ωåтєɾfåℓℓ ➳ warriors fanfic

| chapter 9 |

Aesthetic by hvmorus_

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The shadows seemed to creep around like waves sweeping around a rock's edge. The coldness pierced the air, giving it a sharp pang. The sound of the tide washing up towards shore could be the only sound heard apart from the few quiet murmurings of cats. The rain had eased, thunder growing distant once more while only faint flashes of lightning still clawed across the sky. The air seemed peaceful, not a sound could be heard. One cat lay in the centre of camp, laying in the sand. TideClan cats never liked to lay in the sand for too long, otherwise it would usually mess up their pelts.

But this cat didn't care. She hadn't even bothered to drag her nest from the apprentice den to make herself comfortable. It felt as if whenever she laid in that nest, when she had tried not long ago, she had been laying in a heap of lies and forgotten secrets better left forgotten. Cinderpaw had felt everyone's eyes on her as she had stalked back through the rain. Her mind wheeled and the moon was well above it's full point before the she-cat finally let herself ease and wind down, convincing herself that it was best if she rested and thought about everything at dawn.

As sleep overtook her, Cinderpaw drifted off into a dark and dreamless sleep... until her heart burned in her chest like it had been set aflame. She could've screamed with pain but it was over before she could even open her jaws and reveal her fangs. When she opened her deep blue eyes, all she could see was a shadowy forest, the trees reaching high above her. Everything was cold and quiet, making it seem eerie and darker than a night sky without stars. Cinderpaw could tell that she was in a dream. She spun around, her tail flicking nervously behind her. 

Wind whipped at her fur but stopped quickly. The air seemed still and cold as if it was already leaf-bare. A black almost transparent-like shape could be seen in the distance. When Cinderpaw looked closer, she could see that the shape had hints of glowing red, too. The shape had formed a cat and it seemed to be padding towards her. Curious, the apprentice slowly took a few steps forward before the other cat stopped in front of her. The cat had a transparent tortoiseshell pelt and her eyes blazed red. Cinderpaw had never seen anything like it before. She could tell she was dreaming, but it felt so real.

Sweeping her tail, the larger cat looked down at the apprentice, a slight look of disapproval flashing across her face. Cinderpaw was speechless although she had so many questions to ask this mysterious cat. The tortoiseshell sat down, seeming to not be bothered about the forest around her.

"W-who are you?" Cinderpaw stammered, narrowing her eyes. From all she had learned that day, she felt as if her heart was about to crack and her head about to burst.

"Cinderpaw, I didn't think you'd know me," the tortoiseshell murmured.

"How do you know me?"

"Cinderpaw, Cinderpaw, Cinderpaw. You hardly knew me when I was taken from you, my little one. See, apprentice, I'm Maplegaze, your mother."

"No... you killed all those cats! All those innocent lives taken because you were a bloodthirsty cat! No!"

A cold feeling of icy dread made Cinderpaw's legs tremble beneath her, threatening to give way. She couldn't believe that she was meeting her mother, her mother that betrayed the Clans and now starved in the Dark Forest. Her father must be around somewhere, too, if Maplegaze was there. Cinderpaw's breathing became shallow as Maplegaze began stalking around her in neat circles. Cinderpaw wanted to claw her mother's pelt off, but she knew it was wrong to do so and that she couldn't even if she tried. 

"Cinderpaw, I did it for my family. Ferngaze was still an apprentice. I'm very impressed with how she's come along... but you..." Maplegaze shook her head, stopping stiffly in front of her, sighing. A pure look of evil and revenge flashed over the tortoiseshell's face, Maplegaze was ready to kill once again. Maybe Cinderpaw couldn't harm her, but she could harm Cinderpaw.

"What about me?" she managed to choke out, almost sobbing with anger.

"I knew I should've killed you too. Pathetic."

"I'm not pathetic!"

Driven by anger, Cinderpaw unsheathed her claws and swiped them through Maplegaze, although her claws touched nothing. Fear crept into her eyes as Maplegaze hissed, her fur fluffing up before she struck out at Cinderpaw, raking her across the side with thorn-sharp claws. Cinderpaw gasped, drawing back. She wasn't afraid. With blue eyes gleaming, the apprentice bared her fangs and swiped her claws at her mother uselessly. She's real, she's real. Fight back, fight back! Cinderpaw glowered in her head, shaking with rage. And then, as if she had just grown claws and teeth, she could claw at Maplegaze. Yes, yes! Nothing can stop me now! 

Until everything stopped. Her claws were no longer useable and her fangs were no longer sharp. Cinderpaw, losing hope, tumbled backwards, getting thrown away by one of Maplegaze's blows. Cinderpaw rose to her paws, the forest disappearing around her. Everything turned black, melting into shadows, apart from herself andMaplgaze. Maplegaze sliced her claws across her kit's cheek, never regretting a moment of it.

"Try hit me, Cinderpaw!" Maplegaze screeched. 

"No... please..." Cinderpaw puffed, falling onto her side. "Haven't you split enough blood? Haven't you caused enough pain?"

"Never." She stood on her hind legs and brought her front paws down on Cinderpaw's skull before everything went dark.

* * *

"Cinderpaw! Cinderpaw, wake up!" Amberpaw snarled in her ear, jolting Cinderpaw from her darkness. Confusion littered Amberpaw's eyes. Cinderpaw felt shock rise in the pit of her stomach. "What happened?" A whole group of cats had gathered around Cinderpaw in the middle of camp.

"M-M-Maplegaze... she tried to kill me."

"I'm not surprised," Ferngaze murmured so only Cinderpaw could hear. Cinderpaw gritted her fangs together, trying to ignore her sister, if she could even call the dark grey tabby that.

"Give her some space!" Brackenstar yowled, pushing his way through the crowd of cats. Mossleaf was beside him, poppy seeds gripped softly in her jaws.

Mossleaf smiled, sympathy edging into her eyes. She dropped the seeds and motioned for her to eat them. Cinderpaw felt dizzy and her heart was racing. She dipped her head and licked them up, swallowing them quickly. After a few moments, her heart rate began to slow just a bit, calming her. A fresh wave of sleep began to edge into her mind. Ferngaze stared at her, narrowing her eyes bitterly. Amberpaw smiled softly, comforting the other apprentice. Dawnpaw and Hawkpaw were letting out quiet mrrows of laughter at the back of the group. Branchshadow, Longear and Sharpclaw peered at them and smiled at them, probably laughing about Cinderpaw.

"None of us could sleep with that ridiculous noise you were making," Sharpclaw growled.

"Shut up! She's been through a lot, lately!" Mossleaf shot back.

"I won't listen to a cat that can't even fight!" he shouted, shaking with rage. His black fur stood on edge.

"Stop it, both of you!"

Brackenstar stood between them, glancing at both of them. Cinderpaw put her head down, sighing. Maybe the poppy seeds would grant her a nice rest without meeting horrors of the past. The cats' voices began to fade as she closed her eyes, feeling relief tug at her heart. After all she'd been through, all she wanted was a nice, peaceful sleep. Even as her heart slowed in her chest, she couldn't help thinking that Maplegaze and Darkhaze might be waiting to torture her once again in her dreams. Cinderpaw was ready to take that risk.