The Past Bites Back (CLOSED)

{Part 1}

Limping through the dimly lit territory, Cedarfur let out a low growl, his eyes to the ground as the sun rose behind him. Stupid back pains. If only he hadn’t gotten hurt from tripping over that log those many moons ago, then maybe things would be different. But alas, they weren't. He was still forever injured and forever useless. Fortunately, he had plenty to think about and distract him from the physical pain, although there was still plenty of mental pain he still needed to deal with.

With Ryecloud having disappeared and Smokepelt most likely going to join him in the Elders den, it saddened him to see his family growing apart and he’d never felt more old. Of course he was glad to have his nephew join him in the Elder’s den so that they could keep each other company, but it wasn’t easy being around the grey tom who used to have so much life, but is now emotionless. It felt like just yesterday that him and Icestorm were running through the field together, Ashstar was leader and Smokepelt was deputy. Oh how times had changes, for better, and at times, maybe even for worse.

For the past few moons or so, life had been filled with more than enough stress for the older tom to handle and it was starting to weigh him down. While he’d grown accustomed to the drama between WindClan and RiverClan, it still was a pain in the rear end to have to constantly listen to and watch. At times, he wondered if anyone in the two clans even had a brain, including the leaders. While he wasn’t a huge fan of her, he still respected Brindlestar, but letting something so trifling go on for so long… it was honestly a little troubling. If only her and Jaystar could get over their differences and settle the ongoing dispute once and for all. Everything about it was just… so annoying. He never really got very angry, but thinking about all of the trouble RiverClan had caused his clan over the countless moons he’d been alive just made his fur stand on edge. Walking nowhere in particular with bared teeth and tail lashing back and forth, Cedarfur gave his pelt a shake and let out a soft sigh, letting his tense muscles relax. He didn't need nor want to think about all of that right now. It’d work itself out someday, he just needed to keep waiting.

Slowly but surely making his way randomly around the outskirts of the snow covered territory where the cold nipped at his paw pads, the elder decided that he’d better had sit down before his back caused him even more trouble. Finding a small lump in the ground in an oddly familiar area, he thought nothing of it and slowly sat down, making sure not to strain anything. 'Ah, much better,' he thought to himself as he neatly curled his tail around his paws. The sun was still rising from behind Highstones, the moorland birds were beginning to sing their morning songs, and looking out onto the open territory, he let out a sigh. If only life could always be this peaceful. No clan tension, battles, death… only peace.

With only the soft breeze rustling the tall grass and the birds to listen to, Cedarfur started to grow tired the longer he sat, and wanting to close his eyes, he almost did so, but the tranquil quiet didn't last very long.

Out of nowhere, the sound of a dog's bark rang through his ears and the tom’s head shot up from where it had been hanging on his shoulders. What in StarClan's name…

Glancing around, Cedarfur peered through the tall grass and spotted a small white and ginger colored dog. It had its nose glued to the earth as it sniffed everything in its path and luckily didn't seem to have noticed him yet, but it’s presence sure was loud. The canine’s yaps and howls of excitement resonated over the moor, sending a flock of black birds frantically flapping their wings as they flew up and out of the grass. The dog was definitely smaller than others he’d encountered, but even so, it looked as if it was full of three times as much energy.

Slowly crouching down in hopes of looking like nothing more than a part of the slightly snow covered, grassy mound in which he was sitting on, Cedarfur watched watched for a few moments as it ran around in circles, searching for anything to get it's paws on. Hopefully a rabbit would catch the dog’s attention before his scent did, but as if the small beast had heard his thoughts, it stopped dead in its tracks and turned its head towards the tom, drool dripping down its chin and tongue flopping in and out of its mouth from breathing so heavily.

Barely breathing and not daring to move, both him and the dog locked eyes. 'Oh please StarClan, make the dog go away,' he prayed silently, but it was too late for prayers. Raising its muzzle to the sky, it let out a high pitched bay, its white tail rapidly wagging back and forth and its tongue lolling out the side of its mouth. Without any warning or time to slip away and escape, the dog darted towards him, much faster than any other dog he’d seen before.

Well, so much for peace and quiet.

{To be continued…}

{Part 2}

Unable to contain his fear, Cedarfur let out a surprised yowl and jumped up, ignoring the usual pain that would’ve consumed him when he got up that fast. It was obvious that he wasn't going to be able to outrun the little beast, much less fight it in his state, but maybe, just maybe, he could at least outsmart it.

Thinking fast, he ran down the miniature sized hill and into the tall grass, causing the dog to bark even more than before as it started gaining ground. What to do, what to do… darting glances from side to side, he looked for anything that he could use to his advantage and ran as fast as his long, sore legs could carry him.

