Hour of Execution.

"What is the matter?" he says, the tones of concern in his voice are so obvious that even he hears them and cringes slightly. "You don't...seem like yourself."

She bristles at his comment. Of course she wasn't feeling herself! The last time she spoke to him was when he was threatening to burn her and her brothers to death! And her life was turned upside down as she crumbled under the pressure of the secret Squirrelflight revealed, the one that Ashfur was going to tell, to everyone at the gathering. She would be ruined, her family disgraced, ThunderClan mocked. So she had to silence him, before this happened.

"And why should I...look myself?" she mews curtly.

Ashfur is a little taken aback. What happened to the affection that used to ring in her voice when she spoke to him? What happened to the feeling that they both shared? Why did it seem as if something had broken between them? Oh...but of course. She was still sore about the other night... Ashfur knew that she had reason to be, but couldn't she tell that he was not going to let her die? That he was going to climb up the overhanging tree after he dispatched Squirrelflight and save her and maybe her brothers if they swore to secrecy?