❦ story ❦

it was the middle of the night. luminous white starclan glimmered in the dark sky; silent and watchful, they shone their light on the land of the living, intensified by the serene moon. the silvery luster seemed to wane away and strengthen, rippling different intensities across the forest. shadows stood out boldly on the forest floor, blotting out the light as the leaves and foliage soaked up the moonbeams instead.

but of course, the silver she-cat wasn't aware of any of this. she stood at her post, huddled under a bush where her clanmate had positioned her in such a way that she was invisible at first glance. not far off, two of the silver she-cat's clanmates hid, waiting for her call. two others were nearer- one right next to her, the other perched on a tree somewhere. there had been protests about sending a blind cat on... well, on watch, but hornetstar had insisted. every cat knew that her senses were much sharper than any sighted cats, and on a clear day or night, she could sense another creature across more than a quarter of the territory.

for a long while, the forest was quiet, except for the chirping of crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl. then the tiniest wisp of a scent touched the cat's nose: a scent that didn't belong, yet it was here. the scent of a cat, yet a cat who didn't live here. this must be one of the intruders. but the she-cat knew better than to reveal her location just yet. instead, she stayed still.

"i can smell someone," the blind she-cat murmured. without a verbal reply, the other cat rose to their paws and padded off. for a moment, the she-cat felt the minscule vibrations through the ground; the cat's pawsteps were soundless, but unless they were walking extremely slowly, the blind she-cat could sense pawsteps within anywhere between two and five whisker-lengths, depending on how hard their footfalls were.

then there were none, and the silver cat was alone in her eternal darkness. of course, the night made no difference to her, when she'd never seen anything but black in the waking world. as it was, if not for the moon and stars, the forest would be pitch-black, making things much harder for the sighted warriors.

"jellyfishbright!" the silver she-cat heard a hiss come from somewhere a few heads above and to the right.

"we can't see anyone from up here," a different voice whispered.

jellyfishbright angled her ears upwards to listen, wanting to focus on the new conversation. "are you sure you're not just missing the forest for the trees, blizzardquill?" the blind she-cat asked innocently.

the second cat huffed. "not all of us are used to being able to see nothing."

jellyfishbright waited.

"all i can see is leaves, all i can hear is crickets, and all i can smell is juniper." jellyfishbright could only imagine the exasperation on blizzardquill's face. of course, he had the right to be- nighttime made it harder for most cats, and the overwhelming perfume of juniper probably swamped all but jellyfishbright's exceptionally sharp sense of smell.

"well, i know that jellyfishbright gave me the signal," the first cat meowed. "just trust her, blizzardquill. her senses are more useful in darkness anyway."

"... shut up, jasminecrest."

jellyfishbright suppressed a purr. "both of you, be qui-"

blizzardquill let out a cry of alarm just a split second before jellyfishbright felt the thrumming of paws in the earth. instinctively, she extended her claws and swiped, but her target was already gone. judging from the scratching of bark, the first intruder was climbing blizzardquill and jasminecrest's tree.

jellyfishbright felt a slight pang of guilt; had she not been speaking with blizzardquill and jasminecrest, she'd have heard the rogue coming a long time ago... but she shook it off. she wouldn't have known either way, and besides, the clan could fight them off.

a second round of footsteps rippled through the ground, and jellyfishbright lunged forward and opened her jaws for a bite. this time, she hit her target and was rewarded with a yowl of mingled surprise and pain.

a fresh wave of juniper smell flooded jellyfishbright's sinuses, but underneath... there was cat scent. so that's why it smells so strong of juniper. the rogues must've rolled themselves in some berries on their way here! of course, they hadn't counted on the blind she-cat being able to catch that whiff of scent from wherever they were before. perhaps they had planned a sneak attack, but it had failed.

