A shadow lay over the stone hollow, dark clouds blocking out the light of the moon as it tried to reach the forest floor through the treetops. All was still, save for the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of crickets on the quiet night. A white-furred cat sat blinking up at the canopy, trying to peer through the branches and see if even one star was shining. How typical that she would receive such a sign on a night like this.
The brambles beside her rustled, and a golden tom cat stepped into view, the muscles beneath his pelt flexing. Following him was a tabby with wide shoulders and startling green eyes.
"Whiterabbit," the golden cat meowed, his voice deep. "You said this was urgent."
"It is," the white cat replied, twitching her whiskers. "StarClan have chosen to share with me something of great importance, and it involves your apprentice," she added, nodding to the tabby.
He did not blink. "My apprentice?" he asked, sitting and drawing his tail over his paws.
Whiterabbit nodded. "There's been a prophecy," she murmured, looking back up at the clouded night sky. "'A cat with golden eyes and great power will blaze through the forest like a flame'."
The tabby flexed his claws. "StarClan has been silent for many moons – there's been no need for their interjection. The prey is running freely, we have more apprentices than ever before, and the forest is at peace. I know you to be an honest medicine cat, Whiterabbit, but can you be sure about this?"
"Do you know of any other cat in this clan with golden eyes?" the white she-cat snapped, losing her patience. The fur on her neck bristled. "Yes, I'm sure. StarClan would not have chosen to send me this message if they didn't think I could interpret it properly!"
The golden tom rested the tip of his tail on Whiterabbit's shoulder. "Leafgaze does not mean to question your judgment," he told the medicine cat, "and neither do I. If this is the message StarClan has shared with you, then it must be true. If only we knew what it meant."
Whiterabbit sighed, kneading the ground anxiously with her paws. "Others would say I should have waited until I knew its meaning before telling you, Lionstar," she meowed, "but a promised cat, with great power? That could mean multiple things, and not just for our clan. No, I'm certain of this."
Lionstar nodded and turned his attention to Leafgaze.
"We will keep an eye on young Amberpaw. If she does hold this power in her paws, she may not even realize it yet."
Notes: Thank you for taking the opportunity to read our story- we are Jane and Shannon, and write/edit this jointly! Our allegiances and pictures of the territories are linked on our profile page, or you can find us at warriorsedge on Tumblr!