Disclaimer: I do NOT own Warriors, Erin Hunter does. Now on with the show~

"Tigerclaw, if you're really feeling up for it, then you can go on the sunhigh patrol with Lionheart and Graypaw but try not to push yourself. We can't afford to lose you." Darkstripe muttered giving the large demon a sympathy look. Tigerclaw only mumbled in response, dipping his head before walking off to rest before the eventual patrol.

With every step he took, pain laced through his body, but Tigerclaw did not cry out. He made it to a shadowy part of the camp and laid down, holding in the agony of both his wounds and what he had done to his family so far. Closing his eyes, the massive tabby unwittingly fell into slumber. In his subconscious, he could see Redtail lying dead before him before his form shifted into the torn and bloody body of his aunt, Spottedleaf.

Tigerclaw opened his mouth, trying to cry out to his aunt, nudging her body, only to have the smaller feline raise her claws and strike out against him. Reeling back, Tigerclaw stared at her as she pushed herself to her paws, her blood soaked body lurching towards him as her amber eyes darkened with hate and rage towards her nephew.

"Tigerclaw. You will never know peace! I swore that I would haunt and stalk you for the rest of your life. Do you really think you can escape to the realm of sleep and be safe?! Ha! No, dear nephew, I will follow you wherever you may try to hide!"

Tigerclaw cried out in his sleep as Spottedleaf crouched to jump on his back, the big tabby couldn't bring himself to hurt his kin anymore than he already had, despite knowing this was a dream. He simply rolled on the ground, over and over, hoping to dislodge Spottedleaf.

The bloody tortoiseshell tumbled a few inches from him and despite her gaping and bleeding wounds, she was on her paws faster than Tigerclaw. Spottedleaf stalked over to Tigerclaw, glaring at her nephew before clawing at his side, rolling him on his back. Then she placed her paws on his neck and leaned all her weight on his throat. Even as Tigerclaw lashed and squirmed, trying to get free, Spottedleaf remained standing over him, snarling. She watched as the light from her nephew's eyes started to dim and she grinned, leaning forward so close to him that their noses almost touched.

"How does it feel? To be on the other end of someone's claws? Are you afraid, Tigerclaw? Does it hurt? Well...you won't have to feel that pain for too longer than this. I won't let your suffering end this quickly! You won't get off that easy!"

With a flash of her fangs, Spottedleaf gouged a huge chuck out of Tigerclaw's shoulder, tearing down to his chest before moving away. "Enjoy the pain, Tigerclaw, it won't be the last I give to you." She then started to walk towards the darkness of the forest, leaving an even more battered and bloody Tigerclaw trembling in her wake.

XxXx

"Tigerclaw? Tigerclaw! Wake up, Tigerclaw! You're bleeding really badly, please wake up!" A gentle voice called out to him and Tigerclaw felt, with his his body jolting away on its own, a small paw touching his injured shoulder.

Without thinking, Tigerclaw's eyes snapped open and he gave a small growl, leaping at the one in front of him and screaming. "Get away! I...I won't hold back this time! I don't...I don't want to hurt you...but if you..." his voice trailed off and the terrified haze lifted as he stared down at Goldenflower, the pretty molly staring at him with wide eyes and more than a hint of concern.

"Tigerclaw...I found you crying in your sleep. You kept saying "please forgive" and "I'm sorry". You sounded so sad, I knew I just had to wake you up... Are you...feeling alright?"

Tigerclaw said nothing at first, away moving away from the other demon as she sat up and tilted her head. "A nightmare..." he muttered at last, turning away from him and allowing a shudder to run through him.

Goldenflower blinked before slowly walking up to the larger male and after a heartbeat or two of thought, pressed against his side. She felt him stiffen against her and waited for him to move away or tell her to do so but neither happened. The smaller demon let out a soft sigh and seeing a still bleeding wound on his shoulder, went to lick it. Still, Tigerclaw said nothing to send her away.

"It's been a hard few weeks, for all of us. I would expect that it would be hard to sleep." Goldenflower said after she deemed the wound clean enough. "Being outside the dens certainly don't help."

"That's not..." Tigerclaw began before his voice trailed off. There was no way he could tell her what he was dealing with. He couldn't let anyone know. When Goldenflower looked up at him, expecting him to continue, the large tabby shook his head and closed his eyes.

"I miss Spottedleaf and Redtail." he finally said, pain and regret making his voice thick. Goldenflower bowed her head at that before licking his shoulder once more.

"They are watching over you, they know that you will fight hard to keep your Clan safe."

