Post by .:Nighteh:. on Dec 10, 2012 20:58:03 GMT -5
Skysong
38 moons- 3 years
.
She-cat
.
Purely Duskclan
.
Skysong,
daughter of Sparrowing-mother- and Littleear-father-
Littleear, son of Puddlesplash and Bluetail
Sparrowing, daughter of Goldenfur and Silvermoon
Personality:
[shadow=red,left,300] Quiet, reserved, and shy. When Skysong does speak, she is kind and soft in her voice. She rather likes to be by herself at all times, but is loyal to her clan. But she is very observant. Notices things that other cats don't pay much attention too. Heh. [/shadow]
.
Calico Kitty:
[glow=red,2,300] Though quiet, this Calico kitty will blow you away. Golden fur mixed well with cloud white and night black color creates Skysong. Her pine-tree green eyes look right into you, but she often trys to avoid eye-contact. Her soft to the touch fur is short to medium short, and is well groomed all the time. A cute pink nose, and long tail goes perfectly with small paws and long ears.
Long legs, good for running through the forest. Short claws, but sharp teeth, Skysong is not the perfect "battle-ready" cat.
She is slow to accelerate, but has much stamina. When she runs, she looks like a flying golden/white/black rainbow.
To sum this up? Skysong is picture-perfect. Well, kind of. [/glow]
Meet Skysong, The Duskclan She-cat.
Before I begin Skysong's story, I must say this: Skysong was troubled from the beginning. She used to be active and loud, annoyin', even. But that changed. After one huge accident, Skysong's life changed to the quiet, reserved she-cat.
I'm just a cat with no meaning to the world. Just a cat who nobody cares about, or understands, or wants to understand, or needs to understand.
Perphaps I should just curl up and die?
This is what she thought after...the accident..
Of course, Skysong opened a little bit as she aged. The young she-cat learned how to talk to cats and not be as afraid as she was, and learned to be friendly, even. But her past still haunted her. It still did.
I'm just a cat with no meaning to the world. Just a cat who nobody cares about, or understands, or wants to understand, or needs to understand.
Perphaps I should just curl up and die?
This is what she thought after...the accident..
Of course, Skysong opened a little bit as she aged. The young she-cat learned how to talk to cats and not be as afraid as she was, and learned to be friendly, even. But her past still haunted her. It still did.
The Past Behind the Cat
Born in the woods, Skysong's mom, Sparrowwing, was coming back from a stroll in the woods to get out of the business of camp. She had felt slightly achey in the morning, but ignored the pain and snuck out of camp to use the dirt place. She was walking back, almost back to camp, when she felt a great, jabbing pain.
Suddenly she felt a great, jabbing pain in her belly.
"No...no no no, not now!" The pain grew until she was forced to the ground, collapsing.
The light snow hit her fur, and she closed her eyes and wailed.
"Oh Starclan help me!"
She called out for help, her high-pitched voice breaking. But no cat could hear her.
Suddenly she knew she was doing this, all on her own.
She opened her eyes and took even breaths, and pushed.
I'm so stupid..! Why couldn't I have just stayed in-
She broke off her thoughts when a tiny bundle of fluff entered the cold world. It's calico colored fur was wet and stuck to it's skin.
Sparrowwing reached for the kit, but another pain crashed into her belly.
She knew she had to push again, so she did. Another calico cat came out, just like a tiny fluff ball.
The pain ceased back, but still bit at Sparrowwing.
She looked at the kits and drew them near her belly, then groaned when another wave of pain suddenly hit her. She pushed and a tiny, motionless black and white cat with a splash of golden popped out.
Sparrowwing knew he was dead, so she drew him near her and licked his fur down, then dug a tiny hole in the ground. She put him in it, and covered the hole.
Tears formed in her eyes, and she looked up to the sky, the snow falling into her eyes, Oh Starclan, keep him safe!
She looked back to the two kits.
Alright...the first kit will be...Skykit. The second will be Splashkit, for it looks like she was "splashed" with paint of black, gold, and white.
But as she looked at Splashkit, she noticed that the kit wasn't moving as much.
I better get back to camp!
She tried to move, but the pain in her belly lingered.
She wailed again, falling back to the ground.
Foxdung!
She cuddled the kits close to her belly, trying to keep them warm.Somebody will find me soon, right? And then everything will be okay, right?
She started to shiver herself as more snow fell. The second kit had stopped moving, but was still breathing.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, Goldenbreeze found Sparrowing.
"There you are! We have been so worried-" She broke off when she saw the two fluff balls curled up against Sparrowing.
"Oh Sparrowing!"
Goldenbreeze gasped slightly, quickly helping the warrior get up. She held one kit in her mouth, and Sparrowing heald the other.
They quickly, but gently, ran back to camp, trying to get the kits to the warmth of camp. Once back in the nursery, Skykit and Splashkit fell asleep, but Splashkit was shivering and breathing slowly. Sparrowwing held her close to her belly, trying to get her warm again.
The medicine cat came in, but shook her head as Splashkit stopped breathing.
Sparrowing let a tear fall down her cheek, glad that she still had Skykit.
Well, Skykit grew and grew, taking form as a talkative, totally outgoing she-cat. She was mischevious, easily getting into trouble.
From raiding the medicine cat den, to sneaking into the leader's den, Skykit was curious.
Well, by the time Skykit turned to Skypaw, she had only gotten more crazy.
She was hard to handle with training, but whens he got her mind set to it, she would do it.
By the time she was 8 moons old, she had been two months into training.
She learned how to fight-in the dark, too!-, hunt, and track prey.
She was quite proud of herself, and she showed it.
