Nightpaw flicked her tail, jumping down from the fence. She watched as Spirit stumbled over, falling in a small heap on the ground. One part of her wanted to feel sorry for the kit, but another part was slightly annoyed. The kit was slowing them down, whether he could help it or not.
"C'mon Spirit, not much further now," she said as the small tom kit scrambled to his paws. She hoped it was true.
"It better not be," Blizzardpaw growled, pushing Spirit forward with his nose.
" I was thinking - we should probably find somewhere where we don't have to keep on climbing over these fences," Emberpaw meowed.
"What!? Emberpaw was actually thinking?" Blizzardpaw said in mock surprise.
Dawnpaw rolled her eyes and Emberpaw seemed unfazed.
"I was," Emberpaw said, somewhat proudly. "And I think it's a good idea."
"It is," Nightpaw replied, "but this seems like the safest route."
"Until we meet the dogs over that fence," Dawnpaw pointed out, flicking her tail towards the fence ahead of them. Sure enough, there was a strong scent of dog coming from it.
"It's decided then," Nightpaw said, changing direction towards the acrid scent of a Thunderpath closer to the Twolegs nests.
"And who exactly said you was in charge?" Blizzardpaw growled.
"Nobody said I wasn't," Nightpaw shot back, sniffing the air tentatively before heading towards the Twolegs nests.
After crossing the short expanse of grass, they came to a gap in the wooden fence to the side of the Twolegs nest.
"It's a gate," Spirit mewed quietly in Nightpaw's ear.
"What's a gate?" The black she cat asked, but the kit didn't respond.
They passed through the 'gate', belly fur just brushing the ground. Well, Blizzardpaw's long fur was more spread out across the ground, as his fur was much longer than anyone else's.
When they emerged on the other side, they saw a plank of wood that seemed somehow connected to the gap they had just went through and the long, dark line of a Thunderpath stretching out towards the horizon. Bordering the Thunderpath, there were Twolegs nests of all shapes and sizes, occasionally there being dark, shadowy patches in between them. The noise was overwhelming - the rush of monsters and the chatter of Twolegs made the place seem much larger than it already was.
"We should try to cross the Thunderpath and get to the other side of this Twolegplace as quickly as possible!" Dawnpaw shouted, her ears pinned to the back of her head.
"Great idea! Let's go," Blizzardpaw replied, running over to the edge of the Thunderpath.
Nightpaw narrowed her eyes. It was unusual for Blizzardpaw to actually agree with someone - he must be terrified to have such a drastic change in character.
Nightpaw glanced at Spirit. To her surprise, the flame point tom kit looked no more scared than usual, and he was now hurrying after Blizzardpaw as fast as his little legs could take him.
Nightpaw ran after, crouching next to Emberpaw at the edge of the Thunderpath. Spirit squeezed in between, trembling slightly but not looking downright terrified.
"I'm going to help Spirit across so someone else has to say when to go," she meowed over the loud rumble.
"I will!" Dawnpaw said, eyes fixed on the monsters whizzing past.
"3"
The wind created by a red monster buffeted Nightpaw's fur.
"2"
She secured her teeth into Spirit's scruff, staring resolutely ahead.
"1"
The black she cat gulped, trying not to think about the many things that could go wrong.
"Go!"
Nightpaw shot forward, stumbling over Spirit slightly but not allowing herself to be put off by it. She felt her paws on the smooth surface, the acrid tang stinging her nostrils and the friction quickly warming up her paws.
She looked ahead. Only a few tail lengths to go. Her paw pads were starting to become sore, and she scratched one of her paws on a small stone lying on the Thunderpath.
Nightpaw jumped the final tail lengths, collapsing on the land ahead. It wasn't grass, but it wasn't Thunderpath material either.
She dropped Spirit and looked around to make sure everyone had made it. Dawnpaw was just about reaching the other end, and Blizzardpaw and Emberpaw were still in the middle.
"Wow! You really are fast," Dawnpaw gasped, before realising the other apprentices' absence. "Where are the others?"
Nightpaw didn't give an answer, instead she sprinted onto the Thunderpath again. She glanced up and saw a monster heading their way. If Blizzardpaw and Emberpaw didn't get out of the way, they would be as dead as a rabbit on WindClan territory.
She barrelled into them, trying to push the two mouse brained toms the few tail lengths until the end. She wasn't strong enough, so instead pushed their heads to the ground, so that they would be as flat as possible.
Then she made the mistake of looking up.
Nightpaw saw the huge belly of the monster approaching, engulfing them, it's all consuming darkness blocking out all light. She kept her belly pressed against the ground, waiting for the moment to pass.
All in one go, the light returned, and she could see the monster going into the distance. No other monsters were approaching. Yet.
"Let's go, you mouse brains," she said, standing up, and flicking her tail.
It was only when the other two stood up that she realised what they were doing.
A cat was sprawled out on the Thunderpath, calico fur matted with blood. It's bright green eyes were open and glazed over, forever immortalising the horror filled look that the cat had last worn. It was, in a word, dead.
Nightpaw took a deep breath and buried her muzzle into the scruff of its neck, grasping it with her teeth. She tried to ignore the stank, rotten scent coming from it and gasped a breath of fresh air as she deposited it on the other side of the Thunderpath.
"I was just helping Emberpaw!" Blizzardpaw defended himself, despite the fact that nobody actually accused him of anything. "He wanted to get this dead cat off the Thunderpath and I didn't want him to end up like that cat."
Nightpaw looked at Emberpaw, who seemed... Grief stricken. His amber eyes had an expression all of them were now familiar with - the loss of a loved one.
"Darkflame," Emberpaw choked out. "My mother."
Dawnpaw started washing the blood from Darkflame's fur in respect, and Emberpaw joined her. Soon, they were all gathered around the body, even Spirit, delicately licking the previous body of the StarClan warrior.
When they were finished, Emberpaw gaze held a new resolve. Nightpaw supposed that he had technically already grieved for his mother anyway, but seeing his mother's dead body added onto it a bit.
"We need to find this new territory," the calico tom said, his voice wavering slightly. "We need to find this new territory for my mother, for our loved ones, for all the cats lost from the Great Destruction."
Nightpaw nodded, images of her mentor (Breezeflight) flashing into her mind. They had to keep the memory of the Clans alive.
"Not going to happen," a voice sounded from behind them before Nightpaw felt a slight pain in her shoulder and blackness consumed her vision.
YOU ARE READING
Warriors - Burnt Skies
FanfictionA fire. Caused by twolegs. And suddenly Nightpaw's entire life as she knows it has changed. The four clans that had ruled the territories for centuries have been wiped out. Now the future for any sort of clan rests in the paws of four apprentices. T...
