Chapter 19
Hawkpaw expected to hit the bottom of the gorge soon. With each passing heartbeat, with each desperate imaginary stroke of wings, she felt as though death was inevitable. Hawkpaw stared up at Smokepaw and mouthed two words.
"I'm sorry."
Hawkpaw didn't see Smokepaw's reaction, but she felt her best friend's paw squeeze her own tightly. Hawkpaw scrunched her eyes shut, desperately trying to regain her wings, and fly.
She imagined flapping her wings madly, although panic and shock had set in so that she could hardly feel even the limbs she knew were real. Suddenly, she heard a gasp from Smokepaw, and looked up.
They were moving towards the top.
Hawkpaw didn't have time to think, but she kept on desperately clinging on to the hope that she knew what she was doing. She gagged with the exertion of pumping her wings to keep Smokepaw afloat from above her.
Suddenly, Hawkpaw felt moonlight light up her face. Opening her eyes just a crack, she saw fresh ground only a mouslength away. Her and Smokepaw had nearly escaped the rocky jaws of the gorge.
With one last powerful and desperate wing stroke, Hawkpaw felt the earth above her and Smokepaw, and collapsed to the ground.
She cushioned Smokepaw's fall, but the weight of the fluffy she-cat knocked the breath out of her. Gasping, Hawkpaw rolled a bit to the side, and felt snow settle its claws into her pelt. For once, it helped soothe her, since the tiny scratches all along her body started aching, and most of all, her wings.
They were fully back and bright blue as ever. Hawkpaw stared at them through narrowed eyes. "About time," she grumbled, trying to hide her fear.
Smokepaw was beside her, laying on her side still. Her wings were back, similar to Hawkpaw's in strength. Her eyes stared not at the gorge, but at some cat on the other side of it. When Hawkpaw followed Smokepaw's desolate amber gaze, she saw Coalpaw.
Hawkpaw limped a couple paces so that she was just standing beside Smokepaw. The smoky she-cat stared up at her with those same sorrowful eyes. Then, she stood up, and pressed herself against Hawkpaw.
"Thank you," she gasped. "You-you saved my life." Her eyes were glazed as she stared down at the gorge. "I don't know what to say..."
She fixed her gaze on Coalpaw once more. Then, she tentatively spread her wings as though thinking about going back over, and talking to her brother. Hawkpaw could tell Smokepaw desperately didn't want to, but there was a desperation in her to love her brother in spite of how fox hearted he was becoming.
"Coalpaw... I'm"
Hawkpaw and Smokepaw we're both suddenly tackled to the ground.
Astonishingly quickly, their assailants got them on the ground, and flipped them over so that their soft underbelly was completely exposed. Coalpaw screeched from somewhere in the distance.
"What's all this talk about leaving?" The calico she-cat who had pinned Hawkpaw down growled. "There's no leaving once you're on CometClan land unless we say so."
CometClan. As the calico's claws dug deeper into Hawkpaw's chest and wings, she felt her heart begin to pound wildly. There seemed to be a threat popping up at her at every new angle...!
The ginger cat, who was the third CometClan cat and the one pinning Smokepaw and Hawkpaw down snarled menacingly in the direction of his two hostages. He padded right up to Hawkpaw.
"We should eliminate them and have it over with," he hissed. "FalconClan doesn't deserve to live on our land."
The calico, Swiftslash, seemed to agree. She eyed Hawkpaw, clearly musing that FalconClan would be significantly weaker without two aspiring young cats. She clearly saw Hawkpaw's flash of fear, because she purred, voice dripping with inferiority.
"Don't worry, little one," the older cat rasped. "StarClan's a lovely place. There you don't have to worry about being a FalconClan flea pelt."
Hawkpaw shuddered at how indifferent Swiftslash seemed to be about killing her. She wondered if all CometClan cats were taught from a young age that killing enemies was completely fine.
"Hold on!" The white tom who had pinned down Smokepaw spoke up suddenly. "I-I've seen these cats before," he flicked his tail at the two hostages. "One's a Medicine Cat, and the other's a rogue!"
The ginger cat stood above him. He was smaller than both the other cats, and if the CometClan build wasn't so different from her own, she would have concurred that he was an apprentice. But the level of authority he seemed to carry made that impossible...
"Your point?" He dug his claws into the earth as he stared at his white speckled companion.
The white tom glanced up at where Coalpaw still stood, eyes wide, on the other side of the gorge. The ginger tom's eyes flashed when he saw Coalpaw, and fluffed up his chest.
Hawkpaw couldn't see very well from her angle, but it seemed as though he was trying to scare Coalpaw away.
