Chapter 35: The Fooled and the Redeemed

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Emberpad asked. He could barely scent Scarletbreeze from the herb they rolled in to mask their scent. "I feel like-…oof!" He tripped over a root and fell face first in a mud puddle.

Scarletbreeze giggled. "Sorry. There's a root there, in case you didn't notice." She then laughed at Emberpad's glare, even though his eyes were focused a little to her left. He shook the mud off his face, and was about to loudly complain, but Scarletbreeze placed her paw on his muzzle.

"You have to be more careful. Lunaclaw's going to hear you!" She said in a soft whisper. She looked to where the white she was; Lunaclaw carefully scaled the narrow cliff path, unaware of the two followers, but still in hearing distance. Lunaclaw disappeared from sight as she entered the cave, and Scarletbreeze placed her tail on Emberpad's shoulders. "Let's go."

She guided him around other debris until they reached the cliffs. She went first, and he held onto the end of her tail gently with his muzzle. Going as slowly as they could, they were about halfway up when Scarletbreeze heard a yelp. A sharp pain shot up her spine, and she let out a small cry of pain. She felt something weigh down on her tail, and she turned to see Emberpad dangling off the edge of the cliff. His sightless eyes looked panicked as his little paws flailed.

"Don't let go!" Scarletbreeze yowled as she dug her claws in the firmer gravel and started to pull him up. She felt him bite harder on her tail tip. Wincing, she strained her muscles to walk forward. Occasionally her paws hit a spot of loose gravel, and she slid slightly, hearing a yelp from behind her. Finally, Emberpad scrabbled over the edge and back onto the trail. He whimpered and trembled, and his tail wrapped around his back legs. Scarletbreeze gently grabbed his scruff and lifted him up, carrying him the rest of the way.

She set him down in a bush behind the cave mouth, quieting him down. Scarletbreeze thought he might have even briefly drifted off to sleep while waiting. Soon, the white she cat emerged from the cave, mumbling something before racing down the cliff trail and back toward Bloodclan territory. She looked down at the little tom. "Are you sure you want to visit this cave?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. You'll love Starclan!" He smiled, and Scarletbreeze nodded. "Okay, then."

They padded into the cave. Their shadows were casted on the wall, dancing and drifting quietly. Soon, they came to a little cavern where a black stone sat on a grey stone perch.

"What is this?" Scarletbreeze lifted her paw, outstretching it to touch the smooth-looking surface. As soon as her paw grazed the stone, she felt a sharp pinch.

"Ouch!" She yelped, looking at her bleeding paw.

"Whoa! What is it?" Emberpad shifted back on his haunches, batting the air to try to find the stone. Scarletbreeze cried out 'No!', but his paw struck the stone, and his reaction was the same. Soon, their eyelids became heavy. The soft light in the cave dimmed as they drifted off to sleep.

A dark and misty forest opened up in front of them. Surrounding them were tall, dank, gray trees and above, a starless sky. The air was cold, thick, foggy and damp. The dreary forest had an echoing silence, except for the gurgling of a sluggish river, its waters dark and lifeless.

"Where a-are we? I can't see." Emberpad said, smelling Scarletbreeze's fear scent and feeling the cold that penetrated his warm pelt, causing him to shiver.

A black tom with a white paw appeared out of the mist. "Ah, welcome back, kit." He gave the two a shadowy smile. "I see you've brought your friend. Ready to finally see?"

The little tom shook his head 'no' vigorously before mumbling "I want to go home now."

The tom gave a little tsk tsk. "But you have already traveled this far. Come now, I didn't show up for nothing." His voice was dark, sounding angry to Emberpad. Suddenly, something grabbed his scuff roughly, yanking him off his paws. To his right, he heard Scarletbreeze's hiss, and the unsheathing of claws. He squirmed wildly, calling out her name. "Scarletbreeze? Scarletbreeze! What's going on?! Who has me? Who has her?!"

The tom's voice growled again. "Now, let's see here…an eye for an eye? Or maybe two…" There was a laugh from another cat, and Scarletbreeze screamed. Her high-pitched yowl overcame the rumble of the river, and it seemed to echo off every tree, intensifying to two or three times as loud when it reached Emberpad's ears. He flattened his ears, oddly blocking out all the sound.

