"Revision"
"Aww, look at the little fishies who think it's safe to nap on our rocks."
The sultry croon in close proximity encourages Nutfur's hypersensitive senses to flare up and open his eyelids within a half-second. The other half is enough to get him on his paws, blurrily blinking away the cloudy shapes until his sights focus. Beside him, Featherpaw is upright and alert, having been shaken awake by the voice or the noisy shift of Nutfur scrambling to his feet.
Regardless, both are awake, suddenly very aware of five cats sitting in a circle formation with smug smiles to represent the idea of a hungry pack of foxes that have their prey cornered.
A quick once around and Nutfur recognizes Bramblenose, Sunstrike, Stingheart, Amberpaw, and Pineberry.
"Oops, I guess I spoke too loud," giggles Pineberry, the night black female sitting on the highest rock platform, overlooking the two toms with a sneer and a flash of pearly whites.
"Enjoy your nap, boys?" purrs Sunstrike, swishing his tail, blocking the most immediate way off the clump of boulders.
"What are you doing here?" Nutfur challenges, refusing to be intimidated by their ThunderClan tactics.
"Taking back what's rightfully ours!" Amberpaw meows sharply, her dark eyes flashing with hostility as her already fluffy pelt fluffs up.
"Shallowstar is foolish," Stingheart adds with a snort. "First she breaks our agreement and takes the river for not only leaf-bare, but for every other time! Green-leaf, new-leaf, and leaf-fall. The river is now RiverClan's. Foolish! Secondly, she thinks she can pull rank and lay claim to the river and Sunningrocks. Mouse-brain! That's what she is. Thirdly, if she really thinks that ThunderClan will just accept her new laws, then she's a bigger idiot than we pegged her for."
"We were really here only to remark the borders properly," Bramblenose explains, looking less malicious than the rest of his patrol, but still intimidating by his heft. "You two just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"What was it that your bumbling leader said at the gathering?" Stingheart feigns a thoughtful look, stealing a glance upward at the cloudy sky. "Oh yeah, that for any cat that crosses the border, we are permitted to shred them."
"Then we'll just leave," Featherpaw voices, rooting for the easy way out in hopes that neither of them will bear scars going back to camp. Somehow, he doubts that they'll actually go for it, but it's at least worth a try.
"Not going to happen," Sunstrike growls.
"Didn't think so," the apprentice mutters under his breath, claws unsheathing.
Beside him, Nutfur gets the hint that the only way they're leaving, is through means of bloodshed. As such, his own claws slide out in preparation, releasing a throaty growl, waiting for one of the ThunderClan cats to make the move.
Pineberry returns the growl, joined in with Sunstrike and Stingheart before the entire section of rocks are just bathed in the sounds of restless hissing and growling.
From behind, Amberpaw makes the first bold move and rams straight into Featherpaw.
The attacked apprentice yelps at the contact. Nutfur whirls around, the black tom's name on his breath before it's taken away when Sunstrike and Stingheart gang up on either side, wrestling the hissing pale cat to the ground with a fair bit of trouble considering Nutfur's violent tendencies. The RiverClan warrior bites and snarls, lashing out with what appendages are not currently being restrained and forces the assault off the stones and onto the softer terrain. He feels claws rake at his side, forcing him to roll where he gets pinned to his back, giving a bloodthirsty Stingheart a chance to dig his claws into Nutfur's exposed belly.
A strangled cry and brute force drives Stingheart away as the collided mass of Featherpaw and Amberpaw barrel in.
Pineberry jumps in to help Sunstrike and Stingheart with wrestling Nutfur back down while Bramblenose bounds off the rock and aids Amberpaw in a chase to contain the oddly agile Featherpaw.
Nutfur bellows out a savage snarl, yanking one of his forearms away from Sunstrike's grip and promptly thwacking the ginger and black tom right in the face, dragging his claws the whole way. To his triumph, the ThunderClan warrior shrieks and pulls back to nurse his injured face, letting a nimble Pineberry bite and tug at the flailing leg. Nutfur fends off Stingheart from attacking his own face, having already been bitten on the ear and at the cheek fluff. With a heavy amount of thrashing around like a caged creature, Nutfur manages to get off his back where he can protect his belly better and starts lashing out with all four limbs and an impressive snap of his jaws wherever he could reach.
Stingheart falls back a few steps, high strung from when those flashing teeth connected with his twig of a tail.
"Featherpaw!" Nutfur yowls, hoping the apprentice is close enough to hear his voice over the scuffle of battle. "Run back to camp! Get help!" He throws his head around, relieved marginally when he spots the streak of black rocket for the stepping stones. His relief jolts to anxiety when Amberpaw tackles him from the side, shoving him into the earth with furious screeching. Even worse, Amberpaw pins him long enough for Bramblenose to lumber over and pouce, forcing the injured apprentice to scramble away from his destination, detouring further down the shoreline with a fast moving Amberpaw keeping him away from simply jumping in the river to swim away.
