Summary - Russetfur was not a sweet, sentimental she-cat; she didn't waste her time mooning over toms like a lovesick apprentice. She'd never even had a crush before. But Blackfoot belonged to her.

Not Even Russetfur

The moon hung in the Silverpelt like a claw, not quite illuminating the marshlands but shining enough light that Blackfoot didn't have to focus on the path before him. I wish it were darker, he thought, as he stepped over a rotten log.

Not that it would do him much good; his Clanmates weaved through the dark just as confidently as their deputy. If Blackfoot really wanted his meeting to stay a secret than he should he scheduled it just before dawn, but while he was many things, an early-riser was certainly not one of them.

Soon the grasslands came into view and farther back was the Ancient Rowan tree. He picked up his pace and jogged towards it.

No cat knew how old the Ancient Rowan was; just that it had weathered many generations. It stood tall and proud, and its' roots provided a shelter of sorts. It was planted on the north edge of the territory and did not border the other Clans, so ShadowClan usually had no use for it.

Blackfoot, however, had found a use.

Once he reached the tall oak tree, he began to slither underneath its twisted roots. As he crawled into the sheltered space, a new voice greeted him. "It took you long enough."

Blackfoot shot the speaker an irritated glance as he pulled his lower half into the space. "It's not my fault Tigerstar pays more attention to me than you," he said.

Russetfur scoffed. "Clearly you haven't seen the way he looks at me when no one else is watching. Apparently he has a list, and I'm on it."

"A list?" Blackfoot repeated as he tilted his head to lick down a tuft of white fur.

His companion hummed. "Boulder told me about it. Tigerstar is planning something, and once he's completed it, he's going to get rid of everyone who hasn't pledged their loyalty to him."

Blackfoot's blood froze. He looked at Russetfur who, despite her cool exterior, was staring at him with the haunted eyes of a cat who knew exactly when their death would come.

"Then pledge your loyalty to him," the deputy meowed calmly, as if speaking to a kit.

Russetfur scowled at him. "And stand idly by as I watch the second coming of Brokenstar? I'd rather take my own life!"

"You might have to," Blackfoot growled. "If Boulder is right then you won't be around much longer, and Tigerstar doesn't strike me as the type to hand out peaceful deaths." The haunted feeling had left Russetfur now, but it clung to him like a spiderweb.

The dark ginger she-cat let her gaze slip from her deputy to the world outside their hollow shelter. "He's planning something awful, I can feel it," she murmered. "I didn't stand up to Brokenstar, and look at the peril he brought upon ShadowClan. I can't stay quiet this time." Her voice took on an accusing edge. "I love my Clan too much for that."

Her words sent the fur along his spine bristling. "Don't talk like I don't love ShadowClan!" he spat. "I would give my life for it!"

When Russetfur looked at him again, her green eyes burned. "And if you don't do something soon, you'll give our Clanmates' lives too!"

"What do you want me to do?!"

"You're Tigerstar's deputy!" Russetfur retorted. "Surely he's told you something about his plans!"

Not much. Serving as Tigerstar's deputy was unlike serving anyone else. Brokenstar was secretive, but he trusted Blackfoot and a few others enough to share his plans with them. Blackfoot was convinced that Tigerstar didn't trust a single cat in the forest.

His silence served as his answer. Russetfur heaved a frustrated sigh and mumbled, "What a help you are."

"At least I'm not on Tigerstar's list," Blackfoot retorted. Despite the severity of the conversation, a stubborn grin pulled at his lips. "I can't believe you're not at the top of his list, actually. You stick your tongue out at him every time he turns his back."

Russetfur smirked. "As mighty as he might be, he doesn't have eyes in the back of his head."

"Not yet," the deputy meowed. But it's only a matter of time until he has someone constantly watching his back. With power-hungry leaders like Brokenstar and Tigerstar, they could only avoid paranoia for so long.

"No point in worrying about it until he does," the dark ginger warrior replied. She rolled onto her side and issued him a pointed invitation. "We didn't sneak out of camp to gossip, Blackfoot."

No, they didn't.

Maybe Blackfoot and Russetfur had a touch of paranoia, too. Despite the knowing looks of their Clanmates and the energetic kit that Darkflower fostered, they refused to acknowledge their relationship in public.

Most assumed it was because even the two warriors didn't know where to begin with their complicated relationship.

It started with loathing. Blackfoot hated her for her impure blood, and Russetfur hated him for his ego. For moons it seemed like they would never be able to coexist peacefully.

But as Brokenstar led battle after battle and they were the only two warriors who could keep up, begrudging respect began to build between them. Despite their differences, they found common ground.

When Blackfoot leaped, Russetfur leaped higher; When Russetfur ran, Blackfoot ran faster. They pushed each other beyond their limits.

And then their relationship became something more physical. In the chaotic moons following Brokenstar's exile, nothing was certain and nothing was solid - except for each other. Neither would admit to it, but they began to develop feelings for one another.

But despite these newfound feelings, they weren't prepared for the day Russetfur found out she was pregnant.

They couldn't tell anyone. Blackfoot had been exiled alongside Brokenstar, and Russetfur had stayed behind with Nightstar. The tension between the two groups was suffocating, and- how could they raise a kit in the middle of such confusion anyway?

It turned out they didn't have to. Darkflower found out she was pregnant just a few days before Russetfur. After quietly explaining their situation, Darkflower agreed to nurse the kits. And then it was settled.

