Hi, you know who it is, the kinda crazy gal who writes this fanfic. Talking about this story, it's getting closer to the important part. This story will have at least 40 chapters, probably more than 50, so you guys have a nice treat. My stories will probably not all be that long.

Also this story is now rated T, so now I won't have to be all specific about stuff. I'm not even sure if that was a proper sentence but whatever.

Mintflight0245 - Your reviews always make me laugh! And yeah, I love Scar too - I don't know if you saw the Disney movie The Lion King, that's where I got his name. So I relate to the Disney Scar because, as he infamously said, he is "surrounded by idiots", and to my Scar because he's sarcastic and because he has the same name as Disney Scar... If that made any sense. Probably not.

Chapter now!

Chapter 26

Ivy dreamt of the stars that night. They were so close... Close enough to touch. They shone so bright, much brighter than she had ever seen in real life - and there were so many!

She felt like she could take off with one jump, and leap over the stars. They were so beautiful, so close, yet so cold and far away. Not everyone could reach them. She vowed to herself that, someday, she would manage it.

This wasn't like the Land of Stars. It was swathed in light, bathed in brightness. The moon streaked beams of white across the star-specked sky, barely a cloud hiding the brilliant light of the stars.

She couldn't take her eyes off them. The midnight sky, the colour of her eyes, sparkled with all the stars of the world. More than she could ever have imagined. She reached out to touch them -

And woke up.

But this wasn't the Trainees' den. It wasn't anywhere she had ever been before. But she recognised the cat. It was her sister, Jolie.

Suddenly, she was hit by an impression of déjà-vu. She had been in this place before. And she knew what her sister was about to say.

"Ivy..." Jolie began. "There is something I must tell you."

This time, the she-cat stepped aside to reveal a glistening sliver pool, reflecting starlight from above.

"The silver jay has flown away, but a bird of another feather will soon cross the ivy's way.

He heralds the thunder, listen or storms will sink under.

But beware the blood, or it will wash everything in a flood

And beware the holly, for it may choke the ivy.

Thunder will come after, before is the saviour

The forest will flame, and the ivy will take the blame

If the thunder is not won over

And there, at the end, lies darkness."

A succession of pictures flashed in the bottom of the pool.

A light grey cat with blue eyes and long legs came first, crouched in the shadows... He seemed to be watching something... Observing.

The picture was replaced by a huge storm. Lightening cracked, heavy rain battered the ground. Then, the floor split open. The gap in the earth was widening. Ivy gasped in horror. It's unnatural! The rain poured into the abyss, but it didn't spill over.

The pool had disappeared. Ivy and Jolie were inside the pictures now.

Suddenly, the image changed. This time, it showed a calm, smooth flowing river, and Ivy was standing in it. But the water clung to her pelt, stank of salt and rust - it was blood! Ivy tried to run to the bank, but her paws were glued to the riverbed. She yowled in terror. A huge wave was coming. It was crimson, thick. A tide of blood was coming.

It was about to crash on top of Ivy's head, and the image changed again. This time, Ivy was tangled in a holly bush. The spiked leaves seemed to want to tear her pelt off. They ensnared her, she was sinking deeper into the bush, she felt like she was drowning in a spiky sea of holly. She was going to be completely submerged, and then, suddenly, the holly caught on fire.

Its grip weakened and she leapt away, her pelt singed and smoking. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't keep the ends of her fur from visibly smoking, though she didn't feel a burn.

Then, rain started pouring again. Thunder rumbled. A storm the likes of which she had never heard of started. The last thing she saw before the lightening hit her was a white-hot glare of light - and then all went black.

Ivy woke up in cold sweat, panting, her nightmare, which had been so incredibly realistic, still fresh in her mind.

She had to get some air. She had to clear her mind. She had to breathe.

She tried to creep out of the Trainees' den, but stepped on Flame's tail. Her eyes snapped open.

"What are you doing?" Flame hissed under her breath.

"I'm just getting some air." Ivy explained. "I'll be back real soon."

The fire-pelted she-cat narrowed her dark amber eyes, and flicked her black-tipped tail. Ivy, not sure what to do, edged away through the sea of pelts to the exit, Flame's burning eyes still on her.

Once out in the cool night air, she regretted her choice. The night was dark, the moon was barely a claw scratch of light in the sky, and, far from those of her dream, the stars were distant and dull, neither providing much light.

But Flame would no doubt be suspicious if she just came back, so she shook herself mentally and tried to ignore the darkness that pressed around her. She sneaked around to the entrance, and slunk out.

The forest was, she admitted grudgingly to herself, beautiful despite the lack of light. Her sharp feline night vision was useful to pick her way around bushes and brambles, and tree trunks.

