❝ ɪ ᴀᴍ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʙᴜᴛ ᴀɴ ᴇᴍᴘᴛʏ ᴠᴇssᴇʟ ᴡᴀɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ғɪʟʟᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ. ❞

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ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ | ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ᴅᴇsᴄʀɪᴘᴛɪᴏɴ.

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ | 750

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ᴊ ᴀ ɢ ᴜ ᴀ ʀ s ᴛ ʀ ɪ ᴋ ᴇ
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I shouldn't have-

She could feel it; the crawling sensation that started from her paws, and would soon explode and spread all over her body like wildfire. She started quivering involuntarily.

Every breath she took started becoming rocky, desperately gasping for air, as if her lungs were threatening to collapse any moment.

Her mind swirled with terrifying thoughts and her heart pounded painfully against her chest, as if it was prey desperately sprinting away from its predator.

The branches of the skeletal trees began closing in on her, as if caging a savage animal in. The rusty red leaves danced mockingly as a chilly breeze blew by; it seemed like a taunting gesture.

Her iridescent green eyes became dilated as she unsheathed her claws. Anxiety clung to her stubbornly, despite the she-cat sinking her own claws into her own flesh in an attempt to negate it, blood spilling out. Her chest heaved painfully, as she struggled to breathe.

Fog started to materialise, in response to the chilly temperature of Leaf-fall. Her glossy golden brown pelt embellished with black rosette spots and stripes started to dull, anxiety tangled in her thoughts. She seemed to be slipping...

"Have you heard? Jaguarstrike is afraid of being alone!" Hyraxpaw whispered to Rimepaw.

"I have! That must be why Sleethawk follows her around all the time," Rimepaw snickered.

The two apprentices continued gossiping amongst themselves, until a shadow fell over them. They froze, as if the temperature plummeted to an unbearable chill.

They turned slowly, and met the angry eyes of Jaguarstrike. The apprentices shrunk back, apologising profusely.

"W-We didn't mean i-it!" Hyraxpaw stuttered. Rimepaw could only nod in agreement under the intensity of Jaguarstrike's glare.

The Clan knew well of Jaguarstrike - she was a critical cat, and was naturally distrustful of others. Her alertness and cleverness was highly valued. She prided herself in her unmatched intelligence, and did not stand for being viewed like a fool.

"Hyraxpaw, I heard you fear spiders. That's why you refused to go into the forest the other day, right? Spiders are known to be concentrated in that area," Jaguarstrike snapped, her eyes blazing. "And Rimepaw, despite your name, you're actually fearful of the cold. That's too bad. Leaf-bare's just around the corner."

Leaving the two apprentices gaping, she turned to the forest, furious. How did the apprentices dare to mock her?

Loud squawking caught her attention. Two blackbirds were fighting mid-flight, pecking at each other aggressively. They moved further from her view. Her curiosity gnawed at her to follow.

Suddenly, a surge of panic rolled over her like a wave. Her eyes widened as she realised she was alone - without Sleethawk.

I shouldn't have-

The fog started to clear. Another wave of panic crashed into her, making her unsteady on her paws. Despite her senses heightening with extra alertness, her chest tightened, fear knotting her belly. She collapsed onto the ground and curled into a tight ball, whimpering. Sleethawk... Help me...

Jaguarkit was rooted with fear as she watched the traumatising scene before her with wide, horror-filled eyes. Her parents were fending off a group of dogs, hissing and spitting at them. The dogs were starved, bone-thin and drooling.

Their hunger-glazed eyes never left Jaguarkit's parents. Her parents tried leading the dogs away from her, but one of the dogs sensed Jaguarkit's presence and advanced towards her.

Her parents noticed, and tried to help Jaguarkit, but were surrounded and blocked off by the other dogs. Howling and barking, the dogs killed her parents swiftly, mangling their bodies.

Jaguarkit was frozen in fear, and could not run. She felt the hot, fetid breath of the dog wash over her like acid, and she started quivering violently. She had never felt so alone and lost.

She was only saved when her Clanmates appeared in the nick of time, driving the dogs away. She was never the same, cheerful self after that day.

A warm body pressed against Jaguarstrike, calming her almost instantly. A warm, soothing breath brushed her cheeks. "Jaguarstrike."

Jaguarstrike slowly raised her head, still quivering. A silver tabby tom appeared in her field of vision. "S-Sleethawk..."

Sleethawk gave Jaguarstrike comforting licks to her ear, and noticed blood on her flank. "I'm sorry for not being here. I promise I'll always protect you. I shouldn't have-"

Jaguarstrike interrupted him by pressing her nose to his, directing his attention away from her bloodied pelt. "You're the only one I trust..."

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|| ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ ||

This took around four hours to write, but five days to plan - whew. This required a whole lot of brainstorming due to my indecisiveness.

This one-shot is for WattyWarriors' Scriptorial, Round Beta. {helloilovecats}

In case you didn't know, the text in largely in italics is a flashback scene. They are important as they explain quite some information that is required for the story.

Overall, the personality of Jaguarstrike is curious, alert, cautious, intelligent, distrustful, judgmental/critical, and devoted/loyal. This is largely her personality, but some may not be hinted too obviously.

I worked really hard on planning this, so I hope you've enjoyed! A trivia will be placed up for anyone interested.

~ Sky ❄

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|| ᴛʀɪᴠɪᴀ ||

➵ The number of words I wrote for the first draft was not too far off the word limit, so it was easier for me to cut down on the words.

➵ It took me a long time trying to create Jaguarstrike. The name took the longest time.

➵ Jaguarstrike has autophobia/monophobia. The fear of isolation/being alone or unloved.

➵ Sleethawk was added in after I made Jaguarstrike afraid of being alone.

➵ Sleethawk is Jaguarstrike's companion/best friend. He is generally silent, preferring to speak only when spoken to. He protects Jaguarstrike as he made a promise to her parents that he will look out for her.

➵ Sleethawk has brontophobia, the fear of thunder, due to an incident that happened when he was a kit. However, he does not remember it.

➵ Hyraxpaw is named after the animal, hyrax, and Rimepaw is named after rime, white ice.

➵ Jaguarstrike is a bengal cat.