Frigid Flame

The page for Destroyed Love, which used to be called Ripples of Love but has had a name change.

Prolouge
Dewkit was out of camp. Deaf, the kit padded along the well-trodden path to the Moonpool, not hearing the faint echoes of voices, nor the breeze whispering. Occasionally, he paused to sniff a fern, or maybe a bush, but he never stopped for long. He didn’t feel any guilt that he’d left Ashkit and Tigerkit in the nursery. They wouldn’t understand. The small kit just knew he had to go here… it was important. He didn’t know why, but he got the vibe that it was. It felt like he was being pulled to the Moonpool. This was the first time he’d left camp before, but he wasn’t uncertain about what he was doing, like most kits who disobeyed instructions and left. He just allowed in paws to slip into bigger, older pawprints, and continued on. He didn’t seem to feel the grime digging into his pads, either. If he did, he didn’t show it. His face was perfectly expressionless. Moonlight shone onto his sleek, light gray and white tabby pelt. His amber eyes gleamed, but not with any real feeling. They just shimmered full of nothing. A shadow seemed to be forever cast over those amber eyes, though.

Soon enough, he reached the sparkling pool. The water gently rippled, and looking down, he could see the quarter moon and stars twinkling. Dewkit inhaled the sweet smell of wildflowers before he meowed, “StarClan? Will I ever be a warrior? Tell me!” He gazed down into the pool, but the stars were meaningless. The chilly breeze nipped at Dewkit, but he wrapped his fluffy tail over his paws and waited. No reply. Or maybe there was, he just couldn’t hear it. Fury raged in Dewkit like a flame at the thought that maybe he just couldn’t hear the answer. But the kit remained calm on the outside. Tenderly, he lifted a feather soft, gray and white paw, and daintily put it in the water. It was ice-cold, but he didn’t react to it. Dewkit never really did react to anything. He waited. Nothing. He shook his paw dry and plunged his muzzle in. He was tossed in a dream.

A river bubbled nearby. Trees were alive and high up. There were brambles, and frost gently lined everything. Dewkit was surprised to find he still heard nothing. Two starry cats were in front of him. One was a dark tabby, the other snow white. The tabby opened his jaws, and very faintly, Dewkit heard, “Hello, Dewkit. You shouldn’t be here.” Dewkit was shocked to find he could hear in dreams, though only barely. “Who are you?” The small kit asked. “I am Bramblestar. You must’ve heard of me. This here is Snowkit. He was also deaf, though in StarClan he can hear.” Dewkit strained to hear the voices. “Bramblestar!” He breathed. “Can I ever become a warrior, Bramblestar?” The massive tabby tom paused before answering, “No.” Dewkit felt the world shatter in pieces. “I’m not being a medicine cat!” He hissed. Rage seethed through him, reaching every limb and muscle. Snowkit padded up. “Of course you’re not, Dewkit. Jayfeather has Rainpaw for that.” Dewkit yowled furiously, “Are you saying I’ll be a kit forever? That my Clan has no spot for me? That I’m just an extra mouth to them?” Bramblestar and Snowkit exchanged glances. “Dewkit, your Clan will always have a place for you,” Snowkit mewed. The final words Dewkit heard were, “Flames of terror will shake the world, and two will make the final stand.”

Chapter One
"You Clan will always have a place for you." Those words keep echoing in my head. The worst thing is, there isn’t a speck of truth in them, and Snowkit and Bramblestar know it. They lied to me when they knew I’m the right one. I really am just a burden, not a cat ThunderClan can use or be proud of. I won’t be able to help them in any sort of way, unlike Jayfeather.

That’s all I can think of as I watch Cherryfall groom Tigerkit and Ashkit, my littermates. She doesn’t bother with me, just lets me sit in the mossy nest in the corner. Of course, they’re about to be apprenticed, quite obviously, while I stay a kit. It’s just not fair! I didn’t ask to be deaf! Anger begins to flare in my heart, almost overtaking me, but I try to stomp it out. It doesn’t fully work, and just a flickering flame remains.

Cats think the only pain is from battle. Well, that’s not true, either. Being an outcast can hurt, too. Something every cat in all the Clans has shared I can’t. And that’s not mentioning the fact they don’t know what to do with me. They can’t murmur a few sympathetic words in my hear, so they just ignore me because it’s awkward being around me, an outcast, different from them. And that causes floods of pain.

All the cats are gathered beneath Highledge. Ivystar must have made the call, judging how they instantly stopped what they were doing to gather. Still sulky, I sit just barely outside the nursery, huddled over, trying not to be noticed. Ivystar’s jaws move without making a sound as Ashkit stands in front of her, his head held high .His dark gray fur is plastered down, thanks to Cherryfall’s grooming, making him look extra thin. His amber eyes are shining with pride as he listens to whatever Ivystar is saying. I can’t help but think that should be me up there with him and Tigerkit. Eventually, the dark gray kit touches noses with Lilyheart, who I guess is his mentor. With a pang of grief, I wonder who my mentor would have been. What I would’ve became. Maybe a leader everybody would remember… But that isn’t ever going to happen.

I’m done. Too jealous of them. Tigerkit is up there, now alone, but I’m not going to watch her be apprenticed while I remain what I’ve always been: a kit. With that, I get up and creep along the dens to the thorn tunnel. Whenever I tried to go out before, they stopped me, meaning kits probably aren’t allowed to go out. Well, if I’m going to be a kit forever, it doesn’t matter! They can’t punish me, because I wouldn’t hear a single bit of the punishment. They can’t contact me at all. I charge through, with anger slowly creeping its way into my thoughts, like a fox.

The thorns stab at my pelt, managing to get a few drops of blood out of me, but I don’t care. I just keep on pushing through, fully determined. When I get out, I see the forest they’d hidden from me for so long… Snow is gently sitting on everything, and I can only imagine what it looks like in new-leaf- ferns growing around the paths, the rocky, pebble filled shore, the fresh scent of the sky blue water, and the trees, stretched way up, looking as if they touch the sky with their broad, beautiful branches reaching up… With that image filling my mind, I begin to run, flicking snow up behind me, to the lake. I have to discover this, even if it’s on my own, because they aren’t going to show me.

I skid to a halt on the shore. Pebbles jab at my pads, hardly doing a thing. Stepping a bit closer, I can see the lake is frozen over. Tenderly, I rest a paw on it, not putting any weight down. I wince slightly. It’s ice cold, so cold I can barely keep my paw on it. But it doesn’t break, though it looks so fragile. After this test, I step fully on. At first, I don’t put all my weight down, just to make sure. I slide a little, but I’m not scared. It’s ice, and of course it’ll be a bit slippery. Now, I put my full weight on my paws. It’s not cracking. I race toward the middle of the lake, losing my balance a few times, but quickly regaining it. This is easy! Now I’m a the middle of the lake, right near the gathering island. The ice here looks oddly bluer. Ignoring that, I step on it to see if it’s any different. Horror strikes me, and I can’t hear myself as I yowl out, “Help!” The ice splits, and I fall into the deep, bubbling, water, with terror striking my heart. The last thing I see before I’m engulfed in the frigid water is the sky, dark and stormy.

The next chapters will be longer! <3