'You're a sky full of stars
Such a heavenly view.'

'Sky Full of Stars' - Coldplay

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The forest stood tall and daunting behind them, casting long shadows across the grassy meadow they had come to rest in. A golden sun teetered precariously on the edge of the mountains they'd left in their wake. It seemed to glow brighter than it had in moons, throwing warm rays across the land it looked over. But just as the sun glowed brighter so did the crimson moon from its perch high in the sky as it relayed a grim reminder to the cats unfortunate enough to know Crimson; they were never going to be safe until she was dead.

"Get your paws off my shoulder!"

"Oh calm down and stop being such a mouse! If we don't cover your shoulder it'll get infected. Honestly, I've seen kits braver than you."

"You come near me one more time and I'll bite your legs off!"

"We could just let it get infected, might teach her a lesson about how important healing wounds are."

"How about you come over here, Willowclaw, so I can give you a matching one on your already sore shoulder? How are your ribs by the way? Still throbbing?"

Eaglestrike snorted as he pressed down harder on Icepetal's haunches, keeping the fuming she-cat pinned firmly against the soft grass. "Would you rather it get infected? I can guarantee the pain will be twice as worse."

"I'd rather you all didn't ambush me the moment we walked out of the forest!" Icepetal spat, snapping her jaw shut whiskers from Rainpatch's ear.

The WaveClan tom twitched the ear he'd nearly lost but didn't remove his paws from the she-cat's wounded shoulder. Dry blood crusted around the edges of the deep gash, though fresh blood oozed from the deepest part of it. The skin surrounding the gash was an angry red colour and felt hot under Rainpatch's paw. He was no medicine cat but he figured that wasn't a good thing.

All he knew was to cover the wound with cobwebs and make sure Icepetal's body was given a few days of rest to fight off the infection. Of course this would only work if the spitting she-cat held still long enough for the cobwebs to put on strong enough.

"We didn't ambush you," Willowclaw retorted.

Icepetal twisted her neck to glare up at him. He smirked down at her and dug the tips of his claws into her flank. "All three of you tackled me to the ground and I swear if any of you dig your claws into me one more time I will slice your tail off and shove it down your throat!"

"Getting a little bad-tempered are we?" Rainpatch chuckled, stretching a swab of cobwebs between his front paws. He glanced over his shoulder, "want to come lend a paw, Littleflame? She might be less inclined to chomp on your ear after we've finished."

"No, I-I-I think I'll stay here," Littleflame mumbled sleepily. She laid her head back down on the ground, sneezing as her nose pushed a yellow flower into the grass. The fur on her throat was thin, showing the ugly scar that cut across the pale skin.

Eaglestrike smiled softly at the orange-furred she-cat before returning his attention to the other much angrier she-cat under his paws. "Come on, Icepetal, I want to have a nap in the sun before it sets. Just stop squirming and let Rainpatch cover your shoulder!"

"Nap in the sun?" Icepetal sneered at the rusty coloured tom. "Didn't realise you were nearing your elder moons. Are your joints aching as well? Can you still see properly?"

"My elder moons are a long way off, thank you very much, but after the exhausting past couple of days a nap sounds very pleasant," he snapped back.

Icepetal opened her jaw to bite back a sharp reply when Rainpatch brought his cobwebbed paws down on her shoulder, covering the wound as quickly as he could with the sticky strands. She howled as the cobwebs rubbed against her flayed flesh, glaring up at the white-patched tom with murder in her eyes. A dull pain throbbed in her shoulder and she winced when she moved it.

"You couldn't have done that any gentler could you?" she snarled.

"Well if you had have sat still like a good little warrior then I might've been able to do it gently but you decided to hiss, spit, hurl insults and wriggle around like a kit," Rainpatch reminded. "So, no, I couldn't have done it any gentler."

Eaglestrike grinned as he let go of Icepetal's haunches, sidestepping the bad-tempered she-cat's poorly aimed kick at his chest. He flicked her with his tail grinning widely. "Were you ever this bad with your Clan's medicine cat?" he asked.

"I never went to the medicine cat if it could be avoided," Icepetal snapped in reply. "Nasty cat with paws full of herbs that sting and stink. Who in their right mind wants to crush plants together for the rest of their life?"

"Maybe that's why that wound on your stomach scarred as badly as it did," Willowclaw pointed out, poking the scar in question with his nose.

Icepetal purred softly, pawing the tabby's nose away before rising shakily to her paws, "that scar was looked at by a medicine cat but there was nothing he could do to avoid it scarring."

"You should definitely tell us how you got it," Rainpatch added with a grin. "Sounds like there's an interesting story behind it."

The SnowClan she-cat touched a paw to the scar they spoke of, glancing down at the ground before they could see the worried look cross her face. "Maybe. We should go hunting."

Rainpatch shook his head, "you can but I deserve a break after fixing you up."

