Post by Gingercloud on Jun 12, 2022 10:56:18 GMT -5
Credits to Rainheart and Silverleaf for helping me write this.
No allegiances because I’m too lazy.
Prologue
Leopardstar sat in the glistening moonlight, feasting on her prey. The stars in the night sky showed their frosty glow.
“Greetings, Leopardstar,” as she looked up from her trout, she saw Russetfur walking towards her with Cloudstar, Firestar, Tallstar, Oakheart and Silverstream following. “We were about to have a meeting about the prophecy Runningnose received.”
“Alright, I’m coming,” she replied dryly. She padded from rock to rock, sitting on a flat stone that jutted over a pool of water with Oakheart beside her. The other cats sat close to him as Runningnose told them about the prophecy he had received. “Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, and Fox, will embark on a dangerous journey and change the fate of the Clans.” Firestar came up first, his flame-colored pelt rippling in the breeze.
“A new prophecy has come,” a gray tom beside the pool announced. “A doom that will change everything in the Clans below.”
“I have seen this as well. If the Clans do not come together, snow from the mountains and sky shall bury the forest.” the tom meowed. “We shall now decide which cats to choose to bear this prophecy.”
“Behold and accept my choice,” Firestar meowed. The cats surrounding the pool gasped as the cat appeared in the reflection of the pool.
“What? She is half-fox!” Oakheart’s amber eyes filled with confusion mixed with anger.
“Yes, I have noticed that, Oakheart,” he replied calmly.
“Why are you picking a daughter of a traitor?” Leopardstar yowled with Oakheart.
“Do not decide which warrior is best for my Clan!” Firestar hissed, his hackles rising.
“Does StarClan approve?” Cloudstar asked, nervously changing the topic. The cats below were casting uneasy glances before nodding. Though some were still shooting murmurs of disapproval, Firestar glared at them; The cats flattened their ears and sat down on the rough surface.
“Behold and accept my choice,” Russetfur announced to the cats below. The crowd was looking down at the white she-cat in the reflection of the pool. “Does StarClan approve?”she asked. A murmur of assent and disagreement spoke in the cats’ voices. Silverstream padded forward, her silver coat shining in the moonlight.
“Leopardstar, do I have your permission to speak for RiverClan?” she asked, looking back. The former RiverClan leader nodded. “Then I invite you all to see the cat I have chosen.” Leopardstar stood behind her, looking at the small ginger she-cat shown in the pool. A few cats hesitated before mews of approval came. Finally, Cloudstar trotted past Silverstream.
“I have chosen two cats,” he meowed. “Come look and approve my decision.” Two cats appeared in the reflection of the pool.
“Does StarClan approve?” Firestar mewed. A meow of assent once again rippled through the watching cats.
“Very well, our decision has been made,” Tallstar meowed. “The dreams will be sent out next moonhigh.”
Chapter 1
Rainheart went into the overgrowth with Silverpaw. Rainheart pricked her ears as she heard a branch snap. She followed the sound with Silverpaw at her heels, but she couldn’t see anything but broken ferns and brambles dappled with moonlight. Rainheart gazed around in confusion but continued walking. She saw a blur of light gray fur glistening with starlight.
“Cloudstar?” she asked, shivering with awe. He turned around, Silverpaw was gazing at the ancient SkyClan leader.
He faced Rainheart and Silverpaw's direction and meowed, “Rainheart, Silverpaw, come closer…” Rainheart and Silverpaw padded forward toward the shining stretch of turf until they faced a boulder. Rainheart looked up at Cloudstar’s pale blue eyes. “Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, and Fox will embark on a dangerous journey and change the fate of the Clans.” He suddenly whipped his head around to stare at the long shadows of the trees. “I must go back to StarClan now. Farewell.”
“Wait!” Rainheart mewed, thrashing her paws over the boulder as Cloudstar vanished in the starlight.
Rainheart woke up with a start as Leafstar called a Clan meeting.
“Let all cats old enough to climb the rocks gather around the Boulder for a Clan meeting!” Leafstar announced.
Rainheart pushed herself off the bramble covered with hail. Rainheart raced over to the Boulder with Sparrowpelt leading Nectarpaw, positioning them towards the back of the crowd. “SkyClan, I have gathered you all here today to deliver some important news. I have received a prophecy from StarClan,” she meowed, her brown-and-white pelt blazing in the brightening dawn light. “StarClan has sent us a warning. Cloudstar, our past leader, said ‘Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, and Fox will embark on a dangerous journey and change the fate of the Clans.’ If anyone has any idea of who Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, or Fox is, please do not hesitate to request a meeting with me and Hawkwing to discuss this.” Ending her speech, Leafstar padded back into her den as the Clan walked off in different directions. Should I tell Leafstar about my dream? Rainheart thought as she padded over to Silverpaw and crouched down.
“Want me to catch some prey for you?” she asked.
“Rainheart, you don’t need to serve me everyday!” Silverpaw snapped, frustration filling her eyes.
“But I want to!” Rainheart protested. Silverpaw hissed irritatedly. A low growl rumbled in Rainheart’s throat. Glaring at Rainheart, Silverpaw’s gaze finally slid away and sighed as she padded over to the medicine cat’s den to help Fidgetflake treat the thorn in Tinycloud’s pad.
Rainheart dashed into the woods, feeling the chilling snow between her paws. She pricked her ears as she heard something race by her. She carefully followed the sound and turned around towards the frosted overgrowth, and saw a squirrel nibbling on a nut. Before it could reach its nest, she pounced on it and leaned in to deliver the killing bite. The squirrel dropped its nut and started scrabbling at the ground frantically, reaching for a leafless tree, but Rainheart landed onto it and delivered a sharp bite to its neck.
With blood oozing down the squirrel’s throat, she padded back to the SkyClan camp with the fresh-kill dangling from her jaws, she bounded towards the clearing and to the camp entrance. Rainheart shook the drops of blood that fell onto her pelt and padded towards the elder’s den. Dropping the squirrel in the fresh-kill pile, she dragged a jay off of it. Padding over to a tree stump blanketed with snow, she started tearing into the cold meat.
“Not eating with Silverpaw?” Rainheart looked up and saw Hawkwing standing beside her. “That’s a first,” he said
“We had an argument,” she answered coolly, although her deep blue eyes were filled with hurt and anger.
“Leafstar wants to see you,” he said firmly. Rainheart finished eating her jay and padded over to Leafstar’s den.
“Leafstar, it’s Rainheart,” Rainheart called into the den.
“Hello, Rainheart, you are here because I believe you are ‘Rain’ from the prophecy,” she said. Rainheart’s ears pricked as Leafstar went on. “We need your help to find the other cats in the prophecy. If you have any ideas, please don’t hesitate to tell me. You are also going to the Gathering tonight so you can begin observing the other Clan cats. You are dismissed.” Rainheart padded out of the leader’s den as the Clan leader went over to talk with Hawkwing. Rainheart bounded over to the group of cats going to the Gathering.
Chapter 2
Glaring at Rainheart, Silverpaw suppressed a snort of anger. How dare she treat me like I can’t already take care of myself! she thought crossly.
“Silverpaw!” Her mentor’s mew jerked her from her thoughts. “You can go now, have fun with Rainheart!” Hissing angrily, Silverpaw stalked toward Rainheart, weaving her way through the crowd of cats. Rainheart’s ears pricked as she heard Silverpaw hissing behind her.
Turning around, Rainheart mewed,“Hi Silverpaw, sorry that I treated you unfairly. I didn’t mean to, I just thought you’d get hungry for working so hard.” Silverpaw sighed.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you too, I just had a long day,” she replied.
“It’s fine,” Rainheart mewed.
Silverpaw padded in front of Rainheart, wanting to get a better view of the wind blowing against the trees, blanketed with sleet. She skidded across the frozen lake, with Rainheart and Bouncefire at her heels. She tasted the air, she scented RiverClan and ShadowClan, waiting for the other Clans. Silverpaw gazed around and saw a sight of ginger-and-white pelt.
“Look! There’s Gingerpaw! Come on, let’s go talk to her!” Silverpaw mewed to Rainheart. Silverpaw happily bounded over to her friend, while Rainheart mrrowed in laughter, and trailed behind her. “Hi Gingerpaw!” Silverpaw meowed.
Whirling around, Gingerpaw called out, “Hi Silverpaw, hi Rainheart!” Rainheart backed away from Silverpaw, but within moments, Silverpaw had leaped behind her and was pushing her towards Gingerpaw. Rainheart shook her head frantically as Gingerpaw let out a snort of amusment as she watched Silverpaw and Rainheart. Suddenly, a yowl from Harestar was heard, signaling the meeting to begin.
“Leafstar wishes to speak first,” he said, nodding respectfully and stepping back from the front branch.
“Thank you, Harestar,” Leafstar mewed, stepping forward. “I have had a dream from StarClan concerning the future of all of the Clans. Cloudstar, an ancient SkyClan leader, had a prophecy for us. He said ‘Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, and Fox will embark on a great journey and change the fate of the Clans forever.’ I believe the other leaders and the cats in this prophecy have had the same dream. I’ve just learned that Rainheart is Rain from the prophecy.”
“Rainheart! Rainheart!” the other cats chanted, glancing at Rainheart admiringly. The warrior glanced at her paws in embarrassment as Silverpaw nudged her.
“The prey has been running well in SkyClan territory, but the snow has made more cats ill. I don’t have anything else to share,” Leafstar mewed, moving back. Harestar stepped up.
“Leafstar is right, I’ve received the same dream, except for the cat who told me was Tallstar, one of the former leaders of WindClan. I haven’t found any of the cats in the prophecy in WindClan. Moving on, StarClan has blessed WindClan with a prey-rich territory. I have nothing else to share,” Harestar mewed as he stepped back. Mistystar stepped forward. “I have received the same dream, but the cat who told me was Silverstream. Like Harestar, I also haven’t found anyone in RiverClan who I believe is part of the prophecy. The prey is running well in RiverClan territory.” she said. “That is all I have to report.” Tigerstar padded forward.
“I had the same dream except the cat who told me was Tawnypelt. I may have an idea of who my cat in the prophecy is, it might be my young warrior Dovefeather, or Dovewing,” he said, proudly looking at his mate and Dovefeather. “Dovefeather! Dovewing! Dovefeather! Dovewing!” the crowd chanted. Silverpaw looked at Dovefeather; she seemed surprised, mixed in a prick pride in herself, Silverpaw rolled her eyes. Dovewing was gazing up at Tigerstar confusedly. As I remember, Dovewing is one of the three that saved the Clans from the Dark Forest… Silverpaw thought before Tigerstar spoke again. “Though I still do not know what danger is coming, and that’s all I know so far.” Bramblestar padded forward, his dark tabby pelt shining in the moonlight. “My dream was the same with the rest, except Firestar told me the prophecy. I think my cat from the prophecy is either Foxleap or Foxtail.” Silverpaw glanced at Foxtail. She seemed like she could go on an adventure and she wouldn’t even get a scratch, her muscular body reminded her of Lionblaze. Foxleap was fidgeting uncomfortably under the stares of the other Clans. Silverpaw hoped that Foxtail was the one from the prophecy, though Foxtail was half-fox, that didn’t stop her from being a great warrior. Bramblestar finished talking as the clouds covered the gleaming-full moon, he stepped back. Silverpaw saw Rainheart walking over to Foxtail. Silverpaw stayed with Gingerpaw.
“Shouldn’t we follow Rainheart?” asked Gingerpaw.
“Ok, come on!” Silverpaw replied, heading towards Rainheart and Foxtail.
Catching up to them, Gingerpaw mewed, “Hi! I’m Gingerpaw and this is my friend Silverpaw.”
“Hi...” Foxtail replied, flattening her ears. Silverpaw twitched her whiskers, and when she turned around, she saw Dovefeather padding over to the group.
“What’s going on here?” she asked. “We were just talking,” Silverpaw replied. “Oh,” Dovefeather mewed.
“Anyways, have any of you had any strange dreams lately? Including you, Dovefeather,” Rainheart asked.
“Well, I had one yesterday night,” Dovefeather replied. “And it may have had something to do with the prophecy.”
“Really? I had a dream about the prophecy too!” Rainheart meowed.
“I did too!” Gingerpaw mewed excitedly.
“So did I,” Silverpaw agreed.
Chapter 3
Gingerpaw couldn’t believe it. She and all the cats around her were the cats in the prophecy. She looked at Foxtail.
Foxtail jumped slightly, then said, “Okay, maybe I also had a dream about the prophecy...” she said, muttering under her breath.
“So what do you think we should do about the journey?” Gingerpaw asked.
“How about we meet here two sunrises from now?” Silverpaw suggested.
“Sounds good,” Rainheart replied.
“Well… that escalated quickly…” Foxtail meowed.
“Silverpaw, can I talk to you about something?” Gingerpaw asked suddenly.
“Alright, come on,” Silverpaw replied, slightly confused. Once they’d gotten a bit further from the warriors, Gingerpaw started talking.
“Such a long journey must require herbs to carry with us,” Gingerpaw meowed. “We’ll also need traveling herbs to strengthen ourselves.
“Good point,” Silverpaw meowed.
“That means we’ll need something to wrap the herbs in, something large enough to carry many herbs, while-”
“What about laurel leaves?” Gingerpaw interrupted.
“That’s good, I’ll make traveling herbs for Rainheart, Foxtail, and I,” Silverpaw replied.
“Alright, I’ll make traveling herbs for me and Dovefeather then, although we’re almost out of burnet.”
“I’ll leave some burnet at the RiverClan border next sunhigh, we’ve got too much burnet,” Silverpaw responded quickly.
“Thanks!” Gingerpaw replied.
“It’s no problem,” Silverpaw replied.
“Let’s go through the herbs we’ll also need to bring along,” Gingerpaw said. “But not too many of course.”
“We’ll definitely need dock, marigold, and cobwebs, and we should bring along some horsetail, too. Maybe some feverfew and chervil root, just in case?”
“That’s good enough,” Gingerpaw mewed.
“Ok, let’s get back to the others now,” Silverpaw replied.
“Yes, let’s go,” Gingerpaw meowed. Silverpaw was already heading back to the warriors. Gingerpaw bounded after her, pushing through the braken.
“What were you doing back there?” Rainheart asked.
“Oh, we were just talking about what herbs we would need for the journey,” Silverpaw replied.
“Did you finish deciding?”
“Yes, we’re done,” Silverpaw mewed. Gingerpaw saw Foxtail’s claws unsheathing, scraping the ground impatiently.
“Alright, I think my Clan wants me,” said Foxtail, “Meet you guys back here in two sunrises.”
Gingerpaw watched as she leaped away over the rocks. As she stopped and gave a cold stare, Gingerpaw looked away. Foxtail’s acts weird around me, Silverpaw, and Dovefeather, but it seems like she’s close to Rainheart, Gingerpaw thought.
“Rainheart?” Gingerpaw mewed. Rainheart turned to face Gingerpaw.
“Why does Foxtail seem uncomfortable with us?” Gingerpaw asked, tilting her head.
“Oh, me and Foxtail have been friends for at least three or four moons, she’s not very comfortable with cats she just met,” Rainheart replied. Gingerpaw nodded, then turned to follow the rest of her Clanmates.
Once she was back at the RiverClan camp, she started looking through the herbs to see which ones she’d need.
“Plenty of chamomile,” she murmured to herself.
“Did you say something?” she heard Willowshine’s voice as she padded over to where Gingerpaw was looking at the herb stores.
“Just counting,” Gingerpaw responded, thinking quickly.
“Shouldn’t you be going to sleep now?” her mentor asked.
“Of course, let me finish counting the herbs first,” she responded.
“Suit yourself,” Willowshine shrugged. As the medicine cat’s gentle snores echoed around the den, Gingerpaw breathed a sigh of relief. She’d almost been caught. It was a close call. Too close for her liking. Until the journey began, she’d have to be more careful. I’ll need coltsfoot for cracked pads, dock for easing pain, marigold for infection, cobwebs for bleeding, and horsetail for bleeding and infections. I’ll pick up the burnet Silverpaw’s bringing tomorrow, at sunrise. If I meet her, we might be able to discuss the herbs again, Gingerpaw thought drowsily as she curled up in her nest.
Gingerpaw was walking through the reed beds and heard some leaves rustling. She headed toward the sound and saw a glimpse of silver fur. Thinking it was Silverpaw, she chased after the silver tabby. As Gingerpaw neared the cat, she saw that it was Silverstream.
“Silverstream?” she called.
“Come, Gingerpaw, I must show you something.” As Silverstream padded into the bracken, Gingerpaw hesitated before following her. She expected to see more reeds and a river, but when she got to the other side, she saw an enormous cliff. Silverstream was already standing on it, looking out from the cliff. “Come,” Silverstream meowed. Gingerpaw came and sat beside her and looked.
“Wow,” she mewed. There was so much water, more than she’d ever seen before.
“This is the sun-drown place.” Silverstream nodded towards the water.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” called a voice. “Silverpaw?” Gingerpaw looked around, confused. Then Gingerpaw suddenly spotted Silverpaw bounding towards her. “Rainheart, Foxtail, and Dovefeather are here too!” Silverpaw meowed excitedly. “Come on, I’ll take you to them!”
Chapter 4
Foxtail looked up and positioned herself next to Rainheart,
“I’m guessing this is where we need to go.” Rainheart said. Foxtail saw Silverstream walking away as they talked.
“Rainheart, look,” she whispered. Rainheart turned to Silverstream.
“I must go back to StarClan’s hunting grounds. Farewell, you will see me again during your journey.” Foxtail backed away, and Gingerpaw exchanged a slight nod with Silverpaw. Dovefeather blinked as the she-cat slipped away.
Foxtail opened her eyes, the faint light of sun pierced onto her fur, she was in the warriors den. Poking her head out from all the branches, she saw Squirrelflight walking up to her.
“Bramblestar wants to see you,” she mewed. Foxtail dashed forward to the leader’s den. I wonder what he wants me for, she thought. Stopping in front of the den, she called
“It’s Foxtail.” A responding call from inside the den mewed
“Come in.”
“You wanted to see me?” Foxtail asked as she trotted toward the leader.
“I have a few questions about the prophecy that you might have answers to,” Bramblestar meowed, narrowing his eyes. “First question- Do you know who the cats in the prophecy are? Lying to me will only give me more questions that you cannot lie about. Do you know any cats in the prophecy? This does include yourself.”
“Well… I think I had a dream, Firestar did mention something to me of some sort of danger. And the other cats? I don’t really know much about who they are, sorry...” she muttered.
“It’s fine, my second question is- I saw you were with some other Clan cats, do you think they are the ones from the prophecy?”
“Probably,” she replied with a slight shrug. “I’m not absolutely sure, but there’s a good chance that they could be.”
“That’s alright, just keep a lookout for the cats in the prophecy,” Bramblestar mewed briskly, standing up and shaking out her pelt. “You may go now, Squirrelflight said that she wanted you for a hunting patrol.” Dipping her head, Foxtail backed out of the den.
“Foxtail!” Squirrelflight called from across the clearing. “Mousewhisker, Baypaw, and Poppyfrost are waiting for you to go out.” Foxtail bounded across the clearing to join the group of cats standing near the entrance.
Foxtail neared the camp, carrying two squirrels and a shrew. Dropping the prey on the fresh-kill pile, she picked out a wood mouse and began tearing off the thin strips of meat. After she finished eating, Squirrelflight called her again.
“Foxtail, can you go out with Bumblestripe and Molewhisker for the evening patrol?” “Yes, Squirrelflight,” Foxtail replied, then trotted over to join the two gray toms. “Bumblestripe, Molewhisker,” Foxtail greeted them with a slight nod. The two toms gave a nod back. “Come on, let’s get on with this patrol,” Foxtail mewed briskly. Foxtail swerved up the hill, towards the clearing, weaving through the dead trees with Bumblestripe leading, his pale-light-gray pelt brushing against hers.
The three warriors padded along the ShadowClan border, Foxtail pricked her ears in surprise as she scented a fresh ShadowClan smell. “Tigerstar, Scorchfur,” she greeted. “It’s good to see you. What brings you here? Is something wrong?” Foxtail meowed.
“We have something to discuss with Bramblestar,” Tigerstar replied. “Can you give us an escort to the ThunderClan camp so we can talk to him?”
“Molewhisker, go back to camp to tell Squirrelflight that our “friends” from ShadowClan are here,” Foxtail ordered. Molewhisker nodded and quickly dashed away in the direction of the camp. Foxtail turned back to the ShadowClan cats. “Come with us,” she mewed, turning and flanking the ShadowClan cats on one side, Bumblestripe on the other, squinting his eyes at the two ShadowClan cats.
When they finally reached the camp, Bramblestar was sitting in front of the Highledge, his pelt sleek and smooth.
“What brings you here, Tigerstar?” he asked calmly.
“Many ShadowClan patrols have found ThunderClan scent inside of ShadowClan borders. It smelled like an apprentice,” Tigerstar meowed worriedly. “We aren’t sure if the apprentice was a tom or a she-cat.”
Sorrelstripe burst out of the nursery, stopping to catch her breath, “That must’ve been Myrtlepaw! She’s been going off alone for a few days now. She must’ve gone into ShadowClan territory, then ran back to ThunderClan territory when he smelled cats coming.” Sorrelstripe mewed. “I’m so sorry!”
“But Myrtlepaw, what were you doing in ShadowClan territory?” Eaglewing meowed.
“I just wanted to see the pine forest!” Myrtlepaw wailed.
“Well, there you have it,” Bramblestar mewed. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience, Tigerstar. Molewhisker and Foxtail will escort you back to the border.” Molewhisker stepped up, flanking the ShadowClan cats on one side while Foxtail padded to their other side, guiding them out of the camp and towards the ShadowClan border.
“You two deserve a break,” Squirrelflight mewed as Foxtail and Molewhisker trotted back into the camp towards Cherryfall. “You’ve been out on a patrol and an escort, go pick something from the fresh-kill pile and then you can go rest. Picking out a small thrush, Foxtail gulped it down in a few mouthfuls and padded over to the warriors den, watching Finchpaw practice battle moves beside the tree stump. After watching Finchpaw for a while, Foxtail circled her nest until it felt soft and comfortable, then curled up inside her nest and fell asleep.