On her birthdate, in the winter, she had gone out hunting. She brought back an enourmous rabbit that had strayed onto Duskclan territory.
By the time she brought it back to Duskclan's camp, she was drop-dead tired, but didn't dare show it!
"Hullloo mother," she said as Sparrowing saw her rabbit.
"Hi there, Skypaw! Wow, nice catch!"
Skypaw shoved the rabbit into the freshkill pile.
"It sure is! It took me ages to find it!"
Her mother chuckled. "Anyways, the gathering is tonight, and you're invited to come. It'll be your first gathering."
Skypaw perked her ears.
"Really? I'm so going! When does it start? Are there going to be alot of cats? Some cats say when everyone gets angry, a cloud covers the moon! Is that true? Is there really a big tree that the leaders stand on? Is it true that the Cloudclan leader was really once a kittypet?" She blurted out all these questions at once, and Sparrowing just sighed.
"You'll see, trust me."
In the mean-time, Skypaw didn't have any second thought on sharing her rabbit. She gulped most of it down, only sharing bits and pieces of it.
Love at first sight...
Skypaw entered the large clearing, gasping at all the sights and noises.
A huge tree stood at the far end, with long large branches. Rocks at the bottom of the tree were boulder like, and ontop of them stood deputys of every clan.
Huge Iceclan cats walked by, as well as skinny Cloudclan cats and the swamp-smelling dark colored Stormclan cats.
Duskclan was the last clan to arrive.
Skypaw watched in awe as the leaders easily scraped their way up the oak tree.
Skypaw sat down next to her mother, Sparrowing, and her father, Littleear.
Her parents talked to eachother but soon hushed when the leaders were ontop of the branches.
Her father moved over to her mother, so Skypaw found herself sitting next to a Fireclan apprentice.
The gathering started, and Skypaw tried her best to listen to the leaders, but after the first leader spoke, she decuded was all soo boring..
Skypaw yawned just as Vixenstar started speaking.
The apprentice standing next to her sighed.
"Ugh...this will go on forever," he said.
Skypaw looked at him. "Right? I mean, who cares about that silly stuff! 'Prey is good, weather is nice, bla-bla-bla..' boring!""
The apprentice chuckled, almost a little too loudly. Some cats glared at him and Skypaw.
"Heatpaw! Shut up!" He looked at the ground, but Skypaw could still hear him chuckling. The cats faced forward again, so Heatpaw looked at Skypaw again.
"Is this your first time, Heatpaw?"Skypaw said with a whisper.
"Yupperz. You?"
"Totally. I'm from Duskclan. Where are you from?"
He leaned back, tossing his orange-yellow-golden-red mixed color fur.
Skypaw actually thought he looked pretty cute, for his deep green eyes went perfectly with his golden colored fur. It was short, but still wavy, perhaps. His long legs and tall body meant he would be tall when he was done growing.
"Yup, I'm from Fireclan, and proud of it. Though the heat isn't very nice where I'm from!" he purred. It was a deep, but comforting pur.
Skypaw chuckled, but then got a glare from her mother.
"Sorry!" she whispered to her. But then she turned back to Heatpaw and rolled her eyes.
The gathering was coming to an end, but the two apprentices didn't notice.
They started chit-chatting about the weather, and then about the Cloudclan leader, then about best places to hunt{They started to get bored :3}. When the Gathering was finished, Heatpaw turned to leave with his Fireclan group.
"So, Heatpaw, I'll see you at the next Gathering?"
Heatpaw winked at her.
"Totally."
Then he vanished into the Fireclan group.
Skypaw watched him leave, and she sighed. He was friendly, unlike the cats in Duskclan. Well, in Skyoaw's opinion.
She turned to leave, but stopped when she didn't see her group.
Stormclan and Cloudclan were just leaving, and Iceclan had gone with Fireclan. Duskclan was already gone.
Great job, Mousebrain! Duskclan already left without you.
Skypaw hurried infront of the other clans to find Duskclan.
She just started following the flow of cats back, but stopped once the cats trickled into their groups and went back to their territorys.
She stopped once she was alone.
Eeepp! Starclan help me!
She was at the exit of the Gathering place, surrounded by tall trees.
She lifted her head to scent the air, but all she could smell was muttled scents of other cats.
So she started walking, going in the direction the thought Duskclan territory was.
If only she hadn't.
_______
She stopped, feeling very hot, once she had walked for a while.
Surely duskclan is close by? The ground beneath her paws was dusty and rocky. She lifted her head, looking around. Then a twig snapped, and Skypaw turned her head around.
Her tired from walking body moved, hoping that she was on Duskclan land.
Another twig snapped, and then a farmiliar faced appeared behind a rock in this hot, rocky land.
"What in the name of Starclan are you doing here?"
Heatpaw jumped onto the small rock and peered at Skypaw.
Skypaw sighed, thankful that Heatpaw was there.
"Um, well, I got lost. I couldn't find Duskclan, so I went in the direction I thought camp was, but I got lost, and now I'm here," Skypaw said with a shrug.
Heatpaw chuckled.
"I don't know how, silly, but you ended up on Fireclan territory. You're on the border right now."
Skypaw took a step back.
Whoops.
"Oh...well, do you mind pointing me in the direction Duskclan territory is?"
Heatpaw sighed.
"Skypaw, I'm not from Duskclan, I don't know where their territory is! But I'm sure if you keep walking past Cloudclan's turf, you will end up on Duskclan's. But that'll take a while to find."
He hopped off the rock and padded towards Skypaw.
"Well...would you mind showing me where it is, at least? Or like, pointing me in the direction?"
