Crowstar's Mission {COMPLETE}

Chapter 4

 "Keep up!" Blacksky called playfully over his shoulder, Crowpaw stumbled trying to keep up with his father but quickly recovered. They bounded through the moorland until Blacksky came to a stop. Crowpaw skidded to a stop beside him, taking a moment to catch his breath, he had no idea how fast Blacksky actually was. "One day you'll be as fast as the rest of us." Blacksky playfully nuzzled his son, Crowpaw shoved him away with a laugh.

"What are we going to hunt?" Crowpaw asked, looking around for prey but only finding moorland. He has just returned from exploring the territory with Silverpool and now was out hunting with Blacksky.

"Hopefully rabbits, but whatever we can find." Blacksky sniffed the air, Crowpaw watched as his father tried to locate prey.

"Silverpool gave me a lesson in rabbit hunting when I was just a kit." Crowpaw mewed, sniffing the air as well.

"I know," Blacksky mewed, looking back at Crowpaw. "She told me she did."

"She did?" Crowpaw tilted his head. "Why did she tell you?"
Blacksky chuckled. "Silverpool requested to be your mentor, after playing with you that day she wanted to be your mentor." Crowpaw's jaw dropped, he had no idea that Silverpool requested to be his mentor. "And she talked to me, she told me that I could take you out hunting anytime I wanted."

Crowpaw didn't know all of that, he didn't understand why Silverpool wanted to mentor him, but he was really grateful that she did and that she was allowing Blacksky to help with his training.

Blacksky sniffed the air once more and began padding away without speaking, Crowpaw quickly followed him. He trotted a ways away before stopping dead, causing Crowpaw to nearly crash into him. Crowpaw opened his mouth to speak but spotted the large rabbit that Blacksky was staring at.

Blacksky looked over his shoulder at Crowpaw. "I want you to chase it," He lowered his head and whispered. "I'll cut it off and kill it, alright?" Crowpaw nodded, afraid that if he spoke he would scare the rabbit away. Crowpaw dropped into a crouch, unsure of what he was doing. He focused his mind on trying to remember all that Silverpool had taught him.

"Go now." Blacksky whispered, and Crowpaw broke into a sprint. He ran as fast as his little legs would carry him. He neared the rabbit and the rabbit took off, faster than Crowpaw could keep up with.

He forced himself to run faster, but his legs started to hurt. Just as he was about to give up, there was a flash of black and Blacksky pounced on the rabbit, bringing it to a stop and killing it quickly. He looked up with pride in his eyes. "Not bad." He purred. Blacksky looked fine, but Crowpaw already felt exhausted, his lungs burned and his legs ached from just one chase.

"Don't worry," Blacksky nudged him with a laugh. "Soon you'll be able to run like that and longer, your body just needs to get used to it." Blacksky buried the rabbit they caught and he faced Crowpaw. "In fact, we should work on running right now." Crowpaw looked at his father uneasily, he wasn't sure he could run much farther. "You know where the river to the Spirit Woods is right?" He questioned. Crowpaw nodded. "I want you to run there, as fast as you can and back to me. You need to stretch your legs and find that speed that's inside of you."

"I don't know..." Crowpaw looked away. "That one run tired me out."

"Nonsense." Blacksky pushed Crowpaw to his paws. "You are a MoonClan cat, it's in your blood. You can do it." The love and admiration in Blacksky's eyes filled Crowpaw with a newfound energy. He faced forward, preparing himself to make the run. "Go whenever you're ready."

Crowpaw took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before he broke into a sprint. His legs were still sore from chasing the rabbit, but he couldn't let his father down. Crowpaw pushed himself forward, as fast as his paws would carry him. Ahead of him was vast moorland, approaching him incredibly fast. He could feel the wind whipping through his fur, almost as if it was carrying him.

Crowpaw ran even faster, his lungs burning but his determination burning brighter. He ran harder, excitement filling him when he saw the river slowly come into view. He slowed to a stop by the river, taking a moment to catch his breath. His heart raced and he looked in the direction that he had run, Blacksky was nowhere in sight but Crowpaw knew that he was waiting.

