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warning-- this kill may upset some readers. viewer discretion advised. please highlight the part after the lines to read.
warning-- this kill may upset some readers. viewer discretion advised. please highlight the part after the lines to read.
The Kill wrote:
a moon passed, and the heavy hearts of riverclan began to lift,
the fear that'd plagued them for so long beginning to ebb away.
things began to return to normalcy once again, and orangepelt
became a tragedy that many would argue was never a murder
at all.
clouds covered the moon, the sky dark and painted with inky,
dark colors, purple and navy and grey splashed over the horizon.
rain wet the trees and the ground, the light storm lulling the
clan through their dreams, drumming quietly through the foliage.
warm and safe in the nursery, away from the downpour and the
darkness, a much needed miracle was taking place.
"push, sandsplash." aspenfur mewed softly, his paws resting gently
on the queen's swollen belly. he could feel the squirming of at
least two kits within, itching to free themselves into the world,
and the gray queen panted heavily before biting on the stick in
her maw harshly, giving a groan of agony as contractions rippled
through her body. she tensed, clawing at the dirt and moss,
and pushed, her fur damp from the tiny droplets that invaded
the nursery. the medicine cat figured that, if anything, it was
likely a blessing, cooling the poor she-cat as her taunt muscles
shook with another contraction.
finally, a small bundle came free, and he set about to licking
and drying the tiny thing, before pressing it to her belly just
as the second kit slid into the moss. he did the same to the
second, before sitting back to look them over with a certain
sense of pride welling within his chest.
"are there any more?" sandsplash mewed weakly, and the tom
shook his head.
"no. just the two." he breathed, and she began to purr, relieved.
"look at that--two beautiful she-kits..." the tiny dilute calicos
squirmed, beginning to nurse as their mother began to lick them
gently, and her eyes were soft.
"so small..."
"which is why it was so hard to tell you were expecting. you'll
certainly have some explaining to do in the morning." the ginger
medicine cat mewed, gently touching his tail-tip to her flank,
and the queen nodded. "who will you tell them the father is?"
"orangepelt, most likely," sandsplash murmured, sadness on her
features. "he was ginger, like you. it'd be easiest to explain,
and no one would pry."
aspenfur nodded in agreement. "indeed. i'm going to fetch some
herbs for you, my love. don't go anywhere."
the queen scoffed as he got up, moving to leave. "don't worry,
mouse-brain. i won't be going anywhere."
as aspenfur stepped out into the rain, he couldn't help the storm
of emotions that enveloped him. he was proud and so, so happy,
but scared and guilty all at the same time. would he be found out?
would his kits be okay? what would they name them?
"congratulations."
the crooned words sent chills running up aspenfur's spine, and he
stopped in his tracks, frozen. such a wonderful phrase, and, yet,
the speaker's voice dripped with cruelty and hatred. he turned,
almost frightened to face the speaker.
"y-you... what are you doing up?"
the killer's eyes were shadowed by the darkness as they slunk
forward toward him, movements quiet and fluid. even from that
distance, the tom could feel the murderous intent flowing from
the cat stalking him down, narrowing the distance between them
slowly.
"oh, i just wanted to give my regards to the happily family. oh,
don't worry--i won't tell anybody." now that the killer was closer,
aspenfur could see the rage in his killer's eyes. such terrible,
icy rage, and he was afraid.
"you know, i wanted to be able to see a scene like that, once.
we had dreams of having a family, of growing old together. we
had dreams of happiness."
the medicine cat began to back up, shrinking back as shame and
guilt boiled in his belly. "l-listen, it wasn't my choice. everyone
was starving, we were going to die--"
"silence." hissed the killer calmly as aspenfur felt himself press
against the stone of the quarry wall. "you all deserve to pay
for what you did to him. you didn't deserve to survive that
winter. none of you."
grief stabbed at aspenfur's heart. he knew the killer was right.
he knew the truth deep in his gut. "please, the clan lived because
of cloverface's sacrifice. we're alive today because--"
blood spattered over the bracken.
lightning flashed, and claws shone, glinting with blood as aspenfur
gagged, gasping as he crumpled over, blood spurting from his
throat, eyes widening. the killer slashed again, deepening the
scores, and he tried to suck in weak breaths that gargled as blood
bubbled in his lungs. again and again the killer struck him, tearing
his throat, his eyes, his nose, until his vision filled with blood and
his useless windpipe refused to bring air to his desperate lungs.
"like you said then, aspenfur--tonight, bellies will be filled and
strength gained from a noble sacrifice. oh, but don't worry, i
won't eat you." his clanmate sneered, and despair fell over
the tom like a blanket of lead. he flailed his paws desperately,
and the killer turned, their footfalls distancing themselves in
the direction of the nursery.
----
bones snapped and crunched, and sandsplash fell limp in the entrance
of the nursery where she'd tried to escape, eyes rolled back. the
killer stood over her, breathing heavily, and hissed softly as they
began to pluck the fur from her claws, pain rippling through the
shoulder where she'd landed a blow upon them. she'd been more
of a pain than the murderer had anticipated.
with the deed carried out, the killer finally turned their attention
to the two squirming, crying bundles lying in the center of what
had once been a moss nest, spattered with blood and torn apart in
the scuffle. they were so tiny and perfect, and the killer's whiskers
trembled as they came close, lying beside them and pulling them
near with on paw. they buried their little noses in the killer's chest,
and a purr rose in their throat.
"sweet, perfect little things." they mewed softly. "don't worry, i'll
keep you warm." the killer craned their neck, giving a soft sigh as
they drew their tongue over the babies, optics beginning to water.
tears spilled over, and one of the kits gave a soft mew of protest
against the roughening licks.
no cat heard the tiny mewls of agony that followed, drowned out
by the sound of the rain.
starclan, please help them.
watch out, riverclan--an entire family has been slaughtered!
spiderpaw now becomes spiderleaf, and takes the place of
medicine cat.
- Leader --
↳ snowstar // she-cat // ártémís
Deputy --
↳ rosetail // she-cat // Sunnymcsun
Medicine Cat --
↳ aspenfur // tom // N0VAHD
↳ spiderleaf // tom // Midnightkitkat
Medicine Cat Apprentice --
↳ none
Warriors --
↳ orangepelt // tom // Pastel_Smoothie
↳ icebrook // tom // zephyrine
↳ snaketooth // tom // snek snek;
↳ pebblefang // she-cat // Simonpet
↳ hemlocktail // tom // .galaxy.
↳ stonefur // she-cat // dinolil1 lil
Apprentices --
↳ frondpaw // tom // seedcakes
↳ moonpaw // she-cat // silverlightcs
Queens --
↳ sandsplash // she-cat // wolfie
Kits --
↳ lionkit // she-kit
↳ amberkit // she-kit
Elders --
↳ none
----
round info: here
chatzy: here
toms: 5
she-cats: 4
total: 9
