Dark Wings

Honeypool felt the cool night air running through her fur. Up here atop the canyon it was always windy, a welcome change from the heat of summer. Timberpelt, too, seemed relieved to have escaped the choking sultriness of the forest as he was standing at the ledge peering down into the ravine where one could see the strays during the day.

Now nothing stirred, although Honeypool thought she recognized Destiny, the small leader that had met with Ashstar when he had come to confront the strays over Emberpaw's death. Of course they had denied any involvement in her death, and of course no one really believed them.

Despite that, Honeypool was almost certain they were innocent. Lightfur would have recognized their scent, and according to her the scent on the apprentice's body had been like nothing she had ever smelled.

A shiver ran down the golden she-cat's spine when she thought back to that horrible day almost a moon ago. Emberpaw had been barely eight months, curious as a kit and swift as a rabbit. No wonder she had not waited for Lightfur when she had come across the strange scent at the moon falls. When she closed her eyes, Honeypool could still see the bloodied body in front of her. She swallowed.

A coarse voice tore her from her thoughts. "You're still running around with a wet-nurse? Don't you feel a bit silly by now?" Shimmerfur, the healer of ReedClan emerged from the darkness, joining them. Timberpelt threw her an annoyed look, but stayed silent. Honeypool shook her head. "It's barely been a moon! And we still have no idea who did it. Of course Ashstar is worried."

The silver-white she-cat shrugged. "If it makes him feel better…Come on, we're wasting moonlight." With that she stepped past them, down the narrow path that led towards then end of the ravine, where the enormous waterfall tumbled down the cliff and into the river that was winding its way through the ravine. The moon fall.

It had taken almost a year and countless battles for the Clans to come to an agreement with the strays when the ragged band had first come into the ravine, many years ago. But by now the strays tolerated the Clan cats crossing their territory to get their holy site once a moon, and allowed the Clans to gather at the high rock at the other end of their land at full moon. In return the Clans tolerated them living on their holy land.

Despite the peace, Timberpelt looked unusually nervous as he was climbing down the cliff side behind the two healers, and kept shooting looks towards the rocks at the riverbank on which the strays slept during summer. As long as there was no rain, most of them seemed to prefer the fresh air.

No, the atmosphere between the Clans was not relaxed. And Emberpaw's death had only been the beginning. Only a short while ago someone had stolen prey from ReedClan – freshkill that one of their warriors had buried to pick up later. It had happened closed to the border, at the Greenpool, which had been cause of disagreement for generations, and so of course Icestar had been quick to suspect EarthClan. But the apprentice that had discovered the theft had reported the scent of strays – rather unlikely, as they would have had to cross the whole ReedClan territory to get there.

Yet the uncertainty remained, and with it the simmering enmity between EartClan, ReedClan and the strays.

Shimmerfur was feeling those tensions as well, but she showed them far less than Timberpelt did and didn't even move a whisker when Destiny demonstratively sat up as they reached the bottom of the ravine, her red eyes following them through the darkness.

Honeypool for once let out a breath of relief when they finally rounded the last turn of the ravine and the moon fall rose in front of them. The moon light falling into the valley was reflected on the tumbling water masses, making them shine silver so that they almost looked like a giant curtain of pure moon light. Behind her, she heard Timberpelt draw an awestruck breath, making her smile.

Most warriors only saw the moon fall once in their lives, and not many were lucky enough to do so in a clear night as this. Honeypool could still remember the first time the black tom had come here, preparing to receive his warrior name. She herself had accompanied him, her first time to do so alone, the first time after her mentor had died. It had been hard to tell who of them had been more excited, healer or apprentice. Back then thick clouds had covered the moon, and the view had been nothing compared the one they had now.

Shimmerfur noticed the warrior's awe as well, and snorted. "Couldn't you have brought someone even more useless?" she asked dryly. "What about that blind kit you told me about? At least that one wouldn't have half fainted." Timberpelt clenched his jaw and flattened his ears angrily, but Honeypool quickly raised her tail. "Don't listen to her," she meowed quietly, "She doesn't mean it." The silver she-cat raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" But she turned away, her eyes flickering instead to a sudden movement atop the waterfall.

Honeypool her fur bristle when the ferns at the edge of the fall rustled again. Emberpaw came back into her mind, all that blood. Was the killer still around? Timberpelt had his ears pricked as well, unsheathing his claws. "Get behind me," he ordered quietly, alert eyes flickering across their surroundings. Shimmerfur ignored him, completely unfazed. "Who's there?" she asked loudly.

An odd hissing sounded, more reminiscent of squawking, and two huge birds flew up from the ferns above them. Honeypool leapt back in shock when the black beasts shot past them with a loud screech, vanishing in the darkness.

Timberpelt's eyes followed them wearily, but Shimmerfur turned away, shrugging. "Ravens," she said, sounding almost bored. "Good thing you brought that warrior. They'd have torn us apart." Honeypool didn't react to her scathing remarks, still feeling uneasy. "Did you see their eyes?" she whispered quietly. "They were red. Ravens don't have red eyes." Shimmerfur didn't even turn around. "Neither do cats. That Detsiny one still has them. Is she a ghost, too?"

