Warriors: The Darkest Season
Sorry about the intense amount of time it took me to update. I had some sever writer's block on this chapter, ugh! I really just hope it was worth it, and that you're not too disappointed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
"Larkleaf!" Merrycloud gasped. "Please… we'll both drown!"
Larkleaf paid no attention and lunged for Merrycloud's neck once again. Merrycloud twisted to the left, and Larkleaf's teeth instead found her shoulder. The golden she-cat did not let go once her teeth had sunk in, and Merrycloud could feel her fur becoming sticky with a thick, welling liquid. She barely noticed her wound, however; her eyes were still fixated upon the river, which was now directly ahead of them.
SPLASH!
The water became red the moment the two fighting cats touched its surface. Merrycloud kicked desperately at Larkleaf, trying to free herself from the grip of the deranged cat's teeth; whether Larkleaf was truly intending to kill her or not, Merrycloud could not tell. It seemed to her that the former medicine cat had completely lost all sense of reason; she was not even trying to escape from the rushing torrent of the river as it pushed the two cats along, as if she could not tell that her own life was in danger.
Finally, Merrycloud managed to free herself with a mighty kick that sent her flying far away from her attacker through the torrents. She desperately swiped at the water in an attempt to keep her head above its surface, her head angled back so much that it was uncomfortable. She didn't know how long she'd been swept through the river before something knocked against her and pushed her onto the shore, but she was immensely grateful, gasping in an attempt to fill her lungs with the air they so desperately needed.
It was not long before Larkleaf approached, pulled along by the waters, thrashing about her limbs in a mad frenzy. Something twisted in Merrycloud's heart just then, and she could not deny that she wanted to save Larkleaf's life. After all, they were sisters, and Merrycloud would never be able to forgive herself if she simply allowed her own kin to die.
She rushed forward, towards the older she-cat, yelling as she went, "Larkleaf, I'll help you!"
Merrycloud ducked down as she approached Larkleaf and attempted to grab her sister's scruff in her jaws; Larkleaf thrashed about, managing to twist and swipe her claws across Merrycloud's muzzle. Blood tricked down, but Merrycloud ignored it and ran alongside Larkleaf as the medicine cat continued to be swept down the river.
"Larkleaf, I'm trying to save your life!" Merrycloud pleaded. "Let me help!"
Larkleaf glared at her for one moment, pure hatred shining in her hard green eyes. Suddenly, a rush of water knocked Larkleaf under the surface of the river, and Merrycloud held her breath, horrified.
Several long seconds went by, and Larkleaf did not resurface.
Merrycloud's heart hammered when, finally, the body of a cat appeared. She held her breath for what seemed like an eternity – watching, waiting – and could not find it again when she realized that the cat in the river was not moving. Many more moments passed, and suddenly Merrycloud's entire body became alive. She raced towards the body, hyperventilating madly.
"Larkleaf!" she yowled, her voice cracking as it carried on the wind; she had no doubt that every cat back at Fourtrees could hear her grief-filled wail.
Merrycloud ran as fast as she could, but could not catch up as Larkleaf was swept down the river. Forcing herself to run somehow faster, Merrycloud was shocked at the odd mixture of emotions and thoughts swirling throughout her. She strongly wished that there was a way that Larkleaf could live… but at the same time, she knew that her sister was far too dangerous to be allowed to stalk the forest. Her deepest feeling, however, was the wish that there was some way that Larkleaf could have been saved…
Merrycloud was ready to collapse when she finally caught up to Larkleaf's body. It was being pushed against a rock by the river's current, unmoving and limp. Merrycloud allowed herself to fall then, landing on the ground with a soft crash, and not daring to move for as long as possible.
It was morning when Merrycloud was nudged awake; looking up, she saw without much surprise that Lightningpelt was the one who had awoken her.
"I guess you know what happened," Merrycloud murmured, not bothering to stand up.
"Actually, yes," Lightningpelt agreed, "but my sense didn't tell me this time. Everyone noticed you were missing, and Yellowtail asked me to find you." With a sigh, he added, "You have no idea how relieved they'll all be – I'm actually quite relieved myself."
"You mean you didn't know immediately?" Merrycloud asked, surprised.
Lightningpelt shrugged. "Even StarClan don't know everything – sometimes we like to think that they do, but as long as they've existed, they haven't been around since the formation of the very universe. There are some questions that they simply cannot answer – and if that's the case, then why should I know everything? I am only a cat, as are you."
Merrycloud shook her head, and her ears rang. "You're more than that," she gasped as she rose to her paws. "You're the cat who became deputy when he was still a new warrior. You're the cat who can use his special ability to prevent unnecessary wars. You're the cat who –"
Lightningpelt cut her off. "That may be, Merrycloud, but I am also not many things. I am not, for example, the cat who has just saved all four Clans."
With a gasp, Merrycloud suddenly realized the reality of what had happened the night before. Whirling around on unsteady paws and nearly toppling to the ground, she glanced at the river and saw that Larkleaf's body was no longer beside the rock; however, the water was still as red as it had been during her fight with the rogue medicine cat, as red as blood…
It was hard for her to believe that it was really all over. Larkleaf had driven the Clans to terror for what had seemed like an eternity – but had it really been only a few days? Had Merrycloud's climactic battle with her sister really only taken a few moments? Had a few blinks of a cat's eye been all the time it took for Larkleaf to…
Die?
