Turmoil {Warriors}

°Prologue°

The brown tabby sat down on his nest, wrapping what was left of his tail around himself. His eyes were directed at the cave wall, but he wasn't really staring at it; his mind had wandered elsewhere. He listened quietly to the pattering of the rain outside and let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh, his clouded amber eyes unable to blink.

Although he tried to focus on riddles and puzzles, on battle formations and disputes between the Clan, it was just to no avail. His mind always returned to her. Her gentle touch, her magnificient tortoiseshell fur and her warm smile; he purred to himself as he thought about her, even if he so badly wanted not to. He could remember staring into her amber eyes as she promised that everything would be okay, that she would never lay a claw on him.

Had he been wrong for trusting her? He possibly had; nevertheless, he had enjoyed the adventure of their love. She had always been a mystery to solve, someone that he couldn't read, but was still worth of his trust. Her soft voice had been his hero during hard times.

But it wasn't anymore. Now, it was a thundering echo casting a spell upon him. That night, when she brought all of her warriors to tear him apart - if not for his deputy he would be dead by now. Not that he'd mind, of course. With the love of his life spending day and night directing enemy hordes at his Clan in order to kill him, and his own warriors finding themselves doubting their loyalty for him, the tabby didn't know if he wanted to live anymore.

Thrushstar let out a feeble wince as he lay down on his crampled nest, tucking his paws under his chest and sneezing softly. The rain grew heavier, and a thunder roared in the cold night sky. Lightning flashed above, and a harsh wind swept into the tabby's den. He curled up even more and rested his chin on his paws, closing his eyes shut. Oh, what a hard leafbare was waiting for him and his Clan. He couldn't even imagine what the rest of the seasons would be like with such a big war keeping them busy.

As his breath started to ease down and his thoughts became nothing but a faint whisper, a reddish brown tom abandoned his position as the camp's guard and stood outside of Thrushstar's den somberly, his amber eyes piercing under the shadows. He moved quietly and stealthily as he crept into the cave, his gaze a gleam of concern once he spotted his leader's frail body. The StormClan warrior prodded Thrushstar's flank with a claw, worrying at first as the tom would not reply.

Finally, he lifted his head, blinking his eyes in order to adjust to the light. Thrushstar's heart almost leapt out of his mouth when he saw his Clanmate's face right in front of his, but he soon relaxed. Weaselclaw's scent was unmistakable; so was his stocky build and dark red coat.

"Erm... Good night, Weaselclaw," Thrushstar coughed, his ear twitching as he sat up and stared at Weaselclaw. His half-tail twitched rather impatiently, as he had finally found time to rest before being woken up by his warrior. He stayed up almost every night to think of battle strategies for his Clan.

Weaselclaw shuffled his paws, apparently noticing the leader's uncomfortableness. "Good morning, Thrushstar. The sun's already rising." He reported with nervous amber eyes, pointing with his tail-tip at the cave entrance. Although it could barely be seen due to the clouds and rain, the sun was peering over the horizon.

Thrushstar followed Weaselclaw's gaze, his ear twitching at the sight of the sun. "Oh... I see." His meow was quiet, and his voice was raspy, as if it hurt him to speak. "Is there anything you need?" he asked after a few heartbeats of silence. The warrior quickly locked his eyes with the leader's, licking his lips.

"I was just... You know, guarding camp," Weaselclaw started, his tail fidgeting quietly, "and I saw a cat on top of a tree. I stared at it, and approached - but it saw me and left. I must've tracked it down for hours but to no avail. Could it be a HawkClan cat?" He finally finished, avoiding Thrushstar's gaze once again.

"Are you sure that it wasn't Bramblefish?" Thrushstar asked, a shiver sweeping down his spine as his brain proccessed what Weaselclaw had said. "Or... Can you tell me anything about that cat that you saw?"

Weaselclaw's reddish fur was on end, his amber eyes a blaze of fear. "The thing is, I couldn't see anything about his pelt, Thrushstar. All I know is that he was covered in blood."

And that's as far as it goes, fam! I really enjoyed writing this chapter... I hope that you enjoy reading it! Tell me what was your first impression after meeting these two deep characters that I already love. Why was Weaselclaw so uneasy around Thrushstar? Who was Thrushstar thinking about? And who do you think this bloodthirsty cat was? Feel free to share your thoughts down in the comments below!

Kind regards,

doyoucarepsycopath.