Flamepaw's Quest

Chapter 22

            Flamepaw expected herself to be dead the moment she leapt off the cliff, but instead, she found herself flying through darkness, wind blowing against her fur as she made her descent into further darkness, the bright sun vanishing ahead and being replaced by a thick layer of fog.
            Flamepaw shut her eyes as she fell quickly, expecting the landing to be painful. But she kept falling, bracing herself and wincing as she felt herself get nearer and nearer to the floor. Why had she jumped? Her death would surely be painful. This was all a bad idea. She should've gone back with Mothwing.
            Flamepaw shook her head, knowing she was only thinking this because she was scared. She held her breath, knowing that she had to help Gingerkit by keeping Goldstar safe. Shrieking, she saw the ground and below and positioned her body as to land on all fours.
            Unfortunately, she was not extremely skilled at this, and she hit the ground with a thud, moaning as she felt every muscle in her body ache. Glancing up, she realized she was very much alive, and the fall had not killed her after all.
            She began to move each muscle one by one, wincing at the pain, but discovering no broken bones. There were bruises and scrapes, but other than that, she was fine.
            Not ready to stand up just yet, Flamepaw's eyes looked through the dark fog, and she let out a tiny mew, "Goldstar? Neko? Rosepettle? Snowheart? Are you there?"
            Her eyes were adjusting to the fog now, and she suddenly could make out shapes nearby, some closer, some farther away. They were undoubtedly the shapes of cats, all of whom were sitting down in the same position as her.
            "Yeah..." came a weak mew. Flamepaw turned, noticing Rosepettle only a fox-length from her. Her white pelt stood out well in the thick fog, and Flamepaw inched herself tpwards her, spotting Neko beside her, alive as well.
            "Rosepettle is badly hurt," Neko told Flamepaw, licking Rosepettle's soft pelt.
            Flamepaw slowly rose to her feet, shaking a little, and she hobbled over to them. Immediately, her paws touched a puddle of sticky blood, and she shrieked, looking to see Rosepettle's white pelt streaked with blood.
            "Oh, why did Mothwing have to leave?!" Flamepaw exclaimed, rushing over to her friend. Rosepettle made no effort to move, and she miserably sat, licking at her wounds. From what Flamepaw could see, they were deep, but it seemed the bleeding had begun to stop.
            "We don't know where Snowheart and her kit is," a new voice came.
            Flamepaw spun around, relieved to see Goldstar padding behind her. She too looked unhurt, despite her wincing as she moved. Flamepaw looked at Neko, seeing he was untouched too. It looked as if Rosepettle was the only one severely injured.
            "We're—we're alive!" Flamepaw shrieked, the realization suddenly hitting her. She bounced up and down, even if inappropriate at the time, laughing to herself. "We survived! We survived the fall!"
            "Yes, but we might not all live to tell the tale," Rosepettle growled, yowling as Neko licked her wound.
            Flamepaw turned to Goldstar, watching as the fog slowly eased up. It was still there, but it had become less dense, and she was able to see the cats now.
            "Do we search for Snowheart and the kit? Rosepettle's injured..." Flamepaw spoke.
            There was a silence, and Flamepaw watched as Neko laid down next to Rosepettle, fearlessly defending her if anything were to appear. It seemed he would not leave her side, and Flamepaw honestly didn't want to leave her side either.
            Rosepettle looked shooken up, her eyes full of fear and terror. She sat motionless, her jaw quivering.
            "I-I don't want to die!" she wailed, her voice shaking with her sobs. Neko frantically tried to calm her by licking her ear while Flamepaw rushed to her friend's side.
            "You're not going to," Flamepaw assured Rosepettle, whose sobs echoed the canyon below.
            "Sh, do you hear that?!" Goldstar snapped, trying to silence them.
            "Hear what?" Flamepaw asked, turning to her leader. Her heart suddenly pounded with fear. Could there be even more danger after leaping down a large cliff? And she hadn't even begun to think of how they'd get back to RiverClan now.
            "It's Snowheart! I know it!" Rosepettle exclaimed, trying to stand up despite her wounds. She pushed down on her paws but could not lift herself.
            "Stay down," Flamepaw hissed. "You'll only make your wounds worse. Do you want that happening?"
            "No..." Rosepettle whimpered, her eyes focused on Goldstar. The golden she-cat had her nose lifted in the air and was glancing around. But Flamepaw quickly dismissed the issue. She had not heard a sound, and it seemed Goldstar had not heard anymore.
            Rosepettle glanced up, looking at the rocky walls of the cliff. "Wow, we fell from up there?" she gasped.
            Flamepaw nodded. "Hard to believe. StarClan really saved our pelts back there."
            "What about Mothwing?" Neko asked, still glancing worriedly at Rosepettle's wounds. "Did she come?"
            Flamepaw shook her head. "That's why I was so upset when I heard Rosepettle was injured. She decided to head back to camp. I hope she makes it back okay...It's hard to believe we all survived this fall. I was expecting to wake in StarClan and see all of you."
            This caused Rosepettle to chuckle a little before the environment became eery and silent again. Even if they had survived, they knew nothing of the place they had landed or how to get back.
