River panted, wishing dearly for what she had been named after. She hadn't had water all day and she had been traveling across a hot field. She was feeling dizzy, but she didn't want to stop-not yet. Fields were too dangerous for a cat, especially one as weak as her. She hadn't eaten yet either.
Just a little bit further and she could stop. River was certain she could make it.
Suddenly the world started spinning, and she groaned. A few seconds later she collapsed, and all turned black.
"Hey...are you alive? Hello? What happened?" River groaned. She opened her eyes and saw a pair of amber eyes staring at her.
"What?" River croaked. She winced. Her throat was so dry she could barely swallow. "Water..."
The amber eyes belonged to a white-furred body, which took off quickly. "Wait..." River groaned. She needed water! Any hope that she had of being saved was gone, and she sighed. She hadn't wanted to die this way. She at least wanted to see her friends. The ones who she'd played with as a kitten. They would've remembered. They probably would have taken her in after learning about the death of her father.
"Here, drink this." The silver tabby jumped, startled. She saw the white cat again and felt pure joy. She hadn't been abandoned after all. The cat placed a piece of wet moss into her mouth, which she sucked on to get the water out. After drinking, River spat out the moss and purred.
"Thank you so much." She looked at the white cat happily. "Is it too much trouble to ask for some food?"
"No, not at all! I brought some berries that I found, actually. Would you like some?" River nodded. The white cat put some berries on a leaf next to River's head, who turned over and lapped up the fruit.
"Thank you again-" River gagged suddenly. "What the-" She began vomiting and shaking. She felt her muscles being seizing up and she couldn't cry out for help. She was able to look at the cat that she thought had saved her for a moment, but the cat did nothing. In fact, there was a look of malice in their amber eyes.
"I'm sorry, River." How did the cat know her name? "Your father wanted what was best for you, and that was for you to die." She could see the sky darkening again. Everything was fading away. "If you had lived any longer, you would have done a lot of damage." Those were the last words she heard before she died.
"I'm glad you were able to do that for me." Riverspirit purred.
Flowerpaw didn't respond. She didn't know how to. It was her first time killing, and she was certain it wouldn't be the last.
"Flowerpaw, let's get going!" She looked up to see her mentor, Foxclaw. "We have battle training today." She sighed and padded toward the camp entrance, walking behind him.
When they made it deep into the woods, Foxclaw began attacking her.
The white furred apprentice knew better than to cry out for help. This had been happening ever since the beginning of her apprenticeship. All she could do was try to defend herself and hopefully learn how to fight herself.
Foxclaw raised his paw to attack the side of her face but she ducked out of the way. Before she had a chance to catch her breath she felt claws digging into her side. She had never been able to leave battle training unscathed.
"You thought it was okay to take a day off to help the medicine cat?" Flowerpaw winced. At least he didn't know what she had actually been doing instead of collecting herbs. "You thought you could try to miss out on training?" She took several hits to head, causing her to become very dizzy.
"The medicine cat asked me-" She tried to protest.
"You should have declined!" Foxclaw slammed his paw onto her side and pushed her to the ground. "Listen, we're going to do battle training for three days, and then you'll be really sorry."
Flowerpaw kept her mouth shut, not wanting to get into more trouble.
"Let's go, dog-breath."
Flowerpaw ate her mouse near the edge of the camp, alone. Hardly anyone liked her, it seemed. Cats strayed away from her since she stared into the distance so much. Many thought she was just weird. She had been caught talking to herself a lot on the past.
She quickly finished her dinner and padded toward the apprentices' den. It was better to make everyone think she was asleep so that no one would expect her to sneak out later. She curled up into a ball and slowed her breathing, but being careful not to actually fall asleep. As she lay there, she wondered what Riverspirit would want her to do next. Maybe she would have to leave a bunch of leaves on a rock, like last time.
When it became late and everyone had gone to bed, she quietly got up from her nest. She snuck towards the edge of the camp, and slid through a group of ferns that helped protect the camp. When Flowerpaw came close to the river, she stopped.
What had she done? Killing another cat? Was she really willing to go this far to help a cat who had saved her life? She was only an apprentice. If she was caught she would most likely be exiled. Was she okay with the possible consequences?
Yes, yes she was.