Ashfur sprinted through the brush, paws pounding. Yowls shook the trees behind him, and he only ran faster. The grey warrior stumbled over a root, and he hissed in pain, but the cat kept moving. Suddenly, jaws snapped near his tail, and Ashfur growled with frustration, pushing harder into the soft ground. Suddenly, a ginger streak caught his eye, and he crashed to the ground.
Keep rolling!
Ashfur went limp, and the cat rolled off of him. He scrambled to his paws, panting, and sprang off. He felt a rush of satisfaction as he heard the yowl of frustration. His paw burned with pain, but the grey warrior kept going. He dodged around the trees, then ducked into a bush. His heart pounded furiously. The forest was suddenly quiet.
Did I lose them?
Ashfur poked his head out, confused...
MROWWW!
A cat tackled him, and Ashfur yelped as the world spun around him. As he got pinned, he cracked his eyes open.
"Ashfur! You put quite a chase back there!"
Squirrelflight let him to his paws. Ashfur grinned, then winced. His paw seemed to twist under pressure.
"Ouch." He muttered painfully.
"Ashfur? What's wrong?"
"Nothing...just a small tweak." The grey tom winced. Squirrelflight looked at him knowingly.
"Here, lean on me. Let's go see Cinderpelt."
Obediently, Ashfur leaned on the ginger molly, and they both headed back to camp where Brambleclaw was waiting. He looked at them with a concerned gaze.
"How'd it go?"
"This mousebrain twisted his paw, but nonetheless, he did great!" Squirrelflight replied, amusement sparkling in her eyes. Ashfur rolled his eyes and purred.
"Mousebrain yourself!"
Brambleclaw swished just tail. "That's good. I'll let Firestar know." He padded away.
As the grey tom and ginger molly went to the medicine den, they were accompanied by Brackenfur.
"Hello! How are you two?"
Squirrelflight smiled. "Doing fine. And by fine, I mean I'm fine. Ashfur twisted his paw training."
"Oh, no! Is it bad?" Brackenfur asked, concerned.
Ashfur shook his head. "I think it's just a small tweak."
"Oh, really now?" Squirrelflight said. "Then why are you limping around like an elder?"
Ashfur rolled his eyes. "Let's just get to the medicine den."
"Well then see ya, Brackenfur!" Squirrelflight mewed, as the pair walked to Cinderpelt's den.
"Oh, hello Squirrelflight and Ashfur. What can I do for you?" Cinderpelt asked, looking up from a leaf wrap.
"Ashfur twisted his paw. Can you look at it?"
"Sure."
Taking the grey tom's paw gingerly, Cinderpelt examined it.
"Yes, it's a small tweak. Not that serious. But you walking on it helps. It might hurt today, so I want you to take off your warrior duties for the rest of the day, but feel free to walk around. But any hunting or fighting training might make it even worsen so light walks I recommend."
Ashfur shot Squirrelflight a 'I told you so' look, and she rolled her eyes.
Ashfur got up, ignoring the small amount of pain shooting up his leg. " 'Kay, thank you Cinderpelt!" He mewed, walking out of the den with Squirrelflight.
"I guess that I'll get something to eat, you should too." Suddenly he realized he had made a mistake.
Let Squirrelflight make her own decisions!
"You worked hard. But if you don't want to that's okay."
"No, it's okay Ashfur. I'm hungry anyway."
Relief flooded through his pelt as he and Squirrelflight walked to the fresh-kill pile. He chose a fat rabbit, and they both shared it. Ashfur licked the last traces of rabbit from his muzzle.
"That was delicious!"
"Hey Ashfur, Squirrelflight!" Called a voice behind them. As they turned, they saw Firestar and Brambleclaw coming down from the leader's den. The two bounded over to them.
"I heard it went well." Firestar purred, while Brambleclaw nodded. "Great job, Ashfur and Squirrelflight. I would let you on a patrol, but it's getting late. Go get some sleep. You deserve the rest. And don't worry about the dawn patrol, you get a morning off." The ginger tom smiled, nodded to the three of them, then went to his den where Sandstorm was waiting. Ashfur nodded, then yawned.
"Well I'm ready for a good night's rest! Coming you two?" Asked Ashfur.
Squirrelflight was about to say something, eyelids drooping, but Brambleclaw touched her tail with his.
"Give us a second."
The grey tom nodded, then walked to his nest.
There was something weird about that...something not right...
But his eyelids were closing, and he fell asleep.
***
Ashfur woke to the sound of cats yowling, "Firestar! Firestar!"
The grey tom scrambled out of his den, eyes widening.
"What's going on?!" He mewed. Squirrelflight appeared next to him.
"ShadowClan." She hissed. Ashfur growled, low in his throat. Brambleclaw joined them, narrowing his eyes.
"ShadowClan has invaded! They're in the forest, RIGHT NOW!"
Firestar leapt to his paws, Sandstorm right behind him. "Brambleclaw! Take a patrol to confront them. Sandstorm, lead another one, flanking them on the right side as a surprise attack. And Dustpelt, gather the rest of the cats to protect the nursery and help support Cinderpelt and Leafpool."
Dustpelt nodded, and sprang into the medicine den, Cloudtail, Brightheart and Thornclaw on his heels.
"Ashfur, Sootfur, Rainwhisker, and Spiderleg! After me!" Sandstorm yowled. Squirrelflight nudged him.
"Be safe."
Ashfur nodded, warmed by her gaze. "You too." Then he hared after his patrol. As the grey warrior felt Brambleclaw's gaze pinning him like a dead rabbit trapped under the claws of a WindClan cat, he wondered if the dark tabby warrior was really his friend.
YOU ARE READING
Ashfur's Forgivance AU
RomanceIn the canon books, Ashfur was rejected by Squirrelflight, and took it badly. What if Ashfur went to Ferncloud, and Ashfur created a healthy relationship with Squirrelflight? This AU takes a turn with Ashfur's struggle to be a good friend of Squirr...
