New chapter!
We finally get to see a few of the powers we've heard so much about, and meet some more characters.
Emjoy! (and maybe leave a Review while your at it ;))
Signs Of Change
Lionblaze was yawning as he plodded through the darkness. Nightcatcher and her ungodly enthusiasm... the sun had been down for hours, but the black she-cat insisted on staying out to hunt. Or rather, she had insisted, before she had vanished. Lionblaze hadn't seen so much as a whisker of her in almost twenty minutes.
"Nightcatcher?" he called softly. "Come on, let's go. I still have to settle the patrols for tomorrow, and Smokeheart's been complaining about dawn patrol again. I-" He fell silent when there was no reply. "Nightcatcher?" he repeated, louder now.
Almost on its own accord, his pace quickened. "Nightcatcher? Where are you?" He felt worry rise in him like morning fog. It had been barely half a moon since the EarthClan apprentice had been murdered. And the mysterious prey theft... He shook his head, and forcibly calmed his breath. Nonsense. The black warrior could take care of herself.
He had reached the small grove now that marked the border to EarthClan, and slowed his pace. Surely Nightcatcher hadn't been foolish enough to venture into another Clan's territory, had she? But as he now remembered with an uneasy feeling, the black warrior had never much cared for rules.
"Nightcatcher?" he was aware of how pleading his voice sounded by now, but he didn't care. "Come one, we-" He fell silent when he spotted a small black figure on a clearing in front of him. Relief flooded over him. "There you are!" Nightcatcher turned around, obviously surprised by his appearance. "Lionblaze!" she exclaimed, eyes flickering across his face but never meeting his. "I... I was chasing a rabbit, but it escaped to EarthClan," she meowed, but he didn't miss the tremble in her voice. "Nightcatcher?" hesitantly, he stepped closer, his eyes searching her body for any hint of injury. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost. "Are you alright?" He spotted something on her shoulder, and frowned. "Is that a feather?" he meowed, confused, and stepped closer. It was mottled brown, and when he flicked it away, he recognized the scent. "An owl?" he asked, incredulously. "Did you try to catch an owl?"
Nightcatcher shook her head, looking more flustered than he had ever seen her. "I...no, I..." she lowered her eyes, fixing the dirt in front of her. "Nightcatcher? What's wrong?" Lionblaze felt his worry rise. Nightcatcher could face a pack of angry dogs and still keep her calm. Whatever had happened must have been very bad indeed to leave her in such a state.
She still refused to look at him. "I...it's..." finally, she raised her head and looked at him, and to his horror he saw fear in her green eyes. Nightcatcher doesn't do fear. Anger, yes, annoyance, hell yes. But she doesn't get scared. He inched closer, pressing his pelt against hers in a desperate bid to console her. She was trembling. For a while they simply sat there, two silent shadows in a moon-lit clearing.
"Something...strange happened," she finally said, her voice somewhat calmer now. Lionblaze looked at her, still lost. "Strange? What do you mean?" For a few heartbeats, Nightcatcher's eyes were locked on his, green on amber. Then she took a deep breath, and murmured: "This."
And then the black cat next to him turned into an owl.
Lionblaze stared at the bird in utter shock. "What-" The owl cried out softly, and turned back into Nightcatcher.
For a moment it was silent while Lionblaze was frantically trying to make sense of what he had just seen. "What in the name of StarClan was that?" he then managed, completely baffled. The black she-cat shook her head, just as confused as he was. "I have no idea," she said quietly. "It happened earlier. I was watching this owl, and then I wondered what it would be like to fly, and then...then it happened. But I can control it. And it only works with the owl, I tried a fox, a badger, another bird...it doesn't work. Just the owl. What do you think it means?"
