the power she could. Instantly she burst into the air, wrapping her paws around her invisible prey. “We use the bark to give use some more power, grab the bird by it’s feathers and drag it down!” She exclaimed, snapping her jaws on her imaginary bird. She pretended to chew viciously for a moment before getting back to her paws with a proud chuckle. “That’s how it’s done.”

Crowpaw rose a brow, thoroughly unamused. “That’s it. That’s simple.”

Squirrelpaw pretended to look offeneded, but internally she was giggling. “Alright then, show me how well you do it.”

The Windclan apprentice rolled his eyes, “Sure.” He shook his pelt, crouching down to mimic Squirrelpaw’s stalking. The Thunderclan cat took the opportunity to go behind him while he was distracted, making sure her own paws were quiet along the grass.

“Ah ah ah,” Squirrelpaw tutted, “Stalk it more slowly.” She heard Crowpaw groan under his breath and he followed her instructions. All while Squirrelpaw stalked him. The molly grinned darkly from behind, getting her hind muscles ready again.

“Okay, so I’ve stalked it slowly,” He mimicked mockingly, “So now I just-”

“Pounce!”

Crowpaw only had half a moment before Squirrelpaw landed on him, where he was able to twist around to face the grinning beast leaping at him. She collided against his chest, pressing onto it with both her paws. She landed on top of him, holding him down with two paws on his shoulders, but not painfully hard.

Squirrelpaw threw her head back with a triumphant laugh as Crowpaw snarled beneath her. “That was a dirty move!” The tom yowled; his fur ruffled under the cat.

Squirrelpaw craned her head down to give the tom a half-lidded grin. “It’s you’re fault for not seeing that coming.”

Crowpaw growled with clear irritation, but there was no hostility in his gaze, unlike when he had pounced at her when they’d first met. It was clear that Crowpaw wasn’t going to fight. That actually made Squirrelpaw feel a little guilty, she’d thought it would do the tom good to have a little excitement. She just wanted to have some fun with him.

The she realised what was going on. That she was above Crowpaw, staring right into his eyes, with the tender pads of her paws buried into the soft fur of his chest. Soft and warm. Her heart stuttered again and her strength on the cat relaxed.

Big mistake.

Immediately, Crowpaw’s eyes burst with fire and he twisted upwards, catching the molly by surprise. She yelped as she felt his paws press against her chest, pushing her down onto her back. It didn’t hurt when her head hit the soft grass, but she was instantly aware of the slight force now holding her down.

Her eyes opened and she caught his spirited expression directly above her. His blue eyes were furrowed with proud mischief. “And you shouldn’t let your guard down so easily.” He piped, grinning down at her with satisfaction.

If her heart was stuttering before, it was losing breath now. Her chest heaved as she felt him above her. She took in his soft fur again, the misty calmness inside the ocean blues of his gaze, when it was directly above her his smile gleamed so much more.

He had pinned her, but she didn’t feel embarrassed. Not in the way a warrior should.

She even found herself smiling back, laughing along with him. When they looked at each other, there wasn’t any animosity, no challenge, just a peace that came between friends.

Her fur was messed up, but it was her that was ruffled.

Squirrelpaw tried to sound playful behind her blush. “Now who’s playing dirty.”

Crowpaw sank in closer to her with a wink. “I’d call us even, wouldn’t you?”

He laughed again. That beautiful laugh that held the same joy she felt.

If only she’d kept a better eye of her surroundings. She may have noticed the heavy paws thundering towards them.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!” Came the thunderous growl.

Crowpaw only had time to flick his ear before the barrage of fur and muscle slammed into his side.

Squirrelpaw swept her eyes in horror as she saw her friend struggle desperately as he thrashed under the strong paws of Brambleclaw. His paws scrambled at the Warrior’s underbelly with his hind paws trying to shake him off, but Brambeclaw didn’t even flinch, holding down the apprentice with a heavy paw on his neck.

“Why did you attack her?!” The Warrior yowled, slamming Crowpaw’s head back down into the grass, causing the flower to dislodge from Crowpaw’s fur and flail away from the fight. The apprentice buckled under the force, but he continued struggling, thrashing as wildly as he could.

“Get off me!” The apprentice hissed, trying to rid himself of the paw painfully pressing his face into the dirt.

“You had her pinned down! You attacked her!” Brambleclaw snarled, he looked ready to lodge his teeth into Crowpaw’s throat.

Squirrelpaw looked on in horror, straight on her friend hopelessly grunting and writhing for freedom. She scrambled up to her paws, ready to help, when she saw a flash of brown and black dart past her towards the fighting cats.

“Brambleclaw!” Tawnypelt screeched, neck spiked, “Stop it!” She bit down on her brother’s scruff, trying her best to drag the furious tom from the smaller cat. Brambleclaw made no effort to quell in his attack, fixing himself down with his claws. They latched onto Crowpaw’s chest making him cry out in pain.

Whatever trance Squirrelpaw was in was ripped away as anger stormed inside her chest. She raced to the scene, not noticing Feathertail and Stormfur appear from the area where Tawnypelt had ran from.

“Oh Starclan, Crowpaw!” The Riverclan molly screamed with a newfound urgency.

“What’s going on here?!” Stormfur exclaimed, following quickly behind his sister as they both surged to stop the fight as well.

Luckily, Tawnypelt was enough as she finally pulled with enough strength to make Brambleclaw lose grip of his opponent. Crowpaw took the time to give a last furious swipe at Brambleclaw’s belly before scrambling away. Squirrelpaw sprinted to him, looking over the panting apprentice, his fur was ruffled badly and there would certainly be some scars left on him by tomorrow.

“Are you okay?” Feathertail squeaked, pressing her nose against her friend’s fur.

Crowpaw didn’t answer, too busy reclaiming his breath, and glaring with incredible ferocity at the Thunderclan Warrior.

Brambleclaw glared back over the pelts of Stormfur and Tawnypelt, both holding the tom back. “Is he okay?! He attacked Squirrelpaw!”

Stormfur looked back at the apprentice icily. “He did what?”

Brambleclaw bared his teeth, “He had her pinned down, I saw it myself!”

Squirrelpaw rose up, her fangs clear as she hissed maliciously. She wasn’t going to let him try and turn the group against Crowpaw when he’d done nothing wrong. “No, he didn’t! We were just sparring!”

Whatever distrust the cats had of Crowpaw subsided as Squirrelpaw rushed to his defence. Even Stormfur’s harsh stare softened as the ginger apprentice questioned her clanmate. Brambleclaw froze, but his eyes still blazed with rage.

“But he was on top of you! He had you pinned!” Brambleclaw’s ire set back on the wounded apprentice. “I knew it was stupid to think you wouldn’t lose your mind at some point! You’ve always been looking for trouble!”

Crowpaw looked as if he wanted to become as wild as a tornado, but when he tried to stand he winced from the scratches embedded in his shoulders and his side. Squirrelpaw’s heart panged with worry and anger, turning on her clanmate with unsheathed claws.

“He wasn’t hurting me, you fox-brain!” Squirrelpaw yowled, keeping her body between the apprentice and Brambleclaw. She would be the one tearing out the Warrior’s fur before Crowpaw, that was certain. “Maybe if you’d actually bothered to look you might have noticed!”

“What I saw,” Brambleclaw muttered, as cold as frost, “Was a Windclan cat attack my clanmate! I had every reason to get involved!”

Squirrelpaw’s snarl was so vicious her gums were visible. Brambleclaw was not going to find a way to justify this. She could deal with whatever stupid comments came out of his trap, but he had attacked her friend! This was enough! “The only one attacking anyone was you!”

Brambleclaw’s jaw hung, he stammered, as if searching for a way to reason his anger. But Tawnypelt’s angry face burst in front of him. “That’s enough! Face it Brambleclaw, why would she be defending him if he had really attacked her? You made a mistake.” The Shadowclan Warrior seethed, her mouth contacting in a warning. “An extremely stupid mistake! Have you forgotten your own advice of how we should be working together instead of fighting?”

“A mistake? I was trying to help her!”

“I didn’t need your help!” Squirrelpaw growled, once again stung by Brambleclaw’s lack of faith in her abilities. “I can fight my own battles, and when I do it won’t be for no reason at all!”

Brambleclaw looked between the glares of his sister and his clanmate, the adrenaline of the fight dimming as his ears went flat against his head. He looked towards Stormfur, but the tom only returned a small frown his way. There would be no one to back him up here, not when Squirrelpaw so passionately denied his reasoning.

The Warrior’s breaths slowed as his muscles began to relax. Sensing no more fighting would occur, Tawnypelt and Stormfur eased away, but not enough to allow Brambleclaw an easy run at his opponent. The Thunderclan tom glanced at all the furious faces staring him down, and a brief flash of shame oozed from him. But as soon as his eyes settled on Crowpaw again, he darkened again fiercely turning his gaze between the two apprentices’.

“It is my duty as a Warrior, to protect my clanmate when I see them in danger.” Brambleclaw drawled with a slow venom. “I saw and I acted to what I thought was right.” His eyes narrowed on his clanmate. “Maybe it wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t wasting your time with kittenish games!”

