"What happened?" Fleckpaw's moment of paralyzing shock was broken as Quickpaw pushed his way through the bushes, meowing a question. "Who-" Quickpaw broke off as he took in the scene before him. His green eyes widened with shock, and then filled with sadness. "No!" He cried, throwing himself forward and burying his head in Cloudtail's fluffy white fur.
Quickpaw raised his head to stare at the morning sky that still showed traces of a colorful sunrise. "Why him? Why Cloudtail? Why, Starclan?" He yowled his grief.
Fleckpaw remembered that Cloudtail had been Quickpaw's kin. No wonder he was so distressed. Fleckpaw stepped forward without a word, pressing his pelt comfortingly to Quickpaw's. He knew how it felt to lose kin. He'd watched Ravenpaw slip away before his very own eyes. And yet still he knew that he couldn't compare to the pain Quickpaw felt now. At least when Ravenpaw had died, it had been a happy, peaceful death. One that came with living a fulfilling life. But Cloudtail should still have had seasons ahead of him. And yet his life had been snatched away, as fleeting and fragile as a leaf ripped from its tree by the wind.
Fleckpaw bowed his head in sadness as Quickpaw's heartbroken cries tore through the quiet of the forest. Fleckpaw had not known Cloudtail particularly well, seeing as he'd only just joined the clan. But he knew that the white pelted tom would walk in his memories for seasons to come. Fleckpaw would never forget that it had been Cloudtail that had convinced the other Thunderclan warriors to take him back to their camp. It had been Cloudtail who gave him the chance to meet Thunderclan. If he had not been on the border patrol that day, Fleckpaw might still be nothing more than a loner, wandering aimlessly with no point to life. He pressed his nose into the old tom's fur. "Walk with Starclan now, Cloudtail. You were a noble warrior, and your clan will never forget you."
Fleckpaw sat up as another cat pushed its way through the bushes. Poppyfrost. Her eyes filled with sadness as she saw the three grieving cats surrounding Cloudtail's unmoving body. "Oh, Quickpaw. I'm so sorry." She meowed quietly, gently drawing the apprentice away from the fallen warrior with her tail. "He hunts with Starclan now. But we must bring him back to camp, so that his clanmates can say goodbye to him one last time."
Quickpaw did not reply, only looked down at his paws in utter shock. Fleckpaw padded up to his mentor and friend. "What could have done this?" He asked. Cloudtail had been old, yes, but he'd been a well-trained warrior. What could have killed him with such ease? Fleckpaw felt a twinge of unease as he thought about it. Could it have been the mysterious Lightning Rouge?
His mentor's eyes flashed with unconcealed anger and hatred. "The Lightning Rouge." Poppyfrost meowed, confirming his suspicions. "There's no scent left behind at all. It always happens this way. Some cat somehow gets separated from the group, and the next moment, their dead. Cloudtail must have somehow split off from the dawn patrol and ended up here."
Fleckpaw's pelt bristled. Up until now, the Lightning Rouge had seemed very distant, a myth that wouldn't really cause any harm. But now he could see that he'd been a fool to think that he'd never lose anyone to this cold blooded killer. Cloudtail's death had made the threat of the Lightning Rouge very, very real. Fleckpaw couldn't help scanning the nearby bushes, feeling as though Cloudtail's murderer could still be watching them.
Poppyfrost and Lilydawn heaved Cloudtail's body onto their shoulders, and the small patrol started on their somber procession back to camp. When Fleckpaw pushed his way through the camp entrance, he felt none of the excitement or happiness that he'd felt the first time he'd seen the camp. Instead, he felt nothing but dread of telling his clanmates about Cloudtail's death.
Shocked meows and wails of grief split the air as Lilydawn and Poppyfrost carried Cloudtail into camp. They gently set the white tom down in the center of the clearing. Lilydawn trotted off to a cave in the side of the camp, returning shortly with two other cats. Fleckpaw numbly recognized them as the clan's medicine cats, Jayfeather and Brairlight. They must be coming to prepare Cloudtail's body for burial. He thought.
Fleckpaw's heart twisted with sadness yet again as a shrill wail rose from inside the warriors den, followed by a ginger and white she cat stumbling out into the clearing. He recognized her from the terrible scar that covered half of her face. Brightheart, Cloudtail's mate.
Fleckpaw could not bear to watch for another moment. He turned away, hoping to find solace from the fear and sadness that had taken hold of the camp. Instead he found more heartbreak as he watched Daypool usher her kits back into the nursery.
"What happened, Daypool? Why can't we see?" Fleckpaw heard the questioning meows of the kits, too young to understand what had happened.
"Hush, little ones. This isn't something for kits to see." She meowed.
