[littlelove]

Morningpaw swallowed a scream as her blue eyes bored into the corpse of Quietclaw. It felt like everything in her world had collapsed in a second, and Quietclaw's corpse was much more than the body of a warrior; It was the sign of changing tides dyed crimson and the bodies of so many more to follow.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she turned away. Her thoughts churned like the paws of a monster, with a single, constant thought; I wish this wasn't real.

Standing up, Morningpaw realized she had no more reason to stay in the clearing, unless she wanted to stare at the fallen body of her clanmate again. She decided to hole herself up in the apprentices' den. No isolation would stop the dread from pulling her downwards, though.