Split: Book One: Dimming Embers

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 18

Darkfire groaned and rolled over as sharp claws prodded her side. "Go'way," she muttered half-heartedly, burying her face in her paws. Her muscles were sore and fatigue clung to her pelt, and she wanted nothing more than to let her weariness win and fall back into the welcoming embrace of sleep. But the claws poked harder, and she finally squinted her eyes open.

The first she saw was wide, open air, and miles of dark, rippling ocean. She gave a start, and scrambled back away from the rocky outlook, fur bristling with terror. The cat- Cats?- standing behind her moved back quickly.

Darkfire's gaze darted around her surroundings until her mind rendered the rocky peak correctly, and the memories flooded back unwarranted.

Darkfire took a deep breath as she fought to keep tears from coming to her round golden eyes, and her tail swished lightly over the dry stones. She hunched her shoulders, inhaling and exhaling strongly once more before turning to the three cats that stood patiently behind her.

The first was Crowpaw, his dark pelt bathed in sunlight. He gave Darkfire a friendly smile, dark green eyes glowing.

Standing on either side of him was a cat that was unfamiliar to Darkfire. The first was a slim pale yellow she-cat with long legs and tufted, patchy fur. Her face was a ghostly, pale white and darker brown speckles lined beneath her eyes and on her flank. Her eyes were a vibrant dark gold.

The other was a pure white she-cat with long, silky fur and a soft, bottlebrush tail that sprayed out like a fountain. Her fur rippled peacefully, like a stream flowing smoothly over rocks. Her eyes are dark brown, contrasting beautifully with her pelt.

"Good morning, Darkfire," Crowpaw said, but his voice sounded a little tense. "These are the other medicine cats and my mentors. Streamspeckle is the light golden one..." He nodded at the pale she-cat, who watched Darkfire back with a wary gaze, "...and the white she-cat is Featherclaw." Featherclaw inclined her head to Darkfire, no hostility in her cool gaze.

"Nice to meet you both," said Darkfire, pulling her tail closer to her a little uncomfortably. "What's up?"

Crowpaw fidgeted, tail-tip twitching nervously.

"Opalstar wants you in the meeting cave. Right now." Darkfire tensed, eyes glancing around the peak.

"Could you... show me the way?" she asked hesitantly, reluctant to ask for help as she was, but Crowpaw nodded.

"Sure," he meowed, tail curling in the air. "Follow me."

Darkfire rose to her paws, and Crowpaw inclined his head to the other two medicine cats before leading Darkfire to the ledge from which she had come.

"So," said Darkfire, trying to make conversation as they dipped into the dark, narrow tunnels that lead deeper into the cliffside. "Shouldn't you already be a full medicine cat by now?"

Crowpaw grinned with embarrassment. "Yeah, actually. I was having my ceremony, but it got postponed when you came."

Darkfire flattened her ears, her face heating up. "I'm- sorry," she stammered, fur burning with embarrassment, but Crowpaw waved her off with a nervous smile.

"No, it's fine," he said, but his voice was tense. They walked in silence for a moment longer, and Darkfire was continually forced to duck her head at the low ceiling.

Darkfire had just opened her mouth to say something when Crowpaw interrupted her.

"Oh, here we are!"

They pushed their way from the tunnel into a massive cavern. Light streamed in from a dim gap slightly off to the right, pouring in thickly from the ceiling. The golden beam landed directly on a tall mound of stone that was right in the middle of the cavern. Darkfire took a moment to notice the small gems that sparkled and shimmered that were inlaid into the stone and the strange colored pawprints that seemed to walk around it. Opalstar was sitting atop the rock, the spotted ginger she-cat's fur glowing in the golden sunlight that traced her powerful figure. There were a few other cats in the clearing as well. A spotted pale golden she-cat splashed with white that Darkfire recognized from the gathering as the deputy was curled calmly at the base of the great rock, her tail flicking back and forth. Standing before them with her head tilted arrogantly was a dark, ginger-pelted she-cat that sent shivers running up and down Darkfire's spine like snakes, and made her claws clench into the stone so hard that they chipped.