Lionblaze shook his head, feeling helpless. "I don't know," he said, pressing his fur against hers. "I've never heard of StarClan doing anything like that. Nine lives, sure, a few strange dreams, yes. But this?" Nightcatcher swallowed uneasily. "You won't tell anybody, will you?" Lionblaze looked at her for a moment, seeing the worry in her green eyes. "Not unless you want me to," he said softly. She smiled, visibly relieved, and buried her face in his chest fur. "Thanks, Lionblaze. I know I can rely on you." Lionblaze smiled down at her. "Always," he promised quietly, nuzzling the top of her head before succumbing to another yawn. "Let's go back, shall we?"
While they were walking across the meadows back to the camp, pelts brushing together, he felt doubt rise in him. Was it really within StarClan's power to grant such an ability? And wasn't it his duty as deputy to inform Icestar? Or at least Shimmerfur?
But he felt a lot less love for Icestar than a deputy probably should, and Shimmerfur – well, the healer wasn't his closest friend either. Aside from that, he had given Nightcatcher his word, and her trust wasn't something he ever intended to betray. No. Whatever the meaning of all this, he would have to figure it out by himself.
He was smiling when they reached camp and stepped through the reed barrier. Nightcatcher, the owl. "It fits you," he meowed quietly, and grinned at her. "I'm sure you'll be an excellent owl." Nightcatcher snorted. "Shut up." But she was smiling again when they stepped into the den.
Hollypaw swallowed when the rocks appeared in front of her. Less than ten tail lengths from here they had found Emberpaw. Her family was still reeling from the loss. Especially their father, Boldheart, had been hit hard by the death of his daughter. Hollypaw had never seen him as angry as on the day that Ashstar had returned from the strays, empty-pawed. Had Flintstreak not held him back he probably would have stormed into the ravine himself to avenge Emberpaw.
Hollypaw dug her claws into the soft earth. The Clans never should have allowed the strays to live in the holy valley.
Dewfeather sensed her anger. "We don't know if it was them. Their scent wasn't found," she reminded her apprentice softly. Hollypaw snarled. "Who else could it have been?" The white warrior sighed. "I don't know. But stories tell of giant cats up North, mountain lions. Maybe one of them came down." Hollypaw looked up doubtfully, towards the tall, dark mountains rising in the north directly in front of them. Would she be able to fight a mountain lion? She'd like to try...
But she quickly banished the thought. "There are no mountain lions," she said stubbornly. "Pineheart just made them up to scare kits." Dewfeather chuckled. "Perhaps. Come on, then. You won't bring Emberpaw back by letting your Clan starve." Hollypaw very much doubted that anybody in the Clan was in danger of starving – much less because of her – during this exceptionally warm Greenleaf, but she still followed her mentor back into the forest.
Soon she spotted a squirrel, perched on the lower braches of a slender birch. She threw a quick glance towards Dewfeather, who was walking through the forest a few tail lengths away, and licked her lips. A squirrel...this wasn't an official test, but she and her siblings were old enough to be made warriors now. And every catch counted. She grinned at the thought of receiving her name before Barkpaw. The way he was doing at the moment, he'd stand no chance at his hunting trial.
Still smiling she crouched down, fixating the squirrel. Two, maybe three tail lengths. If it didn't turn its head into her direction by chance, the catch should be easy enough. Cautiously she took a step forward, then two, three, until suddenly-
'Hollypaw?'
The black she-cat flinched, and the squirrel darted up the tree and out of sight. Hollypaw barely noticed. "What?" she asked, still crouched down, looking around now. "Who's there?" But the forest around her was empty save for Dewfeather, who was only visible by her pale fur flashing up between the trees, too far away to have called. And it hadn't been her mentor's voice anyway , it hadn't sounded like any voice, really...it seemed to have come from...inside her head?
'Hollypaw, it's me!'
Definitely in her head. She felt panic rise in her. Was she going mad?
'Who-Who's there?' she thought hesitantly. The voice sounded familiar, somehow... 'Shadepaw? Is that you?'
'Yes! It's me! Where are you?' Her sister's voice sounded scared as well. 'What's happening?'
Hollypaw swallowed. 'I'm...I'm in the forest. Hunting. You?'
'In our den. I...I was trying to sleep, and then suddenly I heard your voice...you were talking about a squirrel, and Barkpaw...'
