Snakepaw struggled to find the earth beneath his paws. The world around him was muffled, and a dark, merciless body of water surrounded him. The water seeped through his fur, pressing against his skin. The pressure of the water felt like it was squeezing the life out of him.
I'm drowning!
He kicked and scrambled in a battle against the pulling force, but he continued to sink. His muscles began to tire and he felt a paralyzing sensation flood over him. He could no longer move.
He focused every ounce of force into his paws as his eyelids grew heavy. In a final effort, he launched his back legs out. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sprawled out next to his moss bed in the apprentices' den. He sat up and shook his head, panting heavily. The terror of his dream still lingered inside his body.
Snakepaw was thankful no other cats were inside the apprentice's den. He'd been so enveloped in his night terror that he didn't even stir when Patchpaw woke up and left the den. He attempted to shake the frantic feeling that prickled under his pelt as he stood and exited the den.
The uncomfortable feeling of adrenaline returned the moment he stepped out into the clearing. It was only just after sunrise, but every cat in camp was wide awake. Gingersnap, Crowwatcher and Twigrush were standing outside the warriors' den. Twigrush seemed unsteady on her paws, and the rest of the warriors held a grim expression. Flyfur was sitting next to Tawnyflower. Mistfall had a paw draped over the tortoiseshell tabby's flank, holding her close. Snakepaw was unable to read the she cat's expression, but Mistfall's eyes were clouded in sympathy.
Laurelheart and Bluebird had formed a secondary crowd near the medicine cat den alongside Adderthorn and Silvercloud. Geyserwing was sitting close to Elmstar who was sitting just outside of the hollowed oak.
Bluebird broke away from the other warriors and made his way toward the center of camp. He must've not noticed Snakepaw until the tom called out to him.
"What's going on?" Snakepaw exclaimed, his fur standing. Bluebird only offered a sorry expression, lowering his gaze and turning away from the apprentice. Fury burned in Snakepaw as he searched for someone that would tell him what had happened.
Patchpaw! His sister was padding out from inside the warrior's den. Her unsettled expression lifted when her gaze met Snakepaw's.
"What's happening?" Snakepaw pleaded, lowering his posture as Patchpaw approached. The calico cat placed the tip of her tail on his shoulder. "Rednose is dead."
"What?" Snakepaw swallowed. "..But Mintpaws said he was fine to leave camp, there was no lasting infection, and-"
"Something changed." Patchpaw interrupted Snakepaw's emotional stammering with a nuzzle to his chest. Snakepaw flinched, slowly lowering his head to rest on top of Patchpaw's ears.
"I'm so sorry," she murmured lowly. Snakepaw took in a deep breath and tried to stop himself from shaking. In the distance he spotted Mintpaws leaving the warriors' den with an unused bundle of herbs. He broke away from Patchpaw and trotted toward the medicine cat.
He nearly tripped over his paws when he reached her. "How-.. How did this happen? You said he was fine, he said you let him take me out to the lake, you said.." Snakepaw trailed off, his gaze falling to the ground. He stiffened and forced himself to look upright at Mintpaws.
"I thought," she took a moment to breathe. "I thought he was fine. He told me there was no pain, and the surface of the wound was healed. There must've been a deeper infection that I missed, or it got into his blood before the wound healed. I'm so sorry,"
Snakepaw so badly wanted to yowl at the medicine cat, 'You said he was fine. How could you miss something like this?' but the cat that stood in front of him was nearly unrecognizable. She was stricken with grief, too, and he could tell she already blamed herself for Rednose's death.
The medicine cat turned away without waiting for a response. She didn't stop until she reached her den, where she then lowered her head to push her way inside.
Crowwatcher and Adderthorn had entered the warrior's den and only caught Snakepaw's attention when they exited, bringing Rednose's body out with them. The deputy was draped over the two warriors' backs and his tail dragged limp along the ground.
Snakepaw felt his pelt grow cold. He stood still as the warriors lay Rednose down in the center of the clearing. The previously frantic cats calmly gathered around the deceased deputy with their heads held low. Elmstar pushed his way through the grieving warriors. His usually emotionless expression was flooded with sorrow.
The gray leader dropped down onto his belly next to Rednose. He touched his gray-flecked muzzle to the tom's fur, not making a sound as he sat vigil for his fallen friend. Snakepaw turned when Patchpaw's scent approached from behind him.
"You can say goodbye," Patchpaw meowed with a solemn expression. Something about the seriousness in her tone bothered Snakepaw, but he couldn't bother to be prickly while his mentor lay dead in the clearing.
Snakepaw forced his paws to carry him toward Rednose. He slowly lay down, tucking his paws under himself. He kept his posture tight and confined, trying to be as small as possible.
He could recognize the sickly sweet smell that drowned out Rednose's usual foresty scent. The reek of death crept through Snakepaw's nostrils as he rested his head on top of his mentor's flank. The sickening smell was accompanied by a heavy presence of lavender, which Mintpaws had used to cover the putrid scent of decay.
Snakepaw sat adjacent to Elmstar, but in his mind, the only cat with him was Rednose. All of his complaints about his mentorship now seemed obsolete. The only thing that mattered to him was that the cat who was meant to guide him through the path of a warrior was now dead, struck down by a clueless ThunderClan apprentice who couldn't keep his paws on his own territory.