Tigerclaw said nothing to that and only eased his way on his belly, sighing softly. Goldenflower watched him for a moment before settling down as well, she soon realized that Tigerclaw had fallen asleep and she did her best to stay quiet and not disturb him.

Tigerclaw, deep in sleep with Goldenflower's scent in his nose, soon realized with a relieved sigh that he was alone in his dreams and it stayed that way for the rest of the morning.

XxXx

When Tigerclaw woke up, the sun was already past it's highest point. Realizing this, he jumped and looked all around hoping to find Darkstripe. Goldenflower was beside him, calmly licking a paw. She regarded him with a soft smile and gently placed her paw on his uninjured side, easing him down.

"I told Darkstripe that you wouldn't be joining the patrol. You looked so relaxed in your sleep, I couldn't bear to wake you." She then turned slightly and placed a large piece of meat at his paws, nodding. Tigerclaw sniffed it for a few seconds before his mouth started to water. It was cat meat. "I got it for you while you were sleeping. Even the strongest warriors need their strength."

Tigerclaw grinned slightly at that, thanking Goldenflower before taking the meat in his jaws and chewing quickly. As he ate, he began to think of what Goldenflower did, while it was nice, his paws started kneading the ground and his tail began to lash. His eyes then narrowed and he snorted then got to his paws. Goldenflower watched him, her own eyes narrowing as Tigrclaw started walking forward.

"You were tired, I was only trying to help," she muttered, rising to her paws as well.

Tigerclaw stopped, lashing his tail once before allowing it to fall behind him. "I...I don't blame you...but...I have to stay useful to the Clan. I can't allow myself to falter."

Goldenflower tilted her head before walking up to Tigerclaw, nudging him briefly before opening her mouth to speak. "You won't falter and you are important to the Clan, you will always be useful, Tigerclaw. This Clan needs your strength. But you won't have it if you push yourself to exhaustion. Everything will be okay, I promise."

Tigerclaw looked at Goldenflower for a second before heaving a sigh. "You don't understand...pushing myself to protect the Clan may be my only salvation. I can't stop pushing, not after what I've done."

Goldenflower frowned and tried to get closer to Tigerclaw, but the big tabby moved away, shaking his head. Before she could say anything, he took off, heading for the entrance of the camp and going into the forest beyond.

XxXx

Tigerclaw didn't stop running until he was well away from the ThunderClan camp. His sides heaved as he sucked in breath, his whole body trembling from the unexpected exertion. Sitting down heavily, the tabby warrior closed his eyes and lifted his head to the sky. There was no clouds, birdsong filled the forest, everything was at peace.

Except for him. His skin twitched where Spottedleaf clawed him and he could still feel her fangs digging into his shoulder. He winced before giving his fur a few licks, the faint tang of blood still on him. Tigerclaw's tail flicked, wondering if he would ever be free. He highly doubted it, not after what he did.

The big warrior's ears flattened slightly, ignoring the peace of the forest to mull in his own thoughts, he hadn't even realized when he settled onto his belly and had started rolling an acorn between his paws until a small squirrel chattered at him from above his head. Tigerclaw blinked at the rodent before realizing what was in his paws before flicking the nut away and turning his head. Stupid creature went to dive for the nut and scramble back up a tree, Tigerclaw didn't even look at it.

Heaving a breath, the ThunderClan warrior rolled on his back, staring the sunlight dappling through the leaves, the breeze stirred the leaves sending a pleasant feeling through Tigerclaw's fur, but he couldn't fully enjoy it. His dream of Spottedleaf weighed heavily on him, Tigerclaw closed his eyes and let out a small breath.

Something was rustling in the bushes, a heavy stink of old blood, rotting food and sickness made it way to Tigerclaw's nose. The scent made him jump to his paws, his fur bristling. He let out a warning hiss before charging forward. Whatever that scent belonged to, he had to drive it off. It was the least he could do for his Clan.

Tigerclaw jumped and landed a bony back covered with scruffy tostoisehell fur, the scent of a molly came to him but that thought left him as he was thrown on his back, pinned to the ground. Staring down at him with fangs drawn and eyes glazed over with pain and loss, the molly still snarled and readied herself to bite.

As she did, something caught Tigerclaw's attention and he called out, stopping her. "Wait! You're a WindClan cat! You...you returned to the forest!"

A/N: Another short one guys. Wanted to test out exploring Tigerclaw's inner emotions, as well as getting the plot rolling again. So. A WindClan cat has been found in the forest, I wonder what that could mean for the rest of the Clans? Soon, you'll be able to find out. Until then, as always, please enjoy.