Chapter 28

The group traveled in silence as day shifted to night. With nothing but one another and the stars overhead, they followed the stream as it wound through the land. They crossed from the forest into more open moorland, followed the bank of the stream as it swept under a Thunderpath, and climbed up and down steep hills until finally, finally, at the crest of the tallest hill, the lake was before them.

Mistyfoot's eyes widened in awe. The sun-drown-place had been beautiful in how terrifying it was, but the lake… it was simply beautiful. The water was still and clear, reflecting Silverpelt perfectly on its surface. It was massive – but not intimidating, like the endless churning waves of the sun-drown-place. And the land around…

The moorland curved over most of the land surrounding the lake, but even in the darkness Mistyfoot could see the silhouette of a thick forest across the water. A Twoleg barn stood solidly just on the outskirts of the hilly moorland, with a small Twoleg nest overlooking the lake – but that was the only sign the cats could see of Twolegs here.

"It's… amazing," Crowpaw breathed.

"This is what we came for!" Feathertail purred, her eyes shining. She turned to Stormfur. "Just look at all this land! I've never seen so much water before!"

"Still Twolegs here, though," Stoneheart pointed out, nodding to the barn and nest. "And that Thunderpath back there might go to a Twolegplace, too."

Nightpaw's tail swished. "Yeah, but who cares?" he mewed. "Think of how far away it all is, compared to the forest!"

Mistyfoot stared down at the lake, her heart filling with triumph. This was what it was all for – the dreams, the journey, the strife… they had made it. She looked up at the stars above and sighed. I'm here, Mosspaw… we did it.

"So… what happens now?" Nightpaw wondered.

The cats fell silent. They were here, yes, and this place was beautiful – but Nightpaw was right. Mistyfoot found herself looking to Feathertail, Stoneheart, and Crowpaw. Did they feel anything? She certainly didn't, other than a sense of increasing anxiety. All three of them looked just as confused and helpless.

Shadepaw twitched her ears. "Well… we made it here," she reasoned. "StarClan has to have more information. Maybe we should go down and drink from the lake? The way it's reflecting the stars reminds me of the Moonstone…"

"It's a thought," Stormfur agreed, looking over the chosen cats. "Let's go – and keep an eye out for predators."

"Wait, what's that?" Crowpaw wondered.

Mistyfoot blinked at the WindClan tom. He was standing at attention, his tail low and ears upright. His spine bristled, just a little, and his lip curled. Mistyfoot followed his gaze, and spotted a large, dark shape moving in the marshy rushes by the banks of the lake.

The other journeying cats formed a line, standing at attention as the creature moved towards them. Mistyfoot's heart beat in her ears as the moonlight shone on a bright white stripe down its back… Badger!

Mistyfoot's claws unsheathed as her blood roared through her body. Immediately she was taken back to the forest, to the badger that killed Shrewpaw before her eyes. She felt herself bristling with fear and anger as the badger lumbered its way up the slope.

"What do we do?" hissed Nightpaw.

"It's outnumbered," reasoned Stoneheart. "There's no way it can think it can handle all of us…"

"But it's still heading right for us!" squeaked Feathertail. Her tail bristled with alarm. "What's it think its doing?"

"Be ready," Stormfur growled, squaring his shoulders beside Mistyfoot. "Stoneheart, keep on the defensive. Apprentices, stick to the warriors. I'll take the first hit."

Mistyfoot bared her teeth. "Like I would let you!" she spat.

"Wait," breathed Shadepaw. "Calm down, all of you – don't you see it?"

"See what?" Crowpaw seethed. "All I see is a badger heading for us!"

Shadepaw stepped out of the group and towards the badger, which was now huffing and snuffling a few tail-lengths away. Mistyfoot's mind raced with alarm – what was Shadepaw thinking? That badger was twice her size at least!

"She has starlight in her fur," Shadepaw meowed, looking back at the Clan cats.

"Little shadow is right," grumbled the badger as she hefted herself up to the top of the hill. "I am not for fearing."

"It… speaks cat…?" murmured Feathertail, awe in her eyes.

Mistyfoot was stiff, shock coursing through her body. She shared a look with Stoneheart and Stormfur, and found they were just as mystified.

"I speak many things," the badger grumbled, nodding her long snout at Feathertail. "Cat, bat, fox… rabbit, too. Horse, even…" The creature shifted her big body and Mistyfoot saw that Shadepaw was right – the badger had stars speckling the black of her fur, like she was made of chunks of the night sky.

