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Fernsun stared at the blood-stained lump of fur before her. No. No. No. Her mother couldn’t be dead, she couldn’t be. It must have been a mistake. This was just some random loner a Bladeclan cat had killed, and Jungleflower would show up in a minute and they’d all be relieved and eat mangoes.
But the distinctive flower markings of her pelt stared up at Fersun, as though daring her to defy the evidence any longer.
Her sadness washed through her, so deep and hollow she let out a wail of pure agony. Her mother had been killed, and Fernsun would never see her again until she joined Starclan.
She ran to the warriors den, tears streaming down her face and flying into the air behind her. She curled up in her nest, heart racing, and grief pumping through her veins.
“Are you okay?” a voice called into the den. No, obviously not. Fernsun wanted to say.
“Yeah, I mean I’ll get to see her in Starclan, right? She also wouldn’t want me to take a toll on myself because of her death. She’d want me to live a happy and normal life.” She put all her energy into keeping her voice cheery and reassuring, though she could hear the slight wobble of the words.
“Oh Fernsun,” the voice got closer and Shadepool was standing over her nest. “Don’t worry it’s just me, you can tell me anything.”
Shadepool laid down and curled her tail around Fernsun, licking her forehead. “I just- she was always there, I’ve memorized her scent, how her tongue feels, licking my head, her tail curling around me. And now none of that will ever happen again. Because she’s dead, Shadepool! A cat murdered her in cold blood. Why?”
“I don’t know why, but whoever they are, they need to be brought to justice.” Shadepool told her, curling into a protective barrier around the smaller she-cat.
“Thank you Shadepool,” Fernsun said, curling into her soft black fur. “To change the subject completely, have you confessed to Treeclimber yet?”
“No, I was actually planning to do it tonight, but then that happened and… yeah,” Shadepool let out a breath.
“You should still do it, it would take you and Treeclimber’s mind off of it,” Fernpaw told her. And maybe I’ll stop wanting you so bad.
“Okay, I guess,” Shadepool agreed.
REVEAL SCENE
Shadepool walked up to Treeclimber as he was leaving camp. “Hey,” she said awkwardly, “Can I ask you something?”
He stared longingly at the forest, before turning back to her and meowing “yeah sure what do you need?”
“Okay, basically, I like you, reject or accept, it’s your choice,” She held her breath, waiting for a response.
“I’m sorry, you’re more of a sister to me, and besides,” he lowered his voice. “Riverswimmer’s already my girlfriend.”
Riverswimmer. A tideclan cat. Was dating Treeclimber. Well, that was a weird turn of events.
Weirdly, she didn’t feel very disappointed, she honestly felt relief. Why? She had just been rejected, why was she relieved, and why in the world did Fernsun’s face keep reappearing in her mind.
She decided to just go to bed.
Walking into the warrior’s den, she sat down and curled around Fernsun. “He rejected me,” she told her softly. “And he’s dating Riverswimmer.”
Fernsun didn’t respond, but Shadepool noticed her ears perked up slightly. Shadepool purred. Of course she could cheer Fernsun up by telling her gossip. “Goodnight,” she whispered in the tan cat’s ear, and drifted off to sleep.
RIVERSWIMMER!!!!!>:(
It was the next night, and Shadepool couldn’t sleep. She tried to get up, but was pulled back by Fernsun. “No, don’t go,” she mumbled.
“Fern, I’ll be right back, dont worry,” Shadepool told her.
“Okay,”Fernsun mewed, and curled back in on herself.
Shadepool emerged from the warrior’s den and headed for the exit. After checking in with Cherrysquint, she headed for the Tideclan border, hoping the river might calm her nerves.
As she was walking, she noticed a figure looming on the rocks.
“Who are you?” she hissed.
“The one who will end you,” the cat responded. They had the voice of a she-cat.
“Why?!” Shadepool asked, alarmed.
“You like my boyfriend, that’s unacceptable,” The cat said.
“Wha-” Shadepool started, realising who it was. Riverswimmer lunged off the rocks and barreled into her, claws outstretched and aimed straight for Shadepool’s belly. The claws pierced her skin, causing a wave of pain to wash over her. She screamed.
Riverswimmer was going in for her throat when a bright, blurry shape knocked her down. Shade paw lost consciousness just as the Riverswimmer was knocked away from her.
SWITCH POV
Fernsun attacked the figure, clawing and shredding. She released them for a second, and whoever the cat was, escaped and ran over the border.
Turning back to Shadepool, she saw the she-cats raven-colored fur stained with blood. She was barely breathing and it came out as shallow, raspy breaths.
“No no no,” Fernsun whispered, picking up shadepool’s scruff. She dragged the limp she-cat all the way back to camp, and deposited her at the entrance before rushing off to the medicine den.
“Falltwirl! Aldergrowl! Shadepool was attacked! You need to help her!” Fernsun’s voice was high-pitched and desperate.
Aldergrowl stalked out of the den, a bundle of herbs in his mouth and his tail angrily flicking back and forth behind him.
“Aldergrowl,” Falltwirl meowed. “You don’t even know what the injuries look like, you can’t just grab some random herbs and leave.”
“I very much can. I know the basic herbs for injuries from an attack, so I’ll be fine once I take a look at her,” Aldergrowl snapped.
“Alright fine,” Falltwirl let out a sigh before turning back to Fernsun. “She’ll be alright, she’s in very capable hands.”
From outside Aldergrowl called “I could have sworn you told me to never garuntee to a loved one of a patient that they’ll be alright, no matter how much distress they’re in.”
“Yes, well. I can make exceptions,” Falltwirl miffed.
“Sure you can.” Aldergrowl mumbled, though Fernsun’s was ninety percent sure he had meant for them to hear it.