This is a continuation of chapter 31, Chosen One with Ravenpaw and his mother, Spottedwing. Plus Lilypetal-she's really important! I changed POVs, though, to third person. xD
SACRIFICE
Spottedwing rolled over restlessly in her nest. She settled onto her right side, then turned onto her left side.
"Quit moving!" a warrior beside her hissed. Spottedwing flattened her ears and curled into a ball, listening to her own breathing. Ravenpaw, she thought miserably. StarClan has chosen my little Ravenpaw. What for? What must he do to please them? She sighed, closed her eyes, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
Spottedwing ran as fast as she could, the trees a flashing blur around her, her paws scarcely touching the ground. Rain stabbed her pelt like pinecone needles and thunder growled up ahead, but this didn't slow her down. I've got to find Ravenpaw, her mind was screaming. I've got to find him. He's in danger.
Finally she saw a limp black body a few foxlengths away from her. Spottedwing slowed her pace as she approached. It was the lifeless body of…Ravenpaw. Panic squeezed her chest. "No!" she wailed. "StarClan, no! I'm too late. I'm too late…" She crouched beside the body, her head bowed and her body trembling.
"Do not mourn him for long." A calm, bright voice behind her startled her. Spottedwing spun around, knowing who was there. Lilypetal. The ginger-and-white she-cat stood there, smiling, her tail waving gently behind her.
"You!" Spottedwing hissed. "This is all your fault. Who are you? What have you done to my son? Why have you done this to him?" She broke off in sobs that racked her chest and made her gasp.
Lilypetal held her green gaze steady and calm. "This was only for the good of the Clan, Spottedwing. If it hadn't happened, the Clan would be destroyed."
"By what?" Spottedwing gazed up at her with wide, teary eyes. Lilypetal shook her head, and faded away. Spottedwing growled and bounded toward the she-cat. "Get back here! You can't just leave me here with my dead son! Come…back!"
The ground suddenly opened up underneath Spottedwing's feet and she was sent spiraling down the dark pit of nothingness, wailing not from fear, but from sorrow and sadness from the loss of Ravenpaw. She fell and fell, dreading the moment she crashed to the ground…perhaps then she would be reunited with Ravenpaw one last time…
"Spottedwing! Wake up!"
Spottedwing's eyes snapped open and she glanced around. "What?"
Hazelwing was standing there, glaring at her. "You keep thrashing in your sleep and wailing. You woke everyone up."
Spottedwing flattened her ears in embarrassment as she noticed the glares on the other warriors' faces. "Sorry…I just had a bad dream…"
"Well, next time, keep the dream to yourself," Hazelwing snorted, then swung around and stalked out of the den. Spottedwing sighed and rose to her paws, yawning and arching her back in a stretch. Suddenly, panic struck her heart. What if that dream was what has really happened overnight? I must go find Ravenpaw!
Spottedwing dashed out of the den and across the camp to the apprentices' den. She stuck her head in and her eyes swept over the sleeping figures of the apprentices. Smokepaw and Splashpaw were both safe in their nests, along with two other apprentices. StarClan, no. The image of Ravenpaw's lifeless body flashed in her mind, and her belly twisted.
She turned around and nearly crashed into Birchclaw. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Um, would you happen to know where Ravenpaw is?"
Birchclaw nodded. "He went out on the dawn patrol with a few other cats."
Spottedwing nearly fainted in relief. "Oh…thank you." She turned and headed for the fresh-kill pile, her belly yowling in hunger for the first time in a few days. She quickly devoured a juicy rabbit and began to groom herself. Thunder rumbled loudly overhead. Spottedwing glanced at the sky-it was gray and the clouds were moving quickly. The wind was picking up and buffeting her fur. Suddenly, a pang of fear stabbed her belly. Something's wrong, her instincts were telling her.
Spottedwing jumped to her paws and dashed out of the camp. Rain began to pour down, slicing down her pelt and soaking the ground beneath her paws. But she could barely feel the ground; she was running so fast. Her heart echoed in her ears and her breath came out in ragged gasps. I've got to find him. He's in danger. I just know it.
At last, she slowed to a steady trot, and soon halted. The lifeless body was in front of her. This is just like the dream. That's Ravenpaw's body. My Ravenpaw…he's dead.
She bounded over to him, tears gently coursing down her cheeks. She licked her son's ear, but he did not stir.
"Nice to see you again, Spottedwing."
Spottedwing spun around, a burning yet icy-cold anger racing through her veins. "Lilypetal! What did you do to him?"
"I didn't do anything," the ginger-and-white she-cat mewed innocently. "He's giving his life for his Clan. This was his choice."
"But why did StarClan choose him? Why couldn't they have chosen me? He was so young…"
"Simply because StarClan knew that there was a good spirit in Ravenpaw. They knew that he would die for his Clan rather than live and watch his Clan be destroyed."
"Any cat would!" Spottedwing scoffed. "I would, and surely any of our warriors would."
"It's easier said than done," Lilypetal pointed out, shrugging. "He was a sacrifice, Spottedwing, for his Clan. And you're the next one."
"Huh?" Spottedwing barely had any time to utter out that last, confused sound before Lilypetal lunged at her, and everything went black.
Woah…freakiness! Was this chapter awesome, or what? A StarClan cat killing off random cats…haha! This was quite sad, though. Because this is the end of the Spottedwing/Ravenpaw series thing. :( Oh well. I hope you liked!
By the way, I'm not sure if cats can cry. But in my stories, let's just say that they can, shall we?
xx-Starfall-xx
