Friends Forever
A cream colored she-cat bounded through the dense forests of FernClan territory. She was going to go meet a friend, a friend she had known for almost as long as she had been alive. The memory of when they first met flashed across her mind and she smiled.
Brightpaw bounded across the unused Twoleg path to the training hollow. The ferns brushed against her fur but she knew what lay on the other side of the deceiving ferns. The hills sloped downwards and into LeafClan territory.
She glanced through the ferns and saw the pale shapes of LeafClan cats swimming down in the lake. She noted the ledge that rolled off into the lake and if she wasn't careful running along the path might cause her untimely death.
She shook her head before slowing to trot so she could save her energy for battle training, her mentor, Kestralwing, had stopped a tree-length back to deal with a stray kit from their camp. Little Heronkit had decided to be bad and vanish from camp.
Her thoughts started to distract her and the ground became slippery beneath her. The rocks slipped out from underneath her paws and she slipped into the ferns. She screeched and started rolling, hard. The ferns and brambles slapped her face and she thought briefly through her horror that brambles should have caught her.
"Brightpaw!" Kestralwing screeched as she bounded towards her apprentice, Brightpaw saw the flash of her mentor's fur bounding through the brambles and ferns.
"Hold on!" This time it wasn't Kestralwing's voice but a deeper tom's voice. The black and white striped fur, Brightpaw saw him leap in front of her and a hard yank on her scruff pulled her away from the edge. She was pulled to abrupt stop and she swore her neck popped.
She stood shakily to her paws and shook out her stiff body, the small scratches and scrapes burned against her fur and body. She looked up at her savior.
"Thank you." She murmured locking eyes with the white and black striped tom's green eyes.
"No problem, I couldn't let somebody like you die." He purred and glanced up at the warrior coming towards them.
"Reedpaw, what are doing?" She snapped; Reedpaw cocked his head to the side slightly offended. Brightpaw frowned at her mentor. How could she be so rude to the apprentice that just saved her pelt?
"I'm sorry, Kestralwing, should I have let your apprentice die?" Reedpaw asked sarcastically, his ears pricked and his green eyes shone with challenge.
"Are you questioning a warrior?" Kestralwing took a step forward, her ears flattening to her head.
"Kestralwing can please go back to camp now? I hurt a lot and I want to get fixed up." Brightpaw intervened before her mentor could kill Reedpaw.
"Yes, come on Brightpaw." Her mentor frowned before turning and padding back to the Twoleg path. Brightpaw gave Reedpaw a grateful smile before bounding away.
Brightpaw bounded into the gathering behind her brother, Yellowpaw. She wanted to see Reedpaw and thank him all over again.
"Brightpaw!" Reedpaw's voice rang out, her ears pricked and she spun around coming face to face with him.
"Thank you again, Reedpaw. I can't stop thanking you." She meowed and smiled, giving him a friendly lick on the ear.
"Hey, we can be friends. You can thank me every single day." Reedpaw purred in amusement and her eyes light up with excitement.
"Are you serious? But we are from different clans…" She trailed off and glared at a tom that bumped into her before looking at Reedpaw again.
"So? We can still be friends. It doesn't matter about the clans." He meowed and locked his eyes with hers.
"Okay, Reedpaw." She purred and Reedpaw purred as well before the leaders yowled to start the gathering.
Brightsun smiled at the memory and leaped towards the Twoleg path and bounded across it. She pushed through the ferns and came nose to nose with Reedstripe.
"Hey." She purred and Reedstripe smiled giving her ear friendly lick.
"How are you're wounds?" There had been a battle earlier in the moon and she had watched him pass out from the blood loss.
"They're fine." He said slowly and flexed his shoulders where the worst injury was. The fur had parted to reveal a deep scratch.
"Who gave you that one?" She asked nosing his shoulders as she examined it. He laughed a cold laugh and looked away from her.
"You should remember you saved me from this one." He said darkly, his eyes grew cold and he couldn't look her in the eyes. Brightsun's eyes widened in astonishment and she realized with a shock that it was her brother.
"Yellowblaze…" She whispered; her brother had attacked him with viciousness. Her mind flashed and she remembered it with stark clarity.
Brightsun's breath came out in short gasps as she dodged and battled her way towards Reedstripe. LeafClan and FernClan were fighting over a small scrap of territory but it was not even laden with prey. It was useless. Blood poured into her eyes and she shook her head as she dodged another flash of claws.
She retaliated by clawing the tom's face and racing towards the black and white tom; a pained yowl ripped the air and she spun around. Yellowblaze rushed past her and leaped onto Reedstripe and slashed him across the shoulders. Reedstripe fell to the ground as Yellowblaze buried his teeth into his shoulders at the base of his neck.
"Reedstripe!" She cried desperately before she charged over to her brother and knocked him off. He landed a few tail-lengths away and he struggled to his paws to glare at her.
"Brightsun," He snarled, "he is an enemy. He deserves to die." He stalked towards her and bleeding out Reedstripe. Reedstripe struggled to his paws before turning and staggering off towards one of the medicine cats.
"The warrior code says not to kill. He got the message, leave him alone." She hissed under her breath and Yellowblaze glared at her.
"Darkstar will hear about this, Brightsun. I will make sure your treachery is heard." He growled and his tail lashed, the battle might have raged around them but right now it was just brother and sister.
"I am not a traitor, Yellowblaze. My loyalty is to FernClan and FernClan only. Reedstripe means nothing to me." She glared at him again and Yellowblaze pricked his ears.
"I don't believe you."
"I don't expect you to." She muttered before turning and leaping into battle.
"I'm sorry, Reedstripe. Yellowblaze is loyal to a fault and no cat can change that." She murmured softly.
"Even if it was your brother, that doesn't change anything. You're still my friend and nothing can change that. Nothing." He whispered to her and she smiled faintly.
"Friends forever." She agreed.