i left y'all on a fabulous cliffhanger, so I won't delay any longer...
"What?" Timbermask asked, green eyes bright with confusion as he stared at Whitefang, who stood protectively over the prone Falconshade, teeth bared in a menacing snarl. Tree branches rustled as a cold breeze whistled through the forest and stirred the reeds, everything still but the trio of felines, breathing heavily.
"You heard me! Stay away from him, Timbermask!" She hissed furiously. Her claws dug deeper into the tender soil of the riverbed.
"I don't-what is going on?" Timbermask stammered, not relaxing his crouch. His shoulders were tense. Whitefang stayed aggressively pointed toward the pale brown tabby, golden eyes narrowed. Behind her, Falconshade rose to his paws shakily, and looked Timbermask in the eyes. Blue met green as wills crashed in the cool air of Leaffall, and Whitefang couldn't help but watched, astounded, as a silent battle raged between the two forces. Finally, Falconshade broke the battle and pressed his bleeding shoulder to hers in an act of defiance and finality. Timbermask's gaze darkened and his face seemed to age a thousand years.
"I see," He mewed coolly, "I won't say I ever put it past you, Whitefang, breaking the warrior code. But I can say I'm disappointed." His jaw tightened as he released himself from his crouch, sheathed his claws, and cast the pair a final look before padding away. "Disappointed." He whispered, head low in the shadows of the canopy. Then, the warrior had vanished into the underbrush, the only sign he was ever there lying in the scuffs upon the forest floor and wisps of lingering scent, not yet swept away.
"Whitefang, I-" Falconshade began, turning to her. Her back to him, she cut him off.
"Don't say a word. I-I have to go." She said stiffly.
"Please, Whitefang, tonight-" Falconshade tried again, only to be pushed away a second time.
"I need to sort things out on my own. Knowing Timbermask…this could get ugly fast. So please, just," She turned about to face him, golden eyes pleading, "Just wait. I can fix this; I know I can. Just give me time to think."
"I wasn't going to tell you to fix this. I wasn't going to say anything like that," Falconshade mewed gently, pressing his muzzle softly against her cheek, "I wanted to say thank you."
"For what?" she asked incredulously, pulling away to look him in the eye. He watched her solemnly, reverently before answering.
"For standing up for me. Against your own clanmate." Falconshade replied quietly.
"He's not just any clanmate," Whitefang muttered darkly, staring at the ground, feeling the heaviness return to her heart as she remembered her promise, the promise she'd broken. I am selfish. She thought bitterly, I should give up and kill him right now. But I love him, The small, sweet part of her mind answered the darkened part, You couldn't finish it, even if you desired it with all of your heart. You'd only want him more. "He' her mate. Swanmist's." Whitefang said thickly.
"Oh, Whitefang," Falconshade sighed, his voice choked with tears, "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, or hurt her, Whitefang, I'd do anything to go back and-"
"Hush. I know you would. Trust me, I know you would." The pale warrior shh'd her mate gently.
"Whitefang, I hate knowing that I-" Falconshade whispered.
"It's okay. She'd want for me to be happy, right? And I'm happy here with you. Just let me go talk to Timbermask. I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled.
"I'll be waiting at sunset." Falconshade murmured. Whitefang turned from him and padded back deeper into Shadowclan territory. The darkened sky began to drizzle rain upon her, hard cold rain. She was thankful; it washed his scent from her pelt, and yet it soaked her to the bone, and by the time she returned to camp, her thick white pelt clung to her like that of a drowned rabbit. She shook her fur violently, only to have it become even further saturated with rain.
"Whitefang! Where have you been? The apprentices were back ages ago and Timbermask went out to search for you, he came back just moments ago and-oh! Why are you so scratched?" Stonetail asked, looking at his only daughter with concern evident in his golden gaze.
"Had a tussle with some thistles," Whitefang mumbled.