Squirrelpaw felt her claws tighten against the ground. It was unbelievable. Even when the group was against him, he still found a way to deflect the blame onto her. She moved her tongue to make some dry remark, but all that came out was a growl. “I hate you.”

There was nothing else to say.

Her clanmate’s brow creased, it was unclear whether it was anguish or malice. Overhead a cloud passed, covering the face of the sun and causing a great shadow to overcome the hills.

Tawnypelt stared at him with a vague disgust. It almost looked like the horror of remembering someone she wouldn’t wish to recognise.

Brambleclaw noticed it and his anger began to mix with a strained pain. The Shadowclan Warrior shook her head, almost piteously, turning to give Crowpaw a soft glance. “Crowpaw, can you walk okay?”

The Windclan apprentice shook a little, his teeth grinding as he felt all the eyes fall on him. On his wounds. He hissed as he rose to his feet, shaking off the support Feathertail offered. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He muttered, his gaze downcast. Feathertail and Squirrelpaw looked at each other worriedly.

“But you’re wounded.” Feathertail ushered.

“It’s just a couple scratches!” Crowpaw insisted, his voice raspy behind his teeth, as he began to clean his ruffled fur. Squirrelpaw wanted to interject; it wouldn’t be wise to just leave Crowpaw unchecked. But there was an intensity, a shame, in Crowpaw’s scowl that silenced her.

Tawnypelt looked as unconvinced as the rest of them, but she didn’t say anything more about it. “Alright, then we should try to make more ground. It’ll be dark soon after all.”

Stormfur muttered in agreement, displaying a weariness for how sour things had turned within minutes. He looked over at his sister, then to Crowpaw, offering a polite nod.

Squirrelpaw sensed Crowpaw stiffen.

“Come on.” Tawnypelt said, padding back in the direction of the setting sun. Out of the corner of her eye, she glared at her brother. “It’ll be over for us otherwise, right?”

She didn’t wait for an answer, Stormfur followed her. Brambleclaw stared into the space, his mouth thin, for a while before he offered another glance at the furious trio. Squirrelpaw knew he could feel her hatred for him. Good. A war seemed to go inside of him as while his eyes were still cold and unapologetic, his frown was rigid and weak. Something was breaking. It didn’t amount to anything though, as the Warrior finally just scoffed and turned on his tail, slowly making his way to the others.

Squirrelpaw sent another growl his way, loud enough to be heard, before she turned back to her friends. Feathertail was close by, the still ruffled, Crowpaw checking him over for wounds.

“Really, I’m fine.” Crowpaw stated, stepping away from the Riverclan molly. “Stop worrying about it, already.” He sounded dry with anger. Feathertail flinched, but she knew that he wasn’t trying to be hurtful, so he relented calmly.

“Okay.”

Squirrelpaw felt a stormy guilt rile in her gut. It has been her who had started the sparring after all. Her eye glinted at something white nearby, her breath caught, and she padded over to the flower, picking it up with her teeth.

“Here, let me.” She said through her fangs. Crowpaw’s eyes flickered at the image of the plant, but he kept his face stony. Still, he remained still, silently accepting.

Squirrelpaw tried to look calm as she wrapped the flower back into his now messy fur but ignoring the beating of her heart was nothing compared to Crowpaw’s expression. He forced his eyes away from hers, as if ashamed to meet her gaze. The fight had seemed to suck all his energy away.

Usually, Squirrelpaw would have found wounded pride something trivial and unimportant. But when she saw the stiff, humiliated expression on his face, her heart ached.

“Did you guys catch anything?” Crowpaw mumbled, talking to Feathertail despite his attempt to stare at his paws.

“Oh, um, yes. We did. When we’d finished, we met up with the others and then… went to look for you. two” Bless her heart, she was careful enough.

Crowpaw made a small sound of recognition, and Squirrelpaw finished getting the flower settled into his head again. She wiped away dust from the petals, trying her best to give her friend a smile.

“Don’t worry.” Squirrelpaw purred. Her heart stopped for a moment as she considered then decided on her next action. Smoothly, she licked Crowpaw’s cheek, cleaning away the dust of the fight. “They know it wasn’t your fault.”

She had hoped that that was what was bothering Crowpaw and that what she’d said would get him to return to the smiling face she loved so much to see.

But neither were true.

Instead Crowpaw met her eyes, still hot and upset with embarrassment and defeat. “Thanks.” He mumbled lethargically, breaking away from her to walk to where the others had gone. “Let’s go.”

He walked slowly, still waiting for them, but the mollies knew it was different. His tail was tucked despite his desperation to look unaffected.

But it was clear that he was exhausted.

Squirrelpaw swallowed as if she’d been chewing on nettles. How? How had everything go so badly that quickly? She just about managed to look appreciative when Feathertail gave her a comforting nudge and a small promise that it would get better. But Feathertail couldn’t hide the clear pain of seeing her friend look so wounded.

But it was the image of Crowpaw’s face that hung in Squirrelpaw’s mind. Even when he had broken down to her about his father, she’d never seen him look as ashamed as he had in those few seconds.

Squirrelpaw wanted him to get better. She wanted him to become friends with the others, and that did look more possible now they’d seen he wasn’t at fault. But, most of all, she wanted to see him smile again.

She just wanted him to be happy.

So she rushed over to where Crowpaw was, determined to not leave his side, not caring if it took the whole way to the Sun-drown place, because he was her friend. She would stick by him.

That was the only loyalty she could care about right now.

...

I hope you liked this chapter. I believe this is the chapter I disliked writing the most. But, some angst is important, so what are ya gonna do?

Anyway, leave a like if you enjoyed!

#squirrelflight #squirrelpaw #crowfeather #crowpaw #brambleclaw #Feathertail #tawnypelt #Stormfur #Warriors #Warrior Cats #warrior au #crowsquirrel #squirrelcrow #New Prophecy #fanfiction

86 notes · View notes

primrosemoon-designs · 6 years ago

Note

Ragdoll and munchkin?

Ragdoll: Who are your favorite and least favorite characters?

favorite: ooof i actually have a couple that i really like so!! i’ll just list them in no particular order lmao- Alderheart (ever since i read apprentice’s quest he has stolen my heart), Tallstar, Jake, GOLDENFLOWER, Yellowfang, Cinderpelt, Cinderheart, Spottedleaf (super unpopular opinion because she sucks in canon but in my headcanons i love her), Jayfeather, SORRELTAIL, Heathertail, Feathertail, Nightcloud, Mothwing, Tawnypelt, Leafstar, Ravenpaw, Firestar, Squirrelflight annnd last but not least Sandstorm!!

least favorite: Thistleclaw (do i even have to explain), Crowfeather, Rainflower, Sandgorse, uhh Lionblaze, Clear Sky (which is ironic considering skyclan is one of my favorite clans), Tigerstar I, Hawkfrost and Bramblestar (hes just p boring)

Munchkin: Which character would you want as your mentor? hmm maybe brackenfur!! hes pretty chill so i think he’d be a cool mentor!!

1 note · View note

digital-dragoon · 7 years ago

Note

your turn: your roster in a KFP au?

i really love the idea that some of my roster would’ve moved over to china by boat (or flew) for various reasons depending on whether they’re native animals or not?? so i’ll stick with that for this awesome au

cloud: i was thinking a bird, perhaps?? maybe a barn owl. though i also love the idea of him being a spiny mouse too… as a barn owl, he’d have ruffled feathers on the top of his head. as a spiny mouse, he’d be a lighter brown-orange than most. he does deliveries to and from the jade palace and acts as their messenger too

daisuke (& dark): hmm i could definitely see daisuke as a red fox! agile, clever and resourceful, he’d definitely be brought up by his parents much the same a he was in canon; to play the part of a phantom thief, complete with Ninja Skills. once his dna reacts to his romantic feelings or adrenaline, he instead transforms into a completely black silver fox as dark

heather: okay what immediately popped into my head is a secretary bird and now i absolutely love that idea. she’s studying kung-fu at the jade palace alongside the other heathers

max: maybe a wolfdog?? like a tibetan wolf/bakharwal dog but with more percentage of the latter over the former. he’s all floofy and spiky and was p much dumped by his parents at the jade palace to study alongside the younger pupils… which he hates

raptor red: alright i was originally leaning towards reptiles but! birds are closer descendants of dinosaurs so…. red’s a red-tailed hawk! they originate from utah and fit her overall red hued species theme (as well as having powerful talons). she’s a bounty hunter alongside siobhan and rocket in the valley of peace

sunpaw/bird: i just couldn’t leave my two warrior cats out tbh….. sunpaw would be a young golden tiger who’s struggling to master kung fu under the tutelage of feathertail. i’d imagine she’d be helping him to refine his techniques in such a way as to actually keep from touching his targets to a minimum, thanks to the varied nature of kung-fu

the batter: definitely something feline… i’m thinking a white panther? one of a leucistic variant, with blue eyes. he’s a self-trained kung-fu killer who tests the strength of others and takes them out if they are not worthy enough

the joxter: i cannot imagine him as anything other than a red panda, wearing clothes he’s fashioned himself with a splodge of rusty red across his cheeks and nose. he used to be a skilled kung fu student, but he left, growing bored of the constant enforcement of rules. now he just travels around, helping people or just… chilling wherever he likes

tigerstar: i mean, why would i not go with a tiger tbh?? he’d be a darker orange than normal with the same sharp claws and definitely be working as a kung fu master on the opposite side of the valley of peace (with bramblestar tutoring at the jade palace perhaps??), forcing his pupils to focus on power through fierce, rigorous training

#thanks spear!!!#this was great fun to think up and write!!#friend asks!#my writing #kfp au

2 notes · View notes

blorboclaw · 2 years ago

Text

First: Fire is fine by me.

