Hello! Welcome back! Yay! Are you ready to go and explore Starclan's Hunting Grounds? Because I am, and so is Coal, so you better be because that is what is going to happen in this chapter! But first, I have some sad news to share with you: School has started. WHY? I can't even wake up in the morning, let alone use my brain! Well, hopefully I'll survive. See you at the bottom, and hope you enjoy!
The excitement still hadn't worn off, and as Coal followed the two Star-cats, their tails entwined, she couldn't help but bounce every now and then. She knew that they had said that she needed to calm down otherwise they wouldn't be able to show her Starclan, but she had to get rid of all of her energy somehow! Bouncing was definitely the best way to do that. She was tempted to just run off into the beautiful forest that protected them from the sun and explore on her own, but she didn't, and she wasn't too sure why. Maybe it was because she could get lost. Maybe it was because the Star-cats may not hear her and leave her behind. Maybe it was because something similar had already happened. Coal shook her head. She couldn't let her dark thoughts ruin the brightness of the forest around her, especially when she was going to do something exciting. But no matter how much she tried to push the thoughts away, they still lingered, so Coal trailed behind the Star-cats, bouncing.
Coal knew that her continuous bouncing was beginning to annoy the Star-cats. Their tails were no longer wrapped up in one another, and had started swishing from side to side, and she noticed their ears were constantly twitching, but that didn't faze her. The foggy wall had long since gone and now all that Coal could see was the forest. It reminded Coal slightly of the forest where she was travelling in, but this place had a safe feeling around it, everything peaceful and quiet, as if nothing would ever be able to happen here which would cause panic or stress. I'm glad that the Star-cats put guards by that fog, who knows what would happen if the Shadow-cats came here! Coal quickly squashed the thought, not wanting to see images of the gloomy place that she had just left. I've left it behind, so my thoughts should too. Coal stared at the Star-cat's home, basking in the sunlight that trickled in through the leaves and branches, and started to count how many trees there were to pass time and seeing if she could remember any of their names. By now, she had stopped bouncing, and was concentrating on the woods.
Sometimes, her Mother used to take her and Dusk on little walks, trying to teach them the 'importance of the plants around them'. But she and Dusk would always pretend that they weren't listening so the two of them could annoy their Mother, but secretly, she were always were paying attention, mainly because they knew what would happen if they didn't. Not only did she teach her and Dusk what certain plants did, but she also taught them the different trees and what their names were, and every now and then, she would set up a little test, to see whether or not she and Dusk had been listening. I'm just doing another little test, the only difference, it's made by me, and I'm doing it alone. Coal sighed. She wished that Dusk was here, they always did everything together, and rarely anything separated them from one another. Enough of these thoughts, Coal! What trees can you see? Coal focused back on the forest, ignoring any pain she had in her chest from the lack of warmth that Dusk always gave off.
They were going at quite a quick pace, and Coal found it difficult to keep up with the Star-cats, as well as keeping up with the amount of trees she was passing. Two-three-four-Oak-Sycamore-Beech-five-six-I can't remember that tree-Another Sycamore-seven-Oak again-eight-nine... Coal shook her head. This is so hard! Why can't they just slow down a bit? Don't they know that I've hurt my paw? She stopped in her tracks. The pain that she had felt earlier in her dream was completely gone, it had vanished and left no sign that it had ever been there. Coal looked down at her 'hurt' paw and gave it a shake, gentle at first, then more vigorously, and still no pain came. Staring down at her paw, Coal wondered how this had happened. Maybe because this is a dream, my paw is OK? But then how come it hurt in the Dark Forest? Is it because I'm in the Star-cat's home? But how does that work? She was so deep in thought that she didn't realize that Grey Wing and Slate had stopped walking also, and were coming towards her. Coal stopped shaking her paw as the shadow of the two cats fell over her. She glanced up at the two Star-cats, both of them looking down at her with concerned expressions.
