I'm back (finally!) with chapter 6.
First, I just wanted to apologize for being a terrible updater and not posting for almost two weeks. I'm really really really really sorry-I kinda had some writer's block on this particular chapter (hate that), so for days I couldn't think of anything to write. I promise to update much sooner, at least for these next couple of weeks, while I have more free time to write. Thank you to all the lovely people who have given me a 6-review-per-chapter average. I'll thank you forever if we can continue that! :) I hope you will all keep reading the story-the plot is just starting to thicken!
Also, if you will please go see my forum ImagineClan-no one's bothered to write for any of the challenges, and there's a competition on currently, so...
And finally, try my story That's What Friends Are For! No one has reviewed at all! I'm still kind of down about that. If I get 1 review, I'll be happy, 2, I'll be bouncing up and down, 3 or more, I'll probably do a happy dance around my room. XD
Right...after that absurdly long author's note, let's get on with the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, etc, etc. I'm pretty sure you know it by heart by now.
"You need to do what?" Hawkpaw gawked at Dreamkit.
Dreamkit shuffled her paws nervously. "Um…walk around the lake?"
Hawkpaw shook his head in disbelief. "Are you mousebrained?"
Dreamkit glared at him. "Obviously, I'm perfectly sane. Now, are you going to help me go home or not?"
Hawkpaw sighed. "Fine, but the most I can do is get you out of RiverClan territory. I probably won't be able to help you any more after that."
Dreamkit was already scampering away towards the tree-bridge. With another sigh, Hawkpaw got up and padded through the trees after the small silver kit.
A familiar voice floated to Dreamkit's ears on the breeze as she scampered along the lakeshore with her companion. "Dreamkit…Dreamkit…"
Dreamkit pricked her ears up. "Flowerkit?"
Hawkpaw looked at Dreamkit strangely. "What're you talking about?"
Dreamkit flicked her tail-tip into his mouth. "Quiet, moss-head!"
Hawkpaw choked indignantly on her tail fur, before spitting it out. "Who're you calling moss-head?"
Dreamkit ignored him. She could still hear the voice. "Yes, it's me, Dreamkit…when you get out of the territory…the trail…"
"What trail?" Dreamkit whispered into the air.
"Follow the stars…the stars…"
Dreamkit looked back to see Hawkpaw pausing with one paw lifted. "What's wrong?"
Hawkpaw shifted uneasily. "The scent markings."
"What about them?"
"I can't leave the territory…the Clan would be suspicious…"
"…and then they'd come looking for you, find me, and get me in a huge mess?"
"Pretty much." Hawkpaw answered.
Dreamkit nodded slowly. "Okay. Does that mean you have to go?"
"Yep."
Dreamkit looked crestfallen for a second, before brightening up. "Oh, well. Bye, then!"
She reached up to touch his nose with her little pink one, before pulling away and padding away, waving her feathery tail behind her.
Hawkpaw stood on the border, watching her disappear, before turning around and heading into the forest.
Dreamkit was confused. Flowerkit had said to follow the stars, but it was day! Where would there be stars if there weren't any in the sky?
"Follow the star trail, Dreamkit…"
Dreamkit sighed in resignation and trudged along the lakeshore, glancing at the sky hopefully every so often as if it could give her a clue.
She paused to admire a little silver flower. It was sprouting out of a clump of grass, surrounded by feathery leaves, the petals spiraling outward from a soft yellow center.
Dreamkit couldn't resist. She brought her small nose to the flower and sniffed carefully-and sneezed.
The sneeze made Dreamkit jerk her head forward, right onto the flower.
All the lovely little silver petals fell off, and were immediately picked up by the breeze and blown away.
"Oops," Dreamkit thought guiltily, gazing at the air as she saw the sparkling petals fly away, looking almost like little stars.
"Wait…stars? The trail!"
She watched excitedly as some of the glimmering petals landed on the ground near her. The other ones had floated away, out of sight.
"They're making a trail! Thank you, Flowerkit!"
Full of fresh energy, Dreamkit trotted on. Every few foxlengths, another petal shone like a star on the ground, marking a path for Dreamkit to make her way home.
