Warriors: Water (Warrior Cats Fan Fiction Book Two)

Chapter Five

Stormsplash followed Rockflight's scent trail to the Rockfall. It was stale now, but it still lingered, the last semblance of her best friend floating weakly in the air.

I will find out what happened, Rockflight, Stormsplash vowed. I promise.

She heard rustling behind her and whipped around. Cowfur emerged from the bushes.

"What are you doing out here?" Stormsplash asked the new deputy, letting her fur lie flat.

Cowfur padded over to her and smiled. "I saw you leave alone," he said. "And the last time someone did that, well..." he gestured to the cliff behind her, and Stormsplash knew that he was thinking about Rockflight.

"That's actually why I'm out here," Stormsplash muttered, shuffling her blue-black paws. There was no reason to lie. "I want to find out what happened to Rockflight."

"Oh!" Cowfur said, his amber eyes wide. "I see. Ah, do you want some help?"

"Sure," Stormsplash said. She had told her suspicions to her father a few sunrises ago, but she knew that he wouldn't want to get caught up in her investigation. Did Cowfur really want to help?

"So what do you know so far?" Cowfur asked.

Stormsplash pointed towards the cliff. "Rockflight fell off the cliff," she said, her voice breaking. "We know that, but we haven't found her body."

"So you want to go down the cliff?" Cowfur asked.

Stormsplash nodded. "You don't have to come," she said quickly.

"I will," Cowfur said, "I can't let you go alone! Not that you can't take care of yourself," he added, blushing.

"Well, thanks," Stormsplash said briskly, looking away. "Well, come on, then."

She led Cowfur over to the cliff face and the two cats looked down. The ground was so far below! There was no way Rockflight could have survived the fall... but maybe she had climbed down? Stormsplash clung to that hope, not wanting to think about the alternative.

"Look!" Stormsplash said. There were little ledges all the way down the side of the cliff. It was a way down!

"Okay," Cowfur said, bracing himself. "If you think this is safe..."

"Oh, it's not," Stormsplash said. "But I have to know."

Cowfur nodded. "Let's go." He said.

Stormsplash took a deep breath, then jumped to the first ledge. It was a long way down, jumping from ledge to ledge, and Stormsplash didn't dare think about the drop. She let her mind drift away as she climbed down, not wanting to think about what she was actually doing. Before she knew it, she had reached the ground at the bottom of the cliff.

Cowfur joined her a moment later. "I've never been down here before," he muttered.

"Me neither," Stormsplash said. She looked around. The ground was brown and bare. There were a few dusty plants, but nothing else. And in the center of the clearing...

Stormsplash gasped, tears stinging her eyes. "Rockflight!"

Sure enough, Rockflight's body lay on its side, dried blood on her soft silver fur. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving. She was dead.

"Oh, Rockflight!" Stormsplash sobbed. She walked over to her friend's body and hung her head, tears pouring out of her orange eyes and splashing onto Rockflight's body. She saw a wound on Rockflight's flank. No matter who or what had caused the wound, the fall had surely been what had killed her.