Chapter 7

"My kit! Where's my kit!" the ringing yowl jerked Sagepaw from her dream of chasing plump, yummy mice through a meadow. She raised her head groggily and stared around. The mournful cry came again. Pulling herself to her paws Sagepaw stumbled toward the sound. She rounded a corner and saw Dapplesky searching desperately. Nearby Birchkit was crouched, looking petrified. Dapplesky turned on Sagepaw, her eyes hopeful.

"Do you know where Treekit is? I can't find him! I sent Snowpaw searching down by the bank and Oakpaw by the tree-line. Sandcloud is looking around where the warriors usually sleep. I want you to g" Dapplesky faltered her eyes horrified. Spinning around, Sagepaw spotted Snowpaw coming up the path, dripping wet, and her eyes filled with guilt. And in her jaws was a small, wet, bundle.

Sagepaw felt frozen. It couldn't be! Treekit was so young! Snowpaw laid him down gently and turned to Dapplesky, who was frozen, her eyes fixed on Treekit's little body. "I'm sorry… I tried to get to him but he went down and I was alone and" Snowpaw gulped in air and continued "I jumped in but I couldn't reach him! I'm so sorry!" Dapplesky padded forward with dream-like slowness bending down and crouching beside his body, and gently began grooming his fur. She didn't say anything just stared ahead, not really seeing anything. Snowpaw backed away while Sagepaw turned to Birchkit. Birchkit didn't seem to realize that it was his brother, his eyes concentrating on a beautiful green butterfly that flitted through the ferns nearby.

Snowpaw hurried over to Birchkit, murmured into his ear and led him away. Sagepaw padded over to Dapplesky and murmured "I'm very sorry Dapplesky" and padded quietly away. It was obvious that the gray queen wanted to be alone. Padding up the path Sagepaw bumped into Bramblepaw. The brown tabby looked worried. "Oh, Sagepaw! I hope you've seen Thrushpaw! We were supposed to go hunting but I can't find her. Could you help me?" Bramblepaw paused and peered at Sagepaw closer. "What's wrong? You look as if you got attacked by a badger" she exclaimed taking in Sagepaw's ruffled appearance. "Treekit is dead. He drowned in the river" she said dully.

Bramblepaw's ice blue eyes widened in horror. "Oh no! Poor Dapplesky, she must be so depressed." Bramblepaw set away at a determined pace, obviously heading toward Dapplesky to comfort her. Sagepaw padded up the path, not really paying attention to where she was going. Suddenly she paused. Thrushpaw… Taking a deep breath she drew the scent over her scent glands. It was definitely Thrushpaw. She followed the scent trail carefully. It brought her deeper into the forest and she stepped into a very small clearing. Sagepaw glimpsed Thrushpaw standing in the middle of the clearing.

"Thrushpaw! What are you doing out here?" Sagepaw cried out in relief. Her friend turned to her, her blue eyes widened in fear. "We're not alone…" she whispered. Sagepaw moved closer to the younger cat, and glanced around. "What do you mean?" she whispered. The brown she-cat dipped her head toward a clump of ferns. The ferns were waving wildly and suddenly a russet red muzzle poker its way out. Soon the body followed, revealing it's self to be a large fox. It was skinny despite its large size and its ribs poked out from its pelt.

It growled, pulling its lips from its mouth, revealing scraggly teeth. The fox's eyes roved over the cats, sizing them up. Fear flooded Sagepaw as the eyes landed on the smallest of them: Thrushpaw. The fox lunged, its teeth bared. Sagepaw and Thrushpaw split into two different directions while the fox came closer. What Sagepaw was not expecting was that the fox would be so fast. With surprising speed it whipped around and sank its teeth into Thrushpaw's leg. The young brown cat screeched, flinging around and trying to claw at the muzzle. Sagepaw turned and flung herself at it. She landed on its back and sank her claws into it. It turned and backed away from Thrushpaw and backed into a rock. Sagepaw hit the rock and slid off. She slumped to the ground, her eyes sliding closed. The sound around her dulled as a large black wave rose up and swept her into the darkness.