Well, I'm back!
I just finished Long Shadows yesterday . . . . I'm not going to say anything, except that I am SO EXCITED to keep writing. This is going to be so much fun!!! I don't think I gave anything away . . . . well, hurry up and read it, so I can talk freely, because I hate having it all pent up inside me. But read this first!! I worked hard on it!
Well, anyway, I decided to skip forward, since nothing interesting happens between the last chapter and this one, except that Ashfur became a mentor, but I don't want to write a whole chapter just when I can say it in a sentence here. ASHFUR BECAME A MENTOR. TO BIRCHFALL, OR BIRCHPAW. WHATEVER. So here goes.
Time had passed. The seasons were melting into each other, and ThunderClan had enough to eat. Ashfur had become a mentor- and he seemed to have Squirrelflight securely. But things were not all well. Squirrelflight was increasingly short and agitated- her sister had run away, with Crowfeather from WindClan. Funny that I thought he was after Squirrelflight,thought Ashfur to himself.I was so paranoid. But I don't need to worry now. I love her, and she loves me. We'll always be together. Even Brambleclaw understands that.
"Mouse dung!" exclaimed Squirrelflight. Ashfur came over to her side. A starling, black with tiny jewel color accenting the plain sable feathers, had exploded into the sky.
"Bad luck," he muttered. "Should we call it a day? We've got more than enough to carry back."
She followed him back to the shallow scrape where their other prey had been buried. Spiderleg was standing there, a squirrel swinging from his mouth. Neither of them acknowledged his presence, for Squirrelflight was so wrapped up in her thoughts, and Ashfur was so desperate to console her.
"Come on," he said as they headed back to camp. "Leafpool will be fine." Are those empty words? She ran away with an enemy warrior!
"How can she be fine when she's left everything behind?" inquired Squirrelflight. But it was an enemy warrior that she loved . . . . .
"Why don't you rest for a while?" Ashfur said. He wanted to rest too. "You hardly slept at all last night." Would I do that for Squirrelflight? If she was from a different Clan?
"And I won't be able to sleep now. I'm going to make sure Cinderpelt has eaten."
Ashfur watched her go, a luminescent fire in the morning sunlight. Of course I would. I love her. I would give my whole life for her.
He curled up into a ball, wrapping himself in his thoughts. What wouldn't he do for Squirrelflight? How could he bear it, if he ever lost her? I'd be lost. I wouldn't be the same cat. I'd be a danger to the Clan.
"Ashfur!" Birchpaw had appeared out of nowhere.
"Hi Birchpaw," said Ashfur groggily. "Want to hunt?"
"Yeah!" exclaimed Birchpaw. "Teach me that one, the one you were talking about! For sneaking up on birds." They got up and headed for the forest.
"I'm gonna be the bestest hunter ever. I'll catch foxes!" squealed Birchpaw.
"I'm sure you will. Although you'll have to find someone else to teach you that."
"You don't catch foxes?" Birchpaw looked crestfallen.
"Never tried." Ashfur smiled. He would like to have a kit of his own sometime, ginger furred, maybe with his blue eyes . . . . he became lost in thought as he instructed Birchpaw.
There was a whirl of feathers, and a short screech of victory. "I caught it!" exclaimed Birchpaw.
"Nice!" said Ashfur. "Let's take that back to camp."
He listened while Birchpaw talked proudly of his thrush. When they reached the camp, he instructed his apprentice to take the thrush to the elders, as well as some other kill from the pile, then headed to Squirrelflight.
"I just gave Birchpaw a training session," he said, trying to think of something to say that was not at all related to Leafpool. "He learns really fast."
"That's good," said Squirrelflight absently.
Ashfur nuzzled her ear. "You look exhausted. This time you are going to rest, so don't try and argue."
Sighing, Squirrelflight finished off her prey, and padded to a small patch bathed in milky sunlight. She plopped down on her side, her downy stomach fur exposed to the sun. Ashfur squatted beside her, and began licking the warm fur on her shoulder. He could feel her slowly relaxing, and before he knew it, he was beginning to melt slowly into sleep. A puddle of ginger and grey lay in the sun, their purring buzzing like bees.
Suddenly, Squirrelflight raised her head. "What in StarClan's name is that?" she exclaimed.
