Beyond the Mountains | A Warrior Cats Fanfiction

꧁ ✧ Chapter 14 ✧ ꧂

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PICTURES ARE COMING SOON, MY AI SYSTEM IS DOWN CURRENTLY.

After the...thing... with Sharptooth, they had set off immediately, wanting to go away from that place. They were now in eagle territory. Below them came deer territory, then the lowlands. They stayed under the safety of trees, as a large eagle could easily take a cat into the skies. She had thought about the incident with Sharptooth a lot. It was strange. She knew it was probably better to not think about it, as it confused her. Last night she had an idea. What if she was looking in the wrong place for Dandelion? What if she had been so close to him that she could have been with him within a moon of separation?

What if Dandelion went back to the tribe to wait for her?

So she had half turned around and headed for the tribe. Now leaving the eagle hotspot and finding constant rabbit droppings and tracks, along with empty mouse burrows. She knew where she was. her father had stood with her on top of the cliff and pointed out the clearing where she encountered Sharptooth for the third time, after her mother and sister had died.

The sky was darkening, and they huddled under a moss-overgrown treestump, where they curled together in the overhang as it began to snow. just lightly, dappling their coats and flecking their spines.

They hadn't slept much, not just because of the cold, but anxiety. She was banished, and told to never return. Why would they accept her now?

It was getting colder as they went back up the mountain, their fur coated in snow and whiskers dripping with ice. after walking for a few days, they passed under a huge overhang above them, treading carefully on a narrow ledge, a drop beneath them, 40 tail lengths down. Sunny padded in front of her, although he was growing fast, he was still smaller than her and found it slightly easier to walk along the narrow ledge. Suddenly, Sunny's front paw caught on a loose pebble, and his leg slipped down off the ledge, his shoulder and top half of his body coming after him like a shadow. He wailed, scrambling with his one remaining front paw on the brittle rockface, but couldn't get any traction as the wall simply crumbled beneath his claws. Willow leapt forward in an instant, grabbing the back of his spine. But he was heavier than she had expected and would've gone down with him if not for a sharp stone jutting out from the ground which she had stepped over only a moment ago. Her back paw behind it, she held onto Sunny, praying it wouldn't break. She pulled Sunny and herself up with a scrambling struggle. They crouched for a moment, panting.

''Are you okay?'' Willow lifted her head to peer at the tips of his ears. She heard his shaky breathing, followed by his ears dipping and raising. he was probably just in shock. She waited a few minutes for him to calm down. When he was ready, they stood up and started going again. Almost immediately, his paw slipped again, but he regained his balance quickly.

''All ok?'' there was no response, and she peered closer at him.

''Sunny?''

''I cant do it.'' she heard a hoarse whisper. Her heart started beating rapidly, in sympathy and terror for what came next. If he couldn't move, neither could she. They would be stuck there. She exhaled slowly, and his head shakily turned around to look at her sideways.

''I'm sorry, I-''

''Don't be. it's fine.'' She breathed out slowly. She knew what she had to do.

''Sunny, I want you to make yourself as small as you can. and flat. but not so flat you can't balance. just- yeah.'' She waited as Sunny hesitantly crouched down.

''Done. What are you going to do?'' Willow ignored him and took a step back, her head lifted up to focus on the narrow trail in front of Sunny.

''Willow?''

''I'm still here.'' She got her pouncing position ready, her heart pummeling her chest. If she fell, it would be certain death. and Sunny wouldn't be able to move for sure. and she was so close to the tribe. Just another hour and she could be reunited with Dandelion.

''Yeah, but what are you-'' he let out a yelp and shrank down further, tensing and wrapping his tail around his body rapidly as Willow narrowed her eyes and took a flying leap in front of him. She landed roughly, her left paw, closest to the wall slipped underneath her, but her paw next to the edge landed perfectly, and she pushed up with her right paw, lifting up her left paw before she lost her balance. She crouched, panting hard and staring at the drop, a claw-length from her paws. She looked up to the rooty overhang, which had sprinkled her pelt with dirt.

''Willow?'' Sunny sounded shocked she had done such a reckless thing, and shocked at the fact she was still on the ledge, and not sprawled out lifelessly at the bottom of the rocky pit. She exhaled slowly, and stood up, her legs trembling violently.

''Hold onto my tail, and stand up.'' She wafted her tail behind her, not quite sure where his face was, and too shaky to turn around. She felt teeth set into her tail and listened to him slowly stand up.

''Now, we're going to walk forward. Slowly. I won't let you fall, I promise. understand?'' She felt him nodding through her tail and took a step forward. they were lucky because she had a long, plumy tail. because of its length, they wouldn't have to be perfectly timed to walk. They padded forward, approaching the place where they could detach. They came to a more narrow part of the ledge, and slowed down, more like crawling. Out of desperation to be away from the drop, Sunny released her tail and leapt across the gap, and half onto the flat ground. But his muscles had become loose and weak from the tension and he struggled to scramble up, his back legs kicking at the side of the wall. Willow darted forward, reaching down to grab his scruff in her jaws. She pulled him up and collapsed next to him when he was up.

''PFFF.'' He said as she sighed. Sunny turned on his side to face her, and she did the same.

''Thank you. For what you did back there. You saved me, yet again.'' he smiled.

''No problem.'' she sighed, and they fell silent. Willow pricked her ear suddenly, her pupils dilating.

''What is it?'' Sunny scrambled to his paws, his fur rippling as he stood. Willow stood as a statue, her fur prickling. She stared straight ahead, ears angled around a corner. Sunny listened and heard the gentle sound of snow landing, and a distant roaring and rushing sound. His fur prickled, he had never heard anything like it and stepped back. Willow turned back to look at him, her eyes full of sadness and anticipation and wonder and joy.

''Home.''

PICTURES ARE COMING SOON, MY AI SYSTEM IS DOWN CURRENTLY.