#newleaf 1

[fissureclan]

NEWLEAF 1 page 1

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WHEW PAGE ONE DONE!!! I am not great with backgrounds or comics but I'm here to have fun and not think about things too hard :3

Written text beneath the cut!

Ash has a strange dream.

Starlingpaw: "ChineClan and SproutClan's memory will soon become forgotten.

And without you, there will soon be nobody to remember us. Our stories.

For our legacy, for your future, I grant you nine lives, and name you Ashstar."

[troutclan]

Moon: 1

[ 🌼 newleaf no.1 | season no.1 ]

Thank goodness Violetpaw's mentor wasn't Lowburst...

[bintencogs]

Hemera Olle Philly get behind me. I will protect you.

[cricketclan]

jaykit and umberkit the sisters ever. jaykit also switched from charming to lonesome, so i like to think she feels comfortable around her more outgoing and charming sister umberkit. i love the sillies

other things that happened this moon: Duskcatcher has some romantic feelings for Heathersong now and Flutterpaw leaves fresh-kill outside the nursery for the kits and i think thats super cute

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[clangenbriar]

Dawn Colony, Moon 1 - Newleaf

POV ;; Streampaw, Herbalist Apprentice

Streampaw knew the training of a Herbalist and medic was very far off from the training of a warrior. He knew it since before he stepped up to Cicadasplash and asked to train under them last moon at the end of Leafbare. He remembered how nervous he was, yet giddy as the senior tom seemed to beam at him with pride he knew he didn’t deserve, and quickly took them under their wing.

And yet, he wondered if he made the right choice. He was glad he could help Cicadasplash, as they were the lone healer in Dawn Colony for so long, and he did genuinely like learning about all the different plants that grew in the territory. But was just ‘liking’ enough? From his place at the top entrance of the Herb Den, he could see the clan bustle about, finding his littermates among them. Robinpaw was pacing impatiently around their mentor Smalldrift, who was busy eating a squirrel and rolling their eyes as the young dark ginger tom kept pushing to start their training right that moment. Near the warriors den, Primpaw was chuckling along with Brightblaze and Rainpounce, the trio all pretending they couldn’t find Sandkit, who giggled loudly as they hid under fern leaves. Streampaw smiled at all the antics of his brothers, then sighed, he missed training with them. They were always together, ever since they were three kits lost in an empty field before Larkfur found them. And now their schedules didn’t line up as well as they used to. Really, why couldn’t he ever make his mind up on things?

“Oh- mouse whiskers!” groaned a voice, breaking Streampaw’s thoughts. He turned around swiftly, ducking down into the hollow- green eyes immediately fixing on a cluster of fallen dock leaves and his mentor, Cicadasplash, who looked flustered with himself.

“Are you alright?” Streampaw asked, using a paw to shuffle the leaves together so he could pick them up neatly.

“Of course I am,” the dark gray and white ticked tom huffed, “I just wish I wasn’t so clumsy these days. I’m not that old, you know.” He shook his head and gave Streampaw a soft look as they placed the herbs back to their proper place, “Thank you, Stream.”

The smaller white tom felt his fur prickle up bashfully at the pure sincerity of the other, over such a small thing, too. He felt he should tell Cicadasplash about his indecisiveness and insecurity, about wondering if he could ever make a good Herbalist, and opened his mouth to say something, anything-

“Good afternoon, Cicadasplash, Streampaw…”

Mouth half open, then quickly closed, Streampaw looked over as his mother Clovershade entered the den with a limp, one forepaw raised.

“What happened to you paw, Mom?” he asked, leaning in to inspect it, his mentor following suit in a mirrored fashion.

The snow-colored molly smiled, a bit strained from the pain of the sting, yet still amused by the pair, “It’s nothing too serious, just a bee sting on a stroll. I really should have been paying attention to where I stepped.”

“Nonsense, those bees are sly things, they enjoy stinging, I tell you!” Cicadasplash guffawed, giving a nudge to Streampaw and instructing, “Fetch me those blackberry leaves we gathered yesterday, would you?”

Streampaw nodded, going to the farther end of the herb store and plucking the small round leaves. He watched the tom stare at the leaves, then back at him, before saying, “Come, you’ll be taking care of the patient this time, I’ll show you what to do.”

