Chapter 8

It had taken three cats to move Mistpaw's body carefully to the medicine cats' den. And even before that, Waterdream was forced to stay out in the forest until she stopped bleeding. He worked desperately to save her life. Her breathing was hoarse and shallow, and she barely moved.

The Clan had been shocked by the news Lightningstar gave them. They had known all along that something was wrong with Eclipsepaw, but they never realized he was the murderer of Flickerkit. This caused a great deal of anger and grief through Berrytail and Fallstripe. Their son was now dead because of the monster who now belonged to a group of rogues known as the Light Ones. Grayfeather had all but gone insane by this point. She was forced to remain on guard by Swiftclaw and Speckledface, who reluctantly agreed to the task.

A moon passed by without Mistpaw waking up. She never saw the Gathering, nor did she know what was happening. Applepaw and Hawkpaw became apprentices. Lightsnow and Finchwing earned their warrior names. Everything was passing by her. And everyday, Lightsnow would come in and visit her. It took all of Waterdream's strength to shoo him away when another cat needed his attention.

Mistpaw herself was in a constant state of fluctuation. She would sometimes hear the voices of her Clanmates, but they were faded and often unreadable. At other times, she would find herself wandering through the forest, meeting with different cats who had stars in their pelts. Mistpaw knew them as StarClan.

After a moon and three suns, Mistpaw finally began to stir. Her eyes flickered open, but she was not in a den of any sort, as expected. Instead, she had awoken to the same forest her paws walked on many times before.

A cat was sitting in front of her. He was a regal looking tom, with dusty brown fur and dark blue eyes. Mistpaw saw a light gleaming in those eyes. And starry patches emanated from his fur.

"It is time for you to awaken," he meowed in a gentle voice.

Mistpaw stared at him in surprise. "But...I'm dead, aren't I?" she asked.

"Your time has not come yet," he replied. "What happened to you, we could not stop. And we regret that. But it is time for you to awaken. Your Clan will need you now more then ever."

As he finished speaking, images flashed through Mistpaw's mind. Images of cats fighting each other, screeching and rolling on the ground. Blood stained the forest, and the stench filled the air. One cat stood above all others, and a patch of white on his forehead revealed blood. Mistpaw realized that this was Eclipse.

"It's my duty. My duty to stop him," she whispered.

"Yes," replied the dusty tom. "When Eclipse was born, we realized that another would have to be sent. We saw the devastation he would bring to the forest. And so, we sent you. That was why there was mist during the night of your birth."

"But why didn't you tell the Clans?" Mistpaw asked. She wanted to know why this former warrior wouldn't tell the Clans that she was good.

"We wanted to be certain that you were the one," the tom explained. "I myself argued that it was pointless. With one evil in the world, there is always good. And somehow, I felt this good was you. Others agreed with me, but it was not enough."

Mistpaw suddenly felt a bitter resentment course through her veins. She remembered all of the trials she went through in order to gain her Clans' trust. From Cinderfoot's hatred, to Eclipse's betrayal. She wondered if it had been worth it in the end.

But she did not have time to say anything more. The cats' image faded into nothing but air, and Mistpaw was sent back into the waking world.

It felt like the first time Mistpaw had opened her eyes. A large stony wall stretched around her. In front of her she could see a curtain of lichen hanging. The sharp tang of herbs filled the air, and even that made Mistpaw feel at home once more.

*****

Waterdream was the first to notice that Mistpaw was awake. It did not take long for the news to spread, and soon, the whole Clan was visiting her. Lightsnow gave her continuous groomings, while Lightningstar commented on how everyone was. Mistpaw had not been surprised when Lightningstar said Applepaw and Hawkpaw were now apprentices. However, she was disappointed that she could not see their ceremony. And she felt even more disappointed when she couldn't see Lightsnow and Finchwing's ceremony.

Over the next couple of days, Mistpaw's strength finally returned. Waterdream announced that it was safe for her to leave, but only for a little while.

It took time for Mistpaw to get used to walking once more. But eventually, she was as fast as any other cat. Her neck was now scarred for life, thanks to Cinderfoot and Eclipse. Teeth marks and claw marks were all that remained of that horrific event. The rest of the Clan seemed to finally get along with her, although there were still a few who avoided her completely.

Two of those cats were Grayfeather and Dampfur. Now that he had no apprentice, Dampfur did everything he could to get away from his daughter. Meanwhile, Grayfeather had been on guard duty for the last two moons. Mistpaw didn't even bother to approach her mother. She knew that Grayfeather was mad from the loss of Eclipse. And she did not hate her brother for everything that happened. In fact, she almost felt sorry for him, despite what he did to her.

"Mistpaw, can we talk?" Mistpaw blinked in surprise when Cinderfoot approached. It was now her third day out from the medicine cats' den. The sun was gleaming over head, but leafbare winds rushed through the trees. It had become bitterly cold over the last two moons.

Mistpaw nodded and followed Cinderfoot towards the warriors' den. She was surprised that Cinderfoot was actually being friendly towards her. The last time they spoke, Cinderfoot had given her a scar. And the gray she-cat was severely punished for it.

"I...I wanted to apologize for the way I've been acting towards you," Cinderfoot mewed. Mistpaw could see that this was extremely hard for Cinderfoot. She began to wonder why they had come here in the first place. Then she noticed that Lightsnow was watching Cinderfoot with new interest.

He must like her! The thought startled Mistpaw. At first, Mistpaw thought Lightsnow liked her. It hurt her now to learn this.

"I was jealous about the way Lightsnow treated you," Cinderfoot added with a sigh. "And I thought that I could scare you away from him. But now...I don't need to anymore."

Mistpaw gave a low, raspy purr. With the teeth marks and claw marks, it was harder now for her to purr. "I forgive you," she replied. "And I'm happy that you're with Lightsnow. He's a good cat."

"Yes." Cinderfoot blinked several times. "I know how much he cares for you. But...it's like we're meant to be together."

"I understand how you feel," Mistpaw replied.

Cinderfoot herself purred. She then gently flicked her tail over Mistpaw's shoulder and padded over to Lightsnow's side. He too purred and rasped his tongue over Cinderfoot's ear, before turning and padding into the warriors' den. Mistpaw had never felt so alone before.

Okay, so I decided that I'm going to do four updates a day, since I absolutely love this story. Anyways, please review!