Ashfur's Forgivance AU

Chapter 1: Rejection and Forgivance

No.

Ashfur stared at Squirrelflight, shocked. His heart was dropping so low, like a stone falling into a river. The grey tom stared at the ginger molly, still as a statue.

"But I-we-" Ashfur stuttered. She-I swear...How could she love a cat that treated her terribly? "I thought you loved me." The grey warrior whispered. Squirrelflight flinched, and unsheathed her claws, digging them into the dirt beneath them.

"Only as a friend, nothing more." She said firmly. The ginger cat flicked her tail from side to side impatiently. Ashfur held his breath, then let it out. Anger bubbled up inside of him.

"What about Tigerstar? I saw the blood on his claws. Brambleclaw is his son! He could hurt you! Why do you want to be with the son of Tigerstar?" Ashfur snapped.

Squirrelflight's eyes flashed angrily, and she lashed out a paw, a whisker away from Ashfur's nose. The grey warrior didn't flinch. She doesn't understand. She never will. The ginger molly snarled, fur fluffed out.

"Brambleclaw isn't who his father is! He's chosen his own destiny."

"But-" Ashfur hesitated, anger washing away. "He could hurt you..." Squirrelflight's anger melted away into confusion. "And..." Ashfur took his chance. "I love you."

Squirrelflight sighed, and shook her head. "Ashfur...you are a great friend, but nothing more! Please, can we be friends?"

Ashfur suddenly snarled and stepped away. Without saying another word, he turned and ran away. The grey warrior could smell Squirrelflight's sadness slipping away into the breeze as he burst from the bramble tunnel. Paws pounding against the ground, Ashfur sprinted as far as he could until his lungs burned with exhilaration. He panted, alone. If you don't care, then I don't! He thought angrily. The grey tom paced around the forest, clawing up a tree, and jumping the branches. His anger burned hard in his throat, and he took a deep breath. Ashfur suddenly felt himself slipping into a trance of Squirrelflight, her desperation and sadness and anger flashed around him. His blue, ocean eyes flew open, and he checked his paws, unsheathing and sheathing his claws.

She will pay. What she did to me, choosing a cat that has treated her badly for the past few moons!

Ashfur snarled, pacing back and forth on the branch. The branch groaned, and before the grey tom could react, it gave way. Ashfur twisted in midair with his tail, the ground coming fast. He slammed on his paws, breath taken out of him. The shock of hitting the ground had taken his emotions towards Squirrelflight away, and he lifted one paw then the other gingerly. After checking both the paws, he walked quickly back to camp, anticipating what was to happen next.
***
Ashfur laid next to the prey pile, wondering what would soothe his growling belly. He had been surprised when Ferncloud had spoken to him, asking to talk. When he agreed, all that she had told him was that he was being to 'controlling' over Squirrelflight! What type of cat would tell him that?! He growled at the thought, then picked up a thrush and went to eat it. The grey warrior passed Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, who were sharing a chaffinch. Ignoring the look of desperation that Squirrelflight shot him, he settled in the sun, enjoying the warmth and flavor of the bird. As he was eating, a small, warm body curled up against him. He jumped, looking down at the grey pelt that was mingling with his.

"Ferncloud!" Ashfur exclaimed. His sister smiled softly and gently licked his cheek.

"Hey, Ashfur. I saw you eating alone so I came to join you."

Ashfur sighed and felt his pelt warm at the concern in her green eyes. "Thanks. It's just...Squirrelflight. I don't understand." He told Ferncloud without her asking what was wrong. "She chose Brambleclaw over me. I-I-" He swallowed. "I swear we were going to be mates! You saw how Brambleclaw treated her!"

"That's where you need to be a good friend and understand where she is coming from. She has a lot of background with Brambleclaw, with their journey, and all."

"But...he treated her so poorly!"

"As would you if she chose you. You would treat her like a newborn kit!"

Ashfur growled, fur spiking. "This is useless." He started to get up when Ferncloud pushed him back down again.

"I'm not finished."

"I have heard enough!"

"No, you haven't. You need to learn to admit your mistakes and suck it up like a warrior!"

"But I-"

"Listen. Ashfur, you treated her pretty poorly as well. But if you treat her better, maybe you'll have another chance."

".....another chance?"

"Yes, and being her friend and still being close to her. I'm not saying that one day she'll change her mind, but the best thing that you can do is be her friend and treat her like another warrior."

"What do you mean?"

"Let her fight her own battles, Ashfur. That's where you messed up. You treated her like a helpless kit when really she could fight like the warrior she is. Now stop controlling her actions and be the good cat you know you are! Things might be awkward, but try to not be her master and be her ally instead."

Ashfur took in a breath. This all didn't make sense. He had been perfect for Squirrelflight! He flexed his claws. I... His thoughts vanished, and he kneaded the ground.

"I know this is hard, but you'll do great." Ferncloud said encouragingly.

Ashfur sighed. "Are you sure that it'll work?"

Ferncloud frowned. "Ashfur, this isn't about you, this is about Squirrelflight. That's where you went wrong. You thought about yourself over Squirrelflight."

Ashfur opened then closed his mouth.
You have to try...for Squirrelflight...
"Alright, Ferncloud. I'll try."

(All art in the book is going to be mine. Check back on chapter without art to see if they get some! Any fanart will be accepted when the book is finished, and I have some refs that you can use when fanart is acceptable, but you may make fanart of it right now, and I'll put it in later! All fanart will be accepted though the comment section. Simply make a downloadable file with a shareable link, and I'll access it and put it on the fanart page. Thank you!)