Chapter 25

Leopardpaw & Petal

Standing in the middle of the cold mountain wind on the edge of a sheer cliff-face did not make Leopardpaw a very thrilled cat, to put it in the nicest way possible. He was cold and tired and hungry, and really wasn't in the mood to be going rock climbing. Thirst had made his mouth dry and cold, and licking the ice or the snow just froze it further, creating a crust of what seemed like frost on his tongue. Right now, all he wanted was to be back in the warm ThunderClan camp, enjoying the warm days of late newleaf and early greenleaf, his belly full of prey.

"When we get further down," Petal murmured, almost to herself, "it'll be warmer. The thaw will have started, and it will be rocks instead of ice and snow, even though up here, the snow never ends. It's beautiful, the mountain in greenleaf. When all the snow is gone, it's a white-capped, huge rock, breaking away from the ground, and it's amazing, especially when the sun sets and tinges the mountaintop red."

To this, Leopardpaw didn't reply — if he did say something, she'd probably stray away from her gentle thoughts and become fiery and barb-tongued again. He did like that Petal; but sometimes, it was better to see another side of her, and he really couldn't deal with her remarks in his current hungry state.

"I found it!"

That was Ice, Petal's sister, crying out excitedly, and everyone looked up. The silver tabby padded over to her sister and peered down the jagged cliff-face blankly, Leopardpaw trailing behind her like some lost kittypet.

"I'm sorry," the tabby frowned, "but what exactly am I supposed to be seeing?"

"A path," Ice insisted. "A path down the mountainside...can't you see it? The first paw hold is that big ledge just there, see? And the second one —"

"Let's leave it at that," Petal interrupted. "Because I don't really care. So, are we going down now?"

Bramblestar, who had been staring down into the abyss, his amber eyes clouded over with his thoughts, pricked his ears up as the silver she-cat spoke.

"I'll go first," he volunteered, always the leader.

"Don't be silly!" the grey-and-white she-cat exclaimed, looking as if she were about to laugh. "Only Petal, Snow, Shell and I'll be able to get down there, since we're the lightest," she glanced pointedly at Leopardpaw; and, although he was considerably younger, he held a lot more muscle and flesh around his frame. "What we'll have to do is tell them — Blizzard, Eagle and Silver — that you'll be coming down to help them. The only other way down is Fox's Lair," she added quickly, when Whitewing opened her mouth to speak, "it's a very dangerous path to take, because of the foxes that live either side. Silver tried to get up there; she was the cat who found it, but she didn't get very far. The foxes are hungry, mangy scavengers, the vultures of the mountains — they stop at nothing to get the living, but they will settle for the dead. Fighting your way down is the only option, unless you want to get torn to pieces. How about Petal, Silver, Blizzard, Eagle, Snow, Shell and I start at the bottom of the path, and everyone else starts at the top? We could meet each other halfway."

"It's too bottom-heavy," Brackenfur countered. "Maybe just you and Petal go down; that way we have the help of Snow and Shell on our side."

He was too tactful to mention that Snow and Shell were really too weak to be of much use when they were climbing down the mountainside. Too weak to fight, either, Leopardpaw observed, maybe...maybe numbers will help. The best that Snow and Shell could do together was fend off a fox cub, but he really didn't want to test what they were like when they got angry. He'd already had plenty of that, thanks to Petal.

"Well, let's get started," Bramblestar said briskly, that mistiness still hovering in his eyes, veiling them like a fresh cover of snow. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."

The wind suddenly picked up and a sheet of snow flew over them and into the abyss, as if it were an omen of what was to come. An uneasy silence fell for a matter of heartbeats, until Petal, in a voice that sounded too cheerful, too forced, meowed,

"Nothing's going to get done if we just stand here."

Only one cat voiced their agreement, but it was enough to jerk them out of their stupor; and, slowly, the cats began to assemble in their designated positions. Leopardpaw watched as the two she-cats heavily padded over to the edge, Petal's eyes widening as she saw the fall below once more, and he wanted to comfort her — but at that point in time, all he felt he could do was watch, to be the onlooker.

And so he stared as Ice's front paw plunged into the abyss' awaiting mouth.

A reason why she probably should not have agreed to follow Ice down the abyss wall: heights.

She hated them. She hated the way that they made her vision spin before her eyes, her breath catch in her throat, her whole body shake when she looked down into whatever endless pit she was standing above. But what she hated most about them was the fact that they sent that emotion churning through her body — fear.

Fear was weak. And she hated being weak, feeling weakness. It just wasn't her.

"This one, Petal..."

"Concentrate."

"Look before you leap, Petal!"

"You're too heavy to go on that one!"

"Really, Petal, what's wrong with you?"