A harsh wind slammed into the little kit, and his fur went erratic. The wind became audible, howling in his ears as loudly as Scarletbreeze's screams. It slowly died down, and Emberpad unscrunched his face. He slowly opened one eye, and it seemed like the clouds in his eye had drifted away, and he saw before him the shadowy Dark Forest and the black tom, now sporting a toothed collar. Beside the tom was a small black tom, cloaked in shadows, and below him lay the bleeding body of Scarletbreeze.

He twisted to see a brown tabby tom holding his scuff, and unsheathed his tiny claws, dragging them over the muzzle of the brown tom and then dug them in deep. The tom loosened his grip on Emberpad's scuff to cry out, and Emberpad fell to his paws. The tom muttered curses as the little red tom landed, scrambling to his beloved. He felt hot tears brim at the edge of his eyes, threatening to spill over.

Her fur was badly torn and matted with blood. Her eyes were the worst; he couldn't tell what was left of them, they were so badly injured. Truthfully, it looked like bloody holes where those beautiful green eyes used to be. Rage boiled in the tom's body as he looked up at the tom. There was no fear in those new little eyes, and no more innocence. "I didn't want this! I will kill you for this, tom. I will get my revenge for what you did to my sweet Scarletbreeze." Emberpad snarled with the heart of an angry warrior.

The tom chuckled. "Just try it, kit. No one can kill Scrouge, leader of Bloodclan." The tall trees started to become swallowed by the mist as did the cats. Scrouge let out a dark chuckle before the mist consumed him, leaving Emberpad and Scarletbreeze back in the cave. Emberpad grabbed Scarletbreeze's scruff, tugging her gently out of the cave. She was bigger than him still, but not by much, and he was running on adrenaline. Once out of the cave entrance, he looked around. The cliff edge was as empty as the cave. Even with Scarletbreeze beside him, her flank barely rising and falling, he had never felt so alone and helpless. A feeling of regret and extreme agony washed over him, and the tears slowly spilled over. Emberpad pressed his nose to Scarletbreeze's flank. "No. No, please, don't leave me. I'm so sorry, Scarletbreeze. Please, someone help." He lifted his head, wailing to the stars. "Please! Someone help me!"

Suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared next to the she-cat. Emberpad raised his hackles, growling protectively, yet he couldn't help but feel calm. This cat, although ghostly, had a light black pelt that swirled with dancing stars. His eyes glowed like stars. He gave Emberpad a warm smile. "I am Ravenpaw, once a warrior of Thunderclan and a loner. I died thinking I choose the right path, following the Dark Forest, yet it ultimately the reason I was led to my demise. I know how foolish you feel. I am truly from Starclan, and I will help you." Emberpad blinked, still in a state of shock as the cat disappeared, and in its place, a raven.

The black bird cawed before taking flight. Emberpad watched as it flew in the night sky, making stars disappear momentarily. Soon, it swooped back, cawing again. It landed above the cave entrance. Soon, over his soft sobbing, he heard the voices of cats and pawsteps. Lunaclaw, along with a small patrol of Russet, Bracken, Cinder, Flamewhisper, and his mother dashed up the trail. Lunaclaw took in the scene as she reached the cave first, rushing over to Scarletbreeze. Flamewhisper let out a shrill scream, running over to her daughter as well. Silver trotted up to Emberpad, immediately curling her tail around him, murmuring sweet, comforting words and licking his head rhythmically. Cats were running everywhere, and it seemed to be a blur, but when Emberpad felt himself being lifted up, he turned and looked toward where the raven had landed. Ravenpaw sat watching, then his glowing eyes turned on Emberpad. Emberpad blinked a silent word of thanks, which the starry tom returned.

As a few cats carried Scarletbreeze back to camp, with Silver following with Emberpad, the little tom turned to see Lunaclaw looking at the top of the cave where Ravenpaw perched. He barely heard her whisper: "The bird will cry once more." She then dipped her head, following Silver down the path, leaving the starry tom to sit in silent peace before he disappeared.

Yay! The return of Ravenpaw! He IS good after all! XD

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