SHADOWCLAN CAMP Auburnwhisker awoke to his nest cold and damp. As he arose he had to shake off his fur. He didn’t mind because today he decided was going to be a great day. As he padded into the clearing his green and blue eyes shined as he felt how warm the day was. Auburnwhisker looked around to see his clanmates basking in the Greenleaf sunlight. He was a little bit confused to not see his brother joining his mate in the sun like he usually did but he brushed it off. “Auburnwhisker!” Brightclaw called out to him. He immediately perked his ears and trotted towards the pretty she-cat. Her silver tabby coat shone in the morning light. “Hi there. How are you?” Auburnwhisker purred. The she-cat smiled and let out a sigh. “I’m alright. Your fox-heart of a brother snapped at me,” She was extremely annoyed by this. Auburnwhisker sighed. He wished he could try to get his brother to stop being such a fox-heart but Owlecho would never listen to him. “Alright. I think I’m gonna go hunting… Wanna come?” The tom-cat smiled warmly at the she-cat. “I’m really tired from dawn patrol… So I’ll have to pass,” Brightclaw sighed and purred. Auburnwhisker just nodded and trotted towards the exit. As usual, someone was standing guard. He flicked his tail at Finchheart as he padded by. When he got into the forest he noticed something was off. The birds usually chattered high up in the trees and the squirrels would be jumping from tree to tree. Auburnwhisker carefully padded deeper into the forest with a worried look on his face. “Back! Back you fleapelt!” He heard someone screech in the distance. Auburnwhisker broke into a run. He knew that voice. Owlecho was in big trouble. He burst through a bush into a small clearing to find his brother on the ground and a fox towering over his brown tabby body. Aburnwhisker let out a gasp and the fox whipped around. Only one thought went through his mind. I need to save Owlecho. The fox lunged and he ducked underneath its large body. He successfully got between his brother and the fox. “G-Get out of here,” Owlecho wheezed behind him. Auburnwhisker’s ears perked and he looked behind him. “Tell Brightclaw I love her,” He mewed. Owlecho’s eyes widened. “NO!” He yelled as Auburnwhisker flung himself at the large canine. He watched as his brother and the fox fought. From what he could tell… Auburnwhisker was losing. The fox slammed him to the ground. Owlecho could see the desperation and pain in his brother's eyes. He coughed up blood and tried to push off the large animal but it was too heavy. The fox lunged for Auburnwhiskers throat and tore right through it. Owlecho let out a pained scream as he saw his brother's life go out of his eyes. The fox tossed his lifeless body across the clearing and started advancing toward him again. “Someone! Help!” Owlecho screamed. The fox lunged at him and luckily his claws made a connection with the fox's face. It let out a loud yip and backed away, not expecting him to attack. Soon a patrol of four cats made it into the clearing. It was Brightclaw, Thornheather, Finchheart, and Blossomeye. They easily scared away the fox and then scattered to tend to him and his brother. Owlecho watched as Brightclaw ran to Auburnwhisker. She nudged him and tried to wake him up. But he was already gone. “No! No! No! Why didn’t I go with you?” She sobbed into his calico pelt. He watched sadly as she helped Finchheart carry his brother back to camp. Thornheather helped him up and Owlecho leaned against her. “Why did he save me? I always shunned him and barely ever showed love to him…” He asked Thornheather. She shrugged. “You’re his family. No matter what you mean the world to him,” She sighed. When they got back to camp the medicine cat quickly patched him up and sent him on his way. As he walked through the camp he felt numb. Why had he been so cruel? Owlecho remembered all the times he yelled at his brother and called him a coward. He wished he could apologize. It’s too late for that now. Owlecho padded towards Brightclaw solemnly. She sat next to Auburnwhisker's lifeless, limp body. “He wanted me to tell you that he loves you,” Owlecho sighed as he sat down next to the silver tabby. Brightclaw looked at him in surprise. “Do you think he’s looking at us right now?” She asked with tears in her eyes. Owlecho just nodded. That's all he could do to hold back his sobs. “You meant a lot to him,” He mewed. She nodded and leaned her head against him. Owlecho didn’t care. He buried his face into Brightclaw’s neck. Owlecho knew life would never be the same again.
