Crookedjaw

Crookedjaw was basking in the warm sunlight when a familiar brown tail gently nudged his side. "Hmm, Oakheart, what do you want now?" he murmured, turning to face his bracken-colored brother.

Oakheart's whiskers twitched with a knowing smile. "I spotted Ruby," he said, gesturing skyward. "I thought perhaps you and I could follow her path." He nodded toward the sound of powerful wingbeats and the brilliant flash of crimson scales against the sky.

Crookedjaw's stomach fluttered at the mention of her name. A smile crept across his face as he realized the truth he'd been slowly accepting - he had fallen in love with Ruby. The revelation settled over him like the gentle warmth of the sun.

He swallowed, then nodded and rose to his feet, shaking the dust from his pelt. As they stood beside the nursery, Rainflower stirred and fixed them with an unblinking stare. "Where are you two going?" she asked, her voice as cool as leaf-bare frost.

Crookedjaw merely twitched his tail in response, letting the gesture speak his indifference to her scrutiny. Oakheart, ever the diplomat, stepped in smoothly. "Just out for a walk, Mother," he assured her. Without waiting for her response, the two toms rushed through the yew tunnel, their pelts brushing against the ancient branches as they escaped into the territory beyond.

The two brothers raced through the forest, their paws flying over fallen leaves as they followed the distant sounds of Ruby's wings. Soon they found her near a secluded pond, crystalline water dripping from her crimson maw as she drank. Crookedjaw felt his heart flutter in his chest as he watched her, mesmerized. The sunlight caught her scales, transforming each one into a burning ember. She looked just so... beautiful. Like living fire gracing the earth with its presence.

Oakheart must have noticed how his brother stared at her, because he nudged Crookedjaw with a knowing shoulder. "Ooh, you're in love," he teased, his whiskers twitching with mischief.

Crookedjaw nudged his brother back with enough force to ruffle his fur. "Shh!" But it was too late - as quick as a WindClan cat, Ruby's keen hunter's senses had picked up their presence. Those blue eyes, as bright as the Moonstone in leaf-bare, snapped to their hiding place in the undergrowth. Crookedjaw felt as still as a mouse in a warrior's shadow, as if StarClan themselves had frozen his paws to the forest floor.

Ruby's smile was as warm as greenleaf sunshine breaking through storm clouds. "I can hear you two out there," she purred, her voice carrying across the clearing like birdsong. "Come into the light, or are you both going to hide like scared kits?"

Oakheart stepped into the light with the confidence of a senior warrior, his whiskers twitching with amusement. "Sorry we followed you," he meowed smoothly, like a RiverClan cat gliding through water. "We just wondered what you were doing outside of camp." His voice carried the casual curiosity of a Clan deputy making his daily rounds.

Ruby's snout twitched, a gesture as playful as an apprentice's first catch, and she leaned down to nudge Oakheart with her muzzle, her massive head dwarfing the warrior. "Well, well, I see you're worried about me, are you?" she rumbled, her voice warm as sun-baked stones. Then her gaze shifted, meeting Crookedjaw's eyes with the intensity of a full moon. "You needn't be," she added, her words carrying a deeper meaning that made Crookedjaw's fur tingle like the air before a storm.

Crookedjaw shuffled forward, his head bowed like a scolded apprentice caught sneaking out of camp. "S-sorry," he stammered, his usual deputy's confidence scattered like leaves in the wind.

Ruby shook her massive head, scales glittering like dew on morning grass, and stretched down to lap his shoulder with a tongue as large and hot as the sun-baked rocks by the river. The gentle gesture made his fur steam slightly, but it didn't hurt - it felt as comforting as a queen's grooming. "It's alright, dear," she purred, her voice as rich and warm as fresh-caught prey.

Ruby pulled back with the fluid grace of a RiverClan warrior gliding through water, her wing stretching out like a billowing crimson cloud to encompass the entire pond. The movement sent ripples across the water's surface, scattering silver droplets like StarClan's stars. "Just having fun and sunbathing, or take a dip if you'd like," she purred, her voice smooth as honey from the bee-tree. "I'm going to sun myself."

With the practiced ease of a warrior settling into their nest, she curled down onto the sun-warmed earth, unfurling her dark red wings like massive maple leaves in leaf-fall. Her belly, scales gleaming like the richest salmon scales fresh from the river, turned up to catch the warm rays. Crookedjaw couldn't help but rake his amber gaze over her form - her belly rippled with the kind of muscle that reminded him of the mighty river itself, powerful and sleek. He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly as dry as WindClan territory in greenleaf. How could a dragon be so beautiful? She was like all of StarClan's warriors wrapped into one magnificent creature, more breathtaking than the Moonstone in full moonlight.

