Chapter 25: Salt Water
The cliff face was exactly as Purdy described, a sheer drop into an endless amount of water that crashed against the stone below. Faintly in the distance, I could see the land sink to the water's edge, lining the water with pale soil. Maybe Midnight was over there, but that was a fair bit of distance, to the point where we'd have been heavily offset from the clan territories. No. They couldn't be over there. It'd leave us with very little capability to return home. I had to trust that Midnight was somewhere nearby.
We were scouting the edge. Noting any paths towards the water in case we actually needed to touch it, when Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw got into a spitting match. It was over their usual topic, Brambleclaw's tendency to micromanage Squirrelpaw because she'd act a bit recklessly. Neither was completely wrong, but neither was right as well. Yes, Squirrelpaw should act with more caution, but Brambleclaw shouldn't just lay into her for something that hasn't caused harm. It's like he thinks she's a kit, needing to be heavily mothered. I could take the arguing no longer.
"Knock it off, both of you! Squirrelpaw, Brambleclaw is right that you shouldn't be acting so carelessly near the edge. Brambleclaw, no one likes being chastised like a kit. Yes, you can warn her that it's dangerous, but you don't need to go after her like that. You may have appointed yourself leader of the group, but you never got the lessen Father pounded into my head. A leader must always act with tact, not antagonizing the cats they wish to lead." I angrily berated the two.
Of course, fate at that moment seemed to conspire against me. As Brambleclaw had warned Squirrelpaw, the edge of the cliff face might come loose, and it did right beneath Brambleclaw's paws. I rushed forward to grab him by the scruff. Squirrelpaw did the same, steadying him before he lost his grip. Unfortunately for us, that wasn't the only part that seemed keep on giving way. I caught the sound of the rock cracking behind us. There wasn't enough time. I remember what was asked of me for this journey, my duty to protect every cat involved. There was only one choice. I used my own weight to counterbalance Brambleclaw, throwing Brambleclaw into Squirrelpaw, making them tumble past the fault, by throwing myself forward. Then it gave in with me atop it. I was falling towards the endless waters below with no way to stop it. At least Stonestep had taught me to swim so long ago. Hopefully I'd get a chance to use it instead of being taken out on impact.
I hit the water, feeling it knock the breath out of me. Salty water flooded my mouth and nose, tasting foul. I'd tumbled at some point, unable to discern up form down with my eyes closed. I needed to open them, just like Stonestep taught me. I forced them open, ignoring the sting the water had on my eyes. It was far worse than when Stonestep trained me. Regardless, I could see light, meaning the surface. I couldn't think about the cliff right now. I needed to reach the surface first. Steadily, I clawed my way to the surface, feeling my lungs beg for air. Then I breached it and gasped. I was treading water, but it was strange. The water wasn't tugging me along anywhere, just swelling and receding. At least that meant I had time, my endurance being my only limit.
"Darkpaw!" I heard Squirrelpaw call from the cliff above.
By this point, I found a ledge protruding out of the water. There also seemed to be a narrow path upward. It was just barely bigger than a cat wide. I took advantage of it. Pulling myself free from the water, I noticed a cave. It was too coincidental. This could be it. I needed to let the rest know that I was ok and that I found something.
"Squirrelpaw! I'm ok! I'm not hurt! Just got the fur spooked off of me! There's a path a bit further along the cliff! It leads down here! I also think I found something!" I yowled up towards there the rest of the journey cats were.
I shivered as a cool breeze swept over my wet form. I knew that I should probably dry myself, but I was exhausted form the swim, desperately wanting to sleep. We hadn't even gotten to sleep since reaching the cliffs. I'd been up far too long. I couldn't muster up the energy to deal with this.
I forced myself to maintain consciousness as I watched the rest of our cats pick their way down the cliff using that narrow path. Luckily, none of the cliff decided to give way under them like it had with me. Squirrelpaw reached me first, nuzzling up to me before realizing I was still soaked.
"Yuck! You're still all wet!" She yowled, jumping back to dry herself.
"You still haven't dried yourself?" Stormfur mewed, to which I replied with only a look of exhaustion.
"Then we better dry you up quick. It's all too easy to die to cold water. Stormfur, help me out. We're the only cats really experienced with helping a cat who fell in cold water." Feathertail commanded, taking control of the situation.
I couldn't complain as the pair set to drying me out. I could see their visible disgust in the taste of the salty water, but they continued regardless. Eventually, they deemed it good enough for now.
"Alright. We've got to get into some shelter. That cave there will do for now. I'm going to want both Tawnypelt and Crowpaw to lay beside him." Feathertail instructed.
"What? Why me?" Crowpaw complained.
"Because you've got a short pelt, meaning that you're body heat will reach him the easiest. Tawnypelt's got the longest fur of us, so she'll reflect body heat, letting us warm him up easier. It's common practice in Riverclan, and we know a thing or two about this since it happens most to us." Stormfur explained.
Crowpaw grumbled a bit, but he ultimately agreed. Tawnypelt and Squirrelpaw helped me stagger into the cave, but then something became obvious. The cave was occupied, and not by a cat.
"That's a badger." Crowpaw mewed in a shocked tone.
We all froze, a new surge of energy ensuring I was wide awake to see this. The badger rose from where it rested, far larger than any badger I'd ever seen. It may have been my fear that made me notice the little things, like how its muzzle was lined with silver, meaning it was old. That still wasn't good enough. I wasn't in good enough condition to run, and there wasn't nearly enough space to fight a badger. It turned to us, taking one paw step after another closer. I could smell the stink of fish on its breath. Then it did something I never would have expected. It spoke.