Dark Prophecy
A familiar shiver ran down Honeypool 's spine as she stepped through the reed tunnel into the camp. Medicine cats were more used to visiting foreign territory than other cats, but that did not keep her from feeling uneasy. The dark looks thrown at her and Timberpelt made it clear that ReedClan had not forgotten the prey theft.
Luckily, news of the ReedClan warrior's strange climbing ability were far more interesting than them, and thanks to the crowd quickly forming around him few cats took notice of them.
When they arrived, Icestar was standing in front of his den, listening to and dark tabby apprentice, who, going by his excited jumps, was just recounting the tale from the forest, and their arrival triggered a new storm of questions. The EarthClanners seemed utterly forgotten.
Lionblaze had vanished as soon as they stepped into camp, not even pausing to talk to Icestar. Honeypool could see him now, quietly talking to a black she-cat at the edge of the camp, not even glancing in their direction.
Thus it fell onto the third and last warrior of their small patrol to lead them to the medicine den, a young tom that couldn't have been out of the apprentices' den for more than two moons. "Just...follow me," he mewed, visibly nervous at the sudden responsibility. Honeypool obeyed with a small smile, Timberpelt following silently. He held his head low, but his blue eyes were flickering around the foreign camp, absorbing every detail. Honeypool knew there would be a meticulous report to Ashstar later.
Shimmerfur emerged from her den as they approached, drawn out by the unusual noise. It didn't take more than a few words from the young warrior and a glance at Honeypool for a look of understanding to cross her face. "My den," she meowed quickly. "Your warrior stays." Honeypool nodded, and Timberpelt silently sat down next to the entrance, the ReedClan warrior still standing next to him, obviously unsure whether he should guard him. Timberpelt's whiskers twitched with amusement as he eyed the younger tom, his lips curling into a half-smile.
"So the Heirs actually showed up, did they?" Shimmerfur growled when they had settled down inside her den. "How many in EarthClan?" Honeypool hesitated. It went against her instinct to spill her Clan's secrets, even to another medicine cat. "Three," she finally meowed in spite of that. "Foxpelt started glowing last night, but it faded by morning. We're assuming it only comes out at dark. Spiderfur can walk through trees and rocks, and other inanimate objects. Not cats, though. And Hollypaw and Shadepaw's minds seem to be connected; they can communicate by thoughts."
Shimmerfur huffed, looking impressed. "That's a lot. Makes Windflight pale in comparison doesn't it?" she meowed. "How did Ashstar react?" Honeypool shrugged. "Shocked, like all of us. I told him about the prophecy this morning, but left out the specifics. I was thinking we should do it together, at the Gathering. Once we've figured out what it actually means."
Shimmerfur sighed. "And how do we do that?" she asked, looking doubtful. Honeypool nervously pawed at the moss in front of her. "Pineheart, he..." she started uncertainly. "He seems to think that this is about the Legend of Moonstar. He thinks Foxpelt and the others are Moonstar's Heirs, come to tear down StarClan."
Shimmerfur chuckled humourlessly. "Bit late for that, aren't they? StarClan seems to be finished already." Honeypool felt cold rise up in her. "You...you didn't receive any dreams since –" The silvery she-cat shook her head. "Not one," she meowed, a n uncharacteristically worried expression in her green eyes. "I even went to the moon fall, twice. Nothing." Her claws scratched over the dirt floor. "I think we'll just have to accept that they're gone."
Honeypool stayed silent. Fear grasped her heart with icy fingers. StarClan, their ancestors, who had guided and protected them all their lives – generations of lives – gone?
"What do we do?" she asked, feeling lost. "Do we tell them?" Shimmerfur shrugged. "They'll find out sooner or later, anyway. The next leader ceremony... But I think we'll run into trouble before that. That prophecy was about more than just StarClan vanishing." Her words sounded as gloomy as Honeypool felt.
"In that case, we better find out what it means," she meowed quietly. Shimmerfur nodded, and a grim determination crept back into her voice. She seemed remarkably unfazed at the disappearance of her ancestors. But Honeypool knew her well enough to recognize the fear in her green eyes, however well hidden. The other medicine cat was just as worried as she was.
"The Heirs awake and the ancestors fade," Shimmerfur began. "That much's obviously happened already." Honeypool nodded. "If Foxpelt and the others really are the Heirs," she interjected hesitantly. Sworn to kill StarClan. She still had trouble accepting that the old tom should be responsible for all this. Shimmerfur raised an eyebrow. "Do we know anything else that's recently awoken?"
Honeypool didn't' answer, instead moving on to the next line. "Night comes, when Heirs stand against Children. Who are the Children?" Shimmerfur paused. "Us, maybe? The Clans? The children of StarClan? They're our ancestors, after all." Honeypool frowned, not convinced. "But Foxpelt is part of the Clans…" she stopped when another thought popped into her head. "It's called the Legend of the Children, isn't it? The story about Moonstar that Pineheart was talking about." Shimmerfur narrowed her eyes. "Children, Heirs…in most versions they are interchangeable. All of them get their powers from Moonstar."
