Chapter 12
It had been almost a moon since Nightsky's death. Since then, Ripplesky felt as if he was slowing growing mad. Every night, Nightsky came to haunt him. He could never hear what she was saying, but he could tell she was furious. Ripplesky would try to run away from her, but his nightmares would always end in a bloody fight to the death. It didn't help that his lack of sleep and guilty conscience was causing him to panic around his Clanmates. He could barely look any cat in the eye anymore, afraid they would somehow figure out the truth and confront him about it.
"Ripplesky?"
The medicine cat jumped to his paws, eyes wide. Spinning around, he turned to face the voice. As soon as he realized it was his sister, he immediately calmed down.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you," Minnowpaw apologized as she sat down. Her blue eyes were filled with sadness as she glanced down at the ground.
Ripplesky shook his head. "It's all right. I know you didn't mean it." Slowly, he padded over to his sister and took a seat beside her. "Are you all right? You look troubled..."
Minnowpaw flicked her tail back and forth nervously. "It's nothing," she muttered, standing up. "I should just go. Sorry for bothering you."
Ripplesky quickly stopped her. "Tell me what's wrong," he demanded.
The silver-gray she-cat gave him a surprised look, before sitting back down. "Promise you won't get mad?" As soon as Ripplesky nodded she continued, "Ever since you became the sole medicine cat of RiverClan, I feel as if we've drifted apart. You have so much responsibility on your shoulders, and you're only nine moons! I feel like we aren't even siblings anymore." A flash of panic crossed Minnowpaw's eyes as she quickly added, "I don't mean that in a bad way. I just mean that I feel we've grown so far apart-"
"I understand what you mean," Ripplesky said, cutting her off. Leaning forward, he gave his sister a nuzzle. "I feel the same way, sometimes. Things would have been different if Morningstar had just made me a warrior's apprentice." A growl rose up in his throat as he thought back to his apprentice ceremony. If Morningstar had just let him train as a warrior, none of this would have ever happened. Nightsky would still be alive, and he would be living as a normal apprentice.
"You're a great medicine cat," Minnowpaw told him, a purr rising up in her throat. "I could never handle the responsibility of the entire Clan at this age." Suddenly, Briarpelt's voice sounded out in the clearing. "Briarpelt is looking for me. I better get going before he sends me to clean Sootpelt for ticks!"
As Ripplesky watched his sister leave, a wave of envy came crashing down on him. Minnowpaw was lucky. She didn't have to worry about saving the Clan from evil medicine cats, or weak leaders. Her only worry was bringing back enough prey for the Clan. Sighing, Ripplesky padded over to the herb storage. As he began to pull wilted leaves from the fresh store, a withered leaf caught his attention. Upon closer examination, it was the same leaf Nightsky had plucked from that bush so long ago. Growing, Ripplesky began to shred the leaf, tears welling in his eyes.
What have I done?
A thick blanket of frost covered the reeds as Ripplesky made his way towards Fourtrees. Today he had decided to search for some oak leaves, since the cold season was fast approaching. As he neared the giant oaks, the scent of ShadowClan overwhelmed him. Narrowing his eyes, Ripplesky ducked down behind a bramble bush. What was ShadowClan doing so far in RiverClan's territory? As Ripplesky scanned the undergrowth, a familiar tabby pelt caught his attention.
"Willowpaw!" he growled, leaping out from his hiding spot.
"Ripplesky!" Willowpaw exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Ripplesky demanded, his neck fur bristling slightly.
"I'm looking for herbs," the ShadowClan apprentice replied, giving him a friendly smile.
"You can't be here. You're trespassing on RiverClan's territory," Ripplesky said, narrowing his eyes. Didn't Willowpaw know the warrior code?
Willowpaw gave him a surprised look. "Medicine cats can go wherever they please," she sniffed, flicking her tail back and forth. "Why do you care that I'm here anyways? I thought we were friends."
"We are friends," Ripplesky meowed, "but that doesn't mean you can wander into my territory." Glancing over his shoulder he whispered, "You need to leave, before a patrol catches you. I'm sure Honeyleaf won't be happy if a RiverClan patrol has to escort you home."
Willowpaw gave him an angry look. "Fine!" she spat, the fur along her spine bristling. Spinning around, the pale brown tabby marched in the direction of ShadowClan's territory. Just as she was about to pad into the undergrowth, Willowpaw turned to face him. "You think you're better than me just because you're a full medicine cat. Well, guess what! You're no better than a pile of dung."
Ripplesky stared at her, shocked. Why was she so angry with him for defending his Clan's territory? Sure, the two had been friendly a couple of times, but that didn't change the fact that trespassing was against the warrior code. Ripplesky couldn't allow his friendship with Willowpaw to interfere with his job. His Clan came first, and no friendship would change that. Sighing, Ripplesky began to head towards the great oaks.
As he gathered up the fallen leaves that had scattered the ground, Ripplesky noticed the undergrowth behind him was rustling violently. "Who's there?" he called out, the fur along his spine bristling. What if it's a fox? Not wanting to find out, the young tom gathered up his herbs as quickly as possible, before racing in the direction of camp. As he ran, he could feel his chest and throat tightening up. The pressure became too much, causing Ripplesky to have to stop to catch his breath. "That was scary," he meowed to himself, before continuing his walk home.
