"little toes will save you from the fury of a tiger."

the words flashed through her mind like a wildfire, slicing into the deepest depths of subconcious, filling up her head until she felt ready to explode.

a prophecy? no, regular apprentices didn't get prophecies. but it wasn't just a normal set of words, either. it meant something.

but she didn't know what. her brain was empty, charred to ash from the mysterious sentence, unable to form true thought. her muscles twitched in an unnatural fashion, body quivering, head low and jaws agape. she couldn't control the spasms.

they sent shards of ice deep into her fur, cutting apart her nerves and flesh, tearing her fragile form apart. her eyes screwed shut, images of gore and guts flying by in rapid moments.

the apprentice coughed and sputtered, blood beginning to drip from her mouth to stain the ground. her violent shudders caused it to splatter and twist, coating the grass in a gruesome red sheen, the blood now gushing from her jaws. it tasted horribly metallic.

grossly puking up blood, the crimson liquid now pouring from her nose and ears to soak her fur, she kept shaking and shuddering. the world spun and twisted around her, more and more blood pouring from her throat. hot tears flooded her eyes, her sobbing only adding to the terrible spasms.

"flypaw! flypaw!"

in an instant, the apprentice was back to her senses. the blood and spasms were gone, leaving no trace behind other than the numbness in her bones. the grass around her paws was replaced by cold snow, the flakes drifting down all around her.

"a... appletuft?" her words came out slow, voice hardly a whisper, as though the name was foreign on her tongue.

"it's freezing out here! what in starclan's name are you doing?" the russet tom's figure was easily seen among the icy white of leafbare. he pressed himself around flypaw and nudged her to stand, "you've been missing all morning! half the clan thinks a fox's gotten you! come on, we need to get you back to camp and warmed up."

flypaw walked through the snow alongside him without speaking, focusing on the crunch of powder beneath her and the gentle white flakes that swirled around them almost magically. she cast a glance back at the wintery clearing for a moment.

she could've sworn a cat twinkling with starlight stood where she'd just been sitting.

~ × ☆ × ~

tbh i have no idea what this is but have it