Forbidden Love - Warrior Cats AU

OLD | Chapter One

The moon was high up in the pitch black sky. The speckles of stars slowly shone in the distance. No clouds obscured the view. It was magnificent and graceful. Pelt brushed by a young she-cat's body. Her brown tabby fur was silvery in the moonlight. A tom silently sat next to her. His body was invisible in the dark of night. The she-cat mewed "Tonight, the medicine cats will go share tongues with StarClan."
"Would you like to be there?"
"It would have been nice to say goodbye to the others."
"Don't worry, they'll do great."
"What about my sister?"
"She'll be alright. Besides, we are finally together now. Nothing will stop us."
"You're right. I love you Crowfeather."
"I love you too, Leafpool."
They stayed close to each other for a while. The breeze was too cold to stay out too long. The dark gray tom mewed "Let's go back to the nest before we freeze our paws off." Leafpool nodded silently, unsure of her mate caught sight of it, and stalked towards their nest between a tree's roots. Crowfeather joined her and they snuggled close to warm each other. The tom quickly found sleep and snored quietly. Leafpool wasn't able to find slumber. She lost herself in her thoughts, mainly centered around Squirrelflight and Cinderpelt. Her mind connection sent her waves of pain and grief mixed with small bits of joy. What happened? Leafpool wondered why her sister felt such deep emotions at once. Did Sorreltail give birth? I missed her kit's entrance in life... I hope they are doing fine... Her thoughts merged with her dreams as her mate's snoring lullaby drove her to sleep.

•••

The sun bathed the sky with pinks and yellows as dawn rose slowly. Squirrelflight was up early. She didn't sleep well last night. Brackenfur and Brambleclaw were slowly waking up too, readying for dawn patrol. The dark ginger she-cat joined the toms and asked "Can I join the dawn patrol?"
"Sure" mewed Brackenfur as Brambleclaw simply nodded. Since Leafpool left, her sister had jumps from 'happy go lucky' to 'life doesn't mean anything anymore' to 'I need to shred someone's pelt off'. As of now, she was more so neutral. "I'll be back soon, I'll check out on Sorreltail to see if she wants anything first. Helping with the queen help her cheer up as they both shared grief for Leafpool's disappearance. She poked her head through the nursery's entrance and nearly bumped a gray tabby kit. "Hello Cinderkit, you are up early." The few days old kitten simply stuck her tongue out as an answer. "Go back to your mom, she'll be worried if you aren't in the nest when she'll wake up." She sighted when she noticed Cinderkit kept staring at her. "Alright... I'll have to do it myself!" Sorreltail was still asleep. Squirrelflight grabbed the she-kit and placed her back between her litter mates. She licked her forehead and walked outside and joined her patrol. "Ready?" Asked Brambleclaw.
"More than ready!" Quickly replied the she-cat. The day was surely going to be nice. She followed Brackenfur with a content look on her face. She was quietly purring as overflowing joy washed through her. The clan was going fine, everything was fine, except... her. Squirrelflight's purring stopped as sadness filled her eyes. Why was Leafpool gone? Why Cinderpelt had to die? Why StarClan was awful with ThunderClan? The she-cat's claws were now unsheathed and her eyes were sharp. I have to find food for my Clan. She shook her head to gain control over her feelings. Brambleclaw asked "Are you alright Squirrelflight? You can always go back to the camp and sleep if you want."
"I'm alright! Everything is perfectly fine!" She had a nervous laugh. He surely noticed nothing was right.
"Listen for once, go back to camp and take the day smooth. Ask Brightheart for a poppy seed if you need help sleeping. Everything will be alright. Relax for once." He talked with a somewhat harsh voice. Squirrelflight silently nodded and padded away, not feeling too well with her inner self. As she walked, she heard Brackenfur purr to Brambleclaw "I can't believe she listened to you!"
"Don't worry, I can't believe it either." There was an edge of worry in his mew.