When he reached camp, Morningstar padded up to him. "There you are! I've been looking for you all morning. I was starting to worry something had happened to you." The tortoiseshell she-cat gave her chest fur a couple of embarrassed licks before adding, "There's something I would like to talk to you about."
Ripplesky narrowed his eyes at her. "What?" What if she knows I killed Nightsky? Gulping, the silver tom followed the RiverClan leader into her den.
"I'm appointing Swanfeather and Mudfoot as your bodyguards," Morningstar told him. "Since Nightsky's death, I've been worried about what's in store for the Clan. You're so young and-"
"I don't need babysitters," Ripplesky growled, flattening his ears to his head.
"They're not 'babysitters', they're bodyguards. They're going to be there to protect you in case of emergency," Morningstar argued. Ripplesky could tell she was growing slightly upset, as her tail was lashing back and forth.
"I'll be fine," he insisted, standing to his paws.
"Please," she pleaded, her eyes tearing up. "I can't lose you, too... You're all this Clan has left. If something were to happen to you, we'd fall apart." Morningstar glanced down at her paws. "Sometimes I feel as if StarClan has abandoned us completely."
"StarClan watches over us," Ripplesky meowed vaguely.
"Do they share tongues with you?" Morningstar wondered.
He nodded slowly. "Yes. StarClan has not abandoned us. They watch over each and every one of us." Ripplesky's stomach began to churn nervously. Afraid of spilling his secret, he dipped his head to Morningstar and left the den.
When he reached the safety of the medicine den, the young tom curled up in his nest. Usually, he dreaded falling asleep as he knew he would only be met by his terrible nightmares. This time, he did not care if Nightsky came to torture him in his sleep. Closing his eyes, Ripplesky drifted off to sleep. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a sunny forest clearing, unlike the dark and scary forest he had encountered several times in his nightmares.
"Snowdust?" he called out, wondering if his StarClan mentor had come to visit him. To his surprise, Silverhawk stepped out from the undergrowth. Ripplesky had only met Silverhawk once before, so it was surprising that the ragged warrior had come to visit him.
"Greetings," Silverhawk murmured. "Snowdust was busy, so I came instead. I have some important information I need to share with you."
Ripplesky blinked. "Is something bad going to happen?" he wondered, tipping his head to the side.
Silverhawk flicked an ear. "In three sunrises, ThunderClan is going to launch a raid on ShadowClan in the middle of the night."
"Why are you telling me this?" Ripplesky demanded, narrowing his eyes. "It shouldn't be my responsibility to worry about ShadowClan. They can take care of themselves."
"If you would be quiet and listen, you would know why I'm telling you this," Silverhawk growled, unsheathing his claws. For a second, Ripplesky thought Silverhawk was going to attack him. To his relief, the gray tabby calmed down after a few seconds. "ShadowClan will be badly outnumbered, meaning RiverClan will have to come to their aid. This will be the perfect time for you to kill Morningstar. Since it will be the night of a new moon, the forest will be drenched in darkness, allowing you to get away with killing her. The Clan will think she was slain in battle by a ThunderClan warrior."
Ripplesky gulped. "I can't do that," he blurted out. "I just can't! I'm sorry, Silverhawk, but you're just going to have to find another cat to carry out these... prophecies, or whatever they are."
Silverhawk snarled at him. "I always knew you were a coward," he spat. Before Ripplesky could react, he was thrown to the ground by Silverhawk. The gray tabby was much larger and stronger than him, meaning Ripplesky was powerless to fight him off.
"Get off me!" he pleaded, squirming under the StarClan cat's weight.
Just as Silverhawk was about to lash out at him, Snowtuft's voice rang out across the clearing. "Stop it, you frog-brain!"
Silverhawk glared at the white warrior, before reluctantly stepping off. "He won't go through with our plan," he told Snowtuft.
Snowtuft looked at Ripplesky, and then back at Silverhawk. "I'm sure he'll come around eventually. Just give him time, and allow Snowdust to talk to him. After all, she's the one responsible for him. Shredding his pelt isn't going to make him do it."
Ripplesky let out a sigh of relief, glad that Snowtuft was so understanding. "I just can't kill another cat. Since Nightsky's death, I feel as if I've lost my mind. Every night I have nightmares, and I can barely face my Clanmates anymore."
"How pathetic," Silverhawk muttered under his breath. Ripplesky narrowed his eyes at the gray warrior. Something wasn't right about Silverhawk, or any of his StarClan mentors for that matter. While most of them were very nice, there was also something mysterious about them. They all seemed so battle hungry and aggressive, which was the last thing the young tom expected from StarClan cats. He had always imagined them to be peaceful and kind.
"You'll get better in time," Snowtuft meowed. "For now, just think about what Silverhawk has told you. Perhaps when the battle arrives, you'll change your mind." Before Ripplesky could reply, he jolted awake in his nest.
Perhaps he could stop the battle all together? If ShadowClan was warned of the battle ahead of time, they could evacuate their camp and RiverClan wouldn't need to come to their aid. Then, he wouldn't have to kill Morningstar. I don't think I should talk to those StarClan cats anymore, Ripplesky thought. While he liked his StarClan mentors, deep down he felt as if trusting them was a huge mistake.
I'm sorry I haven't updated in a couple of weeks. I had to deal with some issues, both online and in real life. Luckily, that's all behind me so I'm free to update whenever I can. Also, I would like to thank you all for leaving so many reviews. I hope that you will enjoy this chapter, and you will all have a Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
