Leafpool's Choice

Chapter 3

By the time Leafpool made it back to the nest she shared with Crowfeather, it was almost dawn, and a few rays of orangish light were creeping up over the horizon.

In the middle of the field was their nest of moss and bracken. Crowfeather was not in it. Leafpool curled up in the center of the nest, taking note of the fact that it was cold. Crowfeather had been gone a while.

Just as Leafpool began to fall asleep, a voice broke into her thoughts. "And so, the great and glorious medicine cat returns from her trip to the moonpool," Crowfeather scorned.

Leafpool's eyes blinked open, and she sat up. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"No excuses! I was worried! I had no idea where you had gone, and I found that you had gone back to your clanmates! Can you just forget about the Clans for once?" Crowfeather exclaimed.

Leafpool looked down at her paws.

Crowfeather sat next to Leafpool, so their pelts were brushing. "I'm sorry I got so angry. I'm just worried about you, and about what the Clans might do if they catch you. You cannot live with a paw in each world."

"I know. It's just such a difficult change! What if Cinderpelt can't find another apprentice? What if everyone hates me? What if I never see my family again?"

"You can go back. I don't mind."

Leafpool looked into Crowfeather's eyes. She saw sadness, and fear. 

"No. I made my choice, and it was the right one. There is no going back now."

***

Rain poured down through the trees, soaking Squirrelflight's pelt completely. The forest seemed dark and gloomy.

"I lost her trail!" Cloudtail called from somewhere in the bushes.

Squirrelflight's heart sunk to her paws. Her sister was gone.

Thornclaw shoved his way through the bushes. "Cloudtail's right. The rain must have washed her scent away."

"Let me check." Squirrelflight slipped into the clump of bushes and made her way towards Cloudtail. "Is this where you lost her trail?" She asked.

"Yes. I'm really sorry," Cloudtail meowed.

Squirrelflight sniffed the air. Cloudtail was right. The scent was there one moment, then gone the next. What was left of the scent was already fading. "Fox dung!" Squirrelflight hissed.

Squirrelflight dashed away in the direction of the ThunderClan camp. She burst through the entrance and into the hollow.

In an instant, Ashfur was at Squirrelflight's side. "Did you find her?" Ashfur asked.

Squirrelflight looked up at him, eyes filled with sadness. She shook her head.

Ashfur's eyes were suddenly filled with an angry, menacing light. Squirrelflight hopped back a bit, startled by the abrupt change. "That traitor! She must die!" Ashfur sprinted towards the entrance.

Squirrelflight, filled with adrenaline, and powered by fear for her sister's life, took a flying leap at Ashfur and knocked him to the ground. "No one harms my sister! For all we know, she could be on some sort of heroic medicine cat quest!"

Squirrelflight unsheathed her claws and sank them deep into Ashfur's shoulder. Ashfur shoved her off, unsheathing his claws and digging them into the ground. Then he leaped, and Squirrelflight flew at him and met him in midair. They hit the ground and rolled over and over, clawing at each other and hissing.

Finally, Ashfur had Squirrelflight pinned down. Blood flowed down from a wound on his ear, covering half of his face and giving him a menacing sort of look. His eyes were alight with hatred and anger, and Squirrelflight shuddered a bit.

"Leave my sister alone!" Squirrelflight growled.

"I'll leave her alone alright, when she's dead!"

"You're a monster!"

"Ever since you proved that you liked Brambleclaw better than me, I have wanted my revenge. I could kill you now, but what good would that do? I'll kill everyone you know and love, just to watch you suffer. I will kill every cat in every clan if that's what it takes to make you break! Your mate especially, because that will hurt you the most!" Ashfur glared at Brambleclaw through the pounding torrent of rain, who was in the crowd that had begun to gather around the fight.

"Not if I can help it!" Squirrelflight slipped out from Ashfur's grasp and sliced his neck clean open.

Blood flowed out of the wound, covering Ashfur and the ground at his paws. Ashfur collapsed, with Squirrelflight standing over him. Blood covered her paws, staining them red.

Squirrelflight looked out at the cats around her. "The traitor is dead!"

Sorreltail was backing away from Squirrelflight, clearly scared.

"He threatened to kill us all! He deserved it!"

Sorreltail shook her head. The other cats were backing away now too. Dustpelt leaped in front of Ferncloud and her kits, and Brightheart crouched in front of the elders den. Other cats were beginning to get into fighting stances too. But they weren't staring at Squirrelflight. They were staring behind her.

Squirrelflight slowly turned around, and what she saw was more horrifying than anything she had ever seen before.

It was Ashfur, back on his paws, with his claws unsheathed and his teeth bared. He was completely covered in his own blood, but somehow still standing. His eyes had a crazed look to them, like he wasn't mentally right. Then again, considering the recent events, Squirrelflight decided that he probably wasn't.

Squirrelflight unsheathed her claws and bared her teeth, ready for a fight to the death, but Ashfur collapsed. "I will get you... someday," he hissed. "That's a promise." His voice grew fainter as he spoke, finally fading away into nothing.

Cinderpelt padded to Ashfur's side and pressed her paw to his chest, feeling for his pulse. "He's dead," she confirmed.

"He was a fine warrior," Firestar began, "but he let his hatred get away from him. Without Squirrelflight, many lives could have been lost today." Firestar dipped his head to his daughter.

"B-but she's a murderer," one of Ferncloud's kits squeaked.

"Murder for a good cause isn't murder, it's survival," Firestar meowed. The kit did not have a reply to this.

Squirrelflight looked down at her paws, which were stained red with Ashfur's blood. She ran to the nearest puddle to wash them.

When Squirrelflight saw her reflection, she was horrified. Her eyes were wild with rage and excitement, and her whole body was splattered in blood. Some was hers, but most was Ashfur's.

Squirrelflight darted away, towards the warriors den. Upon reaching her nest, she collapsed, her head in her paws. I'm a monster.