AN: Yay for chapter two not being super late! XD
The sun was hardly visible behind the looming mountains before any cat made a move to break the hushed air of misery that hung over the cats of SkyClan. The sky was bathed in varied hues of orange and yellow, darkening gradually into a modest dark blue far above the heads of the Clan. The mountains looked brighter, more friendly, in the glowing colors of sunset, almost like it wouldn't be too bad to scale them.
Spottedpaw watched through heavy-lidded eyes as a somber-looking Ravenstar got to his paws. He looked much healthier than he had just a day before when one of his lives was stolen from him by one of his Clanmates. The tom took his time going to the rock from which he had performed the ceremony of a traitor. Spottedpaw could tell that the tom wasn't still feeling the effects of his lost life. He was making a decision. Questioning and re-questioning himself.
After Spottedpaw felt like she had been watching the leader for days, he made it to the rock. The apprentice saw him in slow motion as he bunched his muscles underneath him and sprang up, landing smoothly on the rough surface of the boulder.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath me for a Clan meeting!" Ravenstar called, fetching Spottedpaw from her thoughts and bringing her back to the present. Everything seemed to be moving much too fast as cats lifted their heads from sorrow and sleep, padding over towards their leader and watching him with mixed expressions of relief and worry.
"SkyClan has suffered yet another heavy blow," the large black tom murmured, his voice barely audible to Spottedpaw, who was seated towards the back of the crowd of cats.
Ravenstar's deep blue gaze swept over the Clan. The eyes that were usually smoldering with determination were filled with a slue of emotions. The leader was too easy to read these days. It wouldn't be a good trait when—if—they ever found the other Clans. The tom looked weary and weak, like someone to push around and shape to ones own needs.
Spottedpaw watched as the tom opened his mouth again. "But we cannot give up," he meowed, his voice a little louder. "SkyClan has suffered, yes, but we are stronger because of it."
He paused to allow a ripple of agreement flow through the cats below him. Spottedpaw found herself nodding as well to the words of the leader.
"We set out on a journey. It seems like that was seasons ago, but it wasn't so long. It is not yet leaf-fall. We can hardly think of quitting when we have so recently begun. I'm sure the Clans suffered hardships on their journey, and we must suffer ours in turn.
"But I know they didn't quit," Ravenstar pushed, his voice strengthening with each word he spoke. "And we won't quit either!"
Yowls of approval sprung up around Spottedpaw as cats responded to the words of SkyClan's leader.
"And so we will cross these mountains," the black cat announced, eyes aglow. "We will cross these mountains and we will find the Clans and we will make a home for ourselves where we have always belonged," he finished, his voice softer now but full of fervor. "SkyClan is coming home.
"We'll leave in the morning." On that note, Ravenstar leapt from his perch, landing squarely on the springy grass of the foothills and listening with a look of satisfaction on his face as the cats of SkyClan cheered.
Spottedpaw was happy, but she wasn't in the mood for cheering. She watched Mistpaw with envious eyes as the skinny black she-cat entwined her tail with Lionpaw's and the two headed off to hunt.
"Are you hungry?" Sagepatch asked from behind the apprentice. Spottedpaw turned to see her mother with a fat rabbit dangling from her jaws. The queen set down the prey. "I can't finish it by myself."
"I'm not hungry," Spottedpaw grumbled, a bitter bile filling her stomach and making the rabbit smell repulsive. She wasn't in the mood to be babied by her mother. She was nearly a warrior; she could take care of herself.
"Spottedpa—" Sagepatch murmured. The apprentice didn't hear the end of her own name. She pelted towards a small circle of trees, wishing to be alone.
It wasn't until she was curled up on a patch of moss at the base of a sweet-smelling pine tree with her tail tucked over her nose that she let any of her despair show. She let out a quiet little whimper before closing her eyes and attempting to get some rest.
Only a few beams of sunlight streaked the ground when a gentle-faced Puddlepaw appeared in Spottedpaw's hazy field of vision.
"What?" the tortishell she-cat groaned, rolling over onto her back and staring at the tree branches above with mild interest.
Puddlepaw chuckled, prodding Spottedpaw's flank. "Its time to get going," she purred happily. "I can't wait to get out of here." Spottedpaw watched her sister glance around the clearing, her lip slightly curled.
"Too many bad memories," Spottedpaw nodded, rolling back over and getting to her paws. "Let's go."
Her sister purred, smiling. "It'll be nice to be on the move again," the gray cat commented as the two headed towards the gathering of SkyClan cats.
Spottedpaw nodded. "Walking can take your mind off things. You're focused on the land in front of you rather than the cats," she mumbled, trying her hardest not to sound bitter. Apparently she succeeded, since Puddlepaw didn't sound worried as she mewed a quick, "Yeah." The two were standing among the milling cats, waiting for the direction to leave. Spottedpaw didn't say anything else to Puddlepaw, instead wondering where Spiderpaw was. As soon as the tom with the dual-colored eyes worked his way into her thoughts, he appeared beside Puddlepaw, purring. Spottedpaw tried not to make a choking sound, instead attempting to pretend the two weren't there.
She fixed her gaze on Ravenstar, who liked like he was about to speak.
"Our newest journey begins here," the tom meowed simply. For the first time since they reached the clearing, the cats filed deeper into the foothills, hopping from rock to rock and busying themselves in searching for pawholds. It was oddly quiet, but Spottedpaw didn't mind. She just put all her energy into making it to the top, almost being able to believe that everything was okay.