Confusion turned into surprise, Streampaw hadn’t done actual mending yet. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Cicadasplash chuckled, “Here, chew these leaves until their smooth pulp, then apply it her paw.”

Streampaw blinked before beginning to chew the leaves, trying to be as efficient as possible. He didn’t like seeing anyone in pain- no matter how small, much more his beloved adoptive mother. They had a sharp taste, and the scent made him almost sneeze, yet he managed to do the job.

“My, my, look at this, my little Stream a proper Herbalist!” Clovershade cooed as her son applied the poultice to her left forepaw.

“Mo-ther”, Streampaw huffed, embarrassed, scrunching their nose as the taste of blackberry leaves lingered in his mouth. “I’m not a proper Herbalist yet.”

The long-furred she-cat purred, “I’m still very proud.” She flicked her hazel gaze at Cicadasplash, “How did he do?”

“Oh quite alright, just perfect, splendid really,” they nodded, giving the apprentice a cheery smile.

Streampaw smiled back, before quickly asking, “How does your paw feel now, mom?”

“The pains numbed quite a bit, but not all the way. It feels much better than before, and I take I’ll have to be off this paw for the rest of the day, yes?” She was still looking at him, not his mentor and Streampaw faltered for a moment.

“Yes- Yes I think you should. It will soothe your paw.” A desperate look at Cicadasplash, who laughed at his too-serious look.

“He’s right of course, a sign of my superior teachings, yes.”

Both mother and son snorted, the younger rosessted tom rolling his eyes.

Streampaw let a quiet purr out as Clovershade touched the top of his head with her chin, “Thank you, my dear Stream, I feel so much better. I know you’ll be a fine Herbalist.”

Streampaw felt a warm feeling tug at his chest. “How do you know?” He whispered.

“Because you’re kind, and you know how to listen, and I know you have a part of you that wants to prove yourself to everyone.” His mother said gently, then winked at the partially stunned apprentice, whose words escaped him.

With a final hum, Clovershade left, pushing her way up and through the ferns that doored the den. Streampaw watched her go, startling as he felt a tail go over his. He looked up at Cicadasplash, who continued to stare at the entrance before glancing down at them. “I know that you’re not sure about staying as a Herbalist apprentice.”

Streampaw averted their eyes to their paws.

“And that’s okay. You have a kind heart, I know you wanted to become my apprentice because you knew I was struggling to keep up with last Leafbare. If you want to go back to Warrior training now, I won’t be angry. But if you want to stick around more, and learn even more about herbs and healing, I’ll always be happy with that.”

Streampaw sniffled, a wet feeling in their throat as they leaned against their mentor. He thought about it. About going back and training with his littermates. He also thought about the warm feeling after helping his mother, the proud look in Cicadaspash’s eyes, learning the use of plants he’d never thought of before.

“I-I think, I think I’d like to stay. As your apprentice, I mean. I.. I like being it." He shuffled his paws. "Please continue to teach me.”

The old tom purred, “Of course, Streampaw.”

A rustle of fern and foliage, “May I come in?” called a young, nervous voice from above.

“It’s Falcontail!” Streampaw mewed, identifying the slightly raspy voice.

“It quite is Falcontail, yes,” the Herbalist took a step forward, “Yes, come down Falcontail! What ails you today young bird?”

Streampaw heard the voice before seeing the ginger speckled tom stumble down, “I think I’ve eaten the wrong piece of prey.”

Cicadasplash tutted, gesturing to an open nest for the tom-cat to lay in. A quick look at his apprentice sent Streampaw rummaging for chervil.

He knew what to do.

Events Referenced

Streampaw is feeling down

Robinpaw is pestering Smalldrift

Primpaw is having a good day

Rainpounce and Brightblaze are having a conversation

Sandkit is hiding under a bush from Brighblaze, but they can't stop giggling.

Cicadasplash made a mess of the herbs and is panicking

Clovershade has a sorepaw from a bee sting.

Falcontail visits the Herbalist Den.

