Crowfeather's Trial/Chapter 8

Chapter description

 * Crowfeather dreams that he's limping through the tunnel, away from the stoats. He is badly injured, but forces himself to keep going in order to find Nightcloud. Crowfeather spots movement ahead, and recognizes his mother Ashfoot. He calls out to her and quickly tries to follow, finding her sitting by the cave wall. The tom greets her, but asks why she's here. Ashfoot replies that she can't leave yet, because there's tasks he must do. Crowfeather scowls, asking if she's another cat who wants him to reconcile with Breezepelt. Ashfoot shakes her head sadly and nods to the other side of the cave. He glances over, seeing a mound of black fur lying in a pool of blood. Crowfeather yowls, screeching Nightcloud's name.


 * Crowfeather wakes up abruptly, reminding himself that it wasn't real. He thinks about Kestrelflight's vision and what it could mean for all the Clans. Crowfeather realizes that Onestar likely won't authorize another patrol, and decides to search himself. He slips out of the den, murmuring softly to Breezepelt as he passes his nest. As soon as dawn light began to filter through the camp walls, Crowfeather left camp. He races to the tunnels and pushes away his fears about the risks he's taking.


 * Crowfeather chooses to enter through a ThunderClan entrance and sneaks onto their territory. He checks the entrances he finds, and picks up Nightcloud's scent trail. Crowfeather follows it, finding her blood smeared on a rock. The tom wonders how badly she was injured, and if she even wanted to come back. Crowfeather insists to himself that she would, and continue to search. He comes across a shallow dip, finding a makeshift nest of broken grass stems. He can scent that Nightcloud must've rested here, and picks up a strong scent of fox.


 * Crowfeather shivers, wondering if a fox had gotten her. He breathes in her scent, knowing that if Nightcloud was still alive, she would've come home by now, due to ThunderClan's territory being close to home. Crowfeather admits to himself that they had never loved each other as mates, but he cared about her. He thinks about her fondly as a Clanmate, and wishes he had told her how much he appreciated her.