The badger raised her muzzle, her berry-bright eyes focusing on the cats. "I am called Midnight," she said. "And Midnight is whom you are to meet."

There was silence throughout the Clan cats. Mistyfoot's frenzied heartbeat slowed, gradually, as she looked into the badger's eyes. There was something calming about the creature, something that made her forget the trauma caused by her kin. Is this even really a badger? Mistyfoot found herself wondering. I've never heard of a badger with stars in their fur…

"Shadow, Wind, Thunder, and River must join together," stated Midnight, her voice echoing over the plains, "for the forest shakes to its roots – the words what sent you here, no?"

"Y-Yes," Feathertail breathed. She courageously stepped forward, closer to Midnight. "Can you tell us what they mean?"

Midnight blinked solemnly. "Yes," she assured.

"How do you know about StarClan?" Shadepaw wondered, her eyes wide with wonder. "How can you hear their messages, if you're not a Clan cat?"

"Messages everywhere, little shadow, if ears open, if eyes bright," Midnight explained, whiskers twitching. Her claws scuffed the earth beneath her heavy body. "Cats aren't only animals with eyes to see the stars, and StarClan are not only ancestors that roam. The world not so small that only Clan and StarClan exist!"

Mistyfoot swallowed, a feeling of discomfort creeping into her fur. She wasn't the only one – Crowpaw looked offended to hear such a thing, and Stoneheart's eyes darkened. All their lives Clan cats knew that what set them apart from other animals was StarClan – how could there be more?

"But what does the prophecy mean?" Stormfur wondered. His eyes were shining with desperation – he didn't seem bothered by Midnight's revelation. "We've come so far… we have to know!"

"And why a badger?" Shadepaw asked. "Why not one of their own?"

"Because journey just as important as destination," Midnight explained. "This prophecy – about acceptance and togetherness, it is. Come. Night is long, and you are tired."

Midnight got to her paws and led the way along the slope. The journeying cats, after a moment of hesitation, followed – what choice did they have? The world felt so strange and alien now that they were following a cat-speaking, star-furred badger. What more could be thrown their way?

"What could she mean, that StarClan aren't the only ancestors out there?" wondered Stoneheart.

Mistyfoot shrugged. "I have no idea," she admitted.

"It makes sense, when you think about it," Nightpaw put in, trotting into place beside her. "Why wouldn't rabbits or foxes or sheep believe in their own ancestors? Where else would they go when they die?"

"Wise little one," Midnight chuffed ahead. Mistyfoot guessed the badger was trying to chuckle, but the sound was more of a growl.

Mistyfoot swallowed. "Can we trust her?" she wondered.

"We have to," Shadepaw insisted. Her eyes were filled with determination. Beside her, Feathertail nodded in agreement. "She's got to be from StarClan, somehow – she knows the prophecy."

"She knows our destiny," Feathertail added. "At least… I hope so."

So do I, Mistyfoot thought.

She looked up at the stars as Midnight led them into a grove of willows, where several small streams broke off from the lake and intersected to form little island. The place was quite sheltered, overgrown with reeds along the banks of the streams. The water was easy to cross in a single bound, even for Nightpaw, whose legs were half the size of every other cat.

Mosspaw, Mistyfoot thought as she stepped into the reeds. Is this what you were leading us to all along?

The journeying cats stepped out into an open clearing, bigger and wider than it would have appeared from the outside. Feathertail's jaws opened in awe, and Stormfur's eyes sparkled.

"It's like home," he purred.

Mistyfoot, looking around, had to agree – there was a certain RiverClan-ness to the little island that was undeniable. The gentle sound of the stream in her ears, the softness of the earth, the willows draping the ground with their branches… it wasn't for her, personally, but there was an appeal.

Midnight settled herself beside hollow log near the back of the clearing. It looked like the old willow had fallen seasons upon seasons ago, with moss and mushrooms crawling over its surface – there was still a nobility about the husk, though, and its structure still seemed rather sound.

"Sit," invited Midnight.

The cats had little choice but to obey. Mistyfoot settled herself down beside Stormfur. Nightpaw pressed his fur against her other side, while Shadepaw and Crowpaw sat together beyond him. Feathertail and Stoneheart took up Stormfur's other side. All together they formed a half-moon around the mysterious starry badger who looked down her snout at them with bright, beady eyes.

Mistyfoot tried to hide the shaking of her legs – what would the badger reveal? What did the prophecy mean? What could they do about it, and what did the lake mean when all was said and done? Any exhaustion from the journey fled Mistyfoot as she stared at Midnight's striped face. There was too much at stake here to be worrying about sleep.

