Lighttail's Courage (A Warrior Cats fan fiction)

Chapter eighteen

 Darkness began to creep into her vision, and right when she was about to give up to death she caught a glimpse of gray fur at the edge of her vision. She felt Ravenflight release his grip, and sucking in great gulps of air, Lighttail collapsed to the ground. After she caught her breath she saw Mistcloud tumbling with Ravenflight, their snarls filling the air. Relief surged through Lighttail as she looked at Mistcloud's fresh scratches, which had stopped bleeding. She'll be fine. After she was satisfied her sister was alright Lighttail raced back into the battle, sliding over the mud and rain. Her eyes caught Leaf stalking up on Petal, and Lighttail felt hatred burn inside of her. 

 This was the cat she used to respect, who she looked forward to one day leading beside her as leader of ThunderClan one day. Lighttail glanced at the body of fallen Jen, a LightClan member, and heart bursting with anger, Lighttail let out a fearsome screech and jumped onto Leaf's back, holding on tightly. Leaf laughed and bucked backward, expecting Lighttail to fly off, but Lighttail held on tight, all of her anger coming out at this one cat, for ruining her life. Lighttail shredding her pelt until blood began to well at her paws, and looking down she saw Leaf twitch once before laying still, a long gash forming on her throat. 

Horror ran shook through Lighttail as she tried to awake Leaf, and heart thumping wildly she realized that the leader was dead. Suddenly the battle seemed to close around her and her vision grew dark, and this time no familiar whisper from her mother comforted her. Forcing herself to focus Lighttail prayed to StarClan through the booming Thunder that Leaf would come back from this life, and move on to her next one. "Please StarClan!" She begged to the sky. "Stop this before we all die!" Suddenly the clouds thickened and the rain hissed down on them all, harder than ever. Lightning repeatedly flashed against the sky and a huge gust of wind shoved half of the cats off their paws and into the trees nearby. 

Lighttail dug her claws into the mud, struggling to stay on her paws, when a large, crooked flash of lightning illuminated Ravenflight standing in front of her, his claws unsheathed. "THIS IS FOR RUINING MY LIFE!" Ravenflight screeched manically, his eyes glinting with a hatred that ran through his veins. Than, lunging at her, Lighttail had no choice but to back up to a tree, and cornering her, Ravenflight went to deliver the killing blow.

 Lighttail braced herself for death when fur flashed through her eyes. Ravenflight's blow never reached Lighttail but hit the figure in front of her, and the body slumped to the ground, motionless. Rain stung in Lighttail's eyes so she couldn't see who had fallen, but Ravenflight's agonized moan of grief hit the air at the same moment lightning struck again, this time hitting the tree Lighttail was slumped against. Fire burst into the air, splitting the tree into two, and the crackling flames began to spread, fighting against the rain.

 Lighttail jumped up and ran, Ravenflight following her, but the tree fell at the same moment, and it covered Ravenflight completely, until he couldn't be seen. Suddenly the flames grew larger until they seemed to lunge into the clearing and the cats inside it. Lighttail found herself and the cats around her surrounded by flames. Fear surging through her Lighttail watched as the flames trickled into the clearing and wrapped around the bodies of Ivy, Hare, Tiger, and Leaf, before lifting them each onto a different tree, flames crackling around their bodies. Lighttail and the battling cats stopped and stared in shock as the flames gathered together and formed a wall, which came closer to the living cats with every yowl of fear.

 Soon the fire was nose-to-nose with Lighttail, and throat burning, Lighttail watched as the flames parted, and out came seven figures made out of fire. The figures lined up one by one, surrounding the living. They then split and jumped to every dead cat in the clearing, and with a brush of one of the fire figures the cats spirit rose from the body and became a fiery figure too, and soon the clearing was full of flame, overwhelming the living. Just when Lighttail felt she could pass out five other figures of flame appeared, but this time their faces were familiar. 

The brightest fiery figure touched her tail to the ground and the rain stopped, leaving a blowing wind in their midst. The wind blinded the cats in the clearing until it was gone. Blinking, Lighttail opened her eyes to see that the flames were all gone, leaving six starry cats in their midst. The two in the lead, their heads bowed with respect, walked forward until they rested theirs chins on Lighttail's shoulder. Trembling Lighttail looked up and love ran through her as she looked into the eyes of the two cats in front of her. 

The two cats each gave her a loving lick on the shoulder. "Hello, Lighttail." One of them mewed, while the other nodded, love shining in their eyes. Lighttail's eyes glistened. The second cat nudged her. "Don't morn for us Lighttail. We'll be fine here." Lighttail let out a choking sob, and grief, stronger than the tides of the ocean, raced through her veins as she touched noses with the cat in front of her. "Lighttail, I'll miss you so much," the cat whispered. Lighttail buried her head in the cats fur. "Not as much as I'll miss-" She swallowed, for the words caught in her throat. She took a deep breath before whispering, "Not as much as I'll miss you, my sisters."