The Sandstorm chapter
I'm sorry this updated a little late, my parents spirited me away to go blueberry picking this morning.
Am I going to have to make an outline for this fic? Probably gonna have to otherwise I won't know what direction I'll want it to go in. ;-; This'll take a while...
I read the excerpt from Graystripe's Vow and ow my heartstrings :(
Thornclaw is a piece of dung. If you read it you'll know why. WELCOME TO MY HATE LIST HAVE A NICE STAY JERK.
Cats mingled around the High Rock, casting glances at the entrance of the leaders' den. Last night's incident was still fresh in their minds, and the clan wanted answers regarding Firestar and his feral behavior. Sandstorm lashed her tail in agitation, not happy with the whispers echoing around camp.
"What happened last night? Firestar had wings and scales!"
"Something about a stone lodged in him...?"
"He looked ready to bolt at any moment. Can he really lead the clan like this?"
"Lead the clan? He was ready to tear us apart, maybe he shouldn't be in the clan!"
She hissed angrily at the last comment, and spun around and stalked over to the group of senior warriors who were talking about her mate as if she wasn't there.
"Firestar is still your leader. And that is my mate you're talking about," she growled. Berrynose opened his mouth,clearly wanting to disagree, only for Thornclaw to shove his tail into it, giving him a look and shaking his head. The other warriors looked at her warily, just now realizing that Sandstorm wouldn't tolerate anyone saying fox-dung about her mate. She gave them one last glare before stalking off.
"You were really about to argue with Sandstorm of all cats?" she heard Thornclaw whisper angrily at Berrynose.
She saw Jayfeather exit the leaders' den, a look of muted fear on his face. He padded over to the fresh-kill pile and chose a decent sized squirrel before heading back into the leaders' den. He was in and out of the den in a flash. She ran up to meet him.
"How is he?" she gave a worried meow. Jayfeather gave a heavy sigh. "He's fine. His eyes are back to being green and he's not acting like he was last night anymore, but we told him what happened and he... didn't take it well."
She narrowed her eyes. If Firestar was acting normal then why did Jayfeather look so scared? "The expression on your face and your fear-scent say he's less than fine. Or do you fear him like everyone else in the clan?" she hissed at him.
He gave her a glare. "I don't fear him, I just fear what he can do. He was so distraught over what happened last night that he shot fire at the wall of the den. Forgive me if I'm a little fearful of him losing control and accidentally hurting someone. Not only does someone get hurt, but his mind will also fracture from all the self-loathing that was coming off him in waves." They stood in silence, Sandstorm registering his words. Firestar was a sensitive soul- if he hurt someone from his clan, even accidentally, he would never forgive himself.
"What he needs is our support then, not our fear. Fearing him will just make everything worse," she said in a low tone.
Jayfeather shrugged. "You need to give him support. I need to figure out if that stone came from Starclan or not. If it did, then they have a lot to answer to."
"And if the stone didn't come from Starclan?"
Jayfeather was silent, trying to think of a solution. Sandstorm dug her claws in the soft earth, impatient. "Well if the stone came from the sky, can't we just say that this whole thing is a gift from Starclan? The clan might be placated if they think our ancestors were the ones to do this to him."
"Or they might turn their fear and anger onto Starclan instead. That's the last thing we need right now..." Jayfeather trailed off, not sure if he should tell her about the possible war with the Dark Forest.
Sandstorm have a snort. "Because we need Starclan to help with the Dark Forest, is that it?" He looked at her, startled. "Who told you that?"
"No one. I'm not a mouse-brain Jayfeather; do you really think I would forget Tigerstar's scent so quickly? I can smell him, Darkstripe, Hawkfrost, and Brokenstar all over the territory." He flicked an ear, not sure what to say. 'So some of the warriors can use their heads, nice to know,' he snarked in his head.
"Look, I'm really not sure what to do about Firestar. I have things to do and you should be seeing your mate." With that, he padded off to the medicine den, yelling for Briarlight to stop gossiping and get on with her exercises. She didn't know if he was trying to deflect away from Firestar.
Cats watched her as she made her way into the leaders' den. She didn't expect to see her mate trying to snuggle up with Brambleclaw. Brambleclaw raised an eyebrow at her, daring her to say something. Firestar caught onto the fact that Brambleclaw was staring at something else and gave a happy chirp at the sight of his mate.
She twitched an ear, wondering if Jayfeather had lied to her. His eyes were clearly red and he was acting like he had the night before. "Brambleclaw, what's going on? I thought Jayfeather said he was back to acting like he usually does," she hissed out.
"Usual. Right. I guess his breakdown was also usual behavior for him?" Brambleclaw gave a dismissive snort. "He wasn't acting like this originally. He just...shifted for lack of better term, back into this." He gestured to Firestar, who look confused as to why Sandstorm wasn't joining them. "It's like every time his eyes turn red, he...regresses into this state."
She noticed Firestar's wings twitching in agitation, clearly wanting to spring up and greet her but not wanting to leave Brambleclaw. She wondered if he knew they were talking about him, or maybe he did and either wasn't listening or didn't care. She sighed, wondering how long if would be before she saw his beautiful green eyes again. She padded up to join them and Firestar unwound himself from Brambleclaw and jumped at her.
She stood completely still as Firestar showered her in tender loving licks, nuzzling her and purring into her ears, making sure to be gentle with her. She giggled, even with this feral mindset, Firestar was very happy to be with her. She couldn't recall a time where he was ever this overly affectionate with her. If anything, at least he still cared about her.
Brambleclaw got up and stretched out his limbs. Even though Firestar was being gentle with them, his strength had still been enhanced, and to Brambleclaw, Firestar's embrace was still somewhat tight. He had to be mindful of his claws and scales, which looked like they could cut through even stone. He looked over at the entrance of the den, wondering if Firestar would let him go. But no, Firestar was giving him looks while alternating what kind of love to give Sandstorm, almost as if Firestar was thinking, 'Don't even think about it'.
Two shadows stood outside the den. "Brambleclaw, Mother? Is everything okay in there?" He recognized Squirrelflight's voice, and he gave the air a sniff, also recognizing Leafpool with her. He looked over at Firestar, who looked happy at hearing his daughter's voices.
"Everything's fine Squirrelflight, we're just working through some... issues," Sandstorm said nonchalantly.
They entered the den, surprised to see Firestar hovering over Sandstorm, watching them intently. His red eyes were off-putting. "He's not hurting you is he?" Leafpool fretted, keeping an eye on Firestar's claws.
"She's fine, and I wouldn't be concerned if I were you. He'll get upset and try to comfort you if you do," Brambleclaw commented dryly. They gave each other wary looks before slowly padding forward. Firestar got off Sandstorm and circled around his daughters, his pelt brushing up against theirs. He finally stopped and started giving them joyful nuzzles.
The two she-cats were rigid in shock, remembering that Firestar was close to pouncing onto the clan last night. Now he was happy to see them. He led them over to where Sandstorm and Brambleclaw were and curled around them, while his wings stretched out and managed to cover Sandstorm and Brambleclaw. He was purring, happy that all his treasures were in one room.
"I'd get used to this if I were you. Seems this is going to be happening a lot," Sandstorm meowed. She didn't want her mate to be like this all the time; he had a clan to lead. But Firestar was so happy like this. She would give him this moment. He was always stressed out these days.
Firestar Protection Squad Assemble! Eh kind of, Squirrel and Leaf are still pretty wary of him.
Dragons are hoarders. They'll do anything they can to protect their treasures. Firestar doesn't have any gold, but to him his family are his treasures. Do anything to hurt or take them away and watch out.
Tell me how I did.