Chapter 9, A Search
Shadowflight was slammed into the water. She tried to swim, but it was just too impossible. The water was everywhere, and she was thrown harshly against a rock.
She opened her eyes, and she couldn't even tell if she was underwater or above it. But she saw a black cat with a white underbelly. Stars trailed off his paws.
Hello, the cat said, and the words appeared in Shadowflight's head. My name is Spiderpaw. Follow me, Shadowflight, daughter of a kittypet.
A kittypet? Shadowflight felt her whole body jerk in shock. Was there something odd about her past?
She was suddenly slammed headlong into something, and she thrashed her paws out, searching for Spiderpaw.
Then she took a breath, and the whole world exploded in color and sound.
XXX
Leafcloud was still shaking as both her paws were on the two cat's faces. Neither cat moved. Seapaw had unsteady, shallow breathing, and Nightwind was very, very still.
She waited for a long time, and still nothing happened.
After two more hours, she was ready to give up.
Suddenly there was an odd crack! And Firestar appeared before her.
"Leafcloud," he said, "I must fill you in on something. Nightwind has something called a Search. It is very, very, rare. There are only two cats in the whole world wou have one. A Search is something that, when the cat with the Search dies, they have a special instinct that tells them to press their paw to any cat's face, alive or unconscious, but not dead. The cat that has the Search will transfer everything about it, its personality, every, tiny thing, to the cat that it presses its paw to.
"Then the cat that the one with the Search has transferred it's mind to, will hold all that cats knowledge, and basically go crazy, as its mind and the other cats mind work at the same time.
"Then a StarClan cat will come to an ordinary, living cat that knows the one with the Search, and give it instructions on what to do, like I did to Shadowflight. The kit that was found on Nightwind's grave is Nightwind's body, with a brain, but a brain that only tells it what to do, eat, sleep, drink…but has no personality, because Seapaw is holding her personality. And you can assume why Shadowflight didn't find Nightwind's body in her grave. Her body was the kit you found on top of it.
"The growth of the cat- in this case, Nightwind, will go with very odd and unusual speed, until the age in which it dies. Then the cat that has been told what to do will proceed by placing her paw on each of the cats faces, Nightwind's and Seapaw's.
"When the cat with the Search dies, later, after brought back to life, that is, and I mean really dies, it cannot press its paw to another cat's face, because a Search can only be used once. As soon as the cat with the Search really dies, a kit is born, somewhere in the world, with a Search, so that there are always two cats in the world that have Searches.
"Now, as you hold your paw to each of these cat's faces, you are quickly transferring all the knowledge and personality of Nightwind into her body. Soon she will wake up, and be alive, and Seapaw will be back to normal."
Leafcloud's head was thick and fuzzy with all she was hearing. This was so weird. So weird.
"When will Nightwind wake up?" Leafcloud asked.
"In a while." Firestar smiled lightly, "It surprises you, does it not, that a cat can know and have so much?"
Leafcloud nodded, her mouth open. Then she remembered.
"Did…did you help Shadowflight? She fell…does…does she have a…er…Search too?"
Firestar smiled. "I can never tell you." He walked off, then leaped into a star in the sky and disappeared.
Leafcloud kept her paw on Nightwind's and Seapaw's faces for another three hours.
Suddenly, she saw a very faint star in the sky fall through the air, and disappeared.
"W-where…am…I-I?"
Leafcloud felt a momentary burst of shock, then she looked down at the cats below her. Nightwind, Nightwind, had moved.
She raised her head jerkily, and moved it side to side with the same unsteady jerkiness.
"L…Leaf…Leaf…Leaf…Leaf…paw…Leafpaw…"
Leafcloud couldn't move. It was like Nightwind's brain was trying to organize itself.
"Surveillance…"
"Hit tree…"
"Silence…"
"She smiled…"
Nightwind said odd things, bits of memories, and other nonsense. She was quiet, observing everything.
"Nightpaw am I. Leafpaw, a friend mine of."
"I am Nightpaw. Leafpaw, a friend of mine."
It was like she had forgotten how to talk, then was quickly figuring it out as her brain organized itself. Leafcloud hoped this wouldn't take a while.
Nightwind stood up, then walked slowly around, as if learning how. After a long time she said another thing.
"Shadowpaw, Skypaw, Leafpaw and I. With…Rockpaw. Went to a clearing and there was Mudpaw. Brownpaw attacked and Shadowpaw said goodbye."
Nightwind looked down at one of her legs. She took out a paw and cut it, and watched the blood flow onto the grass. "I am alive."