Crowpaw stepped up to the river, lowering his head and lapping up some water. It was cool and refreshing, bringing back a little bit more energy. He turned, feeling even more prepared for the run back and began sprinting once more. He put all his remaining energy into the run back to his father.

This run felt longer than the first one, but when Crowpaw saw Blacksky's sitting figure show up he ran as hard as he possibly could, coming to a clumsy stop when he reached Blacksky. He stopped and bent over, panting heavily.

"Not bad at all." Blacksky purred. "Soon, not even runs like that will get to you." Crowpaw looked up, thankful for his father's praise, but still struggling to catch his breath. "Why don't we take a slow walk to the river near SunClan and get a drink before heading back to camp. I'm sure you're exhausted." Crowpaw nodded and forced himself to stand up and walk beside his father.

"Did your run feel better at all?" Blacksky questioned as they slowly made their way to the river.

Crowpaw nodded, finally finding his voice. "Once I was running for awhile it felt better, and I was really determined to finish it."

"That's good." Blacksky mewed, brushing his tail along Crowpaw's spine. "Determination is one of the strongest things you can feel, it can save both you and your Clanmates lives. Don't ever forget what it feels like."

Crowpaw nodded, trying to hold onto the feeling of determination that he found while running, but it just didn't seem to be there anymore. Would be be able to find it again? He hoped so, he didn't want to forget.

Blacksky and Crowpaw reached the river where they each took a drink, Crowpaw felt like he could drink the entire river with how exhausted he felt. Blacksky drank a lot slower than he did, and Crowpaw couldn't but help he was thinking of something else. Crowpaw watched his father, tall and strong with bright eyes full of life. He couldn't remember seeing Riverlight the same way.

Riverlight was thin, and held her head low with dull eyes filled with sadness. Crowpaw's ears drooped and he looked at his reflection in the river. His icy blue eyes were dull, but had a certain brightness to them. He didn't look much like his mother with the exception of his eyes. He had his white ear tips, tail tip, paw and the little dash on his chest which he got from his father.

"Does my mother hate me?" Crowpaw spoke, he didn't even realize he had spoken aloud until he heard a small sigh from Blacksky. His father wrapped his tail around Crowpaw's shoulders.

"No, Crowpaw." Blacksky mewed, his voice low and sad. "She doesn't hate you, she's just struggling with the loss of your sister. She wanted a she-cat more than anything, she wanted a she-cat that she could name after her mother so she could continue her legacy." Crowpaw looked up at his father, the look of sadness in his yellow eyes hurting Crowpaw. "She was devastated when Ravenkit was born, she never even got to live."

"When will she be better?" Crowpaw asked, he had been hearing the same thing for many moons.

"I'm not sure." Blacksky sighed. "I wish I knew, and I wish I could help her more but Riverlight is refusing help. She doesn't want to accept the fact that Ravenkit is dead and that there was nothing any cat could do to save her." Blacksky looked down at Crowpaw, his yellow eyes filling with love instead of sadness. "But don't worry, Crowpaw. I will always be here for you and I will always love you, you mean more to me than all the prey in the forest and that will never change."

Crowpaw felt a rush of emotions, he felt love and pain, but mostly joy as he looked at his father. His mother may be struggling, but Crowpaw was incredibly lucky to have a father as loving as Blacksky. He pressed up against his father, looking up into the sky. He wished he could help his mother, and maybe he could. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine what life would be like if Ravenkit had survived, a question he asked himself multiple times.

What would she be like? Would she be kind and loving? Would she be brave and fearless and would they be as close as Frostkit and Icekit? Crowpaw wished he could learn, but he knew that Ravenkit was gone and he couldn't focus his life wondering what could've been. He had to focus on the future now, he was an apprentice and one day, he would be a warrior. Dedicated to serving his Clan to the very end, with determination fueling his journey the whole way there.