"What happened?" Ghostface said to Stormflower beside him. The queen shook her head, not taking her eyes off of the elder.
"She just suddenly fell ill." Prairieheart said, looking horrified. Shrubfoot began to carry the elder into her den.
Rabbitfur spoke out above the cats. "The sickness is spreading!"
The clan began to talk frantically, and cats began calling out. "StarClan is angry!"
"The prophecy!"
Ghostface felt nervous. Everything seemed to be happening fast. Lichenfur's sickness had practically clawed the face of every clan cat, and the reality of the prophecy seemed to be settling in violently.
Barkstar yowled above everyone, "This situation has become dire. We mustn't panic, but we must think quickly. The clans must know about the prophecy. We must tell them. Shadedpelt, you will orgnanize patrols to go to the clans and speak to those cats. Shadedpelt, tell the cats where to go."
Shadedpelt stood next to his leader. Barkstar said, "Okay, we will have 3 cats go to each clan and try to talk to them, explain to them about the prophecy."
The cats nodded in agreement. Shadedpelt said, "Me, Icetail and Woodpaw will go to MarshClan. Barkstar is to go with Prairieheart and Ghostface to Hillsclan . Mottledsong, Thunderhawk and Coldpelt must go to Woodclan."
Ghostface caught Prairiehearts eye. She looked worried. Could Ghostface keep his secret safe while in HillsClan territory?
"Mossclaw, stay and guard camp, Rosepaw, you must help Shrubfoot. Rabbitfur, Mudear, help Stormflower to protect the nursery. That is the last place that sickness needs to spread to." As Shadedpelt organized everything, Ghostface realized how short on warriors Grassclan truly was. Most of the warriors would be gone and only a handful of cats would remain at camp, but he knew the cats needed to be kept busy following this shock.
"Let's go!" Barkstar called and all the cats went off to their duties. Ghostface followed him and Prairieheart. He tried to ignore his tired muscles and pounding heart as they wove their way down the paths towards the HillsClan territory. The pale warrior tried hard to act natural, as if he'd never been into HillsClan territory. Soon they were picking their way through the hilly terrain. They came across the dirt road where Ghostface had been several times, and with each step, Ghostface felt guilt and nervousness building. They prepared to cross the red gravel road. He couldn't smell any monsters and couldn't hear or see any either. Barkstar gave the signal to cross and they crossed it, wincing at the concentration of hard red stones that scored their pads, but it was nothing compared to the weight in Ghostface's chest. Suddenly from behind the road appeared Fawnshadow. At first she looked startled, then she lowered her head and hissed.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, ears flat and her dark tail lashing angrily. Ghostface breathed a small sigh of relief. He had faith that she wouldn't give them away.
Barkstar padded forward, his body stance was non-threatening. "We have come to talk to your clan and clan leader. We mean no harm, but it's urgent."
Fawnshadow paused, eyeing the cats disbelievingly. "What is the business you need to discuss?"
Prairieheart stepped forward, "It's about the sickness. Our medicine cat has received a prophecy."
Fawnshadow looked unsure. She eyed Prairieheart for a second, and then glanced at Ghostface who gave a quick, curt nod, hoping Barkstar wouldn't notice. The pretty HillsClan cat nodded reluctantly. "Alright, follow me, but don't try anything." At this she whipped around and led them deep into her territory, over countless hills and rocky boulders until she reached a dirt and gorse entrance that sat on top of a massive, wide hill. She had described to Ghostface her camp before, but Ghostface was impressed. It had a good vantage point of their territory and the lower half of the camp wall was hard packed earth. He could smell a stream from west of their camp.
"What is this, an attack?" Came an angry yowl from the center of the camp. Ghostface turned to see who it was and saw a bluish she cat with dark stripes.
"Stellarpelt, I caught these cats on our territory. They claim to want to speak to us." Fawnshadow said.
The other cats looked suspicious, but too tired to do anything. As Ghostface examined them more closely, they looked gaunt and their coats were thinning.
"You shouldn't have brought them here." Said a worried looking ginger she-cat. She shook her head. Fawnshadow looked around and said, "Where is Longstar?"
The longhaired tabby tom appeared from the entrance accompanied by two warriors. "What's going on?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at them and dropping a mouse that he had been carrying.
Fawnshadow explained to her leader, looking nervous. The tom padded over to a tall boulder. He didn't need to call his cats over because they were already assembled, whispering impatiently. "Explain to us now!" He said, glaring at Barkstar.
The younger leader nodded and said, "We realized that this sickness is more dangerous than we thought. This is no time for the clans to be warring or blaming each other." He paused when yowls rose up.
"Only because you've been spreading it!" Came the shrill voice of an apprentice. Barkstar glared at the crowd until they quieted.
"What reason would any clan have for spreading sickness if it were to hurt them too? One of our cats has just fallen ill. Now our medicine cat has received a vision and a prophecy from StarClan."
At a signal from Barkstar, Ghostface explained the prophecy, and what Shrubfoot thought it meant. He tried not to wince as the HillsClan cats yowled their criticism.
"You expect us to believe this load of fox dung? Why should we trust the lives of our cats to this one cat who isn't even clan born!"
"They just want us out of our territory!"
"Lies!"
"Let's drive them out!"
Finally Longstar silenced them with a yowl. "We are right to be skeptical, no, Barkstar?" He said, turning to the sleek brown tom who sat calmly among the upset crowd.
Barkstar shrugged, "Caution is wise, ignorance is stupid. There is a fine line."
Longstar narrowed his eyes but didn't argue. "We must discuss with our medicine cat first. StarClan will reveal your treachery."
"Even StarClan can't pull a fox out of a mouse. We will return then." Barkstar said, standing to leave.
"You will know if you're not welcome." Longstar said, his tail tip twitching. Ghostface felt in his paws the tenseness, like the moment before lightning strikes in a storm, between the two leaders.
The three cats padded out and Ghostface shot Fawnshadow a worried glance.
"I'll escort them back out." Fawnshadow said, glancing up at the tabby leader.
"Bring Hummingwing and Nightweed with you." Longstar said. A longhaired black tom and a silver tabby tom padded up beside Fawnshadow. Barkstar padded out, tail and head high. Prairieheart followed. Ghostface tried to drop back, but Nightweed just growled, "Hurry up, oh prophetic one." Hummingwing laughed, but Fawnshadow just shook her head, her shoulders slightly tense as she walked between the two toms.