Ice seemed to be having way too much fun bombarding her with insults and narky remarks as they climbed in a painstakingly slow manner down the cliff side, the grey-and-white cat wincing at every wrong step that Petal took. At first, she'd let it sweep over her — something she'd never usually do, but her mind was far away, the paws in her daydream set on firm ground — but then, as Ice grew more aggravated, more forced with every word she spoke, Petal liked it less and less.

So, like any sensible cat would, she snapped.

"I think the question you should be asking is, 'what's wrong with yourself'?" Petal snarled at her sister, pressing against the cliff face.

To this, Ice had no answer, and the rest of the time they spent clambering none too elegantly down the cliff was in a cold, thick silence, full of emotions that could not be expressed into words. For the most part, Petal was rather satisfied; she'd effectively shut her sister up, and she had some time to spend in silence and in thought — but that was for the most part.

The only thing she managed to get out of Ice the rest of the way down was the occasional 'this one' or, 'watch your step', all of which were void of any emotion whatsoever, and saved Petal from tumbling to her death — which she was annoyed about. She liked to save herself, thank you very much, and nothing would change that.

And then there were these other times when Ice would stare at her for far too long, open her mouth, as if to say something, and then look away again. It got on Petal's nerves, yes, but she was too proud to admit that.

So, when they did eventually reach the bottom of the cliff side, and Petal was more than just annoyed with Ice, she thought that her sister was joking at first when the grey-and-white cat finally mewed in a tumble of words,

"Sky died. He fell and he died."

It took Petal a while and much bemused spluttering to believe her. She stood there, a lump of emotion swelling up her throat and threatening to choke her when she finally managed,

"He didn't fall — he was pushed."

I'll grieve later, she told herself, after we've done this. After we've freed my mother and brothers from the abyss. Then, we'll have a proper burial.

Ice visibly flinched at the statement, not even questioning how Petal knew that, and then turned on her heel and began to pad away firmly, her paws kicking up snow behind herself.

Again, silence washed over them and Petal found herself wandering ahead, not going in any particular direction; she followed the curves in the walls, their jutted rigidity, their soaring grandeur, and felt smaller, oppressed, as she shrunk away. One heartbeat, she was walking, and the next, she had stopped in her tracks, facing someone she hadn't seen in moons.

"By StarClan — Petal, is that you?"

She'd imagined her reunion with Eagle before. It would be joyous, happy; in her mind, she'd run towards him, stop in front him, and tell him what a mouse-brain he was for falling into the abyss in the first place. He'd say something — she never really made it up in those moments when she was lost in a world between StarClan and reality — and then he'd take her back to Silver and Ice, and they'd somehow get out of the abyss, if they weren't already out.

Instead, though, it happened rather differently. She was rooted to the spot, her mouth hanging open, useless and gaping, which she shut quickly. She looked away and blinked at the sheer walls of the abyss. Things had changed, she realised; they were no longer the apprentice-age cats, wandering around the mountainside towards their prospective home. He didn't even know if she was his sister.

When she found her voice again, what seemed like after an eternity but was actually only a few heartbeats, she made a comment that she might have been proud of if she wasn't at the bottom of an abyss at the time.

"What other cat with a silver pelt and my kind of eyes would even bother looking for you?" she snapped. "Of course it's me, you mouse-brain. Who else do you think it'd be?"

He stared at her for a heartbeat, as if mulling over the best thing to say; then, his face split into a huge grin and he bounded toward her, about to say something when Ice's serious voice broke in,

"Eagle, how's Silver?"

Immediately, the grin disappeared from Eagle's face as his eyes focused past Petal. The silver she-cat turned around and met her sister's serious ice-blue gaze, asking one question: where is she? A question that Ice chose not to answer.

"No better," Eagle replied with a sigh. "Blizzard's with her now; she's feverish. I just came out here to look for you, Ice," he frowned, "you've been gone an awful long time."

Something close to guilt flashed across Ice's face, but when Petal blinked it was no longer there. I must have imagined it — but even she could not bring herself to believe that. There had been guilt in those eyes, perhaps for less than a heartbeat; but now Ice's face had twisted into a faint smile as she told Eagle enthusiastically about how she'd found their father and part of their Clan, and then how they'd got captured and how they'd found Snow and Shell.

The brown tabby tom, so much like Bramblestar now that she'd seen him, in everything but the eyes and the light-hearted side to his personality, was listening intently — too intently to notice that Ice shiftily glanced to one side when she talked about finding them. But Petal wasn't, and every time her sis ter stumbled over words or paused, her frown deepened even more.

"And so that's why we're here, now," Ice said, "we thought you might like some help."

"Help is more than needed," Eagle meowed briskly, and he beckoned with his tail for them to follow.

Ice seemed to know the way fairly well, and they were there almost immediately, standing in front of a few hollowed-out caves in the mountain, which turned out to be a winding network, moving their way this way and that, until they stopped near one entrance. Could these tunnels possibly lead up to Star and her group's caves? Could this be one of the turn-offs in the long tunnel? Petal mused, her gaze flickering over the similar slate-blue rock. No, she said decidedly, of course it'd be the same kind of rock in here, because it's the same mountain. It's just some different network, completely separate...although...

