When I arrived back at the scene, my heart dropped as I saw Acorndapple laying on the ground dead. Vixenstar looked shocked and in pain.
"Gracecloud, get some cats to bury my daughter." Vixenstar croaked. "Starlingpaw, follow me back to camp."
I did so and saw several cats including Nobleclaw leading Briarpaw back to camp. Jasminepetal, who I assumed was part of the patrol, stayed close to him.
When we were all back in camp, Nobleclaw approached his mate.
"Acorndapple could have been saved if Briarpaw listened to Starlingpaw in time." Nobleclaw growled. "We found him with Jasminepetal."
I went still, why would he be with her? I thought they weren't friends anymore.
"Well Briarpaw." Vixenstar snarled. "Care to explain why you let my daughter die?"
"I..." Briarpaw looked at me in horror, with Jasminepetal still beside him.
"We were seeing each other." Jasminepetal told her. "Not in camp because he didn't want Starlingpaw to know."
...What?
"Starlingpaw, Briarpaw assumed you weren't the cat of the prophecy and wanted to make your last moons enjoyable." Myrtlepaw explained. "Then you'd die and he'd go on with his life."
"But then I went to the Moon-Den and I received news that you're the cat to break the night after all." Myrtlepaw added. "I told Briarpaw the news, and he realized if he broke things off with you you'd leave and never bring light back to the Clan."
"Jasminepetal has had a crush on him for a long time. And it was only recently that she revealed her feelings for him and he felt the same." Myrtlepaw finished. "He was going to break up with you after you became a warrior."
Oh no...no...oh StarClan not this of all things!
"Starlingpaw, I just wanted-"
"YOU BETRAYED ME!" I cried over Briarpaw, feeling my heart tighten and my eyes water.
"He just wanted what was best for our Clan dear, it's nothing personal." Deerflight purred, her eyes glinting.
I felt my heart sink as I saw Jasminepetal rub her head against Briarpaw's. I thought I could handle the horrible thing that I saw a vision of, but I never expected it to be Briarpaw betraying me. Only being with me so I can fulfill the prophecy.
"But you're not going to become a warrior, something so horrible will happen that you will want to leave. And you will."
She was right.
"I...I can't stay here." I whispered. "I can leave the forest, and I'm going to."
"You can't leave!" Vixenstar snapped, her fur bristling. "You'll leave us in eternal night and it'll never change!"
"She's right Starlingpaw." Briarpaw meowed. "At least stay here till you become a warrior-"
"Then I'd be playing into exactly what you want!" I hissed over my former love's voice. "You'd get to be with Jasminepetal and get daylight in your stupid Clan again!"
"So you're going to make the whole Clan suffer for something I did?" Briarpaw protested.
They never cared anyway
"You cannot leave Starlingpaw." Vixenstar repeated. "You can't-"
"I DON'T CARE!" I yelled, knowing I was fulfilling my own vision. "This isn't fair! I'm leaving this forest for good!"
"HOLD HER DOWN!" Vixenstar bellowed.
Nobleclaw leaped at me but I remembered my training. I back kicked him in the face and leaped over Kestrelstripe who was trying to catch me from behind.
I felt my heart breaking, that Briarpaw never loved me, that I'll never see my mother again.
I bolted out of camp to the edge of the forest where I saw the trees stopped and it was a downhill trail that stopped at a grey trail called Thunderpath that lead to Twolegplace.
"STARLINGPAW! DON'T!"
Briarpaw?
"YOU'LL LEAVE US IN DARKNESS FOREVER!"
He's worried about that more than me? Screw him!
"Enjoy your miserable life in darkness with your she-toy then!" I sneered, then I left the forest where they'd be trapped in there forever.
I never felt more satisfaction in my life.
Oddly it was still night on the other side of the forest. I assumed daylight would come, and for the first time I'd get to see it.
Suddenly, I felt a force knock me over. I screamed as my eyes met the eyes of a huge fierce dog with slobber from it's jaws and sharp yellow eyes.
"No! I can't possibly die just because I left!" I cried to myself. "NO!"
The dog picked me up by the scruff and I was struggling when the dog tossed me into the air. I gasped at the impact of landing on the ground and felt like I was going to pass out.
I covered my face with my paws as I heard the dog bounding towards me howling. Everything felt like a blur as I saw some orange figure leap at the dog.
By the sound of the dog's yelping, I could tell in my state of losing consciousness that whoever this orange figure was, they were saving my life.
I felt the world was fading away, but relief came to me when I could no longer hear the dog. The orange figure ran to me and I felt many licks to which I sighed.
"Don't die!" He whimpered. "I promise if you get through this you don't have to be in that wretched forest anymore! You can meet my Twolegs!"
"Just don't...die." He sighed.
AngelClan didn't care what happened to me as long as I became a warrior first. All they cared about was their dumb prophecy when they didn't even deserve it to begin with!
"I won't." I promised this stranger. He could've left me, but he didn't.
Doesn't mean I'll trust him of course, I've learned not to trust anyone thanks to Briarpaw anyway.
I felt his paws on mine when I fell into the abyss of unconsciousness. Which I had to say felt like a soothing escape, I could only imagine how death felt like.
Then before unconsciousness completely took me I wondered...why aren't there any elders in AngelClan?
