(Foxflame)

Foxflame padded back over to where Shadowspirit had been, but she was not there anymore, her scent was still fresh but she had definitely gone off somewhere. "Hey do you guys know where Shadowspirit went?" He asked the other warriors, and Shrewleap flicked his tail and meowed, "Mintbreeze took her off into the forest to talk with her, they haven't come back yet." He nodded, and padded out of camp, catching the two she-cats' scents and following them, keeping his ears perked just in case they were still talking, not wanting to intrude.

He frowned, a cold chill slinking over his spine, the two cats scents grew strong in one place, which must have been the place they were talking. A metallic scent hit the roof of his mouth, and his fur stood on end when he bent his head to get a good look at the familiar scent, hoping he was wrong and his nose was playing tricks on him. Violet red droplets splattered the dirt, and wisps of black fur was caught in the blood.

Something was wrong, very wrong he could feel it in the pit of his stomach, the russet warrior frantically searching for the trail they took. He caught their scent again, heading up the slope for Thunder Falls, it was clear that they had not taken a friendly walk up the slope. The dirt was stirred with scrambling paw prints, panic rising in his chest as he pieced together what had happened, he recognized the sideways paw print of Shadowspirit, and she had clearly been running, her tracks growing further apart as he trailed them, another set of paw prints were there to, they were messy and the cat had clearly been hard in pursuit.

Foxflame felt his heart grow cold, ice running through his veins as he came to realization, Shadowspirit was in trouble. He snapped out of his daze, charging up the slope after the two cats, following their scent lines as fear began to rise up in his throat. He panted, still weak from not eating since sunhigh the day before, but panic pushed him onward as their scents grew stronger and stronger.

"Mintbreeze, calm down I don't want to hurt you." Shadowspirit's calm meow sounded up ahead, her voice thick with warning, Foxflame pinned his ears as he heard Mintbreeze yowl in fury, and he saw the tabby she-cat lunge through the air, claws unsheathed. Foxflame burst out of the trees, crashing into Mintbreeze before the warrior's claws met their target. He panted hard, his eyes wide with shock, his fur spiked up as he looked at Shadowspirit, meeting the small black she-cat's gaze, "Are you alright?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but Mintbreeze growled, ramming her head into Shadowspirit's side, her claws hooked into his mates pelt as she pinned the black cat to the ground, madness flickering in her mint green eyes. Foxflame growled, bunching his muscles to leap to his mates side, but Mintbreeze unsheathed her claws, pressing a paw to Shadowspirit's throat while glaring at him, daring him to make his move.

Shadowspirit gagged as she tried to suck in a breath, fighting for air. Foxflame's eyes were wide with cold horror at what was happening, and Shadowspirit rasped, "Mintbreeze, I'm sorry that Foxflame loves me and not you, but killing me will just make him dislike you more." The she-cat pinned her ears, shaking her head with a distressed groan, then dug her claws into Shadowspirit's neck, blood seeping around her claws, "Your a liar!" Mintbreeze's meow dripped with desperation.

"Stop Mintbreeze! She's right, even if you kill her, I will not want you, your not the cat I love!" Foxflame hissed, his muscles tensed. That stopped her in her tracks, she staggered off of Shadowspirit, who gasped in a deep breath, coughing and spluttering. The dark skies began to release their rain, drizzling down and steadily getting heavier as no cat moved, it was as if the whole world was holding its breath.

Mintbreeze let out a roar, lunging for him her teeth flashing, long curving claws unsheathed, her eyes bright with fury and grief. He watched, frozen in his place by surprise and horror, but Shadowspirit scrambled to her paws, snatching onto Mintbreeze's tail before she leaped, the she-cat screeching in fury and pain as she reeled around to face her attacker. Mintbreeze struck upward, knocking Shadowspirit onto her back, then she leaped for her, deadly claws arched to meet the black warriors throat.

Foxflame couldn't believe his eyes, the larger she-cat soared through the air in slow motion as he watched, and Shadowspirit's golden eyes came to life with yellow fire, flashing furiously. He watched wide-eyed as the black she-cat pinned her ears, her jaws wide in a snarl as she unsheathed her claws, her crooked paw curving through the air as Foxflame saw it happen in slow motion, unable to make his paws move. Shadowspirit's sideways paw connected with Mintbreeze's throat, the tabby she-cats eyes flew wide with surprise as the small cat struck so fiercely that the larger cat was flung to the side, the sickening sound of tearing flesh met his ears, the sound of the waterfall almost deaf to him.

Foxflame snapped out of his daze when Mintbreeze's yowl of anger cut off as she rolled to the ground beside Shadowspirit, who leaped shakily to her paws, staring at the she-cat in terror. Mintbreeze forced herself to her paws on violently shaking legs, violet red blood soaking her chest fur as she staggered forward. The crazed she-cat snarled defiantly before stumbling to the ground with a sickening gurgle, her limbs spasming once with a violent jerk before going still. He tore his gaze away from the wide bloody gash on the tabby she-cat's neck, forcing himself to look away from her wide, glassy eyes.