"The prophecy what sent you here is of ill news," Midnight rumbled. "Life, all life, is cycle – weak devour strong, cat hunt mouse – but cat is not strongest force in all of world."

"Yeah, we know that," Crowpaw growled, rolling his eyes. Mistyfoot knew the WindClan cat well enough now to see that he was huffing to hide his fear. "Just tell us what you mean, you old badger!"

Midnight did not seem offended. "Twolegs," she stated. "They come for your forest, to destroy it."

Silence fell in the clearing. Mistyfoot blinked, confused. "W-Why?"

"When camp too small for cats, you expand camp, no?" Midnight spoke as if it were the simplest concept in the world. "Twolegs need space, too. They take where they can, same as you."

"That can't be true," whispered Feathertail. "No, no… why would they care about our forest? It… It's ours! StarClan gave it to us!"

Midnight shook her head. "Land no belong to you, the land belong to no one," she explained. "In future, something stronger than Twoleg will take land from them – but now, Twolegs will take forest."

Feathertail shivered, leaning against Stormfur for support. Stormfur stiffened, his eyes wide. Mistyfoot dug her claws into the earth to keep it from spinning all around her. The others were similarly shocked, the apprentices huddling up together with quivering whiskers and Stoneheart hunched close to the earth, as if the world was spinning for him, too.

"W-We can fight them!" Crowpaw insisted, bristling.

Midnight shook her head again. "Pointless," she decided, her voice heavy. "Cats lost for nothing, and Twolegs still take land."

"She's right," Stoneheart rasped. "We've never been able to really fight the Twolegs…" He looked at Midnight, his pale blue eyes beseeching. "What are we to do, then?"

Midnight blinked placidly. "You have made journey to lake. You know the way. Bring Clans here – the lake is home, now."

"W-what?!" Nightpaw breathed.

"Leave?" Shadepaw squeaked. She looked faint. "Leave the forest? For good?"

Mistyfoot's heart thudded in her ears as the journey, the prophecy, all of it clicked in her head. Why else would StarClan send cats from all Clans here? Why else would they endure the journey, the uncertainty, together? Midnight had stated earlier that the prophecy had been about acceptance and togetherness – and, thinking of the journey they had made… the badger was right.

"Lake has moors, swamps, rivers," Midnight went on. "Oaks tall and oaks small. It is much like forest you come from. Clans will live here many long seasons."

"That can't be true," whispered Crowpaw. "We're happy in the forest. What, am I supposed to tell Tallstar to just up and leave because a badger says so?!"

"You tell him to leave because StarClan says so," Shadepaw murmured back. The young medicine cat looked scared, but there was acceptance in her eyes. Mistyfoot admired her faith – strong, even when far older cats were frightened around her. "Because that's what they've said."

Crowpaw's eyes were pools of sorrow, and he trembled beside Shadepaw, quiet and as helpless as they all were in the face of this tragedy.

"We know it's true," Stoneheart stated pragmatically. "The Twolegs… ShadowClan and WindClan territory have seen the damage they're doing, more than the other Clans. Something is happening in the forest… and if this is it, it's not so farfetched."

Mistyfoot's head spun, thinking back to the Gathering and the forest. She'd taken shelter with Nightpaw underneath some Twoleg monster before the journey, and through WindClan territory she had seen similar creatures lined up along the Thunderpath… they'd been gone so long – what was happening in the forest? Would there be anything left when they returned?

"But RiverClan was fine!" Feathertail insisted, lifting her head to protest. Her neck fur rose. "There weren't any Twolegs on our territory when we left!"

"Come sooner, come later," Midnight rasped, "but they will come."

Feathertail opened her jaws to protest, but all that came out was a wail of sorrow. Stormfur buried his muzzle into his sister's fur, and Mistyfoot felt him shaking. She understood why – the thought of ThunderClan territory disappearing made her dizzy. She couldn't believe it.

How will I tell Tinystar? She wondered, staring down at her paws. He was so upset with me when I left. Will he even let me back into ThunderClan?

Will there even be a ThunderClan to warn?

As if she could sense it, Midnight soothed, "There is time for warning, time for leaving – but not much. Twolegs cause much suffering, true; but it is part of cycle."

"This cycle is unfair," Nightpaw whispered. "I hate it."

"Hate it not, little one," Midnight told him, sympathy in her voice. "The cycle favors not one or another. The Clans must begin anew at lake. Here is where destinies lie, where darkness will be vanquished… and where Clans live on, in starlight."