"You all alright there, Coal?" Slate asked kindly. She crouched down to Coal's level so that she could look at her without her having to crane her neck up. "Why did you stop?" Coal looked down at her paws. Is she telling me off? "Sorry." Coal murmured. She hated it when her Mother told her off, it always felt as if she had done the worst thing possible by upsetting her Mother, and then she would feel extremely guilty; Coal also hated it when Dusk was getting told off. She felt bad for her every time, her face completely empty of any of the happiness that Coal would usually see there, and nearly every time once her Mother had finished scolding her, she would burst into tears, and Coal would have to come out of her hiding place, from where she was watching what was going on, and have to try and comfort her before her Mother came back. Even though Dusk was much bigger than her, and always acted as the leader out of the both of them, she was the easiest to upset, and Coal took up the role of the older sister, looking after her when their Mother couldn't.
"There's nothing to be sorry for." Slate meowed comfortingly, giving Coal a quick lick on the head. "We were just concerned because before you seemed all full of energy, and we wondered if you'd stopped because you were tired." She explained, and Coal allowed herself to look back up. Slate's face betrayed no hint of lying, so Coal decided to trust her with this. She was still basically a stranger to her, and her Mother had always warned her of not talking to cats that she didn't know, but Grey Wing was still a bit like a stranger too, and yet she felt as if she could trust him, and almost instantly became his friend, but she didn't know where either of them came from, how they knew her, what they were doing with her. Why am I following them then? Coal shook her head, it was getting very confusing for her. Stop thinking about that now, Slate asked you something, and I need to answer her! She decided to tell her the truth, since her heart was telling her that these cats were good, and she could become close to them if she wanted. "I'm fine, Slate, I was just wondering why my paw was hurting in the Dark Forest, and not here, I mean, I know this is a dream and all, but it feels so real! And I hardly remember falling asleep, and usually my dreams aren't as clear or creative as this. It doesn't matter though, I sometimes over-think things." Coal jumped back to her paws. "Well, if this is a dream, it won't last much longer, and I want to see where you're taking me so we better carry on without any more distractions!" Coal got the last part off of her Mother, who was always scolding them for dawdling while they were exploring.
Slate stood back up to her normal height, and quickly bounded back toward Grey Wing, who had taken a few paw-steps aside while Slate was talking to her. Coal watched as Slate stretched her muzzle to Grey Wing's ear and whispered something that Coal couldn't quite pick up. Grey Wing nodded, then called to Coal to walk with them instead of behind them, so they'd know if she wanted to stop or ask something. Coal nodded, and bounded over to them, padding in between them as they started walking again.
It wasn't that long after they'd started walking that they came across a clearing. Coal looked around. The grass was short and full of flowers that grew up to Coal's shoulders, different shades of yellow and purple and giving off a sweet scent that Coal instantly fell in love with. She stretched her neck so that she could have a better view of the clearing, and gasped. In the centre was a huge rock, jutting out of the ground, reaching up to the sky, surrounded in a circle of light caused by the sun that could now flow to the ground without the trees there any more. Two almost silver streams flowed out from two sides of the forest, twisting into the clearing, and curving around the rock in the centre, then carrying on with their journeys, never touching or joining, splitting the clearing into a perfect four, but still looking strangely natural, as if this was always meant to be. Her eyes travelled upward, and soon reached the branches of the trees. They reached outward, boughs thick and sturdy, easily able to hold Coal's weight without moving a whisker, covering patches of the clearing in a cool shade, apart from the rock. As she looked more closely at the trees, she realised that there were claw-marks criss-crossing all the way up the trunks, continuing onto the branches at some points, and there even seemed to be some patches on the boughs that looked worn and smooth, as if something or someone had been there for thousands of generations.
All Coal could do was stare and gape at the massive clearing before her. It was just so huge and sturdy, yet seemed so calm and peaceful, a strange combination, but it comforted Coal a lot. She hadn't even realised that her body was tense until she had entered the clearing and she felt her shoulders droop, and a large smile spread across her face. A strange calmness had washed through her, and she could feel an ancient wisdom engulfing the place, so old it felt as if it had been there before the beginning of time, one trait shared with many minds that had become so strong that it had become one with the clearing before her. Coal took a deep breath. No matter how calming this feeling was, it was very overpowering, and Coal almost felt as if she needed to get more air to help her focus on the reality of the situation.