Second: Can I cheat and say Feathertail and then when she dies it goes to Stormfur, and when he stays in the tribe it goes to Brambleclaw? If only one, I’d say that Brambleclaw is essential to have both a THunderclan pov, because of all that’s going on in there, a plausible innocence for Hawkfrost (which we wouldn’t have by having a wind or riverclan cat because he’s been meddling with politics from both) and the whole tigerstar legacy / becoming deputy.

Third: Hmm hard one, let’s say Hollyleaf.

Fourth: A cat from another clan, completely. A random riverclan maybe, or a shadowclan cat to keep the “Tigerheart is sneaking out at nights”. Having to understand by light touches here and there who is the third of the prophecy. Oh Thunderclan had a prophecy? Rad! Probably Jayfeather’s powers, the reader thinks. Wait why are they saying Dovepaw, who also happens to be a prophecy cat’s apprentice, is the one with the dream? OH MY GOD SHE’S THE THIRD things like that. Also that random cat would be sent in the patrol in the fourth apprentice obviously to keep most of the plot still visible.

Fifth I can’t decide although Tall Shadow was great and it would be nice to have the pov of a cat outside of the Messy Family.

Sixth and onward, didn’t read.

if each series had only one pov, which would you want that pov to be

can be a pov character (ivypool, twigbranch, etc) or a whole different character (longtail, willowshine, etc)

92 notes · View notes

thessia · 8 years ago

Note

warrior cats

the character i least understand

ummmm hmm… this feels too easy so i’m going to limit it to the main characters. and in that case, i guess lionblaze? i feel like his narrative is kind of unfocused and so much of the time i read from his perspectives i’m like. Who Even Are You

interactions i enjoyed the most

i looooooooove the new prophecy and all the ways the journey cats interact during and after it. my favorites were squirrelpaw and brambleclaw, but i also liked the way feathertail and tawnypelt spoke to each other, as well as stormfur and squirrelpaw and squirrelpaw and crowpaw

the character who scares me the most

tigerstar i guess? or maybe mapleshade

the character who is mostly like me

squirrelflight and cinderpelt

hottest looks character

They Are Cats

one thing i dislike about my fave character

squirrelflight is annoying as Fuck in midnight, and the whole holly/jay/lion thing was really messed up of her. especially hiding it from brambleclaw. cinderpelt should not have been reincarnated

one thing i like about my hated character

most hated character is probably tigerstar because im basic… i respect his ambition i guess

a quote or scene that haunts me

so many! the very first one that came to mind was firestar bringing bluestar’s body home to thunderclan in the beginning of the darkest hour. i still remember the book describing the whole scene as being completely quiet, down to a lack of birdsong, as though the forest itself were grieving her loss

a death that left me indifferent

umm there were a lot. i’ll take the easy route and say all the deaths that happened between books, like rainwhisker and willowpelt (etc)

a character i wish died but didn’t

darkstripe! what the fuck! @erins perma kill him

rmy ship that never sailed

so many… i’ll keep it simple and say cinder/fire, tawny/feather, holly/cinder and leaf/moth. leaf/moth and tawny/feather are probably my favorites. fallen/holly is also good, but idk if that’s been confirmed or not

thank you for asking!

5 notes · View notes

gh0stb1tesss · 5 years ago

Text

Hmm ok let’s do this. 😿- I think brightheart is one. We could have gotten a lot more from her. Same with Rosepetal and Stemleaf. And Hollyleaf. I guess ivypool too since she’s not leader or deputy yet. I could go on. 🗣- ooh this is one I’ve put a lot of thought into, although only singing voices. Some include Squirrelflight as P!nk, ivypool as Halsey, dovewing as Taylor Swift, and Hollyleaf as Sia. Might post a full list later. 💫- I have literally no idea for this one. I mean I guess lgbt couples if that counts. ❤️- hmm that’s a hard one. I mean my favorite character is Ivypool just because I think she’s a beautiful lesbian badass who deserves the world and more, but idk if she really a comfort character. As far as those go, I think sandstorm, ravenpaw, barley, Cinderpelt, Yellowfang, Tallstar, whitestorm, Bluestar, Greystripe, brightheart, cloudtail, brackenfur, sorreltail, and yes, Firestar. Just some OGs I love. Oh, and I almost forgot my favorite boy thrushpelt, I live for him. ♌️- hm I haven’t really thought about that. I guess Lionblaze would be a Leo, dovewing maybe a Pisces, Crowfeather a Capricorn. I’d have to think abt that more. ✍🏻- a lot of things. I guess some of the biggest things would be Firestar wouldn’t be the fourth cat, in fact maybe just no fourth cat at all. ASHFUR *ahem assfur cough* WOULD GO TO THE DF, etc. plus names. 🍔- I’ll actually just assume I’m a cat in this situation, and the three cats would like to share tongues with are ivypool (just to talk abt how much of a badass she is and support her being lesbian) Leafpool and Squirrelflight (can they count as one? I just think it would cool to hear abt the events in their lives from their respective perspectives), and I guess cloudtail and brightheart (again counting them as one. They just seem like a really fun couple to hang out with) 🎶- uh idk, what would ivypool be??? Not a genre but all Halsey songs fit her very well. 🌑- well I mean we all know it’s Ashfur, and by the looks of it spiresight is behind it for some reason. 🔥- I don’t think I really have one??? I don’t really hate any of them that much. 🌱- maybe briarlight or cinderpelt, because their personalities are just like my irl best friend’s. I think ivypool, Rosepetal, squirrelflight, tawnypelt, feathertail, violetshine, bristlefrost, willow shine, Mothwing, hollyleaf, Heathertail, and maybe cinderheart. Also Stormfur, kestrelflight, puddleshine, Jayfeather, foxleap, thrushpelt, Crookedstar, oakheart, Harestar, tree, flametail, hollowflight, stemleaf, fallen leaves, fernsong, and flipclaw. 💀- um that’s hard, but I think briarlight, Rosepetal, and hollowflight. Maybe. Idk 🎨- oooh I think the swiftpaw one I’m Not Ready, the snowfur one called Youth by Eucalyptus Splash, Kids Again about Gorse Fur and Wind Runner, Roxanne with squirrelflight, brambleclaw, and Ashfur, jolene with nightcloud and leafpool, and pools about Ashfur by nightfall. Oops that’s more than five... Wow that was long fun super fun I hope anyone who reads this enjoyed it

impulsive warriors ask game cause i’m procrastinating and very bored!

😿 - which character(s) had wasted potential?

🗣 - what are some of your headcanon voices?

💫 - which character would work better in a different piece of media, without the constraints of harpercollins and erin hunter?

❤️ - who’s your biggest comfort character and why?

♌️ - what zodiac signs do you associate with the characters?

✍️ - who would you have written differently and why?

🍔 - pick three characters you would have lunch with, assuming they were humans in this situation and not cats.

🎶 - if your favorite character were a genre of music, what genre would they be?

🌑 - do you have any theories about the broken code?

🔥 - which book do you absolutely loathe with every ounce of your being?

🌱 - which character could you see yourself being best friends with?

💀 - pick three characters to bring back from the dead.

🎨 - what are your top five favorite amvs/pmvs?

