Frostfire padded, confused, into Shimmer's den. The golden she-cat jumped to her paws as soon as she saw Frostfire enter. Frostfire's crystal blue eyes narrowed, running once again over Shimmer's sleek fur. "You wanted to see me, Shimmer?"
It had been a moon since Frostfire had first joined the clan of the Broken, and she knew that she would never enjoy it as much as she would ThunderClan.
"Yes, Frostfire." Shimmer dipped her head as she spoke.
Frostfire dropped the vole she was carrying at Shimmer's paws. "Here; you need to eat, first." Shimmer dipped her head gratefully and swallowed the vole in famished gulps. Then, she looked up, smiling, her blue eyes seeming to glow in appreciation.
"You're a very loyal warrior, Frostfire." She paused. "Actually, I wanted to see you, because... well, I wanted you to come with me."
"Where?"
"To the Starstream." At Frostfire's appalled gaze, she quickly added, "You need to go there. It's for the best. Really."
Frostfire's blue eyes glimmered with hope. "Let me get this straight. You want me to come with you to the Starstream, which is where usually, only medicine cats and leaders go?" She emphasized her remark with a slight shake of her white head and a twitch of her tail.
"Yes."
To her credit, Shimmer's voice didn't shake with hesitation. Frostfire realized that leaders probably had to conceal their emotions only too well, and be strong for the clan's sake. Frostfire dipped her head. "I will come."
oO0Oo
"Quick, it's this way." Shimmer's pawsteps sounded ahead of her, and Frostfire followed the Broken clan leader down a small slope. She stopped short in amazement once she reached the bottom. A gentle stream coursed ahead of her, caught in the starlight. It seemed to shine of all the colors Frostfire had ever seen, and it shone, illuminating the area around them. "Welcome to the Starstream."
There was only one thing that could outshine the Starstream in any way, and that was the pool of starlight in StarClan.
Frostfire padded closer, awed at the wondrous sight. She stared at inside, and a beautiful, snow-white she-cat stared back at her. Beautiful, except that her expression was hopeless, pleading, and desperate, with only a very faint glimmer of hope.
Frostfire's claw dabbed at the water, and the image shattered, replaced by ripples.
"What do I do?" Frostfire asked her, not turning her head away from the Starstream.
Shimmer padded closer to the water, then crouched down. "Lick up a few drops, and then you'll fall asleep. No doubt you'll dream about StarClan." She bent over the water, ready to lap at it. "Good luck, Frostfire." Frostfire dipped her head, watching as her new leader dabbed her tongue at the silvery water, then sank gracefully to the ground, her eyes already closed.
Frostfire breathed in, slowly, then bent over the water, and slowly lapped at it. Immediately, the Starstream vanished from her sight, and Frostfire was left staring at her surroundings, a dark, shadowy forest. She let out a hiss as she spotted Nightstar and Tawnywhisker, standing beside Grayscar and a red-brown she-cat she didn't quite recognize.
I'm in the Dark Forest! Frostfire turned to the side, ready to pad back to StarClan. Only then did she realize that all the directions she could go looked eerily identical, so there was no way she could go back.
I might as well watch what they're saying. Frostfire dropped into a crouch underneath a large bush, watching the four cats. Tawnywhisker shook out his tawny-colored fur, his whiskers twitching. "I'm glad we've finally gotten rid of theat spying nuisance. A moon or two without her has been so peaceful."
"It certainly has," Nightstar agreed calmly. "I've made the clan so much stronger without her."
Frostfire unsheathed her claws.
She wondered whether so much stronger meant attacking other clans for no reason.
"Can we get back to training, now?" the she-cat snapped, her amber eyes flashing as her black fur bristled.
"The very question I was about to ask, Redstare," Grayscar mewed calmly. Without warning, he leapt at Nightstar, twisting in midair to rake at his belly. Cinderblaze never taught me that, she realized in surprise. I might actually be able to learn something here.
"Get that idea out of your mind," a voice snapped from behind her. A yellow-gray she-cat stood behind her, her yellow eyes flashing, amber eyes gleaming. However, this was a StarClan cat, whom Frostfire felt she had somehow seen before. "And get back to our side of the border."
"Sorry," Frostfire muttered. Under her breath, she added, "But if I'm supposed to destroy Nightstar, then I might as well learn all his moves."
"What was that?" the yellow-gray she-cat snapped.
"Nothing. What's your name?" Frostfire mewed.
"Yellowfang." Yellowfang snorted and padded ahead. Frostfire breathed out in relief. The shimmering lights of StarClan glowed ahead of her. Flicking her tail, Yellowfang padded across the heavily-marked border, settling down on StarClan grass, her tail curled neatly around her paws. "What were you doing in Dark Forest territory?" Yellowfang spat the word out as though she were talking about fox-dung.
"I... I don't really know. I just... sort of woke up there." Frostfire shrugged.
"Moonflower, explain to her what a mouse-brained idea that was!" Frostfire turned to see Moonflower pad over to her and Yellowfang.
"I don't think she meant to go there, though." Moonflower sat beside Yellowfang.
Frostfire settled across from them. "Then what am I supposed to do? Nightstar has grown stronger, and I've failed my destiny!" Her voice rose to a wail by the time she had finished.
"Do you want Nightstar to be destroyed?" Moonflower asked gently.
"Of course I do!"
Moonflower smiled. "Then you know just what to do."