Contains spoilers.
I've finally updated this story! Sorry it took forever, I was quite busy in the final months of school. Now summer break is a week away thenI'll have plenty of time to write fanfics. You know what I noticed? No one requested me to do one of Shrewpaw...WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE! Doesn't anyone care about Shrewpaw?-cries- Since I felt like he was forgotten I did a chapter dedicated to him. I hope this chapter makes up for the slow update. Sorry.
Desperate Times
Two amber eyes opened. A young, dark brown tom got up and stretched his limbs. He shook off the morning dew that was clinging onto his neat brown pelt. He glanced back at his brother, Spiderpaw, who was still sleeping. Then he glanced at Squirrelpaw and Whitepaw for a moment then turned to crawl out the small den. His nostrils filled with fresh, clean air and he could feel the morning sun's warmth as it rose.
He spotted Firestar speaking with Sandstorm, Brackenfur, Dustpelt and Thornclaw. The young tom watched for a few moments before he heard his name being called.
"Shrewpaw!" it mewed. The young tom looked back and saw Whitepaw bounding towards him. "Good morning Shrewpaw."
Shrewpaw dipped his head politely. "Good morning Whitepaw."
The young white she-cat sat down next to her friend. She curled her tail elegantly around her legs and settled down. "I have a feeling it's going to be a good day. Although, I do miss our old dens. These temporary ones are too stuffy and it's uncomfortable." She complained.
Shrewpaw glanced at the small whole under Sunningrocks. That was their home for the time being since ThunderClan was being destroyed by the Twolegs. Rage began to raise in Shrewpaw at the thought of Twolegs destroying their home.
"Shrewpaw? Are you listening?" the white she-cat asked. Shrewpaw's train of thoughts slowly faded away. He turned back to her and nodded.
Suddenly he felt the weight of another cat come crashing towards him. The young tom's breath was knocked right out of him. He rolled onto his back and began to pant for air. He noticed a black tom with a brown belly standing over him looking at him playfully.
"Oh quit acting so weak. Get up and let's fight." Spiderpaw encouraged. He jumped back and crouched down playfully. Shrewpaw regained his breath and slowly got up.
"I don't want to fight right now, Spiderpaw." The young brown tom rasped. "Couldn't you see I was talking with Whitepaw?" he growled.
Spiderpaw straightened up and a gleam of mischief glimmered in his eyes. "Oh, so you were flirting with her. How cute." He mewed. Shrewpaw's fur began to bristle and he glanced, a bit embarrassed, towards Whitepaw. She sat there staring at him with her bright eyes. He thought her heard her purr.
"Shut it, Spiderpaw." Shrewpaw hissed. Spiderpaw tackled Shrewpaw playfully and pinned him down with his long legs.
"You have a crush on Whitepaw." He chanted. Shrewpaw struggled free and pushed his brother away with his shoulder.
"No I don't!" Shrewpaw hissed. It was kind of true. He thought of Whitepaw as only a friend, but whom he really liked was Squirrelpaw. Suddenly he heard her voice.
"Teasing your brother again? Just because you were the first-born doesn't mean you should tease your siblings." The young tabby mewed to Spiderpaw.
Spiderpaw groaned and rolled his eyes. "It's fun." He mewed. Squirrelpaw stared at him for another moment. "Fine, I'll leave him alone. See you later." Then he backed away from Shrewpaw and trotted off to his mentor, Mousefur.
"Thanks for getting rid of him. He can be quite annoying." Shrewpaw meowed. Squirrelpaw nodded and ruffled her dark ginger fur. Under the sun it seemed like she was on fire. Shrewpaw couldn't stop staring at her. Her green eye glowed with youth and excitement, her ginger fur was so beautiful and her young, slender body was so elegant.
"Squirrelpaw…you l-look very nice today." The young tom stuttered.
"Thanks." She mewed. She didn't seem to be thrilled by Shrewpaw's comment.
Shrewpaw shuffled his paws in the dirt. "Um…you want to go hunting later?" he mewed. But Squirrelpaw seemed distracted. Whitepaw glanced at Shrewpaw and sheathed and unsheathed her claws.
Suddenly a shadow rose from the darkness. It was a large, broad-shouldered tom. He slowly approached Squirrelpaw, his large amber eyes staring at her. It was Brambleclaw. The two cats touched noses, Shrewpaw felt like slashing Brambleclaw into bits. He twitched his tail impatiently.
"Well, I'll see you later Shrewpaw. Bye Whitepaw." The young ginger she-cat turned away and trotted off with Brambleclaw. Shrewpaw sat there motionless for a moment and shrugged.
"Shrewpaw?" Whitepaw mewed. The brown tom looked back at her and cleared his throat.
"Yeah." He meowed. Whitepaw, too, had green eyes but they didn't seem to shine as bright as Squirrelpaw's. Her white fur seemed like melting snow under the sun, not the fire that burned wildly on Squirrelpaw. He wasn't that attracted to Whitepaw as he was to Squirrelpaw.
"Want to go hunting later? Squirrelpaw didn't want to go and I thought you'd be lonely." Whitepaw mumbled as she stared down at her paws.
"No thank you." Shrewpaw replied. He wasn't in the mood to hunt anymore. "I think Thornclaw wants to see me." He mewed. Without even glancing back at Whitepaw, he bounded off. The she-cat was left alone.
Shrewpaw began to feel guilty about leaving Whitepaw all alone. He considered her as his good friend but he didn't have feelings for her. He hoped that he didn't break her heart. The guilty thoughts made Shrewpaw looked back to where Whitepaw was sitting. He could see her sitting there alone looking down at her paws.
