#piperglare

!!TW: this post depicts and describes violence towards that of animals!!

Blissrise rested a paw on her side, “Hey it’ll be okay, I’m here for you and I’m sure everyone else is to.” Coldfur let a small smile inch its way up her face in a show of thanks.

The cold chill of night stung even harder than the first peak of day. She tried her best to curl up into a tight ball in an attempt to shield her nose from the breeze. The wind rustled the bushes outside in a light whisper through the camp. She started to wonder how the warriors must feel. Their shrub must not hold up as well as the hollowed out log that the medicine den had made its home. Soon she found her mind racing from den to den in an impossible run to imagine what every cat was dreaming of. When she had been at it for so long, she finally stood and made her way out. Crawling through a hole in the top of the log. She looked out over the shadow filled camp, the rustle of leaves persisted, and she shivered as the wind's breath flew into her face. And with it an odd scent, something she couldn’t quite reach. Narrowing her eyes she attempted to peer into the murk.

There she saw a dark shape, a dull silhouette. She opened her mouth to call out, but quickly snapped her jaw shut. The sent she picked up was not one of a Silkclan cat, it was one of Melodyclan. And whoever this MelodyClan cat was, their icy clue eyes shown only with malice.

Before she knew it she let out a yelp, and almost in response, the horrible dark shapes and figures lunged from the undergrowth. The scent of Melodyclan cats was suddenly overpowering. The once peaceful camp, the only noise being the quiet hum of the breeze, was now alight with panic.

She heard a yowl from the warriors den as she made out who she thought was the shape of Piperglare throwing herself into a cat who stood at the front of the den. Her claws must have raked across their pelt because she heard what must have been a loud hiss of pain from the Melodyclan cat. As her eyes adjusted it was easy to spot the red fiery coat of the cat Piperglare had already found herself deep in a vicious scuffle with. The red almost mirroring the blood that would spill this night.

Coldfur quickly ducked herself back into the medicine den, the fear consumed her body to the point it felt as if it were the only thing in it. Her legs started to shake as her vision could only focus on the battle outside. Any knowledge she once knew of herbs vanishing in an instant. And when her clan needed her most.

On the other side of camp Cinnamonstar came rushing from his den behind high stone. His head whipped around to the chaos around him. The leader almost looked like a scared kit amongst the fighting. Any hope that their leader would know what to do crushed inside her chest, as it sunk to the pit of her stomach.

As is this nightmare couldn’t get any worse, her fur prickles as she heard a yowl like none she’d ever heard before. And when she looked towards the noise she could only gasp with horror.

On the ground, in a violet pool lay the body of Agatepaw. The apprentice looked so small, yet her body was splayed out. Quillfur, her father stood at her side fiercely hissing at the white and sandy colored she-cat that dealt the blow.

Quillfur was a very stoic cat, so when tears pooled in his eyes…

“STAY AWAY FROM HER” He cried, the unmistakable shake in his voice.

The chilled breath of morning rode on the breeze, it tickled her nose as she held back the creeping itch in the back of her throat. The mornings had been getting colder as the start of leaf fall reared its head once more. This would be her second. Coldfur despite her name didn’t care much for the chilly weather. The fur along her spine prickled with a shiver as she tried to shake off the sting that could be felt on mornings like these.

The clan had been reeking of awkward air more than late. Cinnamonstar could only be found at Cherrybright’s side rather than caring for his duties, and Cherrybright had been falling into almost the same habits. As much as Coldfur didn’t like Cherrybright she couldn’t help but feel this twinge of guilt seeing their tails intertwined. Just a moon ago she had seen their leader touching noses with another cat. Their love only left a bitter taste in her mouth as she would pad past the two sunbathing in camp. Quillfur had been acting borderline hostile with their new clan member, Sirifern. Glaring at her when she as much as approached Chervilpaw and Agatepaw. But none the less the air between them read as, awkward.

She was pretty sure the rest of the clan at least picked up on that.

Piperglare had gotten her warrior name this moon. Remembering the sad somewhat violent apprentice was hard to picture now when she saw Piperglare strut across camp with confidence. Blissrise had been a good choice for her after all, he seemed to have made her find the part of herself she was missing. Her whiskers couldn’t help but twitch when she imagined herself being Blissrises apprentice. Perhaps she would be the most confident warrior in the clan, bringing honor and pride wherever she went. She winced with embarrassment as she realized how stuck in her head she was. She needed to stop imagining herself in Piperglares paws, she was the older cat, chasing kit like dreams.

Her eyes narrowed as she blinked back the intense sun rays casting down in vivid beams from the sky. The blaring wurr of bird calls rung in the start of the day, as she gasped in a large breath of early air.

“Morning Coldfur!” A familiar scratchy yet friendly voice chimed out from view. Her head whipped around to see the outgoing tom. Blissrise’s fur shone in the light, his yellow and orange fur probably quite visible by any prey in a two mile radius. His long thin tail high in the hair with greeting. “Good morning..” she almost mumbled. Something she always liked about Blissrise is despite her outwardly negative seeming attitude he never cared. He spoke to her as he would any cat. The blunt warrior had always spent his mornings with her sense she was just a shivering kit. If anyone was her “Dad” it would probably be him. “Get some good rest last night?” He murped. Or maybe not, she wasn’t so sure.

She paused slowly shaking her head “No.. not really..kinda.” Blissrise sniffed “Have you tried eating some poppyseeds?” Coldfur winced with his question “I don’t know where they are…” she looked down at her paws as that familiar wash of embarrassment passed over her, stars..she really was a useless medicine cat. “You have to ask the other medicine cats at your next meeting I think.” He stated somewhat bluntly “You have to put yourself out there.” She knew he was right, but didn’t want to have herself act the fool she was.