At long last, here it is! The fourth installment in my Chaos Chronicles series, just in time for the holidays!
Merry Christmas!
(Also, if you haven't read the first three stories in the Chaos Chronicles, this is likely to not make any sense at all. They're all located on my profile - Chaos in the Clans, Reaching Through Time, and Meddling with Destiny. If you could give those a read and then come back to Wild at Heart, that would be much appreciated!)
THE CHAOS CHRONICLES
WILD AT HEART
"I'll follow you where you're leading
To the first sweet taste of freedom
You got me runnin' baby,
Wild at heart..."
—Gloriana, "Wild at Heart"
CHAPTER ONE
Annie turned restlessly in her sleep, grunting and shifting positions. One hand hung loosely from her bed; the other clutched her husband's arm. Beside her, Ryan slept like the dead, silent and still. Annie muttered and pulled the covers closer to her head. At last, she stopped moving and began to breathe more deeply, more at peace.
Her dreams had changed from odd to strange. Before, she had been dreaming of a bloody and vicious war between cows with laser eyes and vampiric unicorns, but her mind had now wandered elsewhere. She now dreamt of StarClan.
Sometimes she was Shadow, ancient and cranky founder of one of the great four Clans. Other times she was Snow, shaper of the mountain Tribe, sharing tongues with the Tribe of Endless Hunting. But now—as she most often was—she walked as Gingerstar, leader of ThunderClan during the Dark Forest War.
StarClan was bright and peaceful, just the way Annie liked it. She didn't often come here—the cats of the Warriors world usually left her alone—but when she did, it was for a reason. It rarely affected her personal life—not anymore, her questing days were over—but it still made her sigh slightly. StarClan, it seemed, would never stop needing her.
She nodded hello to the various cats she had known in her time, including her former Clanmates, her human-cat classmates, and cats she had grown to know only in death. Each of them seemed content, as was she: nearly twenty years of peace had passed since her last excursion into the Warriors world, and she had scarcely been bothered by StarClan in that time.
Annie had a life now, a life in the human world. A year after she and her husband Ryan had married, she had gone to college and earned a degree in teaching. She had taught high school for a few years as her husband worked as an engineer, but when he was promoted in his work, she left the public schooling system and became a private tutor.
After a few years, she and Ryan had decided to become parents. Now they had four children: three boys and a girl. They could be trying at times, but Annie and Ryan loved them.
Eldest was Samuel Jeffery Crimsen. He was named for Samantha Xavier, Annie's good friend and companion in the Warriors world twice over, and for Ryan's brother Jeffery, gone from the human world to live as Jay's Wing with the Ancient Tribe. Sammy, seventeen, often tried his parents' patience, but he was an excellent soccer player and very popular at school.
Kyle Braiden Crimsen was second, named for Annie's longtime deputy and human friend Kyle York, as well as his parents' cat son Brackentail. (They had taken the Bra in Bracken and found from it Braiden.) Kyle, fifteen, was shyer than his older brother, an A-grade student who preferred photography and art to sports.
Mason Oliver Crimsen was only named for one person: Annie and Ryan's cat son Owleyes. (The O in Owleyes had made them think of another name they liked, Oliver.) His parents picked the name Mason simply because they liked it. Mason, thirteen, had a lovely tenor voice and loved to sing. He was a sweet-hearted boy.
Youngest of all was Holly Thalia Crimsen, the only girl. She had been named for Ryan's sister Hollyleaf, as well as her parents' cat child Thornfang. (Thorn...Thalia.) The whole family doted on the little princess, who could be a bit bratty at times, but was mostly very sweet. At seven years old, she spoke very fluently.
Annie smiled as she thought of her current life and her children, but continued to walk through the dazzling StarClan territory. She felt that this visit was different than the others—there was more of a sense of purpose to it, one she didn't feel when she came to just catch up with old friends. She made her way to the top of the tallest hill in StarClan and looked down upon the rest of the territory.
"It's beautiful, isn't it," a familiar voice said behind her.
Annie turned and smiled up at her old friend Darkstar of RiverClan, whom she knew as Gennie in the human world. "Gennie," she purred. "What are you doing here?"
Gennie smiled, her blue eyes bright, and sat next to her. "Just visiting, I think. You?"
"I'm not sure," she admitted, swishing her tail. "It feels...a little different."
"Maybe Star and Moon have a prophecy for you to deliver," Gennie suggested.