Honeypool nodded eagerly, hope rising in her. "Exactly! What if Foxpelt and the others are the Children, and the Heirs are…I don't know, somebody else." Shimmerfur didn't answer immediately, still looking thoughtful. "There's not gonna be that many cats with these kind of powers, are there?"
Honeypool shook her head, growing more convinced by the second. "The prophecy goes on, doesn't it? Two and Two and Two, Children of the Moon, To save the eye, To scale the mountain and banish the night. Shortstep mentioned the Black Mountain. What if that's where the Heirs are? If they're the ones who stole the eye – whatever that is? And Foxpelt and the others are the Children that have to get it back? Two and two and two?"
Shimmerfur hesitated. But she had to admit that Honeypool could be right. "Maybe," she said slowly. "So they're the Children of the prophecy, the ones who're supposed to save us? Elders and apprentices?"
Honeypool paused. The thought of Foxpelt setting off to climb some mountain was not exactly comforting. "Who knows," she meowed, pondering. "Two and two and two means six. We've got five so far, but they still seem to be appearing. If more than six Children emerge, not all of them will have to go."
Shimmerfur nodded. Then another thought struck her. "Two and two and two," she repeated, looking grim. "I think we can both guess what that means. Two from ReedClan, two from EarthClan, and two…strays. Icestar will be thrilled." Honeypool felt her newfound confidence melt away in a heartbeat.
Emberpaw came back into her mind, the blood on her body. Icestar wouldn't be the only one outraged by the news.
It felt wrong stepping between the high-rocks without the comforting light of the full moon above them. Instead the sky was covered in thick clouds, choking out even the starlight. Lionblaze set back his ears uneasily, and pressed his fur closer to Nightcatcher's. She was just as nervous as he was, if not more. In the end she had revealed the owl after all, shortly after Windflight had shown up that morning. Since then the mistrustful stares had followed her, too.
The EarthClan was already present when they arrived. Ashstar interrupted his conversation with Flintstrike and bowed his head in greeting before rising to his paws and quickly climbing one of the high boulders that framed the gathering place in a loose circle.
Icestar turned to Lionblaze. "We have to find out how many of them, and what powers," he meowed quietly, before following the other leader with a few quick leaps. Lionblaze threw one last encouraging smile towards Nightcatcher and went after him. Flintstrike greeted him with a friendly smile when he sat down next to him at the bottom of the rocks. "Recovered from the shock yet?" Lionblaze merely huffed, his gaze wandering across the EarthClanners.
Foxpelt was easily recognizable – the glow emitting from his fur illuminated the whole area, brighter even than at full moon. Lionblaze couldn't help but stare. A glowing cat – what had StarClan been thinking?
It had its merits, he had to admit. In a moon-less night as this it could have been difficult to recognize the other cat's faces, but now he could see them clearly, more so than at any previous Gathering.
Ashstar rose. "Cats of ReedClan and EarthClan. I hereby welcome you to this Gathering. I don't have to tell you, why we here. You all know of the…incidences of the last days. We can only hope that we might find an explanation tonight."
He turned towards Icestar expectantly, but the other tom stayed quiet, giving only the smallest of nods to acknowledge his words. With an irritated flick of his tail, Ashstar continued. "We believe that these…powers go back to an old legend, the Legend of the Children." A small commotion broke out at his words, whispers and mutterings erupting everywhere. "That's a tale for kits," Bearfang cried, sneering. "You don't honestly expect us to believe in that?"
Lionblaze flicked his ears angrily. "Quiet, Bearfang," he meowed coolly. The other warrior looked rebellious but fell quiet. Icestar on the other hand smiled thinly at him, obviously not at all bothered that one of his warriors was interrupting the other leader.
Lionblaze' muscles tensed when frustration welled up in him once more. In times like these, collaboration between the Clans was essential. But diplomacy towards another Clan had never been Icestar's strong point.
Ashstar didn't move a whisker. "Before last night, I would have told you the same thing," he meowed calmly, "But then I never would have believed you if you told me of cats that can move through rock, or glow." He nodded towards Foxpelt. "I think it is time we broadened our horizon, if we are to make sense of this." His eyes fell on Honeypool and Shimmerfur. "The two medicine cats received a prophecy a few weeks ago, that might shed some light onto this. I suggest they explain it themselves."
He sat back onto his hunches and motioned for the two she-cats to step forward. Shimmerfur went first, and after a slight pause Honeypool followed. EarthClan's medicine cat looked worried, and even Shimmerfur was frowning as they took their place in front of the gathered cats.
