Twisted
Mothflame couldn't help the silly grin on her face as she walked into camp that night. She had planned it all out perfectly- she would walk in just before the sun set, catching Duskfur's eye as he settled near the clover patches to eat. Then he would invite her over to eat with him, commenting on how beautiful she looked when she settled down beside him, their pelts brushing as they both bent over a plump piece of prey that he had caught just for them to share.
Her orange eyes scanned the camp; studying the faces of warriors crowding around the fresh-kill pile, tracing the path from there to Duskfur's favorite clover patch that he ate at every night. He was a quiet, reserved, cat, which Mothflame had always admired about him. Even with her fiery temper, there was something desirable about the calm, detached, tom.
She finally spotted him, chatting softly with his brother near the warriors' den. With a smile and a flick of her tail, she strolled over to the two. Mothflame sidled up to Duskfur's side, unafraid to touch her pelt to his.
"Oh, hi, Mothflame." Duskfur said slowly, turning his yellow gaze, so different from his black pelt, onto her. She felt a wild tremble go down her spine, and felt her grin go wider. His whiskers twitched in amusement.
She turned to meet the green eyes of Thistlepaw, Duskfur's younger brother.
"If you'd excuse me, brother," Duskfur mewed, the amusement in his tone evident. "I have somewhere to be."
"Not a problem, brother." The apprentice mewed, sounding just as amused as his littermate. "Don't stay out too late."
Mothflame flushed as the apprentice turned and joined a few of his friends by the fresh-kill pile without a second glance backwards.
Without a word, Duskfur lead Mothflame over to the clover patch, where a fat raven waited for them. They settled down together, twining tails and beginning to pull the feathers away from the black bird.
"You look lovely today." Duskfur murmured, his voice muted by the feathers.
"Thank you." She said, her fur flattening in an attempt to make it look prettier and softer. She loved the way Duskfur always knew what to say to make her feel beautiful.
He was the first one to take a bite of the raven, and she followed suit, feeling like the happiest she-cat in the world. No one had ever made her happier than Duskfur.
Once the raven was finished, Duskfur buried the bones without a word. Slowly, the young she-cat touched her nose to his cheek. His response was to flick an ear in acknowledgement and turn to look at his mate, his eyes showing the happiness inside of him. He nuzzled her cheek in response, leaning over and beginning to groom her pelt in long, rhythmic, strokes.
Purring, Mothflame felt her eyes begin to droop, and didn't try to stop herself from falling asleep.
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Duskfur let her sleep until moonhigh, before waking her up with gentle paws and soft purrs.
"Mothflame, wake up. You can't sleep out here all night, and neither can I."
The light brown she-cat yawned and stretched, blinking at Duskfur warmly. He blinked back at her in the same way.
"Now head to our nest in warrior's den and go back to sleep. I'll join you later."
"Where are you going?"
"Just for a late-night hunt. I shouldn't be out long."
"Can I come with you?"
"I'd prefer to hunt alone."
"Please?" Mothflame got to her feet. "Now that I'm awake, I don't feel tired anymore."
"It's your mind playing tricks on you. Go to sleep."
"I want to come with you."
"Go to sleep, Mothflame." He snapped.
The she-cat recoiled instantly, his harsh words like a blow. Duskfur never spoke to her that way.
"I-I'm sorry, Mothflame. It's late. Please go to sleep."
"Okay Duskfur." She replied, refusing to meet his eyes. "I love you."
"I love you too." The dark tom touched his nose to her ear before stalking out of camp.
Mothflame took a deep breath, contemplating her choice before she made it. Her eyes bright with determination, she crept through the entrance after him.
She'd meant to reveal herself as soon as they were a few steps into the forest, but something about the way her mate rushed through the forest without bothering to scent for prey made her stay in hiding, her curiosity growing at the excited-scent billowing behind him like a cloud. Sneaking had always been one of her favorite things. Hunting was her specialty. But she still had trouble staying silent and keeping up with Duskfur as he rushed through the trees.
Mothflame realized they were on the fastest route to the WindClan border. Did Duskfur have a sudden craving for rabbits? Did he have some history with WindClan? Was he doing a patrol? All these possibilities crossed through Mothflame's mind as the two rushed ahead. She couldn't even bring herself to consider one of the most horrible possibilities of all.
