Man, short chapters these are turning out to be! Oh, well, this chapter has the news that everyone's been dying to know!
Warriors (c) Erin Hunter
Cats/Clans (c) Me
"It's good to see you, too, Spiritwalker," the former GaleClan leader purred, the stars in his fur dancing in the light.
"Y-You're actually here! StarClan is here!" Spiritwalker stammered. "Does this mean that you're actually watching over us?"
"We've been watching ever since we've brought you here," Galestar explained. "And we're pleased at what we see. You've done an exceptional job here, Spiritwalker. It won't be long before things are back to the way they used to be."
"Thank you," Spiritwalker purred. "Now, about the true leaders…is there any way for you to tell me who they are? I've been thinking and thinking about it for sunrises now, but I just can't decide."
Galestar rested his tail on Spiritwalker's shoulder. "Spiritwalker, we already sent you signs."
"You did? When and what did they say?"
"That is for you to find out."
That is for you to find out…StarClan's never been easy when it came to cryptic phrases.
"Is something bothering you, Spiritwalker?" Pepperfeet's voice asked, nearly showing Spiritwalker out of his fur. He'd been too busy mulling over the dream that hadn't noticed his living friend walk up to him from his position outside the warriors' den.
He shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary, Pepperfeet," Spiritwalker lied. He didn't want to let the FrostClan cats know that he'd seen StarClan in a dream until he actually had some useful information to present.
Pepperfeet tipped her head slightly. "If you say so…" she replied uncertainly. "Iceshade's leading a border patrol towards the GaleClan border and was wondering if you would like to come."
"Who's on the patrol?"
"Rustlestep, Bumblebee and Mousepaw."
Spiritwalker nodded. "I'll meet him in a few minutes."
Before he could pad away, Pepperfeet rested her tail on his flank. "I know that you had a dream from StarClan and that you don't wish to let everyone else know because of some reason…I perfectly understand."
"How do you know that?" Spiritwalker whispered.
"You've been acting strangely this morning, more so than ever," Pepperfeet gently teased. "Even the kits are louder than you." She tapped her tail against his cheek before padding towards the fresh-kill pile for something to eat. He watched her go before shaking his head free of thought and went to find Iceshade. The temporary FrostClan leader was sitting by the camp entrance with Bumblebee, Rustlestep and Mousepaw.
"Ready to go?" Iceshade asked.
"Whenever you are," Spiritwalker responded.
With a wave of his tail, Iceshade prepared to lead the patrol out, but a voice stopped them.
"Wait!" Blossomheart called out, racing towards the patrol. "Can I come with you? I still don't know the territory very well and I need to collect some herbs."
"Of course," Iceshade agreed willingly. Blossomheart walked in step with Spiritwalker as the black and white tom led the patrol onward. On the way out, they passed by Nightfang's hunting patrol, consisted of Mistlethorn and Peachfire, all three carrying several mice and voles.
"Great catch!" Spiritwalker complemented. The three warriors looked pleased at their praise and continued into the camp.
This Clan is acting like one already! Galestar was right…it won't be long now until my mission is done, but what about those signs that he mentioned? I don't recall seeing any signs!
"Oh, there's some borage over there!" Blossomheart interrupted Spiritwalker from his thoughts. She pointed with her tail towards some leafy green plants amongst some ferns a few tail-lengths away. "Spiritwalker, can you help me collect them? We'll catch up with the rest of you toms." Before the rest of the patrol could reply, the light brown tabby she-cat was already shoving the StarClan tom towards the borage.
"What's with you today, Blossomheart?" Spiritwalker yelped. The medicine cat didn't say anything and made sure the others were out of ear-shot before speaking.
"I wanted to talk to you, alone," Blossomheart explained as she examined the borage.
"And you made it pretty obvious," Spiritwalker muttered.
"You've had a dream from StarClan, didn't you?" Blossomheart meowed, ignoring his previous comment.
"How does nearly every cat know of that?" Spiritwalker slightly growled. "So much for a secrecy."
"Leafspark told me," Blossomheart explained. "She told me this morning that you were muttering something about StarClan in your sleep last night."
"That might explain it."
"So tell me…what happened?"
"I just spoke with Galestar, the original GaleClan leader, and that's it," Spiritwalker insisted. "I asked him who the true leaders of the Clans were. He told me that he already sent signs about who the true leaders were, but I don't know what they were! I could've missed them, Blossomheart, and now all of the Clans are in danger because of my lack of paying attention!"
