Chapter 26
Hello! I'm afraid I can't reply to the reviews for Chapter 25, because I have to prepare for tests so I better get started on that asap. But Echo of Dripping Water, I love the names you've come up with for Featherpaw, Featherwing was my original idea, but it's so hard to choose! I love Featherstreak too, it makes me think of her being super fast or something!
DawnflowerMoonshinestarchase, I love your warrior names too! My friend's warrior name is is actually Dawnflower.. How funny! ^.^ Moonlight has always been a favorite of mine, because Junjira, my Thai name, means moonlight apparently. :) But Moonshine sounds even better! Featherheart is very cute, but I LOVE FEATHERSTORM! But as I said, I'm really indecisive so I should probably make a poll when Featherpaw is going to become a warrior.
Thank you for the reviews, every one! :D
Day 27
I turn around when the sky turns brighter, a pale dark blue. The stars disappear and in the distance, we can see the orange light of dawn seeping from the hills. Foxleap sits down beside me; I can feel the warmth in his fur. It makes me want to snuggle closer, rid my body of this cold numbness. I refrain because I'd feel guilty. We watch as blue turns into orange, blending with each other as the sparkling sun rises above the hills. I give in and lean against Foxleap. His warmth spreads into my fur as he presses closer to me.
We watch the sun rise; a beautiful morning for a long day. Sol's scent isn't as stale around here. Foxleap somehow knows that's what I'm thinking about. Maybe because I tensed or maybe because he can just feel that the silence isn't sentimental any more.
He looks down at me. "We're going to find him. Before sun set, I know that."
Graystripe and I had inflicted wounds on Sol; he would've washed himself to stop from leaving a trail, but I know for sure he can't heal. I knew for sure that he couldn't fight either, but I was wrong there.
"Let's go then." I say as I pull away. He doesn't get up though. His eyes just dart between mine, a question of permission. A question he must feel he needs to ask.
So I blink slowly to tell him it is okay. A sign of affection to him. He leans in, licks my cheek and then touches noses with me. I close my eyes for a minute.
It was a good idea to bring Foxleap. I'd be cold and lonely without him here. When he pulls away, I'm suddenly wishing for his pelt against mine as we continue down the trail, leaving our own in the grass; that is getting longer as we go. It tickles my belly and sides, but I don't want to disturb the comfortable silence by laughing.
The morning fog lifts, and everything is covered in dewdrops. A spider's web is one that grabs my attention the most. The dew sparkles with sunlight and silver, dancing in its own kind of way. I look back to Foxleap, he seems intent on Sol's trail. I catch up to him. "Why did you want to come, anyway?" I ask. Not rudely, it's just pure curiosity.
Foxleap doesn't look up from the ground, and he takes a deep breath. "He's near. And by the smell, badly injured."
I look around. But there is nothing but moorland for another half dozen hills. Then it reaches thick forest. He wouldn't have made it that far; we haven't slept yet, but with his unhealed wounds, he would've had to, otherwise he might have collapsed.
"He's probably hiding in the grass." I murmur, scared I might wake him. Maybe I should kill him in his sleep.
No, wake him up and show him how painful it is to lie there, defenceless, as he lets his blood escape onto the green grass. Let him wait for death to meet him, let his life spill through my wounds.
I take in his scent and follow it, leaving Foxleap there. This is something I have to do, we both know it.
Because it was me who let her die. I should be the one to kill him, no one else. Revenge is an emotion I've never truly experienced. Until now.
Sol's body lies in the grass, almost completely covered in it, if it weren't for the pool of blood that keeps the grass down. His breaths shallow and blood coming out of the gashes Graystripe had caused. He didn't make it far enough to avoid us.
"F-Featherpaw!" He chokes out. I look down at him in mock pity. "Featherpaw, please help me!" Sol's dull eyes tell me that death is already drawing closer.
"Okay." I murmur, before slicing an unsheathed claw through one of the other scratches on his side. He winces, but it's clear he's stifling a yowl.
This disappoints me. I want him to. I want to hear the pain in his voice like I heard in Hollyleaf. So I bring my claw through two wounds at a time; flesh gathers in my claw like sand in my nails on a day at the beach. Panic flashes in his eyes for a second, but then he blinks and all is hidden. Now it appears he is accepting death. The struggle in his body leaves him and he goes limp, his fur anticipating my next excruciating move.
Maybe it's not a façade to get on my nerves. He must have accepted it, because he's already nearly there.
There was one thing that was very different between the way Hollyleaf died and the way Sol is dying. Hollyleaf had hope. Hope that I would be able to get her out and save her, and it twists my heart to think I let her down.
But I did.
Sol, on the other hand, doesn't have anyone. He is alone, no one will bother to find him and help him. The path of living is fading so quickly, and there is only one way out of this pain.
This pain… I am the cause. But he was the cause of Hollyleaf's death, so why is it so hard to kill him?
My paw of unsheathed claws hover over Sol's neck. I can't push down to prick the skin under his dry, dirty fur. I know that time is escaping quickly. If I want to kill him, this is the right chance, just before he dies from the loss of blood. But I can't bring myself to it.
I remind myself he killed Hollyleaf. Anger and hurt shoots through me and it wills my paw forward, but I can't push it, it's as if there's a force that is stopping me from harming him all of a sudden.