Chapter 5
Dovefeather sank her teeth into the neck of a plump squirrel, relishing the warm blood. I bet Oakfur will enjoy this, she thought. Not long after that, she caught another rabbit and a mouse. Lifting her chin, Dovefeather trotted through the camp entrance, feeling proud of her haul of prey. She tossed the mouse and the rabbit on the fresh-kill pile, then padded over to the elders' den, placing the squirrel in front of the elders and backing away quietly. Dovefeather picked out a starling from the fresh-kill pile, tearing into it and finishing it quickly. She padded across the clearing to share tongues with her best friend, Talonpaw.
“I wish we knew who the cats in the prophecy were already. Waiting is making everyone anxious, I wish that the cats would just go start the journey, come back, and save us from whatever danger there is already,” Talonpaw mewed. “Just sitting there like startled rabbits won’t help anyone.” Should I tell him that I’m one of the cats in the prophecy? Dovefeather thought. No, if I told him, he would never let me go on the journey. It’s for the good of the Clans.
“Yes, you’re right,” Dovefeather replied, as tried to convince herself that she was doing it for Talonpaw, but it felt weird, lying to her best friend. Dovefeather stood up. “It’s getting late, and you need to get up early tomorrow for training. We should go to sleep now,” she mewed. They split ways as they headed for their nests. Dovefeather circled her nest until it felt soft and comfortable, then curled up in it.
Dovefeather woke up at dawn, blinking away the light that shone on her eyes. She stood up, stretched and padded out of the warriors den to hunt.
Running through the trees to the Halfbridge, she went up the Twoleg path. Slowing down, she saw a mouse, twitching her whiskers as she crept up behind it and pounced. Scooping up the mouse, Dovefeather sank her teeth into its neck. She dug a hole and buried the mouse, then went on and saw a squirrel nibbling on a nut. She didn’t wait for the squirrel to stop and eat, she already was sprinting towards it. The squirrel dropped the nut and raced ahead, but Dovefeather already had too much of a head start for the squirrel to escape. She ran ahead, pounced on the squirrel, and served the killing bite. She dug into the ground, found her mouse she caught, and carried both of her prey back to ShadowClan camp. She gave Oakfur her squirrel, then backed away politely. For herself, she chose a small water vole. She began stripping off the meat, then started gulping it down. Dovefeather finished her vole in a couple of ravenous mouthfuls. Talonpaw must be out on evening patrol, she thought. I think I’ll go out hunting again. Oakfur will be hungry in the morning. Dipping her head respectfully, Dovefeather called over to the ShadowClan deputy.
“Tawnypelt, may I go out hunting alone?”
“Of course,” Tawnypelt purred. “I’m glad you’re dedicating your time and energy to helping the Clan.”
“Thanks!” Dovefeather replied, as she exited the camp. Yes! I got Tawnypelt on her good side, and now I can hunt, alone! The others are always so slow, she thought. She raced through the forest, the wind whistling in her ears. Before long, she’d caught a mouse and a shrew. Creeping up behind another mouse, she pounced squarely onto its back and served the killing bite quickly. She carried the prey back to the camp and dropped it on the fresh-kill pile.
“You’ve been out enough today, Dovefeather,” Tawnypelt called. “You should get some sleep now, I want you for the dawn patrol tomorrow.” Oh trust me, falling asleep won’t be a problem, Dovefeather thought drowsily as she curled up in her nest.
Chapter 6
Rainheart padded towards the medicine den, she wanted to see Silverpaw. “Silverpaw?” she called softly. “Are you there?”
“Yes, just sorting herbs,” a muffled mew answered.
“Sorry, I’ll talk to you later,” she murmured as she backed away from the den.
“Wait, you can come now, I’m almost done,” Silverpaw responded. Rainheart turned around and padded in the den. “So what was it you wanted to talk about?” Silverpaw asked.
“Next sunrise we’ll need to get to the Gathering Island,” Rainheart started. “I just wanted to know your opinion, do you think we really are the ones from the prophecy?”
“Most likely, from my knowledge of prophecies,” Silverpaw replied. “The prophecies are usually only sent to the cats in the prophecy, the Clan leaders, and medicine cats. The other cats usually don’t know about the prophecy.”
“I guess we’ll need to go to the sun-drown place with the other cats,” Rainheart mewed. “I’ve heard of Midnight the badger, but I’ve never seen her with my own eyes.” Yawning, she meowed, “I’m tired, wake me up when it's sunrise.” She padded over to her den and curled her soft, warm tail around her body. She had never been this tired before. She hoped that the journey wasn’t for her, she had gone on many patrols but nothing like this.
“Rainheart! Rainheart wake up!” a voice called. Rainheart blinked her eyes open, she saw Silverpaw half on top of her.
“It’s almost sunrise!” she meowed. Rainheart jumped to her paws. “Ok, take your traveling herbs,” Silverpaw meowed briskly. She reemerged with three bundles of traveling herbs. Rainheart scooped up the herbs and downed them in one gulp. She watched Silverpaw finish her herbs.
“How are we going to sneak past your mentor?” Rainheart asked. “Don’t worry, I put some poppy seeds in her prey last night, she shouldn’t wake up until sunhigh. I told Hawkwing that I’m going out to gather herbs, and I invited you to help me carry them back.”
“Ok, that’s great,” she mewed. She padded out of the camp with Silverpaw at her side. She noticed the shadow of a cat underneath a tall oak tree. That’s probably Hawkwing, she thought. Nudging Silverpaw, she jerked her head towards Hawkwing.
Seeing the SkyClan deputy, Silverpaw deliberately called, “Rainheart, look! I can see some yarrow over there!” She turned, heading deeper into the forest so Hawkwing couldn’t see them anymore. Making a sharp turn, the two she-cats headed towards the Gathering Island. Making their way across the log, they found Dovefeather, Gingerpaw, and Foxtail already waiting for them.
“Sorry,” Rainheart panted. “Hawkwing was watching us for a bit, we had to take the longer route.”
“Well, now that you two are here, can I please have my traveling herbs?” Dovefeather asked exasperatedly.
“Oh! Right, sorry,” Silverpaw mumbled through Dovefeather’s bundle of traveling herbs. Dropping them, she carefully unwrapped the traveling herbs. Dovefeather sniffed them, then revolted.
“Are you sure these are the right herbs?” she asked, disgusted.
“Yes, so eat them,” Silverpaw retorted. Dovefeather lapped up the herbs reluctantly. Revolting again, she swallowed them with great difficulty.
“Foxtail?” asked Rainheart, as Foxtail turned to face her. “How did you get out of ThunderClan?”
“I told the guards I was on a hunting patrol and I had permission to hunt alone by Squirrelflight,” Foxtail explained.
Rainheart padded towards the edge of the island, stopping where the frozen lake water touched her paws. She turned around to Silverpaw.
“Can I have some ivy, thyme, and lavender stems from the SkyClan herb storage?” Gingerpaw asked suddenly. “A lot of it grows on SkyClan territory.”
“Alright, but we should go get those herbs before SkyClan gets worried,” Rainheart meowed. She and Gingerpaw were already padding over the frozen lake water towards SkyClan territory.
“Wait!” Silverpaw called, Rainheart paused, and she turned around to see Silverpaw bounding towards her. “Can I come too?”
“Alright.” Rainheart rasped. “We need all the help we can get,” Rainheart agreed.
“Thanks!” Silverpaw purred. “Now let’s get going before anyone realizes that we’re gone.” They sprinted over to SkyClan territory. They padded down the ground as silently as they could. They padded to the overgrowth under the branches, they saw SkyClan camp and raced down the path, curving towards it. Silverpaw and Rainheart each grabbed a bundle of horsetail nearby and trotted into the camp.
“We’re just going out for another bundle of herbs,” Rainheart called to Hawkwing. “We gathered so many herbs that we’ll have to go back again to bring back the rest of them!” Dashing over to the medicine den, Silverpaw and Rainheart dashed out of the camp while secretly taking out another bundle of herbs with them. They quickly made their way back to the Gathering Island, where Foxtail, Gingerpaw, and Dovefeather waited. “That was quite a run!” Rainheart exclaimed, panting.
“Mhm,” Silverpaw replied, her voice muffled from the bundle of herbs she was carrying.
“Well, now that you’re both back, we get going,” Dovefeather mewed.
“If we stay here any longer, it’s going to be sundown,” Foxtail meowed. “If we’re going on the journey, then we might as well hurry up and leave before anyone finds us and forbids us to go.”
“Ok to the… where exactly are we going?” Dovefeather asked.
“I think we’re supposed to go to the sun-drown place,” Rainheart answered. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 7
I can’t believe that we’re still barely out of the Clans’ territories, it feels like we’ve been walking for an eternity! This journey will be harder than I thought. Silverpaw sighed, they probably weren’t even through a quarter of their journey, but she and Gingerpaw almost already used up their entire store of dock that they’d brought. And Dovefeather won’t let us stop to look for herbs, she keeps on insisting that we have to warn the Clans in time, Silverpaw thought. “Can we please stop to look for herbs, just for a little while?” she pleaded.
“There isn’t any time to spare,” Dovefeather mewed briskly as her fur flowed with the wind. “We have to get back and warn the Clans about whatever danger’s ahead.”
“Hmph. You’re no fun, Dovefeather,” Rainheart snorted. Dovefeather muttered something through her teeth, but Silverpaw couldn’t hear her over the forest noises. Finally, she stopped.
“We can go hunt now,” she meowed, holding her chin up. Silverpaw huffed.
“When are you going to let us gather herbs? We’re almost out of dock and horsetail.”
“You can gather it on the way if you see anything close by,” Dovefeather sniffed.
“But you still refused to let me go collect them when it was close by!” Silverpaw shot back.
“Those were too far away! That would be delaying too much time!” Dovefeather meowed, a growl rising in her throat. Silverpaw stared back at her defiantly.
“There’s no need for this…” Rainheart started nervously. Sighing, Silverpaw stepped back beside Rainheart, her hackles lowering.
“So can we pick herbs if it’s close by while we’re hunting?” Gingerpaw asked.
“Fine,” Dovefeather responded. “But only if it’s close by.”
“Okay…” Foxtail murmured.
“Finally,” Silverpaw snorted.
“Foxtail and Rainheart will hunt together, Gingerpaw and Silverpaw will hunt together, and I will hunt alone,” Dovefeather continued. “We’re all going to meet back here at sundown.”
“Who died and made you leader?” Silverpaw muttered under her breath.
“Come on, don’t be so grumpy,” Gingerpaw pleaded. “At least Dovefeather let us gather herbs.”
“Fine, you’re right,” Silverpaw sighed as they headed deeper into the woods. “Quiet!” she hissed suddenly, nudging Gingerpaw into a hunting crouch. She could hear the paws of a rabbit pattering on the leaves. Instinctively, Gingerpaw padded in a wide circle around to the other side of the rabbit. Baring her teeth, Gingerpaw growled as she chased the rabbit straight into Silverpaw’s paws. The rabbit skidded wildly on the dry leaves, its eyes sparking with alarm. Silverpaw pounced on it, relishing the wave of warm blood as she bit into the rabbit, feeling its spine crunch. “Carry any herbs you find,” she muttered through the mouthful of fur. Eyes shining, the two medicine cat apprentices approached the area where they were due to meet back. Foxtail and Rainheart had caught a squirrel and a vole, and Dovefeather had caught two shrews and a mouse. Dovefeather’s white pelt glimmered in the sunset, her blue eyes sparkling with pride.
“I caught more than you two together!” Dovefeather snorted with laughter.
“Well, Gingerpaw and Silverpaw’s rabbit is bigger than what you caught put together,” Rainheart pointed out.
“Anyways, I’ll try to fetch you some dock and horsetail, since that’s what you wanted...” Foxtail mewed.
“At last! Thanks, though” Silverpaw meowed.
“You’re welcome,” Foxtail replied quietly. Foxtail padded off to find some dock.
“I’m so tired!” Dovefeather yawned, curling up in the makeshift den that they had made earlier.
“Who isn’t?” Silverpaw pointed out, curling up in her nest. If Dovefeather’s going to act like she’s our leader, this is going to be a long journey, Silverpaw thought drowsily as her mind slipped into troubled dreams about the dangers ahead. She saw flashes of different parts of a twolegplace, dogs baring their teeth, and something huge and dark that she couldn’t quite figure out...
Chapter 8
Gingerpaw woke up to see Silverpaw bending over her. “Wake up!” Silverpaw meowed.
“I’m coming,” said Gingerpaw. She followed Silverpaw to where the other cats were talking. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“We’re deciding where we should go...” Foxtail replied.
“We’re thinking we should keep heading towards the sun-drown place,” Rainheart mewed. “But first we need some fresh-kill.” The others agreed and went to eat. Gingerpaw picked out Rainheart’s vole that she caught yesterday and started to take out mouthfuls of meat. Silverpaw sat next to her and bit down on the plump shrew Dovefeather caught. Once everyone was done eating, they set out for the sun-drown place. Gingerpaw yawned. How long will this journey take? What did StarClan want to tell us?
“Gingerpaw,” Dovefeather’s mew jerked her awake. “I want you to go out to collect herbs. Silverpaw and Foxtail will come with you, but they’ll be hunting instead of collecting herbs. I’ll hunt with Rainheart. We’ll meet back here at sunhigh, then we’ll start traveling again.” Dovefeather said as she walked off with Rainheart. Silverpaw padded confidently in the other direction as Gingerpaw and Foxtail trailed after her. Gingerpaw’s nose twitched as she smelled the sharp scent of dock. She stopped, then padded towards the smell. Collecting a bundle of the herb, she grasped it between her jaws and continued following Silverpaw and Foxtail. They were sniffing the base of a tall oak tree, intent on finding some prey. Suddenly, Gingerpaw scented something. Something that wasn't the scent of any herb she knew…
“Fox!” she shrieked. Silverpaw turned on her, hissing.
“You just ruined our first catch-” her eyes stretched wide. Gingerpaw’s mind whirled as she stood, frozen with shock.
“Gingerpaw, go warn Rainheart and Dovefeather then ask them to come help us. We can hold it off until you come back,” Silverpaw ordered.
“But-” Gingerpaw started.
“Just go!”Silverpaw snarled, facing the fox. Gingerpaw hared away, glimpsing an orange streak leaping onto her fur. Her heart pounding, Gingerpaw raced through the forest, following the two other warriors’ scent trail. She arrived to see Rainheart holding a plump mouse in her jaws.
“What’s going on?” Dovefeather asked.
“There’s a fox,” Gingerpaw panted.
“A fox?” Rainheart and Dovefeather gasped at the same time. “Come on let’s go Silverpaw and Foxtail are holding it off right now,” Gingerpaw meowed quickly as she dashed away.
“Follow me!” The two warriors hared after her, as a shriek rippled through the forest. “That sounds like Foxtail!” Rainheart gasped. They ran in the direction of the sound. Panting, the three cats burst into the clearing. Stopping to catch her breath, Gingerpaw glanced around at the other cats. Rainheart slid under the fox, scratching its belly. Gingerpaw bit down on the fox’s neck with Dovefeather clawing at the fox. The fox limped away into the overgrowth. Gingerpaw could feel her muzzle stinging now that the fire of the battle was over. Along with Silverpaw, she weaved through the battered group, treating their bites and scratches. Padding over to Foxtail, she chewed some marigold into a poultice quickly, then smeared it over the wound gently. Silverpaw hurried over to her, giving her a thick wad of cobwebs before going back to treating Rainheart’s bite. Using the cobweb, she padded Foxtail’s wound, then turned to Dovefeather at the same time as Silverpaw. Gingerpaw quickly crushed some tansy leaves and applied it to Dovefeather’s claw. Silverpaw grabbed a swath of cobweb, then wrapped it around Dovefeather’s claw. Silverpaw turned to Gingerpaw, but Gingerpaw was already treating Silverpaw’s scratch. Suddenly, there was a snarl behind them. Gingerpaw turned slowly, her eyes wide with horror, and saw three pairs of gleaming amber eyes.
Chapter 9
The fox must’ve come here with two other foxes, and now it’s come back with them! “Run!” Foxtail yowled. “We can’t fight all of them!” The other four cats didn’t need her to tell them again. Everyone took off running, their pelts no more than a blur of colors against the trees. Then, the ground disappeared beneath them, and everything went black.
Huh? What happened? And where am I? Struggling to open her eyes in the blinding white light, Foxtail blinked. Rainheart, Gingerpaw, Silverpaw, and Dovefeather were lying beside her, all of them waking up, one by one, confusion showing in their eyes when they saw the strange place. Wait. This is a twoleg nest! Foxtail realized. Suddenly, a white twoleg came, and forced a pebble down her throat, then did the same with the other cats. It soothed the pain in her back, but she didn’t want to eat another one.
“This is a twoleg nest!” Dovefeather hissed. “We need to get out of here!” Silverpaw rolled her eyes.
“Well isn’t that obvious?
“The question is, how do we get out of here?” Rainheart asked.
“I guess we’ll need to wait until the twoleg opens the door, or until it leaves the nest,” Foxtail responded.
That evening, as the white-pelted twoleg was leaving the nest, Foxtail signaled the cats forward, and they fled from the nest. As the twoleg tried to pick her up, Foxtail swiped a claw at its leg, leaving a shallow scratch. The twoleg recoiled for a moment, then began chasing them again. They swerved into a bush, then waited for the twoleg to go away. Foxtail’s back had begun throbbing again. Gingerpaw began treating Dovefeather’s claw, since the wound had reopened and was bleeding again. Silverpaw began treating Rainheart’s wound as well. Foxtail’s scratches were still bound tight with cobwebs. After she finished, she and Gingerpaw began to treat their own wounds. Foxtail padded over to Rainheart while she was rapidly licking her shoulder, Foxtail sat next to Rainheart.
“Oh, hi Foxtail,” Rainheart mewed. “Shouldn’t you rest?” Foxtail flinched. Couldn’t Rainheart see that her wounds were small and shallow?
“It’s fine, it’ll heal by itself,” Foxtail replied. Rainheart stood up again, then limped towards Silverpaw and Gingerpaw. Foxtail fidgeted on the cold snow and watched Rainheart talk to the two medicine cat apprentices. Dovefeather had already gone hunting. Should I talk to them? Foxtail thought. She stood back up, shaking the snow off her pelt, and padded over to the other three cats.
“Hi Foxtail!” Gingerpaw mewed cheerfully.
“Hi…,” Foxtail muttered. She still wasn’t comfortable with anyone else but Rainheart. She sat down between Rainheart and Gingerpaw.
“Should I go hunting with Dovefeather...?” Foxtail mewed questioningly.
“No, you can stay here,” Gingerpaw responded. Gingerpaw shivered.
“We should move somewhere warmer,” she meowed. Foxtail nodded. They all got up. Foxtail spotted an overgrown holly bush nearby. That should be big enough for a small temporary camp, just big enough for all of us, provide shelter,
Racing ahead and dug a large hole sheltered by the bush, large enough for a den where five cats could fit comfortably, along with a fresh-kill pile and a small eating space.
“Is this better?” Foxtail asked.
“Yeah, thanks,” Rainheart replied. Silverpaw pawed at the snow, trying to soften it to make it more comfortable. Foxtail saw Dovefeather padding towards them. She held a plump mountain hare, a vole, and three shrews.
“Here’s some fresh-kill,” Dovefeather meowed. Foxtail dragged the mountain hare over to Rainheart, then beckoned to Dovefeather. The three warriors crouched around the hare and shared it between them. Silverpaw and Gingerpaw crouched side by side. Silverpaw took the rest of the prey in her jaws, dropped a vole and a shrew at Gingerpaw’s paws, sat back down, and began eating her two shrews.
Foxtail crawled over to Rainheart. They shared tongues just as Silverpaw and Gingerpaw finished eating. Dovefeather groomed her fur, stretching her neck to reach the base of her tail. Foxtail poked her head out of the bush, “It’s still snowing really hard,” Foxtail meowed, pulling her head back into the shelter of the bush. “We’re not even near the sun-drown place,” Dovefeather groaned. “I agree with Dovefeather, we haven’t got that much of anywhere,” Rainheart mewed. Gingerpaw nodded in agreement, “I’ll check how much snow is falling…” Foxtail murmured. Foxtail peeked outside again, she signaled the others it’s safe to go out. Foxtail took a step forward in the chilly weather, pressing her paws against the snow. How long will this storm last?
Chapter 10
Dovefeather woke up to a prodding paw.
“Wake up!” Rainheart meowed. Dovefeather sighed
“Just a bit more sleep?” Dovefeather asked. “But we still have a long journey to the sun-drown place, you said so yourself,” Rainheart responded. Dovefeather turned away. Rainheart sighed. Dovefeather glared at her with pale blue eyes. Rainheart glared back, much colder than Dovefeather’s. Silverpaw poked her head in.
“We’re running out of time, and it’s almost sunhigh already.”
“It’s already sunhigh?” Dovefeather hissed.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, bird-brain!” Rainheart meowed with a hint of amusement, her glare disappearing. Dovefeather’s whiskers twitched.
Foxtail padded into the bush, getting Rainheart to step out the brambles. Dovefeather moaned as she stood up on the moss pile under the bush, she crawled out of the pile of bramble and twigs. She shook the snow off her pelt and padded towards the rest of the group.
Dovefeather tried to keep her paws stable on the slippery snow like the other cats as her paws sunk into the deep snow. Foxtail padded ahead through the thicket of vines, dappled with snow. Dovefeather bent down, dodging the vines flying at her as Rainheart leaped out of the dead leaves and branches.
Dovefeather wiggled out of the thorn bush as snow stuck to her paws, she padded towards the rest of the cats as she shook the snow off her pelt. Dovefeather stared into the rising sun as Silverpaw and Gingerpaw padded over, grabbed Dovefeather’s scruff and dragged Dovefeather to Rainheart and Foxtail.
“Can’t we pause and look at our surroundings?” Dovefeather moaned.
“There’s no time to waste Dovefeather,” Rainheart replied.
“I agree with Rainheart, we still have a long journey till we reach the sun-drown place.” Foxtail growled.
