Title: Linking the Far Past with the Far Future

Description: In which murders are committed, lives are stolen, Clans are allying themselves with dark forces for the means of survival, and betrayals are becoming a regular occurrence. Growing up being abandoned by her mother, Bluecrest must lock away her hatred and sorrow for the good of RiverClan. But when cats begin turning against her, she loses faith in what she once thought was love.

Comment Notes: Have fun~ 3

Author's Notes: Warriors belong to the Hunters and the Hunters only. Angsty and a slight hint of blood~

Chapter 12

The Way I Loved You

Bluecrest yawned, stretching and blinking open her eyes. Her body felt cold and stiff, sore when she moved. Slowly, she rose into a sitting position and looked around. She was surprised to see the camp clearing instead of the warriors den where she typically woke up. With a prickling sensation, she realized that she had fallen asleep in the same position she had when she was reminiscing the previous day.

The sun was creeping over the treetops as the cats for the dawn patrol scrambled groggily out of their dens. Barktalon was waiting near the entrance, looking tense and worried.

"Alright, Stormrift, you will lead this one."

Bluecrest involuntarily flinched at the sound of his name.

"Take Petalstream, Glacierleaf, Timberface, and Bluecrest. Patrol the ShadowClan and ThunderClan borders; we needn't worry about WindClan's."

Bluecrest jolted at the sound of her name, and a sense of dread washed over her. She hadn't talked to Stormrift ever since she saw him in the Dark Forest. Surprisingly, he didn't try to speak to her either, almost like he knew that she had been watching him.

With a shaky exhale, Bluecrest got to her feet and focused on walking steadily towards the assembled patrol. As she joined them, she was met by several curious stares from Glacierleaf and Timberface, but she brushed it off and kept walking until she reached Stormrift.

"Let's get going." she croaked, averting her eyes from the gray tabby's lean form. She forced herself to stay still as Stormrift turned his scorching green gaze on her.

After a pause, he mewed, "Yeah."

Bluecrest took that as her cue to bound out of the camp, never once glancing behind her. The other warriors exchanged confused looks and headed out after her. Stormrift remained behind, his eyes narrowed in contemplation before following. Once they were in the marshes, they set off towards the ThunderClan border, it being the closest.

Glacierleaf padded at the front of the patrol, at Stormrift's shoulder, and gazed out sadly at her former home. The trees loomed over them and the small white she-cat let out an inaudible sigh before turning to face the patrol.

"There's no scent of any trouble. It's like they haven't been close to the border in moons." she reported. Stormrift lifted his muzzle to scent the air before nodding in agreement.

"Seems so," he murmured. The younger warriors exchanged worried looks, but Bluecrest couldn't share their concern. Her mind was fuzzy and yet racing with questions.

"Bluecrest?" Stormrift murmured, his voice soft. Bluecrest snapped her head up and stared at him, almost like she didn't recognize him anymore. He visibly flinched and slapped his tail into the mud.

"What is it?" Bluecrest asked, staring at him uncomprehendingly. She didn't know what had caused his sudden sadness. Stormrift gazed up at the territory of trees looming above them and flicked his ears in its direction.

"What do you think?"

Bluecrest stumbled for an answered, searching her mind. "Uh, I think we'll be fine so long as they stay on their side of the border." she murmured, pawing the mud with her paw. Stormrift nodded briskly, seeming to regain his composure, and he jerked his head in the direction of ShadowClan's territory.

"Let's get going then," he meowed, whipping around and stalking into the reeds. Glacierleaf and Timberface looked alarmed, but they followed the gray tom as he vanished into the greenery. Petalstream stopped by Bluecrest and touched her tail lightly to the younger she-cat's shoulder before continuing along the path. Bluecrest looked after them, troubled, but eventually sighed and picked her way into the undergrowth after them.

When she emerged, an alarming sight met her eyes. Blood was splattered across the marsh and the small pools littered across the area that had once provided a nice refreshing drink were now stained a pinkish hue. Shouldering her way through the tight line of the patrol, she gasped. "What in the name of StarClan happened?"

Stormrift's eyes were narrowed and cold as he assessed the damage. Tufts of fur lay strewn across the mud, and paw prints were scattered every which way. "I don't know." He replied at last, crouching to sniff at a piece of brilliant golden fur.

A sudden and loud intake of breath sounded behind the two warriors, and they whipped around.

Petalstream was pressing her muzzle into a few strands of fur, inhaling their scent. She pulled back, made a face, and slashed at the tufts in anger. "There's no doubt, these are the rogues that have been terrorizing us." She spat.

Bluecrest widened her large ultramarine eyes. "Are you sure?" she demanded, striding across to the she-cat and breathing in the scent. The stench of crow-food and the Carrionplace rose to her senses and she recoiled with a bitten off gasp of shock.

Petalstream watched her with grim resignation. "Yes, I'm sure. Horrible stench, isn't it? Kind of hard to forget." she nodded to the shredded hairs lying on the ground. Stormrift shouldered his way roughly between them, sending Bluecrest stumbling into a puddle of bloodstained water.

"Hey!" Her protest was drowned out by the low growl emanating from Stormrift's chest. The patrol exchanged shocked glances and hurried towards their patrol leader.

"Stormrift? What's wrong?" Glacierleaf probed, laying her tail-tip gently against the large warrior's shoulder. He growled again, brushing her off.

"I will shred the cats that did this." he hissed angrily, spitting at the ground. Bluecrest widened her eyes, startled, and pinned her ears back. Stormrift sounded like a completely different cat.

