sʜᴇʟʟ sʜᴏᴄᴋ [warrior cat fanfiction]

chapter one.

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❝ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ ❞

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Routine. It was the only thing that Larkthroat could rely on to stay upright. His routine. Always his routine. It was a never-ending cycle and he was just fine with that. It helped to keep him sane.

The thought of being sane emitted a wry chuckle from the weathered warrior. Sanity was far behind him. He hadn't been sane since . . . since when? It couldn't have been very long - the memory almost evaded his mind. But. . . . The war.

Blood streaked faces filled his vision, pleading for their loved ones, screaming. Larkthroat tried to close his eyes and block them out. but his eyelids wouldn't budge. He couldn't move. The metallic blood-scent filled his nostrils, and the cries of pain echoed in his head. It was never going to end -

But suddenly it did end. A curly-furred face swam in his vision, blurred but familiar, and after a few moments of his heart thumping against his chest eventually focused in Larkthroat's eyes. "B-Brambleback?" the tomcat meowed sluggishly. He blinked at the healer, his eyes slowly adjusting to the rapid change of vision.

"Did it happen again?" Brambleback's urgent hiss took Larkthroat by surprise. The white tomcat flicked his brown ears and nodded curtly, his chest tight still. The healer pushed a bundle of herbs towards him, and Larkthroat realized the young cat's paws were trembling slightly.

What did I do? Larkthroat wondered to himself. Did I scream, did I slash my claws across the ground? He shivered as the memories of it flooded back. The images had not faded over time, and never did. He threw a glance over his shoulder and saw that the cats of PoplarClan were watching him worriedly. When they saw him looking, they hastily turned away, but they eyes seemed to burn on his pelt when he looked back at Brambleback.

Brambleback kneaded the ground worriedly. "Eat that and you'll feel better," he meowed, his curly brown pelt bristling in concern. "There's thyme for shock, lavender to calm you, and a poppy seed to help you sleep. You need to sleep. I'm sure Hornetstar will be okay with you skipping a day."

Larkthroat shook his head vigorously, shrinking away from the herbs. "I was supposed to go with Skipperear and Pipitpaw to help them train." He frowned as Brambleback sighed. Realizing he had no choice, the tomcat leaned forward and gingerly lapped up the herbs. It wasn't very bad, which must have been because of the lavender. He licked his chops and gazed wistfully across the clearing to where Skipperear was looking at him.

Skipperear's chocolate pelt bristled slightly. She tossed her head at him once, and something about it made Larkthroat certain she understood.