A Warrior's Heart | Omen Of Darkness | Bk. 1

Chapter 24

CrowDawn made her way back to camp, her paw bleeding more. The day before BreezePaw revealed that she knew CrowDawn was her mother, and vowed to get her revenge on CrowDawn one day. Now, she came to camp after the Killer Boom attack. She glanced at BreezePaw, who had a menacing look on her face. CrowDawn flattened her ears. I should've still loved her, She thought. She regretted giving her kit away, and then never telling her the truth. CrowDawn's shoulders rippled underneath her pelt as BurrStar called a clan meeting."MouseWhiskers has survived the dreadful attack but, there's been a cost. Her front legs, are twisted and broken and cannot be healed,"BurrStar was silent for a moment, his ginger pelt glistening in the moonlight. His wound was now a scar on his side, with dried up blood crusted on the side. His ember green gaze dull but brave. CrowDawn flinched. BreezePaw leaned toward her ear, in a hard, raspy voice,"Train me everything tomorrow." CrowDawn hissed,"No. I'll train you like a normal apprentice, BreezePaw." Even though she tried to be brave and strong, CrowDawn was horrified and worried."ThrushFeather, is dead." BurrStar's voice seemed to echo forever. CrowDawn felt terrible. Poor RobinWind. What would happen to her friends reputation if she stayed as mournful as she looked, and was? RobinWind was crouched next to her dead mate, she wasn't listening to BurrStar, and warriors next to CrowDawn murmured about the deputy.

"She needs to toughen up!"

"Hey! You'd be sad if your mate died!"

"I wouldn't mourn for my whole life!"

"She needs to love TansyKit!"

"Pfft! She needs to..."

