Shrewpaw padded alongside Jayfeather, his dark tabby fur bristling in unease as the two remained alert for any sign of the rogues. The night was silent, the moon glowing brightly as it slowly climbed in the sky, lighting their way. They slowed when they neared the lake and Jayfeather stopped suddenly, his ears swiveling.
Immediately alarmed, Shrewpaw froze, listening as well, but heard nothing. He lifted his muzzle, parting his jaws to scent the air but still there was nothing. Awkwardly, he flattened his fur and asked quietly, "Why did you stop?"
"I'm waiting for Littlecloud and Cedarpaw," Jayfeather grunted, flicking his tail. "I want to speak to them about the rogues before we catch up with the others."
The dark tabby apprentice nodded and sat down, gazing into the moonlit water in silence. He was still deeply troubled from the battle, but what troubled him the most was the fact it was unprovoked. His father had been right in saying that and, no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't find a reason to explain the rogues attacking his Clan. With a small sigh, he stood and padded closer toward the water, sitting down once more before dipping his paw into the lake. The cool water lapped at his pads, breaking the stillness of the lake as ripples lazily drifted out.
The scent of ShadowClan filled his nose and he swiveled his ears toward it before glancing over, watching as an old, small tabby tom limp along near the shore, a cream-and-white she-cat padding alongside him.
"Littlecloud!" Jayfeather called in greeting, getting to his paws as he nodded toward the ShadowClan medicine cats.
"Good seeing you, Jayfeather," Littlecloud rasped, dipping his head. "You as well, Shrewpaw."
Shrewpaw dipped his head and watched as the old tom limped along toward his mentor, the two medicine cats padding toward the direction of the Moonpool as they began to speak in hushed tones. He bounded after them, glancing over at the she-cat, narrowing his eyes in concern when he saw how ragged her appearance was. "Cedarpaw," he mewed, voice soft. "Are you okay?"
Cedarpaw glanced over at him, her dark blue eyes dull with tiredness and grief. "No," she admitted quietly. "A group of rogues attacked ShadowClan about a quarter-moon ago, and they killed my brother." She flattened her ears and shook her head, turning her gaze back onto the cats in front of them. "Where's Leafpool?"
"I'm sorry to hear that," the dark tabby whispered before flinching, lowering his head. "ThunderClan was attacked by rogues two days ago and… Leafpool didn't make it." He heaved a sigh, lifting his head up toward the moon, relying on his memory to guide his pawsteps safely. "They killed three other Clanmates, though I can't figure out why they attacked us."
Cedarpaw stared at him in surprise, eyes widening. "We lost two other Clanmates as well as my brother," she mewed, choosing her words carefully. "The rogues had ambushed the battle patrol; sent six cats in to distract them while the others came up from the side. It would've been worse if Copperclaw hadn't alerted them, I think."
Now it was Shrewpaw's turn to stare at her in surprise. "They did the same to us," he blurted, then ducked his head when he saw the two toms in front of them glance back toward them. "Well, sort of. Six of them ambushed a border patrol and then the rest followed Brightheart and Spiderleg back to camp."
The cream-and-white she-cat shook her head in disbelief, slowly coming to a stop when their mentors halted in wait for the other medicine cats. "I can't believe that," she murmured quietly, shaking her head. "I don't understand…"
"I don't either," Shrewpaw admitted quietly before swinging his head toward the WindClan territory, spotting three cats racing toward them. "Do you think WindClan and RiverClan were attacked as well?"
"We should ask them," Cedarpaw mewed and waved her tail in greeting to the gray tabby she-cat who came bounding up to them, the dappled golden she-cat and the gray-brown, white spotted tom going toward Jayfeather and Littlecloud.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," the she-cat panted, dipping her head. "Pouncetail got an infection that we needed to take care of before we left."
"Don't worry about it," Shrewpaw replied, following the four older cats as they began to travel up to the Moonpool, sticking close together. They walked in silence for a few moments, all on edge, when he finally whispered, "Willowshine, was RiverClan attacked by rogues recently?"
Willowshine glanced at him in surprise. "A few quarter-moons ago, yes. Same with WindClan, actually."
"This really doesn't make sense," Cedarpaw muttered, lowering her head. "They attacked ShadowClan and ThunderClan as well. Did they kill anyone?"
The gray tabby RiverClan cat sighed, turning her gaze away sadly. "They killed Havenheart and Mintfur during the battle." She flicked an ear, lifting her head and nodded toward the gray-brown tom. "Kestrelflight told us they killed Lichenspirit during the battle, and Crouchfoot died from his wounds later on. Did your Clans lose anyone?"
"Lizardpaw, Brindlepaw, and Goldenfrost," the ShadowClan apprentice murmured, flattening her ears. "Brindlepaw was ambushed before the attack."
Shrewpaw shook his head slowly, glancing over toward the other medicine cats ahead of them as they began to slowly pick their way up the hill. "Spiderleg, Roseptal, Mousewhisker, and Leafpool," he rasped, hearing a small gasp come from Willowshine. "Rosepetal was killed in an ambush as well. Bramblestar ordered us to kill the rogues if we fight them again because of it." He waited for Cedarpaw or Willowshine to protest, but neither did, and the three fell into silence as they scrambled after their fellow medicine cats. "Maybe StarClan will give us answers."
"I hope they do," Willowshine murmured as they carefully slipped down into a tunnel, padding toward the starlit pool that lay hidden. She dipped her head to the two apprentice and padded toward the dappled golden she-cat.
