Hey sorry about bad chapters...i'm having a sort of writer's block for this story...
Willowclaw watched with narrowed eyes as they brought in Adderfur's body, dragging her scruff along the snow. Today was a warm day, even if they were still in leaf bare. Although the snow was not as thick as in earlier moons, it was still chilly. In shocked anger and grief her clan mates watched as Honeyleaf dragged Adderfur's body. Willowclaw's eyes sneered as she saw the tortoise-shell's glazed eyes.
After Honeyleaf and her patrol, Lillypaw came through the entrance her head bowed low as two other cats followed her. Willowclaw's eyes widened as she felt her heart start to race, pounding in her ears and her fur begin to rise. These cats...the blue gray fur and the gray and white tabby... the piercing eyes and soft green orbs...the slightly curled lip...her kits...could they be? She stood slowly, but warily. Could it be? Could it be that her two kits, Bluekit and Dewkit had survived? Could it be that they had not died along with their sister?
She began to walk forward, her ears pricked curiously as she stared at the two cats. Willowclaw's sneer had been wiped from her face, replaced by a curious worriedness only a mother could have.
"You!" Willowclaw jumped at the snarl. She was never surprised, always knew who was there. She slowly turned to face the cat, Shadowfang.
"You killed Adderfur!" he hissed, his tail lashing angrily from side to side.
Willowclaw took a step back, not expecting to see such hurt in his eyes. "I did not. Why would I kill her?" she asked flatly.
Shadowfang bared his teeth, his fur bristled angrily. "You hated her. You were jealous of her." He spat.
"I wasn't jealous of her" Willowclaw snarled, feeling anger boil inside her and her ears grow hot. "and I didn't hate her!" she snapped. "WHy would I kill someone with kits? When I know the feeling of loosing a mother" she growled.
Shadowfang's bared teeth turned into a full snarl, as he lunged at her making her tumble into the snow. Willowclaw hissed and pushed him away with unsheathed claws as he too dug his claws into her side. Willowclaw's paw made contact with his cheek, making stinging cuts to his cheek. Willowclaw turned over, as she met his eyes they were full of rage and anger, and hurt...
"Sh-she was my best friend" he spluttered, choking on the words. Willowclaw felt a wave of what she would've liked to call disgust but was hurt and jealousy. She had forgotten how it felt to be close to him, and not wanting to feel anymore she pushed him away with battering paws. But Shadowfang was intent of making her pay for his loss and lashed back.
Willowclaw felt the heavy weight lifted off of her and looked up to see Sunstar's blue eyes. Willowclaw, feeling gratefull, nodded curtly and stood up shaking her pelt as she looked for the loners.
"Mom!" Shadepaw's shriek made Willowclaw turn from Sunstar's scolding words. A wave of pain crashed into Willowclaw, as she saw the only too familiar scene of a child without a mother. Shadepaw's head was pushing against Adderfur's fur, as the clash of tortoiseshell melted with the snow.
Willowkit let out a sharp whimper, and pushed her head against the bloody body of her mother, Bluepetal.
She curled against her mother, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Mommy..no..please..." she tried nudging Bluepetal, as if she would wake, but she knew she would not.
Willowclaw stood frozen, her ears flattened as the scene developed infront of her. Her eyes wide and stricken with a grief that wasn't for the dead cat only fox lengths away it was for a cat who had died long ago, when Willowclaw's worst thoughts were of smiting a bug.
The white she-cat didn't bother moving, just stared into space in a trance of memories she would rather not have. Willowclaw suddenly shut her eyes, her tail bristled in fear as her back arched. She could still smell the death on her mother's fur when she opened her eyes. Blinking, she approached Shadepaw.
"W-willowclaw! She's dead!" Shadepaw wailed her ussually bright eyes now pooling in tears.
"She's with Starclan now..." Willowclaw said smoothly, the ussual icy edge on her voice gone as she conforted the sobbing apprentice.
