Ravenwing had always said that Hollypaw had a guardian angel watching over her from StarClan. After she had been brutally tortured by Tigerclaw, everyone had given up on her—Ravenwing, who had resigned himself to the death of his daughter, and Barley, who knew of no herb to save her. Even the WindClan medicine cat, who had been brought to the barn to help, had informed Ravenwing that Hollypaw was surely going to die.
But Rose wasn't about to let her daughter join her that quickly. She had so many things left to die in life! So when Ravenwing had padded back to the barn, already having given up on his daughter, he had been stunned to see Hollypaw alive and well, with a serene smile on her face.
But there was one thing even StarClan could not fix.
The young she-cat had been inches away from death, and even StarClan could not make it so she could keep her memory. For after Tigerclaw had wounded the young she-cat, the trauma had wiped her memory clean.
Many moons had passed since Hollypaw had lost her mother and brother, and from them on, it was just Barley, Ravenwing, and his daughter. The old black tom lavished such attention on his daughter that Hollypaw could have been considered spoilt—but the young she-cat had grown greatly since we have last seen her, and she had the spirit of her wise and gentle mother.
Hollypaw was no longer the quiet, shy she-cat with the tranquil green eyes and a pelt of glossy brown—she was changed. She carried herself with dignity and elegance, with grace. Her pelt was dappled with a hundred shades of brown—copper, chocolate, and tawny, and her muscles rippled under her fur. But her eyes were the most changed of all.
She had always had beautiful, beautiful eyes. Much like her father's, but gentler, and softer. In her eyes was an expression that saddened the hearts of all, although the look in her eyes itself was not sad. It was the gaze of a shattered spirit that hid itself behind beauty—there was hope in those eyes, always hope. Although Hollypaw knew that things could never again go back to the way they were, she was always thinking: "Maybe, maybe, maybe", and those hopeful green eyes nearly broke Ravenwing's heart, for had given his daughter everything he had, but not the one thing she wanted. Rose and Storm.
Hollypaw also yearned for something else—freedom. Being snared here, spending her days idly while catching rats—was torture to her social nature. But Hollypaw seldom complained.
"Barley?" she meowed, one summer morning. She was perched atop a bale of hay, looking much like Rose with a ray of sunshine highlighting her pretty green eyes.
"Yes?" came the still-tired remark. The old black-and-white tom was basking in the glory of the sun, stretched out on the ground.
"Do you think I'll ever be good enough to bear a warrior's name?" she meowed wistfully, ever serene.
"Of course you are good enough!" Barley protested, getting to his paws and settling back on his haunches. "The only reason you have not received a warrior name by now is because neither I nor your father have the right to carry out a warrior ceremony."
"I suppose," Hollypaw replied hopefully, getting to her paws as well and leaping from one hay bale to another. "Maybe one day." There was a pause, which was peaceful for Hollypaw and uncomfortable for Barley.
"Will you…Barley, please, will you tell me more…about my mother and brother?" She hesitated, then meowed: "You've known them for so much longer than I have in the first place, and I can't even remember them." There was barely a trace of bitterness in her voice as she added: "I hate to upset father with the fact I can't remember my own family…"
With a heavy heart, Barley met the young she-cat's gaze gently. "Rose was very beautiful, on the inside and the outside. You have her spirit, Hollypaw. She was always gentle and kind and wise beyond her years." He let out a great sigh. "By StarClan, your father misses her very much."
"And Storm?" Hollypaw persisted, trying to imagine this beautiful she-cat, her mother.
Barley let out a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. "Your brother was quite a pawful; wild, mischievous, with a knack for getting into trouble. He would get into scrapes sometimes!"
Hollypaw smiled. "I wish I could remember them," she meowed softly, not betraying her anger or frustration. Hollypaw had learned self-control.
Barley was eager to change the subject. "You know, if you want a warrior name that badly, you should do what your father did."
"What did he do?" Hollypaw meowed eagerly, intrigued.
Barley laughed once more. "He snuck off to the Moonstone himself, and when he came back, he had his warrior name. I suggest going if you're desperate…" Barley padded over to the she-cat and leaned over closely. "Storm was always the mischievous one, but I'm sure you must have inherited some trouble-making yourself," he meowed. Then, the old tom made his roundabout insinuations clear when he meowed: "Here are the directions to the Moonstone…"
xxx
As Hollypaw lay beside the glowing Moonstone, she put her head on her forepaws and tried to collect her thoughts about her family. She could remember nothing—there was a big gaping hole in her memory, and she hated herself for not being able to reach her memories.
All her father and Barley had told her was that she once had a brother and a mother, but they had been hit on the Thunderpath long before. She had rushed out to save them, and a monster had given her a glancing blow to the head. It didn't exactly fit with the three flashes that Hollypaw did remember, however.
