Warriors | One-shots

Scriptorial || Round Delta «Entry»

❝ ᴍʏ ʟᴏɴᴇʟɪɴᴇss ɪs ᴄᴏʟᴅ. ᴍʏ ʟᴏɴᴇʟɪɴᴇss ɪs ʜᴀʀsʜ. ɪᴛ ɪs sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ɴᴏ ᴏɴᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀsᴛᴀɴᴅ. ❞

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ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ | ᴄᴏɴғʟɪᴄᴛ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ | 847

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ᴅ ᴇ s ᴏ ʟ ᴀ ᴛ ᴇ
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She could feel it - her body starting to react to being alone. Her paws wavered, and her eyes became dilated in fear.

It's eating me.

Jaguarpaw flattened her ears, squeezing her eyes shut and curling into a ball as she laid on the ground. She was trembling more violently as her body started to realise that she was alone. Her shred of hope was rudely torn away, only leaving a small spark, and feasted upon by this very monster - loneliness. She was afraid. Afraid of being alone.

Sleetpaw.

The tawny apprentice had wanted to ultimately conquer her fear of being alone, and requested for some free time from ApricityClan's leader to train herself to overcome her fear. Sleetpaw had violently objected at first, but after seeing her burning conviction, he agreed begrudgingly.

I-I can't do it. I'll show them I'm not weak, Jaguarpaw thought to herself. Despite her bold words, she could not bare to stand up, for her paws were unsteady, and could only listen to loneliness' voice echoing through her ears.

Her chest felt tight - as if her heart was being squeezed by a claw belonging to unknown. She started wheezing and panting, disorganised wild thoughts entering her mind.

I'm scared.

Jaguarpaw stood up forcefully, causing her paws to collapse beneath her the moment she stood. I... I mustn't be scared.

The apprentice was sick and tired of seeing the other apprentices' gaze focused on her most of the time. It was not out of admiration or envy - it was pity. Pity for her fear of being alone. I'll show them...

Her senses were heightened to unimaginable heights - she could hear every sound an animal makes, amplified. However, she felt that it was mocking rather than comforting.

The painful squeaking of mice, the awful chrips of birds, and the laughing rush of water played in her ears over and over again. I don't want to hear them.

Jaguarpaw had deliberately chosen to test her resilience in the day to start off. Her fear was more prominent at night and in the dark.

She opened her eyes - both which are so mesmerising, it placed nature's green to shame. Her spark of hope kindled slightly. I must try.

She stood up once more, despite a paralysing sensation bursting throughout her body, as cold as Leaf-fall's snow. Her paws trembled, threatening to fail once more. She fought against her impulse to whirl around and run towards where Sleetpaw was. I mustn't if I want to be strong.

But the loneliness - it's eating more of me.

The scent of blood entered her nose, along with a piercing pain. Looking down at her paws, she realised she had done it once more - hurt herself in the midst of paranoia.

Blood leaked from her paws as her claws sank into them, creating ineffable physical pain. Stop.

Sleetpaw hated that Jaguarpaw would not even notice that she was hurting herself physically in order to negate the emotional pain she felt while being alone. Jaguarpaw wanted to let him feel at ease.

But how could she, when she could not even face her fear straight on?

Her ears were throbbing from hearing amplified sounds constantly. Her pants became heavier as she took each pawstep forward.

Help me.

Jaguarpaw dragged herself towards the Lustrous Coast, gasping for air as her movements became more rigid than it already was. I can make it.

I can't do this anymore.

Her insides were screaming for her to stop; stop and escape from the depth of loneliness she had dug for herself, and go under Sleetpaw's promised protection. She felt hot tears stinging her eyes. I won't be a failure.

But I already am a failure.

She spotted the familiar yellow sand and the welcoming smell of the salty sea. The Lustrous Coast was as beautiful and brilliant as usual, the smooth luster each giving a unique shine. The norm of this felt mocking to the apprentice - she was suffering physically and emotionally, yet everything can still carry on without care.

She felt something hit her, making her waver. I'm... Alone.

Save me.

Somehow, she ended up all the way in front, the waves lolling and rushing to her paws. It calmed her slightly, yet it was not enough to stop her from feeling the same pain in her heart. Salt water rubbed at her self-inflicted wounds, making her grit her teeth tightly together - in ApricityClan, they use salt water from the sea to allow their wounds to heal faster.

I can't do this anymore...

The sun was high up in the sky, causing a reflective glint in most of the smooth lusters. Jaguarpaw glanced at the closest one, noting her green eyes looking increasingly vapid.

I need you, Sleetpaw.

The bengal she-cat closed her eyes, feeling lighter. Black spots greeted her as she collapsed, going limp. She felt at peace as she felt a warm tongue licking her and a soothing voice telling her that everything will be all right.

I can't live without you.

And then it was dark. Dark with isolation.

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|| ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ ||

Unfortunately, since I was overseas for four days, I had to rush my writing today. This took around an hour to write, so it is pretty rushed. I totally didn't write this at 3:30am.

This one-shot is for WattyWarriors' Scriptorial, Round Delta. {helloilovecats}

The conflict present in this one-shot is Jaguarstrike, as Jaguarpaw, facing her fear of being alone. However, she ultimately fails to overcome it.

A trivia will be added for anyone who is interested. Hope you enjoyed reading this!

~ Sky ❄

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|| ᴛʀɪᴠɪᴀ ||

➵ I had wanted to expand on this a lot more, as there wasn't a word limit to keep to for this round. However, due to being overseas for four days, I could not do much planning and ended up making things up as I write, finishing this below an hour and a half.

➵ Jaguarstrike, as an apprentice, tried being alone. However, that didn't work out well.

➵ At the end of this chapter, Sleetpaw - Sleethawk - found Jaguarpaw -Jaguarstrike - and managed to save her from being further damaged emotionally.

➵ Jaguarstrike was originally going to stare at her reflection from the water. However, I decided that using glass was more logical.

➵ ApricityClan cats use salt water to heal their wounds quicker.

➵ Jaguarstrike does not suffer from despression. Her habit of injuring her paws through scratching herself happens only when she is alone, and when that becomes too unbearable.