The territory soon changed, large pine trees beginning to block out the sky instead of tall leafy oaks and elms. The ground was so soft that Dreamkit's paws sank into it with every step, making a horrible squelching noise that disgusted her.
Still, Dreamkit plodded on, relentlessly following the trail of flowers, though her paws ached, and she was starting to feel hungry. Her mind was soon lost in daydreams, so she almost missed the scent.
Had she not had her mouth slightly open while she walked with a faraway look in her eyes, she probably would not have noticed the very fresh scent that indicated that a cat was nearby.
Fortunately for her, she smelled the scent. At once, she was completely alert, quickly diving into a bramble bush next to her with a gasp of pain as the thorns raked her sides.
She wasn't a moment too early.
A second after Dreamkit settled in the bush, she heard pawsteps right in front of her. By craning her neck, she could just see two sets of paws through the leaves, one golden-brown, the other black and white, flecked with stars.
"Stars? But that can't be a dead cat, can it?"
Her thoughts were cut off when she heard them speak.
"They'll yield, sooner or later," Dreamkit heard a tom's voice growl.
A softer, more musical voice answered him. "Maybe I should visit the…others…to see what else can be done to them?"
Dreamkit frowned. That second voice sounded so familiar…but she couldn't quite place it. But she also couldn't shake the feeling that she should know that cat.
"No," the tom's gruff voice meowed. "You will have to wait for a few moons before acting in your own territory."
Dreamkit scarcely dared to breathe as she heard the two cats walk away, still discussing their plans.
Finally, she carefully poked her head out of the bush, wincing as a thorn ensnarled itself in her fur. The two cats were gone; all that was left behind of them was their scents and a couple of tufts of black-and-white fur.
Dreamkit hissed under her breath as she walked. It was already night. The stars and moon glowed brightly in the sky, lighting up her silver fur. Idly, she wondered which star was which cat's spirit, but she had too many problems of her own to spend too much time thinking about it.
She was ravenous. Her scratches stung under her fur, and her raw pads were aching from walking on stones all day. Her pelt was matted, dirty, and hopelessly tangled with thorns, so she couldn't even lick it without hurting her tongue. And she was completely exhausted. She had to rest every few tail-lengths so she wouldn't collapse. At this point, even the odd conversation she had overheard faded into the back of her mind, paling into insignificance next to her seemingly overwhelming difficulties.
Eventually the territory changed to a dense forest, with lush undergrowth and thick grass, and prey rustling around in every gap between tree roots. Up ahead gleamed the next silver flower petal.
"Keep going, Dreamkit. You can do this." Flowerkit's voice whispered in her ear.
"No, I can't!" Dreamkit snarled, suddenly fed up with the entire experience. "I'm exhausted, and hungry, and covered with scratches, and I can't go on like this!"
Flowerkit's voice held a tinge of exasperation. "Fine…let's fix that. Why don't you complain about the dangers of the forest instead? Why isn't that more pressing?"
Dreamkit tilted her head. "The forest is dangerous?"
Dreamkit could just imagine Flowerkit rolling her eyes. "Of course it is! Never mind-let's just give you enough energy to run home."
A soft puff of wind blew onto Dreamkit's face. Warmth spread through her, radiating from the tip of her nose and flooding every part of her body. Suddenly she felt like she could run forever, without stopping or getting tired. Even the hunger raging in her belly faded to a dull tingle.
"Go…run, Dreamkit…you'll be safe, I promise."
Dreamkit nodded slightly. "Okay, Flowerkit. Thanks…"
She began to run, bounding through the forest.
As the moon began to set and the rising sun colored the clouds a faint pink, Dreamkit charged out of the lush forest, unharmed, just as Flowerkit had promised. Her strange energy was wearing down, and she was absolutely starving.
She plopped down on the open grass, breathing heavily.
"Right," she growled. "Flowerkit, if you have any powers at all, you'll send me a mouse. I could seriously use one."
Immediately, Flowerkit's voice floated in on the wind.
"No, I can't," Flowerkit whispered. "All the energy I have is spent keeping you safe and full of energy. Creekkit and Leafkit gave a whole lot of their energy for you too. You can eat in StarClan, if you ever get here and stop being ungrateful."
