Prologue
A night breeze swept through the forest, rustling the bare branches of trees before dying away. The pale moonlight shone on the frost covered earth, showering the ground with a silvery glow. The wind picked up again, delicately gathering dead leaves into its embrace and taking them along with it deeper into the forest. After a moments silence, there was a slight movement at the opening to a den, its tightly woven branches shielding it from the menacing wind.
A light tabby she-cat poked her head through the entrance to the large den, made for many cats, and slipped outside, a light breeze ruffling her fur. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a silver she-cat stumble out of her den, a small bundle of catmint clutched in her jaws. Her pawsteps were unsteady, and as the tabby watched from the den she couldn't help but pad over to the slender she-cat and offer her assistance.
"Here, let me help you," the tabby meowed, and with a grateful sigh the silver she-cat leaned against the stronger warrior.
"Thank you, Ivystem," the silver cat meowed through a mouthful of catmint. The tabby warrior gave the medicine cat's ruffled pelt a few affectionate licks, smoothing down her beautiful silver fur.
"Anytime," Ivystem said between licks. Narrowing her eyes, she meowed, "Are you well, Moonberry?"
"Of course," Moonberry meowed, straightening. "Thank you, Ivystem, but I really don't need—" at that moment, the silver she-cat gave a strangled yowl and collapsed on the ground. At the sound an alarmed head poked out of the medicine cat den and a tortoiseshell she-cat padded out.
"What's—" she started to meow, but when she saw her mentor lying on the ground with her legs splayed out, she ran over and started to shriek hysterically, "Moonberry! Moonberry, get up! Moonberry!" Frantically, the tortoiseshell she-cat laid down by the older cat's side and licked her fur randomly. "No, no, no… don't leave me!"
The tabby watched sadly, but did nothing to help. She knew a dying cat when she saw one. Still, the tortoiseshell cat's frenzied attempts tore at the tabby warrior's heart like claws, until she yowled in agony, calling for help. Soon, heads poked out of their dens, wondering what the commotion was about. The cats raced out and gathered around them. The tortoiseshell apprentice continued to lick her mentor, until a cat laid his tail across the young cat's shoulder. "Lilypaw," he meowed, and the ginger she-cat looked up at the tabby tom, and slowly her tormented look faded. The she-cat slowly laid her muzzle on Moonberry's chest, as if afraid of the truth. Ivystem could see from her position that the former medicine cat's chest was still, and she could smell the death-scent radiating from her pelt. Lilypaw took her paw away, her head hanging. Every word dripping with grief, she meowed shakily, "She… she's dead."
The cats murmured the pity for the young apprentice to one another, and then they all broke into low yowls, mourning their lost clanmate. The tabby she-cat hung her head and joined in, wondering if she could have done anything to prevent the silver cat's death. Suddenly Lilypaw was at her side. Ivystem tilted her head questioningly, and the tortoiseshell apprentice met her gaze.
"Greencough," she whispered. Ivystem nodded, and then Lilypaw continued. "I could hear her coughing in the night. I tried to get her to take some catmint, but she refused. Our stock is so low, with all the cats who are sick. It was horrible, and in the end…" the young she-cat gazed at Moonberry's still form, her eyes clouded. "In the end, I couldn't save her."
Ivystem rested her tail tip lightly on Lilypaw's shoulder. They stared into each other's eyes, understanding passing between them, and then the apprentice left to sit by her mentor. The tabby she-cat stared after her, and her gaze fixed on the dead medicine cat. "May Starclan light your path, Moonberry," she meowed.
The tabby she-cat padded towards the former medicine cat. She laid down beside Lilypaw, and pushed her muzzle into Moonberry's fur. The wind swept Ivystem's fur, but she was determined to keep vigil for her friend, and resisted the temptation to escape back into the protected den.
Ivystem opened her eyes to see Moonberry's still form lying in front of her. Widening her eyes, she realized she'd fallen asleep. Staggering to her feet, she quickly stretched her aching muscles and once again settled in front of the dead medicine cat.
"Ivystem."
The tabby let loose a tiny gasp at the familiar meow. Fearing a trick, she whispered, "Oakstorm…?"
"It's me, Ivystem. I've missed you."
The tabby turned, sorrow clouding her vision. "Oakstorm," she whispered when she saw the image of her old friend, starlight coming off his pelt. He had died two moons ago, chasing off a badger with Rowanpelt. "I've missed you too, Oakstorm," she meowed, taking a pawstep towards the brown tom. She took another step, when Moonberry appeared next to her old friend.
"Moonberry," Ivystem mewed, her eyes growing wide. "Oakstorm, what are you—"
Oakstorm and Moonberry interrupted her, their meows seeming to twine around each other as if there were only one. Locking Ivystem in their gaze, they said, "Unless the dew joins the clouds at the dawn of the thirteenth day, a sign of peace will be shattered in an everlasting darkness."