When they reached the border, and the piney trees of ShadowClan broke off into the moors, Mothflame took a position one of the nearby pines and waited. Duskfur sat down near the border and simply waited, his tail folded around his paws and his ears and eyes focused on the moor in front of him.
Narrowing her eyes to see into the landscape, Mothflame thought she could make out a moving, golden, blob of color. A WindClan cat! She knew Duskfur had spotted the cat as well when he stood up, a fresh wave of excitement filling the air.
Soon enough, the golden blob revealed itself to be a golden tabby she-cat, darting forward as fast as she could, straight for Duskfur. In return, the tom crossed the border and took a few steps in her general direction, but held himself back.
As soon as she got close enough, he nuzzled her, purrs of happiness loud and joined by hers. Their tails twined tightly and they sat so closely together that there was no space between them.
"Duskfur! It's been too long." The she-cat purred.
"I know. I just couldn't get away for the last few nights. Mothflame is more aware than she seems."
"How is Mothflame, by the way?"
"Does it matter?"
"I think I have a right to know what you two have been up to."
"I guess you do." He sighed. "She's clingy, as usual. I hate to lead her on, but it's a good cover-up. No one could possibly be suspicious of me with a mate like Mothflame."
The golden she-cat's eyes narrowed. "Well, that is going to have to end very soon."
"Why? Heatherbreeze, though I don't like Mothflame in that way, she is one of my friends. If I ever break it off with her, than she's going to hate me. I don't think I can handle it."
"You're a strong tom." Heatherbreeze smiled warmly, flicking her tail at him teasingly. "I'm sure you can handle it. Now, I need you to listen."
She paused for the tom's attention.
"Duskfur, I'm expecting kits."
Silence hung heavy in the air.
"Heather, that's great!" Duskfur said joyfully. "Wow, that's amazing. I'm gonna be a father!"
"No, Duskfur. You've got to listen to me. If we're going to continue meeting, you're going to have to do what we talked about."
Silence again. "You know I said I really, really don't want to resort to that."
"You have no choice. If you don't do it, we're not meeting anymore."
Duskfur let out a sigh. "Alright, Heatherbreeze. I'll do it tomorrow. I'll ask Toadstar to let me join WindClan."
"Good." Heatherbreeze purred. She licked Duskfur's ear. "You need to break things off with Mothflame, too. I don't want you leaving ShadowClan thinking that you love her."
A sigh. "Speaking of Mothflame, she's probably still waiting for me in the warrior's den. She's pretty insistent. I told her I was going on a late-night hunt."
"All you do to that poor she-cat is lie."
"I know. It doesn't mean I have to like it. She's going to hate me tomorrow."
Heatherbreeze leaned into his shoulder. "Be brave. You knew the truth would come out eventually."
At this point, Mothflame could stand it no longer. She leaped down from her tree, making sure to rustle the pine needles loudly. The golden she-cat and the dark tom turned around, their ears twitching. Her fury increased as she saw Heatherbreeze instinctively lean farther into the dark tom. She narrowed her eyes at the both of them.
"Mothflame, I-"
"No need to say anything, Duskfur." Mothflame spat. "No need to try and lie to me some more. I'm not stupid."
"I know you're not stupid, Mothflame. I didn't know you were following me."
"Obviously. As I said, I'm not stupid."
"Mothflame-"
"Shut up!" Mothflame snarled. "I heard everything. Everything! You're going to abandon ShadowClan and me tomorrow. You never even loved me! Every word you said, I believed completely. Do you even realize how hard I'd fallen for you? I would have done anything you said. Anything. I loved you, Duskfur."
"I'm sorry, Mothflame. I never wanted to hurt you."
"That's a lie! What did you say? I'm only a cover-up so that no one suspects your relationship with her."
Duskfur didn't respond. He knew he was beat.
"So run off to your stupid WindClan now. I assure you, nobody will want you back at camp once they find out about this. Hope you love rabbits!" She turned and sprinted back to camp, her heart shattered into a million pieces.
HailClan challenge number one. :3 Hope you liked it!
~Graywhisper