PROLOGUE

Firestar jerked awake, his belly tight with fear. He blinked with relief when he saw the familiar stone walls of his den in the hollow by the lake. Starlight filtered through the split in the rock. The cool air soothed him.

He heaved himself to his paws and shook his head, trying to dislodge the dream. He gazed out from his den at the sleepy camp below. Two sentries were positioned at the hollow's entrance. On the Highledge was a single shape. Firestar recognized his medicine cat from afar, and his heart squeezed.

He cast a glance toward Sandstorm, who slept soundly in their moss nest. Then he quietly padded out from under the bramble tendrils that covered their cave. He leapt up onto the Highledge and made his way over to the medicine cat.

"It's a nice night," he rumbled as he approached. The medicine cat didn't seem surprised by his arrival.

"It is," she replied.

Firestar sat down beside her. "I couldn't sleep, either," he meowed conversationally. "Dreams, you know." The medicine cat hummed.

Firestar looked up through the trees, into the sky. Long ago, he had looked out over the garden fence at the forest. Now, he was in a different forest, and leader of a Clan of wild cats. And he knew that the stars contained the spirits of his warrior ancestors - friends and Clanmates who had gone before. His heart clenched again as he thought of recent losses.

A badger attack two moons ago had devastated the ThunderClan camp. They had sustained several losses, one of which was very dear to Firestar - and to his medicine cat.

"I miss her so much," Firestar murmured, unable to contain himself.

The medicine cat breathed in deeply. "Me too," she replied in a choked voice. She leaned into her old mentor's fur. "It should have been me," Cinderpelt breathed.

"Never say that," Firestar meowed. "Leafpool would never have wanted that."

"She didn't want to die, either."

"But she did in the bravest way possible," Firestar meowed, half assuring himself. "She died defending her Clanmate."

"And Sorreltail honored her," Cinderpelt murmured.

"Yes - how is Poolkit?" Firestar asked.

"Energetic as ever," Cinderpelt replied wistfully. "I can only imagine the type of apprentice she'll be."

"Oh, I think I can imagine," Firestar huffed, nudging his old apprentice gently. Cinderpelt gave a mrrow of laughter.

The two cats sat in silence for a few heartbeats. Cinderpelt gave her fur a shake. "You said you were dreaming?" she meowed briskly. Firestar sighed. "Oh, I know that sigh," Cinderpelt huffed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Firestar did. More than anything. It was a dream that had followed him on the Great Journey over the mountains and settled with him in his new home by the lake; and every full moon, the memory of it returned to fill his sleep. Even Sandstorm knew nothing of the words he had shared with an ancient cat in a gorge, far away…

"I received a prophecy," he blurted out. "Many seasons ago."

"A prophecy?" Cinderpelt echoed.

"There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws."

Cinderpelt grunted. "That's some prophecy," she meowed.

"I thought, for awhile, that it would be Cloudtail, Squirrelflight and…Leafpool," Firestar meowed. "But…not anymore."

Cinderpelt cast a glance at the thorn bush that housed the Clan warriors. She seemed to debate with herself whether to speak. Finally, her jaws parted. "Squirrelflight is expecting kits," she meowed.

Firestar's belly lurched. He should have been overjoyed at the prospect of his daughter starting a family of her own, but his heart was hollow. The two cats on the Highledge spoke no more. They simply stared up at their ancestors and prayed.

The three have come…

ALLEGIANCES

Allegiances are the same as the book Power of Three: The Sight, save for a few exceptions: Cinderpaw's name is Poolpaw. Breezepaw doesn't exist.

WELCOME NOTES

Welcome to my Power of Three AU!

This AU really starts in The New Prophecy: Starlight. Crowfeather and Leafpool never fall in love. Because Leafpool never left the Clan in Twilight, she was there for Sorreltail's kitting during the badger attack and took Cinderpelt's place as a casualty of the attack. (Please note that Poolpaw is not a reincarnation of Leafpool. She is just named after Sorreltail's best friend.) The rest of TNP goes as planned.

Leafpool's kits - Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather - are never born. Instead, Squirrelflight has a litter of kits - aaaand, that's who we'll meet in the next chapter!

This story is cross-posted on Archive of Our Own. Because I'm so far ahead on AO3, I'll be posting one chapter a day here on FF until we're caught up. Then I'll return to my schedule.

Thanks for reading! See you in the next chapter!