Dawnstar's Decision

Chapter 10

Dawnsky slept soundly in the warriors den, her chest rising and falling steadily. She had been a warrior for two moons. She dreamed of hunting in the forest peacefully, not bothered by anyone or anything. She saw a mouse nearby and she got in the hunter's crouch. She crept slowly towards it.
Suddenly, the mouse ran away and she could hear a voice calling her name, "Dawnsky! Dawnsky!"
She frantically looked around, but didn't see anyone. She started to run, but wherever she went, the voice kept on calling her. She woke with a start. "Dawnsky, wake up!" Speckledpath whispered harshly.
She looked around, trying to remember where she was, "Go away, Speckledpath!" She moaned, "It's not even dawn yet..."
"Shhh! Be quiet," She hissed, "I know that its not dawn yet, but Ashkit wants to talk to us."
Dawnsky looked up with a bit of hope in her eyes, "Really?"
Speckledpath nodded, "Now come on. Willowfur is waiting for us outside."
Dawnsky slowly got up, stretching. She walked out of the den, careful not to step on any sleeping warriors. She and Speckledpath quickly padded to Willowfur and then walked quietly across camp to the medicine cat den.
Ashkit was waiting anxiously for them. Her blue eyes were filled with sadness. Dawnsky's ear went back a little. She expected her to seem happy if she wanted to talk to all of them. She exchanged worried glances with her sisters, and then looked over at Ashkit.
"Thanks for coming so early," she mewed, "I have something very important to tell you."
Dawnsky nodded for her to go on. She sat down, curling her tail around her paws.
"Well, Featherpool has really tried with my um injuries and all," her voice cracked a little, "a-and well... she did all that she can do....."
"What do you mean?" Speckledpath meowed.
"I will never get better!" She blurted suddenly, "I am never going to heal and I will never be a warrior! I will never mean anything to the clan, except for a story to warn kits about climbing trees!" She bounded out of her den and hobbled as fast as she could into the forest.
The three sisters sat there, speechless. Their mouths hung open and their eyes were round with shock. Dawnsky couldn't believe it. Would Ashkit really never become a warrior? Could Star Clan be that cruel? She rushed after her sister, Willowfur and Speckledpath not far behind. She sniffed around for Ashkit and followed her trail. She was easy to track since she had been in the medicine cat den so much that she smelled like a whole bunch of herbs.
"Stop!" Cried Willowfur.
Dawnsky whipped her head around. She looked at Willowfur curiously.
"What is it, Willowfur?" Snapped Speckledpath a little harshly.
Willowfur glared at Speckledpath for a quick second, but then shook her head, "All I'm saying is that we should give her some time to be alone."
"She has had enough time to be alone!" Growled Speckledpath, "She has been in that medicine cat den all her life!"
"But that's not the same thing!" Willowfur argued, "She needs some time to grieve. We should just let her be for a little bit."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"HELP!!!"
Willowfur and Speckledpath quickly turned around to look at Dawnsky. Dawnsky shrugged, "That wasn't me!"
"PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Yowled the voice.
The three sisters gasped. Ashkit!
"She never went to see the territory did she?" Speckledpath cried.
"She could've fallen into a badger set!" Willowfur gasped.
"Come on, let's go!" Dawnsky quickly said. She was already on her feet and running in the direction of the scent.
She could see that they were getting dangerously close to the green leaf twolegplace. Her eyes filled with dread as she quickened her pace.
She stopped short when she saw a twoleg cub picking up her sister by the scruff. It made weird cooing noises and then yowled, which made some more twolegs come. They all surrounded her sister, and one grabbed her paw. Dawnsky flinched as she made an agonized shriek. Suddenly, a full grown twoleg walked over and growled something to the twoleg cubs. He took Ashkit and looked at her, and he too started making the strange noises.
She couldn't take her eyes off the large twoleg, and when he started to walk away with Ashkit, she quickly followed behind, but she was well hidden in the undergrowth.
"Dawnsky what are you doing?" Cried Speckledpath.
"I have to follow them!" She meowed determinedly.
She looked back and saw her sisters beckoning for her to go on. She sighed, glad to be alone. She rushed after the twoleg, and stopped when she saw a huge monster. She gasped.
"Help me!" Ashkit cried, struggling to break free of the twoleg's grasp.
The twoleg only made more cooing noises and opened up the monster.
"No! Ashkit!" Dawnsky yowled desperately.
She couldn't do anything as the twoleg placed her in the monster's belly, and then got in it himslef. Another full grown twoleg and the twoleg cubs waved their arms in the air as the moster rolled away.
Dawnsky rushed after the monster and coughed as she breathed in some of the fumes that came out of it. The monster was too fast and Dawnsky sat on the hot and sticky thunderpath, not able to say or do anything. She ran off the thunderpath just as another monster sped by. She couldn't believe it. Her sister was gone.
She walked slowly back to Willowfur and Speckledpath, her head down in shame and sorrow. Willowfur and Speckledpath rushed up to her, but when they saw the stony expression on her face, their spirits were immediately dampened.
"What happened?" Speckledpath mewed carefully.
Dawnsky didn't want to talk at all, especially not about her failure to her sister, "The twoled grabbed her before I could do anything. He put her in a monster and it went down the thunderpath. I couldn't stop it.... it's all my fault."
Speckledpath rushed to comfort her, and she rubbed her fur against Dawnsky's. "Hey, it's not your fault! You couldn't have done anything to prevent that..." she tried comforting her.
Dawnsky turned away, "It doesn't matter.... Ashkit is gone. I failed her."