Chapter 14

Rainpelt paced outside the medicine cat's den, eyes low to the ground. She was only hopeful that Yellowfang, Cinderpaw, and Dewflower could save her apprentice. Finally, Dewflower stepped out of the den. Rainpelt's ears pricked forward. Dewflower shook her head. Rainpelt's ears lay flat.

"We can't be too sure. He's still unconscious." Her ears came back up again. There was still hope! She could feel it inside of her, burning like a small flame. A meowed echoed from the den. Rainpelt dashed in, recognizing the voice.

"Rainstar?" Stormpaw looked up. Rainpelt was taken by surprise.

"Rainstar?" she asked with question. "I'm Rainpelt, Stormpaw." The apprentice was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"I could have sworn StarClan told me Rainstar," he insisted.

"StarClan? You visited StarClan?" Dewflower meowed.

"I've been given a dream," he quietly mewed back. "They told me Rainstar would lead her Clan to safety." Rainpelt's eyes widened with disbelief. Did this mean WillowClan was yet alive?

"Rest, Stormpaw. Just rest please," she cooed, licking his head gently like a queen would her kits. His eyes slowly closed, as he fell into a dreamless sleep. "Lead my Clan to safety?"

"Perhaps it was just a dream…like yours the other day," Dewflower suggested.

"No, this is indeed from StarClan," Yellowfang rasped. "A regular dream wouldn't send a message like that without it being from our warrior ancestors." Rainpelt's tail drooped. She wasn't sure if she was entirely ready to lead a whole Clan! She'd been deputy, with which was fine, but to be fully in charge was entirely a different path.

"How do we know it's not a trick?" Rainpelt asked.

"They addressed you as Rainstar. That wouldn't be a trick…" the medicine cat trailed off. Rainpelt shook her fur, fluffing it up as a shiver rippled it. She padded out of the den. A breeze ruffled her fur even more as she padded over to the entrance of the camp. She exited through the gorse tunnel, running along. She needed to gather her thoughts.

After a while, she found herself at Fourtrees, staring up at the tall branches. She heard murmuring and crouched low to the ground. She smelled a WindClan patrol and began to sneak over to the Highrock to hide herself. What would WindClan do if they found her here?

"So that's how we lost," a female voice meowed calmly. Rainpelt could smell the WindClan deputy with her. He padded around the Highrock, discovering the ThunderClan warrior. He yowled in alarm. "What is it?" The female warrior followed him, looking down with shocking blue eyes. Her muscles rippled beneath her midnight black pelt as she slowly moved toward the ThunderClan warrior.

Rainpelt shut her eyes as memories flooded back to her. Surely this wasn't the same she-cat from WillowClan? She felt uneasy. Had her whole Clan suddenly woken from the grave?

"Rainpelt?" The cat's soft voice made her reopen her eyes. It was who she thought it was.

"Yes." She sat up straight. "Mistclaw."

"I can't believe you're alive!" Mistclaw wrinkled her nose. "And you reek of ThunderClan." Rainpelt arched her back.

"That would be my Clan now, as well as your brother's."

"Sunfur? He's alive too?" Her ears perked forward in surprise, with a mix of happiness.

"Yes, and he's quite well. You'd know that if you weren't complaining about our Clan." Rainpelt's eyes grew cold and unwelcoming.

"Well, I'm sorry if I didn't know!"

"I understand you don't go to the Gatherings?"

"No. Tallstar doesn't think I'm ready."

"It won't be long, I'm sure. Sunfur would be happy to see you. I can hear him whimpering at night in his dreams, no doubt dreaming of you."

"Yeah, that sounds like my brother…"

"I'd better go before I'm missed back at camp. Nice to see you, Mistclaw." The WindClan warrior nodded in response before following her companion back to her territory. Rainpelt made her way back to ThunderClan camp slowly, still thinking about her Clan that seemed to be yet alive.