"We have to get back to the others," Duskblossom reminded them.
"Foxclaw?" Daypaw started hesitantly. "Is-is he okay?"
"Yeah, he made his way back to us," Duskblossom reassured her.
Daypaw let out a sigh of relief, "Thank StarClan."
Duskblossom looked at her closely. She sensed there was a connection between them, deeper than a mentor and apprentice relationship.
"You remember how we came over here?" Duskblossom asked Rippleshade.
The silver tom hesitated and shook his head. Panic flashed through Duskblossom's body.
"I can help with that," a quiet mew told her.
Autumn wove her way to the front, looking shy in front of all of the strangers.
"Are-are you sure?" Duskblossom asked in surprise.
The tortoiseshell nodded. "Of course. Daypaw saved my life. It's the least I can do."
"Okay, lead the way," Rippleshade ordered.
Autumn nodded nervously, tasting the air before leading them towards a small pool. The sun was rising, creating a canvas for the sun to paint. Streaks of red and pink were being thrown across the sky and Duskblossom felt a stab of sadness and homesickness. She missed IceClan and Needledawn. Suddenly, Autumn let out a gasp.
"What is it?" Rippleshade asked, bounding up the rock to see. "Oh no," he muttered, glancing back at Duskblossom.
"What is it?" A pang shook her and she jumped up next to him.
She could see Berryoak, Cinderbird, Cloudfish and Gingerpaw surrounded by Tribe cats. Foxclaw was nowhere to be seen and Duskblossom could only hope that the Tribe hadn't gotten to him yet.
Eagle's lips were drawn back in a snarl and what looked like all of the cave-guards were with him. She could see Stream, the traitorous she-cat made her lip curl. Thunder was there, as well, glancing around for a familiar face.
Anger in his eyes, Duskblossom could tell Rippleshade's gaze was on the silver tabby she-cat.
"We have to help them," she choked.
"We will," he promised, and guilt flashed in his eyes; if the two cats hadn't have tried to find Daypaw, they might have been able to carry on, preventing the Tribe from finding them.
"I swear, if they have Foxclaw…" Daypaw growled, launching herself from their peak.
"Daypaw!" Duskblossom shrieked, watching the apprentice plummet.
The cats below looked up at the scream, and Daypaw surprised Eagle by landing on him.
"Wha—" he spluttered, trying to dislodge the gray cat.
Daypaw spat, writhing, and digging her claws into the gray tabby tom's back. Cinderbird looked surprised and Berryoak took the opportunity to attack Stream, as the she-cat was closest to him. Rippleshade yowled in satisfaction and hurled himself into the fight. Cloudfish rushed forward and took out another cave-guard, whirling around in a flash of white for the next cat. Duskblossom leaped into the mass, landing squarely on another cave-guard's shoulders. Looking up, Autumn was still perched on their peak, and Duskblossom silently willed her to join the battle. The red patches on Autumn's flank shone as she hesitantly picked her way down the cliff.
That'll work.
Autumn jumped on a gray prey-hunter, fury sparkling in her green eyes.
"Remember me?" she snarled.
The prey-hunter looked up and froze in shock. "A-Autumn?"
"That's right," she hissed.
He stumbled and fell, and she leaped for his throat. Daypaw raced from across the clearing and meowed, "Autumn, you promised!"
Autumn glared at the apprentice, unsheathing her claws. "I promised not to hurt his mate, not him."
"No, you can't," Daypaw cried.
"I-I found the kits," the prey-hunter choked out.
"W-what?" she asked, "Are they okay?"
He shook his head. "A wolf got them," he whispered.
Autumn's eyes hardened. "This is all the Grace's fault!" she snarled.
She lunged for the tom again, but Daypaw, quick as a snake, pushed the tom out of the way. Blood welled in her chest as Autumn's claws pierced it.
"No!" Autumn cried, quickly sheathing her claws after she realized what she had done.
A red flash streaked from an enclave and Duskblossom looked up to see Foxclaw racing from his hiding place. The cats stopped fighting as he ran towards Daypaw.
