Monster | warrior cats | book 2

v | never trust a runner

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Was he the monster his father wanted him to be? The taste of blood boiled on his tongue. His bruised body ached for some rest; he exhaled exhaustion like air. Despite his eyes growing heavy, anger fueled his every movement. He would do whatever it took to keep his loved ones safe. Memories flashed like dying lights in his mind; the silver clash of claws, a final scream before destruction, the dark sky embedding on his shoulders. His single blue eye blurred at the sight of Fangs dead beneath his paws. Stormrunner couldn't swallow his thoughts.

His beloved she-cat made no sound. Her aura was haunted by the eerie scent of death. "Violetsky?" Stormrunner hissed beneath his heavy breath. He crept closer, every hair on his back spiking with horror. She was sprawled on the ground, the long grasses sheltering her ever-so elegant build. But her eyes were locked closed. "Violetsky?" Stormrunner poked again, panic chilling his bones. There was no response. Was she dea- The tired tom thrust the thought from his head. There was no way she could've been. His life was devoted to protecting her. Stormrunner walked the Earth all for Violetsky. If the stars had taken her away so soon, Stormrunner would never forgive himself.

The sudden rustling of paws awoke the tom from the back of his mind.

The blaze of green eyes captured Stormrunner's attention. They held him hostage in a state of shock; so alike to the ones he presently killed. As the owner of the eyes swayed closer, the bare moonlight lightened his patterned fur, revealing himself. It was Falconrain, the mighty warrior rouged from battles. But instead of crawling with sympathy, his eyes were firm with bitter emotion.

"Please help me," Stormrunner begged, his voice shaking with slight hysteria.

Falconrain simply stood, Stormrunner's request bouncing off the walls of his ears. His eyes sharpened like daggers. The tom pondered, "Wouldn't you know," He whispered while his focus drifted over to Violetsky lain in the grass. "Sometimes someone can wear a mask so long that they forget what was once beneath it."

Stormrunner flinched at the brutality of his words. "What do you mean?"

Falconrain snickered under his breath at the fear churning within the tom's one blue eye. In the darkness, alone, at last, Falconrain was pleased to see Stormrunner suffer. "No worries," The tortoiseshell tom took a mighty leap towards Stormrunner, his paws splattering in Fang's blood. His nose was barely inches away from Stormrunner's as he could feel the tom's breath tickling his whiskers. "Because in the end, we all become stories."

Stormrunner's eyes widened. "Falconrain," He knew what was about to take place. His bones screamed, preparing every inch of his body for danger. "Don't do this." He cowered backward, already in pain. How much more could he take?

There was a pause of silence as the two toms gazed at each other. Hope was very thin; it rested between the break of the sky and the earth. Though it only lasted a second.

Falconrain's claws slid slowly from their sockets. His orbs were like a fire cutting through the murky atmosphere, reflecting danger. "I have to."

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Her eyes slowly lifted to an abyss of midnight. Bundles of stars stretched across the empty black sky but sparkled magnificently. A gentle breeze soothed her backside as the grasses beneath her seemed to float her to her paws. Despite the temperature seeming to frost, there was peace. Strange and faint; panic seemed not to exist. Violetsky blinked, hoping to clear away the cloud of confusion. Where am I?