The last three days, for Squirrelpaw, had been… mixed to say the least.
On the one hand, they hadn't encountered anything dangerous since the incident in the twoleg gardens. Most of the time they were just passing by farmland, crossing past sheep which she had tediously begun to count. Seventy-eight so far. Nothing bad had occurred, it had past like a morning breeze. The cats had even begun to get the hang of getting through the murkiest ditches without a problem.
Plus, she could safely say now that she considered two of the cats' good friends. She had always gotten on well with Feathertail, the cat was just so friendly that it was impossible to not to, she was so pleasant all the time! But Crowpaw, that was something else. They rarely fought anymore, not really anyway. He was still moody occasionally, and still seemed hesitant to give any friendliness to the other three cats, but that was something Squirrelpaw suspected he would come over eventually.
For Starclan's sake, he had admitted his past with his father and how much it upset him with her, the cat he would have gladly torn limb from limb in the beginning, there must be a time when he showed how nice he could be to the others.
Even the other cats were fine. Tawnypelt was friendly enough, though Squirrelpaw would admit the two rarely spoke that much, but when they did it was always good natured so there was no problem between the two.
Stormfur was definitely a cat she spoke to more, and while he certainly always spoke kindly, there was always something off whenever he talked to her. Like he was uncomfortable whenever he saw her, his breathing would quicken, and his fur would prickle as if disturbed. It always caught Squirrelpaw off guard and leave her wondering what exactly she had done to make the cat fly off like a startled sparrow.
She'd asked Feathertail about it once. The warrior had just grinned and told her it was nothing to worry about. Apparently, Stormfur did like her though, so Squirrelpaw just learnt to accept it as the quirks of a weird cat.
But then there was Brambleclaw. And despite being Squirrelpaw's clanmate, the she-cat could safely say things had been awful since she had refused to sleep by him that night. It had seemed to have really insulted Brambleclaw to some degree, he now made a point to ignore Squirrelpaw whenever he could, and whenever they did speak his voice was clear with poison and distrust.
It hadn't affected Squirrelpaw at first, but soon it began to wear on her a little. She wanted the two of them to be friends like they were before the journey, but it looked like Brambleclaw didn't want that unless she took herself away from the friends she had made, and she wouldn't, couldn't, do that. So Bramblelclaw continued to treat her like an unhappy acquaintance.
And from the way he was glaring at her while she squirmed under the fence, it wasn't looking much better.
Oh yeah, Squirrelpaw was stuck under a fence.
They'd had to go around the edge of a field where a twoleg monster roamed, chugging yellow fragments into the air with a rumbling grow. It had been easy enough, but when they'd come to a fence made of a cold, silver material that the group had been able to crawl under.
At least until the fence had decided to unwind when Squirrelpaw was halfway through, its pointed ends clawing into her skin painfully if she even dared to move a little.
"Get me out!" She squeaked. Her cheeks burned with humiliation as the other five cats stared at her. Feathertail and Crowpaw stood at one side, examining the wires closely. Stormfur and Tawnypelt were at the other side, looking over a wooden post that was embedded with the wires. Brambleclaw had just come back up, obviously wanting to get on as soon as he could, and now stared down at Squirrelpaw with a frustrated air around him.
The ginger apprentice glared back up at him, "Don't just sit there and gawk, mouse-brain!" The wires digged into her fur again and she let out another whimper.
Brambleclaw growled, "Keep still." He looked over the wires with Feathertail and Crowpaw, letting out a tired hiss. "It's tight."
"Oh really?" Crowpaw meowed with a frown, "Thanks for letting us know. I'm sure we couldn't realise that." Squrrelpaw saw Brambleclaw's jaw tighten.
"Crowpaw!" Feathertail snapped before the two inevitably began arguing again, "This is not the time for that!" She continued to look over the wires hopelessly.
