(Book 1) Warriors: Separations - Six Stars

Chapter 18

Silvernight watched as Serenitykit tumbled down the mountain, her lifeless body being broken and bruised as she rammed into rocks going downward.

Silvernight thought she could hear Spottedstrike yelling, but she was too sad to care. Serenitykit... the kit's corpse had disappeared by now, hidden by the rocks. She could've at least had a proper burial... she thought despairingly. She stared at the rocks for a moment longer. Even though she was far away from where Serenitykit had fallen, she could see all the blood splattered on the gray stone.

When she finally came to, she noticed Spottedstrike yelling at Speckleddawn.

"How could you?!" he hissed, his purple eyes blazing with fury. Speckleddawn returned the tom's glare coldly. "What? Serenitykit died. We needed to dispose of her corpse." he mewed, his merciless gaze staring straight through Spottedstrike. Spottedstrike unsheathed his claws, scraping the rock beneath himself. It was clearly taking him a lot to not pounce on Speckleddawn right there. "The kit needed a proper burial, you monster!" he spat. Speckleddawn looked around. "I don't see anything to bury the kit with. This is a rock." he sighed. Spottedstrike's neck fur bristled with anger, but he still managed to keep his composure. "If you were a true warrior, you would at least put a little bit of thinking into Serenitykit's burial." he growled. Speckleddawn's eyes were cold and unforgiving. "Oh yeah? Then tell me how." he sneered.

That was Spottedstrike's last straw. He pounced on Speckleddawn and clawed the golden tom's ears. Speckleddawn jumped back, his fur bristling. He unsheathed his claws and lunged at Spottedstrike, aiming for the white and black tom's sides.

Without thinking, Silvernight flung herself at Speckleddawn, knocking his paws out from under him and landing beside Spottedstrike. As Speckleddawn staggered up, surprised, Silvernight pounced at him again, taking the opportunity to pin him down and do some damage. She sank her claws into Speckleddawn's shoulders. "You better have a good reason to have thrown Serenitykit off this cliff, or you're gonna have the same fate, you foxheart." she growled. Speckleddawn's eyes widened in surprise, he didn't seem to be expecting Silvernight's harshness. Speckleddawn scoffed. "Why must you and your friend be so insistent? What else were we supposed to do? Bury her under the rocks? It would've been a while till we got down, the flood in our camp won't just go away next sunrise, you know. If anything, she would've been a rotting corpse by the time we decided to bury her." he retorted.

Silvernight scratched his nose. "Can't come up with anything better than that?" she growled. "Just watch yourself go to the Dark Forest and see if you regret your decision." she told him, hate edging her mew. Silvernight got off of Speckleddawn, letting the tom back up. Rainbowstar came padding up to the two. He glared at Speckleddawn. "You'll have a lot of repercussions for your actions once we get back to our camp." he said calmly. Speckleddawn dipped his head. "Very well." he huffed.

Silvernight padded back to her kits, knowing that she'd already left them alone for far too long. She saw that they were shivering, with no mother to protect them from the cold. She wrapped around them, laying her tail gently over their shivering bodies.

Darkcloud walked up to her. "Are you alright?" he asked her gently. Silvernight sighed. "No, my kit was just thrown off a cliff." she remarked, scorn edging her voice. Darkcloud nodded, sorrow glinting in his eyes. "If you need anything, tell me or Rainbowstar, okay? We have a duty to protect you and your kits." he told her. Silvernight nodded. "Thank you, all of you." she mewed warmly.

Serenitykit's death hung over Silvernight like a dark cloud hanging over the forest. She felt like it would always nag her, like she would never be free from the sorrow that enveloped her every time she thought about the kit. Spottedstrike had been nothing but kind to her as she grieved for her lost kit, who had also received no burial whatsoever.

Spottedstrike faced Silvernight. "Hey, you don't suppose that once we get down from this mountain, Serenitykit's body will still be there? Perhaps she just landed at the bottom of the mountain. Though it would be gruesome, surely then we could give her a proper burial, right?" the tom suggested.

A spark of hope lit up inside Silvernight. She nodded. "Yes, perhaps. Though, I trust that Starclan has already taken the little one in." she breathed.

Spottedstrike nodded. "Right. We needn't worry about how the kit is faring." he mewed reassuringly. Silvernight smiled. "Thanks."

Silvernight spotted a cluster clumping around Rainbowstar. The Riverclan leader seemed to be giving out orders. She couldn't catch anything but a few names, "Graymuzzle, Honeyleaf, Hazelstripe, Gladescar..." he called. Spottedstrike, his eyes flashing with intrigue, got up and padded over to the group, his ears perking up. Silvernight watched as the same expression rippled throughout the group, worry and unease clouding their expressions. She saw their mouths moving, but was too far away to hear what they were saying. The four warriors that were called on lit up with determination, their eyes brightening with resolve. Rainbowstar dipped his head to the warriors. He then gave a flick of his tail to signify that the little clan meeting was over.

Spottedstrike came back over to Silvernight. He settled down beside her again. "Rainbowstar sent Gladescar, Honeyleaf, Hazelstripe and Graymuzzle to go down the mountain and hunt since there's no prey up here." he informed her. Silvernight sighed in relief. "That's good. My kits are beyond starving, and they were only born yesterday." she remarked.

She then noticed that Mousekit was moving and breathing less. Panic welled up inside of her chest, but she forced it down and remained calm. She quickly began licking Mousekit, trying to make sure the kit stayed as warm as possible. Once she stopped, to her relief, Mousekit seemed to be breathing normally again.

With curiosity, she looked back at the warriors that were going to be climbing down the mountain again to catch prey, and she envied how graceful they were able to look climbing down the mountain. They made it seem effortless. Then again, they don't have to lug a kit around after just giving birth. She remarked.

She watched them for a moment longer, before turning her gaze to Riverclan territory. It was hard to see past Fourtrees, but she saw that there was no longer water spilling into the gorge that separated Windclan and Riverclan from the flood.

Just a few more sunrises, and we can be out of here.