Sky Fall - Chapter 3

I don't own Warriors.

Three

"Lightpaw? Is that you?" a voice called from the shadows of the warriors' den. Lightpaw paused and took a closer look. She immediately recognized the amber eyes and white face of her mother, Petalsplash.

Lightpaw dipped her head respectfully. "Hello, mother," she mewed softly.

It hadn't even been a day since the confrontational assembly where Vinestar had announced the curfew plans. Since then, Lightpaw had been confined to the apprentices' den until mid-morning when her mentor, Brightsky, had taken her out on a hunting patrol, and then some battle training. She wasn't due out of camp until moonhigh when another patrol would leave. She had been planning to make the most of her spare time trying to relax and just figure out what she was going to do, but things change.

"What do you think of this new system, love?" Petalsplash asked, waving her tail back and forth hypnotically.

"It's… good…" Lightpaw half-lied.

Petalsplash seemed to detect her deception. "Do you really think so?" she inquired. The older she-cat rolled her shoulders back as if to loosen them. Lightpaw had noticed since she was a kit that Petalsplash often rolled her shoulders when she upset or unnerved. What could be troubling her? Lightpaw wondered.

In an effort to avoid the question, Lightpaw queried, "What do you think of it, mother?"

Petalsplash flicked an ear and seemed almost indecisive for a moment. "I know that Vinestar wants to do what is best for the Clan," she finally decided. Lightpaw met her mother's eyes as she continued: "We need to have faith in him. Some of the Clan disagrees with his decisions, but I know that it is for the best. All he wants is to help us—make us stronger."

Lightpaw shifted nervously. If he wanted to make us stronger, why would he kill Cavepaw and Creekpaw? They were two young cats who would have become great warriors! They would have assisted the Clan and would have hunted and fought for us! "Yeah, I guess."

Petalsplash arched a suspicious eyebrow. "Do you do disagree?"

Worried that her mother would immediately assume that she wasn't loyal, she defended herself. "No! No, it's just that…"

"What?" her mother probed. Tenderness was in her voice, but Lightpaw could detect a warning tone as well. Lightpaw knew she had to be careful what she said.

"I just… saw Vinestar doing something the other day," she murmured. Oh how she wanted to tell her mother the truth! Would she even believe me? She hated keeping secrets—she always did. She hated the awful feeling that came along with lying—it was as if there was a war going on inside her belly that flipped all of her organs upside down. Even when she was a kit, she would always confess her mistakes to her mother out of pure need. If she kept them concealed within her, she surely would have spontaneously combusted!

Petalsplash looked away from her daughter for a moment. Then, a very strange emotion flashed in her eyes—it was one Lightpaw had never seen before. She couldn't even determine what it was; it was a mixture of confusion, pain, and even anger. Petalsplash rolled her shoulders and looked back to Lightpaw. "Whatever you saw him doing, I'm sure there was a reason for it."

Lightpaw opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it. What use would arguing do? It wasn't as if she could change her mother's mind—she was too set on supporting Vinestar. "Mother, why do you support Vinestar so much?" Lightpaw blurted out the question before thinking it through. She immediately clamped her jaws shut. At that moment, she made a solemn vow to never open her fat mouth again. How could she be so mouse-brained?

Amusement flashed in Petalsplash's eyes. "Oh, I don't know, Lightpaw… Vinestar and I grew up together and… Well, just between you and me, I had a crush on him once. It didn't last, though. Once I was a warrior, your father began to pay more attention to me, and… as clichéd as it sounds, he had me at hello—we were absolutely smitten with one another. And then my… attraction to Vinestar became a distant memory."

Lightpaw didn't believe a word of that. That actually makes sense. No wonder she defends him so often! And I don't believe a word about her not being attracted to him anymore! Lightpaw thought indignantly. She struggled not to turn up her nose at her foolish mother, and instead averted her gaze. She noticed a patrol coming down the narrow, rocky path into camp. It consisted of her father, Gravelfoot, Oatwhisker, Smokepaw, and Flamestone, each carrying a piece of prey. Petalsplash rose to her paws upon their entry and gently slipped past her daughter. Lightpaw watch as her mother's eyes lit up the moment they met her father's. Gravelfoot set his squirrel down on the pile and touched noses with his mate as she approached.

Well, I don't doubt that she loves father, Lightpaw finally resolved. If she didn't, why would she have such a reaction? As Lightpaw watched her parents speak in soft voices to one another, she suddenly became a tad envious. Romance was never high on her to-do list, but she couldn't help but feel there was an emptiness in her heart that couldn't be fulfilled with ordinary means.

Suddenly, she noticed Smokepaw approaching her, a plump sparrow in his jaws. "Wanna share?" he inquired, his voice muffled by the feathers.