"Calm down, Spiritwalker," Blossomheart gently soothed. "I can tell that you are frustrated, but having your mind filled with so many thoughts won't help anyone. Perhaps if you clear your mind and think real hard, you might just come up with something." She lightly tapped his shoulder with her tail. "Get some rest tonight and think about the previous moons. Something's bound to come up eventually."
Spiritwalker sighed. "I just hope that you are right."
"Off to sleep so soon, Spiritwalker?" Pepperfeet asked later that night.
"Yes, those patrols really sapped my energy today!" Spiritwalker joked. "I can't wait for some shut eye."
Pepperfeet didn't say anything but simply gazed up at the stars above them. "StarClan is watching over us, right?"
"Of course they are," Spiritwalker replied. "They…just like to stay silent at times."
"Oh, that'll change when I'm off to StarClan," Pepperfeet jeered. "I'll be so loud and obnoxious, the others might just threaten to send me back!"
The two shared comfortable laughs and some more small talk as the other warriors began to head towards their nests.
"Well, I suppose I better get some rest for tomorrow's patrols," Spiritwalker meowed with a yawn. "I'll see you in the morning." He tipped his head and made his way inside the warriors' den underneath the bush.
"Good night, Spiritwalker." He felt Pepperfeet's breath on his head after he settled down. "May you dream what you're looking for."
As he closed his eyes, Spiritwalker tried to think of anything unusual that had happened in the previous moons like Blossomheart suggested. He recalled the memories he shared with the other cats and the friendships he had made. He remembered Jetstream's warm welcome and Lightningblaze's quiet persona. He remembered enjoying training Peaches and Piper—now Peachfire and Rustlestep. He mused over his first meeting with Pepperfeet and the journey they shared. He remembered meeting the other Clans and having the honor of reuniting the Clans. He recalled playing with Burntkit, Dustkit and Honeykit…and her feather…Visions suddenly erupted into Spiritwalker's mind, replaying as if he were watching his own memories right in front of him…
Crumbs let out a growl and crouched down into a hunter's crouch. She was about to leap onto her brother when Honey dashed by, chasing after a silver, fluffy feather. The feather landed a tail-length away from the cream-colored tabby and black she-kit. She crouched down and leapt onto the feather. It slipped out of her paws and fluttered another tail-length away…
A silver feather…surviving the enemy…
He was in a cave with stalagmites and stalactites all over the cave. An occasional water drop fell from one of the stalactites and landed in the pool, creating a splashing echo whose sound bounced across the cave. There was another splash and it sent ripples across the water…
Puddles constantly splashing in the Star Pond…
Earlier that sunrise, Spiritwalker's eyes were bothering him; he swore the sun grew brighter and shone more whenever his eyes would glance near the sun, causing them to ache…
The sun that is persistent and strong…
As they exited the smelly log, Spiritwalker could've sworn he saw Talon, the dark brown tabby tom, hiding behind a tree. Perhaps he doesn't trust us…
The sly brown tabby, always watching, always listening…
He noticed that stars began to appear in her black and white fur, as if she were a StarClan cat. They danced around in her pelt in a synchronized dance that captured Spiritwalker's gaze. Were there stars in his fur or was it just fatigue playing tricks on his eyes?
Her black and white pelt shining with greatness of a StarClan cat…
"Spiritwalker, we've already sent you signs."
I understand now…Spiritwalker thought to himself. The signs seemed so obvious now! With a jolt, he awoke from his sleep. Judging from the amount of light shining through the leaves above the warriors' den, he assumed it was around midnight. He was so anxious to tell someone his recently discovered news that he quickly nudged Pepperfeet, who was sleeping on his left. "Pepperfeet, wake up!" he whispered excitedly.
"What is it?!" Pepperfeet quietly snapped after a few heartbeats of nudging. "In case you hadn't noticed it, frost-brain, it's the middle of the night!"
"I know, sorry," Spiritwalker breathed. He knew that Pepperfeet didn't mean what she said, but it was merely her fatigue speaking for her. "I know who the true leaders are!"
Pepperfeet promptly ignored her sleepiness and stared at him with wide eyes. "Really? Who are they?"
"You!" he blurted out. He didn't mean to say her name first, but his excitement got the best of him. "It's you! Oh, I should've know it from the start! You will become Pepperstar, leader of FrostClan!"