Again from Kessie's point of view! I must say, I'm enjoying myself immensely now. I feel like I'm back in my home ground, writing about cats. Just goes to show that you only have to write one story about cats to make you feel like you've been writing about them all your life ( which, in my case, is quite untrue ).
Wish
Kestrelpaw tripped over a tree root and landed flat on her face. Huffing, she righted herself and continued walking as if nothing had happened. She didn't even bother to look back at the two toms behind her, seeming to pretend that they didn't exist. Or, at least, she was currently unaware of their existence. Her mind was on what she had dreamed about the night before. First, she had witnessed Squirrelpaw's death, then she had seen Whitepaw. In reality, she shouldn't have been able to see either of them, considering that they were miles and miles away from where she was.
"Mouse for you thoughts?" Coal enquired, curious as to why Kestrelpaw had been so quiet throughout the course of the day. It certainly wasn't like her. She was usually constantly chattering away about all manner of things, from prey to what would happen when they arrived at the Wide-Waters.
Kestrelpaw didn't seem to hear him at first, but then her head jerked up as if she had been stung badly by a particularly vicious bee. "I... um... nothing."
Harepaw snorted in disbelief at her words, and eyed the she-cat with derision. "You don't seriously expect us to believe that? Honestly, we're not stupid, you know. Spit it out."
Coal sent a warning glance to the other tom, and then returned to staring at Kestrelpaw in concern. "What's wrong, Kestrelpaw?"
Kestrelpaw stopped suddenly, causing Harepaw to almost collide with her. She ignored the apprentice's curses and mutters about her clumsiness, instead choosing to concentrate on what to say next. How could she say that she had seen the death of Squirrelpaw and heard about the deaths of Brownkit, Tallkit, and Smallflower, without sounding as if she was deluded? They surely wouldn't believe that she had received a vision telling about, and, in the case of Squirrelpaw, showing the deaths of her Clanmates. Or would they?
"Squirrelpaw's dead," Kestrelpaw finally said flatly, causing the two toms to freeze in their tracks, both staring at her in disbelief. Coal's expression also contained traces of horror, however, whereas Harepaw's face only showed his disbelief.
"How could you know that?" Harepaw demanded, the first to recover from the shock of Kestrelpaw's words. His tone of voice was suddenly more venomous than it had been in the past few days, and Kestrelpaw wondered why. It couldn't be the direct result of her words, could it? She didn't think so.
"I... I had a... vision," Kestrelpaw said unconvincingly, and then, steeling herself, she launched into a more descriptive account of her vision. "I thought I was dreaming at first. I was with Squirrelpaw and Sparrowpaw, and we were being chased by these three huge white dogs. I swear it! -" Kestrelpaw added when she saw Harepaw's disbelieving look - "And then I... I saw this strange cat. She was the oddest cat I've ever seen. She had these really big green eyes that looked like they were about to pop out, they were so big. And her whiskers were so long that they drooped. But the weirdest thing about her was that she had these grey swirls on her coat. They were in all different sizes, but they gave her a... an... an... a... an odd look. She looked kind of familiar, though. I don't know why. Coal, what's wrong?"
Coal's expression had shifted to one that look half-horrified, half-astonished. The two SkyClan cats looked at the loner in bafflement, unable to think of the explanation behind his suddenly shocked expression. Coal looked from Kestrelpaw to Harepaw and back again, then managed to croak out. "WeatherClan?"
"Yes," Kestrelpaw confirmed Coal's suspicions. Then she paused, taking a deep breath, and continued her narrative. "And she said that I couldn't interfere with destiny. She blabbed a lot about destiny and fate and how superiors should be respected. But then she said that... it was Squirrelpaw and Sparrowpaw's fault that Squirrelpaw was dead. She said that it was WeatherClan that had sent that feeling to me... you know, when we were about to go to the Two-leg place, but I said we shouldn't. She said that nobody disobeyed WeatherClan's direct orders, and so what happened to Squirrelpaw was deserved. It -" a sudden rush of anger caused Kestrelpaw's voice to ascend in pitch - "it was all her fault! She was the one who killed Squirrelpaw! And... and I watched Squirrelpaw die! I... I...and... and the she-cat said that she was my guide, now."
If possible, Coal's expression was even more horrified by the end of Kestrelpaw's tale. He seemed at a loss for words for a few seconds, and then said in a worried voice. "Your guide? -" Kestrelpaw nodded - "But that's... that's terrible news! WeatherClan only ever take an interest in a cat if... if..."
"If what?" both Kestrelpaw and Harepaw chorused, and then glared at each other for saying the same thing at the same time. It was petty, but Kestrelpaw still disliked it when she had to agree with Harepaw or Harepaw voiced her thoughts.
