I've finally gotten into the groove of things with school, so now I'm more comfortable with writing chapters.
Except this one is super short and I probably could have added it onto the end of the last chapter. Sorry ;-;
I really want to hear people's thoughts on Ignite so far. Am I going too slow, are things too dry at the moment, should I skip to the important points instead of dancing around, etc? Lately it feels as if I haven't received much in feedback.
Leaning towards a time skip to the beginning of Bramblestar's Storm. Also leaning towards possibly ending Ignite soon, cause I feel as if I've dragged this on for a while? We'll see.
Anyone else read Leopardstar's Honor? I did. It only cemented the fact that Leopardstar is one of my least favorite leaders. She can join Mudclaw in the trash.
Reviews are very much appreciated!
Thunderstar was waiting for her as Leafpool called out to the Moonpool, asking it to bring her back to Starclan. Outwardly, he was mostly calm, though his twitching tail gave away his anxiousness.
"You were gone the whole night," he noted. "You must found a way to connect to the stone."
She shook her head. "I didn't actually. It connected with me." Thunderstar's shoulders drooped in disappointment, the founder of Thunderclan losing his dignified posture. Leafpool was surprised that he could look so...small. "Were... you hoping to be able to connect with it yourself?" she asked him, surprised.
"Well, it would have been nice if anyone from Starclan could have had the ability to speak to it," he grumbled. He blinked at her inquisitive look. "There are cats in Starclan that I know would have liked the chance to convince it to let them speak with Firestar. But since it clearly has a mind of its own..." His face hardened suddenly. "But even if you weren't the one to connect, you still managed to talk to it yes? Tell me what you've learned."
She sighed, sitting down on her haunches heavily. Thunderstar frowned, and also moved to sit down. The next few heartbeats were filled with silence, the gentle ripples produced by the Moonpool echoing against the stone being the only sound between them.
"Well, for starters," she began. "It doesn't like Starclan."
Her whiskers twitched in amusement as Thunderstar had to physically keep himself from rolling his eyes. His position as a senior Starclan warrior and founder of Thunderclan kept him from going through with the action, even if he desperately wanted to. "We know that already," he all but complained. "It wouldn't be keeping us from reaching Firestar if it liked us."
She purred in amusement. "It's been trying to sever Firestar's loyalty to Starclan in order for him to be more open to his transformation," she meowed, losing all her previous mirth. "I got the impression that it also doesn't like Starclan because of how... ineffective we are," she said, the term tasting like ash on her tongue. She frowned as her statement really sank in; was Starclan really as weak as the stone thought they were? Leafpool sent an inquisitive look at Thunderclan, whose fur was bristling at her report.
"Why don't we do more to help?" she uttered without thinking. Thunderstar rose an eyebrow at her. "We're Starclan aren't we? Starclan has always claimed to have all this power, but when has it ever been used besides to cover up the Moon with some clouds during Gatherings?"
Thunderstar winced, tail lashing. "Trust me, if things went as I liked them to go, I would have helped more cats from the living clans a lot more." He let out an angry sigh. "But the founders of Starclan believe that the clans would become complacent if we helped them too much. How will their skills and minds stay sharp if Starclan is always around to hold their paws?"
Leafpool sucked in a frustrated breath. Sure, too much help would be detrimental in the end. But they really weren't allowed to help the clans prepare for the Dark Forest better? "Aren't you a founder-?"
"I'm not," he cut her off. "While I did found Thunderclan, there are cats older and more ancient than I am that... make the rules, so to speak. I, as well as the other clan founders don't have as much clout as the rest of Starclan seem to think we have," he lightly hissed.
"I tried once," he meowed, suddenly sullen. She pricked her ears up, intrigued. "I tried helping a cat find his path, long ago. I told him to let his instincts and heart guide him."
This...was remarkably similar to what Spottedleaf had told her. In the end, she had followed her heart, right back to Thunderclan.