401 notes · View notes

mallowstep · 4 years ago

Note

📖 (foxstride)

ask thingy

@foxstride

okay i mentioned this to you on discord but i didn't go into it but. okay. okay. the au where mistyfoot is hawk, moth, and tadpole's mother. this has been just. it's been chewing on my brain and i don't know when i'm going to write it so since u gave me a blank canvas, i'm going to ramble about it for as long as i can.

cw: implied/referenced sexual assault; brief suicidal ideation; standard tigerclan content (abuse, child abuse, starvation, dehumanization, etc.); referenced force feeding

okay oh my gosh okay. this has. so obviously i've been thinking about riverclan lately. a lot. it's rcam. anyway. i don't want. i'm trying to get to the point and not loop around aimlessly for two hundred words but okay but okay. anyway.

i've been thinking of all the different ways i can deeply traumatize misty, storm, and feather. and maybe stone. maybe i'll let stone live at some point. that'd be fun.

right so i've been thinking of that and my ideas are all over the place. i'm going to let primrosepaw live at some point. at one point i'm going to have stormpaw, and maybe primrosepaw or reedpaw (and...what's the other one? is it perchpaw or pikepaw? whatever) the point is i'll have some collection of stormpaw and some or all of mistyfoot's kits escape but not misty and feather so we can do survivor's guilt and.

anyway so i was writing the excerpt for the primrosepaw is definitely there au (it's kind of not Tethered because most of these aren't mutually incompatible like that au could be any of the others), and tigerstar has that dialogue about kits yeah?

so when i was writing it, i was thinking about just. he's trying to dehumanize all of them, right? that's his goal with that line. he's separating mistyfoot from her kits, trying to erase the meaning of their relationships. that's like. that's what i was considering when i was writing it.

buuuuuuut. y'know. my brain is chewing on it. and it just. hm. Hm. what if. what If tadpole, moth, and hawk were misty and tiger kits. hm. hmm. hm.

and so i am just instantly. very on board with this. there's so much potential.

so i Think the point of canon divergence is the rescue attempt. i haven't decided if stormpaw is successfully rescued or not. featherpaw doesn't for reasons i'm circling around to, but stormpaw may or may not. it certainly Matters in a broad sense but i haven't made up my mind, and i doubt i'm going to write Multiple aus about this. i mean i might u never know but it'd b like writing an alternate stolag: i mean i suppose i Could but it would feel weird.

okay almost burnt my dinner i said i'm very this has just been slowly rotting my brain out. i like Angst and it's been a while since i've written any.

okay there was fmtws but really that got me started. i'm not a fluff person. and y'all know that by now.

so Back On Topic. so Anyway after the rescue attempt fails/partially fails, tigerstar takes his anger out at the apprentices being Alive on featherpaw and she gets to. uh. help tigerclan practice fighting.

"Let me see her," Mudfur hissed. "No," Tigerstar said. "I've told you." Mudfur growled. Featherpaw dragged herself to her feet, and Mistyfoot glanced back at her. They would leave they would leave they would leave and then she could lie down again and try not to think. "You're not my leader," Mudfur said, and Featherpaw winced. Mistyfoot could see what was going on, but she was sitting still as a stone. Mudfur pressed into their — Mudfur pressed in, laying a wrapped bundle at Mistyfoot's feet. "Let me—" "No," Mistyfoot said. "Just go." Mudfur dipped his head. Tigerstar's steps moved away from them, but the shouts and arguments surrounding Mudfur were just buzzing noise in Featherpaw's head. She made out, "She's going to die," and she thought, that wouldn't be the worst thing.

thank You featherpaw. you will suffer for the au as a whole. anyway this takes place...i'm not Quite sure but mistyfoot does have a reason for not letting mudfur in. and that reason is she is in Denial about being pregnant.

if mudfur comes in he'll know (i have not forgotten that cats can smell unlike the erins), and mistyfoot is acting in denial. altho she rationalizes it to herself as being for mudfur's protection: runningnose is a medicine cat too, and so tigerstar could off mudfur without much effort.

(also i tend to mix up mudfur and mudclaw sometimes understand i am talking about the riverclan medicine cat, not the windclan deputy. i just mistype them sometimes.)

anyway so she has a legitimate reason (mudfur's continual survival, which is better for her and featherpaw longterm), and she does not want mudfur to know.

yeah.

all in all, this happens before the great battle. mistyfoot fights in it (again, denial), featherpaw and stormpaw are reunited (yes i think i made up my mind), (wait maybe stonefur lives too, and then both pairs of siblings reconnect, and stonefur is like "oh Shit" and. okay yes. maybe. i don't know.)

(there's a Lot. ohh maybe. wait best of both worlds okay. mistyfoot Thinks stonefur is dead. but stonefur doesn't get a proper burial but at the same time riverclan is Not going to go for their deputy on bonepile and even if they do go for it, they're not going to stripe his bones nor are they going to let a Physical Cat Corpse rot in camp. so when firestar and greystripe rescue stormpaw, stormpaw Insists they go back for his body, and then they realize he's Alive but obviously mistyfoot doesn't know.)

(there then i get the Best of both worlds. and stonefur and feathertail are in the Chronic Pain club.)

(also the thing w/ fighting is also what happens in "someday when the world is much brighter". not that Particular scene or in that Particular way, but it does happen. i mean almost exactly in that particular way. but that scene is from a different fic.)

anyway okay moving on i did add too much chili powder to my dinner but that's fine i'm still not over when someone refused to give me more harissa because "it's spicy" like yes i know i guarantee my mom makes it spicier.

back on topic sorry. i've been writing this as i do other things bc i have so much to say about this and i don't want to wait for tomorrow to share this because it's been just Rotting away my brain.

anyway so siblings reunite. it's...terse. it's complicated.

there's some parallels going on right? like because both featherpaw and stormpaw are basically in the mindset of looking after their mentors (which mistyfoot and stonefur feel Terrible about), everyone has survivor's guilt (i don't know what to call like, survivor's guilt when it's not actually survivor's guilt so if someone has a correct word please let me know) except for Maybe featherpaw.

featherpaw might be the Only one here who doesn't have survivor's guilt. i don't really want to explore the one way she could end up with it. that's past my comfort level at the moment.

but stormpaw and mistyfoot are the most physically healthy, and stormpaw and stonefur escaped.

stormpaw: i have not been hurt by this in any way

everyone around stormpaw: you have definitely been hurt by this

stormpaw: i have not been hurt by this in any way

stormpaw and featherpaw become warriors, leopardstar makes mistyfoot deputy (because stonefur is still recovering and also no longer wants the position. mistyfoot doesn't either but she's in denial and she doesn't want anyone else to have it. mistyfoot is visibly pregnant and still kind of in denial at this point. like it's been at least a moon and she is refusing to talk about it.)

right so i think stormpaw's name is going to be stormheart because i don't know it was always weird to me that stormfur and stonefur have the same suffix. like given Everything that's going on it feels weird to me. ig it'd actually be less weird in this, given that stonefur is still alive, but do you know How Close stonefur and stormfur are. they're one consonant cluster off. they're One consonant cluster off.

so leopardstar names him stormheart. feathertail can keep her name because it's pretty.

mistyfoot is a moon away from kitting. she refuses to talk about it. to anyone. whatsoever.

feathertail and stonefur decide to stage an intervention.

(they leave stormheart out not because he's not part of the found family, but because mistyfoot literally will not tolerate a single word about this. like a single word. like she will growl at you if you look at her stomach for too long.

so given the fairly high odds that mistyfoot gets violent, they keep stormheart out of it. she's the least likely to attack stonefur and feathertail.

stormheart finds out about this later and is like "do you guys realize if this went south you had absolutely 0 control over the situation. like what are you guys going to do. you incapable of doing anything to stop her if something goes wrong."

feathertail is like "yes. that's the point."

feathertail is both kind of right and also very internally messed up from being used for "training" when she wasn't allowed to fight back. feathertail also hates if you call her by just her prefix. she does not tell anyone this. misty is aware of this, and she tells stone and storm, and riverclan does eventually figure it out. plus it's not like feathertail is close enough to anyone else for them to call her "feather".

okay i'm getting off topic sorry i've been working on a tpb thing for swtwimb, and the one scene i have is cats making fun of her for not fighting back (again she is not allowed to they might kill her if she does), so they call her "featherkit" and that eventually gets brought down to feather and i'm rambling anyway On topic again.)

so stonefur and feathertail are like. "mistyfoot you are like. a half moon away from kitting. it is impairing your ability to do warrior duties. you need to like. acknowledge this."

anyway after a very terse conversation. after a veeery terse conversation, where mistyfoot is like. very close to just absolutely abandoning riverclan. they get her to admit that yes she is pregnant and yes she needs to stop doing warrior duties for the moment.

she wasn't exactly Healthy when she was pregnant because even tho tigerstar made a Point of making her like. eat enough to be healthy and also not violently attacking her. she had still been starved for...idk long enough for her ribs to show. i'm not sure what the exact timeline on this is yet.

also then After Tigerclan she did not eat as much as she should have because (a) denial and (b) she had been forcefed and so now she's. not doing that.

oh wow i've written long enough for my grammar checker to turn off again. that hasn't happened in ages.

all bets are off from here on out re grammar and spelling.

okay so mistyfoot isn't going to move into the nursery. i believe mosspelt has had a litter of 3 kits, or will have one as we see in asir, but mistyfoot isn't. she's not moving into it. stone, misty, storm, and feathertail share a den. no one else is allowed into it for Any Reason.

so anyway, they expand the den. riverclan as a whole might? i'm not sure who's good at weaving bc i don't have headcanons for this time period. probably not feathertail, but possibly stonefur. hm. anyway, they expand the den, mistyfoot will raise the kits in this den, everyone is on board with this.

mostly because it's this or mistyfoot like. runs away. which obviously no one wants. riverclan is on the side of...the four? riverclan is on the side of the four. even if they're not like, even though the four don't trust them, feathertail and misty especially (stone and storm tolerate it much better). but even tho things are complicated, riverclan is certainly going to do actions. they're certainly going to try to demonstrate their support.

okay so mistyfoot gives birth to her kits, and she is. not feeling good. about it. she's feeling terrible about it actually. she's feeling terrible about things. she doesn't want to name them.

