Omen of the Sun Book Three: Dusk

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Lightningfeather

Lightningfeather knew he could complain, as he was kind of the one who had let Emberpaw and her siblings that they were going to do something with or about the only father they'd only known, but Emberpaw's constant grumbling was annoying him to no end.

She was complaining about her paws hurting, how she was hungry, how she was tired, and frankly, it was driving him insane. He was annoyed at her for not shutting up, but also at her sisters for insisting she come with them. This, as much as he hated to say it, had a probability of failing. There was a possibility that Goldleaf wasn't going to leave with them tonight, and he didn't know what Sunpool would do if he didn't. She seemed so delicate, so fragile, when it came to him; like she had a hundred different feelings towards him, and herself, and herself and him, and wasn't sure how she felt about all those feelings. Lightningfeather knew that she had, in a way, caused his death; Cinderstorm had told him the day it has happened. He hadn't mentioned that he knew to Sunpool, but she had told him about the plan, and he had gone along with it, with full knowledge that it had a possibility to break him. He did it because Cinderstorm, who he loved, was going along with it, and he had the full knowledge that if his hopes got up too high and Goldleaf didn't come back, it would be like feeling the pain of his best friend's death all over again.

He didn't even know if this was possible. How come StarClan had only told them now, when they could have brought back cats who were, frankly, more important to the Clans than Goldleaf? Why were they bringing Goldleaf back? He wasn't even all that important in the big scope of things. He knew he would probably never knew, which bugged him to no end, because he was the type of cat that needed to know things otherwise they would drive him insane. He was already halfway there, just with all the running around and death and overall drama that was going on with the Clans and his sister. It was ridiculous.

So he entertained himself quietly with his thoughts until they reached the Starbrooke. The four apprentices, having never seen it before, looked on it with wide eyes. Rainpaw said, "Is that the Starbrooke?"

"Yep," Sunpool answered, almost shortly, as if she, too was being annoyed by Emberpaw, whose paws finally seemed to be soothed by the fresh, soft, green grass. Lightningfeather was actually hoping she was going to stop complaining, but of course, she started again, when Sunpool said to lie down in a position where their muzzles could touch the water, as they needed to drink it. Emberpaw wrinkled her nose at the ground around the Starbrooke, and announced that she couldn't sleep there, as there was no nest. Lightningfeather decided then and there that throwing himself into the Starbrooke and letting himself drown may have been a slightly extreme solution, but would be affective, all the same. Fernpaw hissed to Emberpaw that she needed to lie down and follow Sunpool's reactions, and Emberpaw rolled her eyes grumpily and plopped down. Lightningfeather's blood boiled.

"Okay, now lap up a little bit of the water and close your eyes, and you'll go to sleep. When you open your eyes, don't do anything. Wait for everyone to join you," Sunpool instructed. Cinderstorm and Lightningfeather, who hadn't been lying yet, did so hastily, and together, everyone leaned forward and touched their tongues to the water.

Lightningfeather's eyes slipped close as he swam into the dream.

-=-

He was standing in a clearing, surrounded by the StarClan cats: Lilycloud, Frost, Doveheart, and Goldleaf. Goldleaf looked tense, and his brow was furrowed. Lilycloud looked excited, Frost anxious, and Doveheart was staring off into space.

"This is it," Lilycloud said. Lightningfeather nodded and looked around. One by one, his friends (and not-so-friends) appeared; first Cinderstorm, then Rainpaw, then Fernpaw, Sunpool, Briarpaw, and finally, Emberpaw.