The sweet, familiar scent of the tortoiseshell who was near and dear to her heart teased her nose. The brown tabby lifted her head and saw that she was no longer in her home, surrounding by scents of herbs and berries, but in a starlit forest. Her tailtip twitched in delight over the beautiful, peaceful forest but her reverie was broken by the scent of the cat who guided her dreams and watched over her in life. The graceful she-cat of StarClan looked back at the tabby, and the living cat's joy was quickly washed away by a wave of apprehension; Spottedleaf's face turned sullen as she looked back at the cat who closely followed.
Leafpool shuddered at the sight; rarely did Spottedleaf ever look at her like that! She was about to ask her what was wrong when Spottedleaf cut her off with a twitch of her tail. The former medicine cat turned around, flicked her tail in a beckoning manner, then dashed through the forest. Leafpool was taken aback but quickly sprang after her, bolting as fast as her legs could carry. Though she knew she was dreaming, her heart was racing with the effort. She flew madly through the forest, but still she lost sight of the tortoiseshell cat. Only her scent assured Leafpool that Spottedleaf was still nearby.
A voice of a thousand cats or one cat froze Leafpool in her tracks. "The bane of the Clans will soon come. More banes will follow and death will result."
The ThunderClan medicine cat's eyes grew wide with the foreboding prophecy and her mouth slowly parted in shock. She snapped awake, blinking her eyes slowly and pensively, but did not yet rise. Banes, she thought, swallowing nervously. And, she paused, nervously. Death…