A/N: Hello, all! I'm on study leave! *dances* But the big scary real exams are literally closing in... *shudder*
Now this is a special day, because do you know what? It's my anniversary today! Proudly I declare I have been an official member of FF for two years! Two whole years! Incredible! So to celebrate (because stupid me mistook the date last year :P) I'm doing a double posting for both this story and for Torn!
Enjoy! I insist! Big developments happening below! Read on!
Chapter Twenty-One
THE RIVER'S SOURCE
The brown spirit sprang to his feet with a surge of joy. "They've reached the river!"
The gray-eyed tom lifted his head, a frown cast across his face. "Don't celebrate too soon," he warned. "The four will still have to face danger."
"Such as what?" the brown tom challenged, lashing his tail. "What is more dangerous than BloodClan? Those heathen rogues have no sense of honour or compassion."
"SunClan," the blue-gray spirit answered quietly.
There was a heavy pause.
"SunClan won't find them," the brown spirit said with certainty, rising restlessly and pacing at the side of the pool. "They have Aura. She won't let SunClan find them."
The gray-eyed tom slowly shook his head. "How little you understand still," he murmured. "Aura has known it; since the beginning of the journey, her influence has waned as her source of strength was left further and further behind. She has told none of this; she is to become the next Guardian, and the tunnels are her place. Now she is moons from it, and she is disturbed. A Guardian is not meant to journey."
The brown spirit stiffened. "What are you saying?"
"Aura is returning to the place of her birth." The gray-eyed tom leaned forward and brushed the pool's flawless surface with the tip of his nose. "It is what she dreads most above all. She has grown, and her powers have grown with her, since she fled the place; and the Dark Forest's influence is strongest there. They will find her within a day of her arrival, and SkyClan is doomed to suffer because of it."
"They're already doomed without the chosen!" the brown tom snapped, ceasing in his pacing. His rumpled fur bristled. "Aura will only strengthen them!"
"Aura has sealed her gifts within herself across the moon of their journeying," the blue-gray spirit answered quietly. "By the time she reaches the gorge, she will have little power, and SkyClan will look to Skymoon and her gifts of Time to protect them. Aura's knowledge of SunClan will come only from her memory of them, and SunClan has changed since her departure."
"Why seal her gifts?" the brown tom demanded. "With them, she is stronger!"
"With them, she poses more of a danger to all the Clans," the blue-gray spirit mewed gravely. "SunClan is stronger than SkyClan, and their numbers grossly exceed our Clanmates'. Aura has hidden her gifts in case of the event that Skymoon's strength gives out, and the leopard is failed to be discovered; in case SunClan claims her once more."
The brown tom stiffened in horror. "No! Never!"
"It is a possibility we cannot ignore."
The spirit shook his head. "It won't happen," he growled determinedly. "You made that omen! You died believing in it! Now the moon is finally rising over SkyClan and you lose hope!"
"I have not lost hope," the gray-eyed tom said quietly. "It is a grim task which I bear." He looked back into the pool. "But SunClan grows restless. BloodClan tried to kill the four and failed; Skymoon's gifts are growing violent in the wake of her suffering and grief. Unknown to her, the Dark Forest have upset the balance between her sense of self and the unworldly powers she bears. When it comes to battle, the tiger is taking over."
"And Owlpaw?" the brown spirit hissed. "Of our champion?"
"Owlpaw is young and determined, but she no longer walks the worlds of medicine cat and warrior; she is running them both." The gray-eyed tom sighed. "One day she must choose, and uncertainty is seeding within her. In ThunderClan her way was clear; beyond it, there is a possibility of another life."
"She needs my guidance." The brown spirit resumed his pacing. "I haven't spoken with her in so long. She needs to be reminded of the task she is to render, and one only a true medicine cat may bring!"
The gray-eyed tom tilted his head, curiosity sparking in his mew. "You care for her."
The brown spirit stopped. "She is our champion."
"You care for her more than you should."
The fur rose on his hackles. "I am her guardian," he growled. "Who guided her from StarClan's hunting fields? Who told her of the omens of the stars? Who warned her of what was to come upon the Island? Who has watched over her since her very birth?"
The gray-eyed tom had no answer.
"Owlpaw," the brown spirit mewed softly, "is our only hope."
He turned and loped from the glade.
The dark blue-gray spirit was still for a heartbeat, then lowered his head with a troubled sigh. The pool's image distorted until it showed the young tawny she-cat, washing her white patches while trying to keep her wounded paw off the ground. Exhaustion laced her movements, and her mind was trained elsewhere.
"What you do not understand," he murmured, "is the path she walks in the present leads further to the future you do not want for her."
Owlpaw dreamed of her sister.
Her dreams were taking her more and more often home to ThunderClan. It was dusk, and Ravenwing was returning from a hunting patrol, a vole and a shrew swinging from her jaws. Tiredness tugged at her limbs. There had been a heavy snowfall the previous night, and Ravenwing was cold.
She'd barely released her two catches when she was approached by Jayfeather. Owlpaw could sense his scent even through the connection she and her sister shared. Ravenwing wasn't surprised to see him; if anything, she was resigned. Owlpaw was puzzled. Resigned to what?
Owlpaw concentrated harder. She sensed Ravenwing moving alongside Jayfeather. They were going inside the medicine den; there was a familiar tang of herbs, and Owlpaw even caught snatches of its interior through Ravenwing's eyes. Then she saw Jayfeather's blind blue gaze, heard his rasping mew. He seemed to be asking something, though his words were blurred. It was impossible to discern anything he said, though his tone felt like a question—and by Ravenwing's further exasperation, it was one he asked her often.
She felt Ravenwing sit, wrap her tail over her paws, and speak; and though Owlpaw couldn't make out any words from her voice, either, there was no doubt who and what she was telling him about.
Through Ravenwing, Jayfeather learns of how our travel fares. An uncomfortable shiver prickled Owlpaw. He must've been asking Ravenwing every evening since we left. Despite herself, frustration swept through her. Couldn't he just trust me? I'm taking care of everyone. I've even fought.
The reminded pain of her torn claw jerked her from sleep, and Owlpaw blinked open her eyes. She lay on her back, staring as the last of twilight faded from the sky, her paws flopped over her ruff. One was throbbing painfully, and with a faint hiss of discomfort, Owlpaw twisted around until she was on her belly, and pushed herself upright into a sitting position.
In the fading light she examined her paw. It ached where she'd hurt it, and she gave it a few good licks to soothe the inflammation. The old poultice came away sour on her tongue, and yet again Owlpaw was acquiesced to look for more herbs and make a fresh balm.
Sunpaw was still asleep, curled in a tight tabby bundle of golden fur. His tail shivered, and he mumbled his sister's name. Owlpaw felt a flash of sympathy for the young apprentice, and she rasped her tongue over his forehead. She tasted a tang of his old poultice as well, smeared on the cut above his eye. She'd had to work hard ensuring any infection he'd picked up didn't spread to the eye itself, but with a mixture of celandine she'd learned from Jayfeather, the worst of the danger had passed.
Nonetheless, having sustained so many injuries in such a short amount of time had exhausted Sunpaw at last. And flanking an overflowing river isn't helping either of our situations, Owlpaw thought, frowning.
They'd follow the winding course of the river for three days now, and had made little progress. The familiar part of Twolegplace, with all the friendly kittypets, was far behind them, and each sunrise Owlpaw couldn't shake a growing sense of danger. Not to mention there was bad weather coming. The frosts grew heavier each morning, and they'd had a fall of sleet again the previous night, after two days dry and cold. It hadn't helped with their healing injuries, or Skymoon's tail, which seemed prone to stiffening in the cold.
