Chapter 19 - Prophecy
Linked by blood.
It couldn't be true. Couldn't be that simple.
Two born form Lightning, Wild and Fawn,
Was it them? Were they the other two?
Thunder's apprentice is the first,
Her, she was the medicine cat of ThunderClan!
Her sister as well,
Was it possible? Had she interpreted correctly?
Was it really that simple?
Moonpaw lay staring at the grey stone wall of her den. It didn't seem possible that the prophecy involved her and her cousins. She couldn't believe.
Let's meet at the new moon.
She hoped she could. She wanted to tell them, to ask if they had heard of the prophecy as well or was it just her. Was she the only one who knew? She had to tell them! She had to, didn't she?
She stood up and stretched. Leafbrook was still asleep, his eyes closed and ears flattened. Moonpaw sighed and turned to the tunnel leading to the main camp. The passage was dark but her tingling whiskers gave her a sense of which way to turn. She felt beneath her paws as the rock turned into sand. She peered around into the gloom. She hadn't realised it was so early. The sun hadn't even risen and the cave was quiet. She knew though that there were two cats outside on night guard, watching, looking, and waiting. She padded to the edge of the cave where the sand ended and there was bare rock, cold and damp. It must have rained in the night. Peering out into the gloom she made out the bulky shape of Whiteheart and the les bulky, thinner shape of Elmstripe.
Moonpaw backed away into the cave undetected. Her eyes narrowed as something became clear in her mind. Elmstripe was always… so odd... around her sister. She was always scornful of him, pretending he was silly but still… was there something underneath all that? The pretended that the other didn't exist unless they had to but still… She shook her head. Her head was full of thoughts of Silverpaw and Elmstripe and of prophecy's. She couldn't focus properly this early in the morning. Too early, too early.
"WindClan's attacking!" Moonpaw looked up to see Ridgestripe hurtle into camp followed by Rookwing and Jadepaw. He skidded to a stop and glanced around wildly.
"Rubystar!" Moonpaw raised her voice, "WindClan!"
Already their scent could be smelt on the breeze. The attack was unexpected and unprovoked. And so soon after Quailfeather's death.
Moonpaw turned her head to see Rubystar leap out of her den. The crooked old tree had cracked and the leaders made their den inside the hollow. Rubystar raced over to her daughter to check if she was okay. Moonpaw felt a momentary surge of jealousy. She was lucky, she could stay with her children. But all at once the leader she knew well was back.
"Wispfur, Umberfur, Mottledheart, to the entrance. Birchpaw, Jadepaw, sort out the queens and elders. Yewpelt, Littlerose, to me."
Moonpaw moved out of the way as the clan gathered around her, preparing for battle. The screeches in the distant of the oncoming enemy brought her back to her senses and she turned around and squeezed into her den. The u-shaped burrow had been widened out to store the herbs for the clan. Moonpaw grabbed marigold, goldenrod and poppy seeds, the most common herbs for battle. She added some camomile as well for good measure. Emerging out back into the sunlight she was startled to see that the battle had already started. Those cries must have been a decoy to give the impression that they were further away than they were. That meant they were more! A quick glance showed her that they were badly outnumbered but that ThunderClan knew their camp better and were using that to their advantage.
"Rubystar," she cried hurrying over to her leader. The ginger she-cat was watching the battle with narrowed eyes.
"What do they want?" she spat, angrily. Moonpaw looked around.
"The cliff, the cliff is falling away, maybe they want territory?"
"But why would they attack the camp?"
An image of Ridgestripe racing into camp came to mind.
"They weren't planning to, but our patrol got away. They came after them,"
Rubystar clawed the round in frustration, "I'll show those flea-ridden excuses for warriors," she snarled and raced away into the fray.
Moonpaw turned around watching helplessly. In times like now she wished she could fight. She turned around to check the medicine cat den was hidden by the overhanging branches before heading into the fray. She paused first to plaster some marigold on a long scar across Birchpaw's shoulder. She was only half done when she saw a matted brown furred cat lying in the dirt. He wasn't moving.
"Umberfur!" she cried racing over to him. "No," She leaned closer to check his breathing. Nothing. But he couldn't be he couldn't be. She leaned closer, inhaling his familiar comforting scent. His body was cold, the warmth already ebbing.
"Noooo!" she howled but she was not alone. Rubystar was knocking enemy warriors flying as she saw the long furred tom. Hillbreeze wasn't that old, but he was still an elder. His left leg had been broken beyond repair and he had been forced to retire early. He was the father of Birchpaw and Jadepaw. He had been an amazing warrior. Had been. She felt Rubystar's grief as clear as her own.