Shaking her head, Merrycloud looked back up at Lightningpelt. "I didn't do anything," she told him. "Larkleaf drowned in the river."
"Why was she in the river?" Lightningpelt replied; something in his eyes told Merrycloud that the golden tom knew the answer already.
"We… we were fighting," Merrycloud admitted.
"You see?" Lightningpelt said. "If you hadn't chased after her, foolish as it was to do so, there's really no chance that she would have fallen in on her own. Whether you meant to kill her or not, which I'm rather sure you didn't… the prophecy has been fulfilled."
"I'm not even completely sure she's dead," Merrycloud protested, somehow unwilling to believe what she had seen with her own eyes.
Lightningpelt was silent for some time. "I can sense that the danger is over," he mewed at last. "We should be getting back to our Clans now." The ThunderClan deputy turned and began to walk back towards Fourtrees, and Merrycloud chased after him.
"This is going to be goodbye, isn't it?" Merrycloud asked, her voice coming out quieter, more strained than she had meant for it to.
Lightningpelt looked down at her without saying a word. When he finally turned his head away to stare straight ahead, he answered. "Yes."
There was something odd about the way Lightningpelt said that word, that one simple syllable, but for the life of her Merrycloud could not figure out what it was. She thought it rather strange that this ThunderClan cat had become so closely entwined with her own life during this dangerous season, and that despite the fact that Larkleaf's reign of terror had not lasted as long as it had seemed, she almost felt as if he were her own Clanmate who had grown up beside her. It would be hard to say goodbye, much harder than it should have been.
Lightningpelt remained silent as the two cats walked back to their Clanmates, and Merrycloud dared not speak. She wondered if he somehow knew what she was thinking, or if his powers even gave him that ability. They had just reached the edge of Fourtrees when the ThunderClan deputy came to a sudden stop.
"What is it?" Merrycloud asked.
"I can hear something," Lightningpelt murmured. "I think it's Stripedstar – he has uncanny timing, doesn't he?" At that moment, the ShadowClan leader appeared from the bushes, followed by Lionblood, Smolderfur, a lightly bleeding Frostpool, and a strange grey tabby.
"Merrycloud? Lightningpelt?" Stripedstar asked with surprise. "What are you two doing out here?"
Lightningpelt stepped forward, dipping his head towards Stripedstar. "Larkleaf is dead," he explained.
Stripedstar stared at Merrycloud in disbelief. "Did she…?"
Lightningpelt nodded.
"Frostpool, what happened to your ear?" Merrycloud asked.
"There was a rat," Frostpool replied hastily. "Merrycloud, I… I can't believe this! You killed Larkleaf?"
"Not intentionally…" Merrycloud answered. "I really meant to capture her, or run her off, or something. But it's true… she is dead."
"That's wonderful!" Lionblood exclaimed, and even Smolderfur seemed excited, his eyes lighting up happily. "We won't have to live in fear anymore!"
"Yes, but the death of a cat is not wonderful, no matter how terrible they were," Merrycloud sighed; as hard as she tried, she could not shake off the knowledge that she and Larkleaf had been kin, though she realized that nothing could have been done to save her sister from her own madness.
Frostpool looked at Merrycloud with confusion, and Lightningpelt quickly changed the subject. "And who is this, Stripedstar?" he asked, nodding towards the grey tabby. "Emmett's brother Drew, I assume?"
Stripedstar nodded. "Correct. You probably wouldn't believe how hard we had to fight to convince him to come with us – but I'll tell that story at the next Gathering."
Lightningpelt's eyes shone good-naturedly. "I look forward to that, Stripedstar. I assume that our four Clans will go their separate ways today."
Stripedstar nodded. "Yes… Even this brief period of alliance cannot shadow the fact that we are, and always have been, rivals."
"But always remember that the code does permit friendships between Clans," Lightningpelt pointed out. "In that sense, this isn't a goodbye – not really."
Merrycloud could not help purring a bit at hearing those words. It was true; she would still be able to see Lightningpelt at Gatherings, and her friend Shallowstone from WindClan as well. Of course, there was always the dark knowledge that she and her friends, whom she loved as dearly as her own Clanmates, may one day meet in battle.
"Well, shall we go deliver the good news?" asked Drew, speaking for the first time. "I didn't let you drag me out here from Mothermouth just so that we could stand around chattering like birds all day."
Amusement lit Stripedstar's eyes. "He has a point," he admitted. "Shall we?"
Merrycloud padded into Fourtrees, alongside her Clanmates, Lightningpelt, and ShadowClan's new medicine cat. Cats erupted into cheers, relieved sighs, and mews of surprise as the seven of them entered the clearing, and Merrycloud was nearly knocked over by the feeling of joy and relief shared by every cat in Fourtrees.
As Stripedstar and Lightningpelt stepped forward to address the Clans, Merrycloud told herself that tonight, even if no one else would join her, she would sit vigil for Larkleaf, safe within the walls of her own camp.
Buuuuut, this isn't the last chapter! There will be an epilogue to finish up the story and tie up a few loose ends. I can't believe that after this year-long journey, The Darkest Season is actually coming to a close. Thank you, all of you, for being such great reviewers, helpers, friends, and whatever other roles you've filled as I wrote and you read. I didn't expect this amount of positive feedback, but I'll surely never forget about it.