The Sunlapse (A Light in the Mist AU/rewrite)

XXXI

Song of the Chapter:
Have a Nice Life -  Hunter

Squirrelflight could already feel death upon her. 

Ashfur stepped over to her, as though demise itself was sauntering for her. Bristlefrost laid just behind her with her claws unsheathed like the malicious talons of an eagle. An ocean of fire swallowed the land beneath her, and soon she would drown in its chaos. His blue eyes stared at her like rifts to the cold world of death. All that was left for her was death. He'd battled Spotfur off just easily and nearly killed her in the process. Spotfur had survived, but she was taken down so easily she couldn't imagine what he'd do to her.

Just then, she caught him stumbling back like something had caught him by the tail. Squirrelflight's eyes were too hazy to focus, but he yelled as he fell back from her, and with a crackling and then the snap of wood he fell down from the branch.

Squirrelflight rolled over and attempted to snap from her pale state, pushing up onto her paws. She thought she'd be triumphant, but instead, she was just left stunned. Had he really died? Just dropping from the edge, accidentally? Joy began to blossom at the bed of her heart, only to quickly be consumed by suspicion. He couldn't have been taken that easily.

No. Something else was happening. 

She stepped forward to stare down. All she saw was the pit off golden flames, but there was a sound followed by silence. Was that...cats talking? It was too low for her to catch. But she knew it sounded familiar. Then Squirrelflight realized that she'd been so caught under this entrancing web of suspicion that she hadn't even noticed one thing: Spotfur was missing.

Had she dragged Ashfur down and died with him? She quickly stamped it out and pushed it away, she couldn't have died. Her soul couldn't have been sucked from existence like this. Maybe she had just ran to another branch to escape from Ashfur. She had to have. It made more sense than this. 

But then she realized that was just too absurd, and it was just in front of her. Spotfur and Ashfur couldn't have both just disappeared at the same time. It was obvious.

They were gone.

Spotfur wasn't supposed to be the one to die. She'd stayed behind on this burning island as a self-sacrifice so that she could kill Ashfur, but it'd all been for nothing. The feeling that Spotfur had died for her was worse than death itself, even one without StarClan like Spotfur would have to go through. The shock struck her back into life like a cruel awakening, and soon the fires of chaos began to quench and die around her.

The spirits vanished into nothing and left the battling cats in silence. The storm of light and warmth upon the island gave away to leave an empty hopelessness. It was no longer a realm of violence or chaos, just bitter, hopeless, death. All Squirrelflight could see was black and dark gray. Pieces of ash danced upon the course, strangling air. The few trees that hadn't fallen into the bleak pit of soot beneath stood gaunt and blackened, mere sticks that looked like nothing against the pure black sky. There was no moon or stars, no promise of life or light. Just an endless darkness that would be there forever.

She turned to stare at Bristlefrost. It was so bleak she just looked like a shadow here, but she knew what she'd done. She'd let Spotfur die. Squirrelflight unsheathed her claws and prepared to let out a wave of blows until there was nothing left of this monstrous she-cat, but just then she saw Bristlefrost's legs bend beneath her and she slumped on the ground, before another shadow, amber-eyed, rose from her form. 

"Wait..." a shock struck her down and she paused. "You were controlling her?"

The cat never spoke. She just began vanishing. When the molly noticed what was happening to her, she let out a gasp of terror, but it was left nowhere as she disappeared and became the ash that danced upon the ebony mist.