Heatpaw considered this. Take the young apprentice back to her camp and be the good cat, or just let her go and be the bad cat.
The good cat won him over.
"Alright, follow me. But I'm only taking you to the edge of Cloudclan. From there you can see your land. Follow me, but be quiet. I snuck away from my group to do a quick round of hunting, so if I'm not back quick, they will start to worry."
So the pair walked and walked to the north, and they started to reach Cloudclan land, when rain started to fall.
Heatpaw stopped, as did Skypaw.
"Great. Just great. It's like starclan doesn't want you to get back to Duskclan!"
Skypaw chuckled, and followed Heatpaw as he lead her to an uprooted tree on the outside of Cloudclan territory. They sat under it while the rain poured on.
" You know you can head back to your clan now, Heatpaw. I think I know where to go now, and I'm fine with traveling in the rain."
Heatpaw shook his head.
"Now would that be very nice of me to let a young she-cat like you wander back to her turf alone, in the dark, in the cold rain?"
Skypaw sighed. "You're right. But how will you get back to your clan in time?"
Heatpaw shrugged and grinned.
"Sky, they don't care about me that much. if I'm gone for a day, heck, a week even, they won't notice."
Skypaw laid down, nodding her head.
"I know the feeling. The only "friends" I have are my parents. I get along with the other apprentices, but sometimes I just feel left out, ya know? They probably wouldn't even notice if I was gone a week, too."
Heatpaw licked one of his muddy paws, then set it back down.
"Hey, at least you have parents. Mine died in the battle with Stormclan ages ago. I was raised by my abusive, annoying brother. But when he died, I was on my own. So consider yourself lucky."
Skypaw could hear the hurt in his voice. "I guess I am lucky, espically compared to you. That's so horrible." She looked down at the ground, feeling pity for him. To grow up without love, warmth, affection must be horrible. Skypaw then looked at him. "But hey, I kinda like you. So you're not excatly alone." Skypaw's ears turned red.
Oh my Starclan! Did I really just say that!! Heatpaw looked at her, mouth parted. "No, no, OMS, not like that! I mean, we're alike, and you are nice, and all. I like you as a friend. I mean, I just met you, but...AHH" She hit her head against the ground and sat up.
"I'm sorry. I'm just going to walk home. Mom is proably throwing a fit that I'm gone right now."
But Heatpaw chuckled. "Skypaw, it's okay. I think you're pretty cool, too. But you know you will get lost or catch a cold out in the rain, so please, just stay here." He shrugged. "Plus, I don't want to be alone." Skypaw heard the thunder in the distance roll, and she sighed. "All right, but at the break of dawn, raining or not, I'm leaving." He nodded. "Yup."
So they both stayed under the up-rooted tree, enjoying each-others company, sometimes playing "toss the rock" or just talking about life while they waited for the storm to pass.
When the rain didn't cease, they both curled up{Up different ends of the make-shift den } and fell asleep.
When the sun was high in the air, the rain ceased. Skypaw opened her eye lid, revealing her sparkling green orbs. She sneezed and curled her tail around her, resting it on her nose.
She didn't want to wake up, she wanted to stay in this nice warm den. Getting up for the day would be annoying. Her mentor would probably have her run laps around the training area once she woke up like last time, or-
Skypaw sprang up, remembering what had hapepend last night.
She shook her head, then walked over to Heatpaw and shook his body.
"Wake up, wake up!"
"huh?! what?! Who died?!" Skypaw rolled her eyes. "Nobody, silly! But we are late. We should of been up and walking at the break of dawn, but look at the sun!" Heatpaw stood up and looked through a crack in a root. "Uh oh...We better start moving!" They both climbed out of the uprooted tree. They looked around them, realizing where they were. Outside of Fireclan territory, near Cloudclan's, near the kittypet place. So they started to walk away, back to Cloudclan's border on the kittypet side. Once Duskclan's territory was in sight, Skypaw turned to Heatpaw.
"Thank you so much for leading me back!" He dipped his head. "My pleasure. It's not every day I get the chance to lead a very purdy Duskclan she-cat back to her home!" And with that he winked and trotted away. Skypaw felt a warm shiver go down her back, and she smiled, and walked the whole way back with a massive smile on her face, replaying the moments of yesterday over and over again in her head.
______
She had only walked, though, 15 paces when the long meadow nearly turned into a forest. Duskclan is close! But she stopped once she heard something following her. "Heatpaw, is that you?" But she turned around, and nearly turned right into a fox.
Skypaw stepped back, tensing her muscles. The fox was puny, but was baring it's large teeth at Skypaw. But before she could do anything, the battle began. It lunged at her.
Skypaw's hiss got knocked out of her as she fell to the ground. The fox bit at her leg, but Skypaw managed to get out from under him. The fox whipped around and slammed it's paw into Skypaw's head, making her shaky. She tried to run away, but staggered. She moved 5 paces when the fox lunged again, running infront of her and turning, knocking Skypaw over.
Blackness dotted her vision, and Skypaw knew this was the end. She let out one cry before the felt claws pierce into her leg again. Blood poured out. Skypaw waited for the killing blow, but it never came. Confused, she tried to see where the fox went, but blackness dotted her vision. She only heard the fox screeching and run away, as well as a loud hiss.
"Mom...?" Skypaw managed to say. The blackness cleared a bit, only to be replaced by the sight of Heatpaw. "No, no, Heatpaw. Well you have gotten yourself into a pickle, haven't you? Can you stand?" Skypaw tried to roll onto her belly. It succeeded but she couldn't stand.
