I am proud to announce that we got a submission! This was written by Bilbz, and was sent to me in a PM. I take no credit for this short.
He laid down on the few leaves that he had managed to make a nest with and stretched out his neck to lick the wound on his shoulder. It still felt steaming-hot, as if a droplet from the sun had dripped onto his fur, making his entire pelt burn.
Oddly enough, he was shivering with cold. Deep inside his body, he felt freezing, weakened, tired. Blood kept dripping out of that open wound, and he couldn't do anything to keep it from staining his golden-and-white fur.
Despite all of that pain, the warrior knew that the wound had been worth it. His kin would be safe, right now his mate had to be arriving back to her clan, carrying the kits that belonged to both of them in her belly, safe and sound.
The desire to see the eyes of those kits opened for the first time was beaten by the overwhelming tiredness that had forced the tom's body to drop to his improvised nest in the small cave that he had found.
He let his head rest, and let himself fall asleep. When he woke up, he would walk back to his camp and find Emberspring waiting for him, maybe already having tiny kits tucked against her side.
Then the memory of his brother's eyes flashed through his mind. Red eyes, with their veins standing out against the sunlight.
He had done what needed to be done, and he knew it.
Yet Wasptrike knew that it wasn't as easy as he would have wanted.
I'm sorry, brother.
Darkness took over him, and it welcomed him to sleep with somber promises of being with those that he loved once he woke up.
(...)
"Wake up, Wasptrike,"
The tom shot his eyes open and saw a ginger warrior standing in front of him. He immediately recognized his amber eyes, which looked back at him with serenity.
"Foxdash…?" He breathed out. "You're… alive?"
The warrior shook his head. "We both know the answer to that."
Wasptrike lowered his head, remembering the moment in which he was forced to slit that tom's throat as if he was a rabbit. "I'm sorry… I didn't want to do it, but you were-"
Foxdash shook his head again, this time with a warm smirk on his face. "Hey, you did what you had to, and that's alright. I don't blame you. It's not your fault I had rabies, you were just trying to protect your carrying mate."
"Emberspring!" Wasptrike exclaimed, looking around the star-lighted forest around him. "Where is she? I have to find her!"
Foxdash shook his head a third time, although his eyes were grim now. "I'm sorry for hurting you too, brother. Your wounds got too infected… I'm afraid you won't wake up."
"I'm… dead?" He asked. "But what about my kits? Can't I see them, at least?"
The ginger tom smiled and led him deep into the forest. "Of course you can."
The two brothers reached a hollow tree, where a ginger-and-black she-cat was resting. She was not alone, however, as three tiny kits were suckling at her belly with eager movements, the ones of the new-borns who cling desperately to their recently-given life.
A small ginger she-cat, a big golden-and-black tom, and a beautiful black she-kit.
Foxdash placed his tail on his brother's shoulder. "I don't blame you for anything, brother… I would have killed and died for these three as well."
Once again going to say this, I take no credit for this short, it is Bilbz's story.
As of right now on my device it won't let me insert the link, so i'll go to my computer and do that in a bit. Anyways!