"The red cat," The Tribe cats whispered, gazing at their savior with awe.
"Daypaw!" he yowled. He turned to Autumn. "What have you done?"
The tortoiseshell bowed her head in shame. "I'm so, so sorry. This was never meant to happen."
Foxclaw cast one more glare at her before returning his gaze to Daypaw, lapping at her wounds. "Hey," he meowed gently, "It's going to be okay. We can fix you up."
Daypaw gazed at him. "I know. I'll be okay, too. I know it…" she murmured as darkness took over her.
Foxclaw looked at her in shock. "She's not dead, is she?"
"I don't know," Duskblossom bounded up to his side, "She might just be unconscious. With everything that's happened, she hasn't gotten a good sleep in forever. It might've all caught up to her, with the wound and everything." She shot an uncomfortable glance at Autumn.
Cinderbird bounded over, her eyes wide with shock. "What happened?" she gasped.
Foxclaw didn't respond, his eyes still on Daypaw. Hurt welled up in Cinderbird's eyes as the red tom fixed his eyes on the gray apprentice and nothing else.
Daypaw opened her eyes, blinded by the shining light. There were cats everywhere, with starry pelts and bright eyes.
"Where am I?" she asked, inspecting the cats.
"Little one, you are in StarClan," A gray tom told her, his deep mew rumbling.
"Stoneclaw?" Daypaw gasped, rushing towards her father. "Am I dead?"
"No, not yet," he blinked at her.
"Not yet?" she inquired.
"You are on the line of life and death," he softly explained. "You should be dead, but because of your bravery, saving a cat you barely knew, StarClan is considering giving you another chance."
She looked down at her body. Her pelt was well-groomed and her paws shone with stars. "Where is my living body?" she asked.
Stoneclaw pointed with his paw, "Down there."
She peered and saw a battered cat, with many cats surrounding it. Foxclaw was one of them, his eyes alight with pain.
"When can I go back?" Daypaw asked her father.
"I'm not sure. You weren't supposed to die, but if you hadn't saved Reed, he would be in the Tribe of Endless Hunting right now."
"Oh," she murmured, casting a sorrowful glance at Foxclaw. Thinking of him, she meowed, "Is he supposed to fulfill the Tribe's property?"
Her father shook his head. "No, but it is the destiny of another Clan cat to do that. He's here, don't worry."
She looked harder and saw a smaller red cat. "Gingerpaw!" A flash of fondness went through her.
"Yes," he agreed. "Gingerpaw is the chosen cat. The Tribe just doesn't know it yet."
"Will he survive it?"
"It will all be okay," he soothed, licking her ear.
"Please, StarClan," she whispered, "Let me go back."
So just imagine me, gritting my teeth and my eye twitching, yelling, "Ugh! We're not out of the mountains yet!"
Yup, that's my mood right now. I am so, so sorry, but MAYBE we'll be out next chapter. I'm crossing my fingers as I type, which is actually ridiculously hard to do. Who would've thunk?
Anyhoo, review time!
Mintflight0245- I'm so glad you have your inspiration back! I actually read your last chapter and it's really good! Looking forward to more ;). And yup, I had a grilled cheese sandwich yesterday soo *high five* Hope your sandwich was good ;) Thank you so much for your review! I love Foxclaw, too!
Peaklog3727- okay, can I just mention how much fun it is to type your username? XD Yeah, I feel sorry for Thunder to, buut he had it coming. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thanks for your review, and I'm kicking myself for not thinking of doing that! I so should have, y'know, made her do that. That was smart. But, it was an act, and I think they knew claws would come out if they told any cat. XD
Well, thanks for reviews, they really do help me write, and please review some more! I went "camping" in my backyard yesterday, and that was really fun! (minus the fact I got two hours of sleep because it was so cold and coyotes were howling and woke up at 5:27) Buut... BACON is always worth it. Ok, bye! Hope you liked the chapter and happy reading!
-Poppyfrost123 3