usuuually in this situation, after the queens (collective) decided its in the best interest of the kits to be raised by someone other than their birth mother, the kits would be given to another queen.

but see. feathertail, stonefur, and stormheart are All attatched to these kits. deeply attatched to them. and mistyfoot is not willing to give them up either.

so mistyfoot isn't willing to give them up to another riverclan queen, and feathertail, stone, and storm all Want to raise them, and also don't want to give them to another queen.

the queens confer with mudfur that it is absolutely the worst possible thing they could do to forcibly remove the kits from mistyfoot. like that is the Worst option. they'd be lucky to get the kits alive, feathertail and mistyfoot are likely to abandon riverclan, and if misty and feathertail abandon riverclan, stone and storm will follow.

they're stuck in a standstill for a while. the four eventually do name them hawkkit, mothkit, and tadpolekit. the kits are about a moon old and ready to be weaned. mistyfoot is still extremely tense about the affair, but she's willing to part with them. she's able to recognize that's in the best interest of the kits, mosspelt's litter is about the same age, moving them into the nursery is going to give them a more normal upbringing, everyone is on the same page.

feathertail, who's having a lot of self worth issues, decides that moving into the nursery is her best bet for clan usefulness (which (a) feathertail you cannot keep up with kits and (b) the whole Place she's in is bad to begin with), moves in with them.

the kits decide feathertail is their mother now (they're old enough to understand that she didn't give birth to them, altho i haven't decided if they remember misty as their mother and if they're told any information re their birth parents depends exactly What kind of angst i want to write), and feathertail is. okay with this.

unlike asir, she's not blindsided with the tigerstar-is-their-father reveal, so she does have some issues with hawkkit reminding her of tigerstar, he's not really her Big Bad Trauma Nightmares. she has way more issues with the riverclan warriors directly involved in her abuse.

anyway, i don't know what happens tnp era stuff. i haven't gotten that far yet. maybe this will be another au where hawk and/or moth is a prophecy cat. i'm not sure. i haven't gotten farther than this.

but here you go i started writing this like an hour and a half ago and while i did stop to eat, i also just finally put everything i have for this au on one page and i hope and pray that will stave off the brainrot until i have a chance to actually write it.

#long #like 2.5k words of me just Talking #but this has just been consuming my brain holy shit #thanks for giving me unrestrained access to just talk about it #also like for anyone interested in this ask game #i'm not going to give you something this dark #unless you ask off anon and i know you're okay with that #i already mentioned this to fox #usually i don't talk about anything above pg-13 on tumblr but this has been literally rotting my brain away #i have never meant brain rot so literally #ask #ask game #mine #txt

22 notes · View notes

mallowstep · 3 years ago

Note

I could see Tigerstar trying to organize a thing from behind bars where he tries to get Frog/Hawk/Moth abducted so he can get them taken to "a safe location" and sends Darkstripe and Shredtail (or some second wave recruits not as familiar with everyone) to get them but they are incompentent af and either grab Tawnypelt and Feathertail instead or along with the triplets. Maybe they mix up the fact that Feathertail isn't one of Tigerstars kids, which is why they treat her better then how she was treated in the cult while she has been kidnapped. Thankfully they would be stopped and wouldn't get away with Tigerstar's plan of getting "the kids" away from Mistyfoot. But it could still lead to some good angst filled scenes.

hmm very good yes. i don't really have a coherent reason for tawnypelt and feathertail to be captured, other than they get treated well. the kids are five...let's see. hm. yeah. tigerstar is discrete enough that there would be layers, y'know? the actual kidnappers wouldn't know why they're kidnapping everyone.

feathertail getting kidnapped With the triplets...interesting idea. i'll have to mull over that one. on one hand: angst. on the other hand: kidnapping is standing in for half the journey in that it forces tawnypelt and feathertail to confront the overlapping-but-not-shared nature of their trauma, which doesn't necessarily work if the kids are captured.

in that -- now it's not feathertail and tawnypelt in a proverbial black box. but also angst. hm. things to Consider. things to consider indeed.

but yeah they're kidnapped for probably a week? give or take? long enough that like. feathertail ends up relying on tawnypelt way more than she wants to. and also long enough to have bickering over like. feathertail just kind of vibing. like she's not having a good time but at the same time you know. there's nothing going on. tawnypelt is thinking about things.

the whole. what i have written of kidnapping/(reliance)* is from tawnypelt's pov, because i like her pov. she's grappling with all sorts of things from a different angle, and it's. i don't know. i like it.

*as always title wip

they do get kidnapped tho. it sucks. feathertail is going through it.

#mine #ask #anon #human misty au #feathertail #tawnypelt

3 notes · View notes

malkumtend · 5 years ago

Text

I Like Your Laugh (A SquirrelCrow AU) - Chapter 11.

Crowpaw grunted as he turned for what must have been the fifth time that minute. A dull irritation crept over his fur, he buried his eyes under his paws, desperate for the darkness to lull him away.

‘Trees they will uproot, rocks break, the earth itself tear apart.’

His eyes shot open again, scowling. He sighed softly, staring out of the cave. It was long into moonhigh, the white luminescence twinkled around the water casting sparks around the mouth of the cave. The air was calm with the night, with a smooth breeze brushing the ends of Crowpaw’s fur. It was one of the most peaceful nights Crowpaw could remember. Still, he could not sleep.

Not knowing what he knew now.

‘They do it for build new Thunderpath—go here, there, more faster.’

Crowpaw felt his teeth grit. Those Twolegs… For all he knew, they were destroying his home right now, just so they could build another one of those stinking, black death traps. Did they care so little for the world around them? Was their greed really that cruel?

The apprentice’s ears flattened and he gently rose from where he had been trying to sleep. There was no point now. He looked around, hoping he hadn’t woken the others. His heart settled when he saw that no one had stirred. Tawnypelt and Brambleclaw slept beside each other, having seemingly forgiven each other for what had transpired previously. It looked like both had settled on that they had gone too far with what they had said, and now it looked like they had never said anything hurtful at all. A little way away, Feathertail, Stormfur and Squirrelpaw slept together in a small pile, the apprentice snug between the Riverclan siblings. Crowpaw felt the trace of a smile as he watched Squirrelpaw snore softly.

They all seemed so peaceful.

Deep down, Crowpaw felt a slight bewilderment. How could any of them sleep when they all knew that the Clans were on the verge of destruction? But he realised he had to consider how tired everyone was. Especially when most of them had just survived the deep blanket of the tide. Of course, they needed their rest.

‘When you reach home I think you will find that even your Clan leaders will listen.’

A chill rattled inside Crowpaw’s bones.

He just hoped that it wasn’t too late for the forest.

The grey cat shook his head, he wasn’t going to get anywhere by sitting around, tossing and turning. Most likely, he would just wake up those who wanted to get some sleep. His eyes closed in on the serene light of the moon again and he began to walk towards it, making sure only the softest parts of his paw were silent on the cave floor. Maybe a little air would do him some good.

He padded away, stopping when he felt his paws meet the damp pebbles and he felt the whispery air caress his fur. The waves were now gentle, stroking the land with a gleaming tide and Crowpaw could tell it wouldn’t suddenly change any soon.

He sat down on the pebbles staring out. They had made it. They had made it to where Starclan had led. They had done it all for the good of their clans! And now... this badger was telling them that it was all for nothing?! That their home was going to be ripped apart and covered like the bones of their prey?

How were they supposed to lead them to a new home? Even though Midnight had said that their leaders would listen to them, Crowpaw couldn’t help but be sceptical. Even though he had been chosen, his clan most likely didn’t know that, for all they knew he was just an apprentice who had run away for days without a word. If he just told Tallstar that the whole clan needed to leave without a second’s hesitation, the Leader would probably just punish him with his claws. How was Crowpaw meant to convince his clan?

If the whole group told the same story, maybe the clans would listen. But Crowpaw cringed as he remembered what he had thought of his new friends when he had first met them. He knew what the clans thought about outsiders. He certainly knew his clanmates wouldn’t be so quick to trust the others, especially if it meant leaving their home itself.

Where would they even go?

Crowpaw felt the anxiety coil in his blood. He couldn’t the destructive images out of his head; cats screaming and fleeing as monsters tore away at their home. The face of his mother among them. Sickly dread twisted inside of the apprentice. There had to be a way this would work out. Starclan wouldn’t just abandon them like that. Right?

They’d been through so much. It couldn’t be for nothing.

It infuriated Crowpaw that he didn’t even think he sounded reasonable to himself.

“You know,” A deep voice whispered, “You really should get some rest?”

Crowpaw jolted, turning on his heckles. Once he saw who it was, his worry transformed coldly. He turned away, back to the peace of the water. “You need some as well. Yet, here you are.”

Brambleclaw gave a toneless laugh. “So quick witted.”

