The half-moon shone quietly in the clearing like the glint of cat eyes in the dark. A young black cat with yellow eyes followed an old creamy tom to the mouth of a large tunnel, where several other cats were already sitting at its entrance.
"Welcome, Berryclaw," a lithe brown tabby greeted the tom as they approached. She peered at the black cat. "A new apprentice, I see."
The black cat felt his heart beat against his chest.
She means me. I'm really training to be a medicine cat apprentice!
"Greetings, Patchthorn," Berryclaw purred, touching noses with the ThunderClan medicine cat. He turned his head back to the black cat. "This is my apprentice, Smokepaw."
Smokepaw felt her soft gaze wash over her and he felt nervous.
"Hi," he mewed.
"Welcome, young one," Patchthorn purred comfortingly, "It is good to see a young cat so dedicated to the care of their Clanmates."
Smokepaw felt embarrassed by her praise. He had heard of the old ThunderClan medicine cat, she had been a full medicine cat since before Berryclaw had been an apprentice! He noticed her dull fur and thin ribs. She was old, and would walk with StarClan soon.
"Hellow, Smokepaw," a patched black and white she-cat mewed in greeting as Patchthorn finished speaking. "My name is Dawnriver, from RiverClan. Welcome to the Mooncave."
"Thank you," Smokepaw said feebly. He only saw Patchthorn and Dawnriver. Where were the ShadowClan and SkyClan cats?
As if in response, the bushes behind him rustled and he caught the scent of three unfamiliar cats that all emerged into the clearing.
The first, a light sandy colored she-cat walked right over to him.
"Well, well, well," she purred good-naturedly, "WindClan has decided to train a shadow as a medicine cat. I'll have to report that to Marshstar and tell her we'd better train a gust of wind in retaliation."
Smokepaw felt hot with embarrassment, but the she-cat was grinning too brightly for it to last.
"Birchleaf, every moment I spend with you drives me closer to StarClan," one of the cats muttered in a gravelly voice. Smokepaw caught his gaze and saw one of his eyes was looking the wrong direction.
"I'm glad you have so much faith in me," the sandy she-cat joked, humor in her eyes.
The last cat emerged from behind the cross-eyed shaggy cat, a young ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes. She brightened when she saw him.
"Another medicine cat apprentice!" she exclaimed, "My name is Flamepaw!"
Before Smokepaw could mew his greeting, Berryclaw was already making introductions.
"Welcome, Birchleaf, Brokengaze, Flamepaw," he said, motioning to each cat with his ears as he spoke so Smokepaw could remember them, "This is my new apprentice, Smokepaw."
Smokepaw nodded his head respectfully.
"Welcome to the cult," Birchleaf joked, "It's about time Berryclaw took on an apprentice."
"Alright, alright," Dawnriver interrupted, silencing her with her tail, "The moon is nearly high enough. We must go down into the Mooncave."
Smokepaw looked at the dark tunnel in front of him and unsheathed his claws in fear. He felt a tail tip on his shoulder as Flamepaw walked past him, smiling sweetly.
"It's okay, Smokepaw," she purred, "Every cat is scared their first time. But just keep walking and soon you'll be sharing tongues with StarClan."
StarClan!
Smokepaw could feel the excitement rising in him as he thought of the Clan of their warrior ancestors. It was the duty of medicine cats to communicate with StarClan and relay anything they told them back to the Clans. Smokepaw wondered if StarClan would speak to him. He wondered if he would see Nightgaze!
Oh, please, StarClan, he thought, Please let her be there.
Thinking about his mother gave Smokepaw the courage to go down into the deep tunnel, desperately trying to keep his nose close to Berryclaw's flank so he wouldn't be left alone in the dark. And before he knew it, Smokepaw found himself in a large underground cavern with a small pool in the center and small, almost transparent crystals hidden in every crag. In a small hole in the cavern roof, Smokepaw saw the half-moon and the stars of Silverpelt shine down on him. He thought of Nightgaze and suppressed the urge to twitch his tail in excitement.
Smokepaw felt a tail tip on his flank and noticed Berryclaw motioning towards the crystals with his ears. At that moment, the moon began shining in the hole and the entire cavern was lit up by the small shards of crystal. Smokepaw could hardly breathe as he stared at them. He could feel the power of StarClan nearby.
Smokepaw remembered the stories from the old forest and about the Moonstone, which had been much, much larger than all the crystals put together. He couldn't imagine what it was like to see such a giant stone light up with moonlight.
Berryclaw cleared his throat, and Smokepaw turned to look at him, afraid he did something wrong. But Berryclaw was staring at him with pride in his eyes.
"Are you ready, Smokepaw?" he asked him softly.
Smokepaw felt a prickle of fear and excitement rush through him.
"Yes," he nodded.
Berryclaw smiled. Then he opened his mouth to begin the ceremony.
"Smokepaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"
Smokepaw took a deep breath and looked around at the other medicine cats, Flamepaw nodding at him with encouragement. "It is."
"Then come forward," Berryclaw mewed.
Smokepaw stepped forward, trying to keep his tail from twitching. It was really happening!
"Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice," Berryclaw announced in a loud, almost regal voice, "He has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant him your wisdom and insight so that he may understand your ways and heal his Clan in accordance with your will."
Smokepaw couldn't believe it! He was a medicine cat apprentice! A real medicine cat apprentice!
"Drink the water, Smokepaw," Flamepaw whispered to him.
Smokepaw dipped his muzzle in the brilliant glowing water and closed his eyes.
Almost with a start, Smokepaw found himself in an unfamiliar forest filled with scents of all four seasons, but especially greenleaf. Before he could look around for Nightgaze, he turned his head and spotted Berryclaw right next to him. Smokepaw was confused. Berryclaw had told him that StarClan would usually visit each cat separately, why were Smokepaw and Berryclaw sharing a dream?
Did I do something wrong?
Before Smokepaw could ask Berryclaw, he heard a familiar mew from the other side of him.
"Well, this happens as often as fat prey in leaf-bare," Smokepaw recognized Birchleaf as she spoke. Flamepaw was huddled nearby, just as confused as she was. And as Smokepaw looked around, he noticed all the other medicine cats. They were all sharing one dream.
"What's going on?" Smokepaw asked Berryclaw, trembling slightly with nervousness.
"I'm not sure," Berryclaw responded, "StarClan rarely visits every medicine cat together like this. It's not unheard of, just not common."
Before Smokepaw could reply, he saw the shapes of several unfamiliar cats with stars in their fur come closer. With a twinge of excitement, Smokepaw looked for the black pelt of his mother.
There she was!
Nightgaze padded forward with six other cats, looking straight at him.
"Nightgaze!" Smokepaw exclaimed, forgetting anything else and rushing straight towards his mother. He buried his nose in her fur and let her sweet, comforting scent wash over him. "I missed you."
Nightgaze curled her tail around him the way she would do it when he was a kit.
"I missed you too," she whispered.
Smokepaw wanted to stay like this with his mother forever, but he was interrupted by another exclamation from Birchleaf.
"Poppypetal!" she exclaimed, most likely at another StarClan cat. "And… Rootstar! It's nice to see you with both ears attached."
Curious, Smokepaw pulled away from his mother to see the other cats who had arrived. Each one had padded to one of the other medicine cats, but he saw Birchleaf staring at a light brown tabby tom, who was standing in front of Patchthorn.
"I'm not here for you, Birchleaf," the tom sniffed, "You're not even ThunderClan."
"But I thought there were no boundaries in StarClan," Birchleaf challenged, humor gleaming in her eyes.
"Oh, Birchleaf, you haven't changed," the tortoiseshell in front of Birchleaf sighed, giving the medicine cat a lick on the forehead.
"Neither have you!" Birchleaf laughed, "Except you're dead."
Before any cat could respond, an old ragged tom with a flattened face, who was standing in front of Brokengaze, cleared his throat and every cat went silent.
"Medicine cats of the Clans," he began in a surprisingly raspy voice for a StarClan cat, "We have a message to send to you and we all decided to bring it to you together."
"Well, I am honored," Birchleaf purred.
Brokengaze shot her a look, but Birchleaf didn't react.
"That's right," Nightgaze purred, looking down on Shadowpaw with pride, "This is a prophecy that concerns all the Clans."
All the Clans? Smokepaw thought, looking at the other cats. Berryclaw's whiskers twitched in confusion and Smokepaw felt the same way. What could possibly be big enough that it concerns all the Clans?
The tom with the flattened face cleared his throat and began.
"A danger is coming," he mewed urgently and Smokepaw felt a prickle of fear wash through his fur, "Something that will affect every kit, apprentice, and warrior in all five Clans. You must be vigilant and do everything you can to meet it when it comes, or it will be your total destruction."
An image of bodies covered in blood flashed through Smokepaw's head and he gasped, staggering backwards. He felt Nightgaze steady him with her tail, and then the vision ended.
The medicine cats were muttering and looking at each other with wide eyes. Berryclaw looked startled, and Flamepaw looked scared.
They had seen the destruction too!
"Heed our warning," the cat standing next to Dawnriver said, "Or it will be too late."
Smokepaw felt fear prickle at him again and he suddenly felt scared, smelling the blood and death from his dream. Was this what was going to happen to all the Clans?
He caught Flamepaw's eye and she had the same fear he did.
Does any medicine cat know what to do?
"That's it?" Birchleaf's now familiar mew broke the threatening silence.
"What?" Rootstar asked, whisker twitching.
"That's it?" Birchleaf repeated, shuffling her paws, "A danger is coming? Something that will affect every kit, apprentice, and warrior? Total destruction?"
Every cat looked uneasy. Shadowpaw looked up at Nightgaze for comfort, but she was too busy staring back at Birchleaf.
"Do you have a problem with this prophecy from StarClan?" Rootstar challenged the ShadowClan medicine cat, twitching his tail in annoyance.
"Well, yeah," Birchleaf answered readily, "It's incredibly vague."
Shocked mews arose from the other cats. Even Flamepaw looked stunned at the words of her mentor.