The silver medicine cat cleared her throat, and spoke. "What we have to say will unsettle you, and probably scare some of you," she meowed harshly, "Which is why I'm asking now that any of you imbeciles who might plan on panicking, crying or otherwise interrupting this leave now, and spare the rest of us."
The gathered cats exchanged looks, some worried, some amused. Other looked affronted. Lionblaze sighed, and silently shook his head. Shimmerfur always knew how to make friends.
The medicine cat waited until silence fell once more, and then meowed loudly: "StarClan has been taken." Lionblaze felt his jaw drop. StarClan had – What?
He wasn't the only one that was shocked, as uneasy murmur interrupted once more. Shimmerfur snarled impatiently. "Yes, taken," she repeated quickly, "by, we believe, the Heirs of Moonstar." Foxpelt yowled in panic. "I didn't take anything! Honestly!"
Shimmerfur rolled her eyes. "This is gonna be a long night," she observed dryly to Honeypool, loud enough for Lionblaze to hear. The golden she-cat leapt to her paws. "Nobody said it was you, Foxpelt," she meowed softly. "We don't think that you are the Heirs. The prophecy speaks of two factions, the Children and the Heirs. Shimmerfur and I concluded that you are the Children. The protectors of StarClan, and enemy to the Heirs."
Foxpelt sank back to the ground, looking confused. "Children?" he asked. "Do you have any idea how old I am?" A few cats laughed, and Lionblaze couldn't help but twitch a whisker. Shimmerfur snorted. "Enough of that nonsense," she meowed harshly. "As I said, the prophecy speaks of the awakening of the Heirs, and fading of the ancestors. Well, StarClan has vanished, that much is clear. Honeypool and I were there when it happened. It also mentions an eye that has been stolen and needs to be retrieved. We think that it is some sort of synonym for the StarClan. Shortstep spoke of the Black Mountain, which is probably where they were taken. Which brings us to the second part of the prophecy." She paused. "Six cats are to be sent to get back the eye, six Children of the Moon."
Silence fell. Finally, Flintstrike cleared his throat. "Six?" he frowned. "Unless I've miscounted there are seven cats with these powers." Lionblaze' eyes flickered to Icestar, who was watching the other tom with narrowed eyes. EarthClan had five of the Children, ReedClan merely two. Even if most of them were as useless as Foxpelt's glowing, the EarthClan had a distinct advantage.
But Honeypool shook her head. "Not all of them are chosen. The prophecy lists a few, although the words are not clear. And it is incomplete, as we did not hear the last line." Ashstar nodded slowly. "What did you hear?"
Before Honeypool could answer she was interrupted by Shimmerfur. "That's not all," she meowed with a long look at the two leaders. "Two cats from each Clan are needed. Two and two and two."
Icestar frowned. "But-" Ashstar started as well, looking confused. The ReedClan leader was the first to understand, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "The strays?" he asked. "What do they have to do with all this?" Ashstar snarled. "Never," he growled, his yaw pressed tightly closed.
A big orange EarthClan warrior leapt to his paws. "They are scum, fox-hearted traitors! I'd rather die than side with them!" Mutters of approval sounded from all sides, especially EarthClan. Lionblaze remembered the apprentice that had been killed. It had been almost two moons ago, but obviously EarthClan did not forget easily.
Icestar was silent for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his lips. "EarthClan might have a quarrel with the strays, but ReedClan does not. Why shouldn't we ask them?" Ashstar bared his teeth angrily. "You can ask," he meowed coolly, "But why should they help? They don't believe in StarClan. Why should they care if the Clans are weakened? They'll celebrate."
Shimmerfur snarled loudly, and the muttering stopped. "Night Comes," she meowed neutrally, "The StarClan was only the beginning. Maybe the strays will reconsider when they hear their kits cry in pain, and watch their warriors die."
Silence fell. Lionblaze's gaze wandered over to Nightcatcher. He saw his own fear reflected in her dark eyes. Night Comes. Were the Clans doomed?
Icestar's tail twitched, betraying his insecurity. "We will still try," he said, struggling to keep his voice firm. "I will set out tomorrow to tell them of this. They will have been affected as well." Ashstar hissed quietly. "They won't help us," he insisted, his green eyes filled with hate. Icestar ignored him. "The Gathering is over," he proclaimed loudly, and slid back onto the ground. "ReedClan, follow me."
Lionblaze exchanged a quick look with Flintstrike before setting off to follow his leader. "Good luck," the black tom mewed quietly, "I still hope they will listen." Lionblaze nodded curtly and turned away.
Two and two and two. He could only pray that there would be more Children in ReedClan. The idea of Nightcatcher...he hastily pushed the thought aside. The way things looked it would still be some time before anybody would leave. And who was to say they'd even still be alive by then.
Night Comes.
