"Don't go into this area by yourself, Goldenpaw. It's dangerous."
"Why?"
The sun hung high in the sky, illuminating the cats below in the canopied marsh-forest. The night was approaching, you could tell by the way the marsh grew cold and the way the wind howled through the forest. It wasn't safe here, not at night.
It was never safe here.
"There are just some things, Goldenpaw, you don't question."
A soft gasp rippled across the cats gathered, tension rising with each whisper that was heard. Was what Songstar said true? Was their a murderer in the clans? Why would she say something like that? "I've seen two loners around the borders, lately... perhaps?" "They said he was found gutted, just like Jadeclaw." "Dead." "Murdered." "RubbleClan." Each whisper put a different theory in the golden she-cat's head, and, each thought sent more and more fear into her veins.
Don't let it be Goldenpaw.
Don't let it be Goldenpaw.
"What?"
Finally, a tom from TimberClan broke the silence. He stood up, spitting and fur erect with fear and anger. Songstar, on her perch, drew in a shaky breath, and shifted her gaze from the gathered cats to the sky.
Don't let it be Goldenpaw.
Don't let it be Goldenpaw.
Please, don't let it be-
"Today, we found Goldenpaw inside our RubbleClan territory, it was a bloody mess."
Falconpaw felt her blood run dry.
No.
Not again.
"There have always been... cats vanishing when they enter our RubbleClan territory but, this is the third time in two moons that we've found actual bodies." Her eyes scanned across the gathered cats. "Their is a murderer in our forest, this is your warning." She drew in a shaky breath, and closed her eyes for a moment, calming herself. "MarshClan has no news other then this. Things have been.. still." She stood to her feet, calling her clan to her with a shaky air.
Falconpaw felt her face grow hot as she watched the MarshClan cats pass by her, her body pressed deep into the soft earth.
Another cat was dead.
The same cat she had dreamed of dying days ago.
It had happened again.
As the last of the MarshClan cat vanished out of the gorge, an uncomfortable stillness settled across the remaining cats. Wildstar and Cloudstar seemed to be shell-shocked and, it took a moment for them to react. "TimberClan cats, it's time to go." Falconpaw's eyes widened every so slowly, shifting to watch the black tom apprentice she had spoken with earlier leave side by side a she-cat identical to him in nearly every way.
It had taken her a lot of courage to speak to him.
And even then, when that other she-cat had showed up, she had ran off like a scared mouse.
But, she had dreamed of him, dreamed of him walking over a slippery bridge and, she had to warn him. Everyone she dreamed of died, they died like she always predicted.
Of course, she had never before dreamed of someone not dying but, still.
She knew it would happen, it was inevitable.
And yet, she had still failed to warn him.
"StreamClan, come."
From her spot above, the she-cat watched Cloudstar leap onto the ground, stalking off with her tail held high. Falconpaw waited until the leader vanished out of the exit before following, her ears pressed back against her head and eyes scrunched up in grief.
Another cat dead.
Her eyes widened for a moment as a few cats passed by her, clearly faster then the tiny apprentice and, with a hiss, Falconpaw realized that someone was going to get blamed for these murders.
But no one would blame a clan cat.
No, it would be much easier to blame a loner.
And, that was what scared Falconpaw.
Lowering her body against the earth, the she-cat followed behind the other StreamClan cats at a slow pace, her eyes narrowing as thoughts raced through her head.
She was going to have to warn Otis.
& BREAK & BREAK &
They had arrived back in StreamClan punctually and, while all the queens and apprentices filtered out, asking to hear the news, Falconpaw had used this as her chance to escape.
No one noticed little Falconpaw, no one cared for the shy little cat.
No one would notice her slipping out, not until morning anyway, when her mentor called for her. (If, he called for her.)
She could slip out of camp and then back in before the sun rose.
So, with a determined air about her, the little she-cat slipped out of StreamClan's camp, making a break for the edge of west territory, her body pressed deep against the wet ground and her ears pulled back, making her pace quicker.
He would be asleep now but, she needed to warn him.
If they caught sight of him, they'd blame him for the murders.
And he was the only one who cared about her.
She knew he couldn't murder anyone.
Taking a tender step outside StreamClan borders and, into unknown land, the little she-cat sat up, sniffing the air with a ginger face. "O-otis?"
Her voice was quiet, shrill even, sounding nothing more then a whisper on the wind.
"O-otis!"
It was hard to see in the darkness but, just ahead, Falconpaw could make out the form of a large, blue eyed cat approaching. His teeth glistened in the moonlight and, his eyes narrowed at the little apprentice's sudden appearance. "Hey."
A tiny grin stretched across the she-cat's face, the little apprentice bounding forward at her favorite sight. "O-otis! Something terrible has happened..."
The large brown and white tom walked forward, nuzzling the smaller she-cat in a comforting, brotherly way. Once, when Falconpaw had been a new apprentice, she had gotten lost out in the woods. She ended up stumbling into the river during a hard rain and, had not Otis rescued her, would have been swept away. Since then, the tom had become a sort of brotherly figure for the tiny she-cat. He was the only cat Falnconpaw felt that actually cared for her.
"What happened?"
The amber eyed cat glanced nervously off to the side, drawing in a shaky breath. "They found another one... MarshClan d-did."
The large tom's eyes narrowed but, he stayed quiet, nodding as if to encourage the little cat to continue.
"I-it was Goldenpaw, t-they say a murderer killed him... and.. i'm worried they'll b-bl-" "Blame me." The tom shook his head, nudging the tiny apprentice. "I'll be fine, Falconpaw. You should be worrying about yourself."
The she-cat nodded. "I know... I.. better go..."
Turning, the little apprentice gave the loner a nod of the head before taking off.
As she expected, no one noticed that she had slipped off and, no one noticed when she returned.
She fell asleep rather quickly but, did not sleep soundly that night.
She never slept soundly.
& BREAK & BREAK &
She was in the gathering gorge. Trees whistled about in the wind, whispering unheard things to their leaves, which broke with each drift of air. It was the middle of the day or, so it seemed, with the birds out and chirping but, there was no sun.
No light at all.
Where had the sun gone?
"Hello," She whirled around, eyes wide at the sight of a tiny black kit atop the leaders' stone. The little kit smiled, cocking its head. "Don't be scared, I want to talk." The kit turned away, looking up to the sky for a moment.
"Something is happening to the forest, you can feel it, can't you?" The golden eyed kit sighed, shaking his head. "You've seen them, dying, I know. Such a horrible gift to be blessed with..." Trailing off, the little kit looked up. "Two days from now, come here, to the gathering gorge and wait beneath the leaders' stone, you will meet two other cats like yourself."
The kit glanced back down, staring directly into her eyes.
"If something is not done, soon, the entire forest will become like RubbleClan."
...
"Gone."
And like that, he vanished.
AN: Sorry it took me so long to update!