Flamepaw's Quest

Chapter 20

            Flamepaw unhappily trotted through the forest with the group of cats, Daisyflower's unseeing eyes still haunting her. Every time she shut her eyes she could see the scene of dead foxes, smelling the scent of death. How could she had let Daisyflower die that way?
            The others were frantically searching for Snowheart's scent, though Flamepaw was in too much of a sour mood to even care. Finding Snowheart was important, but she was so sick for looking for cats at this point, she didn't put much effort into searching with the others.
            "And you say she went through some bushes?" Goldstar asked.
            Mothwing nodded. "Yeah."
            "And she didn't tell you where she was going?" Goldstar asked, her voice raising.
            Mothwing shrunk down. "No. Like I said, we thought she was just making dirt and would join us in a few minutes. I didn't notice she didn't return."
            "She snuck out so silently," Neko explained. "I didn't even really notice she left."
            "Why would she just leave like that?" Goldstar sighed.
            Flamepaw continued walking, their conversation making its way towards her ears. She sighed, falling behind them now.
            "Keep up, Flamepaw!" Goldstar snapped. Flamepaw could tell the she-cat was distressed, first losing one of her warriors, now finding another had gone missing. It had not been a very good day after all.
            Flamepaw obeyed Goldstar and trotted back up towards them, sniffing the air. She caught no scent of Snowheart whatsoever.
            "But why would she just leave like that?" Rosepettle complained.
            "Why didn't you ask?" Mothwing snapped.
            "Hey, quit fighting!" Neko shouted. "We'll find her!"
            "Do you have any idea why she left, Flamepaw?" Goldstar asked.
            "Me? Why would I?" Flamepaw wondered.
            "You knew where Daisyflower was," Goldstar admitted.
            "Yes because that's where I left her. I haven't seen Snowheart since we parted ways. She never told me that she'd run off randomly," Flamepaw argued. "If anyone should know, it'd be Mothwing!"
            All the cats turned their gaze towards the calico.
            "Don't look at me! I don't know anything!" Mothwing explained.
            Goldstar frowned, glancing up at the sky. Already it had begun to get into afternoon, the heat of green-leaf present in the warm forest. Flamepaw's stomach grumbled, though she ignored it, guessing food would not be an option until Snowheart was found.
            "Maybe some of the foxes got her," Neko suggested.
            "She killed Fang and ran off later. If the foxes took her, she wouldn't have run willingly towards them," Rosepettle reminded Neko.
            "Oh...right," Neko spoke, shrinking down.
            Flamepaw was beginning to get bored as they continued retracing their steps. She wished she were back in RiverClan, swimming in the cold river, catching fish, training with Dusktail. She just wished she could be an apprentice again.
            A yowl came from the distance, one that was familiar to all of them.
            "That's Snowheart!" Mothwing gasped.
            "We'll have to tell her about Daisyflower..." Rosepettle sighed.
            "Come on!" Goldstar called.
            Mothwing led the way, leaping through some bushes. The others followed behind, Flamepaw struggling to keep up as they moved quickly. Flamepaw found herself in a clearing on rocky terrain, pebbles falling beneath her feet.
            She yowled as a sharp one dug itself into the pad of her paw, but she continued moving, never experiencing such rough terrain before. There was nothing like this back in the forest. Out here, there were barely any trees growing, the air was cold, and clouds silently drifted by.
            A rumble came, somewhat sounding like a rockslide. The cats picked up their pace, and Flamepaw got a view from up ahead. In the distance she could see a cream-colored she-cat, lean with a feathery tail, standing near the top of some rocks, grinning maliciously.
            A cloud of dust had appeared, and Flamepaw gasped now, seeing a large white tom tumble through the dust, his screams echoing throughout the clearing.
            Flamepaw began to cough as the cloud of dust surged her way. The others around her did the same, and Flamepaw glanced around, trying to find where that mysterious she-cat and large white tom had gone. Most importantly, where was Snowheart?
            As soon as the cloud cleared, both the tom and she-cat were gone, but Flamepaw could still detect a familiar smell that made her sick to her stomach.
            "SNOWHEART!" Goldstar yowled.
            "OVER HERE!" she yowled.
            Turning to the left, the cats ran to their voice, finding Snowheart dangling from a large cliff. Flamepaw stopped right by the edge, gasping in fear. She glanced down, finding only clouds of dust and darkness at the bottom. It looked like a long way down.
            "We heard you calling!" Neko gasped, panting as he stopped near her.
            Snowheart's claws held onto the rocky terrain, and already Goldstar was beginning to help her up.
            "Have you seen Korosu?" she asked.
            Flamepaw tilted her head. She'd never heard of the she-cat before.
            "No, was she here?" Goldstar asked curiously.
            "Yeah, I wonder where she went..." Snowheart thought, getting up from the cliff now and standing beside them.
            "Maybe she went on a snack break?" Neko suggested. No cat laughed.
            Snowheart shook her head. "Not likely, Neko."
            "We should look around," Rosepettle began, only to be cut off by the sound of more rocks crumbling down. There was a shriek, and the cats burst to the side. Every cat made it out of the way, all except for Snowheart who slipped, her claws digging into the cliff's edge as rocks tumbled over her and landed down below.
            The smell of blood was evident in Flamepaw's nose, but the others did not seem to notice. There was something eery about this scene.
            Snowheart let out a gasp as the dust cleared, her paws slipping from the cliff's edge.
            "Guys, we've got to help Snowheart!" Flamepaw shrieked as the others regained their senses.
            "Uh..." Snowheart began, her paws slipping quickly.
            The cats picked up their pace and ran back to the she-cat, who was now vigorously trying to hold onto the cliff's edge. She shrieked, her paws scrambling as pebbles fell below.
            "Grab her!" Goldstar shouted.
            "LET GO!" came a distant echo. Flamepaw glanced around, wondering where the sound had come from.
            "It's Korosu!" Snowheart shrieked. "I must let go!"
            "What, are you mad?!" Rosepettle shouted, lending her paw out to help Snowheart get balance.
            But Snowheart only looked at them with her one green and blue eye, then let her paws slip, tumbling into the dark abyss below without even letting out a single shriek.
            "SNOWHEART!" Rosepettle shrieked.
            Flamepaw stood, gasping in surprise. Why had Snowheart let go? What had even gone on? She turned to Goldstar, looking for answers.
            The golden she-cat stood, glancing down blankly into the abyss.
            "We've got to go after her!" Rosepettle gasped.
            "Stop!" Goldstar called, holding Rosepettle back from leaping to her death.
            "Goldstar, who is Korosu?" Flamepaw asked in confusion. She had expected Neko maybe to be confused as well, but all the others seemed to have a very good idea of who this mysterious cat was.
            "Perhaps it is best you know the full story of Snowheart's relations with Korosu," Goldstar spoke, sitting down.