Sunblaze's Sorrow

Chapter Eighteen: An Encounter with an Enemy

Sunblaze yowled in agony as her sister's body grew cold. Sparkstar put his tail on Sunblaze's shoulder. "I will find this 'Snakefang,' Sunblaze, and they will never do this kind of thing again," he snarled. Sunblaze began to cry bitterly over her dead sister. Sparkstar tried to comfort her, but Sunblaze pulled away. She curled up next to her sister's body and pressed her muzzle into her fur. Tears were leaking out of her eyes and into Falconfur's pelt. All she wanted was to be whole again; she wanted to have her family back. Instead, she was alone forever with only Sparkstar to share her pain. Sparkstar had also lost his sister, but Sunblaze had lost both of her sisters in the same day. Sunblaze's sorrow never seemed to decrease; the pain only increased like an infected bite from a rat. Sunblaze would never be free from its torment.
Sparkstar sighed and leapt onto the Highrock. "Cats of Thunder and LightningClan, we must now take vigil for our fallen clanmates: Skylark and Falconfur," Sunblaze kept back from crying. "We will have the mentors of these brave cats sit vigil along with Sunblaze." Sunblaze heard someone snicker, "Yeah, because Sunblaze is the only one left." She detected the voice to be Ratclaw, and she scraped her claws on the cave floor threateningly. Sparkstar looked sternly at Ratclaw and continued. "The loss of a sister is even greater than the loss of a clanmate. I expect you all to comfort Sunblaze in her time of need," Sparkstar continued. Sunblaze looked once more at Falconfur and groomed her fur gently. Redfur came by and licked her eyes shut. "There. Now she could be sleeping," he mewed. Indeed, Falconfur seemed to be breathing, but it was only the wind that ruffled her fur. Sunblaze nodded and stood up. "I need to find Skylark," she mewed sternly. Redfur looked like he was about to argue, but Sunblaze was already making her way out of the cave.
      Sunblaze followed the scent of her sister until she spotted a dappled white and gray pelt amongst the bushes. Her paws carried her to the body of her other sister. Skylark was lying on the ground, covered in scratches. There were teeth marks in the back of her neck, telling Sunblaze that was where Snakefang struck her last. The beautiful she-cat's eyes were glassy and glazed over. Sunblaze stepped over to her and prodded her with her nose. Skylark didn't move. What did I expect? Sunblaze thought. She's dead. I need to face it.
      Sunblaze picked up her sister by her scruff, able to hold her high. She carried her back to the cave and rested her beside Falconfur. They looked peaceful together. Sunblaze sat beside her sisters for their vigil.
      The next morning, Sunblaze stepped away from the bodies to let the elders bury them. Grayflame and Cherryfrost gave Sunblaze a look of sympathy, but Littleclaw and Jayflop carried on. Sunblaze looked to the sky and mewed, "I will avenge you, my sisters." As if on cue, a falcon and a lark flew gracefully over the sun and their shadows ignited in brilliant flames. Awe filled Sunblaze as she remembered the prophecy that Skylark had spoken to her. After the flight of the falcon and the lark of the sky, hope will come with the blaze of the sun. Now that things were coming to an end, the prophecy made sense to Sunblaze. After the death of Falconfur and Skylark, I will bring hope, she thought. It almost scared Sunblaze that she had so much responsibility in a prophecy. But, once again, the rage that had carried Sunblaze all this way was inching its way through her, piece by piece. She would keep her promise to her sisters; she would kill Snakefang.
Sunblaze stepped out into the dew frosted world. She was on her quest to find Snakefang and destroy the cat. Then, she wanted to carry on with her life. Quickly and quietly, she charged through the bracken and foliage. Her heart raced as she realized the consequences of what might happen if Snakefang managed to kill her. She pushed away the thought. Her destiny chose her to do this; she wasn't going to back down easily. She looked into the sky. "I'm not going down without a fight," she growled.
      Sunblaze picked up a strange scent around the border of LightningClan. It reeked of squirrel, and smelled faintly of Skylark and Falconfur. I found them, she thought. Quietly, she slithered thought the ferns around her and spotted the dark-pelted cat from her nightmare. The cat was muscular and broad-shouldered, and their tail swished threateningly in the air. The cat looked up and turned his scarred, battle torn face in Sunblaze's direction. Sunblaze ducked back under the ferns and got into a crouched position. The cat turned around and continued to scent the air. Sunblaze inched forward so only her ears stuck out of the wavy leaves of the ferns. Suddenly, the cat leapt at the ferns, catching Sunblaze by surprise. He hit her and knocked her to the ground. Sunblaze writhed in pain and tried to protest against the tom who was holding her against the ground with his two front paws. The cat smiled in a dark way, showing sharp white teeth. Sunblaze struggled to get up, but the cat didn't release her. Sunblaze reared her hind legs and pushed against his chest, but whatever she did, the tom didn't move. Sunblaze unsheathed her claws and slashed them across the tom's muzzle. The tom staggered away as Sunblaze's claws made contact. Sunblaze took her chance and leapt to her paws. The cat looked at her with hatred. "You're those two cat's sister they were talking about," he growled. Sunblaze's eyes widened. "What two cats? What did they look like?" "Brown tabby and a white dappled," the tom replied. Sunblaze yowled, "You killed them both!" The cat sat nonchalantly and groomed a bit of his paw. "They were invading my territory. It's a miracle that the tabby got away at all," he mewed flatly. Sunblaze growled. "The warrior code says not to kill if you can help it. Battles aren't won by death." The tom just laughed. "I abandoned that stupid set of rules ages ago. I'm different now," he told Sunblaze. "You can't be serious," Sunblaze responded. "But I am. Now, if you would kindly leave, I may just spare your life," the tom responded. "Tell me your plans, then I'll leave," Sunblaze growled. "It would put me in more danger that it's worth. Leave. Now," the tom growled threateningly. Sunblaze hissed and turned around. "For the record," Sunblaze called over her shoulder. "I know what your name is." The tom smirked. "So do I," he growled. "Out."