Ashfur's heart pounded furiously as he sprinted out the thorn tunnel. He didn't even flinch when the sharp brambles poked into his sides, because all of that didn't matter. All he knew was that he couldn't let Whitewing think he meant all of the things he had said. Now, as he raced towards her, following her sweet scent trail, all he could think about was how stupid he had been. How could he have ever said that? Why would he even think he had the smallest chance with Squirrelflight? All mates quarrelled once in awhile.

He stopped running when her silky white pelt came into view. Even though he was sitting, his heart beat faster. Whitewing was sitting beside the stream that separated ThunderClan from WindClan; her sad green eyes gazing into the fast flowing water. He walked quietly up behind her, and gently touched her shoulder with his tail. She quickly turned around, and he noticed her fur began to bristle slightly. He stared into her dazzling emerald eyes, and he knew she didn't need words to explain how hurt she was.

"Whitewing, I know I shouldn't have said any of that to Squirrelflight, I was just-" Ashfur began, but he was cut off by Whitewing.

"Then why did you say it. Why did you say I was nothing to you. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?" she snapped, her eyes beginning to get watery. Ashfur looked away. He had no idea how it felt. When he and Squirrelflight had ended their relationship, Squirrelflight had still wanted to be good friends with him. His previous words echoed in his head. Just another she-cat.

"I don't know how you feel right now, but I'm so sorry. I wish I could just do it all over again," Ashfur meowed, facing her and looking deep into her eyes. He had hoped for her to forgive him, even if she was still a bit untrusting or bitter towards him at first, but as far as he could tell, there was no way that was happening.

"Ashfur, I can't do this anymore. Just stay away from me," she snapped, and the she-cat started to walk away quickly.

"Whitewing, just listen. I'm sorry."

"Well sorry's not good enough," she snarled, and bounded away through the undergrowth. Ashfur watched helplessly as she ran, hating himself even more. Why shouldn't she be mad at him. He could definately understand her unwillingness to accept his apology, but he was still upset things hadn't gone the way he wanted. Sighing, he walked slowly back to camp.

(Since I don't know how to do those line things across the page, this is days later... So if anyone could tell me how that'd be very nice of them!)

Days went by slowly; the time seemed to drag on and on without Whitewing to cheer Ashfur up. He was constantly staring at her, hoping she'd forgive him and they could go back to the happy, in-love cats they had been before. Ashfur was reduced to a shadow in the background of the Clan, and never talked much. He mostly kept to himself, and obeyed Whitewing's wish for him to stay away from her, unless they were put on a patrol together.

That was how he ended up patrolling the border with her. Thankfully, they weren't alone, and had Dustpelt and his apprentice Hazelpaw join them. Whitewing took the lead; Hazelpaw and Duspelt were right behind her, and Ashfur fell to the back of the patrol. The forest was quiet, only the rustling of prey in the undergrowth disturbing the silence. The cats headed towards the ShadowClan border, planning on renewing the scent marks and then heading back to camp.

Suddenly, a dark stench hit Ashfur's nose. The other cats noticed it too; their pelts bristled, and Dustpelt hissed threateningly.

"Badger," stated Whitewing calmly, "And the scent is fresh."

"Just our luck-" Duspelt was cut off by a deep growl. The four cats' heads swung to face a huge creature, it's massive muscles showing through a dark, black pelt. The cats hissed in terror, and Dustpelt yowled at Hazelpaw to run to camp and bring help.

The badger's black, beady eyes looked at all of the cats. It snorted, and reared up, ready to crush the cats' small bodies beneath it's paws. Ashfur, Whitewing, and Duspelt all darted out of the way in different directions. Duspelt jumped at the badger's side; he successfully sank his claws into it's tough flesh. Distracted, it tried to turn on him, but Whitewing was ready and scratched at it's face. The badger bellowed in fury. With one swift motion, it swiped a paw in the white she-cat's direction. Whitewing was flung across the clearing, hitting a tree with a sickening thump.

To Ashfur, it seemed to go in slow motion. He watched her long enough to find that she wasn't getting up, and then turned his attention back to the badger. Two cats against one badger, Ashfur was afraid it was a hopeless situation.

Just then, the pounding of pawsteps on the ground and the yowling of cats signaled the arrival of Hazelpaw's patrol she had gone to get. Brambleclaw, Sorreltail, Brackenfur, and Mousepaw streamed into the clearing. The badger eyed them nervously, and then backed up, growling. It seemed to ponder if it should stay and fight, but then must have decided it wasn't worth it. The large creature crashed through the undergrowth and ran away.

"Brackenfur, Sorreltail, Mousepaw! Follow the badger but don't get too close. Just see if it has a den or if it has left our territory," commanded Brambleclaw, flicking his tail in the direction the badger left in. Then he turned to the remaining cats, and his gaze flickered over Whitewing's limp body. Ashfur immediately bounded over to her, nudging her shoulder with his nose and sniffing her.

"Is she okay?" asked Brambleclaw, concerned.

"She's still alive.. But we better get her back to camp. She's unconcious, so I guess we'll have to carry her," mewed Ashfur, not taking his eyes off Whitewing's limp body. His heart fluttered anxiously and he felt sick to his stomach for the rest of the long walk back to camp.

Thanks for reading everyone! Sorry if this chapter's a bit short, I wanted to cut it off here so that you wouldn't have to wait so long for it to come. I've got the whole weekend to write so hopefully this story will get going faster than usual. Please R&R, and tell me what you think! -Sky