            "We all thought the same," Goldstar purred, surprisingly happy for the situation. "I wonder if Snowheart's kit died..."
            Flamepaw frowned. "Do we even know where Snowheart is?"
            Goldstar shook her head. "I have no idea. But I don't know if we should look."
            Before any cat could reply, there was the sound of heavy footsteps, and Flamepaw froze, a strong scent filling the air. Another cat was not too far by, but judging by the scent, she knew fr a fact it was not Snowheart. Perhaps it was her kit.
            "What was that?" Flamepaw whispered, hearing the footsteps come closer. A yowl echoed from the cat's mouse, and Rosepettle let out a tiny shriek.
            Rushing out of the fog was a large black and white cat, shouting, "ZEBRAFUR!"
            "Z-Zebrafur?" Flamepaw stuttered.
            The large tom's eyes fell onto the group of cats, and she swore she could see disappointment flash in his green eyes. The tom looked down at Flamepaw, making her feel like a tiny rat that could be easily be squashed by his massive paws.
            "Oh, you're not my mate," he said, looking at Flamepaw, then the others. "My mate...I'm afraid I've lost her."
            "Oh," Flamepaw replied, suddenly feeling sorry for the tom. He seemed distraught to have lost her. "Well, what does she look like?"
            But the tom did not reply. Instead, he turned to Goldstar. "Who are you?" he asked in a deep voice.
            "My name is Goldstar," she said, stepping out in front of the others. If this tom were dangerous, it seemed Goldstar wanted to protect her clanmates. "These are my fellow clanmates—Flamepaw, Neko, and Rosepettle," she said, introducing them.
            "Are you from any of the four clans? We're from RiverClan," Flamepaw told him. "Goldstar is our leader."
            Goldstar shot her an icy look, and Flamepaw shrunk, realizing she shouldn't have released so much information that quickly.
            "No, I live in dry lands where zebras and giraffes roam," the tom explained. "My name is Tornface."
            "What weird words do you speak?" Goldstar asked, narrowing her eyes.
            Flamepaw turned to the tom. "What's a zebra?" she asked, never hearing of the word before.
            Tornface thought for a moment. "A zebra...is hard to explain," he decided. Flamepaw frowned, wishing to hear more of where the tom came from.
            "Do you know how to get out of here?" Neko wondered.
            "Yes," he replied.
            "How?" Flamepaw asked.
            "This way," Tornface spoke, beginning to walk towards the east. Neko helped Rosepettle up, letting her lean against him as they slowly followed Tornface. Flamepaw stood next to Goldstar, looking back often to see Neko and Rosepettle were still following.
            Despite Rosepettle's condition, she seemed to follow well, yet she still seemed tired and in need of rest.
            They walked through the fog, the only sound in the canyon a light wind, which swirled around Flamepaw's fur with every motion.
            Suddenly, a faint sound of mewling came, and Neko pricked his ears. "That sounded like a kit."
            "CLAWKIT!" Tornface shrieked, his eyes widening. He suddenly ran ahead of the others, leaving them in the dust.
            "Wait! Who's Clawkit?!" Flamepaw shouted, chasing after the tom. The others followed behind quickly, Neko and Rosepettle working hard to catch up with the others.
            Flamepaw watched as Tornface came to a halt by two slanted rocks that seemed to create a small den inside. As Flamepaw neared, the noticed a small scrap of brown fur and stopped in her tracks.
            Neko and Rosepettle were panting heavily as they approached, but as they stopped, Rosepettle froze.
            "Is that a kit?!"
            "What's a kit doing out here?" Flamepaw growled at Tornface. At first, she believed it to be Snowheart's kit, but judging by Goldstar's story, the kit was far too young to be Runningkit.
            Clawkit mewled as Tornface neared him.
            "I don't know!" Tornface exclaimed, licking the kit affectionately. "He's my son...I don't know how he got here!"
            "He's yours?" Flamepaw asked.
            Tornface nodded, picking the young kit up by the scruff. "I don't know how he got here," he explained, simply blown away.
            "Poor thing," Rosepettle whimpered, glancing at the frightened kit.
            "Maybe he fell," Neko suggested.
            "Can you show us out of here?" Goldstar growled, beginning to get impatient.
            "Perhaps it's best we make camp for the night," Tornface decided. "I know of some prey nearby, and I need someone to watch Clawkit."
            "Rosepettle needs rest," Neko agreed.
            "Then we'll make camp," Flamepaw decided.
            Goldstar didn't seem to agree, judging by her facial expression, but she did not deny this. They all laid down, and Tornface set Clawkit down. The tom began to pad around happily, glancing around at the new cats.
            "He's so adorable!" Rosepettle shrieked, as if she'd forgotten how much pain she was still in.
            Flamepaw smiled at the tom, watching his green eyes light up as they fell on Flamepaw. The tiny kit let out a large yawn and padded happily towards Flamepaw, curling up by her soft ginger fur.
            "He likes you," Tornface purred.
            "Yeah," Flamepaw agreed, smiling at the sleeping kit. Tired herself, she laid down her head and shut her eyes, falling into a dreamless slumber.