The first thing she remembered was a pair of warm, gray eyes and a serene face smiling down at her, along with the comforting scent of rose. It was her mother, Barley had explained. She remembered a mischievous voice calling: "Come on Hollypaw, let's go find father!" And the most vivid memory of all—she recalled a pair of menacing amber eyes and a dark tabby pelt. Her dreams were haunted by this cat, yet neither Barley nor her father claimed to know him. Somehow, Hollypaw knew that he was not just a figment of her imagination. He was real.
As the days wore by, it grew harder and harder to remember Rose and Storm. Her mother's comforting scent, her brother's teasing mew; the more she tried to remember, the harder it become. Angry tears formed in her eyes, and because she was alone, she allowed herself the ecstasy of letting them fall. Her eyes fluttered to a close, and she let out a sigh, letting the darkness wash over her.
When she resigned herself to opening her eyes once more, she was in a totally different place. Astounded, she got to her paws and looked around wildly—there were a great many trees surrounding her, and rocks dappled the clearing. The moon shone down upon her, turning the leaves the color of starlight. Suddenly, there was a voice.
"Greetings, Hollypaw, daughter of Ravenwing, son of Darkheart."
Hollypaw spun around and turned face-to-face with a majestic blue-gray she-cat with eyes as clear and dark as chips of sapphire.
"Who are you?" Hollypaw meowed quietly, her voice echoing around the clearing eerily.
"She is Bluestar, leader of your father's former Clan, ThunderClan," another voice replied, and a black-furred tom padded out from the trees, joining Bluestar on her left side.
"Who are you?" Hollypaw asked, gesturing with her tail towards the black tom. He looked very much like Ravenwing, but with different colored eyes.
"I am Darkheart, your grandsire," he growled quietly. A ginger-and-white she-cat joined the duo on Bluestar's right side. "And I am Whitefeather, Ravenwing's sister," she meowed in her calm and cheery voice.
From directly behind her came two new voices. A brilliant golden she-cat with brown paws and brown eyes meowed: "I am Sun of Radiant Light, Rose's mother," she meowed in a quiet and kind voice. There was compassion and love in her bright hazel eyes that filled Hollypaw with warmth. She was seeing the family she had never known.
"And I am Snow that Falls from Pale Sky," a second she-cat meowed. She was a beautiful white-gray she-cat with pale blue eyes and a white tipped tail. "I am the former Stoneteller of the Tribe of Rushing Water, but now I and Sun walk the paths of the sky in the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Welcome, Hollypaw."
"And greetings from us as well," Bluestar meowed, in her quiet and serene voice. "Welcome from StarClan. We were former ThunderClan warriors, but now we race through the skies as StarClan cats."
"But I thought you walked different skies," Hollypaw meowed curiously, quoting the words of her father.
"The Tribe cats are welcome guests here tonight, Hollypaw," Bluestar chastised.
"And we thank you," Snow meowed kindly, "however, our time here is short. We are needed in our own skies."
"Come here," Whitefeather meowed quietly, gesturing with her tail towards a pool of water at the edge of the forest. Hollypaw hadn't noticed it before.
"But…I have only come here for my warrior ceremony," Hollypaw meowed humbly.
"And I suppose you assumed we would just give you one," Darkheart meowed irritably. Hollypaw looked abashed. "But—"
"Your Father did a great many deeds in his life and has suffered how one cat should never suffer," Sun meowed soothingly. "But you have yet to do something notable; be patient! All things come to those who wait for them. You have a great and almost endless path before you, Hollypaw. Now, look into the pool."
Much abashed, Hollypaw peered into the pool…and saw nothing. Reeling back with shock, she gasped. She saw nothing! Not a reflection…she glanced at Sun for help, but it was Bluestar that meowed: "This is a very sacred place, Hollypaw. When you look into this pool, you will see fleeting images that will come to pass in the future. What you see could change you forever. Are you willing to accept such responsibility?"
"Yes!" Hollypaw meowed eagerly.
The gathered cats all smiled. In unison, they meowed: "Then look, and truly see…"
xxx
A dark gray cat with yellow eyes was crouched low in a Twoleg nest, perched by the windowsill, gazing out of the window with listless and hopeless eyes, eyes filled with longing. The image of a handsome tom with clear olive eyes and a sleek silvery pelt, with a nick in his left ear and a crooked, mischievous smile on his face. The picture of a beautiful silver she-cat with darker stripes and dark sapphire eyes, smiling up at her with a friendly look in her blue orbs. The image of a snowy mountain.
xxx
Then, the pool stilled.
"What…who did I see?" Hollypaw meowed, her meow hushed. "Who were those cats?"