"I... never mind. Kestrelpaw, you said the cat looked familiar?" Coal queried, obviously agitated by something in what Kestrelpaw had said, although he was refusing to share it with them.
"Yes. I don't know why, I told you. I'm pretty sure I've never seen her before," even as she said it, Kestrelpaw's certainty began to wane. Despite being certain the first time round that she had never seen the she-cat before, she had the creeping feeling that she had seen the she-cat before, albeit long ago. "I... no... I have seen her before, but I don't know where or when."
"Oh great. This is just perfect. First, Kestrelpaw has a crazy vision that tells her Squirrelpaw is dead, despite the fact that we haven't seen her for two moons and must be miles away from her. Second, Kestrelpaw tells us that she has, in the same vision, met a cat from WeatherClan, and Coal says that it is really bad when WeatherClan seeks out a cat. Third, Kestrelpaw decides that she has actually met the cat before, which either means that she is deranged, lying, or, quite possibly, that we are in very grave danger," Harepaw muttered bad-temperedly to himself, not at all happy with this latest turn of events, nor the news that it brought with it.
"Shut up, Harepaw," Kestrelpaw snapped impatiently, not having time for Harepaw's ill-tempered musings. Then she turned back to Coal. "I also dreamed that I saw Whitepaw... and he said that... that... Brownkit and Tallkit and S-S-Smallflower are d-d-d... have joined StarClan. And then I saw that cat again. She wanted to talk to Whitepaw about something, I think, but I didn't get to h-h-hear what it was."
Harepaw glared at Kestrelpaw heatedly. "And now she claims that three members of my Clan have died!"
"It's true!" Kestrelpaw gulped, screwing her eyes shut tight. Guilt washed over her at the thought of her Clanmates' deaths. It was all her fault. If only she was already at the Wide-Waters. Then she could at least prevent more deaths, but they were surely still at least a week away from it. Then she mentally hit herself. She was not going to go all mopey at this stage of the journey. Her Clanmates depended upon her stopping the drought. They were dying, and all she could do was sit and sulk! She heaved a huge sigh and opened her eyes to find Harepaw still glaring at her and Coal looking at her in concern. Not much had changed, then.
"Let's go. We can't afford to waste any more time," Kestrelpaw said abruptly, and started to walk briskly in the direction that the kestrel had earlier told them was the way to the Wide-Waters. A cough interrupted her walk, and she turned to see the kestrel gesturing subtly in another direction with its head. Not having time to be embarrassed, Kestrelpaw altered her course and continued on without the bat of an eyelid.
The two toms exchanged amused looks, and then followed the she-cat. The hare hopped after the two toms, muttering curses under its breath for having to walk again. Nobody paid attention to the hare, not even Harepaw, and it eventually subsided into occasional snorts of displeasure as it bounded after the cats and the bird.
"I can see it! Look!" Kestrelpaw squealed with excitement, all the pressure and solemnity of the previous days forgotten in an instant as she sighted the longed-for waters. It was far in the distance, to be sure, but she could actually see it! Her spirits seemed to soar to never-before-experienced heights as she realised that she would probably reached her destination within the next few weeks, if they really picked up the pace. Then she suddenly remembered how much was at stake if she failed in her task, and her spirits drooped again. She wondered what had happened to her so-called 'guide'. She hadn't seen the WeatherClan she-cat since the vision in which she had met Whitepaw and been informed of Brownkit, Tallkit, and Smallflower's deaths.
"That's great!" Coal's ears pricked up in anticipation of the moment they would finally confront the Wide-Waters. Harepaw merely grumbled something about how much faster they would now have to walk, given that both his companions had now sighted the dark expanse of blue water. Harepaw had actually seen the Wide-Waters first, having spotted them during one of his brighter moods, when he wasn't glaring darkly at his feet and mumbling about 'WeatherClan' and 'ridiculous visions'. However, he hadn't been willing to share his observation with his companions for fear of them suddenly deciding that the need for speed was all the more urgent now they could see their destination. Harepaw wasn't the kind of cat to wish doom on his Clan, in fact, he was a very loyal cat, but he was, and always had been, rather sceptical of the idea that some divine power was responsible for his Clan's plight. Rather, he believed that it was more to do with misfortune than with cats that had magical powers. He was pretty sure his companions were deluded, and thus had deduced that it was safer for everyone concerned if he kept a close eye on them and made sure they didn't go and infect everybody with their strange beliefs.
"Come on, Harepaw! We can see it now! It's just there!" Kestrelpaw squeaked, and began, predictably, to walk faster than before. Coal followed her example, which left Harepaw and the hare to sigh and shake their heads sadly before following their companions.
"She's darn annoying," the hare confided to Harepaw, who found that he agreed completely with the hare's assessment of Kestrelpaw.
