The Land Between, Chapter Four
Rosepaw watched the sun set alone from atop one of the trees by the RiverClan camp.
Well, being alone was nothing new. She'd basically been alone every day since her mother died and everyone started treating her like she had mental issues for experiencing prolonged sadness about it. Her father had died in battle when she was really little, too, so this was kind of it for her.
But today was a new sort of alone. She'd taken a mouse up into the tree with her, eaten it, and flicked the bits she didn't want into the camp where her Clanmates were. Now her tail hung off her branch perch, flicking back and forth as she surveyed the surly sun sinking orange into the lake.
It really seemed like the last couple days had been a whole lot of nothing to do anymore. A whole lot of sitting in trees and on riverbanks and looking around at the insufferably neutral weather.
But maybe that was just what it was like when you were dead.
Her Clanmates were preparing for a Gathering. There was hushed excitement throughout the Clan, and they were slowly gathering near the camp entrance. As Rosepaw watched distantly from her vantage point, she saw Snowkit and Icekit bounce out of the nursery for a minute, Ashwhisker in tow.
"You think maybe she'll show up at the gathering?" Snowkit mewed to Ashwhisker, her big blue eyes round. "Like maybe she'll be there?"
"Maybe, sweetheart," Ashwhisker mumbled.
"I don't understand why you won't let us go look for her," Icekit begged. "We won't even go far, please!"
"Kits." Ashwhisker said. "You have to leave the searching to the warriors. They'll find her."
"But Bonewing said they already looked all over the territory, and around Twolegplace, too!" Snowkit complained. "Why haven't they found her yet?!"
"I..." Ashwhisker was out of words. "Snowkit, it'll be okay."
"No!" Snowkit spat. "No, it won't! You're trying to lie to me to make me feel better, and it's not working! I want Rosepaw!"
Rosepaw turned her head away so she didn't have to see, but she could still hear Snowkit's cries, so she climbed down and jumped into camp and went to her distraught sister's side. She'd stormed across camp and sat with her tail tucked around her paws, short of breath and growling and huffing at the ground, her face heavy with grief.
"It's okay, little sis." Rosepaw whispered, pressing up against her sister and closing her eyes at the warmth of her fur.
But Snowkit didn't notice her whatsoever.
"I'm just…" Rosepaw mumbled anyway. "I think I'm dead."
Snowkit gazed sadly at the sand before her paws.
"I'm sorry, Snowkit."
That moment, Fallenstar emerged discreetly from the warriors den, in hushed conversation with Brackenflood. Most of the Clan had gathered in the camp now, and volume was mounting. Fallenstar lifted her head, and then hopped onto one of the big, round stones near the den.
"Excuse me," she called. It was a strange way to address the Clan. Her voice was hushed and grim. "Excuse me, please, can all cats gather out here for a moment before we leave."
The remaining Clan members poked out of their dens and crept toward her.
"Everyone," Fallenstar mewed. "Brackenflood and I have come to the decision that we will mention Rosepaw's disappearance at tonight's Gathering. Our patrols have exhausted even our farthest borders with no sign whatsoever, and her most recent scent still being at the graveyard three days ago."
The entire throng of cats grew deathly silent.
"We will inquire as to whether or not our neighboring Clans have any information." Fallenstar looked between each gaze. "We are not a Clan that takes the disappearance of a young apprentice lightly. This is distressing and alarming, to say the least. We will exhaust all efforts to find her and bring her home safe, and we will not stop until we do."
A couple cats murmured. Fallenstar dipped her head. "Now, it is time for the Gathering. Brackenflood, lead the way."
The cats shifted toward the entrance. At the edge of the group, Hailpaw and Shellpaw were talking in fast, frantic voices near the apprentice den.
"I'm telling you, I knew something like this would happen!" Shellpaw was hissing.
"Shh! Just keep your voice down about it, okay?" Hailpaw flicked her tail back and forth. "They will find her, and she will be fine, and it won't even be a thing. I'm still like ninety percent positive she ran away for attention."
"Yeah, maybe," Shellpaw mewed. They headed after the rest of the cats, lingering anxiously at the edge of the group. "I mean that seems like the kind of thing she'd do. But I have a really weird feeling, I don't know."
"Why? Who even cares."
"Do you think she did herself in?" Shellpaw whispered.
"What?" Hailpaw stopped and rounded on her.
"Do you think she, like, tried to take own life?"
"What? What are you talking about? You're so stupid! Just shut up! She's fine! Just shut up!" Hailpaw spun around, swatting Shellpaw with her tail, and started bounding after the rest of the Clan. "Move your fat paws, you stupid piece of crowfood! Ugh, you're so stupid!"
Shellpaw scrambled after her, and Rosepaw was wordless watching them leave, absolutely aghast at such a depressing interaction between two 'friends'. StarClan, Rosepaw would rather have the no friends she did have than be trapped in a friendship like that.
She sure loved the idea of her Clanmates thinking she'd do something as unthinkable as taking her own life. Yeah, that felt great. What a relief. It was already bad enough watching them slowly worry more and more about her.
