The heat that licked at Squirrelflight's pelt was an indescribable feeling. It was a sharp, burning pain that made her flinch if it came closer than it already is. The tom before her was also indescribable. Ashfur, her own kin. His face was twisted with a rage Squirrelflight herself had never seen. Spit flew and dribbled from his jaws as he crowed insults and lies towards her being.
"You betrayed me! You had finally left Brambleclaw, you were mine! We were going to be mates! But then you left me for Shrewtail." The name was spat with such hatred, Squirrelflight could only stare in shock.
When had she ever shown those deep feelings of romantic love towards this tom? She had fell upon their friendship after Brambleclaw and she had had their first spat. He was comforting, kind. She had enjoyed their talks together. But not like how he imagined them. She did not see it as courting, but as two friends supporting one another. It hurt to know the tom had saw something else, and that he blamed her for what became of their friendship.
"If you refuse to be with me, then I'll be forced to let you experience the same thing I did all those moons ago. I lost the one I loved, so I'll take what you love!" With a swift lash of his tail, he pointed it straight towards the kits that were crouched with fear on a small circle where the flames had yet to reach. Their eyes were stretched with a terror that didn't belong.
Squirrelflight froze, before wrath flooded her senses. He threaten her kits? Ashfur had gone mad. No cat with any form of sanity would threaten a she-cats kits. Even if she hadn't been the one to birth them, they were hers. They were the moment Leafpool handed them over. Both sisters had understood that. Shock and fear brushed the fringes of her mind, but Squirrelflight let the rage drive her.
"I trusted you, Ashfur. You were my kin, my family. You did nothing but support me. But I see you were only in it for your own gain. It's cats like you who disgust me."
Ashfur blinked in surprise for a moment, shocked that she had replied back with such anger, but it didn't last long. Squirrelflight had launched herself at the tom, claws flashing as they raked into his fur. The grey tom let out a howl of pain, eyes shining with agony and pure horror. Squirrelflight began pummeling into him, smacking his eyes, ears- anything her claws could reach. The tom had betrayed not only her, but his own clan. The moment he threatened her kits, it sealed his fate. Ashfur's growls and whines of anger and pain were lost to the roars of the flames.
A sudden powerful kick to her stomach caused her to fly back, rolling away from the flames. She looked up, dizzied, only to spot Ashfur stumbling about. The blood had dripped into his eyes, and he shook his head to try and rid himself of the temporary blindness, only to fail. He cried out in panic and confusion, stepping backwards. Squirrelflight's eyes widened, and her jaws stretched open for a moment to cry out a warning, but she paused. The coldness in her heart stopped those words from leaving her.
Ashfur opened his eyes for a second, meeting hers, before he lost his footing. They stretched wide with overwhelming fear, and a panicked yowl left his jaws as he plunged into the flames. The smell was sudden and powerful- burning flesh and fur was something Squirrelflight would never want to see again. But she could only look on in content. It was a fitting way for a traitorous cat to end its life.
The cries of her kits is what snatched her attention away from the flames. She quickly rushed to the end of the tree, and after spotting her, the three cats pulled themselves across. Lionblaze immediately began searching around for any sign of Ashfur, eyes filling with confusion as he could not spot his old mentor. He turned to Squirrelflight, but she refused to meet his eyes at the moment. Once Hollyleaf crossed the bridge, Squirrelflight motioned for them to follow, briefly brushing her tail against Jayfeather's shoulder.
The group began their trek, and Squirrelflight could feel Lionblaze's stare on her back. She also, surprisingly, felt another. A quick glance back answered her question. Jayfeather seemed to be keeping his attention on her as well. Hollyleaf was merely looking around, eyes darting to spot any other cat in need of help. They had made it just beyond the flames when Lionblaze spoke up.
"Squirrelflight? What happened to Ashfur? I saw him just before the tree was moved across, and the flames rose too high to see any further." His voice was confused, and his ears flicked anxiously. Squirrelflight blinked, prepared to answer, when Jayfeather also raised his voice.
"Mousebrain, I'm sure you smelt it as well as I did. He must've fell into the flames." Lionblaze and Hollyleaf both jolted with shock as their gazes flew to their blind brother. Hollyleaf looked away, eyes scanning the ground, but not truly seeing anything. Lionblaze frowned, tail lashing.
Squirrelflight chose to speak up. "He fell in on accident. He was planning to let you burn in the flames, and I tried to stop him. He pushed me away and ended up falling into the fire in the chaos."
Hollyleaf looked up, surprised and hurt that the tom had planned to kill them, and Lionblaze narrowed his eyes. Jayfeather merely nodded, and Squirrelflight watched him curiously.
"I heard the entire conversation. What our mother says is true. We need to meet up with the others before we burn like that traitor did." Jayfeather snapped, and began moving forward.
The group continued forward until they reached the Abandoned Twoleg Den. Squirrelflight immediately met the eyes of Brambleclaw, and the two quickly broke eye contact with one another. A loud purr caused Squirrelflight to turn into the embrace of a soft brown coat.
"Squirrelflight! I was so worried when I didn't see you or the others when the Clan first arrived. Thank StarClan you're all safe." Shrewtail whispered. His voice was strained with relief, but also panic. Squirrelflight merely nuzzled him back, too exhausted to respond. She spotted Leafpool watching her, and waved her tail. She'd speak to her sister later. Explain everything.
But for now, she needed to rest.