Fleckpaw started in surprise as he felt the tail of another cat wrap around his shoulders. "It's always hard to see a clanmate leave us. But he will live on in Starclan." Poppyfrost's soft meow filled his ears. "Sometimes, the best way to handle the sadness is by doing something. I need to go and find the rest of the Dawn Patrol, to tell them what happened. But someone needs to let Bramblestar know as well. Could you go explain what happened to him while I go and find Palesnow and the others?"
"Yes, Poppyfrost." His reply was barely a whisper. His mentor blinked in a sad, regretful sort of gratitude before slipping out of camp.
Fleckpaw shook himself out of his dazed state. He had to be strong, for Quickpaw and Lynxpaw. He had to go find Bramblestar. He couldn't just shut down. The life of a warrior was not an easy one. There was nothing wrong with grieving for lost clanmates, but he had to keep moving. He had to keep getting stronger and stronger, until he could protect all of his clan. Determination washed through him, rising up to meet the fear inside his heart. Fleckpaw was scared. But he was also a Thunderclan cat. He would find a way to rise up against this dark terror. He rose to his paws, padding off to the clan leader's den.
As Fleckpaw neared Bramblestar's den, he saw the broad shouldered brown tabby push his way through the lichen that hung over the small crevice, emerging into the clearing. Fleckpaw dashed over to his clan leader. Bramblestar swung his head to look at the black and white apprentice.
Fleckpaw crouched in respect as the tabby walked over to him.
"Hello, Fleckpaw." Bramblestar meowed a greeting. "Squirrelflight told me that you and your patrol found Cloudtail's body. Is this true?"
Fleckpaw dipped his head. "It is."
Bramblestar let out a long, deep sigh. "Cloudtail has been a member of Thunderclan since before I was kitted. It pains me to see such an old friend pass on. He was a talented warrior, the best tracker in the clan. Thunderclan will miss his skill greatly."
The two cats lapsed into a brief silence.
"How did you find him?" Bramblestar prompted.
"We were out hunting, and found him dead near the Windclan border. He must have somehow gotten separated from his patrol. Poppyfrost said it was probably the doing of… of the Lightning Rouge." Fleckpaw felt a bit nervous to be telling his clan leader something so important.
Bramblestar's long claws dug into the ground. "That murderer again? He has taken too many lives, not only Thunderclan. Whichever clan harbors the traitor responsible for this will pay dearly!" The rage died from Bramblestar's eyes. "You've had a rough day, Fleckpaw. I'm sorry you had to find Thunderclan during such a hard time. It wasn't always like this…" His gaze was filled with memories of a time long passed. "Go back to your nest and get some rest. I'll have Poppyfrost wake you when it's time for Cloudtail's vigil."
"Yes, Bramblestar." Fleckpaw meowed gratefully as the great brown tabby padded off to speak to his senior warriors.
As Fleckpaw rose to his weary paws, ready to head back to his nest, another voice called for him. "Fleckpaw!" He turned to see Briarlight, the young medicine cat dragging herself across the clearing, a bundle of herbs in her jaws. "I'm glad I caught you!" She panted.
"What's wrong?" Fleckpaw inquired.
Brairlight set her bundle of herbs down. "I need to ask a favor of you. Quickpaw and Lynxpaw have both been really shaken by Cloudtail's death. I was hoping you could make sure they take these to calm them down and help them sleep." She nudged a leaf with two small black seeds on it towards Fleckpaw. "They're poppy seeds. They'll ensure that Quickpaw and Lynxpaw can rest easy. One per cat should be enough for now."
"Sure, Brairlight. I'll make sure they take these." Fleckpaw picked the leaf up, careful not to drop the tiny seeds.
"Thank you!" She called as he padded off.
Fleckpaw saw more and more signs of a grieving clan as he headed back to his friends. The Dawn Patrol had found their way back to camp with Poppyfrost. Lynxpaw was hunched over Cloudtail's body alongside her brother, and Palesnow was meowing frantically to Ivypool. "I-I don't understand!" She wailed, her voice rising with hysteria. "We were with him the whole time! He and I got separated from the patrol for just a moment! We saw a rabbit, and we went after it, but he was right behind! When it crossed the Windclan border, I turned around to tell Cloudtail we'd lost it, but he wasn't there!" Palesnow's white paws were wet with stream water. She must have barely avoided going over the border, and stumbled into the stream.
Fleckpaw could picture the two white warriors racing through the undergrowth, Cloudtail falling behind slightly due to his age. He could imagine Palesnow skidding to a stop, tumbling into the stream, and turning to tell her clanmate that they'd lost the rabbit. How terrified she must have been when she realized he wasn't there. He shook his head to clear the tirade of images flooding his mind. He had to make sure Quickpaw and Lynxpaw were alright.