Hollypaw felt her fur bristle.
'I didn't say anything. I was just...thinking,' she said slowly. For a moment, there was silence.
'What's happening, Hollypaw?' her sister asked timidly.
The black she-cast hesitated. 'I don't know...apparently we're...connected or something. Listening in on each others thoughts. I didn't know that was possible.'
Shadepaw paused. 'Do you think StarClan did this? That this is some sort of...dunno, prophecy?'
Hollypaw didn't answer for a moment, wild thoughts swirling around in her head. What in StarClan's name was going on? Was this happening to all cats? She tried to reach Barkpaw, but nothing happened.
'I don't know...it doesn't feel like a prophecy, does it? I mean, wouldn't they have come to us in our dreams or something?' she asked, racking her brain for some sort of explanation. 'Maybe it's like the nine lives of a leader. Some gift they grant special cats.'
'But we're not special! We're not even warriors!'
Hollypaw shrugged, even though she knew that her sister couldn't see it. 'Not yet. But who knows, maybe we'll be leader one day.' She liked that thought. Hollystar. It sounded nice. 'Or I will be leader and you deputy,' she added quickly.
Her sister, however, didn't seem convinced. 'I don't know. Shouldn't we...tell somebody? At least mother and father?'
Hollypaw hesitated. 'No,' she finally decided. 'Just imagine what we could do with this? How cool would it be to be in two places at once? If one of us is sneaking off, the other one can always warn them if anybody's there when they come back. We can do anything!'
The thought excited her. How useful it would be to just avoid certain cats...Dewfeather wouldn't stand a chance at finding her when she didn't want her to. Hollypaw grinned.
'Trust me. It's gonna be awesome.'
„Hey, Dimmy. You alright?" Dimitri looked up and saw his friend Chase strolling over to him with a broad grin on his face. "Don't call me that," he meowed uneasily. It was an unfortunate habit of the grey-brown tom, constantly shortening the names of others until they sounded utterly ridiculous. 'Dimmy' was his new favourite.
Dimitri sighed. "Have you seen Cassandra? We went hunting, and suddenly she was-" "Whoa!", Chase interrupted him with a laugh. "I didn't really want to know how you are. My news are more important; look at this!" He stood in front of Dimitri and stared at him intensely as if he meant to melt his brain. Nothing happened. Dimitri pawed at the ground uncomfortably, and averted his gaze. "Uhm...Chase? What are you doing?"
"Look into my eyes!" the tall tom commanded, face distorted into a mask of pure concentration. Dimitry frowned. "You're not gonna declare your undying love for me, are you? 'Cos I'll have to disappoint you, I-" Shut up and look," Chase said, rolling his eyes. Hesitantly, Dimitri obeyed, meeting his friend's eyes. At least there wasn't anybody around to witness this embarrassing spectacle.
A few heartbeats they stood silently, while Chase' amber eyes burnt into his, and Dimitry felt more uncomfortable by the seconds. Finally, the other tom spoke. "When you were four months old, you climbed the high rock and were so scared that you peed into Linus' fur when he got you do...whoa, really? That's super embarrassing, mate." He laughed, finally breaking eye contact.
Dimitri stared at him, perplexed. "How-" he stammered, completely shocked. He felt red creep into his face. Linus had promised never, ever to tell anybody about that. How on earth had Chase found out? "Did Linus-" His friend shook his head, still grinning. "As if he'd tell anybody. Who'd vote anybody Thane in whose pelt you've pissed?" He laughed again, looking very much like a kit who'd just caught his first prey. "But how-" Dimitri's voice faltered again.
"I've got superpowers, mate!" Chase burst out, his eyes shining as if he'd just won all three Thaneships at once. "Real, supermegafoxyawesomehot superpowers!" Dimitri stared at him, completely confused. "Come again?" He had often wondered when Chase would finally go round the bend, and as it seemed, that time had now come.