[blooming-fire-au]

Newleaf 1 - ThunderClan

Warnings for: canon-typical ableism, mentioned toxic age-gap relationship

Frostpaw, Brindlepaw, Redpaw, and Willowpaw are named warriors, becoming Frostfur, Brindleface, Redtail, and Willowpelt

Goosefeather receives a vision about Spottedpaw's kits, stating their paths will determine the future

Lacekit takes interest in Featherwhisker and Spottedpaw and wants to become a seer when she becomes an apprentice, and does her best to impress the two of them

Runningkit and Mousekit become apprentices, Runningpaw and Mousepaw, and are mentored by Swiftbreeze and Windflight

After White-eye leaves the nursery, Frostfur spends a lot of her time there to support Willowpelt and Spottedpaw

Spottedpaw is named a full seer, Spottedleaf

Bluefur is almost killed in a battle with WindClan

Redtail and Brindleface become mates

Puddlekit realizes he's a tom--at least, mostly--and comes out to the Clan

Dappletail, after moving into the nursery very late, gives birth to Stormtail’s kits, Cricketkit (small blue-grey tabby charlie with a white hind leg and amber eyes) and Featherkit (deaf pure white tom with blue eyes)

Upon discovering Featherkit is deaf, Stormtail abandons Dappletail and their newborn kits

[notaloneclangen]

☽ MOON 1 ☽

Mid-Newleaf brings another peaceful moon to BegoniaClan. The denizens of the rocky fields are brimming with the joy of a world awakened; even the senior warriors find themselves alive with energy. Midnightpelt is chatting with Fallenheart outside the healer's den, the black tom's fur buffeted by a gentle morning breeze.

"So that's when Marigoldkit — while I was distracted, mind you — she climbed up on the rock behind me and pounced right on my neck! That beetle was just a diversion," Midnightpelt says with a purr of laughter. "That kitten is going to be one pawful for her mentor. Her assessment is next moon, right?"

"Mhm," Fallenheart confirms, her paws busy but her ears still attuned to the conversation. She's concentrated on threading freshly dried cornflower into the roots that dangle into her den. With one paw, she teases out a clump that had long since turned brown around the edges. She spreads the wilted petals over the floor of her den.

As the healer picks off a petal that had gotten stuck on her claw, she side-eyes her herb storage. Newleaf has been fruitful so far; she has been able to stock up on a lot of her staples for the season. She runs through a list of the essentials in her head. As she silently mouths herb names to help herself think, her gaze lands on an empty space in the alcove, and the realization hits her. "Hey, Midnightpelt, would you and Foxtuft be up for a patrol? I'm missing lungwort, and I could use the company."

Midnightpelt rises from his spot, holding his tail high. "Sure thing! I'm not assigned to anything else today. I'll go get him!" He bounds off to go find the other tom without another word.

By the time the patrol has congregated and made it to the stepping stones that allow them to cross the river, the sun has reached its highest point in the sky. Midnightpelt is the last to fully make the crossing. When he reaches the final jump, he stretches out and rolls onto his back, soaking up the warmth of the sun-touched stone. Foxtuft reaches down the bank and flicks a cold spray of water at the dark-furred tom. Midnightpelt is back on his feet with a yowl, hopping up the bank to join the other cats as they let out mrrows of laughter.

They walk alongside the water in peaceful silence for a while before anybody speaks. "So, how far are we going into the forest?" Midnightpelt asks, keeping his tone metered.

"Ideally, not at all," Fallenheart replies. "The herb I'm looking for can be found on the forest's edge, so if we're lucky, we won't need to go searching any deeper. Do you remember how I described it to you?"

"'Look for a low-growing plant with speckled leaves,'" Foxtuft recites. "'The flowers can be pink to purplish blue.' We remember. We're not apprentices." Fallenheart flicks her ears back at the tom's sass, but says nothing more.

The group soon reaches the shade under the outreaching branches of an elm on the forest's border. "This is a good spot," Fallenheart says. "We can look here."

As the group searches, a chill seems to seep from the woods, setting their fur on end. Fallenheart crouches so that the top of her head just fails to crest the groundcover. Midnightpelt, ever the observant, does the same, gesturing for Foxtuft to follow suit. When he doesn't receive an exaggerated grumble in reply, he turns to check on the other tom. To his alarm, Foxtuft is nowhere to be seen.

