This fanfic is a collection of one-shots I have written about the Warriors series.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Warriors series or the concept.
Warnings: for the 5 book of the New Prophecy, SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (But not huge ones……..)
PS- like all of these one-shots are romance or romance /tragedy
So…………………….
PLEASE ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Be with me, this moonlit night
Running. In all my being, in the entire life I had lived, nothing mattered but escaping, fleeing what I knew to be doom, even if running was futile. Run, FASTER. My brain pumped out the constant command. Chest heaving, wind whipping in my face, I glanced behind. Nothing. Adrenaline bursting through my veins, my nostrils flared, in taking the deep scents of the forest. There! The chase was still on. I flipped my head around, increasing to my highest possible speed. My vision was blurring. This fast pace was taking its toll and my body, and stress was showing as my legs became harder and harder to move. The forest, as if knowing I was trying to escape, reached out with its branches, twigs slapping my head, roots popping up under my feet doing its best to keep my from my destination. I could only yelp in surprise as the wind shifted, showing that my pursuer was almost upon me. Not going to go down without a fight, I twirled around, teeth barred, claws outstretched, as my attacker came at me with a force and energy I no longer posed.
"MEEERRRRRRRROW!!!!!!" The pursuing cat shrieked as she slammed into me. She hadn't expected this reaction. Immediately she regained her balance and attacked, claws sheathed. Almost as quickly, I sheathed mine as well, as we got into a mock battle, rolling on the forest floor like little kits. After this had gone on for a few minutes, I allowed the smaller she-cat to over take me, flopping me onto my back, one delicate fore-paw pressed gently on my throat, the other on my stomach, holding me down. "What kind of Warrior are you?" She teased gently in my ear, her breath warm against my tuffs.
"One that doesn't like to lose," I responded, coming up against her suddenly, and using my bigger male bulk to push the younger female down.
"HEY!" She protested, clearly displeased at my trickery, "Brackenfur, get off me, you big lump!"
"Fine." I got off of her, and sat gazing, as she washed her ruffled tortoiseshell and white fur, clearly out of embarrassment. When she was done, she turned her amber eyes at me and mewed:
"Why'd you even start that silly game of chase? You know we're supposed to be on a hunting expedition. Firestar would have our heads if he knew we were goofing off instead of serving the Clan."
Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. "Well, you said you need a brake from all the work, Sorreltail, so I thought this might cheer you up." She gave me this quizzical look, and then burst out merrowing in laughter.
"Yeah, I guess I did." Now I was laughing too, the stress just melting away. Ever since we had fled our old home in the forest, the new ThunderClan camp had not seemed like home. But slowly, the Clan was adjusting, and life was beginning to seem more normal. I opened my mouth, feeling the scents of the forest wash over my scent glands, and the savoring taste of mouse. "Mmmmm," I meowed unconsciously as my tongue swiped over my teeth.
"Come on," Sorreltail growled, poking me in the side, "let's hunt." But even as these words were mewed, she was creeping in the direction of the mouse scent. I watched as she rounded a tree, leaving my sight. Still, I could hear as she snuck up on the un-suspecting mouse. I imagined her flexibly body, moving ever-so slightly. I could almost see her hindquarters as she bunched them up and sprung. Right on cue with my mind, I heard the light 'thud' as she pounced. She returned a moment later, mouse in her jaws.
Suddenly, I heard a slight chitter. Looking up, I noticed a squirrel at a base of a tree trunk, not too many tail-lengths ahead. Trying to empress Sorreltail, I glanced at her, motioning with my eyes that I would get this one. She nodded, only a slight incline of her head, to show she understood. I slowly began to make my way towards the prey, stalking as quietly as possible. Just as I was nearing striking distance, the wind changed direction slightly, exposing my scent to the squirrel. Immediately it shot up the trunk as I ran full-out behind it. Not being near enough, I could only watch in frustration as the 'one that got away' scampered out of sight. Abruptly, I felt a soft touch as Sorreltail came up beside me. "Don't worry," she spoke, "you'll get the next one."
As she led the way back to the mouse she had caught, I found myself asking me, 'Do I love her?' Many times I had pondered this question, and whether I was just mistaking feelings of friendship, not love. But every time it came down to it, I always had the same answer: I loved her. Maybe it was the feel of her fur, or her soft breath in my ear. Possibly it was her light step, her shiny amber eyes. Deep down I knew, it was all these things and many more. I loved Sorreltail with all the love I could possibly give.
Our little hunting expedition was doing okay. Between Brackenfur and me we had: 3 mice, a starling, and a squirrel. At the moment, Brackenfur was ahead of me, trekking purposely back to camp. I had purposely lagged behind. I was in deep thought. Up ahead, Brackenfur's big muscular body was going at a swift pace. His coarse golden-brow tabby fur was rippling under his muscles.
