Echoes of the Past: Chapter Seven

FOXPAW

Foxpaw shook the cold feeling from his pelt quietly and stood up. Walking out of the den, he saw that the morning sun was just rising over the hill, turning the clouds around it yellowish orange.

"Good morning, Foxpaw!" Acornear meowed to him. He smiled slightly and gave a small wave of his white-tipped tail. He kept walking all the way to the top of the hill, and once he got there, he sat down. Staring at the sunrise, he thought about the dream that had been haunting him since he woke up about ten minutes ago. He was usually up early, but not for this reason.

Those who are running should keep to the time, for the past will come back, and take each of their lives in a great attack.

Foxpaw could still remember the ancient cat, Cedarfoot's, prophecy. The pastel pinks, purples and greens were still fresh in his mind. He had visited Star Tribe, which made him feel overwhelmed. Not only that, he had supposedly received the power to see into the past!

Was it only a dream? The tom thought, still staring at the sun, which was coloring the whole sky around it pink. He shook his head. It couldn't have been a dream; it was too real.

He jumped as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He whipped around to see who it was, as if preparing for an attack, but it was only his brother.

Redpaw shrunk back. "Whoa! What's gotten you so hyped up?"

"Nothing," Foxpaw sighed, glaring at his brother.

"Okay, well, Runningstorm was looking for you. Just thought I'd let you know."

Foxpaw nodded. "Thanks, I'll be right there." He yawned and stretched, then raced down the hill to meet his mentor.

"Foxpaw. I thought I told you we were going on the patrol this morning," Runningstorm looked at him pointedly.

The apprentice hung his head. "You did. I'm sorry."

Runningstorm nodded, then turned and padded off towards the rest of the patrol, consisting of Crowtail, Brookfur and Torneye.

"Is everyone here?" The leader of the patrol, Torneye, looked around. "Seems so. Let's get going." He and all of the other cats headed off, exiting the camp by the small tunnel under the roots of a pine tree. Foxpaw didn't like the tunnel; he wished it were wider and warmer. If there was anything the tom hated, it was being cold.

He stepped out of the tunnel onto the soft grass again, taking a deep breath of the warm, pine-scented air. Following the rest of the patrol, he noticed something streak across the territory.

"Hey," he poked Runningstorm lightly with his tail. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" The she-cat asked, clearly still annoyed with him. He really needed to stop being late for stuff like this.

Foxpaw looked over to where he saw the white flash. "I thought I saw something..." he shook his head. He was probably just remembering his Star Tribe dream. He walked along, speeding up so he could walk with Crowtail. He knew that his mentor could be very irrational when she was annoyed, so he figured it was best to give her space until she calmed down a little bit.

"Hey, apprentice! Whatcha been up to lately?" Crowtail asked him, grinning.

"Nothing," Foxpaw lied. Something was definitely up. He was on high alert for the rest of the patrol, looking out for whatever had run across his field of vision before.

Suddenly, as they came closer, a funny feeling washed over the ginger tabby. He closed his eyes, and saw a mental image of a gray cat chasing a white cat into the woods. They didn't look like the pine forest on his Tribe's territory, but more like the oak and maple trees of Breeze Tribe. He pondered this for a short while before remembering he was on a patrol, so he opened his eyes.

"Ah!" As soon as he did, a white-hot pain seared his head, causing every other cat on the patrol to look back at him.

"Foxpaw! What happened?" Runningstorm rushed over to him.

He stumbled. "I don't know, I have this huge headache..." But as soon as the words left his mouth, it was mostly over, only a nagging, yet tolerable, pain remained.

"Get him to Cavernmist; see if anything is wrong," Torneye said to Runningstorm. The scout nodded and walked with him back to camp in silence. By the time they got to the healer's den, he felt a lot better and his headache was nearly gone.

The gray healer walked out of her supply store with a couple of herbs on her mouth. She mumbled, "How are you feeling? What happened?"

"Um..." How could Foxpaw explain this without sounding insane? "Well, I was on the patrol. I was walking and suddenly I got an intense and painful headache," he told her simply.

Cavernmist nodded to show that she understood, but her green showed that she wanted a better answer.

He added, "I'm doing better now, though."

"Okay. Well, would you like to rest for a bit?" Cavernmist glanced at Runningstorm, who was being so uncharacteristically quiet he had forgotten she was there.

Foxpaw nodded. He was confused and tired; he really did want a nap. With his mentor's okay, he laid down on a soft moss nest and tried to fall asleep. Finding that he couldn't, he opened his eyes.

"Wait..." he mumbled aloud. He obviously wasn't in the healer's den, but he was laying in soft grass. Feeling the sudden urge to run, he got up and cautiously looked around. Seeing no cats around, he began to sprint. The scout apprentice ran, with the pleasantly warm wind through his fur, until a reddish brown tom appeared in front of him.

"Foxpaw," Cedarfoot looked at him with amber eyes that seemed to hold years of wisdom. He sat down and licked his chest fur a couple of times to look more dignified.

"I see you've learned to use your new power."

Foxpaw's jaw dropped in surprise. "When?"

Cedarfoot replied, "Think."

"Um... Oh! The gray cat chasing the white cat?"

"Yes. Now, wake up, the Tribes need you."

"Wait! You haven't even told me what the Tribes need me for! I'm so confused by all of this... can't you tell me a little bit?" Foxpaw pleaded with the Star Tribe cat. He answered by fading away, his shimmering fur disappearing.

"Ugh," Foxpaw sighed. How was he supposed to save the Tribes if he didn't know what he was supposed to save them from?