Perhaps the only good news was that Twolegplace was growing sparser. The dens weren't packed so closely together, and there were more places to shelter beneath during the nights. Unfortunately, leaf-bare was worsening, until it was all Owlpaw could do to make sure their wounds wouldn't get infected.
The river was dangerous to follow. The Twolegs had lined it with stone and guarded the river itself with a meshed silver fence with a ring of what Skymoon called 'silverthorn' atop it. It did nothing keeping water in, but its purpose was to keep other things out, like Twoleg waste, or Twolegs themselves.
Not to mention the lack of nourishment, and not just food; despite the cold weather, the constant frost and snows and the fact that they were following a river, it was almost impossible to get a drink.
Sunpaw had mistakenly attempted to prove that wrong. "Frost is just frozen water," he'd mewed. "What's so wrong with licking a bit?" Within a few heartbeats he recoiled, hissing in pain, nursing his scorched tongue.
"It might be frozen water, but it's too cold to drink," Skymoon had admonished him. "By the time you quench your thirst on snow, you'll have died from its chill. You have to find a melted source, and drink only until you feel cold. Any more than that, and you'll get sick or worse."
The prey was scarce, and their wounds healed slowly. Walking was tough for Owlpaw and quickly exhausted her. She'd treated plenty of torn claws during the war with WindClan, though experiencing it for herself was a different matter entirely. But she was more concerned for Sunpaw and the scratch above his eye. The BloodClan rogues' claws were filthy.
Owlpaw nosed the cut. It smelled slightly better. She hoped Sunpaw was beating off the worst of the infection. She stepped back and stretched, easing the cramps in her legs, then looked around. Skymoon's and Aura's nests were empty.
Puzzled, Owlpaw crept out from beneath the hawthorn bush they'd spent the afternoon under, catching up on their sleep during the day so they could devote more time walking through the night. For the most part, they seemed to have outrun BloodClan, though Owlpaw was certain the strays' guard would be up if they ever returned to Twolegplace. When...if...we do, we'll have a whole Clan behind us, if Skymoon really is to bring them to the lake, she thought grimly. Most certainly we won't escape notice...though there might be another way to go about returning to the lake?
But they couldn't even think of returning—they hadn't reached the gorge yet.
Owlpaw looked around. The scent of rain on the wind was growing stronger, and when she looked at the horizons, she spotted the dark clouds swelling over the hills. We should get going soon if we're going to cover ground before dark.
She glanced at the river. Its roar had subsided to a mellower babble, though it still moved swiftly. Thirst racked her throat, and she swallowed hard, licking her parched lips. I hope there's water around here somewhere.
Perhaps they'd finally leave the last of the stinking Twolegplace behind. Owlpaw looked forward to when they'd move through the open, Twoleg-empty country once again. She longed for grass under her paws and trees over her head, prey twitching under every bush and fern.
Owlpaw drew herself back into the present in time to see Skymoon and Aura, returning from a hunt. They carried bits of prey between them, and Owlpaw's belly growled hungrily. She raised her tail and greeted them.
"I hope you rested well," Skymoon mewed, setting down a mottled gray pigeon that reeked of Twolegplace. "We're moving on until the rain starts. We have a few hours. Where's Sunpaw?" There was sharp concern in her mew.
Owlpaw gestured to the hawthorns, and Skymoon wordlessly brushed past her to rouse him. Owlpaw didn't miss the tension that seemed to spark from the ThunderClan warrior's fur. What's going on with her?
She glanced at Aura, who stared after Skymoon expressionlessly.
"She worries for all of us," she mewed quietly. "Here." She nudged the pigeon. "This is for you and Sunpaw to share." A scrawny starling was her contribution, and Owlpaw stared at it in concern. Is that enough to feed you?
Aura's whiskers twitched. "The starling's for Skymoon and I both."
Owlpaw's eyes rounded in alarm. No warrior can share that thing! That's hardly enough to whet one warrior's hunger!
"The feathers help," Aura murmured. She picked up the starling and padded to the hawthorn bushes. Owlpaw gaped after her, then grabbed the pigeon, which felt suspiciously heavy and plump, and trotted after them.
When Sunpaw emerged, yawning and rubbing his itch, Skymoon slid out after him and immediately trained her eyes on the sky. "StarClan warriors won't watch over us for long," she muttered, half to herself, her tail bent and twitching. "Eat quickly, we must be off soon."
"I've just woken up," Sunpaw protested sleepily, though at the sight of the pigeon his eyes rounded. "Whoa! I haven't seen such a fat bird since greenleaf!"
Owlpaw frowned. Where did you find it?
"Rock pigeons feed well in Twolegplace," Aura mewed, "though they live off what the Twolegs offer them, and taste terrible."
"I don't care how they taste," Sunpaw mewed. "My tongue's still recovering from that frostbite." He bit hungrily into the pigeon and came up with gray feathers stuck all over his muzzle. He looked so ridiculous Owlpaw couldn't help but laugh.
"Here," Sunpaw said through a bulging mouthful. "You hath thum. It'th not too bad."
Owlpaw's belly growled, but she couldn't eat. While she and Sunpaw stuffed themselves with pigeon, Aura and Skymoon would go hungry, picking away at one miserable starling. It wasn't fair. She stood and Aura turned to her, already sensing her unspoken dilemma.
"We will be fine," Aura promised her. "For now, it is you two with your wounds who must be full-fed. Your body demands more energy to heal." She nodded meaningfully to the pigeon, then bent and bit into the starling.
Owlpaw was still unhappy about it, but she turned back and ate. The pigeon did taste awful, but the solidness of its meat was so good Owlpaw devoured as much as she was able. Sunpaw's massive appetite soon led him to polishing off the pigeon and every scrap that remained.
He stretched appreciatively. "Now I need a mouthful of clean water and I'm set!"
"We'll set off now." Skymoon looked up from the starling, shook a spotted black feather from her nose, and stood. "We'll find some water along the way." There was a certainty in her mew that soothed Owlpaw. Perhaps she'd sensed a source of water nearby.
She cleaned herself up from the meal, buried what was left of the pigeon, and scrambled to her paws. A twinge of pain caused her to instantly favour one side, though she was determined not to let the others know. They'd only slow down for her sake, and she didn't want to be a wet pelt, especially after such a generous meal. This must be what Skymoon kept feeling like when she was wounded, Owlpaw thought suddenly, as she fell in alongside Sunpaw and Aura and followed Skymoon further down the river.
For the most of the day they walked, skirting as far from the scattered Twoleg dens as they could. Twice they had to cross over Thunderpaths, though they were almost devoid of any wandering monsters. The day was one of the most exhausting Owlpaw had ever known—for one breathless heart-stopping moment, while they stopped at midday to rest, nap or hunt, they lost bearings of their river. They'd slept close to the shadow of a hedge flanking a Twoleg property, and while Sunpaw was away looking for a drink of water, they were disturbed by a small, noisy dog. Owlpaw had faced down one thrice as big as this one only a fortnight or so ago, yet it was still enough to send her sprinting with panic hard as stone in her mouth. Somehow she'd managed to run in the right direction—after scrabbling halfway down a rabbit burrow where the dog's head stuck snapping after her, Skymoon returned and bit and clawed at the dog's exposed, undefended back until its harks of surprise and anger turned to pained, scared yelps. When at last it got itself free it fled without a second glance, and missed the cyan glow that had lit Skymoon's eyes in an eerie way as she spat a vicious hiss after it.
When Owlpaw felt safe enough to creep out of the burrow, Skymoon standing guard over her looking as fierce as anything, Sunpaw and Aura returned, running. The apprentice seemed furious at himself. "Great StarClan! I would've known how to send it off!"
"I haven't taught you how to fight dogs yet," Skymoon admonished him. "You haven't been in training for much longer than one and a half moons—already you excel enormously with your warrior training." Her blue eyes briefly turned thoughtful, then cautious. "I suppose I am right to suspect the barn cats did more than show you around the farm?"