"No." She then felt herself being lifted off the ground and carried into the safety of the forest. There, she was placed. "Heatpaw, how did you..."
He glanced around worridly. "I have to go, Skypaw. A Duskclan patrol will find you. Just don't fall asleep. And to answer your question, you're lucky you screeched. I turned and heard you, then saw the fox. I suprise attacked it, easily making it run away." Skypaw looked into his green eyes. "Thank you, you saved my life." He dipped his head to her, then turned to walk away. "Wait!" called Skypaw, trying to sit up. "When will I see you again?" Skypaw knew he wouldn't answer, but suprisignly, he did. "The up-rooted tree. In 3 sunrises. Meet me there at dusk."
Skypaw smiled, ignoring her pain and watching him leave.
________________________
Well the patrol did find her. She was brought back and recovered quickly, telling everyone a fake story once she gained energy.
"I got lost from the group, and hid while the rain started. Then I started to come back, but the fox attacked me. He was huge! I easily killed him, though. I managed to make it back to Duskclan territory. I'm sorry that I didn't stay with the group." All the cats asked her questuions, thinking she was a hero for killing off a fox. Skypaw loved the praise, but oh how she dreamed of telling the cats of Heatpaw, and how amazing he was.
But she kept to her story, and was made Skysong for her bravery the next day.________
___The warrior______
Skysong walked away from the uprooted tree, making haste for she was late.
Heatpaw and her had just played together, with games such as "chase the fox" and "throw the moss". And after practicing some small fighting moves with eachother, they decided to go back to their clans and meet up again in four days.
Skysong felt delighted with herself. Heatpaw is such a great cat!
______
After six moons or so of doing this, cats started to suspect Skysong's constant disapearence. Espically her mother and father.
Her father, Littleear, had a bad cough all night. Skysong promised to stay with him, but changed her mind once she realized she was meeting Heatstrike today. He had been made a warrior.
When her father was sleeping, Skysong snuck away to the uprooted tree. She sprinted through the short cut she had found by the two-leg place, and jumped ontop of the uprooted tree.
Heatstrike was already there. Just seeing him made Skysong's paws tingle.
"Heatstrike!"
"Skysong!"
They ran to eachother, then went into the uprooted tree.
They had made this tree into a second home almost, with nests and prey and feathers and moss.
Skysong settled down inside the uprooted tree. {http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsnortheast/8152103662/ . Pic of uprooted tree}
The roots above them kept the makeshift den warm, and Skysong leaned against Heatstrike, tails tangeled together.
"So, what's new in Fireclan?"
He shrugged. "Well, prey has been good...Stuff like that...But there is a problem I have been meaning to tell you."
"Oh?" said Skysong.
"Cats have been starting to suspect that I've been disapearing. I got followed once, actually. But I lost the cat that was folllowing me."
Skysong nodded. "Yes. Cats have been noticing how I've gotten more quiet recently, how I've been disapearing, how I've been more anxious then usual. But what should we do about it?"
Suddenly a low growl sounded.
"I know what you should do about it. Never see eachother again."
Littleear stood at the edge of the den, but quickly jumped in and picked up Skysong by the scruff.
"Littleear!"
She got dropped outside of the den, scruff hurting. "Skysong, you better have a good explaination for this."
"Excuse me, but it's not her fault-" spoke Heatstrike quickly.
"Enough!" roared Skysong's dad.
Heatstrike flinched but remained standing, only taking a step forward.
"Dad, it's my fault. Please don't hurt him! Or me! We have been meeting eachother for a while now. Dad, I'm in love with him."
She stood up and spat at the ground. "There. That's my explaination. Can you go now?"
Littleear stood with mouth parted, eyes narrow, tail swishing so quickly it was hard to look at.
"Skysong.." his voice broke. "I thought you were better then this. I-I-You-we-..."
Skysong lowered her head as her dad let a tear fall down his face. "Skysong, I can't let you do this. Now let's go home. I won't tell anyone, but you may not see him again."
He started to leave, but Skysong held her ground. Heatstrike came up and stood beside her.
"No, dad. I'm sorry. Go ahead and tell everyone in Duskclan. I don't care. I'm leaving Duskclan and joining Fireclan to be with Heatstrike!"
This angered her dad, and he broke out in coughing fits before replying. "Skysong! Let's GO!"
Heatstrike snarled. "She is staying with me, where she belongs and wants to be." Skysong nodded.
"Fine." Just as they thought he would leave, he turned and lunged at Heatstrike.
"No!" screeched Skysong.
The two toms broke out in fighting, and the dust picked up as fur went flying, as did blood and screeches.
"STOP!" Skysong said with a cry.
But the fighting went on and the dust settled. And only one cat stood.
It was Heatstrike.
"Dad!" yelled Skysong.
She ran to Littleear, tears falling from her eyes like a waterfall.
"Dad.." no movement came from him.
He was dead.
And Skysong threw a fit.
After hours of crying and shaking, Skysong finally stopped and turned to Heatstrike.
"Heatstrike..."
He stood beside Skysong and let her fall onto his shoulder.
"Yes, Skysong? I will do anything for you."
"Heatstrike...now I can't return to Duskclan. Or Fireclan. They'll think me a murderer. That I killed my dad. I'm sorry. I can't be with you, I must leave before I cause even more damage."
She turned and started walking away, but Heatstrike stayed with her.
"No...I'm sorry. Without you is just impossible to think about. We've been together for six or seven moons now, and we are meant to be together. You know it! Please don't leave me."
Skysong stopped.
She remembered those words from when they first met.
Please don't leave me....
She looked at him. Blood oozed from many spots, but he was ignoring it. She remebred him when they first met.
