Frozen dreams {ENG & OPEN}

There were moments when she forgets the life she had already lived. The things she had already seen. She sometimes forgets all she had lost and all she had loved. She couldn't believe that she was a mother now, of four kits, who were now nine moons old and training to become warriors. She never wanted to become a mother. She never wanted to give her off-spring a terrible life. But she was a mother now and she had given them a terrible life, but she was looking at it differently now. Her kittens were strong, filled with hope and with her guidance as a mother, she could give them better lives. And that is what she wanted to do. Yet, she felt sad, a feeling that she hated to feel, yet existed to torment her.

It was cold and the little creek was frozen. Newleaf still seemed far away. She had gone out hunting, on her own, but her thoughts had impeded her and that is why she was sitting at the little creek, mourning all she had lost and all she had loved. She realized that she had never had a moment to mourn. And there she was, alone, at the frozen little creek.

{open}

Sighing she closed her eyes for a moment. She felt a cold breeze caressing her ginger fur. She pictured her mother, Innerstar, her brother, Ravenheart, Thornclaw, her little sisters, Lionstep and Swiftclaw and her lost sister, Littlestream. She pictured the old days when everything was still well. And then, when the sound of crunching snow reached her ears, the thoughts disappeared like melting snow in sunlight. She pointed her ears and looked up. She saw Mousetail sitting a few tail lengths away. "Where you creeping up on me?" She asked with a slightly humorous tone. She lifted her self en got closer to Mousetail. "No luck with the hunt?" She then asked. Maybe the two could hunt together. Russetfur realized that it had been stupid to let herself be distracted by her sad thoughts. Yes, she missed her family. Yes, she missed the old days. But she wasn't going to get that back and with mourning, she wasn't going to feed the clan.

Mousetail was many moons younger then she was. The small grey tabby she-cat still had a whole life ahead of her. Russetfur remembered wondering how her own life would turn out to be. Now she didn't know what she had to think about her own life, all the decisions she had made. Nevermind was one of them, the ex-Shadowclan warrior who was now a Bloodclan member and the father of her own four kittens. She didn't regret her kittens, but she did regret Nevermind.

"We could try to hunt together? There might be a chance that the two of us catch something," she suggested. However, Russetfur suspected that it would still be difficult with the freezing cold and the falling snow. "Times are tough, but we must hold on," Russetfur then spoke, partially to herself and partly to the other.

Mousetail didn't seem to be much of a talker, but that didn't bother Russetfur. She wasn't much of a talker either. Mousetail seemed to trail off in her thoughts and that's when Russetfur started to try to pick up some sounds or scents. Mousefur also started to move, stood up and looked at the sky. "Don't think we can catch birds from the sky," the ginger she-cat noted. With a flick of her tail, she proceeded to go. "Let's see if we can find a hole where the small animals sleep. Maybe we find a nest," she then suggested while walking down the Little Creek. It was a possibility. Snowflakes whirled around as a windbreeze ruffled her fur. But then she noticed the faint, foul scent the wind was carrying. She wrinkled her nose and looked sideways at Mousetail to see if she had noticed it too.

Mousetail picked up the strange scent as well. As Russetfur looked sideways at the grey she-cat, she asked if Russetfur had smelled the scent too. "Yes, let's follow the trail," she then suggested. Russetfur picked her nose and tried to determine where the scent was coming from. And then she stepped away from The Little Creek towards the bare bushes, beckoning Mousetail with her. "I've got a bad feeling about this," she muttered under her breath. The four, sour scent grew stronger and stronger and she noticed something rotten about it. Death? The thought crossed her mind and for a moment she was afraid that the scent was coming from a clanmate or a family member. And then she picked up the ominous scent of... "Fox." She then again looked at Mousetail. "Stay close and alert," she spoke quietly. As she continued walking she then noticed the red fur and the limb body of the fox, stuck between silver, shiny claws. A trap.

Mousetail was remarkably quiet. Russetfur automatically took the lead, getting closer to the dead fox, but Mousetail remained behind. The ginger senior warrior looked at the dead fox and the silver claws in which he was trapped. She frowned and felt a chill running through her spine. She remembered the prophecy and felt like this could be a sign from Starclan. "If it can kill a fox, it can also kill a cat," she spoke, trying to keep her voice steady. "And I think twolegs did this." This silver claw didn't look natural, so she couldn't think of anything else. "And maybe there are more," she then continued. She kept staring at the dead fox, observing it. This must've been an awful way to die.

As Russetfur was observing the dead fox, studying the silver claws, Mousetail was watching the trees. She remained quiet. At this point, Russetfur would've liked some input. The ginger she-cat stepped closer to the dead fox and the trap, assuming that it wouldn't attack again. It was holding way too tightly to the dead fox. Just when she wanted to speak again, it was Mousetail who spoke. She said that it wasn't feeling right, she felt like they were being watched. Russetfur looked up, right at where Mousetail was staring at and indeed. The branches were rustling and the sound of footsteps approaching reached her ears. "We must hide," she said urgently. She looked around for a hiding spot, maybe Mousetail would spot a good hiding spot.

Mousetail was scared, very scared. The scent of her fear stung in her nostrils. Of course, Russetfur was also afraid, yet she remained calm and calculated the situation. Footsteps approached nearer and the scent of twolegs grew stronger. Russetfur followed Mousetail into a hole, surrounded by bushes. It smelled of rabbits, but the scent was stale. Russetfur observed and then saw the tall appearances of twolegs, with the nakes pink skin. One of them bowed down, well they spoke a strange language. They sounded pleased, though. The fox was removed from the trap and lifted by its tail. The twolegs looked at it, sounding happy. Then they walked away. "I hate twolegs," Russetfur snorted. "Why would they catch a fox? Twolegs truly are weird," she continued. She shuddered and after a moment, she finally left their hiding spot. "We must repost this to Acorndust, this cannot mean anything good," she noted.