Crowpaw didn’t say anything. He didn’t have the energy. Out of every cat that he could be alone with, this one was the worst. His fur prickled as he sensed the cat approaching, briefly tensing for an attack. But the Warrior just padded beside Crowpaw, sitting down with a blank, calm expression. The grey cat waited a moment, then let himself calm down. But he was still ready for anything funny this cat wanted to try.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Brambleclaw said lethargically. He sounded so weary that Crowpaw resisted the urge to immediately say something cutting. Instead he settled for bleak interest. Anything to prevent a fight.

“Why? Have you still not recovered from your fall?” Crowpaw asked, trying to be as calm as he could. It wasn’t easy; he still saw no reason to trust this cat after how he’d treated him throughout the journey.

Brambleclaw shrugged heavily, “I’ll be stinking of salt for moons, but there’s no more pain, at least.”

Crowpaw nodded, but he felt his brow ice. “Hmm, good.”

There was a long silence. Nothing broke through the air except the gentle breeze rippling the water. Crowpaw eventually allowed himself to loosen. Examining Brambleclaw, he looked different. Less hardened. His tail was flat against the pebbles, unmoving, and his fur was streaked down, still glossy from the water. With the dim, despondent expression he made, as if he were looking at nothing at all, there wasn’t anything that replicated the cat that had tried everything to look like a leader.

But looks were deceiving. Crowpaw knew that. He never knew what lied behind the Warrior’s eyes.

Brambleclaw’s eyes went to the floor, unsure, awkward. “Um… have your wounds healed?”

Crowpaw felt a stinging surprise. He turned on the Warrior with a cold bemusement. He wants to bring that up now?! Was he mocking him or something? No… What was stranger was that Brambleclaw looked… nervous about it. That was what the twitching of the fur on his tail spoke anyway. Crowpaw almost felt the desire to step away from the tom loom over him. But his pride shut that down quickly enough.

“Yeah,” Crowpaw said hazily, trying to sound stronger than he felt. He was stubborn that way. “They’re fine now. I’ve had worse.” There was still a bite to his tone. The memory of that encounter left a scar in Crowpaw’s mind that wouldn’t heal so quickly.

He expected Brambleclaw to frown or grumble, taking what he had said as some kind of insult. But the Tom only nodded, sighing in what sounded like… relief? The grey apprentice craned his head, eyeing the larger cat in confusion. What in Silverpelt was going on here? A trick?

“Right. Good.” Brambleclaw faltered, his tail curling into himself. He looked to Crowpaw in a number of quick, questioning glances, ripe with uncertainty. Crowpaw only looked on, shifting away a little.

“What’s wrong with you?” Crowpaw dared to ask.

Brambleclaw cleared his throat, exhaling. He looked like he wanted to, but his eyes couldn’t land on Crowpaw. “About what happened?” The tom said, sounding like he was trying to cough up his words like a hairball. His amber stare glinted against the dark night.

Crowpaw looked up to the Warrior, uneasily patient.

The Warrior took a soft breath, his fur prickling uncomfortably. “When I attacked you.” Crowpaw tensed. “Um…” The Warrior managed to meet Crowpaw’s gaze, his face heavy with uneasiness. “I owe you an apology.” Brambleclaw conceded, his voice strangely calm and peacefully solid.

Crowpaw was neither. He was beyond words.

Of all things, this cat, who had openly hated Crowpaw for days, was actually apologising for something. Or was about to anyway, it looked. The apprentice couldn’t keep his jaw from dropping half-way. It was not just the words. Brambleclaw looked and acted so differently than normal that Crowpaw found himself believing that the warrior meant it.

Or was about to. Crowpaw still scowled distrustfully at the tom. Fox-dung! There’s no way that he’d apologise out of nowhere! Whatever game Brambleclaw was playing, Crowpaw wasn’t going to fall for it. All the Warrior needed was some resistance and he’d go back to before.

“You don’t say.” Crowpaw hissed toxically. “For what? How you attacked me for no reason, or for being a condescending mange-pelt.” He waited for the snarl, the claws, waited for Brambleclaw to show it was all an act.

It didn’t come.

Brambleclaw dipped his head, stung, but understanding. “The former, but I’m sorry for that as well.” He mewed. The usually fierce gleam in his eyes was replaced by a dull dejection. Crowpaw’s fur flattened as he felt his breath catch. Brambleclaw actually looked like he was being serious.

Brambleclaw took Crowpaw’s silence as an awkward motion to continue. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that. That’s not something a Warrior should do.” Brambleclaw’s voice was low but it still flickered with honesty. “It’s just,” The Warrior sighed, “When I saw you on top of Squirrelpaw like that, I just lost it. I-I didn’t trust you.”

Crowpaw didn’t say anything, he was still too stunned.

“After how much we’d argued since the beginning, I didn’t see a reason to. After all, let’s not mention what happened the first time we met.” Brambleclaw’s voice tensed and Crowpaw had the sense to give him that. Looking back, he might have gone overboard when he’d pounced at Brambleclaw just because he’d called Windclan out on stealing prey, even if it had been to help vulnerable cats. Crowpaw wasn’t entirely proud of either now. “I know it doesn’t excuse what I did after, but I just didn’t trust you after that, I didn’t see a reason to, it never looked like you liked me either. So, when I saw you and Squirrelpaw getting closer…”

Brambleclaw paused, his face contorting painfully. At that moment, Crowpaw felt disgusted as he began to feel some kind of reason surround the cat. Empty, pointless reason. But reason nonetheless.

But Crowpaw wasn’t going to let it go that easily. He wasn’t so soft hearted. “Don’t tell me it’s all because you felt sorry for yourself! Even if you didn’t like me, it was still no reason to go after her about it! You had no right to treat the rest of us like we were inferior!” Crowpaw didn’t raise his voice, he had enough respect for the others to let them sleep, but he was still hard and poisonous. “You must have some idea of how you made her feel, you can’t be that stupid.”

It was hard to tell if Crowpaw’s words had made Brambleclaw angry or depressed, he sunk in on himself regardless. “I know.”

“Oh, did you? And that makes it better?!”

“No.”

The toneless answer made Crowpaw’s anger strain. “So, why’d you do it then?”

Brambleclaw sat silent. There was a storm of thoughts and emotions inside his amber stare. A self-striving tug of war between his senses, as if unearthing something secret. His tail swung against the pebbles, scattering a few into the water. A flurry of rippled creased along the surface, quivering in the stream.

“Okay. I owe you one, so I’ll tell you.” Brambleclaw faced the cat. “I’ll just trust you not to repeat it to anyone, alright?”

He’d tried to make it sound lacking, but Crowpaw could feel something behind his words. He’d felt it himself after all. It wasn’t easy to trust someone you’d distanced yourself from.

“Before, we’d left Thunderclan,” Brambleclaw began, his tone twisting. “For some reason, it seemed like Firestar didn’t want me and Squirrelpaw to see each other. Every time we tried to talk, Firestar got involved and told her to keep away from me. It had come out of nowhere.” As he carried on, the frustrated pain became more and more clear. “I thought it was just him being protective at first, but then… I began to wonder if there was a reason to it. If he… was protecting her, for some reason, from me.”

Crowpaw kept silent. He found himself wondering how he would feel if Tallstar had treated him like that, like a cat that couldn’t be trusted.

It would hurt.

The Warrior inhaled unsteadily.

“I couldn’t understand it. I would never have tried to harm her.” Brambleclaw looked up at Crowpaw with a desperate flash. “I know what you think of me, but I don’t hate Squirrelpaw. I do just want her to be safe. So, when she came along with me on the journey, I thought,” He sniffed, a guilty air lingering over him. “I thought that if I could keep her form getting into trouble, I mean you know how stubborn she can be, I could prove Firestar wrong. That’s why I thought it would be best to be… tougher on her.” When he sighed, it showed he knew how wrong he was. “I just wanted to keep her out of danger, even if it meant wounding her pride a little.”

Crowpaw thought about his words, and even though he could see where Brambleclaw was coming from, he still couldn’t help but feel angry at him. He hadn’t wounded her pride, he’d been clawing away at her confidence!

“That’s-”

“It was a stupid idea, I know. And when I saw it wasn’t working, I just got carried away. I just wanted everyone to be safe, to get here as quickly as we could without anyone getting hurt.” Brambleclaw’s paws tightened, “But I went too far. I know that. Instead, I just ruined everything between me and Squirrelpaw, and she… she started hanging out with you. The cat she’d wanted to rip the throat out of when we’d started.”

Brambleclaw let out a laugh, less humorous and more tragic. Despite himself, Crowpaw could feel his fur lying flat, and a small discomfort setting in his gut.

Oh good Starclan, no. Was he seriously beginning to sympathise with this cat?

No it couldn’t be.

“When that happened, I just felt angry. Annoyed that she was staring to get along with a cat she hated and was treating me like some kind of rogue.”

“And that’s why you kept acting like a fox-heart?” Crowpaw asked, calm enough to be genuine, but hard enough to show he didn’t accept it entirely.

“Partly.” Brambleclaw conceded, “I wanted to… I wanted to prove, to myself I guess, that I could lead you guys well. I wanted to show that Firestar was wrong not to trust me. So when it just seemed we were going nowhere, I got so frustrated, and Squirrelpaw hated me, and everyone else looked like they didn’t trust me anymore, and I-” He stifled a sharp grunt, holding himself back as he heard his voice beginning to rise. He took a couple of deep breaths, lifting his closed eyes to the sky.