So I look closer into it. What is stopping me? And then I let my gaze drag over his body; deep and bloody, the wounds criss-crossed along his small body. His paws are curled in a strange angle that makes me believe he must've fallen.
So he did have hope. He didn't just lie down and wait for death.
He had hoped he'd be able to get away, but his body couldn't go any further so he just collapsed. And then waited for me, because he knew I'd find him.
The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth when I begin to clean him. It's thick and disgusting, so I spit it out and continue.
I can see the surprise in his eyes without even looking at his face as I wash his wounds. Then I collect some cobweb and cover the deeper, more ugly and painful injuries. A side of me is screaming, asking what in the name of StarClan was I doing and why.
But pity overpowers the need for revenge. So I clean him, and then help him up. The wonder and curiosity is plain to see. He's dropped the mask.
"Why?" He asks, his voice barely heard, but croaky at the same time. "Why would you help me?"
I bare my teeth unexpectedly, letting anger and frustration take over now. "Don't expect me to do it again. If I ever see you, wherever I am, whether I be in the territories or out, I will kill you. And I will make it more painful and let you know that each wound I inflict on your weak body is from me. Don't let me find you, because death will be the only path you take."
Sol steps back before turning around and running. His frail, tiny body can barely take it, but I think his determination is keeping him from falling again. I feel a tail brush my shoulder, and I look over to see Foxleap by my side, watching Sol get away.
He doesn't ask, but I know he wants to know. So I tell him. "He was already broken when I found him. His death wouldn't have been my fault."
"So you let him go…" He nods understandingly.
I still feel the need to pursue my point. "And that means he has hope. Hope that I will destroy if I ever find him again."
Foxleap licks my head. "I know why you did it Featherpaw," he whispers. "But this was not the reason in your mind when you let him get away." My spine tingles, his warm breath has words of truth, but I don't want to hear them right now. "You let him go because of pity."
And then guilt strikes me; not that Foxleap was accusing me of not doing the job, because there was not of that. It's the fact I came out here to kill someone for revenge, but ended up healing them and then letting them go.
I can already see Sol taunting me from the bushes, a mischievous smirk on his face. The anger is surging through me again, but I push it down.
"We should rest." He murmurs to me. "We'll leave at sunset."
I rest my head against his shoulder. "What do we tell them?" The desperation is so clear in my voice. Please, Foxleap, please have a good excuse.
He licks my head and leads me into a longer part in the grass. "I have something planned. Come on, let's sleep."
"What about snakes?" I ask worriedly as he helps me lie down.
"Taken care of," he says to me gently. My exhaustion clouds everything else around me. I can hear Foxleap murmuring something in the background, but it's muffled and blurry. I let my eyes close and fall into a dreamless sleep.
When I awake, the delightful scent of prey fills my nose. I blink my eyes open. First, panic fills me. I look around frantically, trying to make sense of the situation. I remember I brought Foxleap with me… Foxleap! I get up and see the pile of kill, but he's nowhere to be seen. A pain grasps my neck, and I notice it's swollen.
Jayfeather… Now that I think of it, I haven't seen him since the night of vigil for Hollyleaf. It irritates me momentarily and then I realize he must be mad at me. Mad because I let his sister die. I hate feeling guilty.
The grass parts as Foxleap pushes through. "Oh, good afternoon, Featherpaw," His orange pelt looks like it is on fire; the sunset makes his green eyes blaze.
"What's with all the prey?" I ask, forgetting to respond to his greeting. I'm still trying to get my head around it all.
Foxleap blinks. "While you were sleeping, I caught some. We can use it as an excuse for why we were gone. Say we found this area in the forest filled with prey just outside ThunderClan and that we wanted to hunt it all."
I don't know if that'll trick them, but right now, anything is good enough for me. "You must be tired." I murmur.
He shrugs. "I'll sleep when we get back. We should go now so we can slip into the camp when everyone else is sleeping."
"Okay."
The journey back is a little harder. I had tied the prey to the long grass and then used it as a belt so we didn't have to lug it all the way from here back to the camp. The only thing was… the bodies kept hitting our legs with each step, so we had to stop and readjust it every now and then.
We eventually got back, and by then, it was probably midnight. The half-moon had revealed a little bit more of itself, as it does every night until it's full. We're nearly there, when I hear a voice behind me, a cross between a grumble and a mutter; accusation more obvious than the sun on a clear sky.
Damn it.
ANOTHER cliffhanger. Aren't I just the meanest? ;) But hey, you want to read more, right? I hope so, cause that's my goal! ^.^ Featherpaw is super close to becoming a warrior, because 1. I really just can't wait any longer, 2. Everyone is already giving me suggestions, so what the heck! LET'S DO IT! And besides, I think Featherpaw is getting sick of being the only apprentice in the Clan! So start sending in more suggestions! I'll go through them with my little sister (Cause she da bomb!), and the ones we like best, we'll put in a poll for others to take :D
I just really hope we have enough results... But I think we will, cause I'm getting my friends to do it too! What?! I have friends?
Yes, yes I do, surprisingly. I'm rather antisocial, what with my reading at lunch and recess... haha.
Thank you for reading! :D Please review! (Unless you don't have anything to review :D Hahaha)