Sunpaw's whiskers twitched. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
"Yes, it is," Skymoon remarked, in a very suggesting tone of voice. She looked around sharply and swore. "Great StarClan, that dog ran us right off-course. Where's the river?"
That had set Owlpaw's fur on end, with frustration and dread. What happened if they lost the river? Could they still find their way to SkyClan's gorge? Was Skymoon's insight enough? But insight wasn't the most reliable source of knowledge, only premonition, and they could hardly guesswork their way to the distant Clan's territory...
But soon they relocated it—it was rather hard to miss, after all, once they climbed a hillock and had a good look around. Aura was quiet that night as they made camp beside it, in a thick scrub of grass well away from the nearest Twoleg den. They really had grown sparse and scattered. Owlpaw hoped that would be the last of them—perhaps there was a different route they could take SkyClan home by?
The night was cold and sharply clear. The clouds rolled away and stars glittered brightly against the black sky. Owlpaw was feeling too restless to sleep, despite her aching claw, so she crept out from her nest and sat only a few paces away, her attention devoted StarClan-ward, thinking. Do we see the same stars, Ravenwing? Or do they change the further we are from home?
She closed her eyes and called up an image of her dear sister, but all she gained from her was a deep sense of peace, the steady breath pattern of slumber, the faint scents of other warriors too vague for Owlpaw to individually recognize, but gain a sense of ThunderClan. She withdrew oddly contented. She is safe. My sister is safe. That alone was a gladdening thought.
Suddenly Owlpaw heard movement behind her. Alarmed, she spun around, claws out at once, then relaxed just as quickly. Sunpaw was extracting himself from his nest and picking his way as carefully as he could around Skymoon and Aura, who remained asleep. Puzzled, Owlpaw tilted her head to one side in what she hoped appeared in a questioning manner.
Sunpaw didn't miss it. "I can't sleep," he muttered, sitting beside her. He was fast nearing his eighth moon, but whether it was his thick leaf-bare pelt fluffed up from the cold or his grandfather's natural largeness taking effect, he looked almost as grown as a warrior.
Owlpaw frowned. What's wrong?
Sunpaw shuffled his paws, oddly meek beneath her gentle gaze. At length he looked up and asked softly, "Do you ever get the sense when...when you just...you feel...sad. It's a nameless sadness, but you know it. It's in you, right inside, and when you least want it, it comes up. Do you get that feeling?"
Owlpaw blinked, then understood. She nodded vigorously.
Sunpaw seemed almost relieved. "So I'm not the only one." He exhaled. "I'm sorry. I just...I don't know. I just kind of wish I..." He broke off, then bowed his head. His fur rippled on his shoulders toned from more than a moon of journeying. "I don't want to tell Skymoon," he mewed at last. "I don't want her to know just how much...and I know it's an opportunity that many warriors never even dream of, and I'm living it in a way that maybe no other apprentice will, because I'm Lionstar's grandson and Skymoon's apprentice..."
He was shaking. "I don't regret this journey," he said firmly, as though addressing his own doubts as much as Owlpaw's rising concern. "Every moment of it has been an incredible experience. It'll make for a great story back home...home..."
Then his ears flattened and he buried his muzzle into his ruff. Owlpaw started, then sympathy swelled magnificently in her soul. She shuffled closer to him and wrapped her fluffy tail around his flanks. It was difficult to remember that Sunpaw was still so young and new to this whole adventure. And he's been doing wonderfully. Lionstar would be proud of him, so proud. If only she could express this somehow...!
Sunpaw blinked back a sudden wetness in his eyes. "Sky-Skymoon said you...you have this thing with your sister," he mumbled. "Do you...in your...link thing with her, do you...do you ever see...see Redpaw, at all?"
Owlpaw hesitated. My connection isn't always that clear. Sometimes I can't even see other Clanmates...It spooked her suddenly, the fact that she hadn't spoken with any of her Clanmates for so long. ThunderClan, she thought, and recollected faces and names. My Clan...
She glanced at Sunpaw and shrugged half-heartedly.
He sighed and lowered his muzzle, his expression shy of her eye. "Even if that's my power, if I even have a power," he mewed, "I'd like to see her sometimes, even in my dreams. I dream about her, Redpaw. I wonder how she's doing—but they're only memories, and I can't tell how well she's going in her training, or if she's even had a battle, or if Runningleap assessed her yet..."
He looked intensely at Owlpaw. "Do you miss them, your siblings?" he asked. "And your mother? Clanmates? Friends?"
Owlpaw nodded slowly. More than you could imagine.
It seemed to comfort Sunpaw somewhat. "I miss them," he murmured. "I didn't have many friends in ThunderClan—sure, my Clanmates were brilliant, but I couldn't really call them my friends—but Redpaw was enough for me. I'm sure she's made great friends already. And Mother, I really do hope she'll be okay...it's almost been a whole year since Flamefur died...or maybe it has, and we've missed it, because we're on this journey..."
Owlpaw rasped her tongue over Sunpaw's forehead. Hearing the young apprentice speak of Flamefur, the heroic father he'd never known, she was reminded of her own blood father, Snowfoot. She'd never really known him, either, before sickness claimed him. More than a year had passed since he'd gone to StarClan, and she'd barely even realized. It might have shocked her, yet whenever she thought of the parents who'd raised her it was always Hollythorn and Moleclaw—Moleclaw, who despite having kits of his own, and in mourning for the loss of his mate in the same greencough epidemic, had comforted grieving Hollythorn and been there ever since for her kits.
Sunpaw sighed. His breathing was growing easier, calmer, and his eyes turned clear and brightened again. "I miss them," he repeated simply. "Especially Redpaw. But I'm glad that she wasn't the one in my place. I know my sister. If she's beyond anything in her age it's her maturity. I've always been the physically stronger of the two of us. I can take whatever the journey will throw at me—hunger, cold, monsters, mad stray cats—and pull through okay. She'll get through leaf-bare with all our Clanmates around her."
Owlpaw's whiskers twitched suddenly. No doubt Redpaw is the heart of attention with all the warriors. They all want to do best with their young, only apprentice. Honestly, she doubted it would surprise her if they returned to find she was already a named warrior.
"I guess I just feel out-of-touch with Clan life," Sunpaw murmured. He rose quickly and stretched. The scratch above his eye was healing well. Within days it would be completely gone, with or without further medicine. "Maybe in SkyClan I'll feel reminded of what it means to be a Clan apprentice," he said. He dipped his head to Owlpaw. "Thanks for listening. You're great. I think the journey would've been really different if you weren't here with me."
Unexpectedly delighted with the praise, Owlpaw bashfully lowered her eyes. "I mean it, you know," Sunpaw mewed. "Anyway, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He padded back to his nest.
Owlpaw stayed up awhile longer. The pain in her forefoot had almost gone, and she barely registered it as she turned her eyes back to the stars, feeling almost as distant as they were.
Days passed, and in that time they saw no new sign of Twolegplace. Everything was overgrown, not quite woodland but certainly more than meadow. Things seemed to be looking up as well, as each morning dawned bright and clear, with no hint of rain on the horizon—clouds often drifted across the sky and dappled the not-quite-warm-enough sunbursts, and frost lingered heavily on the grass, but compared to the bad weather they'd had to endure, the Clan cats found themselves rather enjoying this part of the journey. With no Twolegplace and only themselves and the wild to consider—though there did seem an ominous golden glow in the horizon at night that heralded a Twolegplace—it was almost jolly. The best part was that, though they had to work hard for it, they could find enough food to rest contented.