Dovefeather looked down to her paws and sprinted over to the mountains, “How do we get over that?” Dovefeather mewed. “We climb, fish-brain,” answered Gingerpaw as she leaped over the boulders. Dovefeather squinted her eyes at Gingerpaw as Rainheart crouched then sprung into the air, leaping over the boulder. Dovefeather followed and grabbed Gingerpaw’s scruff and dragged her up the steep rock. Foxtail led Silverpaw up the mountain behind Rainheart’s tail. Dovefeather leaped onto the peak, clawing for the top of the mountain.
Dovefeather dug claws into the snow as her claws slipped, she rapidly scratched the surface of the slippery mountain. “Help me!” Dovefeather yelped. Oh StarClan, don’t let me fall! Dovefeather thought desperately. Foxtail turned around, sprinting over to Dovefeather.
Dovefeather could feel her claws slipping, she let go, but Foxtail grabbed her and pulled her to the top of the mountain before she could fall. “Thanks, Foxtail,” Dovefeather panted, her blue eyes filled with relief. Foxtail shrugged. “No problem. I just did what any cat would do.” Rainheart skidded around the corner, the fur on her back bristling. “What happened?” Silverpaw demanded. “Is anyone hurt?” Gingerpaw asked shakily. “I fell over the cliff,” Dovefeather explained, embarrassed. “Foxtail helped me get back up.” “Oh,” Rainheart mewed, her bristling fur lowering. “Well, at least you’re safe.” Silverpaw looked down, but eventually nodded. Dovefeather trotted over to the other side of the mountain, she looked down at the steep hill. “Now what are we going to do, slide?” Dovefeather murmured. “I guess there’s no other option,” Foxtail mewed. Dovefeather shrugged and leaped down the mountain, trying to maintain her balance. She struggled to slow down as she slid down the snow, she turned around to see Silverpaw trailing behind with Rainheart. Dovefeather leaped onto a nearby boulder, she paused for a few seconds, as she saw Rainheart sliding down to the bottom. Silverpaw leaped on the soft ground with Gingerpaw and Foxtail following. Dovefeather slid down the rest of the mountain, “Can we pause the journey until moonrise?” Dovefeather mewed. “Sure, there’s a nearby forest with lots of vines and overgrowth we can hide in.” Rainheart replied. Dovefeather nodded as she padded over with the rest of the group towards the bush. She settled in and curled her warm, white tail around her body. If we keep going on like this, will we be too late?
Chapter 11
Rainheart grumbled as the blinding light of the moon shone in her eyes. A shadow blocked the light of the moon, she squinted her eyes,
“Rainheart,” a voice called. Rainheart jumped to her paws, looking around wildly.
“Oh, hi Foxtail,” she mumbled, embarrassed. “I thought you were someone else.” Foxtail mrrowed with satisfaction. Rainheart flattened her ears, she wanted to pounce on Foxtail so she would be quiet. Rainheart swished her tail furiously, Foxtail paused.
“Sorry Rainheart,” she mewed. Rainheart pricked her ears.
“It’s fine, is it moonrise already?” Rainheart asked.
“Seems like it,” Foxtail mewed. Rainheart crawled out of the braken, she saw more mountains to climb but also saw a flat space between each of them.
“We can travel through there,” Rainheart meowed, flicking her tail at the direction of the spaces between the mountains. “It’s safer and easier to go through.”
“Good idea,” Silverpaw mewed. Rainheart nodded slightly as Silverpaw raced over to the small crevice, Rainheart squeezed in the space while Foxtail trailed behind her. Rainheart eventually got out of the small crevice, she shook snowflakes off of her pelt. Gingerpaw squeezed through easily with Silverpaw. Rainheart waited for Dovefeather and Foxtail to get through, she padded over to Dovefeather and pulled her out of the crack. Dovefeather sprinted ahead of her as Foxtail stopped in her tracks.
“I think we should stop and hunt,” Rainheart mewed as her belly growled. Dovefeather turned around.
“Sure,” she meowed. Dovefeather padded over to Rainheart.
“We need to split up to cover more ground. Rainheart, come with me. Silverpaw and Gingerpaw can keep each other company, and Dovefeather will go look for something in that forest.” Foxtail meowed, flicking the direction of withered trees.
“Who made you the leader?” Dovefeather snorted.
“Do you have a better idea?” Silverpaw countered. Dovefeather snorted, turning away. Rainheart sighed. If only they could get along, she thought. Foxtail padded over to the nearly frozen pond, Rainheart trailing behind her. She swiped a paw into the pond, scooping up a trout and serving the killing bite.
“Who taught you that?” Rainheart mewed, impressed.
“Gingerpaw,” Foxtail replied.
“Can I try?” Rainheart asked.
“Sure,” Foxtail sat at the edge of the water. Rainheart copied Foxtail, making sure not to let her shadow fall into the water. Rainheart saw a minnow swimming by, and flashed a paw into the water as Foxtail had done with the trout. She scooped the small fish out of the water and bit down hard.
“You did well for your first try,” Foxtail meowed. Rainheart pricked her ears happily.
“Come on, let's get back to the others,” she mewed. She bounded towards Silverpaw and Gingerpaw with Foxtail at her heels. Silverpaw turned to them as Rainheart dropped the minnow on a sturdy patch of snow. Dovefeather came back with a mouse and two robins as Foxtail skidded to a stop beside the minnow, and draped her trout on top.
“Ha! I still caught more than you two!” Dovefeather snorted. Foxtail shook her head.
“It’s not a competition, Dovefeather,” Rainheart mewed. Dovefeather glared at her and dragged the mouse she caught. Rainheart sighed, tearing at the robin and tearing off mouthfuls of the soft flesh. Foxtail sat beside her, eating the trout she caught at the pond. Silverpaw rolled her eyes at Dovefeather, who had carried her mouse farther than she needed to, and was glaring at Rainheart. Rainheart stared over Dovefeather’s shoulder, the fur on her back bristling.
“Dovefeather! Behind you!” Rainheart ran over and bit the shoulder of the badger. Dovefeather jumped slightly, then ran over to help Rainheart. Foxtail ran over and pinned the badger down. Rainheart glanced at the bushes, her eyes wide with horror. “Look out!” Rainheart yowled as two more badgers knocked Foxtail over.
“We could use some help!” Dovefeather hissed to Silverpaw and Gingerpaw as a badger slashed Rainheart’s back. Silverpaw muttered under her breath, but bounded over to one of the badgers, wanting a challenge. Gingerpaw ran over to help Silverpaw. Rainheart slashed at the badger’s eye as another badger slashed back at her. Rainheart backed away as Foxtail leaped over to her and clawed at the badger’s back. Rainheart then turned to see Dovefeather biting a badger’s leg that was slashing at Gingerpaw as Silverpaw slid under the badger, sliding her claws over its belly. The badger grunted, then shambled away. Silverpaw and Gingerpaw raced away to a badger that was flinging its claws at Dovefeather as Rainheart got clawed by another badger, with blood oozing down her flank, the badger pinned her down to the snow. She struggled to wiggle herself loose as Foxtail bounded over and swung her claws at the badger’s neck. The badger Rainheart and Foxtail chased away the badger. Dovefeather bounded over to the other four cats as they advanced on the remaining badger. The badger took one last slash at Rainheart’s hind leg but Foxtail pinned the badger down before it could. Furiously, Rainheart ripped the badger’s fur before letting it go. The badger yelped in pain, then glared at the advancing cats, then scrambled away to join the rest of its set. Rainheart glanced around. Rainheart could feel her back and her flank stinging hard. Suddenly, she began to feel dizzy, and the landscape in front of her blurred. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed into the snow.
Chapter 12
Silverpaw’s mind whirled as she saw Rainheart collapse onto the ground. Everything’s gone wrong! Rainheart is weak and the rest of us are still recovering from our fight with the foxes! Oh StarClan, why would you do this to us? What did we do to deserve this? Wincing from the pain in her leg, she limped rapidly over to Rainheart, Gingerpaw supporting her on one side. Hardly daring to breathe, Silverpaw rested her ear against Rainheart’s chest. She heard the small thump of Rainheart’s heartbeat, slow, but she was still alive. Silverpaw breathed a sigh of relief. Thank StarClan! Dovefeather and Foxtail bounded over.
“Is she alright?” Foxtail mewed. Dovefeather stared at Rainheart with worry. “Well?” she demanded.
“She’s still alive,” Gingerpaw replied for Silverpaw. Foxtail crouched down. Rainheart slowly opened her eyes. She pushed herself up, but collapsed in the snow.
Dovefeather dragged Rainheart up and supported her on one side with Foxtail on the other.
“We should find someplace to stay for the night,” Gingerpaw mewed. “Rainheart needs to rest. We all do.”
“Yes, we ran out of herbs, and we’ll need to get up early tomorrow to look for herbs for our wounds,” Silverpaw agreed.
“Alright,” Foxtail responded. “What about that bush? It’s big enough for all five of us, and it’ll keep us sheltered for the night.” “Sure,” Dovefeather meowed. Silverpaw poked her head in, shuffling towards the back of the bush. Gingerpaw followed, then Dovefeather, and finally, Foxtail and Rainheart.
“I’m going to go look for herbs,” Silverpaw announced, looking around. “Does anyone want to come with me?” Gingerpaw stood up.
“I’ll come. Dovefeather, you should stay here in case the badgers come back. Yowl if they do, we’ll come.”
“Okay,” Dovefeather yawned. “Come back soon.”
“We will,” Silverpaw promised. “Come on, Gingerpaw!” Gingerpaw trailed behind Silverpaw as she bounded towards a small patch of clover. Looking back at Rainheart, Silverpaw pushed through the overgrowth to find cobwebs for Rainheart’s deep scratches. Sniffing the air, Silverpaw picked up a sharp, tangy scent. Dock!
“Gingerpaw! I found some dock,” she called over her shoulder. Without waiting for a reply, she raced towards the smell. Slowing to a stop, she nipped off a few dock stems, enough for all of their scratches, then turned back to find Gingerpaw. Silverpaw saw Gingerpaw picking up cobwebs from a tall oak tree.
“Ick! There might be spiders on there, Gingerpaw!”
“Don’t worry! I already checked, Silverpaw!” Silverpaw nodded.
“Come on! Let's give this to the others!” Silverpaw mewed. Gingerpaw dashed towards Dovefeather, Silverpaw at her heels. Silverpaw crawled into the bush and saw Rainheart laying down on the broken branches. Silverpaw began licking the scratches, then began massaging some dock leaves into them. Finally, she pressed on some cobweb, then licked her friend between her ears.
“Go get some rest, you tired yourself out yesterday.” Rainheart nodded as she laid her head down. Foxtail sat next to Rainheart as Silverpaw crawled towards Gingerpaw. Gingerpaw was licking her hind legs when Silverpaw came over. Silverpaw looked at Rainheart.
“She’ll be alright, Silverpaw,” Gingerpaw mewed.
“I know, but she barely survived the badgers, how will we get through to the sun-drown place in this shape?” Silverpaw hissed.
“That’s for StarClan to figure out,” Gingerpaw answered. Silverpaw tasted the air. Twolegs!
“Foxtail! Twolegs are coming! Me and Gingerpaw will keep Rainheart safe. You and Dovefeather’ll have to fight them off!” Foxtail nodded and crawled out of the bush to alert Dovefeather. Dovefeather seemed to have gotten the message and turned towards the sound of the snapping twigs. Silverpaw padded to Rainheart.
“Silverpaw, what’s happening?” Rainheart mewed. “There are twolegs nearby,” Silverpaw responded. Rainheart struggled to her paws. “Don’t go! You haven’t recovered yet! Foxtail and Dovefeather can handle this.” Rainheart sank down into the snow. She curled into a ball and closed her eyes. Silverpaw heard a battle cry, then some yowling. She poked her head out of the bush, and saw the twolegs limping away from the bush.
“Come in, we still have some leftover cobwebs and dock,” Silverpaw meowed. Foxtail and Dovefeather nodded as they crawled through the dead leaves and bramble. Silverpaw cleaned Foxtail’s scratches and massaged dock leaves into them, then pressed some cobweb onto each scratch. “There, it’ll take the night to heal, but it will heal eventually.” Foxtail nodded her thanks and padded over to Rainheart. Gingerpaw was treating Dovefeather’s wounds. Silverpaw looked up at the glistening moon. “It’s getting late, we should get some rest.” Silverpaw mewed. Gingerpaw and Dovefeather nodded as Silverpaw came over to Gingerpaw to sleep. Silverpaw curled up until her tail touched her muzzle. I hope nothing else has to come. How long will it take to communicate with Midnight?
Chapter 13
“Gingerpaw! Wake up!” Silverpaw meowed, nudging Gingerpaw with her muzzle.
“Yes?” Gingerpaw responded groggily, her eyes still adjusting to the bright light.
“It’s almost sunhigh! The others are waiting for you outside!” Silverpaw mewed. Gingerpaw sat bolt upright. A few days ago, she and a group of cats from the other Clans had set off on a journey to find Midnight the badger and receive a message.
“I’ll be there in a moment,” Gingerpaw promised, quickly grooming her fur and straightening her whiskers. She crawled outside to find Foxtail, Dovefeather, Rainheart, and Silverpaw waiting there, staring impatiently at the bush.
“Finally!” Dovefeather snorted when she caught sight of Gingerpaw. “We’re wasting daylight. You’ve been sleeping the morning away!” Silverpaw rolled her eyes at Dovefeather. “You literally woke up moments before Gingerpaw.”
“Well-” Dovefeather started.
“Break it up!” Foxtail growled, pushing herself between them. “We’ll never be able to make it to Midnight’s cavern if we don’t work together!” Rainheart agreed. Gingerpaw sighed. She knew Rainheart and Foxtail were right, but it was hard to keep her temper in touch when the other cats could be so irritating. Rainheart tasted the air.
“No sign of the Twolegs,” she reported. “But I did pick up a faint scent of dog.” Gingerpaw glanced around.
“At least there are some trees nearby,” she mewed, flicking her tail towards a small cluster of rowan trees a few tail-lengths away. Loud barking sounded behind them. There were three dogs, hot on their trail, barely two rabbit-hops away! Gingerpaw raced ahead while Foxtail supported Rainheart on one side, Silverpaw at her heels. Gingerpaw pushed through the snow and bounded under a leafless tree. Gingerpaw scrambled to her paws, sinking her claws into the trunk and climbing up. Silverpaw followed, Dovefeather and Foxtail climbing onto another rowan tree. Rainheart struggled to climb the trunk of another rowan tree, but finally managed to claw her way up onto a branch, her fur bushed. The dogs brushed her fur, then started barking up at the cats.
“That was close,” Rainheart panted. The dogs scratched at the trees furiously. Gingerpaw hissed triumphantly.
“You can’t get us up here!” Suddenly, a twoleg came running up the slope, yowling at the dogs. The dogs glared at the cats for a moment, then ran back to the Twoleg.
“That’s right! Run back to your twoleg, flea-bags!” Dovefeather taunted.
“Let’s go now, before the dogs come back!” Foxtail growled.
“But what about Rainheart?” Gingerpaw asked.
“I can take care of myself,” Rainheart meowed. “Alright,” Gingerpaw mewed reluctantly. “Let’s go, then.” Gingerpaw started down the slope, looking back to check on Rainheart every few moments. Finally, Rainheart slid down the trunk and landed in the snow. Foxtail pulled Rainheart out of the snow. “Come on, we’re near where the Tribe of Rushing Water lives!” Gingerpaw meowed excitedly.
“Ok, that means the sun-drown place isn’t far away,” Foxtail mewed. Gingerpaw leaped onto a large, smooth stone and bounded ahead. As she turned to Rainheart, Gingerpaw heard a waterfall, crashing into a pool of water. The Tribe of Rushing Water! Gingerpaw thought excitedly.
“Foxtail! I found the Tribe!” Gingerpaw exclaimed.
“Good, we’ll need Stoneteller to look over Rainheart,” Foxtail mewed. Gingerpaw nodded as she dashed into the cave behind the water.
“Gingerpaw, wait-!” Silverpaw warned. Gingerpaw was already in the cavern.
“Who are you?” a she-cat covered in mud hissed.
“I’m sorry, my name is Gingerpaw,” she apologized.
“What are you doing here?” the she-cat questioned.
“I was wondering if I could stay here with my friends until moonrise,” Gingerpaw responded.
“Gingerpaw, where are you?” Foxtail meowed. Foxtail rushed into the cavern with Silverpaw. The she-cat gave Foxtail a cold stare.
“I know you,” she meowed. Foxtail hissed.
“You must be Foxtail! I’ve heard many things about you from Bramblestar.” Foxtail paused.
“Bramblestar still comes here?” she muttered.
“Of course he does! Now that Sharptooth is out of the way, we’re able to visit more easily!'' The she-cat mewed.
“Brook, who are these cats?” another cat called.
“These are Foxtail and her friends, Stoneteller!” Stoneteller paused.
“Welcome, Foxtail, we have a lot to talk about!” Stoneteller meowed.
“You’re Stoneteller?” Gingerpaw asked.
“Yes,” Stoneteller responded.
“One of our friends has been hurt badly while chasing away a set of badgers, and we were wondering if you could help cure her,” Foxtail responded. Silverpaw and Dovefeather nodded in agreement as Rainheart limped awkwardly into the cave. Gingerpaw padded over and led Rainheart to the old tom.
“Greetings,” Rainheart mewed, dipping her head respectfully.
“I hope you are doing well,” Stoneteller replied. “I hear that you have been hurt?”
“Yes, Stoneteller,” Rainheart muttered in embarrassment.
“Where were you hurt?” Stoneteller questioned.
“Her scratches are on her back and flank,” Silverpaw meowed, flattening her ears. Stoneteller locked his eyes on Rainheart’s wounds and nodded.
“Come with me, I can heal your scratches.” Gingerpaw paused, tasting the air.
“I smell dogs. And Twolegs,” Gingerpaw growled.
“Dogs?” Brook tilted her head. She sniffed. “You’re right!” Brook exclaimed. “I’ll alert the others.” Gingerpaw stared at the waterfall.
“We should hide for now,” Gingerpaw meowed. Dovefeather flattened her ears.
“No! I’m not a coward like you!” Dovefeather hissed. “Fine then, go deal with the dogs alone, it won’t be my fault if you die!” Silverpaw responded dryly. Dovefeather muttered under her breath, but padded deeper into the cave. Gingerpaw sighed. Will we ever get along with each other?
Chapter 14
Foxtail blinked her eyes open. She was lying in a tunnel with Rainheart resting beside her.
“Finally! You were sleeping the morning away!” Rainheart mewed, rousing. Foxtail pushed herself up.
“Where’s Dovefeather?” Foxtail asked, looking around for the white she-cat.
“She went hunting with Brook, Mist, and Bird,” Rainheart meowed. Foxtail pushed herself up and trotted out of the tunnel.
“Have the dogs left?” Foxtail growled. Rainheart shook her head.
“They’re still searching for-” Rainheart replied. She was interrupted by some yowling, and loud barks and snarls. Rainheart hissed.
“Let’s go somewhere farther from the dogs,” Foxtail mewed. She scrambled into a crevice, shoving Rainheart behind her. Foxtail hissed. “We’d better stay quiet to get past the dogs!” Foxtail muttered to Rainheart. Rainheart nodded as Foxtail saw Silverpaw and Gingerpaw a few fox-lengths away. She flicked her tail at the direction of the two cats sharing tongues. Foxtail crouched down and crawled over to them, blending in with the orange-yellow setting sun. Foxtail looked back as the dogs’ howling became faint and signaled Rainheart it was safe. Rainheart raced over as Foxtail began going towards the two apprentices.
“Hi, Foxtail! What’s the matter?” Silverpaw asked.
“Rainheart and I wanted to go somewhere without dogs pestering us,” Foxtail mewed as Rainheart skidded to a halt next to Gingerpaw.
“It’s a good thing the dogs didn’t find us,” Rainheart rasped. “Do you think Dovefeather will come back anytime soon?” Foxtail wasn’t worrying about Dovefeather at the moment, she had Brook, Mist, and Bird.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Silverpaw snorted. Foxtail nodded slightly as Rainheart sat back down.
“Have your wounds healed well?” Gingerpaw asked, changing the topic. Rainheart nodded. Foxtail breathed a sigh of relief.
“Well, that’s a good thing,” Silverpaw mewed. Rainheart pricked her ears as Dovefeather trotted along over to them with a hawk in her jaws.
“You didn’t get caught by the dogs?” Gingerpaw meowed. Dovefeather shook her head. “They were so mouse-brained that they left without searching for us!” Dovefeather purred. Foxtail twitched her whiskers. “Did you catch any fish?” Gingerpaw asked cheerfully.
“No, but you should try this!” Dovefeather encouraged. Foxtail crouched down and gripped the hawk in her teeth and took a few mouthfuls. She paused and looked over at Gingerpaw, Foxtail slid the hawk next to Gingerpaw. Gingerpaw looked down, then picked it up and sank her teeth into the hawk.
“Hmm, this tastes a bit like the birds back in the forest,” Gingerpaw mewed. Foxtail watched as Gingerpaw took a few more mouthfuls of the hawk. Rainheart dragged a plump mouse from the fresh-kill pile.
“Foxtail, aren’t you hungry?” Rainheart asked, cocking her head.
“No, I lost my appetite,” Foxtail replied.
“Suit yourself,” Rainheart shrugged. Foxtail pushed herself up and padded over to Stoneteller, dipping her head respectfully as she passed.
I wish we could stay here, but we’ll have to leave eventually, Foxtail thought. This is only the beginning of our journey.
Chapter 15
Ugh, it’s almost moonrise and the hunting patrol still hasn’t come back yet!
“When is the hunting patrol going to be back? I’m starving to death!” Dovefeather moaned.
“Give them time, Dovefeather. These are harsh conditions to hunt in, even in the mountains, and prey is scarce at this time,” Rainheart responded.
“Well, they’d better be back soon!” Dovefeather snapped.
“Well I’m really sorry, but if you haven’t noticed, we’re all hungry and none of us are moaning like you are!” Silverpaw mewed irritatedly.
“You-” Dovefeather broke off as Rainheart covered her mouth with her tail.
“Be quiet, you two! The prey-hunters and Foxtail are hunting, how are they supposed to find any prey if you’re scaring them off?” Rainheart growled. Dovefeather hissed. Silverpaw snorted, but nevertheless fell silent.
“Rainheart’s right, you should stop fighting and forgive each other,” Gingerpaw mewed.
