The Search

| Chapter 9 |

Pebblefall awoke in mist. Am I ever going to get a good nights sleep? he thought with a tired sigh. He blinked the groggyness out of his eyes as Ravenpaw appeared in front of him. By his facial expression and the way he held himself, Pebblefall thought he looked proud.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on your decision," Ravenpaw said with a smile spreading across his muzzle.

"Thanks, I guess," Pebblefall replied. His words were laced with more bitterness than he had meant, but he couldn't help it.

Ravenpaw's smile faltered. "You're still upset."

"Of course," he snapped, "I'm still upset." There was no hiding it. He didn't want to be a medicine cat. Ravenpaw knew that. Poolripple knew that. He hoped Sandwh-no, he wasn't going to think about him right now.

Why did he have to pretend he liked it? Ravenpaw shouldn't come here smiling at him like he had just caught a huge piece of prey in the middle of leafbare, which, by the way, he wouldn't be able to do anymore now that he was becoming a medicine cat.

Ravenpaw seemed to sense the animosity off of him because he took a heartbeat or two before he started again. "Look on the bright side-"

"There's nothing bright about this place. We're surrounded by mist," Pebblefall replied before Ravenpaw got the chance to continue.

Ravenpaw waited a few more heartbeats and tried again. "You still get to be friends with Sandwhisker. And you get to rise up in the ranks, if that matters to you. Once you're a full medicine cat, you'll be right below Mudspot."

"Maybe at one point in my life I wanted to be Mudspot. Did you ever think of that?" he started to turn and stalk off. It wasn't much of an argument as much as he was just repeating over and over again what he wanted, but he wasn't having it. He was already sick of this place. He just wanted out. Out of whatever this place was. Out of whatever duties he had now as a medicine cat.

Pebblefall walked only a fox-length or two before he realized he had no idea where he was going. He whipped his head around to see Ravenpaw was no where to be found. Great, he thought. Just great.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" he yowled, half out of anger. When no cat responded he tried again. "Hello?"

"Why should I help you since all you do is get mad?" Ravenpaw's disembodied voice seem to echo all around him. How big really was this place?

Pebblefall let out a hiss of frustration and turned around to walk the way he had come. Maybe Ravenpaw was just still sitting there, and he couldn't see him through the mist. But when he had walked farther in this direction than he did the other, he knew it was hopeless.

"Can anybody help me get out of here?" he yowled again, his voice cracking at the end. When no cat answered him, as was probably to be expected, he let out another frustrated hiss and continued walking. He just kept walking, pretty much wandering around in what was most likely circles. And then trotting. And now he was running. He ran until he was out of breath.

He looked around one last time before he collapsed on the ground and curled up into a tight ball. If I can't get back to my nest, I'm just going to sleep here, he reasoned and it didn't take long for exhaustion to crush him into a dreamless sleep.

~~~~~

Pebblefall woke up to a paw prodding none too lightly into his side. He rolled so the paw would stop jabbing him there before he slowly got to his paws. "I'm awake. I'm awake," he said before he stifled a yawn. He blinked his eyes open, expecting to see Sandwhisker, but instead saw Poolripple's green eyes staring into him.