Blood and Snow

River of Possibilities

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here?" the black she-cat sneered with a gleeful smirk. "Usually these night patrols Grassstar put us up to are so boring. And now a RiverClan cat right at our paws? What a gift! What do you think, Ferretpool?" the black and silver she-cat asked her cream and brown companion. Ferretpool's ears pinned, and she broke into a small smile.

"Yes, love," she replied quietly. "Very nice." The ginger and white tom bared his teeth.

"When can I attack, Wrenthorn? Just give me the word and I'll rip her throat out!" the young tom exclaimed. Probably an apprentice. Wrenthorn shook her head but didn't take her eyes off Snowpaw. Her expression of delight and mischief did not go away either.

"We should let her explain herself first, Archpaw," she explained. "If she has no excuse then, by all means, we can take her on." Archpaw scowled and lashed his tail. Wrenthorn looked to Snowpaw again, brown eyes narrowed.

"So, RiverClan cat..." she eerily hissed. "Why are you here, on WindClan territory?" Snowpaw's heart began to beat faster.

"I am- not a River...Clan cat? Or whatever you called it. I was just passing through." Yes! Pretend you're a loner with no idea what RiverClan or WindClan is! "Do a lot of cats live here? I smell a lot of scents." Snowpaw lied. She tried her best to sound like a dumb loner. Wrenthorn looked taken aback. Hope fluttered in Snowpaw's chest that the WindClan cat may believe her.

"Then why does your scent smell so strong of RiverClan?" Ferretpool hissed suspiciously. Archpaw growled and got face to face with Snowpaw.

"Yeah, why does it fish breath?" he yelled. Snowpaw folded her ears back. As much as she wanted to smack the smirk off of the apprentice's face, she knew she had to get out unscathed, she had to pretend to look scared and clueless.

"What? Scent? I mean, I did eat fish not too long ago." Snowpaw began. "But I still have no idea what you are talking about. Now please, just let me go! I promise to never come back!" Wrenthorn sniffed and sighed.

"I think she is telling the truth. The dumb cat probably just strayed over the freshly marked border anyways. Besides, the wind is blowing in this direction. RiverClan scent will come with it." she huffed. Archpaw groaned and kicked a stone with his paw. Ferretpool just nodded calmly. The expression on her face was unreadable.

"I believe you, darling." the cream and brown she-cat mumbled. Snowpaw had no idea if she was being curt or generally kind. Darling. Is that title supposed to be threatening? Ferretpool then looked to Snowpaw. "Now go up the path and keep going. You will exit our territory that way. If we see you here again, we will not hesitate to attack you." Snowpaw gulped and nodded. She then turned and ran up the path as fast as she could. Luckily, no one confronted her unusual eye color.

Once the WindClan scent began to fade, she slowed down. In front of her was an unknown forest. Dark with mystery and danger. fear gripped her heart. Snowpaw had never set foot out of RiverClan territory before. New scents overwhelmed her. Unknown noises filled her ears. She jumped at the slightest sound, scared it could be a fox or badger.

"What do I do now?" she whispered to herself. Snowpaw had realized that she was in no need to go anywhere, her paws had no destination, left to wander. Any path could be taken, but for now, Snowpaw needed to find shelter. The night was dangerous and she needed to survive. Hopefully, I will see that dumb amber-eye cat and ask what in StarClan he did to me! Snowpaw grinned and imagined herself sinking her claws into his pelt. Watching pain come to his eyes in revenge for what he did to her life. She blinked the thought away. She wasn't a killer. She hoped not.

Snowpaw looked around and saw a thick bramble bush and went over to it. Cautiously, she sniffed inside for any scents. She did not need any surprise attacks. She found that the den had a stale scent of cats. With a sigh of relief, she slid into the bush. Exhaustion tugged at her. She settled down, eyelids heavy, and slipped off into sleep.

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Snowpaw woke up to see a dark forest around her. the air was humid and thick with the scent of blood. The dim light that dared shine here, glistened red. She knew she had come back to where these cats had brought her. At least this time there was no battle. And at least this time there was no battle and it was quiet. She then smiled. Knowing that the amber-eyed tom would be here.

Three blood-red silhouettes appeared from the darkness. Snowpaw tensed with each step they took. Her teeth gritted as they appeared only a few mouse-lengths away. Their eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. The amber-eyed cat stepped forward first. A smirk lay across his smug face. And to Snowpaw's horror, blood was lined around his mouth.

"Came to thank me?" he asked. Snowpaw narrowed her eyes and twisted her face into a scowl.

"What did you do to help me?! I got kicked out of my Clan and killed someone!" she screeched. The amber-eyed cat looked startled and surprised at her reaction. The calico she-cat sniffed.

"We had to do something." the she-cat meowed. "We helped destroy your enemy." Snowpaw unsheathed her claws.

"You ruined my life! You just confirmed to my Clanmates that I am a monster! If I tried to go back I would have no chance to ever make it up to them." Tears began to brim in her eyes. The gray tom with ice-blue eyes sighed.

"Look, remember what we told you. We are just like you. Cast out because of something that was beyond our control. They would have found an excuse soon enough anyways to kick you out. We just made it sooner." he stated. Snowpaw relaxed a little but was still ready for anything.

"We didn't mean to come off as bad." the amber-eyed cat told her. "We just saw that you needed our help. Don't worry. We will get you on the right path soon enough."

"There are endless things we can do." The calico she-cat smiled. "What do you want to do first?"