Chapter 25: Revelations

She said she was hit by a star.

She had, no doubt about it. Everything the DesertClan she-cat had said was completely true, but no cat would believe her. It was only to be expected, really. Cheetahstar hadn't believed him when he had come out with the same story in the first place, on that night about a moon ago. She's sworn him to silence and told him he'd dreamed the entire thing. But now things were different. If he'd had any doubts before, they were gone now. Vanished. Lynxpaw had been through it too. But she'd been ridiculed for trying to persuade her clanmates that it was the truth. Would the same thing have happened to Razorpaw if Cheetahstar hadn't told him to keep quiet? Would he be labeled crazy and confined to camp for his stories?

Probably.

The more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed. He had watched the star split into four separate parts as it blazed through the night sky. Why should he have been the only one hit by it? Four parts – maybe four different cats had been through the same thing. He and Lynxpaw. Two others. Maybe not – the star didn't necessarily have to hit a cat, or did it? He couldn't ask StarClan. They had no clue about any of this. The Dark Forest cats too, but Razorpaw doubted they'd be of any help anyway.

Who else could help them? The Clan cats didn't believe them. That was obvious from the way DesertClan had reacted to Lynxpaw. From JungleClan, only Cheetahstar, Shimmerpool and a group of apprentices even knew about the situation. Cheetahstar had dismissed the idea. Shimmerpool had too, although in a much more comforting way. But that still left them with no help at all.

There were no other cats on the coast. No cats apart from…

No. Impossible. There was absolutely no way that a group of rogues could know about this. They had about as much interest in the stars as the worms did. And yet the time of their arrival and the time of the falling star had been close. Within a day or two, probably. But how could they even know…?

He heard a faint sigh as he broke through the whirlpool of thoughts, snapping him back to reality. He realized he had gone completely rigid, keeping so still he wondered if he'd still be able to move. He flexed his claws slightly, testing how naturally he could still move while his heart was beating at a mile a minute.

"Mudstar talks to her a lot now. Asks her about what she thinks happened. But everyone knows he does it to make her feel less alone. Everyone knows he doesn't really believe her." Grasspaw finished, glancing at Chaospaw, "Sound's crazy, right?"

"Sure does." Chaospaw replied, the only notable difference about him was the very slight narrowing of his eyes. He had taken it all in and still managed to act completely normal. Unbelievable.

"I think it's quite sad." Maplepaw admitted with a shuffle of paws, "When somebody close to you changes so suddenly like that…"

Razorpaw wrenched his head sideways, probably looking a little awkward despite his best efforts to move normally. Silentpaw was sat just behind Maplepaw, and she too looked a little shaken. She'd heard the whole thing as well.

"Does she stay in camp all the time?" Chaospaw asked casually, "Personally, I think she'd do better if she was allowed to get out a bit. Might help."

"Mudstar says she can leave camp when she starts eating properly. The whole thing's taken its effect physically, too."

So Lynxpaw wasn't eating right, and she wasn't allowed outside of her camp. Plus when she was, it would only be under the watch of warriors most probably. There wasn't any easy way to get to her. No easy way to see what she knew. No way to help her out.

He just barely noticed, but the chattering and conversations of the cats on the beach was growing fainter. Razorpaw looked around, his neck aching as he did, but cast his gaze to the HighCliff where the four leaders stood, ready to begin.

"I will speak first!" Swiftstar padded forward until he was at the edge of the outcropping rock, claws sliding over the edge, "OceanClan has had a mostly peaceful moon. The rivers are rich with prey and the clan is growing well."

But are you harboring rogues on your territory, Swiftstar? Razorpaw could imagine the question flicking through the minds of every JungleClan cat on the sand. While he could see a few of his clanmates across the beach, none of them were reacting in any way.

"Unfortunately, one of our elders, Dewleaf, passed away earlier this moon. He will be missed amongst the clan and may he live on peacefully in the stars."

With that, the white tom stepped back, allowing Acidstar to take his place. The old she cat padded forward slowly, sitting at the edge of the stone as Swiftstar had done.

"First of all, MountainClan would like to congratulate our two newest apprentices, Shadepaw and Pantherpaw. However, neither of them could make it tonight" She continued before anyone could question the matter, and Razorpaw vaguely remembered how Flowerheart had said Shadepaw had been attacked by an eagle while they were in the mountains, "And we are sad to announce the death of a great warrior, Hazelfoot, who was also taken from us this moon. We wish him peace and happiness in the stars."

She dipped her head a moment and looked like she was about to move back, but carried on after a heartbeat, "There is one more thing I would like to discuss."

Razorpaw noticed a few MountainClan warriors shift a little. They knew what she was about to say.

"I am making no accusations yet, but finding JungleClan scent on our territory does not bode well for your cats, Cheetahstar." The MountainClan leader meowed calmly, shifting her gaze to the golden spotted leader, who looked a little confused, "I am not inclined to share with you what I am thinking, but I warn you that any cat who steps foot on our territory, with or without your consent, will be punished."

At first, Razorpaw was confused too. JungleClan cats on MountainClan territory? He couldn't recall any…

…

He cast a sideways glance at Chaospaw, who now looked a little tense. Of course he would. Razorpaw was too. He wished he could just sink into the sand at this very moment, even though no cats suspected them of anything.