Blackfoot didn't know how to be a father; Russetfur had no desire to be a mother. The resulting kits would be better off with Darkflower and Scorchwind anyways.

And yet, when it came time to give their single tom-kit away, neither parent anticipated how difficult it would be.

"Rowankit," Russetfur told Darkflower, exhaustion weighing down her bones. "Keep him safe, Darkflower, and keep our secret safe as well."

And she did her best. When questioned about the ginger tom-kit, Darkflower told the Clan that Russetfur had found him during one of her dawnlight scouting missions. The Clan assumed their similar coloring was merely coincidental.

But when Tigerstar brought the rogues back to ShadowClan, they started to notice the small things: the subtle glances that Blackfoot and Russetfur shared; the way they would linger near the Nursery, close enough to overhear the soft mews; as Rowankit grew quickly in size and strength and reminded the eldest of a certain ShadowClan deputy.

Despite the puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together, though, no one asked any questions. Rowankit thought the world of Darkflower and Scorchwind, and he played with Cederkit like he'd been born alongside him. There was no reason to flip his life upside down.

However, was no denying something had changed between Blackfoot and Russetfur. Their Clanmates thought it was only a matter of time until the couple announced their relationship and took over ShadowClan together. When the announcement didn't come, though, they wondered why.

They didn't know of the day that Tigerstar threatened Blackfoot. Not even Russetfur.

The deputy and his warrior slept soundly the rest of the night, with his head on her back and her head underneath his chin. It was a rare sight, to see such fierce cats look so peaceful. But every so often, when the weight of the future became too heavy on their shoulders, they indulged in such a night.

The first rays of dawnlight began to awaken the marshlands all too soon. Russetfur stirred with a yawn, always the first cat to wake. It took her only a heartbeat to identify the comfortable weight on her back.

She tilted her head ever so slightly, and purred when Blackfoot grumbled in protest. "Get off of me, you fat badger," she said.

"Go back to sleep," he responded. "It's too early to be so hateful."

"It's almost dawn."

"What are you, a Thundercat? We operate in the night, Russetfur."

"I'm not a Thundercat," she replied, "but our Clan leader is, and I'm sure he'll be searching for his deputy soon."

At that, Blackfoot's eyelids snapped open. "True. Let's go, we've got to get moving."

The warrior rolled her eyes as she shook her pelt free of dust. "As if I'm the one protesting like an apprentice who stayed up too late."

The duo spared themselves a few minutes to groom and look presentable. Russetfur felt a quiet burst of frustration at having to wash Blackfoot's scent off of her pelt; she was ready to tell everyone that he was hers. Great StarClan, if I have to sit through one more Gathering and listen to a bunch of brainless she-cats moon over him-!

"What's got you so worked up?" Blackfoot interrupted her invisible threats, eyeing the way her dark ginger fur bristled along her spine.

She shoved her inner ramblings aside and replied, "that tuft on your neck is sticking up again. Did Hollyflower not groom you enough as a kit?"

The deputy puffed out his chest. "Even as a kit, I embodied ShadowClan's stealth; when bath time came, I was nowhere in sight."

"That's disgusting." Russetfur began to crawl underneath the cluster of roots, Blackfoot's breath on her back. "No wonder you always stink-ouch!" She tossed a glare over her shoulder when the deputy bit her tail. "Someone can't handle the truth!"

Blackfoot chuckled, and when they were free of the roots he nuzzled her shoulder. "You've never seemed to mind my 'stink' before." Then he started the way back to camp. For a moment Russetfur was planted there, unable to do anything other than watch his retreating form.

He's so handsome, she thought to herself, because she wouldn't dare say it to his ego. And strong, and fierce, and determined. And at moments like this when she watched him march on without her, she thought her heart was sick.

Russetfur was not a sweet, sentimental she-cat; she didn't waste her time mooning over toms like a lovesick apprentice. She'd never even had a crush before. But Blackfoot belonged to her.

When they were young and he fought her with more passion than he'd ever loved anyone with; when he was unsure about everything except her; when they lingered in the shadows of camp and watched their son chase pine needles in the wind. She was lizard-brained to ever think that she wouldn't love him someday.

And that was just it, wasn't it? Russetfur loved Blackfoot more than she loved this crumbling Clan, and sometimes she thought they could run away together and begin a Clan of their own, far far away from the Brokenstars and the Tigerstars of the forest.

Blackfoot, though. As much as he loved her, he loved ShadowClan more.

Sometimes it felt like Russetfur needed Blackfoot more than she needed air or water or prey. But as she watched him follow the path back to camp without her, she knew he didn't need her.

If you've followed me for any time at all, you know that I've always wanted to write a Blackstar/Russetfur fic. I've started... three(?) fics in the past but never saw them out to completion. I've been bitten by the bug again but this time, rather than hook you on a fic for five chapters only to delete it, I'm creating a one-shot collection!

These one-shots are unrelated to each other unless explicitly stated otherwise. They could all probably function in the same universe, but this way I can explore the same headcanon in several different ways.

If you're waiting for me to update one of the fics I've already started... those updates are coming, they're just coming very slowly. For more details on that, visit my Tumblr account (KatieK101). I have some explanations already up, but if you can't find them then you could always drop an ask.

If there's a specific headcanon or idea you would like me to explore, feel free to request something in a review! I'm here to serve, after all.