Shadowspirit stared blankly from Mintbreeze's body, to the blood on her claws, seemingly oblivious to the rain that soggily weighed down both of their pelts. Foxflame was at her side instantly, sniffing her wounds and pressing his flank to hers, trying to comfort her.

Shadowspirit staggered away from him to sit hunched with her head bowed at the edge of the cliff, staring down at her paws in silence next to the raging falls, swollen from the downpour. Foxflame pressed his side to hers, wrapping his tail around her hindquarters as he sat beside his mate, comforting her. The rain pounded harder and harder, but neither cat moved from where they sat, Foxflame stared blankly ahead, still having difficulty translating what happened.

"I killed her." She choked out eventually, and Foxflame looked at her sternly, "Don't beat yourself up, she brought it on herself, she would have killed you, and probably me too." Shadowspirit just stared forward at nothing. Foxflame pressed his muzzle to hers, flinching slightly as lightning split the blackened sky above them.

Shadowspirit buried her face in his shoulder, and he licked her ears and muttered gently, "Come on, lets go back to camp, we have to tell Duskstar what happened." She nodded and stood, wincing from her wounds, blood still trickling down her neck and chest. Before either cat could take a step, the ground lurched below them, terror coursing through them as they realized that the rain was causing the ground at the edge of the cliff began to crumble and drop away with a deep rumble.

"Go!" Foxflame yowled as they raced for solid ground, terror driving him on. Foxflame ground his teeth as the ground tilted under their paws, each cat darting to reach the solid ground, his heart lurching when he realized they weren't fast enough. He panted, his heart dropping as the solid ground seemed unreachable to the two cats. Surprise bolted through him as Shadowspirit rammed her head into his shoulder, causing him to tumble forward through the mud, and onto the solid ground, scrambling to his paws.

Foxflame darted to the edge, looking down to see Shadowspirit vainly gripping to the slick mud below, stretching his neck down to fasten his teeth to her scruff with a grunt. Shadowspirit tried to haul herself forward, and he attempted to plant his paws on some sort of firm ground in the slick mud to pull her up.

He felt his straining hind legs slowly sliding toward the edge, unable to get a sturdy position as both cats began to slip off solid ground. "Foxflame!" She gasped, her hind paws scrambling uselessly at the muddy cliffside, rain weighing down her fur. The russet tom's eyes were wide with fear as he determinedly held onto her scruff, his hind legs scrambling desperately to find something solid enough to haul her up.

Foxflame felt his strength seeping out of his limbs, his muscles screaming as he held desperately to her scruff, digging his paws into the slick ground, he could feel Shadowspirit's attempts of hauling herself up growing weaker and weaker. Foxflame refused to let go of her, scrambling back over and over as the ground below him slowly crumbled off, giving him less and less room. "Foxflame, let go." Shadowspirit gasped shakily.

"No!" He replied through her fur, and she twisted her head to look him sadly in the eyes, "If you don't let me go, we'll both die." Foxflame stubbornly ignored what she was saying, desperation heavy in his eyes as he fought to heave her up. Shadowspirit growled in strain, suddenly heaving her front paws upward to grip onto a thick gnarled root that jutted from cliffside. She sank her claws into it, and Foxflame scrambled back with his paws again to avoid slipping off.

Shadowspirit gasped, "I have a good hold, go get a ivy vine and use it to pull me up, I can hang on for a moment." Foxflame slowly let her go, making sure she could hold up her weight. The russet tom heard the root let out a snapping sound, partially releasing from the dirt, causing her to drop down a tail-length with a yelp.

"Shadowspirit!" He yowled, his meow thick with fear and strain as he tried to stretch down to grab her, his hind paws slipping dangerously close to the edge.

"Foxflame don't!" She hissed, and he stopped, his golden eyes filled with horror, grief, and shock. "Go find the ivy, I-I can hold on!" She gasped, and he held her gaze for a heartbeat before darting away. Foxflame searched desperately through the pounding rain, that had begun to sting beneath his pelt. He darted around, and he saw a thick ivy tendril hanging from a tree right above him, bunching his muscles he leaped and snatched it, grunting with effort as he yanked it down. Foxflame hared to the cliff, making sure he didn't slide off the edge as he hung the other end of the ivy down toward Shadowspirit.

The other end dangled right above her, and with a groan she gripped it in her jaws, scrambling with her front claws as the russet tom tried to haul her up. Foxflame's hind paws were at the edge of solid ground, slowly slipping forward as he tried to haul her up, his jaws aching with effort. "Foxflame you have to let go!" Shadowspirit hissed desperately.

