Faustian | warrior cats

xiii | second death

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THE moon was so pale that it looked sick against the endless, black sky. It's disease struck out in many bright white streaks, infecting the hopeless heavens with a contagious hug. The quick-footed she-cat found herself weaving throughout the dark trees, twisting and turning around the gloom. Her claws gripped onto the shadows, pushing her forward while the moon tried to reach out and pull her back.

There was a horrific chill in the atmosphere; a deathly wind followed the feline all the way down to the lake. It teased her long red fur, whispering a promise of death. When Larkmoon came to the sandy shore, she slid to a sudden stop. The murky water slept right before her paws, it was so still, Larkmoon thought it looked like a hole into another world. Her eyes slowly lifted up. From the grand opening of the lake, she had a striking view of the moon. It tormented her in the sky, dangling it's freedom right before her hungry jaws. She was desperate for the taste of freedom.

Larkmoon's eyes lowered to look at the water once again. She studied herself in the waves, watching as her reflection washed back and forth. Larkmoon didn't recognize herself anymore; she loathed the face she saw in the dark lake. What had she become? Drown. There was the answer. Still staring down, the voice of guilt spoke up. Drown. You are no good while you are still breathing.

Larkmoon couldn't deny the voice. The guilt piling up within her was like a seastorm ready to sink ships. She could no longer live knowing of the lives she had stolen. She needed to wash the blood from her claws and the only way to do so was to drown. Her mind was made up. The she-cat took a long, last look at the stars. They burned in the night sky like thousands of wary eyes- they knew everything, they had seen everything.

Larkmoon pushed herself into the lake. Her paws left the safe soil and succumbed to the cold lagoon. When she was sucked under, she didn't bother to fight to keep the breath in her lungs. Her life was running out and so she let it. Deeper and deeper, she sank. She passed pieces of ice beginning to form from the freezing temperature but it was nothing she wasn't used to. Her heart was already frozen. There were seconds left- there was a hunger in her lungs as her body was begging for a slice of breath. A blur clouded over her eyes- Larkmoon never thought that she would ever feel death twice.

Suddenly, a sharp tooth nipped at her scruff. Jaws settled into the soft spot of her fur and dragged her to the surface. When the she-cat's head was hauled above the water, she was shocked into wakefulness.

"Larkmoon!" A familiar voice screamed out her name in despair. "What in StarClan are you doing?"

With her heart-thumping and her eyes still blurred by death, Larkmoon searched around frantically. Her eyes scanned all around and eventually fell on the soaked figure of Beetleleap. His soggy fur camouflaged in the dark water though it brought out the color in his eyes. His eyes flashed like a lighthouse under the nightfall, blinding Larkmoon with a shimmery green glow.

"What are you doing here?" Larkmoon watched in confusion as he floated back to the shore and heaved his heavy body from the lake. He shook his fur rapidly, wishing to clear any drop from his thin coat.

"Saving you!" Beetleleap cried back. "What were you thinking?"

The russet she-cat stayed in the freezing water, her legs paddling to keep her head above. She shot a vicious glare at her friend, "I was trying to die!" She shouted back, her anger echoing through the forest and rattling the brown leaves from their trees. "I'm supposed to be dead."