Lost. (continued from July Gathering.)

[Dawnpaw]

(Ok, I'm not really in Loner Territory. But I couldn't think of anywhere else to put this. And you have to read the July Gathering or you will not understand this. It starts right after my last post.)

Sniffling, she pulls herself to her paws, dragging herself over to the edge of the ledge she stands on. There! A way out.

Turning, she looks around. The only way down from where she stands is into the cave she had emerged from, or jumping. She jumps.

The fall seems to take forever, as her small frame tumbles down, free-falling. There was no other way. She had to get home. She will be safe at home.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she lands, the breath knocked out of her body. It feels like wildfire is running down her pelt, through her ribs, and out her tail. She rolls over, huffing from the pain. Two of her ribs are broken, but she does not know.

She swings her paws under herself, and pushes up with all her might, pulling herself to a shaky standing position. Dawnpaw begins the hike, wincing at the searing pain in her side. If she doesn't get home soon, she will surely die.

There it is again- The Voice. The same one that brought her here. Still cackling, still with out a body to match it to.

"Who are you? Why did you take me here?" she calls out.

"All will be explained in due time."

The wind picks up, almost knocking her off her feet.

[♥Roseblossom♥]

(Ah! Dawnpaw! word word)

[Dawnpaw]

(I feel so loved! And the story continues...)

Whump! Her body collides with a tree, and she cries out, a scream of pain and desperation. Pulling herself up, she turns and drags her sore paws onward. The wind increases, and she sees a shadowy form in the trees.

"I can see you!" she calls, her voice hardly audible above the whistling air.

The figure stays quiet, but the wind subsides a bit.

"Answer me!"

Nothing.

"Fine! Don't. I can get home without help." Suddenly, without warning, the wind stops completely. The figure detaches itself from the tree it stands on, and walks toward Dawnpaw. As it comes out of the shadows, she knows.

"You're the one that brought me here. I saw you at Fourstones."

"That was I. But the question is now is Who. Are. You."

"How could you not know who I am? Do you get your kicks from bringing any old cat out and making them struggle back to their Clan?"

"No. You are the first that has survived the fall."

Dawnpaw's eyes widen, and she looks back. The precipice she had jumped from was at least 500 fox-lengths high.

"Why did I survive? And why am I here?"

For once, the figure does not laugh. "It was a test. You are being tested."

"Why should I believe you?" she says, turning away. She walks forward, but is stopped, as if by a wall. But nothing is there to block her.

"What choice do you have?"

[♥Roseblossom♥]

(wow! Keep going! This is good!)

[Dawnpaw]

(Thank you!)

"I have every choice." Dawnpaw hisses."

"Do you, now?" The figure steps toward Dawnpaw, not leaving a trace in the dust. "You're entirely at my control." As if to prove a point, the apprentice is thrown into the air, invisible ropes stretching her paws away from her body. She screams, a loud pop resounding through the air. She falls to the ground, crumpling, unable to support her exhausted body on three legs. Her left foreleg had become become dislocated from the quartering. (For those of you who don't know, Quartering was a very gruesome form of Medieval punishment. The punished had one limb tied to a different horse, and the four horses were sent off running in opposite directions. One east, one west, one north, and one south. The person was literally ripped apart.)

"What do want from me?" she whimpers, looking up through tear streaked eyes. They betray her emotion: raw pain, suffering, and terror.

"You will give what you got when you get what you gave." replies the spirit, cryptic as always.

"Just answer me. Not in a riddle. Please." the young cat begs.

The other says nothing, just stares at the whimpering mass of fur at its feet.

Dawnpaw senses something, like a cool wind. It wafts over her, and she finds she can move. She struggles to her paws, and limps onward, the wind keeping the spirit at bay.

She struggles onward, her paws scraped and bloody from the harsh terrain. The sun goes down, yet the resilient young cat keeps on, until she can see the tops of the trees.

"SunClan." she murmurs. "Home." She lays down, falling into a deep slumber the moment her head hits her paws.

* * *
The next day- Dawn...

Dawnpaw wakes, feeling momentarily refreshed. She looks around, at her surroundings, and jolts immediately awake.

She spins around, feeling utterly lost and alone, until she remembers. The Spirit. The Journey. The Wind.

There it is, The Wind. Again. It drifts around her, encasing her small body in its beautiful freshness. The Scent... She recognizes it. Her mother. Storm.

"Mom!" she calls, but to no avail. Her mother did not answer. And then The Wind is gone, and she is more alone than ever. Suddenly, the magnitude of this whole thing hits her, and she stands still as it sinks in.

It is almost Sun-High when she moves, shaken from her brief respite by the yowling in her stomach. The last time she had eaten was... Well, who knows when? Who knows how long she was traveling? Not Dawnpaw, to say the least.

She pulls herself into a hunting crouch, hearing the pitter-patter of small mouse feet. Her leap is too soon, fueled by hunger, a need to survive. The mouse lives, but only for a moment. Soon, a hawk sweeps down, aiming for the mouse. But a hungry gleam in its predatory eye says that is sees the small cat. Piercing Dawnpaw's almost-lunch with its talons, it turns to the cat.

Dawnpaw shrieks, and stumbles backward. But it's too late. The bird scoops the tiny cat into it's claws, piercing her tender skin. The two of them swoop into the air, back away from where the heart-broken apprentice was heading. She cries out, a call of desperation and hopelessness.

She squirms, twists, and even bites at the talons, but all of her struggles are fruitless. There is no way out.

The hawk reaches its nest, a small bundle of twigs buried deep in a crevice. It places Dawnpaw not-too-gently down, intending to use the morsel of a cat for a snack later.

[♥Roseblossom♥]

(NO! DAWNPAW! Will you ever return?)

[Dawnpaw]

(Someday.... But seriously, I will return.)

The small cat sits huddled in a corner, her ever-active mind racing, trying desperately to come up with a plan. Her eyes flash. There it is. The Plan.

She waited unti the predatory bird was asleep, and then, quiet as a mouse, she slipped out of the nest, and braced herself. For the second time in two sunrises, Dawnpaw jumped.

Her small body is battered relentlessly against rocks, boulders, and miscellaneous debris. The fall seems to take forever, but at the same time not at all. She spins, head-over-heels, tumbling down the cliff side. The hawk, thankfully, stays asleep.

Again, she hits the ground, all of the air knocked out of her. A sickening crunch echoes in her ears, three more ribs breaking.

Now thoroughly battered and bruised, Dawnpaw resumes her trek.

* * *
Three Sunrises Later- Moonhigh...

Tiny teeth bare in a yawn, muscles yearn to stretch but bones protest, Dawnpaw wakes. Shaking with exhaustion even after her nap, the small cat steps onto SunClan territory. She is Home. Almost.

Her aching paws would sigh with relief, if paws could sigh, to be back on her own territory.

She tumbles into a stream, but is too weak to climb out. She had only eaten once, a single scrawny shrew, since the Gathering, almost five sunrises ago. Now, the scent of prey fills her nostrils. She continues on, knowing that once she gets back to camp, everything will be alright. And there it is. Camp.

Breaking into a run, she arrives at the Camp, but hesitates outside of the barrier.

(Yay! I'm home. Link to "Home Again, Safe At Last." in Sunclan.)

[Seapaw]

(Aw, dang. I came back too late. I wanted to rescue you! Good story though!! ;D)