Coal took another deep breath, and that finally seemed to reduce the feeling in her body until it was only in the background. Two tails wrapped themselves around Coal's shoulders, and without looking she knew that it was Slate and Grey Wing, comforting her from the strong sense the area gave off. She smiled up at the Star-cats, and the excitement returned, doubling now that she knew where she was allowed to explore. She started her bouncing again, hopping from one paw to the other, earning a chuckle from Grey Wing, who gave her a little nudge from behind. It surprised Coal so much that she almost tumbled to the ground, but she managed to save herself before she hit the ground, then sprinted forward.
The flowers tickled her nose, and their scents filled her brain, making her sneeze every now and then, but that didn't stop her sprint straight towards the rock. As she neared, she noticed how there seemed to be paw marks imprinted into the rock, and the sides looked smooth, so if she fell she wouldn't hurt herself from any sharp edges. Perfect for climbing! She was only a few tail-lengths away now, but still she didn't stop her run, she wanted to get a huge run-up. She almost didn't jump onto it, as she was a few paw-steps away from the perfect place to start her jump, she suddenly realised just how tall the rock actually was. She hadn't noticed earlier, but the clearing had slight slopes in it, making the rock seem smaller than it actually was, but now that she was right in front of it, about to start climbing to the top, she doubted she would ever make it up there. Too late! She had reached the perfect jumping spot. Coal didn't stop her sprint and barely hesitated before she was leaping through the air, flying up and toward the side of the rock. She collided with the hard and cold surface, and the breath was knocked out of her.
She felt herself begin to slide off of the rock, and she quickly scrabbled about, trying to stay on for a little longer. She managed to hook her single white paw onto one of the paw marks, and she briefly marvelled at how massive it was compared to her paw. She couldn't marvel for much longer, as she felt herself still slipping, and Coal desperately searched for another paw mark with her hind paws. There! She managed to fit both of her hind paws into the single mark she had found, and used that to propel her upwards so she could reach another paw mark above her. She repeated this a few more times, and she felt her legs begin to tire of the strenuous work of the climbing. But she had to get to the top, she felt that if she didn't, she would have failed someone, even though she wasn't sure who.
As Coal got higher and higher up the rock face, she became aware that it wasn't as steep as it was before, and when she looked, she saw that there was a ledge that she could rest at. Coal gathered up as much energy as she could in her hind legs, then jumped upwards, hooking her paws onto the ledge, and pulling herself up, her back paws pushing her up as well. She flopped onto the ledge, her body exhausted from the sudden sprint and climb. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, counting in-two-three-four, out-to-three-four, until she felt strength begin to return to her and her breathing had evened out again. She peeked through a crack in her eye, staring at the rest of the rock that she had to climb. She almost yowled in delight when she realised that the very top was only a few tail-lengths above her. Before she continued her climb though, she looked at the rest of the rock, and noticed four other ledges at roughly the same height as the one Coal was on, each one able to hold three fully grown cats that could easily sit or stand and still have some room to walk if they wanted. A few dandelions had managed to grow out of a few cracks, and they swayed in the gentle breeze, a bright yellow compared to the grey of the rock.
But when Coal looked closer at the rock itself, she found that it wasn't just an ordinary grey, but thousands of different greys blending together, with the occasional streak of pearly white or jet black. Different parts of the rock seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, and Coal noticed small crystals sticking out of the rock. It was magical, and the fact that flowers had grown here made even more so. Coal shook her head. How is this rock so strange and pretty? It's just like the rest of this clearing! Maybe the whole of Starclan is like this? I wonder how big Starclan actually is? It can't be that big, since this is only a dream, right? But is this really a dream? Ugh! I really need to stop thinking about this! Coal gazed up at the final part of her climb. The top looked flat, and it was big enough to hold five fully grown cats. This rock really is a lot bigger than I first thought!
Coal crouched closer to the ledge, her legs bunched up beneath her, and preparing to spring again. She took a deep breath, staring straight to where she wanted to go, the very top of the rock. She wanted to reach the top with as little climbing as possible, since her muscles still hadn't recovered from the initial climb. She slowly let the breath out, then, with a sudden force, she sprung upward. She reached forward with her front paws, desperate to reach the top. With the single jump, Coal had managed to reach roughly half way up, and she luckily found a grip on the rock that she could hold on to. She stayed there for a few heartbeats, allowing herself to catch her breath. Damn it! I was so close! No I have to climb again! She sighed, before looking back up at the top of the rock. It wasn't much further. If she had made it this far and hadn't fallen, then she could easily do this. Once again Coal used her hind legs to propel herself forward and her front paws to pull herself up. It only took a few of these before Coal finally found herself collapsed on the top of the rock!
