Challenge for WingClan, my new forum! Join if you want! We have potatoes :D

Prompt:

It must include romance.

It must include death.

And a butterfly.

Hope you enjoy! I definitely enjoyed writing this one :D

Looks are Deceiving

Sunwhisker smiled as a butterfly flitted across her field of vision. It landed on her paw, its wings folded back. Sunwhisker did not try to bat it away, but instead remained transfixed by the butterfly's shimmering dark blue wings. Sunwhisker's nose twitched, and hearbeats later the tears came. They flowed as quickly as the torrent of memories rushing through Sunwhisker's mind. She remembered the night-time strolls, sleeping under the starts from dusk till dawn, the stolen glances from their sides of the island. Sunwhisker tore her eyes away from the butterfly.

No. She was over him. She had moved on. She shouldn't have to worry about him anymore. She didn't care. Or do I? Sunwhisker cursed herself for even thinking about him. How could she, when he had killed so many? How could she when he tried to take over the Clans?

Adderfrost, the love of her life, a murderer. The elders never should have told him about what Hawkfrost had tried to do seasons and seasons ago. They never would have instilled that power hunger in him.

When she first met him, at the Gathering, he seemed like a decent cat. Sunwhisker couldn't take her eyes off him. With glossy russet fur, handsome dark blue eyes, and a deputy position in RiverClan, Adderfrost was perfect. Sunwhisker herself had been deputy, deputy of ShadowClan in fact. Her loyalty to the warrior code held her back at first, but instead fiery passion for the tom took over. She was hardly aware where her paws were taking her until she came face to face with him. Then the wink.

He had winked at her.

Sunwhisker swore her heart had melted at that moment. She, the brave, no-nonsense deputy of ShadowClan turned into a blubbering lump of fur by some RiverClan cat? Unheard of! Adderfrost had laughed, and flicked his tail across her cheek. He had been flirting with her, and Sunwhisker had been so elated at that fact. She had gone back home to the ShadowClan camp doe-eyed and pretty much skipping. It attracted attention.

She was usually very reserved and professional, never in a good mood. Usually she would wear the same neutral expression on her face, but that night, she was smiling so widely the kits on the other side of the camp could see the whites of her teeth from the nursery. Everyone had suspicions of romance, but none dared to ask, but everyone wanted to know. Who was this cat who was so handsome, so charming that he caused the deputy to go head over tails for him? They never did find out.

Sunwhisker met him every night at the RiverClan border, and returned as if she was walking on clouds. In her ecstasy to see Adderfrost, hardly any precautions were taken to cover up for her nightly disappearances. It was then when her Clanmates knew about them. They didn't know who, but they knew it was not a ShadowClan cat. She had been forced out of her leadership position and scorned by her suspicious Clanmates.

When she discovered she was pregnant, she fled. She didn't want her kits to live the life she had suffered, scorned for being her kits, and for their father being a cat from a different Clan. No one really cared. She fled to RiverClan, pleading for Flystar, the RiverClan leader to let her stay, but he had refused. Adderfrost had told her he would convince him to let her stay as she was escorted out. Sunwhisker didn't know what he was planning, but if she had known, she never would have returned to RiverClan the next day.

She returned, and the first thing she heard was that Flystar had died that night. "Mysterious circumstances," the medicine cat had said. "He was in good health yesterday." Sunwhisker had pushed away all suspicions of murder by Adderfrost. Why would he do that? And how could he? The first thing Adderstar had done: Let her join RiverClan. The kits were born into RiverClan, and grew up as RiverClan cats. Morningkit, Frostkit and Pebblekit were their names. Moons passed by, and Morningkit, Frostkit and Pebblekit became Morningpaw, Frostpaw and Pebblepaw, then Morningflight, Frostfang and Pebbleshine.

Sunwhisker had been so proud that day.

The contrast in her feelings that day and the next were so different it was hard to believe. One day, a proud mother, the next, an ashamed mate. Adderstar had attempted murder. She remembered what he had said word for word.

"Tonight, we take over the rest of the Clans," he had announced delightedly, only to be returned with steely silence. "Well? What do you think, RiverClan cats?"

"Why should we?" Sedgefire questioned, eyes narrowed into thin slits. "They have never done anything."

"They have done everything by just being there. RiverClan is the strongest Clan. We can wipe them out just like that." Adderstar slashed through the bark of the tree he was perched on.

"No, we can't," the elders had protested.

"Do you doubt me?" Adderstar hissed, as he advanced on the elders.

"Yes, Adderstar." One elder had stood up, and had been facing Adderstar, claws unsheathed. "Kill me if you want, but you will never win."

The elder had never even been given a proper burial. Adderstar had to be restrained so that he didn't slaughter the other elders.

Sunwhisker had been shocked. She had confronted him that night, trying to talk some sense into him, unable to understand why Adderstar was so different from the cat she had met at the Gathering moons ago.

"Stop this, Adderstar!" She had pleaded. "Don't do this!"

"Sunwhisker, my love," he had replied. "You don't understand."

But Sunwhisker did understand. Everything hit her.

"You killed Flystar."

"So we could be together!"

"It was wrong."

"It was the only way."

"I thought you were a good cat, Adderstar. I was wrong. Goodbye."

She left that night, leaving with nothing but her three kits. Sunwhisker sighed as the butterfly flew away, its beautiful blues wings glimmering in the sunlight.

"Sunwhisker?"

Sunwhisker turned, and smiled. Her mate, Flint, was padding towards her, followed by their seven-moon-old kits, Meadow and Mint.

"You ready to hunt?"

Morning, Frost and Pebble appeared from beind a bush. "You coming, Sunwhisker?"

"Yes, of course," Sunwhisker grinned.

Sunwhisker got up, and followed Flint into the forest that was on the edge of their home. You see, when she had left Adderstar, she had found new love in Flint. Morningflight, Frostfang and Pebbleshine forgot their warrior names, abandoning the names their father gave them. Sunwhisker, however, kept her name. She remained Sunwhisker.

Because she didn't want to forget.

Hope you enjoyed this one!
Won't be doing too many challenges, but look out for the Halloween one I am doing for the SolarClan monthly writing contest. (Hopefully) it will be up to the spooky standards of horror stories.

-Cloudy