"Psst," Midnightpelt says in a low hiss. When Fallenheart whips her head around to acknowledge him, he simply gestures with his tail at the space where Foxtuft was.

Fallenheart flattens her ears and scents the air. "He's still close," she whispers back. The two bring themselves to a standstill, scarcely breathing lest it render them unable to hear the missing tom. Midnightpelt is just starting to creep into the underbrush and truly enter the forest when something erupts out of the foliage at him.

"Gotcha!" cries Foxtuft, batting at Midnightpelt's ears. Midnightpelt spits and leaps back, tail huge and back fur bristling.

"You scared the daylights out of me!" Midnightpelt hisses. "This isn't the time, Foxtuft…" His voice trails off into a groan that he makes to exaggerate.

"We didn't know where you'd gone," Fallenheart chimes in, not even operating under the pretense of joking around. "Please, be more cognizant of what times are appropriate for play."

Foxtuft huffs indignantly. "Fine! Stars above, what's the big deal? It's just the forest. It's within the bounds of our territory, right? We rule this place."

Fallenheart exchanges a glance with Midnightpelt, and an unspoken conversation passes between them. "We don't want to startle any larger animals," she meows, forcing her pelt to lie flat again. "A deer could knock you out if you frightened it badly enough."

"Which doesn't take much," Midnightpelt adds with a good-humored purr. Foxtuft just eyes the two warily, but says nothing more.

Before long, they've located the herb they came for, and they begin their walk back to camp with a jawful each. Foxtuft bounds to catch up with the other two, aiming a swipe at Midnightpelt's tail before thinking better of it. He sighs around the bundle in his mouth and falls in behind the pair of cats as they walk home side-by-side.

∘◦⥁・┈┈・❦・┈┈・⥀◦∘

The afternoon sun beats down on the BegoniaClan camp, the breeze settling into a stillness permeated by ambient warmth. Marigoldkit and Cougarkit are enjoying the nice weather by basking together in a patch of grass on the rim of the hollow. Marigoldkit is on her side, appearing almost as if she is asleep, while Cougarkit lies on her back, watching the tiniest cloud drift overhead.

Cougarkit wiggles her paws in the air, feeling her way around the silence. "Did you wanna play keeper again?" she asks finally.

"No," Marigoldkit says, barely stirring.

"How about 'rogue or loner'?" Cougarkit tries again.

"No."

Cougarkit sits in the unsteady quiet again for a moment. Then another. Then, "Dooo… you want to chase bugs?"

Marigoldkit simply rolls over onto her stomach, burying her muzzle in the short grass.

Cougarkit turns onto her side, facing the other kitten. "Something the matter?"

Marigoldkit tenses and grinds her face further into the ground. She lets herself breathe for a few heartbeats, then grits her teeth. "I had. A bad dream."

"Oh." Cougarkit pulls herself into a half-sitting position, wobbling a little. "Talk about it? Or no?"

Marigoldkit whines. "It's dumb! I'm not supposed to be afraid of anything! I'm almost an apprentice now." When Cougarkit only blinks at her, she sighs and rolls to face her. "It was about the river."

Cougarkit immediately scoots closer. "Keep going."

"It started out normal. I went down to the river — you know, like we usually do, except you weren't there. It was the shore with the shallow part, not the crossing. Anyway, I was watching the minnows swim around, when suddenly it got dark and they all hid. I wanted to look up because I was confused, but I couldn't move. I just felt this stare on me from the other shore. The water stayed where it was, it didn't change. But my mouth and lungs were filling with water, and my ears plugged, and it felt like I was sinking, but I couldn't move. As long as I felt those eyes on me, I couldn't move." She swallows. "Then I woke up."

Cougarkit just stares for a moment. "What did the thing look like? Like I know you couldn't look, but did you maybe see a shadow on the water?"

"Does it matter?!" Marigoldkit mewls indignantly.

"No, not really, sorry." Cougarkit ponders for a moment. "I don't think it's stupid that that was scary for you. Midnightpelt has dreams like that sometimes. It's fine that you didn't know that, you're usually not paying attention when we talk about it." Marigoldkit glares at her. "He's had river dreams, and forest dreams, and weird dreams where the rocks in camp all grow faces. And he's pretty old, so I think if he has those dreams too, it's not just a stupid kitten thing."

