Warriors: Light Comes with Darkness #1: Secret's Anguish | Never Again

Chapter 2

Champion saw a gray she-cat with soft forest green eyes pad towards her.

"Mother?" she breathed.

The cat shook her head. "No. I'm not Dove." Though she sounded kind of annoyed, there was a hint of amusement rippling in her voice.

"Then...then how do you know my mother's name?" Champion asked.

"I'm her mother," the cat told her.

"Grandma?" Champion asked with a whisk of her tail.

Grandma's eyes glittered. "Don't call me that. It makes me feel old."

"You are old. Deal with it," Champion told her before she thought her words over. She instantly wished she would shut up.

Grand-no, the cat laughed, "You've got spirit. I'll tell you that. But I've come to talk about other matters. This is a warning, Champion. Beware. Beware the mint, beware the death, beware the torture, pain, and suffering you are about to face."

"I...I don't understand," Champion meowed.

Gr-Cat rolled her eyes, "You sound like your mother."

Champion sat up straighter. She had always taken that as a compliment. She beamed, "Thanks."

G-Cat smiled, though there was a grim note to it. Champion wondered what was wrong. "It's time for you to go," G-Cat announced. Her voice echoed softly, and her image was starting to fade. (What? Champion liked that name.)

Champion's eyes snapped open to see the ferns she had slept in gently waving as if it was dancing as a gentle breeze pushed them. She rose to her paws, eagerly scanning the clearing for her mother-but she wasn't there. 

Strange, Champion thought. She sniffed the air for her mother's scent, and found it to smell it...mixed with blood? Suddenly a bolt of energy shot towards her and she raced towards Dove's scent until it was sundown, swerving around plants blocking her way before almost bumping into a tree. She yelped, collapsing and rolling down a slope in a bundle of fur. She jumped to her paws when she reached the bottom, eyes scanning eagerly for her mother. Instead, she found her slumped over with another cat there.

The cat was a small cat with light gray fur, white stripes, and a pair of green eyes that practically said, I'm the best and you don't know it!

She had to stop her fur from bristling. No cat commanded her. She was her own cat! She didn't need any cat to order her every move. She was Champion, daughter of Dove and...a very annoying, loathsome cat.

She then trailed her gaze to the mysterious cat's paws. A paw was placed over her throat, and her claws were stained with blood. The mysterious cat smelled the exact same as Dove did, and her eyes also were the personification of triumph. She stiffened. "No! Get away from her!" she yowled. It took all of her to stop herself from trembling. Sure, it was a small cat, but enough to kill Dove and still bigger than her.

The cat looked at her calmly. Calmly? Fury rose in Champion as she saw her expression. Champion snarled at her, a wave of anger slamming into her. How dare she?

"I'm Echoleaf, and I can give you a home. I'm sorry about your mother, though. I'm a medicine cat, and-"

Medicine cat? Oh no! Champion growled, "Get out."

Echoleaf started to speak again, "No, I-"

"GET OUT!" Champion yowled. She tensed her muscles, unsheathing her claws in threat. She clawed at the empty air in an attempt to scare her. It worked since Echoleaf spun and fled. Champion padded next to Dove and nosed her body over, but froze.

Dead. Her mother was dead. She was right: There was no trust she could ever put in one of those again. Champion shook her head, eyes glinting with desperation. No. There must have been a mistake. She wasn't really dead. She had to be sleeping. But from her limp body, Champion shook her head again, stubbornly. She placed a paw on her mother's body and froze. It was already growing colder and colder, just like her connection to her would be. Champion's paws trembled as she searched her mother for a flame of life. Her breath had stopped. Champion took a step back in horror. A smell was growing in the air, and she realized what it was. Her heart dropped, her stomach hollow. It was the odor of death.

She had left Champion, and suddenly, Champion felt very, very, alone. She forced herself to darkly chuckle to herself before speaking.

"I'm sorry, Dove. You were right all along. I can't trust medicine cats," Champion whispered, her voice breaking and her legs threatening to buckle from her grief. She felt like a thorn had pierced her and ejected its venom into her: Only its venom was guilt that dug into her, refusing to let go or give her a moment of peace. "I...I hope you find Spirit."

Champion bowed her head, emotions swarming over her. 

Pain.

Grief.

Sadness.

Despair.

Loss.

Heartbreak.

Hopeless.

But the most dominant one was guilt. 

Nothing could ever be right again. Nothing. Ever. Never again.

If only she hadn't slept...she could have saved her. She sighed, reflecting on her mother's words- There's nothing that can be done about it now. The only thing we can do is try to make good decisions in the future and learn about our mistakes. 

She was right. Champion murmured to herself, "I'm sorry I let you die. From now on, I'll try to be the best cat I can." She longed for her mother's love, her company, her wisdom. 

Never again. (Geez, I'm beginning to hate these words.)

Champion remembered her mother telling her about graves, so she dug one and gently pushed her mother's body into there, scraping dirt to cover it up.

I will not see you ever, unless in death, though that is also rare. I'm sorry, Dove. My fault, all my fault. You won't be here anymore. My life will be different now. 

Never again. (That's it Champion, stop breaking my heart by making me write these words.)