Willowclaw let Shadepaw sob into her chest, giving a few conforting licks to her head before the elders came to take her body away. Willowclaw flicked her tail.
"Go get some rest Shadepaw, the vigil will be soon"
Shadepaw nodded numbly at her words, and Willowclaw watched the she-cat slowly pad away joining her siblings.
"Willowclaw" The said she-cat turned her head, looking at Shadowfang who she knew was already there. WIllowclaw flattened her ears, and let her neck fur stand. She tensed her muscles ready to defend herself again.
"I didn't love her you know? Not like you. But you loved him, you loved Stonestar" he spat bitterly.
Willowclaw narrowed her eyes. "You chose her" she murmured. "You chose her." With a hurt glazed to her eyes she turned away, only to look back over her shoulder. "If it was me who had died, you wouldn't be mourning as much" she hissed.
Before she knew it, she was pinned to the ground once again by Shadowfang who's lips curled into a snarl. "You chose him aswell Willowclaw! You told me to move on!" he whispered.
Willowclaw swallowed the lump that had grown in her throat. She didn't say anything as she stared at him, eyes narrowed into slits. She saw Shadowfang shut his eyes for a moment, blinking away the tears.
"Willowclaw sometimes you're too dense." he hissed into her ear. "I guess maybe Adderfur was better!" he whispered bitterly before bounding away.
As he left, WIllowclaw allowed her eyes to shut. Maybe Adderfur was better...Shadowfang's voice replayed in her mind, making her wince at the words. She let out a deep breath and pushed herself up, feeling once again the emptyness in her heart. The hole that made her whole.
She had sat, made her way to a shadowy part of camp where she always was as she stared at her clan who were murmuring and muttering in between them shooting bewildered looks to the loners. Before the elders brought out once again Adderfur's body, Sunstar jumped to the high branch. The cream leader had disappeared into her den along with Lillypaw and the loners.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather were under the highbranch" Sunstar yowled, her voice was heavy and solem.
Cats gathered quickly, and silently and Willowclaw found her seat beside Mothheart.
"As you know... Adderfur's death has been a tragedy amongst others..." Sunstar started. "We do not know who killed her, based on LArchpaw's death...we suspect it was Thunderclan as well" Willowclaw narrowed her eyes, she was deputy. Why had she not been included in this meeting?
"These two loners have asked to jo-" before Sunstar could continue a loud yowl interrupted. It was Shadepaw who's eyes were puffy from crying and her tail lashed.
"I bet they killed them!" the tortoiseshell snarled. "I bet it wasn't Thunderclan who killed Yellowfoot, or took my mentor's kits, or my mother's life! Or LArchpaw! I bet it was the loners!" she shrieked. Willowclaw's eyes narrowed, and she felt her fur prick. She felt protective of the loners, and as much as she cared for Adderpaw, she wouldn't let any her apprentice insult the two cats that resembled her lost kits.
"Behave yourself" Willowclaw spat.
But Shadepaw turned to look at her with glaring eyes. "They killed your kits!"
That was it. Her lips curled into a snarl and she bounded from her spot and slapped her tail over Adderpaw's mouth, she looked to Sunstar and dipped her head to him, and he continued.
"these two loners have asked to join our clan, and they will" Sunstar gave a dirty look to Adderpaw and continued. "And they will. I will not allow any one to treat them unkindly" her gaze glared at the clan, all who lowered their heads. "Clan dismissed" Sunstar flicked her tail and disapeared once again into her den.
Willowclaw turned to her apprentice and hissed. "Learn to behave Shadepaw, you are almost a warrior not a kit" she hissed.
"but Willowcla-" Willowclaw slapped again her tail agaisnt her apprentice's mouth,
"Not a kit. You have hunted, had assenments, been in a battle. You are past playing with lizards and butterflies and playing clan" She spat, her hackles rising. "YOu know what is fair, and you know how to behave. Or did your mother not teach you?" Willowclaw sneered.
"Willowclaw enough" Shadowfang was next to his kit, wrapping his tail around the almost full grown cat. Willowclaw met his green eyes with fiery blue ones.