The Windclan apprentice remained scowling for a moment, then he looked back down at Squirrelpaw and softened. "You're right." He sighed, "Sorry." He looked closer at the wires digging into Squirrelpaw's fur. The Thunderclan apprentice felt another warm flush as Crowpaw came right next to her, he smelt like orchids and fresh rain. A strange calming sensation passed through her as she felt his fur brush against hers, before he drew back with a worried sigh.
"We won't be able to bite through it." He pondered, "We could bite through your fur and that could free you."
The calm feeling faded as Squirrelpaw recoiled like she had been struck. "Don't you dare!" Squirrelpaw snarled, "Try to bite my fur and I'll blind you!" She would sooner spend the night under the fence than go the whole journey with furless patches all over her.
However, whatever anger Squirrelpaw had felt momentarily left her when she saw Crowpaw wince. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. We'll find another way." The ginger apprentice felt a sting of guilt, she was so used to assuming that Crowpaw was still trying to upset her she hadn't considered he was truly trying to help. She made a promise to apologise to him later.
"Are you sure we can't bite through it?" Stormfur questioned, his ears up in worry.
Crowpaw frowned, "You want to try it? Go ahead, it's a waste of time though." Stormfur still tried chewing on the wires however and came back with a ruffled look of defeat. "Told you."
"What if we dig up the post?" Brambleclaw offered, "It's deep in but if we all work together it-" The cats all paused as they heard a sharp sound in the distance. Barking. Followed by the rustling hooves of sheep. Coming towards them.
Squirrelpaw's stomach curled and she began to visibly struggle again, her heart racing with terror. "Get me out of here! Quickly!" The wires raked across her like foxes' teeth, but she couldn't stop moving, she was too terrified.
Brambleclaw growled again, but his eyes were also wide with panic. "Stop moving and we can think of something!" He ordered, pacing back and forth.
"What do we do?" Stormfur exclaimed, ears twitching as the barking of the dog began to slowly grow louder.
Squirrelpaw continued to struggle, her paws desperately clawing the dirt in any vague hopes of escape, her breaths subsided into constant horrified gasps. "Hurry!" She yowled.
"Shush!" Brambleclaw roared at the cat, "If you keep struggling, you'll just make it harder for us to help!" His gaze roared like a forest fire. Squirrelpaw couldn't help but let a few tears prick the corners of her eyes, the terror and helplessness of her situation as well as Brambleclaw's ferocity and blaming were becoming too much for the poor cat.
Once again, it was her who was causing trouble. Her who couldn't help but get stuck, halt the journey, and now put them all at risk of a dog. She cursed the fence. She cursed herself.
Then a black paw sprang in front of her, an equally furious face sizing up the Thunderclan warrior. Everyone turned to look when Crowpaw hissed at Brambleclaw, his ears folded back, his pelt bristling with savage outrage. Squirrelpaw could swear that even when Crowpaw had been arguing with her, every minute in the beginning, she had never seen Crowpaw look so angry.
"Leave her alone!" He snarled, inches from Brambleclaw's face. He stretched his entire body to face the warrior properly, practically balancing himself on his tail. "She's scared enough as it is! She doesn't need your fox-brained chatter!"
Squirrelpaw felt like interjecting at the comment that she was scared, but she was too taken aback by Crowpaw's actions. Once again, he was defending her.
Brambleclaw looked surprised, then furious. He tensed so much that the muscles in his neck began to throb as he let out a low growl. He pushed his nose against the apprentice in a challenge. "It's not my fault she's stuck, is it?! I'm just trying to get her out of there as quickly as possible! And we can't do that if she's writhing around like a fish out of water!"
"If you care so much," Crowpaw snarled, pushing back, his eyes as wild as a storm, "Stop insulting her and get to actually helping your clanmate, mouse-brain!"
"That's what I want to do! But I can't because some half-grown apprentice is growling at me!"
Squirrelpaw's panic subsided to anger as she heard that obscenely unfair comment. Not to mention that she was smaller than Crowpaw, so that was an indirect insult to her as well as far as she was concerned.