The tangled gorse clumps were painful, and many times Owlpaw had to treat thistle-pricked pads, including her own—but mice could be unearthed, and once Skymoon managed to bring down a hare. It was lean and stringy, but they were so famished they hardly cared. Even Aura didn't complain when she was given a whole leg to herself, and spent a good while afterward gnawing the bones.
They started to fall into a similar routine as they'd done on the thirteen-day walk between the barn and the Twolegplace they'd long left behind. At midday Skymoon took Sunpaw aside to train, and these sessions often lasted for hours on end. Owlpaw took delight in watching them. Sunpaw was fast shaping into an adept young warrior—he'd certainly impress the stripes off Clawstrike when they eventually returned.
Now his skill was growing, and often he and Owlpaw were pitched together. Owlpaw's torn claw had healed at last, and it no longer impaired her in the growing vigorous bouts she and Sunpaw led. Both were changing fast. Before, when they sparred, it was Owlpaw, not due to talent but simply more practice, who had Sunpaw sprawling defeated on the ground under her—but these days she would often find her shoulders against the frosty grass and Sunpaw emerging as victor.
And this time Aura was keenly watching. Owlpaw knew that the young tortoiseshell was critically considering Sunpaw as the bearer of the Tigermark. And why shouldn't he? Owlpaw mulled, as they settled down that night. A week or so had gone by since they'd taken their leave of the friendly kittypets in Twolegplace. Sunpaw has shown all the signs of unnatural ability—he's incredibly adept at battle and taking physical strain to the limits...I know warriors who'd have succumbed to some of the trying times he went through. But she didn't really understand, nor did she want to try to. She'd leave the mysteries of all the Tigermark-studying thing with those who knew them best.
But should I know? she wondered. I have one, after all; maybe it's my duty to know. She glanced at Aura. If I were any wiser, I'd just say outright that Sunpaw is the one—but she's holding back. Why? Is she still waiting for that big reveal, like she did with me? Maybe, she told herself as she slid into sleep, it would come when they were at SkyClan. In fact, it almost seemed a certainty. After all we've been through, something surely has to happen in the gorge so unique that there's no doubt—either Sunpaw is or isn't the bearer.
She pondered no more of these unworldly thoughts and drowsed away to the sound of the river in her ears.
Perhaps it was her talk with Sunpaw that had done it, but when Owlpaw dreamed of Ravenwing, it was especially clear, and she saw starkly through her sister's eyes. It was early morning, and she was moving through the woods, again chosen for a dawn patrol. Scents filled her mouth, of damp leaf mould and fresh frost and overwhelming cold; bad weather had fallen over ThunderClan of late, driving the prey deeper into their burrows. Hunger nagged at the pits of her belly, and there was an unpleasant hollowness deep inside of her she hadn't felt since her kithood.
Ravenwing was with others who, for the first time ever, Owlpaw could confidently identify and see as if they were right beside her, right now, moons and moons away; Dustfoot, Amberheart, Seednose, Cinderheart and Stormbreeze. Owlpaw felt a twinge of pleasure at the sight of her friend up and about on active warrior duties at last, even in the hardship of leaf-bare.
They were speaking as they moved, distracting themselves with idle conversation and gossip concerning their Clan. Owlpaw strained to listen, but even with her acute hearing she couldn't distinguish a single word. Still, the familiar murmuring of their voices was comforting.
The woods around them were blurred, light patching through in peculiarly bright bursts. Ravenwing walked side-by-side with Dustfoot. Owlpaw couldn't refrain from a silent mrrow; even she could see the unhidden delight in the young warrior's eyes at the rare opportunity of walking alongside the enchanting black she-cat—and no doubt her sister knew it, too. Stormbreeze shot her brother exasperated looks which he coolly ignored.
It seemed tranquil enough. Owlpaw didn't know how long she haunted them. Sometimes they were walking, other times they were running, or staying breathlessly still and hunting. There was uncharacteristic concern with Dustfoot and Stormbreeze, and they cursed bitterly each time they missed a kill or watched their quarry vanish to places they couldn't reach, and when Seednose managed to uncover a shrew, their relief was blatant.
Owlpaw wished the connection was clearer; if something was troubling her friend, she wanted to know. Not that I can help, but even knowing is better than not.
The sun was rising steadily over the treetops. They came to the WindClan border, which seemed quiet enough. Ravenwing proposed something, which her Clanmates agreed. They followed the stream uphill for a little while, when suddenly the peaceful atmosphere changed in half a heartbeat. The warriors were alert at once, and there was a lot of muffled din, vibrations in the ground even Owlpaw could detect through her sister's paws. Ravenwing's alarm filled her and became her own. What's happening?
Something came leaping over the hills beyond, cats sprinting ahead of it, cats running as fast as the wind. Owlpaw's heart skipped a beat. She could almost recognize it, though there was no possibility it was the same...dog, dog! The massive black-and-white brute had strange wild eyes, froth at its lips as it pursued the terrified WindClan cats. Then it skidded and twisted and faster than comprehension it leapt the stream and fell upon the startled ThunderClan warriors.
Terror swept through them all. It was all Owlpaw knew. She struggled frantically, silently crying, Run, Ravenwing! Get out! Get out of there! Not soon would she forget her dreadful encounter with the farm dog. But this one was different, wilder, completely out of control. There was something utterly feverish in its expression, blood-hungry, the same look that had flared in the faces of the Nightmares at the lake...it's senseless, it has no control...and suddenly its ravenous eyes were upon her, Ravenwing, and its snapping snarling teeth were lunging, and cats were screaming and writhing, and there was blood, everywhere, blood, blood and screaming and dying, splashing and darkness and cold...
...and suddenly it was ended, with a few gentle words that she could hear and recognize. "That's enough. These images serve only to torment."
Owlpaw saw a tom, a small brown unkempt-furred tom with kind yellow eyes, his pelt woven with starlight. Peace swept through her, but it was not enough to drive out her disbelief. My sister! she wailed, stumbling forward on shaking paws. Great StarClan, what happened? My sister!
"Hush, Owlpaw." He was smaller than her, yet his presence swallowed her whole, benign and calming, extinguishing her fear. "Your sister is safe now. The dog can't find her or hurt her."
And my Clanmates? Owlpaw beseeched him. Please, help them! Help them all! The dog, it was chasing WindClan, and then it...it jumped the stream and—
"I saw," he said softly. "I'm sorry, Owlpaw, but I can do nothing." There was wretchedness in his voice. "Nothing at all. My time for changing has long since passed—while yours is only dawning, and begins elsewhere."
Then let me help them! Owlpaw stepped back. She had no idea where she was, nor did she care to recognize whatever strange surroundings she and the SkyClan spirit were in. I have to get home, I have to get home now! What if that dog finds the hollow? Sheer dread swept through her, standing her fur on end. And my Clanmates? My friends were in that patrol! Amberheart and Stormbreeze and Dustfoot, and Sunpaw's own grandmother, Lionstar's mate Cinderheart, and Seednose! What's happened to them?
"I'm sorry. I don't know, but such knowledge would only upset you." The brown tom drew her close again. "Be calm, little one. You are far away. Your Clan is strong even in the leaf-bare."
Owlpaw could not refrain from her tears. They need Skymoon. They need Skymoon.
"Skymoon is needed more with SkyClan."
She's ThunderClan!
"Her destiny precedes even that."
Owlpaw stared at him helplessly. There was grim truth in the spirit's eyes, a sadness all about him.
"You have nearly come to the end of your journey, little one," he murmured. "You are so close—yet your task has only begun when your paws cease in treading the world. You must put ThunderClan behind you—it is an impossibility, I know, but SkyClan is desperate and dying. ThunderClan is only threatened, and emboldened with Lionstar to lead them; Lionstar, chosen of the Four. He will not see ThunderClan torn apart by anything."