"I assure you Acidstar, no cat has trespassed on my orders" Cheetahstar replied evenly, "May I ask; when exactly did you find the scent?"

"Just after quarter-moon. But my warriors accompanied the Medicine Cats all the way up to the MoonFalls. They confirmed that the Medicine Cats were never at the places we found JungleClan scents." Although very old, it was clear the grey-black MountainClan leader still kept a sharp eye over her clan. She wasn't about to let this drop.

"I see…" Cheetahstar seemed to be weighing out the situation, "I will have to look into it further." She ended while still looking directly at the MountainClan leader. With nothing left to say, the old she-cat dipped her head politely and let the DesertClan leader take her place.

"DesertClan is doing well" Mudstar started, "There has been more than enough prey over greenleaf, but we too have lost a warrior. Volefur now walks amongst the stars and we wish him eternal peace."

Razorpaw couldn't help but note that a warrior from every Clan had died this moon. Dewleaf from OceanClan, Hazelfoot of MountainClan, Volefur from DesertClan and of course, Wildstripe, killed by the rogues exactly a moon ago.

Mudstar hesitated a moment, and his eyes seemed to wander. He stepped back, indicating that he had nothing more to say. Cheetahstar gave him a questioning glance, but the DesertClan leader nodded for her to step forward.

He didn't even mention Lynxpaw…No, of course he wouldn't. There isn't any point.

"JungleClan has had a prosperous Greenleaf. The forest is full of prey and we have hunted well." She gazed around the beach, and then up to the moon, the silver light reflecting off her sleek pelt. "We are lucky to have five new apprentices this moon. Stingpaw, Chaospaw, Razorpaw, Leopardpaw and Silentpaw."

Razorpaw felt eyes turn on him, and he went from tensed to embarrassed as the crowd cheered his and the other apprentices names. Beside him, Grasspaw, Maplepaw and Shadowpaw called their names with glee, but Robinpaw kept his eyes fixed on the water and his mouth closed. MountainClan, Razorpaw remembered. He probably wouldn't have minded anyway, but the fact that it was him who had trespassed made him forgive the brown apprentice for his silence.

Once the noise had calmed, Cheetahstar continued by announcing Wildstripe's death. "It seems we have all lost clanmates this season. Very early on in the moon, Wildstripe was taken from us. We too wish him well in the stars and hope that he watches over us for all the moons to come."

Momentarily, Razorpaw felt that familiar pang of sadness that echoed through him whenever he thought of his father. But Embersoul had told him he could see the warrior again when the time was right. That had put him at ease a little, but he still often wondered about the strange circumstances surrounding the white warrior's death. That was one mystery he wasn't giving up on.

After Cheetahstar had finished, the leaders left the HighCliff and gathered up their Clans. As the JungleClan cats headed back across DesertClan territory, Chaospaw pulled him to the back of the group where they could talk in relative privacy.

"We have a problem." The black tom stated rather bluntly, dropping back a little more.

"We have more than a problem. We have to talk to Lynxpaw, but that's borderline impossible at the moment." Razorpaw grumbled, trying to think out a plan to meet the 'crazy' DesertClan apprentice without either clan knowing.

"Actually, that wasn't what I meant. But yes. That's a problem too." Chaospaw mewed, "But as you know, I've been trying to decipher your prophecy and I had come to a little conclusion before."

"And that would be?"

"The last line of the second verse, 'Every moon one more will die', I think corresponds to the last line of the first verse, 'Search until the one is found.' I deduced that its meaning was something along the lines of, 'Search for the one, but for every moon spent one will die'."

It took a moment for Razorpaw to grasp the gravity of this revelation, and as much as it shocked him he was determined to be at least helpful to this conversation. "So until we find 'the one', one cat will die per moon from our clan?"

"That's about it. Or so I thought" The last words turned out rather flat, "But now we know you aren't the only one with this prophecy, that changes things. I'm not certain Lynxpaw's rhyme says the same as your prophecy, but let's say it does. Then that would apply to her clan as well."

"Four!" Razorpaw gasped suddenly, "A cat from each clan died this moon. You don't think…"

"It seems likely."

There was a short silence.

"A cat from each clan dies every moon. Until 'the one' is found, at least. However, there is a small chance that this is just a coincidence. There may not be a cat in OceanClan or MountainClan with the prophecy like you do." Chaospaw shook his head; he probably didn't believe his own words, but he had to lay out the possibilities.

"I doubt it" Razorpaw added, "I saw the star split into four. If four cats died this moon, that probably means four cats were hit by the star and four cats know about the prophecy. We know me and Lynxpaw. But from the other clans, it could be anyone."

"We'll have to tell the others tomorrow." Chaospaw murmured as they crossed the twoleg's bridge into OceanClan territory. By 'others' he probably meant the other apprentices. Chaospaw quickened his pace and began to catch up with the group, Razorpaw following.

"What have we got into?" Razorpaw thought aloud as he began the agonizing repeat of sinking and yanking his paws up from the gripping mud once again. Beside him, Chaospaw was doing something similar.

"StarClan knows…" He answered, and then let out an almost inaudible purr.

"Oh, wait – they don't."