Warriors AU: Skyclan's Destiny

Chapter 5

Before Poppystar could move, Cherrytail shot out of one of the lower caves and began clawing his way upward, closely followed by Clovertail. In the same heartbeat, Rainfur emerged from the nursery and flung herself across the rock face toward the terrified apprentice, scrambling precariously along a trail that was so narrow it was almost invisible against the sandy cliff.

Poppystar began to climb, too, her paws pounding over the rocks, but she was much farther away than her deputy.

"Hold on!" Cherrytail ordered, his voice crisp and calm. "Don't move!"

Rainfur let out a panic-stricken wail. "Starclan help him!"

The rock was crumbling beneath Birdpaw's claws. Poppystar's belly lurched as she saw him slide a tail-length down the cliff. She spotted Cobaltclaw and Rockshade peering out of the cave below, but Birdpaw was just out of reach of their paws.

"I'm slipping!" he gasped. "I can't hold on!"

"Yes, you can. Keep still." Cherrytail was only a couple of fox-lengths below the apprentice now, the only cat close enough to have a hope of reaching him. His powerful hind legs pushed upward from a crack in the rock and he lunged toward Birdpaw, but before he could fasten his claws into the young cat's fur, more of the rock flaked away under Birdpaw's paws.

The apprentice let out a shriek; his paws flailed as he tried to dig his claws into the powdery surface. Poppystar gazed in horror as his small body plummeted down. Off balance, Cherrytail barely saved himself from following.

Birdpaw's shriek was cut off as he struck a jutting boulder, bounced off, and fell the rest of the way to the foot of the cliff, landing with an ugly thud. He lay motionless on the trail between the cliff and the river.

With a cold weight gathering in her belly, Poppystar turned and scrambled down to join him. Landing lightly beside him, she bent her head to sniff his black fur.

"Is he dead?" Rainfur hurtled down the cliff and flung herself onto the ground beside her son. Every hair on her pelt bristled with horror. "Starclan, don't let him be dead!"

Birdpaw lay stretched out in the fust at the bottom of the cliff. His eyes were closed, but relief flooded through Poppystar when she saw his flank twitch.

"He's not dead," she murmured, pressing her muzzle against Rainfur's shoulder.

Clovertail jumped down and shot one horrified look at the motionless apprentice. "I'll fetch Echosong," he meowed, and raced away.

Rainfur crouched beside Birdpaw and started to lick the fur on the top of his head. "Wake up, Birdpaw," she pleaded, her voice quivering. 'It's my fault," she added, raising wide blue eyes to her Clan leader. "I should have been watching him."

Poppystar could understand the light gray she-cat's guilt. Birdpaw was Rainfur's son and her apprentice; no wonder she felt responsible for his accident.

I remember Sandstar telling us that forest cats don't mentor their own kin. Maybe they have a point.

"It's not your fault," she reassured Rainfur, resting her tail-tip on the distraught cat's shoulder. "He's an apprentice, not a kit. You can't have your eye on him all the time."

Rainfur didn't respond, just went on covering the young cat's head with frantic licks.

Poppystar glanced over her shoulder at the sound of soft thuds behind her, and saw Cherrytail, Tinycloud, and Shrewtooth heading toward her. Rockshade, Sparrowpelt, and Cobaltclaw leaped down just behind them. They crowded around and gazed down at the motionless apprentice.

"I'm sorry." Cherrytail lashed his tail, clearly angry with himself. "If I'd been just a bit quicker..."

"You did your best," Poppystar told him. "No cat can—"