The handsome, drool over tom cat with a golden pelt. But now, he was a beaten up reck, with blood staining his body.
"Heatstrike...we just aren't meant to be. I love you. I always will love you. But we just cannot be together. It would be best if you just left me..."
The blood was pouring out faster, and he started to sit down. Skysong knew his time was running out. If he didn't return to Fireclan soon, he would die.
"Now go back to Fireclan. I can't be with you."
With that she cried as she ran home.
__________________________________
Heatstrike listened to what she said. He left her. He went back to Fireclan and told everyone what he had done, then got exiled and died from his wounds. He was on his way to visit Skysong for the last time. He died at her paws as she was out to find her father's body and barry it.
What happened after that was a blur. Skysong wanted to curl up and die. She wanted to be gone. She wanted to tel everyone, but also stay mute about what happened. She dreamed to love again, but to be in love with Heatstrike.
She was afraid of everything around her. Afraid somebody would find out what she did. Afraid.
_Present day Skysong summary._
Skysong now still lives in Duskclan. Her mother died of greencough, and so she decided to keep to herself and not speak to anyone. For now.
The question that always haunts her is still alive. Dwelling. Within her. Haunting her.
Will I ever love again...?
_______ Hooray! This is done xD. Took me a while to write. I might still do some editing, but for now, it's done baby!
[/center
Suddenly she felt a great, jabbing pain in her belly.
"No...no no no, not now!" The pain grew until she was forced to the ground, collapsing.
The light snow hit her fur, and she closed her eyes and wailed.
"Oh Starclan help me!"
She called out for help, her high-pitched voice breaking. But no cat could hear her.
Suddenly she knew she was doing this, all on her own.
She opened her eyes and took even breaths, and pushed.
I'm so stupid..! Why couldn't I have just stayed in-
She broke off her thoughts when a tiny bundle of fluff entered the cold world. It's calico colored fur was wet and stuck to it's skin.
Sparrowwing reached for the kit, but another pain crashed into her belly.
She knew she had to push again, so she did. Another calico cat came out, just like a tiny fluff ball.
The pain ceased back, but still bit at Sparrowwing.
She looked at the kits and drew them near her belly, then groaned when another wave of pain suddenly hit her. She pushed and a tiny, motionless black and white cat with a splash of golden popped out.
Sparrowwing knew he was dead, so she drew him near her and licked his fur down, then dug a tiny hole in the ground. She put him in it, and covered the hole.
Tears formed in her eyes, and she looked up to the sky, the snow falling into her eyes, Oh Starclan, keep him safe!
She looked back to the two kits.
Alright...the first kit will be...Skykit. The second will be Splashkit, for it looks like she was "splashed" with paint of black, gold, and white.
But as she looked at Splashkit, she noticed that the kit wasn't moving as much.
I better get back to camp!
She tried to move, but the pain in her belly lingered.
She wailed again, falling back to the ground.
Foxdung!
She cuddled the kits close to her belly, trying to keep them warm.Somebody will find me soon, right? And then everything will be okay, right?
She started to shiver herself as more snow fell. The second kit had stopped moving, but was still breathing.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, Goldenbreeze found Sparrowing.
"There you are! We have been so worried-" She broke off when she saw the two fluff balls curled up against Sparrowing.
"Oh Sparrowing!"
Goldenbreeze gasped slightly, quickly helping the warrior get up. She held one kit in her mouth, and Sparrowing heald the other.
They quickly, but gently, ran back to camp, trying to get the kits to the warmth of camp. Once back in the nursery, Skykit and Splashkit fell asleep, but Splashkit was shivering and breathing slowly. Sparrowwing held her close to her belly, trying to get her warm again.
The medicine cat came in, but shook her head as Splashkit stopped breathing.
Sparrowing let a tear fall down her cheek, glad that she still had Skykit.
Well, Skykit grew and grew, taking form as a talkative, totally outgoing she-cat. She was mischevious, easily getting into trouble.
From raiding the medicine cat den, to sneaking into the leader's den, Skykit was curious.
Well, by the time Skykit turned to Skypaw, she had only gotten more crazy.
She was hard to handle with training, but whens he got her mind set to it, she would do it.
By the time she was 8 moons old, she had been two months into training.
She learned how to fight-in the dark, too!-, hunt, and track prey.
She was quite proud of herself, and she showed it.
On her birthdate, in the winter, she had gone out hunting. She brought back an enourmous rabbit that had strayed onto Duskclan territory.
By the time she brought it back to Duskclan's camp, she was drop-dead tired, but didn't dare show it!
"Hullloo mother," she said as Sparrowing saw her rabbit.
"Hi there, Skypaw! Wow, nice catch!"
Skypaw shoved the rabbit into the freshkill pile.
"It sure is! It took me ages to find it!"
Her mother chuckled. "Anyways, the gathering is tonight, and you're invited to come. It'll be your first gathering."
Skypaw perked her ears.
"Really? I'm so going! When does it start? Are there going to be alot of cats? Some cats say when everyone gets angry, a cloud covers the moon! Is that true? Is there really a big tree that the leaders stand on? Is it true that the Cloudclan leader was really once a kittypet?" She blurted out all these questions at once, and Sparrowing just sighed.
"You'll see, trust me."
In the mean-time, Skypaw didn't have any second thought on sharing her rabbit. She gulped most of it down, only sharing bits and pieces of it.
Love at first sight...
Skypaw entered the large clearing, gasping at all the sights and noises.
A huge tree stood at the far end, with long large branches. Rocks at the bottom of the tree were boulder like, and ontop of them stood deputys of every clan.
