Tanglestar pried open her eyes. Her head throbbed, and she tried to sit up. Pain rocketed through her side, making her gasp in surprise. What happened? She wondered as she glanced around the dark forest.
A pile of rocks and boulders sat a foxlength away, some cracked in half from the impact. The impact.
Tanglestar remembered. The light; the ground shaking. Falling.
The leader pulled herself onto her feet, her legs trembling. She craned her neck around to see her side, but pain wracked her neck, and she was forced to straighten her neck.
"Maybe not," the tabby muttered to herself. Then she glanced upwards, at the top of Falling Cliff. She needed to get up there. From there she could see what happened.
Tentatively, Tanglestar tried taking a step. It didn't hurt too badly, so she took another. Overall she assessed, she only had a few scratches and a couple of bloody gashes. She would survive, but it would require a trip to Silvermoon when she returned to camp.
The clan.
Had they felt the earth shake as well? Had they seen the bright light? Tanglestar knew she should go straight back to camp and see how the clan was doing, but she needed to know what had caused the light.
Slowly, Tanglestar limped towards the path up Falling Cliff. Loose rocks poked the pads her feet, but she continued.
Considering how a giant part of the cliff had crumpled to the ground in the form of boulders, the path was still in good shape. It was still intact, for one thing, and no boulders had fallen on it, preventing travel. Tanglestar considered herself lucky.
After a long energy-draining walk up the cliff, Tanglestar reached the top. Moonlight shone down, illuminating the rock and darkening the new gap a few tail-lengths away.
Ignoring that, Tanglestar looked out across the forest. The tree- tops still blocked most of the view, but she could barely see the river at the edge of their territory. Whatever had happened, she couldn't see anything that had suggested the bright light had even occurred. But Tanglestar knew there was something out there, she just didn't know what.
The soft morning light flooded the camp clearing. A lump of shadows sat in the middle of the clearing, day old kill waiting to be eaten. With a look over her shoulder at the sleeping figure of Silvermoon, Tanglestar stepped out into the clearing. She ached, and a couple of scratches she acquired from the night before burned. But she pursed onwards towards the fresh-kill pile anyways.
"Hey. What happened last night?"
Tanglestar turned her head to see Hawkmask had followed her out of the den. If she could get away with leaving, he could too.
"Falling Cliff. Some of the rocks gave out and I fell. It's a miracle I wasn't hurt worse."
"Would this have happened during the bright light?"
Tanglestar nodded, and picked up a mouse in her mouth.
Hawkmask padded up beside her and grabbed a squirrel. "Why were you at Falling Cliff anyways?" the tom meowed, his voice muffled by the furry red animal held in his mouth.
"It had to do with the stone. I'm sure of it."
Hawkmask nodded, watching Tanglestar out of the corner of his eye. The leader tried to ignore his looks, but eventually she paused from chewing the mouse meat to stare at the warrior head on. "What?" She asked, trying to keep her voice level.
"Huh?" Hawkmask swallowed a bite of squirrel. "What are you talking about?"
"The way you're looking at me. What is it?"
"Oh. Nothing." With that, the warrior finished his kill and headed back to the medicine den, limping due to the injuries from the cave.
"Fine," Tanglestar muttered, redirecting her gaze to the warrior's den as Smokesong stepped out.
The cats dashed through the forest, a blur among the trees. Despite her minor injuries, Tanglestar felt fresh and free and the cold dew on the grass was welcoming to her paws.
"Don't get left behind, Rosefeather," Tanglestar teased.
"Not a chance," the she-cat answered.
The cats were heading for the territory near Falling Cliff. It was the second time in two days that Tanglestar had gone on a border patrol, which was a lot more than she normally did. She had forgotten how much she had enjoyed running through the forest with her fellow warriors by her side. Maybe she'd have to get out of camp more often.
"Wait! Everyone stop!" Tanglestar slid to a halt, and so did the three cats beside her.
"What is it?" Rosefeather asked in a quizzical tone. "Is something wrong?"
"I saw something. It looked like…" The tabby ventured around a tree, and pushed through a bush. There she stopped, her eyes wide, unbelieving of what she was seeing.
Thank you to those who have reviewed, I appreciate it! Sorry about getting this chapter up a little late, I had a busy weekend. I hope you enjoy!