Nutfur is about to call again, willing his apprentice to remember his training and spring faster but that dies on his tongue as soon as a set of teeth snap near his throat. He jerks back, a rush of fear rippling through his veins as he sets his sights on the closed jaw of Sunstrike right in front of him. Nutfur has a moment to gloat, preening at his own skills when he catches a glimpse of where he struck the ThunderClan warrior's face - a matting of red on his fur by his eye and cheek.
Pain inflames the right of his head, right at the ear juncture. His jaws part to exclaim in a fierce howl of pain as there's a savage rip and hot white pain throbbing just off to the side of his head. He doesn't know how long he's screaming before he's calm enough to tolerate the inflammation and whip his head around to see a disheveled Pineberry spitting out what looks like a clump of pale skin and fur. An ear?
Without a second thought, Nutfur throws himself at the she-cat, his rage overpowering the burning of his wounds. He escapes the bonds of a hissing Sunstrike and barrels into a fatigued black feline.
While Nutfur wrestles with Pineberry, Sunstrike bounds up, crashing his shoulder into the pale warrior's side.
Nutfur yelps, thrown further down the length of the dirt.
He regains his footing.
Stingheart, brazen and boiling, appears in front of the RiverClan warrior with barely a tail length between them. He opens his jaws, baring saliva ridden rows of deadly fangs.
Time slows.
Sunstrike cheers.
Stingheart lurches.
Nutfur recoils.
Featherpaw jumps.
Pineberry gapes.
Amberpaw blinks.
Bramblenose gasps.
Having realized his deathly mistake, Stingheart spits out the mass of fur and skin he had his teeth digging into. As a result, a limp, bloody, black shape fumbles to the ground, scarcely making a noise other than a brief whine.
Hurriedly, the ThunderClan cats back up, mortified that they had let things get too far out of paw. Obviously they had only meant to slice and tear - death was not tolerated in the code without good reason.
"He - he - he jumped in front of me!" Stingheart protests quickly, voice high and panicky as the pale cat shoves his way toward the fallen.
But Nutfur blocks their voices - he's only listening for one.
"N-nutfur?" rasps a gravelly voice and Nutfur perks up in relief.
"Oh, thank StarClan, Featherpaw, you're still here!" the warrior doesn't notice his own voice shudder. He quickly looks over the mass of rumpled fur. Amberpaw and Bramblenose had certainly done a number on him; fur clumped with the dirt, thoroughly ruffled from constant attacking, no doubt many lacerations under that dark pelt and of course the very recent gash on his throat where Stingheart himself sunk his fangs in. His white spot on his chest is no longer visible thanks to the flow of crimson leaking from the tomcat's throat area. He's an ugly mass of blood, dirt and fur, but at the very least, he's still breathing.
"Nutfur?" Featherpaw moans again, flanks moving far too quickly and his breathing far too shallow.
"It's ok, bud, I'm right here. I'm right here," Nutfur quickly reassures him, hovering next to the apprentice's face so he can be easily seen. "Don't try to speak."
So Featherpaw doesn't speak.
But he does something that shocks Nutfur to the core.
Featherpaw laughs.
It starts out as a small snicker, slightly wheezy thanks to this throat wound and constant blood flow. It suddenly escalates to a full blown belly laugh - loud and obnoxious in a way but Nutfur's convinced that it's the most beautiful, yet heartbreaking sound ever.
"F-featherpaw?" the warrior murmurs, fear written all over his face.
"My entire life, I've not laughed once," the 'paw chokes out another raspy chuckle, flanks shuddering with the motion, lips curled up in a deep rooted smile, teeth and all. "I only just started smiling. . . I wanted to see what laughing felt like."
Featherpaw's outburst suddenly falls flat and he now bears an expression that almost looks like he's been struck by some depressing thought. Which, unfortunately, he probably has. The laughter dies and he glances up at Nutfur with watery blue blue eyes. "Nutfur?" his voice cracks painfully. "I think I'm dying. . ."
Nutfur bites his tongue, bowing his head. When he lifts it once again, his own fear is mirrored onto Featherpaw with that hopeless expression and wide, tearful eyes. The sight alone makes Nutfur's heart clench with pain.
"Hey, hey," he meows instead, trying to brighten up the mood with a few quick words. "No more tears, no more tears. Eyes on me, listen to my voice."
"I'm a failure," whines Featherpaw, croaky. "I let down my family. . . I let down StarClan. . . I let down you. . ."
"Listen!" Nutfur barks fiercely, biting back his own waterworks. "Featherpaw, there's something you need to know."