Huge Iceclan cats walked by, as well as skinny Cloudclan cats and the swamp-smelling dark colored Stormclan cats.
Duskclan was the last clan to arrive.
Skypaw watched in awe as the leaders easily scraped their way up the oak tree.
Skypaw sat down next to her mother, Sparrowing, and her father, Littleear.
Her parents talked to eachother but soon hushed when the leaders were ontop of the branches.
Her father moved over to her mother, so Skypaw found herself sitting next to a Fireclan apprentice.
The gathering started, and Skypaw tried her best to listen to the leaders, but after the first leader spoke, she decuded was all soo boring..
Skypaw yawned just as Vixenstar started speaking.
The apprentice standing next to her sighed.
"Ugh...this will go on forever," he said.
Skypaw looked at him. "Right? I mean, who cares about that silly stuff! 'Prey is good, weather is nice, bla-bla-bla..' boring!""
The apprentice chuckled, almost a little too loudly. Some cats glared at him and Skypaw.
"Heatpaw! Shut up!" He looked at the ground, but Skypaw could still hear him chuckling. The cats faced forward again, so Heatpaw looked at Skypaw again.
"Is this your first time, Heatpaw?"Skypaw said with a whisper.
"Yupperz. You?"
"Totally. I'm from Duskclan. Where are you from?"
He leaned back, tossing his orange-yellow-golden-red mixed color fur.
Skypaw actually thought he looked pretty cute, for his deep green eyes went perfectly with his golden colored fur. It was short, but still wavy, perhaps. His long legs and tall body meant he would be tall when he was done growing.
"Yup, I'm from Fireclan, and proud of it. Though the heat isn't very nice where I'm from!" he purred. It was a deep, but comforting pur.
Skypaw chuckled, but then got a glare from her mother.
"Sorry!" she whispered to her. But then she turned back to Heatpaw and rolled her eyes.
The gathering was coming to an end, but the two apprentices didn't notice.
They started chit-chatting about the weather, and then about the Cloudclan leader, then about best places to hunt{They started to get bored :3}. When the Gathering was finished, Heatpaw turned to leave with his Fireclan group.
"So, Heatpaw, I'll see you at the next Gathering?"
Heatpaw winked at her.
"Totally."
Then he vanished into the Fireclan group.
Skypaw watched him leave, and she sighed. He was friendly, unlike the cats in Duskclan. Well, in Skyoaw's opinion.
She turned to leave, but stopped when she didn't see her group.
Stormclan and Cloudclan were just leaving, and Iceclan had gone with Fireclan. Duskclan was already gone.
Great job, Mousebrain! Duskclan already left without you.
Skypaw hurried infront of the other clans to find Duskclan.
She just started following the flow of cats back, but stopped once the cats trickled into their groups and went back to their territorys.
She stopped once she was alone.
Eeepp! Starclan help me!
She was at the exit of the Gathering place, surrounded by tall trees.
She lifted her head to scent the air, but all she could smell was muttled scents of other cats.
So she started walking, going in the direction the thought Duskclan territory was.
If only she hadn't.
_______
She stopped, feeling very hot, once she had walked for a while.
Surely duskclan is close by? The ground beneath her paws was dusty and rocky. She lifted her head, looking around. Then a twig snapped, and Skypaw turned her head around.
Her tired from walking body moved, hoping that she was on Duskclan land.
Another twig snapped, and then a farmiliar faced appeared behind a rock in this hot, rocky land.
"What in the name of Starclan are you doing here?"
Heatpaw jumped onto the small rock and peered at Skypaw.
Skypaw sighed, thankful that Heatpaw was there.
"Um, well, I got lost. I couldn't find Duskclan, so I went in the direction I thought camp was, but I got lost, and now I'm here," Skypaw said with a shrug.
Heatpaw chuckled.
"I don't know how, silly, but you ended up on Fireclan territory. You're on the border right now."
Skypaw took a step back.
Whoops.
"Oh...well, do you mind pointing me in the direction Duskclan territory is?"
Heatpaw sighed.
"Skypaw, I'm not from Duskclan, I don't know where their territory is! But I'm sure if you keep walking past Cloudclan's turf, you will end up on Duskclan's. But that'll take a while to find."
He hopped off the rock and padded towards Skypaw.
"Well...would you mind showing me where it is, at least? Or like, pointing me in the direction?"
Heatpaw considered this. Take the young apprentice back to her camp and be the good cat, or just let her go and be the bad cat.
The good cat won him over.
"Alright, follow me. But I'm only taking you to the edge of Cloudclan. From there you can see your land. Follow me, but be quiet. I snuck away from my group to do a quick round of hunting, so if I'm not back quick, they will start to worry."
So the pair walked and walked to the north, and they started to reach Cloudclan land, when rain started to fall.
Heatpaw stopped, as did Skypaw.
"Great. Just great. It's like starclan doesn't want you to get back to Duskclan!"
Skypaw chuckled, and followed Heatpaw as he lead her to an uprooted tree on the outside of Cloudclan territory. They sat under it while the rain poured on.
" You know you can head back to your clan now, Heatpaw. I think I know where to go now, and I'm fine with traveling in the rain."
Heatpaw shook his head.
"Now would that be very nice of me to let a young she-cat like you wander back to her turf alone, in the dark, in the cold rain?"
Skypaw sighed. "You're right. But how will you get back to your clan in time?"
Heatpaw shrugged and grinned.
"Sky, they don't care about me that much. if I'm gone for a day, heck, a week even, they won't notice."
Skypaw laid down, nodding her head.