Looking at him I knew I was struck with the arrow of love, and it was wedged deep in my breast. I didn't know how long I had been in this state, maybe as long as our friendship had lasted, but I was tormented by a question I could not hear 'no' to: Did he love me back? In all my fantasies, we had always ended up together, but here and now I didn't know. Leafpool, my good friend, had said that anyone with eyes could see that he did. It wasn't that I didn't trust her; I just believed that she didn't have the courage to break my heart, or she didn't know. These thought of friendship brought me back to my two assumed theories of how Brackenfur thought of me:
One of his younger littermates, or his immature younger friend.
Yes, it was true that Brackenfur was my senior, but I had always tried to act maturely, tried to maybe increase my chances of love. But at the moment, these seemed futile.
Up ahead, Brackenfur turned around calling, "Come on Sorreltail, we've been gone way longer than expected. Who knows how many search parties the Clan has already sent out?!" I ducked my head in embarrassment as I ran to catch up with him.
As it turned out, a search-party was just about to be sent out. Dropping our food in the fresh-kill pile, we were called over to our Clan leader and his senior warriors. We were gently scolded by Firestar that yes, we were Warriors, but we need to be a little more responsible. This hit me incredibly hard. Sure, I wasn't the newest warrior in ThunderClan, but I wasn't as old as some of the others. Misbehaving like this would not look good when it came time to go on a mission or to a Gathering.
Timidly, I asked, "Will we still be going to the Gathering?"
"You might," Firestar responded, "but I really need some of my warriors to stay here." I nodded, understanding that I probably wouldn't be going. The Gathering was tomorrow night.
I slowly walked towards the fresh-kill pile, head bowed in shame, tail drooping. I had really been looking forward to the Gathering. As I neared the pile, I heard my name called. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Brackenfur motioning to me. I changed directions going towards him.
"Yes?" I meowed as I approached.
"Sorreltail, do you want to share this mouse with me?" Brackenfur nodded to the plump mouse by his feet. Though I was still upset, I knew that this was his way of saying he was sorry I might not get to go to the Gathering. Shaking my head yes, I sat down. This was actually the first time he had offered to eat with me. My heart swelled with joy as we both leaned our muzzles in, mouths tearing at the flesh, whiskers intertwined.
After the mouse had been devoured, we sat there, grooming each other, or sharing tongues, as it was commonly called. As his rough tongue rasped against my ear, I felt deep, satisfying comfort. Maybe he did love me. But obviously, I was only but a sister figurine to him. Squirrelflight had just come up, interrupting this precious time.
"Leafpool wants you Sorreltail," she mewed, and none to kindly. That I could deal with. Ever since the trouble with Brambleclaw, she had been moody. The talk around camp was that she was with Ashfur now. That didn't even get under my skin. But the LOOK that Brackenfur gave her said it all: I'd been played for a fool!!!!! He was in love with HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe this. Why can't she just stick to her own toms!!!!!!
"Thanks Squirrelflight," I responded coolly and padded off. Mostly I wasn't mad at her; she probably hadn't even noticed. Actually, I was pretty mad at myself. I was a mouse-brained fool. Squirrelflight was just the scapegoat to my anger.
I was upset that I had gotten Sorreltail in trouble. Maybe if I could make it up to her……….
There she was, heading towards the fresh-kill pile. I looked at the fat mouse I had chosen, there was enough for two.
"Sorreltail, do you want to share this mouse with me?" I called, and watched as she turned around. She nodded her head yes. As soon as we started eating, I thought I felt something between us. Maybe, just maybe? As we sat down to groom each other, the feeling intensified. There was something there. I heard someone approaching. Looking up with my tongue still rasping over Sorreltail's ear, I saw it was Squirrelflight, Leafpool's sister. Trying to make this moment last, I motioned with my eyes for her to not advance. Still she did. Then I attempted to glare at her, hoping she'd get the message to get lost. Yet she continued to walk right towards us till she was there, right in my face. Honestly, sometimes she could be just as stupid as she was stubborn.
"Leafpool wants you Sorreltail." She mewed.
"Thanks Squirrelflight," Sorreltail spat after a moment. Obviously, Squirrelflight had done something to irritate Sorreltail. I watched as the angry she-cat stalked towards Leafpool's and Cinderpelt's den. Then I turned my attention back to Squirrelflight in time to hear her response as she was leaving: "What's got her whiskers in such a twist?"
After Sorreltail had been called away, I didn't see her the remaining amount of the day. Soon after I was abandoned, I got called out on the next border patrol, along with Squirrelflight. As we were leaving I felt eyes drilling into the back of my head, but when I turned around nothing.
"Coming?" Dustpelt, the leader of this particular patrol, called. Nodding my head, I ran up to the others, and we continued our trek through the territory.
