The Taste Of Pain: Almost Here

Birchfall stared down at the dark, churning, vast expanse of water before him. He'd lived through a lot, a forest crashing down around him, a journey through pitiless mountains, an eclipse, and a fire. And yet this . . . This didn't even compare.

When he'd heard stories of the Sun-Drown-Place, he'd never imagined it to be like this. It was true, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see any land on the other side of the vast expanse of water.

Slowly, the patrol made their way down the rock of the gully. Wind whipped around overhead, and yet never dipped down into the sheltered indents of the rocks. Birchfall balanced on the edge of one of the rocky precipices, watching as his clanmates skidded down into a deeper gully below. As he stepped down to follow them, his paws slipped on the damp, crumbling rocks.

The autumn furred warrior's breath caught in his throat as he hurtled head over heals down the slopping rock face. He heard Hazeltail's startled mew as he crashed into her, and they skidded to a halt.

Brackenfur leered over them, annoyance in his eyes. This wasn't the first time on this journey that Birchfall had messed up. He'd almost gotten them hit by a monster too.

"Th-thanks!" Birchfall gasped.

"Just watch where you're putting your paws," Brackenfur muttered.

The group continued on down the gully, they stopped for awhile above a hole that led down into a cave. Brambleclaw explained that it was Midnight's den. But the badger was long gone, and it would be useless for them to wait for her.

They had more important things to do anyways. Like finding Sol. And determining if he was Ashfur's killer.

Birchfall's heart constricted. Ashfur . . . His mentor, one of his best friends, one of the only cat's he could rely on when he left Berrynose. And now he was gone. Just like that, he was dead. And not just dead, murdered. It was highly possible that it was Sol. Just as much as it was possible that it was one of his own clanmates.

It could even be someone who's on this journey with us . . .

The small warrior's eyes raked over the rest of the patrol. It couldn't be Lionblaze, Ashfur had been his mentor. And that just didn't seem like something he would do. And Hazeltail was out of the question. That she-cat was always off in her own little world, chasing butterflies and eating daisies.

And Brackenfur . . . It was highly unlikely that he had anything to do with it. He may be a grump sometimes, but he was nice. Plus, having a total fluff-head like Graystripe as your mentor made it impossible for you to have even remotely evil thoughts.

Then there was Brambleclaw. Out of anyone in the group, he would probably have the most motive against Ashfur. But even after the two had fought over Squirrelflight, they'd remained good companions. Plus, Ashfur had never really even wanted Firestar's daughter. He had used a relationship with her to cover up his love for Sootfur. And the grudge against her was for Sootfur as well. Squirrelflight had been the last cat to see Sootfur alive, and Ashfur blamed her for his death.

It couldn't be Brambleclaw. Birchfall's eyes turned to the final member of the group, Hollyleaf. There was something he didn't like about her. The way her eyes never held any remorse for Ashfur as he was buried. The darkness hidden behind her smile since the fire.

And now that he thought about it, Hollyleaf had been hunting near the river between Thunderclan and Windclan the day Ashfur had died. In fact, she was the one who had said she'd seen Sol there. What if . . . What if that had been a lie . . .

His eyes widened, and he glanced over at her. It couldn't be, could it? "Hollyleaf . . ." he waited as she turned to look at him, "it couldn't be that you . . . You're the one that . . ."

The black she-cat's emerald eyes narrowed, realization flickering in them.

Suddenly, a huge wave crashed over Birchfall from where he was a few tail-lengths below her. His claws instinctively grasped hold of the edge of the rock, and he tried to pull himself up to safety. But as his head broke the surface of the water, he saw Hollyleaf looking down at him with cold, green eyes. Her paw stretched out, and for a moment he hoped she'd help him. But she slid that paw underneath his claws on the edge of the rock, and he was thrown back into the icy gray water.

The water churned the small warrior over and over. He flailed his paws, desperate to reach the surface. His head broke above the waves for a second, and he wailed in terror before he was pulled under again.

I'm going to die! I'm going to drown here in these relentless waves. I can't even drag my body up to the surface long enough to even attempt to reach the shore . . . The air he held in his lungs was starting to escape as another wave pounded into him. Berrynose . . .

Birchfall's mind whirled backwards, to the moment he treasured more than any other. ". . . Even if I didn't think that I . . . Was falling in love with you . . ."

Berrynose . . . Oh Starclan . . . I'm so sorry, Berrynose. I love you, so much that it hurts. Every day it hurts! It wasn't fair for us, it never was. Why couldn't the world have just let us be! And now I'm going to die without ever telling you how sorry I am . . .

The small warrior gasped, air escaping him as he felt strong paws grasp him around his chest. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring into a pair of dark blue ones. The cat before him pressed his face against the side of Birchfall's cheek, and the warrior felt a new energy flow into him. His paws touched the splotched gray fur of the cat, "Ashfur . . ."

Ashfur smiled a small, sad, smile. "Be strong for me, my little warrior . . . This isn't the end. I'm not going to leave you."

Another pair of paws grasped Birchfall around the chest, and Ashfur's eyes rose up to the new cat. Brambleclaw's amber eyes widened in the salty water as Ashfur looked at him. The gray furred warrior's eyes glazed, "I never once blamed you . . . Brambleclaw. I'm sorry for what I did to you."

The next thing Birchfall knew, he was being dragged up onto the rocky shore above the waves. He coughed, vomiting out water from his stomach and lungs. Lionblaze bent over him, concern in his eyes, "are you alright?"

Birchfall nodded weakly, "yeah . . . I just . . . Want to go home . . ."

RANDOM AUTHOR RAMBLE

Dumdidumdidum . . . Only two more chapter leeeeefft! *sing song voice* I never expected the fic to go on for this long eve, or get so much support! And next chapter, the scene you've all been waiting for! *drum roll*

Also, I hope no one hates how I've portrayed Ashfur. But I love him, he's one of my favorite characters. And I'm still dieing to know whether he'll end up in Place Of No Stars or Starclan. I mean, Mudclaw went to Starclan, so why not Ashy? Ash will be making an appearance next chapter too. In fact, you'll be surprised how he shows up.