"I think you took the words right out of my mouth. And she's predictable," Harepaw added, his tone making it clear that he found this an unforgivable fault. The hare nodded in total agreement. Harepaw liked talking to the hare, as he found that, not only did the hare agree with everything he said, the hare was also more tolerant than most of Harepaw's bad moods and fits of temper.
"Very much so. The only one more predictable than her is that horrible kestrel," the hare glared at the said being, and then returned to his conversation in a calm tone, as if nothing had occurred. "However, I suppose it is necessary to keep their company, as we need to make sure they do not terrorise the other cats. Especially that Coal."
"He's worse than Kestrelpaw!" Harepaw exclaimed suddenly, his eyes narrowing as he glared at said tom, who was blissfully unaware of the conversation that was taking place behind him.
"My sentiments exactly," the hare said in agreement, bounding alongside Harepaw as the two descended down the side of a gently sloping hill. The two picked up their pace to catch up with their companions, but kept a reasonable distance between them, so that they could resume their complaints about the two other cats, without being overheard by them.
Harepaw looked thoughtfully at the two in front of him, and then his eyes flicked up towards where the kestrel flew easily above them. A thought occurred to Harepaw, and he lowered his voice so as to make sure that nobody would overhear what he said to the hare. "You don't think there is something between them?"
The hare scoffed at this very notion. "Not likely! Though they would be suited to each other, boring, raving lunatics as they are. Why do you ask?"
"Curious," Harepaw shrugged indifferently, and then proceeded to give voice to his thoughts. "Do you think that she was telling the truth about Squirrelpaw?"
The hare's usually sharp black eyes softened slightly at the mention of the she-cat's name. "I hope not. I always found that the squirrel was far wiser than the others, and she was certainly a very good companion and an excellent one to talk to."
Harepaw nodded in genuine sadness. "I hope it isn't true, too. I miss Squirrelpaw. It's very hard when I find I'm the only one who thinks even partially rationally."
"Hey, you two! Hurry up! We're going to make excellent progress today!" Kestrelpaw did an energetic little dance that Harepaw and the hare found very strange, but then shrugged and accepted that it was just one of what they considered many of Kestrelpaw's oddities. They obediently 'hurried up', and, once they had caught up with their companions, subsided into grumbles and sighs throughout the remainder of that day's journey.
By the time they reached where they would stop for the night, about ten hours later, darkness had already fallen. It was a cloudy night, the huge dark grey clouds covering the moon and promising a storm on the way. Kestrelpaw and her companions had taken shelter in a cave. It had a tiny entrance that stretched sidewise for several metres, only just big enough for a fully grown, albeit slender, cat to squeeze through, but it opened into a large space that was easily big enough for two dozen cats. In one corner of the cave Coal was curled up, his eyes only half-open, dozing. In the other corner, as far away from Coal as he could possibly get, was Harepaw. This wasn't saying much, as the cave narrowed at the very back, so there were only a few feet separating them. Harepaw's right side was leaning against the cold cave wall, and his eyes were narrowed to slits as he conversed quietly with the hare. Kestrelpaw was at the very front of the cave, peering out into the gloom, the kestrel perched on her shoulder its head tucked under its wing.
Thunder boomed outside the cave, and rain suddenly began to pour down furiously. Thanks to the large ledge that hung over the cave, the inhabitants were kept dry, although Kestrelpaw could feel the occasional drop splash against her nose. Nevertheless, she didn't retreat back into the cave, instead just staring out at the storm. She was so close to her goal. Only a few more weeks, and she would be there. Kestrelpaw closed her eyes. She just hoped that she would be in time to prevent any more deaths.
"How much longer until we reach the Wide-Waters, do you think?" Kestrelpaw murmured to the kestrel, not taking her gaze from the landscape outside.
"Two or three weeks, depending on how fast we move and whether we are interrupted. Maybe, if we're lucky, we can reach it in a week and a half," the kestrel replied quietly, taking her head out from under her wing. She glanced at Kestrelpaw and then murmured. "I'm going to have a rest, okay? We've got a big day ahead of us, if we plan on reaching the Wide-Waters as soon as we want to."
Kestrelpaw saw the kestrel flutter over to a niche in the cave wall and settle down comfortably for the night, and then turned her attention back to the storm outside. She absentmindedly licked her left paw, and grimaced at the taste. Glancing down, she was irritated to find that, because of all the days of traveling without washing, her paw still looked grey with dust. She turned her head slightly so that she could see her back, and sighed. Her back, too, was now a greyish brown, thanks to its lack of washing. She gave up with a small groan, deciding that she could take care of it another day.
Sighing, she rose and padded over to the back of the cave. She curled up in between the two toms, Harepaw eyeing her with distinct distaste. Ignoring him, she closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. They would soon be at the Wide-Waters, and would be able to, hopefully, stop the drought and therefore prevent more members of her Clan from joining StarClan. It would only be a matter of time before she would be back at SkyClan's camp. Maybe she would be made a warrior when she got back. She wondered vaguely what her warrior name would be. Kestrelpaw hoped it wasn't something horrible, like Kestrelnose or Kestrelbelly. No, she wouldn't be able to stand that.