"What happened to him?" she asked Thunderstar softly.
"He abandoned his clan," he murmured. Her eye twitched a little; maybe this was a little too similar. "Unlike you, he never looked back, and ended up becoming a kittypet." Leafpool's eyes widened, jaw hanging open a bit.
"So, you accidentally guided a warrior into becoming a kittypet, and that's why Starclan doesn't interfere with the living clans anymore?"
He sniffed crossly. "That's only partly the reason. I thought I was helping," he muttered bitterly. His shoulders were tensed, his body posture suddenly defensive. Leafpool got the hint, and decided not to pry anymore into it. He got up to his paws, padding over to the Moonpool to gaze down into the image below once again. She got up to stand next to him, also gazing down into it. It was still showing the Thunderclan camp. She stared at the image of her father, his eyes half-lidded with drowsiness. The medicine cat side of Leafpool slipped out a bit, concerned for her father's constant state of exhaustion and wondered why he was, and what was causing it.
'Is the cold making him sleepy maybe?' she wondered.
"What else did you learn from the stone?" Thunderstar meowed at her.
She mentally checked off what the stone had conveyed to her. It hated Starclan, it had connected with Bluestar to make a point, though Leafpool didn't think that part was relevant at the moment. There was only one thing left.
"It wants space," she said.
"Space?" Thunderstar echoed in confusion.
"It seems to think that Firestar, and by extension itself, is in a too confined area. It wants Starclan to find a place big enough to hold Firestar and allow him to at least stretch his wings," she reported. He blinked, staring back down into the pool, observing Firestar. Despite his drowsiness, Firestar looked like he was trying his hardest to stay still, as to not disturb any of the cats in the cam below. The trees behind him, though bare due to the previous fire and because of the season, were poking at Firestar's back and wings.
"I see," Thunderstar murmured. "He does look uncomfortable. But such a space doesn't exist. If there was, Firestar would have moved there already."
"The stone is aware of that. It said that if a such a space doesn't exist, then it was up to Starclan to make one," Leafpool meowed. "If we do this, the stone will allow cats it approves to visit Firestar in his dreams."
Thunderstar let out an agitated hiss. "All of that work, only for it to decide who will be let in, if at any?"
She hadn't thought about that, she noted in alarm. The stone had no reason to keep its word. Had she been tricked?
"But if we don't try..." Leafpool trailed off.
Thunderstar was silent, a hard look on his face as he continued staring down into the Moonpool. "I can't do this on my own. I'd need help from the other founders, cats who would want to help..." he started mumbling to himself.
Leafpool could have let out a sigh in relief. At least Thunderstar seemed keen on helping her with this. "What about the founders of Starclan?" If they caught wind of what they were planning...
Thunderstar snorted. "Oh, I think they'll understand this time around. Unless they want the fire-breathing dragon to turn its fangs onto Starclan." He paused for a moment, thinking. "And if they don't understand, I'll fight them off myself."
She gave him a purr of laughter. "So, how are we doing this? Are we finally going to use our powers granted to us by being Starclan cats?" The powers she didn't know how to use or control beyond entering the dreams of cats. She inwardly winced, wondering if that was the reason why Starclan didn't use the power of the stars too often. Did cats not bother, or were they too scared of it?
"Suppose this will be learning experience for all of us," he rumbled. "First, we need to gather cats who will help us. Then..." He stared intensely into her eyes.
"Have you ever heard the term "terraforming" before?"
I'd imagine Thunderstar feels a lot of shame for failing Pinestar so miserably. Especially cause Thunderstar still gets harped on for his sub-par "guidance" from other Starclan cats, which is why he's lost power within the rankings of Starclan.
Thunderstar and Leafpool are going to have to gather a bunch of cats in order to pull off some terraforming. And a lot of power. Possibly in secret too. There are some cats out there who wouldn't be too fond of this plan...
Tell me how I did.