As soon as she realised this, Coal leaped to her paws and looked around her. She almost fell off the side from shock. How high am I!? When Coal looked ahead of her, instead of seeing the ground and the forest in front of her like she usually did, all she could see was the branches and leaves of the trees that surrounded the clearing. The foliage was so thick, she could only see a few branches, and then a sea of greens, fluttering and twirling in the breeze. As she stared at the trees, she saw a small bluish and white head with a black streak and a small black beak poke out of the leaves. A blue-tit. It's beady, black eyes searched the ground for worms, before it spotted Coal on top of the rock. As soon as she was spotted, the blue-tit quickly spread it's wings then zoomed of, quicker than Coal could keep track of.
Coal took a step closer to the edge. It was time to see the whole clearing from this new viewing point. She peeked over the ledge, and her entire body froze. The ground is so far away! She squashed the fear as soon as it came, wanting to see the beauty instead of the horror. She shouldn't have bothered catching her breath when she reached the top, because as soon as she took in the clearing below her, her breath was taken away. She could see the streams, like two silver snakes slivering over the ground from one side to the other, the sun sending them into a whirlpool of sparkles. The flowers had turned into bright purple and yellow dots, bouncing back and forth like strange coloured bees, in a see of bright, lush green. She could see the shapes the shadows of the trees made, strange blotches that no matter how hard Coal tried, she couldn't make out any obvious shapes. She saw a few holly hedges in the clearing which had been hidden by the rock earlier, and she could make out that there was a large space inside, the floor covered in fluffy looking moss. A bit like my bed at my old home. She thought absently, her mind still trying to wrap itself around how high up she was and how large the clearing was. At least twice as large as my old home, and I thought that was massive!
Coal turned her gaze back to the way she had come, and saw Slate and Grey Wing staring up at her, surprise evident in their eyes as well as another emotion. Pride? But why would they be proud of me? Aren't mothers supposed to do that when their kits do something like walk for their first time? She chased away those thoughts and lifted her paw to them. "Look!" She yowled at the top of her voice, letting the full excitement of what she'd managed to do sink in. "I made it to the top! On my own!" The two Star-cats had moved from where she had left them, they were now closer to the rock, lying side by side in a stream of sunlight, looking very comfortable and at home. Well, this is there home. They smiled up at her. "Well done!" They both called up to her. That small bit of praise filled Coal with a strange warmth, starting from her chest then spreading throughout her body, leaving a tingly feeling. I barely know either of them, and yet there both already praising me! That thought brought a huge grin to Coal's face. She really had done it, and she didn't need to be told what to do! Coal gave a huge victory jump, all of her energy restored instantly, but when she landed, her 'hurt' paw sent an electric current of pain up her leg, and gave way beneath her, and she crumpled to the ground. She whimpered in pain, and felt tears prick her eyes and threaten to fall.
She swallowed, trying to calm her nerves. She looked down at her paw, but it looked fine, and when she gave it a quick shake, the pain didn't come back. She stared at it in confusion, but she was broken out of her thoughts by the worried cries of Slate. "Coal? Coal? Coal, are you alright?" The panic in her voice was easy to pick up and that made Coal quickly get back up to reassure her.
"Don't worry!" She called out. "I'm fine, my paw just started playing up, that's all!" She could see Slate and Grey Wing watching her cautiously as she came into view.
"You mean the one you hurt when you passed out while travelling?" Grey Wing asked. Coal felt herself tear up as she began to think of what happened that night, how she couldn't go on any further, how when she stopped her Family had disappeared, and then the shadows had attacked her. No! Stop it! Coal yelled at herself. She tried to scare away the thoughts, but they came back stronger than before, slowly taking over her vision until all she could see was what happened that night.