Ruby turned her great head toward him with the slow grace of a leader about to address their Clan, her blue eyes glowing like frost-touched morning glory. "Crookedjaw, I have to tell you two something," she rumbled, her voice carrying the weight of storm clouds heavy with rain. Her massive claws, each one as long as a warrior's tail, traced anxious lines in the sand beneath her, like a medicine cat reading signs in the dust.

Oakheart tilted his head with the curiosity of a kit seeing its first butterfly, sharing a meaningful look with Crookedjaw that spoke louder than a yowl across the clearing. "You can tell us anything," the bracken-colored warrior meowed, his voice gentle as new-grown ferns unfurling in newleaf.

"I'm leaving," she said, the words falling like stones into still water. Crookedjaw's heart stopped beating as suddenly as prey in a hunter's claws.

"What?" he squealed out, his voice carrying all the distress of a kit separated from its mother. The word echoed across the clearing like a lonely bird's cry.

"I have to," she murmured, her voice gentle as feathers falling on snow. "I have to go back home sometime, you know. And now you've become a warrior, and I know you'll be deputy soon enough." Her giant talon, gleaming like moonlight on water, reached out with the delicacy of a queen handling her newborn kit. She cupped Crookedjaw's head in her claws, the touch as careful as a medicine cat tending to a wounded apprentice. "You'll do just great, my dear."

The warmth of her scales couldn't chase away the leaf-bare chill that crept into Crookedjaw's heart. Her words hung in the air like heavy storm clouds, full of both promise and farewell.

"You... you can't! You belong here, with us!" The words tore from Crookedjaw's throat like thorns, as raw as a warrior's first battle cry. His whole body trembled like a leaf in leaf-fall, his usual deputy-like composure scattering like startled prey. He felt as helpless as he had as a kit, when the other cats had mocked his twisted jaw.

Ruby smiled with the kind of sadness that reminded him of queens watching their kits become apprentices, knowing things would never be the same. Her massive claw, warm as sunbaked stones by the river, stroked over his cheek with the delicate touch of butterfly wings. The gesture was gentle enough to make his heart ache like a fresh wound, yet firm enough to remind him of all the times she'd been there - through his warrior ceremony, through the hardest training days, through every triumph and defeat.

Crookedjaw pressed his head into her palm as desperately as a drowning cat seeks air, his whiskers quivering with emotion. Her scales felt like home - like the warmth of the warriors' den on a cold night, like the comfort of sharing tongues with Oakheart at sunset, like everything he didn't want to lose. "Please, Ruby, stay," he pleaded, his voice cracking like ice in newleaf. The words carried all the moons of friendship, all the shared moments, all the unspoken feelings that had grown between them like sweet wild herbs in greenleaf.

Each heartbeat seemed to stretch as long as a season as he waited for her response, his amber eyes searching her face like a medicine cat seeking signs from StarClan.

Ruby's lips curved into a sad, wistful smile as she whispered, "I can't... I can't make you understand, Crookedjaw." Her gaze drifted away, and he felt a chill settle over him as if her warmth was slipping from his reach.

In the distance, the red dragon unfurled her vast, glimmering wings, each scale catching the light in a fiery sheen. She turned back to him one last time, her eyes soft with sorrow. "I'll come back... someday. Don't worry," she promised, her voice a blend of tenderness and regret. With a final, solemn nod, she leaped into the sky, leaving Crookedjaw alone by the pond, watching as she disappeared into the clouds.

Crookedjaw lowered his head, his muzzle dipping into the cool water of the pond. His eyes stung, though he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or the tears welling up within them. He closed his eyes tightly, the ache of Ruby's absence settling heavily in his chest.

Beside him, Oakheart stepped forward and pressed his shoulder gently against Crookedjaw, a warm and steady presence against the chill. "I'm sorry, brother," Oakheart murmured, his voice thick with shared sorrow. "I really am."

For a moment, they stood there in silence, each of them feeling the weight of loss in their own way, as the ripples in the pond slowly faded into stillness.

The RiverClan tom let out a weary sigh, his gaze fixed on the water's surface as if searching for answers in its depths. "It's alright," he murmured, voice low and strained. "I suppose... it was bound to happen. I just... didn't see the signs." His shoulders sagged under the weight of unspoken regrets, the words lingering in the air like the fading ripples on the pond.

Oakheart gave his brother a gentle nudge, his eyes filled with understanding. "Come along then," he said softly. "We'd better tell Hailstar... and the rest of the Clan." He turned, his steps steady but somber, a quiet resolve in his posture.

Crookedjaw hesitated, his head hanging low as he reluctantly followed. Each step felt heavier than the last, his heart still aching with the memory of Ruby's departure. But he knew Oakheart was right—duty called, and he would have to face it, even with the sorrow pressing down on him like a weight he couldn't shake.