Ha! And hedgehogs might fly! Dovefeather thought.
“Well it’s not my fault she’s a rabbit trying to act like a warrior,” Silverpaw meowed cheekily. Dovefeather glared at Silverpaw, their gazes locking.
“Silverpaw, if you weren’t so-”
“Enough! Both of you!” Rainheart interrupted.
“Since when were you our leader?” Dovefeather snarled.
“She never said she was,” Gingerpaw mewed hesitantly.
“Look, I’m not “leader” I’m just telling you to hush, Dovefeather,” Rainheart growled.
Dovefeather sighed, she knew they were right. Foxtail’s mew jerked her thoughts.
“Sorry we’re so late,” Brook called, dropping a shrew, a mouse, and two hawks.
“Finally!” Dovefeather meowed with delight. She swiped a hawk and gulped a few mouthfuls.
“Don’t be rude, Dovefeather,” Rainheart meowed absently. “Let the Tribe eat first. It is their prey, after all.” Dovefeather hesitated for a moment, then looked over to Rainheart.
It’s not like she’s the leader. I shouldn’t’ve listened to her!
Dovefeather continued eating the hawk she was holding, finishing the last of the hawk’s wings. She padded over to a nearby tunnel, settled on her nest, and slipped into an uneasy sleep.
“Wake up, Dovefeather, it’s time to leave,” Rainheart meowed. Dovefeather rolled her eyes.
“I’m coming,” she growled.
Rainheart nodded as she padded out the tunnel. Dovefeather snorted.
“I guess I don’t have any other option,” Dovefeather muttered. Dovefeather pushed herself off the ground and padded over to the rest of the group.
“Hurry up, Dovefeather! You might as well be a kittypet for how slowly you walk,” Silverpaw hissed. Dovefeather ran over to her,
“Maybe I would go faster if you weren't telling me to pick up the pace!” Dovefeather snapped back.
“Hmm, I do think I remember you did walk faster when I told you to pick up the pace, actually you ran,” Silverpaw mewed.
“Let’s just get this over with, you won’t help by arguing.” Foxtail meowed.
“I thought Rainheart was the leader!” Dovefeather growled.
“What’s all this commotion?” Stoneteller rasped.
“I’m sorry Stoneteller, Dovefeather appears to be upset with us,” Rainheart mewed respectfully.
“You five still have to head to the sun-drown place and save your Clans, there is no time to waste,” Stoneteller replied. Rainheart dipped her head in agreement and set off. Dovefeather shook the snow off her fur and trailed behind Gingerpaw.
“What’s your problem, Dovefeather?” Gingerpaw asked.
“Nothing,” Dovefeather replied.
“It’s about Rainheart or Silverpaw, isn’t it?” Gingerpaw meowed. Dovefeather didn’t reply.
“I know you have fights with Silverpaw but, why Rainheart?” Gingerpaw asked again.
“Why does Rainheart get to lead the group?” Dovefeather blurted out. Dovefeather slapped her tail over her mouth, but Foxtail had already turned on her.
“She never wanted to!” Foxtail growled. “And besides, would you like to become leader? You remind me of Tigerstar!”
Dovefeather flicked her tail in disbelief. How could she be like the wretched Tigerstar? Dovefeather’s hackles rose, unsheathing her claws, she dug the surface of the snow. Dovefeather let out a low growl and pounced on Foxtail. Foxtail batted her away easily with her claws sheathed.
“Stop fighting! We’re supposed to work together,” Gingerpaw hissed.
“She’s right.” Rainheart meowed. “If we can't work together, how do you expect us to protect our Clans?” Dovefeather rolled her eyes.
“We have plenty of time!” Dovefeather replied. “Plus, the danger can't be that bad!”
“So, who again was rushing us earlier and wouldn’t even let us collect herbs?” Silverpaw countered.
“Be quiet! Are you trying to scare all the prey off?” Foxtail pointed out. Silverpaw dipped her head apologetically.
As Dovefeather stared towards the clearing, she heard a loud volley of barking.
“The dogs are back!” Dovefeather hissed.
“Yeah, we totally didn’t know that already,” Silverpaw mewed sarcastically.
“Well we better hide somewhere they won’t find us,” Foxtail mewed.
“We finally agree on something,” Dovefeather replied.
“There’s lots of overgrowth over there we can hide in,” Gingerpaw meowed, flicking her tail towards the trees with clumps of bushes and vines.
“The mouse-bile there can hide our scent,” Silverpaw agreed. Foxtail crept down the small hill with Dovefeather following. Dovefeather went first, blending in with the snow. As the dogs turned away she flicked her tail, signaling it’s safe.
“Be careful, don’t make any sounds that might alarm the dogs,” Rainheart mewed. Dovefeather saw the dogs walking away with their Twoleg. She quickly clawed her way up a rowan sapling. Foxtail climbed up a towering oak tree, followed by Silverpaw, Rainheart, and Gingerpaw.
“The dogs might be walking away, but I’m sure they’re going to come back for us,” Gingerpaw conceded.
“I think we're going to have to stay here till we can't hear a trace of those dogs,” Rainheart mewed. Dovefeather nodded, peering across the undergrowth. I might as well get some rest, Dovefeather thought. She leaned on a tree branch and closed her eyes.
Chapter 16
Rainheart scanned the ground for signs of dogs, but none were present. “We should get going,” Foxtail meowed, breaking the silence between the cats. Rainheart nodded while carefully scrambling down the tree.
“The dogs probably went back to their dens with their Twolegs,” Silverpaw added. Rainheart pricked her ears. She could hear waves crashing against something else. A cliff? she thought hopefully.
“Come on!” Rainheart exclaimed, bounding past Foxtail. “I can hear some extremely strong currents; that has to be the sun-drown place!” Silverpaw swiveled her ears towards the direction Rainheart was going.
“You’re right!” she gasped, easily catching up with Rainheart. “And I can smell salt, too!” Gingerpaw and Foxtail joined the two she-cats, leaving Dovefeather a few rabbit-leaps behind.
“You four are hopeless,” Dovefeather grumbled, though her eyes were shining with excitement. “Hmm, hopeless eh? I think you're talking about yourself,” Silverpaw snickered. Dovefeather quickened her pace, bringing up the rear of the group. Rainheart suddenly skidded to a stop near the edge of a sheer cliff. Gingerpaw bumped into her haunches, bringing her over the cliff. Rainheart groaned as she landed on the sand. A heartbeat later, Rainheart heard Foxtail screech, and Gingerpaw landed beside her with Foxtail and Dovefeather close behind. As Rainheart looked up, she saw Silverpaw waving her tail at them cheerfully from where she was standing on a narrow ledge at the side of the cliff. She climbed down the ledge, and where the ledge ended, she leaped off and landed lightly on the sand.
“Couldn’t you have told us about that a bit earlier?” Rainheart gasped, fighting to get her breath back.
“I thought there were three fully trained warriors here,” Silverpaw snorted. “Why didn’t you go try to find something to climb down on instead? Besides, when I found it, you four were already slamming into each other like foxes in a fit.”
Dovefeather hissed, “So you’ve never made a mistake in your life, have you?”
“Nope!” Silverpaw replied, her eyes gleaming with amusement. Rainheart pushed her way in between Silverpaw and Dovefeather.
“If you two could stop bickering for a moment, we could start looking for Midnight’s cave! Plus, Silverpaw, that’s a lie and you know it,” Rainheart meowed. Silverpaw glared at her and tried to stand tall but Rainheart already padded past.
Before any of them could say anything, Gingerpaw mewed, “Is that cave Midnight’s cave?”
“I think so,” Foxtail responded. “Remember how Bramblestar and Squirrelflight described it? That cave looks big enough for a badger to live in, and the rocks at the bottom of the mouth of the cave look like teeth.” Rainheart whirled around to look at the cave. Foxtail and Gingerpaw were right; it did fit Bramblestar and Squirrelflight’s description perfectly. Dovefeather was already racing towards the cave, Silverpaw not far behind. Rainheart swapped glances with Foxtail and Gingerpaw, and the three of them dashed after the two she-cats. When Dovefeather reached the cave, she turned around.
“Ha! I reached the cave fir-” Her words ended in a shocked screech as a strong current dragged her into the water. Rainheart felt Gingerpaw’s pelt brush hers as the young she-cat raced past her. Silverpaw launched herself into the water, Gingerpaw at her side. As Rainheart prepared to jump into the water as well, Foxtail pulled her back where the current couldn’t reach.
“Gingerpaw is the only cat out of all of us who knows how to swim,” Foxtail meowed. “She doesn’t need another cat to add to her troubles.” Rainheart stopped struggling. Foxtail slowly loosened her grip on Rainheart. Should I try to help anyway? Rainheart pushed the thought away. No. Foxtail’s right. I would only give Gingerpaw more to do. Rainheart crouched at the mouth of the cave, panic and terror washing over her. StarClan, if you’re there, please don’t let any of them die.
Chapter 17
Silverpaw gagged on the salty water rushing into her mouth. She glanced at Gingerpaw and tried to copy her friend’s strong movements. After a few moments, Silverpaw found herself gliding through the water like Gingerpaw. The ginger she-cat angled her ears at a small, thrashing white shape. Silverpaw nodded back, unable to speak. They quickly began swimming towards Dovefeather as her thrashes grew weaker. They flanked Dovefeather, supporting her as they slowly made their way back to the shore. Without warning, a huge wave crashed down on the three she-cats. Underwater, Silverpaw saw Dovefeather’s eyes flutter and then close. No! Even if you drown, I will bring your body back. Silverpaw gritted her teeth and swam downward, towards Dovefeather’s limp body. She grabbed it with one paw and started towards the surface. Her lungs burned as she struggled to reach the surface. Suddenly, she felt the weight being lifted off of her. Silverpaw turned to see Gingerpaw swimming strongly towards the surface, dragging Dovefeather along with her. Silverpaw did the same, glancing at Gingerpaw every few moments to make sure that Dovefeather was still with her. As her head finally broke the surface, Silverpaw drew in long, gasping breaths. She glided towards Gingerpaw and took half of Dovefeather’s weight. Gingerpaw glanced at her gratefully, and they swam back to the shore. They dragged Dovefeather to the mouth of the cave, where Foxtail and Rainheart were waiting. Rainheart jumped to her paws.
“Is she alright?” Rainheart demanded, panic clear in her mew. No one responded since Silverpaw was panting as she sat down next to Rainheart and Gingerpaw had her ear pressed against Dovefeather’s chest. Gingerpaw slowly drew her head away, blinking sadly.
“She’s dead…” Gingerpaw whispered, grief clouding her gaze. Foxtail stiffened, and Rainheart closed her eyes and turned away.
“We should sit vigil for her,” Silverpaw murmured. “I’ll go find some lavender and mint.” She padded away quietly, though her thoughts were whirling. She was a great warrior, and one of the bravest out of all of us! How could she have died?! She took a deep breath. Calm yourself, Silverpaw. Panicking isn’t going to do anyone any good. Dovefeather’s dead, and there’s nothing you can do except to sit vigil and wish her well on her journey to StarClan. She padded towards a nearby clump of lavender and grabbed a few stems of it. Walking farther into the small forest area, she quickly spotted some mint growing near an oak sapling. Grabbing a few stems of the mint as well, she started back towards where Rainheart, Foxtail, and Gingerpaw were arranging Dovefeather’s body so that it looked like she was sleeping. Once she arrived at the mouth of the cave, Silverpaw mashed the lavender and mint together, gave half of the pile to Gingerpaw, and began rubbing the herb mixture onto Dovefeather’s pelt. She looked over to Gingerpaw and saw that she was doing the same. Once all of the juice had been rubbed off of the plants, the two medicine cat apprentices brushed the plants off.
“I remember when I first met Dovefeather at the Gathering where we all planned to start the journey,” Rainheart started. “I didn’t like her at first. I thought she was just bossy and argumentative, but as we continued our journey, I discovered a different side of her. When she saw that I was having trouble fighting one of the badgers near the mountains, she immediately came to help me instead of just continuing to fight her badger and ignoring me. She also kept the group entertained and she sometimes made me happy when I was down. She was a skilled warrior and a good friend, and I’m glad I got the chance to get to know her.
“Like Rainheart, I also thought that I wouldn’t like Dovefeather,” Foxtail meowed. “But she was more loyal and brave than I ever could’ve imagined. She was a great warrior and friend, and this has saddened me more than I can say.
“I constantly argued with Dovefeather along the journey,” Silverpaw began heavily. “I always thought she was reckless and annoying, but I also always thought that she was trying to provoke me. Now I can see that she just had different opinions than I had and wanted to prove them. She was a loyal and true warrior.”
“I never really liked Dovefeather,” Gingerpaw mewed, a tremor in her voice. “But I never wanted this to happen, either. Dovefeather was brave and loyal and she didn’t deserve this.”
“May StarClan light your path. May you find good hunting, swift running, and shelter when you sleep,” Silverpaw and Gingerpaw intoned together. “May you rest well in StarClan, we hope you achieve great things,” Rainheart added. May you have a safe journey to StarClan. May you finally find peace in your eternal sleep.
Chapter 18
The sun cast bright rays of light across the landscape as it rose. Gingerpaw stood up, shaking flecks of sand off of her pelt. Wordlessly, Foxtail and Rainheart heaved Dovefeather’s body up between them. Silverpaw and Gingerpaw supported Dovefeather’s head, tail, and legs. The she-cats set Dovefeather down next to three oak saplings and began digging a hole. They gently slid her body into the hole and started refilling the hole with soil.
“May StarClan be with you, Dovefeather…” Rainheart murmured. Gingerpaw glanced upwards. It was sunhigh already.
“We should hunt,” Foxtail meowed softly, straightening. Silverpaw nodded slowly.
“We’ll meet back here at sundown,” Foxtail mewed. “Gingerpaw, do you want to hunt with me?”
“Alright…” Gingerpaw replied. Gingerpaw trailed behind Foxtail as they padded through the overgrowth. Gingerpaw felt a bit off since Dovefeather wasn’t coming in and complaining every minute, in fact, she was bored without Dovefeather’s enthusiasm. Gingerpaw pricked her ears as she heard leaves rustling. Foxtail heard it too, Gingerpaw tasted the air as she scented a mouse. Foxtail crawled through the clearing, she watched as Foxtail slowly creeped up to the mouse. Foxtail leaped into the air as the mouse was nibbling on a seed, and pounced on the mouse just as it noticed her. After a sharp bite to its neck, the mouse was dead. Gingerpaw observed how Foxtail hunted until she was ready to try hunting her own prey. Gingerpaw pricked her ears, she waited to notice any sign of movement. When she heard a branch snap, she immediately followed the direction of the noise, when she saw a plump starling, she stopped, crouched down, and creeped closer. When she was about a few pawsteps away from the bird, she pushed herself up and sprung into the air. She landed on the starling before it could fly away and landed a nice killing bite. Foxtail came back with a squirrel and two mice in her jaws. Foxtail looked surprised when Gingerpaw padded toward her with fresh kill dangling from her teeth.
“Nice catch,” Rainheart commented, carefully avoiding her eyes. Gingerpaw nodded, looking at her paws. Silverpaw padded over to them silently, a vole and blackbird clasped in her jaws. Is this new loss something we can recover from? Gingerpaw wondered. Rainheart glanced at her sadly, as if reading her mind. Foxtail looked at the glittering stars of Silverpelt. “It’s getting late, let's head back…” The other she-cats nodded. Gingerpaw sighed as they headed back where they buried Dovefeather. Gingerpaw was hit with a cool trickle of water, she looked up. Dozens of drops of water splashed onto the she-cat’s pelts. Gingerpaw sighed. As soon as she realized the cats were leaving, she hurried over to them, not wanting to be left behind.
As they hid under a bush, Gingerpaw was talking with Silverpaw, trying to forget about their sudden loss.
“This is the first time I’ll ever admit this, but it kind of seems a little… sad without her…” Sliverpaw meowed in a dull monotone voice. Gingerpaw flattened her ears, she felt the same. Gingerpaw looked at Rainheart and Foxtail, they seemed miserable as well. Rainheart sighed as she let herself limp. Foxtail crawled to her, comforting her. Gingerpaw came closer as she heard them meow a few words.
“You know,” Rainheart said. “I used to have a sister just like you, my mother told me about my lost sister, I don’t remember her, but she was overprotective, and wouldn’t even let our littermates touch me!” Foxtail was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Suddenly, Gingerpaw felt fur touching hers, she jumped a bit, then calmed down to see Silverpaw next to her. Silverpaw chuckled a little.
“Did I scare you?” She teased. Gingerpaw shook her head, technically lying. Silverpaw’s face showed a tint of disappointment. Gingerpaw sighed. “Let’s just go to sleep, maybe it’ll be better next sunrise.” Silverpaw nodded and curled into a ball, her tail touching her nose. Gingerpaw copied her. Gingerpaw found herself in a dark forest, “Where am I?” Ginerpaw asked. Suddenly a flash a white fur circled around her, the white cat placed herself on a rock looking down at Gingerpaw. Gingerpaw squinted her eyes and realized it was Dovefeather sitting on a boulder in front of Gingerpaw. “Dovefeather?” Gingerpaw asked, trying to hide the happiness in her voice. The white she-cat nodded. “Hello, Gingerpaw,” Dovefeather meowed. “I’m here to give you a message from StarClan. Come closer,” Gingerpaw stepped forward and locked eyes with Dovefeather. “You must continue your journey and get to Midnight, Midnight will tell you everything you should know, and, do not mourn for me, I will always be with you...” Dovefeather’s voice faded as she disappeared in the starlight. “Wait, come back, please!” Gingerpaw called after her desperately, but it was too late. Dovefeather was gone.
Chapter 19
Foxtail poked Rainheart with her paw. “Wake up Rainheart, we don’t need another cat left behind.” Rainheart blinked her eyes open. “I know… Foxtail, but they aren’t awake, are they?” Foxtail looked at the two sleeping medicine cat apprentices. “I’ll wake them up after you get up,” Foxtail watched as Rainheart stretched her legs as she stood. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Foxtail asked with a hint of tease in her voice. Rainheart shrugged. “Now let's go wake the others up,” Foxtail meowed. Foxtail padded over to the sleeping she-cats. “Wake up, you two,” Foxtail mewed. The bright sunlight glistened onto Foxtail like she was the sun herself. The cats twitched their eyes open, adjusting to the sunlight. “Foxtail-?” Gingerpaw mewed drowsily. Foxtail nodded. Foxtail watched as the cats slowly stood up. “Come on, let's finish this journey to Midnight before anyone else gets hurt…” Foxtail meowed. Silverpaw flattened her ears at the mention of Dovefeather. Rainheart looked down. Foxtail dragged the medicine cats towards Midnight’s den with ease. Rainheart followed. Foxtail poked her head out of the bush and signaled to the others it was safe. She slowly crawled out of the bush, the leaves rustled as she brushed her fur against them. “Maybe Midnight will come out later,” Silverpaw meowed behind her. “Should we go hunt just in case?” Foxtail thought about it before giving a slight nod. “Gingerpaw, come with me, Silverpaw, stay with Rainheart,” She ordered. Gingerpaw padded up to her as she went deeper into the overgrowth. She pricked her ears and closed her eyes, full of concentration. “There’s a rabbit behind those trees,” Foxtail said, flicking her tail towards the thicket of dead trees covered in snow. Gingerpaw twitched her muzzle. “Are there any fish in the stream?” She asked, looking into the water. “Oh, there are,” Foxtail responded. “But Bramblestar told me they’re too small to catch,” “Oh, that’s too bad…” Gingerpaw mewed. “I’ll get the rabbit, stay here,” Foxtail meowed as she crawled toward the thicket. As soon as she was at the other side, she crouched down, the tall, white, grass covered her body. The rabbit darted its eyes to make sure no one was there. Foxtail crept closer, the sunlight shone on her fur, then she pounced. The rabbit tried to get away but reacted too late. Foxtail unsheathed her claws and pinned it down before releasing a killing bite to the neck. As blood dripped down her fur, she padded back to where she left Gingerpaw and saw her with a plump mouse in her jaws. “Nice catch!” Foxtail said, dropping the rabbit. Gingerpaw nodded. “Is there anything else near here?” She mumbled through the fat mouse’s fur. Foxtail twitched her nose before smelling a scent of a vole. “There’s a vole near the other side of the stream, but it's best to not go there…” Foxtail muttered, remembering Dovefeather’s death. “Right…” Gingerpaw meowed weakly. “Let's get back to Rainheart and Silverpaw,” Foxtail said, changing the topic.
“Well, it’s enough prey to last the day,” Rainheart said, looking at the rabbit, mouse, jay, and vole they caught. “Ah, you’re here,” A voice behind them said. “Midnight?” Foxtail turned to face the old badger “I assume you’re here to find out what kind of danger your Clans are in?” She spoke again. Rainheart nodded, “Do you know?” Midnight nodded. “You young ones are overthinking, the answer is all around you,” Foxtail looked around before thinking, “Leaf-bare?” She asked. Midnight gave a nod. “But how is this so fatal? The Clans have survived many harsh weathers,” Rainheart asked. “That is something I cannot answer,” Midnight replied. “I think I may have a theory,” Silverpaw mewed as Midnight walked back to her den. “What is it?” Gingerpaw asked. “I saw that the mountains were piling snow on the trees and covered our prey, I fear we may need to leave our forest and find another one yet again,” Silverpaw explained. Foxtail stared at her and dug her claws into the ground. “I wish it wasn’t true…” She muttered. “Let's eat before we go back to the Clans, it’s been a long day,” Rainheart meowed, looking at her paws. “Good idea,” Foxtail said.
Chapter 20
Rainheart was too nervous to eat. “Come on Rainheart, this was your idea,” Silverpaw coaxed. “I don’t feel like eating…” Rainheart meowed back. Silverpaw dragged the mouse in front of her. “Eat now,” she demanded. Rainheart sighed before tearing it up and taking a mouthful. The juice inside it made her calm down a bit. “Do you want some herbs to rebuild your strength?” Silverpaw asked. Rainheart shook her head. “Alright,” Silverpaw mewed before settling down next to her. Rainheart watched as Silverpaw tore into the vole she caught. “Should we get going?” Foxtail asked, trotting up to them. “Sure,” Rainheart meowed back.
