Post by Sparrow on Apr 24, 2016 17:45:26 GMT -5
CHAPTER ONE
Rain thrummed against the forest floor, thunder rumbling in the distance and lightning crackling. It drowned out any other sounds, including the hushed whispers of the cats nearby. Two stared at each other, eyes narrowed into slits, claws out. Their fur was plastered against their bodies, water streaming down in small rivulets.
One had silver fur that now appeared near black. She stood on three legs, a bump where one leg had once been, but was now lost. There was little fur around the bump, as if it had never grown back. She had bright green eyes that now seemed to have a dark tone to it. She was looking at the other cat coldly, as if she was trying to not let any emotions get in the way of what she knew she had to do.
The other had black fur, the color making her hardly noticeable. She was crouched low, claws out and teeth bared. Her yellow eyes showed the same cold expression, as if she, too, didnt want any emotions getting in the way.
"You'd best back down, Silverfur. What makes you think you could win against me? Have you even looked at yourself recently? You're weak. Weak and broken. You've lost a leg, in case you hadn't noticed. I don't know how you could forget, but hey, what do I care?" the black she-cat cackled, but it held no emotion. She grinned at Silverfur, flashing her teeth. Her fangs poked over the top of her lip.
"No thanks to you, Nightfang. If it hadn't been for your little stunt, perhaps I'd have four working legs." Silverfur flicked her tail.
"You act as if it's my fault. You're the one who got your leg stuck in the trap, not me. Honestly, you should be more careful. Oh well, not like it matters anymore. You're about to die anyway," Nightfang smirked.
"We shall see."
"Let's begin then, shall we?" Nightfang glanced over at one of the cats who had been watching them. He hesitated, glancing between the two, before giving a brief nod. Nightfang immediately leaped out, heading straight for Silverfur's throat. Silverfur just barely managed to dodge, but fell in the process of doing so. Despite having three legs for quite a few moons now, she still had trouble balancing.
Nightfang tried to jump down on top of her and pin her down, but Silverfur managed to roll out of the way. She got up as quickly as she could and begin to balance on her hind legs. Nightfang rose up to meet her, and the two battled. Nightfang was able to get more swipes in than Silverfur, having both her front paws, while Silverfur had just one. However, Silverfur managed to get quite a few swipes in despite her huge disadvantage.
Before long, the black cat was able to pin the silver cat. Silverfur struggled, but Nightfang had a tight grip on her. She grinned down at the struggling she-cat, a menacing smile. She dug her claws into the silver cat's shoulders, breaking the skin. Blood began to trickle out slowly. Silverfur continued to struggle, her movements becoming more desperate. It couldn't end now! She had to be leader, she just had to! The clan would be destroyed if Nightfang became leader!
Nightfang dug her claws in harder, and Silverfur cried out. As a last, desperate attempt, she kicked out with her hind legs, knocking Nightfang off guard. She was able to get the she-cat off, and quickly rose. Her shoulders continued to trickle blood, but the rain quickly washed it away. Silverfur took a deep breath, staring at Nightfang. She glared back.
Around them, time seemed to stop. Silverfur let a bit of emotion show. She didn't want to kill Nightfang. Honestly, why would she? The two were best friends! Perhaps even more. At the very least, they were close.
Well. They used to be close. Up until what can only be described as the accident, the two were as close as one could be. But the accident changed everything.
"Come on Nightfang!" Silverfur called out, a grin on her face. This grin had no evil intentions, quite the opposite. She was happy, as she always was in Nightfang's presence. Nightfang leaped over toward her, a grin, similar to her own, on her face. The two were happily running about in a field, flowers blossoming around them.
And then, all too soon, Silverfur felt a sharp pain in her front left leg. With a yelp, she fell to the ground. After looking around a bit, she realized she got her leg caught in a trap. "Nightfang! Nightfang, help me!" she whined as she struggled. Nightfang walked slowly up to her. "Nightfang, please!" She continued to struggle, but it was all to no avail.
But Nightfang merely watched. She gave a half-hearted attempt at helping, but clearly did not put much effort into it. She sat down and stared at Silverfur with her piercing yellow eyes as the silver cat struggled.
"Nightfang, hurry!" her voice rose to a high-pitched cry. "Oh Nightfang, why wont you
"Because I don't care whether or not you get out of that trap. Sure, you've been a great friend, but I have to admit you've gotten rather boring. So, I don't care if you get out. It wouldn't affect me any." Nightfang simple shrugged. She sat for a bit longer before rising and walking away, back to camp.
"Nightfang!" Silverfur cried out, but the black cat refused to turn around. "The least you could do was help! W-why just leave me like that?" Silverfur whispered, ears lowering. She struggled some more, but after watching her best friend just leave her, she no longer had the strength for it. Or maybe it was the exhaustion and blood loss.
As time went on, the sun began to set, turning the sky a brilliant bright red color with streaks of orange and yellow. As the last of the sun slipped away, and it grew dark, Silverfur gave up. She was exhausted beyond belief, and the trap had been digging into her leg. She had been bleeding for a while, and a pool of blood now rested beneath her. She blacked out, both due to exhaustion and blood loss.