Marigoldkit stops shredding the piece of grass she was terrorizing, so that must have worked. Cougarkit looks away, watching a white butterfly flit above the camp. "Besides, we have plenty to be scared of," she says.

"Huh?" Marigoldkit says, bristling. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Sorry." Cougarkit watches the butterfly flutter away on the breeze as it picks up again, carrying it away towards the forest.

Previous Moon | Chapter Select | Next Moon

[glitterclan]

MOON 1 - Newleaf

FIRST PREVIOUS NEXT

[dream-clangen]

Moon 1 - Newleaf aw man i liked that guy :(

first prev next recent

mantispaw goes through........a lot

i'm sorry for my inconsistency, it will happen again, work is kicking my ass

[fringeclan-rebirth]

Moon 13 (Newleaf) Part 1

I tried something a little new with the formatting, please let me know if anything is too difficult to read.

[Beginning] > [Previous] > [Next]

[r00tclan]

moon 1: first moon of newleaf

[fissureclan]

NEWLEAF 1 page four

< first - prev - next >

Hazelpaw has been apprenticed to Dovefoot!

Flamepaw has been apprenticed to Ashstar!

BEAR WITH ME AS I FIGURE OUT SPEECH BUBBLES AND TEXT SIZE... This was very fun to do! A lot of work, but very fun!!

Written text beneath the cut!

Ashstar: "I know you're still quite young and inexperienced, but how would you like to mentor Hazelpaw?"

Dovefoot: "You— you can count on me!"

Ashstar: "And I'll mentor Flamepaw myself."

Flamepaw: "Huh?"

Flamepaw: "Wait— ME?! Really?!"

Ashstar: "Sure! You remind me of myself when I was your age. It'll be fun."

[troutclan]

Moon: 0

Fringedapple leads one of TroutClan's first border patrols, bringing along her apprentice Foxpaw and her clanmate Badgercatcher; they find a rogue in a bush and Fringedapple goes to investigate, when suddenly the rogue hisses and attacks !!!

Fringedapple chases the rogue away, but...

(we're off to a great start chat 👍👍👍)

[flutterclangen]

Moon 0 :‏‏‎ ‎Newleaf,‏‏‎ ‎ Page 1 ‏‏‎ ‎-—- ‏‏‎ ‎《‏‏‎ ‎ Next ‏‏‎ ‎》

[poolclans]

Sargasso Moon, Newleaf (#1)

As Pitchpaw is apprenticed to Snailstripe, she hopes that she'll get to do something that will impress the clan as her first day as an apprentice. Such excitement in her young mind causes her to make some... irrational decisions. She and Bluepaw run off in the direction of the Coverclan border, eager to prove themselves. Pitchpaw returns with a torn ear and a tummy ache. Bluepaw returns with a migraine.

Scorchtrail finds a kittypet loitering near the Poolclan-Coverclan border. He calmly introduces himself as Neptune, explaining that his twolegs disappeared one day and never returned. He is brought back to the clan and offered a place to stay, as well as a new name: Neptunetwist.

The apprentices are eager to meet Neptunetwist, and gather up items to formally introduce him to Poolclan. However, Barnaclepaw starts a fight with Pitchpaw during the process.

A small dog gets loose near some of the tall rocks, leaving Chitonchaser and Sculpinspots to herd it away. All they do is excite it more, and are forced to scale the rocks and wait, exasperated, for the mongrel's twolegs to take it home.

Chitonchaser informs the clan's healer, Ochreears, that she had a vision while hunting by herself along the shore. They discuss it together. After a long walk, they depart, frustrated from being unable to divine the vision's vague meaning.

[clangenrising]

Month 15 - Newleaf

Battle With Razor Pt 1

Goldenstar sat alone in a small dip in the woods where the trees parted around the remnants of a very old, rotted tree trunk. Eyes closed, she took a deep, slow breath of the pungent, mulchy air and strained her ears to try and hear any movement within the forest around her. She didn’t like how much the trees and the spongy earth dampened every sound further away than a fox-length and stifled the breeze. 