He was gone. He was gone and she was all alone. He would never see his children grow up. He was… the word stuck in her throat. Gone.
A snarl behind her made her whirl around to see an enemy warrior behind her.
"Friend of yours was he?" he asked, a snarl still plastered on his face. One of his friends bounded up.
"Rustfoot! You can't attack her! She's the medicine cat!"
Rustfoot eyed her cautiously, "You liked 'im?"
Moonpaw narrowed her eyes, "He just died," she spat, "He was my clan-mate, a friend a great deputy and you killed him! Your clan!"
Rustfoot took a step back but she was still talking.
"Hillbreeze is dead too! Your clan better leave now or else you'll have cats you'll be mourning,"
"It," she stepped forward forcing the russet tom backwards.
"Will," Another step.
"Be," She didn't notice that the other cats were fleeing.
"Your," Her claws shot out. She was just so angry.
"Fault!"
"Moonshadow!" She turned and the warrior pushed past her fleeing from the camp. He was the last one left. But the world was spinning, turning, whirling, fading…
"Moonpaw! Wake up!"
Her eyes shot open. The dream had been so vivid, so real. And the name, so familiar, so personal. She shook her head. What was happening to her?
"Moonpaw? You okay? You were twitching in your sleep!"
Silverpaw padded up from behind her. Her eyes were gleaming.
"And why were you sleeping in the cave? Nice little niche you found for yourself!"
Moonpaw turned around to see where she had fallen asleep. The forest side of the medicine cat tunnel, the rock wall turned jagged and cracked, looking like Hillbreeze's spiked up fur, torn and matted with blood. Moonpaw shivered.
"You all right?" Silverpaw sounded concerned.
"Just cold,"
Moonpaw poked her head into the crack, surprised to find it was wider than it appeared.
She took another step into in. Wow. How big was this? She took another step, surprised that she hadn't encountered a rock wall. She was suddenly aware that the walls had given up pressing in on her and had widened out. She squinted in the gloom, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the gloom. She saw then that she was in a small cave; almost pitch black except for a narrow gleam of light pouring in from a narrow gap from the roof.
"Silverpaw, get in here!" she cried excitedly.
Pawsteps behind her and Silverpaw's face appeared.
"Wow," she gasped as she peered around the small cave. "This is amazing!"
Moonpaw was staring at the chink of light reflected on the walls.
"We could make that bigger, see properly."
"Oh, and Silverpaw," her sister looked at her, "How could you see me if I was behind the niche.
"I was coming out of the apprentice den. You can see straight in here but it just looks like shadow. I saw your fur."
Moonpaw nodded in understanding just as an idea occurred to her.
"Let's keep this cave a secret, just for now,"
Silverpaw gazed around the cave in wonder. She wondered how no cat could have ever found it. Or had they promised to keep it a secret just as she and Moonpaw had.
"We could use it to hide in! The queens and kits during battles like last winter! It's safe and secret!"
Secret.
Moonpaw nodded in agreement.
"Silverpaw, can I tell you something?"
Silverpaw shot a bemused look at Moonpaw but the medicine cat apprentice didn't see.
"Of course,"
"I arranged with Fawnpaw yesterday morning to meet in the gathering cave at the new moon." Moonpaw turned to face her sister. "I want to meet with her and Wildpaw, get to learn more about them, their cousins!"
What!
"I wish you could have told me yesterday!" Silverpaw replied bitterly, but her thought were already on her cousins.
"But I'll go."
Moonpaw twitched her whiskers relieved. "I'm going to try and clear some rock away from the gap. I'll pretend I'm gathering herbs or something."
Silverpaw nodded. "Well I'll see you later then."
Moonpaw nodded and turned away, leaving Silverpaw alone in the cave.
Is it really okay that we're breaking the code?
Silverpaw pretended to go hunting late evening. After Moonpaw had left to go to the medicine cat den, pretending to go to sleep she had exited the cave. She would leave out through the forest entrance and meet her around the other side of the cave. Silverpaw had caught some prey earlier and placed in an accessible place to retrieve to pretend she had caught it.
"Ready?" Moonpaw asked outside the cave entrance. Silverpaw nodded.
It didn't take long to head to the waterfall. The followed the ledge and emerged into the cave. Wildpaw and Fawnpaw were already there and they looked up quickly when Silverpaw and Moonpaw entered.
"At last," Wildpaw retorted. "When are your evening patrols? Ours were ages ago!"
"Sorry," Moonpaw ducked her head.
