Rising Sun- A Warrior Cats Fanfiction ✔️

Chapter 21

"Sunpaw! Wake up!"

Go away...

"Sunpaw!" A rough nudge had the golden tom on his paws instantly.
He opened his eyes to see Silverleaf standing beside him.

A moon had passed since Sunpaw had fought his father, and he had returned to the apprentice's den just four sunrises before.

"What are you doing in here?" He muttered, climbing to his paws slowly, blinking sleep away from his eyes. None of the other apprentices had woken up yet, but Amberpaw was stirring.

"Not here. Come to Bumblestar's den- there's something in there that you might want to see."

The medicine cat's eyes shone with worry, and... Was that fear?

Silverleaf turned tail and padded out of the den, tail flicking to Sunpaw for him to follow. He did, but couldn't quite shake off the feeling that something terrible was waiting for him inside the den.

Sunpaw padded up the steps to Bumblestar's den. He paused at the top, looking out over the clan just as a ray of sunlight lit it up.

A soft, calm sigh escaped his parted jaws before he turned away and padded into Bumblestar's den.

When he entered the den, he noticed Hazelshade in the den, sitting beside the leader, murmuring quietly. But it wasn't his mother that made him shocked or horrified.

It was Bumblestar.

His uncle was stiller than ice, except for the small rise and fall of his flank. His breathing was raspy, shallow and quick.

Did Bumblestar get sick overnight? Does he have a disease? An illness?
Questions darted through Sunpaw's head.

Sunpaw rushed to his side quickly.
"What happened?"

Then he noticed the wounds across his leader's body and gasped.

This wasn't the work of a disease or illness.

This was the work of a cat.

And Sunpaw could only think of one cat who would dare do something as treacherous as that- and get away with it. Only one cat who would manage to sneak into the camp unspotted with supreme stealth better than even ShadowClan.

But... She was dead.

So how had Nightshade managed to hurt Bumblestar?

"I think Nightshade did it." Sunpaw announced suddenly, causing both Hazelshade and Silverleaf to glance up at him.

"Don't you dare mention her name!" Hazelshade's eyes narrowed at her son.

Silverleaf, however, looked more thoughtful.

"That is a possibility we cannot ignore. The Dark Forest can inflict wounds during dreams... Perhaps Bumblestar strayed into Dark Forest territory and Nightshade found him?"

Sunpaw turned his gaze to his uncle, nodding absently. "I hope he's alright..." He murmured, laying down beside Bumblestar.

Sunpaw must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing he remembered was being gently prodded on his shoulder.

When he finally managed to open his eyes, he saw Bumblestar's face peering over him.

Sunpaw sat up, eyes widening as he took in his uncle. The deep wounds no longer remained- only the blood and smaller scars still stained his pelt.

"Sunpaw... I have lost a life." He murmured. "That is why my wounds are healed."

Sunpaw gaped at him. "What?" He managed to squeak out. "How many do you have left? You can't leave me!"
The leader let out a soft chuckle.

"Sunpaw, you needn't worry about me. But a leader must keep to himself, his medicine cat and sometimes his deputy about how many lives he has."

After a pause, the leader sighed. "But I suppose I can tell you. I'm on my third to last life. I haven't exactly been very... Sensible with my lives, thinking that now that I had them, I was invincible." He said that with a weak laugh.

Sunpaw nodded numbly, then sighed, then gasped. "Who did it to you? Who killed you? Or at least one of you... Or a part of you..." Sunpaw trailed off when he realised his uncle was watching him quietly with a look of amusement on his face.

"Sunpaw, will you ever change?" He purred amusedly.

Then his face became sullen. "I... I don't know if I should tell anyone who..." Sunpaw was automatically intrigued. "I mean, they did kind of vow that they would kill my clan if I told."

Sunpaw scoffed. "Just tell me, Bumblestar. I'm not about to turn on you and try to kill you, so-" Sunpaw broke off when his uncle flinched.

"You're hiding something." He mewed firmly, gaze interlocking with Bumblestar's.

The leader took a sharp intake of breath. "No I'm not..." He retorted, trailing off when he saw Sunpaw's expression. There was no getting around him.

"Tell me." He tried again, and finally Bumblestar looked up.

"Sunpaw... Oh, fine. Nightshade attacked me in my sleep. I was speaking with Cinderstar in StarClan. She said, "A new era is coming, an era of blood and battle, Bumblestar, and only the rays of the sun can stop it."

He paused with a wheeze. "And when I was trying to wake up, I wandered too far and found myself in the Dark Forest. I was attacked out of nowhere by Nightshade and another cat as white as snow with bright yellow eyes."

Sunpaw was speechless. When he could finally muster his voice together, he managed to meow, "It's all my fault."

Then he darted out the den, out the camp and into the forest.