"You'll catch your death out here!" Stonetail frowned, "And this rain's coming down even harder! Great Starclan, it's like all those weeks with a single drop of water and suddenly Starclan sends enough to last us for moons! Let's get you inside and-"
"Stonetail!" Grayshadow called, "Half of the apprentice's den just collapsed!" Whitefang could hardly see the gray and black tom through the downpour, his darkened pelt blending with the gray skies and falling water.
"Great Starclan, and we just fixed it, too! Go get yourself dried off, Whitefang." Stonetail urged, hurrying off into the rapidly falling darkness, heightened by the thick clouds and sheets of driving rain. She couldn't tell which paw was in front of the other anymore, hunched over in the center of camp, drowning, slowly drowning in fat drops of sour rain.
"Whitefang!" A voice called through the roar of droplets hitting hardened ground and the crash and boom of distant thunder. "Whitefang1" It came again, growing closer. The pale warrior tried to peel open her eyes against the downpour, but could barely manage to slit the golden orbs against the jabbing drizzles. Warm mist was gathering about her paws, and she stumbled forward to meet the voice. Soon, she felt a sturdy shoulder against her own, and she was following the rain-slicked body through the gray, saturated air. Finally, she could open her eyes. She was in the warrior's den, where tiny droplets gathered along the ceiling of leaves and twigs and vines, peeking through microscopic gaps and hanging low until they fell and splashed against irritable, sleeping warriors. They glistened as they hung there, like morning dew from the roof of the den, shining clear globules of water. Whitefang glanced at them as she stumbled through the tangle of nests to her own. She was thankful someone had patched the draughty hole in the wall, and that it was warm and dry from all the sleeping bodies.
"There, dear. Settle in now." The voice murmured. Whitefang looked up, and found herself staring into the moonbeam-pale face of her mother, who looked away as soon as she did.
"Paledove?" She asked wonderingly, head still rattled from the distant roar of thunder.
"Shh. Now get some sleep. You have to hold their assesments tomorrow, be it in the rain or in the sun. they wouldn't want them delayed." The once-absent mother said of the apprentices.
"Yes, of course." Whitefang mewed softly, watching in disbelief as the former queen tucked feathers from her own nest into Whitefang's. "Paledove,"
"Goodnight," Paledove meowed sharply, abruptly ending their conversation, if you could call it such. Whitefang followed the silver warrior's path back to her nest with wonder. Then, shaking her head, she turned to where she knew Timbermask to lay. Inching her way over slowly, she whispered:
"Timbermask?"
"Leave me alone, Whitefang." He muttered, not turning to loo at her.
"Timbermask, listen to me!"
"Oh, shut up. You don't want to talk to me anyway, I'll gladly return the favor." The tom growled softly, as not to wake the others. Whitefang scowled.
"Timbermask, you wouldn't tell anyone, would you?" She pressed.
"Not a soul." He snapped.
"What?" Asked Whitefang, taken aback. She expected him to have spread word to nearly the entire camp by now.
"You heard me." He said, lifting his head to look at Whitefang. She met his gaze evenly. "I would never do anything to hurt you, Whitefang. I never meant what I said today. And I hope he makes you happy." The pale brown tabby finished, resting his head back on his paws and closing his eyes. Whitefang watched as the glimmering emerald green disappeared behind dark eyelids.
"Timbermask…so you-" She began, only to have the tom, feigning sleep, reply before she finished.
"I'll never tell any cat, Whitefang. Alive or dead, I'll keep your secret until the end. Because I love you. I only wish I could make you as happy as he can." Timbermask said, opening his eyes again to look at her sadly. Whitefang remembered that look. It was the look that appeared on his face when he lost something. His kits, his mate…but he had never had her. She didn't know why he looked at her in such a way as to make her heart pang. She'd never love him.
"Goodnight, Timbermask." She sighed, twisting around to head back to her nest, "Goodnight, my friend." She heard his sharp intake of breath at her words.