CrowDawn suddenly yowled,"Leave her alone!" Her claws unsheathed. She pushed BreezePaw away and leaped onto High-Tree."What kind of cats are you? Cats who judge their deputy?" CrowDawn's eyes flared as she challenged her clan. Her clanmates went silent."You cant even argue!" CrowDawn hissed,"Because it's true!" BurrStar rushed CrowDawn off."Alright. Go rest after mourning. Lets get ThunderClan back to normal!" BreezePaw then inturrupted,"Or betray ThunderClan!" CrowDawn's kit lashed her tail,"I'm not saying any names and please, be mad at her but CrowDawn's a traitor!" BreezePaw snickered."She loved DrizzleCloud, and had me! And because of me, my father killed himself! StormCloud's no medicine cat!" The black she-cat chuckled. CrowDawn's heart raced."No, please,"She whispered, glancing at RobinWind."I knew about DribbleCloud,"RobinWind admitted, looking up from ThrushFeather."CrowDawn's still my best friend, and she always will be,"The deputy gazed gently at CrowDawn."Well, I'm leaving! Scourge'll make me a better rogue than clan cat! One day, I'll come back, and you can say goodbye to CrowDawn!" BreezePaw snarled, and left the camp. BurrStar dissmissed the clan after he meowed,"BreezePaw chose her path. If we find her in our territory, we chase her out. We only fight her when she attacks a cat in our clan." CrowDawn staggered to the warriors den. She collapsed in her nest and fell asleep."My little kit,"She whispered quietly,"What have I done?" CrowDawn fell asleep. She found herself in a dark place. No birds chirped and screaming yowls haunted the air. Three trees surrounded her. The were pitch black and had a white outline. The yowls came closer and closer to CrowDawn until everything went silent. She blinked and everything went a sweet, light blue. The grass was soft underneath her paws. CrowDawn looked around, getting to know her surroundings. A couple trees glittered in the odd light shimmering on them. Their leaves were calming pink and trunk was light brown. A golden path led CrowDawn forward. Padding through the calming place, a hill was in the way of the golden path. It went narrow and ledup the hill. CrowDawn walked a little faster, her black fur shining. The path stopped. CrowDawn halted and sniffed, ears pricked."Hello,"A feminine voice echoed. CrowDawn's green gaze shot in front of her."W-Who are you?"CrowDawn asked nervously. The StarClan she-cat was white outlined. Her fur was a calico pattern. Her eyes shimmered blue."I am SpottedPelt. The medicine cat before you were born. I died when you were yet to come for another moon. AshenStar was my sister," SpottedPelt introduced."CrowDawn, danger is on its way. You must protect RobinWind. Her time for glory comes with a high price." CrowDawn flinched,"What price?"She demanded. SpottedPelt dipped her head,"That anwer will unfold,"She meowed,"In moons to come." SpottedPelt dissapeared leaving CrowDawn alone. CrowDawn sighed and blinked. She was back in the warriors den. When she glanced out the den, the leaves on the oak trees were red, orange and yellow."TansyKit's gone!" RobinWind yowled, waking up every cat,"She was left last night!" RobinWind raced to CrowDawn."Lead a search patrol with IvyFern, SilverStrike and RippleTail,"She ordered. Bristling, CrowDawn nodded and recruited her clanmates. They padded out of camp then stopped near an oak so they could make a search plan."She'd be near the place we fought with the dogs and the twolegs. Maybe she got lost when we were going back to camp,"IvyFern concluded. CrowDawn nodded in agreement,"Yes, RippleTail will look around the ancient oak where the battle went down, IvyFern will retrace our pawsteps when we were going back to camp, SilverStrike will help RippleTail and I'll look around the territory,"CrowDawn decided, flicking her tail. RippleTail glanced at SilverStrike then toward the ancient oak, his tail swishing,"Alright,"And he and SilverStrike bolted away. IvyFern raced away too. CrowDawn padded toward the ancientoak but went towards the path the twolegs took to retreat. As CrowDawn padded along, a stinky smell filled her nostrils. She walked in a narrow path of grass flattened to the ground. Blood smeared the ground and trees surrounded her sides. She was getting close to a ThunderPath. Monsters raced on it, they had twolegs in their bellies. They had strange, huge paws that rolled on the path. They made roaring noises and killed cats with their huge, jet paws. CrowDawn came across the path. Leaves fell around her and fell on the ThunderPath. A monster shot past her and trampled the leaves. CrowDawn coughed at the stench they left behind. She sniffed. TansyKit had not come this way. She turned around when IvyFern yowled,"TansyKit's stuck in a rabbit hole and something's holding her in!" CrowDawn darted to IvyFern, passing the narrow strip of path as she ran. Her fur blew in the wind and pressure pushed her face. Her eyes were forced shut at the wind that blew. When she stopped and opened her eyes, she was standing next to the ancient oak, blood stained its trunk. CrowDawn forced herself not to look and unexpectedly, sniffed for BreezePaw. Her