When Feathertail saw him, so helpless and terrified, her heart dropped. When she saw the sight of Crowpaw, her Crowpaw, cornered by the horrible monster, she couldn't bear it.
She hadn't felt this spark of terror in her chest since she was an apprentice. She remembered that day as clear as crystal: the day of Stonefur's execution.
She had never stopped missing him. He had given his life for her. And it had meant so, so much to her. As she glanced at Crowpaw one more time, the voices she had been hearing all day finally began to make sense.
"I can hear the voices clearly now, Crowpaw," She whispered, her voice quivering. How could she leave him? How could she let him go? Was this what Stonefur had felt in his last moments? He had been so brave, dying for two cats he cared about, and now Feathertail had to do the same thing.
She bit back her tears. "This is for me to do."
She looked up at the roof of the cave, her eyes locked on a stalactite, and she knew what she needed to do. She didn't stop running until she reached a rock that she knew she could jump from.
She glanced at the five other journeying cats. Her brother, who she hated to leave. Brambleclaw, the tom who had led them here, the rock among them all. Tawnypelt, a cat Feathertail had grown to care so much for. Squirrelpaw, the she cat who was sometimes stubborn, but had such a good heart deep down.
And Crowpaw. What could Feathertail even say to describe him? Words alone would never be enough. He had changed her life in the best way. He was always the outsider of the group, and she had known better than most cats what it was like to be an outsider. That all you needed in those tough times was a friend. That was what she had wanted to be for him, but it had grown into something so much more.
She glanced at him, desperately needing him to see her, just so she could give him one last smile and let him know that it was okay. That she loved him so, so much.
And then he looked up, straight at her. The raw emotion in his eyes was enough to make tears threaten to spill out of hers, but she shook her head. She wouldn't cry. She wasn't afraid.
As she made the jump, her whole life flashed before her eyes. Being with Mosspelt in the nursery as a kit, spending time with her father, training with her brother, Mistyfoot and Stonefur, being with Sasha, and finally, all of her precious moments with Crowpaw.
"I love you," She whispered as her claws scraped the stalactite. "All of you. I'm sorry I have to leave you so soon. But the river is calling me home, and I can't fight the current any longer."