"She's my apprentice" Willowclaw stated bluntly.
Shadowfang bared his teeth. "She's my daughter"
Willowclaw sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws, smiling eerily. "She's my apprentice" she repeated. "I am deputy" she smirked. Shadowfang's hackles rose.
"Willowclaw leave" the dark gray tom spat.
Willowclaw bared her teeth. "Or what?" she hissed.
"Leave my kit alone" Shadowfang snarled again. "Get out of my sight"
"You don't get to tell me what to do" Willowclaw spat back, she felt her claws slide out and she flattened her ears. Shadowfang lunged at her, catching her shoulders and pushing them down as they rolled into the melting snow.
Willowclaw slammed her paw down on Shadowfang's cheek and he bit her sides quickly nipping at her as they rolled into a stop. Willowclaw jumped up and started circling him, all of Rainstar's training suddenly entered her mind, she dashed forward hooking his paws around hers and pulling so that he would fall. Shadowfang who had not expected that his his jaw on the floor, he gave mournfull yowl and slashed Willowclaw's sides making deep and shallow cuts. Willowclaw snarled and leaped forward as they clashed, he bit her shoulder harshly and scratched at her belly making her whimper and push away. Shadowfang was on top of her again baring his teeth with his claws raised ready to strike her throat.
Poor fool, little did he know that Willowclaw was playing nice. Said she-cat lunged for his throat, burying her teeth into his throat as he reared on his hind paws batting her away with unsheathed claws. The warm liquid known as Blood entered her mouth and she bit down harder but not enough to kill him, not enough to even harm him seriously, she would've...if it had not been that his fur was so damn thick.
"Enough!" Bellowed a cat, yanking Willowclaw off Shadowfang. It was Sunstar who was baring her teeth at them. "You were once lovers, you once had kits. You were once happy so stop it." Sunstar turned to WIllowclaw. "you are deputy, I expect you to keep the clan in line not tear them apart!" Sunstar snarled. "Shadowfang I expect you to show more respect for your deputy. Get yourself cleaned up, now!" the cream she-cat hissed before stalking away muttering about crazy cats.
Willowclaw rested a few tail legnths away from a panting Shadowfang, she gave her chest a few licks as her hackles lowered. THe smokey gray tom was staring at her, his eyes filled with pain and hurt. Willowclaw bared her teeth at him, making him flinch and look away. She stood up and found it hurt, a lot. She looked at her paw -the one Shadowfang had bitten- and widened her eyes, the bite was deep and seeping blood making walking hard. She blinked blankly at Shadepaw who stood watching in horror, and flicked her tail.
"Go sit vigil for your mother" Willowclaw spat. "Tomorrow you hunt from dawn to dusk" she stated sternly and whiped around to leave to find herself face to face again with Shadowfang. WIllowclaw gave a well meant hiss and stepped away, much to his disapointed. She attemted to walk past him but was stopped once again.
"Don't you think from dawn to dusk is a bit...harsh?" he asked coldly.
"She's my apprentice i'll teach her how I please, there's a reason why kin don't mentor kin" She hissed.
"You don't hate her" He said softly. "You don't hate my daughter" Shadowfang looked at her.
Willowclaw felt her hackles raise. "I lost my mother. I lost my kits." She hissed. "all them." she snarled silently. "I lost my brother. I do not hate, I do not love And I do not care" she finished.
"You loved me" Shadowfang stated bluntly.
Willowclaw narrowed her eyes. "And you chose her" she remarked. "And I don't care for your kits, or your kin. Because MY kits disapeared." she snorted, pushing past him and past the surprised eyes of the clan and marched to her nest.
Willowclaw had said the truth. She did not hate, she did not love she didn't care...she just killed. Because Ambition and killing went well toguether...
So...I just noticed thats to a review that I had put Shadepaw as Adderpaw...heh... I hate Adderfur if anyone actually liked her i'm sorry but she had to be killed off.
she was bossyy...
