So here it is guys! The last chapter. I hope--no pun intended--that everyone enjoyed this story! And I encourage you all to read the sequel! Yes there is a sequel...I wasn't going to write one, but when I put all the chapters to this story together and saw that I'd written over eighty pages in two months, I figured that posting here gave me drive to write. That's something that I usually don't have since I mostly write for myself. So thanks to everyone that's read/reviewed! The allegiances and prologue for Fracture will be up shortly. Please R&R!
Epilogue
The late afternoon sun shed its glow upon a swaying field of heather. A light dappling of silver adorned the soft purple flowers from a morning drizzle. Alone atop a hill softened by the beautiful flowers sat a scarred blue-gray she-cat. She watched the sea of beauty rock back and forth in a cool breeze that swept over the land. The wind ruffled her thin fur, but the she-cat didn't shiver. Her blue eyes were locked on something in the distance. She had all but vacated the dried out husk of a body her soul clung to. Her facials scars were signs of shame, as were the others, the ones that nearly stole the life out of her. They were horrific to anyone who first laid eyes upon them: the three scratches on her right cheek, the thin scar across her throat, the jagged line down her spine, and the worst of them all, the pale, sickly scars on her underbelly. Those, she'd been told, would never heal. She didn't mind any of them. After all, she rarely spent her days staring into puddles, grimacing at her reflection. Those around her hardly minded. They were not her Clan, so she felt awkward and isolated amongst them for several days. On the third day of her stay in the moorlands, a brown tabby she-cat named Cloverstripe offered to clean her pelt. She obliged. Every part of her body, including her tongue, ached. She wanted desperately to cleanse herself of any remnants of the Cave and its inhabitants, but she didn't have the strength. The she-cat's offering made her feel more at home here.
After Cloverstripe broke the ice, the other cats flocked to her, overwhelmed by their curiosity. They'd never been so close to a ThunderClan cat for so long. They asked her a hundred questions. What did robin taste like? Did she climb trees everyday? Was it hard? Was the forest loud? Did she like it there? All these she answered as honestly as she could. They were innocent at first until the warriors began to delve deeper. What was the Cave really like? What things had she seen? How did she survive?
How did Sleetfur die?
This she only revealed once and only to three cats: a queen named Whitecloud and her two kits Flurrykit and Snowkit. They were Sleetfur's family. They, if anyone, deserved to know. She didn't tell the tale lightly, nor did she enjoy treading in the mental mine field where it lay. They were no better after hearing it. This, she warned them of. But they were adamant. Whitecloud cried for ages. Flurrykit sobbed and buried her face into her mother's fur. Snowkit, on the other hand, took it all in stride, as if he were a warrior already and death was an everyday thing. She knew that to handle that kind of news at four moons old took a lot of maturity. Snowkit was different from the others.
They were nice. They were kind. They were good cats.
But they weren't her family.
She missed her mother. She missed the way she used to groom her as a kit and pull her close to her side. She missed her mate and the way he made her smile just by being around her. She missed her sister. When she searched for a reason, she found none. She just missed Dawnpaw for the sake of missing her.
All these thoughts and more kept Skyeyes from the present—that awful place where the future she planned for herself came to die and where the past remained ever prevalent. She dreaded each evening. She dreaded each dawn. She missed possibility and wished it would come back.
"Skyeyes!"
The blue-gray she-cat shook herself awake and turned to see a smoky gray tom plowing through the peace of the afternoon with a wide smile on his face. He tumbled through the tall grass and hauled himself up the hill to meet her. Panting, he flashed her a toothy grin.
"Emberfur was looking for you," he huffed. His blue eyes grew solemn. "He says you're leaving soon."
"I am, Smokepaw," she chuckled. She gave the tom a boost up onto his feet and licked him between the ears. He'd just been named an apprentice the night before, and was one of many kits that sought Skyeyes out when they were in need of entertainment. Skyeyes purred and rubbed her cheek against his. "It's time that I went back to ThunderClan. I belong there." If they will take me back, she thought afterwards. She frowned to herself.
"You can stay here with me!" Smokepaw offered. "Brackenclaw will teach me to hunt soon! Then I can catch rabbits for you and keep you safe! You can sleep in the apprentice's den with Ryepaw and I! It'll be fun!"
Skyeyes purred. "I don't want to trouble you," she chuckled. "Besides, I miss ThunderClan. I want to see Mother again."
Smokepaw frowned. "Will I ever see you again?"
"Sure you will. You'll see me at Gatherings and on border patrols."
"What am I gonna do for fun without you?"
Skyeyes laughed. "I'm sure you'll find better means of entertainment," she purred. "And you insult Brackenclaw by insinuating that he's no fun. I, personally, think that he can be…uh, interesting, at times."
"Interesting!" echoed Smokepaw. "That's a joke! He's dull as a stump! I can't believe Featherstar stuck me with him as my mentor! I'll die of boredom before I'm a warrior. Mark my words!"
"Smokepaw!" Skyeyes chuckled. "You're so silly. WindClan are lucky to have you. You'd make a great deputy one day."
Smokepaw smiled. "Then will you stay here to watch me do it?"