"I'll go hunting with you," Willowclaw offered, sharing an amused glance with Rainpatch before heading off in the direction of the trees they'd come from. "Just don't expect me to bring back much prey."

The two warriors vanished into the shadows of the trees, talking quietly to each other until their low murmuring could no longer be heard by the others left behind on the edge of the rolling grasslands they'd found after leaving the tall forest. A rather steep hill dipped down to meet the lands that seemed to stretch for as far as the eye could see, up until the point where Crimson's mountain rose from the horizon to black out the sky with its silhouette.

Eaglestrike looked out over the grasslands, scanning over them with a careful gaze. None of them had any idea what was out there, what was waiting for them beyond the edges of their Clan territories. He glanced back over his shoulder to where the smaller mountain tops that ringed his home peeked over the tips of the trees and suddenly he longed to go home, to return to his normal life as a warrior of PhoenixClan.

Grass rustled beside him as orange fur brushed against his shoulder. "You look deep in thought," Littleflame murmured, watching him sheepishly from the corner of her eye.

"I was just thinking about what we might face down there," he gestured to the world before them.

The orange she-cat shrugged her shoulders lightly, "who knows. Probably things we've never seen before." She shuddered. "Scary things."

A soft tail wrapped lightly around her shoulders, tugging her flush against his shoulder. He could hear a near silent purr emanating from the she-cat beside him though she kept her head tucked close to her chest. "I'll protect you from all the scary things," he murmured.

"I-I can protect myself," Littleflame stammered and pushed herself out of Eaglestrike's warm embrace. "Do all of you just assume that I need protecting?"

Eaglestrike was stunned by the intensity shining in the small warrior's eyes. "Uh, I, uh didn't mean it that way." Don't she-cats like it when they're told that they will be protected?

"Then how did you mean it? Because it certainly sounded like you feel the need to always protect me. Have you forgotten what happened yesterday? I nearly killed you and I nearly killed Willowclaw." She raised her neck, baring the ugly scar that now ran across it. "And then I died."

"You didn't die, Tornheart saved you," Eaglestrike reminded.

She rolled her eyes, forgetting about her shyness in her anger. "Died, nearly died, they're both the same. Tornheart sacrificed herself to save me, she died in my place so that I could continue on this ridiculous journey and you all stand around assuming I need protection. That is an insult to her memory!"

"We would not need to remember her if you hadn't let whatever it was take over your mind and possess your body!" he snapped back. His anger was rising. Why couldn't she just have liked being told that he would protect her?

A loud yowl snapped him out of his trance just in time to see Littleflame's small figure plough into him, pushing them both over the edge of the steep hill and sending them tumbling down towards the soft grass at the bottom. "I'll show you who needs protecting," Littleflame shrieked, bringing her paw down on Eaglestrike's cheek.

His eyes widened as he grappled with the angry she-cat and he feared that she had let her body be possessed once more. But when her paw crashed down on his cheek he found that her claws were sheathed. She was not trying to kill him, only prove herself.

Their bodies were flung apart when they hit the bottom of the hill, their breaths knocked out of them as the ground rushed up to meet them. Littleflame was on her paws in an instant, stalking over to where the PhoenixClan tom was shaking some grass from his fur. He glanced up and then looked down hoping to smother his smirk. She looked so different when she was angry.

He opened his mouth to say something but a heavy clout across his muzzle shut him up. Stormy blue eyes narrowed. "So you want to play this game?"

"We aren't playing a game," Littleflame spat, ducking her head to avoid Eaglestrike's swipe but failing to dodge the paw that swiped her legs out from under her. Before he could step over her to end the spar before it started, she rolled a little to the right and kicked her hind legs. He winced as a spark of pain bloomed from his chest.

"I suppose we're not," he growled and pounced, snaking his paws around Littleflame's stomach and driving her into the ground. Both their claws still remained sheathed but their spar was quickly turning into a fully fledged battle in which two cats fought bitterly to prove the other wrong. It wasn't like Eaglestrike wanted to prove that Littleflame needed protection, just that she needed to be looked after a little.

She snapped her jaws shut on the empty air beside his ear as he struggled to keep her wriggling body pinned to the ground. In a moment of slight weakness Eaglestrike left his belly open for attack whilst sliding his forepaws down to pin her shoulders. Littleflame struck with the speed of a snake, biting down on the tom's ear to distract him before launching upwards, digging her shoulder into his open belly with surprising strength.

He gasped as the air was forcefully chased from his lungs. A drop of blood fell from his bitten ear and rolled down the side of his face. Blue eyes met green and the battle took a deadly turn. Blood had been drawn. A line had been crossed.

A slight flicker of fear dashed across Littleflame's face before it was replaced with a strained look of confidence. Her adrenaline fuelled rage was fading and with it her confidence. But she'd started this fight so she was determined to finish it.