"Yeah, because screaming at already distressed cats really makes for good help." Crowpaw yowled bitterly, his claws unsheathed.
Brambleclaw didn't look ready for any kind of fight, right now, as his ears pricked at the barking of the dog, but he still wasn't going to let up. "By the way I see it, you're the one wanting to start a fight. As usual." He finished, leering.
Now Squirrelpaw was feeling genuinely furious at how unfair Brambleclaw's comments were. The cat just seemed determined to try and make her feel small, and now he was taking it out on cats who tried to defend her. Crowpaw hadn't tried to start anything for days, any cat in the group would stand by that, this was the first time he had stepped up to anyone since the start. And the only reason he was doing it was…for her.
Any thoughts going through her mind misted away when Feathertail and Tawnypelt crouched beside her. "Would you two stop that?" Tawnypelt snapped, glaring at the two. "Toms." She grumbled.
"Tell me about it?" Feathertail snickered. Squirrelpaw noticed a few dock leaves at her paws, Feathertail took one into her mouth and began chewing it before spitting its green fluid onto her paws. "But please Squirrelpaw, try not to move okay?" The she-cat said gently.
Despite the quivering of her heart, Squirrelpaw obeyed, mustering deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. Feathertail quickly rubbed the chewed-up leaves around the fence strands that clipped onto Squirrelpaw's fur, the wetness made Squirrelpaw shiver a little, but she kept calm. Better this than the dog.
She waited until Feathertail had smoothly rubbed it into her fur. "Okay," Tawnypelt mused, "Now try to pull yourself out."
Squirrelpaw tried frantically, her claws digging and scrambling to get away from the danger, but the wire was tight and painful, scratching her the more she tried. The apprentice whimpered, her eyes brimming as she looked to the mollies pleadingly. "I can't! It's too tight!"
"Breathe in. It's working." Tawnypelt exclaimed, "Just a little more."
Squirrelpaw shook her head, her mind had gone blank and no matter how hard she tried, her muscles wouldn't go against her nerves. A nameless pressure clenched in her throat, constricting her breath and movement, every muscle stiff with fright; her eyes closed as the impending horror grew closer and closer, closing out the directions of her friends. "I-I can't do it!"
"Yes, you can." Even through the hungry darkness, his voice was unmissable. As small and bright as a star. A gentle breeze carrying her across the hills. Squirrelpaw felt her eyes open, and his face was there. His lips were tightly held together, but the only thing the she-cat could focus on was the assurance in his gaze. "Try again, just another push." He said, comfortingly sure of himself. Everything just seemed natural when he said it.
Always so confident.
Now so warm.
"Hurry!" Brambleclaw yowled, his voice clear with tension.
Squirrelpaw almost didn't hear him. Crowpaw braced himself to flee, but the paw he let fall on her shoulder made it clear that he wouldn't leave her until she was free. Feathertail did the same on her other shoulder. She wasn't alone. The fear loosened its talons from Squirrelpaw's pelt, a sudden urge, a belief, rising all over the ginger cat. Squirrelpaw relaxed, shifting all of her strength into her paws. Her hind legs kicked and her front paws pulled with a burst of desire, she ignored the sting of the wire against her back and writhed with the passion to live.
Even as she felt her fur pull from her skin, she continued to push, and within a sudden moment, she saw herself beside her friends. Running. Free. The barking lingered away with every leap, fading away as if it had never existed.
The cats stopped once they had reached the next field, panting and laughing between themselves. Squirrelpaw looked over her hide and sighed with relief. The fence hadn't taken a large amount of her fur at least. Thank Starclan she was so fluffy! She let out a puff towards the sky. "That was close."
"Too close." Stormfur agreed, smoothing down his bristled fur. "Are you okay?"
Squirrelpaw licked around the rustled patch on her back, "I'll be fine, it's just a few lost hairs. They'll grow back." She began to clean away the dock smudged around her fur. "Yuck!" She cringed at the bitter taste.
