❝ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ɪs ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴜɴ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ, ᴀs ʏᴏᴜ ᴊᴏᴜʀɴᴇʏ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅs ɪᴛ, ᴄᴀsᴛs ᴛʜᴇ sʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ ᴏғ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙᴜʀᴅᴇɴ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ. ❞

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ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ | ᴘʟᴏᴛ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ | 1202

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The bengal she-cat narrowed her eyes, spitting in rage. Her tail was lashing, and her claws were unsheathed. "What did you say?"

Sleethawk sighed. "Quiverfeather is gone."

Jaguarstrike's ears flattened, her fur bristling. "What do you mean gone? How can she jus-"

"When Hyraxpaw and Rimepaw went to give her fresh-kill, she wasn't there," Sleethawk explained, his eyes unblinking, yet they held hints of concern.

Jaguarstrike was filled with rage - mostly worry. Where did Quiverfeather go? She has weak legs - she shouldn't have gone out!

She started panicking. What if she collapsed somewhere and can't come back to camp?

Sleethawk gave Jaguarstrike a comforting lick. "We'll find her."

Jaguarstrike nodded, scanning the camp. "She couldn't have gotten far with the condition of her legs. Let's go into the forest to search."

The two cats made their way into the forest and began searching for Quiverfeather.

Quiverfeather was an elder of ApricityClan. She moved into the elders' den earlier than most would, due to her weak legs that made her unable to hunt and fight efficiently.

Jaguarstrike adored the elder since she was just a kit, visiting Quiverfeather daily to hear her stories - but in actual fact, she just wanted to spend time with her foster mother, who took her in when her parents died. She cared for me like I was her own kit. That's why I must find her if she really did collapse somewhere, unable to get back to camp.

The two cats started searching for the elder, with Jaguarstrike tasting more despair with each step she took. "Quiverfeather! Where are you?"

She was walking towards Pebble Hill, picking up Quiverfeather's faint scent. Could she have wanted to visit my parents?

While looking around, distracted by her thoughts, she failed to notice a figure moving towards her. There was a swift movement, and Jaguarstrike was knocked from her paws, tumbling headfirst onto the ground. "Great StarClan! Who's there?"

The bengal she-cat stood up immediately, her fur bristling. Was I so distracted that I fell for an ambush? This is humiliating.

The figure targeted her once more, darting towards her. Before Jaguarstrike could meet claw-to-claw with the stranger, a silver pelt whizzed in front of her to meet the aggressor. "Sleethawk!"

Sleethawk raised his chin, narrowing his eyes at the stranger. "What is your business here in ApricityClan's territory?"

Jaguarstrike could see the stranger's appearance clearer now, since he had stopped moving. The scent of blood washed into her nose, and observed the stranger's shoulder stained with blood. The stranger was a relatively fluffy cream-coloured tabby tom with icy blue eyes. His fur was slightly tangled, but other than that, he held himself with obvious pride.

"I'd never expect myself to be hurt," he started, licking his bleeding shoulder. He looked up and met his eyes with Sleethawk, the intensity of their gazes making Jaguarstrike immensely uncomfortable.

"My name is Blitz," the cream-coloured tom dipped his head slightly, his eyes never leaving Sleethawk. Jaguarstrike's analytical eyes ran across Blitz, baring her teeth. He doesn't look friendly.

Even though Blitz spoke in a polite tone, Jaguarstrike noticed that his eyes were burning with an emotion she recognised as hatred. He looked relaxed, yet his muscles were tensed, and his stance was that of a sign of aggression.

"What is your business with us?" Jaguarstrike asked, a growl rising from her throat.

Blitz scoffed and flicked his tail. "You seem to have seen through my facade, so I'll get straight to the point."

The cream tabby straightened himself, and a more solemn expression took over. Jaguarstrike could feel sparks of aggression coming from Blitz, making her flatten her ears in distaste and caution.

"I know where Quiverfeather is," he began, watching Jaguarstrike carefully.

The she-cat immediately snapped and headed straight for Blitz's throat, snarling. "Where? How do you know her?"

