Beast of the Sea - WARRIOR CATS

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Stars. I felt as though I was rising, running, through a world of starlight. The stars seemed to reach out to me, their grasp warm and welcoming, yet my paws kept trying to veer away from them. Finally, I fell, and let the stars come to me.

A warm breeze flowed across my pelt, ruffling tufts of fur. My eyes were still shut, and my mind was still groggy, as though I had been asleep for moons. I ran my paws across the ground; it was grassy, and soft. I felt as though I could rely here for the rest of my existence-

No!

I was supposed to be somewhere else, wasn't I? The warm, all-encompassing breeze was so relaxing, though. I inhaled, and the scent was unlike any I had been around before. It smelled like love, and peace, and stardust-

I shot open my eyes. As I gazed around at the clearing around me, the shining brown trees in the distance, the sparkling green grass underpaw, the gently rolling deep, blue sea in the distance, I suddenly realised who I was, and where I was.

I was Ferretpaw. And I was in StarClan.

I stared down at my paws. Formerly a solid dark grey, they were ghostly pale and faded. I tilted my head to glance at my flank. The scars and scratches I had received in the battle were still there, yet they had healed, and didn't hurt at all. Stars danced around me.

I stumbled to my paws, instinctively trying to move away from them. In doing so, I nearly tumbled over a ball of fur. I jumped away, glancing at who I had ran into.

The cat's pelt was sleek and shiny. Her dark grey and silver streaked fur was lushous, and she was far more solid than I was. The stars flowed around her pelt, vibrant and warm. She looked so much younger as she slept, her pelt thicker and glossier than I had ever seen in life, but it was unmistakably my mother.

"Wolfwhisper?" I murmured weakly, nudging my mother's side.

"No, Ferretpaw...Not you too..." The voice came from a cat behind me,

I stopped dead. Straightening and turning with visible effort, I turned to see a black tom padding towards me. Like me, but unlike Wolfwhisper, his pelt was very pale, and the stars seemed to remain a mouse length from his pelt. When he was right in front of me, a sudden ripple flashed across his pelt, and he stumbled with a gasp of agony.

"Shadefang!" I screeched, bolting towards him.

Shadefang swayed in his paws, staring up at me with amber eyes bright with pain. For a heartbeat, his pelt flickered, then it seemed to grow stronger. Shadefang straightened, and turned to me with a weak smile.

"Hey, Ferretpaw," he met my worried gaze. "Those wounds I got in the battle weren't exactly...enjoyable." He laughed quietly. "Don't worry about me, I think it's almost over."

"You're dying?"

Shadefang nodded ruefully, and I saw a flash of pain in his eyes. "I regret none of my actions," he meowed firmly. "If I could save just one cat in that battle, then it would have been worth it."

I kneaded the soft grass with one forepaw, trying to stare up at Shadefang's pained expression. Wolfwhisper shifted weakly in the grass beside me. I narrowed my eyes; off in the distance there seemed to be a stream of starlit cats. Welcomers?

"Ferretpaw," Shadefang meowed softly, eyeing me up and down. "The fight...What happened in the end? Is Dewstar gone? You don't have to tell me," he added quickly when he saw my eyes flash.

"Yes, she's dead," I meowed.

I should have felt happy, here in StarClan, surrounded by my mother and a close friend, but something felt off. I stared up as Shadefang swayed once more, letting out a growl. I killed her...