The purring hadn't stopped, even though both of them now bore looks of frightened concern. Suddenly, a blur of white flew into the camp, an unearthly wail emitting from the depths of it. It skidded to a stop, and Ashfur realized that it was Whitepaw. She looked as if she had seen the ghost of Tigerstar, as did Brackenfur, just behind her.
Squirrelflight and Ashfur both leapt to their feet. The purring sound became more sinister, a trouble of snarling, growling and snapping teeth. The rush of battle began pumping through Ashfur's veins, though he didn't know what he was supposed to fight.
Suddenly, he felt Squirrelflight beside him go rigid. Slowly, he turned to see what she was looking at.
"Badger!" she shrieked.
The clearing was suddenly filled with commotion, cats bursting out of holes, and badgers upon badgers roaring over the wall like water breaking free of a dam. An invisible sluice had held them back, and now that it was raised, there was no stopping them. The air was thick with snapping and biting. Ashfur tensed, ready to hurl himself into the fray, when he heard a voice that made his heart stop.
"Get out, or I'll claw your fur off!" It was Squirrelflight, but the feisty edge of her voice was gone, and she seemed to be weary, too weary to defend herself against the huge badger that had cornered her. Ashfur switched directions, and hurtled toward the badger.
"I can take care of myself!" came Squirrelflight's agitated voice, but Ashfur didn't listen. He dug his claws into the stiff fur, and sank his teeth into the badger's ear. The world blurred, and swung back and forth as the badger tried to dislodge him. He growled, and let go with one paw, dangling for a moment, and then plunged his claw into the badger's eye. It bellowed in pain, and Ashfur dropped down, dizzy and panting. But the badger wasn't finished yet. The badger lunged with one paw, but Ashfur leaped nimbly out of the way. It lunged again, wild with pain, thunderous roaring echoing in Ashfur's ears. He sidestepped it again, his breath coming in slow wheezes. He couldn't keep hopping forever.
Suddenly, the badger's claws came out of nowhere, slashing him across the flank. He yowled in pain, wincing against the red dots erupting across his vision. He vaulted across the space between them, fixing himself once more on the badger's head. It snarled, its small eyes fiery with rage and terror, feebly shaking its head. Ashfur growled, knowing that the sound would incinerate the creature. It rose up its heavy paw, blindly slashing, catching Ashfur on the ear. He groaned in pain as a trickle of blood ran down into his eye, stinging and sizzling like fire. With one more burst of energy, he raked his claws down the badger's muzzle. It heaved, and lay still.
Ashfur remained on the badger's still body for a moment, his breathing heavy and uneven, then leapt down. He had to find Squirrelflight! Dear StarClan, don't let her be hurt, he thought as he weaved between the furious cries of battle, red and black streaking across his line of vision, blood and dirt, dawn and dusk.
Suddenly, she was there, her pelt glinting. Daisy and her kits were behind her, all owl eyes in small bodies. She didn't seem to be hurt.
"Squirrelflight, are you okay?" he gasped.
"Yes, fine. I'm going to show Daisy and her kits a way out." she indicated the mass of quivering fur behind her.
"I'll come with you." He couldn't bear to be in doubt, not knowing whether she was alive or dead.
"No, go to the nursery and help Brackenfur."
Couldn't she see that he didn't want to help Brackenfur? Couldn't she tell the torment he was going through? But he sighed, and slipped away into the darkness.
Suddenly, there was a snarling behind him, and black and white washed out of the dark. His heart pumping, he ran faster, the badger snapping behind him.
This is it, he thought, as he ran from the death that chased him. Oh StarClan, if I die . . . . I don't care. Just don't let anything happen to Squirrelflight. You know I would give my life for hers. And I know I wouldn't last long without her. Just don't let her die . . . .
And with that thought, he turned around, ready to face the looming shadow above him. The badger bared its teeth in a snarl, the white stripes on its muzzle glowing in the dark. But the ghastly vision faded, and he saw ginger fur, green eyes . . . .
Well, here goes, he thought, and hurled himself at the badger.
I'm stopping now, because if I went all the way to the end of the badger attack, the chapter would be way too long. But there really isn't an adequate stopping point, so I guess now is fine. Hope I can update before school starts again. Go read Long Shadows. NOOOOWW!!!! (For those of you who already read it, sorry. Did you notice my wonderful attempts at foreshadowing? It's hard to do without giving anything away.)