"Silverfur? Silverfur!" a gray and white tom called out, rushing to Silverfur's side. Silverfur groggily blinked her eyes and lifted her head.
"Heronclaw? What happened?" She looked around, eyes still narrowed slightly in her half-awake state. She was absolutely exhausted, but she couldn't figure out why. And then she saw it. The blood. The trap. Her leg. It all came rushing back to her and she cried out. Her head immediately became flooded with questions.
Why had Nightfang left her? Did she really not care for her anymore? Did she no longer care for how Silverfur felt? Did she not enjoy the times the two spent together? It hurt, she had to admit. It hurt knowing that Nightfang didn't care about her anymore. Had she ever cared?
"We're going to get you out," Heronclaw grunted. He began to dig at the end of the trap until it was free. Her leg, or what was left of it, was able to be released. She was able to get the leg back to safety, and promptly blacked out as more blood began to gush out of it.
When she woke, she was instantly greeted by the sickly sweet scent of herbs. Raising her head, she attempted to get up but something felt off. She collapsed back against the nest. Looking down, she realized her left front leg was completely gone. A large, jagged and ugly scar was in its place. The fur around the scar was gone, showing the pink skin underneath.
"Oh, you're awake," the medicine cat, Tawnystripe murmured, padding over to Silverfur.
"What...Where is my leg?" Silverfur whispered, eyes wide.
"I...I had to remove it. It was barely attached to you, and had many scratch marks. It was practically useless," Tawnystripe replied. Silverfur sighed.
"Where is Nightfang?"
"She came into camp and said that you had gotten stuck in a trap and she wasn't sure what to do. She was surprisingly calm about it."
Getting used to having only three legs was difficult, and her relationship with Nightfang was never the same. The two became defensive when near each other. They avoided the other as much as possible, to the point where everyone else noticed. The deputy always made sure to not put them in a patrol together.
Despite that, Silverfur still missed Nightfang. She didn't know how the black cat felt for her after that, but she figured that she no longer cared. She even got a mate later on, much to the surprise and disappointment of Silverfur.
Well. Whatever. She was going to die soon, anyway.
Silverfur leaped towards Nightfang, claws outstretched. Nightfang yowled and knocked her away. Silverfur tried to stay standing, but the slippery floor caught her off balance and she skidded away. She rose, and managed to leap toward Nightfang. She scratched along her side before being knocked away again.
Silverfur felt a stinging sensation in her cheek as claws were scored across it. Blood dripped down and onto the forest floor below. She glared up at Nightfang, who glared right back at her. Nightfang's paw was raised, preparing to strike down and end this now. Silverfur tensed, preparing to leap. She did, catching the cat completely off guard. She pinned Nightfang this time, baring her teeth at her. Nightfang struggled, but Silverfur had her paw on the she-cat's neck, claws out and digging into it. Struggling would only make it worse.
"So, Nightfang, tell me. How does it feel, having my claws against you like you've done to me so many times? How does it feel knowing you're barely alive? Oh, what am I even saying? You can't feel anything. You're empty inside. I should have known, really," she cackled. "We aren't all that different, to be honest. You're just like me, I'm just like you. I realize now that I don't really care much about you. I guess I can't afford to, considering I'm about to kill you. What a shame, really." Nightfang continued to struggle, but there was a hint of desperation in her actions.
"Silverfur, Silverfur please don't do this. We can make someone else fight. I care about you, really, I do!" she pleaded.
"Ha, as if. I've been caught in your web of lies for too long, it won't work now. Tell me, what was your real reason for abandoning me that day? Hm? If you do care about me, then why'd you leave?"
"I-I didn't know what to do! So I went back to camp to get help..!"
"You weren't all that fast about it, were you? You could have at least gone faster! You could have ran! But no. You walked. A simple walk, in no rush. You couldn't have even told me you were going to get help? You were so calm about it. Now tell me the truth or I'll kill you!"
"I-I'm sorry!" Silverfur narrowed her eyes.
"No you aren't." She moved her paw and dug her teeth into Nightfang's neck. Nightfang yowled and thrashed, but it was all to no avail. Silverfur dug her teeth in deeper, and Nightfang soon lay still.
Thunder roared and lightning flashed, illuminating a silver cat as she sat hunched over the body of a black she-cat. Blood pooled around her paws from the black cat's neck. Her head was down, and rain dripped down in her face, looking almost like tears. "Goodbye, Nightfang," her voice cracked.
The cats who had been watching the battle now approached them. One placed a paw on Nightfang's body and needlessly announced that she was dead. Another approached Silverfur, his head bowed low.
"Congrats, Silverfur. You are the leader, should you choose to accept this role. Do you?" Tawnystripe asked.
"I may be successful, yet I do not feel victorious." She looked at Tawnystripe. "I do not feel satisfaction knowing that I have claimed this position." She rose completely and turned to face the cats. "I accept this position as your leader. While it hurts me to have to claim it this way, such is the way that our ancestors, and their ancestors, chose who was to be leader." She scanned the crowd, before looking up into the sky. "Let my reign begin."
