I have a few things to announce today.
The first is that I now have 40 followers here! Huzzah!
The second is that I have finished my prewriting of this story! As I update this one, I am starting to write a new Warriors story called "Breakaway" about a cat who isn't going to be pushed around and decides to take matters into her own paws. I hope you'll enjoy that one.
The third and possibly the most important of all is that I am going on vacation very soon and my life will become increasingly busy. From today until August 4th, I will probably not update this story or any others. At least, not consistently or frequently. Don't worry, once things settle down for me, we'll be back to my normal update schedule, which is located in the second section of my profile, for those of you who don't know. :)
Now, onto chapter fifteen...we're nearing the end, my friends, and here is the climactic chapter!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Though the air was warm, there was still a chill over our group. It wasn't the temperature: instead, the coldness surrounding us was the chill of fear.
Perhaps it was just me. The others didn't seem bothered. Maybe they had felt this way before their challenge, too. Or maybe my fear came from the certainty that I would have to face the next Spirit.
I grimaced as I thought of the upcoming challenge. Death. Why did I have to be the one who faced Death? It was bound to be the most awful, terrible, spirit of all the five. Slaughter could make us fight, Hunger could make us want, Malady could make us ill, and Despair could make us depressed, but only Death could actually kill us.
And, out of all us five, I was the one who had to defeat Death.
Why me? The others had known how to confront their opponent. They had handled it with seeming ease. While it must have been scary to them, I don't think they felt near as much afraid as I had.
Well, at least I knew what I was walking into. Sort of. Okay, not really. Not at all. I knew who Death was, and that was about it. I didn't know anything about its' personality: would it be strong and intimidating like Slaughter? Weak and wimpy like Hunger or Despair? Mysterious and aloof like Malady?
I shivered once more in fear. I was alone in this. None of my companions seemed to sense my anxiety. Wolf was talking animatedly with Dove's Wing, cheerful after her success with Despair. I twisted my lip a little. I was feeling Despair's aftereffects right now, I was sure.
Lion's Roar, my lovely mate, spoke quietly with his brother Jay's Wing. The tabby tom looked grumpy—as usual—and a little anxious. I considered asking him what was wrong, but immediately forgot as I worried some more.
I hung behind the others, my thin white fur fluffed up a little bit in anxiety. Death? Really?
In this way I passed the time for the next several minutes. Eventually, my mind turned to other topics. We did not seem to be getting tired or hungry in the Dark Realm. I know for sure that my brain was insanely tired, but my body was incapable of falling asleep.
We had been walking and wandering for a very long time, perhaps three or four days in normal time, but yet we were not sore from traveling. Admittedly, part of that time, I had been sick and asleep and the others around me were resting, but they hadn't needed it. And I only had because of Malady.
While the air was lukewarm and comfortable, the Dark Realm still gave me chills. It was—well—dark, and rather spooky, even still. The trees were scrawny and scraggly, the sky dark and far away. The stars were faint and the atmosphere was gloomy, and it always seemed to be night.
I wondered how far this realm extended. How would we get back to the mountains? Would we just keep wandering forever, or would Star, Moon, First, Also, and Rock remember us?
I was interrupted in my thoughts by a soft sigh coming from behind me. The fur on the back of my neck lifted as goosebumps shivered across my body.
"Did you guys hear that?" I whispered, stopping in my tracks.
My companions halted. Wolf gave me a funny look and the others seemed confused as well.
"What noise?" Jay's Wing asked.
"That sigh," I explained. Had it been too quiet for them, lost in conversation to notice?
They shook their heads. "No, I guess not," Lion's Roar admitted.
The noise came again. It was definitely a sigh. I growled, spinning round. "Did you hear it that time?" I demanded.
The uncomfortable murmurs behind me told me they had not. I glared into the area where the sigh seemed to have come from.
Another wave of fear hit me as I wondered if this could possibly be my confrontation with Death. No, not yet, it was too soon! I wasn't ready!
Out of the forest's shadows appeared the shady outline of a cat. It was large, thick-furred, with a dark pelt, though the colors were still indistinct. Two yellow eyes gleamed at me, the only thing I could see clearly.
Once the figure grew closer, I gasped in shock. The cat's pelt was a dark gray—a very familiar dark gray. Those eyes...that fur...it was...Wolf.
Behind me, the others seemed concerned. "Snow, are you okay?" Wolf asked me, her voice gentle.
