Chapter 8, Nightwind
Ashfur told Shadowflight, Leafcloud, and Seapaw to go on a hunting patrol that morning.
Shadowflight led the way, dragging her paws. Leafcloud followed, with Seapaw in the rear.
"She did die, right?" Seapaw asked, making Leafcloud and Shadowflight jump.
"Who are you talking about?" Shadowflight growled.
"Mudpaw. The battle when Brownpaw killed me."
"His name's Brownclaw and he didn't kill you." Leafcloud grunted.
"No. He did. There was the pool of blood and Shadowpaw came and sat by me."
"WILL YOU SHUT UP?" Shadowflight snarled suddenly, whirling around and standing tall. Seapaw looked confused.
"Do you remember?" she shouted, "You were going to help Mudpaw but she slashed you and you were unconscious!"
Seapaw shook her head. "Yes, but now…they all gathered around my body and talked. So did you, Shadowflight."
"SHUT UP!" Shadowflight screamed. "You're just making me madder and madder! Can't you see that I'm upset about Nightwind? All this time I've been upset, and kept it to myself. Suddenly, you start trying to bring up unhappy memories! I don't need it!"
Leafcloud saw the black she-cat's eyes grow wide, then squint a little bit. She whirled around and stormed back to camp.
Shadowflight raced back into camp, where it was now afternoon, feeling mad. Suddenly she heard a scream come from the nursery and dashed over.
The black kit was inside, only it was no longer a kit. It looked more like a young apprentice, about Yarrowpaw's age. Snowfeather was screaming.
So the kit was growing faster then normal. Much faster.
A bunch of warriors all grouped around the kit, but Shadowflight backed away slowly. She knew that whatever they did didn't mean anything. Something very odd was happening.
XXX
Shadowflight woke very early in the morning. It was still dark, the sun would rise in a few hours, so she padded out.
And instantly saw the kit, or Nightwind, leaning against a tree. Or lying at the base of it.
She looked more like an older apprentice now. Shadowflight bounded over.
Nightwind was dead.
She was stiller then ever, and, Shadowflight realized, in the same position she had been when she leaned against a tree and died in the battle with Mudpaw.
Shadowflight didn't know what to do. Firestar had told her to take Nightwind, after she died, and Seapaw to the gorge, and press her paw to each of their faces.
She woke Leafcloud and explained what she was going to do.
"I'm with you," Leafcloud said instantly. "So I need to get Seapaw. She padded over, then into the apprentices den, and came out, holding a very limp body.
"She's…" Leafcloud looked frightened, "Very cold, and in apparently the same state she was in when Mudpaw put her in unconsciousness."
"I think that's okay," Shadowflight muttered. She grasped Nightwind, and for a second realized that she was holding her friends body.
The friend she thought she would never see again.
XXX
As Shadowflight and Leafcloud quickly padded over to the gorge, Leafcloud muttered, "Do you think this will bring Nightwind back to life?"
Shadowflight froze. She hadn't thought about that at all. She was just doing what Firestar said. She didn't even think about the reason.
"I don't know why he wants me to do this." Shadowflight growled. She snatched up Nightwind's body.
She looked down at the body she was holding, and saw the she-cat's ice-blue eyes were glazed with death.
So she is dead, Shadowflight thought. She shrugged, then walked on.
Then, slowly, she began to realize that Nightwind was dead. Dead, truly, really dead. She would never come back, despite what any supernatural StarClan cat did or said. She was gone.
The true realization made Shadowflight's eyes teary, and made her sick to the stomach. Her throat was choked.
Trying not to sob, she walked on, holding the really dead cat in her jaws. She felt a tiny pain in her shoulder, where once one of Demon's quills had stabbed in.
Her thoughts wandered to Demon. He was being guarded every second. Most of the time he was pinned down by warriors, and brought one mouse a day to eat, when he wasn't even a meat-eater. They would let him into a circle of bushes that was closely guarded every five hours to make his dirt. Shadowflight's guard had disappeared, but she was never allowed to get near the porcupine.
She sighed heavily and padded on. They were nearing the gorge. Shadowflight crouched on her belly and sidled foreword until she was right at the edge. She dropped Nightwind, and Leafcloud dropped Seapaw beside her.
"So…" Leafcloud's voice held a question.
"I press one paw to each of their faces," Shadowflight whispered. She walked foreword, aware of the mud around her.
"Shadowflight!" Leafcloud barked suddenly, "Get off that mound of earth! It's…"
Shadowflight scrambled to get off of an over hanging clod of dirt that was attached to the cliff wall. Her hind paw kicked out, sending the clod toppling.
Her hind paws were still on the clod, though, and her front were locked onto the main side. She yelped and barked with fear, trying to pull herself up. Leafcloud dashed over.
"Stop! There're more clods of dirt, and you'll get on one!" Shadowflight grunted, trying to heave herself to safety.
Leafcloud could only watch, her eyes damp, as Shadowflight scrambled to pull herself to safety.
Shadowflight's front paw slipped in the mud, and it fell. Her eyes made the whole clearing light up, as the moon made them glow. Then, with a last desperate shriek, her other paw slipped.
"Press your paw!" she shrieked up at Leafcloud as she hurtled to the water, "On their faces! And tell Demon…that…that…"
Leafcloud couldn't hear her.,She leaped to the edge. "WHAT?" she screeched down.
"…him!"
That was all she heard. Then it was just the steady roar of the water.
Tears flowing from her amber eyes, Leafcloud stumbled over to Seapaw and Nightwind, the spray of the river making both pelts, one black and the other silver-blue, damp.
She reached foreword, and pressed one shaking paw to Nightwind's face, and one to Seapaw's.
Oh! What do you think is going to happen? Who do you think is going to die? What was Shadowflight going to say about Demon?
Please review!