We decided to end the story here but we’re working on part 2.
No allegiances because I’m too lazy.
Prologue
Leopardstar sat in the glistening moonlight, feasting on her prey. The stars in the night sky showed their frosty glow.
“Greetings, Leopardstar,” as she looked up from her trout, she saw Russetfur walking towards her with Cloudstar, Firestar, Tallstar, Oakheart and Silverstream following. “We were about to have a meeting about the prophecy Runningnose received.”
“Alright, I’m coming,” she replied dryly. She padded from rock to rock, sitting on a flat stone that jutted over a pool of water with Oakheart beside her. The other cats sat close to him as Runningnose told them about the prophecy he had received. “Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, and Fox, will embark on a dangerous journey and change the fate of the Clans.” Firestar came up first, his flame-colored pelt rippling in the breeze.
“A new prophecy has come,” a gray tom beside the pool announced. “A doom that will change everything in the Clans below.”
“I have seen this as well. If the Clans do not come together, snow from the mountains and sky shall bury the forest.” the tom meowed. “We shall now decide which cats to choose to bear this prophecy.”
“Behold and accept my choice,” Firestar meowed. The cats surrounding the pool gasped as the cat appeared in the reflection of the pool.
“What? She is half-fox!” Oakheart’s amber eyes filled with confusion mixed with anger.
“Yes, I have noticed that, Oakheart,” he replied calmly.
“Why are you picking a daughter of a traitor?” Leopardstar yowled with Oakheart.
“Do not decide which warrior is best for my Clan!” Firestar hissed, his hackles rising.
“Does StarClan approve?” Cloudstar asked, nervously changing the topic. The cats below were casting uneasy glances before nodding. Though some were still shooting murmurs of disapproval, Firestar glared at them; The cats flattened their ears and sat down on the rough surface.
“Behold and accept my choice,” Russetfur announced to the cats below. The crowd was looking down at the white she-cat in the reflection of the pool. “Does StarClan approve?”she asked. A murmur of assent and disagreement spoke in the cats’ voices. Silverstream padded forward, her silver coat shining in the moonlight.
“Leopardstar, do I have your permission to speak for RiverClan?” she asked, looking back. The former RiverClan leader nodded. “Then I invite you all to see the cat I have chosen.” Leopardstar stood behind her, looking at the small ginger she-cat shown in the pool. A few cats hesitated before mews of approval came. Finally, Cloudstar trotted past Silverstream.
“I have chosen two cats,” he meowed. “Come look and approve my decision.” Two cats appeared in the reflection of the pool.
“Does StarClan approve?” Firestar mewed. A meow of assent once again rippled through the watching cats.
“Very well, our decision has been made,” Tallstar meowed. “The dreams will be sent out next moonhigh.”
Chapter 1
Rainheart went into the overgrowth with Silverpaw. Rainheart pricked her ears as she heard a branch snap. She followed the sound with Silverpaw at her heels, but she couldn’t see anything but broken ferns and brambles dappled with moonlight. Rainheart gazed around in confusion but continued walking. She saw a blur of light gray fur glistening with starlight.
“Cloudstar?” she asked, shivering with awe. He turned around, Silverpaw was gazing at the ancient SkyClan leader.
He faced Rainheart and Silverpaw's direction and meowed, “Rainheart, Silverpaw, come closer…” Rainheart and Silverpaw padded forward toward the shining stretch of turf until they faced a boulder. Rainheart looked up at Cloudstar’s pale blue eyes. “Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, and Fox will embark on a dangerous journey and change the fate of the Clans.” He suddenly whipped his head around to stare at the long shadows of the trees. “I must go back to StarClan now. Farewell.”
“Wait!” Rainheart mewed, thrashing her paws over the boulder as Cloudstar vanished in the starlight.
Rainheart woke up with a start as Leafstar called a Clan meeting.
“Let all cats old enough to climb the rocks gather around the Boulder for a Clan meeting!” Leafstar announced.
Rainheart pushed herself off the bramble covered with hail. Rainheart raced over to the Boulder with Sparrowpelt leading Nectarpaw, positioning them towards the back of the crowd. “SkyClan, I have gathered you all here today to deliver some important news. I have received a prophecy from StarClan,” she meowed, her brown-and-white pelt blazing in the brightening dawn light. “StarClan has sent us a warning. Cloudstar, our past leader, said ‘Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, and Fox will embark on a dangerous journey and change the fate of the Clans.’ If anyone has any idea of who Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, or Fox is, please do not hesitate to request a meeting with me and Hawkwing to discuss this.” Ending her speech, Leafstar padded back into her den as the Clan walked off in different directions. Should I tell Leafstar about my dream? Rainheart thought as she padded over to Silverpaw and crouched down.
“Want me to catch some prey for you?” she asked.
“Rainheart, you don’t need to serve me everyday!” Silverpaw snapped, frustration filling her eyes.
“But I want to!” Rainheart protested. Silverpaw hissed irritatedly. A low growl rumbled in Rainheart’s throat. Glaring at Rainheart, Silverpaw’s gaze finally slid away and sighed as she padded over to the medicine cat’s den to help Fidgetflake treat the thorn in Tinycloud’s pad.
Rainheart dashed into the woods, feeling the chilling snow between her paws. She pricked her ears as she heard something race by her. She carefully followed the sound and turned around towards the frosted overgrowth, and saw a squirrel nibbling on a nut. Before it could reach its nest, she pounced on it and leaned in to deliver the killing bite. The squirrel dropped its nut and started scrabbling at the ground frantically, reaching for a leafless tree, but Rainheart landed onto it and delivered a sharp bite to its neck.
With blood oozing down the squirrel’s throat, she padded back to the SkyClan camp with the fresh-kill dangling from her jaws, she bounded towards the clearing and to the camp entrance. Rainheart shook the drops of blood that fell onto her pelt and padded towards the elder’s den. Dropping the squirrel in the fresh-kill pile, she dragged a jay off of it. Padding over to a tree stump blanketed with snow, she started tearing into the cold meat.
“Not eating with Silverpaw?” Rainheart looked up and saw Hawkwing standing beside her. “That’s a first,” he said
“We had an argument,” she answered coolly, although her deep blue eyes were filled with hurt and anger.
“Leafstar wants to see you,” he said firmly. Rainheart finished eating her jay and padded over to Leafstar’s den.
“Leafstar, it’s Rainheart,” Rainheart called into the den.
“Hello, Rainheart, you are here because I believe you are ‘Rain’ from the prophecy,” she said. Rainheart’s ears pricked as Leafstar went on. “We need your help to find the other cats in the prophecy. If you have any ideas, please don’t hesitate to tell me. You are also going to the Gathering tonight so you can begin observing the other Clan cats. You are dismissed.” Rainheart padded out of the leader’s den as the Clan leader went over to talk with Hawkwing. Rainheart bounded over to the group of cats going to the Gathering.
Chapter 2
Glaring at Rainheart, Silverpaw suppressed a snort of anger. How dare she treat me like I can’t already take care of myself! she thought crossly.
“Silverpaw!” Her mentor’s mew jerked her from her thoughts. “You can go now, have fun with Rainheart!” Hissing angrily, Silverpaw stalked toward Rainheart, weaving her way through the crowd of cats. Rainheart’s ears pricked as she heard Silverpaw hissing behind her.
Turning around, Rainheart mewed,“Hi Silverpaw, sorry that I treated you unfairly. I didn’t mean to, I just thought you’d get hungry for working so hard.” Silverpaw sighed.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you too, I just had a long day,” she replied.
“It’s fine,” Rainheart mewed.
Silverpaw padded in front of Rainheart, wanting to get a better view of the wind blowing against the trees, blanketed with sleet. She skidded across the frozen lake, with Rainheart and Bouncefire at her heels. She tasted the air, she scented RiverClan and ShadowClan, waiting for the other Clans. Silverpaw gazed around and saw a sight of ginger-and-white pelt.
“Look! There’s Gingerpaw! Come on, let’s go talk to her!” Silverpaw mewed to Rainheart. Silverpaw happily bounded over to her friend, while Rainheart mrrowed in laughter, and trailed behind her. “Hi Gingerpaw!” Silverpaw meowed.
Whirling around, Gingerpaw called out, “Hi Silverpaw, hi Rainheart!” Rainheart backed away from Silverpaw, but within moments, Silverpaw had leaped behind her and was pushing her towards Gingerpaw. Rainheart shook her head frantically as Gingerpaw let out a snort of amusment as she watched Silverpaw and Rainheart. Suddenly, a yowl from Harestar was heard, signaling the meeting to begin.
“Leafstar wishes to speak first,” he said, nodding respectfully and stepping back from the front branch.
“Thank you, Harestar,” Leafstar mewed, stepping forward. “I have had a dream from StarClan concerning the future of all of the Clans. Cloudstar, an ancient SkyClan leader, had a prophecy for us. He said ‘Dove, Silver, Rain, Ginger, and Fox will embark on a great journey and change the fate of the Clans forever.’ I believe the other leaders and the cats in this prophecy have had the same dream. I’ve just learned that Rainheart is Rain from the prophecy.”
“Rainheart! Rainheart!” the other cats chanted, glancing at Rainheart admiringly. The warrior glanced at her paws in embarrassment as Silverpaw nudged her.
“The prey has been running well in SkyClan territory, but the snow has made more cats ill. I don’t have anything else to share,” Leafstar mewed, moving back. Harestar stepped up.
“Leafstar is right, I’ve received the same dream, except for the cat who told me was Tallstar, one of the former leaders of WindClan. I haven’t found any of the cats in the prophecy in WindClan. Moving on, StarClan has blessed WindClan with a prey-rich territory. I have nothing else to share,” Harestar mewed as he stepped back. Mistystar stepped forward. “I have received the same dream, but the cat who told me was Silverstream. Like Harestar, I also haven’t found anyone in RiverClan who I believe is part of the prophecy. The prey is running well in RiverClan territory.” she said. “That is all I have to report.” Tigerstar padded forward.
“I had the same dream except the cat who told me was Tawnypelt. I may have an idea of who my cat in the prophecy is, it might be my young warrior Dovefeather, or Dovewing,” he said, proudly looking at his mate and Dovefeather. “Dovefeather! Dovewing! Dovefeather! Dovewing!” the crowd chanted. Silverpaw looked at Dovefeather; she seemed surprised, mixed in a prick pride in herself, Silverpaw rolled her eyes. Dovewing was gazing up at Tigerstar confusedly. As I remember, Dovewing is one of the three that saved the Clans from the Dark Forest… Silverpaw thought before Tigerstar spoke again. “Though I still do not know what danger is coming, and that’s all I know so far.” Bramblestar padded forward, his dark tabby pelt shining in the moonlight. “My dream was the same with the rest, except Firestar told me the prophecy. I think my cat from the prophecy is either Foxleap or Foxtail.” Silverpaw glanced at Foxtail. She seemed like she could go on an adventure and she wouldn’t even get a scratch, her muscular body reminded her of Lionblaze. Foxleap was fidgeting uncomfortably under the stares of the other Clans. Silverpaw hoped that Foxtail was the one from the prophecy, though Foxtail was half-fox, that didn’t stop her from being a great warrior. Bramblestar finished talking as the clouds covered the gleaming-full moon, he stepped back. Silverpaw saw Rainheart walking over to Foxtail. Silverpaw stayed with Gingerpaw.
“Shouldn’t we follow Rainheart?” asked Gingerpaw.
“Ok, come on!” Silverpaw replied, heading towards Rainheart and Foxtail.
Catching up to them, Gingerpaw mewed, “Hi! I’m Gingerpaw and this is my friend Silverpaw.”
“Hi...” Foxtail replied, flattening her ears. Silverpaw twitched her whiskers, and when she turned around, she saw Dovefeather padding over to the group.
“What’s going on here?” she asked. “We were just talking,” Silverpaw replied. “Oh,” Dovefeather mewed.
“Anyways, have any of you had any strange dreams lately? Including you, Dovefeather,” Rainheart asked.
“Well, I had one yesterday night,” Dovefeather replied. “And it may have had something to do with the prophecy.”
“Really? I had a dream about the prophecy too!” Rainheart meowed.
“I did too!” Gingerpaw mewed excitedly.
“So did I,” Silverpaw agreed.
Chapter 3
Gingerpaw couldn’t believe it. She and all the cats around her were the cats in the prophecy. She looked at Foxtail.
Foxtail jumped slightly, then said, “Okay, maybe I also had a dream about the prophecy...” she said, muttering under her breath.
“So what do you think we should do about the journey?” Gingerpaw asked.
“How about we meet here two sunrises from now?” Silverpaw suggested.
“Sounds good,” Rainheart replied.
“Well… that escalated quickly…” Foxtail meowed.
“Silverpaw, can I talk to you about something?” Gingerpaw asked suddenly.
“Alright, come on,” Silverpaw replied, slightly confused. Once they’d gotten a bit further from the warriors, Gingerpaw started talking.
“Such a long journey must require herbs to carry with us,” Gingerpaw meowed. “We’ll also need traveling herbs to strengthen ourselves.
“Good point,” Silverpaw meowed.
“That means we’ll need something to wrap the herbs in, something large enough to carry many herbs, while-”
“What about laurel leaves?” Gingerpaw interrupted.
“That’s good, I’ll make traveling herbs for Rainheart, Foxtail, and I,” Silverpaw replied.
“Alright, I’ll make traveling herbs for me and Dovefeather then, although we’re almost out of burnet.”
“I’ll leave some burnet at the RiverClan border next sunhigh, we’ve got too much burnet,” Silverpaw responded quickly.
“Thanks!” Gingerpaw replied.
“It’s no problem,” Silverpaw replied.
“Let’s go through the herbs we’ll also need to bring along,” Gingerpaw said. “But not too many of course.”
“We’ll definitely need dock, marigold, and cobwebs, and we should bring along some horsetail, too. Maybe some feverfew and chervil root, just in case?”
“That’s good enough,” Gingerpaw mewed.
“Ok, let’s get back to the others now,” Silverpaw replied.
“Yes, let’s go,” Gingerpaw meowed. Silverpaw was already heading back to the warriors. Gingerpaw bounded after her, pushing through the braken.
“What were you doing back there?” Rainheart asked.
“Oh, we were just talking about what herbs we would need for the journey,” Silverpaw replied.
“Did you finish deciding?”
“Yes, we’re done,” Silverpaw mewed. Gingerpaw saw Foxtail’s claws unsheathing, scraping the ground impatiently.
“Alright, I think my Clan wants me,” said Foxtail, “Meet you guys back here in two sunrises.”
Gingerpaw watched as she leaped away over the rocks. As she stopped and gave a cold stare, Gingerpaw looked away. Foxtail’s acts weird around me, Silverpaw, and Dovefeather, but it seems like she’s close to Rainheart, Gingerpaw thought.
“Rainheart?” Gingerpaw mewed. Rainheart turned to face Gingerpaw.
“Why does Foxtail seem uncomfortable with us?” Gingerpaw asked, tilting her head.
“Oh, me and Foxtail have been friends for at least three or four moons, she’s not very comfortable with cats she just met,” Rainheart replied. Gingerpaw nodded, then turned to follow the rest of her Clanmates.
Once she was back at the RiverClan camp, she started looking through the herbs to see which ones she’d need.
“Plenty of chamomile,” she murmured to herself.
“Did you say something?” she heard Willowshine’s voice as she padded over to where Gingerpaw was looking at the herb stores.
“Just counting,” Gingerpaw responded, thinking quickly.
“Shouldn’t you be going to sleep now?” her mentor asked.
“Of course, let me finish counting the herbs first,” she responded.
“Suit yourself,” Willowshine shrugged. As the medicine cat’s gentle snores echoed around the den, Gingerpaw breathed a sigh of relief. She’d almost been caught. It was a close call. Too close for her liking. Until the journey began, she’d have to be more careful. I’ll need coltsfoot for cracked pads, dock for easing pain, marigold for infection, cobwebs for bleeding, and horsetail for bleeding and infections. I’ll pick up the burnet Silverpaw’s bringing tomorrow, at sunrise. If I meet her, we might be able to discuss the herbs again, Gingerpaw thought drowsily as she curled up in her nest.
Gingerpaw was walking through the reed beds and heard some leaves rustling. She headed toward the sound and saw a glimpse of silver fur. Thinking it was Silverpaw, she chased after the silver tabby. As Gingerpaw neared the cat, she saw that it was Silverstream.
“Silverstream?” she called.
“Come, Gingerpaw, I must show you something.” As Silverstream padded into the bracken, Gingerpaw hesitated before following her. She expected to see more reeds and a river, but when she got to the other side, she saw an enormous cliff. Silverstream was already standing on it, looking out from the cliff. “Come,” Silverstream meowed. Gingerpaw came and sat beside her and looked.
“Wow,” she mewed. There was so much water, more than she’d ever seen before.
“This is the sun-drown place.” Silverstream nodded towards the water.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” called a voice. “Silverpaw?” Gingerpaw looked around, confused. Then Gingerpaw suddenly spotted Silverpaw bounding towards her. “Rainheart, Foxtail, and Dovefeather are here too!” Silverpaw meowed excitedly. “Come on, I’ll take you to them!”
Chapter 4
Foxtail looked up and positioned herself next to Rainheart,
“I’m guessing this is where we need to go.” Rainheart said. Foxtail saw Silverstream walking away as they talked.
“Rainheart, look,” she whispered. Rainheart turned to Silverstream.
“I must go back to StarClan’s hunting grounds. Farewell, you will see me again during your journey.” Foxtail backed away, and Gingerpaw exchanged a slight nod with Silverpaw. Dovefeather blinked as the she-cat slipped away.
Foxtail opened her eyes, the faint light of sun pierced onto her fur, she was in the warriors den. Poking her head out from all the branches, she saw Squirrelflight walking up to her.
“Bramblestar wants to see you,” she mewed. Foxtail dashed forward to the leader’s den. I wonder what he wants me for, she thought. Stopping in front of the den, she called
“It’s Foxtail.” A responding call from inside the den mewed
“Come in.”
“You wanted to see me?” Foxtail asked as she trotted toward the leader.
“I have a few questions about the prophecy that you might have answers to,” Bramblestar meowed, narrowing his eyes. “First question- Do you know who the cats in the prophecy are? Lying to me will only give me more questions that you cannot lie about. Do you know any cats in the prophecy? This does include yourself.”
“Well… I think I had a dream, Firestar did mention something to me of some sort of danger. And the other cats? I don’t really know much about who they are, sorry...” she muttered.
“It’s fine, my second question is- I saw you were with some other Clan cats, do you think they are the ones from the prophecy?”
“Probably,” she replied with a slight shrug. “I’m not absolutely sure, but there’s a good chance that they could be.”
“That’s alright, just keep a lookout for the cats in the prophecy,” Bramblestar mewed briskly, standing up and shaking out her pelt. “You may go now, Squirrelflight said that she wanted you for a hunting patrol.” Dipping her head, Foxtail backed out of the den.
“Foxtail!” Squirrelflight called from across the clearing. “Mousewhisker, Baypaw, and Poppyfrost are waiting for you to go out.” Foxtail bounded across the clearing to join the group of cats standing near the entrance.
Foxtail neared the camp, carrying two squirrels and a shrew. Dropping the prey on the fresh-kill pile, she picked out a wood mouse and began tearing off the thin strips of meat. After she finished eating, Squirrelflight called her again.
“Foxtail, can you go out with Bumblestripe and Molewhisker for the evening patrol?” “Yes, Squirrelflight,” Foxtail replied, then trotted over to join the two gray toms. “Bumblestripe, Molewhisker,” Foxtail greeted them with a slight nod. The two toms gave a nod back. “Come on, let’s get on with this patrol,” Foxtail mewed briskly. Foxtail swerved up the hill, towards the clearing, weaving through the dead trees with Bumblestripe leading, his pale-light-gray pelt brushing against hers.
The three warriors padded along the ShadowClan border, Foxtail pricked her ears in surprise as she scented a fresh ShadowClan smell. “Tigerstar, Scorchfur,” she greeted. “It’s good to see you. What brings you here? Is something wrong?” Foxtail meowed.
“We have something to discuss with Bramblestar,” Tigerstar replied. “Can you give us an escort to the ThunderClan camp so we can talk to him?”
“Molewhisker, go back to camp to tell Squirrelflight that our “friends” from ShadowClan are here,” Foxtail ordered. Molewhisker nodded and quickly dashed away in the direction of the camp. Foxtail turned back to the ShadowClan cats. “Come with us,” she mewed, turning and flanking the ShadowClan cats on one side, Bumblestripe on the other, squinting his eyes at the two ShadowClan cats.
When they finally reached the camp, Bramblestar was sitting in front of the Highledge, his pelt sleek and smooth.
“What brings you here, Tigerstar?” he asked calmly.
“Many ShadowClan patrols have found ThunderClan scent inside of ShadowClan borders. It smelled like an apprentice,” Tigerstar meowed worriedly. “We aren’t sure if the apprentice was a tom or a she-cat.”
Sorrelstripe burst out of the nursery, stopping to catch her breath, “That must’ve been Myrtlepaw! She’s been going off alone for a few days now. She must’ve gone into ShadowClan territory, then ran back to ThunderClan territory when he smelled cats coming.” Sorrelstripe mewed. “I’m so sorry!”
“But Myrtlepaw, what were you doing in ShadowClan territory?” Eaglewing meowed.
“I just wanted to see the pine forest!” Myrtlepaw wailed.
“Well, there you have it,” Bramblestar mewed. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience, Tigerstar. Molewhisker and Foxtail will escort you back to the border.” Molewhisker stepped up, flanking the ShadowClan cats on one side while Foxtail padded to their other side, guiding them out of the camp and towards the ShadowClan border.
“You two deserve a break,” Squirrelflight mewed as Foxtail and Molewhisker trotted back into the camp towards Cherryfall. “You’ve been out on a patrol and an escort, go pick something from the fresh-kill pile and then you can go rest. Picking out a small thrush, Foxtail gulped it down in a few mouthfuls and padded over to the warriors den, watching Finchpaw practice battle moves beside the tree stump. After watching Finchpaw for a while, Foxtail circled her nest until it felt soft and comfortable, then curled up inside her nest and fell asleep.