•••

The camp was silent when Squirrelflight entered it. She looked around, everyone was sleeping. She walked towards Brightheart's den with hesitant steps. She poked her head through the entrance and found the white and ginger she-cat fast asleep in her moss bed. "Brightheart?" The medicine cat's head jerked up with a surprised look. "Squirrelflight? Why are you here?"
"Brambleclaw told me to spend the day resting and he wants me to sleep."
"Okay... Well, I... I'll give you..." The newly named medicine cat seemed hesitant. A couple of days earlier, she was a warrior. Even if she had small knowledge of plants and herbs, she still looked anxious about her new role. "Brambleclaw said poppy seeds?" Squirrelflight tried to help her.
"I know! I just can't find them." It didn't surprise the warrior. Berries and medicines were scattered around the den as if she was trying to self teach herself their properties. "Want to give me a paw in cleaning this mess first? I'm sorry, this is kinda new for me."
"Don't worry, Brightheart. I'll help, it'll clear my mind."
"Thank you."
The sun was high up when they finished cleaning the den. There were more cats awake, hunting patrols had many preys and everything went as normal. Dustpelt had three warriors help him rebuild the broken dens. The camp looked like nothing bad had happened. But, in her heart, Squirrelflight knew nothing was ever going to be the same. She thought of her sister. Where was she? Was she alright? Why did she left the Clans? The ginger she-cat was still lost in her thoughts when Brightheart snapped her out of her trance. "Do you still want the poppy seeds? It's too late to take a nap, unless you are a kit or an elder." She smiled, trying to cheer her clanmate but failed to do so. "I'll take some. I need to sleep away the thoughts."
"If you say so. I'll give you one. Go back to your nest, or a sunbathed rock, and rest all you want. I'll warn Firestar to not let anyone disturb you."
"Thank you Brightheart." The red she-cat took the medicine and walked out of the rocky den. She looked around and found the three elders half asleep on a rock. Sunlight warmed them as they talked quietly. She approached them and asked "Can I join you?"
"Sure Squirrelflight." Mewed Longtail who heard her coming.
"Don't worry dear, There is enough place for half the clan."
"Thank you Goldenflower." Squirrelflight yawned as she started to feel the poppy seed's effects. She laid on the rock and closed her eyes with a sigh. "Is everything alright Squirrelflight? You seem down since the badger attack."
"Yeah, Everything is fine... Don't worry, I'm alright."
"You can't understand your sister's departure?"
"Yes. I can't see why she would leave!"
"Some cats are not made for warrior life."
"But she was a medicine cat! If she didn't like healing her clanmates, she would have tried to hunt for them! I know my sister like my own pelt."
"I'm sure you do, said Mousefur, but there are some moments where we don't understand other's choice. And you need to respect them. If she wants to come back, she'll be on her way back soon enough. If she don't, respect her and her decisions. You can't decide another cat's life."
"You are probably right... Sorry, I just... have difficulties controlling myself right now."
"Don't worry, you are no worse than Longtail on one of his bad days."
"What do you mean about that, Mousefur?" Growled the blind tom.
"You would've clawed my ears off many moons earlier if you could."
"I know, old cat." Squirrelflight continued to listen to them for a while until her mind was to foggy to register coherent things. Her eyes closed by themselves as she drifted away in hard slumber."

•••

The sun started to fall down into dusk. Crowfeather had caught a fat rabbit and shared it with his mate. Leafpool was still lost in her mind, thinking about her sister. She had tried to find useful herbs around but only seemed to be able to find borage leaves and few patches of poppy flowers. She had stayed near the nest in case a rogue passed nearby a threatened her. She hadn't had the best warrior training. She could hunt but often missed her prey and she could fight a wounded enemy. Crowfeather had to venture further to find rabbits. Leafpool looked at her mate. "What if we move our nest over there?" She pointed a hollow circled by prickly bushes. A small gap between two bush was large enough to let a cat through but too small for a fox or a dog. "I explored it today. We would be nearer to the rabbit burrows and more protected from predators. A part of it goes underground, perfect for a nest, prey and herbs when it is raining." Leafpool was purring from content. She was proud of her finding.
"Sure seems nice. Should we go and see it before we move the nest? I want to make sure it's safe enough."
"Alright, let's hurry then. I smell rain incoming."

•••

Hey, it has been a while since I last posted anything. I'm always tired because of school but I got a sudden inspiration for this story so, let's see how it goes! (I legit wrote this chapter in less than 2 hours). I hope you like the story!