It was all happening too fast. At first, he was just trying to get back home before the Gathering announcements even started. But now? The announcements fell on deaf ears as Crowpaw hit the ground with a thud. His shoulder stung, but he didn’t feel the pain to the extent he probably should have for landing on it so harshly.
He hadn’t even registered the fact his name was called upon to help his mentor get her paw out from under the giant boulder that came out of nowhere. Part of him wondered if it had been Poisonberry putting him to some sort of test, but the young tom quickly dismissed the idea. It was too early in their training to even consider a test. Besides, the Dark Forest warrior never mentioned she’d be testing him.
Not that it mattered, anyway. Redhawk was the one injured, crying in pain from the impact. Crowpaw, despite his best efforts, wasn’t all there in the present. Instead, he was forced into focusing on the past. On the day his sister had died.
The day that fox ripped her to shreds while he stood and watched.
In both scenarios, the she-cat had ended up injured to some degree- Quietpaw’s injuries were fatal, but Redhawk would recover with lots of time and rest. In both scenarios,
he was pushed out of harm’s way. He was pushed out of the way of death’s jaws. Only this time, death decided to be merciful and spare Redhawk’s life.
By the time he had come out of the horrid depths of his memory, his claws were sunk into the fresh, cold sand that lay in the Seastones clearing. His eyes were shiny and stung with the salty water that he knew all too well. The fur along his spine was raised, and he had been looking at the sand for who knows how long. By this time, the Gathering place just had a single WindClanner among a good amount of ThunderClanners, himself included.
Any deep breath he took was met with a sharp pain from his lungs and his throat ached from the dryness. There would be no way he’d sleep without having to take the time to distract his mind from his flashbacks.
His shoulders trembled- from what, he didn’t know. Was it anxiety? His flashback? The shock from the event? Crowpaw didn’t entirely know, nor would he question it. He had spent enough of his energy breathing so hard that his throat hurt. In fact, it probably sounded like he was hyperventilating or something.
I swear to you StarClan, if I turn around and Redhawk is dead I’ll dream my way into your territory and rip out the throats of every single one of you that caused her this pain. I will not stand for it any longer. And with that final thought in his mind, Crowpaw closed his eyes and pointed his nose toward the stars before turning around to really see what had become of Redhawk after putting herself between him and death.