~Warnings: DEATH, Blood, fighting, I'm trying to make you sad~ Snowpelt and Skylight tensely ignored each other as they walked on the afternoon patrol. Sunstrike and Cloudfrost were on the patrol as well, chatting casually, something about prey. Snowplet could barely look at him without being reminded of that Shadowclan apprentice he killed yesterday, it still made her sick to her stomach. No one but Whitestar and herself even knew about what happened, and she couldn’t imagine Shadowclan had taken kindly to finding one of their own dead. Nothing had happened, yet, but the gathering was tonight, and Shadowclan was sure to bring it up. She didn’t think Whitestar would be able to deal with it easily at all, considering she was involved and seemingly losing her mind. Whitestar had returned to camp yesterday, went straight into her den, and refused to talk with anyone, even Brownbriar. In fact, Brownbriar had tried to visit her and Whitestar yelled at her loud enough for the whole clan to hear. Snowpelt couldn’t sleep, so she was awake as she heard the quiet muttering about Whitestar getting worse. She was paranoid, untrusting. Snowpelt sighed and shook her head, she- Blood. Snowpelt smelled blood. She lifted her head and Skylight did as well. Cloudfrost stopped behind them and asked “What’s wrong?” Sunstrike let out a soft growl, “I smell blood.” Snowpelt nodded and started following the smell, saying “This way.” The other three followed close behind. Snowpelt’s heart slowly sunk into her stomach the closer they got to the Shadowclan border. Oh no. Sunstrike’s breathing changed as they walked, becoming shorter and more anxious. Oh starclan, what, or who, were they going to find? The smell only got stronger and stronger as they reached the Shadowclan border. She stopped and looked around. Just as she was about to suggest spreading out, her eyes caught on fur snagged on a bush right by the border. Maroon fur. Bloodied maroon and cream fur. No. Snowpelt raced towards the bush before she could think. She saw the blood first, the pool surrounding the dead cat. The dead cat she knew well. The cat she had pushed away, and now it was too late. Snowpelt was frozen in place as she stared. The main pelt color was a dark maroon, but it was scattered with lighter spots and areas, and it was cream around the muzzle, neck, chest, belly, and underside of the tail. The cream colored fluff around her neck was stained red from the cut in her neck. The blood seeped into the ground, forming a shallow pool around her, Her once bright brownish-amber eyes were now dull as they stared blankly into nothing. Those eyes had once looked at Snowpelt with pride, care, love. Now they were dull and dead. Snowpelt had pushed her away, and now she was dead. There was no making up with her now. She was gone. She was gone. She was gone like Stormcloud was, she was gone like Snowpelt’s kits. She was gone like the two kits she had outlived. Brightspot was dead. Brightspot was dead and lying in front of Snowpelt, her neck slashed open, a few more smaller injuries showing she tried to defend herself. Snowpelt was jolted out of her trance by Skylight and Sunstrike coming up behind her, both pulling in sharp breaths. Skylight whispered “There’s a lot of Shadowclan scent, and not just because we’re next to the border.” Shadowclan. Willpaw. Whitestar. Sunstrike. Snowpelt whirled around to face Sunstrike and hissed “You.” Her claws unsheathed. Panic, and then realization filled Sunstrike’s eyes. He took a step back and snapped “Be reasonable Snowpelt.” Snowpelt hissed “Reasonable? This is your fault.” Before she could act, or Sunstrike could respond, Skylight snapped “I have no idea what you two are talking about, but we have a bigger problem. The Shadowclan scent is fresh, and they could be nearby.” “Oh, we’re more than nearby, murdering fox-hearts.” The second she heard the new voice, Snowpelt, and Skylight, both snapped “Cloudfrost, camp, now.” Cloudfrost took off running as Snowpelt whirled to face the grey cat that had spoken. Snowpelt immediately knew who must be standing in front of her. The similarities were so close to the small apprentice she had seen yesterday. This must be Willpaw’s mother, and she looked furious. Rightfully so. ‘Prepare for a fight’ Shadow said. Skylight spoke, lifting her head calmly “Why did you do this?”
