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Onto the story!
Chapter 28
Goldensun woke to the sound of nervous voices, and instantly, with a sinking feeling in her gut, she realized that something was wrong. Getting to her paws, she made her way out of the warrior's den, the frosty grass crunching underneath her. Looking around, she spotted a limp, bony tortoiseshell she-cat lying in the center of camp, with Shadestar crouched beside her.
Shadestar's green eyes were hollow with grief, and Goldensun recalled that Flowerpath had been her mother.
"If a ThunderClan cat killed her, I swear I will avenge her death." Archkit squeaked, his loud voice carrying through the stunned silence.
"Hush Archkit." Largepelt murmured, cuffing the brown kit softly, "Cats get sick and go to StarClan. No one killed Flowerpath."
Shadestar stood up stiffly, and turned to her on-looking clanmates, her gaze filled with sorrow. "She died in her sleep. It was a peaceful death, and just yesterday she had been telling me that her end was drawing near."
Pushing her way to the front of the crowd, Yarrowleaf meowed, "I'm sorry for those of you who were close to Flowerpath, but with the exception of Shadestar, none of you may come nearer. Even after death, she still may carry Greencough." Turning to Shadestar, she sighed, "It would be best if we buried her now, we don't want anyone else to catch the sickness."
Shadestar dipped her head in respect. "I agree, Yarrowleaf. We will sit vigil tonight." She said, leaning down to grab Flowerpath's scruff in her jaws. Goldensun watched as the leader and medicine cat carried the elder's body out of camp, and suddenly became aware that her sister and brother were seated next to her.
"There hasn't been a death all of our lives, but now there's been Froghop and Flowerpath." Snowfall whispered, her voice hoarse.
Goldensun nudged her sister softly, as if to comfort her. "Come on." She sighed, "Let's go hunting. If we bring back prey it might lift some spirits."
Darkpath nodded in agreement, and Snowfall shrugged. "Might as well." She murmured, her usual energy not present.
Getting to her paws, Goldensun meowed, "All right then, lets go."
As they made their way out of the camp, Goldensun glanced upward at the crisp blue sky that peaked out between the dark pines. She wondered if, even though the stars were not visible, Flowerpath was watching her clan grieve.
Goldensun remembered when her, Darkpath, and Snowfall were kits, and how innocent they'd been. They hadn't worried about their clanmates dying and going to StarClan, to them it had all seemed surreal. They had listened in awe to Flowerpath's stories, and relished in her wisdom. She had taught them so much about their clan's history and now she was gone.
"I never thought that loosing a clanmate would hurt so much," Snowfall's soft mew cut into Goldensun's thoughts, "I figured that unless it was one of our family member's that it would be easy to bear."
"I suppose that's the thing," Goldensun murmured, looking into her sister's sad blue eyes, "Clanmates are like our family, they help raise us and watch us grow, they share our victories and failures. We're all in this together."
"You sound wise." Darkpath said, glancing over at Goldensun. She noticed that even tough his eyes were dark and sorrowful; the tone of his voice was light. "I never thought I'd live to see the day."
Goldensun shoved him lightly, and even in the circumstances, cast him the ghost of a smile. "Enough with this moping around, we came here to hunt, so we might as well get to it."
Neither Darkpath nor Snowfall argued as Goldensun parted her jaws to take in the scents of the forest. "Mouse." She muttered quietly to herself before dropping into a crouch. Her white belly fur brushed the ground, disturbing the still layer of pine needles. Careful not to alert the small creature ahead, which was scavenging for food among the frost-covered ground, Goldensun continued forward. Bunching her muscles she leapt, the wind pulling against her long golden fur, before she landed and killed the mouse with a quick swipe. As she picked up the small, warm body, she could make out one weak thump of its heart before stopped, never to beat again.
Sending a quick prayer of thanks to StarClan, Goldensun and her siblings continued on their hunt, their mood considerably brighter than it had been before. After awhile, Snowfall managed to kill a scrawny shrew, but no other prey was too be seen. Eventually, they began to drift toward the RiverClan border, still searching for something else to catch. Finally scenting another mouse, Goldensun began to follow the trail when Darkpath called out, "Goldensun, Snowfall, check this out!"
Spinning around with a huff of annoyance, Goldensun saw her brother standing a few tail-lengths away, his jet-black muzzle practically inside a bush. "What is it?" She grunted, stalking over to him, "I was about to catch something else!"
Ignoring her comment, Darktail announced, "Smell this bush, it reeks of RiverClan!" Pausing a second he added, "I wish I knew whose scent it is, do you recognize it?"
Inhaling deeply, Goldensun shook her head, though she instantly knew whose scent it was. Lakewave.
I hope you enjoyed!
Trivia Time!
Who is Barley's, sister's, clan-daughter's, temporary apprentice's, father?
