I'm sorry it's so late; but enjoy :)
Chapter 51:
"That's impossible!" Ivyfang gasped, staring at the tiny dot of a cat bounding towards them.
"Where?" Harefoot and Waterstorm pushed the she-cats out of the way to try and get a better look.
"Right there, just outside of the RiverClan border!" Roseleaf, in her excitement, was not able to keep her tail still long enough to point at the reddish-brown she-cat bounding toward her.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go meet her!" Ivyfang took off down the hill, the happiest Roseleaf had seen her in moons.
"But we're supposed to go the other way – ah, nevermind. Come on!" Harefoot and the others raced after Ivyfang, happy that Redfeather had changed her mind.
"This is wonderful!" Roseleaf yowled on the way down the hill.
"Redfeather! It's so nice to see you!" Ivyfang purred, touching noses with her sister once the four cats had been reunited with the ShadowClan queen.
"I knew I couldn't let you miss your kits' ceremonies. They're having an assessment right now, and their ceremonies aren't far off." Redfeather purred, too, but there was a darkness in the back of her eyes.
"It's so great to see you! So you decided to leave Mothkit with Fawnspots after all!" Roseleaf licked Redfeather's cheek happily.
Redfeather nodded as Harefoot and Waterstorm greeted her, then Harefoot mewed, "Ivyfang, I assume you're leaving now?"
Ivyfang hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. I was not chosen for this journey, Redfeather was." She smiled and dipped her head in goodbye. "Farewell, and may StarClan guide your paws." She turned around and ran towards the Clans, her tail swishing back and forth happily.
"Goodbye, Ivyfang!" the four cats chorused.
"Come on, we've wasted enough time already!" Harefoot led the cats around the hill, in the direction of the mountains.
"What are those?" Redfeather angled her ears toward animals that were similar to sheep, but had black splotches of fur.
"Those are cows." Waterstorm mewed. "They're as dumb and harmless as a mouse, but they'll step on you if you get near their hard paws."
Roseleaf shivered. "I'd hate to get caught under one of their paws, they look it it would hurt!"
"So why are you following Harefoot?" Owlflight asked as they padded along the trail of the others' scent.
Heatherpaw shrugged her golden-furred shoulders. "I thought it would be a fun adventure. Besides, I'm not getting my warrior name anytime soon." she looked down at the grass as they trotted along.
"Why not? Haven't you been training for six moons already? I'm sure it will be any sunrise now." Owlflight mewed, then added, "Well, not anymore now that you've left." He knew it would be a waste of breath to try and persuade her to go back to her Clan.
"Yes, but I'm never good enough for Runningfur." Heatherpaw looked up, her amber eyes piercing deep into Owlflight's. "No matter how fast I chase rabbits, beat all the apprentices in battle practice, she hasn't given me one mew of praise in six moons."
"Wow." Owlflight touched her shoulder with his tail-tip comfortingly, recalling how often Mosswater had awarded him praise. "That must be tough."
"Yeah. Another reason I followed him was to make sure they find the cure. Antpaw, my sister, has fallen ill with Bloodcough." Heatherpaw blinked tears out of her eyes and looked up. "Wait, what are they doing? Quick, get behind this bush!" Her sadness forgotten, she barreled into Owlflight, knocking him down behind a bush.
"What?" Owlflight tried to peer out from the top of the bush, but Heatherpaw hissed, "Get down! She pushed his head down with a muddy paw.
"Tell me what's going on!" Owlflight demanded, grimacing at the mud clumped on his head-fur.
"They're coming back down the mountain." Heatherpaw's mew turned confused. "Look for yourself."
"Are you sure you won't step on my head?" Owlflight muttered, raising his head just high enough to see above the bush. Sure enough, Waterstorm, Roseleaf, Harefoot, and Ivyfang were racing flat-out down the hill they had been at the top of heartbeats ago. "Maybe they already found the cure?" he suggested hopefully.
Heatherpaw rolled her eyes. "They don't need four cats to find a cure a few tail-lengths from camp. I could have done that all by myself."
"Wait, is that a ShadowClan cat? Redfeather is her name, I think." Owlflight spotted the ShadowClan queen bounding toward the small group. He recalled Ivyfang mentioning something about taking Redfeather's place; maybe Redfeather had decided to reclaim it.
