Talked Down On (short story)
“Ow!” Gorseheart complained when his mate, Emberdawn, licked at the scratch between his eyes.
“Oh come now, it’s not that deep,” she responded, but stopped and sat back. “Tell me again how a kittypet got the jump on you.”
Gorseheart grumbled, rubbing at the scratch. “He didn’t ‘get the jump’ on me. I knew where he was, he was just too fast.” The cut wasn’t at all deep. Firejay didn’t even need to see it, but that’s not what bothered Gorseheart. He let his good nature get the best of him. Because of that, he was a warrior that had a scar from a kittypet who likely never hunted a day in its life.
“Too fast for a warrior?”
“I was trying to be nice!” Gorseheart was embarrassed. “I suppose this is what I get for not wanting a defenseless cat to be chewed out by Blight. I can’t help but wish I didn’t,” he muttered.
“Not that defenseless,” Emberdawn observed. Gorseheart grouched agreement.
“My Halflight could have chased that kittypet straight through the hills!”
As though the voice directly affected him–maybe it did–Gorseheart’s shoulders slouched and he forced himself to hold back a sigh. Emberdawn seemed to have a similar reaction, throat tight as she responded to Primrosefur that there weren’t any hills nearby.
“That’s the point, dearie!” Primrosefur exclaimed in her usual happy manner.
Beside her was her mate and Gorseheart’s best friend, who at her praise, held his chin high. “Really, Gorseheart,” he said matter-of-factly, “a Thunderclan warrior should be able to chase off a feeble kittypet.”
Gorseheart knew that his friend only wanted to sound tough around the she-cats, but that didn’t stop him from gritting his teeth. He didn’t need his embarrassment to get any worse. You would have lost twice as many whiskers before knowing anyone was nearby. He bit the retort hard on his tongue. He was better than getting caught up in an argument.
But Emberdawn wasn’t so happy with a silent response. “Should a Thunderclan warrior also get their head stuck in a tree?” she asked, “or were you simply trying to become a squirrel two days ago?”
Halflight opened his mouth to respond, closed it, opened it, then closed it again. He faked a chuckle. “That was on purpose.”
“Mm-hm,” Emberdawn all but snorted. “So the scraps you got were purposefully gained. Gorseheart’s wasn’t.”
“Right,” Halflight agreed, still holding his chin up, though it was difficult with Primrosefur pressing against him.
Emberdawn licked her paw, dragging it over the back of her ear. “A Thunderclan warrior should know not to look for senseless injuries.”
Halflight scoffed. “Clearly, you can’t see the difference.”
“Don’t bother with them, honeybee,” Primrosefur told him, delight dropping a beat and fur pricking defensively. “You already put up with so much!”
Oh yes, so much sleeping, complaining, and losing hunts. “You’re right,” Gorseheart seized the chance. “You should get some rest after working so hard for the Clan, Halflight.”
Halflight didn’t think for a second to refuse. “Perhaps I should,” he responded brightly. “I’m sure the Clan can remain standing for a day without me.”
Thankfully, he and Primrosefur padded away, tails intertwined as they padded to the Warriors’ den, then fell crestfallenly when Blightstar intercepted them to send Halflight out on a patrol.
“You shouldn’t let him walk all over you,” Emberdawn sighed now that they were out of earshot. “He’s a pathetic little–”
“He’s still my friend,” Gorseheart cut in sharply. He may be mad with Halflight, but that didn’t give anyone, even Emberdawn, the right to call him pathetic. “And he doesn’t walk all over me.” That was true. Although Halflight had a tendency to hold himself in high regard, he only ever spoke in such a haughty way when Primrosefur was nearby, riling his pride up with her constant praise. Other than that, he and Gorseheart got along just as fine as any other friends do.
Emberdawn didn’t look convinced. “That tom could do with one or two cuffs on his ears. You should have at least said something while he was putting you down.”
“Maybe I should have,” Gorseheart mumbled. Great, now he had two things to be embarrassed about: getting scratched by a kittypet and talked down to about it without defending himself.
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--Before Gorseheart turned evil, he was very kind, which tended to mean holding back retorts and defending those that hurt him. We’ll see that that definitely won’t last!
--Halflight and Primrosefur are the kind of couple that uses cringy nicknames for each other.