More Shadowclan cats, six more, stepped out as Willpaw’s mother hissed “You killed my daughter. You killed her and dumped her body on our territory! There was Thunderclan stench all over her!” Skylight tensed, clearly realizing what Snowpelt had been angry about. She was still angry. Furious. ‘Use that. It’s Whistar’s fault, always remember that. She’s taken another cat you care about. Use that anger.’ Sunstrike hissed “She was on our territory.” Willpaw’s mother’s glare turned to him and hissed “She was six moons old!” “She could have been a spy!” Sunstrike growled. Snowpelt glared and hissed “Shut up.” She started to look back to the Shadowclan cats, but found Willpaw’s mother leaping at Sunstrike. Snowpelt intercepted automatically, letting herself take the brunt of the she-cat’s weight. Snowpelt took the chance to tackle her to the ground, but when she looked up, she found that the other Shadowclan cats were attacking. Skylight, Snowpelt, and Sunstrike were terribly outnumbered, but the three of them were also some of the best fighters in Thunderclan. Cloudfrost should be back with reinforcements soon as well. ‘For now, fight. Wait to see if we can use this.’ Snowpelt nodded and focused back on the she-cat under her paws. Willpaw’s mother fought against her as she hissed “You fox-hearts killed her!” Snowpelt growled “So you killed Brightspot?” Willpaw’s mother managed to shove Snowpelt off as she snapped “You have no idea how it feels to lose your kit!” Anger flared and Snowpelt snapped “I know better than anyone, I lost my mate and kits all at once mere moons ago.” The two of them circled, grieving mothers, as the she-cat paused, then hissed “Yours weren’t murdered.” “They practically were.” Snowpelt snapped back, lunging at her, but slipping to the side at the last moment to raked her side as the she-cat clawed at nothing but empty air. Willpaw’s mother hissed and she whirled back on Snowpelt and lunged at her. Snowpelt dodged, but found her paws stumbling over something. She looked down and froze as she found herself tripping over Brightspot’s dead body. Snowpelt flinched away, giving Willpaw’s mother a chance to slam her into the ground. Willpaw’s mother’s eyes glanced over to Brightspot’s body, and a hint of guilt entered her voice as she asked “Who was she to you? Other than a deputy.” Snowpelt shoved her off with a hiss “My mate’s mother, and the only cat that ever treated me as their kit.” Willpaw’s mother stumbled back with some blinks, looking at Snowpelt. Her eyes dropped to Snowpelt’s paw and widened, then she asked “You’re Darklight’s kit, aren’t you?” Snowpelt looked at her in confusion. How did she know that? ‘Your mother was…well known.’ Shadow said, almost bitterly. Well known? How so? How did Shadow- ‘Not the time to be worrying about it. Focus on the fight.’ Snowpelt forced back on Willpaw’s mother and gave a sharp nod as the two started circling again, looking for an opening. Willpaw’s mother paused, then said “My father talked about her, how she could have done so much…” Snowpelt paused, then asked “Really?” The she-cat nodded, then started to ask “How do you not kno-” She cut herself off, then continued, “Oh, right. I’ve met your father.” Snowpelt sighed at the mention of her father and nodded. Willpaw’s mother glanced over at Brightspot’s body, real regret and guilt in her eyes. ‘Opening. Attack.’ Shadow ordered. But- ‘Attack. Now. Listen to me’ Snowpelt lunged and attacked, pinning Willpaw’s mother down again, focusing her attention back on Snowpelt. ‘She killed Brightspot, be angry.’ Right, right… Shadow was always right. Snowpelt glared down at Willpaw’s mother and hissed “And now you’ve killed Brightspot.” Willpaw’s mother paused, then said “I, I shouldn’t have. But I was angry…” She paused, then asked, “Who killed your kits?” “Thunderclan! Attack!” Snowpelt’s head whipped over to see that the Thunderclan reinforcements had arrived, and the cat that had announced the arrival was the same cat Willpaw’s mother was asking about. She let out a low growl, glaring at Whitestar, who hung back, hesitating with fear on her face. Willpaw’s mother followed Snowpelt’s gaze, her eyes widening when she must’ve realized who she was looking at. Willpaw’s mother whispered “Your sister…” Snowpelt nodded sharply and hissed “And she watched as Willpaw was killed because of her parinoia.” Willpaw’s mother slipped out from under Snowpelt, her face wearing a strange expression, as if listening as she looked at Whitestar. Snowpelt and Willpaw’s mother looked at each other. ‘Perhaps we could both get some revenge today.’ ~First~ https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1066586971/ ~Previous~ https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1273829234/ ~Next~ https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1285208434 Credit to @the_dolphin_cat for Brightspot's design, because they drew her and I liked it so I canonized it :)