The young tom sighed and turned away. He padded towards his mentor, Thornclaw, who was sharing tongues with his sister, Brightheart. Thornclaw stopped and saw his apprentice approaching him.
"Firestar said that we'll be hunting after Spiderpaw and Mousefur returns." The golden-brown tom meowed. "Um…err- yeah that's all."
Shrewpaw nodded. He was glad to have Thornclaw as his mentor. He was his first apprentice and was proud to be it. The golden-brown tom returned to sharing tongues with Brightheart. Suddenly Shrewpaw had an idea.
He bounded towards Whitepaw who was still sitting alone. The young she-cat raised her head. Her dull green eyes gazed at Shrewpaw as he approached.
"Want to share tongues?" he asked. He felt guilty and he thought if they shared tongues it'd cheer his friend up.
Whitepaw's eye brightened. "Okay!" she mewed excitedly. The two cats sat next to each other. Whitepaw licked his ear affectionately and he did the same. The two cats began to purr.
Shrewpaw noticed how neatly kept Whitepaw's fur was. Her deep green eyes were large and cheerful. Her soft, soothing fur made Shrewpaw calm and happy. His heart began to beat faster and he breathed in her scent. Suddenly he felt his heart ache. He gasped and stepped back from Whitepaw. She was a bit surprised and shocked.
"I'm sorry, was it something I did?" she asked. Unsure of what to say, Shrewpaw shook his head.
"I thought I felt something sharp under my foot. I'm sorry let's continue." Shrewpaw sat back down and pressed his nose onto her flank. Her soothing scent made him clam again. A few moments later the sharp pain in his heart returned. He restrained the pain and tried not to jump back. He realized what was troubling him. He liked Whitepaw and Squirrelpaw. "Am I betraying Squirrelpaw? No…she doesn't even like me. But still…I like her and Whitepaw." He thought.
Even though he liked Squirrelpaw he felt more loved when he was around Whitepaw. Still, his feelings for Squirrelpaw stuck with him. Suddenly he heard his name being called.
"Shrewpaw, let's go!" Thornclaw yelled.
"I'll be right there." He responded. His gaze shifted from Thornclaw to Whitepaw. "When I get back, we can share tongues again." He mewed.
Whitepaw nodded and purred. "Alright. I'll see you when you get back." She pressed her nose against his and purred.
"Alright. Oh, by the way…I do-" but before he could finish his sentence he heard another call from Thornclaw. "I've got to go." He mewed. He quickly licked her ear and bounded off. Her sweet scent still lingered in the air. Shrewpaw breathed in her scent and held his as he ran to his mentor. Then he released his breath and glanced back at Whitepaw.
"Let's go." Thornclaw meowed. The two cats trotted off to hunt.
At the start of the hunt Shrewpaw suggested that they should split up. Thornclaw agreed and the two took two separate trails.
"Be careful." Thornclaw meowed before he parted.
"I will." Shrewpaw mewed. The young tom trotted off in search for some prey. He sniffed the air for a moment. He could smell an old mouse, a dead blackbird and a pheasant. His mouth began to water as he thought of the pheasant.
He crouched down and slowly moved towards the direction of the pheasant. Every step made his toes tingle with excitement. If he caught this pheasant it would feed half of the clan and he'd be a hero. Maybe it would impress Squirrelpaw and Whitepaw. Maybe Spiderpaw would give him some respect aswell. Just the thought of being a hero to his clan made his heart beat faster.
He longed for more attention from Squirrelpaw. Yet he wanted to Whitepaw to be proud of him too. He wanted both cats to love him, he wanted to love both of them. But he couldn't. He had mixed feelings for both. He tried not to think about that now, he tried to stay focus on the pheasant that was nearby.
He caught sight of the plump creature. It was scarce these days to find plump prey. His clan as well as his friends and parents would be so proud of him if he brought this pheasant home. He lunged forward towards the pheasant. All he could think about was having that pheasant in his mouth and the pride he would have if he shared it with the clan. He'd be a hero.
Suddenly a drop of rain startled him and his thoughts faded away. He heard a loud rumbled of a monster and lost sight of the pheasant. Suddenly he saw a large monster heading straight towards him. Fear rose in his eyes, but before he could escape the monster crashed into him.
His dull, limp body laid there motionless. His neck was instantly broken and he felt no pain. A faint scent of pheasant still lingered around him. Blood slowly spilled out of his body. His neat fur was all tangled and bloody. His eyes, one bloody and the other was dull and stared into nothingness. Those amber eyes that were full of life earlier that day remained dull and lifeless.
"I can still smell your sweet scent." he mewed. "It lingers around me. No matter how far away I am from you I can still smell it. I feel like you're with me…"
He felt a cold shiver. He took a deep breath, inhaling her sweet scent. Then he felt a bit more calm and happier knowing that he could still smell her scent.
"At least I'm not alone."
Awww...poor Shrewpaw. I've always thought that he had a crush on Squirrelpaw and Whitepaw. Then he liked Whitepaw a bit more knowing that Squirrelpaw had no feelings for him...everyone knows she likes Brambleclaw. Well anyways, here's his chapter. It was sad to write at the end...I know who I'm doing next but I do need suggestions on what scene should I do for Sorrelpaw, Squirrelpaw and leafpaw. I don't know what to write for them...so if you want me to do anything specific with these characters just say so. Thank you for reading and reviews are very much appreciated!