Falling

Imagineclan Challenge!

I was nothing special, I'll tell you that right now. Well, compared to most Shadowclan cats I wasn't much. When you picture a Shadowclan warrior, you see gleaming amber eyes, a roughed up dark pelt, and glistening fangs dribbling crimson from our victims. Don't lie, when I was a kit I too thought of my clanmates to be vicious, but I saw the nobility behind the violence. The other kits did as well, and we all wanted to join their ranks. Well, that's not entirely true. My sister, Owlkit, was the exception in our group of kits.

She had these beautiful round amber eyes on top of a stunning light brown tabby coat. To be truthful, I'd always resented her for her beauty, for I was homely and a puny, pathetic size. I looked more like an ugly rogue or kittypet rather than a clan cat. My short white fur was jagged and stuck out in ways that never did flatter me like Owlkit's pelt did to her. My almond-shaped, dulled yellow eyes never did my bony, framed face any favors either.

I remember our apprentice ceremony lucidly. The sky was cloudy, and most cats thought it was going to rain. Being called Cloudkit myself, I thought it was a sign from Starclan, and just maybe I was destined to be great. I went first. Scaling the great pine where Sunstar was perched wasn't easy, but I wanted to prove myself by making it to at least the first branch. I somehow clawed my way up to the lowest branch and stared proudly ahead. Finally, I was bigger than all my clanmates. Sunstar named me Cloudpaw and gave me Finchsong as my mentor. The applause made me feel warm, important even. I bumped noses with my new mentor and sat in with the other apprentices, basking in their welcoming meows and purrs. My eyes shining, I watch Owlkit. She doesn't climb the pine, and instead sits at the base, staring innocently at the clan. Sunstar nods in acceptance, naming her Owlpaw and giving her the medicine cat apprentice position she wanted. I remember bitterness washing my pride from my expression after hearing her applause.

We were about four or so moons into our training when our problems technically began. I myself was nearing the end of my training, and Owlpaw was only about half way through her own training. I was beginning to look less horrendous, becoming more basic.

It felt nice to be on equal ground, well at least I'd think that until I would see Owlpaw again. With every passing day she seemed to glow more, radiating perfection. My pelt would always burn with envy when I would lay eyes on her. However, we would still spend time together, often sharing a squirrel and sometimes taking midnight walks every so often. It made me feel guilty. She deserved perfection. I was typically sour and easily frustrated when I would miss a piece of prey or when Crowpaw or Shadepaw would pin me in battle training The only time I'd ever seen Owlpaw be bitter was… well, I guess I should get on with it, right?

I padded into the clearing, my yellow eyes bright as I held a toad firmly in my jaws. It was the fifth toad I'd caught that evening.

"Nice catch!" Swallowkit called, trotting beside me as I made my way to the fresh-kill pile.

I gave her a look of thanks, not wanting to talk with a mouth-full of toad. The two of us reached the fresh-kill pile moments later, Swallowkit talking my ear off about how she was going to catch the most toads in Shadowclan's history as I dropped off my catch. Normally, I would've told Swallowkit to shove off, but my bountiful harvest had me in a good mood, so I stayed and listened to the over excited black kit, nodding ever so often. A purr rose in my throat when I saw Owlpaw emerge from the medicine den. I said goodbye to Swallowkit, breaking our one-sided conversation and approached the pretty tabby. She too was purring loudly, but not for the same reason as me.

"Hi, Owlpaw." I greeted, waiting for her response.

She let out a content sigh, her amber eyes distant-looking. I stuck my muzzle in her face.

"Anyone in there?" I asked, stifling a giggle.

Owlpaw blinked in surprise. "Oh, Cloudpaw, hi."

I sat down and gave my chest a lick. "What were you thinking about?"

She shrugged. "Oh, nothing important."

"Okay, if you say so," I meowed, "but anyway, would you mind taking a walk with me tonight? My assessment's coming up and I'm sorta nervous."

"Well not getting enough sleep isn't going to help." Owlpaw muttered, dismissing the thought with a flick of her lengthy tail.

I frowned. "Is everything alright with you?"

Owlpaw gave me a weird look. "Why wouldn't everything be alright? I'm just doing my duty as a medicine cat."

"Yeah but- Never mind. Goodbye." I said, trotting back towards the entrance of camp.

I looked back over my shoulder, my eyes narrowing when that misty look came over Owlpaw again. Something was different, and I refused to just let it happen. She was lying to me, I just knew it.

For the next moon or so, Owlpaw had continued to be more distant. She stopped going on walks with me, she stopped eating with me, and she stopped sharing tongues with me. I grew sort of paranoid, thinking that Starclan didn't approve of me being her sister and told her to ignore me or something. After my mentor, Finchsong, told me I passed my assessment and was going to become a warrior, I stopped trying. Our sisterhood began to wither away after that. At that moment, I didn't care and still to this day I don't think Owlpaw minded either. Crowpaw and Shadepaw were my new siblings, and I had no regrets.