My patrol didn't get back to late at night. There the next patrol had already assembled. Though we needed to work on camp, Firestar had ordered extra patrols to protect the camp.
Squeezing into the new Warrior's den, I located my spot next to Sorreltail. Padding at the mossy bedding, I snuggled down into it, exhausted
Something was moving, ever-so slightly, near my head. Opening my eyes, I saw, just in time, a cat like shadow slip out of the den. Thinking one of the Warriors had to take a break, I went back to resting. A few minutes later, I awoke to cold. Moving my head, I saw that Sorreltail's spot was empty. I raised my neck and glanced about; she hadn't moved to another part of the den. The casts on the dawn patrol hadn't left yet. It was the time of night when everything within the camp was quiet. Only the camp guard for that night would be awake, or at least, they were supposed to.
I was concerned. Crawling over the bodies of my Clan-mates, I made my way slowly to the entrance, and slipped out. There, in the middle of the clearing, sat Sorreltail, her usually tortoiseshell fur looking white as it was draped in moonlight. Joining her, I looked up to where she was gazing: an almost completely full moon, the Gathering would be tomorrow, and the shiny sparkly belt of StarClan, lighting the way to life for deceased Warriors.
I turned my head towards Sorreltail's, and my look drew hers. For sometime, I just drowned in the beauty of her clear amber eyes, I saw the StarClan Warriors reflected there, shinning forever. At this moment I knew that I did love her, and couldn't go on unless I knew she loved me too.
"Sorreltail," I whispered ever-so softly in her ear.
"Yes?" came her stinging reply. Something was clearly wrong, and I had caused it. But it was to late now. The words were out before I could stop them.
"I love you." These words drifted on the breeze and seem to circle around camp, as if the entire world needed to know. Sorreltail looked taken aback. After a moment she said:
"I thought you loved Squirrelflight." Now I was taken aback. Where had she gotten that idea? As I stuttered to answer, I realized why she had been so cold to Squirrelflight earlier that day.
"I-I don't love Squirrelflight. In fact, I think she's an annoying mouse-brained fool who gets away with junk because she's Firestar's daughter." Sorreltail gave me a look, but finally, she drew her gaze down.
"I thought you didn't love me. I thought that you thought that I was immature."
"Oh, Sorreltail, if you only knew how wrong you were. I thought it was obvious I loved you. I don't see you as immature, I see you as a graceful, agile warrior who in every way is perfect and wonderful and, oh Sorreltail!" I couldn't continue. As I continued to look at her, I was at a loss for words, if only I could convey my feelings!!!!!
"I love you," I repeated, eyes clouding up. Then she said what I had waited to hear:
"I love you too." Together the two warriors, now mates, sat side-by-side starring up at the almost full moon. The eye-like figure shined its pale light onto the two cats below. Together, clothed in a blanket of brightness, they looked like two Warriors from StarClan, returned to the place ThunderClan called home, to sit vigil over these precious animals as they slept. And as the two continued their night-long watch, even the guard fell asleep.
It was almost a moon later. By now, the entire ThunderClan camp knew of Sorreltail and I, and even most of the other Clans knew as well. At the moment, I was leading a border patrol with my apprentice Whitepaw, and Sootfur, and Sorreltail was along too. As we continued on past the border of WindClan's new territory, I stopped because I heard meowing. Turning around, I saw Sorreltail in a conversation with Leafpool. Where had Leafpool come from? As I waited for her, a sense of urgency crept along my fur. I decided to go ahead and see what was keeping her.
Heading back towards them, I asked "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Brackenfur, just a bit tired."
There's a sunny spot up ahead, you can rest in," I motioned with my tail. Nodding her head, she called good-bye to Leafpool, and followed me through the undergrowth.
Suddenly, she stopped. As I turned around my eyes met hers.
"Brackenfur," She mewed excitedly, a hint of urgency in her voice. Looking at her, my heart swelled with joy. How I love her! But the tone of her voice made me a bit uneasy.
"What is it Sorreltail?" I asked.
"Brackenfur," she repeated, "I'm, and I'm pregnant. You're going to be a father." And if it was possible, my heart swelled with more joy than before.
I know the ending was really cheesy, but over-all I hoped you enjoyed it. (Yes, that last part I actually got out of the book!!) Here is where I talk about junk blah, blah, blah. Yeah. Okay…….
Here, I talk about polls. THIS is where last chapters question / answer would be.
Here would be the NEW poll question. This week's poll is:
"What should the next chapter be: Graystripe x Silverstream type thing, where Graystripe goes back to ThunderClan or Cloudtail x Brightheart (actually, it would be Cloudpaw – Cloudtail and Brightpaw) where it is them getting together from BrightPAW's POV!!!!!!"
This poll has already been answered.
This is last minute notes and the typical: R&R
MAY ALL YOUR DAYS BE MERRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!