It seemed like only seconds before she opened her eyes and found herself standing on sand, staring across at a wide expanse of water. Water lapped at her paws, and she retreated automatically, although she didn't find it as unpleasant as she had thought. Kestrelpaw glanced down at her paws, surprised to find them still dusty, even though the water had touched them. Then she realised the reason: she was in a dream.
When this thought occurred to her, she was immediately on her guard. Last time she had had a dream this vivid, it had been because a WeatherClan cat had been interfering with it. Kestrelpaw looked around frantically, searching for the strange cat that had appeared to her twice before, but she couldn't see anyone. As far as she knew, she was the only one for a mile around.
"Looking for something?" a voice enquired of her. Kestrelpaw turned her head slightly to her right, and found the strange she-cat standing next to her, looking out at the horizon.
"You," unlike before, Kestrelpaw's voice was calm, only holding the faintest note of accusation. She didn't even bother to look at the WeatherClan she-cat, instead focusing on some point in the horizon.
"Yes, me. Who did you think it would be? No. Never mind that. I've come here to... grant you a... wish, I suppose you would say," the she-cat replied without a trace of emotion in her voice, as if she was saying something that was perfectly ordinary and should be expected.
"After all that you've done, you are giving me a wish? I suppose I couldn't ask for Squirrelpaw and the others to come back, could I?" Kestrelpaw queried, knowing full well what the answer would be. It wasn't as if she would wish for that, either. It would be unnatural, once someone had joined the ranks for StarClan, to wish for them to come back.
"Of course not. That would defeat the point, wouldn't it? No... your wish will be for something more... attainable. Something that would, let us say, speed up your journey?" the other cat suggested, but, even as Kestrelpaw wondered whether that would be the wisest thing to ask for, she knew that it was what she would wish for. And she suspected the strange she-cat knew that, too.
"Why didn't you ask me that when we started the journey? It would have saved so much time and energy, and Squirrelpaw wouldn't be dead, either. Why?" Kestrelpaw demanded, suppressing the urge to yell at the she-cat. Before she could even think twice about it, however, the feeling was sucked away, like all the other strong emotions she had had whilst in this place.
"Well, journeys are character-building. If I had transported you straightaway to WeatherClan's camp, then you wouldn't have met Coal, and you wouldn't have learned about WeatherClan through him. You would most likely not have appreciated how hard a journey can be, and you almost certainly would be a spoiled brat. Not that you aren't one now," the she-cat added as an afterthought, much to Kestrelpaw's irritation. She wasn't a spoiled brat, was she? The idea was ridiculous!
"Now, would you like me to bring your journey to an abrupt halt and spirit you away to where WeatherClan... hmm... live. Yes, where WeatherClan live...?" the she-cat enquired politely, without the faintest trace of interest in her task. Almost as if she didn't care either way. Kestrelpaw wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. WeatherClan seemed like a rather stale old lot. Not much personality, unless you counted an irritating habit of looking down on those that were not from their ranks.
"Yes. I'd love that -" Kestrelpaw hoped the other she-cat could hear the sarcasm in her voice -" Perhaps you could grant my companions and I a trip to wherever you WeatherClan cats have their camp? And... could you bring Sparrowpaw, too?" Kestrelpaw added as an afterthought. She knew that her brother wouldn't give up searching for the cure for the drought until he found it, and she wasn't going to let him spend all his days searching for it, as he most certainly would if he didn't come with them.
"What a wonderful idea," the she-cat's voice suggested that she didn't really think it was such a wonderful idea. She didn't even seem to have caught the sarcasm in Kestrelpaw's speech. "Your wish is granted, Kestrelpaw. I shall see you tomorrow. We have many things to discuss once you arrive, much as I hate to say so, little one."
"Wait. One more thing... you said that you were my 'guide', didn't you? Why haven't you been guiding me, then?" Kestrelpaw asked curiously, not in the least offended. She was pretty sure that she would be offended when she woke up, but this place seemed to have drained her of all negative feelings. Or most of them, anyway. Kestrelpaw wondered if sarcasm counted as a negative feeling. Then again, was sarcasm a feeling? She would have to think on that.
The she-cat regarded the SkyClan apprentice for a moment, and then laughed. "Oh, but I have. You just haven't realised it yet."
And with that the she-cat vanished, leaving Kestrelpaw to gaze out at the horizon for a moment before she, too, felt herself vanish.
Ach. The conversation between Kestrelpaw and the strange she-cat was rather... stiff. I don't know why I made it that way... it just turned out like that. Oh well.