| abstract | - If you don't know it already, this is a songfic written by StormDragon21. OA is Capital Cities. I remember my mate, Rosewhisker, now in StarClan. She was as cunning as a fox, as brave as a badger, as more beautiful than the flowers they grow in Twolegplace. She understood all of my fears, as many as they were, and could cope with them. She was always by my side when we were battling, and she encouraged me to fight stronger and harder. However, those traits were what ended up her demise. A border war erupted when Oakwhisker of ShadowClan wanted to meet her in secret. Love can't be held in borders, after all. Just when it looked the tide was turning against him, he killed the she-cat both of us loved so much in front of me. Revenge is a terrible thing. We were friends from when we were kitted (or when I was kitted, because I'm slightly younger). I can remember the day when we gained a bond that could never be broken. "The Twolegs are coming!" Stonepaw teased. "Better run and hide in your den!" Eaglepaw added. The twin terrors purred with joy when I backed away nervously. They all seemed to enjoy taunting me with some foxlike pleasure. Of course, I hated it. None of the warriors thought it was hurtful enough to stop in its tracks, even though they all knew I had a fear of Twolegs, and just about everything else out there that was dangerous to cats. "What are you doing?" Rosepaw asked. "Sounds to me like you're teasing Wolfpaw again." She was definitely right. I nodded, glaring at Stonepaw and Eaglepaw. "Well, if I see you fox-hearts do it again…" Rosepaw threatened. It was frightening enough for her brothers, who backed off with a nervous look on their faces. A couple of days later, it was time for our final hunting assignments. It was probably the best time for hunting, although my mentor, Shadepool, grumbled about not being able to test our skills in dangerous hunting conditions. I took the path down to the lake, while Rosepaw chose to hunt closer to camp. Eaglepaw set his path near the Twoleg nests, presumably to stop me from following, and Stonepaw went over to the ShadowClan border, being the reckless tom he still is. I picked up a scent of fish in the lake. Even though there were Twoleg things made out of wood swimming in the lake, I chose to try to catch one anyway. The things were far away to possibly catch me. It was Rosewhisker who taught me to appreciate those bright greenleaf days. I took in the scent of mixed prey, especially fish, before making a lunge for the minnows that swam in the shallow end. I caught two in one pawswipe without any real effort. The minnows were small enough to catch many with a single paw, but large enough that they had trouble slipping away. I met Shadepool back at the camp. Eaglepaw had a strange-colored rabbit in his mouth, and Rosepaw had caught some trout. Stonepaw was hopefully going to come back soon, or he was possibly caught by ShadowClan border patrols. Luckily, he wasn't caught, and he just had trouble finding any prey that was actually good to eat. "Wolftooth! Rosewhisker! Eagleshade! Stonefoot!" I beamed with pride as all of the cats called my name. I was a warrior, a protector of my Clan at last… and I was going to have to stay up all night. Rosewhisker's tail entwined with mine, and for a split second we shared something powerful known as love. The night we guarded the camp would have been much more memorable if Eagleshade and Stonefoot weren't there. It was just enough to sit next to Rosewhisker, but I'd rather be alone than with Eagleshade or Stonefoot. Their behavior when I was young is still in my memory. I tried to ignore them as they poked each other and stifled purrs, pretending to be serious. The entire night was like this, and by the end I couldn't stand it anymore. I was relieved when Shadepool told me that our vigil was over, As I hear it from the other cats of ShadowClan, Oakwhisker was ambitious from the very beginning. He dreamed of becoming the leader, and he was very close to becoming a deputy when he fell in love with Rosewhisker. It's hard to believe that love could make Oakwhisker lose his ambition, but it did. If only it worked on other ambitions cats of legend! Oakwhisker wanted to meet Rosewhisker all the time, and Rosewhisker only agreed after a while. If Snakestar guessed correctly, then they saw each other for about a couple of moons. Gatherings weren't enough, so they met at the border. Still, Rosewhisker had my kits, and Oakwhisker was jealous. Oakwhisker went somewhat crazy after that. At least, I think he must have to have killed Rosewhisker. I think he said that he had a dream that he needed to kill her, but that probably wasn't true. Although, the Dark Forest may have sent it, it was probably just a lie or an excuse. Or maybe an ordinary dream. Meanwhile, Rosewhisker had my kits. One was gray like me, and the other was orange like her. "Stormkit and Foxkit." we decided. I visited them every chance I could, which actually was very often. They were fast learners, but also very curious, too curious for their own good. Soon, the kits were all grown up and received their mentors, Willowfall mentored Stormkit, and, strangely enough, Stonefoot mentored Foxkit. Rosewhisker was finally able to go on border patrols, and she went on the first border patrol after her kits were apprenticed. I came along, and so did my old mentor, Shadepool. That was when the trouble started. As luck would have it, Oakwhisker was on the patrol, as well as two cats that I think were Whitefang and Brackentail. "There!" he hissed. "There's the cat that crossed the border!" Whitefang snarled and leaped at Shadepool, who leaped away with just a minor scratch. Brackentail slashed me with her claws, and Rosewhisker retaliated with a charge that knocked her over. Oakwhisker was the last to enter the battle, and he fought his way over to Rosewhisker. Just do it every way I snarled at Oakwhisker. "You don't have to kill me. If anything, I should kill you. At least our love is allowed by Clan code." Rosewhisker flicked her tail nervously, obviously not knowing what side to choose. "I'm not going to kill you, mouse-brain. I'm going to kill her." Rosewhisker yowled a battle cry and pounced on Oakwhisker, slicing his belly. Oakwhisker flipped around and pinned her down and, with me watching, used the death bite on her neck. I will miss Rosewhisker every time I look at our kits. I will miss her every time I fight a war or go on a border patrol. I will live my life to the fullest for her, and I will wait until the day comes that I can visit her in StarClan.
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