"I know the feeling. The only "friends" I have are my parents. I get along with the other apprentices, but sometimes I just feel left out, ya know? They probably wouldn't even notice if I was gone a week, too."
Heatpaw licked one of his muddy paws, then set it back down.
"Hey, at least you have parents. Mine died in the battle with Stormclan ages ago. I was raised by my abusive, annoying brother. But when he died, I was on my own. So consider yourself lucky."
Skypaw could hear the hurt in his voice. "I guess I am lucky, espically compared to you. That's so horrible." She looked down at the ground, feeling pity for him. To grow up without love, warmth, affection must be horrible. Skypaw then looked at him. "But hey, I kinda like you. So you're not excatly alone." Skypaw's ears turned red.
Oh my Starclan! Did I really just say that!! Heatpaw looked at her, mouth parted. "No, no, OMS, not like that! I mean, we're alike, and you are nice, and all. I like you as a friend. I mean, I just met you, but...AHH" She hit her head against the ground and sat up.
"I'm sorry. I'm just going to walk home. Mom is proably throwing a fit that I'm gone right now."
But Heatpaw chuckled. "Skypaw, it's okay. I think you're pretty cool, too. But you know you will get lost or catch a cold out in the rain, so please, just stay here." He shrugged. "Plus, I don't want to be alone." Skypaw heard the thunder in the distance roll, and she sighed. "All right, but at the break of dawn, raining or not, I'm leaving." He nodded. "Yup."
So they both stayed under the up-rooted tree, enjoying each-others company, sometimes playing "toss the rock" or just talking about life while they waited for the storm to pass.
When the rain didn't cease, they both curled up{Up different ends of the make-shift den } and fell asleep.
When the sun was high in the air, the rain ceased. Skypaw opened her eye lid, revealing her sparkling green orbs. She sneezed and curled her tail around her, resting it on her nose.
She didn't want to wake up, she wanted to stay in this nice warm den. Getting up for the day would be annoying. Her mentor would probably have her run laps around the training area once she woke up like last time, or-
Skypaw sprang up, remembering what had hapepend last night.
She shook her head, then walked over to Heatpaw and shook his body.
"Wake up, wake up!"
"huh?! what?! Who died?!" Skypaw rolled her eyes. "Nobody, silly! But we are late. We should of been up and walking at the break of dawn, but look at the sun!" Heatpaw stood up and looked through a crack in a root. "Uh oh...We better start moving!" They both climbed out of the uprooted tree. They looked around them, realizing where they were. Outside of Fireclan territory, near Cloudclan's, near the kittypet place. So they started to walk away, back to Cloudclan's border on the kittypet side. Once Duskclan's territory was in sight, Skypaw turned to Heatpaw.
"Thank you so much for leading me back!" He dipped his head. "My pleasure. It's not every day I get the chance to lead a very purdy Duskclan she-cat back to her home!" And with that he winked and trotted away. Skypaw felt a warm shiver go down her back, and she smiled, and walked the whole way back with a massive smile on her face, replaying the moments of yesterday over and over again in her head.
______
She had only walked, though, 15 paces when the long meadow nearly turned into a forest. Duskclan is close! But she stopped once she heard something following her. "Heatpaw, is that you?" But she turned around, and nearly turned right into a fox.
Skypaw stepped back, tensing her muscles. The fox was puny, but was baring it's large teeth at Skypaw. But before she could do anything, the battle began. It lunged at her.
Skypaw's hiss got knocked out of her as she fell to the ground. The fox bit at her leg, but Skypaw managed to get out from under him. The fox whipped around and slammed it's paw into Skypaw's head, making her shaky. She tried to run away, but staggered. She moved 5 paces when the fox lunged again, running infront of her and turning, knocking Skypaw over.
Blackness dotted her vision, and Skypaw knew this was the end. She let out one cry before the felt claws pierce into her leg again. Blood poured out. Skypaw waited for the killing blow, but it never came. Confused, she tried to see where the fox went, but blackness dotted her vision. She only heard the fox screeching and run away, as well as a loud hiss.
"Mom...?" Skypaw managed to say. The blackness cleared a bit, only to be replaced by the sight of Heatpaw. "No, no, Heatpaw. Well you have gotten yourself into a pickle, haven't you? Can you stand?" Skypaw tried to roll onto her belly. It succeeded but she couldn't stand.
"No." She then felt herself being lifted off the ground and carried into the safety of the forest. There, she was placed. "Heatpaw, how did you..."
He glanced around worridly. "I have to go, Skypaw. A Duskclan patrol will find you. Just don't fall asleep. And to answer your question, you're lucky you screeched. I turned and heard you, then saw the fox. I suprise attacked it, easily making it run away." Skypaw looked into his green eyes. "Thank you, you saved my life." He dipped his head to her, then turned to walk away. "Wait!" called Skypaw, trying to sit up. "When will I see you again?" Skypaw knew he wouldn't answer, but suprisignly, he did. "The up-rooted tree. In 3 sunrises. Meet me there at dusk."
Skypaw smiled, ignoring her pain and watching him leave.
________________________
Well the patrol did find her. She was brought back and recovered quickly, telling everyone a fake story once she gained energy.
"I got lost from the group, and hid while the rain started. Then I started to come back, but the fox attacked me. He was huge! I easily killed him, though. I managed to make it back to Duskclan territory. I'm sorry that I didn't stay with the group." All the cats asked her questuions, thinking she was a hero for killing off a fox. Skypaw loved the praise, but oh how she dreamed of telling the cats of Heatpaw, and how amazing he was.
But she kept to her story, and was made Skysong for her bravery the next day.________
___
Skysong walked away from the uprooted tree, making haste for she was late.
