Warriors Fanfiction
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syncopation
a one-shot by stork
enjoy <3
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preface

syncopation;
noun; a temporary displacement of the regular metrical accent in music caused typically by stressing the weak beat.

syncopation

I used to know someone. We met as part of pure accident; we were never supposed to know each other for more than a moment.

But she was different.

I was unusual. I was never one for romanticism, unlike the rest of my Clan. They used to call me Maplepaw the Weird when I was an apprentice. I would craft my own way. Everyone wanted me to stay the same.

I was different, wanting to stray off the line all my Clanmates were on. My father, Quailheart, still gives me the stink eye every time I approach him. He will never be proud of me, I know. He'll always be more proud of Jackalpaw and Galepaw than me. Even if Galepaw is a medicine cat.

My mother, Moonwhisper, wasn't proud of me either. Even worse, she was deputy, and still is. No way was she going to sponsor her weird child to deputyship. She and I had a poor relationship when I was just a kit, and it's stayed the same since then.

Now, as for this rogue, I met her when I was an apprentice. Regretfully, Quailheart was my mentor, and he'd just let me go. He wasn't going to care if I died. I think I never cared over him as my mentor either.

I was hunting the same rabbit she was, and she had me pinned while the rabbit ran off. "Clan cat, huh...?"

She had me pinned hard, and she blinked once. Her fur was pure black, with eyes as bright as the sun itself. A sunlit child cast in a shadow's disguise. "Well, are you gonna do anything?"

Her eyes were bright, but not wide. "Maybe. That rabbit was mine."

She rolled her eyes. "Nah, that was totally mine. Name's Senka." She unsheathed her claws. "That'll make you do something."

"Of course it will, it hurts." I leaned my weight to one side, throwing her off. "Maplepaw."

She narrowed her eyes and nearly blended in with the shadows of the setting sun. "How close are you to warriorhood?"

I stared her in the eye. "Probably a few days if they'll let me."

She cocked her head. "Let you?"

"Yeah. I'm a bit peculiar to them."

"Well, everyone's peculiar to me, Maplepaw." She smiled. "Including you, and including me."

She approached me. "Sorry to have disturbed you. Maybe we'll run into each other at some point. Who knows. Good to meet you, Maplepaw. See you soon."

"See you soon, I guess... Senka." She gave me a nod and vanished into the bushes.

I didn't see her for a while after that.

*

When Galepaw approached me, I was nervous. She gave me a nervous moan and took me out to the woods. She let out a sigh and gave me a look that was a sad sort of happy. "You know Blazewhisker... right? That warrior, who's close to me since kithood. Well..."

"G-G-Galepaw, please don't tell me..."

"Yeah." She pawed at the ground. "...sorry. I know this shouldn't be happening." Her ears twitched. "I mean, I'm a medicine cat. I shouldn't be doing this. I'm like that medicine cat from the old Clans! That one who had to fake that they were her sister's!" She shook her head. "StarClan, why... Maplebreeze."

"W-What?! Do as they did... back then? You know if they find out, they'll kill you." She sighed. "I can't do that. I can't."

She let out a sigh. "Guess I may as well die before then."

"But they'll figure you out."

"No... they won't."

She took me back to camp. The sunset was approaching, and she cleared her throat. "Clanmates! Maplebreeze and I are going on a mission."

"What mission?"

"Maplebreeze has had a dream about a danger to this Clan. As she may need healing, I am going with her. As for when we will be back... we do not know. It may be a moon, it may be two, we do not know. But we will be back, and hopefully..." Her voice shook for a mere second. "... it'll be soon."

I remember them cheering for us - no, not for me, for Galepaw. Nobody knew her secret but me.

We left as soon as possible, and almost immediately Galepaw's stride rose and she and I were son running, as far away as we could get, before we had to stop. Unlike her, I probably still could've gone on - but Galepaw, in her state, was tired before we got too far away.

This... this was where I met Senka. The sunset was still occuring. I wondered breifly if we would see her appear.

"Galepaw..."

"Maplebreeze." She cast a tired look my direction. "I'm... really upset that I can't stay there. In ForestClan. And also that I dragged you into this mess."

Oh Galepaw... "Hey, sorry isn't gonna make a difference. We're here now. I'm here now." I let out a sigh at that - I was thinking about Senka. "I'm just glad you came to me. Even after you and Jackalclaw and Mother and Father called me names."

She flattened her ears. "Yeah, sorry for that. You're definitely unusual, Maplebreeze, but you're still my sister. And only an unusual cat would understand this dilemma."

We waited until night fell before we made refuge. I knew she was tired; I was nearly tempted to see how she was doing even right then.

She and I finally found a spot under the bushes. "This looks... somewhat comfortable." Her eyes went dark for a mere moment. "Find some moss, will you?"

I nodded and slipped off. As I stepped out, I heard a movement. "So you've returned."

"Senka!" I met her gaze immediately. "Hey. Been a while. I'm out here with my sister."

"I overheard. She's pregnant, isn't she? It's not like an apprentice to be pregnant when she's still that young."

She's been listening in! Maplebreeze, you fool... "She's as old as I am. If she's really honest, I'll bet she's due in a moon."

"You're almost two years now if I remember correctly." She slipped out of the shade of the tree. "As am I."

She caught my gaze. "You want to chase another hare? First one to catch two mice and two rabbits wins the other's catch as well as their own."

Her sunlit eyes were warm. "Sure. Galepaw and I could both use some anyway."

We hunted about until moonhigh, where she and I met.

"Your catch?"

"Two mice, a shrew, a mole, and two rabbits."

Senka smiled. "More than me. I've only got two birds." She let out a breath. "Guess you win. I'm gonna go to my home - as should you. Your sister is probably worried about you."

"She probably is."

