A/N: OC story in which a RiverClan cat (whose name you will find out, shockingly) has to choose between his Clanmates, and his true love (who unfortunately is in ThunderClan)

Disclaimer: Erin Hunter owns Warriors

Characters—

Nightfrost: Our main character. A RiverClan tom who fell in love with a ThunderClan she-cat.

Moonbright: Said she-cat of ThunderClan.

Part 1

The sun began to sink into the sky, signaling the end of the day. Its dying rays tinted the sky orange, which solidified into a faint red. A lone cloud drifted across the fading sky, and was set on fire by the sun's rays.

Sunningrocks was quiet. Too quiet. The air around it was still, but it crackled with a strange intensity. The surrounding territories, forest and river, seemed to be holding its' breath, waiting for something to happen.

Then the cry split the air.

"Attack!"

Two forces, of forest and river, they clashed. They had been waiting in the shadows, waiting, for the signal to strike. Now, they lunged out and met each other head-on, in a whirl of teeth and claws. The feud over Sunningrocks had surrounded RiverClan and ThunderClan for as long as any cat could remember, and now they fought.

The sun's rays colored the sky into a painting of flickering reds. The entire sky appeared to be smeared red with the sun's pigment, blazing, blazing. The rocks below were stained red by the heavens above, stained red like blood.

Blood.

Blood would be spilt tonight.

Nightfrost charged with in the ranks of RiverClan, anxiety gripping his heart. How dare those ThunderClan cats try to steal RiverClan territory?! We'll show them the power of RiverClan! His Clanmates' eyes betrayed similar thoughts, and they glittered with anger.

"How dare you try to steal our territory?" RiverClan's leader, Shimmerstar, snarled, and RiverClan yelled in agreement. "This is the final straw!"

ThunderClan's leader smirked, his eyes cold as ice. "Sunningrocks had never been yours! Although you talk big, you are too weak to defend it! Sunningrocks belongs to ThunderClan!" He sneered, "Fish-breath."

Shimmerstar's eyes narrowed in fury, and she lunged at the ThunderClan leader, catching him by surprise. RiverClan charged after her, and swept the ThunderClan cats off their paws with their furious attack. Nightfrost bunched his muscles to leap after them, but stopped. What if…. He froze, horror constricting his throat. What if she was here? What is he had to fight her?

Nightfrost shook his head. It's not possible. StarClan above are not that cruel. He tried to shake off his worries, and jumped into the fray. But still doubt clung to his mind….

Blood spread across the skies, covering the appearing stars, just like rage had taken over the minds of the clashing cats below, covering all self-control and peace of mind. Blood spread across the skies, warning of a battle truly terrible, warning of lives lost, of families ripped apart, of hearts broken.

This battle would break the hearts of many.

A gray tabby she-cat crashed into Nightfrost, knocking the wind out of him. She clawed at his flank, and he yowled in pain and anger. Nightfrost twisted out of her grip and lunged at her, and they began to wildly claw at each other, hissing and spitting. Both were locked in a whirl of teeth and claws, neither side caving in to the other's onslaught. Nightfrost's blows fell randomly, without pattern, and his mind was empty of all strategy, except for the command to hurt the she-cat as much as possible. They rolled around the battlefield in a screeching knot of fur, unnoticing of the battle around them, only focusing on each other.

The entire sky is on fire now, burning in a raging inferno, raging like the battle below.

Nightfrost felt the blows of the she-cat weakening, and with a burst of strength, knocked her over and pinned her down. Triumph blazed in his heart, and he smirked at her, mocking her defeat. But her blue eyes were not angry or scared, and they knew no defeat. Nightfrost suddenly reeled back in shock, for those eyes seemed so familiar… No! It cannot be!

Her eyes.

They spoke of a tale of their own.

Her eyes.

They were much too old for their age, as if they had seen countless bloody battles, met many faithful comrades lost to time; witnessed the terrible monster they called war.

And yet here they were, here were those eyes, staring into his with undisguised love.

"Nightfrost." Her voice, soft like wind rustling through the willows, it was the only thing he heard. He whispered her name back, his voice laden with affection.

"Moonbright."

For a moment, he let his worries drift away. It did not matter that they would eventually have to leave each other. It did not matter that their love was forbidden. It did not matter that they were in different Clans, ThunderClan and RiverClan. All that mattered was her warmth, and her love, all for him. All that mattered was that they were together, united by love.

The moon shone overhead, casting silver dust upon the young lovers. The moon's light lit up the night sky, spreading light to even the darkest of corners. And Moonbright's warmth, it lit up Nightfrost's heart, and warmth spread throughout him. She was his moon, and he was her night sky. Together, they merged into one being, and their souls joined, merged with love.