Fawnpaw padded up and touched noses. "Hello," she mewed, "We can't stay for ages because Nettlefur made us promise to be back before sun-down. No-idea why."
Wildpaw remained half at the back staring at Moonpaw and Silverpaw as if she had forgotten something.
"So your father is Sunflight," Fawnpaw was clarifying, running over the relationships in her head.
"Your father was Jackalmask wasn't he?" Silverpaw asked, sitting down tucking her paws in. The cave was eerie when there weren't any cats in.
"Who were their parents?" Wildpaw asked.
"Cheetahspots and Thrushsong," Moonpaw answered with a dreamy look in her eye.
Fawnpaw looked in surprise at her, "How do you know?"
Moonpaw shrugged but her eyes looked troubled.
"Moonpaw always knows things like this," Silverpaw mewed, twitching her ears.
"Why didn't you other sister come?" Silverpaw asked curiously.
Fawnpaw ducked her head nervously but it was Wildpaw who answered.
"She isn't part of this, she's lucky; I wish I wasn't part of this."
Fawnpaw turned to stare at her sister, "Part of what?"
Wildpaw looked confused, "I-I don't know. I've been trying to remember."
Moonpaw was staring at the ground, silently.
"So what's ThunderClan like," Fawnpaw mewed, trying to change that subject.
Silverpaw flicked her tail. "It's great! We have out camp in this big cave and it's really warm in winter and cool in summer! What's LightningClan like?"
Fawnpaw smiled, "Our cam is this big sunny clearing between two hills. There's this rock on the top of the one hill and you can see the whole territory!"
"Sounds like hill rock," Silverpaw purred. "It's really warm and you can just relax and stare out over the forest!"
"Four, Four Thunder Lightning…" Wildpaw muttered.
"You remembered anything?" Fawnpaw asked.
"Bits, but nothing much," Wildpaw stared, disappointed.
"Did it sound anything like this?" Moonpaw spoke up. She paused for a moment before reciting a verse.
"Linked by blood, heart and courage,
Darkness will show the way,
Thunder and Lightning will join at the head,
But rain and wind won't rest until the four are dead,
Thunder's apprentice is the first, her sibling as well
Two born from lightning, wild and fawn,
Their fates intertwine to reunite the five clans."
Silverpaw felt her prick up. Wildpaw looked up, eyes wide.
"That's it," she whispered. "I heard it last winter when RainClan attacked and I was knocked out."
"What does it mean?" Fawnpaw whispered.
Silverpaw shivered again and suddenly the night seemed so much colder.
"I think it's about us four," Moonpaw confessed. "We share blood so I suppose you could say we were linked by blood."
"Wild and Fawn, that's us!" Fawnpaw exclaimed.
"What does it mean? Reunite the five clans? Aren't they already united?" Wildpaw asked.
Moonpaw shook her head.
"No. The clan have been fighting more and more. For stupid reasons too! WindClan complain about our patrols bordering the cliff and picking up fallen prey."
"Same," Fawnpaw breathed, "ShadowClan recently extended their territory!"
"Fawnpaw," Wildpaw hissed. "Shut you big mouth!"
Fawnpaw turned around, "But these are out cousins! They wouldn't tell!"
Won't we?
Wildpaw rolled her eyes, "Still… what if it was RainClan or ShadowClan? Be careful."
"Why us?" Silverpaw asked the question she had been dying to ask.
Wildpaw looked up. "StarClan chose us!"
Moonpaw shook her head, "But the prophecy wasn't from StarClan. There was a white cat, a small white cat with blue eyes."
"Is true though?" Silverpaw protested, she didn't want to be special, didn't want this to be real.
Moonpaw shrugged and The LightningClan cats were silent.
"It can't be true," Silverpaw muttered shaking her head.
Moonpaw sighed, "Just because you want to be left alone with your private love life, doesn't mean you can't just forget about this!"
Silverpaw glared at her sister, "What love life," she retorted, "And of course I want to forget about this! Imagine if any other cat found out, we'd be outcasts!"
"They won't find out," Moonpaw assured her.
Wildpaw shook her head, "We won't tell anyone, but then we don't know if out medicine cats already know or not."
"Leafbrook might know," Moonpaw commented, "But would they realise that we are the four?"
Silverpaw hit the rock with her paw angrily. "I don't want to be part of this four! It can be a three for all I care!"
She turned and raced away. Maybe if she ran fast enough she could leave this behind. She didn't want to face this.
Far away a small white she-cat stared into a pool of water. She shook her head sadly. Maybe Goldstar was right, maybe they were too young.