Death of a Flower (CLOSED)

Bear stalked through the edges of the marshes of Shadowclan once more. The brown tom did not dare to venture into the heart of any territory by himself. However, he had grown increasingly comfortable when he took his daily walk along the clan borders. Soon this will all be mine, He reminded himself once more with a satisfied hiss. Especially with the growing number of kits, it would not be long before they had enough numbers to truly overtake the clans. Mud squished underneath his paws uncomfortably. If Bear did not have the goal of claiming the whole forest, he probably would have left Shadowclan alone. Why Wolffang ever liked this territory would always escape him.

"But you will fall as well..." He promised lowly into the light wind. The scent of a Shadowclan cat made his fur stand up. To his relief, it was only one she-cat. The tom broke through the cover of the undergrowth to face her. He would never let any opportunity to add more numbers to his group, "Try to run and I will kill you."

Tigerflower was stalking a toad, taking each step gracefully and quietly, preparing to launch herself at her prey. Her head shot up when the rogue tom intruded on her, scaring away the toad and threatening her. Her claws slid from their sheathes and dug into the ground, and the fur along her spine and haunches raised aggressively. "Run, you coward? I'll cut you down where you stand for trespassing on ShadowClan land and threatening a member!" The warrior growled through bared teeth. She lunged at the rogue tom, her front claws catching his muzzle and chest and tearing fur. She wasn't about to let this random cat push her around.

Bear leaped backwards with a snarl. He had not expected the she-cat to attack back so ferociously. Warm blood welled up instantly from her attack. It didn't slow down the muscular tom at all though. For the past few moons his days had been filled with fights. There was rarely a time his pelt didn't have an open wound at some point on it. Clearly, this Shadowclan warrior was not going to come with him. That meant he would not let her live through the night. The rogue lashed back out at her without any restraint.

"You stupid, star-gazing, she-cat," He spat as his claws tore into her pelt. There was a satisfying sound as his claws ripped out some of the fur on her side. The tom tried to knock her feet out from underneath him in order to get the advantage.

Screeches of pain filled the air as he ripped out clots of her tabby fur, using his superior strength to get the better of her. Tigerflower gasped in pain and stumbled, regretting all the moons she had wasted in the nursery instead of training with the rest of the warriors. She used to be a terrifyingly strong fighter, but it seemed to have faded away with her time with the kits. It was in this moment, her legs tangled with his and her shoulder meeting the marshy surface of the ground, that she realized this was a fight to the death that was swiftly coming to an end. Her sharp green eyes stared up at him, a strong glare of hatred boring into the rogue. He wouldn't get away with this.

"Clearly you're going to be as stubborn as the precious Shadowclan medicine cat I took. Except with her, I restrained the kill," He snarled into Tigerflower's ear once he had her pinned firmly to the ground. It was obvious he had the upper hand at this point. Despite the older cat's efforts, Bear's muscle and youth won out. There was a quick, triumphant yowl that broke from his throat. Even if any cat heard, they were close to the border. And he had plans to leave as soon as this was over.

"Goodbye, forest cat," Would be the last thing she heard. The rogue leader's jagged teeth moved over her throat and sunk in. Instantly, blood began pouring from the wound. He didn't release right away either, but rather let the red, hot liquid flow over his paws.

Tigerflower's shriek was cut off by a gurgle of blood. Her mind raced with thoughts of the missing medicine cat. Honeydrop's out there! Starclan protect her... She desperately wanted to hiss something back, to let him know that Shadowclan and Starclan would punish him severely for his wrongdoing, but the bubbling blood in her throat and the lack of air in her lungs prevented her from doing much more than gasping and choking. Her limbs, previously jerking and kicking violently, began to stiffen and the warrior's sight started fading. Visions of her kithood, falling in love with Kestrelstorm, and the memories of her sweet kits began to filter through her brain until the milky, comforting scent of her mother slowly washed out the smell of her own blood and fear. Tigerflower's eyes dulled, staring into a great distance unseen by the living.

Bear watched with satisfaction as the life drained out of the Shadowclan warrior. If she hadn't been so stupid to defy him, she would still be alive right now. He shrugged at the scene before him. For the past couple moons he had simply allowed the blood to stain his claws. Tigerflower's blood would only add to the constant red that covered his paws. To him, she was just another kill. The muscular tom glanced around briefly before slipping into the shadows. Within moments, he had fled the territory, leaving her stilled pelt alone in the marshes.