Blitz moved away from Jaguarstrike before her claws could connect with his throat, and smirked. "Let's just say... she's with Twolegs at the moment."

"What have you done?" Jaguarstrike was yowling by now, any sign of calmness gone. Sleethawk placed his tail on her shoulder, shaking his head. It took a lot of effort for the she-cat to back off, her glare constantly focusing on Blitz.

"You may not remember, but I do," Blitz meowed. For a heartbeat, Jaguarstrike thought she saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes. It was swiftly replaced with hatred as the stranger let out a brief chuckle.

"Where is she?" she snarled, fur bristling.

"I led her there, you see," Blitz purred, as if proud of his achievement. "That old mouse-brain fell for it."

Jaguarstrike was ready to attack Blitz again, but Sleethawk cut off her path, shaking his head even more firmly. "Let's hear what he has to say."

"It's simple, really. You have two choices," Blitz meowed, narrowing his eyes. "Don't find me and she dies."

"And the second?" Jaguarstrike asked, forcefully pushing her desire to disfigure the stranger where he stood then.

"Find me," he paused, his eyes glinting with malice. "And watch her die."

WIth that, he ran off, his speed startling Jaguarstrike. She gaped at what had just happened, shaking in fury. "H-He..."

Sleethawk licked Jaguarstrike gently. "What do you want to do?"

The bengal she-cat felt an excruciating pain from her heart, and she leaned against Sleethawk for support. "I... I want to see her. I want to see Quiverfeather."

Her voice was quivering and sounded pained to Sleethawk. He nodded and gave her a nudge. "I understand."

Jaguarkit was crying in the corner of the nursery, all alone. It had been two moons since her parents died, yet she felt that their deaths happened just yesterday.

A soothing scent washed over the kit, making her look up. She sniffled and backed away.

"It's me, Quiverfeather," the she-cat mewed softly. "I was a good friend of your mother. She told me to take care of you for her."

"S-She said that?" Jaguarkit asked softy, looking down.

"Yes, Jaguarkit. Yes, she did," Quiverfeather purred. Jaguarkit could detect sadness in her voice, and moved towards the she-cat, nudging her. "I..."

Before she knew it, Jaguarkit was sobbing into Quiverfeather's fur, letting out all the sorrow she had felt while forcing herself to be alone.

"I-I miss them so m-much," Jaguarkit cried into Quiverfeather's soft fur, which reminded her of her mother. "I-I miss them..."

"Shh... It'll be all right," Quiverfeather cooed, licking Jaguarkit's forehead comfortingly. "I'll be here for you, so I hope you'll be there for me when I need you as well."

"R-Really?" Jaguarkit asked, her eyes shiny with tears.

Quiverfeather purred. "Really."

Jaguarstrike straightened herself, taking a deep breath in an attempt to regain her composure. "I won't let my choices be limited. I'll make a third choice for myself."

"I'll see Quiverfeather again." Feeling stronger and burning with determination, she spoke again. "And I'll save her."

Sleethawk watched silently, his own heart aching with sadness. He dipped his head, his mind whirling with thoughts of Quiverfeather's kindness towards not only Jaguarstrike, but him as well.

I, too, will save her.

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|| ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ ||

I got this out later because I was busy with lots of work to finish, but I managed to write the gist of what I wanted.

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

It's not top quality, but it's basically Jaguarstrike and Sleethawk going on a quest to save Quiverfeather from Blitz, and to discover the reason behind why he did what he did.

A trivia will be added for anyone who is interested. Hope you enjoyed reading this!

~ Sky ❄

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|| ᴛʀɪᴠɪᴀ ||

➵ Blitz is a cream point ragdoll cat.

➵ Blitz was originally going to be called Charwick.

➵ Quiverfeather moved into the elders' den early because of her weak legs. The cause is unknown to the cats.

➵ Blitz has a reason behind what he is doing, and Jaguarstrike and Sleethawk will go on a journey - after getting approval from their leader - to find out and save Quiverfeather.

➵ Quiverfeather is like a second mother to both Jaguarstrike and Sleethawk.