Bluestar hesitated, but Snow meowed: "Time will tell all. You will meet these cats, Hollypaw, but it is not they that will come to you, it is you who will come to them."
"Then should I seek these cats out?" Hollypaw cried anxiously.
"We have revealed too much already," Bluestar meowed, casting a disapproving glance at Snow but saying nothing. "Go with the blessings of StarClan."
"And the blessings of the Tribe of Endless Hunting," Snow meowed.
As the cats began to fade away from her vision, all five cats meowed in unison: "When a realistic approach fails, look upon your heart. You will find answers you wouldn't find elsewhere."
Terrified by the darkness taking over her eyesight, Hollypaw sank to the ground, eyes squeezed shut. It was only after she had awoken did she realize that she had been so muddled, she hadn't asked for Rose or Storm.
xxx
Back at the farm, Hollypaw was steeling herself to break her father's heart. She rehearsed her speech over and over in her mind. 'Father, I'm leaving. I've got to find my own path…' No, that wasn't it! 'Father, I love you, but I'm going away, StarClan told me what I need to do…' No, that wasn't it either.
Hollypaw stopped short before the barn entrance and meowed: "All right. I can do this. I'll just walk up to father and say—"
"Hollypaw? Who in StarClan are you talking to back there, Hollypaw?" a voice interrupted. Hollypaw whirled around and blushed deeply. Ravenwing!
"N-no one. What are you doing here?" Hollypaw sputtered.
Ravenwing looked deeply amused. "I live here, remember?" he laughed.
"Well, yes," Hollypaw meowed, regaining her composure.
"Barley told me about what you went to do," he continued kindly. "Did you get your warrior name?" A wistful look came to his emerald eyes. "Did you see your mother?"
Although Hollypaw didn't know it due to the gap in her memory, Ravenwing had changed greatly through the moons after Rose's death. He had once been a spirited, lively young tom with a thirst for adventure. Of course, even Ravenwing could not escape the ravages of time. He was older, wasn't as spry as he used to be me, and his muzzle was tinged with silver But his eyes had changed, as had his daughter's. They were the eyes of one who had lost something he had loved. They were subdued, resigned. They didn't have any luster, not a sparkle of joy.
Hollypaw looked away uncomfortably. "Father…I have not received a warrior name. StarClan does not think I am worthy yet." Seeing that her father was going to interrupt, she meowed: "Father, I agree! I have done nothing particularly notable or deserving, and that's why…" Hollypaw took a deep breath and hung her head. "Father, that is why I am leaving." She closed her eyes and awaited her father's judgement.
Finally, he spoke. "Are you afraid of me, Hollypaw?" he meowed quietly.
She was thrown off guard by the question. "N-no father!" she stammered.
"I smell your fear, daughter," Ravenwing meowed, but his voice was nothing but kind. "If you wish to leave, go."
"But fa—" Hollypaw stammered.
Ravenwing shook his head, and his gaze was infinite love. "Hollypaw, never let anyone or anything stop you from doing what you wish to do or become who you wish to be. Follow your heart. You are very dear to me, but you are also very realistic. Sometime, you will be faced with making your own decisions, and you will be disapproved of and risk everything for the sake of what you believe in. But that is the kind of cat I wish for you to grow up to be—someone brave, someone prepared to risk it all to follow her dream. That's what I did."
The tom let out a sigh before continuing. "Hollypaw, you will meet many different cats in this world, some dear friend, other malevolent foe. You will do well to heed these words: guard your heart, strengthen your will, and be friend to all, though not overly trusting."
The young she-cat gazed at her father with confused and saddened eyes. She suddenly didn't want to go, but she knew she had to do what was right. This wasn't just about her warrior ceremony anymore—these cats she had been shown in the pool were very real, and she evidently needed to seek them out.
"Do not be afraid, Hollypaw," Ravenwing soothed. "For Rose and Storm will be with you to guide you. May StarClan watch over you."'
"Only when they are not watching over you, father," Hollypaw replied, her voice choked.
Ravenwing smiled sadly and touched his nose to hers. He watched as she bounded through the moors, not once looking back. And he was glad that she hadn't looked back, for looking back meant having regrets. He let Hollypaw disappear with a willing heart, the most one could ask from any father.
He never saw her again.
And he already knew he never would when at last, her silhouette disappeared over the horizon.
xxx
As Ravenwing padded back to the barn, he saw Barley standing at the edge of the entrance. As if seeing the tom's regret, the elderly loner meowed: "You did what you had to do, old friend. Free spirits like hers will die if caged. You have done the right thing."
"Bah. Sometimes you want to choose what is easier over what is right," Ravenwing meowed, sighing.
"Talking in verse now, are we?" Barley cried enthusiastically.
Ravenwing laughed, but a part of him was crying out to StarClan.
