DISCLAIMER: Erin Hunter owns Warriors, not me!
Heyo! Shimmerstar here with yet another totally-super-awesome story! This is my one-shot for FrozenClan's Letter Challenge! I chose the letter C, so here ya go:
Chaos:
Spiritfall looked around the camp, eyes widening at the fallen tree that served as Highbranch, the point at which their leader addressed the Clan, made apprentices, warriors… The center of Clan life as they knew it.
The white and black tom peeked inside the nursery, hope sparking within him at a slight rustling sound. It was only a leaf in the breeze.
He sighed and ducked back out, wandering through the scattered remains of the camp in a dazed stupor. His Clan, his mate, his life, was gone… Thrown and lost to the wind.
Bodies were strewn about, lifeless as the cold ground they lay on. They were battered and bruised, dried blood crusting around their mouths, paws, and eyes. Many had their eyes still open, cursed to endlessly stare at the existence they left. He hated the stereotype that everyone died with their eyes closed, peacefully and painlessly drifting away… Death was not pain-free, not easy, not effortless. Letting go… It's one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do. Accepting your time has come, even though it hadn't.
Chaos. That was what followed it. Sheer chaos that tore them apart from the inside. Paranoia and blame, accusations and fear. It sliced through them all with razor-sharp, unforgiving claws. And what did Starclan do? Their powerful, all-knowing ancestors? Nothing. They left his Clan for dead. He would never pray to them again, not look to them for guidance. They were nonexistent. A figment of a queen's imagination as she tried to calm a frightened kit.
Sitting with his tail wrapped neatly around his paws, he looked up to the sky. The darkening, orange sky streaked with pink and blue as the sun set further, creating a vision of hope and peace. That was a fox-hearted lie. There was no happiness to be found in the sky. Not in the stars, not the clouds. Happiness was something you made for yourself, and even then it didn't last.
There was a low hiss from behind, an almost moan that sent shivers running up his spine. He slowly stood and turned around, and though he knew what he was about to see, he couldn't help but let out a small gasp of surprise.
A ragged gray she-cat stared back at him, green eyes boring into him. Her skin clung to sides of her sharply pronounced ribs, her fur hanging in loose bits all around. Foam gathered at the corners of her lips and spilled to the ground in thin streams of saliva. Her claws were unsheathed, long and dangerous.
Spiritfall cautiously backed away. It was stupid for him to have come back here. All that was left here was sickness and disease. It turned those he loved into insane, sadistic monsters, hungry for blood. He couldn't find any trace of the ones he loved in their eyes, only savage delight as they crunched down on flesh of their victims, infecting the Clan even more so.
The she-cat stepped forward, giggling quietly as she trotted towards him. Spiritfall recognized her. Pebblesplash of Riverclan. Deputy of Riverclan. He turned tail and ran, haring away in a frenzied panic. He heard her follow, speeding towards him in pursuit, but tripped, stumbling over a bramble trail.
He didn't stop to look up as her frustrated wail rose into the quiet evening air, making him shudder in repulsion and terror. Finally though, after putting some good distance between he and the abandoned camp, he stopped, chest heaving as he collapsed, shaking.
"There's nothing else left here for you, ya know," A sweet, gentle voice came from behind. He whipped around, ready to fight, but was silenced by the sight he was faced by.
A pretty she-cat with shiny brown fur that glimmered with starlight touched noses with him, green eyes sparkling. Mist danced around her paws, playfully tickling at his ears.
"Timberstream…" he trailed off, blue eyes alight with longing and love. "Did Starclan send you?"
She turned away, pretending to be upset with him. "I thought you didn't believe in Starclan…"
Bowing his head sheepishly, he chuckled quietly. "About that…"
Facing him again, she licked his forehead, beckoning him to follow with her silver-tipped tail. "Come home with me."
He followed her wordlessly into the light, worries and pain disappearing in a pawstep. He was home.
