~Summary~
Skyheart used to be a normal ShadowClan warrior. That was before she woke up on the other side of the lake on WindClan's territory, with no memory of the past six moons. Now she struggles to live a normal life, haunted by that black void that looms in her mind whenever she tries to think back, along with a best friend who is acting strange and unusually protective of her. And then there is that RiverClan warrior, the one who stares openly and acts much too friendly with her. Life has never been so complicated.
Previously...
Her fur bristled, and her eyes were wide as she imagined it. She would have her old life back! Everything would be as it was before! She would finally feel normal again!
And then Stormfall spoke, and everything crashed down around her.
"I loved you," he meowed, "And you loved me." He said it so seriously.
...what?
~Lost~
Chapter Five
"No," Skyheart whispered, eyes wide in disbelief. "That...that can't be right. Why would I have loved you, a cat from a different Clan? That's...it's against the warrior code!" Her legs felt like they would give out at any given moment.
Her mind was frayed. This was not what she had been expecting. She had wanted answers...not this! She hadn't wanted to hear this!
"No," her voice rose. "No! Lies! You're lying! I would never betray my Clan like that!"
Her claws dug deep into the earth, feeling like she would be blown away by some unseen force should she let go. Everything she had thought this cat might know... what he could tell her...was she wrong? Because, how could she possibly accept what he was saying? That she was in love with him, a cat from RiverClan...it didn't seem plausible. It was nothing but nonsense in her ears.
Why? Why, why, why, why, why? Why does this cat taunt me with lies? Can't he see how desperate I am for answers? Does he find enjoyment in playing around like this? Her claws scored deep grooves in the earth. She felt bewildered and angry by his words. How...how dare he say such mouse-brained things? And so seriously too! Who did he think he was? Arrogant RiverClan warrior!
Skyheart could feel it. The fury, rising up within her, making her pelt burn with hatred. This cat was doing nothing but mocking her situation. And she didn't like it. Not at all - her claws itched with the urge to sink into soft flesh.
"I know it seems hard to believe," Stormfall murmured to her, padding closer, "but you have to listen to me. It's true. We were in love-"
The angry ShadowClan she-cat's claws raked across Stormfall's eye, causing the warrior to rear back in surprise while letting out a hiss of pain. Fresh blood welled from the new wound, dripping down onto the ground.
"I don't have to do anything you tell me!" Skyheart spat in rage, "You're an arrogant furball who's taking enjoyment in tormenting me with false truths!" Her flanks heaved as she panted, and blood coated her claws.
If this cat...Stormfall...was going to feed her lies and sing about how in love they had been...she wanted nothing to do with him. She wasn't going to stand there and let him taunt her. She would find another way to get the answers she sought. Because this tom was nothing but a liar who obviously had nothing better to do than mess around with unfortunate cats.
"Skyheart!" Stormfall exclaimed, furiously rubbing a paw over his injured eye. "Skyheart, what are you doing?! That hurt, for StarClan's sake!"
"Good!" She snarled, eyes blazing. "Maybe you won't go around telling such unbelievable lies after this!"
Stormfall stiffened, and he actually gave her a glare. "I'm not lying!" He suddenly hissed, "I'm telling you the truth! You wanted to know why I sounded so familiar to you, so I told you!"
Skyheart glared right back at him, her tail lashing. "The only thing you told me was obviously a lie," she insisted, growling stubbornly. "Or maybe, you think it's the truth! Maybe you think you love me, and I love you, but in reality, you're just an obsessed mouse-brain!"
Stormfall's eyes narrowed to slits. Before she even had time to do anything about it, the large RiverClan warrior had her pinned to the ground, his muzzle pushing up against hers' as he bore his teeth angrily.
She thrashed under his weight, trying to break free, but the green-eyed tom held her in place. "Get off of me, fox-dung!" She screeched, flailing her claws at him. He took any blow she managed to land on him without flinching, staring down at her with a narrowed and intense gaze.
"Stop moving so much," he snapped, putting more pressure on her shoulders, making it difficult for her to move so freely. Her shoulders started to ache as a response.
Skyheart stopped reluctantly, and glared up at him in rage. From her position under him, she could clearly see the notches in his ears, the scars marring his pelt beneath his clumped fur, and smell the mixed reek of fox-dung and RiverClan together.
His eyes, which Skyheart had only recently noticed were green, were mesmerizing to look at when close-up. They were, dare she admit it, beautiful. She could feel herself drowning in them, losing her grip on her fury...the reek of fox-dung faded to the back of her mind.
Something tugged at her heartstrings, something foreign and unfamiliar. A feeling of loss and longing nearly overwhelmed her, and she found herself violently fighting the urge to nuzzle the side of this RiverClan cat's face.
She didn't like these feelings. They were wrong. They didn't make sense. They made her more angry than she already was, which was a feat. She wanted them gone. And so she started thrashing under Stormfall's weight again, but this time in an attempt to get rid of those invading and consuming thoughts and emotions.
Stormfall pressed down on her even harder, effectively stopping the new movements. She bore her teeth angrily in reply, ceasing her actions once more. Struggling obviously wasn't going to do any good.