"No hint, no metaphors," Birchleaf went on, ignoring the other cats, "Not even a nod to a specific cat or what the destruction might be. How are we supposed to help our Clans with that?"
"Birchleaf," the tortoiseshell hissed, pulling her ears back in embarrassment, "This isn't the time."
But instead of being dissuaded by the StarClan cat's words, Birchleaf turned right to her.
"Poppypetal," the sandy cat mewed, "You of all cats should be honest with me. You have to agree this is extremely unhelpful."
"But what about the vision of blood and corpses?" the flat-faced tom hissed, "Surely you felt that!"
"Of course I felt that," Birchleaf replied, sounding miffed. "And of course I want to stop it. But how can I do that if I don't even know what it is?"
"You will find it within yourself when the time is right," the cat standing in front of Dawnriver purred.
"Sure yeah, but 'being vigilant' and 'doing everything you can' doesn't narrow down what we're supposed to be doing," Birchleaf pointed out, "How are we supposed to protect the Clans if we don't even know that?"
"The moon is setting and the sun will soon rise," Rootstar interrupted and Smokepaw noticed the clearing was beginning to disappear, "We shall share tongues with you again soon."
"Oh, sure, of course," Birchleaf mocked, "Now the dream has to end."
Smokepaw barely paid attention to the ShadowClan medicine cat. He felt sadness cling to him as he realized now he had to say goodbye to Nightgaze. He looked back up in her bright yellow eyes.
"Don't worry, my son," she purred as if able to read his mind, "I will walk in your dreams often. I am very, very proud of you."
Smokepaw felt tears in his eyes as the dream faded and Nightgaze's scent disappeared.
And suddenly, he found himself in the Mooncave, next to Berryclaw and Flamepaw.
No cat said a word, but they all hurried back out of the tunnel as quickly as possible, as if eager to discuss the strange dream but afraid to mention it underground. Smokepaw's heart beat against his chest as he remembered the vision and Birchleaf's outbursts.
Finally, they reached the mouth of the tunnel, and all bounded out, Birchleaf in the lead.
"Well, that was certainly an eventful evening," Birchleaf mewed as she stretched.
"You mouse-brain," Brokengaze hissed as soon as he exited the dark tunnel, "What were you doing, insulting StarClan like that?"
"I wasn't insulting StarClan," Birchleaf retorted, licking a paw, "I was just pointing out how incredibly vague the prophecy was and how hard it is to stop whatever that 'destruction' was without more information. Seems kind of strange to put us all in one dream only to say 'be careful or something terrible will happen but we're not actually going to tell you how to stop it.'"
"You're a sorry excuse for a medicine cat," Brokengaze hissed, unsheathing his claws.
"Oh, you're suddenly high and noble, are you?" Birchleaf challenged, meeting his gaze, "Are you so noble that you're above the Code? Are you going to attack me?"
"Calm down, both of you!" Dawnriver hissed, stepping between them, "Have you forgotten who you are? We are medicine cats, we do not fight each other."
Reluctantly, Brokengaze sheathed his claws and Birchleaf let the fur on her neck lie flat, but she was still bristling.
"Sorry that all of this happened on your first trip to the Mooncave as a medicine cat," Flamepaw said, padding over to Smokepaw. He turned his head away from the bristling cats to look at her. "Usually StarClan doesn't send such intense prophecies. And especially not the same one with every medicine cat."
"What do you think will happen?" Smokepaw asked, hoping for some reassurance as Berryclaw had been quiet, staring at Brokengaze and Birchleaf without saying anything himself.
Flamepaw tipped her head to the side.
"I don't know," she mewed, "But I guess we should try our best to be good medicine cats and to help our Clan. There's not much else we can do."
"Do you think the leaders will learn what to do?" Smokepaw asked. He knew the leaders were all rivals, but he wanted to believe they could work together. If the prophecy was big enough to affect all five Clans, surely the leaders would want to avoid it.
Flamepaw shrugged. "I guess we'll see." she mewed.
"Flamepaw, it's time to go!" Birchleaf called, stalking away from Brokengaze, "You can speak with Smokepaw at the next Gathering."
"Goodbye, Smokepaw," Flamepaw said, before rushing after her mentor.
"We should be going too," Berryclaw said, padding over to Smokepaw and heading back towards WindClan territory.
Smokepaw flicked his tail at the other cats in goodbye before following Berryclaw towards the moor.
"What should we do, Berryclaw?" Smokepaw finally asked.
Berryclaw was silent for several moments before turning back towards his apprentice.
"We shall inform Runningstar," he began, "And we shall look out for more signs and dreams from StarClan."
"Flamepaw says we should do our best to help our Clan," Smokepaw said.
"She's right," Berryclaw agreed, as they walked through the open plain, "That is the true destiny of all medicine cats."
The two of them walked in silence as Smokepaw fumbled with one last question. He wasn't sure if he wanted to ask it, but he finally gave in.
"Do you think that vision will come true?" he asked in a whisper.
Berryclaw was silent for a very long time.
"I hope not," he responded.
And the two of them made their way back across the moor and back to camp, without another word.