"oh, for- jaz, go warn quietfern; there's still two more rogues somewhere!"

jellyfishbright heard blizzardquill's sister mutter, "ducksplash is closer," then launch herself out of the tree and land with a thump on the ground, already running. blizzardquill let out a low hiss at the intruder. "back off, or you'll regret you were ever kitted."

the rogue that jellyfishbright had sank her teeth into wrenched their shoulder upwards, and the gray tabby she-cat was unhinged. you're not making yourself very stealthy, she thought as she took in the cat's lashing tail that stirred the leaf litter, the scuffing paws, and the low growl in their throat.

jellyfishbright returned the growl with one of her own, lowering herself to the ground, spiking her fur up, flattening her ears, hoping that she looked threatening. the opposing growl turned into a yowl, and jellyfishbright started, blinking. no blows had been dealt, and she heard no pawsteps either approaching or running. rearing on her hind legs, the gray tabby shot an uppercut towards the area above and in front of her. her right forepaw hit the enemy's chin, and she felt their head be thrust sideways from her strike. quickly, she darted left, hooking the other cat's pelt on her left forepaw's unsheathed claws and pinned them to the ground by the shoulder.

"you must not be very good if you can't hold your own against a blind cat," jellyfishbright taunted.

"it's not my fault if we don't have enough members for a daylight onslaught on your camp," the other cat hissed back. from the reedy voice, jellyfishbright could tell that the cat was a female. "besides, rook seems to be doing okay against your friend."

jellyfishbright was caught off guard for a moment- she hadn't been paying attention to blizzardquill's fight. but a moment was enough for the enemy she-cat, and right as jellyfishbright had turned her senses upwards to the tree, the intruder shot out her hind legs and knock all the breath out of the blind tabby's chest.

the gray tabby fell upon the ground with a huff, and the enemy gave a yowl of triumph. she could hear blizzardquill's meow of alarm, and over that, a challenging caterwaul from a stranger who must've been rook.

another yowl from jellyfishbright's opponent, and the sound of paws hitting dry leaves. just before the rogue she-cat reached her, the gray tabby thrust her forepaws down on the ground, rearing up on her hind legs before crashing down on the other she-cat.

the two rolled over on the ground, locked in a tussle. each cat would only have the upper ground for a heartbeat before the other wrest control. both she-cats were, in fact, equal in strength, and jellyfishbright, although trained to be a warrior, didn't know where her enemy would strike next due to her blindness.

suddenly, the gray tabby she-cat was lifted away from the battle. a sharp pain blossomed from jellyfishbright's scruff, and the gray she-cat's heart raced as panic seized her. she didn't know what was going on. she was helpless.

a cry of joy from rook. jellyfishbright opened her jaws to scent, and more juniper smell flooded her mouth... juniper and blood. one or both of the other rogues had arrived.

jellyfishbright twisted her hind legs around and kicked, and her blow landed on a mass of knotted fur. a gasp of pain followed, and the new enemy's grip loosened. jellyfishbright curled in her hind legs and twisted and kicked again, this time aiming as high as possible. her claws scratched at the enemy's jaw, wrenching them open. the gray tabby dropped to the ground, rolled and came up on her paws.

a shriek exploded from the surrounding foliage. jellyfishbright opened her jaws again, trying to shake off the scent of the rogues and hoping that she smelled allies and not more enemies. that is clan scent! and it doesn't belong to blizzardquill. suddenly, worry pierced the gray she-cat. had the rest of the patrol been defeated? were they coming to her and blizzardquill's aid, or fleeing?

the scratching of claws on bark. the snarling of both of the rogues on the ground, followed by a muted thump. "nice!" jellyfishbright managed to shout, although she had no idea who she was speaking to.

"oh, come on, rook!" a tom's low, raspy voice exploded into jellyfishbright's ears. "I should have thought you could take two scrawny clan cats."

"sorry, antler," rook mumbled.

another shriek came from the above. "jellyfishbright!" jasminecrest's voice.

the cry roused jellyfishbright to her senses. of course, this was a golden opportunity, to attack while her enemies were arguing among themselves.