"I'll watch you from ThunderClan."
The smoky tom huffed. "Fine."
The two cats sat in silence, watching the moorland dance. Skyeyes was still captivated by it, even after spending a week here in WindClan's home. She missed the tall, shady oak trees and the soft feeling under paw of walking on a blanket of leaves. She would, however, always admire the beauty of the moorland. Smokepaw glanced at her sideways periodically as they sat. He frowned deeply, and Skyeyes smiled. He hated sitting still for anything.
"I'd better go find Emberfur," Skyeyes said, standing. She stretched carefully so as not to reopen her severe wound. "Walk with me?"
Smokepaw purred. "Okay."
They walked together with their shoulders brushing. Smokepaw frowned at the thought of Skyeyes going away. He'd lost the majority of his family to battles, and he saw her as an older sister of sorts. He wanted her around to play with and to talk to. He understood—after being scolded by Emberfur several times for jumping on Skyeyes' side—that she wasn't able to jump around like the other kits, but he didn't like playing with them much anyway. Flurrykit stuck to Whitecloud like glue. Snowkit never wanted to do anything. All he ever did was collect flowers. Skyeyes always knew what to do. She made up games for them to play like the hiding game where she'd bury herself in a patch of heather and make him come find her. The game is much harder than it sounds when one takes into consideration how powerful the scent of the heather is. She slowly trained him to be a better warrior by doing it in a way he understood. Another game he loved to play was the buzzard game. The two of them would find a piece of carrion and lie it out in the open for the birds to see. Then, they would have to hide so that the birds would land. Once there were enough birds around the kill, they'd burst out of the bushes and chase them all over the place. This game taught stealth and patience—two things Smokepaw lacked to this day. He asked Brackenclaw a hundred times if they could play some of the games during training, but the gray tom insisted that they were childish.
How come everyone always leaves me? Smokepaw thought angrily. First Mom, then Dad, then Gorsekit and Heatherkit. Am I really that bad?
They reached the WindClan camp soon after. Smokepaw led Skyeyes inside and towards Emberfur's den. Skyeyes dipped her head in greeting to Falconpaw and Ryepaw, the eldest pair of apprentices. Ryepaw, a yellow tom, purred back, and Falconpaw, a dark gray tabby, flicked his ears as he sunk his teeth into a crow. They passed Cloverstripe and her son Grousepaw as they shared tongues in a corner of the camp. Galestorm's patrol of Rustclaw and Thornwhisker nodded to the two of them as the warriors made their way to the warriors' den. Lastly, Skyeyes gave a soft greeting to Hazelfur, Rusclaw's mate, who sat outside the nursery with her four tiny kits: Adderkit, Weedkit, Berrykit, and Larchkit. They were only a half-moon old and were just coming out of the nursery for the first time. Skyeyes was beginning to like kits a bit more than she used to. Doveheart, a plump, pale gray queen, sat not far off, purring at the clumsy kits.
Smokepaw led her through the thick walls outside Emberfur's den and into the warmest, most covered place in camp. Inside, the skinny ginger tom was standing over Flurrykit, who struggled as he applied pressure to her bleeding paw.
"Hold still!" he commanded. The white she-cat squirmed and let out a cry of protest. "There." He got off and wrapped her paw up in cobwebs. "You're lucky it was only a pebble this time," Emberfur growled. "Be more careful!"
Flurrykit nodded and sulked off towards the nursery. Emberfur looked up and smiled. "Ah, at last." He gave the white kit one last look before padding over to them. "I thought that perhaps Smokepaw had forgotten where the camp was."
"Hey!" Smokepaw meowed as Skyeyes laughed. "You have so little faith in me!"
"I expect nothing less from the son of Flowertail and Boulderfur," Emberfur chuckled. "You've got no idea how much trouble your parents got into when they were kits!" He met Skyeyes' gaze. "They ran off together once, to do only StarClan knows what, and Boulderfur dragged her back to camp with a massive gash on her underside. Apparently they'd tried to make a nest out of an 'abandoned' badger set. The poor she-cat nearly bled to death." He smirked. "That's how I learned to put intestines back in," he said. "Brambleface made me watch even though I was a kit and had only showed a minor interest in medicine. He said the knowledge may come in handy one day."
"Ew!" Smokepaw exclaimed. "I don't want to hear any more embarrassing stories about my parents! Did you wanna see Skyeyes or not?"
"I did," Emberfur replied. He flicked his tail. "Come with me." He got up, and when he passed them, he narrowed his eyes at Smokepaw. "Not you," the ginger tom said.
"I-Is Skyeyes leaving?" Smokepaw stammered.
Emberfur nodded. "Cloverstripe and I are going to escort her to Fourtrees. Leopardclaw and Longstar will meet us there."
Smokepaw let out a squeak and buried his face in Skyeyes' scarred flank. "Please," he whispered. "Don't go…"
"Oh Smokepaw," she murmured, licking his ears. "You're a wonderful tom. You're going to grow up to be a great warrior, and you'll make your parents and WindClan very proud. I wish I could be here with you, but I need to go back to ThunderClan. That's where I belong."
