I Never Said I Love You
Thornpaw/Tawnypaw
Oneshot

Wind flattening his fur to his back, he quietly padded onto the moorland, the tip of his tail faintly brushing against one of the ferns on the edge of the woodlands. Strong gusts of wind threatened to blow him off his paws, but rather than turn back, he flattened himself to the parched ground, and pressed onwards. Nothing could stop him, not even the intense heat that made his pelt blaze like fire. But the warmth on his golden-brown back couldn't compare to the fire that burned inside him.

Golden eyes blazed with a tender softness for the one he loved. Her slender tortoiseshell body made his heart race, her green eyes made his fur tingle, and her warm WindClan scent seemed oddly comforting to him, even though they were rivals by code. He was young, yes, butyoung love was the purest of all. And today, he was going to tell Tawnypaw, the WindClan apprentice of Tornear of the love that ran so deep inside of him that he felt it with each beat of his heart.

It really was odd to have a kit in his own Clan named Tawnykit, who also happened to be a tortoiseshell with jade eyes. But his Tawnypaw was more beautiful, more sweet, more perfect. She was so precious to him. He couldn't believe that it had taken him a quarter moon to realize that he loved her back. The mahogany tabby's whole pelt quivered in anticipation of seeing her again.

He continued to nervously pad across the moors, silently cursing StarClan for giving them such hot weather this season. He knew it was risky to be on WindClan terra, especially now, after Fireheart and Bluestar had been denied access to traveling across their territory to the Moonstone for sheltering Brokentail. Thornpaw briefly wondered why WindClan was so hostile. After all, Brokentail was dead. He had died shortly after Tigerclaw's betrayal. Tigerclaw. Another reason why it was so dangerous to be out wandering the forest alone. And yet, despite all these dangers he was full aware of, he felt strangely free and protected.

Soon, he caught trace of a WindClan she-cat. He tensed and darted to the shelter of a lone hawthorn bush. Hesilently cursed as the sharp branches protruded his side. He lowered himself to the dry ground, claws unsheathed and prepared to fight if he had to. Several moments later, he relaxed as he caught sight of Whitepaw, Tawnypaw's best friend. The small ivory apprentice knew about him and Tawnypaw. She didn't like it, but she had sworn by StarClan to keep their meetings a secret. Whitepaw carefully sniffed the air, and her blue eyes clouded as she caught his scent.

"Thornpaw? She mewed hesitantly, her cerulean eyes wide. Thornpaw slowly crept out of the bush in which he was sheltered, immediately feeling the heat beat down on his thick pelt once more. Whitepaw touched noses with him, her light eyes still clouded. Thornpaw studied Whitepaw carefully, wondering why she was alone. The white apprentice was almost a warrior, yes, but it was still dangerous for a seasoned warrior to be alone. Then again, he reflected, WindClan didn't know about Tigerclaw just yet.

"Hey, Whitepaw," He casually greeted his friend, though his amber eyes darted around in an obvious attempt to look for Tawnypaw. "Where's Tawnypaw?" Whitepaw didn't answer him, only stared at her paws. Thornpaw felt dread clutch his heart like thorn-sharp claws, and he shivered, despite the intense heat waves coming from the blazing sun. In his mind, he saw her mangled body, and his tail lashed nervously.

"Listen, Thornpaw," Whitepaw began, her blue eyes unreadable. Thornpaw noticed that she was looking anywhere but at him. He patiently listened, though his heart was hammering faster than a woodpecker breaking through a tree. "I was just coming to find you now. I didn't...I didn't want you to find out at the Gathering."

"F-find what out?" The golden-brown tom stuttered, choking over his words in fear for Tawnypaw. Why wasn't Whitepaw telling him anything? Whitepaw let out a long sigh, her white tail tip touching his shoulder in...sympathy? "Is Tawnypaw okay?"

"No," The WindClan apprentice finally meowed after a long silence. Thornpaw stared at her in complete shock, his amber eyes huge with emotion. "Tawnypaw...she couldn't take the heat. She died last night. I'm sorry."

His whole world spun in a whirlwind of colors, and all he could feel was his heart feeling like it was being clawed apart by the fiercest warriors. His front legs gave way beneath him, and he slumped down, his whole body numb. The golden tom gazed up at Whitepaw with clouded amber orbs.

"But.." The words seemed caught in his throat, and he struggled to get them out as his voice dropped to a painful whisper, "I loved her." Whitepaw simply stared at him, her misty blue eyes hazy as she touched noses with her grieveing friend. Thornpaw flinched, but he didn't turn away, only stared at her with misery in his amber eyes.

"She's lucky that you loved her while she was still here," Whitepaw meowed in a hopeless attempt to comfort him.The WindClan apprenticecrouched down next to him, pressing her snowy white pelt against his brown tabby fur. Thornpaw stared into nothingness, his mind flashing with memories of Tawnypaw. He remembered the night a quarter moon ago when they had met at Fourtrees. The moon was shining brightly overhead, turning her soft tortoiseshell fur to silver. It was that night that she had turned around and proclaimed her love for him, her green eyes alight with life.In shock, he left without a word, to mull over his feelings. And now, it was too late to say I'm sorry. It was too late to say I love you.

"No. I never told her," Thornpaw rasped, the words sticking in his throat like sharp thorns as he stood to leave the moorland. He gazed around him, and wondered if he would ever be able to see the moors and not think of Tawnypaw eternally running over them, chasing rabbits as the wind flattened her fur. "I never said I love you."

A/N: What is it with me and killing off she-cats today?
R&R please.