Warriors; Thin Ice

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The forest was far from silent. Birds in the treetops called to each other frantically. But Blackpaw barely noticed; he was numb with grief for Leafpaw, who had seemed to be his only friend.

He stopped running and looked up at the sky with his grief replaced with a need for vengeance. A low growl rumbled in his throat, slowly turning into a yowl. Could Leafpaw hear him? Was she still alive?

Shadepaw's pawsteps protruded in the calling of the birds as he scrambled over. Blackpaw briefly looked past him at Emberpaw, encircled in white feathers. She was shaking, her eyes wide. Blackpaw felt a surge of emotion rising in his throat as soon as Shadepaw spoke. "Where's Leafpaw?"

"She's gone," he mewed. Pushing past his brother, he briefly locked eyes with his sister and then he started walking back to the marsh.

Shadepaw hurried after him. "What do you mean? What happened?"

Blackpaw hissed and darted off into the trees, determined to get rid of Shadepaw. He wanted to be alone.

"Blackpaw, come back!" He heard Shadepaw's yowl. He looked over his shoulder and watched as Emberpaw leapt in front of his brother. "C'mon, let's leave him alone. I'll explain everything on the way back to camp."

Blackpaw listened to their pawsteps fading away. He sat down, a cold chill spreading to his paws. He slumped into a crouch and then relaxed his muscles, laying his head on his paws sullenly.

After a while, he returned to camp. It was silent, eerily silent. As Blackpaw looked around, he saw that Featherfall was lying alone, with no mate to comfort her. He briefly wondered who her mate was, but pushed the thought away.

"Are you alright, Blackpaw?"

Emberpaw's tail lied on his shoulder gently. He shrugged her off. "No, I'm not. She's dead, and I didn't even try to help. You, out of all cats, you did!"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You've never done anything for me," he breathed.

Emberpaw's whiskers twitched. "It wasn't for you," she hissed. "It was for her. I don't want to see death. What do you think I am, Blackpaw? Do you think I'm some kind of disloyal killer?" He saw a flash of fear in her eyes, and he knew that her words had some sort of meaning behind them. My mother was right. She will be a killer!

"Not yet," he sneered. Emberpaw looked confused. "What?"

"Forget I said anything. I'm just... not okay. I wish you would leave me alone."

"Okay, I will." Emberpaw turned her back to him.

Blackpaw sighed. "Thanks for trying to save her. I know that the Clan would honor you if they saw it; you did it for ShadowClan. But I still think that it was brave of you to try."

Emberpaw didn't respond before she left him alone. He lied down again and shut his eyes. Maybe my mom was wrong...

He'd barely had a moment of silence before a cat spoke. "You'd better wake up. There's no use in grieving."

Blackpaw lashed his tail. "How could you say that? How could any cat..."

He trailed off as he looked up. A flame-color and white she-cat stood before him, her eyes narrowed.

"Emberpaw," he sputtered.

"No, you mouse-brain," she hissed. "I'm Flameheat. Don't you remember me, and what I've told you?"

"You told me never to trust Emberpaw. I remember," Blackpaw mewed. "How are you... here?"

"I'm not. You're in the Dark Forest. Can't you see?"