Chapter 5
Dovefeather sank her teeth into the neck of a plump squirrel, relishing the warm blood. I bet Oakfur will enjoy this, she thought. Not long after that, she caught another rabbit and a mouse. Lifting her chin, Dovefeather trotted through the camp entrance, feeling proud of her haul of prey. She tossed the mouse and the rabbit on the fresh-kill pile, then padded over to the elders' den, placing the squirrel in front of the elders and backing away quietly. Dovefeather picked out a starling from the fresh-kill pile, tearing into it and finishing it quickly. She padded across the clearing to share tongues with her best friend, Talonpaw.
“I wish we knew who the cats in the prophecy were already. Waiting is making everyone anxious, I wish that the cats would just go start the journey, come back, and save us from whatever danger there is already,” Talonpaw mewed. “Just sitting there like startled rabbits won’t help anyone.” Should I tell him that I’m one of the cats in the prophecy? Dovefeather thought. No, if I told him, he would never let me go on the journey. It’s for the good of the Clans.
“Yes, you’re right,” Dovefeather replied, as tried to convince herself that she was doing it for Talonpaw, but it felt weird, lying to her best friend. Dovefeather stood up. “It’s getting late, and you need to get up early tomorrow for training. We should go to sleep now,” she mewed. They split ways as they headed for their nests. Dovefeather circled her nest until it felt soft and comfortable, then curled up in it.
Dovefeather woke up at dawn, blinking away the light that shone on her eyes. She stood up, stretched and padded out of the warriors den to hunt.
Running through the trees to the Halfbridge, she went up the Twoleg path. Slowing down, she saw a mouse, twitching her whiskers as she crept up behind it and pounced. Scooping up the mouse, Dovefeather sank her teeth into its neck. She dug a hole and buried the mouse, then went on and saw a squirrel nibbling on a nut. She didn’t wait for the squirrel to stop and eat, she already was sprinting towards it. The squirrel dropped the nut and raced ahead, but Dovefeather already had too much of a head start for the squirrel to escape. She ran ahead, pounced on the squirrel, and served the killing bite. She dug into the ground, found her mouse she caught, and carried both of her prey back to ShadowClan camp. She gave Oakfur her squirrel, then backed away politely. For herself, she chose a small water vole. She began stripping off the meat, then started gulping it down. Dovefeather finished her vole in a couple of ravenous mouthfuls. Talonpaw must be out on evening patrol, she thought. I think I’ll go out hunting again. Oakfur will be hungry in the morning. Dipping her head respectfully, Dovefeather called over to the ShadowClan deputy.
“Tawnypelt, may I go out hunting alone?”
“Of course,” Tawnypelt purred. “I’m glad you’re dedicating your time and energy to helping the Clan.”
“Thanks!” Dovefeather replied, as she exited the camp. Yes! I got Tawnypelt on her good side, and now I can hunt, alone! The others are always so slow, she thought. She raced through the forest, the wind whistling in her ears. Before long, she’d caught a mouse and a shrew. Creeping up behind another mouse, she pounced squarely onto its back and served the killing bite quickly. She carried the prey back to the camp and dropped it on the fresh-kill pile.
“You’ve been out enough today, Dovefeather,” Tawnypelt called. “You should get some sleep now, I want you for the dawn patrol tomorrow.” Oh trust me, falling asleep won’t be a problem, Dovefeather thought drowsily as she curled up in her nest.
Chapter 6
Rainheart padded towards the medicine den, she wanted to see Silverpaw. “Silverpaw?” she called softly. “Are you there?”
“Yes, just sorting herbs,” a muffled mew answered.
“Sorry, I’ll talk to you later,” she murmured as she backed away from the den.
“Wait, you can come now, I’m almost done,” Silverpaw responded. Rainheart turned around and padded in the den. “So what was it you wanted to talk about?” Silverpaw asked.
“Next sunrise we’ll need to get to the Gathering Island,” Rainheart started. “I just wanted to know your opinion, do you think we really are the ones from the prophecy?”
“Most likely, from my knowledge of prophecies,” Silverpaw replied. “The prophecies are usually only sent to the cats in the prophecy, the Clan leaders, and medicine cats. The other cats usually don’t know about the prophecy.”
“I guess we’ll need to go to the sun-drown place with the other cats,” Rainheart mewed. “I’ve heard of Midnight the badger, but I’ve never seen her with my own eyes.” Yawning, she meowed, “I’m tired, wake me up when it's sunrise.” She padded over to her den and curled her soft, warm tail around her body. She had never been this tired before. She hoped that the journey wasn’t for her, she had gone on many patrols but nothing like this.
“Rainheart! Rainheart wake up!” a voice called. Rainheart blinked her eyes open, she saw Silverpaw half on top of her.
“It’s almost sunrise!” she meowed. Rainheart jumped to her paws. “Ok, take your traveling herbs,” Silverpaw meowed briskly. She reemerged with three bundles of traveling herbs. Rainheart scooped up the herbs and downed them in one gulp. She watched Silverpaw finish her herbs.
“How are we going to sneak past your mentor?” Rainheart asked. “Don’t worry, I put some poppy seeds in her prey last night, she shouldn’t wake up until sunhigh. I told Hawkwing that I’m going out to gather herbs, and I invited you to help me carry them back.”
“Ok, that’s great,” she mewed. She padded out of the camp with Silverpaw at her side. She noticed the shadow of a cat underneath a tall oak tree. That’s probably Hawkwing, she thought. Nudging Silverpaw, she jerked her head towards Hawkwing.
Seeing the SkyClan deputy, Silverpaw deliberately called, “Rainheart, look! I can see some yarrow over there!” She turned, heading deeper into the forest so Hawkwing couldn’t see them anymore. Making a sharp turn, the two she-cats headed towards the Gathering Island. Making their way across the log, they found Dovefeather, Gingerpaw, and Foxtail already waiting for them.
“Sorry,” Rainheart panted. “Hawkwing was watching us for a bit, we had to take the longer route.”
“Well, now that you two are here, can I please have my traveling herbs?” Dovefeather asked exasperatedly.
“Oh! Right, sorry,” Silverpaw mumbled through Dovefeather’s bundle of traveling herbs. Dropping them, she carefully unwrapped the traveling herbs. Dovefeather sniffed them, then revolted.
“Are you sure these are the right herbs?” she asked, disgusted.
“Yes, so eat them,” Silverpaw retorted. Dovefeather lapped up the herbs reluctantly. Revolting again, she swallowed them with great difficulty.
“Foxtail?” asked Rainheart, as Foxtail turned to face her. “How did you get out of ThunderClan?”
“I told the guards I was on a hunting patrol and I had permission to hunt alone by Squirrelflight,” Foxtail explained.
Rainheart padded towards the edge of the island, stopping where the frozen lake water touched her paws. She turned around to Silverpaw.
“Can I have some ivy, thyme, and lavender stems from the SkyClan herb storage?” Gingerpaw asked suddenly. “A lot of it grows on SkyClan territory.”
“Alright, but we should go get those herbs before SkyClan gets worried,” Rainheart meowed. She and Gingerpaw were already padding over the frozen lake water towards SkyClan territory.
“Wait!” Silverpaw called, Rainheart paused, and she turned around to see Silverpaw bounding towards her. “Can I come too?”
“Alright.” Rainheart rasped. “We need all the help we can get,” Rainheart agreed.
“Thanks!” Silverpaw purred. “Now let’s get going before anyone realizes that we’re gone.” They sprinted over to SkyClan territory. They padded down the ground as silently as they could. They padded to the overgrowth under the branches, they saw SkyClan camp and raced down the path, curving towards it. Silverpaw and Rainheart each grabbed a bundle of horsetail nearby and trotted into the camp.
“We’re just going out for another bundle of herbs,” Rainheart called to Hawkwing. “We gathered so many herbs that we’ll have to go back again to bring back the rest of them!” Dashing over to the medicine den, Silverpaw and Rainheart dashed out of the camp while secretly taking out another bundle of herbs with them. They quickly made their way back to the Gathering Island, where Foxtail, Gingerpaw, and Dovefeather waited. “That was quite a run!” Rainheart exclaimed, panting.
“Mhm,” Silverpaw replied, her voice muffled from the bundle of herbs she was carrying.
“Well, now that you’re both back, we get going,” Dovefeather mewed.
“If we stay here any longer, it’s going to be sundown,” Foxtail meowed. “If we’re going on the journey, then we might as well hurry up and leave before anyone finds us and forbids us to go.”
“Ok to the… where exactly are we going?” Dovefeather asked.
“I think we’re supposed to go to the sun-drown place,” Rainheart answered. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 7
I can’t believe that we’re still barely out of the Clans’ territories, it feels like we’ve been walking for an eternity! This journey will be harder than I thought. Silverpaw sighed, they probably weren’t even through a quarter of their journey, but she and Gingerpaw almost already used up their entire store of dock that they’d brought. And Dovefeather won’t let us stop to look for herbs, she keeps on insisting that we have to warn the Clans in time, Silverpaw thought. “Can we please stop to look for herbs, just for a little while?” she pleaded.
“There isn’t any time to spare,” Dovefeather mewed briskly as her fur flowed with the wind. “We have to get back and warn the Clans about whatever danger’s ahead.”
“Hmph. You’re no fun, Dovefeather,” Rainheart snorted. Dovefeather muttered something through her teeth, but Silverpaw couldn’t hear her over the forest noises. Finally, she stopped.
“We can go hunt now,” she meowed, holding her chin up. Silverpaw huffed.
“When are you going to let us gather herbs? We’re almost out of dock and horsetail.”
“You can gather it on the way if you see anything close by,” Dovefeather sniffed.
“But you still refused to let me go collect them when it was close by!” Silverpaw shot back.
“Those were too far away! That would be delaying too much time!” Dovefeather meowed, a growl rising in her throat. Silverpaw stared back at her defiantly.
“There’s no need for this…” Rainheart started nervously. Sighing, Silverpaw stepped back beside Rainheart, her hackles lowering.
“So can we pick herbs if it’s close by while we’re hunting?” Gingerpaw asked.
“Fine,” Dovefeather responded. “But only if it’s close by.”
“Okay…” Foxtail murmured.
“Finally,” Silverpaw snorted.
“Foxtail and Rainheart will hunt together, Gingerpaw and Silverpaw will hunt together, and I will hunt alone,” Dovefeather continued. “We’re all going to meet back here at sundown.”
“Who died and made you leader?” Silverpaw muttered under her breath.
“Come on, don’t be so grumpy,” Gingerpaw pleaded. “At least Dovefeather let us gather herbs.”
“Fine, you’re right,” Silverpaw sighed as they headed deeper into the woods. “Quiet!” she hissed suddenly, nudging Gingerpaw into a hunting crouch. She could hear the paws of a rabbit pattering on the leaves. Instinctively, Gingerpaw padded in a wide circle around to the other side of the rabbit. Baring her teeth, Gingerpaw growled as she chased the rabbit straight into Silverpaw’s paws. The rabbit skidded wildly on the dry leaves, its eyes sparking with alarm. Silverpaw pounced on it, relishing the wave of warm blood as she bit into the rabbit, feeling its spine crunch. “Carry any herbs you find,” she muttered through the mouthful of fur. Eyes shining, the two medicine cat apprentices approached the area where they were due to meet back. Foxtail and Rainheart had caught a squirrel and a vole, and Dovefeather had caught two shrews and a mouse. Dovefeather’s white pelt glimmered in the sunset, her blue eyes sparkling with pride.
“I caught more than you two together!” Dovefeather snorted with laughter.
“Well, Gingerpaw and Silverpaw’s rabbit is bigger than what you caught put together,” Rainheart pointed out.
“Anyways, I’ll try to fetch you some dock and horsetail, since that’s what you wanted...” Foxtail mewed.
“At last! Thanks, though” Silverpaw meowed.
“You’re welcome,” Foxtail replied quietly. Foxtail padded off to find some dock.
“I’m so tired!” Dovefeather yawned, curling up in the makeshift den that they had made earlier.
“Who isn’t?” Silverpaw pointed out, curling up in her nest. If Dovefeather’s going to act like she’s our leader, this is going to be a long journey, Silverpaw thought drowsily as her mind slipped into troubled dreams about the dangers ahead. She saw flashes of different parts of a twolegplace, dogs baring their teeth, and something huge and dark that she couldn’t quite figure out...
Chapter 8
Gingerpaw woke up to see Silverpaw bending over her. “Wake up!” Silverpaw meowed.
“I’m coming,” said Gingerpaw. She followed Silverpaw to where the other cats were talking. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“We’re deciding where we should go...” Foxtail replied.
“We’re thinking we should keep heading towards the sun-drown place,” Rainheart mewed. “But first we need some fresh-kill.” The others agreed and went to eat. Gingerpaw picked out Rainheart’s vole that she caught yesterday and started to take out mouthfuls of meat. Silverpaw sat next to her and bit down on the plump shrew Dovefeather caught. Once everyone was done eating, they set out for the sun-drown place. Gingerpaw yawned. How long will this journey take? What did StarClan want to tell us?
“Gingerpaw,” Dovefeather’s mew jerked her awake. “I want you to go out to collect herbs. Silverpaw and Foxtail will come with you, but they’ll be hunting instead of collecting herbs. I’ll hunt with Rainheart. We’ll meet back here at sunhigh, then we’ll start traveling again.” Dovefeather said as she walked off with Rainheart. Silverpaw padded confidently in the other direction as Gingerpaw and Foxtail trailed after her. Gingerpaw’s nose twitched as she smelled the sharp scent of dock. She stopped, then padded towards the smell. Collecting a bundle of the herb, she grasped it between her jaws and continued following Silverpaw and Foxtail. They were sniffing the base of a tall oak tree, intent on finding some prey. Suddenly, Gingerpaw scented something. Something that wasn't the scent of any herb she knew…
“Fox!” she shrieked. Silverpaw turned on her, hissing.
“You just ruined our first catch-” her eyes stretched wide. Gingerpaw’s mind whirled as she stood, frozen with shock.
“Gingerpaw, go warn Rainheart and Dovefeather then ask them to come help us. We can hold it off until you come back,” Silverpaw ordered.
“But-” Gingerpaw started.
“Just go!”Silverpaw snarled, facing the fox. Gingerpaw hared away, glimpsing an orange streak leaping onto her fur. Her heart pounding, Gingerpaw raced through the forest, following the two other warriors’ scent trail. She arrived to see Rainheart holding a plump mouse in her jaws.
“What’s going on?” Dovefeather asked.
“There’s a fox,” Gingerpaw panted.
“A fox?” Rainheart and Dovefeather gasped at the same time. “Come on let’s go Silverpaw and Foxtail are holding it off right now,” Gingerpaw meowed quickly as she dashed away.
“Follow me!” The two warriors hared after her, as a shriek rippled through the forest. “That sounds like Foxtail!” Rainheart gasped. They ran in the direction of the sound. Panting, the three cats burst into the clearing. Stopping to catch her breath, Gingerpaw glanced around at the other cats. Rainheart slid under the fox, scratching its belly. Gingerpaw bit down on the fox’s neck with Dovefeather clawing at the fox. The fox limped away into the overgrowth. Gingerpaw could feel her muzzle stinging now that the fire of the battle was over. Along with Silverpaw, she weaved through the battered group, treating their bites and scratches. Padding over to Foxtail, she chewed some marigold into a poultice quickly, then smeared it over the wound gently. Silverpaw hurried over to her, giving her a thick wad of cobwebs before going back to treating Rainheart’s bite. Using the cobweb, she padded Foxtail’s wound, then turned to Dovefeather at the same time as Silverpaw. Gingerpaw quickly crushed some tansy leaves and applied it to Dovefeather’s claw. Silverpaw grabbed a swath of cobweb, then wrapped it around Dovefeather’s claw. Silverpaw turned to Gingerpaw, but Gingerpaw was already treating Silverpaw’s scratch. Suddenly, there was a snarl behind them. Gingerpaw turned slowly, her eyes wide with horror, and saw three pairs of gleaming amber eyes.
Chapter 9
The fox must’ve come here with two other foxes, and now it’s come back with them! “Run!” Foxtail yowled. “We can’t fight all of them!” The other four cats didn’t need her to tell them again. Everyone took off running, their pelts no more than a blur of colors against the trees. Then, the ground disappeared beneath them, and everything went black.
Huh? What happened? And where am I? Struggling to open her eyes in the blinding white light, Foxtail blinked. Rainheart, Gingerpaw, Silverpaw, and Dovefeather were lying beside her, all of them waking up, one by one, confusion showing in their eyes when they saw the strange place. Wait. This is a twoleg nest! Foxtail realized. Suddenly, a white twoleg came, and forced a pebble down her throat, then did the same with the other cats. It soothed the pain in her back, but she didn’t want to eat another one.
“This is a twoleg nest!” Dovefeather hissed. “We need to get out of here!” Silverpaw rolled her eyes.
“Well isn’t that obvious?
“The question is, how do we get out of here?” Rainheart asked.
“I guess we’ll need to wait until the twoleg opens the door, or until it leaves the nest,” Foxtail responded.
That evening, as the white-pelted twoleg was leaving the nest, Foxtail signaled the cats forward, and they fled from the nest. As the twoleg tried to pick her up, Foxtail swiped a claw at its leg, leaving a shallow scratch. The twoleg recoiled for a moment, then began chasing them again. They swerved into a bush, then waited for the twoleg to go away. Foxtail’s back had begun throbbing again. Gingerpaw began treating Dovefeather’s claw, since the wound had reopened and was bleeding again. Silverpaw began treating Rainheart’s wound as well. Foxtail’s scratches were still bound tight with cobwebs. After she finished, she and Gingerpaw began to treat their own wounds. Foxtail padded over to Rainheart while she was rapidly licking her shoulder, Foxtail sat next to Rainheart.
“Oh, hi Foxtail,” Rainheart mewed. “Shouldn’t you rest?” Foxtail flinched. Couldn’t Rainheart see that her wounds were small and shallow?
“It’s fine, it’ll heal by itself,” Foxtail replied. Rainheart stood up again, then limped towards Silverpaw and Gingerpaw. Foxtail fidgeted on the cold snow and watched Rainheart talk to the two medicine cat apprentices. Dovefeather had already gone hunting. Should I talk to them? Foxtail thought. She stood back up, shaking the snow off her pelt, and padded over to the other three cats.
“Hi Foxtail!” Gingerpaw mewed cheerfully.
“Hi…,” Foxtail muttered. She still wasn’t comfortable with anyone else but Rainheart. She sat down between Rainheart and Gingerpaw.
“Should I go hunting with Dovefeather...?” Foxtail mewed questioningly.
“No, you can stay here,” Gingerpaw responded. Gingerpaw shivered.
“We should move somewhere warmer,” she meowed. Foxtail nodded. They all got up. Foxtail spotted an overgrown holly bush nearby. That should be big enough for a small temporary camp, just big enough for all of us, provide shelter,
Racing ahead and dug a large hole sheltered by the bush, large enough for a den where five cats could fit comfortably, along with a fresh-kill pile and a small eating space.
“Is this better?” Foxtail asked.
“Yeah, thanks,” Rainheart replied. Silverpaw pawed at the snow, trying to soften it to make it more comfortable. Foxtail saw Dovefeather padding towards them. She held a plump mountain hare, a vole, and three shrews.
“Here’s some fresh-kill,” Dovefeather meowed. Foxtail dragged the mountain hare over to Rainheart, then beckoned to Dovefeather. The three warriors crouched around the hare and shared it between them. Silverpaw and Gingerpaw crouched side by side. Silverpaw took the rest of the prey in her jaws, dropped a vole and a shrew at Gingerpaw’s paws, sat back down, and began eating her two shrews.
Foxtail crawled over to Rainheart. They shared tongues just as Silverpaw and Gingerpaw finished eating. Dovefeather groomed her fur, stretching her neck to reach the base of her tail. Foxtail poked her head out of the bush, “It’s still snowing really hard,” Foxtail meowed, pulling her head back into the shelter of the bush. “We’re not even near the sun-drown place,” Dovefeather groaned. “I agree with Dovefeather, we haven’t got that much of anywhere,” Rainheart mewed. Gingerpaw nodded in agreement, “I’ll check how much snow is falling…” Foxtail murmured. Foxtail peeked outside again, she signaled the others it’s safe to go out. Foxtail took a step forward in the chilly weather, pressing her paws against the snow. How long will this storm last?
Chapter 10
Dovefeather woke up to a prodding paw.
“Wake up!” Rainheart meowed. Dovefeather sighed
“Just a bit more sleep?” Dovefeather asked. “But we still have a long journey to the sun-drown place, you said so yourself,” Rainheart responded. Dovefeather turned away. Rainheart sighed. Dovefeather glared at her with pale blue eyes. Rainheart glared back, much colder than Dovefeather’s. Silverpaw poked her head in.
“We’re running out of time, and it’s almost sunhigh already.”
“It’s already sunhigh?” Dovefeather hissed.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, bird-brain!” Rainheart meowed with a hint of amusement, her glare disappearing. Dovefeather’s whiskers twitched.
Foxtail padded into the bush, getting Rainheart to step out the brambles. Dovefeather moaned as she stood up on the moss pile under the bush, she crawled out of the pile of bramble and twigs. She shook the snow off her pelt and padded towards the rest of the group.
Dovefeather tried to keep her paws stable on the slippery snow like the other cats as her paws sunk into the deep snow. Foxtail padded ahead through the thicket of vines, dappled with snow. Dovefeather bent down, dodging the vines flying at her as Rainheart leaped out of the dead leaves and branches.
Dovefeather wiggled out of the thorn bush as snow stuck to her paws, she padded towards the rest of the cats as she shook the snow off her pelt. Dovefeather stared into the rising sun as Silverpaw and Gingerpaw padded over, grabbed Dovefeather’s scruff and dragged Dovefeather to Rainheart and Foxtail.
“Can’t we pause and look at our surroundings?” Dovefeather moaned.
“There’s no time to waste Dovefeather,” Rainheart replied.
“I agree with Rainheart, we still have a long journey till we reach the sun-drown place.” Foxtail growled.
Dovefeather looked down to her paws and sprinted over to the mountains, “How do we get over that?” Dovefeather mewed. “We climb, fish-brain,” answered Gingerpaw as she leaped over the boulders. Dovefeather squinted her eyes at Gingerpaw as Rainheart crouched then sprung into the air, leaping over the boulder. Dovefeather followed and grabbed Gingerpaw’s scruff and dragged her up the steep rock. Foxtail led Silverpaw up the mountain behind Rainheart’s tail. Dovefeather leaped onto the peak, clawing for the top of the mountain.
