Death Awakens

Chapter 16

The whole clan stared at Honeypaw in disgust.

Honeypaw's heart ricocheted in her rib cage, causing her to jerk around every so often.

Why are you all looking at me like that?

But that's what she thought before she saw her claws.

They were stained with dripping scarlet, seeping into the fur around her paws. Sunpaw was drenched in the scarlet, her body limp below her. Her amber eyes were dull and blood clots were dotted around them. A furious Ebonytail glared at Honeypaw from his place beside his apprentice, lost in grief.

And fire. Fire was licking the forest around her, destroying the life that took oh so long to form, turning what would be been a squirrel's home to ash and tearing the greenery apart until the flames caught up.

I did this, Honeypaw realised, glancing back up at the clan: at grieving Ebonytail, at shocked Sprucefrost, at accusing Hollypaw, at serene Goldstar, and even at Chestnutpaw. His stormy blue eyes showing nothing but hurt as he stared at her. What sickened her to the core was the sight of Silkeyes' 3 kits. Swankit glanced at Honeypaw, but quickly looked away as soon as they made eye contact, as if she'd leap up and squash him if he didn't look away. Milkkit curled up next to her mother, the white splash of her body illuminated with an orange glow. Her face was the pure definition of 'I trusted you'. Nightkit simply gawped at her with his emerald eyes.

Wait what?

Honeypaw's mind flashed back to the birth of the kits, when she was panting and flicking bloodied moss over to Chestnutpaw. Nightkit, the first one of them to open their eyes, cuddling close to his mother's body.

His eyes were bluish-silver.

Oh no, no, no, no.

That must be a fake memory, right? His eyes are emerald, that's what they've always been. But a crawling feeling edged up Honeypaw's back as she realised nobody in his family had emerald eyes. Silkeyes had bluish-silver, Ebonytail had stormy blue.

Nightkit's eyes flickered between the two colours, a blinding flash starting to follow as the speed slowly increased. Still, Nightkit didn't stop staring at her.

Unable to handle it, Honeypaw let out a scream, which seemed to enrage the fire more. The flashing was every half a second.

Out, out, OUT

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Honeypaw panted heavily in her not-very-mossy nest. The moss had been flung all over the enclosed den, due to her wild kicking. Many questions fizzed in her head, but the one that came up the most was 'Why has Nightkit got green eyes?'. Adjusting to the lack of light, Honeypaw was too shocked to even snigger when she saw Hollypaw caked in a carpet of green. Sunpaw wasn't sprawled upon her nest, but this time Honeypaw didn't question it. She must be in the med den, she thought with a wince.

With a sinking feeling, Honeypaw realised she probably wouldn't fall asleep again; there was no way she was going back to that nightmare. Instead, she turned to Chestnutpaw, who was snoring softly on his side. Making sure to sheathe her claws, Honeypaw tapped the brown figure. Chestnutpaw groaned and rolled to his other side, daring to open one of his stormy blue eyes.

"Great StarClan, Honeypaw!" He whisper-yelled.

"Sorry, I was a bit lonely"

"Glad to know I was the first person you'd wake up." Chestnutpaw joked half-heartedly.

Honeypaw couldn't blame him for the silence that came next. Though all she wanted to do was talk to him, maybe it was for the best that she didn't. Maybe she should've left him to sleep to save the awkwardness. Or maybe she should use this opportunity to ask the only person who doesn't hate her and was with her during Nightkit's birth about his eyes.

"Nightkit has green eyes, right?" She blurted.

"No, I'm fairly sure they're silver" Chestnutpaw meowed, a certain tone to his voice.

"Y-you haven't seen him since he was born have you?" Honeypaw stuttered. Oh he's going to be so confused. Maybe I shouldn't tell him. Maybe he can get back to his probably peaceful sleep. May-

"Is everything alright?" Chestnutpaw asked, his usual concern creeping back into his voice. It somewhat comforted Honeypaw, as if whatever happened Chestnutpaw would be there, concerned for her wellbeing. Her heart fluttered as she thought about it.

"Yeah it's just-" Honeypaw sighed, trying to find the right way to explain. "I've been having dreams" She began, looking down at her paws. "And they've been telling me all sorts of things. In my first dream, there was this kit. He was called Finchkit." Those words let all sorts of rambling escape her, eventually getting enough confidence to look Chestnutpaw directly into his stormy eyes as he intently listened.

Chestnutpaw was beyond curious, and grateful that Honeypaw had decided to share this with him. His eyes stayed widened as she spoke of the prophecy she wasn't able to decode, and where the sun would fall, and about her most recent dream. Even Finchkit's backstory escaped her mouth. Perhaps this is why she always seemed nervous; she had a lot on her paws. It just made him appreciate her more than he already did.

Honeypaw's heart was beating frantically in her chest as she finished, feeling as if she'd shrink as Chestnutpaw gave her an evaluative stare. Does he care? Does he think i'm crazy?

"Great StarClan, Honeypaw" Chestnutpaw gasped for the second time that night. Moonlight streamed on the two apprentices, making the silence melt into the silver light. Honeypaw thought back to the twisted tree, where apparently the sun would fall. What did that mean? And more importantly, could she catch it?

Chestnutpaw shred a leaf uncomfortably, as if he was saving the awkwardness.

"At dawn, we'll see the kits." Chestnutpaw said, continuing to shred the smallest scrap of leaf, "I mean, only if you want to, I think Silkeyes might be a bit grumpy, but that'll pass eventually"

"I'll believe that when hedgehogs can fly" A voice snorted. But there was no doubt who it was.

"Hollypaw, stop trying to stir up a bee's nest" Chestnutpaw rolled his eyes, "Besides, have you forgotten the time when Honeypaw saved your life?"

"I was just saying though," Hollypaw lifted her head up to glance at the apprentices, "Silkeyes doesn't forgive easily. I once gave her crowfood by accident. Trust me, I should know"

Honeypaw blinked in surprise; was this Hollypaw being nice to her? Hollypaw stared right at her as she thought, How much of that conversation did she hear? There was a chance she knew her secrets, and Honeypaw had no idea. It made her feel small to even think about Hollypaw using it against her.

"Well, I guess nobody cares anyway. Night" Hollypaw added, rolling over to face the entrance once again. Honeypaw and Chestnutpaw exchanged glances before falling asleep again.