Owlpaw's breaths were slowing, regulating. Her hysteria was passing, but the grim certainty remained heavy in her mind. I won't ever forget this, she said. My sister was attacked by a crazed dog. I don't even know if she survived.
"If Ravenwing died, you would know." The tom sighed. "The connection you share with her is nothing ordinary, as I'm sure you understand. You know if one end has died. Do you feel that is what has happened?"
Owlpaw trembled. I don't know. I'm not sure. Please, can you find her and make sure she's okay for me?
"I can't do that." The tom lashed his tail. "Darkness treads in my footsteps. The attention of the Dark Forest is following you and Skymoon, and concentrating upon the gorge with frightening clarity. It is the midnight of the Clans' lives, and the dark dawn is swift in its approaching."
Owlpaw met his eyes and nodded. I haven't forgotten. BloodClan was exhausting enough, but SunClan will be worse, won't they?
"Much worse. They've worsened since my death." The SkyClan spirit stepped back. "But with the lion, tiger and leopard realized as one, and all made clear, there is hope yet for my Clan."
Excitement swept through Owlpaw. Do you know who they are, the other Tigermark bearers? Who is it, Sunpaw or Redpaw? It's Sunpaw, isn't it? He's always been the one!
The spirit shook his head. "I'm sorry, Owlpaw, but such things were never mine to know. All I know is messages and guidance is the best I can offer to you. But know that I will not leave you again. We will walk side by side to and through the gorge." He studied her for a thoughtful moment. "When you arrive, look for a black tom with a silver muzzle. He can help you. He can hear you."
Bewildered, Owlpaw asked, Why can't you just tell me names? Like yours? Like his?
"No," he said guardedly. "Names spoken by the dead are overheard by less desirable ears." His eyes flashed. "And I will not have him put in danger for anyone's sake. He is a young and noble warrior. Look for him, and I'm sure he'll have the answers to all your questions, more so than I ever gave."
Owlpaw shook her head fiercely. No, you've done brilliantly. You've helped me so much.
A twinkle lit the tom's eye. It seemed natural. He dipped his head and mewed, "There's no farewell between us this time. I will walk with you—and when you need me, I'll be there, to the best of my strength and ability. Rest now, the sun has risen, and another day of your journey awaits. Fear not, Owlpaw—everything is so close now, so close..."
There was a deep wistfulness in his mew that followed Owlpaw back into the waking world.
"I remember this place now," mewed Aura that morning. She looked solemnly upon the river, no longer held back or restrained by Twoleg influence, sweeping and weaving through days' travel yet of farmland. Nodding to the horizon, she added, "That Twolegplace is the one that sits over the gorge—where Firestar and Sandstorm walked and found willing, and not so willing, SkyClan recruits in the kittypets that lived there."
"Remember?" echoed Sunpaw, still very much asleep.
Aura drew a deep breath. "For a little while I followed the river upstream," she said, "before I was guided to a more secretive path. The river is a brazen road. I followed a shorter path."
"Couldn't we have walked your path instead of going the long way around?" Sunpaw complained.
Skymoon shot him an angry stare. "Aura's journey is not ours," she snapped. "Be grateful we've come this far."
Sunpaw grumped and subsided.
Owlpaw shuffled her paws, feeling rather self-conscious. We're all tired and miserable. Today's weather didn't even look promising; the fine spell had worn off and the temperature had dropped. Biting winds scoured the fields and ruffled their fur the wrong way, piercing down to the skin. She scented rain or sleet in the chilly air, and hoped it wouldn't hail.
Skymoon turned back to Aura. "How far do you think we are from the gorge?"
"Three days, if we move quickly. Four if the weather delays us." Aura scanned the river. They were perched in a copse of prickly gorse on a hillock, overlooking their way to the gorge. "Two if we directly follow the river as we've done until now—but that cannot be done from this point."
"Why?" asked Sunpaw. Owlpaw frowned.
Something dark and grave befell Aura's expression. "SunClan," she said softly.
Fear descended deeply into Owlpaw's stomach. We've almost reached them, our greatest enemy. Skymoon's eyes flashed. Her claws tore the grass beneath her. Sunpaw was alert at once.
Aura closed her eyes and shuddered. "A part of me always hoped I'd never return to that cursed place," she murmured, "but we have no choice. SkyClan is dying, and five must unite at the lake if there is any hope for the Clans to survive." Resolve hardened her mew. "From memory, there are alternate routes to evading the eyes of SunClan for however brief a time. But these next few days of travel will be hard, very hard. We must only sleep for a few short hours at a time. Nights must become our main cover, but day is far more dangerous. Here, these foul rogues and false warriors openly communicate with the strengthening Dark Forest—and whatever Redwillow the wanderer sees us doing, he will tell to the eager ears of SunClan cats. Perhaps this is the most dangerous part of our journey—they must not find me, not until our travelling, thus far, has ended."
"Aura," Skymoon murmured, "are you sure you're ready for this?"
"I've been preparing myself since we first left the lake," Aura answered. She drew herself up, her golden eyes calm and clear once more. "A Guardian does not travel; but I am still young, and the full burden of my task is yet to descend upon my shoulders. Since leaving the lake I have been shrouding my Tigermark—and in doing so, masking my powers. I have weakened myself, but in doing so, I have weakened any opportunity my father might make of me, should he ever find me."
"He won't," Skymoon promised. There it was again, that volatile energy simmering beneath her dusky fur.
Aura said nothing in regard to this. "I have no insight," she mewed, "and cannot foresee the future as it is or might be. Skymoon, your gifts are what must guide us now. I cannot see an end, and wielding Time falls to you alone now."
Skymoon bowed her head—there was no surprise. Perhaps they'd already spoken of this earlier. Owlpaw glanced uneasily at Aura. She seemed no different, visually; she still spoke in that calm, certain way.
"We have to know our enemies," Sunpaw inputted suddenly. "We ought to know what we're up against. It's basic warrior wisdom! You told us about BloodClan, what can you say about SunClan?" There was nervous excitement burning flame-like in his eyes, while Owlpaw only felt sick apprehension coiling in her stomach like a snake.
Aura dipped her head. "Without a doubt, much has changed in the many moons since I fled from that dark place," she murmured, "but from what I remember of it, there were many warriors. Breezepelt, deputy of SunClan, trains them all, even qualified warriors. There is no end. They do not patrol so much as they train, in the merciless art of a heartless warrior, a fighter who knows no mercy. They have perfected the art of slaughter. I would like to call them mad—any excuse is better—but no, it is cold, sane vengeance that drives Breezepelt and Sol, and their hate has spread into their recruits, poisoned them and their minds. They are savages. They are no warriors but rogues and killers, united beneath my father's ideals. Corrupted, manipulated, they have been taught to crave destruction and death."
Most solemnly she held Sunpaw's gaze. "Do not underestimate them," she growled, "not for a single heartbeat. Do not think that your success in battle and training guarantees you a victory with even their weakest warrior. SunClan is no mindless rabble. They are cold, their loyalties and strength tested every day. Every warrior believes he knows his mind, or does, and enjoys what he has become."
Sunpaw was sober. He nodded very slowly, absorbing her every word. There was no excitement in his eyes now.
"This was the Dark Forest's greatest mistake, their cause for defeat," Aura mewed, meeting Skymoon's and Owlpaw's gazes in turn. "They used open deceit and trickery with their apprentices, trueborn Clan cats raised and nurtured in the warrior code. They let them believe what they wanted to—this grave error has been amended with their second rising. Every soldier wants this dark dawn to rise. They want to kill, and lust for power with their every breath. There are no half-loyalties in the Dark Forest."
Owlpaw struggled to keep her paws from trembling. We're just four, she thought despairingly. What can four do? An apprentice, a medicine cat, a Guardian and the only one of us born to withstand them?