The apprentice tries to lift his head to lock eyes better but with a whine, it falls back down to the ground. "Yeah?" he whimpers.
Nutfur forces himself to smile, ignoring his own break of voice. "Welcome to the family. It's little and broken but still good. Brownpelt and I are honored to call you our brother."
Surprised, Featherpaw makes another little choked up crying sound, eyes clenching shut and closed for the last time. The cries wrack his body with multiple shudders. The blood of his wounds continue staining his fur and dripping down underneath him in a small puddle. "Thank you. . ." is his final murmur, before Nutfur can no longer hear breathing and can no longer see the quick rise and fall of the black tom's blood stained flanks.
Featherpaw is gone.
Gyaah!
Featherpaw awakes with a cold sweat, screaming and gasping for breath. His eyes are blown wide with panic, his maw agape. His fur is set aflame with bristled nerves of pure fear.
He doesn't know where he is.
"Featherpaw? Featherpaw!"
The voice cracks at his shell of despair. The rough, overly concerned timbre attempts to offer safety, blurring the line between realities.
"Featherpaw, you gotta calm down! Your breathing's all over the place!"
He can't stop. The breath can't warm his lungs fast enough. He's mildly aware of his chest rising and falling at a rapid pace but he can't get his motions to slow. He can't stop.
Numbness burns his throat. It's slit - it has to be slit. What else could this pain be?
"Feathers!"
The apprentice is consumed by warmth in the form of pale brown fur. Soft, yet unyielding pressure forces him against the dry stone and pins him there despite the struggles. Featherpaw vibrates with raw energy, unfocused. His heart pounds. The blood roars in his ears.
Slowly, velvety murmurs pour into his consciousness. His captor whispers fruitlessly into his ears, words of praise and sweet nothings cast out from his lips.
"That's it, that's it. Slow down your breathing, oh you're doing so good. There, there. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out. There you go, perfect. Keep at it."
Alongside the words, Featherpaw finds himself subconsciously obeying, a warm flutter settling in his chest as the panic subsides. Color returns to his vision and everything shifts back into focus. The pressure of the other body pulls away gently, revealing Nutfur's pleased smile.
"Hey, welcome back," he meows quietly with a hopeful upturn of his muzzle. "You drifted off hard, didn't you?"
"Nutfur?" Featherpaw rasps, surprised at the hoarseness of his own voice.
"It's me, kiddo," the warrior grins a bit bigger, touching his nose to the apprentice's forehead in a show of subtle affection. "You're safe."
"Nutfur," Featherpaw repeats, his voice quivering as his own thoughts come flooding back. "You were - you-you- you were hurt... you were fighting... I jumped to sa-save you. Nutfur, I-I... Nutfur, I died... " Tears bubble in his eyes, pooling in the corners before they're blinked and forced to stream down his cheek fur.
Nutfur closes the distance again with his body. "Shh," he hums. "I'm fine. You're fine. I'm breathing. You're breathing. We're both alive. We're both safe. Shhh."
Featherpaw just shudders in Nutfur's embrace, words of protest dying on his tongue. He falls slack, relaxed as best he can. He slips into a lapse of calm silence, allowing his heartbeat to stutter a bit from the adrenaline and continue to beat at a slower pace.
He watches hollowly - distantly as the breeze catches the grasses surrounding the sun dried stones. It's warm. It won't be that way for very long. A bird chirps midst the undergrowth far behind them. The river in the opposite direction runs at a steady ripple, beating against the pebbles.
"You knew exactly what to do," Featherpaw announces finally after he's settled. "How?"
Nutfur's ear twitches. "Brownpelt struggled a lot with emotions as an apprentice. He was no stranger to panic attacks. We didn't really have parents to talk to about this, so I kind of stepped up and took on the bigger role. Whenever he was feeling down, or if he had nightmares, I always let him sleep in my nest with me. Always calmed him down eventually. Just figured that I could calm you down in a similar way. Worked, yeah?"
Featherpaw bobs his head and offers a simple, "Yeah."
"Feel like heading back yet?"
"Uh-uh."
"Okay."
A/N: Ok, ok. I've been convinced. DP needed an alternate ending. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm super happy with how the original ended. It's exactly how I planned it to end. The loose moral being, not every story has a happy ending. Even if things were technically wrapped up with a "happy" ending, there's still many other alternate ways this tale could have gone.
This is one of them. And I've dubbed it the everyonelives!au.
So clearly, we start from the infamous Chapter 26. Whereupon we're struck with the ultimate "what if" of this story. What if ThunderClan never showed up on the rocks to start a scuffle? Therein lies our story.
QotC: Here's a fun challenge. In one word, try to define each of our protagonists. If protags aren't your cup of tea, pick any character you so desire in the DP universe. Can you do it?
- snarky