Soon after we stopped being friends, Sunstar held Crowpaw's, Shadepaw's, and my warrior ceremony. Crowpaw became Crowsmoke, Shadepaw became Shadefern, and I, I was named Cloudwing. At that moment, I was reminded of Owlpaw's and my apprentice ceremony, and I looked down from my perch on the great pine for Owlpaw. She wasn't there.

The night of my vigil, it was cold and cloudy, much like the day of my apprentice ceremony. I sat close to Crowsmoke, our pelts almost touching. Truth be told, during my time as an apprentice, I had developed a crush on the smoke-colored tom. Shadefern knew about my feelings towards her brother, and she had told me numerous times that she found it cute and wanted to see how it developed. I knew she was probably smirking to herself at the sight of me silently mooning over her brother. I didn't care though. That was my moment. Or at least it was until I saw a flash of tan fly past. Knowing immidately who it was, I looked beside me at Crowsmoke and Shadefern. Neither one of them appeared to have seen her. My eyes flashed, knowing that this could be my chance to discover why Owlpaw suddenly shut her out. I step forward.

"Something wrong, Cloudwing?" Crowsmoke had hissed quietly, earning a glare from Shadefern.

I had nodded, ignoring the fact that I would be breaking my oath of silence. "Yeah, I think I just saw Owlpaw. I'm going to just check on her, I'll be right back."

The two had nodded silently, watching as I had run to where I had just seen my sister. I had quickly picked up her scent and began to track her.

The medicine cat apprentice had obviously done this a lot, seeing that a well-marked trail led my way. Energized, I sped up and saw the very tip of her tail before she disappeared again. I slowed my pace, afraid that Owlpaw would catch me following her. I took in my surroundings, my heart speeding up as I realized that we'd crossed the small Thunderpath into Riverclan territory.

I had felt very out of place when we reached the half-bridge. It was also rather hard to find a good hiding spot on the bare slab of wood. My eyes narrowed when Owlpaw sat down smack in the middle of the twoleg creation, wrapping her tail neatly around her paws. My eyes widened when a large, powerful-looking rogue joined Owlpaw on the bridge. Owlpaw quickly sprang to her paws, rubbing muzzles with him before exchanging tender words. My lips had peeled back into a snarl. That was what Owlpaw had replaced me with? Some mangy rough? It had taken everything in me not to run and tackle him into the lake right then and there. They then sat beside each other, their backs facing me with their tails intertwined. That's when I snapped.

"Owlpaw!" I shouted.

Owlpaw turned my way and gasped. "C-Cloudwing! What-"

I interrupted her with a furious hiss. "Get away from him now!"

Spooked, Owlpaw stuttered away from the ginger tom, who had a look of curiosity when he saw me. He got up and sauntered towards me. "Who are you?"

As he grew closer, I realized how big the tom was. I was like a kit compared to him.

"I'm Owlpaw's sister, and I demand that you stop seeing her." I growled.

His curiosity turned to a look that a parent might've worn if their kit had done something wrong. "You have no right to tell me or Owlpaw what we can and cannot do. Leave before I make you."

Enraged at his comment, I snarled and lunged at the tom, furious that he thought he had the authority to tell me what to do. He skidded a few feet when I slammed into him, shock buying me only seconds before the tom struck my face. Crimson sprayed out, staining our pelts. I chomped down on his ear and whipped my head back, hearing a satisfying tearing sound. More blood showered the both of us. Losing his ear only enraged him further.

I heard Owlpaw yowling at the top of her lungs as she pleaded for both of us to stop. Neither one of us listen.

He smacked me again, his claw catching my shoulder and tearing down my side. I screeched in pain, slashing his face open in response. Both of us were losing blood fast. He caught me off guard, slamming me into the freshly painted wood slab. He had me. I knew I was finished. I closed my eyes and waited for Starclan to claim me.

Nothing ever came. I reopened an eye only to see the night sky. I struggled to my paws and looked to see the tom laying dead on the wood just in front of me. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked to the grass where I'd last seen Owlpaw. She wasn't there. My heart stopped. I turned back to the dead tom, then to my right. There Owlpaw laid, a large portion of her throat torn out.

"Owlpaw!" I had cried, begging for her to wake up.

"Hello?" The voices of Riverclan warriors asked through the darkness.

I howled Owlpaw's name again, ignoring the other warriors as they assembled around me. A gray she-cat came close to me and asked me to stop and tell them what happened. I cut her nose. Their voices grew louder, echoing in my ears like wolf cries. I felt myself forced onto the wood beside the tom and my sister in a pool of our blood. I gave an ear-splitting screech, knowing that despite what the Riverclan cats were saying, despite the fact that I had survived, despite that I had won the battle against the tom,

I knew that I just killed my sister.