"Lionshimmer! Wait! Come back!" Lionclaw called after the she-cat but Lionshimmer didn't stop. She just ran out of camp, not looking back once.
"Lionshimmer," Bronzefrost breathed.
Even Redstripe was staring at the camp entrance with wide eyes. Silence fell over the group. Finally, Redstripe broke it. "I'd better go talk to her," he meowed, cautiously.
"No," Galaxyheart meowed, firmly, stepping in his way. "You've done enough. Come talk to us when you're truly sorry." With that Galaxyheart padded toward the camp entrance. He stopped and looked back at Lionclaw. "Are you coming or what?"
Lionclaw nodded and followed him out of camp. He heard other paw steps behind him and turned to see Dragonfang and Bronzefrost. He nodded to the two before they all stopped and tasted the air.
"This way!" Galaxyheart led the way through the forest until they came to the large cliff that led up to the shared border with LightningClan that was divided by a river leading to a waterfall. Lionshimmer was sitting at the edge, her head down and her ears laid back.
The others stayed back for awhile while Lionclaw padded forward to sit beside Lionshimmer, who had tears spilling down her cheeks. "Hey, it's ok," he soothed.
"But it's not! Redstripe just can't stop living in the past!" Lionshimmer rasped.
"He'll come around," Lionclaw pressed. "He's got to realize that Dragonfang isn't the same cat that killed your parents all those moons ago."
"But that's not the only reason he's like that. He has a reason for not trusting any cat from LightningClan," Lionshimmer meowed.
"What happened? You can tell me," Lionclaw asked.
Lionshimmer nodded. "Alright. I'll tell you. When we were apprentices and our parents were still alive, Redstripe and I went out to explore on our own with permission from our mentors. We went out to the LightningClan border, where we met a LightningClan apprentice. That apprentice is who we now know as Snowfang."
"Snowfang?" Lionclaw echoed. "She's one of the meanest cats in LightningClan."
"Yes, but she didn't always used to be like that. She was kind and sweet, and we met a lot to play together at the border. But something changed in Snowfang. I didn't know what at the time so I just ignored it. She and Redstripe began to get really close, closer than two cats from two different Clans should get. But I didn't stop them. I knew that my brother was in love with her, so I left them be. Then one day, Redstripe, being convinced by Snowfang, brought our parents to the border with us. We met Snowfang but she wasn't alone. She had brought Dragonfang, then Dragonpaw with her. Her eyes no longer showed kindness but her gaze was hard and she had her teeth bared in a snarl. It was then that our parents were killed before our very eyes. Redstripe was horrified. Snowfang didn't seem to think anything of it, but I could tell that there was the smallest part of her that still loved Redstripe and couldn't believe that she had did what she did. Since that day, Redstripe swore that he would never trust another LightningClan cat again, no matter what," Lionshimmer explained.
"That's awful," Lionclaw replied.
Lionshimmer nodded. "He's always been so protective of me since then, too. I've tried my best to just deal with it and understand why he does what he does, and I do a little since Snowfang was my friend, but today he took it too far."
Lionclaw blinked and licked her cheek. "Don't worry. We'll make him see the truth together. I'll always be by your side no matter what he says."
"Thank you, Lionclaw," Lionshimmer murmured, smiling and nuzzling him.
Dragonfang and Bronzefrost then came up. "And we're with you too," Bronzefrost meowed.
"I'll always regret that day, but I'll do anything I can to make it right," Dragonfang added.
"We'll find a way. I promise," Galaxyheart piped up.
"Thanks Bronzefrost, Dragonfang, Galaxyheart," Lionshimmer meowed.
"Come on," Lionclaw nudged her. "Let's get back to camp."
Lionshimmer nodded in agreement and the group headed back to camp.
Suddenly, Lionclaw stopped, catching an odd scent close to camp. He tasted the air carefully before his eyes widened. "Do you guys smell that?" he asked.
Everyone tasted the air before they all stiffened. They all exchanged horrified glances. "LightningClan!" they all exclaimed in unison before dashing off toward camp. They began to hear yowls and snarls when the camp entrance came into view.
"Out of all times they choose now to attack!" Bronzefrost growled, clenching her teeth.
A yowl of pain split the air and Lionshimmer's eyes widened in horror. Lionclaw looked at her. "What's wrong?"
"That yowl! It's Redstripe!" Lionshimmer answered, dashing down toward the camp entrance.
"Lionshimmer! Wait!" Galaxyheart called.
"I've already lost my parents! I'm not going to lose my brother!" Lionshimmer called back before she disappeared inside camp. The others had no choice but to follow.
Please R&R :)