“I just wanted everything to turn out okay. I thought I could keep control. I didn’t realise that they thought I was acting like-”

There was a break in his voice and for a moment Crowpaw thought that the warrior was about to cry.

The sympathy turned to pity.

It was stupid and he would probably regret the very idea that he was about to do this.

But Crowpaw sighed and let his voice turn soft.

“She doesn’t hate you.”

Brambleclaw ha suppressed any tears that were about to spill. Now he was just staring at Crowpaw, as surprised as Crowpaw that the apprentice could sound gentle when he wanted to.

“She hated what you said, because it was harsh fox-dung!” Crowpaw growled pointedly, taking a small satisfaction in how Brambleclaw winced. “But just because she was hurt that you were doing it. For some strange reason, she, ugh, she admired you.” Was it always this hard to tell the truth? Starclan, the things Crowpaw found himself doing these days. “She was hurt. But… they wouldn’t have if she hated you. We both know that.”

It didn’t look like Brambleclaw knew whether to look relieved or guilty at what Crowpaw had told him. All he did was let out a shaky, high, breath. “I didn’t realise..”

Crowpaw felt the irritation come back over him, making him frown. This cat must have flea-dung for a brain. “Of course you didn’t, vole-heart! Starclan, have you even realised how much pressure she feels she’s under?” If he was revealing too much, he would have to regret it the next day. All he wanted to do now was make sure this idiot understood what he had done.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you stupid? She’s trying to prove herself to your clan! She feels like you all compare her to her father!”

Brambleclaw’s face froze like he was still under the water. “What?”

“Did I stutter?” Crowpaw snapped, “I don’t know what you cats have said to her, but it’s affected her. She doesn’t believe that she can live up to Firestar’s name in your clan. And, Starclan knows, you didn’t help with what you’ve been saying to her over this journey!”

“I-I didn’t-”

“I know you didn’t know, you idiot!” He didn’t have the patience to go over that again. He stared straight into Brambleclaw’s breaking expression, burning him with his blue glare. “You can say you meant well with what you did, and maybe you did, but it doesn’t matter. You said it, and you hurt her, that’s the end of it!”

And it was for Crowpaw. It seemed to be for Brambleclaw as well. Neither snuck a glimpse at the other. A cold silence had shrouded the night. The Windclan apprentice was fine enough. He had said his piece and given the tom what for. And even though he understood the Warrior a little more, he still wasn’t going to absolve the fool.

Then Brambleclaw spoke up again, and he sounded hollow. “I didn’t know there were cats comparing her to her father in our clan.”

Crowpaw was about to interject again, once again wanting to cut down this whole ‘didn’t know’ excuse that he’d already gone over. He paused and rethought Brambleclaw’s tone. The disbelief and hidden pain.

Crowpaw’s snarl thinned as Brambleclaw’s blank expression suddenly became much more anguished. An obvious, but forgotten, fact crept up to sting Crowpaw’s back.

Whatever snappy comeback Crowpaw wanted to say had evaporated. All that came out now was a thin resolution. “Well, now you know.”

“If I’d known before I would have said something.” Crowpaw believed him, he had to, it was sense. “Because…” Brambleclaw’s voice trembled away again, and it became much more evident that he was blaming himself a little more. “…I know.”

Crowpaw knew that Brambleclaw knew. Even if he was a mouse-brained furball, he couldn’t deny that Brambleclaw knew all too well what comparisons felt like.

“It’s not quite the same, but I can see why that hurts her.” Brambleclaw mused quietly. “It hurts when cats see someone else when they look at you. When you try your hardest to prove that you would do anything for your clan and all they see is…”

When Brambleclaw spoke up again, Crowpaw knew he was facing him. Crowpaw looked back at him. The Warrior’s expression was dim, only flickering with a trace of hope.

“Do I look like my father to you?”

Crowpaw had never know Tigerstar, he’d only heard stories told by his clan. He’d heard of the cat who had almost brought an end to the clans themselves. But he knew Brambleclaw, albeit a little, potentially the worst of him, but he still knew what he saw.

“No, just a rabbit-brain.”

The corners of Brambleclaw’s lips turned a little. He nodded, with an unknown gratefulness. “That’s good.”

Crowpaw didn’t think Brambleclaw was a bad cat, just one who had been incredibly stupid and had a lot of making up to do. However, Crowpaw realised with an embarrassed flick of his whiskers, that he had some things to say as well. Just to be even with the tom.

“Anyway, um, I’m… sorry for attacking you when we first met, and you know, for acting a little harsh when this all started.” Crowpaw’s eyes blazed momentarily, “Don’t get me wrong, you deserved it sometimes! But, not at the very start.” He trailed off, tail waving slightly. If he wanted Brambleclaw to change from this point on, he had to do a little admittance himself. It was fair enough.

The Thunderclan Warrior’s eyes opened up in shock, and Crowpaw made sure that he still didn’t look like he liked the cat. They were starting over, not patching up and licking each other like littermates. But that seemed fine by Brambleclaw as he smiled thinly and rose up, relaxed for the first time. “Water under the cave.” He spoke naturally, “It’s like Midnight said, we’ve become one in this journey. Whether we like it or not.” Brambleclaw’s voice dropped with a hint of playfulness that Crowpaw didn’t know entirely how to take in.

He changed the subject, “So, again, why are you out here?”

“I told you, I couldn’t sleep. Probably for the same reason as you.” The assured tone of his voice wasn’t so condescending this time. More respectful and acute. Crowpaw suddenly felt a lot smaller.

He also remembered what it was that had brought him out here in the first place, and his anxieties bit at him again like the frost of winter.

“Well,” Crowpaw faltered, “What do you think? Don’t tell me you’re not worried about what Midnight said.”

Brambleclaw shrugged weakly, “Of course I’m worried. It’s my home too, you know.”

“So, what are we going to do then?” Crowpaw asked. He was looking for anything at this point, all of his own answers just made him more frustrated. “According to what Midnight said, there might not even be a forest to go home to.”

“Maybe.” Brambleclaw admitted grimly, “But even she doesn’t know what’s going to happen.” He looked up towards the blinking stars. “There’s something else at power here, something more than Starclan itself.”

Crowpaw listened with a growing dread. An empty discomfort chilled him. The thought of anything being more powerful than Starclan went against everything he knew. He wanted to deny what Brambleclaw had said, but he didn’t have the strength or will to do so. Even though she was a stranger, Crowpaw believed what Midnight said.

“That’s crazy.”

“Isn’t it just.” Brambleclaw exhaled, “Whatever it is, we’ve got to follow what she says, we have to trust what she’s been told.” Crowpaw knew that deep down. Even if he wasn’t optimistic about this in the slightest, they had no choice but to carry on. “That’s the only hope we have of saving our clans.”

“If they listen to us in the first place.” Crowpaw complained bitterly.

He expected Brambleclaw to rake him across the ears, but the Warrior just nodded with a sad smile. “We have to try at least.” Brambleclaw sounded like he trusted his words as much as Crowpaw; it was oddly comforting.

At least Crowpaw knew he wasn’t the only one with doubts. Still, it was kind of unnerving that it was Brambleclaw he had this in common with. It was almost dirty.

“What are you two doing?”

The silence had been so peaceful that the sudden and new voice made both Toms startled. They clutched their racing hearts and turned to the cat. While Crowpaw sighed in relief at the sight of the ginger molly, Brambleclaw instantly looked like he would prefer his chances in the water.

Crowpaw ignored this, for his own sanity. “What are you doing up?”

Squirrelpaw yawned, “I thought I heard someone leaving the cave, and when I tried to get back to sleep I picked up on two toms having a, not so quiet, ‘conversation’.” The cat frowned slightly. “Thanks for the wake-up call. A little early though, don’t you think?” She waved her tail towards the ebony canvas above them.

Crowpaw snickered but still apologised. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Her emerald eyes burned like a small fire in the pitch black shadow. They looked between the two, narrowing a little. “So, what’s going on? You two aren’t going to start fighting again, are you?”

“No, of course not!” Brambleclaw ushered, his tail flaring defensively. He saw Squirrelpaw’s gaze burn on him, and he calmed down, making his fur lie flat. “We were just talking.”

“About what?” Squirrelpaw said, craning her head distrustfully.

Crowpaw interjected before Brambleclaw had the chance to say anything that could make this worse. He didn’t particularly want to, but if thing were going to get better, he might as well give the mouse-brain a little help. “He was apologising for earlier.” Crowpaw avowed, ignoring the shocked expression on the Warrior. “What? It’s true, isn’t it?”

Squirrelpaw somehow looked more surprised. Her tail flared in obvious awe, and her eyes widened to the size of rabbit tails. She glanced back and forth from one tom to the other, her mouth hanging to the point where her whole tongue was visible. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He moved a little closer to the Warrior so Squirrelpaw wouldn’t see when he flicked him with his tail. “Also, he wanted to thank you for making sure he didn’t drown.”

