☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 28

𝒮𝓊𝓃𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓀

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

The day had finally come. He was a warrior, and he could hardly believe it.

Also, Slowpaw had finally woken up, but that wasn't the point.

For his efforts in rescuing Littlelight's kits, he had been allowed to take his assessment early, and somehow with the way Pounceheart had trained him, he passed and earned his full name. Sunstreak.

Sunstreak. Sunstreak. Sunstreak. Every time he heard the name in his head, he seemed to grow more and more confident, his paws tingling in excitement as he went on his first patrol as a full-fledged BreezeClan warrior.

They stood now at the border that separated their territory from FlameClan's and oddly enough, their scent was stale and fading as if it hadn't been marked in days.

"Should we check up on them? What if something happened?" Finchfrost asked.

Sunstreak, though he didn't say anything aloud, agreed with the messenger. As the days grew warmer and the arrival of summer drew nearer, the twolegs near FlameClan came out more often and they were at even more of a risk of getting caught in their clutches.

Hazelstripe, at the lead of the patrolling cats, nodded. "Yes, we should make sure they aren't in any trouble. And if they are, maybe we can help them."

But as they continued deeper into the unfamiliar territory, Sunstreak's hope of finding FlameClan gradually faded. There was no sign of life at all here, as if the entire clan as a whole had dissipated.

And their assumptions were only confirmed once they made it to their camp. The entrance was empty, with no guards posted at all, and once they ducked through the entrance, they found a vacant and empty camp before them.

The prey pile in the heart of the FlameClan camp was nearly empty, consisting of mostly bones and the rotting limbs of different prey animals. Each den was empty, the only thing within the dens were nests, the moss old and in great need of a change. Where had they gone? Surely, they would have told the other clans if they were leaving, right?

"So, they left? Just like that?" Fleetpaw questioned to no cat in particular.

"It seems so," Hazelstripe replied. "Unless the twolegs captured them."

Sunstreak hoped that wasn't the case. His mind drifted back to his first gathering when he'd met another apprentice around his age from FlameClan, Twitchpaw. She'd seemed so nice, and so did her clanmates. Such cats didn't deserve to be forced into the life of a kittypet.

"Alright, we found what we came for." Finchfrost mew was edged with disappointment as she spoke. "Now, we should get back to our own camp."

Hazelstripe nodded, leading them back to where they came from.

He glanced around as they padded back into their own borders, just hoping that it was some sort of trick being played, or that some FlameClan warrior would jump out and explain to them what had happened. But the forest stayed eerily quiet, their pawsteps the only sounds they could hear.

So much for his first patrol as a full warrior.

✵☁✵

They arrived back in their own camp to gloomy faces crowded in the center of the camp clearing, looking as miserable as ever.

"What in SpiritClan's name..." Finchfrost began, but her voice was cut off by a sharp gasp as the arriving patrol saw what lay before them all. Lying on the grass in a heap of lifeless bluish-gray fur, was Lightningstar.

The BreezeClan leader was dead.

Sunstreak could hardly believe what he was seeing. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping it was all just some nightmare that he would soon wake up from. But it wasn't. This was reality. His leader truly was gone.

He glanced at the Invincible Stump. It was only a few days ago when his leader had been standing there, looking as healthy as ever as he granted Sunstreak his warrior name. How could his condition have worsened so fast? It seemed so surreal to him.

"Cats of BreezeClan," Wolfcall's commanding voice grasped every cat's attention. "it is with great sorrow that I announce our wise leader has fallen for the last time." Many saddened murmurs rippled through his gathered clanmates. "By tradition, we must hold a very important vigil for him. He served us well in life, and may he finally rest as a new member of SpiritClan."

"Lightningstar! Lightningstar!" Yowls and mews erupted within the camp, filled with many different emotions. Despair, hopelessness, thankfulness. The list went on.

"Now, we shall reminisce on our moments with our dear leader." She looked to Cloudysky. "Would you share first?"

The pale gray she-cat nodded. "He was so wise and loyal and I was so lucky to have him as my mate, and father to my dear kit." She gazed proudly at Wolfcall, who shifted on her paws, slightly embarrassed. "He will be missed, but remembered as StreamClan lives on."

There were many purrs and mumbles of the agreement as she finished speaking.

The other cats glanced at one another awkwardly in silence, waiting for some cat to take over. But no cat did. Sunstreak guessed they were all still in shock by Lightningstar's sudden death to say anything.

"Well, I guess it's time we let him rest." Wolfcall touched her nose to her the limp leader's head, and mumbled just loud enough for the gathered cats to hear, "Until we meet again, my father."

And together, as a clan, they began to cover him with dirt.

That was it. Their leader was gone for good.