Their tails entwined, and their hearts beat as one. The wheels of their fate had begun to turn, quietly, unstoppably, and now their destinies were entwined. The sparkling snow beneath their paws was cuttingly cold, but all they noticed were each other's warmth, warmth of love. Together, they whispered:

"I love you."

Now, Nightfrost stopped. Those are her eyes! The she-cat's eyes, glaring into his, they were identical to Moonbright's. Moonbright! His paws were locked with horror, and he found himself frozen, ice spreading from his heart. No! It cannot be!

Then he heard her voice.

"Sister!"

The sun vanished behind a cloud, and Sunningrocks was temporarily bathed in darkness. Darkness, of horror, of dread, foretelling a terrible event, a broken heart. But a few tiny rays, red as blood, they broke through the cloud, and now the darkness was tainted with blood. Blood, of one innocent lover, soon to be spilled across the cold stones.

Using Nightfrost's distraction, Moonbright's sister kicked him in the belly as hard as she could. Nightfrost was launched off of her and slid off of the icy surface of Sunningrocks, into the river.

The water was icy cold, and it stung every cell of Nightfrost's body with needles of ice. Gasping, he struggled to swim against the freezing cold. So cold. But he felt the cold sapping his strength, and it was all Nightfrost could do to keep afloat. The cold seemed to have frozen blocks of ice around his limbs, and he was rendered immobile, a prisoner of the river, of the cold. He could only watch as the battle raged on, only watch as the shadow approached her….

A stronger sunbeam pierced the cloud and soaked it with blood. It fell through the sky, bloodred like death itself, heading towards earth, heading towards Sunningrocks, heading towards one cat in particular. And as it hit earth, it illuminated one cat, one she-cat helping her sister, and she was bathed in blood. Her blood.

Fate had spoken.

This she-cat would die.

Silhouetted against the red sky, the rising moon vanished behind a cloud.

Nightfrost saw the shadow heading towards her. He saw it gather up behind her, saw it bunch its legs to pounce on her. He opened his mouth to shout a warning, but a wave swamped him, filling his mouth with freezing water. And when he had finally blinked the water out of his eyes, it was too late.

The shadow lunged, and she fell, pinned under it. They rolled around the battlefield, a whirlwind of teeth and claws. Nightfrost could only watch as claws flashed and screams ripped the air, ripped his soul. He could only watch as his moon vanished behind a cloud, the shadow. Claws flashed once more, and his moon vanished behind a cloud forever. Claws flashed once more, and Moonbright's blood splattered Sunningrocks, and her last scream pierced the air, more painful to him than his wounds stinging in the water, than the cold biting at his fur. The harsh realization was more painful than anything else in the world. The harsh realization that Moonbright was dead.

Moonbright was dead.

The cold was greater now, for it came not just from the outside, but from the inside as well. It spread its icy fingers from his heart, up his spine, into his mind, his soul. The cold froze his heart, froze it into one giant block of ice, of icy cold disbelief. And then it shattered, shattered into a thousand tiny shards, and he let out a scream, screaming all his pain, all his sorrow, all his heartbreak. He screamed, screamed at the heavens above, the ones that were stained with her blood.

"Moonbright! No!"

Time seemed to stop. The battle around his ceased in his mind, no longer relevant. All he knew was silence, silence that pressed on him from all four sides, silence and the grief. His heart had shattered, and all that remained were the thousand tiny ice shards. His mind, his heart, his happiness, it had all shattered, like the sparkling thin ice over a pond shattering, revealing the freezing cold waves of grief below it. His night sky was dark, all dark, for the moon that had lit it up before was gone, covered by a cloud forever.

Gone.

It was gone, all gone. His love, his life, his very universe, it was all gone, torn away from him by that one shadow obscuring the moon, obscuring it from him forever. It was all gone, all his happiness, all his love. The joy that had blossomed in his heart, spreading warmth with the radiance of its silken petals, it was nothing now, just a mess trampled into the ground by the cold. Gone. All gone.

All taken away from him by the shadow.

Cloudshadow. He remembered the shadow's name now. Cloudshadow. She was the shadow, the cloud that blocked the moon. She had killed Moonbright. Why? She had been jealous. Always jealous. She had wanted Nightfrost's heart for herself, even believed that it was hers. But he had seen her as no more than a Clanmate, never loved her. And then she had found his secret, found him with Moonbright. She had snapped, and now this was her revenge.

"I love you," they had whispered together, in unison. "You are my universe. You are everything to me."

