Prologue
The shining light of the moon lay gently on the wind-stripped moor as the bone-chilling wind swept across the ground. A small puddle reflected the millions of stars in the sky. They burned brighter then they ever had. One of the stars began to glow brighter and brighter until it looked like as if it was the sun. The bright blaze of white fell down towards the pool. It was beautiful. A moment later, the white light hit the ground. The light slowly faded, and a pure white cat with bright, sapphire blue eyes was standing there. The cat took a step towards the puddle and watched it curiously as if it held the meaning of life. Three more stars fell from the heavens. these ones were dimmer and less extravagant. One cat was black and white with dark brown eyes. The others were a ginger cat with yellow eyes and a beautiful light gray tortoiseshell.
"It is time," the first cat said in a grave voice.
"No, it can't be. It is too soon," the black and white cat whispered hoarsely.
The two other cats glanced worriedly at each other. The orange cat meowed, "We must believe, for fate is set out for us."
"That is very wise, but remember that we choose the road we follow, Sparkstar," the white cat replied. She flicked her tail hesitantly for the other cats to come and surround the puddle. "It is time for a reading, but this one only concerns our Clan." She glanced slightly doubtfully at the other cats. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," the other cats chimed in unison. They all padded toward the puddle and surrounded it.
They looked into the depths of the pool. Surprisingly, the puddle was quite a bit deep. It would reach a full grown cat's belly fur, but it was very foggy and dirty. You could not see the bottom of the small puddle.
"We shall begin the reading," whispered the white cat. All of the cats turned and gazed into the pool. Their surroundings slowly morphed until they were standing in a huge clearing lined with massive oaks. The ground was covered with moist moss, and a smell of musty swamps hung nearby. The air was warmer, too. The wind was broken by all of the trees. The puddle became larger, and it was clear. The cats could easily see the bottom of the deep pool unlike the dirty puddle from earlier. The moonshine reflected off of the pool, lighting up the clearing and all of the cats within it. The night was silent except for the crickets and owls that haunted the night.
"Don't be nervous," the gray tortoiseshell cat whispered. "There have been many readings before this." She had whispered it more to comfort herself than to comfort the other cats.
The white cat meowed confidently, "Shall I go first?"
The black and white cat replied, "Yes, you should, Moonstar."
"Very well," Moonstar replied in a sturdy yet scared voice. She dipped her nose into the pool and kept it there. The moonlight shifted on the surface of the pool, and it slowly came together and formed a shape. The shape was a hill. The moonlight changed into a dark yellow that covered the landscape. Moonstar collapsed onto her side, struggling for breath. The moonlight was beginning to disperse. The black and white cat pondered her with concern before shoving his nose into the darkening water. The shape flickered back into view and four masses were struggling up the hillside. They slowly climbed to the top. When they reached the crest of the hill, the black and white cat stumbled backwards gasping for a breath of the cool night air.
"You," the black and white cat meowed hoarsely flicking his tail at Sparkstar. Moonstar pushed herself up and looked back into the pool. Sparkstar stuck his nose in more gently than the cat before him but less gently than the first cat. The image shifted and changed, and the moonlight reverted back to its eerie glow. Quickly, A silver light seemed to grow within the pool until it was brighter than the moon but instantly vanished. Sparkstar wearily pulled his nose out of the water. He stood his ground, and his breath was more even than the others breathing had been. The black and white cat glared at Sparkstar with the annoyance of the cat not giving all of his effort. Sparkstar didn't notice and kept on watching the pool unhappily.
The gray tortoiseshell dipped her nose gracefully into the pool and reluctantly closed her eyes. No light came back to light up the pool, instead a shadowy pine tree seemed to grow within the pool. The trunk only split into three branches. They began to trembled and a loud cracking split the sacred silence in the clearing. The branches had fallen to the ground, and they were no longer visible. The quivering truck seemed to tumbled down and down. The cats all began to feel like they were falling with the trunk. Finally, the tortoiseshell collapsed in front of the darkening pool. Her nose hung in the water, and her head had lolled onto one shoulder. The light began to fill the clearing, bouncing off of the pool. the light had revealed that the tortoiseshell's eyes were closed.
The white cat, who was on the unconscious cat's right, grabbed her scruff hastily and brought her farther up the bank. She laid her down on the soft moss and peered at the other cats out of the corner of her eye. "She will be okay." Realizing that the toms were slightly confused and worried, she explained, "Oh, you know Dewmist. She gives readings everything she has." Noticing their expressions hadn't changed, she added, "I know she hasn't been knocked unconscious before but this was for her Clan and her Clan only. Of course she would try extra hard to help."
Sparkstar finally replied, "I wish we could help her, but we can't. Staying here won't help, so I think you should go home and see what you can do."
Moonstar nodded obediently, and padded over to the black and white cat. "I will miss you," she whispered into his ear.
"I know. I will miss you too." He gave her a caring lick on her shoulder before continuing, "I love you and I always will, but I want to see you happy. It is okay if you move on. I will meet you again one day."
Moonstar took a step back and glared at him hatefully, but her eyes quickly softened. "Badgerpatch, I will never forget you. You are my one true love."
Badgerparch shook his head. "You must go now. I hope to see you soon, but remember you have four lives left. Don't live them without love." He touched his tail tip other shoulder, and they walked side by side up to the other cats.
"We must be going now," sighed Moonstar. "Goodbye." She lifted a paw and touched it lightly to Dewmist's shoulder and closed her eyes. Strands of smoke and light seemed to weave themselves together into a tornado around the two she-cats. A loud roar erupted around the churning, writhing mass. The toms stood their ground and flattened their ears against their heads. A wind buffeted them as it sprang from the tornado. Suddenly, everything turned still, and the smoke engulfed the light and everything else. Both toms' pelts began to glow with starlight, and thousands of other cats with shining pelts slowly appeared through the thick fog of the night sky.
Hundred of miles below the shinning stars in Silverpelt, Moonstar had just blinked her eyes open in the exact same hollow she had just been in except this time there were only two cats. Dewmist sat on her left. She was grooming her chest fur in long smooth licks. "It was so vivid," she meowed hoarsely at last. "I was sitting right in front of the tree as it fell." She let a shudder run down her spine. "It was so realistic. The terror was too real." She got to her paws, and shifted uncomfortably back and forth. "I know part of it." She looked down at her paws, and tried to go on. "One of them is..." She trailed off not wanting to say anymore.
"Tell me what you think," meowed Moonstar crossly. "We need to figure it out." Seeing the scared expression on her friend's face she went on, "I know it was," she paused looking for the right word, " traumatic. Why don't we discuss this at camp?"
Dewmist shook her head sadly, "It is Silverpool."
"What is?" Moonstar questioned cocking her head to one side. "She is pregnant and can't do any warrior duties, so how can she be part of this?"
Dewmist shrugged before continuing, "I truly have no idea, but I know it has something to do with Silverpool."
Moonstar looked curiously at her, and she thought with furious concentration. Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "Oh no," she gasped horrified "We need to get back immediately." She jumped to her paws and raced out of the clearing with Dewmist hard on her paws.
Thank you for your help and taking the time to read it, Lilypool. I changed Wintermist to Dewmist.
