Now that she was an apprentice, Fleapaw had more freedom to leave camp—not that she'd ever waited for permission. She would've gone on official patrols, but every time she asked, it was always 'patrol's full' or 'go away.' Whatever. They could all eat a brick. Fleapaw could do her own patrols. Guess she'd just have to get used to soloing it until Stoatkit was an apprentice.
It wasn't her first time outside of camp. She navigated the marsh, bouncing over puddles, stopping to gawk at anything that caught her eye. ShadowClan's territory was huge—more than she could ever explore in one day—but she would know every nook and cranny before long.
She was making her way along the border, tail raised high with confidence, ears twitching at every sound. Then she saw them—or well, she actually almost missed them entirely. She squinted into the distance. A grey shape hovered along their border like a ghost.
A cat. It was definitely a cat. Excitement prickled her pelt. Finally, she got to do some warrior stuff!
Fleapaw sprung into action, charging forward with a sharp bark. "Hey, you! Don't even think abouuu—"
It was like her mind just… shut down. She skidded to a halt, paws slipping in the wet soil. Flea thought she was finally gonna get a taste of real warrior stuff—patrolling—chasing off intruders—but… Fleapaw blinked at the stranger, drawn to their green eyes. She knew those eyes.
She'd recognize them anywhere.
Nah. There was just no way. She had to be wrong. She'd been wrong before.
Fleapaw's throat tightened, a strange, awful mix of hope and anxiety tangling itself into knots in her chest. If she got ahead of herself and it wasn't… She didn't want to deal with that disappointment again. When Fleapaw spoke, her voice was so small and frail that she didn't even sound like herself. "Worm?"
How long had it been since she said that name? Pa had told her all her siblings were gone That they'd either end up far away from the mill, or they were rotting in some hole somewhere. At first she didn't want to believe him. But after everything that happened to her, Flea had to. She had to keep going. Even if it meant leaving them behind.
Fleapaw stooped low, fiery gaze raking over the gray cat before her. The scent was all wrong—full of places she'd never been, cats she'd never met—but underneath it all, something familiar clung to them. A flicker of the past—small bodies wheezing in the dark—warmth mixed with an invading sourness.
Her paws moved before her mind even fully grasped the memory. She tackled the outsider so fast the world spun, the two of them tumbling in a mess of limbs and fur. The damp earth gave a wet squelch beneath them as they landed. Fleapaw smushed her nose into Worm's fur, rubbing her face against them with frantic, aggressive nudges.
Her eyes stung but she buried her face deeper into gray fur, a blotch of dirty brown pressed against soft, lighter pelt. A whimper tugged at the back of her throat but she smothered it, clutching tightly to the former stranger—her littermate.
There was so much to say. But Fleapaw knew if she said much of anything, it would come out all cracked. She felt weak. Soft. She couldn't be, not if she wanted to be a warrior. But, she couldn't stop it. A flood of things she hadn't felt in a good long while, came rushing back.
"I'm sorry…"
When she did speak it was muffled by fur. Fleapaw made no effort to move her head so she could be heard better. "Tried to come back, I swear! I swear I did… I did..." Flea sniffed sharply, involuntarily sucking in air. Her whole body curled inward, claws flexing as she held Worm tight. Clinging on with everything she had, as if the grey solid might be ripped away from her at any moment.
Please... please don't hate me.
Hello and welcome to Purrgatory! We are an 18+ Warrior Cat Roleplay set in an AU where the clans were unable to leave the forest territories and perished!
It has been 100 or more years since then, the clans of the forest are but distant memories to any cats still alive, stories passed down to kits of strangely named wild warriors and leaders with nine lives but the time of the clans is upon us once more and the stars shine yet again.