Dreamkit rolled her eyes. "I'm the one kit who's ever lived in StarClan while alive, and you can't even send me a mouse?"
Flowerkit didn't respond, but Dreamkit could sense her blazing irritation, like a burning stick held close to her ear.
With a groan, Dreamkit got to her paws and scurried on. The trees fell away behind her, thin grass stretching out in front of her. The wind whipped at her ears, but she pushed on, eyes stinging.
"I'm never going to complain about being bored again." Dreamkit thought fiercely, struggling up the hill with her silvery tail streaming out behind her.
The ground changed again, becoming rockier. Dreamkit's bleeding paws slipped neatly into the dips and dents in the ground, as if countless paws had worn out a way before her. The flower petals had disappeared, but she didn't need them. There was already a path carved out for her, twisting and turning, and veering steadily to the right.
"I've got to be close," Dreamkit purred inwardly, carefully placing her feet in the pawholds as she made her way down the rock.
She pushed her way through a thick barrier of bushes and gasped.
Below her lay a pool, shimmering with light. It was an exact replica of the Starpool, glittering with stars, magic radiating off of it like moonlight. Crystal-clear water tumbled gently down a rocky cliff face next to it, landing in the pool with a soft splash.
This was, undoubtedly, the Moonpool. It looked too much like the Starpool to be otherwise. A flicker of excitement flared up in Dreamkit's belly. She could finally go home!
"On second thought, I might just like to have an adventure like this again. Is boredom really so bad?" she laughed, tripping over her own paws in her haste to reach the Moonpool.
Within moments, she sat by the side of the sparkling water, gazing eagerly into it's depths. Sure enough, she could see faint images of rolling hills, starry forests, cats milling around a grassy clearing.
She could even see her beloved adopted mother and father.
Dreamkit leaned closer, drinking in the images hungrily. There was Moon, looking anxious, Star, curled up into a ball and staring into the air, both of them, swirling the water of the Starpool frantically, catching glimpses of a small silver kitten in different places and positions.
Remorse swept over her in a crushing wave as she realized just what she must have put her parents through. They may be safe, but she certainly wasn't, not down here in the living world, and of course, they would worry.
She had to go home.
Dreamkit took a deep breath and launched herself forward, straight into a rippling reflection of the Starpool.
Dreamkit opened her eyes. She was lying on a thick clump of grass, in the shade of a large tree. She could hear water splashing gently next to her. The leaves on the trees were sparkling. The entire sky was sparkling.
Dreamkit had never been so happy to see stars in her life.
A familiar face swam into her view. It was black and white, with pretty blue eyes filled with worry and relief at the same time.
"Dreamkit!" Star purred loudly, covering her adopted daughter's face with licks. "You're okay!"
Dreamkit glanced down at her paws. "I'm almost okay…" she answered, reaching up to lick Star's cheek.
Star sighed softly, touching her nose to each paw in turn. There were several flashes of bright light, which quickly faded as if they had never been there, leaving Dreamkit's paws healed completely, and feeling good as new. Even the thorns in Dreamkit's pelt disappeared.
"At least you're safe," Star murmured, pulling her kit close. "I was so worried!"
Dreamkit snuggled up to Star, reveling in the softness and warmth of her fur. "I missed you too," she mewled pitifully, gazing up to her mother with huge violet eyes.
Star pulled away. "I hope you know that you are in a lot of trouble, Dreamkit," she growled sternly. "Don't think that just because we are glad to see you doesn't mean that you are not going to be punished."
Dreamkit groaned internally. "We? She can't seriously mean…"
Star flicked her tail towards the trees. Starry cats began pouring out, kits, apprentices, warriors, all surrounding the Starpool until it seemed as though every single cat in StarClan was gathered there.
All wore austere, unsympathetic looks on their faces.
Dreamkit gulped, wishing she had never set foot outside StarClan.
"Oh, no. Here it comes."
Oooooooh...someone's in trouble... :)
I sincerely hope that that chapter made up for the long wait a little...I'll update with the next chapter sooner.
Please remember to review!