She went a random way, letting her paws guide her, not really caring where she ended up; she could always follow her own scent trail back to the camp.

She didn't really want to escape anymore. The Blood offered shelter, prey, prestige if you did well. She still wasn't sure about the Testing - but there was a while until that yet.

She could have glory if she rose in the ranks of the Blood. Training offered new challenges, like fighting Leaf had proved, as she had never fought a bigger cat than her before. She knew she could do well - could be great, even - but did she really want to wade through blood to reach the stars?

She had arrived at a pretty clearing, the little moonlight there was filtering through the branches that stretched across the space. She sat down in the middle, unaware that somecat was watching her.

She started to wash her paw, soaking in the fresh air as opposed to the stuffiness of the crowded Trainees' den. She was becoming more accustomed to the faint light and oppressive darkness, though she didn't think that her irrational fear would ever completely go away.

She looked around, trying to peer into the darkness -

and reeled back in shock.

Two blue eyes were in the shadows, watching her. She strained her own eyes. She saw he was a light grey pelted tom with long legs - he was the observer from the nightmare!

He walked out with a sigh.

"I knew I'd get spotted eventually." He strode over to her, and she backed away.

Who's he? I've never seen him. He certainly isn't from the Blood.

She knew all the Trainees, an the tom didn't look much older than her.

"Who are you?" she asked. "And what are you doing here?"

The tom lay down. "Why down you sit down, and I'll tell you."

Ivy was about to refuse, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she obeyed. "Tell me now."

The light grey tom meowed. "I'm Heronpaw. I'm an apprentice of ThunderClan." Seeing her confused expression, he explained. "ThunderClan is one of the four forest Clans. They're big groups of cats who hunt and look out for each other, and guard their borders.

"The Clans are enemies, we fight for food, especially in leaf-bare - the cold season, you know - and we have huge epic battles. We have a code as well, but that's very long. For example, the queens and elders have to be fed first, you can't eat while you're out hunting, you have to wait until you've brought your prey back to camp, the leader's word is law, the deputy becomes leader, should the deputy die, the leader must appoint the new one before moonhigh."

Ivy's head spun slightly. All this was hard to take in at once, and Heronpaw - what a weird name - used many strange words, but it was comprehensible.

"Tell me more." she urged, curious about the Clans and their lifestyles.

"There's ShadowClan, they're the scariest Clan. They start the most battles, they're very sneaky and slink around in the shadows, like their name suggests. Then their's WindClan. They're very fast, but they're rather small, so us ThunderClan warriors use our strength to beat them in battle."

Ivy interrupted. "Wouldn't it be smarter to work on your speed instead?" she argued, thinking about her fight with Leaf.

"They're really fast, Ivy. Far too fast for most ThunderClan warriors to equal." Ivy nodded, then something registered. She had never told him her name.

"How do you know I'm called Ivy?" she questioned.

"I've been... hanging around this place for awhile." Heronpaw admitted. "I like watching other cats, working on my stalking. There's less undergrowth here than in ThunderClan territory, so it's good practise at hiding in sparse cover."

"I want to know more about where you come from." Ivy was really curious now. She wanted to know more.

"I'm sorry - I have to leave or I'll be missed." Heronpaw said. "I'm not supposed to be out of camp, and especially not out of the territory."

On an impulse, Ivy said, "Meet me here tomorrow night at moonpeak - I mean, moonhigh!" She corrected herself, remembering his weird vocabulary. He nodded his light grey head, and darted into the shadows, back to his Clan.

Ivy walked excitedly back to camp, thinking about Heronpaw and the different world he seemed to live in.

But what she didn't see was the pair of burning amber eyes that followed her back.

Loads of cats spying, aren't there. REVIEW is all I can say, and also that you guys are really lucky to get TWO updates in ONE day, that will probably never happen again. Disclaimer time.

Crystalshine: Heronpaw, say the disclaimer.

Heronpaw: you're not my mentor.

Crystalshine: what if I am your mentor?

Heronpaw: no you aren't. My mentor is Tawnydapple.

Crystalshine: why are those disclaimers always so hard? Just say it already or I'll tell Sootstar what you've been doing at night and you'll be picking fleas off the elders for a moon.

Heronpaw: *very afraid* Crystalshine doesn't own anything apart from the plot, her characters, and her unfair threats.

Crystalshine: that's right, otherwise Stormfur and Brook would have stayed in ThunderClan forever! I really like Brook and Stormfur.

Sooo... The Clans are getting involved aren't they. That's a PLOT TWIST. Don't worry, there'll be lots more!

Review... What do you think the prophecy means? Who was observing her? Will Ivy really choose to stay in the Blood for the glory it could bring her? REVIEW!

B

Y

E

~Crystalshine of LightClan (REVIEW or I'll set Scourge on you!)