Wings of the Suddenly Flight-less
Silverfeather flew gracefully, the scent of her fresh-kill in her jaws making her mouth water. She swooped and dived though the white, floating water-vapor. Her soft-blue pelt blended with the clear sky, and her grey-white wings with the fluffy clouds. She was approaching her camp, settled on a narrow gorge next to a surrounding forest. On the other side of the camp was a fast-moving river in a small canyon. The cats of Bluebirdclan didn't have to worry about falling and drowning though; they would just open their wings and fly back up. Some daredevils cliff-dived, playing 'chicken' and seeing who could get closest to the water. Silverfeather had played a few times, but she never got close to the water like the others did. She stopped about 5 wing-lengths away; others came so close, their whiskers grazed the water's delicate surface.
She was never that brave, unless it came to battle. Seeing her approaching landing strip, she tucked her wings in and soared down, spreading her wings to slow herself down. She hit the ground running, slowing to a trot. Folding her wings, she walked to the fresh-kill pile and deposited her catch.
Something wasn't quite right. Flicking her ears, she heard something…different. Usually the gorge was pretty quiet, but she heard the cats of her clan very clearly, as if they were all speaking at once. She dashed up the trail, which was located on the side facing the gorge. Some cats leaped as she passed, playing the chicken game.
As she raced into the clearing, she saw her clan gathered, looking up at Cliffrock. She moved her gaze toward Bluestar, a handsome grey tom with blue-grey wings. Beside him sat an unusual tom, unusual for Bluebird clan. He had a black pelt with dark grey wings. The tom looked over the gathered bird-cats, when his amber eyes settled on Silverfeather. She felt her feathers ruffle as she shrank at his cold stare before he flashed a grin in her direction. That was when Bluestar spoke.
"Bird-cats of Bluebirdclan! We have a new member joining us. His name is Firefeather, and I want you to welcome him into the clan with open wings."
Silverfeather expected the clan to reject the odd looking cat, but stood in shock when cheers and yowls of happiness rose up. Bluestar dismissed the clan, and Firefeather flew down from Cliffrock, landing in front of the blue she-cat.
"Hey. I'm Firefeather. Who are you?" He folded his grey wings into his body, looking at the she-cat with no hostility in his eyes like before.
"Um," she stammered, "I'm, um, Silverfeather. Nice to m-meet you." She dipped her head. "Would you li-like a tour of the ter-territory?"
He grinned. "How about tonight? That way, we can hunt and more prey will be out."
Frowning, she replied, "Oh. Ok. Yeah, sure. Tonight."
He smiles. "Tonight."
Silverfeather is woken by a nudging paw. She blinks, grumbling. The black tom had stayed true to his word. "Come on, Silverfeather. Time to go."
She nodded, getting to her paws. They walked out of camp toward the landing strip. Unfolding her wings, she took a running start and jumped. They caught an air current that sent her upward. She waited for Firefeather to take off and she flew toward the forest. Suddenly, she ran into something she couldn't see. It took her a moment to realize it was Firefeather. He had flown ahead of her.
She looked into his amber eyes, the only thing she could see in the dark night, with her icy brown ones. "What is it, Firefeather? I'm showing you the hunting territory!"
He blinked. "I know, but can we see the gorge first? I saw some cats jumping off earlier and I want to check it out."
She sighed. "Fine, and then we'll hunt."
The two cats turned at flew toward the sound of rumbling water. When they landed, they felt the cold, hard surface of slick rock. They had arrived further down the cliff, still staying high above the crashing currents below, but lower than the trail leading to camp.
Firefeather peered over the ledge. Before he looked too far and almost fell, she grabbed him with her tail, flapping her wings hard to yank him back. He yelped, turning on her. "What was that for?"
"I didn't know that was the thank you for saving your life!" she hissed at him. "Mouse-brain, didn't know you if you got your wings wet, you can't fly out of there!"
He looked away, upset, for a second, then became his happy, cheerful mood again. "Hey! We should play 'chicken'! That way, I learn how to fly in the gorge!" He then added, "and to prove that I'm a better flyer than you!"
Never backing down from a challenge, she sneered. "Yeah? You think so? I've played this game way to many times. You can't beat me! I get so close, my whiskers hit the water!" What the newcomer didn't know won't hurt him she thought.
He grinned, unfolding his grey wings, which Silverfeather could barely make the outline of in the dark. She did the same, and counted down. "3…2…1!" They both sprang, pulling in their wings. She saw the tom race toward the water with her, falling several feet per second, then fall behind as his wings snapped out. She grinned and snapped hers out as well.
Suddenly, he landed on her back, and something hot tore at her wings. She screeched, and flipped around, seeing Firefeather and his flaming claws a foot above her. The light from the fire illuminated his face, which was twisted into an evil grin.
"Ever wonder why my old clan kicked me out? Ever wonder what happened to them after that?" he snarled. "Well, it's happening to you. Goodbye, Bluebird clan."
He sunk his claws into her wings again, and pain ripped thoughtout her body. She smelt singed feathers, and saw there were holes in her wings. A scourching slash to her chest sent her tumbling, causing her to loose her sense of direction. Her cry for help was cut off as she crashed into the icy water. Her wings gave off smoke as their added water weight dragged her down, down into the depths of the racing current. Her churning paws were as useless as her wings. As the last of the bubbles escaped her mouth, her dying wish was Starclan, keep them safe. Even she doubted her last thoughts as her vision faded as a shade of black as dark as her murderer's pelt.