WARNING! CLIMACTIC CHAPTER AHEAD! BE READY FOR A SERIOUS 'OH MY STARCLAN' MOMENT!
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CHAPTER TIME!
Chapter 34: Goldenfur
"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME!"
The piercing shriek reverberated through the forest, stabbing into the lone tom's ears.
"GREYLEAF!" Goldenfur yowled, abandoning his catch and crashing through the forest towards the sound of her voice, "Greyleaf! Where are you!"
No answer.
"Greyleaf!" His voice grew shrill.
Silence.
"GREYLEAF!"
He was panicking now, dashing left and right, calling out her name in hopes that she would answer. He tore up bushes, scaled trees, checked every rabbit hole. But still, after hours of searching, there. was. nothing.
He stopped, panting heavily, ears drooping, eyes closed, to catch his breath. The Thunderclan warrior wrung his tail around his paws and kneaded it for comfort and clarity.
Now was not the time to lose control or panic.
Goldenfur took in a deep breath and scented the air one more time. There, just faintly on the soft wind, wisped Greyleaf's scent. It was sharp, light, and laced with fear-scent.
He wasted no time in following it.
The smell grew stronger with each passing step, and Goldenfur knew he was getting close. With one last heave through a ring of shadowy bushes, he arrived in a dim clearing.
Sitting statue-like in the middle of it, her eyes fixed upon a spot in the darkness, was Greyleaf.
"Oh! Thank Starclan!" Goldenfur exclaimed, running to her, licking her forehead, and wrapping his tail around her, "I thought I lost you."
She gave no response, just continued to stare rigidly at the darkness.
"Come on," the tom softly mewed, gently helping her rise to her paws, "Let's go home."
Ever since that day, Greyleaf's behavior had been odd and erratic, and she had changed even more drastically in the past few quarter moons. She still trudged around in pain, but even more torture lined her eyes and her countenance. She wouldn't even look at him now, and when she did, she would break out in tears. Goldenfur almost never saw her anymore, despite trying to find the she-cat. She would often slip away into the forest, her scent indistinguishable from the environment. These excursions would last for hours, and each time she came back, her eyes would be even more troubled. The silvery-grey she-cat didn't even sleep in a nest next to him anymore, and this was perhaps what saddened him the most. She didn't speak to her kits, either, just stared at them blankly as if they were one-precious things that had been lost.
Once again, Goldenfur wondered what was going through her mind. Oh! If only Starclan had gifted him with the ability to walk into other cats dreams like the great medicine cat, Jayfeather! If he could only help her within her subconsciousness, it might ease the pain of her life!
But alas, Goldenfur possessed no such power, so he was left with the agonizing path of waiting.
And wait he did.
Time passed ordinarily enough, and it brought with it new hope. The herbs that Shadowclan had brought them had helped Featherheart and Sparrowaw tremendously, and many cats grew better. Soon after, Lilytail, Fernfoot, Mouseflight, and Bramblepelt had returned with many loads of catmint. When Goldenfur inquired as to what had taken them so long, they told him of a wild adventure that involved them posing as kittypets and slowly taking as much catmint as they could, for the only place that they had found it was at a twolegplace many tree-lengths away.
"It was exhausting," Fernfoot sighed when she had told Goldenfur the story, licking her brown chest and crinkling up her nose, "I'll never get the stench of twoleg outta my fur."
Though, the tabby she-cat had immedately gotten over it when she saw Greyleaf. "Great Starclan!" She then exclaimed, rushing over to the corpse of a cat, "How in Silverpelt did she get like this?"
Goldenfur had exhaled sadly and said, "H—her mom and siblings died while you were gone. Th—the greencough was too much for them."
"That," Fernfoot's eyes then grew wide and teary, "That's horrible..." She had trailed off then, looking back at her friend.
Ever since the group had returned, Fernfoot had never left Greyleaf's side—except during the times when she'd disappear and when the brown she-cat had a patrol.
Though, in the past few sunrises, the faithful friend had become more and more worried because Greyleaf had been disappearing more and more often.
Then, one sundown, Greyleaf came right up to Goldenfur and asked, "Do you want to go out in the forest?"
She seemed pained, almost robotic, when she said it, but those were the first words she had spoken to him in forever. "Of course!" He enthusiastically replied, happily following her into the verdant woods.
He was contented to let her lead him along the winding paths and through the patches of bushes as they walked along, and she even chatted with him here and there. Her eyes remained glazed, though, and she avoided looking straight at him, but it was a start. Goldenfur would take what he could get.
Though, with each passing step, an uneasy feeling of guilt gripped and picked at his heart. Maybe the reason that she hadn't been speaking to him was because she knew something was wrong, that he had done something awful? He battled with his warring emotions at they took turns squeezing his conscience, and he wondered if he should tell her the truth, or keep it a secret. He was still deep in thought when she suddenly stopped in front of him.
Goldenfur was surprised to see that they were in the middle of the same clearing that he had found her in those many sunrises ago. She had her back turned to him, but as he stood watching her, she slowly turned around to look straight at the tom. Her eyes cleared, and the intelligence within those green orbs shone through, though they were still shadowed by grief. She said nothing, just looked at him, raised a paw as if to touch his face, and the glade seemed to emanate the need for truth to be uncovered. It pulled at him, snapped at him, snagged his heart and tried to pull it out of his chest.
With a heavy sigh, Goldenfur made up his mind. "Greyleaf, there's—there's something I need to tell you." He looked away from her, his ears and head drooping, "Blackfur wasn't killed, he—he was murdered. I—I could've save him, but I—" he paused, trying to choke out those last few words, "I let the fox kill him."
Chapter 34: Greyleaf
I let the fox kill him.
I let the fox kill him.
I let the fox kill him.
I let the fox kill him.
I let the fox kill him.
The words echoed in Greyleaf's head, stabbing into her mind. She had done everything the shadow-cat had said. She had gone to every meeting place, listened to every instruction, followed every precaution. She had stayed away form Goldenfur. She had waited until the day of the full moon. She had brought him here. She was ready to do it. Ready to to swipe her claws into his eyes. Ready to crush his windpipe with her teeth. Ready to kill him.
But she was not ready to hear this.
The very last straw within her shattered. The very last tether that was keeping her from doing the unimaginable was broken. She had thought she could count on Goldenfur to be the light in the dark, the good presence that would be nearby when Pinestar couldn't be.
She was wrong.
Greyleaf backed up, the breath and will taken right out of her.
She couldn't do it.
She couldn't do anything.
She was useless.
She was worthless.
She needed to go.
Greyleaf turned tail and ran off into the ever growing night.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" An enraged voice howled behind her, and the shadowy figure that had been hiding in the bushes burst forth in a froth of fury, "KILL HIM!" The figure of Fernfoot howled, her eyes bloodshot and full of malice, "KILL HIM!"
Greyleaf didn't stop.
Dun. DUN. DUN! Did yall expect that to happen?! Yes, no, maybe? ANSWER IN YOUR REVIEWS!
Question Of The Day: What do you think Greyleaf is going to do?