"It was good to see you, Maplebreeze."

*

Galepaw had a pleasant look on her face when I returned. "Nice catch."

"I guess..." I remembered the expression Senka had; the way her brows furrowed despite the smile in her eyes, the way her tail lashed against the ground. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired... as usual, for now."

I nudged one of the rabbits towards her, and she shifted before taking a bite. "Hey, uh, Maplebreeze... I just wanted to apologize."

"Hm?"

"Jackalclaw and I were... very mean to you. And he still is." She sighed. "You were always odd to us. Never did we think about how much it may have harmed you. Ever." Her eyes were full of anguish. "I know you're different than us, Maplebreeze. I know you're different from all of us in ForestClan." She closed her eyes. "You being different should have never made us act differently, and yet we saw you as weird and bullied you." Her tone shifted. "You probably hate me."

"Galepaw..." I didn't know what to say. "I - I don't hate you as much as I hate Jackalclaw and Quailheart." She stared at me, her face crumpling. "Your bullying... It did harm me. More than I want to admit." I settled on the ground towards her. "I hid from you and Quailheart and Jackalclaw for as long as I could. And I met someone... who I trust very much. They are not a lover." I said the statement before she could open her mouth. "But they are someone I trust and trust with my life."

She smiled sadly. "I hope they treat you right, unlike I did." She took a glance at her stomach, which, I noted, had started to swell with her kits. "I'm going to teach them. Teach them that they shouldn't treat their siblings wrong."

I nodded. "Alright, Galepaw. I'm gonna sleep pretty soon - as should you."

It was good to see you, Maplebreeze.

*

A few days before Galepaw had her kits, I saw Senka again.

The sunset was the prettiest it'd ever been, and I watched it from the edge of the forest, at the top of the hill, where I could see it at its finest. I didn't hear her behind me, and she slunk up behind me. "Another sunset, and another appearance by yours truly."

She started chuckling behind me. "Hahaha, I got you again..." She slipped next to me, settling herself next to me. "Look at you, scaredy cat. Watching the sunset again." Her tail moved over mine. "Your calico fur is actually looking great under this light. Really brings out the oranges."

"Senka, why do you keep finding me?"

"Finding you?" Her sunlit eyes turned towards me. "Because... well, Maplebreeze, I like you. You're unique. You're an individual."

"An individual?"

"Mhmm." She sneezed. "I love those who are different. You're more notable than anyone because you're the only one who stands out to me."

"Senka..." She blinked. "Why do you only appear during sunset?"

She went silent. "I'm... what you all may call... cursed." She shifted closer to me. "If I see someone I love any time during the day, I'll be burned alive."

What? "How does that even -"

"It's something that runs in my family. My mother, when she was pregnant with me, never loved my father in the way he did. So she was never burned." She sighed. "It is a curse that has passed through my blood. That's why my blood, if you ever see it, will appear to be black and bright yellow, merged together like vines overtaking walls." She stared at the sunset. "What my mother told me was that someone who lived underneath us - no, not within the ground, but within the foretold molten core itself - had bit an ancestor. Upon doing so, it slipped away. As for why it bit my ancestor... we don't know."

"Oh... Senka..."

"Maplebreeze, it is not your fault this happened." She wrapped her tail over my back. "And because I do enjoy you, I must be mindful."

Oh. "Senka." She flicked her tailtip. "If you're saying that... do I fit in there? That - love category?"

She went silent. "I guess. I care about you; maybe not in the love fashion though. I don't want to risk it." The sun was behind the mountains by now. "Your sister's probably given birth if she's not close."

"Why are you changing the subject?" I was honest with myself in that moment. I did definitely think about Senka a lot. "I... well, I do return those feelings to you."

Senka's eyes went wide with a sense of misunderstanding. "You, returning my feelings? That's insane. I can't believe that.." She sighed and chuckled nervously. "You don't know how many cats - how many she-cats in particular - who've said that and only meant it as friends."

As... friends? "Senka, I-"

She continued to chuckle. "Hah, and - and you'll still leave... just like they all have." She took a breath. "I've never had someone ever return my feelings. That's why so many of them have left. They always leave after I tell them the curse... because they're scared." She sighed, her tone changing. "They're scared of me. They're so scared of me because they think I'll kill them if they're near me during the day."

I gave her a distraught look. "Senka, I'm sorry." Galepaw came to my mind - oh no, oh no. "Senka... I won't do that to you."

"Are you sure?" She gave me a concerned stare. "Y-You won't - you won't..." She shifted her position. "Maplebreeze... thank you."

She rested her head on my shoulder, and my ears burned. "I-I-I need to see my sister."

She raised her head. "Oh, sorry... I know." She shifted. "Come see me before you and Galepaw leave... or maybe call me over when they're born?"

"Sure." I felt her warmth shift away. "I'll come see you."

"It was good to see you and talk to you, Maplebreeze. I hope we can see each other again."

*

When I got back, Galepaw was in pain.

"Took you long enough to come back." She let out a sigh. "You saw someone?"

"Yeah, that someone I keep seeing..." I settled near her. "Seems as though it's happening."

"Oh, of course..." She winced. "Stay with me, Maplebreeze..."

I sat with her as she started screaming a few minutes afterward. The sound made me so upset, her shrill wail haunting me.

I watched the moon as she panted beside me, and as the sun rose, I heard her gasp my name. "Maplebreeze, I... I don't know if I can do this, Maplebreeze..."

I glanced in her direction, and beside her laid two kits - a silver kit, like her, and a ginger tabby, like Blazewhisker. She was tired, and I got scared immediately. "Gale-"

"Maplebreeze... take them. Those two. Sunkit and Moonkit." She sighed. "I can tell this isn't ending well - and for that, I say goodbye."

tbc

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