"Stormrift…" she began, searching her mind desperately for something to calm him down. She paused when he whipped his head around and glared at her with such ferocity that she felt as if he thought she was the one who had caused this.

"Let's go back to camp," he commanded, not even bothering to look back at his patrol before slinking into the bushes, leaving his patrol scrambling after him yet again.

Bluecrest was the only one to remain. She watched them go, sorrow filling her eyes, before dipping her head to sniff a piece of fur lying at her paws. Her ears perked in shock and her spine went rigid. There was RiverClan scent mingled in with the rogues'.

She stared at the strands of hair for a heartbeat before turning and racing after her patrol. She hadn't realized how close to camp they were and tumbled head-first into the ferns of the entrance. Cats began murmuring at her frantic entry but she charged straight to where her patrol stood in the middle of the camp. Stormrift was reporting what they'd found, his tail lashing and fur bristling. The rest of the patrol was scattered loosely around him, eyes darting about the camp as if expecting the rogues to come tearing through the walls at any moment.

"What's going on?"

Bluecrest whipped her head in the direction of the loud call. Solarburst and his sister Swandance were emerging from the warrior's den. The two new warriors picked their way through the throng to approach the patrol. The camp had become reasonably crowded since WindClan had arrived. Solarburst glared at the patrol, demanding and answer, while his shy sister glanced down at her paws.

Stormrift turned his agitated report to the golden tabby tom, lashing his tail and slapping the ground. His ears were pinned down flat against his head. A sudden call of his name interrupted him and he flicked his ears up. Bluecrest followed his gaze and tensed.

Runeswipe bounded towards the large gray tom and pressed her head against his shoulder, purring soothingly. Bluecrest was frozen in shock as she saw him start to calm down and lick her cheek. A pang of pain ricocheted through her chest and she looked away, fighting the building pressure behind her eyes.

Her mind flashed back to the deep admiration and emotion swimming in her sister's eyes when Stormrift had first been made a warrior. Now that she remembered that, she pieced the two together and another flash of sorrow and agony lanced through her.

Well, if she wants to have a treacherous mate, then fine by me! Bluecrest thought, flattening her ears. Out of the corner of her eyes, she realized that Stormrift was staring at her. His emerald eyes swam with a deep yet unreadable emotion, making her flinch and turn, padding wearily towards the warrior's den.

She sighed softly as she entered the musty den, the scent of soft heather and reeds calming her and she picked her way to her nest, careful to avoid tripping over any warriors. The den was void except for the twitching black shape of Nightstorm. The skinny warrior was almost ready to join the elders. She spent most of her time sleeping and always caught the scrawniest fresh-kill on hunting patrols if she caught anything at all.

Resting her head on her paws, she drifted off to sleep.

"Stormrift, you're such an admirable warrior!" Runeswipe gushed.

Bluecrest followed the movements of the two warriors as they dropped their prey off at the fresh-kill pile. Runeswipe had been clinging on to the gray tabby like a burr ever since their little show after the patrol. Bluecrest couldn't tell whether Stormrift appreciated her comments or found them annoying, but right now the tom was laughing modestly.

"Oh, please, Runeswipe! You're killing me!" he joked, poking her with a paw. Runeswipe giggled fondly, rubbing her cheek with his.

They're acting like life-long mates!

The thought sent her stomach churning uncomfortably. She got to her paws, her steps leading her to Stormrift and before she even knew what she was doing, she had bowled her sister over and was scoring her claws across her cheek. The tan tabby screeched and struggled out of Bluecrest's hold.

"What's wrong with you?" her elder sister spat, shaking her head to get rid of the blood flowing into her eyes. Bluecrest was stunned at how animalistic her own snarl sounded and launched herself at her sister, paws flying. She was vaguely aware of shouts clamoring in the background, but she could barely hear past the blood roaring in her ears.

Then paws were pulling at her, prying her off her sister. Stormrift's scent drifted around her and he was growling in her ear. "Get off her!"

The pure anger and disbelief in his voice snapped her back to her senses and she jerked off of her sister. The tabby scrambled to her paws, spitting out blood. The wave of blood in her ears crashed down and left her ears ringing and the tide of voices rose full blast.

She turned, seeing Stormrift staring at her, frozen. His eyes flickered with emotions but finally his eyes hardened and he glared at her expressionlessly.

"Are you out of your mind?" he asked calmly, his voice steely and biting. Bluecrest flinched. She would've liked it better if he were yelling at her.

Before she could think up a retort, he was continuing in the same cold tone. "Just because you're upset does not give you permission to go around hurting others and using them as a board that you sharpen your claws on."

Bluecrest cringed. "I was just angry," she began, but Stormrift cut her off.

"Being angry does not mean you can mope about the camp without helping or doing any warrior's duties. And it absolutely does not mean that you can go and injure your Clan mates!" His volume had risen, but his expression remained the same.

"Go away, you monster."

With that, something shattered inside Bluecrest's chest and she turned, racing blindly for the entrance and charged out into the territory. She kept running, not even looking to where she was going. She tripped several times, and by the time she reached the lakeside, she was cut and bruised all over from her stumbles.

She flung herself down beside the large expanse of water, dry sobs racking her small frame.

I'm a monster, a nightmare! I hurt my sister, my only kin; and the one cat that meant everything to me hates me!

She raised her head to the sky, yowling her pain and sorrow to Silverpelt.

What do I do now?