Annie frowned. "I'm...not really on speaking terms with them anymore."
"Come on, Moon's got a good head on her shoulders," the black-furred she-cat said persuasively.
Annie scowled. "I'm sure I've told you about what she and Star did to me."
Gennie sighed. "They've left you alone since, haven't they?"
"Well...yeah," Annie admitted.
"Then you shouldn't hold ThunderClan back by not getting a prophecy from them."
Annie sighed and nodded. "You're right, I know. I'll go talk to them and see what they want." She paused. "Hey, you know, I haven't talked to you in real life recently. Could you and the family come over for dinner some time? Are you busy next Saturday?"
"I don't think so," Gennie said thoughtfully. "I'll ask Elliot and email you." She smiled, the stood, her image fading. "I'm waking up—I think I need to feed the baby, she's screaming. Sound's getting fuzzy. Goodbye!"
"Bye, Gennie," Annie said warmly. She didn't envy her friend of the task of comforting a screaming baby. She was glad Holly was past that stage—well, Holly didn't bother her in the night, at least.
As Gennie faded back to the real world, Annie stood and made her way down the hill. A few minutes later, moving with the speed of the stars, she found herself outside the den of Star and Moon, first of all cats. They were the ones who saw the future and told the StarClan cats what was to come. It was up to StarClan to turn that information into mystical prophecies, however.
She hesitantly poked her nose through the opening. "Come in," a voice called.
Annie took a deep breath and walked in. Two ridiculously beautiful and perfect cats greeted: Star and Moon.
"Greetings," Star said, sounding rather bored. "How can we help you?"
Annie scowled at him. "Don't pretend you don't know me, Star."
He frowned at her for a moment. Then, suddenly, he opened his mouth. "Ahh," he exclaimed. "Yes. You. The bet I won. Hello, Annie."
"I'm sorry," Moon whispered to her. Star was oblivious.
Annie grunted. "Yeah, fine. Now...why did you call me here?"
"Oh...yes," Star said. "That business."
"We just thought we would let you know we have nothing to do with what's going to come," Moon said. "Well...mostly nothing. Besides that, we have no more information specifically for you."
"Amberstar, the current leader of ThunderClan, needs some enlightening, however," Star put in. "Summon her here to the Moonpool...and tell her to bring her three best young warriors with her. Tell her Dovewing wants to see her."
"And which ones would those be?" Annie asked cautiously.
Moon smiled. "She'll just have to figure that out for herself."
"Fine," Annie snapped. "So. Amberstar and three young warriors must come to the Moonpool, and what happens next mostly isn't your fault."
"Yes," Star confirmed. He yawned and lay down. "You may go now."
"Goodbye, Annie," Moon murmured as she left.
Slightly worried, Annie quickly loped to the ThunderClan camp. She poked her head into the leader's den—her old den—and gently prodded Amberstar.
The golden-colored she-cat was young, but she was wise for her age. She had led ThunderClan well so far, and showed promise to continue to do so.
Amberstar opened her pale yellow eyes and said in surprise, "Gingerstar?" The young leader recognized her, as Annie had given Amberstar her sixth life during the living cat's leader ceremony.
"Hello, Amberstar," Annie purred, trying her best to act like an aloof StarClan cat. She always hated visiting the living. She was too casual and hated giving mysterious prophecies. At least this was only a summons—presumably it would be Dovewing who gave her the actual prophecy.
"Why are you here, Gingerstar?" Amberstar asked, shifting uncomfortably.
"I come to pass along a message," she said. "Dovewing wants to see you at the Moonpool as soon as possible. She asks you to bring your three best young warriors with you."
"Dovewing?" Amberstar asked nervously. It had been many, many moons since Dovewing had left ThunderClan due to her immortality, and she was both revered and feared by the living cats of the Clans. "Did she say which ones?"
Annie shook her head. "No, she said to let you choose."
Amberstar sighed. "Thank you, Gingerstar. Let her know I'm coming."
"I will," she said, dipping her head. "Goodbye."
"'Bye," Amberstar muttered, drifting back into her sleep. Annie turned and bounded out of her den and into the ThunderClan camp. She breathed in the familiar scent and smiled. She had missed her territory and her camp.
She felt herself fading back into the human world, her body tugging on her catlike spirit. She sighed and allowed herself to be pulled back home.
- So what do you think? Interesting enough to keep you reading for the next twenty-three chapters?
Read and review, please!
