AN: Here's chapter eight! Double update like I promised. Willowshine is definitely becoming my favorite character. But I've figured out that this story will probably only be about ten or twelve chapters, depending on how far I can drag it on. So thanks to those who have reviewed, I always appreciate them!
-Chapter 8-
Stars glittered coldly above the night sky. Willowshine's gray pelt had turned silver in the faint moonlight, frosted by the pale light that gleamed above. She paced around the forest's edge as she waited for the other medicine cats to come. A sense of urgency had fallen over her when she realized how important this night was. Without Time's help, her cause could be lost.
An eerie silence had begun to hang over the area where Willowshine rested. She waited under the shadow of a pine tree that grew straight. The needles underpaw were from last season's leafbare. They felt strangely comforting compared to the reeds and moss that was used to make the nests in RiverClan. Her paws had become used to the softness of sand when she and Mothwing would travel across the ground. She wasn't used to the tough ground here.
Her tail flicked from side to side until she heard pawsteps approaching. Leaves crackled under the weight of a cat as it passed over them. Willowshine strained to see the mottled form of Kestrelflight. His lithe body seemed to melt into the sparse undergrowth that grew around here. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a younger cat following him. This cat looked like she was barely seven moons old. She still had the downy fur of a kit.
"Hi Willowshine!" Kestrelflight mewed when he approached her. "I'd like you to meet Tawnypaw." His tail flicked towards the brown and white tabby she-cat.
Willowshine was surprised to see that Tawnypaw wasn't afraid. Instead her gaze was calm and collected as she looked at Willowshine. She had the sturdy build of a WindClan cat. Yet she had the muscles of a ThunderClan warrior. Willowshine tilted her head in confusion. This apprentice looked more like a ThunderClan cat than a WindClan cat.
Kestrelflight seemed oblivious to her staring as another cat approached them. Willowshine's fur ruffled slightly when she saw that it was Jayfeather. She gave him a cool look before looking away. His stare went right through her as he joined Kestrelflight.
"You're a mentor now?" he asked after settling down on a clump of needles.
"Yeah!" Kestrelflight's mew was filled with excitement. "Tawnypaw spent a little time with me before she decided to become my apprentice." He glanced at Tawnypaw, whose shoulders were stiff as she watched Jayfeather through guarded eyes.
There's something odd about that apprentice, Willowshine thought as she heard the approach of another cat. She felt her heart soar when she saw the familiar ginger pelt of Flametail. His amber eyes were carefully darkened as he approached Jayfeather. The ThunderClan medicine cat gave a gruff hiss as Flametail passed him without a word.
The ShadowClan medicine cat gave Willowshine a cool look before he settled down beside Kestrelflight. Confusion gleamed within Kestrelflight's eyes when he noticed that Littlecloud wasn't there. He glanced at Flametail in concern. "Where's Littlecloud?" he asked in a low murmur. Willowshine felt as the a stone had filled her belly when she saw Flametail flinch.
"Littlecloud joined the ranks of StarClan," he replied.
Kestrelflight's let out a murmur of sympathy. Jayfeather flicked his tail, signaling that it was time for them to travel to the Moonpool. Willowshine was annoyed that Jayfeather would think that he could take the lead. She knew that it should have been her leading the way. After all, she was far older than he could ever imagine. She shook her head as they entered the hollow where the Moonpool sat.
Already the moon rose higher. She looked up at the sky to see that a few wisps of clouds surrounded the moon. With a shake of her already ruffled pelt, Willowshine glanced down at the pool itself. She could already feel the presence of cats that had walked down the trail seasons before her. Echoes of the past remained in the area.
When they reached the bottom, Kestrelflight was the first to approach the Moonpool. Willowshine stood beside Flametail, whose tail barely grazed her pelt. Her fluffy pelt gleamed silver in the moonlight as she exchanged a glance with the ginger tom.
"Tawnypaw, all you have to do is take a drink," Kestrelflight instructed when his apprentice watched the pool in awe. The brown and white she-cat glanced at him before she did what he told her.
Willowshine and the others did the same. She took a step forward and dipped her tongue into the pool. An instant chill seeped down her spine. She shivered at the icy grip that took over. Within the next heartbeat her body slumped to the ground as she fell to sleep.
Voices immediately began to fill her ears as Willowshine started to dream. She could feel the bodies of cats pressing against her own as the haziness left her brain. Slowly she opened her eyes. The tail of a cat brushed across her flank, telling her that the cats around her were getting impatient. Despite the sense of urgency these cats felt, they were careful to wait until she settled down. When her vision finally cleared, Willowshine's eyes widened in disbelief.
Standing around her were cats that she'd seen once before. Blue, the tom that had spoken to her during her first visit, stood beside a tortoiseshell she-cat with ginger paws. Anxiety gleamed within his eyes when he saw that she was awake. Another cat had approached her. It was a dark cream colored tom with lighter brown paws, and pale blue eyes. The dark furred tom glanced at Blue, who quickly rose to his paws and joined him.
"This is the cat you told me about?" the dark furred tom asked.
"Yes, Lightning," Blue murmured.
Lightning stared at Willowshine for a few heartbeats. She felt a chill run down her spine when she saw the icy look in his eyes. There was something unsettling about the way Lightning looked at her.
"She is not like us," Lightning hissed. "Why did you and Time bring her here?"
Blue shook his head in frustration. "Lightning, you know what the Darkness is like," he muttered. "You're the one who suffered because of it."
Anger gleamed within Lightning's eyes when Blue spoke of the Darkness. Willowshine's fur fluffed up as an uncomfortable silence filled the air. She didn't like being here on her own. Especially when it came to these cats. There was something about them that frightened her. She wasn't sure what that something was. Maybe it was the cold look that Lightning gave her.
"Very well." There was a hint of annoyance in Lightning's tone, but Willowshine did her best to ignore it. "There is only one way to stop the Darkness from destroying everything." Lighting held her gaze. Willowshine's ears flattened when she saw that his expression was emotionless. "Stop which cat has been consumed by it."
