Bloodstained Sky

by
Dreamstar's Courage

A/N: There was a tie between the shockers... I won't tell you which ones though!

Chapter Twelve: Shine

Incredible pain shot through Birdtalon's leg as the fox bit down even harder, and it took all of her self control not to yowl. There were even more important things to worry about.

Like Nightpaw.

The apprentice was still unconcious as he laid against the tree, his sides slowly rising up and down. He wasn't dead yet, but what if... what if... Oh, she couldn't think of that!

"I'm going to save you, Nightpaw," Birdtalon said through gritted teeth. "Just hold on a little bit longer and I'll-"

Suddenly, the fox lifted his head, shaking the she-cat as if she were a rag doll, and flinging her to the ground. Birdtalon's body skidded, kicking up dirt in the air and making blood fly out of the gaping wound in her leg. A jolt of pain coursed through her body, but she stayed concious. Shaking her head, she looked up. Her leg didn't feel broken... Maybe she could get up...

A drop of saliva dripped onto her nose. Disgusting, she thought, but then looked up to find the fox once again towering over her. But she'd blinded him; he'd learned his lesson. This time, he wasn't playing at all.

Unable to move, Birdtalon trembled as the fox leaned his jaws down towards her throat, eager and willing to squeeze the life out of her...

"Stop, leash-licker!"

A huge silver, starry body bowled the fox out of the way. It was a wolf, and a huge, cream-faced one. Pelt bristling, she had the fox cowering on its back. "Go away, and don't harm these cats again!" She snarled angrily, cuffing him like a pup.

Whimpering, the fox ran away, and the wolf straightened, amber eyes narrowing after it. She turned to a Birdtalon, who was quivering even more at the sight of those teeth. Had the wolf chased the fox off just to have Birdtalon and Nightpaw for herself?

"Please..." Birdtalon pleaded. "If you are going to... you know... just take me and let the black cat go... I'm begging you..."

What she wasn't expecting was gentle laughter from the wolf. Gracefully, the animal loped over, starlight in her eyes. "I will not harm you, little cat" She said in a gentle but powerful voice. "My name is Nova, and I will protect you and Nightpaw however I can. Now turn your head; you will see tales of your kind come alive."

Obeying, Birdtalon looked around, a gasp coming from her. Three starry cats stood in front of her. Her heart rose as she recognized Firestar in the middle, and Tawnypelt, the former ShadowClan deputy. She didn't know the silver tabby she-cat personally, but was sure that this was Feathertail, Stormfur's long-dead sister and Moon's aunt.

"Birdtalon," Firestar purred, stepping towards her, Feathertail and Tawnypelt at his heels. "My great-granddaughter. It has been a while since we've seen each other."

"Firestar," Birdtalon breathed. "Who was that?" She turned again, but the wolf was already running off, her body fading.

"Good-bye Birdtalon, Nightpaw!" She howled softly.

"How does she know our names?" Birdtalon whispered, looking up at Firestar.

"Nova is the Great Mother wolf," Feathertail murmured. "She is our kin, in a way, and ruler of all. She will protect you as much as she can... however, there is only so much she-or StarClan-can do."

"We are all cats of past prophecies," Tawnypelt said, a note of sadness in her voice. "Cats seemed to think that because of this, we were invisible... as you can see, we're not."

"We will protect you, Nova will protect you... but sometimes, even we cannot help," Firestar told her.

"Am I going to die now?" Birdtalon asked, sure that this was what the conversation was leading up to. "Is Nightpaw going to die?"

"No," Feathertail chuckled.

"Certainly not," Tawnypelt agreed.

"Why?"

Firestar leaned in very close to her, his starry eyes meeting hers. "Because. Like there was Snow that Blinds Evil, and Sun that Lights Our Path, there are now Bird that Soars Above and Night that Hides Us from Enemies. And three more."

"Who?" Birdtalon questioned. "Are we part of a prophecy?"

"We cannot tell you much more," Feathertail mewed. "Only that... even the best of cats can stray. Know that."

Slowly, all three cats turned, fading. As they did, Birdtalon's head began to spin from blood loss, and slowly, she lay her head on the ground, fading.

Nightpaw's POV

Like sunlight streaming into the apprentices' den, the world slowly came back to Nightpaw, making him lift his head up. The fox! Where was it?

Looking around, his jaw dropped. Birdtalon lay stretched out on the ground, blood pumping from a wound on her hind leg. Stumbling to his paws, Nightpaw raced towards her, hoping beyond hopes that she'd be all right.