"Here let me help you." Feathertail offered, she smoothed her tongue on the areas that Squirrelpaw couldn't reach.
The Thunderclan cat smiled thankfully, "Thanks." She looked appreciatively towards Tawnypelt, blinking slowly. "Thank you both, so much! That was an amazing plan!" The Shadowclan warrior said nothing but she returned the apprentice's smile, nodding to the cat.
"You're welcome."
Feathertail spat away a wad of dock, "There's no need to thank us, Squirrelpaw. We know you'd have done the same for us." Tawnypelt nodded gain at the Riverclan warrior's words and Squirrelpaw felt another touched warmth fill her chest. They really trusted her that much. Even when she had been shaking that much under the fence, scared out of her wits, they still believed she would remain brave for them if they were in that position.
And of course, she would. They were her friends after all. But it didn't stop Squirrelpaw from embracing the fact that these warriors that she respected so much thought so well of an apprentice – not to mention, an apprentice from another clan.
But in a pattern that was becoming frustratingly regular, any pride she had was shut down when she heard his contemptuous voice.
"As if she could have even thought of it."
Every cat froze at that. All looked towards the warrior, looking away dismissively while licking his paw. Even Stormfur and Tawnypelt, cats that normally got on well with the warrior, looked shocked at the deliberate cruelty in his words.
"What do you mean by that?" Stormfur demanded, the normally calm warrior tensing with an angry glare.
Brambleclaw shrugged, snorting. "What? She didn't help herself, after all, shaking like a leaf." He darted a small glare in his clanmate's direction.
Squirrelpaw didn't flinch. Her eyes were wide, but there was no kind of fear anymore. Instead a dark pulse was vibrating through her little body, making her pupils shrink when she saw the warrior look away from her with a sniff. Her ears flattened against her skull and her tail thumped wildly.
Tawnypelt glowered at her brother, "And you helped? Shouting and clawing?!"
The brown warrior may have winced, but it was masked behind a snarl. "Again, I tried to! But she wasn't listening to me!"
"Because she was frightened you fox-heart!" Everyone couldn't help but flinch when it was Feathertail's angry hiss. Stormfur visibly jolted back in open terror. The gentle she-cat's fur was on edge and her muzzle was creased in fury. "Why are you being so unfair? It was a dog! Any one of us would be terrified, and we all were!"
Brambleclaw paused, stunned at the tone of the Riverclan cat. His tail swung wearily for a moment, then he returned with a brisk cough and a frown. "It's not a question of how brave she is."
"Then what is it?"
A low growl rumbled in Brambleclaw, "We would have gotten away sooner if she had just listened and kept calm! That didn't need to be as close as it was!"
"Does it matter? She got out didn't she!" Stormfur yowled.
Brambleclaw scoffed, "Yeah, after making it as difficult as she could."
Squirrelpaw bristled with disgust. So, once again he was blaming her. Once more, she was the one that Brambleclaw chose to blame for another one of the group's problems.
She'd never realised how stupid he sounded before now.
He said he was trying to help her.
How?
By insulting her whenever he had the chance?
By trying to make out she was the problem that cursed the group?
By doing whatever he could to make her feel small and keep her under his paws like a piece of prey?
He said he was her clanmate. Squirrelpaw was less proud of that every time he opened his mouth, and it was all down to him!
Squirrelpaw cursed all the times she had gotten upset over the tom, all the times she had actually believed his words! What a waste of time! Throughout the journey, there had only been one thing that was wrong with her. And it certainly wasn't her fault!
Squirrelpaw burned with anger, her claws twisted into the dirt and her tail rose tensely. That was it! No more losing sleep over what this bee-brain thought of her! If he thought that she would just take his stupidity any longer he was as crazy as a hare!
He wanted to cause fights; she was going to finish them!
"Oh, pardon me!" Squirrelpaw exclaimed with a mocking respect. "Where are my manners? I forgot just how much you tried to help, Brambleclaw. Your idea of telling me to be quiet and keep still really helped, that would have been certain to get me away from the dog."
