Cloudsplash stared after Thornpelt, feeling her pelt seethe with confusion, shock and sadness. A whine escaped her throat as the black tail disappeared within the brambles. He was gone. He really was gone.
She nearly choked on her spit as she watched the brambles rustle once. Why had he toyed with her all that time? Why had he been so kind to her? Why had he talked to her every single day? Ever since she became a warrior, Thornpelt had taken care of her. Had taught her the basics of being a full fledged warrior.
Had pretended he liked her.
Everyday, he asked to share a piece of fresh-kill with her. He trained with her, showing her the best battle moves he knew. Every day, Cloudsplash's friend, Sagetail, had teased her about Thornpelt.
Her eyes watered, but she blinked it away. He had betrayed her. Taken her heart and crushed it beneath his paws. Why? Why had he done such a thing? Cloudsplash rose to her paws, and started padding slowly to camp, her eyes darkening as she thought.
When she arrived at camp, she shrugged off a jumpy Sagetail and headed straight towards her den. When she settled herself down, the full force of what Thornpelt had done hit her. He really had played her like a bird. When he rejected her, he didn't do it kindly, although Cloudsplash knew that it wouldn't have made any difference. When he rejected her, he completely lost his kind, calm personality.
She remembered how his fur stood on end, and his eyes glared maliciously at her. He hissed at her, and then threatened to kill her if she told anybody.
Cloudsplash was dumbfounded. Had everything just been a trick?
...
Over the next few days, Cloudsplash thought about it. Hard. She barely ate, since it was the middle of leaf-bare, and caught almost nothing but a little thrush. Her tail flicked anxiously. The only one who seemed to pick up on her change was Sagetail, who kept asking her what was wrong.
Finally, Cloudsplash told her a lie about a stomachache. Sagetail immediately sent her to the medicine cat, Blackleaf, who gave her herbs.
In there, Cloudsplash narrowed her eyes. Over the past few days, she had been wallowing in self-pity. Had done nothing but think. She was aware that her thoughts grew darker and darker each day. Her pride had simmered down to nothing. Thornpelt treated her as normal. But why? Cloudsplash felt realization seep through her.
It was because of her mother. Her mother, Daisystar, was the leader of the clan. The deputy had died of sickness a day before. Of course it was Daisystar. The she-cat trusted Thornpelt. She approved of him. Whenever she saw Cloudsplash with him, she gave her daughter a mischievous flick of her tail.
Now, it seemed as if Thornpelt was the greatest choice to be deputy. Not only did he do his duties, he was a fine, loyal warrior who had gained the trust of everybody in the clan. Including Daisystar's. Including hers.
Cloudsplash swallowed a lump in her throat. What was she to do now? Just the memory of it was paining her every move. Someone was bound to notice and ask her what was wrong. The problem was Thornpelt. He was known for his absolute loyalty to the clan, and never lied.
Never.
If any cat was to ask him what was up with her, he'd respond truthfully.
But sometimes, the truth hurt.
The only choice now was...
To silence the very cat who made her sick with love. The cat who played her like a toy. The cat who had rejected her feelings with a low growl. Cloudsplash sunk her claws into the moss, releasing a deep growl within her throat.
Yes. That was her only sane choice now. To silence Thornpelt. If he was gone, the very pinnacle of her pain would disappear. Would die with him. Yes. That was what she'd do. She'd destroy him.
But first, she'd destroy those closest to him. To make him suffer even more.
After getting permission from Blackleaf, Cloudsplash left the den, Sagetail bounced over to her, swishing her tail with anticipation. Sagetail was his littermate. His only surviving littermate.
Perfect.
Some part of her insisted, 'Cloudsplash, no. This isn't who you are. Sagetail is your best friend!' But another part retorted, 'This sadness that you feel, this pain has to be released. What better way to make your dear Thornpelt feel pain than by killing off his precious littermate?'
Quite frankly put, Cloudsplash didn't listen to either of those voices. She listened to the forest. The whispers of the trees, the chirps of the birds. They offered no answer.
"How did your confession go? Oh, tell me, I know something happened!" Sagetail stared, her eyes bright and shiny in the setting sun. Flicking her tail at the eager she-cat in annoyance, Cloudsplash replied, "I didn't confess that day, Sagetail. I just wanted to see if he had caught a blackbird while he was out hunting."
She was aware that her voice was shaking slightly, despite the hard edge to it. Sagetail didn't seem to hear it, nor her denial of the confession. "Oh c'mon, Cloudsplash, tell me, I know something happened," She whined.
Suddenly feeling even more irritated than before, Cloudsplash immediately meowed, "It's nothing, for the love of Starclan!"
Sagetail drew back, stung. Cloudsplash lashed her tail, but she didn't feel the least sorry. In fact, it felt good to release her anger and frustration. She'd never felt this before. Usually, she tried to be nice, even if Sagetail annoyed the heck out of her.
"Oh, sorry for lashing out at you. I couldn't sleep last night," Cloudsplash mewed, feeling oddly cheerful. "It's a strange thing isn't it? Sleep, I mean."
Sagetail looked at her with confused eyes, and Cloudsplash waved her tail absently. "It's nothing, don't worry."
As Cloudsplash turned, she muttered, "Oh, but you'll have a lot to worry about later on, sister of Thornpelt." When she neared the fresh-kill pile, she heard a deep, mature mew reach her ears, a voice belonging to a cat in which she hoped to rip to pieces.
Thornpelt.
"Cloudsplash, how about we share a mouse?" His voice was cheery and hopeful. She turned her dark glare on him, and he didn't even flinch. Although his voice was happy, his eyes said otherwise. It looked down at her, hard and flashing warningly. A sign to play along.
It made her want to slice her claws into that perfect throat.
Instead, she mewed back, "Sure! How about this blackbird?" She rolled over a blackbird in the pile, and heard a rip. When she glanced down, Cloudsplash saw a tangle of black feathers in a pair of unsheathed claws, and a bare patch of bleeding skin on the bird. Her other paw unsheathed it's claws, and she muttered under her breath. When she turned back to Thornpelt, she forced her ithy paws to slice their claws back in and said cheerily, "Oh, um, oops?"
"Did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed?" Although his tone was teasing, his eyes grew harder, more dark. She paid no attention to his eyes and instead grabbed the blackbird, taking it to a nearby spot in the shade. "Let's eat," She meowed, patting the spot next to her with her tail. When Thornpelt settled himself next to her, she gave a slight grimace.
He was purely and unimaginably gross.
Every morsel of the bird felt dry, hard. The only thing she tasted was the blood.
This is my entry for Reminiscent of Lullaby's contest. This is a two-shot.
Uguuu sorry if this story sucks D: I did type this within two days