Skymoon's eyes snapped to her. "We find SkyClan," she mewed grimly, "and with them the promised lion and leopard."
"We make for the forest above their gorge," Aura announced, standing, "and with no delays. I will lead, and Skymoon, ensure your power is ready every waking moment you spend. SunClan territory begins here. If they find us..."
"They won't," Skymoon snarled.
Aura met the young warrior's determined look and gave a single nod. "Keep close," she murmured. "We're almost there."
The days went past too slowly, and not for one instant did Owlpaw completely lose her fear.
Rain broke over them all at midday, and by the afternoon had become a full rainstorm. All four of them were shivering and soaked to the bone, but Aura did not slow her swift pace. Nor did Skymoon; her ears were pricked, her eyes scanning everything. Sunpaw kept up well. At dusk they didn't divide to hunt, but wait for Skymoon to use her insight to detect any existing threats, and then they hunted together. They shared a small rainwater-saturated meal under a clay bank, and then pushed on through the grim, wet night.
Owlpaw was freezing, and every bit of her was aching within hours. Skymoon looked in plain discomfort. Her tail dragged heavily on the ground. Sunpaw was losing his energy. He stumbled with every step, struggled to keep up, even as the rain began to ease into a chilled drizzle. At last, when it was so dark they couldn't see a fox-length in front of them, Skymoon called for them to halt and find someplace to sleep. The only shelter they could find was an abandoned fox burrow. Though it still stank of fox, despite being dulled from the heavy shower, Owlpaw crept gratefully into its sandy interior and fell asleep without bothering to lick the dampness clinging to her pelt.
Only a few hours had passed when they were roused again, heartbeats after the sun had risen, or what felt like. They'd made shelter at the fringe of a copse. Cows moved across the fields beyond, and already a hawk circled in the sky, hunting for breakfast. Owlpaw's belly was tight with hunger, and she still felt cold and weary. Sunpaw struggled upright and tried to look enthusiastic. When he turned his tongue to his pelt, Aura stopped him. "The dirtier you become, the earthier you smell," she mewed. "It might do well in slowing any pursuers down."
The thought of pursuit gave Owlpaw fearful shivers. BloodClan had been bad enough—but the mere thought of SunClan actively hunting them like prey...
They hunted too briefly. Two bony mice made breakfast for the four. After two mouthfuls each, they resumed their journeying. The sky remained bleak and the wind chilled them all. Owlpaw's head hung with weariness and she was feeling faint with exhaustion, but she stubbornly refused to give in. There was no denying her growing misery. Each time she tried to sense her sister, there was nothing—either something terrible had happened to Ravenwing, or Owlpaw herself was too tired to really open it. She had no energy within a matter of hours, and it was all she could do to keep one paw moving in front of the other.
Only adrenalin kept her and Sunpaw awake. The farmland was changing—they could even see Twolegplace, a shadow on the horizon. The river was no longer in sight in any direction. A dark green smudge (said Aura) was their destination.
They trod paddocks and empty fields, skirted ponds and disturbed pheasants seeking shelter from the leaf-bare weather in the withered grass. By dusk the clouds turned angry and blue, preceding another snowfall that night, but Aura wouldn't stop. "SunClan's influence spreads far. I wouldn't be surprised if there were less desirable figures dogging our every step."
Dogging, Owlpaw thought, with a terrified jolt. The dog...ThunderClan...Ravenwing! Desperately she sought her sister, but again, nothing. Her head spun with tiredness. StarClan, please, have mercy, she prayed, and in her mind she voiced her greatest dread aloud. Don't let her be dead...
That night the snow began to fall. They rested briefly, and hunted hurriedly, but there was nothing to be found. Owlpaw's legs were shaking under her. All the strength and stamina she'd gained from the journey seemed to mean nothing now. Sunpaw looked woozy in the cold, though of yet he wasn't sick. But he will be soon, if we keep pushing on like this, she thought grimly. Jayfeather would be amazed that Sunpaw hasn't fallen ill at this point. He was only eight moons old.
They walked a little further through the snowstorm, their paws blistering in the cold. There were no herbs to be found. Skymoon at last stopped them, deeming the snow too thick to go on. Sick with weariness, Owlpaw swayed on her feet. She wanted nothing more than to fold down and sleep.
Don't do that, Owlpaw, whispered a warm, kindly voice in her ear. It is your death if you do.
Owlpaw groggily lifted her eyes, though there was no-one there. I said I would be with you, the SkyClan spirit whispered. Owlpaw couldn't think of a coherent response, so she stayed quiet.
Here, this way. She saw a faint outline in the snow. Without much thought, she followed it, climbing a small rise where below lay a steep dale, and a sanded bank. It was broad and shallow and very exposed, but it was shelter, and it would be enough. She beckoned for the others. Without really hearing what they had to say, she led them down the hill and into the bank. Damp clay pressed against her aching paws, but in the faint gloom she saw a pair of gentle yellow eyes watching her.
Sleep now, he urged her, and was gone. Owlpaw sank to the earthy floor and did as he bade, and was deeply slumbering in heartbeats.
Only moments had seemed to have passed when an urgent paw was jolting her awake. "Owlpaw, get up!"
Owlpaw's eyes snapped open. Adrenalin swept through her, standing her sodden fur on end. Skymoon's blue eyes burned in the darkness. Snow fell steadily outside.
"SunClan warriors are coming this way," she hissed. She turned. "Is Sunpaw up yet?" Her apprentice was standing as she spoke. Aura stood just beyond. Her eyes were clear yet scared.
"We have to get out of here." Skymoon turned back to Owlpaw. "You and Sunpaw, push snow in from outside. We need to hide our scent."
Every sense felt afire and tingling with some kind of evil energy. Owlpaw stumbled in her haste to get out of the burrow, as if they'd slept in some hornet's nest. How quickly the exhaustion had fallen away from her! Terror had gifted wings to her body. Sunpaw flanked her, and they hurriedly pawed fresh, freezing snow in from just outside, piling it on the clay still warm from where they'd slept.
Skymoon skidded outside, scarred ears twitching. "Hurry. They're getting closer."
Owlpaw swept her tail over the snow to smooth it, trying to make it look as natural as possible, as Sunpaw shoved more in. Aura stepped from the burrow and mewed, "We have to move, now—but we can't leave tracks for them to follow."
Skymoon nodded. "I know. I'll stall for time." There was grim irony in her mew. "Owlpaw, Sunpaw, with me!" Owlpaw immediately deserted her post and fled the bank, Sunpaw hard on her heels. She'd never been so scared in her life. Her blood was roaring in her ears.
Skymoon drew a deep breath, and the energies seething beneath her pelt were unleashed. Owlpaw staggered, a queer sensation befalling her as Time stood still around them. When she looked, snowflakes were suspended in the air, or falling with peculiar slowness. Owlpaw glanced at Skymoon, and shuddered in awe. Beside her stood a tall, lean gray she-cat sheathed in ripples of cyan energy.
"We run," Skymoon growled, "and we don't stop running until I do. Go!"
She hurled herself forward. Owlpaw started after her. She felt bodies nearby, but she didn't hear their footfalls in the snow. She didn't even look back, or around. Fear tingled in her paws, and for a moment she felt she was in StarClan's hunting forest again, chasing after the veering spirits of her Clanmates.
But I am alive, and this is real. Skymoon glowed against the dark of night, as unnatural as anything could be. Owlpaw could hardly withhold her amazement. It's not the first time I've seen her stripes, but to feel this way at her side...The world didn't move around them. It was a most wondrously peculiar sensation, and for a moment her energy was limitless. She'd quite forgotten the feel of it. She hadn't experienced Skymoon's Time Manipulation since they'd boarded and departed the monsters at the very start of their travels.