"Yes," Leafcloud nodded. "That's right." She found herself grinning.
"Shadowpaw was here." Nightwind said.
"Yes. She fell into the water."
"Oh." Nightwind was still definitely not herself.
The black cat looked down at Seapaw. "She…"
Leafcloud grinned. "It's a very long story. I'll tell you a little now. My name's Leafcloud now. I became a warrior. And Shadowpaw is Shadowflight, and Skypaw is Skyfeather. And after you died we carried you back and Ravenstar named you Nightwind."
"So I'm a warrior. Did you kill Mudpaw?"
"Jeese, yes. She made a tree break the whole clearing in half, and Shadowflight was trapped on one side with Mudpaw alone, and they fought. Shadowflight pulled of her skin, then took off her head. But you have got to talk to her…"
She trailed away. Would Nightwind ever get to talk to Shadowflight?
She looked to the horizon, where the sun had just appeared. Then she looked down at Seapaw. The silver-blue she-cat twitched, opened her eyes, and raised her head.
"Leafcloud? What happened…my…my…my brain…it feels…clearer."
She stood up and screamed.
"Leafcloud! A ghost…oh…my…!"
"She's alive. Put your paw onto her."
Seapaw gave her a terrified look, then slowly slashed a claw onto Nightwind's chest. Blood dripped onto the grass.
"How…?"
"It's a long story. Go on ahead."
Seapaw gave her an annoyed look, then padded in the direction of camp.
XXX
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
There was no blackness to see. She couldn't see. The pain was gone, but she couldn't feel…where…were…no…nothing…nothing…
She had no consciousness. Why…who was she? What was this? What?
The empty, nothingness….it didn't stop.
And then there was something…hard, no yummy underneath her. No, that was the wrong word. It was soft. Comfortable. She could hear a mouse singing. No. A bird singing. And a lake. No, a river. Yes. A river.
And then she tried to open her eyes by moving them down. That didn't work. She moved them up.
Before her stretched lots of little green blades. Grass! A…bug!
And then she was sitting up, muttering, "Where…am…I?"
And then she could think and feel and taste and smell. It was so amazing! And she could understand. She had a memory.
But there was one thing she couldn't remember. This was as far as she could…
(AN: this is a flashback)
"You have always…" Nightpaw took a breath, "Been my friend." She stopped, and then took another breath. "And you always will be." She saw for a moment, Shadowpaw's face. "Live long…and in peace." She could see the whole world, and for an instant her whole body screamed in fear. What would happen? Oh StarClan…
She wondered what had happened after that. Instead of asking Leafcloud, the cat in front of her, she puzzled over her own name. She remembered it being Nightpaw, but now it was Nightwind. Okay…
"What happened to me?" she asked, "I was hit by Brownpaw, then I was in pain…I talked to Shadowp-er-flight…then…I…
Leafcloud winced as if she had stepped on a thorn. "It's Brownclaw," she whispered, then, raising her voice, she said, "You died. You came back to life."
Suddenly the grey and white she-cat's dam broke, and she explained in full detail the battle after Nightwind was dead, what had happened between the battle and now, and all that Firestar had said about Searches.
Then she padded away to camp, a little after Seapaw. Nightwind bounded after her.
The black she-cat caught up with her quickly. Leafcloud kept looking at her and chortling. "It's so weird…"
That was probably a very boring chapter. I wish you guys could see the pictures I draw for my stories. I am a very good artist, getting the muzzles and hind legs right…but my cats are all a little to thin…whatever, sucks for me…REVIEW OR I WILL…you guessed it, delete the story. If I find er, Oceanwind and Steeltalon haven't reviewed I will…what? I am threatening thou holy readers?? Excuse me, even if Steeltalon and Oceanwind don't review I will not delete. Maybe curse, though…grr…
And the best reviewer of the story award goes to Aviation, for reviewing to every chapter with long, interesting reviews! A gold metal and a Shadowflight with Rockpool plushy for you!! (HOW DO YOU SPELL PLUSHY?)
In second place is Steeltalon, for being awesome and reviewing everything on all my other books!! Y R AWESOME!! A silver metal and a Skyfeather plushy for you!
In third place are Oceanwind and Darkstorm Mistystar's Legacy… Oceanwind has been great to all my other books, but she didn't review Burning Moon, so Darkstorm took her place there. So both of you guys get a Ravenstar plushy and a bronze metal…
THX for all who reviewed and welcome Firehawk101 and Rainfire! (Or are you the same person?? Whatever)
Why did I just type a long and pointless author's note? And why am I still typing??
REVIEW!!
