Destiny Ties

{Chapter Eleven}

Darkness.

It was all that surround Sandpaw when she awoke. The golden she-cat looked down and could barely see her desaturated paws. The place she woke in smelled of...

Death...

She gasped for air but couldn't breath. The once cool, light air was replaced by heavy, empty darkness. Ahed of her was what seemed to be a light. A light? Yes, definitely a light. She ran towards it with her paws pounding against the ground.

"Wait! You don't have to run!" A voice called out.

It seemed, familiar. A tom perhaps? The voice was older, yet young. It gave the young apprentice chilling shivers down her spine.

"I won't run if you tell me where I am." She panted dryly.

Suddenly, the darkness gave way to a lighter color. Surroundings began to develop, but in gray colors. There were large trees, so large that they filled the entire sky. The ground was cold though, very cold. It almost seemed...

Lifeless.

In front of Sandpaw stood a cat. He was large, but not full of fur. He was muscular with short, black fur. His eyes glowed a dull, green color.

"A raven!" She called out excitedly, air finally filling her lungs.

It was the tom that had saved her from the snake! She had so many questions to ask him, but didn't know where to start. Sandpaw smiled at him as if he was a close friend.

"Why did you save me back in the forest?" She chirped, finally deciding what to ask.

The golden she-cat swished her tail while the tom padded closer. He wrapped his tail around her and flicked it, signaling to sit.

Sandpaw happily obeyed and sat besides him. There was a new emotion radiating off of her when she leaned up against him. For some reason the she-cat felt like this is where she belonged. She felt like this was destiny.

"I saw you standing there helpless and just reacted. I could never have forgiven myself if I had just let you get bitten." He spoke in a very warm and calm voice.

Sandpaw stared into his green eyes, but something in them threw her off. They didn't look warm at all. Those eyes, his eyes, were dull and lifeless like the territory around them.

"Anything else you'd like to ask?" He mewed.

The apprentice nodded realizing that she had trailed off into thought. There was still so much she needed to know! What should she ask next? Better yet, how did he know that she had so much to ask him?

"Oh, umm..." The apprentice meowed with her head in the clouds, "Where exactly are we..." Sandpaw trailed off again.

She looked back up at his eyes and they seemed to turn back to normal. The golden she-cat shrugged off the thought of them being lifeless.

He lifted his head and gazed up at the sky, "Well... I'm not sure..." His voice turned plain.

Why did the "raven" all of the sudden sound so fake? Something was definitely wrong. When he decided to place his head on her, Sandpaw hesitated and got to her paws. First it was the eyes and now his voice. What is wrong with this cat?

"Well, I think it's time for me to go..." she dipped head goodbye before sprinting away.

Behind her, Sandpaw could hear his paws against the ground. The world turned back into darkness and she was stuck in the same situation she began with. There was still a light at the end of the dark landscape and a heavy emptiness in Sandpaw's chest.

"No, stop! I didn't even get to tell you anything about myself!" She heard the tom call in the distance.

The more she ran, the closer his voice got. Was she running right towards him? No, that's not possible. She could've swore that she ran away from him.

"My name is Ravenfang! What did I do to make you run? Please tell me!"

There was just something nagging at her while she ran. Why did he save her if he seemed like such a threat? Sandpaw breathed out and forced herself to stop. Just like the snake she was going to face this fear. She turned around and watched as his green eyes and silhouette came right up to her. The world turned bright once more while she stared at him.

"I-" she was cut off.

"No.. It's fine. I'm used to it. I've had cats run away from me in fear before, you're just another addition to the list." Ravenfang sighed.

Suddenly Sandpaw felt so bad. Why did she feel like this? She doesn't even know the cat! All he did was save her from a deadly snake that could've sent her right to the supposed StarClan...

Now she knew that she was right. This is destiny. This is her destiny. Sandpaw was meant to find him. She shouldn't run away from the black tom.

She should embrace him.