Challenge: I'll never forget you
"No! Amberstrike!" A bleeding tom yowled from across the clearing. His pale ginger fur was stained with dark blood and his mouth was agape.
He turned to look at a tawny she-cat. Her huge azure eyes were bulging in fear. A monstrous, muscular tom was leaning across her, his bloodstained claw tracing her thin neck. The ginger tom started towards her, but he was cut off by a bulky warrior who wacked him out of the way. He hissed in fear and anger as the she-cat glared at him in triumph and whispered in his ear "Hello Blazefur. Looks like your mate isn't going to make it, doesn't it?"
He snarled and struggled up. Through the corner of his eye, he saw Amberstrike look at him, her blue eyes darted around until they met his. He mouthed the word 'I love you'.
The tom from before smiled, his yellow teeth gleaming with blood. He murmured "Goodbye, pretty," before sinking his fangs into Amberstrike's slender neck.
Blazefur sank to the ground. He couldn't breathe. All he wanted to do was die, right now, to join Amberstrike in StarClan, along with their unborn kits.
He lay there for what seemed like countless moons. He could hear the sounds of the battle about him, and he wondered dimly for a second who had won, but then forgot about it instantly. The only thing that mattered right now was Amberstrike, who was dead.
Dead… the word rebounded round his head like the endless pitter-patter of raindrops. Amberstrike used to love that sound…
Finally, he struggled to his paws and tottered through the fighting to Amberstrike's body. It was lying slumped in the middle of the clearing. A tiny bead of blood had slipped out of her mouth and was now staining her ochre fur.
He sunk his head into her fur and lay there, not moving. He wanted to memorise the shape of her body, the delicate shape of her ears and the way her tail ended in a feathery quiff. The horrific truth echoed around his ears long after Amberstrike's fur turned cold. Dead…dead… dead.
He fallen asleep there, in the depths of her fur. The only thing that awoke him was a pale ginger she-cat. When he had looked up from his morning, he had thought that it was Amberstrike's ghost. Instead, it was Emberfall, the pretty, charismatic she-cat who was Amberstrike's sister.
He had been dragged from Amberstrike's body. He could remember his claws digging into the frozen earth. They had carved deep gorges into the ground, just like the gap in his heart.
They had born him back home. Stonetail and Frostmist. His brothers. He hated them for it. He had wanted to lie there forever, freezing in the cold. That was small punishment for what he had done. He had failed to save the love of his life, the only point of his existence.
He had lain in the medicine cat's den, just sitting there in a stony silence while Mintwisp hurried about her, healing the other injured cats in the battle.
The only thing he wanted to go out for was Amberstrike's burial. He would sit there, day in , day out, hoping to join StarClan with her.
That night, it happened. Frost was forming on the leaf-less trees when Amberstrike's slender body was gently carried out and rested on the ground. Blazefur followed miserably after the procession of elders, her long, feathery tail resting limply on his shoulders.
They carried her to the burial place, through the bitter fog and unforgiving winds. They lay her to rest in amongst the fronds of fern, Blazefur watching from afar. Just as the elders were saying the ritual words, he burst in with a single, beautiful poppy. The delicate scarlet petals stood out brightly over the harsh, packed soil.
The elders looked at him, then figured that he wanted to be alone. Blazefur stood there, his head turned down to the grave. He glanced up to the stars. A single, lonely star stood out more than the others. It twinkled down at him as if to say 'I'm here for you'
Blazefur murmured aloud "And me too, Amberstrike."
Even quieter now, he whispered to the wind "I'll never forget you, Amberstrike."
And it seemed to him that the star shone ever brighter.
Hello! I hope you enjoyed this random challenge. I had fun writing it! Around 730 words, 230 more then the original target. Phew!
And in response to Raindrops : Thanks!
Since I am English, I spell 'recognised' and 'realised' with an s instead of a z. But thanks for pointing them out!
And I have always struggled with the other point, so quite honestly I was expecting that.
And thanks for my apprentice ceremony! Very happy! :D
