Warriors: Frecklesky's Heart

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A flicker of black caught the warrior's attention. Frecklesky dropped to a crouch, her eyes narrowed to slits as a lithe she-cat glanced over her shoulder, padding lowly yet swiftly across the marsh as she made her way to the thunderpath.

Something red hanging near the cat's throat caught Frecklesky's attention. Prey. That cat stole prey from us. Her thoughts scattered like a frantic chipmunk, her claws flexing to earth. The cat glanced anxiously left and right, then twitching her tail, she bolted, straight across the sheet of asphalt. Hasn't ThunderClan hurt us enough?

Her lip peeling back into a snarl, Frecklesky scuttled across the ground towards the thunderpath, ensuring she smeared filth and brush across her fur to build a camouflage. Though she loved her pelt, it was the opposite of stealthy.

She glanced left. Nothing. Then she glanced right; a silver monster whipped around a curve, charging forward with a fierce whistling roar. Frecklesky squinted as her thick fur buffeted around her head. Behind the silver monster was another, and when it finally passed, she glanced from side-to-side one more time, then she sprinted onto the hard path.

The ground was hot and sticky, warm under the heat of the sun's peak. It stung at her paws and it's strange, rough texture made her feel as though she were walking on thorns. She flashed past a yellow streak, ran for a few more heartbeats, then felt the soft grass on ThunderClan territory under her paws.

The tree branches rattled noisily under the cold breeze. Her ears twitched around, deaf under the constant assault of sound. How can they live like this? She wondered, keeping to a crouch as she scurried along. I can hardly hear my own thoughts.

Fortunately, through the thick stench of oak sap, Frecklesky could smell the dark she-cat. She smelt oddly of twolegs, mingled with the sweet taste of lavender under the overwhelming taste of thunderpath. The warrior shoved through a bramble bush, snarling as her thick fur caught in thorns, before whipping her head around. A pair of golden eyes stared at her from a gentle, petite face.

"Do you need any help?" The she-cat offered, her voice as soft as daisies as she gingerly stepped forward.

Frecklesky swallowed the bile that rose in her throat. "No," she replied roughly, yanking her caught pelt. "I don't need your help, prey-thief." She bared her teeth, her eyes flashing as she searched earnestly for the stolen item.

The cat tilted her head slightly to the side, exposing a reddish-pink bow coiled around her neck. "Prey-thief?" She mewed.

Frecklesky faltered for a heartbeat. It was a kittypet. Not a ThunderClan warrior. What had she been thinking, straying onto enemy land in pursuit of an innocent she-cat?

"Didn't you... catch something?" Frecklesky pressed firmly, keeping her voice a growl as she rose awkwardly to her fullest height.

The kittypet was short, tilting her head up to stare at the bulky warrior. Not even a wink of fear shone in her eyes.

"No," she said. "I was just passing through."

Frecklesky growled, pulling at her fur some more. Never in her life had she gotten tangled up so bad—and it was made especially worse since she was on enemy land. Her heart thundered in her ears. While a battle sounded exciting, she didn't want a ThunderClan patrol to come across her now. Not while she was stuck, and especially not while she was trespassing directly after they'd raided their camp.

"I can help you, if you'd like," the kittypet offered again, taking another step forward. "I'm good at unknotting fur." She stopped just an arm's length away, taking caution in case Frecklesky gave her a swat.

Frecklesky yanked her pelt again, but it didn't give. She regarded the kittypet quietly. She had little muscle definition, and was rather slim. Tiny compared to Frecklesky, but just a little short compared to the average warrior. She was pretty, too. Dark gray fur with long black streaks lining her back, almost like the lines of a thunderpath, and her eyes were a honey yellow, glittering in the sunlight as it flitted through the noisy branches.

"All right," Frecklesky grunted, lowering her haunches to the ground. "You can help."

The kittypet lingered for a moment, eyeing the warrior warily. She showed much more caution than the warrior expected, and she wondered briefly if the small she-cat had run into any of her Clanmates in the past.

Frecklesky turned her head away as the kittypet approached, and she stiffened as her breath stirred her fur. Carefully, the kittypet lifted her paw and found the biggest knot, working it slowly out. Her delicate paws moved softly along Frecklesky's side, patiently untangling each mess of fur until at last, the last hair fell free.

The kittypet backed quickly away, bouncing nervously on her paws. "You're free now."

Frecklesky exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She padded away from the bush, relief flooding over her like the current of a river. She turned back to the kittypet. "Thank you," she meowed. "I'll be heading home now. You should, too. ThunderClan doesn't take kindly to strangers."

The kittypet's dark ears twitched in acknowledgment. "Thanks, but I'll be fine. I live just over here." She tossed her head, indicating towards the depths of ThunderClan territory.

Frecklesky's eyes narrowed. "You already passed through there without being caught?"

She nodded, turning cheerfully and approaching the stump of a tree. "Yeah," she meowed with a light smirk to the ShadowClan warrior. "Forest cats never look up."

Frecklesky's eyes widened slightly, as with the grace of a squirrel, the dark she-cat scrambled up the trunk. The she-cat looked at the warrior one last time before she turned and sprinted along, disappearing into the green forest canopy.