Honeypool hesitated. The other healer was right. The stray's eyes were unusual, but not impossible. Cats were often born with strange changes. From something as simple as Sparrowkit's blindness to her mentor Shortstep, who had been born with only three legs. StarClan's little jokes, he had called them. They get bored up there just as we do.

Honeypool nodded. Yes. Just a joke by some raven ancestors.

But Timberpelt was still watching the night sky in which the birds had vanished. "One of them was carrying something," he said darkly. "A stone or something. It was shiny." Shimmerfur sighed impatiently. "Then by all means, go after them. But magpies collect shiny things, why not ravens? They're not much dumber. And whatever it was, it's not like we can change it. So can we please get a move on now? Falconkit's got a bellyache, and I'd rather not tell his mother he died because some idiotic EarthClan warrior was scared of bloody ravens."

Timberpelt snarled angrily, but Honeypool quickly nodded. "Yes, sure." If they stood around here any longer she might just have to report to Ashstar that Timberpelt had killed ReedClan's healer, with whom they were already on the brink of war. Although, knowing Shimmerfur, she wasn't even sure who'd kill who.

She motioned for him to wait, and quickly followed the other healer the last few meters to the waterfall. When they arrived at the edge of the foaming pool they leapt onto one of the boulders that rose up from the swirling water, until they stood directly in front of the masses of water, tumbling down from above. Here Shimmerfur hesitated, her fur bristling. Even after all those moons as a healer she still hadn't overcome her dislike of water.

Honeypool's whiskers twitched in amusement. "I thought you were in a hurry?" The other she-cat growled quietly, but didn't respond. Instead her muscles tensed, and she catapulted herself through the water without further hesitation. Honeypool waited a few heartbeats and then followed.

Shimmerfur was already busy shaking the cold water out of her pelt when the other healer emerged into the grotto behind the moon fall, hissing in displeasure. "StarClan really could've come up with something better," she complained. "Why not some nice, dry boulder? There's hundreds of them out there."

Honeypool smiled to herself, looking around. The beauty of her surroundings still charmed her as much as it had all those moons ago, when she had first stepped inside. The moon light filtering in through the water shone silver on the wet walls, and the moss drew swirling pictures of light and shadow onto the rocks. No one but healers and leaders had ever laid eyes on it, and to Honeypool that made it even more impressive. She counted herself lucky to be in that elect circle.

"Have you thought about finding an apprentice?" she asked on an impulse, turning around. Shimmerfur looked up. "An apprentice?" she repeated, surprised. "What for? I'm not that old!" Honeypool looked down. "Yeah. But...Shortstep died young; he wasn't even four years old. And after what happened to Emberpaw..." Shimmerfur snorted. "Shortstep was a cripple," she said harshly, "They don't live long; I'm surprised he even made it that far." She shrugged. "Of course you can die young. You don't even need a mystery killer, falling off the cliff is enough. And didn't one of your leaders once die after a tree fell on him? How was he supposed to expect that? Apart from the fact that one has to be a right moron to get killed by a sodding tree."

Honeypool squirmed uncomfortably. "I know. I just thought...I was thinking about asking Sparrowpaw. Nightfrost's blind kit, the one I told you about. But I'm not sure...he's strange. When I'm near him, I feel...I don't know. I don't feel good about it." Shimmerfur raised her eyebrows. "You can't just automatically make every kit a healer just because he won't have a chance as a warrior. Take Heatherkit. Blind on one eye, and hyperactive like a rabid squirrel. She's not gonna survive her first battle, if she even makes it that far. But there's no chance that I'd ever let her even near my den."

Honeypool turned away. She tended to forget how pragmatic and unsympathetic the silver healer was. Maybe it was because of her stray heritage? Not that Honeypool would ever have dared to mention it. Instead she cowered down on the moss covered rock licking up some of the water from her pelt and closing her eyes. Almost immediately she felt sleep washing over her.


Screams. Panicked cries, horrified yowls, a tumultuous tangle of fear and confusion. No peaceful clearing that usually waited for her, no trace of Shortstep or Silverpelt.

Their surrounding was not recognizable at all, there were no solid forms, merely a confusing disarray of colours and shapes, leaving her floating around helplessly, unable to find solid ground beneath her paws. The only clear shape was Shimmerfur, who she could see out of the corner of her eyes, fur bristling and snapping at the forms that drifted past her through the fog.

Honeypool's heart raced. What was happening? She had never met Shimmerpelt in StarClan before. And most of all – was this even StarClan? And if it was, what was going on here?

The desperate yowls that washed over them from all sides were no comfort. Faceless figures kept emerging from the chaos, solidifying shortly before they dissolved into formless colours once more, clawing at her. Honeypool felt the panic around her seep into her own heart.

