Hey hey hey! So, I'm part of Fallenclan, a beautiful forum where I gush about my (and other people's) OC's and generally just have a good time! This is a challenge for that forum, and uh, yeah! I decided to do Larkpaw, so if you haven't read Forgotten, ehehe it's spoiled now.
It seemed like the world disappeared for a minute, and Larkpaw was frozen, it felt like something had just left her, something huge, but she didn't want to focus on that.
What's going on? I have to get back to Amberpaw!
Larkpaw's limbs seemed weightless, and suddenly a voice split the odd silence that enveloped her.
"Come, darling. It's your time, even if it really isn't."
"What?" Larkpaw breathed, tilting her head.
The cat in front of her was most definitely a Starclan cat, glossy amber fur, fluffy chest and tail, he was a spitting image of her brother, except for his warm yellow, nearly golden eyes, and a scar that ran across his nose.
"My name is Auburnfur." The tom started guiding her up the starlit path, his tail wrapped around her. "I was your father."
Larkpaw gaped, Skystar, her adopted mother, had told her stories about her father, or Auburnfur, but he had always been some sort of legend, not really a real figure in her mind, probably because he had died not long after Amberpaw had been born and Larkpaw had been taken into the Clan.
"You're my… dad?"
Auburnfur nodded, and Larkpaw saw the starry grounds of Starclan, her new home, getting clearer and clearer, and her yellow eyes widened, it was amazing, and perfect, and everyone looked so happy, and excited to see her…
"But what about Amberpaw?" Larkpaw repeated, straining her eyes, she couldn't even see the Clans now, know that her brother was fighting for his life down there, while she was floating around in Starclan all happily, and it's all because she wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough, that he didn't listen to her…
Or that I didn't listen to him.
She realized that looking at her own fur, that it was turning starry as well, much like her adopted father's, and part of her was sad, sure, it was a tragedy that she wouldn't be able to live the rest of her life, but she had a new one up here now, right?
"What happens to Amberpaw is out of your control." Auburnfur mewed softly, for a second, Larkpaw heard Amberpaw's breathy mew in his voice, and knew that she couldn't just leave him behind.
"Who do you have there, Auburnfur?" A high voice came from in front of her, and Larkpaw shook her head rapidly, her gaze focusing on the snowy white she-cat that stood in front of her, black specks dotting her pelt like black snow.
"My daughter, unfortunately, Blacksnow." Auburnfur murmured, his bushy tail wrapping around Larkpaw, who snuggled into his side gratefully.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Blacksnow approached them. "Hello, Larkpaw, isn't it?" She purred. "I've seen a lot of you."
Larkpaw only stared back, wide-eyed, in return, before mewing. "How do you know my name?"
"I've been looking down on you, of course!" Blacksnow murmured. "I was your mother's sister."
"Oh." Larkpaw hadn't realized how much Skystar had lost, how much of Larkpaw's kin resided in this starry place, the same place that she now resided in, just another cat that was taken from Skystar… I hope that Amberpaw doesn't follow the same path.
Auburnfur and Blacksnow showed her around, her father seemed almost proud to be showing off his daughter, and Larkpaw understood why, he had had to leave her and Amberpaw when they were both so young, and probably regretted that for a long time after.
"This is Jaystar, he was Skystar's father… and this is Snowflight, his mate…"
Larkpaw dipped her head and smiled at many starry faces, and had never felt…. well, more safe before, comforted by her dead family around her. At the same time, a pit of unease and nervousness grew in her, the thought of poor Amberpaw kept appearing in her head.
I can't properly greet them, oh no, not yet. I need to know if he's alright.
"Larkpaw?" Auburnfur's voice seemed hazy and indistinct. "Are you quite alright?"
"I…" Her cream tail lashed. "What's happened to Amberpaw? Do you guys have any way to…"
"There is the Seeing Pool, if that is what you're talking about." Jaystar rumbled, leading her over to a small puddle, well, pool, framed by rocks and wildflowers.
Inside of it, Larkpaw saw the clan territories, and her mouth dropped open in shock.
This… is insane.
"And you can see anywhere in the territories with it?" Her mew came out as a shocked whisper.
"Anywhere." Snowflight confirmed, and suddenly the picture in the water changed, showing a sunny riverbank, the crystal-colored water fast-flowing, tumbling over the slick rocks and bubbling down the stream.
As the picture focused, Larkpaw saw a few young cats, around her age, and picked up on their conversation, the one leading it currently being a white she-cat, her fur dripping and her pale blue eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Oh, come on, Fogpaw, just get in! It'll be natural once you do!"
A gray cat paused, his gentle green eyes wide as he stared down at the rushing water. "But what if-"
"Awww, come on, Fogpaw!" Another apprentice, which Larkpaw soon recognized as Flashpaw, remembering when she had met the stuck-up apprentice at the Gathering, but the thin cat sat next to Articpaw, who beamed at him in greeting, a friendliness in his eyes and a causal air to him that Larkpaw hadn't seen before.
"Trust me, it won't be that hard." Fogpaw glanced uncertainly at Flashpaw. "But-"
"Here." The black-and-white cat stood up, and headed over to Fogpaw. He padded into the river almost effortlessly, not even reacting when the water soaked his patched fur. Larkpaw gaped.
How can he keep his balance in there?
Flashpaw then dunked under, causing both Fogpaw and Larkpaw to gasp, she hadn't known much with Riverclan, one, because Skystar could care less about them, and Russetflame only knew so much either, and two, well, they didn't share a border with the river-dwelling Clan.
"They're practically fish!" Larkpaw exclaimed, grimacing. "How do they do it?"
"A question for the ages, that is." Auburnfur purred. His golden gaze turned serious. "But still, we're being distracted. We should see what's going on with Amberpaw."
"Well, it's not like we can help Amberpaw, not really. Whatever happens to him is in Windclan, well, Flamestar's paws now." Snowflight pointed out, flicking her pale gray tail.
Larkpaw had a sudden realization, a sort of unpleasant one, right now, that what she had always believed in, always trusted, might not be in Starclan's paws either. Everyone thought it was, but it really wasn't.
Starclan… can't keep my brother alive. Starclan… couldn't keep me alive.
All the magic, all the wonder and awe that had filled Larkpaw when she had first arrived in Starclan slowly faded, and she realized that her whole short, pathetic, life, she had believed in this starry Clan. She had believed that they could change things, after all, they had been the one to deliver so many important messages, like the original prophecy about Firestar and countless ones after that.
But in reality, they're just like us. Why do they have a right to tell us what to do if they're none the wiser?
Larkpaw took a shivering breath, accepting the new reality the best she could, because there wasn't anything else she could do, not really.
"Fine." She mewed quietly at last. "Where is Amberpaw now?"