𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥𝗦ᶠᵃⁿᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿ 一 𝔅𝔩𝔞𝔷𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔱 [𝟑]

❆☾𑁍𓆱ᥴhᥲρtᥱr 𝟺𝟿𓆱𑁍☽❆

Larkwing felt light. As if she was made of emptiness and even the gentlest breeze would blow her away like a feather. Greenish-yellow dots of light rose up from the grass into the night.

Fireflies, Larkwing remembered. I've never seen anything like that in my whole life.

Her breath stopped for a moment.

Ripping like a river during a storm, the realisation came. "I died," she whispered, her voice rough, toneless. Small clouds of breath came out of her mouth. Strange, for she wasn't freezing. She felt nothing. Even the unbearable pain of the fatal injuries inflicted on her had disappeared.

I am dead. I have been killed.

Yes — she did still feel something. Despair, sadness, anger, confusion. All of it filled her body. It tingled in her paws, wound its way up her legs and spread over her flanks to the tip of her tail and her vibrissae.

I let them all down. I should have been more careful! Larkwing lashed her tail. A swarm of fireflies dodged her, startling and tumbling.

The battle was going well for her. She would still be alive if she hadn't been ambushed. Whoever had killed her possessed a strength she could never have matched, combined with an immense amount of bloodlust.

This shadowless cat was different from the rest. They had not just killed her with a bite or a claw strike to the throat. They had tortured her to death, as if it were a pleasure. Like they did with Reedclaw back then.

What irony. She was a Shadowless fighting against her own kind, and now found her end through another Shadowless.

Larkwing turned her gaze upwards. In a whirl-like formation, the countless fireflies alternately flew in opposite directions above her. It looked beautiful and mesmerising, although it also gave her the chills.

So StarClan really does exist. But where is everyone? It had never been the case that Larkwing didn't believe in StarClan. However, she had imagined it very differently. With cats. Not so gloomy and empty.

Suddenly, a firefly detached itself from the swarm and sat on her nose. With a snort, Larkwing shook her head. The firefly was not put off by this and even started to blink as if it was making fun of her.

Larkwing curled her muzzle. "What do you want from me?" she murmured.

Apparently the firefly had understood her, because it detached itself from her and floated up and down in agitation. Larkwing let out an involuntary purr and playfully swatted at the glowing insect with one paw. It then flew away a little, but immediately returned.

Does it want me to follow it? Just as Larkwing was about to make a move, the swarm of fireflies flew over her and sat on the blades of grass, forming a glowing yellow-green path.

While Larkwing followed the countless vivid points of light, she didn't feel the grass beneath her paws. She seemed to float straight ahead, and when she looked at her paws in wonder and curiosity, she realised that they didn't actually move like they did when she ran.