Chapter Two - Hollyshade

A silver she cat stood nervously in a starry forest, in front of a sandy tom. Stars danced in his eyes and twinkled on his pelt. The moon shone down from above; dappling the ground. The she cat shuffled her paws nervously.

"Why am I here, Fallenstar?" asked the she cat. The sand-coloured tom purred comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Hollyshade. You haven't come to join us. StarClan has a task for you." Even though he said this warmly, horror and misery lingered in his sparkling green eyes.

"Is the rest of StarClan okay?" asked Hollyshade, feeling worry rise inside her. What would they do without StarClan to guide their paws?

"We are all shocked. We cannot believe what has happened; that a small spark destroyed the territories so quickly. So many came to join us last night," he meowed, bowing his head. Hollyshade bowed hers too, closing her eyes tightly.

"So are we the only survivors?" she asked.

"StarClan cannot say. We were too busy…" meowed the tom, the former IvyClan leader.

"It's so sad to see you here… you were only leader for a few moons," rasped Hollyshade.

"But they were good moons, probably the best in my life. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't change a thing in my life," Fallenstar mewed, his eyes clouding with grief. "But StarClan has a task for you." Hollyshade nodded.

"It's important, isn't it?" she asked.

"It's very important," purred Fallenstar, the grief in his eyes lightening. "StarClan is confident that you can do it. You all showed your strength as you fled the forest fire." Hollyshade nodded again.

"You must travel, rescuing and protecting cats as you go. You must create a new Clan, stronger than the others were. But beware of the enemy." continued Fallenstar.

Hollyshade's eyes widened. "But…"

"We know that you can do it. You have loyalty, courage and strength. And when you make the new clan, you shall be the leader. I must go now, daughter," meowed Fallenstar, resting his head on top of hers. "Go safely."

Hollyshade shut her eyes tightly. "Goodbye, Father."

Hollyshade blinked, opening her blue eyes. She panicked; not recognizing where she was. Her silver fur bristled and she lashed her tail. Hollyshade calmed when she took in Dovesong and Sunfeather huddled up next to her. The sun shone through the canopy of the trees, dappling the ground with light. Hollyshade could hear birds chirping and a light breeze was blowing through the pine forest.

Dovesong raised her head. "Good morning, Hollyshade. How did you sleep?" she asked kindly. Hollyshade stifled a mrrow of laughter as she saw that Dovesong's pelt was ruffled and sticking up in all directions.

"It was… Look, I need to tell Sunfeather too." Dovesong nodded in understanding. Back in the Clan, Dovesong had been the best hunter, not fighter. She was always compassionate and kind. The white she cat nudged Sunfeather, who had been sleeping soundly. Sunfeather lifted her gold dappled head, slowly blinking her amber eyes.

"Are we moving on again now? I don't think we should stay here," she mewed drowsily.

"Hollyshade has something to tell us," meowed Dovesong. She nodded to Hollyshade.

She swallowed. I have to tell them the right way, she thought.

"Last night, I dreamed I was in StarClan's forests. Fallenstar…" she choked in sadness for her father. He had been such a young leader, Hollyshade had only become a warrior around two moons ago, as had Dovesong. Dovesong and Hollyshade were not kin; but Hollyshade had been slowed down by an injury, so they had their ceremony at the same time. Dovesong was slightly younger than Hollyshade.

"Fallenstar came to me and told me that StarClan didn't know of any other survivors." Hollyshade swallowed, continuing. "He said the StarClan have a great task for us. We have to rescue and protect cats from 'the enemy' as we travel, and build a new Clan, stronger than the others."

Dovesong gazed at her with wide green eyes. Sunfeather still looked half asleep.

"We have to keep going," Hollyshade prompted.

"I can't believe that StarClan thought we could do this!" exclaimed Dovesong. "How can three of us, just three, build a whole new Clan?"

"I believe that we can do it," meowed Sunfeather quietly. "We can't waste any time with this 'enemy' hanging about, and what harm can it do to try?"

"Well… I suppose we can try…" admitted Dovesong. Hollyshade nodded. She was relieved that her friends had decided to come; she wouldn't have made them if they didn't want to.

"Alright. I've heard that there's a fairly big Twolegplace a few days travel north from here. If there is an enemy around, he'll probably be there or head there," she suggested, rising to her paws. She stretched her stiff limbs with a purr of contentment.

"That sounds like the place to go," agreed Sunfeather. The she cats looked at Dovesong.

"Okay," she sighed.

They started to travel north, based on the sun's position. Hollyshade felt anxiety and excitement; the coming journey was going to be hard. The IvyClan she cats trotted through the pine forest. Hollyshade let out a purr of laughter as Dovesong's stomach rumbled.

"Maybe we should stop and hunt," she laughed. Sunfeather nodded in agreement.

"Do you want to meet back here before sunhigh?" she suggested. The sun was nearly at its peak; there would be enough time to hunt for prey before midday.

"Yeah," mewed Dovesong, disappearing into the forest. Hollyshade padded softy over the needle carpet with her ears pricked for the sound of prey. After a few minutes, she heard a scuffling noise. Slowly, she slunk along the ground in the hunter's crouch she had learned many moons ago. Hollyshade saw that the prey was a squirrel. That's good, she thought, nearing the fluffy animal.

As she neared it, the squirrel lifted its head. Hollyshade pounced, killing it with a blow from her silver paw. She lifted it up in her jaws and started to head back to the meeting place. It was easy to follow her scent back to the den. Dovesong was already waiting there with a small mouse in her paws.