"Birdtalon... Birdtalon..." He whispered, looking her over. To his relief, she was still breathing, and he grabbed onto her scruff, beginning to drag her back to camp. He had no idea what'd happened, but whatever it was, it had to be better than the fox eating them.

xxx

Scarletflame narrowed her eyes at the gold-striped amber-eyed she-cat who strode purposefully towards Moon. The silver tom's face held a look that was a mixture of surprise, happiness and dismay.

"Shine?" He meowed in surprise, taking a hasty step away from Scarletflame. "You're here?"
"Yes, I'm here," the she-cat snapped. "Are you blind? I'm certainly not. I see you with this forest she-cat sweetheart."

"What?" Scarletflame and Moon spat at the same time. Scarletflame could feel her pelt bristling. Who was this she-cat, and why in StarClan's name did she think that she had the right to imply...

"Wait," She said, turning to Moon. "This is that she-cat you spoke about, right? The one from the Tribe?"

"Oh." The mystery cat looked surprised. "You know about me?"

"Yes," Scarletflame replied in an icy tone. "Perhaps you should ask Moon and I about this situation before you accuse of things that didn't happen, hmm?" She let her flame-colored fur fall flat, but kept her eyes trained on the she-cat's face.

"Shine," Moon began calmly. "This is Scarletflame, a forest friend of mine. Just a friend. Scarletflame, this is Shine of Bright Sun... she was close to me back in the Tribe. A very important cat in my life."

As he spoke, Scarletflame had the urge to unsheathe her claws. The question was, why did she want to do that?

"Nice to meet you," Shine mewed, then added grudgingly, "Sorry."

"Likewise," Scarletflame said shortly. "So, would you like to explain to me why you've come to visit the Clans? Dreamstar would like to know, I'm sure."

"Clans? Dreamstar?"

Moon sighed. "Looks like we have to explain some things. Clans are like Tribes. There are four separate ones here. Dreamstar is Scarletflame's mother and a very powerful Clan leader, leading ThunderClan, Scarletflame's Clan..."

xxx

The scent of blood hit Rockwind as he padded back in from hunting. Worse, he realized as he zoned in that...

It was Birdtalon's blood.

A bolt of pale ginger fur flashed across camp as Dreamstar raced towards the medcine cat's den. Mind reeling, Rockwind followed, praying to StarClan that his sister was all right. His eyes caught a glimpse of Singedtail and Thornclaw dragging a black shape towards the den. Nightpaw must have been harmed as well.

Skidding to a halt at the entrance, Rockwind panted. Calicofur was crouched over a pale shape, Dreamstar at her side. Blood pumped out of Birdtalon's hind leg, and her eyes were closed. Fear gripped Rockwind's heart.

"Is.. is she...?" He asked, unable to utter the awful words.

"No," Dreamstar reported in a worried voice as Calicofur pressed cobwebs into the wound. "She's just unconcious. It seems that she and Nightpaw were attacked by a fox. He's the lucky one in this case."

Slowly, Rockwind stepped to his sister's side and pressed his nose into her fur. "Singedtail," He said softly. "Go fetch Scarletflame. I think she's somewhere with Moon." Nodding, the gray and white tom bolted off.

After what seemed to take an eternity, Scarletflame spun into the den. "Singedtail told me what happened," She panted, mimicking Rockwind's movements. "Birdtalon, hang on, we're all here!"

Dreamstar said something in a very soft voice that only Scarletflame seemed to catch. Something that made the she-cat lift her head momentarily, and then slowly lay it down again.

"Dreamstar," Singedtail said carefully. "Some Tribe cat has come in to visit Moon-"

"Tell Birchpelt to handle it!" Dreamstar snapped. "Can't you see that my kit needs me?"

"I'm... not a... kit anymore," a groggy voice suddenly mumbled.

"Birdtalon?" Rockwind yowled in surprise, spotting his sister's dark blue eyes open as slits. However, her next words surprised him.

"Where's... Nightpaw? Is he all right?"

"He'll be fine," Calicofur told her gently. "And so will you. You just lost a lot of blood. Now, eat these." She pushed poppy seeds towards Birdtalon. Once the she-cat was asleep, she gestured for the others to leave.

Feeling exhausted, Rockwind began to leave the den, only to hear comforting words. What surprised him was who they were coming from.

"Rockwind?" Shadowflame asked gently. "Do you need someone to talk to?"

xxx

OK... the battle of the she-cats is coming up! Who will win? Scarletflame or Shine? Cast your votes!

Also... NAME THE KIT CONTEST. This is a contest of a name for one of Dreamstar's new kits. The person who suggests the best name not only gets to see their name on the story, but... you get a special never to be on oneshot Nova story called 'Nova's Second Love'. You can suggest either tom or she-cat names in your reviews, a maximum of 3. Only reviews for this chapter can have names on them.