Dawnberry's Escape

Chapter 9

  Growling, Rainfeather hurled herself out onto the Thunderpath and grabbed the frozen Bluepaw by his scruff. She yanked him away from the monster just two tail lengths away and dashed back to where Dawnpaw and Ivywater were standing, dragging Bluepaw behind her. 

  Bluepaw had began scrabbling when Rainfeather grabbed him, but his paws barely scraped the hard black path. The monster released a terrible screeching sound, and it swerved to one side when it reached where Bluepaw was a heartbeat ago. Then the silver monster vanished, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. 

  Rainfeather dropped Bluepaw, and snapped, "Never, ever, step out onto the Thunderpath again without a warrior! You could've gotten yourself killed! What will Streamlight say? Use your brain, Bluepaw. Listen before you do anything! There's a reason why we told you to stop at the Thunderpath. Oh wait. You didn't listen!" She hissed exasperatedly, but Dawnpaw sensed a trace of fear. 

  Ivywater murmured in Dawnpaw's ear, "Even though you might have done the right thing, don't think you can go running on the Thunderpath whenever you want, okay? I'll teach you how to cross it eventually." Dawnpaw nodded in response. 

  Bluepaw hung his head, looking guilty, but his fur was still sticking out at all angles in terror. 

  Rainfeather sighed. "Back to camp. You can get the ticks off the elder's backs! And no prey until you're finished with their bedding as well!" Bluepaw's head shot up. 

  "What? But we haven't finished with the territory yet!" Bluepaw protested, disappointment in his mew. 

  His mentor glared at him. "You could've gotten yourself killed!" She repeated angrily. "I can't trust you to behave. What if you somehow decided you can jump into a stream when you can't even swim? Camp!" Rainfeather stood to one side and motioned for Bluepaw to walk first, then she stalked behind him into the trees. 

  "Well!" Ivywater sighed. "It's just us then. Come on." Dawnpaw didn't move. "Dawnpaw?"

  "Bluepaw.. He could have joined StarClan back then." She looked up, nervous. Ivywater nodded. 

  "But he didn't." She mewd firmly. "There's something else bothering you, I can tell. And it's not Bluepaw. Tell me. I'm your mentor. I'm supposed to teach you how to handle stuff. It's alright. Remember I was once an apprentice too." Ivywater settled down in the shade of a big tree. 

  Was she really that easy to look through? Dawnpaw sat opposite of her silver mentor, and took a deep breath. 

  "It's.. Spottedkit. It seems unfair that we get to be apprentices and then warriors with our warrior names, and then he's just there. Still a tiny kit. I feel guilty. I know Spottedkit wants to be a warrior more than the three of us. Now.. he's dead." Dawnpaw stared down at her paws. Ivywater didn't say a word. 

  A moment later, Ivywater spoke in a calming voice. "Dawnpaw, the past is the past. You have to be able to let your troubles go, washed away by the river, to be able to move on. Or you'll be forever stuck in the past, feeling guilty and you'll never accomplish what you set off to do. 

  "Spottedkit died a warriors' death. He died protecting you from a badger, StarClan knows how many times it's bigger than him. Any warrior will do that for his Clanmates. So if you ask me, he's joined StarClan a warrior. Spottedkit may never experience hunting or fighting for his Clan down here, but I promise you. Our warrior ancestors will take excellent care of Spottedkit. Knowing what he's like, he'll probably badger them to teach him fighting skills." Ivywater let out a purr, and Dawnpaw felt herself cheering up a little. 

  "Spottedkit will never leave your heart, I know. Because my sister, Ferntail, she... died a few days before you were born. On the Thunderpath. That's why I was unable to help Bluepaw. I pictured Ferntail all over again. When she joined StarClan, I was devastated. I feel guilty that her life was cut short. But every cat dies, Dawnpaw. And it's all because StarClan destined them to. Ferntail will always be in my heart, and Spottedkit in yours, but you have to move on. A river will dry out if it can't move a stone blocking it's current."