As Fleckpaw approached Cloudtail's body, he noticed Bumblestripe, who'd been on the Dawn Patrol, slip away from the crowd of cats, headed for the nursery. Dovewing's gray pelt slipped through a bush by the bramble enclosed den, greeted instantly by her mate. The two cats exchanged quiet meows, and Dovewing bowed her head in sorrow. Bumblestripe must be telling her about Cloudtail. Fleckpaw thought. As he watched them, a question crossed his mind. Dovewing left the camp through that bush this morning. Why'd she come back in that way instead of through the main entrance?
Fleckpaw's thoughts dissipated as he reached Quickpaw and Lynxpaw's sides. They were more important at the moment. The two apprentices were huddled together in silence. Fleckpaw was unsure of what to say or do. What words of comfort could he offer? Anything he said would sound mouse-brained.
"Brairlight said you should get some rest." Fleckpaw meowed.
His friends nodded blankly, and rose to their paws. He guided Quickpaw and Lynxpaw to their den, as though they were kits. When he'd settled them into their nests, he pushed the poppy seeds in front of them, and the two apprentices lapped them up without question.
The sunlight that was showing through the entrance of the den was momentarily blocked as Sunpaw slid inside. To Fleckpaw's surprise, she didn't make any rude remarks to him. She only blinked her large amber eyes in understanding before curling into her own nest.
Fleckpaw kne he should get some sleep to. He curled up, trying to drift into the soft oblivion sleep would bring, but his efforts were without success. He could not get the image of the terrified expression frozen on Cloudtail's face out of his mind. This Lightning Rouge… this cat was like a shadow. No one ever saw him, and he never left any trace of his presence behind other than the bodies of his victims. Maybe the Lightning Rouge was a shadow… Fleckpaw squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the image of Cloudtail's terrified snarl.
Fleckpaw started in surprise, sitting straight up. The Lightning Rouge couldn't be a shadow. There was no way. Because someone had seen him. The expression of horror on Cloudtail's face… it could only have been a result of seeing the cat that attacked him, just before he was killed. That meant that in the moment of the attack, the Lightning Rouge had to reveal himself, if only for a moment.
"That's it!" He meowed.
"What?" Quickpaw's meow was clouded with exhaustion.
"Yeah, what?" Sunpaw sat up in her nest, turning her attention to Fleckpaw. Her tone wasn't snide like it usually was, this time only filled with a quiet curiosity.
"The Lightning Rouge can be caught!" Fleckpaw meowed. "He has to reveal himself in the moment of attack! That's why Cloudtail looked so terrified! He saw his killer just before they struck! If Bramblestar set up a trap and made it look like a Warrior was alone, he could have an ambush waiting and—"
"Dream on mousebrain." Sunpaw cut him off scornfully. "We're apprentices. There's no way Bramblestar would risk the lives of his warriors on the harebrained theory of a day old apprentice. You might be able to convince him to give it a try if you were one of his senior warriors, but even then it's unlikely he'd be willing to give it a try. Face it- that idea is too risky." She growled.
"But-" Sunpaw cut him off again with a glare.
Quickpaw blinked up at them from his nest, eyes misty with exhaustion and grief. "Can we just stop talking about Cloudtail's death?" He meowed quietly.
Fleckpaw closed his jaws and curled back up. As much as he hated to admit it, Sunpaw was right. The Lightning Rouge was just too dangerous. Fleckpaw felt the fire of fear rekindling inside of him as he realized that Thunderclan had become prey in their own territory. But from what Ravenpaw had told him, Thunderclan had faced countless challenges before, and overcome them. Brokenstar, Tigerstar, Bloodclan, the Twolegs… The Lightning Rouge was another challenge they'd have to face. But they would not run. They'd stand up and fight, for they were Warriors. Cold determination burned within him, brighter than the fire of fear. I will find out who's behind the killings.I'll do it for Cloudtail, and all the warriors that have lost their lives at this murderer's claws.I'll do it for Ravenpaw, for the clan he loved so dearly.And I'll do it for myself.For the friends I've made and the clan I've come to love.I won't let the Lightning Rouge continue his path of destruction. In that moment, Fleckpaw made himself a promise that he knew he would never be able to break. I will put an end to this.No matter what it takes, I will stop this cat.
Well, there ya go! A nice, long chapter. I think that in this chapter, you really see Fleckpaw start to come alive in a way he hasn't before. He's no longer just doing things for the sake of others, he starting to do things for himself as well. But that will only add to his determination to catch the Lightning Rouge! Once again, thank you all for reading and reviewing. The reviews motivate me to write more than usual. I wrote this entire chapter today! It's because of all of you that I've come so far, and I can't thank you enough. I hope you'll continue reading Ravenpaw's Legacy!