~ WOLFFANG ~
Wolffang wandered across the open moor, his bright yellow gaze sweeping across the fresh covering of snow that had fallen. His large paws felt like they would fall off - actually, they were quite numb, which was probably what caused the feeling. His ears and nose were cold, too. The chill did tease his fur, but it was thick and fluffed out, driving away the cold. Leaf-bare was here, his first as a deputy. How long had he been deputy, anyway? It felt like just a heartbeat and seasons at the same time.
Will Twilightstar kick me out of the position after my outburst? Wolffang felt every one of his bulging muscles tense at the thought, and his eyes narrowed. The glare of the sun on the snow was something that would take a while to get used to.
She can't. Not yet. I've behaved inappropriately, but developed as well. Not now. I have to prove to WindClan that I'm a cat worth being deputy. And I have to prove that I'm a good warrior of WindClan.
From some of the looks he had gotten, he knew that plenty of cats had heard his outburst in the tunnels. Which wasn't good. It hadn't been good for him to leave it inside of him festering like that, but it also hadn't been good to let it out like that. His mind flashed to Leopardsong and he winced.
She's always listened to me, and yet I kept on brushing her off. The tom took in a deep breath, the frigid air icing his lungs.
I'm better than this. I have to be better than this. Leopardsong was a good friend, even if he disagreed with some things about her - when had he ever seen her in a fight? - but she was valuable, and loyal, and stuck by him even when he'd treated her like dirt.
Perhaps talking to her would help. It had before. Right now, Wolffang just had to focus on moving forward from the whole ordeal, having developed and understood without going into a crazed frenzy like he had for those past moons.
Wolffang kept on walking, but that's when he caught a flash of something. He turned his head. It was a young cat with brown tabby fur. His whole body tensed.
Is there an invader? Before he knew it, his long, sharp claws had unsheathed, being frozen by the powdery white stuff beneath him.
Wait. The tom froze, his eyes widening with shock.
It can't be. Was that...
Fernpaw? But... how? The apprentice had died! Wolffang had seen his body, tail-less, stripped of its pelt, with only the faintest tufts of fur and traces of scent to tell that it was him. How was he alive? His mind flashed back to a memory, of cats who could be sent back by StarClan. Had Fernpaw been sent back?
The WindClan deputy walked closer to him, his eyes wide. Quickly, he blinked it away and shook out his pelt. He had to be more serious than this. But...
"Fernpaw?" he meowed.
"Is that you?" The memory of the apprentice giving him a bird egg flashed in his mind. He hadn't deserved to die. None of the cats slaughtered on that patrol did. Maybe StarClan did exist after all.
@
BILL.