About a month later...
CHAPTER 25
Healing had come physically, but not so much emotionally. Foxpaw could feel in her heart the grief, no matter how hard she tried to push it away.
Stormpaw had been such an important friend... From birth they had been together. And during his death... They had been together.
Shuddering, Foxpaw padded out into the cold sunshine. By now it was early leaf-bare; when the cats had hoped to be to the Clans. It was early in the morning and not many cats were already awake aside from some hunters and cave guards, "How are you?..."
The familiar voice startled her momentarily and she turned with a small smile to Redfeather, "I've been better..." She murmured.
He gave her a sad sympathetic look and sighed softly, sitting beside her, "It's been hard on all of us... Especially Night... She refuses to forgive herself."
Foxpaw nodded and shuddered softly as a biting wind swept down the mountain side, "I understand why she's so upset... But... She needs to let it go... None of us are mad at her for it..."
The russet tom cat nodded, his intelligent eyes flickering, "I agree..."
Just then Windstorm came out, followed closely by Blackpaw, and pulling up the rear, Night, "It's time for us to head out. We've held our stay here far too long." The muscular tom said with an air of relief and confidence.
Foxpaw nodded and stood. She was thankful for Windstorm being there, she knew that without him the rag-tag group of fugitives would be long dead. He was truly the one who was able to hold them together because of his ability to overcome hardships with a bravery that surpassed that of the other cats.
After a meal insisted on by Stone Teller, the cats headed out. They kindly turned down an offer of an escort down the mountain side for they had no desire to trouble to Tribe of Rushing Water any longer.
The morning was still bitterly cold and the rock feeling like ice under the cat's paws. The wind had also picked up to a steady unsettling of their fur, "Brr..." Blackpaw murmured.
Some of them nodded in agreement, but said no words. Redfeather's once injured leg was becoming stiff in the weather, but he continued with no complaint, knowing that they had to get out of the mountainous region before leaf-bare was full in the air.
They trudged along the rugged mountain all day and decided not to rest for the night. They knew that if they laid to rest, the would not want to arise again in order to continue the track.
The small group huddled together as the night got colder. The air felt thick with the chill, the deadened silence of the rocky hills, and the still-lingering sadness of the cats.
Night said not a single word the entire journey. Even when spoken to she shrugged the others off and shook her head slowly, keeping her muzzle clamped shut.
Blackpaw and Windstorm murmured to each other very quietly on and off, but the conversations were very short and abruptly stopped in random parts, Foxpaw did not seem to want to speak and neither did Redfeather.
It was a dreary travel. In leaf-fall the adventure had been exciting and new. But now the cats had truly become sick of the bleak mountain landscape and longed for trees and grass and real prey. This is what kept them going, the idea of living in the wild forests down on the ground, not up in the cold, cloud enshrouded mountain.
With a sharp flick of her tail, Night wordlessly signaled that they would be stopping for the night and quickly, she padded off to sleep alone out in the open.
Blackpaw, Windstorm, and Redfeather settled down, huddled in a rocky groove that was slightly shallow in order to block themselves from the wind. Foxpaw, on the other hand, turned and padded softly over to Night, "What?" She murmured softly.
Her voice sounded hoarse from a lack of use and crying, as though she did so every evening, "Night... You're going to freeze to death out here..."
The black she-cat turned her tired eyes to Foxpaw and wearily said, "Good... StarClan can take me... Or the Dark Forest... Whomever will accept a murderer... I'm not picky..."
The statement shocked Foxpaw into dumbfounded silence. The Dark Forest?! Did Night really believe she was going to the Dark Forest for an accident?!, "You won't go to the Dark Forest! You didn't mean to for StarClan's sake!"
Night stared blankly at Foxpaw and tears beaded in the corners of her eyes.
A single tear slid down her glossy fur, catching the stars so that as it slid down her face and onto to the rock it shimmered and then shattered like a beautiful thing being broken and ripped up, "F-Foxpaw... I-I 'killed' a cat... An innocent c-cat!..." She choked out as more tears splashed by her paws.
The small she-cat curled up next to her companion and gently licked away her tears as she cried, trying to comfort her, "But you didn't mean to... And he was no innocent cat... He attacked Redfeather out of jealousy!" She sighed, feeling bad for her.
Night did not answer. She rested her face against Foxpaw's neck and sobbed, trembling hard.
Eventually her tears subsided to pitiful sniffles and she laid her head down on her paws, "H-how do you not h-hate me?..."
The question again shocked Foxpaw, "How could I?" She inquired.
"I killed one of your best friends yet you don't hate me! I followed in my blasted father's paw prints but you don't disown and abandon me!" She said incredulously, tail twitching, "I... I don't get it... I was banned from RiverClan solely because I am related to Scourge... But... I killed your best friend... And... You don't hate me..."
Foxpaw couldn't help but smile a little, "Again, it's because you didn't intend to kill him... Yes, it hurts a lot that he's gone... But I don't hate you for something you could have done nothing about..."
Night's tears flooded back into her eyes, only this time they were tears of pure joy and thankfulness, "I'm so happy I've got good friends now... Friends that I can... Trust..."
Foxpaw purred softly and gave her friend's ear a loving lick, "Of course you do... Now come on, lets go sleep with the others."
The black she-cat willingly followed Foxpaw to the makeshift nest and they curled up against the already sleeping cats, quickly dozing off themselves in a much higher moral than since Stormpaw had been thrown from the ledge.
OH MY GOSH IM SO SORRY YOU GUYS! DX I'm such a horrible person! I got reaaalllyyy lazy if you couldn't tell and agh! I'm so sorry! . I hope this sweet little friendship chapter makes up for it... .-. Anyways you guys, if you've got school (like I do) I hope it's going awesome for ya and you're having an easy time. :) And on a really random note, I have a Wattpad! If you all want to check out some original (non-fanfictions XD) works of mine go ahead and look up LittleSilverKitsune on there and you should be able to find me! :D Love you guys, hope you enjoy!