Then it was ended. Skymoon halted, and Time broke about her as she slid to a steady halt. Her stripes were slow to fade. Owlpaw stumbled into her, but the young warrior didn't flinch and steadied her quickly. She looked over her shoulder, dark blue eyes scanning the night behind them. Snowflakes had resumed their fall, but Owlpaw couldn't see where at all they were. The adrenalin rush was fading, and with it waning, unpleasant weariness was returning.
Sunpaw stared at his mentor, exhilarated more than anything else. "Whoa...so that's what it's like when you really use your Tigermark."
"It is but one gift, to be used only in direst need." Skymoon turned away. "Within a quarter hour what prints we've made in the snow will be covered. We must keep making ground. We don't stop until dawn."
Hunger clutched Owlpaw. They hadn't eaten anything for so long...
"Can't we just find somewhere else to rest?" asked Sunpaw.
"No. SunClan is moving." Panting a little, Skymoon took the lead. "Follow me, and stay close. We've evaded the worst danger. SunClan won't find us tonight, but it's only delay, all of it. We can't be too careful."
Owlpaw's head was swimming, but she nodded. Hopefully it will end soon, she told herself. Tomorrow, or even today if it's past midnight, we may just be looking over SkyClan's gorge. And somehow, the thought gave her the strength to press on through the night, until at last it was safe enough for them to rest and sleep out the coming dawn.
When Owlpaw stirred, everything felt different. She was dry and warm, bodies pressing on either side of her, feeling completely at peace. Energy fizzed in her limbs. She hadn't felt quite like this since her days in the nursery, her siblings curled up all around her, warming her through the last leaf-bare nights. When her eyes opened and she lifted her head, she found Sunpaw was curled up on one side to her, and Aura on the other. Sunlight was streaming through the barren branches and pooling in pale, dreamy puddles on the damp soil.
Sunlight? Owlpaw pricked her ears. Branches?
Sudden excitement gripped her. She carefully stood and stretched, and observed her surroundings. They'd been sleeping at the foot of a tree, withered ferns blanketing them and its roots—and around them were more trees, some small, others tall and grand. Over the crisp scents of snow, she inhaled the wondrously homely scent of forest.
Are we here? Owlpaw skittered forward, feeling as excited as a kit. Have we reached SkyClan's hunting grounds?
She nearly stumbled into Skymoon, seated on a damp tree stump a few paces away. The other warrior turned, amusement glinting in her dark azure gaze. "Careful," she warned lightly, and her tail stiffly swept outward to steady her.
Owlpaw stepped back, and despite her sudden elation, she gave the tail a worried glance, and an experimental prod with her nose. Beneath the layer of soft gray fur, it was very tight with strange resistance.
"It's fine, Owlpaw." With a sigh, Skymoon swept her tail close to her. "It's just been playing up recently. Cold isn't good for it, that's all." She fluffed out her pelt with a contented sigh. "Look how far we came in the night," she murmured. Her attention had turned to the scattered trees about them. "We're on the fringe of SkyClan's forest. If we move quickly, by midday we should reach the gorge."
Owlpaw felt a strange swooping inside her. For a moment she couldn't breathe. This was it. Their journey was almost at an end; after all that they'd been through, they'd almost come to their destination. She lashed her tail, enthused to go at once. Maybe we'll be sleeping in actual dens tonight, for the first time in more than a moon!
Skymoon looked warmly upon the trees. "I've forgotten how welcoming they are," she said suddenly, "the trees, the forest. It's like being home again. It's natural to me, and surely to you." She glanced at Owlpaw, and her eyes softened. "I'm sorry. I really am. I pushed you and Sunpaw so hard over the past two days, and we're all hungry and exhausted."
Owlpaw shook her head. You've only been protecting us.
Perhaps Skymoon had read her thoughts. With a small purr, she inclined her head. "You've done well keeping up. You show remarkable strength and courage, Owlpaw. I hope you realize that."
Owlpaw felt bashful. She ducked her head.
"There'll be prey in the woods, or I'm a rabbit." Skymoon sprang from the stump. "The forest has given me new energy." She raised her voice. "Sunpaw, Aura! Wake up! We've slept long enough!"
It didn't take Sunpaw long at all to get excited when Skymoon told him the good news. Within heartbeats he was skipping about them. "We're almost there! We're almost there!" Owlpaw couldn't blame his enthusiasm. She couldn't wait to meet SkyClan at last!
Suddenly she thought of the SkyClan spirit, the brown tom with the kind yellow eyes. His message repeated itself within her mind. When you arrive, look for a black tom with a silver muzzle. He can help you. He can hear you.
Owlpaw wondered what he meant. Can this SkyClan cat hear my thoughts, like you could hear mine? Something new occurred to her. Maybe this black tom is the one we've been searching for, the other bearer of the Tigermark found in the gorge! He must have a power if he's able to hear me!
She was relieved when Skymoon led them into the woods, with a few stern warnings of SunClan—"They walk these woods as well. We aren't safe even in SkyClan territory, for SunClan uses it as readily as they. It is an arrogant display of their power over them. Their warriors will be hunting. Stay close. We must not become separated." Then the forest was thickening around them, and Owlpaw's increasing fear of SunClan matched her rising joy. Confidence swelled in her, warm and yellow as sunlight. Her paws itched to hunt. She knew she should, but she didn't feel tired at all. How invigorating this realized last stage of their journey was to them all!
Soon Sunpaw was asking questions. "SkyClan cats hunt in the trees, don't they?"
Skymoon nodded. "It's their greatest and most distinctive talent, what really separated them from ThunderClan and ShadowClan, the other forest-hunters."
"And they move in the branches, don't they?" Sunpaw craned his head back, staring at the knotting limbs above him. "Wow, it sure looks barren...and really high. I wish I could tree-skip!" A new thought occurred to him. He turned back to Skymoon. "Do you think they could show me some of their moves when we arrive? I never got a chance to learn how to fight in the trees at home."
"Maybe," said Skymoon. She looked around, ears pricked, and her eyes brightened. "I don't feel that there's any threat around here, and there's prey close by—a thrush just beyond those thorn bushes." She hushed her mew, and Owlpaw pricked her ears. After a moment she detected a faint scuffling, and excitement pounded all the harder in her soul. Real forest prey!
"Can I get it?" Sunpaw ducked into his best hunter's crouch. It had vastly improved from the beginning of the journey.
"Why don't we let Owlpaw try?" Aura inputted softly.
Owlpaw started with surprise, then tensed in delight. Skymoon considered her, then nodded. Without another sound, Owlpaw slid into the undergrowth. She made not a sound in her wake, and thrill gripped her. Even wearied, her shadow walk had come to her with an almost natural feel. Hookclaw would be proud. Never again would she have stone-paws!
Within moments she saw it; a small speckled thrush pecking beneath a wiltered juniper bush, making faint prints on the snow beneath it. The sight of it filled Owlpaw with ravenous hunger. She hadn't eaten a thing for a whole day. Don't lose your focus, she chided herself, and eased herself into a crouch, summoning energy into her hind legs.
Oddly enough, she was reminded of her hunting session with Trevor the territorial loner, a lifetime ago. Ease up into it, he'd told her. Merge with your environment...that's it. Merge. Nice and slow. Every movement steady as stone. She'd become well practiced with it now. She barely needed to think to keep each movement controlled and deliberate. Steady as stone.
The thrush was completely unaware of her presence. The trees broke the wind. The air had never felt stiller. Owlpaw prepared herself. Calm as falling snow. Then, as the thrush bent its head to peck at a shrivelled juniper berry, she pounced. Sudden as a snake, smooth as it sleeping. She cleared the distance between them and then it was under her, struggling, drawing breath for a shrill alarm call, and her teeth met its neck and there was a single snap, and it went very still and quiet under her.
