Future Witness
Ravenfrost blinked her eyes open to new dawn light. It had been six sunrises. It had been five sunhighs. It had been five sunsets. Ravenfrost had survived for almost a quarter moon among the Dusk Pack. Her paws had not felt the grass below, for she had yet to step foot on ground. Bliss had supplied her with prey at night and kept her talking. Last night, though, Star had came and talked as well. It was short and quaint, but it kept Ravenfrost from getting lost in her own head. She feared her mind. It was a dark, scary place lined with thoughts that would make her want to die.
The time alone had given her time to recall everything, though. All the signs that had been laid out before her. She had known she was being watched. She had known she could hear the words others saw only as noise. All before she ever understood her gift.
The night she'd awoken and left the apprentice den, she had seen watchful eyes. The first night Cloudpelt had comforted me. She had thought, after remembering he had been on watch,
The day she had been attacked by the adder and Cloudpelt had slayed it, she had heard the serpent speak. "You shouldn't be here." It had said. "Go away."
On a night of a Gathering, she had heard the wolves coaxing her. "Raven... Raven..." they'd said. Ravenfrost now knew that when she'd heard two voices going back and forth, speaking of how she was the one, had been Thorn and Luna. She had later heard two other voices the day Blackdove had been attacked and Cinderdapple had been murdered. One sounded eerily like Thorn, but the other was still unknown to Ravenfrost. She had convinced herself that the voices she had heard didn't belong to anyone in Dusk Pack.
She had also heard the voices of the mice she had killed the same day that Whiteleopard had walked in her dreams, telling her the time was coming. "Hush, it'll hear." That's what one of them had said.
Ravenfrost had realized that the voices in her head were not just proof of her going mad. The warrior was convinced that this, being able to talk to other animals, had been a gift Fallstar had spoken of. The leader had said the night Ravenfrost and Blackdove were born was a blessed night. It got underneath Ravenfrost's skin, though. I don't want to be special. I don't want to be gifted. I don't want to be the chosen one. I just want to be a normal BurnClan warrior. I want to be someone the clan is proud of. I want to be known among all the clans. I want to bring happiness to others. She sighed and laid her chin on the tree limb on which she laid. I want to be with Cloudpelt. I want to see Blackdove, and Snowember, and Crowweb, and Goldpetal, and Willowleaf. I want to silently moon over Longclaw like I did as an apprentice. I want to see Blueflower and Berrypaw again. Ravenfrost's heart grew heavy. I want to go home.
All of a sudden, Ravenfrost's thoughts were interrupted by a large howl.
"They're here!"
Below her, Ravenfrost watched as the wolves stood up, all on their paws as Flair bounded into the clearing.
"Everyone, take cover! They're coming!"
Flair's voice was filled with absolute terror.
"Star! Bliss!" Link barked quietly. It was strange. The noise that had once filled this part of the world was now incoherent and obsolete. There was nothing. Everything was silent as Star and Bliss went to their father and he led them to a hole in the ground. Ravenfrost watched as they crawled in and could hear Luna's gentle hushes. Ravenfrost's eyes stayed on Link as he led his pack to safety. And then she heard something.
Ravenfrost looked over to see Arrow standing beside a small hole in the ground and her right leg held close to her chest. She's twisted her paw. Ravenfrost's fur began to prickle. Her head snapped to the side to see the head of a Twoleg coming closer. The sun glittered off a large, long, shiny thing in his hand. Ravenfrost had never seen anything like it.
She watched as the Twoleg stopped and lowered itself to the ground. It raised the shiny thing in its hand up and pointed it at Arrow. Ravenfrost didn't know what to expect, but she knew it couldn't be anything good. Luna had said the Twolegs were destroying the pack and their home. She tilted her head and refocused her eyes on the object instead of the Twoleg. And then a loud blast. The sound made Ravenfrost jump and then, when she looked at Arrow, she saw another hole in the ground. It was smaller than the one she'd twisted her paw in.
When Ravenfrost finally paid attention to the she-wolf, she saw how scared she seemed. Ravenfrost felt an overwhelming sense of anger as the Twoleg stood and raised its hand. More Twolegs began to go into the clearing, all carrying a large, long shiny thing in their hands. They began to make noise, scaring Arrow, which only fueled Ravenfrost's anger. She saw a Twoleg close to the tree lower the object in his hand and point it at Arrow. Then she snapped. Ravenfrost let out an angry caterwaul and flung herself form the tree to the Twolegs' head. It let out another loud boom as the silver thing pointed upward. With the sound came a cloud of smoke.
Around her, Ravenfrost could hear all the Twolegs's screaming with shock and anger as they went to where she was, clawing at the Twolegs' ears. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Flair slip out from where she had been hiding and move Arrow. That brought some kind of relief to Ravenfrost, but she was still mad. Very, very mad.
With unsheathed claws, just as a Twoleg neared her, she turned and smacked its hairless paws before jumping down on the ground. She was bristling so much she was twice her normal size. She hissed and growled and spat as they all tried to surround her. Ravenfrost looked over, and just behind the closest Twoleg appeared to be a cat with stars on her pelt. Ravenfrost blinked and watched as it began to grow. She stood there for what seemed forever until the cat in which she knew nodded. Whatever you say Whiteleopard. Ravenfrost thought and ran between the Twolegs' hind legs. She watched as the Twolegs all turned, letting out grunts of annoyance and anger. She could feel a presence on either side of her, but didn't take her eyes from the Twolegs. Out of the corner of her eyes, though, she could see Whiteleopard to her left, and to her right, a cat she had so missed. Blueflower... Ravenfrost could have cried. She would have fallen to her knees and sobbed at being close to the elder again, but she couldn't. Not yet. If she did, she'd die.
"Lead them from here, brave one. You must hurry." It was Whiteleopard speaking. Ravenfrost nodded a little and shot forward, swiping at the ankles of the Twolegs before spitting and biting one. She growled and bounded forward a little, away from the pack, and the Twolegs followed. Their focus was on her now. Mousebrains. Ravenfrost thought as she began to lead them away. She could hear their thunderous, clumsy footsteps behind her, and then a click. She didn't have time to think before there was a loud boom and the dirt spluttered beside her. They were shooting at her!
Ravenfrost jumped forward before hearing another boom and feeling intense pain in her side. She yowled as she fell to the ground and looked at her side, seeing a large hole gushing crimson blood. Just like that, it was all over...