'You have taken my son and beloved Rose before their time, and now you take Hollypaw away from me—I know it is for her own good, but StarClan, I've lost everyone! Firestar and Graystripe, Whitefeather, Goldenflower and Darkheart…what have I ever done to deserve this?"
xxx
Ravenwing dreamt that night. Instead of merely thinking about Rose until he dropped off to sleep, this dream was sent by StarClan. He was in the middle of Sunningrocks! He instantly recognized the place of where he spent his apprentice days with Firestar and Graystripe.
Sunlight streamed through the trees and bathed the rocks in a warm glow. It was greenleaf, and birds chirped high above. Before him sat a familiar row of cats—the cats that had given him his gifts the day he received his warrior name. Lionheart, whom had given compassion; Darkheart, who had given the gift of swiftness; Redtail, who had given the gift of protection; Whitefeather, who had given hm loyalty.
"Lionheart!" he meowed, his emerald eyes wide. He could hardly believe it, but there the golden tom was, staring at him with admiration clear in his eyes. "Darkheart, Redtail, Whitefeather!" His heart brimmed over with happiness; he could see his father, his dear sister, and two wise mentors. "But…what am I doing here?"
"I quite remember you saying something earlier about the cruelty of StarClan?" Darkheart growled disapprovingly.
"So we brought someone along to see you," Whitefeather purred mischievously.
The five cats parted and vanished among the trees and rocks to reveal a single cat sitting elegantly atop a rock. Her expression was shy as she cast her beautiful gray eyes down towards her paws. A ray of sunlight illuminated her unique, pale rosy pelt that had given her the name she bore. Rose.
"Rose!" he yowled, racing over to the she-cat with wings on his paws, his eyes stretched wide, and his heart full to the brim. "Rose! Is that really you? Oh, Rose!"
The she-cat gently touched her nose to his and rested her head on his shoulder. "Ravenwing, I have missed you dearly," she meowed tenderly, twining her tail with hers. "I have been watching over you…and Hollypaw as well. She has a long, long path before her. It will be a dusty and worn road, but a road that she must travel if she wishes to accomplish something in life."
"I can't believe I'm seeing you again," he meowed, too overwrought to care about anything other than Rose. "You haven't aged a bit!"
Rose smiled. "And now you have been reborn," she meowed.
Astonished, Ravenwing looked down at himself. Starlight sparkled on his pelt, and even though he could not see the transformation happening to him, he could feel it—feel the energy and strength coursing back into his veins, feeling his tired muscles boost and feel his vigor strengthen. His emerald eyes gleamed with a sheen that Rose had not seen since she had left to roam the skies of StarClan—Ravenwing was truly reborn. As the starlight glitter died from his fur, he looked at Rose with astonishment in his eyes.
"Why have StarClan given me this gift?" he meowed in a hushed voice. "Will this new-found youth still be with me when I return to the barn? Oh, Rose, if only I were to see Storm before I had to leave…"
The smile dropped from Rose's face, and her pale gray eyes seemed hurt. "You wish to leave?" she meowed, sounding dejected.
Ravenwing hardly dared to voice the words. "You mean…I can stay?" he croaked. He had nothing left for him back in the barn—Barley's friendship did mean much to him, but to stay in StarClan and be reunited with Rose, his son, and all his other friends, and to watch over Hollypaw—it was all he ever wanted.
Rose smiled and touched her nose to his once more. "If you wish it," she meowed quietly.
"I wish it very much," Ravenwing replied, his voice tremulous.
The she-cat's smile deepened. "Ravenwing, I love you very much," she meowed, "and it will be wonderful to race through the skies of StarClan with you. We could meet all of your warrior friends and ancestors…and we could travel to different skies, where we meet the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Oh, Ravenwing, I have seen my mother, Sun of Radiant Light…she is wonderful…Ravenwing, everything here is wonderful and I wish to see it all with no cat but you!"
Ravenwing purred low in his throat. "And I wish to share it with no cat but you."
"Then let us go home."
xxx
There are numerous stars in the heavens, glistening like diamonds against a sheet of midnight-black cloth. It is said that when all cats are in their dens, curled up against the cold of the night, the stars come to life and prance around the heavenly skies, visiting former friends and finding cats on the earthly ground below that they shine down upon and bless forevermore.
Ravenwing divided his time in StarClan by looking down upon Hollypaw frequently through the Moonpool and traveling the skies with Rose and Storm. And of course, there was one more cat that Ravenwing often looked down upon—and when he did, his heart ached with sympathy and pity.
His dear, lost friend.
Graystripe.
And here ends our tale at last, for the secret has been revealed, and Ravenwing can truly rest among the stars, taking his place in StarClan, as it should be.
THE END