"Stay close!" She could just make out Frostheart's bright pelt behind a tangle of cats that separated Sparkfur from Berryfoot and her friend.

"Sparkfur!" Frostheart's desperate call. Sparkfur ducked as a cat was tossed into the air a tail length away.

"I'm coming!" Sparkfur grit her teeth, dodging around the brawling pair that kept her from her friends. She avoided a sharp snap of rogue jaws, and leaped over a mound of blood spattered snow.

"Hey, Sparky..." Sparkfur just barely had time to glance over to who called her before she had her legs swept from under her. Dazed, she blinked up. A giant strangely calico tom lumbered closer to her, a scar from his chin to his mouth. Fang.

"To what do I owe the pleasure..?" Sparkfur growled, scrambling to her paws, lowering to a defensive position. Her fur was standing on end, her head ducked low. Probably not as scary as she thought she looked, especially compared to the huge rogue.

"I heard you killed Bray." The warrior swallowed, curling her lip.

"What does it matter to you?" Sparkfur smirked, though the pain still ached in her chest. She always hated faking her feelings for the sake of looking strong. She had no idea how other warriors did it. 

"She was nice to you." Fang growled, circling her. Sparkfur spun with him so her back was never to the tom.

"She was a rogue." Fang snarled and rushed forward, teeth bared. The she-cat stepped to the side awkwardly, the calico snapping at thin air. He brought his front paw up, Sparkfur dreading a head-ache that would come from a blow like that, and so she barreled right into him. They tumbled over the grassy hillside, separating as they toppled over the terrain. The warrior blinked open her eyes blearily, shakily getting to her paws, snow had clotted on her fur. A thick pain buzzed at her hind right leg, but it was easy to ignore with the numbing cold biting at her limbs. Fang was climbing to his huge paws at the same time as well. She blinked as she saw a shadow-like figure slink down the slope toward them. Kole.

"Nice of you to join me." Fang growled to his fellow rebel. Kole twitched an ear.

"Run along, Fang. Go tear into some fuzzy apprentice." Kole murmured. Fang narrowed his eyes, baffled. "I've got this one." Kole meowed with much more authority. The calico tom limped toward the fray. Sparkfur flicked her tail.

"Fancy meeting you here." She looked him up and down for any sign of weakness. A skill she had picked up knowing she was never safe for moons in a rogue camp.

      "Cut the small talk. I'm sure Father won't be happy with you surviving. You're not even fully healed yet, Sparky, he'll make quick work of you!" He began inching forward from where he stood a few fox lengths away. Sparkfur began inching back.

      "Why does he have to kill me? Can't you do anything yourself?" Sparkfur sneered. He stopped for a moment, eyes narrowing. Weakness found.

      He snarled something under his breath, bounding forward. Sparkfur unsheathed her claws quickly, crouching down. Thrushcall asked you to do it... Do it for Ryeheart. Their eyes locked. There was a scar down his dark tabby face from that night, a wound she had given him. She shifted on her paws, a scar on the back of her leg given to her by the tom on that same night. His dark tabby rippled as he ran, and she watched his muscles bunch as he didn't even break stride to leap at her. It would be simple to really kill him-- all she's have to do was strike her claws up in between his front paws that were preparing to come down on her. What Thrushclaw wants and what Ryeheart wanted are two very different things.

      The tabby warrior brought her paws up, jaws open to catch the rogue that leaped down at her. Her claws scratched on his shoulders, which seemed like she had made the right move, however she had misjudged how heavy he would actually be, and the wind was knocked right out of her as he landed.

      He didn't have quite a good hold on her yet, still trying to get a grip after crashing down on her, and she used this to her advantage. She bit down on one short foreleg of his, giving her enough leverage to squirm free. Blood welled up along his shoulder wounds and flecked the white snow at his paws. Sparkfur flicked her thin tail.

      "Fighting so sloppily, you think Spruceclaw would be so proud?" Kole growled and kept at her again without warning, biting down on her scruff. Sparkfur's eyes went round, images of The Night flashing before her eyes.

Ryeheart cried out in pain, but she couldn't see him. She wrestled her way out from a cat attacking her, sliding her claws down the rogue's muzzle, and bolted over to the dark charcoal tom, who was biting down on Ryeheart's scruff.

He's going to kill me just like he killed Ryeheart. I won't let that happen!

She twisted around in his grasp, pain seeding through her pelt as he bit down. It felt like moons had passed before she something smashed into Kole. She smacked onto the ground, her fall not being softened by the frozen snow. She blinked, snow crystals blurring her vision. The blurry shape of a fawn tabby tom, broad and big, was fighting the dark tabby. She refused to let herself think for a second that t was Ryeheart, she knew better. Thrushcall.

"Thrushcall!" Sparkfur half growled. He broke apart from Kole, quickly bounding over to her.

"C'mon, Sparkfur. Get back to Berryfoot. Find the cat." Sparkfur's eyes locked with Kole's green eyes, which were glittering with malice.

"Hey Sparky.." Kole called, his tail lashing behind him. "You know, I'm not one to forget a face. And this face looks an awful lot like.." He raised a brow, his teeth glistening. "..what was his name..? I remember you saying it. Yelling it. Crying it." Sparkfur swallowed, getting to her paws.

      "Ryeheart...?" She whispered, her eyes dropping down to his body. Blood coated his thick feathery neck fur, and his bright, always intriguing amber eyes were now clouded and dull. Her voice cracked out, tears peeking, and she breathed out his name, "Ryeheart...!"

      "Ah! That's right!" Kole's eyes turned from Sparkfur to Thrushcall, whose face was hard with confusion, mixed with sudden realization, and a touch of something else. "Ryeheart."

      "You don't get to say his name!" Sparkfur cried out, her fur bristling. Thrushcall leaped forward.

      "This is for my son!" Those were the only words he was able to get out, Kole wasn't able to resist the temptation of striking his claws down the entire of Thrushcall's pale throat. Sparkfur stumbled forward through the snow, unable to breathe. Warm blood was flooding out of the neck wound, Thrushcall choking on his own blood. His eyes were flicking back and forth before finally landing on Sparkfur.

      "Say hi to Ryeheart for me...," Kole whispered, glancing up challengingly to Sparkfur. Her eyes were cold, her face unreadable. "Right then. However much I'd love to--" Sparkfur didn't let him finish his sentence. She raised her paw, bringing it down so fast he didn't even have time to react, straight across those malicious green eyes. He yowled so loud, so, so loud....

       And Sparkfur didn't feel any regret.

AN

      I meant to have this done this weekend but I just could not keep my thoughts straight oops. I was screwing around on procreate and made the drawing up top; nothing special, just a really quick thing.