Hey again, peoplez. I know it's short.
Choke
Iceshadow didn't want to get up, couldn't get up. Silverheart prodded her again and again in the side. "Iceshadow, get up! It's almost sunhigh!"
Iceshadow closed her eyes. "Go away."
"You have a responsibility to your Clan," Silverheart said softly.
Iceshadow was silent.
"Please?"
Iceshadow snuggled deeper into the moss. She wanted to stay where it was warm, where it was safe, and most importantly she didn't have to talk to anyone.
"Iceshadow, you have to get up." Silverheart growled.
"Leave me alone!" Iceshadow mewed.
Silverheart turned her over manually, Iceshadow blinking furiously as the light burned her eyes. "Stop it!"
"What's wrong with you?" Silverheart asked angrily.
"Everything," Iceshadow whispered. She wanted nothing more than to forget it all, but Silverheart had woken her up, and kept prodding her.
"Well, fix it!" Silverheart growled. "ShadowClan needs you."
Iceshadow blinked.
*.*
Iceshadow finally got up, her legs shaking and her head pounding. There is something wrong with me. Why can't I be normal? The whole thing was bizarre, wrong, strange. She wanted it gone, done with, erased from her life. She wanted her sister back, her friends back, Snakeclaw back.
She padded across the camp, amazed that she could stand up.
Then came a sight that shook her. Iceshadow blinked, and blinked again until the shuddering blackness was too much and she had to stop blinking.
It was him, really him. Solid, real, looking right into her eyes. He was back. Iceshadow rushed to Snakeclaw without a second thought, pressing her nose against his. Snakeclaw purred as she pressed into him, nuzzling and sniffing him. "Iceshadow," he meowed.
Iceshadow had forgotten about all the other cats around them. She pulled back immediately, embarrassment flooding through her. "Snakeclaw," she swallowed.
Petalstar came through the crowd. "Snakeclaw, Wolfpaw. Welcome back."
"Petalstar." Snakeclaw dipped his head to his leader.
"You returned sooner than anticipated," Petalstar said warmly. "What are your findings?"
Snakeclaw paused briefly. "We believe the twoleg problem is temporary. By the time we got there, the twolegs were mostly gone."
Petalstar nodded. "Thank you, Snakeclaw and Wolfpaw. Your efforts are most appreciated."
Wolfpaw ran to Iceshadow, rubbing muzzles with her. "Wolfpaw," Iceshadow purred. "I missed you, little one."
"I missed you too, Iceshadow." The small gray shecat answered into Iceshadow's fur. After a moment, Iceshadow spoke. "Don't you think you should go say hello to your mother? She missed you too."
"Oh." Wolfpaw jumped away, and scampered over to where Mudsplash and Fishshadow were waiting.
Warmth flooded through Iceshadow. Snakeclaw pressed himself to her, sniffing her softly. Iceshadow felt like screaming. How she could be so happy, and so unhappy about it?
"Iceshadow..." He was looking at the scratches, the marks.
She wanted to run, run far away before he asked her what had happened. "Not here," she whispered.
Snakeclaw's amber eyes bored into hers, but after a while he broke his gaze away, and twined his tail with hers. "It's good to be back."
She rested her head on his back for a moment. "It's good to have you back," she said, desperately trying not to choke.