Perfection [ warriorcats fanfiction ]

xiv.iii

"Do you think we'll stop soon," Puddlepaw whispered, and Nightpaw jumped slightly after spending so much time in silence, "do you think we'll find some place to spend the night and start again in the morning?"

Nightpaw shook her head. "Ravenstep will keep going until he finds her," she said, certain she was speaking the truth, "and it's not dark yet, not really. We can still see just fine."

Nightpaw didn't want to stop searching. She sniffed the air again but smelled nothing but pine trees and incoming snow.

Puddlepaw said nothing.

Ahead of them, Rosepool was murmuring something to Ravenstep that the older warrior ignored. Puddlepaw and Nightpaw padded slowly behind the warriors, silent, glancing between the ground and the sky for possible tracks and checking the progression of the setting sun.

Perhaps Dawnpaw is looking at the sky back at camp, Nightpaw thought, she always seems to be looking at the sky. Looking at the perfect cats that are up there in Starclan.

Nightpaw took a deep breath a second too late. She crashed into Rosepool before she realized what she smelled.

"Is that—?"

Nightpaw had never seen or smelled a fox, but once her father had explained to her what they looked like and how to find out if one had been in the area.

Rosepool and Ravenstep stood perfectly still, their noses in the air. Nightpaw's heartbeat pounded in her ears.

"It's not here anymore," Ravenstep said, his voice shaking, "but it was not too long ago. It was."

They kept going, up a hill. The scent got stronger, but Ravenstep nodded as they continued. "It's gone. We're getting closer to where it was, but it's gone now."

They reached the top of the hill and Nightpaw's stomach fell into her paws.

"Oh, Starclan—"

An unmistakable gray body lay at the bottom of the hill.

Silverleaf wasn't moving. Her gray fur was stained crimson, the ground around her littered with clumps of pine needles and orange fur. She had put up a fight.

She had put up a fight, but it didn't matter.

They were still too late.