Shadowpaw followed his mentor, Puddleshine, onto the tree bridge that would bring them to the gathering island. Ahead of them, Tigerstar led the way with his tail held high. He refused to show the weakness that battered ShadowClan like the claws of a hundred enemies. No cat was to know that ShadowClan was starving.
As he crossed the tree bridge, Shadowpaw couldn't help but think of the prophecy he had received. The fallen star… what could that mean? Was it an omen? And why had StarClan decided to share it with him, when there were so many more experienced medicine cats in the clans? He was just an apprentice, after all.
ShadowClan was only the second to arrive. The SkyClan cats paced the area, trying to keep warm. Leafstar and Hawkwing sat beneath the Great Oak, their tails curled over their paws. They sat with their heads together, deep in conversation. Few cats had accompanied them. Among the gathered cats, Shadowpaw saw Frecklewish and Fidgetstep. Aside from them, there was Cherrytail, her apprentice Swallowpaw, Tree, Cloudmist, Harrybrook, Blossomheart, and Snakepaw. A small crowd.
Following Tigerstar, Shadowpaw was acutely aware of just how few ShadowClan cats had come with them. Scorchfur, Strikestone, Antfur, Tawnypelt, Lightpaw, and Frondpaw were the only healthy ShadowClan cats that Tigerstar had chosen to accompany them. Puddleshine himself had wanted to stay back at camp and keep an eye on the starving cats, but their leader had insisted that both of their medicine cats come with them. He had to show that ShadowClan remained strong.
Arrogant furball, Shadowpaw thought of his father. He loved him, of course, but his way of thinking could get their clanmates killed.
While Tigerstar and Scorchfur joined Leafstar and Hawkwing beneath the Great Oak, Puddleshine and Shadowpaw padded over to Frecklewish and Fidgetstep.
"I hope you're doing better than we are right now," Frecklewish said to them in a way of greeting.
"We shouldn't be here," Puddleshine replied darkly. "Whether Tigerstar wants to admit it or not, we should always have a medicine cat at camp right now."
"No leader likes to admit their clan is weak," Fidgetstep commented.
"Speaking of, how is SkyClan fairing in this StarClan-cursed weather?" Puddleshine asked as politely as possible.
Frecklewish stared down at her paws sadly. "We lost Nectarwing the other day…"
"We're sorry to hear that," Puddleshine said with a dip of his head. "Ratscar has joined our warrior ancestors as well."
As the medicine cats exchanged polite talk, ThunderClan streamed into the clearing. With Bramblestar at their head, Ivypool followed with her clanmates. Jayfeather, Alderheart, Brackenfur, Whitewing, Lionblaze, Cinderheart, Poppyfrost, Bristlepaw, and Thriftpaw followed behind their leader. Shadowpaw noticed that they, too, looked overly skinny.
Shadowpaw dipped his head to the ThunderClan medicine cats as they joined them at the edge of the clearing. Jayfeather, as usual, looked grumpy. Alderheart's tail twitched as he joined them, revealing his anxiousness. Not all was well in ThunderClan, Shadowpaw devised.
Harestar and Crowfeather led a few skinny WindClan warriors into the clearing. Alongside Kestrelflight and Lilacpaw, Nightcloud, Emberfoot, Breezepelt, Heathertail, and Brindlepelt followed their leader into the clearing. Shadowpaw noted that the WindClan cats looked worse off than any other Clan did. He figured the lack of shelter from the wind and snow was attacking them worse than any enemy could.
The leaders and deputies all gathered at the Great Oak. Bramblestar, Tigerstar, Leafstar, and Harestar all took their places in the branches, while their deputies sat at the roots. Tigerstar's tail twitched irritably as he seemed to notice RiverClan's absence.
"It's too cold for us to wait for long," Tigerstar muttered to the other leaders.
"Just a while longer, Tigerstar," Leafstar soothed. "This leaf-bare has been hard on us all."
