art & stories 11.0

shortstory : "beneath the dawn"

just a small thing i whipped up while bored and restless.

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RiverClan camp lay silent beneath a thick blanket of snow. The usual gurgle of the river had been quieted by the ice coating its surface, and icicles hung like fallen stars on every branch.

   A cold chill bit through the air, and the pale, milky dawn sky made the snow glitter like all of Silverpelt.

   Then, a small shape slid from one of the dens, sitting and staring in awe at the frozen world. The feline's whiskers twitched as she took in the landscape, gaze scanning every once-jagged shape, smoothed by the thick white powder.

   She hardly flicked her ear when another shape came crashing out, pouncing into the freezing substance and rolling around, kicking the snow up and spraying it on the first to emerge. She pressed her ears back in response and shook the already melting powder from her nose.

   "Cloverpaw, look! Snow! We've waited our entire lives for this! StarClan, it's so cold! And everything is so beautiful!" The second cat called out, causing a flock of crows to go soaring from their perch in a tree, cawing madly as they took for the sky.

   Cloverpaw, the first to emerge, watched the birds go before returning her gaze to her littermate. She frowned at the mess he'd made of the snow.

   "Thornpaw, you've screwed it up! Look at what you've done." Cloverpaw stood and motioned with a paw to the visible hole in the snow. Thornpaw twitched his whiskers, observing his damage then scraping his paws at the ground, attempting to fix it but only adding to the disarray.

   "Oh, it's no use now." Cloverpaw grimaced, a shiver passing down her spine like an enemy's claws. "We should go check on the river, remember all the stories mother told us of... ice, was it?"

   "Oh, yes! Come on, let's go!" Thornpaw chirped, turning and running down to the riverbank, kicking up snow and messing up the once-gorgeous scene more. Cloverpaw took a moment to mourn the lost beauty, but turned to join her brother when she heard a yowl of distress.

   The dark-colored fur on her neck rose when she saw Thornpaw, balancing with his legs stretched out awkwardly, in the middle of the river. But the water was coated in a semi-transparent, foggy, slippery thing. It must be ice, Cloverpaw figured.

   Thornpaw was trying not to collapse, but was still slowly drifting closer to ThunderClan's side of the river. His tail and fur were spiked up like the icicles hanging from the trees, and his eyes seemed to stretch wide as the moon.

   "Thornpaw! How in StarClan did you get all the way over there?" Cloverpaw yowled, panic growing like a hot ball of jagged rock in her stomach.

   "I crashed down and I keep sliding!" Thornpaw called back, almost slipping but catching himself at the last moment.

   Cloverpaw went to set a paw on the 'ice', but yelped and pulled it back when she faltered and nearly fell down.

   "Can you try and run back?" Cloverpaw asked, standing as close to the edge as she could without collapsing onto the solidified water.

   Thornpaw tried to do as told, but as soon as he moved his legs in a running motion, he went slamming down and gave a yelp of pain as his jaw hit the ice. He scrambled his paws to try and stand but only slid away further.

   "Thornpaw, you'll be on ThunderClan territory soon!" Cloverpaw whined, then suddenly remembered her tour of RiverClan on her first day as an apprentice. "When you reach the edge, pad down the riverbank in the direction of thunderpath! There's a fallen tree down there, maybe you can cross?"

   Her black-and-white pelted brother nodded, dragging his head off the ice but still unable to stand. He kicked his legs and clawed the smooth, slippery ground, managing to push himself closer to the opposite bank. Once he was within a tail-length, he reached out and grabbed the dead grass beneath the snow, pulling himself up onto the land.

   Cloverpaw chirped and nodded, watching as Thornpaw looked around for a moment then started down the frozen waterside, his sister following his pace on RiverClan's side.

   Thornpaw eventually made it to the fallen tree, but not without stopping many times to stare deep into the bare woodland. Cloverpaw made sure to follow, not once straying behind or padding too far up. At one point Cloverpaw had to cross the twoleg bridge, but still made sure Thornpaw was within her vision.

   Once both were across from each other, the fallen tree making a passage and the thunderpath nearby, Thornpaw began to cross.

   He was hasty at first, but quickly slowed, claws digging into the old bark as the tree groaned and shifted under his weight. Cloverpaw felt freezing claws of terror dig into her sides, but Thornpaw stabilized himself and continued across.

   Once he was at the end of the tree-bridge, he leapt, and tackled his sister into the snow. Both rolled around for a few moments, before Cloverpaw broke away and shook the snow from her pelt.

   Thornpaw snorted with laughter, "You look like you're spotted!" Cloverpaw sneered, but her eyes were alight with fondness for her brother as she swatted a pawful of snow straight at his face.

   Thornpaw yelped, ears going back and eyes sticking shut as the frigid substance colored his black fur white. He shook himself then narrowed his eyes playfully at Cloverpaw, tackling her with a laugh.

    The siblings fell in a flurry of paws and fur, before breaking apart again and running off down the path back to RiverClan.

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hope everyone enjoyed this!