The Death of Eaglelight

"I can't believe it. Our first border patrol as equals!" Eaglelight purred, pressing close to the newly named Agatestep. She had received her warrior name only two sunrises before, along with her brother. Now Eaglelight, their mother, couldn't stop fussing over the fact that her little 'Aggy' and 'Timber' had become big, strong warriors.

Yet she won't stop being overprotective, Agatestep thought to herself with a sigh.

As if to prove her point, Eaglelight suddenly pushed Agatestep to the side. The younger she-cat let out a hiss, staggering and trying to regain her balance. "Mother! What was that for?!"

"You were about to walk into a puddle," Eaglelight sniffed, flicking her tail. "You don't want to get wet and catch whitecough, do you?"

Agatestep's ears burned as she caught sight of Beetlefoot snickering at her, and Basaltpath giggling. Beetlefoot, a young black-and-brown tom, was a mere moon older than her, and was a pest; he seemed to think he was clan leader. Agatestep lashed her tail. "Mum, for the last time, I'm not going to catch whitecough from stepping in a snake-dunged puddle."

"You don't know that," Eaglelight replied as they walked on, the PineClan territory stretching off to their left, the rocks and brush to the right.

"Give her a rest, Eaglelight," meowed Maplespots, a long-furred senior warrior. "She can take care of herself. Isn't that right, Agatestep?" he added, looking back at the pale Bengal she-cat.

Agatestep grumbled her agreement.

As the patrol continued on, a mouthwatering scent wafted towards them on the breeze. Soon it became so overpowering that Agatestep knew they had made the mistake of coming too close to something freshly killed. Up ahead, a dead piece of prey, still bleeding, lay dead on the rocks. Maplespots stopped them abruptly, his tail flicking in warning.

"Freshly killed," he growled. "By the looks of those claw-marks, it was a bear. We should head back and report this to Fallowst-"

A mighty roar shook Agatestep to the core, and she turned around, fur bristling. Her heart pounded in terror. Reared up on its hind paws, eyes glittering with fury, was a huge brown creature. Agatestep had heard nursery tales and listened to reports of bears, but head never faced one for real. It was worse than she had ever imagined, and she took back any wish she had made to be able to fight one. Blood roared in her ears, so that she almost didn't hear Maplespots' yowled command: "Run!"

Agatestep gladly followed the order, and ran as she never had before, the rocks and bushes melting into streaks of color around her. The pine trees disappeared behind her as she leaped out onto a smooth rock face, her muscles pumping beneath her light fur. She continued running until the snarls and ugly growls were far, far behind. She flew into camp, tripping and almost careening into her brother.

"Agatestep?" Timberswipe meowed, sounding surprised. "What...?"

"Bear!" she choked out, gasping for breath. "We - bear - I - "

"Bear!" Maplespots' yowl came from the camp entrance, causing heads to turn. Murmurs and panicked mews broke out as Maplespots, Beetlefoot, and Basaltpath came to a halt, all panting heavily.

Cragstreak, the Clan deputy, bounded over. "What's this about a bear?" he growled, looking at Maplespots. Fallowstar followed his deputy more slowly; being on his last life, he was often tired and not able to move as fast as he used to.

"We met a bear on patrol," the senior warrior explained, his legs trembling with every exhale. "We came across its kill, and it came up behind us. Luckily we all-"

"Where's Eaglelight?" Timberswipe broke in, panic edging his mew. Cragstreak frowned, looking annoyed at the young tom's interruption. Timberswipe looked a bit ashamed as he added, "I thought she was on patrol with you."

"She was," Maplespots meowed crossly, but his mew faltered as he noticed the Bengal queen's absence. "She was right next to us - I told her to run..."

Agatestep's heart skipped a beat, and she let out a yowl. She leaped for the exit. Eaglelight! My mother is alone with that bear! Panic throbbed in her head.

Something stopped her in mid-leap, and she crashed to the ground. With a groan, she snapped her head up to see Maplespots standing over her, his deep blue eyes piercing into hers. "Agatestep," he growled, "you mustn't do anything rash. We'll send out a patrol to find Eaglelight. She's most likely just found a different place to hide from the bear."