"Some less than others…" Shadowpaw's father added.
The SkyClan leader frowned, but held her tongue at the remark. SkyClan's territory was more sheltered than any other territory around the lake. Mountains and hills protected them from the worst of the wind.
The clan cats waited in tense silence for the last clan to arrive on the island. In the clearing, each cat clustered together with their respective clanmates in order to keep warm. Shadowpaw pressed himself close to Puddleshine, shivering beyond belief.
Finally, Harestar scowled.
"If we wait for them any longer, our paws will fall off from this cold," the WindClan leader hissed. "If nobody else is going to start, I will-"
Just as he was about to start his report, the crunch of snow broke him off. The RiverClan medicine cat, Willowshine, padded hesitantly into the clearing. None of her clan was with her.
Bramblestar's ears perked up when he saw Willowshine. Concern shadowed his amber gaze as he stared down at the RiverClan medicine cat. He opened his jaws to speak.
"Willowshine, where are Mistystar and Reedwhisker?" he asked.
Willowshine stopped in the center of the clearing, all of the other cats having made her room. Her tail trailed behind her. Her eyes were heavy. Her pelt looked like she hadn't washed in days. Her fur was unkempt and messy. She was fur and bone.
Still, she looked up to meet the gazes of the four clan leaders. She took a deep breath before saying what she had to say.
"RiverClan will not be coming to the gathering tonight," she began. "This leaf-bare has been especially hard on us, with the lake and streams being frozen. We haven't tasted fish in what feels like moons. And on top of everything else… I'm afraid I have even worse news to share."
Shadowpaw held his breath, fearing the worst. The answer was on the tip of his own tongue. There was only one reason Willowshine would have come to the gathering alone…
"Mistystar and Reedwhisker are dead. Both succumbed to terrible illnesses, first Reedwhisker, then Mistystar. She was too weak to appoint another deputy after Reedwhisker's passing. Now, RiverClan is without a leader. And with the Moonpool frozen, we cannot contact StarClan for a sign. I fear we may have to wait until the thaw for us to even begin searching for a new leader…"
The clearing erupted with the shocked gasps and caterwauls of the gathered cats. All around him, Shadowpaw could hear cats asking questions and thinking aloud. Before long, his head felt like it would burst from all of the noise.
"Silence!" Tigerstar shouted above everyone else. The clearing went silent, and all eyes turned to him.
"Willowshine, what will RiverClan do now?" the ShadowClan leader asked the medicine cat.
Willowshine's tail tip twitched uncomfortably as she searched for an answer. She glanced up at the cloudless night sky, as if wondering what StarClan's plan was. Finally, when it seemed none was coming, she gave her answer.
"All we can do is wait," she responded despondently. "Mothwing is back at camp treating the rest of our sick cats, but there are just so many… I can't help but fear that this is the end of RiverClan."
Silence followed Willowshine's solemn statement. It was as though every cat in the clearing was holding their breath. Shadowpaw's mind raced with questions.
Who will lead RiverClan now? He wondered. Will they truly fall?
Shadowpaw looked up at the Great Oak as Bramblestar leaped down from his branch. He padded over to Willowshine and stood before her. His amber eyes seemed to be lost in thought. He dipped his head to the RiverClan medicine cat.
"It wasn't long ago that we nearly lost ShadowClan to Darktail and his Kin. StarClan told us then that no clan must fall." The ThunderClan leader glanced around the clearing, then continued. "RiverClan will survive. Willowshine, you have ThunderClan's full support."
"And SkyClan's," Leafstar chimed in from the Great Oak.
Tigerstar and Harestar echoed her statement, although neither of them looked particularly happy to be doing so. Tigerstar's tail twitched irritably, and Shadowpaw knew that his father didn't entirely mean his statement. ShadowClan was his first priority, and they were not much better off than RiverClan.
