Skie

Part 4: The Power

The heat pounded on Skiepaw's fur as they trekked across the desert-like plains. Shadowpaw was falling behind, and Sunkit could barely walk, he was so tired. She flopped onto the sandy earth and sighed. This journey's going to take a while, Skiepaw thought. Shadowpaw's ears flattened and he stared straight ahead. "Something's coming." He growled. The ground vibrated and Skiepaw's claws unsheathed in terror. A herd of thousands of wildebeests stormed through the desert. There was no place to hide.

Shadowpaw pressed close to Sunkit, protecting him, as Skiepaw did on the other side of him. Sunkit jumped over them and screeched, "I don't need protecting!" His eyes glowed a bright yellow, and a blast of air slammed the wildebeests away. Sunkit fell to the ground, panting. Skiepaw and Shadowpaw rushed towards him, and checked each other for wounds. "I've got a scratch on my ear, but that's all." Shadowpaw meowed, but Skiepaw wasn't listening. "How did you do that?" She mewed frantically. "I-I have no idea," Sunkit mewled shakily. "I just focused on protecting you from the big things!" 

Skiepaw's thoughts charged faster than the wildebeests as they reached the Farlands. Shadowpaw stared at the vast, empty nothingness. It was just water, stretching out for miles. He dipped a paw in it. The water swayed as if it was angry, then started to swirl around Shadowpaw's body. A wave crashed down on him, dragging Shadowpaw into the depths. "Shadowpaw!" Skiepaw screamed, her tail lashing. She dived into the ice cold water, struggling to swim. Skiepaw grabbed Shadowpaw by the scruff, and pulled him out onto the sand. 

"Is he dead?" "Shut up, Sunkit!" Skiepaw hissed. Shadowpaw coughed, his nose streaming water. "Oh, Skiepaw!" Shadowpaw mewed in surprise. "You saved me!" Skiepaw was so relieved she could barely speak. "You could have died!" She squeaked, pressing her pelt against his. Sunkit watched, looking triumphant. "I knew it!" He meowed as they nuzzled. "You like him!" Sunkit's confident mew shocked Skiepaw, and she stood there like a frozen mouse for a few seconds. "What! No! He's just my friend!" Skiepaw meowed a little too loudly and quickly. She felt her pelt go hot as Shadowpaw stared at her, tilting his head, amused. "You do! You do! You like him!" Sunkit crowed. "I'll dunk you in the water myself," Skiepaw growled, "Unless you want to stop." Sunkit stopped.

As Shadowpaw went to get prey, Skiepaw looked at the lapping black water, it's depth unknown. Sunkit got thirsty earlier in the morning, and drank from the puddle. It's water was salty, and he spat it out immediately in disgust. Then Shadowpaw tried it, and it was delicious, according to him. Skiepaw didn't dare try it, afraid that it was salty, and tried water from moss instead. Fortunately, the water didn't get mad again, and they learnt how to swim. Skiepaw learnt that the top of the water looked murky, but underneath was a glittering, blissful reef. A small hole with an air gap looked like a cat had been in there before. There were paw prints where the water turned into air. Multicoloured fish swirled around coral, all the colours of the rainbow. A wall of golden-like sand protected the wiggly creatures from sharks. Broken twoleg boats rested at the bottom of the outskirts of the reef. Skiepaw knew she had to explore.

After making a mountain of sand, sloped to you could leap into the water, Skiepaw readied herself in front of the jump. Sand sprayed as she sprinted up the slope and leaped, floating in the air for a few seconds, before plunging into the water. The cold made Skiepaw shiver, but she kept going. As she reached the cave, Skiepaw saw a gentle glow coming from inside. She landed inside the cave. Purple shards of crystal hung from the ceiling of the cave, rainbow, shining stalagmites at the bottom. A ledge stood in the wall, a huge cat sitting on top, watching her.

What did I find?

Skiepaw will return in Skie: Shadowpaw's Vision