His golden eyes were full of grief and he groaned through the ivy in his jaws, "I cant let go Shadowspirit, I can't lose you! I need you!" Shadowspirit's gaze flickered sadly as she desperately said, "Foxflame I can't let you die too." He still refused to let go, his paws almost slipping off the edge as his legs trembled with the effort, his russet orange fur soaked with rain and streaked with heavy clumps of thick mud.

Shadowspirit looked up at him, meeting his sad eyes with her own, "Foxflame, I love you." She meowed, and he saw something flash in her eyes, instantly realizing what she was going to do before she breathed, "Forgive me, Foxflame." Then she opened her jaws, releasing her grip on the vine, her paws slipping away from the ground as she fell. Foxflame tumbled backward, dropping the vine and looking down from the edge, reaching his front paw down as if he could catch her. "Shadowspirit, no!" He yowled as she fell, seemingly in slow motion to him.

He strained his eyes against the rain, yowling her name vainly as she disappeared beneath white roaring water, foaming angrily as it stole his precious Shadowspirit. The world seemed to come crashing down around him, and he relived the moment for a while in the rain, heavy understanding finally weighing through him. His heart twisted painfully in his chest, and his legs crumpled underneath him. He buried his face in his paws with a low, pained moan.

Foxflame forced himself to stand, grief burning in his throat, but he knew that he had to bring Mintbreeze's body, which lay close to the trees, back to camp, he had to tell the clan. Foxflame felt empty as he bowed his head to pick up Mintbreeze's limp body, another wave of grief washing over him. His body strained under the weight of the dead she-cat as he stumbled to camp, pushing blindly past Lionflame, who was on guard. The golden warriors eyes flew open as he took in the sight, but he knew he had to stay guard as Foxflame pushed past him.

Cats looked up from where they huddled under trees as he staggered in, falling to his stomach as his legs gave way with exhaustion, Mintbreeze's body rolling off his back. Cats crowded around him, many voices thrumming in his ears, and a yowl silenced the crowd, "Step back all of you, give him some air so he can explain!" Duskstar and Crowclaw gave him space, and Foxflame pushed himself up into a sitting position, a few wails of grief and hushed whispers stirring the air, the rain thinning to a steady drizzle.

Foxflame's gaze was blank as he rose his voice loud enough for them to hear, surprised at how clear he spoke, "When Mintbreeze took Shadowspirit to talk to her, she attacked her, I know this b-because I went to look for them, I found trampled paw prints, a-and blood on the ground, I followed their scents, and I saw them fighting b-by Thunder Falls. Mintbreeze... S-she tried to kill Shadowspirit b-because I loved her instead of Mintbreeze, she was going t-to kill me when I backed Shadowspirit up... Shadowspirit saved me, and Mintbreeze l-leaped at her, and Shadowspirit s-struck out in defense..." His legs shook, and the clan stared at him in shock, even Duskstar was thrown off.

Bumbleflash pushed through the cats, darting over next to Duskstar and Crowclaw with wide eyes, his legs trembling with fear as he asked, "Where's my sister?" Foxflame bowed his head, pinning his ears and he stammered, "By Thunder Falls... T-the rain caused the ground at the edge to c-crumble... She pushed me onto the firm g-ground, and held on to the cliffside, I-I-I tried to haul her up, but the mud... We both started falling... Sh-She let go so I w-wouldn't fall to... I-I couldn't- I tried to- I..."

He clenched his eyes shut, a sob racking his shoulders in despair, opening his eyes again to look at Bumbleflash, who's tail trailed the ground as he crumpled down with a sob. Icepaw and Barkpaw, former Belle and Darin who were good friends with Shadowspirit, lay down beside him, their eyes full of grief. Duskstar's voice hitched from his own sadness as he croaked, "We will hold vigil for these two warriors."

Foxflame stared at nothing, his legs shaking as he sat hunched over in the cold rain, the other cats giving the grieving warrior space. Swanfeather's scent made him raise his head to look at the white she-cat, her green eyes glistening with sadness as she meowed, "Foxflame I-I'm so, so, sorry." He held her gaze for a moment before letting his head drop again, not knowing what to say.

The white she-cat padded over to join Bumbleflash, who pressed his muzzle into her fur as is shoulders trembled from a sob. Duskstar was the next cat to approach him, the leaders voice heavy with grief and a hint of defeat, "Too many warriors, too many good cats are dying, I know what it is like to lose the cat you love." Foxflame stood raggedly, feeling empty and cold, "She slipped right through my paws..."

Foxflame's heart felt shattered and cold, a nauseating wave of exhaustion coursing through him and he stumbled with a grunt, his legs crumpling like moss underneath him. Startled voices surrounded him dully, his body weak with the exhaustion that wore him to the bone, he pushed himself too far, and lack of food hadn't helped with the stressful and agonizing day. Ivyleaf's voice sounded louder then the others, "Its okay everyone, its only exhaustion, he just needs rest..." Her voice trailed off as he closed his eyes, slipping into unconsciousness.