Highstones. The place Rose had not seen since she was an apprentice, traveling with her mentor, taking the traditional trip to the Moonstone to be approved by her warrior ancestors. Her claws felt the smooth surface beneath her paws, and the wind brushed through her fur, and standing on top of the stones looking out over the forest made her feel as powerful as if she were a cat of StarClan herself.
I am finally here and Darkclaw is waiting for me, she told herself inwardly. She never thought she would see this place again. She crept into the black tunnel where at the end the Moonstone would await her, glittering under the light of the moon as if all the StarClan warriors in the sky were dancing on its surface. She still felt the fear she felt when she was brought here, following behind her mentor, Riverstone to the place where all would come clear to her, the very passage to the world of StarClan. She crept down the familiar tunnel, feeling the sides press against her whiskers, and Rose carefully walked forward. Not even her keen eyes could make out anything in this darkness, but at last she saw glittering at the end of the tunnel and finally looked upon the awesome glory of the Moonstone itself.
"You will not be entering the hutning grounds of StarClan today, but someday you might," Riverstone told her as Rose remembered her first trip to the Moonstone.
How does it work? Rose wondered. Is there a secret I don't know about? Maybe this whole trip is a waste of time after all. No, it couldn't be. Darkclaw expected her to meet him there in StarClan. If he believed she could make it there then she would just have to try and hope the answers would be revealed to her.
Rose pressed her nose against the Moonstone and felt the icy touch before settling down beside it to sleep.
Many times she imagined herself waking up with a canopy of leaves over her head, and the patches in the roof of the warriors making rays of sunshine wake her up for the dawn patrol when she would much rather curl up and nap until sun-high, but this time she was in a new forest. This was not ShadowClan territory, she knew that as soon as she looked around and saw Fourtrees, the four great oaks that marked the gathering place for the four Clans. The whole forest seemed sparkly like the shiny dew drops of dawn had permanately settled on the leaves and grass.
I'm in StarClan! Rose thought with a jolt of excitement. I am in the realm where only Clan leaders and medicine cats have explored. She was here, but she had no ime to take a tour of StarClan. She was specifically told to come here to meet Darkclaw, to find truth at last. How long did StarClan stretch on for? No one knew. How could she find Darkclaw in such a vast forest?
Rose ventured forward and felt the presence of many cats around her, but when she would turn to doubletake she saw nothing but the glittering dewdrops. Or were they eyes? She wasn't sure and she just kept walking.
"Greetings. Welcome to StarClan."
Rose flinched with surprise and looked upon a small white she-cat with starshine glowing in her fur. She didn't recognize the face but she knew somewhere in her heart that this cat was familiar. "Are...Are you Petalstar?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady despite the fear that coursed through her body.
"Yes, I was ThunderClan's leader when you were just a kit. I remember Shalestar announcing your birth at the gathering many moons ago. Rosedapple. You were named for the red speckles in your fur."
"Why are you talking to me?" Rose wondered. She vaguely remembered this important cat from ThunderClan's history and felt slightly guilty for forgetting her momentarily. Didn't Darkclaw tell her about Petalstar before?
Shalestar stepped aside and the ferns rustled behind her as a second cat stepped out of the shadows, and Rose was spell bound by the starlight shimmering in his fur like on the night she first laid eyes on him for the first time.
"I have brought you someone who wants to talk to you."
"Darkclaw." For now the important message could wait. Right now her attention was only for Darkclaw, and they embraced, Rose enjoying the cool starlight that made Darkclaw feel as cold as stone but still so alive, and Darkclaw enjoyed the warmth of the living.
"It is time I tell you what is to happen." Darkclaw stood back and his amber eyes were now serious, all the joy gone in a heartbeat. "You have stopped this before and you can do it again. There is something big going to happen, and not even StarClan can help save the cats from their own stupidity. Many cats are going to die."
Rose found it hard to breathe at that moment. "A battle."
Darkclaw nodded. "ShadowClan are going to do something terrible. What it is not even StarClan knows, but many of the innocent will die. You have to go back."
"Why me? I can never go back! I am just a fugitive with not a scrap left to give. I couldn't even give my own Clan my loyalty. I am nothing. I can't." She chocked the words out and fought to control the sobs that were athering in her chest, the same ones that she had been holding back since the day she looked back on ShadowClan forever. "I...am banished."
"It has to be you. You kept something special with you even if you left everything else behind. You kept your pride for sometimes it is all you have left to cling to, and it will get you through anything," Darkclaw meowed.
Petalstar rested her tail on Darkclaw's shoulder. "It is time we leave now."
Darkclaw turned to follow Petalstar reluctantly, and Rose knew that this moment would come when he would leave her once again. She knew this moment would come and hated every moment of it. "Until we meet again, my sweet. Someday in StarClan."
Darkclaw was gone then and so was StarClan.