Almost falling into a large enough hole for a cat to crawl through that sat wedged in the ground, he skidded to a halt and looked down. The tunnels? Was this where he was? Snapping his head around, the coarse white pelt of the dog was now visible through the moor grass as its small paws thumped against the earth and the elder concluded that this was his only viable option unless he wanted to lead the dog to camp.

Running into the dark tunnel, the chilly and damp air sent a shiver up his spine and he crouched down close to the floor, hoping to keep his back from scraping the quickly shortening roof. Continuing into the seemingly endless darkness, the burrow around him kept getting smaller and smaller, and trying to keep moving as fast as he could, it was now almost impossible for him to even see his paws. For a brief moment, he thought that he’d lost the dog, but a sudden bark that echoed off the walls made him jump. 'Don’t look back, don't look back,' he kept reminding himself as he continued to crawl through the stale and cramped space. If only he could find another tunnel entrance somewhere, then he would have a better chance of escaping.

Practically able to feel the dog's excited breath on his heels as he kept shuffling forwards, Cedarfur let out a yowl of surprise when his paw got caught on a thick root and he fell face first into the cold dirt. Trying to get up as fast as possible, he scrambled onto whatever clumps of dirt his claws could dig into and didn't realize what had happened until he finally made the mistake of looking behind him. The small white and brown dog had somehow managed to clamp its jaws down onto both of his legs that had been sprawled out behind him when he tripped, and the scent of blood now filled the once musty air. Letting out a screech of pain, the tom was about to try and turn around to swipe a paw at the canine’s face, but before he could do so, it began to drag him back up towards the entrance of the tunnels.

Digging his claws into the damp earth, his efforts were in vain as they got closer and closer to the light at the end of the tunnel. No, no, no...this couldn't be the end, not like this! There was so much he still wanted to do! He hadn’t gotten to wish the younger members of the clan good luck on their journeys through warriorhood, or give more advice and knowledge to the curious kits. He knew that this fateful event could mean that he would get to see his brother and beloved daughter, Spiderfur, but while he yearned to see them again, he wasn’t ready, not yet anyway. He had to get out of here and live another day. At least long enough to complete his rightful time here on earth before he was sent to StarClan.

Unfortunately, as he kept trying to wriggle his way out of the dog’s grasp as the two of them neared the opening, he soon realized that there wasn't really any use in doing so, seeing that the dog was keeping a tight hold on his legs and was adamant on dragging him out. 'StarClan, please have mercy on me!' the elder begged, wincing at the pain and gritting his teeth, his strength slowly yet surely depleting. With his chances of running away were out of the picture, maybe he’d be able to fight the dog off when they got out of the suffocating tunnels.

Deciding it was best to save his energy, Cedarfur fell limp in hopes of regaining some strength. Just a little longer and he'd be able to send this dog howling over the hills, but as the two of them neared the entrance of the tunnel, low, blood curdling bellows of what sounded like more dogs were soon audible, and his stomach dropped. This dog… wasn't alone?

Now able to see their smaller comrade dragging the cat out of the tunnel that they hadn't been able to fit into early, their excited yips and barks grew more sporadic, which began to make the small dog grow antsy, but even so, it kept shuffling its way backwards, bringing his catch closer and closer to its untimely demise.

{To be continued…}

{Part 3}

Now that he knew there wasn’t just one dog that he’d have to fight off, an even greater panic set in, and Cedarfur’s breathing grew even more rapid and unsteady as his heart began to race. He wasn’t going to be able to fight off three of them, so what in the world was he supposed to do?

Reaching the end of the tunnel, the small dog didn’t let go of the tom’s legs and dragged the cat into the clearing, making sure he wouldn’t be able to flee back into the hold that they’d just crawled out of. Letting go of now crippled feline, it took a step back to stare at its catch, as if he was proud of what he’d caught.

With his legs now immobile, Cedarfur heaved himself off the ground with his front legs and looked around, squinting his eyes from loose dirt that had fallen down onto him while in the tunnel. Standing with wagging tails and lolling tongues, two larger dogs with abnormally floppy facial skin and droopy ears now stood next to the smaller dog, practically jumping up and down from anticipation.

This was it. Either death by dogs or somehow miraculously saved by a passing clan-mate. Only StarClan could choose his fate, and sadly, he admitted to not fully trusting their decisions.
Letting out a growl from deep in his throat, Cedarfur unsheathed his claws and waited for the dogs to attack. If this was the end of the road, then he wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

Without any warning, one of the larger dogs leapt forward and snapped its jaws at the tom’s side. Letting out a hiss, he slashed a pawful of sharp claws at the dog’s muzzle and luck must have been on his side, for the dog wasn’t ready for his counter attack and jumped backwards, barking in pain as blood dripped from its flabby mouth. So far so good. If he could just hold them off for a little longer, maybe some-cat would hear the commotion.