Dovefeather dug claws into the snow as her claws slipped, she rapidly scratched the surface of the slippery mountain. “Help me!” Dovefeather yelped. Oh StarClan, don’t let me fall! Dovefeather thought desperately. Foxtail turned around, sprinting over to Dovefeather.
Dovefeather could feel her claws slipping, she let go, but Foxtail grabbed her and pulled her to the top of the mountain before she could fall. “Thanks, Foxtail,” Dovefeather panted, her blue eyes filled with relief. Foxtail shrugged. “No problem. I just did what any cat would do.” Rainheart skidded around the corner, the fur on her back bristling. “What happened?” Silverpaw demanded. “Is anyone hurt?” Gingerpaw asked shakily. “I fell over the cliff,” Dovefeather explained, embarrassed. “Foxtail helped me get back up.” “Oh,” Rainheart mewed, her bristling fur lowering. “Well, at least you’re safe.” Silverpaw looked down, but eventually nodded. Dovefeather trotted over to the other side of the mountain, she looked down at the steep hill. “Now what are we going to do, slide?” Dovefeather murmured. “I guess there’s no other option,” Foxtail mewed. Dovefeather shrugged and leaped down the mountain, trying to maintain her balance. She struggled to slow down as she slid down the snow, she turned around to see Silverpaw trailing behind with Rainheart. Dovefeather leaped onto a nearby boulder, she paused for a few seconds, as she saw Rainheart sliding down to the bottom. Silverpaw leaped on the soft ground with Gingerpaw and Foxtail following. Dovefeather slid down the rest of the mountain, “Can we pause the journey until moonrise?” Dovefeather mewed. “Sure, there’s a nearby forest with lots of vines and overgrowth we can hide in.” Rainheart replied. Dovefeather nodded as she padded over with the rest of the group towards the bush. She settled in and curled her warm, white tail around her body. If we keep going on like this, will we be too late?
Chapter 11
Rainheart grumbled as the blinding light of the moon shone in her eyes. A shadow blocked the light of the moon, she squinted her eyes,
“Rainheart,” a voice called. Rainheart jumped to her paws, looking around wildly.
“Oh, hi Foxtail,” she mumbled, embarrassed. “I thought you were someone else.” Foxtail mrrowed with satisfaction. Rainheart flattened her ears, she wanted to pounce on Foxtail so she would be quiet. Rainheart swished her tail furiously, Foxtail paused.
“Sorry Rainheart,” she mewed. Rainheart pricked her ears.
“It’s fine, is it moonrise already?” Rainheart asked.
“Seems like it,” Foxtail mewed. Rainheart crawled out of the braken, she saw more mountains to climb but also saw a flat space between each of them.
“We can travel through there,” Rainheart meowed, flicking her tail at the direction of the spaces between the mountains. “It’s safer and easier to go through.”
“Good idea,” Silverpaw mewed. Rainheart nodded slightly as Silverpaw raced over to the small crevice, Rainheart squeezed in the space while Foxtail trailed behind her. Rainheart eventually got out of the small crevice, she shook snowflakes off of her pelt. Gingerpaw squeezed through easily with Silverpaw. Rainheart waited for Dovefeather and Foxtail to get through, she padded over to Dovefeather and pulled her out of the crack. Dovefeather sprinted ahead of her as Foxtail stopped in her tracks.
“I think we should stop and hunt,” Rainheart mewed as her belly growled. Dovefeather turned around.
“Sure,” she meowed. Dovefeather padded over to Rainheart.
“We need to split up to cover more ground. Rainheart, come with me. Silverpaw and Gingerpaw can keep each other company, and Dovefeather will go look for something in that forest.” Foxtail meowed, flicking the direction of withered trees.
“Who made you the leader?” Dovefeather snorted.
“Do you have a better idea?” Silverpaw countered. Dovefeather snorted, turning away. Rainheart sighed. If only they could get along, she thought. Foxtail padded over to the nearly frozen pond, Rainheart trailing behind her. She swiped a paw into the pond, scooping up a trout and serving the killing bite.
“Who taught you that?” Rainheart mewed, impressed.
“Gingerpaw,” Foxtail replied.
“Can I try?” Rainheart asked.
“Sure,” Foxtail sat at the edge of the water. Rainheart copied Foxtail, making sure not to let her shadow fall into the water. Rainheart saw a minnow swimming by, and flashed a paw into the water as Foxtail had done with the trout. She scooped the small fish out of the water and bit down hard.
“You did well for your first try,” Foxtail meowed. Rainheart pricked her ears happily.
“Come on, let's get back to the others,” she mewed. She bounded towards Silverpaw and Gingerpaw with Foxtail at her heels. Silverpaw turned to them as Rainheart dropped the minnow on a sturdy patch of snow. Dovefeather came back with a mouse and two robins as Foxtail skidded to a stop beside the minnow, and draped her trout on top.
“Ha! I still caught more than you two!” Dovefeather snorted. Foxtail shook her head.
“It’s not a competition, Dovefeather,” Rainheart mewed. Dovefeather glared at her and dragged the mouse she caught. Rainheart sighed, tearing at the robin and tearing off mouthfuls of the soft flesh. Foxtail sat beside her, eating the trout she caught at the pond. Silverpaw rolled her eyes at Dovefeather, who had carried her mouse farther than she needed to, and was glaring at Rainheart. Rainheart stared over Dovefeather’s shoulder, the fur on her back bristling.
“Dovefeather! Behind you!” Rainheart ran over and bit the shoulder of the badger. Dovefeather jumped slightly, then ran over to help Rainheart. Foxtail ran over and pinned the badger down. Rainheart glanced at the bushes, her eyes wide with horror. “Look out!” Rainheart yowled as two more badgers knocked Foxtail over.
“We could use some help!” Dovefeather hissed to Silverpaw and Gingerpaw as a badger slashed Rainheart’s back. Silverpaw muttered under her breath, but bounded over to one of the badgers, wanting a challenge. Gingerpaw ran over to help Silverpaw. Rainheart slashed at the badger’s eye as another badger slashed back at her. Rainheart backed away as Foxtail leaped over to her and clawed at the badger’s back. Rainheart then turned to see Dovefeather biting a badger’s leg that was slashing at Gingerpaw as Silverpaw slid under the badger, sliding her claws over its belly. The badger grunted, then shambled away. Silverpaw and Gingerpaw raced away to a badger that was flinging its claws at Dovefeather as Rainheart got clawed by another badger, with blood oozing down her flank, the badger pinned her down to the snow. She struggled to wiggle herself loose as Foxtail bounded over and swung her claws at the badger’s neck. The badger Rainheart and Foxtail chased away the badger. Dovefeather bounded over to the other four cats as they advanced on the remaining badger. The badger took one last slash at Rainheart’s hind leg but Foxtail pinned the badger down before it could. Furiously, Rainheart ripped the badger’s fur before letting it go. The badger yelped in pain, then glared at the advancing cats, then scrambled away to join the rest of its set. Rainheart glanced around. Rainheart could feel her back and her flank stinging hard. Suddenly, she began to feel dizzy, and the landscape in front of her blurred. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed into the snow.
Chapter 12
Silverpaw’s mind whirled as she saw Rainheart collapse onto the ground. Everything’s gone wrong! Rainheart is weak and the rest of us are still recovering from our fight with the foxes! Oh StarClan, why would you do this to us? What did we do to deserve this? Wincing from the pain in her leg, she limped rapidly over to Rainheart, Gingerpaw supporting her on one side. Hardly daring to breathe, Silverpaw rested her ear against Rainheart’s chest. She heard the small thump of Rainheart’s heartbeat, slow, but she was still alive. Silverpaw breathed a sigh of relief. Thank StarClan! Dovefeather and Foxtail bounded over.
“Is she alright?” Foxtail mewed. Dovefeather stared at Rainheart with worry. “Well?” she demanded.
“She’s still alive,” Gingerpaw replied for Silverpaw. Foxtail crouched down. Rainheart slowly opened her eyes. She pushed herself up, but collapsed in the snow.
Dovefeather dragged Rainheart up and supported her on one side with Foxtail on the other.
“We should find someplace to stay for the night,” Gingerpaw mewed. “Rainheart needs to rest. We all do.”
“Yes, we ran out of herbs, and we’ll need to get up early tomorrow to look for herbs for our wounds,” Silverpaw agreed.
“Alright,” Foxtail responded. “What about that bush? It’s big enough for all five of us, and it’ll keep us sheltered for the night.” “Sure,” Dovefeather meowed. Silverpaw poked her head in, shuffling towards the back of the bush. Gingerpaw followed, then Dovefeather, and finally, Foxtail and Rainheart.
“I’m going to go look for herbs,” Silverpaw announced, looking around. “Does anyone want to come with me?” Gingerpaw stood up.
“I’ll come. Dovefeather, you should stay here in case the badgers come back. Yowl if they do, we’ll come.”
“Okay,” Dovefeather yawned. “Come back soon.”
“We will,” Silverpaw promised. “Come on, Gingerpaw!” Gingerpaw trailed behind Silverpaw as she bounded towards a small patch of clover. Looking back at Rainheart, Silverpaw pushed through the overgrowth to find cobwebs for Rainheart’s deep scratches. Sniffing the air, Silverpaw picked up a sharp, tangy scent. Dock!
“Gingerpaw! I found some dock,” she called over her shoulder. Without waiting for a reply, she raced towards the smell. Slowing to a stop, she nipped off a few dock stems, enough for all of their scratches, then turned back to find Gingerpaw. Silverpaw saw Gingerpaw picking up cobwebs from a tall oak tree.
“Ick! There might be spiders on there, Gingerpaw!”
“Don’t worry! I already checked, Silverpaw!” Silverpaw nodded.
“Come on! Let's give this to the others!” Silverpaw mewed. Gingerpaw dashed towards Dovefeather, Silverpaw at her heels. Silverpaw crawled into the bush and saw Rainheart laying down on the broken branches. Silverpaw began licking the scratches, then began massaging some dock leaves into them. Finally, she pressed on some cobweb, then licked her friend between her ears.
“Go get some rest, you tired yourself out yesterday.” Rainheart nodded as she laid her head down. Foxtail sat next to Rainheart as Silverpaw crawled towards Gingerpaw. Gingerpaw was licking her hind legs when Silverpaw came over. Silverpaw looked at Rainheart.
“She’ll be alright, Silverpaw,” Gingerpaw mewed.
“I know, but she barely survived the badgers, how will we get through to the sun-drown place in this shape?” Silverpaw hissed.
“That’s for StarClan to figure out,” Gingerpaw answered. Silverpaw tasted the air. Twolegs!
“Foxtail! Twolegs are coming! Me and Gingerpaw will keep Rainheart safe. You and Dovefeather’ll have to fight them off!” Foxtail nodded and crawled out of the bush to alert Dovefeather. Dovefeather seemed to have gotten the message and turned towards the sound of the snapping twigs. Silverpaw padded to Rainheart.
“Silverpaw, what’s happening?” Rainheart mewed. “There are twolegs nearby,” Silverpaw responded. Rainheart struggled to her paws. “Don’t go! You haven’t recovered yet! Foxtail and Dovefeather can handle this.” Rainheart sank down into the snow. She curled into a ball and closed her eyes. Silverpaw heard a battle cry, then some yowling. She poked her head out of the bush, and saw the twolegs limping away from the bush.
“Come in, we still have some leftover cobwebs and dock,” Silverpaw meowed. Foxtail and Dovefeather nodded as they crawled through the dead leaves and bramble. Silverpaw cleaned Foxtail’s scratches and massaged dock leaves into them, then pressed some cobweb onto each scratch. “There, it’ll take the night to heal, but it will heal eventually.” Foxtail nodded her thanks and padded over to Rainheart. Gingerpaw was treating Dovefeather’s wounds. Silverpaw looked up at the glistening moon. “It’s getting late, we should get some rest.” Silverpaw mewed. Gingerpaw and Dovefeather nodded as Silverpaw came over to Gingerpaw to sleep. Silverpaw curled up until her tail touched her muzzle. I hope nothing else has to come. How long will it take to communicate with Midnight?
Chapter 13
“Gingerpaw! Wake up!” Silverpaw meowed, nudging Gingerpaw with her muzzle.
“Yes?” Gingerpaw responded groggily, her eyes still adjusting to the bright light.
“It’s almost sunhigh! The others are waiting for you outside!” Silverpaw mewed. Gingerpaw sat bolt upright. A few days ago, she and a group of cats from the other Clans had set off on a journey to find Midnight the badger and receive a message.
“I’ll be there in a moment,” Gingerpaw promised, quickly grooming her fur and straightening her whiskers. She crawled outside to find Foxtail, Dovefeather, Rainheart, and Silverpaw waiting there, staring impatiently at the bush.
“Finally!” Dovefeather snorted when she caught sight of Gingerpaw. “We’re wasting daylight. You’ve been sleeping the morning away!” Silverpaw rolled her eyes at Dovefeather. “You literally woke up moments before Gingerpaw.”
“Well-” Dovefeather started.
“Break it up!” Foxtail growled, pushing herself between them. “We’ll never be able to make it to Midnight’s cavern if we don’t work together!” Rainheart agreed. Gingerpaw sighed. She knew Rainheart and Foxtail were right, but it was hard to keep her temper in touch when the other cats could be so irritating. Rainheart tasted the air.
“No sign of the Twolegs,” she reported. “But I did pick up a faint scent of dog.” Gingerpaw glanced around.
“At least there are some trees nearby,” she mewed, flicking her tail towards a small cluster of rowan trees a few tail-lengths away. Loud barking sounded behind them. There were three dogs, hot on their trail, barely two rabbit-hops away! Gingerpaw raced ahead while Foxtail supported Rainheart on one side, Silverpaw at her heels. Gingerpaw pushed through the snow and bounded under a leafless tree. Gingerpaw scrambled to her paws, sinking her claws into the trunk and climbing up. Silverpaw followed, Dovefeather and Foxtail climbing onto another rowan tree. Rainheart struggled to climb the trunk of another rowan tree, but finally managed to claw her way up onto a branch, her fur bushed. The dogs brushed her fur, then started barking up at the cats.
“That was close,” Rainheart panted. The dogs scratched at the trees furiously. Gingerpaw hissed triumphantly.
“You can’t get us up here!” Suddenly, a twoleg came running up the slope, yowling at the dogs. The dogs glared at the cats for a moment, then ran back to the Twoleg.
“That’s right! Run back to your twoleg, flea-bags!” Dovefeather taunted.
“Let’s go now, before the dogs come back!” Foxtail growled.
“But what about Rainheart?” Gingerpaw asked.
“I can take care of myself,” Rainheart meowed. “Alright,” Gingerpaw mewed reluctantly. “Let’s go, then.” Gingerpaw started down the slope, looking back to check on Rainheart every few moments. Finally, Rainheart slid down the trunk and landed in the snow. Foxtail pulled Rainheart out of the snow. “Come on, we’re near where the Tribe of Rushing Water lives!” Gingerpaw meowed excitedly.
“Ok, that means the sun-drown place isn’t far away,” Foxtail mewed. Gingerpaw leaped onto a large, smooth stone and bounded ahead. As she turned to Rainheart, Gingerpaw heard a waterfall, crashing into a pool of water. The Tribe of Rushing Water! Gingerpaw thought excitedly.
“Foxtail! I found the Tribe!” Gingerpaw exclaimed.
“Good, we’ll need Stoneteller to look over Rainheart,” Foxtail mewed. Gingerpaw nodded as she dashed into the cave behind the water.
“Gingerpaw, wait-!” Silverpaw warned. Gingerpaw was already in the cavern.
“Who are you?” a she-cat covered in mud hissed.
“I’m sorry, my name is Gingerpaw,” she apologized.
“What are you doing here?” the she-cat questioned.
“I was wondering if I could stay here with my friends until moonrise,” Gingerpaw responded.
“Gingerpaw, where are you?” Foxtail meowed. Foxtail rushed into the cavern with Silverpaw. The she-cat gave Foxtail a cold stare.
“I know you,” she meowed. Foxtail hissed.
“You must be Foxtail! I’ve heard many things about you from Bramblestar.” Foxtail paused.
“Bramblestar still comes here?” she muttered.
“Of course he does! Now that Sharptooth is out of the way, we’re able to visit more easily!'' The she-cat mewed.
“Brook, who are these cats?” another cat called.
“These are Foxtail and her friends, Stoneteller!” Stoneteller paused.
“Welcome, Foxtail, we have a lot to talk about!” Stoneteller meowed.
“You’re Stoneteller?” Gingerpaw asked.
“Yes,” Stoneteller responded.
“One of our friends has been hurt badly while chasing away a set of badgers, and we were wondering if you could help cure her,” Foxtail responded. Silverpaw and Dovefeather nodded in agreement as Rainheart limped awkwardly into the cave. Gingerpaw padded over and led Rainheart to the old tom.
“Greetings,” Rainheart mewed, dipping her head respectfully.
“I hope you are doing well,” Stoneteller replied. “I hear that you have been hurt?”
“Yes, Stoneteller,” Rainheart muttered in embarrassment.
“Where were you hurt?” Stoneteller questioned.
“Her scratches are on her back and flank,” Silverpaw meowed, flattening her ears. Stoneteller locked his eyes on Rainheart’s wounds and nodded.
“Come with me, I can heal your scratches.” Gingerpaw paused, tasting the air.
“I smell dogs. And Twolegs,” Gingerpaw growled.
“Dogs?” Brook tilted her head. She sniffed. “You’re right!” Brook exclaimed. “I’ll alert the others.” Gingerpaw stared at the waterfall.
“We should hide for now,” Gingerpaw meowed. Dovefeather flattened her ears.
“No! I’m not a coward like you!” Dovefeather hissed. “Fine then, go deal with the dogs alone, it won’t be my fault if you die!” Silverpaw responded dryly. Dovefeather muttered under her breath, but padded deeper into the cave. Gingerpaw sighed. Will we ever get along with each other?
Chapter 14
Foxtail blinked her eyes open. She was lying in a tunnel with Rainheart resting beside her.
“Finally! You were sleeping the morning away!” Rainheart mewed, rousing. Foxtail pushed herself up.
“Where’s Dovefeather?” Foxtail asked, looking around for the white she-cat.
“She went hunting with Brook, Mist, and Bird,” Rainheart meowed. Foxtail pushed herself up and trotted out of the tunnel.
“Have the dogs left?” Foxtail growled. Rainheart shook her head.
“They’re still searching for-” Rainheart replied. She was interrupted by some yowling, and loud barks and snarls. Rainheart hissed.
“Let’s go somewhere farther from the dogs,” Foxtail mewed. She scrambled into a crevice, shoving Rainheart behind her. Foxtail hissed. “We’d better stay quiet to get past the dogs!” Foxtail muttered to Rainheart. Rainheart nodded as Foxtail saw Silverpaw and Gingerpaw a few fox-lengths away. She flicked her tail at the direction of the two cats sharing tongues. Foxtail crouched down and crawled over to them, blending in with the orange-yellow setting sun. Foxtail looked back as the dogs’ howling became faint and signaled Rainheart it was safe. Rainheart raced over as Foxtail began going towards the two apprentices.
“Hi, Foxtail! What’s the matter?” Silverpaw asked.
“Rainheart and I wanted to go somewhere without dogs pestering us,” Foxtail mewed as Rainheart skidded to a halt next to Gingerpaw.
“It’s a good thing the dogs didn’t find us,” Rainheart rasped. “Do you think Dovefeather will come back anytime soon?” Foxtail wasn’t worrying about Dovefeather at the moment, she had Brook, Mist, and Bird.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Silverpaw snorted. Foxtail nodded slightly as Rainheart sat back down.
“Have your wounds healed well?” Gingerpaw asked, changing the topic. Rainheart nodded. Foxtail breathed a sigh of relief.
“Well, that’s a good thing,” Silverpaw mewed. Rainheart pricked her ears as Dovefeather trotted along over to them with a hawk in her jaws.
“You didn’t get caught by the dogs?” Gingerpaw meowed. Dovefeather shook her head. “They were so mouse-brained that they left without searching for us!” Dovefeather purred. Foxtail twitched her whiskers. “Did you catch any fish?” Gingerpaw asked cheerfully.
“No, but you should try this!” Dovefeather encouraged. Foxtail crouched down and gripped the hawk in her teeth and took a few mouthfuls. She paused and looked over at Gingerpaw, Foxtail slid the hawk next to Gingerpaw. Gingerpaw looked down, then picked it up and sank her teeth into the hawk.
“Hmm, this tastes a bit like the birds back in the forest,” Gingerpaw mewed. Foxtail watched as Gingerpaw took a few more mouthfuls of the hawk. Rainheart dragged a plump mouse from the fresh-kill pile.
“Foxtail, aren’t you hungry?” Rainheart asked, cocking her head.
“No, I lost my appetite,” Foxtail replied.
“Suit yourself,” Rainheart shrugged. Foxtail pushed herself up and padded over to Stoneteller, dipping her head respectfully as she passed.
I wish we could stay here, but we’ll have to leave eventually, Foxtail thought. This is only the beginning of our journey.
Chapter 15
Ugh, it’s almost moonrise and the hunting patrol still hasn’t come back yet!
“When is the hunting patrol going to be back? I’m starving to death!” Dovefeather moaned.
“Give them time, Dovefeather. These are harsh conditions to hunt in, even in the mountains, and prey is scarce at this time,” Rainheart responded.
“Well, they’d better be back soon!” Dovefeather snapped.
“Well I’m really sorry, but if you haven’t noticed, we’re all hungry and none of us are moaning like you are!” Silverpaw mewed irritatedly.
“You-” Dovefeather broke off as Rainheart covered her mouth with her tail.
“Be quiet, you two! The prey-hunters and Foxtail are hunting, how are they supposed to find any prey if you’re scaring them off?” Rainheart growled. Dovefeather hissed. Silverpaw snorted, but nevertheless fell silent.
“Rainheart’s right, you should stop fighting and forgive each other,” Gingerpaw mewed.
Ha! And hedgehogs might fly! Dovefeather thought.