Through the sounds of what had happened when she had lost her family, Coal thought she could hear a cat yelling at someone, but it was muffled and hard to hear, as if she were underwater. "Now look wh-...-now she'-...-cause of you!" Coal tried to shake away the visions, but they had stuck, clinging on to her and not wanting to let go, and all she could see was the shadows crawling closer to capture her. She tried to get away, but only managed to stumble back a few paw-steps, until she felt her hind paw land on nothing but air, and she felt herself begin to slip backward off of the rock. She let out a terrified screech, and scrambled around with her front paws, trying to find a grip, but all she could see was the shadows, and her tiny paws were unable to find anything to hold on to. Her body carried on slipping, and with nothing to hold on to, Coal felt herself beginning to fall, and she let out another screech. The shadows had captured her completely now, and all she could see was darkness, and all she could feel was the air whipping through her fur as she fell, with nothing to stop her apart from the hard ground below her.
Bracing for the impact of her small body colliding with the ground, Coal closed her eyes, this darkness feeling strangely brighter compared to the shadow's darkness. Her stomach was flipping inside of her as she fell, and she felt as if she was going to be sick, but nothing rose up her throat, only a silent scream as she continued to fall. Why did I have to go all the way to the top? Now I'm going to have more than a hurt paw when I land. Well, I really do hope that this is a dream, then. She waited. And waited. And waited. Confusion took over her fear; she couldn't feel anything solid beneath her, only air, but the wind wasn't whistling in her ears any more, roughly ruffling her jet black fur. Why have I stopped falling? She didn't want to open her eyes, she knew that if she did she was more likely to be sick, but that was the only way to understand why she had stopped falling without touching the ground.
One eye cracked open. Her vision was too blurry to see through, and she blinked a few times, trying to focus on why she hadn't hit the ground. It wasn't helping. Coal cracked open her other eye, but the vision in that one was blurry too. She blinked again and again, but, if anything, her sight became more difficult to use. The fur on her cheeks began to soak, but the water felt warm, and it felt like two streams running down her face from her eyes. It was then, that Coal suddenly realised that she was crying. She fully opened both of her eyes, and she could feel her warm tears swiftly flowing down her face from her eyes, which had become easier to see through now they were more open. Coal tried to stop the tears, but they kept on coming, and then Coal realised just how scared she was. The fear spread through every part of her body, filling her mind and piercing her heart. Her stomach was churning, and even though she had stopped falling, she still felt as if she was going to be sick. The fear wasn't letting her think straight, and Coal soon found herself full on sobbing and clinging on to a warm wall of soft fur, burying her head and hiding herself from the world around her.
Wait a second... fur? Why was there fur here? Hadn't she fallen off of a rock, not a cat? Maybe Grey Wing or Slate caught me, and that's why I'm not falling any more. And that was when the realization hit her. Teeth had sunk into her scruff, and she was dangling in the air, as if someone were carrying her like her Mother did when she was younger and couldn't walk far distances. Someone had caught her before she could hit the ground, and now she was clinging on to them for dear life. She had fallen off of the top of the rock, and she was safe and unhurt because of the cat that had caught her, the cat that was breathing very heavily and seemed to be struggling to hold her up. Coal's eyes shot open. And sure enough, there was fur that she was burying herself into, soft and fluffy, and smelling of places from far, far away, sweet and kind, but there was a familiar scent about it. Strange, they don't smell like Grey Wing or Slate... yet they have the same smell of the Star-cats. Coal inspected the fur, and saw that it wasn't grey like her two new friends, but a pure white with splotches of ginger, black and brown covering the cat's back and tail as well as parts of their muzzle.
Coal looked up into the eyes of the new Star-cat, which were a very familiar shade of green, but instead of a neutral and kind gaze, she was met with one filled with worry and concern. Dapplefur! This was one of the Star-cats which had warned her never to go to the Dark Forest ever again, in her first dream where they had floated down from the night sky as stars, slowly forming into cats. But I went back...
Coal broke eye contact with Dapplefur, and looked down at her paws which were dangling in the air, swaying slightly since they had nothing to grip on to. Past her paws, Coal could see the sea of flowers dancing beneath her, about half a tail-length below her. The flowers came closer as Dapplefur gently put her back on the ground. Coal collapsed as soon as she let go of her scruff, relief rushing through her to be back on something solid again. Tears still fell from her eyes, and she could see them falling on to the blades of grass, slowly rolling to the tip, the blades bending slightly under the weight of the salty water, then flowing off and splashing into the soil, slowly being soaked up. The tears didn't stop coming for a while, and Coal's entire body shook from her sobbing. I could have hurt myself... Coal thought miserably, rubbing her nose with her paw and sniffing. A warm tongue lapped at her ear-tips comfortingly as Coal cried, easing the fear that still lingered in her heart even though she was safe now. I'm safe.
