Arguing and teasing filled the Skyclan deputy's ears. Amberblaze turned to see a brown tom hissing at her mate again.
"Leave him alone!" Amberblaze growled at Snaketail. Her ginger pelt bristled and her green eyes glowed with anger.
"But he deserves it! Mousefrost? He should have been named Mouseheart! Too cowardly to chase a squirrel up a tree? I've done that countless times! That runt doesn't deserve to be a member of Skyclan!" Snaketail spat. He smirked cruelly.
"I bet you couldn't respect any of your clanmates even if you wanted to!" Amberblaze growled at him. "Come on Mousefrost," She mewed kindly to the white tom. He followed her as she padded toward the shelter of an oak tree.
"You don't have to do that all the time" Mousefrost mewed, the thankful expression in his green eyes betraying the warrior's words.
"You can't let that foxheart push you around!" Amberblaze flattened her ears. "And if I don't help you, what would you do?"
Mousefrost's white pelt pressed against hers like snow to a blazing fire. "I know" He meowed.
Amberblaze rested her head on his and purred contently. This was how she wanted her life to stay, sleeping with her mate in the shade of a tree.
~o0o~
"Filthy rouge!" Amberblaze snarled, scraping her claws along a dark grey toms back. He growled and tried to bite her ear, but Mousefrost had snuck up behind him and pulled him back harshly by the tail. Blood and scratches stained the white tom's pelt. He yowled angrily and turned on Mousefrost, raking his claws down the tom's side. Anger surged through Amberblaze. That was her mate. Nobody hurt him. She crouched before leaping onto the rouges back and viciously swiping her claws all over his face. The grey tom shook her off before retreating into the battle field, lost among the battling clanmates. Amberblaze looked around but Mousefrost was already gone, so she leapt back into the battle. Fighting rouge after rouge after rouge.
"Retreat!" The fear filled word echoed through the battle as her clanmates ran towards their camp. Amberblaze dashed after them, her pelt covered in deep scratches.
~o0o~
Amberblaze was one of the last to make it back to camp, by the time she got there, wounds were already being treated by Sedgeleaf but as soon as she entered camp the senior medicine cat rushed over, knowing from experience that she was a very reckless fighter and often had the most wounds.
"Sit down here and start cleaning. I'll get more herbs from my den." He ordered.
Amberblaze nodded absently and started licking her fur, tiredness and pain finally overcoming her. She looked around the camp, hoping for the comfort of her mate, but he was nowhere to be found. She continued to switch between cleaning and looking around camp worriedly until Sedgeleaf came back, his mouth full of healing herbs. The medicine cat investigated a wound on her shoulder. Amberblaze winced from the sting as he put some marigold on the scratch but soon relaxed. Sedgeleaf placed some cobweb on and then repeated with her countless other injuries.
"Where's Mousefrost?" Amberblaze asked him fearfully.
"Don't know he's the only one who hasn't come back" He answered. Sedgeleaf didn't seem to care. But then, to everyone else in the clan, Mousefrost was just a cowardly warrior who had possibly had the longest apprenticeship out of everyone in the clan.
Worry sliced through Amberblaze. She cared. This was her mate. The ginger she cat tried to stand up. "I have to go find him." She insisted.
"No. You must stay and rest. Skyclan needs their deputy."
"But I need Mousefrost" She persisted.
"And I'm sure he'll return soon" Sedgelead soothed. 'Now stay still, I'm not finished yet!"
Amberblaze obeyed unhappily. But what if he's dying? I can't… I can't just let him die alone!
~o0o~
Two days. It had been two days since the battle. Since Skyclan lost. Since Mousefrost disappeared. Two days too many. Amberblaze's heart felt heavy and her pelt was covered in herbs. Mousefrost hadn't returned. But the deputy refused to believe he was gone. He can't be! The rouges probably just captured him, they-they wouldn't kill him! But there was still that tiny shred of doubt at the back her mind. Their rouges, not clan cats. They are vicious and cruel and they kill for fun. The whispers of her clanmates. They whispered of him being a cowardly warrior. Running from the battle. They called him mouseheart. The kits were already being told stories of what a traitorous warrior he was and how he broke his warrior oath. That didn't matter to Amberblaze. To her Mousefrost was a strong and handsome tom with a warrior's heart. To he was the most loyal cat in the clan. He didn't talk about others behind their backs!
Amberblaze's wounds hadn't fully healed and she was still confined to the medicine den. But she didn't care. Amberblaze had a plan. She would find her mate and she would probe that he wasn't a coward! She waited until it was night and snuck out of camp once Sedgeleaf was asleep. The ginger she cat slowly crept through the forest towards the territory her clan had lost. The sounds of the forest echoed and whispered. Crickets chirped, owls hooted at one another and bats squeaked. Fluttering of feathers, tapping of paws. The forest was alive and Amberblaze loved it. This was a mere speck of happiness. She hadn't been out of camp for two days, but it felt like moons. Now she was free. But Mousefrost isn't! She thought unhappily. After trekking through the territory she finally reached the rouge camp.
"I'm coming for you Mousefrost" She whispered quietly. The stench of rouges was thick in the air. All over the trees and bushes. Amberblaze quietly padded into the camp, staying in the shadows and careful not to be spotted.There it is! That's his scent! She bristled excitedly. Mousefrost is alive! Amberblaze carefully followed the scent, creeping through the shadows. The Skyclan deputy saw a fluffy white tail sticking out from underneath a thornbush with bright green eyes staring at her full of hope, love and fear.
"Mousefrost" She purred quietly to the small warrior.
No response. He stopped looking at her and started looking behind her, suddenly yowling.
"W-wha-?" Her meow was cut off as a sudden pain struck through her unhealed wounds.
"Not so fast. Clan cat" The rouge hissed.
Amberblaze tried to fight back, scratching her claws along the rouges belly as she was pinned to the ground. But it was pointless. She was too weak and the rouge had opened so many of the scratches that criss-crossed the she cat's pelt. She let out a yowl from the sudden sharp pain in her neck. The heavy stench of blood filled Amberblaze's nose as her vision slowly darkened. Her head fell backwards to see the fear filled face of her mate staring back at her.
"I-I'm sorry" She whispered faintly before everything went black.
A/N: That was the Counting Stars challenge, my first challenge in Torrentclan! I am currently Mistkit, by the nickname Rain. The challenge description was this: Cat A and Cat B are extremely close, so close to the point as two barely ever being seen without each other. One day when Cat B suddenly disappears, they leave Cat A heartbroken, lost, scared, and worried. How would they keep themselves together without Cat B? Whelp. I don't really know what else to sat so eh. Bye I guess.