"where's frazil?" jellyfishbright lowered herself to the ground, pinpointing rook's voice. she didn't really care which cat she scored, she just wanted a solid hit.

"probably still finishing that tom in the forest." the high-pitched answer made jellyfishbright hesitate.

"that's impossible, tallow. i took him out myself," antler snapped gruffly. "that bee-brain probably got lost."

jellyfishbright thought she heard a grunt, but she was too shocked to care.

is ducksplash dead?

apparently, jasminecrest wasn't as shocked as jellyfishbright, because she gave a piercing screech and threw herself out of the tree. the outraged wails that ensued told jellyfishbright that jasminecrest had landed on antler. "you'll pay for what you've done," the blind she-cat heard her spit.

"blizzardquill, jellyfishbright, help her," a voice whispered in the gray she-cat's mind. "jasminecrest can't take three cats at once."

"i told jasminecrest to warn quietfern," blizzardquill mumbled. "if i'd known, i'd have sent her to ducksplash instead."

jellyfishbright shook herself to her senses. there's no time... mourning ducksplash would have to wait if she didn't want jasminecrest to die as well.

"well, you didn't know, blizzardquill, so pull your mouse-dung together," jellyfishbright hissed sharply. she crouched and sprang, letting out a caterwaul so jasminecrest would know she was coming and avoid her- hopefully.

the moment she felt fur, she slashed relentlessly, tearing away at the enemy's pelt. then she was batting at air. she swung one forepaw at eye level and swept the other close to the ground- a battle move she'd come up with herself- and clouted the cat on the head with her lower paw.

"you've gone too far, mange-pelts." rage filled jellyfishbright head to tail, and she pinned the enemy's head to the ground, swung round and began to pummel them with her hind paws. a grim satisfaction pulsed through her every moment a cry of pain was elicited. she could hear jasminecrest roaring as she switched to attacking tallow- the enemy she-cat's shrill shrieks gave away her identity- as jellyfishbright clawed at her previous target, antler. both jellyfishbright and jasminecrest seemed to be winning their battles.

claw sounds on a tree again. rook was climbing up blizzardquill's tree. "come on, frazil!" he meowed harshly. was he speaking from frustration, or was frazil here?

jellyfishbright raised her head as far from antler and his stench as she could and sniffed the air. more rogue scent. which meant that-

thump! someone collided with jellyfishbright, loosening her grip on antler. at the same time, antler bucked, throwing the gray she-cat backwards. the impact of landing knocked the breath out of her. in retrospect, jellyfishbright wondered how antler had retained his strength despite the numerous wounds she had inflicted.

"when i tackle frazil, go help blizzardquill; he's still immobilized, so chances are he'll just let rook take him down. antler'll be easy since you've pretty much defeated him."

only now did jellyfishbright register that someone was hiding in the nearby bushes- an ally. and she knew who it was... of course, upfront fighting was never quite her style. she preferred to slink undetected and strike when least expected.

the gray tabby shook her head to clear it, and picked up the scent of the nearing frazil. a yowl exploded from jellyfishbright's right, and quietfern latched onto frazil, who stopped short just before reaching jellyfishbright. without hesitating, jellyfishbright bounded towards the tree and leapt, sinking her claws in halfway up. she clambered to where blizzardquill was perched, letting his scent guide her.

"i want a rematch, mouse-heart! what's up with you?"

that was rook's meow.

"lay off of him!" jellyfishbright growled. her paw touched a solid branch, and she pulled herself onto it. from the strong cat scents emanating from the end, she knew it was the right one. "you fox-hearts killed ducksplash." jellyfishbright's lips curled into an unsettling sneer. "would you like me to return the favor?"

jellyfishbright almost laughed at the strong wave of fear that ensued from her threat. "you're apprehending a cat who isn't even fighting back," she continued. "i didn't think it was possible for any cat to be such a coward."

rook hissed in rage. "what, do you want to fight me instead? i'm not scared of you!"

jellyfishbright grinned. "i thought you'd never ask."

the blind she-cat lunged forward. rook, who must've figured that jellyfishbright would fall off, hadn't moved a muscle. it wasn't until jellyfishbright knocked him over that he came to his senses and started to pummel at her.

