As she looked up at the stars, the she-cat noticed and unusually bright twinkling. as she peered at it, it seemed to brightened into a blazing star. her eyes widened, and she froze. it seemed to her that the sky was getting blacker, but she knew it was only because the star continued to shine like the sun. her paws were locked to the ground, but she wanted to run or shelter. the star was getting bigger. the she-cat's tail trembled and she tried to run but she couldnt. the star shot forward, and she realized it wasnt getting bigger, but closer. she finally broke away and ran as fast as she could, but it was pointless. the comet grazed the surface of the ground, lighting a fire. rocks and dirt shot in all directions, taking the she-cat down. the fire burned through the forest, and the last thing she saw was the blaze of the fire overwhelming her.Birchtail snapped her eyes open, trembling from the dream. she ruffled her silver fur anxiously and looked around in the warriors den and saw her still sleeping clan mates. she sighed and breathed in the cold, sharp air coming from outside. a cool breeze floated through the den and cooled her warm fur. she stood up and made her way to the entrance of the den, lightly stepping over some cat's tail.
She stepped out and her paw mew a tiny spot of snow. she flicked her paw and stepped around it, feeling the cool air circles around her. she looked around at the peaceful camp.
She sat out there for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet. she shivered a bit from her paws being covered in two inches of fluffy snow. Birchtail let out a quiet sigh and went back into the stuffy den and curled up in her nest to get back to sleep. I need to get more moss for my nest tomorrow...she thought as she drifted off into sleep.
~~
"Birchtail, your on the dawn patrol!" Birchtail blinked her tired eyes open and found herself looking at Gorseclaw, the deputy. she sighed but it turned into a yawn as she stretched.
"I'll be right there." she said sleepily, glancing out into the still dark camp. she shook her fur out and padded out, careful not to wake anyone. she looked around, then headed over to Rushflower, who was leading the patrol. Thornstorm and Gingerfur stood next to her.
"Ready?" Rushflower asked, and Birchtail gave a nod. the she-cat flicked her tail and led the patrol out of camp.
as they neared the borders, Birchtail noticed a little pair of eyes looking at them from the shadows. she figured it was a mouse, but she was too tired to hunt at the moment.
"You smell anything unusual?" Rushflower mewed, glancing at Gingerfur, who shook his head.
"I think RainClan's been getting a bit too close with their scent markers." Thornstorm growled. Birchtail was barely paying attention to them, she was busy studying the sky.
"Birchtail?" Gingerfur mewed.
"Yeah?" She glanced over at him.
"Just making sure your not still asleep."
Birchtail rolled her eyes and focused herself on the patrolling.
"Calm down, Thornstorm." Rushflower said, flicking the younger cat with her tail. "You say that every time we patrol."
Thornstorm huffed and padded a few paces away.
Birchtail flicked an ear, bored because there really was nothing to see here.
"I think we can go back." Rushflower said, catching Birchtail's boredom.
The rest nodded and they headed back to camp.
~~
As Rushflower lead the patrol into camp, Ashenstar came out of his den.
"Anything there?"
"Nothing that shouldn't be." Rushflower replied, sitting down by the warriors den.
Birchtail glanced at her Clanmates, she was in a wierd mood, and for once she didn't have anything to do. she yawned and sat down, twitching her tail.
"Birchtail?" she glanced up at as she heard Ashenstar say her name.
"Yes?" she mewed, tilting her head.
"I ssomething wrong? you seem..distracted."
She shook her head. "I'm fine, i just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." she said.
He nodded. "You can rest now, then."
"Okay." Birchtail dipped her head and padded into the warrior den. she found her nest and curled up to get some sleep.
The fire spread through the forest, tearing trees down and turning the air black with smoke. she coughed and sputtered as she feebly tried to escape the overwhelming pressure on her lungs. the sky blazed bright and a bolt of fire shot down at the ground. when there fire hit the Earth exploded, sending plants, dirt, and rocks everywhere. she was pelted with peices of stone and wood, and she felt a million bleeding cuts across her fur. She collapsed and struggled away, dragging herself forward only by sheer will power. then the darkness came, slowly and excruciatingly, and her vision was no more. Birchtail jolted awake, sending moss flying all over the den. she panted hard and looked around. she inhaled through her nose, and smeled something that sent shivers up her spine.
She shook herself, trying to get read of the memories from the dreams. she had rising fear building up inside of her. she felt like something was wrong, and she could not calm herself down. she felt panicked, but she didn't want to confide in anyone. Birchtail took a deep breathe as she tried again to relax. her mind was spinning with terror and anxiety, and she was struggling to keep herself from a full out break down. she gathered herself and took a step out of the warriors den.
she sighed in relief as she looked around at the camp, full of busy cats doing there duties. Like you should be. she scolded herself. she padded over to Gorseclaw to hear the patrols that were going out.