"Leave now," he snarled in his higher-pitched voice than the two other cats. "Tell your clanmates that these two are ours now." He glanced back at Smokepaw and Hawkpaw. "To get them back alive, we'll need some things from you." His voice hardened. "Leave, or I jump that gorge and take you too."
Coalpaw held his ground for several heartbeats, but when the ginger tom slunk forward menacingly, Hawkpaw heard his rapidly retreating pawsteps.
"I'll get help!" He gasped from somewhere far off in the distance.
Smokepaw winced visibly when her brother spoke, eyes glazed. Hawkpaw realised that they were alone now, at the mercy of three CometClan strangers. A shiver rippled down her pelt as the calico glowered at her mercilessly.
The CometClan warriors seemed still to be on edge even when Coalpaw was gone. Swiftslash, the calico, was the first to speak up.
"We should just send them to StarClan and be done with it," she grunted. "I'm not afraid of having the blood of two winged beasts on my paws."
The ginger tom strutted around Hawkpaw and Smokepaw, eyeing them as he would prey. Eventually, he turned to the white tom.
"What is it, Stonespeckle?" He growled as the white tom trembled.
"We can't kill them!" Stonespeckle meowed instantly. When the two cats turned to glare at him, he went on, nodding to Smokepaw. "This one's a Medicine Cat." He eyed his den mates gravely.
Swiftslash winced visibly, the first sign of genuine emotion coming through her. The young ginger tom glanced at Smokepaw curiously, but then turned his slitted eyes to Hawkpaw.
"And her?" He sneered. When Stonespeckle opened his jaws, the ginger tom went on, "StarClan knows exactly why you're at the bottom of the ranks, Hare."
Stonespeckle glanced down at the earth uncomfortably, but when he spoke up, his voice was even and controlled. He glanced down at where Hawkpaw lay, and then stared back at the ginger cat.
"She's a rogue, you know," he interjected. "Which means she probably isn't even smart enough to speak. We could use her. Plus she's a bargaining chip..."
Swiftslash glanced down at Hawkpaw, curiousity gleaming in the depths of her cold stare. Hawkpaw remembered all of Dawnclaw's training, and a sudden thought flashed through her head.
Maybe, if I try to act all savage, I can find a way to get Smokepaw out of here. They'd think I was a fool, which I could use to slip around more easily without suspicion. Hawkpaw met Smokepaw's wide eyed stare, and dipped her head tentatively. I have to, she realised.
"Mhm," Swiftslash purred. "This could be fun." She glanced up at her young ginger companion, who seemed to be the patrol leader. "We could make one of their own winged beasts fight against them. What do you think, Flamepaw?"
Flamepaw?!
A new shrill of horror and confusion spiked through Hawkpaw's pelt. She had though this cat was apprentice aged, yet she had been held back from believing it became of the clear authority he held over the two other warriors. Smokepaw's eyes were also bewildered, as though she understanded CometClan ways as well as Hawkpaw.
"You'll address me as Falcon Slayer," Flame turned up his muzzle in disgust as he padded away from Stonespeckle.
"Of course, mighty Falcon Slayer," Stonespeckle muttered under his breath.
Flamepaw eyed Hawkpaw with newfound curiosity. She saw the excitement in his eyes that marked him as a young cat, still eager to discover and learn. Yet, she also saw him immediately hide the expression as he turned to face Swiftslash.
"Let me try something," he meowed.
Swiftslash bowed her head, but growled a warning at Hawkpaw. Then, her weight was lifted from Hawkpaw's chest, and she could breathe freely. She let out a gasp, but immediately, Flamepaw put a paw on her tail to stop her from running.
"Do you speak cat?" He meowed curiously.
Hawkpaw gritted her teeth and dipped her head to the apprentice. "Some words. Master taught me." She grunted submissively.
Flamepaw stared at Swiftslash in cold awe. "They must have trained her to call them Master!" He purred. "That means she should be easy to train!"
Swiftslash eyed Hawkpaw coldly. She didn't trust Hawkpaw's ruse, but said nothing to it in front of Flamepaw. Hawkpaw saw Smokepaw wince visibly, as though the smoky cat knew how difficult this was for her.
Eventually, Swiftslash let out a growl. "Is it your wish to take these two to FalconClan?" She asked.
Flamepaw's cold eyes flashed as he surveyed Hawkpaw and Smokepaw. At length, he gave his warriors a tight nod. Suddenly, Stonespeckle released Smokepaw, with a half-hearted growl.
"Let's move out!" Flamepaw hissed, and slashed at Hawkpaw to force her to bow her head in respect to him. "Nightstar will want to see these two and give them an official CometClan welcome."