We'll Meet Again
Challenge: I'm a Rebel || Word Count: 382
Worry gnawed in Pinewhisker's belly like a rat. He had set out from camp before the dawn patrol with a plan clear in his mind, but as he approached the border his certainty failed him. With each step he took, he seemed to feel less and less sure of what he was about to do.
He knew his brother and sister would be furious if they knew what he was planning to do. Owlscreech knew nothing about the pretty loner that had haunted his mind since the last time he'd seen her, but Snowcreek knew everything. It had been him that had forced them to say goodbye, with the promise that if they saw each other again he would inform Floodstar without hesitation. Pinewhisker gulped involuntarily at the thought of his leader's anger; although Floodstar was known for being fair and just; Pinewhisker had seen the extent of his anger once before and couldn't even fathom having that wrath directed at him.
As a kit he had never been able to understand why they were supposed to only be friends with Clanmates, and as he pondered on it now he still couldn't see the sense in it. As far as he thought, all the forest's problems would be solved if everyone could just be friends! There would be no stupid squabbles over borderlines, no cats starving because they had no prey while another Clan had plenty they could share, no friends being torn apart simply because they were born to different beginnings. He wouldn't hesitate to help a cat in need, regardless of which Clan they belonged to, but no-one else seemed to see it that way.
The border was now no more than a tail-length away from his paws. Pinewhisker could still smell Cloudy's scent clinging to the herbs that had led to her first encounter with Pinewhisker and Snowcreek when they were still merely 'paws. His own scent was there too from their last meeting, faint but still detectable. He knew painfully well that if he were caught beyond the borderline he would be in terrible trouble, but he couldn't bear the idea that the last words he'd exchanged with Cloudy would be the last for good.
Pinewhisker took a deep breath, and stepped over the border without looking back.