"Blizzard...?" Eagle's unsure voice echoed through the caves, carried by the wind that started and finished nowhere. "We've got a new arrival."

A grey tom poked his head around the entrance, doing a double take when he saw Petal, his eyes widening.

"You fall as well?" he asked, bluntly.

"No," she answered, shaking her head profusely, "no, Blizzard — we've come to rescue you. I don't think we have time to explain now," she added, cutting off Ice who had opened her mouth to speak, "we'll tell you later. Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here, and keeping Silver safe in the meantime."

"Someone's got her priorities askew," Blizzard muttered, feigning innocence as she sent a glare his way. "I meant straight. Very much straight. Don't you find that you get straight and askew mixed up, Eagle?"

The brown tom's eyes sparkled ight-heartedly, but stopped when Petal rolled her eyes.

"Don't you start, too," she barred her teeth, as if in warning. "I think you seem to be forgetting I've had my fair share of extra prey then you — and I've tried my paw at fighting many more times than you have these past moons."

Leopardpaw hung back aimlessly from the rest of the cats, feeling a little lost now that Petal wasn't there. He wasn't exactly sure where they were going, but Bramblestar seemed to have a clear enough idea in his head. Ice had vaguely waved at the path down as they passed, but to be honest, he hadn't paid much attention.

The heartbeats seemed to pass slowly, every sound amplified in his ears — from the high-pitched shriek of the wind to the dull chatter of the other's voices, and the monotone of the distant thunder that rumbled away angrily in the sky. There was that faint, acrid tang in the air before a thunderstorm; that of the monsters that roared across the hard, pitted surface of the Thunderpath.

The ominous black clouds that hung in the air, stretching on past the horizon, on into eternity, seemed so unbearably close, so thick and choking, bearing down on him from above. The air itself felt heavy, churning with the anger, the force of the storm, and it was approaching at a fast pace — it would probably hit very soon. Could it even rain in the mountains?

His question was answered as a large rumble announced the first of the large, wet raindrops that were few and far between; but as soon as they touched a surface they would send out a splash of tiny raindrops, effectively wetting Leopardpaw within a couple of drops.

He pressed his ears to his head and increased his pace to catch up with the rest of them, coming to a halt beside Bramblestar, who was frowning as he looked up at the sky.

"I'm guessing this isn't good news," Leopardpaw supplied.

"On the contrary," Bramblestar frowned. "I think it actually might be good news after all — I have a feeling that foxes hate rain."

"I don't think everyone else is exactly thrilled," the apprentice argued, although he tried to keep the argumentative tone out of his voice.

The larger tom glanced at him with something close to amusement reflected across his face, and then back at the rest of the cats.

"It is a known fact that cats don't like water, Leopardpaw," he replied, "and it is a known fact that rain dampens the scent. We might have a bigger opening than I foresaw here."

The apprentice was about to speak when a loud yowl echoed out from the abyss, and, between the erratic, now fast-falling raindrops, he made out several tiny shapes, their silhouettes constantly changing in the curtain of water before his eyes. Bramblestar answered the yowl with his own, and the cats on the other side — or what Leopardpaw assumed were cats — began to move at a steady pace up the steep curve of the path. As the static of the thunderstorm crackled in the air, and the wind howled against the sheer, raw power of the storm, the ThunderClan leader's quiet murmur somehow made its way to every cat's ears.

"Charge."

And, the adrenaline of a battle surging through his veins, the golden tabby tom streaked off down the path, ducking under the first russet shape that spilled from the sides of the mountain itself.

Author's Note: I'm sorry how long a wait it has been. I am one of those people that hates other people for not updating soon enough. But I have been suffering Writer's Block, and it was the holidays, and it is my birthday soon :) I had written about a quarter of this when this morning The Bookish Owl left an amazingly motivational review, and it really encouraged me to write this chapter. Therefore, this chapter is dedicated to The Bookish Owl.

There are only a few more chapters left in this. Three...Four...Five...and then I need the prologue too. Well, not need but want. And, as much as I love writing stories about cute, cuddly kitties I think I should try something new. This is not positive yet, but I might be writing a PJO fic. And hopefully, if you like PJO, you'll read it.

Ahem, and I was going to write something else but I cannot remember what it was for the life of me. So, I'll just go ahead and say thank you to my wonderful reviewers: Moving to Mars, Coqui's Song, WarriorCat99 & The Bookish Owl. Oh, and thank you everybody who has reviewed this story
-squishes- I have 100 reviews! *dances around*

Oh yeah, that is what I was going to say, in case you've forgotten — there are still the prizes available for the people that review to this Chapter and 24 & 23. And then I'll pick my winners. Okay, bye :D

Queen Of The Pens