"Seek the light of the fallen star…"
Shadowpaw's ears perked up as he heard the familiar phrase. The voice seemed to whisper in his ear, hardly more noticeable than a light breeze. The ShadowClan medicine cat apprentice searched the clearing for any sign of who may have been speaking to him, but everyone was silent.
Willowshine dipped her head to the clan leaders. "Thank you. RiverClan will remember this, I promise."
"I think it's time we all go home," Harestar stated from his branch. "It's clear that this gathering is at an end."
The cats of the clans began to disperse at the WindClan leader's words. Shadowpaw began to follow Puddleshine toward Tigerstar when his mentor changed course. He intercepted Willowshine as she tried to leave for the tree bridge.
"Send word to ShadowClan if you need anything," Puddleshine told her. "We don't have many herbs to spare, but Bramblestar was right. RiverClan must not fall."
"Neither must ShadowClan," the RiverClan medicine cat responded. She then turned tail and disappeared into the brush.
Puddleshine's tail drooped as he watched his fellow medicine cat leave. Shadowpaw padded over to his mentor and touched his tail to his back.
"We should go. Our clanmates need us," he told him.
"May StarClan light their path," Puddleshine stated with barely a whisper.
The two ShadowClan medicine cats joined their clanmates and left the gathering island behind.
…
That night, Shadowpaw woke with a start in his nest. The medicine den was dark with the shadows of the night. Puddleshine's nest was empty, as were the nests of their sick clanmates. Shadowpaw stood up hesitantly, feeling suddenly cold.
He walked over to the den's entrance and peeked out into the camp. As he expected, it was empty. In the dead of night, nobody would be up and walking around, especially after a gathering. Shadowpaw walked out into the empty clearing.
As he did so, the ground around him appeared to shift. Before he could even shout for help, the scene around him changed. He found himself suddenly standing in the middle of the RiverClan camp. Around him, the RiverClan cats sat in a rough circle. They all looked overtly skinny and unkempt. Mothwing and Willowshine looked especially overworked.
Why am I here? Shadowpaw wondered.
Shadowpaw glanced at the ground just in front of him and immediately jumped back. The bodies of Mistystar and Reedwhisker lay sprawled out before him. Both of them looked tiny in death: mother and son, side by side.
Suddenly, Shadowpaw felt a tail touch his back. He nearly jumped out of his fur before he turned and saw who had touched him.
The former RiverClan leader and deputy stood before him, both of them looking much younger than they had in life. Mistystar's blue eyes, however, looked scared.
"Shadowpaw…" she muttered. "Where are we?"
"Are you dead, too?" Reedwhisker asked fearfully.
Shadowpaw stepped away from the ghost cats, careful to avoid treading on their bodies just behind him. He glanced up at the sky and saw that there were no stars. The sky was as black as pitch.
Seek the light of the fallen star…
"Why can't we find StarClan?" Reedwhisker pondered.
"I don't know…" Shadowpaw responded hesitantly.
Again, the ground seemed to shift beneath his paws. Before he could even blink, Shadowpaw found himself standing before the Moonpool. Its surface was entirely frozen over, and no stars shone in the reflection of the black night sky.
Shadowpaw let out a sigh and saw his breath billow in a white cloud in front of him. His body began to shake as cold threatened to consume him. He flattened his ears against his head and closed his eyes, fearful of what was coming.
Seek the light of the fallen star…
Shadowpaw opened his eyes just as a white light blinded him. A powerful force sent him flying backwards, causing him to land in a pile of snow. The cold became bitter, stronger than anything he had ever faced.
"Shadowpaw!"
"Shadowpaw!"
"SHADOWPAW!"
The voices grew louder inside his head. They screamed his name, as if calling for help. Their mews sounded pained. These cats were suffering…
Through the white light, Shadowpaw began to see cats he recognized. His littermates, Lightpaw and Pouncepaw. His parents, Dovewing and Tigerstar. His mentor, Puddleshine. Tawnypelt, Bramblestar, Ivypool, Whitewing, Birchfall...