Brambleclaw's jaw dropped at the sudden shift in the cat's tone. His stare became fiery. "I was trying to keep you calm."
"Oh yes, yelling at the top of your lungs really has that effect."
Brambleclaw sneered, "Okay, what did you do? Writhe and whimper like a kittypet."
"To reiterate," Squirrelpaw snapped, cocking her head to the side, "I was trapped under a fence! If you think you'd be any different, why don't you go show that dog how strong you are? You can move after all!"
Brambleclaw winced at the barking that echoed from the previous field. He frowned at Tawnypelt when he heard her snicker. Squirrelpaw smirked, he was embarrassed, and he knew everyone could tell he was.
"Stop talking such fox-dung!" Brambleclaw snarled, "You're the one who got stuck, not me, that's your own fault." That was a cheap insult, and Squirrelpaw didn't care a mouse-tail about it. Yeah, she'd gotten stuck, but she wasn't the one who'd made the situation so much worse for herself.
"And you're the cat who's saying it's foolish to be scared of a dog. That's your fault."
When she said that, Brambleclaw seemed to realise how badly he'd cornered himself. His tail lashed from side to side, his mouth twisted back in a grimace. "That wasn't what I… I meant that…" He tried to find a solution but the coldness in his gaze made it clear that he had dug a hole that was threatening to swallow him up, and he had no way out of it.
"You meant what?" Squirrelpaw pressed.
"I-" Brambleclaw paused, then he looked to the side again with a heavy groan. "Oh, whatever! I don't need to explain myself to you! You're an apprentice!" He snapped, giving her a poisonous glance before he turned from her again.
Squirrelpaw practically smelt that coming. It was his only defence, no matter how ridiculous it was. She saw the cats around her draw back in either astonishment or disgust. They were on her side. That was all she needed to know.
"Yes, I am. And I've still spoken more sense than you've ever done!"
Brambleclaw recoiled, his eyes blazing with an unspeakable, offended ire. His jaws unclenched letting out a vicious hiss that slithered from the back of his throat, spit fizzing furiously as he did so. "Listen here you little- I am a Warrior and-"
"And I'll treat you like one when you start acting like one!" Squirrelpaw delivered, unscathed, unbreakable. Her lips pouted and she let out a disgusted groan. "Wipe your mouth, would you? You're drooling worse than that dog."
A mrrow of laughter filled the air. High, throaty and passionate. Every cat paused, recognised the voice, paused again, took a moment to process the idea, the dared to look as Crowpaw chortled, his head rocked back as he erupted towards the sky. Now, every cat was astonished.
Crowpaw…knew how to laugh?!
It was a terrifying, miraculous thought!
But there he was, black fur and all, howling with laughter, doubled over in hysterics, as if he had seen the most hilarious thing in the forest.
Squirrelpaw looked on, dumbfounded. There were a lot of things she never expected Crowpaw to do.
Praising her had been a shock.
Smiling had been a miracle.
Laughing..?
Squirrelpaw was ready to see dogs start raining from the sky.
It sounded so strange, so happy. So real. The tom seemed to calm down, a cool smile gracing his lips as he wiped his eyes with the tip of his tail.
Brambleclaw was now visibly shaking, his whiskers twitching as his eyes tried to burn holes into Crowpaw's fur. "What are you laughing at?"
Crowpaw let out a blissful sigh, looking mildly at the Warrior. "Not what. Who. And you're still drooling, by the way."
Brambleclaw's eyes widened and he wiped a paw across his mouth, turning away from the pair shamefully. The rest of the group couldn't help but let out a hushed laughter, after hearing Crowpaw laugh, none were quite ready to accept the sound was actually real.
The brown Warrior turned back after cleaning his face and looked ready to disappear. "C-Come on! We've wasted enough time already!" Squirrelpaw groaned, he was trying to be leader again.
She felt a gentle press against her pelt, she looked to see Feathertail shaking her head with a smile. "Don't worry about him, you've embarrassed him enough." She chuckled.