"Honeypool!" She swirled around as best as she could in her disoriented state, and flinched when a shadow emerged right in front of her. But the longer she looked, the more solid it became, until finally-

"Shortstep!" she cried, voice almost faltering with relief and fear. "What's happening?" The brown tom was still looking very ghostly, fraying at the edges and almost see-through. His voice echoed strangely, as if he was speaking from very far away.

"Tyr's heirs," he panted breathlessly. "They're back!" In his eyes lay a fear that she had never seen in him when he had been alive, a bottomless, all-conquering terror. "The prophecy! They've got the eye, in the mountains, the Black Mountain – Hel, she's she found us! The Children, you've got to...the Children of the Moon. They eye. Save the eye, before it is too late. The wights are on the march. You have to go, quickly, or you will be trapped here!"

The old healer's voice grew ever fainter, echoed as if he was moving away at great speed. The shadows in front of her grew less clear, the colour drained form her surrounding and the light faded. She tom in front of her was barely discernible from the fog now.

"Shortstep!"she yelled, panicked. "Shorstep, what's happening? What eye?" But he had already vanished. Honeypool turned to Shimmerfur, who was still floating next to her, still the only clear figure in this strange hell. There was fear in her eyes as well. "What-" she started, when a new voice rang out, or rather a chorus of voices, hundreds of them. They seemed to be coming from all directions at once, just as muffled as Shortstep's had been, but strong in their unity.

"The heirs awake, and the ancestors fade.

Night comes

When the heirs stand against Children.

Two and Two and Two

Children of the Moon

To save the eye

To scale the mountain and banish the night..."

Honeypool felt something starting to pull at her, clawing at her mind. A look at Shimmerfur told her the other healer was feeling it as well, and Shortstep's warning came back into her mind.

You have to go, quickly, or you will be trapped here!

Her head rose sharply. "Shimmerfur, wake up! Quickly! Something's taking StarClan, and they'll take us as well. We've got to leave!" The silver she-cat looked at her, eyes wide open. "What about the prophecy?"

"...He who sees nothing and everything

She who dies and dies and yet lives

She, whose wings..."

Honeypool shook her head. The pull got stronger. Even now she felt herself being lifted out of her body, felt the connection grow thin and thinner. "No time! Wake up NOW!"

"Rule the night

One who is two and two in one...

Honeypool fought back, though the swirling fog, the dancing shadows. They weren't lashing out at her, they were trying to hold on. Fighting against the pull, the sinister might that was engulfing the whole of StarClan. Honeypool felt tears burning in her eyes. "Good bye, Shortstep," she mewed quietly, then she closed her eyes, and


Shot up. Her heart was racing, and for a moment she felt like she was still caught in that terrible chaos of fear and panic. Her gaze fell on the silvery cat next to her, and her stomach lurched. The tabby sides trembled, the eyes were still firmly closed. Honeypool felt fear rise in her. No. Shimmerfur couldn't be, couldn't be...what, actually? What in StarClans's name had happened?

A gasp sounded, and green eyes shot open. Shimmerfur didn't get up, instead kept lying where she was, still trembling. "Are you alright?" Honeypool meowed cautiously. The silver she-cat nodded, still panting. "Yeah, I...everything okay. One who is two and two in one; One who hears much and understands all," she reported, rising to her paws and already back to her business-like self. "I didn't get the rest. What in hell's name was that?"

Honeypool shook her head, still completely flustered. "No idea. StarClan's in danger, or dead already." Shimmerfur frowned. "They're dead to begin with. How are they supposed to die?" The other healer shrugged, feeling very numb. "I don't know," she said quietly, hopelessness seeping into her. "What do we do? Try to go back there?" Shimmerfur shook her head. "God no. We might end up trapped there for good this time. I say we wait a few days, or better until the next half moon. Then we try again."

Honeypool hesitated. "Don't you think we should tell Ashstar and Icestar?" The fear was still stuck to her fur like cold mud, chilling her insides. Whatever had just happened, it did not bode well for the Clans.

But Shimmerfur snorted. "And what do you want to tell them? We don't even know what happened – Shortstep and that prophecy both talked about some heirs awaking, didn't they? I say we wait and see who or what awakes during the next days, and then we go from there." Honeypool still wasn't convinced, but she had to agree with Shimmerfur. Ashstar would not learn much from the mess of stuttered warnings and half-heard prophecies, and with the tensions flying high between the Clans, he had other worries for now. She nodded. "Alright. I won't say anything."

As they made to leave the grotto, she turned around once more. Moon light was still shimmering on the walls, but somehow it looked duller now, muffled. Shorstep, she thought sadly, Where are you?


A/N:

Did you like it?

I've got the first few chapters all ready and translated, thgat's why updates are quick for now.

There's another chapter I'll post tomorrow or the day after, where'll you'll actually see some powers,and meet more character.

After that I'll have to see how fast I can write them. Maybe encourage me with some reviews? ;)