Heatpaw and her had just played together, with games such as "chase the fox" and "throw the moss". And after practicing some small fighting moves with eachother, they decided to go back to their clans and meet up again in four days.
Skysong felt delighted with herself. Heatpaw is such a great cat!
______
After six moons or so of doing this, cats started to suspect Skysong's constant disapearence. Espically her mother and father.
Her father, Littleear, had a bad cough all night. Skysong promised to stay with him, but changed her mind once she realized she was meeting Heatstrike today. He had been made a warrior.
When her father was sleeping, Skysong snuck away to the uprooted tree. She sprinted through the short cut she had found by the two-leg place, and jumped ontop of the uprooted tree.
Heatstrike was already there. Just seeing him made Skysong's paws tingle.
"Heatstrike!"
"Skysong!"
They ran to eachother, then went into the uprooted tree.
They had made this tree into a second home almost, with nests and prey and feathers and moss.
Skysong settled down inside the uprooted tree. {http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsnortheast/8152103662/ . Pic of uprooted tree}
The roots above them kept the makeshift den warm, and Skysong leaned against Heatstrike, tails tangeled together.
"So, what's new in Fireclan?"
He shrugged. "Well, prey has been good...Stuff like that...But there is a problem I have been meaning to tell you."
"Oh?" said Skysong.
"Cats have been starting to suspect that I've been disapearing. I got followed once, actually. But I lost the cat that was folllowing me."
Skysong nodded. "Yes. Cats have been noticing how I've gotten more quiet recently, how I've been disapearing, how I've been more anxious then usual. But what should we do about it?"
Suddenly a low growl sounded.
"I know what you should do about it. Never see eachother again."
Littleear stood at the edge of the den, but quickly jumped in and picked up Skysong by the scruff.
"Littleear!"
She got dropped outside of the den, scruff hurting. "Skysong, you better have a good explaination for this."
"Excuse me, but it's not her fault-" spoke Heatstrike quickly.
"Enough!" roared Skysong's dad.
Heatstrike flinched but remained standing, only taking a step forward.
"Dad, it's my fault. Please don't hurt him! Or me! We have been meeting eachother for a while now. Dad, I'm in love with him."
She stood up and spat at the ground. "There. That's my explaination. Can you go now?"
Littleear stood with mouth parted, eyes narrow, tail swishing so quickly it was hard to look at.
"Skysong.." his voice broke. "I thought you were better then this. I-I-You-we-..."
Skysong lowered her head as her dad let a tear fall down his face. "Skysong, I can't let you do this. Now let's go home. I won't tell anyone, but you may not see him again."
He started to leave, but Skysong held her ground. Heatstrike came up and stood beside her.
"No, dad. I'm sorry. Go ahead and tell everyone in Duskclan. I don't care. I'm leaving Duskclan and joining Fireclan to be with Heatstrike!"
This angered her dad, and he broke out in coughing fits before replying. "Skysong! Let's GO!"
Heatstrike snarled. "She is staying with me, where she belongs and wants to be." Skysong nodded.
"Fine." Just as they thought he would leave, he turned and lunged at Heatstrike.
"No!" screeched Skysong.
The two toms broke out in fighting, and the dust picked up as fur went flying, as did blood and screeches.
"STOP!" Skysong said with a cry.
But the fighting went on and the dust settled. And only one cat stood.
It was Heatstrike.
"Dad!" yelled Skysong.
She ran to Littleear, tears falling from her eyes like a waterfall.
"Dad.." no movement came from him.
He was dead.
And Skysong threw a fit.
After hours of crying and shaking, Skysong finally stopped and turned to Heatstrike.
"Heatstrike..."
He stood beside Skysong and let her fall onto his shoulder.
"Yes, Skysong? I will do anything for you."
"Heatstrike...now I can't return to Duskclan. Or Fireclan. They'll think me a murderer. That I killed my dad. I'm sorry. I can't be with you, I must leave before I cause even more damage."
She turned and started walking away, but Heatstrike stayed with her.
"No...I'm sorry. Without you is just impossible to think about. We've been together for six or seven moons now, and we are meant to be together. You know it! Please don't leave me."
Skysong stopped.
She remembered those words from when they first met.
Please don't leave me....
She looked at him. Blood oozed from many spots, but he was ignoring it. She remebred him when they first met.
The handsome, drool over tom cat with a golden pelt. But now, he was a beaten up reck, with blood staining his body.
"Heatstrike...we just aren't meant to be. I love you. I always will love you. But we just cannot be together. It would be best if you just left me..."
The blood was pouring out faster, and he started to sit down. Skysong knew his time was running out. If he didn't return to Fireclan soon, he would die.
"Now go back to Fireclan. I can't be with you."
With that she cried as she ran home.
__________________________________
Heatstrike listened to what she said. He left her. He went back to Fireclan and told everyone what he had done, then got exiled and died from his wounds. He was on his way to visit Skysong for the last time. He died at her paws as she was out to find her father's body and barry it.
What happened after that was a blur. Skysong wanted to curl up and die. She wanted to be gone. She wanted to tel everyone, but also stay mute about what happened. She dreamed to love again, but to be in love with Heatstrike.
She was afraid of everything around her. Afraid somebody would find out what she did. Afraid.
_Present day Skysong summary._
Skysong now still lives in Duskclan. Her mother died of greencough, and so she decided to keep to herself and not speak to anyone. For now.
The question that always haunts her is still alive. Dwelling. Within her. Haunting her.
Will I ever love again...?
_______ Hooray! This is done xD. Took me a while to write. I might still do some editing, but for now, it's done baby!
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