"Superpowers!" Chase repeated once more, "I can see into your fucking head!" Dimitri opened his jaw, then snapped it shut again when nothing came out. "What?" Chase shrugged, still grinning like a maniac. "No idea how it works, or why, but somehow I can see people's memories when I look into their eyes. Wicked, isn't it?"
Dimitri shook his head, a feeble attempt to bring some order into his muddled thoughts. It failed. "What?"
Chase rolled his eyes. "Come on, Dimitri! Even you aren't that slow. I. Got. Superpowers!" He leapt into the air enthusiastically, looking like an oversized kit.
Slowly, Dimitri managed to catch up with what was happening. "Since when? And...how?" Chase shrugged. "No idea how, doesn't matter, does it? Started a few days ago. I was talking to Elektra, and BAM, suddenly I see her, as a kit, with her parents. And I'm thinking, strange, I mean, I wasn't even here back then. And then it happened again, with Dizzy. That time I could actually control it, I could see what I wanted. Didn't work with Cassandra, 'cos she didn't look into my eyes for long enough. But now, with you...Fantastic, right?"
Dimitri was still staring at his friend, jaw hanging open. "But how...?" He shook his head, trying to get some sense into this conversation. "Did you tell anybody?" he finally asked. Chase snorted. "Are you mental? Do you have any idea what I can do with this?"
Dimitri frowned. "Apart from scaring the crap out of others, you mean?" Chase bristled indignantly. "I beg your pardon! I would never use my powers for evil. With great power comes great responsibility!" he meowed, puffing his chest proudly. Then, he grinned. "Actually, I was just gonna use it to hit on she-cats."
Dimitri stared at him (he was doing a great deal of that this morning, he realized vaguely). "Hit on she-cats?" he repeated slowly. "Are you serious?" Chase nodded eagerly, looking very pleased with himself. "Of course! Just think about all the possibilities...all the back ground info you can get – that's super useful. Hey, I love long walks at night. You too? What a COINCIDENCE! We have so much in common...blablabla, and Bam, you got her. See? Foolproof."
Dimitri was silent for a moment, searching for his voice. "You've got superpowers, and your plan using them to trick she-cats," he said, incredulously. Chase nodded, grinning happily. "Exactly." He beamed, looking up at the clouds with a blissful expression on his face. "Someone up there must really like me," he meowed solemnly.
Dimitri didn't answer. Instead, his gaze wandered across the ravine, and to the other ledge, where the Clan's forest lay. What was the meaning of this? Was Chase the only one with this sudden power? Or were there others out there who could see into people's heads?
And if there were, what would that mean for the future?
Flintstrike yawned. Thick clouds were covering the sky, but the rain they promised didn't fall. Even now, at night, the air was sultry and hot, and seemed to cover the forest like a choking blanket.
Somewhere an owl cried, but otherwise it was quiet. Flintstrike still felt uneasy sitting in front of the cave, his ears pricked for any sound. The shock of Emberpaw's death sat deep, even now.
It had been two moons, but Ashstar was still puzzled as to who – or what – had killed the apprentice. Flintstrike had an uneasy hunch that it was the strays, whatever Destiny had said. There might be peace officially, but strays knew no law, no order. It was easily possible that one of them had acted on their own accord, without their leaders' knowledge.
His gaze wandered south, towards the meadows that lay behind the forest. Could ReedClan have anything to do with it? But what reasons would they have? Icestar wasn't to be trusted, but he never acted without a motive, and they had little to gain from murdering EarthClan apprentices.
Unless...with EarthClan and the strays at war, ReedClan would have the leisure of choosing whichever side they liked – or whichever promised them the most. And even if Icestar kept out of the conflict, a weakened EarthClan would pose an opportunity to finally take over the far end of the Greenpool, as he had wanted to for so long.
But would he really stoop down to murder?
An angry snarl interrupted his thoughts, followed by a torrent of vile swear words. The black warrior spun around. The clamour came from inside the cave, EarthClan's camp. After a short hesitation Flintstreak turned away from the forest and climbed inside.
The dark main hall was empty; the cursing didn't come from here, but one of the smaller caves. The elders' den.