Deeply satisfied, Owlpaw retracted. The thrush felt plump under her, even though she knew it was nowhere near as fleshy as what even newleaf prey had to offer. Still, it was food. She would have eaten it right there and then if not for rustling thorns and the reappearance of her Clanmates.
"Well caught," Skymoon praised.
"That was great!" Sunpaw bounced over, lashing his tail. "StarClan, that smells good."
Purring with pleasure, Owlpaw nudged it. Do you want to share?
"No, it's yours." Sunpaw pushed it back. "I'm going to hunt for myself!" He tasted the air. "I smell vole!" He bounded away without a second glance.
Skymoon stared after him, concern fighting amusement for dominance in her expression. At length she just shook her head and mewed, "Carry it. We'll catch something for everyone, and then we'll settle down and eat someplace sheltered."
Owlpaw picked up the thrush. It was warm and soft in her teeth, and her belly growled. Aura gave her a nod of approval before loping after Skymoon. Owlpaw sped into the trees with them, at home in this new environment, and happier than she'd been in a long time.
Within the hour, all four of them had prey. Their strength was soon restored, and they became so comfortable they turned to one another and shared tongues, grooming one another's fur. Such was their joy at their return to the first really familiar surrounding since leaving their home behind.
The day was strengthening fast, and their sense of comfort was swiftly being replaced with focused alertness. Aura took lead once more, moving swiftly through the maze of slippery tree trunks and frost-scorched undergrowth. Owlpaw contained her excitement and swiftly ran through her thoughts.
She tried to picture the gorge and saw something like an elongated hollow, full of caves and crevasses and stony paths clinging to the stone like silver ivy. She wondered what the SkyClan cats would look like—as lean as WindClan, as agile as ShadowClan, as strong as ThunderClan, as sleek as RiverClan. Maybe they had spotted pelts so they blended better with the leaves. Maybe they all had claws as long as badgers' to help them climb, or tails twice the length of their bodies to help with their balance.
Suddenly Aura stiffened, the same instant Skymoon froze mid-stride. Sunpaw and Owlpaw tumbled to a less dramatic halt. "What's wrong?" Sunpaw asked.
"Hush." Skymoon's whiskers shivered, and a narrowed look flared in her eyes. "SunClan."
Instantly Owlpaw was afraid. She fought to quell her fear. We escaped them last time. We can do it again. Skymoon's still very strong.
"We can't fight them," Aura murmured. "We must delay them a little further. The gorge is so close." She looked hard into the trees. "We must run," she mewed.
"Another patrol is closing in on the other side." Skymoon turned her head in the opposite direction. "Neither know we're here yet. They're hunting." She stepped back and Time stilled around them, enfolding them all in that still silver suspension once again. "Quickly!" Skymoon urged.
Owlpaw ran, and as she did her fear was swept away in a breathless tide of exhilaration. Sunpaw seemed to feel the same—that anticipation, that daring boldness. They spared one another a glance, and the last of their fear diminished utterly. We are one, Owlpaw thought dazedly, and what a feeling it is!
Then the trees slowed, and Skymoon's stripes faded. Her breathing was harder, but her eyes remained clear and alert. If anything, there was excitement surging in her, too; Owlpaw felt it spiking off her pelt. "It's just beyond," she whispered.
Owlpaw's paws tingled. We're almost there.
She thought she caught a glimpse of star-flecked brown fur against the knotted undergrowth. You are indeed. There was relief in his mew, if anything. Look up.
Puzzled, Owlpaw glanced at the branches—and froze. She thought she saw a shadow perched among the branches, yet in a flash it was gone. Her excitement faded. Was that...?
They're watching, you know. The spirit was at her side, yet no-one could see him. Rarely can you pass anywhere unnoticed.
Owlpaw dug her claws into the ground. Is that a good thing?
He offered a comforting blink. It is not bad. He turned his muzzle to the trees. The gorge is just beyond. You are almost there.
Aura brushed against Owlpaw, snapping the medicine cat apprentice from her vision. "We're very close," the tortoiseshell murmured, but there was no delight in her eyes, no joy, not a hint of excitement—only dread.
Owlpaw didn't understand. I thought SkyClan...
"SkyClan is no haven," Aura murmured, "and my coming has only increased the danger—the time has come for them. I am their harbinger of survival or destruction, and they will see that at once."
You're a harbinger of hope, Owlpaw willed. You gave ThunderClan hope.
A warm light twinkled in Aura's golden eyes. "Any hope given is better than none." She faced forward. "Quickly."
Their pace was swift. The trees seemed to grow thicker, as though trying to hold them back, making them only more determined to reach it, conclude their moon-and-half journey from one Clan to another. Then they were loping, then running, speeding through the trees like WindClan cats pursuing rabbits across the moor. Owlpaw forgot about the silhouette in the boughs. The blood was roaring in her ears, but in a very different way. Her heart was quickening, beating in time to her falling footsteps as loud as reckless as only a ThunderClan cat could run—
The trees retreated, and they stumbled upon a grassy patch, yet a patch was all it was, for it led nowhere but to the lip of a cliff. Owlpaw's breath was swept away as a cool wind buffeted her fur, yet all her fear dissolved, and wonder filled her nose to tailtip. Sunpaw's eyes rounded. Skymoon was still for only a moment, then walked forward, treading the very edge of the drop.
There was nothing in her that Owlpaw could sense. No excitement. No fear. No anything. Her eyes were very...still. Like water that had not been disturbed. She could discern nothing in the way the daughter of Dovewing stood and stared at the gorge of red stone that unfolded far beneath them, the Twolegplace that spanned far beyond on the opposite side—the tiny dark shapes that moved across the sun-paled rock far below, the river trickling to its source beneath the very ground...
It was then Owlpaw caught a new scent—it was one she recognized, what clung to the SkyClan spirit's pelt beneath the layer of stars. We've made it, she thought, and suddenly she was exuberant. Her tail rose, and she glanced excitedly at Sunpaw. We've made it!
"SkyClan," he breathed. Every hair was quivering on his golden tabby pelt.
Aura's eyes were shining—with what, Owlpaw could not say. She stepped forward, flanking Skymoon, solemnly looking down upon the gorge far below them. "SkyClan," she said quietly. Then she turned to Skymoon. "Their sky borne moon is come," she mewed, "and already their stars shine brighter beyond the sun's veil."
Skymoon drew a deep breath. "The fifth Clan," she murmured. "The lost Clan, wrongfully exiled countless generations past. The Clan the ancient leaders wished for me to make amends with." She raised her chin. "The Clan I am to bring home at last."
A/N: At long last, we have come to the end of their journey - but we are still very far, dear readers, from the end of this story!
I wonder if you know who the two SkyClan spirits are yet. If you do, share your triumph and announce it spectacularly in a review! And if anyone's wondering, I did the math and discovered that Skymoon and co. have been travelling for approximately 46 days! To cats, that does equal a moon and a half. Interesting, eh? I wonder how long Brambleclaw and co. travelled for in their quest...
But My God, things are happening in ThunderClan. Ravenwing! Great StarClan, what have I done to her? Share your thoughts or make attempts to kill me across Cyberspace! I wonder what the SkyClan spirit meant when he said the black silver-muzzled warrior would be able to hear Owlpaw? And what do you reckon about Aura deliberately setting aside her power, a sacrifice to ensure no victory is gained because of her? Let us hope that Skymoon will wield the mantle of soothsayer well...
I hope I've given you plenty to talk and ruminate about - yes, we are at SkyClan at last, and finally we return to Clan life! And if you're still feeling Skymoon-ish, you can check her out on my DA account if you haven't already! (link on profile page)
Next time, chapter twenty-two: The Canyon. We personally meet our dear SkyClan buddies and indeed, the mysterious SkyClan leader herself...