Squirrelpaw somehow managed to make her eyes even wider. She turned to Brambleclaw, obviously sceptical.

Thank Starclan that Brambleclaw was able to adapt quickly. The Warrior was able to make one small, thankful, nod to the apprentice. Crowpaw turned away with a sniff. He still had boundaries to set. Brambleclaw rolled his eyes and padded over to his clanmate.

“Yeah, um,” Brambleclaw rose his head up to look tall, then noticing how much he towered over her, he relaxed his neck down a little. They almost seemed to be face to face. Squirrelpaw blinked in surprise. “Thanks for helping me. That was really brave of you.”

Squirrelpaw looked up at her clanmate like he was a ghost himself. “Uh, you’re welcome.” She said with an arch expression.

Brambleclaw smiled, then he made himself look taller for a moment. “But don’t do anything like that again. It isn’t worth the risk!” On Squirrelpaw’s immediate frown, Brambleclaw lowered his voice again, quickly finishing. “Please. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Squirrelpaw still looked displeased, but she didn’t bite back at him. “Okay.” She sighed, “As long as you don’t fall into anymore rivers.” She ended slyly.

Brambleclaw uttered a whispery laugh, “I’ll try not to.” There was a brief pause. “And I’m sorry for how it’s- how I’ve acted so far.” Again, Squirrelpaw looked perplexed. “It’s going to be different from now on.”

Crowpaw gazed over the open water. He’s right about that.

He didn’t hear Squirrelpaw reply. But he did hear when Brambleclaw began walking away, the crunch of pebbles fading to the soft patting of stone. “I’m going to go and try and get some sleep. You two should probably think about that as well, when you’re ready.”

The Windclan cat nodded over to the Warrior, “Sure.”

Brambleclaw nodded back. Comfortably. He looked more like a Warrior to Crowpaw than ever before. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Crowpaw found himself meaning it.

As the Warrior strode back into the cave, Squirrelpaw stared on as if he had grown a fifth leg. When he disappeared back into the mouth, she looked to Crowpaw, still stunned. “Who was that cat and what did he do with Brambleclaw?”

The grey cat laughed again. It sent a shiver down Squirrelpaw’s pelt. “It’s still your clanmate, I’m afraid. Looks like he’s beginning to grow a brain.”

Squirrelpaw rose a brow, looking back to the cave. It had been such a change. She hadn’t seen that Brambleclaw in a while. “Did you say something to him?”

“A little. But give him some credit, he actually came to me to say sorry.”

“Did he mention me?”

“Only what he said to you.”

The ginger cat close her gaping mouth. So, Brambleclaw actually did feel guilty about what he had done. He’d wanted to apologise, and meant every word, unlike that excuse he’d done in the beginning of the journey.

That was… good.

She suddenly felt lighter, if just a little happier.

Maybe the news Midnight had given them had made him rethink his actions. That could be one positive at least.

Well, when she ignored the obvious one anyway.

Squirrelpaw let a smile grace her muzzle, strolling up to sit beside her friend. “That’s a welcome change.”

Crowpaw scoffed, “That’s something we need.”

Oh, so that was why he had come outside. He really was more sensitive than he let on. She curled her tail around his back, stroking it soothingly. “Hey, it’s going to be fine.” She mustn’t have sounded convincing as he didn’t react, not really. He just gave her a small, pitiful trace of a smile, then looked back out to the open darkness.

It wasn’t like she could blame him. She was terrified herself at the thought of what could have already transpired. Not a moment had gone by when she hadn’t thought of the safety of her parents or her sister, her whole clan.

But she had to keep calm. It would do no good to just expect the worst. They had to have faith in Midnight’s words, they had to trust in Starclan’s judgement, however little it seemed they would protect them.

“We’re here aren’t we. That’s got to mean something.” Squirrelpaw purred.

“I hope it does.” Crowpaw made it clear how little hope he had.

“It does. Starclan didn’t just bring us here for nothing.” She believed that, at least.

“How can you be so sure?”

Squirrelpaw gave him a wry look. “How are you so sure it has been for nothing?”

Crowpaw narrowed his eyes but his still chuckled. “That’s not really an answer.”

“It is to me.” The ginger cat mewed, nudging him playfully. She took more notice of how soft his fur felt against her paw. At least her assurance seemed to have some positive effect on the cat, the mistiness in his eyes had waned significantly, he almost didn’t look tired.

Crowpaw exhaled, flicking another pebble into the water. “Sometimes Squirrelpaw, I envy your blind optimism.”

“Blind!” She pronounced, pretending to look offended.

“Yeah, blind.” Crowpaw jibed, toothily grinning at her. In his eyes, he really looked like he was happy. Squirrelpaw had to be happy as well. “It really does have its effects when it’s needed. Even though it can get a little annoying.”

Back and forth, back and forth. This was their friendship. This was them.

Only now, Squirrelpaw didn’t feel playful. She just felt peaceful and thrilled.

“Well at least it has some use then.” She said genuinely, just content. Crowpaw looked the same, but Squirrelpaw knew it wasn’t the same for him. That was fine… kind of. As long as he was smiling at her, she could deal with it.

As long as she knew this could continue. Squirrelpaw had to ask that.

They looked out towards the beautiful night, both happier than they had been when they had started, but not entirely calm. “Crowpaw?”

“Mhmm.” Crowpaw turned to her.

“When we get back to the clans, and when we find them our new home…”

Crowpaw scoffed lightly, “Don’t you mean if?”

“No, I mean when.” Squirrelpaw piped, looking up at him with a playful frown. Once again, her assurance seemed to work, as Crowpaw’s scepticism left him, replace by an ever-glowing belief in her words. “When this is all over?” She took a small breath, feeling tiny under his expecting eyes. She had to push herself to not get lost in his blue glow. “Can we still meet up like this?”

The grey cat made a confused “mrrow”. “Huh, I thought us three had already said we were going to do that. We can always meet at the gatherings.”

“No.” Squirrelpaw said quietly. She looked up towards the shimmering night and tried to pretend there wasn’t something she thought was more beautiful. “I mean, meet like this. You know, every couple of nights. Just us three.”

“You mean… in secret?” Crowpaw’s voice was small, unsure, but clear with thought.

Squirrelpaw could only find the strength to nod. “Yeah. I don’t know about you, but… I want to spend more nights like this. Looking at the stars with friends, not just every moon.” It wasn’t what she wanted most, but it was the most acceptable at least.

In her mind, Squirrelpaw expected Crowpaw to think long about her words. Expected that Crowpaw was more hesitant about what she was ready to do instantly.

He answered within two seconds. “Yeah.” Once again, she could hear his smile. “I’d like that.”

She didn’t register his words until after three seconds. Her eyes spun on him in stark realisation.

He said he wants to continue meeting!

Squirrelpaw had to do everything she could from reaching over and embracing him right then and there. She still grinned though, wide and bright. This was going to continue, one way or another! He didn’t even seem worried about his clan finding out about their friendship! There was a lot of things she wanted to say then and there.

She settled on a small, chipper. “Great!”

Crowpaw might have said something else, but all Squirrelpaw could focus on where his words. He wanted to see them again. He wanted to see her again. Her tail curled with a gleaming joy, shining almost as brightly as the stars above them. They sat there captivated for minutes, just staring out to the beauty of the night.

It was silent. But it said all it needed to for Squirrelpaw.

She didn’t even notice the fatigue creep back in on her until she found herself yawning again for the fifth time in a row.

She heard Crowpaw chuckle, “Tired?”

She was, but she wanted to deny it more. “No.” She attempted to say, but when she opened her mouth another yawn escaped. She grunted lethargically. “I’m fine.”

“Clearly,” Crowpaw hummed.

Squirrelpaw was about to retort again when she felt something warm ease into her side. She must have been tired, because she hadn’t realised Crowpaw had rubbed closer to her until her head was leaning on his side.

“Yeah, you’re just fine.” Crowpaw joked, he just wanted to see her let go a little. She didn’t need to push herself to act tough all the time.

Squirrelpaw would play his game and say that she was too tired to take her head from his shoulder.

But it was a lie.

It was because words were flooding through her head.

“I don’t need to take credit from another clan either, Squirrelbreath!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you angry.”

“If you ask me, Thunderclan chose the wrong cat.”

“Mouse-brain. You could have been killed.”

It was because when she peered up, she saw the soft blue eyes, twinkling in the moonlight, she saw him the pearl white smile she had grown to love, and she basked in the delicate, flushed warmth of the cat she had fallen for.

She knew what this meant. What troubles it would mean. She also knew that this could be the very thing Feathertail felt for him, long before she did. Those thoughts were strong.

But his warmth was stronger.

So she settled into his kindness, smiling into his fur, hearing nothing in the serene night but the beating of her heart.

#squirrelflight #squirrelpaw #crowfeather #crowpaw #brambleclaw #Feathertail #Warrior Cats #Warriors #fanfiction #crowsquirrel #squirrelcrow #WindClan #Thunderclan #warriors au

52 notes · View notes