"Good catch!" she praised, her gaze locking on the squirrel. Hollyshade nodded her agreement, dropping the freshkill on the ground.

They waited for a few more minutes. As the sun neared its peak, the golden warrior emerged from the bushes around the den. She had a rabbit clamped in her jaws.

"Wow, you must have been really fast to catch that!" exclaimed Hollyshade. Sunfeather almost glowed with pride. She dropped her prey on the ground; and the she cats settled down to eat.

. . .

They set off again; bellies full of prey. The pine forest appeared to be a good source, especially in greenleaf. Hollyshade thought about their mission. I think we can do it. I mean, it can't be too hard to recruit some kittypets and loners, right? As for this enemy, we don't really need to worry about them until we cross paths. She felt some of her tension melt away as she reassured herself that they were going to be fine. But the thought of the destroyed Clans made her feel depressed. We should have warned AspenClan. They would have fled, unlike HazelClan. Hollyshade felt guilt settling deep into her stomach. She sighed, continuing to lead the group.

. . .

The sun was halfway between its peak and the horizon when the group emerged from the pine forest. Hollyshade gazed around curiously. She was sure that they were nearing the Twolegplace, maybe when night came they would be able to see its harsh lights in the sky. In front of them was a small lake. The sunlight reflected off its water, casting light over the she cats.

Dovesong padded over to the water, pausing to lap up some water thirstily. Hollyshade followed her, with Sunfeather right behind. She dipped her head and drank some of the water. It was cool and fresh on her tongue, making her feel encouraged about the coming task.

"We'd better keep going. The lake is nice, but we need to keep traveling towards the Twolegplace," Hollyshade announced. Mentally, she noted it as a possible territory for the new Clan. Her companions nodded in agreement.

They continued to walk. The pine forest and lake became a lush, green forest, painfully like IvyClan's. As night came, they looked around for a suitable den. Dovesong's keen eyes picked out a nice space inside some bushes. The cats settled down for the night. Hollyshade sighed, closing her eyes. What will tomorrow bring?

. . .

Hollyshade, Dovesong and Sunfeather rose early the next morning, travelling north. They hadn't seen the Twolegplace's lights the night before, so they were still a few days away. Hollyshade set a brisk pace, hoping that her friends could keep up with her. The herbs had worked on Dovesong's paw; she wasn't limping anymore. Hollyshade couldn't smell the ash scent that had lingered on their pelts for the past day or so. The fire had destroyed their territories around two nights ago. She felt the horror she had as she watched her home crumbling into ashes.

Now, it was the third day since the fire started. Three nights had passed, the night the fire had chased them away, the night they stayed in the pine forest and the previous night. Hollyshade could feel the growing tension as they continued in the direction of the Twoleg city.

Sunfeather stepped on a sharp rock as the sun sank on the third day. There hadn't been many rocks around in the green forest, so the cats had been careless about where they were putting their paws.

"Ouch," Sunfeather complained. She held up her golden paw; blood was trickling from a small cut on her pad.

"Let me help," meowed Dovesong immediately, darting over to where cobwebs had been thickly woven inside an old fallen log lying nearby. She put her paw inside and pulled it out again with her precious bundle of cobwebs. Dovesong indicated with her tail to Hollyshade. The silver she cat was confused for a moment; then she spotted a clump of what she thought were dock leaves. Hollyshade trotted over to them and nipped off a few of the thick green stems.

Dovesong took the leaves from Hollyshade and chewed them up. Sunfeather had sat down, but she was still holding her paw up.

"I know it's only a small cut, but we can't have it getting infected," meowed Dovesong, spreading the poultice onto Sunfeather's paw. Then she bound the cobwebs over it.

"Where did you learn that? It might come in useful," asked Sunfeather. Hollyshade smiled; she had been about to ask that question.

"Well, when I was an apprentice I had to stay in the medicine den when I sprained my paw in a rabbit hole. A sharp stone had fallen into the hole as well, and I cut my paw on it. Berryflower put some dock leaves on it and bound it with cobwebs just like that," replied Dovesong. Hollyshade nodded.

"Can we keep going, Sunfeather?" she asked.

Sunfeather flicked her tail. "Sure, but can we go a bit more slowly?"

"Of course," Hollyshade purred. They continued to travel north again, but at a slower pace than before. The forest had turned slightly swampy. Sunfeather was slightly favouring her injured paw. Hollyshade sighed, wondering who was going to be hurt next.

. . .

Night was nearly upon them; the stars were faintly twinkling in the sky above them. Hollyshade was weary, feeling worn down. Their pace had slowed even more than when Sunfeather was injured.

"I think we should rest for the night," meowed Dovesong. Hollyshade nodded; the thought of resting made her feel even more tired.

"Okay," agreed Sunfeather. They found a suitable place for a den; nestled among some bushes where the swampy water wouldn't make them wet. Hollyshade sighed as she settled down next to Dovesong and Sunfeather.

The others were asleep soon after they lay down. Hollyshade stayed awake as usual, thinking about what would come tomorrow. She sharply turned her head as she heard a loud rustle. A nearby bush was swaying, even though there was no breeze. Hollyshade stayed where she was, ears pricked for danger, until sleep finally overcame her.

Okay, I hope you liked chapter two. It was a bit of a filler, but it had some important information in there at the start. As you can probably tell, Hollyshade is going to be the main character. I'll tell you a little secret CX The next chapter won't be Hollyshade's POV. Mwahaha. Thank you to my reviewers, your comments mean a lot to me. Please review!

-Issy