Shrewpaw nodded toward Cedarpaw and bounded after Jayfeather, making his way around Kestrelfeather as he settled down next to the blind tom at the pool. With a deep breath, he reached his neck forward and lapped up some of the water as the moon hit the pool, causing it to shine brightly. His eyes quickly grew heavy and he rested his head on his paws, welcoming the darkness that came.
When the apprentice opened his eyes again, he found himself in a bountiful forest, sun dappling his pelt through the leaves. A gray-and-white tom padded out from underneath a bush in front of him and Shrewpaw purred in relief, curling his tail. "Mousewhisker! It's good to see you again!"
"Follow me," Mousewhisker instructed before turning away, darting into the forest.
Startled, Shrewpaw hared after him, not wanting to lose the StarClan warrior, and soon skidded into a meadow. He stopped, staring in amazement as Mousewhisker padded toward Leafpool. "Jayfeather!" He cried, turning his head to see his mentor staring at the brown tabby. "What are you doing here?"
Jayfeather turned and stared at his apprentice in surprise. "Leafpool lead me here," he replied and swung his gaze back toward his mother, ears flattening in confusion.
Just then, Cedarpaw bounded out into the clearing as well, chasing a small black-and-white tom. She stared at the two toms in surprise before a ginger-and-brown tom hared out of the undergrowth, followed shortly by Littlecloud.
"What is going on?" The old ShadowClan cat demanded, but silence followed his words.
Shrewpaw whipped his head toward the right, watching in stunned amazement as Kestrelflight exploded into the meadow, hot on a dark tortoiseshell she-cat's paws. The WindClan medicine cat halted, staring at the others in confusion before turning his gaze back onto the StarClan cats.
It wasn't long until Willowshine joined them, following a black-and-white she-cat. The dappled golden she-cat was the last to make her way to them, stopping beside her Clanmate as a pale gray tabby tom took his place among the StarClan cats.
"What is going on?" The dappled medicine cat demanded, eyes narrowing in confusion.
"Hush, Mothwing," a voice rumbled, startling the medicine cats.
Shrewpaw bristled and took a step back, watching in amazement as matted dark gray tom padded into the clearing, standing in front of the new additions to StarClan.
"Who are you?" Mothwing growled, flattening her ears at the strange tom.
The tom flicked an ear, briefly ignoring her question as he swept his gaze across the medicine cats. "My name is Skywatcher, though your Clanmates will not know who I am. I have come to deliver a message that all of you must hear, but you cannot tell any cat about it until the next gathering. It is then and only then that you can reveal what I'm about to say to every cat there, and it is then and only then that you will know who you are looking for." Before any cat could ask questions, the tom straightened and his eyes glowed. "Air, darkness, water, and sky. One of each blood shall travel to save the forgotten Clan from a threat once thought to be forgotten." When he finished, he dipped his head to them and took a step back.
"What forgotten Clan?" Littlecloud cried but the tom refused to listen, instead staring at them with a burning gaze.
"Remember my words," he growled, flattening his ears. "And do whatever it takes to make sure that it is heeded, or it could spell doom for them once and for all."
Shrewpaw opened his jaws to ask who 'they' were, but the StarClan cats faded from view and he fell into blackness.
With a cry, he shot to his paws, blinking open his eyes as he gasped for breath, seeing his fellow medicine cats scramble to their paws as well, confusion ruffling their pelts. "Y-you all had the same dream, right?" He called, his voice wobbling with anxiety.
"With Skywatcher?" Mothwing answered, shaking her pelt. "I did."
A small chorus of agreement echoed from the others and Shrewpaw forced himself to flatten his fur, but his head still reeled from the tom's words. Air, darkness, water, and sky…
"He was obviously talking about our Clans," Jayfeather grumbled, sitting down as he swiped a paw over his ears. "But what forgotten Clan? There's always been four living Clans."
"He said we can't talk about it to anyone else until the gathering," Cedarpaw brought up nervously. "What should we tell our leaders when we get back?"
"Nothing," Kestrelflight rasped, shaking his head. "Or tell them that our Clanmates are faring well in StarClan, but mention nothing of what this 'Skywatcher' said. If he's right, we'll figure it out then."
Troubled silence fell over the medicine cats as they began to stretch out their muscles and leave the Moonpool behind. Shrewpaw padded close to Jayfeather, trying to figure out the prophecy Skywatcher had given him, but could still think of nothing. Is Jayfeather right when Skywatcher mentioned air, darkness, water, and sky? The dark tabby thought, flicking his tail anxiously as he said his goodbyes to the WindClan and RiverClan medicine cats. Then does 'one of each blood' mean one cat from each Clan? But travel where and what forgotten Clan? He shook his head to clear his mind before saying his goodbyes to the ShadowClan medicine cats as they parted. For a heartbeat, Shrewpaw was tempted to ask Jayfeather about it, but decided to stay silent as he followed the blind tabby back to camp, his mentor obviously troubled by the prophecy as well. This all must have something to do with those rogues… but what?
I thought I had credit to the person that made the prophecy, but I guess not anymore? Anyway, the wonderful IWalkBlindlyIntoTheShadows created the prophecy for this story (via the fic "Echoleap's Prophecies"). They also made another prophecy for me to use, but that won't appear until later on in the story.
Also, I'm still very aware that Sandstorm knows about Skywatcher, and Bramblestar possibly knows about him as well, but I didn't want the tom in question to list two cats at random and tell the medicine cats not to ask them about him or the "mysterious" Clan.
