And... with that... the sequel begins! ^.^;
I hope you like the start to this. :3
This'll delve much more into Petalpaw's prophecy (although I can't exactly recall it right now, and for some reason I can't find it anywhere in the previous story, but I'm probably just not looking hard enough), and hopefully will give you some insight on why Rock acts the way he does, too. ^.^; This whole story, I mean, will do all that stuff; I can't just give it all away in the prologue! XDD
Anyways, enjoy! ^.^;
I shall update again soon, if I can figure out how Petalpaw should realistically act, now that she's back with the other cats in the Clans. :3 Any ideas? ^.^; I'd sure love to hear them! :D
Prologue
Mist spilled out through the trees into the small clearing on the island in the middle of the lake. Leaves rustled, and somewhere up above a muffled hooting could be heard. The waves off the lake smashed against the rocks. Then the wind dropped, and all was silent.
Three cats melted slowly out of the bushes and huddled down in the clearing, their tails flicking nervously and their eyes darting about. This wasn't exactly recommended StarClan territory. So close to the Dark Forest, if the evil cats there knew about your presence, they could swim out onto the island and you would be efficiently trapped.
But it was the only way.
"Yellowfang," one of the cats muttered; he was a rather small black tom cat with bright green eyes and a rather fluffed tail.
"Midnightpaw," she allowed, sighing and sitting up straight, washing a gray paw. Her yellow eyes shifted in her flat face to land on a pretty light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes and a tail slowly fading to black at the end. "Sunflight."
"Is Lakestorm coming?" Sunflight ventured cautiously, shuddering and curling her tail tighter around her paws as she glanced around furtively.
Suddenly, a shape dropped down from the trees above, landing with a thump and scaring the other three cats so much that they were rendered speechless, a rather good thing anyway so close to the Dark Forest.
"Here I am!" a very dark blue-gray tomcat with surprisingly pale blue eyes announced as his broad tail swept up and down behind him.
"Lakestorm!" Sunflight hissed. "Don't scare us like that!" She had finally gotten her voice back.
Lakestorm merely looked over at her casually. "Oh, please," he snorted. "You'll be fine! I mean, it's not like you can die again in StarClan."
Sunflight sighed, shuffling her paws to stop the mist from curling around them. "I know; it's just…."
Lakestorm let out a purr of laughter. "The Dark Forest is about, and as such you're scared?"
Sunflight suddenly glared at him, and she hissed, "Yes!"
"Oh, too bad." He sighed. "They probably won't bother with the little old us, anyways!"
"You never know." Midnightpaw was speaking now. He was wise beyond his years in StarClan. "I was killed by one of the cats they had convinced over to their side, remember. This was even before the Rock Agency was formed. You never know what they could do!"
"He's right, you know," Sunflight added quietly. "They seem to have an agenda all of their own, that constantly changes. I'm sure that Yellowfang will agree with me." She looked around. "Yellowfang! Yellowfang?"
The old gray she-cat was sitting at the side of a small pool, her eyes closed and her paw resting on top of the water, where the image of a small tricoloured she-cat was forming. She was standing in a bold stance, bracing herself against the wind on the top of a tall rock, looking down at a crowd of scarred yet determined looking cats below her. All this and more came into focus as the image slowly formed itself into being. She seemed to be speaking, although there were no words to be heard.
"The prophecy of the petal, come to life," Midnightpaw murmured.
"A big responsibility, for such a young cat," Yellowfang agreed, nodding slowly.
"Are you sure she will be ready?" Sunflight asked tentatively.
"She will have to be." Lakestorm's voice was quiet. "Otherwise, the Clans are doomed."