Almost there! This will be the second-to-last chapter! It's amazing!
"The attack will take place tonight!"
Sharpclaw's heart plummeted as she heard those words. She was sitting in front of Tassayo with the rest of the Pride. The leader's speech went on, but Sharpclaw failed to hear the rest because of her heart pounding in her ears. She'd known she'd have to face this battle eventually, but so soon? But she didn't dare say anything to Tassayo. She'd barely been with the Pride for a day.
The remainder of the day passed much too quickly. Sharpclaw paced anxiously around the camp, too nervous to speak, until finally dusk came, and Tassayo called the cats to her. The only reason Sharpclaw was going was because although the Pride of Tassayo was lithe and quick on their paws, they would need all the help they could get against the massive tabbies of the opposing Pride.
As the cats marched toward Katalion's territory, Sharpclaw stumbled and tripped her way along. The only thing she could think about was how she would cope if she found herself fighting Nightshade, or worse, if he didn't… She forced herself not to think about that option.
Suddenly, a line of tabbies marched up in front of them. Tassayo stopped, and spoke to Katalion with contempt dripping from her voice as her Pride followed suit.
"What are you doing here, Katalion?"
"I could ask you the same thing!" He spat back, angry.
Tassayo merely hissed, before raising her head in a wailing howl. "Attack!"
And her Pride launched themselves forward, all except Sharpclaw, as Katalion's tabbies rose up to meet them. The field was suddenly erupting with battle. Sharpclaw backed away, not wanting to fight, but she was spotted, and forced to dodge out of the way as a tabbies lunged for her. She continued to duck away from him, occasionally lashing out at his face, until another she-cat tackled him.
Sharpclaw turned around and continued to duck and weave her way through the cats, not able to avoid several slashes, which left shining red marks on her black fur. Sharpclaw had only wanted to avoid the battle as best she could until it was over, but then she saw a body. Kal's body. Her body was covered with blood and claw marks. She must have tried to escape to Tassayo's Pride, using the battle as cover, but obviously she'd been caught. But her paw twitched suddenly, and Sharpclaw saw her eyes were still looking around.
With a breath of hope, the black cat ran over to her old friend. "Kal? Can you hear me?"
The tabby looked up at her. "Sharpclaw? Is that you?"
"Yes. It's me. I'm here."
"I made it, Sharpclaw. I'm free. I'm not part of his Pride anymore. I'm free."
With that, her eyes glazed over and her head thudded onto the ground, Kal's young life already over. Sharpclaw muzzled her quietly before wailing in grief, which quickly turned to anger. Her eyes blazing, she turned to the nearest tabby and unleashed her fury, digging her claws into his side. He hissed in pain and ran off.
Sharpclaw rounded on another tom, sending him running also. She didn't care about her own wounds; all she cared about was revenge and her own need to satisfy herself. Screeching, she attacked every tabby within her sight, blinded by her own fury.
But suddenly she stopped. In front of her, lying on the ground at her feet was the very sight she'd dreaded seeing. Nightshade was lying on the ground, his body covered in blood, fresh and dried, and his neck was twisted into an odd angle. With horror, Sharpclaw realized what she'd done. She had murdered her own brother.
Another wail was heard, this time so full of grief and longing and despair that several of the cats around her stopped, but the battle was too big for them to ignore it. But Sharpclaw did. She ignored all of the cats around her. She just ran. Past all the raking claws, away from all her pain. The waves of cats in front of her seemed to thicken before her very eyes, determined to keep her from leaving. But then, when she felt as if she was going to be dragged down by everything, she broke through.
And away she ran. Through the night air, leaving the battle and her own deeds far behind. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was run away from what she had done. She wouldn't stop, she couldn't let herself. She felt as if her crime was chasing her, pursuing her to her death.
Onward she ran, until finally, she stumbled over a tree root, sticking out above the soil, and tumbled to the ground, where she laid until exhaustion overcame her and fell into a fitful sleep, filled with nightmares. Nightmares about Nightshade and Kal coming back to haunt her, taunting her, telling her it was all her fault, she'd killed them both.
When finally Sharpclaw awoke, she didn't get up. She simply remembered what she had done, and felt emotions rising in her. Despair, to herself, to what she had done. Sadness, for her losses. And anger, at herself…and at Kal. Yes, she was mad at Kal. It was her fault. If she hadn't died, Nightshade wouldn't be dead. If Kal hadn't tried to sneak out, then they would both still be alive.
But Sharpclaw stopped herself. Kal was her friend, dead or alive. It wasn't her fault. All she'd wanted was to be free, and her heart told her it was the right thing to do, running off, and she followed her heart.
And Nightshade wasn't dead because of Kal, either. It was her own fault. She'd let anger overcome her emotions. She'd skipped right over depression and went right to anger. And now Nightshade was dead, before he come to terms with the fact the Sharpclaw was his sister.
Sharpclaw stood up. There was only one thing left to do. She had nowhere to go anymore. She didn't belong with either Pride, her two friends were dead, and she couldn't go back to Carmen. The only place left was home. The Clan. She would tell them her whole story, and they would know what to do with her. They would probably throw her right back out into the wild. But it didn't matter. At least the Clan would know what happened to her. And Lightpelt. He would know too.
And so Sharpclaw walked onward, the hot sun overhead, without allowing herself any pity. She refused to grieve any longer for Kal and Nightshade. She didn't want to think about them anymore. She occupied her mind with getting back home. She remembered all the fun times she'd had as a kit, even though she hadn't been born into the Clan. She remembered Crowstar dying, Kinkstar becoming leader, and Patchclaw being appointed deputy.
Patchclaw. Sharpclaw wondered how he would cope with learning about her true history. Him, and her brother Flashfur. It would be so wonderful to see him again. The last time she'd spoken with him hadn't gone so well. It would be wonderful to see the whole Clan again, especially Lightpelt.
Lightpelt. Seeing him made going home worth it. She'd found him annoying earlier, but apparently it had taken something as drastic as her running away for her to realize how much she cared about him. Loved him, even, surprising as it was.
Sharpclaw stopped suddenly. Stretched out in front of her was a long white fence. An all too familiar white fence. Beside her was a cluster of human's houses. Carmen and Mercedes were in there somewhere. But at that moment, Sharpclaw knew she couldn't go back to see them. Carmen had told her to leave the house and never come back, and she would keep that promise.
With a leap up to the top of the fence, a tiny sliver of the sadness, ever so tiny, lifted from her heart as she saw the wide expanses of the bordering land between RiverClan and ShadowClan that she had once come down the opposite way. She was headed home.
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