AN: Chapter update, whoot!
-Chapter 2-
Blue's words left an eerie ring in Willowshine's ears as she slept in her nest the following night. She knew that one of the warriors would turn against the Clan. What she didn't know was which warrior would betray their own Clanmates. It was strange, knowing that it could have been any cat who attacked their own Clanmate or friend.
She frowned as her paws sorted through the pile of herbs that Mothwing had collected during the night. It was her job to make sure that they were sorted in the right piles. Dock and comfrey seemed to have been the most common plant that Mothwing found.
Her gray tabby pelt ruffled against the cool winds of leaffall. Willowshine's whiskers twitched when she realized that it would be a cold leafbare.
Already the air was getting cold. She'd seen frost in certain places, which was unusual for this time of the season. Some hunters were having a difficult time finding prey in the normally prey-rich areas.
Willowshine shook her head as she finished sorting through the piles. Mothwing would be expecting her to come after she was finished. Mistystar had wanted to share a few words with the medicine cats. The RiverClan leader had been visiting Mothwing more often now that she was older and more experienced.
"Are you done yet?" Willowshine winced when she heard Mothwing's rough mew. She turned to see the dappled she-cat standing in front of the den. "We have to hurry."
The younger medicine cat gave her pelt a shake before she followed Mothwing. She was surprised to hear the impatience in Mothwing's voice. Normally her mentor didn't mind waiting for her to get ready. Mothwing moved at a steady pace until they reached Mistystar's den. A few warriors glanced at them in concern when they reached it.
Pouncetail sat beside Nettlesplash, whose mottled tabby pelt gleamed in the pale sunlight. Willowshine glanced over at the fresh-kill pile to see Pouncetail's apprentice nosing through it. Sandpaw's ginger pelt was ruffled like he'd been working out all day.
The two cats nodded to Willowshine as she passed them. She waved her tail in response before padding into Mistystar's den.
Mistystar was already standing when she heard Mothwing enter the den. Her pelt was well groomed like always; it was sleek like an otter's pelt. Her tail waved in welcome as Willowshine followed her mentor inside.
"Now, tell me about this dream you had, Willowshine," Mistystar meowed when Willowshine settled down beside her mentor.
Mothwing told her! Willowshine's fur bristled slightly when she glanced at her mentor. Mothwing's only reply was a nod. "Well. . .I was. . ." Willowshine felt awkward as she was watched by Mistystar's carefully guarded gaze. "It was just like any other dream," she blurted out.
"That's not what Mothwing told me," Mistystar replied. "She told me you had a very. . .interesting dream."
Willowshine lashed her tail. She didn't want Mistystar to know what she'd seen. Some part of her wanted to let Mistystar know what was happening, but another part was telling her that Mistystar wasn't part of this. She tried to shake the thoughts out of her head before she answered.
"Look, all I can remember is that there were cats in my dream," she muttered. "But they weren't like cats from StarClan. They looked. . .older." She tried to search for the right word. These cats were far older than StarClan themselves. Even their names had been different.
Mistystar gazed at Willowshine quizzically for a few heartbeats before she made a comment. "So. . .You don't think this dream has anything to do with our Clan's well being?" she asked.
Her heart skipped a beat when Mistystar saw through her lie. She tried to think of something fast before Mistystar decided to seek out the truth.
"I believe that it has nothing to do with our Clan," Willowshine mewed.
The RiverClan leader stared at her skeptically until she gave a small nod. She glanced at Mothwing, whose eyes were narrowed in disbelief. Willowshine dipped her head before she slipped out of the den. She didn't want Mothwing to give Mistystar the chance to question her further.
When she emerged from the leader's den, she saw that clouds had begun to surround the sun.
Rain is on its way, she guessed when she tasted moisture in the air. Her pelt fluffed up as a cold breeze rushed off of the lake.
She was surprised to see Hollowstorm and Troutleap sharing tongues together. Normally the two were constantly fighting over who was better. Troutleap claimed to be the best fisher, while Hollowstorm came up with an argument. When he claimed to be the best fighter, it was the other way around.
Both looked at her suspiciously before she turned away. She didn't want them to think that she was watching them. They were very competitive, and it they thought that a medicine cat was watching them, they might turn on her.
A pair of kits tumbled out of the nursery, squealing in surprise as the landed in a pile of dried moss. Willowshine hid her amusement when she saw that it was Duskfur's kits. Featherkit let out a mewl of surprise when she sprang to her paws. Her brother, Owlkit, got up more slowly.
The two kits looked up at Willowshine for a few heartbeats. "You're the leaf cat!" Featherkit suddenly squealed.
Willowshine couldn't help but purr as the tiny kit tried to pronounce what she was. She leaned forward and gave the kit a gentle lick between the ears. "I am the medicine cat," she whispered.
"Mediiciinne." Owlkit tried to say the word himself, but it had a lag. His eyes glowed when he realized that he was close to saying it right. "Medicine!" he squealed.
"That's right!" Willowshine purred.
"Medicine! Medicine!" Owlkit was now bouncing around as he said the word several times. Featherkit joined in when she found she could say the word as well. Both kits began to run around Willowshine's paws until their mother emerged from the nursery.
"Kits!" Duskfur called. "Willowshine has work to do," she meowed when they heard her voice.
Featherkit's tail drooped in disappointment. "Play with us tomorrow!" she mewled before scampering after her mother.
Willowshine looked on, suddenly feeling a pang of remorse. For the first time since she'd become Mothwing's apprentice, she almost wished that she could have kits. It was always a joy to see new litters arrive. Yet each time she watched kits join the Clan, it made her think of how much she could have contributed to the Clan as a queen.
She tried to shake the thoughts away as rain began to fall. It fell at a steady pace until her pelt was soaked. She made her way back towards her nest, where she saw that Mothwing was nosing through the pile of herbs she'd sorted earlier.
"You know that lying to Mistystar is wrong," Mothwing murmured.
"What choice did I have?" Willowshine hissed. She didn't want to argue with her mentor. She'd put up with enough today, and Mothwing wasn't making it easier on her.
"So why did you lie?" Mothwing asked when she turned to face her apprentice. "You obviously had a dream, and it must have been important enough for you to visit the Moonpool."
It took all of her strength not to wince at the harshness in Mothwing's tone. She'd gone to the Moonpool, but StarClan didn't answer her questions. In fact, they seemed to ignore her as she tried to speak to them. It made her wonder if Mothwing was right about StarClan. They seemed to ignore everything she asked them at the moment.
"I'm sorry," Willowshine murmured. She kicked up a wad of moss as her paws kneaded the ground.
Understanding suddenly gleamed within Mothwing's eyes. "They did not speak," she whispered.
Willowshine shook her head. She was frustrated when she realized that Mothwing's belief was suddenly right. The dappled golden she-cat had refused to believe in StarClan after her brother faked a sign. Mothwing's faith in StarClan had been shattered because of Hawkfrost, her malicious brother. Silently Willowshine hoped that would never happen to her.
Mothwing doesn't know what she's missing, she thought as she remembered her first dreams with StarClan.
"Lets hope you have another dream than," Mothwing meowed. "All I can say is there is something troubling you, and it isn't a good something."
