Stars Divided

- o n e -

4444 words

- s a g e f r o s t -

          "No!"
          A distant cry pulled me from my sleep. I grumbled and tried to cover my ears with my paws.
          "Stop it!"
          My ears twitched and popped out from under my paws, flicking in the direction of the voice. I couldn't tell if it was panicked or scared.
          "I said stop!"
          But I recognized the voice. My eyes shot open and my head bolted up from the fresh, warm moss I had added to my bed the night before. I felt the panic pounding in my chest. My ears roared and my cheeks grew warm. It was my littermate. I stood and weaved in between my sleeping clanmates as I quickly emerged from the den. My eyes darted around the clearing. The early morning moon gave the clearing a pretty purple-blue hue but did little to provide much light to the area. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and they landed on two silhouettes, my littermate, Echoflower and a tom I didn't immediately recognize in the dim light of dawn. I crouched and silently padded closer.
          "Fernshade, stop. You'll wake someone." Echoflower whispered through a giggle. Fernshade. The panic in my chest eased only to be replaced by annoyance. I stood from my crouch and walked toward them, my pace slow and steps heavy. I didn't want to see anything I didn't need to see. They both turned to stare at me as I approached. Just as their features started to become clear, I saw Echoflower scramble from underneath Fernshade.
          "Why are you awake before the sun?" Echoflower asked, low and harsh, once she realized who I was. She sat and began to fix her fur.
          "I didn't realize you two were so close." I said, ignoring her question. I glanced at Fernshade who simply looked away, his face neutral and unbothered. My tail flicked with annoyance before my eyes moved back to Echoflower. She stood and walked past me, pausing once her shoulder brushed against mine.
          "You know I don't have to share everything with you, right?" She hissed before sauntering away to the den. I turned to face Fernshade, who was now staring after Echoflower, his face still neutral but his eyes anything but. I sighed.
          "If you want to be her mate, I don't disapprove," I said and his eyes flicked to me. I turned and said over my shoulder, "But don't go behind the clans back." I walked back to the warrior's den, slipping through the vines at the entrance and, once again, weaving through sleeping cats to my moss bed. I curled up and tucked my nose under my paws, hoping to enjoy a few extra winks of sleep.
          I awoke an hour later to the sun hitting my lids. My eyes flittered open and, straining to keep them open, I looked around the den. Most of the Warriors had already emerged, with only Stoatfang, who was on guard duty last night, Olivemask and myself still in the den. I groggily lifted myself to my paws, and stretched the last bit of sleep out of my muscles, before making my way out to the clearing. I padded toward the fresh-kill pile and rummaged through until I found a decent sized mouse. Good enough. It was nearly time to name the patrols so I found a spot not too far away, and practically inhaled my meal. As I was licking the bones of the mouse clean, Spearstar emerged from his den and stretched before hopping up the Sleeping Willow. He sat and scanned the clearing, which was full of cats sharing tongues and finishing their meals. His gaze met mine and he paused for a moment before continuing.
          "Sagefrost" I pulled my eyes from my leader and turned to look at Ivyblossom, the pale she-cat padding up to me. She stopped a tail-length away and I pulled myself up to sit.
          "Hello, Ivyblossom." I greeted the deputy. "Assigning patrols?"
          "Yes" Ivyblossom smiled, not sitting with me. "You'll be in border patrol lead by Owlscreech this morning."
          "Alright," I nodded. "Thank you."
          The she-cat nodded and padded off to finish her assignments. I stood and padded across the clearing to meet Owlscreech, dipping my head as I arrived.
          "Good morning," the Tom greeted.