"Goodnight." He whispered. The two cats sunk into the darkness of dreams, lulled by the pounding rain.
Soft blue eyes. That's all she saw, and they glowed in the darkness. Soft, soft Greenleaf-sky blue. She felt as if she could dive into them and swim to the surface, coating herself in the love she saw reflected in the sapphire orbs. She felt warmth spread throughout her pelt, and she shivered with delight as familiar soft fur pressed against her. The darkness turned to warm gold, purples, reds, and oranges. A sweet voice whispered in her ear:
Waiting at sunset. I'll always be waiting for you.
His words echoed through her mind, meaningful and endless. A glowing golden sun, a fiery ball of extravagance, sank deeper and deeper into the haze of color.
Always for you.
The glow of the evening sky intensified, causing her white pelt and his ginger one to be bathed in rich colors, until they, too, were bright as the sunset. She felt warm breath on her ear, and as his soft words played in her mind, warmth flooded through her veins and bathed her in a contented glow. She could listen to him forever.
Well, it isn't hard when a beautiful she-cat interrupts and utterly fascinating conversation about swallows
I want to know you. When a bubbly, beautiful she-cat lights up your night, wouldn't you be interested in being acquainted?
You need to realize how special you are.
What're you doing in that thistle bush, beautiful?
And to me, you're smart, and funny, and interesting, and from what I hear and see, you're talented. So talented! And you're beautiful. Your fur is like freshly fallen snow, your eyes are blazing suns, your whiskers are just the right length, and for Starclan's sake, who cares about your eyelashes? What tom bases a she-cat off of her eyelashes? Your ears are so cute, the way they're lopsided with the little tufts at the tips. Your fur is so thick and soft; it's like a blanket of white moss. Who cares if it's tangled? I like it that way. And your paws…they're perfectly round, and anyone who sees them knows you're strong. I love how you're big. Tiny she-cats are fragile. And your tail, oh, I could sleep in it: it's so wonderful! It's adorable how you're clumsy, and how you think all the time. I'd love to know what you think about. And your laugh-it's like bubbles in a sunlit stream, floating and bobbing and swirling…
Because you love me.
I thought about you for days on end: your eyes, your smile, and your laugh, your face ingrained in my mind. Whenever I saw you my heart would race. Don't you feel it?
Don't cry, beautiful. Don't cry.
Wild and Tangy. Man, we're the perfect combination, huh?
Whitefang… beautiful, strong, righteous Whitefang. I knew I loved you the moment I saw you.
You smell like pine sap and vole musk, and lily blossoms and forest spices. You smell like Shadowclan. And it's…untamed.
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
They floated about her fantasies like a comforting breeze, wrapping her up in the scent of wild berries and cherry blossoms, as warm as her father's love. Cherry blossoms. She thought ecstatically. Cherry blossoms. That's where we need to be. Under the moonlight, bathed in cherry blossoms. Soft, sweet cherry blossoms…She knew the petals would fall in the spring, and then, then she would bring Falconshade to see them. She could picture it now, curled up in two halves of a whole heart, nestled deep into a circlet of deep, soft emerald moss, watching the glimmering star appear in a twilight-blue sky, bathing in moonbeams, listening to sweet words floating among the rosy petals.
Fluff, fluff, fluffity fluffy fluff fluff. Oh, not enough? Here, have some fluffed cream on top! Hehehe for all you Falconshade haters out there, this dream must've been deathly disappointing. I'm certainly glad none of you ship Whitefang and Barkpaw, no, sorry, Alpha together anymore.
QOTD: Poor, poor Timby. All alone. Even Lightpaw's got a little lady! What are your thoughts on the bipolar tabby tom?
XOXO, Gossip girl. Nah, not gossip Girl, guys! I'm Bright! Bright as a lightbulb! Weird mood again. Ending midterms had me feelin' a certain way. But hey, at least I felt all squishy when I read all my Falconshade quotes. Man, I write good lines for that tom!
~Bright~
