Warriors: Salmonstar's Fate

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

                “Why don’t you catch prey on land?” Rainbow asked.

                “We’re RiverClan,” Salmonkit explained patiently. “We swim and eat the prey we catch from the water and that’s what makes us special in the eyes of StarClan.”

                “What’s StarClan?” Rainbow wondered.

                Salmonkit was stunned. I knew rogues and kittypets didn’t believe in StarClan, but I thought they knew what StarClan is. “You don’t know what StarClan is, Rainbow?” she gasped in shock. “Well, you see stars in the night sky? Those are the Clans’ warrior ancestors. They watch over us and give our medicine cats prophecies that help guide us in times of trouble. And they give each Clan leader nine lives.”

                 “Just call me Rain, please,” the runaway kittypet meowed. “And anyhow, can you teach me to catch fish then?”

                “Sure,” Salmonkit answered. “First, you should probably learn how to swim in case you fall in.”

                “Okay,” Rain responded.

                Salmonkit led her down to the stream. “Back in our camp, we have a small hole filled with water where we train kits to swim. But I guess we have to teach you in a real stream,” she started the lesson.

                “What happens if I can’t swim though and I start drowning?” Salmonkit’s new friend worried.

                Salmonkit took a deep breath. She could still see her sister’s nose disappearing underwater and still hear Marshkit and Flowerkit screaming for help in her head. “Then I’ll jump in and save you. It’s okay, I won’t let what happened to Foxkit happen to you,” her voice quivered when she said her sister’s name.

                “Who’s Foxkit and what happened to her?” Rain wondered.

                Too late, Salmonkit realized Rain didn’t know anything about Foxkit. “Nothing. Let’s just swim!” she replied quickly.

                Rain narrowed her eyes. “I have a brain, you know,” she growled. “Just tell me!”

                Salmonkit sat down and took a deep breath. “Foxkit is my sister,” she began shakily. “And she drowned trying to swim across the river surrounding our camp. I tried to save her but…I couldn’t. And Breezetail, my father, was right. It’s my fault she died.”

                “Did you push her in? Was it your idea for her to do it?” Rain asked, and Salmonkit shook her head to both questions. “Did you do everything you could to try to save her?”

                “Of course!” Salmonkit screamed angrily. “Why wouldn’t I?”

                The former kittypet looked into her eyes. “Then it’s not your fault,” she finished. “Now how do you swim?”

                “Just move your legs strongly like you’re running,” Salmonkit replied.

                “Okay,” Rain meowed. “Can I watch you swim first?”

                “Of course,” she responded.

                Salmonkit took a giant leap into the stream, quickly making her way back up to the surface. The currents didn’t bother her at all because all she had to do was put a little extra power into her kicking. She swam back and forth for a while and finally climbed out. “Now you try. I bet you’ll do fine,” she purred encouragingly.

                Rain hesitantly placed a forepaw in the water and then jumped in. She stayed above the water for a few moments but suddenly lost her rhythm. She flailed around desperately. “Salmonkit! Help!” she screeched before her head vanished beneath the water.

                Salmonkit felt a wave of panic. Great StarClan, no! Please don’t let Rain die too!

                She instantly leapt into the water after her friend. She inhaled as much air as she possibly could and then ducked underwater. She saw Rain drifting slowly towards the sandy bottom of the stream, which didn’t appear to be as deep as the one in RiverClan. She grabbed the former kittypet’s scruff, and struggled to make her way back up. Her lungs needed oxygen and she was starting to feel dizzy. Can’t let go…can’t let Rain die too…

                Just as Salmonkit was certain she wouldn’t reach the surface in time and that she was going to drown with Rain, teeth met her scruff and pulled her up. A white-furred she-cat with a long scar across her face placed them on the ground. “Thanks,” Salmonkit meowed.

                “No problem. What are two young kittens like you doing out here? You’re lucky I saw you two from the forest up there,” the loner meowed, pointing to a hill to their right. “Oh, and by the way, the name’s Snowflake. Snow is the nickname.”

                “We both left our homes and we want to live here,” Salmonkit explained, not looking away from her unmoving friend.

                “Well, good luck. You’re quite young to be living on your own. If you need any help again, just say my name! Make sure you say it in a somewhat loud voice though,” Snowflake told the young kit before leaving.

                “Bye!” Salmonkit called.

                She stared at the brown-furred she-cat. Rain wasn’t breathing. No! Rain is the one cat I had left…

                “Rain! Are you okay?” Salmonkit shouted desperately.

                Rain didn’t respond…

A/N: What do you think everybody? :D It feels like Foxkit all over again, except I know it's not quite the same, you'll see what I mean pretty soon...