"I don't care if it's your fault! Just get out of the bloody den, you sodding firefly! I want to sleep!"
He paused. Pineheart's voice, undoubtedly. The other belonged to Foxpelt, although Flintstrike couldn't make out his words. Slowly, he stepped closer. Other faces were appearing in openings of the dens now, Lightfur, Frostspark, Shadowheart, Barkpaw, Hollypaw...
And then he saw him. Foxpelt, stumbling out of the elders' den with his tail between his legs, Pineheart's curses still ringing out behind him.
The tom's russet fur was glowing brightly.
"What the-" Flintstreak muttered, staring at the elder open-yawed. The light seemed to come right out of the tom, making him look like a smaller copy of the sun. The cave was brightly lit now, brighter even than during the day.
"Shit! Am I dead?" Foxpelt cried, staring at his pelt with almost comical horror in his eyes. "If only." Pineheart's voice came from the elders' den.
The rest of the Clan was just watching in shocked silence. More and more cats stepped out of their dens now, woken up by the noise and the bright light. "Wicked!" Mistpaw said in an awed whisper.
Finally, Flintstreak managed to gather himself enough to react. "Foxpelt, what is the meaning of this?" he asked, stepping forward. He had to close his eyes a little, and couldn't bring himself to look at the elder directly. "I dunno!" Foxpelt cried helplessly. "I'm glowing!" He seemed just as flustered as everyone else, if not more so.
"Flintsreak, what is-" Ashtar fell silent when he saw the glowing elder. "Great StarClan" he whispered, shocked like everybody else. Foxpelt shook his head frantically. "I have no idea what's happening! Are we sure I'm not dead?"
Ashstar nodded absentmindedly. "Fetch Honeypool," he told Boldheart, who wordlessly disappeared into another cave. Then he turned back to the elder. "When did this start?" Foxpelt shrugged, looking a little less panicked now that his living status had been confirmed. "I don't know. I was sleeping, I didn't even notice, but then Pineheart woke up, and then he was snarling, an then..." "I think it was there when we went to sleep, but much weaker," a new voice said, as Raincloud stepped out of the elder den, looking at her brother thoughtfully. "I thought I was just imagining it then. It must have grown stronger during the night."
Honeypool appeared with a sleepy look on her face. But it vanished in an instant when she saw Foxpelt. Her eyes widened. "What-" Ashstar shook his head, looking grim. "We have no idea. I was hoping you could explain it." Honeypool stared at the old tom, frozen.
"Am I dead?" Foxpelt asked finally when the silence drew on. The golden brown she-cat shook her head, losing her stiffness. "No, StarClan warriors look different..." She fell silent again, and a shocked expression came on her face. "The heirs," she whispered, almost too quiet for Flintstreak to hear.
"The what?" Foxpelt repeated, confused. "The heirs awake, and the ancestors fade," she meowed tonelessly, her gaze far away now. Flinstreak felt a shiver run down his spine. The ancestors fade… Was this some sort of prophecy? Was StarClan planning on leaving them?
Foxpelt still looked confused. "Who will inherit what?" But Honeypool didn't answer, still lost in some memory.
"Tyr's heirs," a voice behind them growled, and a sea of heads spun around to see Pineheart appearing from the elders' den, his eyes fixed on Foxpelt. "The heirs of Moonstar."
Silence fell. "Moonstar?" Mistpaw repeated incredulously. "The one from the fairy tales?" Pineheart's gaze flickered away from the elder and pierced the apprentice with such derision that the small tom visibly shrunk. "It's not a fairy tale, boy," he meowed coolly. It's true."
Ashstar stepped forward, visibly strained to keep control. Flintstreak was suddenly very grateful that he was only deputy, not at all envying his leader for having to deal with this when he himself felt like crawling back into his den and hoping that all of this was just some particularly strange dream. "What are you talking about?" the grey tom asked, his voice loud in an effort to hide his nervousness.
"The legend of the Children," Pineheart answered calmly, meeting his leader's gaze without hesitation. "Moonstar's gifts. The fallen star that grants his powers onto mortals, blessing them with parts of his soul…even though it is beyond me why anybody would want to bless this imbecile." "Oi!"