Had the apprentice known he'd hurt Rednose so badly? In the heat of the fight, the apprentice was just trying to get back to his clan in one piece- but his recklessness had cost a cat his life, and left ShadowClan without their beloved deputy.
It was already sunhigh by the time Snakepaw opened his eyes. He was aware of the distant clamor from his clanmates. With Rednose dead and Elmstar sitting vigil, no cat had been assigned to patrols. It was rare that every cat was inside camp at any time other than after sun-fall. No cat dared ask to be given a job, though, knowing that Elmstar was in no state to give orders.
Snakepaw hadn't noticed, but during his grief Flyfur had found her way to Rednose's side. Snakepaw assumed the two of them had been mates, or at least very close to one another. Being deputy had left Rednose little time for personal relationships. She must be devastated.
Geyserwing was the first to call out to his clanmates. Elmstar gave him a nod of approval for the tom to conduct a set of patrols. Snakepaw tuned out the voices of the warriors grouping together under Geyserwing's orders. He felt soft fur brush against his flank, and only then lifted his head. His mother stood over him with her soft, affectionate gaze giving him a wave of comfort. Tawnyflower gave him a lick on the head and continued toward the camp exit in pursuit of her assigned patrol.
By sun-down, all cats had returned to camp. Snakepaw had barely left Rednose's side until the sun began to set, only straying when hunger forced him toward the fresh-kill pile. Now, he was eating a small vole near the apprentice's den. Elmstar hadn't moved a whisker-length from his original spot next to Rednose.
As the last patrol settled in the clearing, Elmstar finally stood, shaking on his paws. He made his way toward the hollowed oak with heavy, sluggish movements. Once he reached the base of the tree, he simply turned to face the camp instead of leaping up onto the branch. This was no formal meeting.
Snakepaw watched his leader steady himself as he sat. His gaze was unwavering, even with Patchpaw and Bluebird at his side. He felt dull.
"Rednose has served as my Deputy since the day Russetstar passed," the tom began with a rasp in his voice. "He will be missed by any cat who had the privilege of meeting him, and even more by those who were blessed to be close with him."
Flyfur leaned into Tawnyflower. The two she-cats, as well as Mistfall, were sat near the edge of the gathered cats. The former-queen began to groom Flyfur behind the ears in a comforting gesture.
"He has left behind his mate," Elmstar added, regretfully aware of Flyfur's distant sorrow. "-and his apprentice, Snakepaw."
The words rang in Snakepaw's ears. It was still hard to accept that his mentor was no longer going to greet him every morning, or send him out on special missions and patrols. Patchpaw nuzzled Snakepaw under his chin, resting her head on his chest fur. A purr rumbled deep in her throat as she embraced her brother. Snakepaw sat still, giving little acknowledgement to her attempted consolation.
Crowwatcher was the first cat to break the silence, breaking Snakepaw out of his harrowing trance. "I can help mentor him. He only needs a few more moons of training, and Rednose and I often paired Patchpaw and Snakepaw together for training. I already know how he learns"
Snakepaw's ears twitched as the tom spoke. It was true- he was already used to training with Crowwatcher around. Regardless, he didn't want to take Patchpaw's mentor away from her. No cat can replace Rednose.
A mass of gray fur moved in the corner of Snakepaw's view. Silvercloud padded over to Elmstar, gently placing his tail around the leader's flank. Elmstar flinched at the tom's touch.
"If Crowwatcher takes over Snakepaw's mentorship, I want to help."
Silvercloud? Helping? Snakepaw felt his fur bristle. Did this newly assigned warrior think he was worthy of training an apprentice who just lost his mentor?
"You were made a warrior only a moon ago." Elmstar tilted his head, his voice stern. "You have no business in the training of our young."
"Rednose has been the clan's deputy since I was a kit." There was an edge of annoyance in Silvercloud's tone.
"I have looked up to him since the day I left the nursery. If there is anything I can do to honor him- honor his legacy, and the cats he left behind- it would be to see that Snakepaw becomes a skilled warrior."
Snakepaw could feel the tension increase between Silvercloud and Elmstar. Crowwatcher stared at them with emotionless eyes. The tip of his tail gave away his irritation, but his voice was calm and understanding. "It would take a great weight off my shoulders, even if all you were to do is keep Patchpaw busy while I handle the last of Snakepaw's training."
Patchpaw seemed to perk up at the idea, picking her head up and off of Snakepaw's chest. Why would you want Silvercloud telling you what to do? Snakepaw made no attempt to hide his discomfort. His future was being decided right in front of him, and he didn't say a word. This shouldn't be happening. Rednose can't be dead!
"Snakepaw, what do you think?" Elmstar raised his voice, singling Snakepaw out with a stare. "Can you handle both Crowwatcher and Silvercloud overseeing your training?"
Can I handle it? Snakepaw's whiskers twitched. "It's fine," he finally muttered, lowering his head. All Snakepaw wanted was for this to be over. He longed to curl up in his nest and slip into a deep sleep, relishing in the blissful ignorance and safety his dreams provided.
"That's settled then." Elmstar dismissed the gathered cats with a curt flick of his tail. Snakepaw instantly separated from the crowd, slipping into the apprentice's den and slumping into his nest. For once, he was glad only him and Patchpaw were the only apprentices, as no cat would bother him for now. He just wanted to sleep forever, or at least until Elmstar called a meeting to elect the next deputy in Rednose's place.