When Eaglestrike charged at her with hackles raised and claws unsheathed she was ready for him, crouched down low to the ground looking like a coiled snake. He expected her to shoot to the side at the last moment or perhaps even jump into the air above him. What he didn't expect was her to stand her ground so that he crashed straight into her. His surprise coupled with the confusion of the moment left him defenceless against her previously planned strikes.

Two paws encircled his neck and pulled down, flipping him straight onto his back. Once again he found himself gasping for air as black dots swam before his vision. Claws pricked at the skin on his throat and once his vision cleared he found himself staring up into Littleflame's narrowed eyes. His breath caught in his throat.

"Are you two going at it again!? I go into the forest to relieve myself and come back to find you two at the bottom of the hill trying to tear chunks out of each other!" Rainpatch's voice reached them through the haze of their small battle. "If you two have injured yourselves I am not patching you up!"

In an instant their anger at each other broke, as did the tension between them. A rare bout of laughter bubbled up inside Littleflame and she let it out in a quiet laugh that only the tom currently pinned underneath her could hear. He smiled, unable to take his eyes of the laughing she-cat above him.

"What?" she said between giggles.

"I've never heard you laugh before."

She flattened her ears in discomfort. "It's not something I do very often."

A heartbeat of silence passed between them before Eaglestrike stretched his neck upwards, pressing his nose against Littleflame's cheek. Her eyes widened then softened upon meeting his. "You should do it more often," he murmured. "I like it."

Littleflame abruptly stumbled backwards, falling into a sitting position a few paw steps away from the reddish tom. She appeared to be looking straight past him as if there was someone standing behind him. Concerned that someone was indeed standing behind him Eaglestrike looked over his shoulder and saw no one. Only sprawling grasslands and clumps of trees greeted him.

"Say," he began in an attempt to call Littleflame's attention back to him. "When did you get so good at fighting? Last time we sparred you were pretty terrible."

The shy she-cat flinched out of her trance as if she'd been struck. "Nearly dying changes a lot of things," was her murmured response before she rose to her paws and began making her way back up the steep hill.

Eaglestrike watched her with a curious gaze, worried that she might never truly get over the knowledge of nearly dying.

He spent no more time lying in the soft grass beneath the hill, choosing to also make the annoying journey back up to the top where he found that Icepetal and Willowclaw had returned with a substantial catch.

The two were shoving each other around, fighting over who would get the large vole they'd caught and laughing like nothing was wrong with the world around them. It felt like nothing was wrong with the world – like everything was good and everyone was safe. Eaglestrike found that, if he closed his eyes and just listened to the sounds of the others, he could almost grasp the elusive feeling that was peace. It was there just in front of him, teasing him but always managing to dart out of the way at the last moment.

When he opened his eyes he opened them to see Rainpatch swiping the vole out from under Willowcaw, taking a bite before either he or Icepetal could say a single word. He smiled at the outraged looked crossing both cats faces and decided that he liked the feeling of near-peace. If actual peace was anything like this then, he decided, he was fighting for something worthwhile.

That night, when the sun had set completely and the stars had blinked into existence in the blanket of black above them, they all lay on their backs atop the steep hill looking up into the sky. In silence they watched the stars wink at them from their perches so high up in the sky, smiling down on the five cats as if they were hiding secrets.

Willowclaw lay so close to Icepetal that their fur brushed and their tails loosely twined together, though they never turned to look at each other. Rainpatch told stories of his apprenticehood and the pranks he and his siblings played on the Clan. Littleflame reached over with a paw, nudging Eaglestrike gently. When he looked at her questioningly she offered a small smile and his heart swelled.

But they were only borrowing the near-peace. And, at some point, everything borrowed must be returned.

The next night demanded the return of that borrowed peace.

"She's so cold."

"Eaglestrike, lay with her and try to warm her up."

"Wait why do I have to warm her up? Why can't Icepetal do it?"

"Just do it."

Her body was as cold as ice and hardly moved. Only her flanks stirred with tiny falls as she took frail breaths. Eaglestrike curled himself around her body and watched, waiting for his body heat to warm her freezing form. But it did not. She remained ice cold.

"Try waking her up," Willowclaw offered.

Eaglestrike nudged the sleeping CedarClan warrior, murmured in her ear, even nipped at her flank but she refused to wake, only stirred in her deep sleep and shivered.

"Maybe," Rainpatch began, "maybe this is a battle she has to fight. Leave her. If she wants to wake up then she will. All we can do is hope."

It was the early moments of the morning just before dawn spread its rays across the world that she finally did wake up. After a long night of keeping her as close to his body as possible Eaglestrike found himself jolted awake by the sudden movement of her head. Her breathing grew quick and erratic as she frantically looked around until meeting Eaglestrike's worried eyes. "I can see them," she whispered hoarsely.

"See who?" He was more than concerned now.

"The dead."

AN: Confused Eaglestrike is confused when it comes to she-cats. No, Littleflame is not about to turn into some ghost whisperer.

-Hunter