Ashstar stared at the old tom. "You're saying this-" his tail flicked towards the glowing pelt, "-is a gift? From a dead cat out of an ancient legend?" "It's not a legend, fools!" Pineheart snarled. "Somebody must've broken Tyr's eye, and set the powers free. Foxpelt won't be the only one."
"His eye?" Ashstar repeated slowly. This time it was Honeypool who answered. "Shortstep mentioned an eye," she meowed cautiously. "In the night they-" She fell silent, and Flintstreak could see something change in her eyes. "I have to speak to Shimmerfur," she proclaimed abruptly.
Ashstar narrowed his eyes, but before he could protest Raincloud was speaking again. "What does that mean, he won't be the only one?" she asked Pineheart warily. "Are we all going to start glowing?" The golden brown tom snorted. "Hardly. My guess-"
"I can walk through trees," a new voice suddenly mewed from the back of the crowd. The clan parted, and Spiderfur stepped forward hesitantly. "I-I found out a few days ago," she said, looking rather embarrassed to be at the centre of attention, but continued anyway. "I bumped into an oak, and I simply...dunno, fell through. It works with rocks as well." She stepped towards the cave wall, and – disappeared.
A shocked murmur went through the crowd. "Spiderfur?" Timberpelt cried, worried. But it didn't take more than minute, and the black warrior was walking in through the cave entrance. "See?" she meowed, grinning sheepishly.
Flintstrike looked around, feeling dazed. This whole thing was becoming more and more dreamlike. Just as he was wondering when he'd wake up, another cat stepped forward.
"Shadepaw and me can talk to each other in our minds," she proclaimed proudly, "No matter how far apart we are." "What?" Echoflight asked, looking at her daughters in shock. "Is that true, Shadepaw?" The black apprentice nodded, somewhat more hesitant than her sister. "Yes…it started about a moon ago."
"So that's why!" Barkpaw exclaimed. "Bugger the sight – you owe me a mouse!" He stared at his sister in indignation, fur bristled, but she merely poked her tongue out at him. "You're just jealous 'cos we're Tyr's heirs." She turned around to Pineheart. "What are Tyr's heirs?"
The old tom watched her with a mixture of fear and hate, quickly wiping the excited smile off her face. "They are the warriors of hell," he finally said, voice scything. "Sworn to kill StarClan."
Shocked silence fell. Flintstreak felt his fur bristle. Foxpelt – an enemy of StarClan? It seemed very unlikely that he was the enemy of anybody, much less the gods. "They are…what?" the old tom now repeated, looking scared again.
Ashstar swallowed, and exchanged a look with Flintstreak, seeking help. The deputy shook his head silently, and Ashstar straightened. "I think it is time for a gathering," he said, voice a great deal more firm than before. "ReedClan will also have been affected by this. Flintstreak, you will go to Icestar tomorrow, take two warriors with you and ask him to move the gathering to tomorrow night. Honeypool, you can accompany him in case you need to confer with Shimmerfur before that." He fell silent for a moment, and his gaze wandered over Foxpelt, Spiderfur and the two apprentices. "The rest of you, just…act normal." The words sounded almost laughable in the face of Foxpelt's brightly glowing fur.
I'll just…sleep outside," the old tom murmured with a quick look at Pineheart and left the cave, his head hanging low. "Dammit, I really thought I was dead!" Flintstreak heard him mutter before his voice was lost in the night. With the cave plunged into darkness once more, the cats began to filter back into their dens once more, talking quietly among themselves.
Flintstreak and Ashstar remained. "Something is coming," the grey leader meowed, sounding tired. "And it's nothing good." Flintstrike tried to smile. "As long as all that's endangered is Pineheart's slumber, I don't think we'll have to worry too much," he meowed lightly. Ashstar returned the smile, but the worry sin his eyes tayed.
No, Flintstrike agreed silently as he made his way back towards his post. Something wasn't right at all.