"She could be out alone, facing that creature!" Agatestep replied shrilly, scrambling to her paws. "I need to help her!" She tried to push past Maplespots, but the bigger warrior held his ground.

"Agatestep," he warned, "this is what I meant by not doing anything frog-brained."

"I don't care!" Agatestep snarled. "She's my mother!"

Timberswipe padded up to stand beside her, laying his tail over her back soothingly. "Agatestep, she's my mother too, but Maplespots is right. We can't just run off blindly to fight a bear..." he trailed off as Agatestep turned, walked a few paces away, and turned again to face Maplespots and her brother. "You're right," she began.

"I'm glad you've found some sense, Agatestep. Now-" Maplespots started.

"But," she interrupted, "I can't take any chances. I'm finding her, and if she's in trouble" -she crouched down as if about to pounce- "I'm going to fight by her side." She shot forward, and jumped nimbly over Maplespots, who was still blocking the exit. He whipped around with a sharp growl - "Agatestep!" - but she was already gone, running like lightning in the direction she had fled from only minutes ago.

***

Agatestep ran blindly through the brush, tasting the sharp tang of blood-scent on her tongue as she neared the place they had found the kill. In her mind she told herself that it would be okay, that she would find Eaglelight fighting the bear, but it was a hollow hope as the entire area was eerily silent. Hiding. She reminded herself of what Maplespots had said. She's somewhere else, hiding.

She pushed through the scrub, to the clearing where they had found the bear's prey. Her heart nearly stopped as she scoped the area, her eyes locking on a broken figure to the side.

Eaglelight. She flew to the bloodied Bengal form, placing a paw across the queen's shoulders. "Mother? Mother!" she meowed desperately, her voice choked by tears. "Mother, wake up. The bear is gone. You're safe." Eaglelight did not answer, her head lolling to the side at an unnatural angle. The Bengal she-cat's eyes were glazed and lifeless. "No..." Agatestep murmured. "No, no, no! You can't be...." She let out a wail. "No! You can't be dead!"

Her mother's scent was choked with death, blood soaking the ground and her fur. Agatestep closed her eyes, burying her muzzle in the dead queen's fur. She felt utterly alone, until she felt a pelt brush up against her. Her head lifted, and she looked around wildly until she saw a pale, shimmering outline of - Eaglelight!

She wanted to run to her, but Eaglelight shook her head. "I'm sorry." Her mother's voice seemed distant. "I'm sorry, my dear Aggy. I only wanted to protect you. Please take care of yourself... I love you..."

"You can't go," Agatestep whispered. "Please. Tell them it's a mistake. Come back!" The young she-cat quivered, her eyes pleading.

Eaglelight brushed her muzzle against her daughter's. "I'm sorry, my dear. I have already passed to StarClan. You must let go. This isn't goodbye, Aggy... Please... tell Timberswipe I love him..." With that, the queen locked gazes with Agatestep, and began to fade. Agatestep was left alone again, and she felt like she had just plunged underwater and swallowed a mouthful of water. "No! Mother, come back!" she yowled to the sky. The sun was setting, spreading its red-gold light over the clearing. "No!"

Behind her, the bushes rustled, and Agatestep whipped around, unsheathing her claws. She trembled with fury and despair, ready to fight to keep anything or anycat away from her dead mother. Timberswipe, Maplespots, Basaltpath and Cragstreak emerged out of the bushes, all looking a bit concerned. Cragstreak stepped forward. "Agatestep!" he growled angrily. "You're lucky that bear isn't here ripping you to shreds! C'mon, we have to get back to..." he trailed off as he caught sight of the bloodied form behind the hysterical she-cat.

Agatestep's eyes flared with blue fire. "She's dead!" she wailed. "Dead! Because she.... because...." Her voice cracked, and she hung her head. Timberswipe padded forward, his eyes sad. The brown tabby tom pressed against his sister. "Agatestep..."

"Because she wanted to protect us," she whispered hoarsely. "She's dead."

Timberswipe licked her ear, unable to offer any words of comfort. His gaze was locked on Eaglelight. For the first time, Agatestep realized he had the same deep blue eyes as their mother, and she turned slowly, quietly sitting next to him. The two littermates sat together, silently mourning their mother as the moon rose in the distance. The light of Silverpelt shone down, one new star winking over RockyClan that night.