While he’d been able to take a blow at one of the larger dogs, the other two weren’t going to let a half limp cat get the best of them.

Lunging towards him, the other large canine took Cedarfur by surprise and successfully grabbed hold of the cat’s scruff, but not in the way that a mother-cat would. Instead, the dog had its jaws completely locked around Cedarfur’s entire neck and the scent of warm blood oozing from his veins made him want to vomit. At this point, feeling any pain was beyond him as the world seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer. This was it. This was the end, he was sure of it.

With the warm, metallic taste of blood motivating it even more, the dog thrashed Cedarfur around as if he was nothing more than one of it’s rope toys back home. After a few moments of watching in anticipation, the other large dog couldn’t take it any longer and jumping towards his accomplice, grabbing hold of the back side of the cat. With one dog ahold of his neck and the other onto his rump, both pulling in opposite directions, Cedarfur couldn’t help but let out screams of agony as sharp teeth dug into his flesh. Blood dripped down into his eyes, stained his pelt, and his body was almost to the point where it felt numb instead of full of pain. This was it, in a few moments, it would all be over, and who knew, maybe at this point him going was the best option. He’d get to reunite with Icestorm, Ashstar, Spiderfur… he would be able to run in the fields of StarClan, forever young and with his kin.

Clenching his jaw and closing his eyes, he let his mind go blank, trying his hardest to forget about the excruciating pain his body was in. But instead of ripping him apart, the dog’s attention snapped around in a different direction, their ears perked and tails still wagging. Both dogs letting go of Cedarfur, the elder flopped to the ground with a thud, the dusty earth below him covered in his crimson blood. Eyes squinted and breathing heavy, he watched as the three dogs bounded off through the tall grass, most likely back to their Twoleg, and just like that it was over, and Cedarfur’s vision was covered in darkness.

Waiting for himself to be carried off to StarClan, nothing happened, and instead of opening his eyes to the starry plains above, there was only darkness. His body felt like it was being run over by a hundred monsters, which confused him even more, seeing as though all of his wounds should’ve disappeared. Did he not make it to StarClan? No… that couldn’t have been it, something was wrong. He hadn’t died, he was still alive. But why weren’t his eyes opening? Beginning to panic, he tried his hardest to open his eyes, and after a few moments of struggling, they finally opened, and as if he’d been hit with a wave of rushing water, the pain that he’d felt sunk in once more.

Letting out a screech of agony, the elder laid limp on the ground and began gasping for air. Every breath felt as if he was lifting the weight of the entire sky off his side and his vision stayed blurry from passing out. He never thought such pain could be felt and personally wished that the dogs had finished him then and there.

Not daring to move anything and scared to look back at the damage that had been done, he continued to lay on the ground, his breathing becoming fainter at every breath. ’Why StarClan… why would you do such a thing to me,’ he wanted to cry out, tears falling down his blood stained face. He’d been nothing but faithful to them his entire life and this is how he was going die? Some cats they were.

{To be continued…}

{Part 4}

Within seconds of his gasping for air, everything felt hot and he felt his mind begin to wander. So this is what dying felt like. Through all the pain he’d felt just moments ago, it had all ebbed away and only feeling a stifling heat, Cedarfur’s soul began to fade away from the land of the living.

After a few moments of numbing darkness and silence, the tom opened his eyes, but instead of awakening to watch as dogs ripped him apart, he awoke to the sound of a soft breeze. Was he in… StarClan?

Standing up with a jolt, Cedarfur looked around. Sure enough, he stood in a starlit field that held a patch of trees in the distance. Looking down to his paws, his pelt was also covered in stars, which made it obvious that he’d died. Glancing around, in awe at the spectacle that StarClan was, it was everything he’d ever dreamed of. He was no longer plagued with constant pain in his back, no more fearing for his life every day; all his worries were gone. Of course, he’d dearly miss his family, especially Spiderfur, but now that he was here, it meant that he could finally reunite with...

Interrupting his erotic train of thought, the sounds of pawsteps caught his attention. Whipping his head around, his heart practically dropped out of his chest. In front of him stood a light grey tabby with a soft smile on his face, and although it’d been ages since the two of them had seen each other, Cedarfur had no trouble recognizing his own sibling.

"I-Icestorm," Cedarfur stuttered with tears welling in his eyes as he took a step, but before he could move any further, his brother walked forward and rested his grey head on his shoulder.

"Welcome, brother," the warrior purred and closed his eyes as the two of them embraced each other for the first time in moons.

For as long as he could remember, Cedarfur and his family had been cursed by the jaws of savage dogs, and while the past had bitten back and finally got the best of him, being here with his brother was worth the loss of his life.

{End of solo}