It was like everyone was depressed, even the cats who didn't like her so much, which was a good portion of the Clan. Rosepaw really had always believed she was pretty forgettable, but it was like the whole Clan was rocked and disturbed by her suddenly vanishing. But maybe it was like that when any especially young cat died all of a sudden.
Because she was dead.
Yeah.
Snowkit and Icekit were sadly watching the Clan leave. Ashwhisker had retreated to the nursery to nurse her kits. Then Icekit leaned sideways, pressing the side of her face into Snowkit's chest, their white fur mixing together until they almost looked like one cat.
"She's dead," Icekit muttered.
"No, you can't think like that," Snowkit said. "This isn't like with mom. Rosepaw won't ever leave us."
Icekit slowly and sadly shook her head, resting against Snowkit's pelt. "Dead or not," she mewed. "She's not coming back."
Rosepaw rose quickly to her paws and headed straight for the camp entrance, so full of sadness she felt like she could break in half. She felt compelled to go sit at her mother's graveside, but even that she didn't have in her.
All the energy she had was to wander, slowly, aimlessly, in the direction of the lake. Her paws moved without her even controlling them. She hung her head.
She didn't know what she'd done wrong to deserve this.
She'd clearly died somehow, because she clearly didn't exist anymore. That's what had happened. When she looked down at her paws, her body was as visible and solid as it had ever been, but nobody could see her. When she spoke, her voice was clearly audible, but nobody could hear her. When she marked her scent, she could smell herself, but nobody else could. When she brushed her pelt against things, she felt them, but the things didn't feel her.
She'd always believed StarClan would come for her when she died. But obviously, they hadn't. She hadn't even been given a sign of StarClan even existing. It was just her now, left to wander empty and invisible throughout the forest all alone while her Clan worried about her, until a few moons had passed and they'd moved on and she was a scribbled afterthought on a plane of already-dried mud.
If anything, maybe Hailpaw and Shellpaw were right. Maybe she had done the unthinkable, and died, and it was so bad StarClan had shunned her from their ranks, and now she was just waiting on the Dark Forest to take her. And it had been so unthinkable she couldn't even remember her own death. Because as far as she was aware, nothing had ever happened.
Rosepaw walked and walked.
She reached the WindClan border, and the scent markers were especially pungent, and she strolled through like she couldn't even smell them. Yeah, all these cats getting their fur in a mat over border demarcations and meaningless stuff like that. None of that mattered anymore, not really.
Closer toward the lake, she saw a parade of cats hustling to the island for the Gathering. ThunderClan and WindClan. They were all worked up about stuff. Some border patrol had turned into a skirmish or something. Whatever. Who cared.
The sun went down behind her. Rosepaw kept walking. A small grouping of prickly, hostile WindClan cats rushed toward ThunderClan's throng, all worked up. Oh yeah. She almost forgot that ThunderClan and WindClan had been disputing over prey for moons now. How about that! Too bad none of that mattered anymore.
The small group of WindClan cats almost knocked her over in their haste to rush past. One cat seemed to move right through her. He probably did move right through her, because she was dead, and it would make sense.
Rosepaw wandered all the way to the ThunderClan border. The scent markets here were so strong they almost knocked her over backward. These cats sure thought this stuff was important. Huh. Oh well!
ThunderClan territory was warm and dark. All these Clans had really nice territory! Of course, the rivers and marshes were still the best, but she had to hand it to ThunderClan for choosing these nice old trees and stuff. She walked calm as could be, loudly cracking over the twigs and underbrush because she didn't care.
She caught a whiff of cats, and approached to see the tail end of ThunderClan's Gathering party tramping through the forest, a few eager, energetic apprentices pulling up the rear. She sat idly beside a tree to watch them pass. Maybe apprentices in ThunderClan would like her more than the apprentices in RiverClan did. Too bad she was dead now, and would never be able to entertain that outlandish idea.
The cats disappeared into the dark trees, their happy voices fading away. Not long after, Rosepaw heard the approach of messy footsteps pattering swiftly over the leaves behind her, and she turned around just in time to see a cat smash right into her, knock her on her side, trip, flip over her body, and go skidding across the forest floor.
He picked himself unsteadily to his feet and looked back at her. "Oh, sorry," he mewed. He was small and fairly round with a patchy black and white pelt, sporting bright amber eyes even in the darkness. He shook dirt off two of his paws, gave her another look, and then continued padding swiftly after where ThunderClan had disappeared.
Rosepaw lay on her side, watching his black and white fur draw into the darkness with her mouth agape, totally unable to move.
And then, as if on a cue, she rose swiftly to her feet and padded after the tom's vanishing form, and as she did, she broke into a run until she was sprinting as fast as her paws could carry her.
I love writing Rosepaw. I think she comes the most natural to me so far. She's such a dark, moody contrast to Rainpaw lol, and she's dramatic, which is fun. Next chapter we meet our third hero! Look out!
Also, I changed the summary…hated it. Not sure about this one either. It's a work in progress. Lol. Reviews, as usual, are appreciated! I'm not sure how people are liking this :P…Predictions? Thoughts? Pointers? Thanks!
~Delaney