kits scent was stale. BreezePaw headed to the ranch where sheep were in WindClan territory. CrowDawn walked toward IvyFern's yowl. IvyFern was hunched by a hole about a fox-length wide.Trees surrounded around the small clearing. As IvyFern pulled at TansyKit, nothing happened. Her back-end was stuck in something. CrowDawn paced around the hole. RippleTail and SilverStrike bursted through undergrowth that led them to the rabbit hole, and the ancient oak."IvyFern get RobinWind,"CrowDawn ordered, pausing her pacing to glance at IvyFern. IvyFern nodded and bounded away."RippleTail you look for the reason why we can't pull her out,"CrowDawn continued,"SilverStrike you get TansyKit cold moss that she can drink from." TansyKit whimpered."I was walking and I fell in a rabbit hole!" CrowDawn hushed the small, scared kit."It's alright. We're getting you some water, and your mother. You'll be out of here in no time!" TansyKit didn't look certain."I promise,"CrowDawn mewed gently. TansyKit sighed,"I can't hold on much longer!" CrowDawn looked down into the hole. The walls were dug in from TansyKit's claws."How long have you been hanging on?"CrowDawn asked. TansyKit hissed,"Since moonhigh!" CrowDawn grabbed TansyKit's scruff but she was stuck down."I'll hold onto your scruff and you can rest your paws for a moment,"CrowDawn mumbled, her mouth holding onto TansyKit. TansyKit gasped as CrowDawn held her up. RobinWind bolted into the clearing,"TansyKit!" She cried, grabbing TansyKit's scruff from CrowDawn. CrowDawn backed away and looked at RippleTail."Hardened mud is on top of her hindlegs,"He reported. SilverStrike gave TansyKit the moss ball."We could dig at the mud,"RobinWind suggested,"Then maybe the hard stuff will break off and we can work with what we have?" CrowDawn gazed at the robin-coloured and white she-cat,"But the hardened mud is the only layer. It's hard as stone." RippleTail nodded."Then what do we do?!"RobinWind wailed. CrowDawn sighed. StarClan, your help could be helpful right now! She hissed silently to herself. CrowDawn's eyes narrowed, her black pelt bristled."There's a way,"She meowed, gulping down her nervousness. She remembered in her dream the darkness. Why had it turned to light?"I had a dream,"CrowDawm admitted,"At first, everything was dark. Then, everything was light. I'd follow a golden path that led up a hill. I met the medicine cat when AshenStar was leader. RobinWind and I weren't born, though. Her name was SpottedPelt..."CrowDawn quickly explained the rest of her dream. She remembered SpottedPelt's soft blue gaze and her light, beautiful calico pelt."How does that help us save TansyKit?" RippleTail growled. CrowDawn glared at the brown tabby tom,"Because why would I be sent the dream if it didn't mean something? It's dark in that hole, and light on the outside, how can it not make sense?" IvyFern's white pelt with gray splotches popped out of the rabbit hole,"How does it make sense?" She asked, her blue gaze curious."Well, when the darkness was aroun-" A bush swirled next to the clan cats. CrowDawn shot a glare at RobinWind, who shot a worried one back."What's in there?"RippleTail snarled in a whisper. CrowDawn shrugged,"I'll check. She slipped into shade underneath an oak tree. Her nose led her into the bush. She put her head in and blinked. Green covered her view."Leaves!" She grunted, swiping the leaf away."Hello, Mother,"BreezePaw smiled. CrowDawn scrambled out of the bush and sprang in front of RobinWind, remembering what SpottedPelt said,"You must protect RobinWind." CrowDawn glared at BreezePaw,"Shoo, rogue!" Her neck fur bristled."It's Breeze, to you dirty cats!" Breeze scowled. Breeze's midnight black pelt bristled as she slipped out of the bush's cover, and in front of the clan cats. RippleTail snarled, and unsheathed his claws."BurrStar said no fighting unless she attacks first!" IvyFern reminded the younger tom. Breeze smiled and leaped onto IvyFern. CrowDawn gasped and grabbed Breeze's scruff, pulling her off."Your still a little too young to kill me!" IvyFern spat, her fur ruffled. Breeze's blue gaze glimmered mischievously,"I'm not. If you didn't know, Scourge trains me, I could defeat a dog three times bigger than BurrStar!" She boasted. SilverStrike's tail lashed,"You aren't a ThunderClan member anymore, Breeze." Breeze dipped her head,"I'm looking forward to our battle, CrowDawn,"The exiled she-cat bounded away towards the sheep farm. CrowDawn's head hung,"Let's get Tansykit now,"She muttered. RobinWind licked CrowDawn's ear,"Hey, it's alright!" CrowDawn's friends amber eyes glittered with affection,"Breeze won't lay a paw on you." RippleTail licked the mud that stuck TansyKit in vigorously. After it was wet he smashed it with his front paws,"After we get her to camp StormCloud should check if her hindlegs are damaged,"He meowed. SilverStrike nodded,"Yeah." RobinWind groomed her red pelt. Her fluffy tail swished in the air as she held it up."TansyKit, this time I won't punish you,"The deputy meowed as the cats got TansyKit out of the mud. TansyKit was silent. CrowDawn glanced at her clamates,"Let's get back to camp."