AQUAPAW'S P.O.V.

Aquapaw was near the verge of tears, and everyone else stalked out of their cover, looking at her blankly. Hazelbreeze was confirmed dead, and so was Ivyblaze. Sunpaw bounded to her side, licking her cheek in comfort. "Oh, now look what you did!" Silverpaw snarled, creeping towards her. "You killed my mentor!" "And our mom!" Jaykit added, glowering at her. "It isn't my fault!" Aquapaw wailed. "Heck, she saved us all!" Leafstar calmly padded to her apprentice's side.

"She kept us all alive, so why not thank her for what she's done?" "Then why couldn't she save Ivyblaze and Hazelbreeze?" her father inquired. He's not my father anymore, Aquapaw corrected herself rejectedly. "The power was too strong," Stormheart explained, a looming over her. "The burden was too heavy. The tree crashed into the nursery, killing her mother, so the pressure was too much to bear. Everything got out of control."

She glanced pleadingly at her siblings, but neither one of them seemed convinced. Aquapaw's ex-father gathered up his remainder of family, glaring at the group. "Be jolly, then," he snapped, leading the kits out of the camp entrance, "I'm finding a new camp by myself!" "Wait!" Cloudwhisper yowled, and he froze, glancing back as she hurried to them. "The disgrace is too much to bear!" she gasped. "Please, take me with you!" "Fine," he meowed, rolling his eyes.

Aquapaw swore her heart had broke when she saw her family disappear along the horizon. Tears began to line her eyes, but Leafstar wrapped her tail around her flank. "I believe the rest of the Clan should hear the prophecy," she meowed to Stormheart quietly. He nodded, and Chip ran in, tipping a sombrero up. "Hola, senoritas, seniors," he greeted, shuffling the sleeves of his Hawaiin shirt and adjusted his shades.

"Allow me," he squeaked, grinning. "The rock shall crack, revealing the hero, and the evil shall be back, survival promising zero." "As if Aquapaw can be clarified as a hero," Silverpaw giggled as Chip left. "Shut it, Silverpaw!" Stormheart snapped. "Aquapaw is the hero, okay? We need her to help us survive through the evil terror!" Aquapaw's whiskers twitched doubtfully. "If I was one bit heroic, I could've saved Ivyblaze and Hazelbreeze," she argued, her tail drooping.

"Accidents happen, Aquapaw, especially in natural disasters," Leafstar assured her. "Hmph. Maybe I should join Cloudwhisper," Silverpaw thought aloud. "Go ahead, then. I have perfect medicine cat skills that can aid us," Leafstar meowed, narrowing her eyes at her. "Really?" She widened her eyes. She loved attention, Aquapaw knew--that's why she took on medicine cat training. "Oh, never mind, I'll stay," she mewed cheerfully. She rolled her eyes before glancing at her leader.

"All of Felidae must be ruined. How can we leave the home we stayed in generations upon generations?" she queried. "Well, there is one place we could go to..." Hollypaw interjected, staring at the upper-class. "Really? Where?" Firesplash meowed in confusion, cocking her head.

"The Realm of Shadows."