Squirrelpaw snickered, her tail rising. "If he wants to be humiliated again, he's welcome to speak." She was never going to let him have the final word again. She'd shown him that. If he was smart, he'd keep his distance for a while.
"If he does that, he's more stupid than any of us thought!" Crowpaw walked beside Feathertail, his head cocked up with delight that the Warrior had been given a taste of his own herbs. His eyes found Squirrelpaw and he nodded at her, almost proudly. "Good job giving that mange-pelt what he deserves."
Squirrelpaw grinned back at the tom, "Thanks." She suddenly remembered, "Oh, and thanks you two, for sticking by me under the fence." Her voice softened with respect.
"Oh, Squirrelpaw. I already said there was no need to thank me!" Feathertail declared, her tail smoothing over Squirrelpaw's pelt. "You're our friend, we would never leave you."
"We wouldn't leave you regardless." Crowpaw said, his tone snappy but sincere, "We're in this together. Even if it was that bee-brained warrior, we wouldn't leave him behind." Crowpaw's tail lashed towards the still fuming Brambleclaw.
"Exactly, we're here until we make it there." Feathertail looked up, bringing Squirrelpaw and Crowpaw's gazes with her. The Sun-Down place blinked over the horizon, glistening and beckoning the group on their journey. The journey they shared. Until the very end.
Squirrelpaw was glad she was among friends.
"Well, we'll get there soon enough." Crowpaw stated, as confident as ever.
Feathertail smirked as she looked over to Crowpaw, "Honestly after hearing you laugh, I will never doubt anything ever again."
Crowpaw eyes went wide, then he looked away in mild embarrassment. "I'm a cat, you know, I can do whatever you two can."
The two sniggered at his attempts to hide away his action, but Squirrelpaw would never forget it. She was sure of that much. She mused for a second. A cordial charge made her smile at the tom.
"I like your laugh."
Crowpaw didn't say anything, he blinked, looking ahead as if he hadn't heard her. His gaze faltered, travelling from side to side before resting on the ginger cat, trying his hardest not to be ruffled. "Well, I hope you've got a good memory, Squirrelbrain. I won't be doing it again any time soon."
Squirrelpaw craned her head towards him playfully, "Is that a challenge?"
Crowpaw's eyes widened incredulously, then he sighed with a small laugh. "You're crazier than a fox in a fit."
Feathertail nudged Squirrelpaw, beaming. "I'd take that as a yes." She whispered playfully.
Squirrelpaw's eyes narrowed and she leaned towards Crowpaw, "Even if it isn't, I'll get it out of him, wait and see." The black tom rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth were up and that edged Squirrelpaw on.
Because in a place she couldn't display to anyone, she did cherish the sound of Crowpaw's laugh. Another impossible act she had gotten him to achieve.
She would get him to laugh again.
Her heart couldn't wait to hear it again.
...
I hope everyone's keeping safe in these strange, strange times. At least we all have fanfiction to keep us occupied, it worked before for me, and it will work now. And yes, self-isolation is not that different from my normal life...
ANYWAY here's a new chapter of the story containing a ship no one wanted. And I feel like I should address something as a random person sent me ALOT of PM's complaining about my portrayal of Brambleclaw. Saying I'm making him too mean, too inconsiderate of Squirrelpaw's feelings, too desperate to make her feel small. And I mean, yes he's a complete jerk here, I mean I've gotta break them up somehow, and I know that he's nothing like the New Prophecy Brambleclaw. But he's like the Squirrelflight's Hope Brambleclaw! Thanks Erin Hunter, now I have a legitimate reason to hate him!
In all seriousness, I am sorry to anyone who finds the characters too OOC. I promise I'm not trying to ruin them XD
Anyway, I hope this chapter is good. Please leave a fave if you enjoyed it and want to read more, and leave a review whether you loved or hated this chapter. I appreciate all feedback! Take care of yourselves and see you next chapter.