More and more cats appeared to him through the white light, until he thought he could see every cat in the clans all at once. Then they all disappeared, and only one remained.
Shellpaw, a ThunderClan apprentice, stood before him. As Shadowpaw watched him, blood seemed to rise from the ground beneath him. The apprentice's white fur became stained with crimson blood. His eyes shone with malice.
Another cat appeared behind him, a golden yellow she-cat that Shadowpaw didn't recognize. Her green eyes revealed nothing but hate. She touched her tail to Shellpaw's back, her lips curled back in a snarl as she seemed to stare right through Shadowpaw.
Seek the light of the fallen star…
Just as suddenly as it appeared, everything vanished. Shadowpaw found himself back in his den, with Dovewing standing over him. Her eyes shone with fear.
"Thank StarClan, you're awake!" his mother shouted.
Puddleshine stood not far off as Dovewing paced around Shadowpaw and brushed her cheek against his. His mentor looked concerned.
"You were having another seizure," his mentor explained.
Shadowpaw tried to get to his paws, but his legs wouldn't support him. Dovewing gently pushed him back into his nest. Her breathing seemed shaky.
"It was bad this time," she said.
"You were muttering something… something about a fallen star," Puddleshine stated. "What did you see?"
Dovewing turned on the medicine cat with a glare. "He's only just woken up! Give him some time to rest!"
Shadowpaw touched his tail to his mother's back to calm her. "It's alright… I'm okay," he promised her. Turning to his mentor, he began, "It started right here, but there was nobody around. Then suddenly I was in RiverClan's camp… everybody was grieving. Mistystar and Reedwhisker's bodies were in the center of their camp. Except… their ghosts were still there. I don't think they can find StarClan."
"What?" Puddleshine asked, cutting him off.
"I don't know if what I saw was real, but Mistystar and Reedwhisker were still there. And they didn't have any stars in their fur. They were just… ghosts," Shadowpaw explained.
"Did you see anything else?" Puddleshine pressed.
"I was at the Moonpool- it was still frozen over. There was this light, and then I started seeing other cats- living cats. At first it was just my kin, and you, Puddleshine, but soon enough I was seeing every cat in the clans. And it stopped with Shellpaw, of ThunderClan. There was another cat, too. A she-cat with golden yellow fur and green eyes. I don't know who she was, though."
At the mention of the yellow she-cat, Puddleshine's ears perked up. Yet, he remained silent.
"Shellpaw?" Dovewing questioned. "What does Blossomfall and Thornclaw's son have to do with anything?"
"Blood started rising from the ground around him," Shadowpaw continued. "And then that yellow she-cat came up behind him, as if she was claiming him somehow. I think… I think Shellpaw might be dangerous somehow."
"Or in danger," Dovewing pointed out. "What if that yellow she-cat is the threat?"
"What does any of this have to do with a fallen star?" Puddleshine asked, not looking at either Dovewing or Shadowpaw. "Why were you talking about a fallen star?"
"'Seek the light of the fallen star,'" Shadowpaw quoted. "A voice kept saying that. It's been telling me that for a while now."
"And you didn't think to mention that to me?" his mentor growled impatiently.
"I didn't know what it meant," Shadowpaw defended. "I still don't."
"I'm your mentor, don't you think I could help you figure that out?" Puddleshine argued further.
Dovewing cut in then. "He's still young, Puddleshine. Don't be so hard on him!"
"No," Shadowpaw said. "He's right. I should have told him as soon as the voices started. But… I'm scared, Puddleshine. I don't know what any of this means, but I doubt it means anything good for the clans."
Puddleshine padded over to his apprentice and ran his tail across his spine. He closed his eyes, lost in thought. Then he said, "We'll figure this out, Shadowpaw. But I fear you may be right. I don't think this is a good omen."