Warriors: OverCastings

Chapter 9

A great wind blew the rain sideways, cascading the water from the forest trees. The incessant rain tickled her cheeks and mixed with the blood from her mouth, dripping crimson by the time it pummeled the ground.

LynxPaw closed her eyes. Was she dying? An agonized groan echoed across the sand-bleached floor in the forest clearing. Every breath, every movement tortured her. A spray of freshwater splashed against LynxPaw's patterned fur. Her eyes were groggy with confusion. "Huh? What in StarClan.." Her pupils dilated at the sight of a lake in front of her. The waves churned with a rabid, white foam as it crashed against the milky shore.

* * *

"Ugh." She grunted as the water slipped into her mouth. She spat it out in disgust. LynxPaw's migraine grew heavier as she hauled herself up. A surge of pain stabbed her hips and back haunches. Her shoulders slumped back.

The blood seeping into her throat choked her. LynxPaw coughed,and pain ripped at her flank. Her stomach churned, and the world threatened to turn black. LynxPaw resolved not to cough again, she would drown first.

"Hey... take it easy, kid" A broad paw adjusted itself on her shoulder. That voice sounded familiar.

"H-huh?" LynxPaw adjusted her eyes to the warm shafts of sunlight streaming through the baggy, canopy trees. A sharp prickle shot down her spine in surprise.

It was DawnRunner. He was coiling cobwebs over her forehead and shoulder blade. The strong, vile scent of herbs clouded her nostrils. "Yuck, what is that stuff?" LynxPaw snorted, wrinkling her nose. His olive eyes twinkled with humor outlined with comfort.... Like Harefoot's.

Harefoot.

"Is Harefoot ok?" LynxPaw blurted out. DawnRunner sighed and stretched against the sandy shore. "I'm happy to see you too, Lynxie." He rasped his tongue over his misty, gray paw and swiped them over his gritty ears. "I'm not playing anymore Dawn!" LynxPaw hissed fiercely. "I want to know what happened to her..." 

DawnRunner eyes softened. "Is she the small tabby with the wide paws and extremely long ears?" LynxPaw nodded, her claws tingling with fear.

There was a long pause. "Well?" LynxPaw demanded. Another long pause. "I swear Dawn, I'll rip your tail off you don't answer me!"

"She's dead." Dawn murmured, he leered at the churning waves, avoiding LynxPaw's gaze.
LynxPaw stared at him with her cold, distrustful, eyes. "What?"

DawnRunner jerked his head up and snarled. "She's dead LynxPaw! She was literally ripped to shreds! There is nothing left of her! The crows probably ate off her carcass." He finished off with his flanks heaving with anger.
"I'm sorry.." LynxPaw's heart skipped a beat. "You helped him.. Didn't you?" Her limbs trembled with. DawnRunner stared at her with shock. "Of c-course not Lynxie--"

"Don't call me that!" She growled. Betrayal stung in her heart causing it to shatter into a million pieces. "Lynxi-LynxPaw I'm sorry, I didn't--"

"You belong in Dark Forest for what you did!" She hissed with an unconditional rage. You might as well see the steam flowing out of her ears, because she was hopping mad.
DawnRunner's ears pinned against his fur. His lips was parted in a curled snarl, yet he was speechless.

She began to turn away when the familiar voice spoke again. "You don't understand." She stubbornly kept her back to DawnRunner. "Of course I do!" She shot back hastily.

"No, you don't. Your too stubborn to realize that you don't get it." Dawn's voice was smoother than before. "I killed my own clanmate to save your mangy tail! I brought you here because I thought you would be safe, but your not even thankful that I put my own life, my own reputation, in risk, for your ungrateful self!"