Sunblaze's Sorrow

Chapter 11: By The Lake

Sunblaze was woken by heavy rain on her fur. She looked up and saw the dark clouds spilling with rain. Sparkstar was curled up underneath a jagged rock, his tail over his face. Sunblaze stretched and padded towards a bush, her fur hanging from being wet. Her paws ached and her stomach roared as she sat down. The journey with Sparkstar had been unsuccessful so far, and Sunblaze thought that every next step was always going to be an ultimate failure. They were searching for Ashdawn, Sparkstar's father. Every time she thought of their mission, she thought of Brairpatch, her mother, and sometimes Tallstar, her father.
Sparkstar shivered slightly, and stood up. "Let's hunt before we go," he mewed. Sunblaze nodded. Sparkstar stretched and flicked his tail. Sunblaze suddenly picked up the smell of mice, their scent powerful and fresh. "This way," she whispered. Sparkstar wasn't paying attention and bolted right by Sunblaze, and came back a second later with two mice. He dropped one in front of Sunblaze and began to eat his. Sunblaze muttered her thanks and bent her head. The mouse was delicious on Sunblaze's tongue. She looked up at Sparkstar. "What did your mother tell you about Ashdawn?" she asked. Sparkstar hung his head. "She said that he was a great cat, and died on the Thunderpath. I never even knew him," he grunted. Sunblaze looked away. "Sorry," she mumbled.
Sunblaze sped along the horizon with Sparkstar, her fur bristling with anticipation. They had just picked up the scent of a strange cat across the lake, and we're now on a terrific dash, their paws nearly on fire, to get to the lake. Sparkstar fled to the salty waves like he was being pursued by seven wild dogs, and Sunblaze kept up like she was being chased by a badger. A pale gray cat yowled in the distance. Sparkstar pushed Sunblaze out of the way and sprinted to the lake, falling in and swimming swiftly to the small island that an outline stood upon. Sparkstar scrambled onto the rocky surface and padded up to the strange cat; Sunblaze had not been far behind.
"Ashdawn?" asked Sparkstar. The old cat nodded and unsheathed his claws. "You," he growled at Sunblaze. Then, he leapt and streaked his thorn claws on Sunblaze's body.