It was early morning, pre-dawn, and the forest birds were just starting to sing. Goldenstar couldn’t hear much else and it made her stomach twist nervously. She knew that was the point, that the cats hidden in the trees were supposed to be undetectable to anyone in the clearing but she couldn’t help but worry that they had all gone missing for some reason, that they wouldn’t come to her aid when she needed them. 

That’s not gonna happen, she reminded herself. Just stay calm. You’re doing this for Scorch. 

Taking Razor out of play would benefit everyone, obviously, but Scorch was the cat who kept coming back to mind. For her, for her, for her, she told herself over and over as the twilight inched slowly towards the morning. She reminded herself of the pawprints Razor had left all over her beloved and readied herself for the fight of her life. 

The sound of a cat bounding through the trees in her direction pulled her from her thoughts. Springing easily around the roots and stones of the woodland, Orangestar came running from the direction of the thunderpath with her tail arched worriedly behind her. For the purpose of their ruse, she was serving as Goldenstar’s second and had been waiting on the edge of the forest to guide Razor and the other rogues into the trap. Goldenstar frowned and stood to meet her. 

“What’s going on?” she asked. 

“They’re nearly here,” Orangestar said, pupils wide, breath scarce. “A lot more than just two.” 

“More than we have?” Goldenstar whispered urgently. 

Orangestar paused, glanced over her shoulder, then said, “Um, I don’t think so.” She swallowed and crouched down to try and catch her breath. 

“Then it will be alright,” Goldenstar said, standing up to her full height in anticipation. “We were planning for this, remember? StarClan will see us to victory.” Somehow, with a more nervous cat there, she managed to believe it this time.

“Yeah, okay,” Orangestar said, nodding to herself. She let out a long breath and then moved to stand just behind Goldenstar. She could see cats moving through the trees now, hear the jingling of multiple bell collars. The crowd of cats wasn’t making any attempt to mask their presence. Suddenly, Goldenstar understood Orangestar’s jumpiness. No matter how many cats she knew were hiding just out of sight, the war party advancing steadily on her position was intimidating to say the least. 

There were at least two dozen cats, maybe three, about a third of them obviously kittypets. Clearly, they were anticipating significant resistance. Most all of them were toms, many with scarred faces or torn ears, some with the distinctive notch of the Chaff. They loomed hungrily out of the trees, eyes glinting fiercely, teeth flashing in anticipation. They looked like a pack of starving dogs circling a meal and Goldenstar became acutely aware that she was the meal they were hungry for.  

At the head of the group was a towering kittypet with a scarred muzzle, slim cheeks, and tufted ears. Even without the description Yarrowshade had given her, she would have recognized Razor from his resemblance to Mystique. The patterning was different but the features were all the same. 

Razor tilted his head to mutter something to the ginger tabby next to him who Goldenstar recognized from the other day. The ginger tabby nodded and muttered something back which made Razor smile. Goldenstar’s hackles prickled instinctively. 

“Well, well, well,” Razor called across the last few fox-lengths of space, “if it isn’t Goldenstar herself. I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

“This isn’t what we agreed,” Goldenstar said. “It was supposed to be just you and your second.” She just had to stall long enough for the reinforcements to arrive

“No, you see, we never agreed on anything,” said Razor with an airy tone. “My men said they would bring your offer to me and they did.” Halfway there. Razor himself was getting terribly close. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t bring an army of your own. You wild cats really are as dumb as you seem.” He smiled a dastardly smile that curled up to show his upper gums on one side, his sharp and unnervingly white teeth bared dangerously. Those were the same teeth that had killed Smokyrose and worse. 

Goldenstar bristled and puffed herself up to try and match him for size, at least a little. “I wanted to settle this peacefully,” she hissed, “but you seem determined to force my paw. You’ve given me no choice but to stop you with force.” 

Razor laughed and turned back to his followers like a performer in front of an audience. “You hear that, boys? The little girl is going to stop me with force!” The group laughed along obediently. Goldenstar’s cheeks burned with humiliation despite herself. Razor turned his attention back on her with a dark, menacing rumble. His tail flicked left and then right and, immediately, the kittypets behind him started spreading around the dip to form a circle. Orangestar shuffled anxiously and turned to stand back to back with Goldenstar, claws flexing against the leaf litter. 

