Willowpaw heard her heartbeat flush her ears as her paws carried her to the moonpool. She was here again. She kept coming to the moonpool. Why is this happening to me? Willowpaw couldn't stop herself from thinking about it. The same dream, night after night. She thought it was just something unusual and unimportant at first. Then she suspected she was supposed to be a medicine cat. But now, now she was clueless. The moonpool looked foreign. Running there was foreign. It wasn't Echoclan territory, Featherclan territory, Nightclan territory, or Pineclan territory. There was nothing warm about the landscape that surrounded her.
It should seem familiar to her, since she sees it every night. But something new arrives each time. Last time there was a new pile of leaves in the distance. This time, a quail feather was falling down every couple of heartbeats. What was next?
Willowpaw stopped in front of the moonpool panting. The running here seemed impossible to do without stopping. Yet, she never tired. It was a dream after all. Dipping her head, Willowpaw lapped up some of the sacred water and let herself sleep.
Willowpaw flicked her tail as she stood in front of the Echoclan entrance. She looked down to see her white paws being devoured by black shadows. Her paws became blacker than night. Shadows whispered beside her. What are you waiting for? They asked. Their voices were all the same, but each was still completely different. It was odd. Kill them. Willowpaw's ear flickered in annoyance to them. They have sinned. Destroy them for the greater good. "Who's the greater good?" Willowpaw snapped back. Asking questions always shut them up. This time was different.
They have disgraced StarClan. "You aren't from StarClan!" Willowpaw couldn't hide her anger from her voice this time. How do you know? "You all feel different. You feel... evil. StarClan warriors are familiar and warm. They are like family." Are you saying we aren't family. "You aren't family. You are all... demons." The shadows chuckled around her, making her feel dizzy. We aren't the demons here. You are.
Before Willowpaw could ask, her paws were forced forward, running into the clan with claws unsheathed. The first cat she saw was the guard. Yellowstripe, the deputy. He looked at her with his deep amber eyes for a second. The next, her claw had ripped at his throat. He was on the ground, motionless.
Willowpaw didn't feel sorry for him. But she didn't feel any happiness. It just felt empty to her. She spoke, but her mouth didn't move. Only the shadows heard her. "Why does this keep happening?" The shadows mimicked her scared voice to irritate her. You are a monster.
Yep, there was always room for firsts.