Don't Touch Me
Runningbrook x ? oneshot

Scarlet blood splattered against crispy dead leaves that glowed underneath a pale rising sun. A pale gray tabby dragged hereself away from an approaching cat. She couldn't move away fast enough in her terribly wounded state to escape his searching jade eyes. Blood bubble in her nostrils as she struggled to stay concious as, all around her, cats were fighting to their deaths. Her cerulean eyes were wide with terror as he grew closer to her. Blackness threatened to overtake her, but she forced herself to turn around and stare at him with dim blue eyes, memories surfacing in them as she remembered her only regret. He padded closer to her until their fur almost touched.

"Don't touch me," She snarled, although her words had little conviction. His green eyes sparkled with amusement, though within them, deep sorrow welled up to the top of his hazy viridian pools. Heaving for breath, she let her front legs slide out in front of her as she slipped awkwardly in a puddle of her own blood. The tomcat rushed forward to help her up, but one look from her showed that she was already dying, and there was nothing he could do except honor her wish to be untouched.

For as long as she could remember, Runningbrook had never been a cat to show her affections. For her, showing emotions was a sign of kittypet weakness. If she showed mercy, it would be a chance in battle for an enemy to finish her off. Either you keep your mouth shut and remain silent, or you die. It was that simple.

Or was it? Ever since she had stayed in that despicable Twoleg barn, she had found herself thinking of his sleek black fur and the way his muscles rippled smoothly underneath his soft peolet whenever he walked. Had she imagined the glow in his leaf-green eyes whenever he saw her? She ignored her feelings, instead remaning loyal to her Clan. Acting on impulse would only end in heartbreak for the both of them. From then on, she always seemed to run into him while he was patrolling his territory. He would bound forward eagerly to touch noses with her, but each time, she recoiled as if he were a deadly adder rearing up to strike her.

"Don't touch me," Runningpaw spat in disgust, her anger always rising when his green eyes would glow with amusement and he let out a purr of laughter. Her neck fur bristled angrily at his visible humor, and she took a threatening step forward, her hackles raised. "Get off my territory!"

"As you wish," He would respond each time, and not draw closer. Runningpaw snorted in half-amusement, half-frustration, and she would lead him to the border. She knew that if he would press his fur against hers, it would all be over. Her morals and beliefs would be naught, vanished like the frosty morning dew on slick blades of grass.

As the seasons passed, she saw him less and less. Perhaps it was because of the shortage of WindClan warriors, and that they couldn't do border patrols as often. He entered her dream world, and every so often she would imagine what it would be like if she allowed their paths to intertwine. But it was only a passing thought, and she moved on in her life. Even so...

Runningbrook poised on the hill top elegantly as the gray tabby warrior leading the WindClan patrol talked to Barley, a black and white tom loner. Apparently, the two loners were going to join them in the BloodClan battle. She tensed as she noticed the sleek black tomcat slip away from his companion's side to greet her. The pale tabby raised her hackles and spat, her tail bristling to twice its normal size.

"I'm warning you, don't touch me," Runningbrook snarled ferociously, hoping that her words had some conviction, for her heart was hammering inside her chest. She allowed her pale blue eyes to travel over him, and for a moment, she almost regretted her decision. But she unsheathed her claws, her body tense and ready for battle.

"As you wish,"" He meowed calmly, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of sadness. He waved his black tail in farewell, adding, "See you at the BloodClan battle tomorrow."

Tornear rejoined her side after exchanging a quick farewell with Barley. The tabby warrior studied her with knowing green eyes, and he touched his gray tail tip to her pale shoulder. Runningbrook calmly watched the two loners pad off into the sunset, the pink and orange streaks contrasting the sky as the sun began to sink underneath the horizon. The midnight black cat looked back once, and their eyes met. Then he disappeared beneath the crest of the hill.

"All along.." Her soft voice faltered as she struggled to continue. "this isn't how it...it wasn't supposed to end this way..." Runningbrook rested her star-filled blue orbs on his green ones, which were swimming with emotion. She willed him to understand what she felt for him in these last few moments of her life.

"What did you wish?" He quietly asked the dying warrior who had prowled through so many of his dreams. Runningbrook's gray tabbyflanks heaved for breath, though her gaze was now filled with peace as she tilted her head to touch noses with him for the first and last time.

"You should have never...never listened to me when...when I said..." Runningbrook panted heavily, her pale blue eyes growing dimmer rapildly,

"Don't touch me, Ravenpaw."

Then she gave a violent shudder, and the last breath left her gray tabby body as her blue eyes closed forever. Ravenpaw crouched low, his nose buried in the fur of the cat he had loved. He had never expected that she loved him, too, but he had seen it in her eyes, which were now shut tightly. All around him, he heard the screeches of battling cats. Right now, it didn't matter if they won or lost, because he still heard her voice ringing clearly in his head.

Don't touch me.