x. i'll run /always &

[sh. ell x;]

xx dry eyes in the pouring r a i n xx


Four slender feet raced across the grass, fleeing from the scene behind her as fast as possible. The memory of it was fresh, the taste of vomit still in her mouth. The rain had begun to fall, washing the scent of blood from her pelt, but still she remembered: Grayfur, bleeding on the ground. And what he called after her when she had gone. Paintedhaze...I love you. The phrase ran through her head. What was he talking about? She remembered what he had said even before that, as if Cloudystar was there, he said he loved her... She was so confused.


xx i don't want to lose it, coming d o w n xx


The confusion only deepened as she sped through the forest, not quite sure who she was looking for. Help, that's all she needed. Whether or not she cared about him didn't matter. He was her deputy and she had to at least try and save his life.. even if he didn't want to be saved.


xx he'll say he's just not the s a m e xx


Confused... so confused... She felt like she was going in circles. In the dark, everything looked the same. The rain damped the scents, making it impossible to go by scent. The only way she knew was back, like so much else... She slowed, and stopped. What could she do? She had to admit it. She was lost. Maybe she would have to go back after all. "...Grayfur?" she called.


xx pray to god he h e a r s you xx

[grayfur]

[ m y h e a r t s a b a t t l e g r o u n d ]


Soft white paws padded gently through the thick grass. Clear amber eyes gazed gently on a dead mouse. Poor thing. Never even got a chance to live. Sighing, Aspernity continued on. She was not much older than an apprentice, but had the mind of a warrior. She did not belong to any alliance. She preferred to roam alone.



[ d o n t p u s h m e ]



Aspernity came to a stop at a clearing, gazing down upon the fragile grassy plain. There was something moving. Squinting to get abetter glance, she realized it was another cat like herself. She was a silver cat, with silver eyes. Her face wore a worried glance, and her eyes were wide. "Grayfur..?" She called out.



[ d o n t t e s t m e ]



Aspernity jumped off the edge and ran twoards the sjhaken female. She was trembling, and she seemed worried. Her eyes kept darting from one place to another. Maybe she needed help. Aspernity sniffed the air. She had to be careful, this was a Clan cat. "C... can I help you?" she asked timidly, putting a paw foreward and exposing her brown splotched body.



[ t h e y c o s t y o u m o r e t h a n t h e y c o s t m e ]

[sh. ell x;]

Paintedhaze broke the treeline. She found herself suddenly in a grassy area. "Where am I?" she wondered. Her eyes darted back and forth in the dim light. It was past midnight, and the moon was out now. Nothing looked familiar. She halted again, and tried to sniff the air. Through the rain, all she could smell was the faint scent of another cat. Whether it was stale or fresh, she didn't know, but surely it wasn't a RiverClanner. The femme scanned the field, and once again, the only way she could find to go was back. A frustrated growl rumbled in her throat.


xx she's alone t o n i g h t xx


Suddenly the grass in front of her rustled. A cat appeared, a slender she-cat, white splotched with deep chocolate. Can I help you? Finally. Words tumbled out of Painted's mouth, all jumbled, confused, and backwards. She tried to tell her about Grayfur, about the blood, and the breakdown, and about being lost, but all she could do was attempt to speak. "He needs help," she finished.


xx hoping this isn't not how the s t o r y has to go xx


Whether or not the she-cat took all that in, Paintedhaze could not be sure, but she cocked her head, breathing steadily now. "Can you help?" she asked. "Or at least... something.." She peered beyond the cat into the dark. She didn't want to continue on. She turned her eyes back to the cat, and looked at her pleadingly.


xx she's undone tonight, she's all u s e d up xx

[grayfur]

[ h e g o e s l e f t b u t y o u s t a y r i g h t ]



Aspernity frowned. She watched the silvery cat pad about helplessly. She seemed to be looking for someone. When she had glanced up at the brown splotched cat, Aspernity's body went rigid. She gulped and gave a shaky smile. She padded twoards the femme, unsure of what to expect.



[ b e t w e e n t h e l i n e s o f f e a r a n d b l a me ]



She locked amber eyes with silver ones. She gulped again. Don't hurt me, she pleaded to herself. But her mouth gaped a little as she rattled about some other cat. Recognising words like blood. her eyes widened thwhen she began to speak of random bleeding. Clenching her teeth, she looked away. "He needs help," the cat had called out. Aspernity just kept looking away. What if she was trying to trick her?



[ y o u b e g i n t o w o n d e r w h y y o u c a m e ]



She lookde twoards the gentle female. Something in her voice made her feel rigid. "can you help? or at least something?" Her vpice seemed so desperate, her plea sincere. There was no way she could leave this cat on her own. She sighed, adn gave a shaky smile. "Uh... I did used to be a medicine cat."


[ w h e r e d i d i g o w r o n g ? ]

[sh. ell x;]

The femme stared. A medicine cat. How perfect could this be? She blinked her eyes, and pawed the ground anxiously. "Then come, follow me! If you will." She cast her one last begging look before turning away and heading off.


xx i dare you to m o v e xx


Haze accelerated quickly; before hardly any time she was running top speed, trying to follow her own scent trail back to where Grayfur lay. But the rain was still pouring, and she could barely smell anything. Her paws thundered across the ground, and she glanced behind her shoulder, hoping the she-cat was still there. She was Grayfur's only hope.


xx i dare you to lift y o u r s e l f up xx


Her mind replayed the grusome scene. What had happened, anyways? She had been in such a rush to find help that she hadn't stopped to think about what had actually caused it. Why had he bled? Was it possible for emotional pain to make you physically hurt? It seemed the tom had been trying to find a way out, to find away where he could forget about everything.


xx where can you run to escape from y o u r s e l f ? xx


Finally, she found it. The clearing where Grayfur lay. Now she could smell it: blood. And fear. She hurried over to the tree, cringing as her paws made a small splash in the puddle of blood. It was thinning - the rain was begining to wash it a way, but still the scent was overwhelming. "Over here," she yowled, praying the cat was still behind her. She looked down at Grayfur. Was he conscious? She sniffed. It didn't look like the bleeding had stopped yet. She stepped back, and sat. She hated being here.


xx where you gonna g o ? xx


But she knew she had done the right thing. She helped another cat, the deputy, another suffering being. Even though he made her sick, she had brought help.


xx salvation is h e r e xx

[grayfur]

[ w h e r e d i d i g o w r o n g ]




The white and tabby female followed at haze's feet. She was quick and nible for a Clan cat. Aspernity didn't live with them anymore, but when she did, she was a ThunderClanner. Her name had been Hazewind, like Paintedhaze. She smiled proudly at her attenpt to help. This cat was nice after all.



[ i l o s t a f r i e n d ]




Aspernity could smell the blood in the air. it reeked of death. She hoped she wasn't too late. Her speed quickened and she lifted her nose up in the air to smell out the cat. Her isndes twitched and moaned and she felt the waorst was yet to come. fear fripped in her heart. Had he died?



[ s o m e w h e r e a l o n g t h e b i t t e r n e s ]



Oh no, oh no, she thouhg panicky. Her pace only quickened the more. She came up strong behind haze and soon was at top speed. Don't die, she shouted quietly. Please. She ran up to the cat. His body was limp and a river of still flowing blood ran out fo his mouth. Scars covered his body and all his fur was red, exceprt for certain spots.




[ a d i w o u l d h a v e s t a y e d u p w i t h y o u a l l n i g h t ]