ECHOES

Chapter Three

"And I'm dying inside but nobody knows it but me."

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Darkness was overwhelming, yet the only friend of Flamepaw's. She sat in the shadows of camp as the sun sank below the hills in the distance. She rose her head and watched as she moon began to rise, a ray of moonlight ripping away the shadows.

The light, ginger tabby sighed and rose to her paws. She glanced up at star speckled sky, her eyes slits. Flamepaw turned and then padded out of camp, not even bothering to glance back to see if any cat was watching her.

Flamepaw slipped out of camp and padded onwards. The trees branches above spread out like birds wings and blocked the sky from view. A soft breeze blew through the land, blades of grass bending to match the breeze's blow. The distant croaking of frogs could be heard, soft and barely audible. Leaves crunched under Flamepaw's paws as she padded on, her tail lashing behind her.

She froze in her tracks once she neared the border. She turned to eye the lake beside her and sat down at the bank. Flamepaw glanced down, eyeing her reflection.

Hanging her head, Flamepaw shut her eyes when she felt the tears stinging her eyes. This was her escape from the world every day was to come to this pond and cry. A tear slipped through the crease in her eyelids and trickled down her face.

What had she turned into? She was a loving sister until this whole rebellion started. Until she...murdered her own brother. Flamepaw remembered her teeth sinking into his neck and when he went limp beneath her.

She pushed the thought away and glanced up at the sky. The tree branches had parted to reveal the dim, night sky. It was specked with glowing, yellow stars that flickered and flashed. Flamepaw knew her ancestors were watching her and shaming her for all she had done.

The apprentice felt the urge to go and join the rebellion, but she knew they wouldn't accept her at all. Dimstar and Cloverpool would be disappointed and enraged at her if she did. They might even - if they felt it was necessary - murder her for vengeance of Quailpaw.

But she had learned that Quailpaw didn't actually stay dead. She was told that he had died but SpiritClan decided it wasn't his time. Was Quailpaw going to come after her and deliver his vengeance for killing him?

"Flamepaw?"

The ginger she-cat's ears bolted straight up at the familiar voice that emerged from behind her. She turned her head to glance over her shoulder and her gaze locked onto the gray tom that stood behind her.

She knew the tom too well. He had showed up when Flamepaw was on the edge of eating the deathberry to end her life. He had showed her that life wasn't terrible and there will always at least be one cat that would care.

"Ashwhisper? Why are you here?" Flamepaw asked in a low mumble.

Ashwhisper flicked his tail and settled down beside the she-cat. "I was on my occasional stroll when I happened to spot you. I decided that I should check on you. You seem to still not feel any better?" He predicted, tilting his head.

Flamepaw sighed and glanced back down at the water. "I am just contemplating everything," Flamepaw mumbled with a shrug,"that's all."

"Do you still hate yourself for killing Quailpaw?" Ashwhisper simply asked.

That's a brilliant question to ask, Flamepaw thought with a soft snort. "Maybe. Why does this matter to you?" Flamepaw snapped back at him coldly.

"Maybe because I care about you. I want to make sure you don't hate yourself. You're not a bad cat, Flamepaw, you only killed Quailpaw because you thought that ending him before he was ended in a horrific way during the battle was better for him. We all have different beliefs, and that's what makes every cat so different and unique in their own ways. Trust me, I think you're beliefs are pathetic but I am not going to murder you for them. Let's look on the bright side of things: Quailpaw is alive and healthy. That's all that matters, right?"

Flamepaw shrugged lightly at his words. She even believed now that her old belief when she murdered Quailpaw was mousebrained. Him being murdered by his own sister would be even more horrific than Quailpaw dying by defending his Clan in the war.

"Yeah...but Quailpaw and even my parents will never forgive me for what I have done. I was mousebrained for hurting him in front of his friend like that," Flamepaw mumbled, lifting a paw and swirling it about in the water. "Admit it, I am a pathetic excuse for a daughter."

Ashwhisper growled softly at her words. His tail brushed up under Flamepaw's chin to lift her head. She blinked and pulled away from his touch, glaring at the warrior.

"Stop trying to cheer me up! You are a part of the rebellion and I am a part of EchoClan! We are supposed to be enemies, not friends! We are supposed to be locked in battle if we ever see each other! I am not supposed to develop feelings for a rebel cat! Archangel will kill me if he ever finds out! Any loyalist would kill me!" Flamepaw spat, standing to her paws and backing away from Ashwhisper.

Ashwhisper blinked in surprise, taken aback by her words. He slowly rose to his paws, his ears twitching. "You...you like me, Flamepaw?" He mumbled, looking down. "I-I'm sorry-"

"No...you're not sorry, you are leaving," Flamepaw muttered, her ears pinned against the back of her head and her tail lashing.

Ashwhisper glanced up for a second to meet her gaze before nodding with a sigh. The new warrior turned and fled back into the forest in the direction of the border. Flamepaw shook her head and turned around as well.

"Well, well, well."

Flamepaw's eyes widened at the mocking tone. She froze in her tracks when a light, ginger she-cat emerged from the bushes. Her fur was sleek and her dark, green eyes glowed with curiousity at the sight of the apprentice.

At the sight of her, Flamepaw recognized her as Spark. She had joined EchoClan just yesterday and began to already look down upon many. She was menacing and manipulative, a she-cat many wouldn't dare to mess with and that was one thing that caught Archangel's interest in the new recruit. Also the fact that she was Dimstar's long lost sister.

"What do you want Spark?" Flamepaw questioned in a low growl, flexing her claws.

Spark chuckled softly, a dark smirk sliding onto her visage. It sent a shiver down the apprentices spine when the she-cat met her gaze. "I heard everything you and that petty tom were discussing. I'm sure Archangel would be disappointed to hear that an apprentice within the Clan has been meeting up with a rebel cat."

Flamepaw's eyes widened and she took a paw step back. "You wouldn't dare," She growled in challenge to Spark.

"I would dare to do so," Spark pointed out with a twitch of her ear.

"What can I do to keep your mouth shut?" Flamepaw asked. It sounded as if the apprentice was begging, but truly she kind of was. In the end, She just didn't want to wind up dead.

Spark rose a cat brow and stepped forward. I cowered before her when she glanced down at me, her eyes flashing with anticipation.

"You can do me a massive favor..."

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A/N: Finally made it through this chapter. It was kind of stressful to get this one done although it is sorta shorter. We still need a cover by the way guys :0