The Surviving Few (Warrior Cats)

Chapter nine - as if it was burning

Raindrop sat beside Honeydusk, their pelts brushing, watching the sun set before them. It was swallowed by the clear lake beneath, and, for a spilt second, the water surface appeared red and glowing.

Darkness fell finally. Stars filled the sky. They moved in circles, steadily approaching the two cats, as if urging them to reach out and touch them with their paws.

Honeydusk pressed closer still, radiating the calm energy Raindrop so desperately longed for. She leaned close to Raindrop's ear, breathing softly. She opened her mouth, but no words came. Longing rose inside Raindrop's chest, her heart aching. It was impossible, yet she wanted it more than she had ever wanted a thing in her life.

She whispered, "Honeydusk, I—"

...

Raindrop woke with a start. Nothing about what she had just dreamt made any sense whatsoever. Though the sun was shining down at her she felt cold to the bone. A tom sat beside her. He bent down and muttered, "we have visitors."

Visitors?

Raindrop got to her paws, looking around cautiously.

Are they rogues?

"Honeydusk, oh, my daughter, you're alive," rasped a voice. The voice of a cat whom Raindrop had, up until this point, believed dead.
"You're alive," Goldenstar, leader of WindClan, went on. She was frantically licking Honeydusk's golden head, which, seen next to her own quite like this, was near identical. The one thing that set them apart were their eyes; Honeydusk's, warm and sweet, a shade of orange similar to that of honey, and Goldenthorn's, piercing and cold, though amber nonetheless.

"...Hi," said another voice. It was softer than Goldenstar's, though Raindrop thought it sounded strangely fake. Guilty, perhaps.

"Mom, please—" gasped Honeydusk, souding distressed and greatly relieved all at once.

Goldenstar continued moving her tongue repeatedly over her daughter's head, murmuring, "you're alive," under her breath. Looking at Honeydusk, their eyes meeting for a short second, Raindrop thought, this is wrong. Still, she could not help the warmth that spread inside of her as she gazed at the beautiful golden she-cat.

"Hi!" mewed Poppypaw brightly to the stranger. Raindrop tore her gaze away from Honeydusk and her almost identical mother.

Sharpsight added, considerably less brightly, "who are you?

"...Wildfire," Wildfire mewed, quietly.

"Were you named after the fire?" Ryespring asked. He had moved nearer the two newcomers, moving his tail as if urging Raindrop to follow. Without hesitation, she did. The sun on her back felt almost too warm as she neared. Her pelt felt as if it was burning.

"No," replied Wildfire. "I wasn't."

Leafwillow's gaze drifted from Wildfire to her mother and sister, then back again. Her expression remained the same: relieved but saddened, curious but cautious.

"Mom," mumbled Honeydusk again. A hushed silence fell over the group of cats, who were now eight in number. It was a depressing amount compared to the many who had once thrived by the lake.

"Goldenstar, please!" cried Honeydusk. She freed herself from her mothers grip, continuing, her voice shaking, "I get that you're glad to see me, but you've got another daughter, too!"

'You just want attention now that mom isn't here to shower you with it!'

"I no longer go by the name Goldenstar," said, well, the leader of WindClan. The mother of Honeydusk and Leafwillow. A grumpy she-cat.

"I believe StarClan has abandoned us, the Clans, and therefore I refuse to go by the name they have granted me together with my nine lives. I am Goldenthorn to you all."

Fair enough, Raindrop thought. She was not, however, much of a fan of the way of which Goldenthorn spoke, or her air of authority; she spoke as if demanding respect, which, as of now, she had not earned nor deserved. Raindrop was sure not every cat in the group would agree with these beliefs and viewpoints. And she had been faithful, once, even more so than the many hopeless warriors who had gathered in preparation for their third and last battle. The fact Raindrop had known the past-Goldenthorn was what made her trust the present.

Wildfire, however, she had never seen nor spoken to. The spotted brown she-cat kept quiet. She seemed unsure whether she was wanted where she stood. Guilty, even. Raindrop could not decide where these feelings had come from, but she felt the warrior was hiding something. Something that she hoped would never have to be revealed to the cats who now stood by her side.

Tension lay in the air, though it was rather unfitting in such a setting; the sun was shining down at them; a gentle breeze was ruffling their pelts, all of whom varied in color and shape; a third cat was approaching...

An excited meow broke the silence. It exclaimed, "finally I've found you!"