Light Fading
Chapter 6
By Winterpaw
Ripplepaw felt hollow. She stayed silent, minute after minute, hour after hour. She did not want to move, speak, or even do any normal activities. She was just…..haunted.
Last night, at the gathering, Ripplepaw had experienced a terrible sight for the first time. Watching a cat die; a leader, nonetheless. When Duskstar had arrived looking already dead, and when he later fell from the tree in a matter of moments, THAT was when Ripplepaw knew death was coming.
She would have to learn to deal with it while she was young. Growing older didn't mean more safety, it meant more death. And Ripplepaw never knew she could feel so sympathetic for cats she had never met. She had expected when she saw another Clan cat die, she would pray respectively and move on. But, oh, that was much easier than real life.
Death triggers every emotion, every thought. It makes you feel sympathy, anger, or even think of the thought that YOU could one day be in that situation. Death was just a horrible cycle that could change varied cats lives. Its deviation and deception could easily fool a cat into a trance. A…depressed trance.
Ripplepaw hoped she wouldn't fall into that trance. And I hope that for my family too.
—-
Ripplepaw was given the day off. She, Clawpaw, Reedpaw and Hazelpaw were all still in the apprentices den, after Sunhigh. Each cat experienced that death-depression in some way or the other. They each had gotten bad thoughts after seeing Duskstar be ended by a swift misstep.
Now, they finally decided to wake up and do some sort of movement. They hoped that would take their mind off things.
Ripplepaw and Clawpaw said their farewells as the other two apprentices ran off to meet with their parents. Clawpaw and Ripplepaw were doing the same.
They hadn't talked to Mistywater much and rarely ever spoke to Stonelight, but after recent events, they were ready to elude actual duties for as long as possible.
The two siblings exited the apprentices den and sniffed the fresh air. It felt like it passed right through Ripplepaw; a cold touch seeping through her bones.
They moped their way over to the warriors' den, where Mistywater and Stonelight were murmuring quietly to each other outside. Mudpaw and Frozenpaw were there too, and they looked worried when Ripplepaw and Clawpaw padded up to their family. They all stared, a look of sadness or sympathy in their eyes.
Ripplepaw squirmed under the awkwardness.
It seemed like the whole day would just be a jumble of soulless activities. Just mindless movements to take the thoughts off death.
The actions only worked a little.
—–-
After their talk with Mistywater, the two siblings went back to the apprentices den. Honestly, the talk did lift their spirits a bit, and if they had more happy moments like that, they could be happier by the next day.
But at the same time, the movement and abilities wore them out. They just didn't feel like doing any exercise, and wanted to sleep. Hopefully by the next day this grief would pass and they would be ready to run again.
When Ripplepaw and Clawpaw returned to the den, they saw Reedpaw and Hazelpaw already there. There was nothing else to do but talk and relax, so that was the plan. That's okay, Ripplepaw thought. At least I'll get to spend time with my friends. Reedpaw might have something interesting….
Oddly enough, Ripplepaw's heart sped up a little at the sight and thought of the dark brown tom. The awkward, quiet, staring tom that Ripplepaw felt so close too. The one cat she felt shared her sense of identity. Ripplepaw didn't know what to do with this feeling though, she didn't know how to react or make move on it. She didn't even fully understand it.
Was it…..love? She shocked herself. The word had popped into her mind so suddenly. Did she actually love that cat? Hardly. She probably just was feeling weird from the sadness and odd thoughts of this day. Of course she had been awkward and messed and taken everything too far. She probably just felt of him as a good friend.
But when she saw him lift his head from his nest and stare at her with his brilliant, radiant, amber eyes, Ripplepaw felt slightly tingly. She… didn't know. She just crouched there in the entrance, staring like a fool at the older apprentice. She was being odd again.
She shook her head when she heard a, "Hi," and then stuttered like an idiot. "Oh, uh, h-hi Reedpaw." She sounded just like he did when he spoke to her usually.
She gave Clawpaw a shove when she noticed him and Hazelpaw exchange an amused glance. Ripplepaw lied to herself. I don't care what they think….
Reedpaw looked at her warmly. He meowed, "How, are you doing…" The look slightly faded as he looked down, somehow embarrassed.
Ripplepaw felt the same way herself. "I'm good…..you?"
"Fine."
The awkwardness hung in the air like a wispy breeze. At one point, Ripplepaw looked at Reedpaw and they both stared at each other for a moment, forgetting everything else.
That moment ended when Clawpaw and Hazelpaw' conversation grew louder and interrupted everything.
"But where is he? People are getting worried, what if he is hurt! He has been gone for over three days…"
That was Hazelpaw. Clawpaw meowed back to her, "no one knows. There hasn't even been a scent of him by the WindClan border! Or around camp. He just seems to have… disappeared."
Hazelpaw went quiet. After a moment that felt like ages, where Reedpaw and Ripplepaw just looked at each other confusedly, Hazelpaw mewed quietly.
"Has anyone checked the ShadowClan border?"
Silence ensued; no one had.
Ripplepaw felt sick to the stomach at the thought of Flametuft's rotting body near the ShadowClan border. And worsely, she had a feeling that that was the spot he was in.
They had to tell someone to go look. On a border patrol. They had to do it NOW.
"We all have to join a border patrol to go look," she mewed depressedly. She didn't know how horrific the sight would be when they found it.
