In response to a PM from Mo0ny (get an e-mail so I can PM you back instead of using author's notes)- No he didn't tick me off, but it would be rather impossible for Blizzardcloud to be unharmed from that awful fall, don't you think? I could have done much worse, trust me grins evilly

An awful, dark wave of devastation crashed over Sealfin's heart. Her first thoughts were grief, which quickly faded into disbelief. After a while, a tide of realization swept her mind.

"Then I'm- I'm... no, I can't! Leader?" Sealfin was terrified. No... I'm just a half-grown apprentice. I'm a foolish, naive kit.

"Doubt will never do you any good." echoed Ripplestar's wise, powerful voice. "You have no choice. Destiny was laid out for you moons ago." Fury rose in Sealfin's throat. "Destiny was laid out, was it? Am I just a little puppet for you to play with? It doesn't really matter who it is, does it? I mean, there's nothing special about me, I'm just the hapless kit that you decided to screw around with!"

"Sealfin, you have been chosen to save the Clan."

"It doesn't make me feel any better, knowing I can't fail, all because StarClan predicted it would happen! It means I'm worthless, nothing, because it won't be my guts and talent that save the Clan, it will be StarClan pulling strings!" There was a thoroughly silent pause.

"Sealfin, you're right. It could have been anyone. Anyone else could have heard the prophecy and believed in themselves enough to scrape through. But... we did choose you for a reason." Ripplestar said, endlessly patient.

"Why was that?" Sealfin sneered. "My oh-so-lovely attitude?" Ripplestar purred in a patronizing manner. Sealfin felt the urge to claw her ears off.

"Actually, yes. Though, I wouldn't call it 'lovely'. That's it right there: without my encouragement, you think. Don't think we're always right. We make mistakes as much as any cat. We did not look to our mystical pool of all things to let it tell us who would save the Clan. We merely saw your personality, what set you aside from the other apprentices. We analyzed, we thought. And it was but a half-moon ago that we revealed the prophecy." Sealfin was speechless.

"Ravenheart... but why didn't she tell me? Oh... the Melting scare. But I suppose that's nothing compared to the coyotes."

"On the contrary, this Melting is bigger than you can imagine. 'It cannot be stopped. But when the warm wind catches the wing, the answer lies south'." Ripplestar said, with a prophetic ring. "If you don't do something, you and everyone you've ever met will drown." the silence was endless and contemplative.

"Alright. I'll be leader. For the Clan. For the polar bears. Maybe even the coyotes. Get me back to the battle. Now!"

Warm, sticky liquid coated Sealfin's back. Blood, she decided after a quick sniff. Everything was oddly quiet. Suddenly, she wondered where the blood came from. She sprang to her paws and looked wildly around. Red tinted paw prints were scattered everywhere. Not a living soul was in sight. Ripplestar's body, she realized with a jolt, was gone. Probably dragged off by the coyotes along with the fresh corpses of my Clanmates, she thought bitterly. Don't think like that, don't think like that.. She absentmindedly stepped on one of the paw prints. The print was twice the size of any cat paw she'd ever seen.
The Clan isn't dead! They're not dead! She thought triumphantly. Then... where are they?
She confidently took a deep sniff as she trotted up the hill. In an instant, she was being attacked.

Heh, how's that for a cliffie?