What? But—Wolf was here, right in front of me! What was going on? Were there two of her?
"Calm," the Wolf in front of me said in a deep voice that did not belong to her. "They cannot see me."
"B-but—" I began to protest. "How?"
"I am Death," the Wolf-that-wasn't-Wolf said slowly. "You have come in search. I have appeared to you. What do you wish?"
"A-are you Wolf?" I asked, sounding terrified, I'm sure. There was no sense of purpose that overcame me, as I had hoped there would be; no sudden surety. I felt as terrified as I had before. Maybe even more so.
"I'm back here, Snow," the real Wolf said, confused.
"They'll think I'm crazy," I protested to Death. "Come on, show yourself!"
Death frowned. "Very well, but they will not like it." It rippled slightly. The other cats behind me gasped in shock.
"See what I mean?" I said, turning to my companions. "It's Sam!"
"That's not what I see," Dove's Wing murmured.
"You all will see me differently," Death said in its deep, rather hollow, voice. "I am Death, greatest of all the spirits." It turned and looked directly at me. "Speak, searcher."
"Don't you know what we want?" I asked, puzzled. "I mean—you're a pretty powerful being, and all..."
Death sighed again, rolling Sam's yellow eyes. "Yes, I know. But this is more dramatic."
I blinked. Was that... sarcasm? Death, being sarcastic? Maybe I didn't have so much to be afraid of...
"And you must speak the request before I accept it, anyway," Death continued.
"Okay..." I said uncertainly. "But... why do you look like Wolf to me?"
"I appear differently to everyone, based on their thoughts of death," the spirit explained. "This 'Wolf' you speak of is an old friend of yours? Perhaps a rival, as well?"
"Well... yes," I admitted, uncomfortable. Wolf was right behind me, after all.
"You have experienced death so many times that you no longer fear me," Death said simply. "I am more like an old friend and rival than something to be feared."
I scowled. "Yeah, okay, fine." This spirit seemed actually... rather interesting. Not as intimidating as I had expected, certainly.
Death-Wolf smiled slightly. "I am quite a person when you get to know me," it said, as if reading my mind. "Just because I am responsible for all the death in the world..." It coughed. "Now. You need to request...?"
"Oh, yes," I said hurriedly, feeling very off-balance and out of my comfort zone. "We are sent from..." A peculiar hesitation overcame me. Should I mention First, Also, and Rock? No, it seemed best not to, as they weren't strictly supposed to be involved in this adventure. "...Star and Moon, the Cat Originals, requesting permission to organize the spirits of cats."
Death narrowed Wolf's yellow eyes. "And why should I?" it asked. "It won't benefit me."
I scowled. This had all been going so well, and now... but suddenly it came to me.
"Yeah, but it wouldn't hurt you either," I pointed out. "And you certainly don't have a problem with the other species organizing their dead spirits."
Death tilted its head. "You realize that I am the most powerful of the five, do you not?" it said. "Without me, they are nothing. Slaughter, Malady, Hunger, Despair... all can kill with their various powers, but without me, they can kill no one. They are weak compared to me. If I wished, I could kill you all with a single thought. But I do not."
"Why not?" I blurted out daringly. Behind me, I heard the others wince and gasp. I was deliberately provoking Death!
Death looked at me, the expression on Wolf's face unreadable. Then it smiled again, laughing. "Because I think I like you a little bit. You're an interesting mortal, Annie Crimsen." It laughed again, then said, "Very well, I will grant your request. It doesn't harm me, you're right, and doesn't really interfere with my domain as long as the Originals do what they're told."
I blinked. I had not expected it to be that easy!
"I, Death, spirit of demise, give permission for Star and Moon, Originals of the Cats, to organize their spirits."
As Death said this, a ripple of air spread throughout the clearing. I felt, rather than saw, the ray of light I knew Death had just emitted.
"What color is yours?" I asked, curious and no longer afraid of Death.
It grinned at me. "It's invisible." Then, abruptly, it vanished, as if it was never there. I blinked again.
"Well..." Lion's Roar said. "Good job, Snow. But now..."
I frowned, my good mood evaporating just as quickly as Death had disappeared. "How do we get back?"
Dun-dun-dun! So what do you think? Will they get back or will they wander endlessly in the Dark Realm?
Also, my Q&A is going to be very short if nobody other than Skye asks questions...