Paw-steps thundered towards Coal; lifting her eyes and peering through the flowers to see what was happening, Coal saw Grey Wing and Slate rushing towards her, running so fast their paws became a blur. They skidded to a stop before they could run her over, Slate crouching in front of her, giving her muzzle so many licks Coal thought she would never be able to get dirty again. "Oh Starclan! I was so scared when I heard you fall, I thought you were going to hurt yourself really bad!" She turned her head to Dapplefur, who was crouched behind Coal. "Thank you for catching her! I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't"
"None of us would have known what to do if our new Fire had been hurt." Was the ominous reply. Coal blinked away the rest of her tears, then turned her head to Dapplefur. "Are you talking about me?" She asked shakily. Dapplefur turned her gaze from Slate to her.
"Yes." Coal waited for her to continue, but it seemed as if that was all she had to say.
If she was talking about me, then did she just call me their new Fire? What does that even mean? Coal opened her mouth to ask, but the Star-cat did have more to say, and interrupted her before she could even begin. "The new Fire has finally arrived. The Clans have been waiting for you, but whether they want you or need you is still yet to be known." Her voice was serious, and strangely deep, her ominous tone still present. This confused Coal even more. The only thing that she could get a grip on was the fact that the familiar word Clan had been said again, but this time, it was a plural. Coal stared blankly at the three Star-cats circling her. So, these cats are telling me that I'm the new Fire and the Clans are waiting for me. No thanks, I just want to find my Family! "Search and you will find." Coal nearly leaped out of her skin. The three cats had spoken at exactly the same time, their voices joining into one, almost commanding and emotionless as they spoke. Dapplefur stepped in front of her. "Remember what I told you: Even in the deepest of caves, there is still light." The ominous words sent shivers down Coal's spine. She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. She knew that these words were meant to comfort her, but she felt the fear return. She felt fur brush against all her sides, and the scents of Grey Wing and Slate joined Dapplefur, wreathing around her.
She tried to open her eyes so she could see her friends, but something kept them glued shut, and her body suddenly went limp, her mind no longer able to control her limbs. She let out a terrified mewl, wondering what was happening. She tried to struggle against her lifeless body, but she couldn't move. Warm breath ruffled her ear fur as Grey Wing whispered to her. "Hush little one, don't panic. It's time to wake up now, you've recovered slightly in the waking world, so now you must return and search for your Family. I'm sorry for scaring you earlier, I will repay you, some way. We will be looking over you like we do with the Clans, and you will see us soon, no need to worry." His words calmed Coal's heart, and filled her with confidence. She will find them, and nothing will be able to stop her, she had delayed enough, and now she had to try! As these words ran through her head, Coal stopped struggling and fighting with herself, finally letting the unconsciousness wash over her, sending her back to the forest where she was going to be greeted with nothing but coldness and pain.
Coal: Well it took you long enough to write this!
zZCoalpawZz: Sorry! Umm... *tries to conjure up excuses* I-uh- life! School! Uh- writer's block?
Dusk: * Glares at her *
zZCoalpawZz: Not good enough? OK, Well I guess I was gone for a few months...
Coal & Dusk: EXACTLY!
zZCoalpawZz: SORRY! I'm genuinely sorry for not writing this (I need to stop making empty promises...) But I really did have Writer's Block!
Dusk: And what happened after that?
zZCoalpawZz:...
Coal: Hello?
zZCoalpawZz: OK, I'm sorry, I became lazy again... but you know what I'm like!
Dusk: * Whispers to Coal * We really shouldn't have hired that lazy blob as our author...
Coal: I regret all decisions that I've made concerning zZCoalpawZz apart from how I'm going to murder her for not keeping to her schedule!
ZZCoalpawZz: I'm right here, Guys...
Coal & Dusk: Oops...
zZCoalpawZz: I'll talk to you two later. Now I'm going. BYE!