“Well it’s not my fault she’s a rabbit trying to act like a warrior,” Silverpaw meowed cheekily. Dovefeather glared at Silverpaw, their gazes locking.
“Silverpaw, if you weren’t so-”
“Enough! Both of you!” Rainheart interrupted.
“Since when were you our leader?” Dovefeather snarled.
“She never said she was,” Gingerpaw mewed hesitantly.
“Look, I’m not “leader” I’m just telling you to hush, Dovefeather,” Rainheart growled.
Dovefeather sighed, she knew they were right. Foxtail’s mew jerked her thoughts.
“Sorry we’re so late,” Brook called, dropping a shrew, a mouse, and two hawks.
“Finally!” Dovefeather meowed with delight. She swiped a hawk and gulped a few mouthfuls.
“Don’t be rude, Dovefeather,” Rainheart meowed absently. “Let the Tribe eat first. It is their prey, after all.” Dovefeather hesitated for a moment, then looked over to Rainheart.
It’s not like she’s the leader. I shouldn’t’ve listened to her!
Dovefeather continued eating the hawk she was holding, finishing the last of the hawk’s wings. She padded over to a nearby tunnel, settled on her nest, and slipped into an uneasy sleep.
“Wake up, Dovefeather, it’s time to leave,” Rainheart meowed. Dovefeather rolled her eyes.
“I’m coming,” she growled.
Rainheart nodded as she padded out the tunnel. Dovefeather snorted.
“I guess I don’t have any other option,” Dovefeather muttered. Dovefeather pushed herself off the ground and padded over to the rest of the group.
“Hurry up, Dovefeather! You might as well be a kittypet for how slowly you walk,” Silverpaw hissed. Dovefeather ran over to her,
“Maybe I would go faster if you weren't telling me to pick up the pace!” Dovefeather snapped back.
“Hmm, I do think I remember you did walk faster when I told you to pick up the pace, actually you ran,” Silverpaw mewed.
“Let’s just get this over with, you won’t help by arguing.” Foxtail meowed.
“I thought Rainheart was the leader!” Dovefeather growled.
“What’s all this commotion?” Stoneteller rasped.
“I’m sorry Stoneteller, Dovefeather appears to be upset with us,” Rainheart mewed respectfully.
“You five still have to head to the sun-drown place and save your Clans, there is no time to waste,” Stoneteller replied. Rainheart dipped her head in agreement and set off. Dovefeather shook the snow off her fur and trailed behind Gingerpaw.
“What’s your problem, Dovefeather?” Gingerpaw asked.
“Nothing,” Dovefeather replied.
“It’s about Rainheart or Silverpaw, isn’t it?” Gingerpaw meowed. Dovefeather didn’t reply.
“I know you have fights with Silverpaw but, why Rainheart?” Gingerpaw asked again.
“Why does Rainheart get to lead the group?” Dovefeather blurted out. Dovefeather slapped her tail over her mouth, but Foxtail had already turned on her.
“She never wanted to!” Foxtail growled. “And besides, would you like to become leader? You remind me of Tigerstar!”
Dovefeather flicked her tail in disbelief. How could she be like the wretched Tigerstar? Dovefeather’s hackles rose, unsheathing her claws, she dug the surface of the snow. Dovefeather let out a low growl and pounced on Foxtail. Foxtail batted her away easily with her claws sheathed.
“Stop fighting! We’re supposed to work together,” Gingerpaw hissed.
“She’s right.” Rainheart meowed. “If we can't work together, how do you expect us to protect our Clans?” Dovefeather rolled her eyes.
“We have plenty of time!” Dovefeather replied. “Plus, the danger can't be that bad!”
“So, who again was rushing us earlier and wouldn’t even let us collect herbs?” Silverpaw countered.
“Be quiet! Are you trying to scare all the prey off?” Foxtail pointed out. Silverpaw dipped her head apologetically.
As Dovefeather stared towards the clearing, she heard a loud volley of barking.
“The dogs are back!” Dovefeather hissed.
“Yeah, we totally didn’t know that already,” Silverpaw mewed sarcastically.
“Well we better hide somewhere they won’t find us,” Foxtail mewed.
“We finally agree on something,” Dovefeather replied.
“There’s lots of overgrowth over there we can hide in,” Gingerpaw meowed, flicking her tail towards the trees with clumps of bushes and vines.
“The mouse-bile there can hide our scent,” Silverpaw agreed. Foxtail crept down the small hill with Dovefeather following. Dovefeather went first, blending in with the snow. As the dogs turned away she flicked her tail, signaling it’s safe.
“Be careful, don’t make any sounds that might alarm the dogs,” Rainheart mewed. Dovefeather saw the dogs walking away with their Twoleg. She quickly clawed her way up a rowan sapling. Foxtail climbed up a towering oak tree, followed by Silverpaw, Rainheart, and Gingerpaw.
“The dogs might be walking away, but I’m sure they’re going to come back for us,” Gingerpaw conceded.
“I think we're going to have to stay here till we can't hear a trace of those dogs,” Rainheart mewed. Dovefeather nodded, peering across the undergrowth. I might as well get some rest, Dovefeather thought. She leaned on a tree branch and closed her eyes.
Chapter 16
Rainheart scanned the ground for signs of dogs, but none were present. “We should get going,” Foxtail meowed, breaking the silence between the cats. Rainheart nodded while carefully scrambling down the tree.
“The dogs probably went back to their dens with their Twolegs,” Silverpaw added. Rainheart pricked her ears. She could hear waves crashing against something else. A cliff? she thought hopefully.
“Come on!” Rainheart exclaimed, bounding past Foxtail. “I can hear some extremely strong currents; that has to be the sun-drown place!” Silverpaw swiveled her ears towards the direction Rainheart was going.
“You’re right!” she gasped, easily catching up with Rainheart. “And I can smell salt, too!” Gingerpaw and Foxtail joined the two she-cats, leaving Dovefeather a few rabbit-leaps behind.
“You four are hopeless,” Dovefeather grumbled, though her eyes were shining with excitement. “Hmm, hopeless eh? I think you're talking about yourself,” Silverpaw snickered. Dovefeather quickened her pace, bringing up the rear of the group. Rainheart suddenly skidded to a stop near the edge of a sheer cliff. Gingerpaw bumped into her haunches, bringing her over the cliff. Rainheart groaned as she landed on the sand. A heartbeat later, Rainheart heard Foxtail screech, and Gingerpaw landed beside her with Foxtail and Dovefeather close behind. As Rainheart looked up, she saw Silverpaw waving her tail at them cheerfully from where she was standing on a narrow ledge at the side of the cliff. She climbed down the ledge, and where the ledge ended, she leaped off and landed lightly on the sand.
“Couldn’t you have told us about that a bit earlier?” Rainheart gasped, fighting to get her breath back.
“I thought there were three fully trained warriors here,” Silverpaw snorted. “Why didn’t you go try to find something to climb down on instead? Besides, when I found it, you four were already slamming into each other like foxes in a fit.”
Dovefeather hissed, “So you’ve never made a mistake in your life, have you?”
“Nope!” Silverpaw replied, her eyes gleaming with amusement. Rainheart pushed her way in between Silverpaw and Dovefeather.
“If you two could stop bickering for a moment, we could start looking for Midnight’s cave! Plus, Silverpaw, that’s a lie and you know it,” Rainheart meowed. Silverpaw glared at her and tried to stand tall but Rainheart already padded past.
Before any of them could say anything, Gingerpaw mewed, “Is that cave Midnight’s cave?”
“I think so,” Foxtail responded. “Remember how Bramblestar and Squirrelflight described it? That cave looks big enough for a badger to live in, and the rocks at the bottom of the mouth of the cave look like teeth.” Rainheart whirled around to look at the cave. Foxtail and Gingerpaw were right; it did fit Bramblestar and Squirrelflight’s description perfectly. Dovefeather was already racing towards the cave, Silverpaw not far behind. Rainheart swapped glances with Foxtail and Gingerpaw, and the three of them dashed after the two she-cats. When Dovefeather reached the cave, she turned around.
“Ha! I reached the cave fir-” Her words ended in a shocked screech as a strong current dragged her into the water. Rainheart felt Gingerpaw’s pelt brush hers as the young she-cat raced past her. Silverpaw launched herself into the water, Gingerpaw at her side. As Rainheart prepared to jump into the water as well, Foxtail pulled her back where the current couldn’t reach.
“Gingerpaw is the only cat out of all of us who knows how to swim,” Foxtail meowed. “She doesn’t need another cat to add to her troubles.” Rainheart stopped struggling. Foxtail slowly loosened her grip on Rainheart. Should I try to help anyway? Rainheart pushed the thought away. No. Foxtail’s right. I would only give Gingerpaw more to do. Rainheart crouched at the mouth of the cave, panic and terror washing over her. StarClan, if you’re there, please don’t let any of them die.
Chapter 17
Silverpaw gagged on the salty water rushing into her mouth. She glanced at Gingerpaw and tried to copy her friend’s strong movements. After a few moments, Silverpaw found herself gliding through the water like Gingerpaw. The ginger she-cat angled her ears at a small, thrashing white shape. Silverpaw nodded back, unable to speak. They quickly began swimming towards Dovefeather as her thrashes grew weaker. They flanked Dovefeather, supporting her as they slowly made their way back to the shore. Without warning, a huge wave crashed down on the three she-cats. Underwater, Silverpaw saw Dovefeather’s eyes flutter and then close. No! Even if you drown, I will bring your body back. Silverpaw gritted her teeth and swam downward, towards Dovefeather’s limp body. She grabbed it with one paw and started towards the surface. Her lungs burned as she struggled to reach the surface. Suddenly, she felt the weight being lifted off of her. Silverpaw turned to see Gingerpaw swimming strongly towards the surface, dragging Dovefeather along with her. Silverpaw did the same, glancing at Gingerpaw every few moments to make sure that Dovefeather was still with her. As her head finally broke the surface, Silverpaw drew in long, gasping breaths. She glided towards Gingerpaw and took half of Dovefeather’s weight. Gingerpaw glanced at her gratefully, and they swam back to the shore. They dragged Dovefeather to the mouth of the cave, where Foxtail and Rainheart were waiting. Rainheart jumped to her paws.
“Is she alright?” Rainheart demanded, panic clear in her mew. No one responded since Silverpaw was panting as she sat down next to Rainheart and Gingerpaw had her ear pressed against Dovefeather’s chest. Gingerpaw slowly drew her head away, blinking sadly.
“She’s dead…” Gingerpaw whispered, grief clouding her gaze. Foxtail stiffened, and Rainheart closed her eyes and turned away.
“We should sit vigil for her,” Silverpaw murmured. “I’ll go find some lavender and mint.” She padded away quietly, though her thoughts were whirling. She was a great warrior, and one of the bravest out of all of us! How could she have died?! She took a deep breath. Calm yourself, Silverpaw. Panicking isn’t going to do anyone any good. Dovefeather’s dead, and there’s nothing you can do except to sit vigil and wish her well on her journey to StarClan. She padded towards a nearby clump of lavender and grabbed a few stems of it. Walking farther into the small forest area, she quickly spotted some mint growing near an oak sapling. Grabbing a few stems of the mint as well, she started back towards where Rainheart, Foxtail, and Gingerpaw were arranging Dovefeather’s body so that it looked like she was sleeping. Once she arrived at the mouth of the cave, Silverpaw mashed the lavender and mint together, gave half of the pile to Gingerpaw, and began rubbing the herb mixture onto Dovefeather’s pelt. She looked over to Gingerpaw and saw that she was doing the same. Once all of the juice had been rubbed off of the plants, the two medicine cat apprentices brushed the plants off.
“I remember when I first met Dovefeather at the Gathering where we all planned to start the journey,” Rainheart started. “I didn’t like her at first. I thought she was just bossy and argumentative, but as we continued our journey, I discovered a different side of her. When she saw that I was having trouble fighting one of the badgers near the mountains, she immediately came to help me instead of just continuing to fight her badger and ignoring me. She also kept the group entertained and she sometimes made me happy when I was down. She was a skilled warrior and a good friend, and I’m glad I got the chance to get to know her.
“Like Rainheart, I also thought that I wouldn’t like Dovefeather,” Foxtail meowed. “But she was more loyal and brave than I ever could’ve imagined. She was a great warrior and friend, and this has saddened me more than I can say.
“I constantly argued with Dovefeather along the journey,” Silverpaw began heavily. “I always thought she was reckless and annoying, but I also always thought that she was trying to provoke me. Now I can see that she just had different opinions than I had and wanted to prove them. She was a loyal and true warrior.”
“I never really liked Dovefeather,” Gingerpaw mewed, a tremor in her voice. “But I never wanted this to happen, either. Dovefeather was brave and loyal and she didn’t deserve this.”
“May StarClan light your path. May you find good hunting, swift running, and shelter when you sleep,” Silverpaw and Gingerpaw intoned together. “May you rest well in StarClan, we hope you achieve great things,” Rainheart added. May you have a safe journey to StarClan. May you finally find peace in your eternal sleep.
Chapter 18
The sun cast bright rays of light across the landscape as it rose. Gingerpaw stood up, shaking flecks of sand off of her pelt. Wordlessly, Foxtail and Rainheart heaved Dovefeather’s body up between them. Silverpaw and Gingerpaw supported Dovefeather’s head, tail, and legs. The she-cats set Dovefeather down next to three oak saplings and began digging a hole. They gently slid her body into the hole and started refilling the hole with soil.
“May StarClan be with you, Dovefeather…” Rainheart murmured. Gingerpaw glanced upwards. It was sunhigh already.
“We should hunt,” Foxtail meowed softly, straightening. Silverpaw nodded slowly.
“We’ll meet back here at sundown,” Foxtail mewed. “Gingerpaw, do you want to hunt with me?”
“Alright…” Gingerpaw replied. Gingerpaw trailed behind Foxtail as they padded through the overgrowth. Gingerpaw felt a bit off since Dovefeather wasn’t coming in and complaining every minute, in fact, she was bored without Dovefeather’s enthusiasm. Gingerpaw pricked her ears as she heard leaves rustling. Foxtail heard it too, Gingerpaw tasted the air as she scented a mouse. Foxtail crawled through the clearing, she watched as Foxtail slowly creeped up to the mouse. Foxtail leaped into the air as the mouse was nibbling on a seed, and pounced on the mouse just as it noticed her. After a sharp bite to its neck, the mouse was dead. Gingerpaw observed how Foxtail hunted until she was ready to try hunting her own prey. Gingerpaw pricked her ears, she waited to notice any sign of movement. When she heard a branch snap, she immediately followed the direction of the noise, when she saw a plump starling, she stopped, crouched down, and creeped closer. When she was about a few pawsteps away from the bird, she pushed herself up and sprung into the air. She landed on the starling before it could fly away and landed a nice killing bite. Foxtail came back with a squirrel and two mice in her jaws. Foxtail looked surprised when Gingerpaw padded toward her with fresh kill dangling from her teeth.
“Nice catch,” Rainheart commented, carefully avoiding her eyes. Gingerpaw nodded, looking at her paws. Silverpaw padded over to them silently, a vole and blackbird clasped in her jaws. Is this new loss something we can recover from? Gingerpaw wondered. Rainheart glanced at her sadly, as if reading her mind. Foxtail looked at the glittering stars of Silverpelt. “It’s getting late, let's head back…” The other she-cats nodded. Gingerpaw sighed as they headed back where they buried Dovefeather. Gingerpaw was hit with a cool trickle of water, she looked up. Dozens of drops of water splashed onto the she-cat’s pelts. Gingerpaw sighed. As soon as she realized the cats were leaving, she hurried over to them, not wanting to be left behind.
As they hid under a bush, Gingerpaw was talking with Silverpaw, trying to forget about their sudden loss.
“This is the first time I’ll ever admit this, but it kind of seems a little… sad without her…” Sliverpaw meowed in a dull monotone voice. Gingerpaw flattened her ears, she felt the same. Gingerpaw looked at Rainheart and Foxtail, they seemed miserable as well. Rainheart sighed as she let herself limp. Foxtail crawled to her, comforting her. Gingerpaw came closer as she heard them meow a few words.
“You know,” Rainheart said. “I used to have a sister just like you, my mother told me about my lost sister, I don’t remember her, but she was overprotective, and wouldn’t even let our littermates touch me!” Foxtail was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Suddenly, Gingerpaw felt fur touching hers, she jumped a bit, then calmed down to see Silverpaw next to her. Silverpaw chuckled a little.
“Did I scare you?” She teased. Gingerpaw shook her head, technically lying. Silverpaw’s face showed a tint of disappointment. Gingerpaw sighed. “Let’s just go to sleep, maybe it’ll be better next sunrise.” Silverpaw nodded and curled into a ball, her tail touching her nose. Gingerpaw copied her. Gingerpaw found herself in a dark forest, “Where am I?” Ginerpaw asked. Suddenly a flash a white fur circled around her, the white cat placed herself on a rock looking down at Gingerpaw. Gingerpaw squinted her eyes and realized it was Dovefeather sitting on a boulder in front of Gingerpaw. “Dovefeather?” Gingerpaw asked, trying to hide the happiness in her voice. The white she-cat nodded. “Hello, Gingerpaw,” Dovefeather meowed. “I’m here to give you a message from StarClan. Come closer,” Gingerpaw stepped forward and locked eyes with Dovefeather. “You must continue your journey and get to Midnight, Midnight will tell you everything you should know, and, do not mourn for me, I will always be with you...” Dovefeather’s voice faded as she disappeared in the starlight. “Wait, come back, please!” Gingerpaw called after her desperately, but it was too late. Dovefeather was gone.
Chapter 19
Foxtail poked Rainheart with her paw. “Wake up Rainheart, we don’t need another cat left behind.” Rainheart blinked her eyes open. “I know… Foxtail, but they aren’t awake, are they?” Foxtail looked at the two sleeping medicine cat apprentices. “I’ll wake them up after you get up,” Foxtail watched as Rainheart stretched her legs as she stood. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Foxtail asked with a hint of tease in her voice. Rainheart shrugged. “Now let's go wake the others up,” Foxtail meowed. Foxtail padded over to the sleeping she-cats. “Wake up, you two,” Foxtail mewed. The bright sunlight glistened onto Foxtail like she was the sun herself. The cats twitched their eyes open, adjusting to the sunlight. “Foxtail-?” Gingerpaw mewed drowsily. Foxtail nodded. Foxtail watched as the cats slowly stood up. “Come on, let's finish this journey to Midnight before anyone else gets hurt…” Foxtail meowed. Silverpaw flattened her ears at the mention of Dovefeather. Rainheart looked down. Foxtail dragged the medicine cats towards Midnight’s den with ease. Rainheart followed. Foxtail poked her head out of the bush and signaled to the others it was safe. She slowly crawled out of the bush, the leaves rustled as she brushed her fur against them. “Maybe Midnight will come out later,” Silverpaw meowed behind her. “Should we go hunt just in case?” Foxtail thought about it before giving a slight nod. “Gingerpaw, come with me, Silverpaw, stay with Rainheart,” She ordered. Gingerpaw padded up to her as she went deeper into the overgrowth. She pricked her ears and closed her eyes, full of concentration. “There’s a rabbit behind those trees,” Foxtail said, flicking her tail towards the thicket of dead trees covered in snow. Gingerpaw twitched her muzzle. “Are there any fish in the stream?” She asked, looking into the water. “Oh, there are,” Foxtail responded. “But Bramblestar told me they’re too small to catch,” “Oh, that’s too bad…” Gingerpaw mewed. “I’ll get the rabbit, stay here,” Foxtail meowed as she crawled toward the thicket. As soon as she was at the other side, she crouched down, the tall, white, grass covered her body. The rabbit darted its eyes to make sure no one was there. Foxtail crept closer, the sunlight shone on her fur, then she pounced. The rabbit tried to get away but reacted too late. Foxtail unsheathed her claws and pinned it down before releasing a killing bite to the neck. As blood dripped down her fur, she padded back to where she left Gingerpaw and saw her with a plump mouse in her jaws. “Nice catch!” Foxtail said, dropping the rabbit. Gingerpaw nodded. “Is there anything else near here?” She mumbled through the fat mouse’s fur. Foxtail twitched her nose before smelling a scent of a vole. “There’s a vole near the other side of the stream, but it's best to not go there…” Foxtail muttered, remembering Dovefeather’s death. “Right…” Gingerpaw meowed weakly. “Let's get back to Rainheart and Silverpaw,” Foxtail said, changing the topic.
“Well, it’s enough prey to last the day,” Rainheart said, looking at the rabbit, mouse, jay, and vole they caught. “Ah, you’re here,” A voice behind them said. “Midnight?” Foxtail turned to face the old badger “I assume you’re here to find out what kind of danger your Clans are in?” She spoke again. Rainheart nodded, “Do you know?” Midnight nodded. “You young ones are overthinking, the answer is all around you,” Foxtail looked around before thinking, “Leaf-bare?” She asked. Midnight gave a nod. “But how is this so fatal? The Clans have survived many harsh weathers,” Rainheart asked. “That is something I cannot answer,” Midnight replied. “I think I may have a theory,” Silverpaw mewed as Midnight walked back to her den. “What is it?” Gingerpaw asked. “I saw that the mountains were piling snow on the trees and covered our prey, I fear we may need to leave our forest and find another one yet again,” Silverpaw explained. Foxtail stared at her and dug her claws into the ground. “I wish it wasn’t true…” She muttered. “Let's eat before we go back to the Clans, it’s been a long day,” Rainheart meowed, looking at her paws. “Good idea,” Foxtail said.
Chapter 20
Rainheart was too nervous to eat. “Come on Rainheart, this was your idea,” Silverpaw coaxed. “I don’t feel like eating…” Rainheart meowed back. Silverpaw dragged the mouse in front of her. “Eat now,” she demanded. Rainheart sighed before tearing it up and taking a mouthful. The juice inside it made her calm down a bit. “Do you want some herbs to rebuild your strength?” Silverpaw asked. Rainheart shook her head. “Alright,” Silverpaw mewed before settling down next to her. Rainheart watched as Silverpaw tore into the vole she caught. “Should we get going?” Foxtail asked, trotting up to them. “Sure,” Rainheart meowed back.
We decided to end the story here but we’re working on part 2.