He had been happy, so happy. His heart had been swelling with warm love, affection pouring over the brim. He was her night sky. She was his moon. Together, they were complete.

He had been happy, until he heard that snap.

It had been just one tiny snap. Just one tiny noise. But their love was forbidden, so every noise was a dire warning for them. This snap triggered alarm bells in both their minds, and Moonbright sped off, back into ThunderClan territory. He had then gone to investigate the noise, hoping that it was just a mouse or a squirrel, but he had been wrong.

"Cloudshadow!" He snarled, rage in his eyes. "You followed me!"

He had seen the pain in Cloudshadow's eyes, the pain of being rejected, the pain of a broken heart. He had seen the shock, the horror, but he didn't care. All he felt was anger, anger at being discovered. He didn't care that Cloudshadow's heart had splintered into a million pieces, irrepairable. He only cared that she had followed him, found his secret. Rage overwhelmed him, and he knocked Cloudshadow over.

"You- you don't love me." She choked out. Her weakness made him angrier.

"I never loved you! Never! Why should I have loved you? I never did, and never will! What insane thought made you think that I did?!" His words, each sharper than his claws, they were said just to wound her. But instead, she developed a steely glint in her eyes.

"You might not love me, but you cannot stop me from telling Shimmerstar!"

Without meaning to, he unsheathed his claws and scratched her on the nose, hard. "If you ever tell anyone," he growled, venom dripping in his words, " You will die. I will personally kill you if you tell."

Terror flashed in her eyes, and she nodded, heartsick. Her eyes no longer shined with life, they were flat, like those of a dead thing. She was broken.

He didn't care.

Once again, rage filled him. It grew in his heart, expanding and expanding, consuming his very soul in its flames. It scorched his heart black with hatred, hatred and rage, a desire for revenge. His very mind was on fire, all his sanity burned away, and instead it flickered with insanity. Flames burned in his eyes, and the cold of the river was suddenly gone, replaced by wildfires of hate.

The sun burst out from behind the cloud with a surge of light. Its fiery light, once just an omen, it burned with the very flames of hell now. The cloud covering the sun was skewered by its angry rays, and was soaked in bloodred light, blood. It was set aflame, and it burned, burned all away, until it drifted away, out of sight forever.

The cold was driven back by the flames of Nightfrost's fury, and the river released its grip. He leaped out of the river, once again into the battle. Cats screeched and fought all around him, but he did not see them. All he saw was that hated she-cat, locked on combat with Moonbright's sister. The flames roared higher than ever, and in his rage he pounced blindly, and pushed Cloudshadow off of Sunningrocks.

Cloudshadow fell with a scream, but Nightfrost heard nothing. Moonbright's sister snarled in hate, and for a moment his fury was shared. But the wildfire screamed for more, more pain to be done to her. It screamed for her to suffer. So they leaped down, and pushed Cloudshadow into the river.

Cloudshadow just barely fought to the surface of the water, struggling. Without hesitation, Nightfrost shoved her back under. Moonbright's sister held her down, under the waves of the river, and soon Cloudshadow's struggles ceased, and she drifted off into the river, never to wake. The flames were quenched now, as they burned smaller and smaller, but the cold was returning, and soon his soul was frozen in grief once again.

Nightfrost heard Shimmerstar yowl in victory. He saw Moonbright's sister's eyes widen in panic as she fled. He saw the RiverClan cats join their leader's song of victory, but he heard nothing. The flames in him were quenched now, and once again he was frozen, frozen in grief, frozen in time as the rest of his Clanmates moved on.

He saw Shimmerstar give the order to return to camp. He saw the RiverClan cats sweep past him, no one sparing him a glance. He saw the apprentices chattering rapidly, talking about the excitement of the battle. But he heard nothing, nothing but the thick silence that lay around him, nothing but the echoing grief resounding through his broken heart, sending a fresh wave of pain through his soul. Although the days would pass by and the seasons would go on in their endless cycle, his world had stopped. And why shouldn't it? His moon, his love, his very universe, it was all gone. Moonbright was dead. Gone. Never to come back. Without the moon, what was the night sky? What was it, other than an empty expanse, a broken world of darkness?

Everything was gone now. All was lost.

The sun had finally set, taking its red light with it. The night sky finally emerged, but it was hollow, broken. The night sky was there, but it was no more than an empty expanse of darkness, hollow with grief. And the moon was obscured by a hidden cloud, obscured, gone.

Gone. Forever.

A/N: There will be a second part coming up. Anyway, this part was weird. I don't know what gave me the idea of the extreme metaphors.