Razor stepped in closer and took a deep breath of Goldenstar’s scent and she repressed a shudder of disgust. His grin slid off his face as he looked down at her, their chests a mouse-length from touching, replaced with a cold and pitiless glare. 

“Tiger was right,” he growled, lowly enough that only she could hear. “Her scent is all over you.” Goldenstar swallowed. How had that detail slipped her mind?! Of course he would smell Scorch on her fur! They shared a nest! Goldenstar spent every waking moment trying to be near her! Razor smiled again at her paling expression but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. 

“Mm, so you knew,” he said, stepping forward again so she was forced to back up, bumping into Orangestar’s hind quarters. “You knew you were taking something of mine and you did it anyway.” 

Anger burst to life like flames in Goldenstar’s chest. “She doesn’t belong to you!” she spat in the same quiet tone. “She never has and she never will!” 

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Razor snarled. He was so close she could feel his hot breath on her face. “I might have forgiven you if you truly didn’t know what you had done but I won’t stand by and let a filthy, backwards savage like you get away with corrupting my mate with your-” his words caught in his throat briefly, a small noise of disgust while he searched for the word, “perversions.” 

Goldenstar didn’t know how to respond to that. She could barely process what ‘perversions’ he was even referring to. 

She shook her head, discarded the thought, and raised her voice to address the entire crowd instead. “I don’t want to shed any unnecessary blood! Any Chaff who stand down or retreat will not be pursued!” Razor tilted his head back and laughed cruelly. 

“You don’t get to set the terms here, girl!” He cried. “Your blood is the only blood being spilled today. If you beg, maybe your death will be quick.” In a flash, he swiped his claws at her face with enough force to knock her to the ground. Goldenstar ducked out of the way, stomach clenching, and bobbed back in to strike at his nose with her own claws. He pulled back, a look of indignation on his face, but she managed to nick one of his nostrils, drawing blood. 

A few of the gathered rogues hissed disapprovingly. Razor held still for a moment. Goldenstar could feel how tense he was holding his body as he slowly and deliberately ran his tongue over his muzzle. He let out a slow, restrained breath. 

“You… little… bitch,” he said through gritted teeth. Goldenstar ducked down into a defensive crouch in preparation for the dam that was about to break. Where are the others? She thought desperately. 

Razor lunged for her, hissing furiously. She sprang into the air, and his teeth scraped her foreleg instead of closing around her neck. She bounced back onto her hind legs and lashed out with both paws. Most of her strikes passed harmlessly through his thick coat. One barely caught his cheek. 

Behind her, Orangestar wheeled around and smacked Razor sharply in the throat. He coughed and turned on her, scoring a wound over her right shoulder. The look in his eyes was wild, like a rabid dog, lost in a bloodlust. Goldenstar bunched her legs to try and leap on his back, when a sudden yowling split the air. 

Every head in the clearing turned outward as a wave of screaming Clan cats poured out of the trees around them. The circle the rogues had formed quickly collapsed as cats rushed to meet their foes or gave ground under the assault. Goldenstar’s heart soared hopefully. 

“Look out!” she heard Orangestar shout and she just barely managed to twist so that Razor’s teeth sank into her shoulder and not her throat. She hissed in pain and rolled onto her back to rabbit kick at his face with her hind claws. Pain lanced through her as his claws wrapped around her torso and tugged at her pelt, then suddenly he released her with a shout and reeled back, blinking away the blood dripping into his left eye.

Behind him, Orangestar had sunken her teeth into the tendons of one of his back legs and was tugging as hard as her jaws would allow, dancing back as he tried to wheel around and claw at her. The noise of the battle was overwhelming now, a cacophony of tumbling bodies and wrathful screams. Goldenstar tried to block it out as best she could. Her one job was to kill Razor, her and Orangestar both. Only when he was dead could they refocus on the rest of the battle. 

Baring her teeth, she lunged again, body singing with the thrill of righteous battle. For Scorch! her heart cried, burning with all the power of a shining golden sun.