Goldstar's past

Chapter 7: "Bloodstar saves the day."

 Goldpaw blinked open her eyes to find Hawkstripe standing in front of her. Hawkstripe lick her head, but looked worried.

"A-am I dead?" Goldpaw gasped. She was shocked. Why did she have to die at such a young age?

"Well, right now, yes. But it's not your time. You have a destiny to follow." Hawkstripe mewed. "Go back and protect the clan, my little warrior." His words echoed in Goldpaw's mind as he faded away. Everything faded to darkness. Gradually, shrieks and yowls of fighting cats seemed to surround her. Goldpaw blinked open her eyes, everything was blurry and bright. A flash of tan/ginger fur came in sight. A comforting scent drifted in her nose. Bronzepaw.

When her eyes focused, she noticed that the battle still raged on. Bodies of cats lay on the ground. Blood was everywhere. Bronzepaw was fighting off a black and white tom. The fury in Bronzepaw's eyes kind of scared Goldpaw. The tom wacked Bronzepaw, sending him stumbling into the brambles. Furious, Goldpaw screeched. The tom jumped and looked at her, startled.

"I-I killed you!" He snarled.

"Does it look like I'm dead to you?" Goldpaw retorted. She launched herself onto the tom's back, gripping loose skin to stay on him. Her claws sunk into his pelt. The tom shrieked and thrashed around like a blind badger in a fit. Goldpaw slashed the back of his neck and the tom staggered for a moment. Then, he fell to the ground with a thud. Goldpaw stood over him, glaring at him. Then, she rushed to the brambles to find Bronzepaw laying in them.

"Bronzepaw!" Goldpaw wailed. Grief ripped her heart in two. But, relief washed over her when his tail flicked.

"Goldpaw..." Bronzepaw whispered. "You're... You're alive!"

"Yeah, I am" She purred. Bronzepaw heaved himself up and shook his pelt to git rid of the bracken stuck to it.

"Who are these cats that are attacking us?" Bronzepaw hissed. "I can't tell!" Goldpaw tasted the air. Through the thick scents of blood and Crystalclan, there was a familiar scent. A scent that she learned the day she was apprenticed. Shadowclan.

"Shadowclan!" Goldpaw hissed. She thought they were allies! Or something of the sort! Goldpaw kneaded the grass. "Stay here, while I fight."

"No way!" Bronzepaw growled. "I'm fighting too!" Before she could stop him, he leaped onto a tom who was clawing Tigerlily. More Crystalclan warriors and apprentices leaped out of the brambles and joined the fight. Goldpaw instantly went for a brown she-cat that was wrestling Mistflower. Goldpaw nipped the she-cat's shoulder and dodged her blow.

"Fleabag!" The she-cat spat. Goldpaw raked her claws down the cat's flank. Goldpaw was about to bite her neck when a yowl made her freeze with her mouth wide open, and a whisker away from the she-cat's neck.

"You mouse-brains! Stop fighting!" A black she-cat with gray stripes yowled. Her blood red eyes glared down at the battle. Goldpaw noticed a red star on her forehead. "Or I'll make fresh-kill out of you!"

The Shadowclan warriors instantly froze, their eyes wide. The brown she-cat growled and shook Goldpaw off of her. "Sorry, Bloodstar..." She mewed. Bloodheart! Goldpaw thought. Well, Bloodstar.

"Mouse-brains! You'll be doing apprentice chores for more than a moon for this!" A white she-cat with blue eyes hissed.

"I agree, Winterheart." Bloodstar turned around to the group of cats behind her. "Sparktail and Lilypaw. Go heal the Crystalclan cats." A golden tabby she-cat with lavender eyes and a grey tabby she-cat with ocean-blue eyes bounded over to wounded cats with bundles of herbs in their mouths. Frostpelt and Darkpaw rushed out with their supplies and helped.

"Coalspirit!" A calico she-cat wailed. She scrambled over to the black and white tom Goldpaw killed. Goldpaw flinched as the she-cat wailed. Tears were streaming down her face. Goldpaw had just killed Coalspirit and caused grief. Guilt clawed at her belly. But else could she had done? She wasn't going to let him kill her clanmates or herself.

"Your clanmates have attacked my clan!" Saphirestar hissed and walked up to Bloodstar. "Do you wish war with Crystalclan?"

"No, not at all." Bloodstar mewed, calmly. Goldpaw was surprised by her calmness. "These warriors went behind my back." Saphirestar looked at Bloodstar, looking doubtful. Then, she relaxed.

"Sorry." Saphirestar meowed. "Just please, take these 'warriors' of yours and please go home. I don't want them to cause any trouble like this."

"Oh, trust me." Bloodstar glared at her warriors. "They'll think twice before they do something like this again." Her warriors looked at their paws, obviously ashamed. Goldpaw smirked. They won't be bothering Crystalclan for a while. Or any clan! Sparktail and Lilypaw scrambled up to Bloodstar.

"We're done." Sparktail reported.

"I've never seen so much blood!" Lilypaw gasped. "Neither did Darkpaw!"

"Well, get use to it, Lilypaw." Sparktail mewed. "It's your job as a medicine cat." Lilypaw nodded. A few Shadowclan warriors went down to Coalspirit's body and picked him up. They started dragging his body back up to Bloodstar.

"Coalspirit." Bloodstar breathed. "You were too young..." Goldpaw felt guilt clawing at her stomach again. What did she just do?

"What will the kits think when they see their father dead?" The same calico she-cat whimpered. Goldpaw's heart twisted. She felt sick to her stomach. She had just killed a father!

"They're apprentice's now, Rainsoul." Bloodstar reassured the she-cat. "They'll handle it." Bloodstar turned to Saphirestar. "Once again, I am truly sorry. This won't happen again." Bloodstar dipped her head and flicked her tail. Then she turned around to walked toward her territory. Reluctantly, her warriros followed. They shot furious looks at Goldpaw's clanmates as they passed. When the last tail disappeard in the brambles, there was silence. It weighed on Goldpaw like a huge boulder. Saphirestar turned to Goldpaw and purred.

"You fought well, Goldpaw." She purred. Goldpaw started to feel dizzy. The forest seemed to spin around her. She started to sway, her mother's words were drowned out by a ringing in her ears. Suddenly, darkness fell over her.