I sniffed the fox den, the scent of milk wafting out. I leaned in and grabbed the young cub, barely old enough to eat meat. Lemonclaw followed me as I took the young male fox out of sight, desperate not to let it fall dead by the claws of a warrior. Lionblaze growled at me about being a traitor, and Ravenflight followed. "That fox will grow up to kill us," Ravenflight snarled. "just KILL it!" Me and Lemonclaw protested, because we could train him. I have fox blood. I've lived with them for time. It wasn't impossible. But soon, my sister turned on me, echoing Lionblaze and Ravenflight's words as me and Lemonclaw tried to protest. We took the cub off ThunderClan territory, but they still spat those venomous words at us. Was protecting the innocent so bad? Finally, Lionblaze lunged at the young fox, aiming his sharp teeth at his neck. I didn't want to see a pointless death. I ran between the two, Lionblaze's teeth digging into my neck instead of the fox's. Except he didn't let go. The fox was paralyzed, rooted to the spot. "See, little cub?" I rasped. "So much blood has been spilled just for you to live." Lemonclaw guided him away, then padded behind him, ensuring safety from the distance she was from him. Two cats emerged from the shadows- Huntsurf and Greystripe. My sister, Aster, looked at me with sad eyes. "Why are you like this, Mapleshade?" she whispered. "She's protecting the cub because her mate is exiled, so she's keeping the cub safe," Huntsurf mewed quietly. I wanted to protest, but maybe that was true. And frankly, I didn't care who I was hurting at that moment. All I cared about was that cub's safety. The blood poured from my neck, and my vision started to blur. Greystripe darted after the cub, killing him quickly. I let out a long yowl, causing the blood to fall faster, and the images grew more blurred. Tears filled my eyes without me knowing, dripping down my face. All this blood...was wasted. Then my world went black. I didn't die, but I wish I had. I felt horrible, and StarClan made nothing take the pain away. But hey, I had never believed in them. Maybe this was payback? But my neck still aches, and I'm a traitor in many's eyes.