Legacy: Timeless (Book 2)

Chapter 46: Night Combat

Chapter 46: Night Combat

The day of the battle was peaceful in its silence. Scorch noted the stillness of air and the whisper of her breath. The pines stood regally with their coats of green free of snow for the first time in moons. The air had warmed just enough to melt the slush from the trees. But the sun hid behind clouds and kept the ground from warming up- her paws living wide pawprints in the soft snow.

"You can almost taste the suspense in the air," Boulderpaw grumbled as they returned from a hunting trip, each with two pieces of prey.

"Yeah," Scorch agreed, mumbling around her mouthful of prey. "But I imagine that we only notice it because we know what's going to happen. A cat that is just looking forward to a normal day will see this peace as relaxing," she mewed.

Boulderpaw shook his head, "Of course you would say something like that."

Scorch purred. At least Boulderpaw seemed to have gotten over her actions as of late. Though he still wasn't willing to condone her decision, and she was sensible enough not to need that. He had accepted it as her decision to make and forgiven her for it in his own way and they would move on.

Besides, she could feel the excitement rippling under his fur. Even though his pelt was smooth, gaze steady, steps firm; He was still bursting with emotion about the coming battle. It makes sense, he's finally going to be able to help his Clan. Any cat would be gleeful at the prospect.

But she also sensed the doubt, the confusion, and anxiety. He would fight,and he would fight harder, but he didn't know what would happen after that and he didn't seem to be optimistic about it.

She laid her tail over his shoulders for a moment. "You'll get to go home at last," she purred.

He looked at her, his blue eyes disconcerted for a moment. "What about you? Will you go home?" She honestly couldn't tell if he was happy or sad about the idea.

Scorch shrugged, looking away as confusion spiked at her paws. "I'll stick around for a while, I think. Mira is going to have her kits soon too. But maybe after that I'll search for home again. It's what I was trying to do before I found the Clans," Scorch mewed.

"I bet your family misses you," Boulderpaw mewed sympathetically. For once, he sounded genuinely sorry for her.

She dipped her head, embarrassed. "I hope they don't miss me too badly. They probably think I'm dead, after all." She dropped her voice to a whisper, "I wouldn't wish this longing on any cat." The very thought of her parents sent thrums of pain dancing through her heart so that it physically hurt to think of them.

"What?" Boulderpaw asked, evidently had not caught the last part.

"Nothing," Scorch shook her head and flashed him a smile around her mice. "Let's talk about how great it'll be when we beat Pinefur once and for all!" Boulderpaw nodded, light shining in his eyes as he contemplated the coming victory.

Scorch sighed in relief as he began talking about what he would do when they won. "The first thing I'll do is run through ThunderClan's territory. I haven't been able to run freely through it for moons... Then I'll eat and talk with my Clan-mates all night long. Then I'll..."

Scorch purred as he chatted on, dropping his prey multiple times in his ecstasy so that they had to pause for him to pick them back up and took longer getting to camp then they should have. She looked at his blue eyes, shining brighter than ever before and his voice elevated in anticipated joy. I would do nearly anything to keep that look on his face forever. But forever can sometimes last only a moment.