A Cry Of Sorrow

Amberpaw opened her eyes. Where was she? What had happened?

She slowly rose to her paws, wincing under the pain of the many wounds that laced her body.

"Are you okay." A gray tabby she-cat was looking at her.

Amberpaw nodded. "Where am I?" She asked.

"In our camp. We took you here after the attack." The gray she-cat told her.

She felt her heart begin to pound. Who was this cat? "Where is the rest of my clan?" She asked shakily.

The she-cat shook her head. "You were the only survivor."

Amberpaw's eyes widened. The only survivor? Before she knew what she was doing, she raced out of the den, looking around the clearing outside. A few other cats were there, each one giving her a curious look.

The air had no scent of her Clanmates. Every cat here unfamiliar. Could it be true? Could her clan be dead?

No! They just couldn't be! Amberpaw charged out of the camp, heading for the gorge. Her clan would be there, probably wondering where she was. They would greet her and ask questions. And she would return to the normal life in her clan.

But when she skidded to a stop at the top of the gorge, her hopes vanished. There was no movement below. No familiar faces peeking out of the caves as she called to them. Amberpaw charged down the familiar path, and stuck her head into all the dens. Not a single cat was there. It was only herself.

So it was true. She was the only survivor. SkyClan was dead.

A wail rose in her throat, and she let out a cry of sorrow that echoed through the trees. How could she survive without her clan?

...

Night watched the apprentice from a distance, knowing her pain all too well. As the wail faded away in the rising sun, the young ginger she-cat sunk down onto the ground, defeated.

Night wanted to say something to comfort the apprentice, but there was nothing to say. The she-cat had every right to let out her sorrow.

Night took a step forward, then another. The young apprentice didn't hear her until she was only a tail-length away. "Are you okay?"

The survivor turned, surprise in her green eyes. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Night." She studied the ginger she-cat. The apprentice looked only about a moon younger than herself. "What's your name?"

"I'm Amberpaw." Her voice was quiet.

Night felt bad for the apprentice. She glanced around the deserted camp. "So tell me," She meowed, trying to change the subject. "What was your clan like?"

Amberpaw looked up and Night. "Well over there is the medicine cat's den." She nodded in to a cave beside them that smelled strongly of herbs. "And just past it is the leader's, and the warrior's is the highest cave up there. On that side is the apprentice's where I stay, and that's the nursery above, and the elder's is there. Beside us is the rockpile, where Leafstar makes announcements to the clan. If you go way down the canyon, there's a smaller cave, that's were Sky use to live. The elders told stories of him, he was a direct descendent of SkyClan, that's our clan."

"What do you mean a descendent?" Night asked curiously.

Amberpaw seemed pleased to answer. "SkyClan used to live in a different forest, with four other clans, but the Twolegs came and forced them to leave. When they got here, there was these rats that drove them from their home. They were scattered around, living as rouges, loners, and kittypets. Then two cats from the four clans came, and they rebuilt SkyClan."

"Tell me more about these rats?" She encouraged.

"The rats lived in this old Twoleg building, and they could talk! So they were way smarter than normal rats. The battle between SkyClan and the rats is always told by the elders. On of the two cats that came here, his name was Firestar, he lost one of his nine lives in that battle! I wish I was there." She spoke wistfully. Then she turned to Night. "So what's your clan like?"

It was time for Night to be surprised. No cat had ever asked about her clan. "Well we really different from most clans. We're awake at night and sleep in the day. In our territory, the trees are really thick, blocking out the light even in the day. Of course, loners always came through. We usually take them in, and when we were kits, we would trip over ourselves bringing them prey in exchange for stories. I always loved hearing tales of places beyond our borders." Her voice faded away. She missed her clan so much. The memories she spoke about now crowding her head. Her life had been so good, why couldn't it last?

"Never seeing the sun? That must be weird." Amberpaw's voice broke her thoughts.

Night shook her head. "Not really. To us, it was weird for cats to be awake in the day. Our eyes are better than most at seeing in the dark. Our black pelts are perfect for hunting at night."

Amberpaw's eyes were wide with interest. "So what happened to your clan?"

Night's gaze darkened. "EmberClan happened. They did the same thing to us that they did to you. When I saw my mentor dead at the entrance, I attacked without thinking. After it was a blur. I woke up three days later, and my clan was dead. I was Dustpaw then, an apprentice of NightClan, after the attack I took my clan's name, and joined The Fallen."

"The Fallen?" Amberpaw asked curiously.

"They're the cats you saw back at camp. All of them came from different clans, all destroyed by EmberClan." She murmured.

The apprentice didn't reply. They sat side by side for a while, watching the sun sink below the trees.

"Can I learn a battle move?" Amberpaw asked suddenly. "One from NightClan? It is night after all."

"Okay," She meowed, slightly startled. "Jump at me."

The apprentice didn't hesitate. She ran forward at full speed and leapt at her. Night flipped onto her back, shoving her paws against Amberpaw's stomach as she came down. She then thrust out her limbs, sending the apprentice flying to the side.

"That was way cool!" Amberpaw's eyes were wide with excitement as she scrambled to her paws. "Let me try."

Night waited for the apprentice to regain her footing, before charging Amberpaw. The she-cat flipped onto her back, and shoved all her paws up, forcing Night away despite her small size.

Night scrambled to her paws, shaking the dust from her fur. "That was perfect!" She marvelled. "And on the first try to!"

Amberpaw seemed to forget all her worries. "Teach me some more!"

She nodded. "But just a few more."

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