But...then there was that part of her that didn't want to fight against Stormfall's actions. This part confused and terrified her. It wasn't right to feel this way...
What was wrong with her? This warrior was from RiverClan, and here she was, wanting to act all affectionate with him! StarClan, help her!
Skyheart nearly had a panic attack when the tom suddenly started to lean in, his eyes softening. "Skyheart," he murmured, brushing his muzzle against hers' again gently. Her limbs jerked in response, and she grit her teeth in an effort to prevent those affectionate urges from surfacing. She would be mortified of she acted on them.
She tried to turn her head away from him, but the way he held her down made then nearly impossible. Her ears flattened to her head as he continued to nuzzle his way down her neck. "Get off," she protested weakly, but he hardly payed her words any notice. "Stop..."
But just when the RiverClan warrior's affectionate gestures seemed to become too much for her to handle...
"Hey! Get off of Skyheart!" Suddenly, the weight of the warrior above her vanished, and Skyheart was able to regain her standing position. Her shoulders ached from where Stormfall's paws held her down, and a strange feeling of elation was coursing through her veins, but that was the least of her worries right now.
For Redstreak and Starlingwing had come to her rescue. The two warriors now had Stormfall pinned down much like she had been, but Redstreak's claws were positioned at the rival warrior's throat, pressing hard enough to draw the slightest amount of blood.
At the sight, Skyheart had to resist the sudden impulse to shove her Clanmates away from Stormfall. Instead, she stalked over to the three cats, and glared down at the tom with the angriest expression she could muster. It took some effort, what with that high feeling still occupying her limbs, but she managed.
"What did you think you were doing to Skyheart?" Redstreak spat, flexing his claws against Stormfall's neck. His face was positively livid, a strange gleam in his yellow eyes. Starlingwing brushed his tail over the younger warrior's shoulder to remind him not to tear the RiverClan cat's throat out.
Stormfall glared up at the two warriors that held him in place with contempt. "Why should I answer that?" He scoffed.
Redstreak's eyes blazed. "Because I'll kill you if you don't," he snarled, his entire pelt bristling. Skyheart was shocked at her Clanmate's rage. Normally Redstreak was a level-headed warrior, so naturally it was startling to see him so riled up like this.
"Redstreak," Starlingwing warned, applying more force with his tail. "Calm yourself."
"Calm myself? How can I be calm when this piece of crow-food had his paws all over Skyheart? You saw it just as well as I did, Starlingwing!" Redstreak's voice got louder, and his claws dug deeper into Stormfall's throat, causing him to choke a little.
That was all it took for Skyheart to decide enough was enough. "Redstreak," she growled, "get off of the RiverClan warrior. You're going to kill him if you apply much more pressure with your claws."
Redstreak shot her an incredulous look. "And what would be wrong with that?" He snapped angrily, "He was practically all over you just a few moments ago! It disgusts me!"
There was that gleam in his eyes again. Skyheart recognized it this time. Was her Clanmate...jealous?
What would he have to be jealous over? Skyheart thought, baffled.
"Enough, Redstreak," Starlingwing growled firmly, pushing the younger warrior aside with his flank. "Enemy warrior or not, there is no need to kill him." He allowed Stormfall to get to his paws, but he kept a close eye on the RiverClan warrior.
Redstreak muttered under his breath, looking cross. He glared fiercely at Stormfall, his ears flattened to his head. Skyheart wouldn't be exaggerating to go as far as to say that Redstreak hated the cat before him.
Skyheart's attention was drawn to Stormfall. His fox-dung covered pelt looked as ungroomed and unclean as ever, but he didn't seem to mind. His gaze met hers'. Skyheart froze as his green eyes bore into her with a intense look. She looked away rapidly, her heart speeding up.
Stupid Stormfall, she thought to herself, why does he have to look at me like that? I feel funny...
Starlingwing's voice made her look at him. "You," he flicked his tail at the RiverClan tom, "are coming back to camp with us." He gave the rival warrior a once over, and wrinkled his nose. "But first, clean yourself. I don't want you bringing that awful reek into our camp with you."
Redstreak's head snapped up at Starlingwing's decision. "We're taking him back to camp with us? Why?"
Starlingwing looked at the younger tom. "I think Rowanstar should know that a RiverClan warrior was harassing one of our she-cats," his gaze shot to Skyheart momentarily.
Skyheart didn't like this. Stormfall was coming to the ShadowClan camp? Great StarClan, this is just wonderful! I want to be rid of that arrogant furball!
But she didn't voice her opinion. Starlingwing was leading this hunting patrol, so it was his choice. So she just decided to go along with it. As much as it irked her.
So once Stormfall's fur was clean of all traces of foul-smelling substances, the four cats made their way to the ShadowClan camp, with Starlingwing in the lead, Redstreak at Stormfall's side, shooting hateful glares at said cat, and Skyheart in the back, trudging along reluctantly.
This is going to be a long trek home, Skyheart thought flatly. I hope I can sleep the rest of the day away when I get back. StarClan knows I'm going to need it.
I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I hope you guys can forgive me, -.-'
Anyway, that's all for today!
~TheAzuraStar
