Part Two
Chapter One
This is unusual. Heathercloud thought nervously, stepping cautiously between the dark looming trees that surrounded her. Claw-like tendrils of ivy reached down upon the young warrior, lightly brushing her pelt and causing her to jump warily.
"Sparrowfeather...I-I know you're out there!" Heathercloud shouted trying to appear fearless and confident. Her voice echoed in the night, eerily screaming and yowling as it grew farther and farther away.
"Hello, my dear. So good of you to visit your dear old mother." Sparrowfeather's thin, slinky form crept out of the brambles in front of Heathercloud, making the young tan-and-white she-cat freeze in horror.
She's dead, Heathercloud. Heathercloud told herself. She won't hurt you. She can't hurt you. Despite this, her nerves caused her to be motionless, rooted to the ground.
"What's wrong? Scared of the living dead?" Sparrowfeather sneered, ominously circling her daughter.
"No...I just..." Heathercloud grappled hopelessly for the right words to say.
"I've brought you here, because I have a deal for you." Sparrowfeather interrupted, brushing her tail over her daughter's mouth. "I know you're loyal to your Clan. I was too. That's why I tried to take Tigersnow's place, I thought I could do better for my Clan."
"I don't believe you." Heathercloud whispered, not meeting her mother's eyes.
"What was that?" Sparrowfeather slammed Heathercloud to the earth, knocking all the air from Heathercloud's lungs. She gasped from breath and Sparrowfeather placed her paws on her chest, her claws unsheathed.
"This is a one time offer. Don't be a mouse-brain and miss your only chance. Train with me. I'll make you a great warrior. Greater than Tigersnow ever will be. What do you say?" Sparrowfeather pushed her claws farther into Heathercloud's chest, causing the young brown she-cat to cry out in pain.
"I'll never join you! Never!" Heathercloud roared, pushing Sparrowfeather off and fleeing through the shadowy woods, her breath rasping in her throat. She could hear Sparrowfeather's enraged yowl echo between the trees as she raced away from her mother, the thud of Sparrowfeather's paws thundering in Heathercloud's ears.
"StarClan show me the way!" Heathercloud screamed desperately, dodging a bramble bush and plunging into a patch of thick ferns. Thorns and thistles snagged on her pelt, but the trees slowly thinned away into a wide, bright grassy meadow. Heathercloud put on another burst of speed as the sound of running paws behind her suddenly grew louder.
"Heathercloud!" An unfamiliar voice cried. "Slow down. She can't get to you here."
"Who are you?" Heathercloud demanded, refusing to slow her pace despite the ache in her muscles and legs.
"I said slow down. You're safe." The voice replied from behind her, evading her question. "This is StarClan."
Heathercloud skidded to a halt, shaking her head in disbelief. "StarClan? But...but...have I been killed? Did Sparrowfeather catch me?"
"No, Heathercloud. I have a message for you."
"Who is "I"?" She asked warily, glancing behind her to view the speaker. It was a small, yet lean, cream-and-ginger tabby tom. His green eyes met hers, and recognition flared in her chest.
"Stripekit? Is that you?" Heathercloud asked, rising to her paws and touching noses with her younger brother. "I wish I had a chance to know you." She whispered, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent.
"I know, Heathercloud. It's okay." Stripekit pulled away and sat back on his haunches. Despite his words, a wave of sorrow flooded his eyes. "Anyway, there's something I must tell you: 'Five will be four, and darkness two. One will be none, and the shadows gone.'"
Heathercloud blinked uncertainly. "What does that mean? Is it a prophecy? Why are you telling me? Why not Mosspaw or Cloudfoot, or Archtail?"
"You will know with time. I will see you again, Heathercloud." Stripekit dipped his head, and StarClan faded into the expanse of Silverpelt.
Chapter Two
"Heathercloud? Hello?" Heathercloud shivered and opened her eyes, blinking in surprise at the sight of a pale grey face peering down into her own.
"Tallpaw?" She rasped, rising to her paws and shaking moss and leaves out of her pelt. she winced at the deep ache that clutched her muscles; the pain from her encounter with Sparrowfeather.
"Good morning!" Tallpaw replied cheerfully. "Cloudfoot and I were hoping that you and Archtail could help out with my battle training today. He's already waiting just outside of camp. Will you come?"
"Uh...sure. I just have to speak with Mosspaw for a moment." Heathercloud meowed. I have to tell him Stripekit's prophecy.
"He left to visit the Moonstone with his mentor. He won't be back until tomorrow." Tallpaw responded, stepping away from Heathercloud's nest to stand in the entrance to the den. "Race you to Cloudfoot!" With that, the pale grey she-cat dashed away.
Heathercloud sighed. For being ten moons old, she sure has a lot of energy and spirit.
"Cloudfoot, can I show them my progress?" Tallpaw asked hopefully, shooting a glance toward Archtail and Heathercloud.
"Sure, go ahead." Cloudfoot nodded encouragingly and padded across the sandy hollow to stand across from Tallpaw, braced for an attack. Tallpaw hesitated a moment as if calculating her first move, then bolted at Cloudfoot, her paws outstretched. She kicked at his forepaws in an attempt to knock him to the earth, but he grabbed her hindpaws and twisted, pinning Tallpaw to the earth, his paws on her chest.
"Whoa!" Archtail nodded, impressed. "I've never seen that move before. Where did you learn it?"
"That was awesome!" Tallpaw squealed, leaping to her paws. "Teach me that!"
Heathercloud froze as the realization dawned upon her, causing the fur on her neck to stand on end as she remembered where she had seen that move before.
"Sparrowfeather." She snapped softly, looking down at her paws.
"What did you say?" Archtail asked, unsheathing her claws as she met her sister's eyes.
"I said Sparrowfeather." Heathercloud meowed more loudly, raising her head to meet Cloudfoot's nervous eyes. "You've been training with Sparrowfeather, haven't you?"
"What?" Archtail demanded, lunging at Cloudfoot, a snarl plastered on her face. "I thought she only visited Tallpaw. You never told me that you saw her too."
"I...I..." Cloudfoot looked down at his paws.
"Heathercloud...if you're not training with Sparrowfeather, then how did you recognize the move?" Tallpaw asked softly.
"She attacked me in my dreams last night. Stripekit saved me, and gave me this prophecy: 'Five will be four, and darkness two. One will be none, and the shadows gone.''
"Why would you hide something like this?" Archtail roared, her black tail lashing and her eyes like thunder. "How could you do this. Don't you remember who she is?" She glared at Cloudfoot, who gave her a pleading look.
"Archtail, I'm sorry. She promised that she would make me the best WindClan warrior to walk the moors. I just wanted to help my Clan." Cloudfoot meowed sorrowfully. "I'm so, so sorry."
And yet Ashstar believed you could properly mentor Tallpaw. Heathercloud thought bitterly.
Archtail shot her brother a glare. "I will never be able to trust you. Any of you. Too many secrets have been kept. You are all equal to rogues and kittypets to me." Archtail lashed her tail and dashed away.