Heatherpaw silently watched as the cats greeted each other, then as the cats turned back in the direction of the mountains, and Ivyfang turned around and began in the direction of the Clans.
"Why is Ivyfang going back?" Heatherpaw asked, her mew filled with confusion.
"I think she switched places with Redfeather." Owlflight guessed.
"We'll have to wait until she gets to the trees before following them further." Heatherpaw said, settling down into the mossy dirt.
"Why?" Owlflight argued, anxious not to lose sight of his friends. He kneaded his claws in the dirt, pulling up clumps of mud. "I doubt Ivyfang will run back after them just to tell them we're following them."
Heatherpaw considered this for a moment, then got to her paws. "I suppose you're right. But let's be careful, anyway." Her eyes locked on the dissapearing Ivyfang, she bounded out from the bushes, leaving Owlflight to chase after her.
StarClan, these WindClan cats sure are fast, Owlflight thought, panting. Running had never been his strong suit, and he preferred fighting anyway.
"Maybe there's a way around it?" Redfeather suggested, staring at the pungent black Thunderpath before him.
Harefoot shook his head, wrinkling his nose at the awful stink. "Rabbitstar warned me about these. He said the monsters never seem to leave the Thunderpath, but they'll run right on top of us if we don't time our crossings just right. They carry Twolegs in their belly, but they let them escape sometimes."
Just then, a monster rushed past, showering the four cats with dirt and grime that clung to their pelt. Scared, they jumped back, their hearts beating quicker than a hummingbird's.
"Maybe the cure isn't that important after all." Waterstorm joked, but beneath his humor, his bright blue eyes were dark with fear.
Courage surged up through Roseleaf, crushing her anxiety. "I'll go first." she volunteered.
The others stepped back wearily. "All right." Harefoot dipped his head. "Then me."
"I'll go next." Redfeather mewed, sounding unsure, but nodding her head with conviction.
"I suppose that makes me last." Waterstorm eyed the Thunderpath.
"All right." Roseleaf eyed the Thunderpath, counting the heartbeats in between each monster racing past. She padded up right to the edge of the Thunderpath, then paused, waiting for a gap. And...Now! She bolted across the hot, grimy Thunderpath just in time; she felt the hot whoosh of air on her flank as a monster flashed by. Whew...That as close! She dived into some bushes on the other side, her flanks heaving from exhaustion. I hope we don't have to do this very often! She worried, watching the other members rush across and wait beside her.
"You'll be fine, Waterstorm!" Redfeather called to the RiverClan tom, who was shifting his weight uneasily from paw to paw as he waited for a gap in the rush of monsters.
"I know," he snapped, then a few heartbeats later, flashed across the Thunderpath, and in a heartbeat he was standing beside the rest of the group, panting heavily. "Come on," he gasped, "let's keep going."
But Harefoot shook his head. "We'll wait for you to catch your breath, Waterstorm."
"But it's almost sunhigh already," he protested in between breaths. "I'll...be fine."
But Harefoot and the others wouldn't budge. "We've got time," he insisted.
No, we don't, Roseleaf thought, but Waterstorm will just slow us down if we don't let him rest. He was really scared crossing that Thunderpath, and besides, he's one of the strongest cats on this journey.
*THANKS TO OoJayfeatheroO, Guest, Darling Wolf, SMILE, Tansypetal, maddogjean1, AND Skylark! Thank you guys so much for reviewing the last chapter!*
OoJayfeatheroO: Yes, I suppose it is time to do that, thanks for the reminder :) ! (the title will hopefully be changed by the time you read this)
Darling Wolf: I have tried to work on that, but I guess I still need to do better! Thanks for pointing that out! :)
I have a few questions for you, dear reader, and if you wouldn't mind answering them I'd be very happy!
Question #1: Who is your favorite cat on the journey? I think mine has to be Heatherpaw right now, but it may change ;)
Question #2: Do you like if from Owlflight's point of view as well as Roseleaf's, or do you think it would be better if I picked one?
Question #3: What do you think the cure will be? Remember the prophecy about the flowing water!
Thanks so much for reading! Stay tuned...
