Eyes in the Moonlight

The evening wasn't too warm, but she felt as if the dark air was trapping her, pressing in. Her paws carried her silently out of camp, along a random path through the pine forest. So much had happened recently. Emberspark was long dead, along with her parents, and her brother Frozenpaw was lying in the medicine den, recovering from possibly fatal wounds. He had told her the story of what happened to them in the short crossover periods where he was awake and she was in the medicine den, sitting with him to keep him company. A few days after Brighteye’s warrior ceremony, Irispetal, Greysky and Frozenpaw had been hunting together. She remembered refusing to go with them, instead going hunting by herself, but she wished she’d been there. She could have made sure Frozenpaw hadn’t been hurt. Their patrol had been attacked by two foxes deep into the territory and her parents had tried to fight them off. Frozenpaw’s leg had been severely injured and their parents had told him to hide, so he hid in the hollow roots of a tree, hoping for the best. The foxes had then overpowered them, instantly killing her father, with her mother dying soon after from the wounds. Frozenpaw looked so small in his nest now, curled up in a ball, his fur slick with ointments, squirming from the nightmares that surrounded him whenever he slept.

It was strange going through her warrior ceremony without a mentor by her side. He hadn't been there to congratulate her, to give her advice. They had never had particular close, but she missed his cheery outlook on everything - it was a refreshing change from the coldness of most of her family. But now he was gone, just like her parents. She was also annoyed that her grandparents showed clear lack of grief at the loss of their son. Her own emotions weren't always the clearest, but she had been behaving differently since they had joined StarClan. Icegaze and Frostflower seemed immune to any emotion except anger or disappointment to her, often both at the same time. What had Icegaze made clear at her warrior ceremony? Disappointment. No pride, no happiness, just disappointment in her for it not happening sooner. Their stiff nature was so pressed on to Brighteye that sometimes she wondered whether she would be different if she raised by someone else. Probably.., she thought, if my parents hadn't been so busy fussing over Frozenkit, then Frozenpaw, just because he's a bit smaller than me, I would have been different, if they actually tried to raise me as well. But there gone now... I can't be angry at them anymore, there's nothing they can do to change what they did in the past. Her eyes threatened to water and she shook her head, realising that she had been walking so slowly that she was only a few fox-lengths from the camp’s entrance. Paws starting to move faster, she tried to think about something else.

Even Ebonysong and her were growing further apart, but it was something that was purely Brighteye's fault. She was still good friends with Mistypaw but now with one of them a warrior, they'd have less time together. Frozenpaw was too fragile (especially now) to vent her worries to, and him, Mistypaw and Ebonysong were the only cats she would give such personal information. I'm just going to have to do what I do best, she thought, anything I do by myself.

She found herself in the Pine Grove, the place where she had her first hunting session with Emberspark, something that now felt like it happened so long ago. That was the closest she had ever been to carefree, but with her grandparents' standards, it was the last time she felt free of worries and expectations. It was because she knew what was going to happen. She knew she would catch the injured frog, that Emberspark would praise her. Now almost everything felt out of her control. It was also the same place she had lost the battle with the tabby rouge. She had been completely beaten. By a kit. She was probably 5-6 moons at most, yet her battle skills were higher than Brightpaw's at the time. The white warrior longed for a rematch, a chance to make her pay. Just thinking about it, she felt her scar that was left by the fight prickle. That rouge deserved to learn how to respect ShadowClan. Despite everything, it was still her favourite place, especially at night.

Now that her sadness and confusion had been balanced with anger, Brighteye's felt clearer and lighter, with no need to hang it. She should probably hunt. She wasn't contributing in any way at the moment, standing in the middle of a forest clearing bathed in moonlight. Carefully, she lifted her nose to the air and opened her maw slightly to catch even the faintest whiff of prey. As her old mentor had rightly said, prey was usually plentiful in this part of the forest and she soon scented a songbird. Moments later, she spotted it pecking at the earth, searching for a meal. She dropped into a hunting crouch, ensured all her limbs were in the right place, and slowly crept forward, one foot at a time. 


The bird turned its head towards her as she crushed a twig with her back foot. It flew away into a tree before she could even get a clumsy pounce onto it. A kit mistake. I didn't even do that on my first hunt. She cursed the bird under her breath, then turned to find other prey. If only I hadn't been so distracted... Ah well, no use crying over lost prey. 
Instead, she scented a toad. Not the nicest to eat, but it was better than arriving back at camp with nothing. Like she had done many times before, she located the spot of the prey and crept forwards in the hunting crouch. One step, Two steps, Three. As soon as she was close enough, she pounced forward and landed neatly with her paws around the toad Killing it with one swift bite, she searched for a hole to burry it in. As the area was so well-hunted, there were many holes that had already been created, so she dropped her catch in small hollow under a tree. One pice of prey had been caught, but that would likely only feed one cat, and so more had to be hunted.

Straying to the edge of the clearing, she continued to hunt until she had an ample pile of prey. She had been out for a long time, but she had caught a lot of prey, so it didn't matter. It was a fair amount - she would definitely have to do two trips to camp to carry it all. Walking back with her first lot, she let her mind wander again. This trip was good to think things over, she thought, to organise my thoughts more and help me focus. It doesn't fix much though... I've still lost what I've lost, and I can't go back and change the past now. It was enough though. I can just try and pretend it never happened once Frozenpaw gets better. Yes, just try and clear it from my memories. It would be impossible, however, to eradicate all the images in her mind of the ones she'd lost: training with Emberspark, playing with her father and brother as a kit and being pressed against her mother's warm belly in the nursery, safe and warm, along with so much else.

One day, even if it is in the far future, everything might be better. I just need to wait for it...