" malice shall corrupt reality,
and turn blood on blood
for a rotting wait of revenge "
There is the Star Realm, a place for cats who have served out of pure loyalty and benevolence, and the Dark Realm, a resting place for those who served out of t...
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-❂-
"Lynxpaw!"
The medicine cat apprentice's paws were sore, exhaustion pulling desperately at her muscles and pleading for her to pause. As she recalled the vision from earlier that morning and her words shared with Galeflower, Lynxpaw was ignited with adrenaline and forced herself to push forward. Concern lifted her paws forward every foxlength and even when a loose pebble stubbed her paw, the she-cat bounded forward with a hastened, rushed pace.
Nightfrost lagged behind his apprentice, the tom grunting in frustration and calling out for Lynxpaw. The tom was oblivious to why Lynxpaw was desperately bolting for camp ever since she awakened from her visit to the Star Realm. The she-cat left Robinwing in a daze and Nightfrost leaping after her, the mentor clearly concerned on the sudden apprehension that wavered over Lynxpaw.
She remembered the mouse, its mouth leaking with a bubbly substance and its eyes blank. Galeflower's words echoed about in Lynxpaw's mind with every hitched breath that escaped her sore, agonized form. All of it was a hint from the Star Realm, a call for help she had failed to pinpoint and analyze until the moment she was far from the place she needed to be. Far from the cat she needed to protect.
As she scaled across the final ledge leading to RidgeClan's camp, she nearly slipped but managed to regain her balance. Her muscles ached and her breaths escaped her in ragged, swift exhales. Nightfrost finally reached her side, the tom's jaws parted with his tongue lolling at the edge of his lips. They were both struggling to keep to their paws, their chests rising and falling faster than a bolt of lightning striking the earth's surface.
Before the tom could spit out a concerned question, Lynxpaw stumbled toward the cave's immense mouth. She winced as she dragged herself forward, her ears folding back against her head. Stress overwhelmed her and anxiety fluttered about in the abyss of her stomach as she padded closer, acknowledging the commotion that buzzed inside of RidgeClan's camp.
Lynxpaw peered inside and her heart instantly dropped to her paws and dissipated. Her recent breath left her in a long, soft exhale that sunk into the atmosphere around her and bristled her tattered pelt. All that she had fought for and worked for crumbled before her and disappeared in the chilling breeze as a few specks of dust. Her hope faltered and melancholy clawed brutally at her heart. She could not help but believe this was all her fault.
RidgeClan cats gathered around the matted black and white corpse of Marshleap. Friends and kin of the benevolent, knowledgeable tom grieved their loss and others stirred about with words and questions of utter confusion. Some turned their gazes to acknowledge the presence of Lynxpaw and Nightfrost, including the amber gaze of the deputy herself.
Heroncall approached Lynxpaw and Nightfrost with worry and sorrow shadowed over her expression. The deputy examined them for a moment before she glanced over her shoulder back at Marshleap's limp body. "No one knows what happened," Heroncall muttered in explanation. "The other warriors woke to him thrashing and struggling to cry for help. We... We didn't even think of what to do before he was already gone."