Nodding, Lightpaw led the way over to a shady spot by the wall of the gorge. The siblings sat down side-by-side and seemed to relax. Lightpaw eyed her brother carefully, trying to judge if he planned to chastise her for anything. She never knew if he was going to confront her about what she claimed she saw the day Cavepaw and Creekpaw died. Once she decided that it was safe, she rested her head on her paws and let out a large yawn.

Smokepaw's whiskers twitched. "Tired, little sister?"

Lightpaw twitched an ear at his words but didn't reply. Disinterested in the prey, she allowed her eyes to wander the camp. Rosethorn had emerged from the warriors' den and was now sharing tongues with her new mate, Flamestone, near the fresh-kill pile. A few other warriors lay near the river, basking in the sunlight; amongst them were Fawntail, Dryclaw, Paleface, Grayfoot, and Nightfur. Dryclaw and Grayfoot seemed to be having a disagreement, but Lightpaw didn't think too much of it. Everyone was disagreeing with one another these days.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Smokepaw asked, still chewing and gurgling on a part of the sparrow.

Lightpaw looked at the now half-eaten bird ruefully. "I'm not hungry," she stated simply before rising to her paws.

"Hey!" Smokepaw called, but she ignored him. She padded out from underneath that shade of the gorge wall and into the sweltering heat of the midday sunlight. Keeping her head down so she wouldn't get blinded, she used her ears and nose to detect where everything was. Nearby, should smell her father, and by the sound of it, he was sitting down. Lightpaw stopped, suddenly inspired.

Perhaps father will understand, she thought hopefully. Just because Petalsplash was in love with Vinestar doesn't mean that Gravelfoot was. Who knows, he may even resent Vinestar since mother likes him so much. Lightpaw slowly picked her way toward Gravelfoot, struggling to avoid running into the warriors who bustled about camp performing they duties as usual. Once she reached her father, who sat underneath the shade of one of the other walls, she was breathless. Rockpile only lay a few feet away, and the leader's den even closer than that. Suddenly, Lightpaw wasn't so sure she should tell her father about what she saw.

"Hello, Lightpaw," her father greeted her happily. He let out a deep, throaty purr and gave her an affectionate glance. "Did you need help with something?"

Lightpaw wavered under his expecting gaze. Fear rushed through her like an overpowering gust of wind during a thunderstorm. "Oh, I… uh…"

Gravelfoot's brows furrowed. "Is something wrong, Lightpaw? You seem… antsy," he noted, looking his daughter up and down. "Are you ill?"

Why do my parents always assume I'm ill? Lightpaw wondered wryly as she struggled for words. "I… uh… kinda wanted to talk to you."

Gravelfoot gave his shoulder a few quick licks before raising his eyebrows keenly. "Well, I'm right here, Lightpaw, and I'm not going anywhere."

Shooting an anxious glance at Vinestar's den, she looked at her paws. "I saw Vinestar do something the other day," she whispered. Her voice was barely audible, but, at this point, she didn't care if Gravelfoot could hear her or not. All she wanted was to get it out. But she hesitated. What will he think of me? What will he do to me?

Her father's face intensified; his eyes narrowed to slits and he sat up a little straighter. "What did you see?"

"He…" Lightpaw paused. What will this mean for me if I do tell him? "I saw him kill Cavepaw."

The next thing Lightpaw new, she was on the ground. The right side of her face burned as if someone had pressed a white-hot branding iron down on it. Warm liquid trickled from this wound, running down her face and dripping onto the ground. Lightpaw looked up to see her father standing over her, claws unsheathed; the same crimson fluid that came from her face now stained his claws. Letting out a small whimper, she pushed herself to her paws to see the majority of the Clan staring at them with wide, dumbfounded eyes.

She wanted to disappear.

"Lightpaw!" Petalsplash called, bounding over. The moment she reached her daughter, the she-cat wrapped her tail around her shoulders and licked her ear. "It's alright," she soothed before rounding on Gravelfoot. Fangs bared, she let out the most fearsome snarl Lightpaw had ever heard in her life. "How dare you harm my daughter!?" Petalsplash yowled at the top of her lungs. Her body shook with rage as she stared down her mate, all love and affection gone from her eyes.

Gravelfoot narrowed his eyes and shot Lightpaw a glare. "She's my daughter too, and she needed to be taught a lesson."

Snarling, Petalsplash allowed her own claws to slide out. "What kind of lesson involves harming my one and only daughter?!" she demanded in a screech.

The tom sighed heavily through his nose. "She needs to learn to hold her tongue," he stated simply before locking eyes with Lightpaw. The apprentice flinched away from him, trembling. Regret flashed in her father's eyes before being replaced with a harsher look. His eyes seemed to say: "This is for your own good, Lightpaw."

But Lightpaw could hardly imagine how.

A/N: Review? :)