Burnt Sycamore-Open

Fadedlight whipped around, stopping dead as she watched her friend stumble slightly. Terror froze her veins. I've done it, I've hurt her. I pushed her too hard. Look at me, what a failure. Onyxstar should've chosen a better deputy. Relief swamped over Fadedlight as she heard Rae mutter "That was close." Fadedlight swallowed hard. "Yea, it was."

Rainfeather smirked, "I know I'm not as strong as you, but I ain't a weak elder yet" She hissed before standing up tall. Her figure went from a usual cat to quite a tall beast. Rainfeather shook her head before speaking to her sister "Now, are we gonna finish this? Or are you to much of a mouse?"

A twinge of guilt flowed through Fadedlight's heart. This is all my fault...

~Flashback~
"Come on, Fadedpaw, you can do this! It's the last round of the sparring tournament! You've got this in the bag!" Dapplepaw encouraged. Fadedpaw nodded, her blue eyes trailing to the ground. "Rainpaw's five moons older than me though!" "So? You're the strongest cat I know! Go get her panther!" Envigorated, Fadedpaw stepped up to wrestle, looking over at the blue-grey she-cat across from her as Wildlight stepped between them. "Ready, set, fight!" the beautiful warrior yowled, jumping out of the way. Without a moment's hesitation, Fadedpaw ran for Rainpaw, jumping and aiming her leap to place her on top of Rainpaw's shoulders. Rainpaw, of course, anticipated this maneuver and rolled underneath. Fadedpaw proceeded to summersault, regaining her position, and then ran at Rainpaw, tackling her down. In retaliation, Rainpaw yanked on her tail sparking a yowl of pain from Fadedpaw. "Go back to the Nursery, kit!" Rain teased. Fadedpaw leaned close, so her breath warmed Rainpaw's ear. "Don't underestimate me." As she was vulnerable, Rainpaw thrust her paws into Fadedpaw's chest and flung her off. As Fadedpaw regained her balance, she began to charge at Rainpaw, using brute force instead of agility. Unprepared, Rainpaw raised a paw, making herself even more vulnerable to the hit. Fadedpaw rocked Rainpaw, sending her flying. She hit her head, her body falling still, and rolling into a nearby river. "Rainpaw!" Fadedpaw gasped, horror shining clear in her eyes. She bolted to her friend, dragging her out of the river. By now, the mentors had come over. "We'll take her from here." Wildlight soothed, picking up the apprentice with the support of Ravenwing, Rainpaw's mentor. "What have I done..."
~Reality~

"We'll see who's the mouse!" Fadedlight taunted, thrashing her tail and lightly pouncing towards Rainfeather.

Rainfeather closed her eyes for a moment before rolling to the side, the she-cat vibrating uncontrollably. Rainfeather swiftly rolled onto her side and closed her eyes tightly while also managing words out "Thank for that." The she-cat took a moment to regain control and she slowly pushed herself up and padded over to FadedLight. Rain's steps were awkward but they did her well getting her beside her friend.

"That helped a lot, Thank FadedLight" She purred softly before brushing against her side.

Fadedlight swallowed hard, her voice barely more than a whisper as she spoke. "It's the least I could do." This is all my fault. Oh StarClan, why can't I do anything right? Shaking her silver fur, she took a deep breath, absorbing the scents around her. The pine smelled fresh and familiar, and the lingering scent of her clanmates hung heavily in the area. Her nose also caught a different scent, one she hadn't smelled since... No, not here! "Get behind me." Fadedlight commanded, tensing her muscles as her eyes darted around.

Fear bashed Rain in the head, The she-cat stumbled for a moment before shaking her head. She Took her friends side, refusing to back down. Some would call her move selfish, but to Rain this was trying to bring her apprentice self back. The side she lost when her mentor called her a waste and left with a new apprentice.

Rainfeather shut her eyes tightly, she hated thinking about him. He was like a father figure maybe even a brother, both things she never had. And for her to watch him walk out f her life, almost equivalent to how her father left. She raged. Her claws flexing in the soil and her ears pulled down, saliva dripping down her fangs and she gave a powerful hiss to the new praised anger.

Fadedlight stepped back, a little uneasy at her friend's sudden burst of anger. "Easy now," Fadedlight spoke softly. "calm down. It's alright." Washing away her surprise and uneasiness, Fadedlight began to comfort her friend. "What's wrong?" she asked, shimming closer to Rainfeather. She was one of the easiest cats to talk to, and she was certain she could talk the information out of Rain, and if she didn't, she could at least get a decent guess from what she did say.

Fadedlight already had her suspicions, though. She assumed Rain was thinking about the final moons of her apprenticeship. The ones when her greatly admired mentor Ravenwing abandoned her. Fadedlight knew what it was like to lose someone that she was close to. The bitter pain that never truly left. Chills ran down her pelt as she remembered her experience. Poor Rainfeather...

Rainfeather shook her head, "I may not be a warrior, I may not even be able to heal cats, but I refuse to step down any more." The she-cat shook her pelt, She didn't want to be defeated by anyone anymore. She turned towards her sister, her legs shaking yet her balance on point. "Faded, I don't want to be treated like a weak kit anymore. Ravenwing assumed I wasn't strong and told everyone, everyone assumed he was right." Rain sighed, "No one visited. No one but you."

Rainfeather pulled her head up, then lowered it slowly. Her tail swayed her side to side as she inhaled sharply. "I guess I'm just tired of being seen as a simply Medicine cat," Rain pulled her head towards her friend. A sigh escaped her lips "Sorry, I guess I got worked up..."

Fadedlight shook her head solemnly. "No troub-" the she-cat was cut off by the sound of a creature busting through the bushes. Horror swamped through her as she gazed over the animal. No! As the russet creature snapped its jaws, Fadedlight was pulled back to those moments. All she could see was a fox biting at her mentor, it's gruesome fangs clasping around her mentor's foreleg, as Fadedlight's apprentice self desperately clawed at it, trying to rip it away from her friend. She could hear Wildlight's raspy cough as she explained to Fadedlight that the wounds just weren't getting better. The surreal feeling as the leader pronounced her dead. Now I'm gonna lose Rainfeather too! Thinking briskly, she looked back at Rainfeather. "Get to camp, send backup. NOW!" she commanded, squaring herself up to the treacherous beast.

Rainfeather sniffed the air swiftly, suddenly a scent hit her nose A patrol! Without second though Rainfeather let out a loud call of help before taking position behind the beast. Rainfeather shut her eyes for a moment, searching for the anger that burned inside of her. She paused for three heartbeats then felt her legs twitch. She stood tall and ruffled her fur. Her green eyes seamed as if faded to a grey or black.

"Never shall I back down from a fight" She whispered before leaping onto the beast.