"blizzardquill, come on!" a twinge of annoyance pricked at jellyfishbright; she could tell that blizzardquill still hadn't moved. "do you want the rogues who killed ducksplash to win?" the second sentence was particularly pointedly said. the rogues killed ducksplash, not you, you stupid furball.

"jellyfishbright-"

"so help me, you crazy rat, before i tumble out of this tree!"

"stop talking!" rook snarled. he managed a clout over jellyfishbright's head, and she stumbled. her front claws hooked onto the bark, and she held on to the branch by her front paws. she lashed out with her hind paws, but they hit nothing.

"hopefully this'll teach you to hold your tongue," rook sneered.

jellyfishbright sank her claws as deep as she could into the bark; she couldn't strike out at rook without letting go. hopefully she had a strong enough hold on the bark to not fall out.

but the blow never came.

a battle cry sounded above the gray she-cat, and rook let out a surprised choke. the sounds of battle followed; cries of rage and pain played non-stop.

"hang in there, jellyfishbright!" blizzardquill's voice.

relief washed over jellyfishbright. "how are jasminecrest and quietfern doing?"

as if in answer, antler's yowl rose above the clamour. "retreat!"

rook snarled in frustration. "this isn't over."

"we'll see about that," blizzardquill retorted.

the noise of four sets of paws retreating away to who-knows-where filled the air for a moment. then jellyfishbright felt blizzardquill grab her by the scruff and haul her upwards.

"we won!" despite her tiredness, jasminecrest let out a soft cheer.

"but at a price," quietfern mewed grimly. "how am i supposed to explain to shimmergaze and briarhawk about ducksplash?"

the four clan cats said nothing for a moment. finally, jellyfishbright edged towards the tree trunk and carefully climbed down. "every warrior took an oath at their naming ceremony," she meowed to quietfern in an uncharacteristically soft tone, "that they would give their lives to defend their clan. no one would take a warrior's death away from your brother."

"now we need to take him back to camp. you know where ducksplash's hiding spot was, right? i'll go with you." jellyfishbright fixated her sightless eyes on quietfern.

quietfern was silent for a moment. when she spoke, it wasn't to answer to jellyfishbright. "i don't blame you, and neither would ducksplash, blizzardquill. he'll be fine with rootcrow and vixenspring."

blizzardquill choked as quietfern went on. "ducksplash would've hated it if you'd gone after him before me anyway. as for your offer, jellyfishbright," she added, "you may come with me."

jellyfishbright nodded. "jasminecrest, blizzardquill, why don't you go back first."

"of course. come on, blizzardquill." jellyfishbright waited until both their scents had faded away.

unlike jasminecrest, jellyfishbright didn't feel very triumphant over their victory. the numbness of losing a clanmate far outweighed the satisfaction of winning a battle. or maybe she just wanted to stay optimistic for blizzardquill's sake. either way, she didn't feel very happy... but ducksplash's death couldn't hold her back from her life. ducksplash wouldn't want that, and she decided, neither did she.

but a death wasn't that easy to get over. grief stung at her, but she immediately forced it away. pull yourself together and honor ducksplash's memory; don't mope around regretting his death. quietfern told blizzardquill to do as such. and just look at- erm, just think about what quietfern's got to be feeling. he was her brother.

"jellyfishbright?" quietfern mewed.

jellyfishbright blinked, bringing herself out of her thoughts. "yeah. let's go."

❦ winners ❦

first place: cinnamonbunns- with jellyfishbright

second place: Shizu_Mystia with jellyfishglow

third place: risen_phoenix with jellyfishwhisker