Smokepaw sniffed and stepped back with tearful blue eyes. "B-Bye," he murmured. "I'll miss you."
"You kit!" scoffed Emberfur. "You'll see her at the Gathering! I'll make sure that Featherstar asks you to go this time, alright?"
The gray tom perked up. "Okay! Bye, Skyeyes! I'll see you soon!"
Skyeyes smiled and followed Emberfur out. The WindClan cats said their good-byes as she left, but as Emberfur said, she'd see them at the Gathering. She would miss being near them but wanted desperately to see her friends and family. Featherstar and Galestorm were waiting for her at the exit to the hollow. Skyeyes dipped her head to the silver-furred leader.
"You have done the forest a great service," Featherstar meowed. "I can never repay you."
"You have done me a great service," Skyeyes replied, "by allowing me to stay here for so long."
Featherstar waved it away with her tail. "It was nothing. Please journey safely back. "
Skyeyes nodded and turned to Galestorm. The blue-eyed tom scoffed and looked away. She could tell that he was grateful but didn't want to admit it. Emberfur told her that he hated admitting that he needed help for anything. His pride was wounded, apparently, by the fact that ThunderClan she-cat had broken the curse. Skyeyes smiled to him nonetheless. Despite his misgivings towards her, he'd always been sure that she got plenty of food.
"Thank you," she whispered to him.
"Let's go, Skyeyes," Cloverstripe meowed beside her. She flicked her tail up the slope to where Emberfur stood. "He'll leave without us if we don't go now."
Skyeyes gave the WindClan leader one last nod before jogging up to join the ginger tom. He led them through the maze of thick plants until they reached a break. Skyeyes could smell the scent of pine and grew excited. They pace was slow. Skyeyes couldn't run without risking re-injury to herself. She settled at a brisk walk, with Cloverstripe near by to hold her up. They finally arrived at Fourtrees by moonhigh. Skyeyes felt joy welling up in her when she whiffed the familiar scent of ThunderClan. She spotted Leopardclaw first. He with his back to her in the clearing, and she recognized the odd pattern of his spots. Cloverstripe stepped aside to let her charge down the hill as fast as she could towards him.
"Leopardclaw!" she cried joyfully. "I missed you!"
She threw herself onto the dappled tom before he even had a chance to turn around. Laughing, the two of them fell over. "Skyeyes!" Leopardclaw purred. "I missed you too." He gently got up and slid her onto the ground. "It's so good to see you alive."
"Yes, and I hope you can forgive us."
Skyeyes looked up and purred at Longstar as he padded over. She frowned when she examined him more closely. He looked terrible. His fur was tattered as if he'd suddenly gotten older, and there were streaks of gray running through it. He bent down and pressed his nose to hers.
"I'm so sorry, Skyeyes," Longstar mumbled, "for making you go through that."
"I don't blame you, Longstar," she replied. "I could never blame you."
Skyeyes got up slowly. She scanned the clearing for Sandstone or Bluestorm, but neither of them were to be seen. "Where are Mother and Sandstone?"
"In camp," Leopardclaw replied. "They're waiting for you."
They were the best sight I've ever seen, standing there waiting for me. It gave me a lift. I felt like the world was giving me a sign that I could live again. They were giving me love and giving me…hope.
Sandstone didn't leave my side for a quarter moon after I got back. Nightwhisker—yeah, that moron finally became a warrior—finally convinced him to give me some space right about the time I nearly took his ears off for following me to the dirt place. It was flattering to have him love me, but I didn't want him to smother me. I didn't want anyone to think that I couldn't stand on my own like Father told me I could.
A few cats asked me if the scars were troublesome. I said no. As long as they don't bother Sandstone, they don't bother me. Besides, now I can never, ever look like Dawnpaw. I liked it that way.
The days moved into weeks, the weeks into a moon, and the moon grew fat off of the insignificant moments that made up my fragile existence. Even with Sandstone around I found myself starving for excitement and for the reason that made me emerge from the Cave. Why hadn't I died along with the others? Why hadn't I gone to StarClan to be with them forever? My injuries kept me from doing warrior duties though Leopardclaw told me that when I'd finally healed, I'd be able to go out like any other cat. The time couldn't fly by fast enough.
As the days ticked on, I felt a stirring in me. Something was growing. Something was threatening to burst forth from within me. I grew worried. What if one of the Dark Forest cats had possessed me? What if I was carrying some foul beast inside me? My worry grew, but I couldn't say a word. The Clan held me up as some kind of hero, as someone who could do no wrong. I forced myself to stay silent, and in my silence, I drowned. The day finally came that I knew I had to go to Leopardclaw. He was surprised to see me, but he heard me out regardless. I asked him one simple, short question. Everything I was and I everything I used to be hung on his answer. He smiled at me. He smiled and purred. And he said the worst possible word for me to hear.
He said 'yes'.
And my world came crashing down.
Ooh, what was the question? What's in store for Skyeyes in the future? Will Skyeyes ever stop being an annoying, depressed kitty? PROBABLY NOT. But I'll be introducing better characters in the sequel, so read it for that! xD Please review even if you hated it!