A/N: Gah, short chappie. Sorry! Erm, if you want to join the Warriors RP Website, you're going to have to give me your email through means like this:
random address 1234 yahoo . com
It's the only way it will show. I hope you want to join! It's a lot of fun!
"No!" Skyfeather's eyes jolted open and her head flew up over her forepaws. Images of her disturbing dream still glued to her mind's eye, and she shook her head anxiously.
Dogs! Cherrypaw and Snowstorm were being attacked by dogs. No, one dog. And there were others. The dream was a blur, but it was terrifying enough to understand its meaning.
Swallowing the hard lump in her throat, Skyfeather got to her paws. The patrol (A/N: The one that left to find the rogues) that left the camp still hadn't returned, and she tried to push all thoughts of death out of her head. Stormstar's probably trying to talk calmly to them. That's always the approach he'd take.
Dissatisfied with her conclusion, she tiptoed out of the nursery without waking Tawnyspot and sat down under the almost-full moon. The moonlight reflected off of her grey pelt, turning it a silvery-white. Letting out a sigh, she gazed up at Silverpelt, hoping to see even a faint glimmer of orange, showing her that Stormstar and the others were still alive. There was nothing.
Unable to rest any longer, Skyfeather got to her paws and paced back and forth along the clearing. She passed the pile of fresh-kill five times, each time pondering on whether or not she should take a piece to calm her down. Each time she said no.
"Skyfeather?" The silver queen turned her head to see Icepool padding quietly toward her. She sat down and watched the white medicine cat pad toward her. "I can't sleep," he meowed, sitting down next to her.
"Well, you're not alone," Skyfeather replied with a nervous laugh. "I just can't help the feeling that one of the won't come back."
"I'm also worried about Snowstorm and the others," Icepool meowed unexpectedly. Skyfeather blinked at him. "Aren't you afraid? I mean, four RainClan cats just disappeared. And StarClan hasn't sent me anything on their whereabouts. Skyfeather, what if they're dead? What if they've been dead for a long time? What if the rogues met them and killed them?"
Skyfeather listened to Icepool's words, dread turning her blood to ice with every syllable. He was right. Just because she was having dreams about the patrol didn't mean that it was actually happening. What if the patrol never would return safely home to the forest?
Great StarClan, what have I done? she thought silently, letting out a faint mew of distress.
"Icepool, I need to sleep if I want my kits to be healthy," she meowed firmly. "May I please have some poppy seeds to sleep?"
Icepool nodded. "That's a great idea. We'll be able to sleep soundly."
The two cats padded in silence to the medicine cat's den. Now that greenleaf had started, the ferns around the camp were flourishing, spreading out to cover a larger area. The fern tunnel leading to the medicine cat's den was thicker than ever, blanketing the dusty ground.
Icepool disappeared into the cleft of the rock where he slept for a moment before returning with a poppy head in his jaws. He dropped the red flower at Skyfeather's paws.
"Only have a few," he advised. "You don't want to be snoozing through Stormstar's return, now do you?"
Skyfeather didn't want to offend Icepool, so she let a small giggle escape her lips before bending down to lap up a couple of seeds. When she was finished she made her way back to the nursery, careful not to wake Tawnyspot.
When she was settled in her mossy nest and sleeping soundly, she opened her eyes to see Sunningrocks once more. The sun was setting, casting glittering sparkles across the surface of the sugar river. The sweet scent of the rushing water filled her nose and she breathed it in deeply, savouring the wonderful smells around her.
"Skyfeather," a familiar meow sounded from behind her. She didn't have to turn her head to know who it was.
"Hello, Firestar," she mewed. "What's wrong now?"
Firestar chuckled and sat down beside the basking RainClan queen. "Stormstar and the others won't return for some time. It's up to you to provide company to Moonflower and Tawnyspot. Icepool will act like a regular apprentice until they return. You're in charge."
Skyfeather blinked at the ThunderClan tom. "W-wait. What?" she stammered. "When are they coming back?"
Firestar sighed. "This I cannot tell you. But when they do, RainClan will be plentiful, and you will have many warriors to help you."
Skyfeather widened her eyes and looked down at the rushing current. RainClan would be plentiful? So much for a soundless sleep.
"Also," Firestar continued, "congratulations on your four, healthy toms."
"Wait!" Skyfeather jolted open her eyes to see the nursery walls again. Tawnyspot, who was awake and grooming herself, stared at her for a moment.
"Wait, what?" she mewed.
"Nothing," Skyfeather answered. "Just a dream."
Tawnyspot put down her paw and sighed. "Skyfeather, with you, dreams are more than dreams. What happened?"
Skyfeather sighed. She usually turned to Goldenheart with dreams from StarClan, but Tawnyspot was her only source of refuge now. "Firestar came to me on the Sunningrocks."
Tawnyspot nodded, encouraging Skyfeather to continue.
"He told me that Stormstar and the others wouldn't return for a while, and that I was in charge. He also said that I will have four healthy toms."
Tawnyspot brightened. "Did he now?" she mewed. "Then that's one less thing to worry about. And about Stormstar, at least he said they will return."
Skyfeather nodded. Tawnyspot did have a point, and she wasn't about to let anything bring her down now. She had a Clan to run, and wanted to run it well. Actually, it was only three cats, but that was hard enough, considering Moonflower was among them.
"Tawnyspot," Skyfeather mewed, "I can't help but feel worried."
"Well of course!" Tawnyspot muttered. "Stormstar is your mate, and he's out there fighting off blood-thirsty rogues!"
Skyfeather winced. To think that Stormstar could be dead right now was not a pleasant thought.
"I'm sorry," Tawnyspot apologized hastily. "I didn't mean anything. Are you hungry? When Icepool comes over, I'll tell him to get us fresh-kill."
"No," Skyfeather mumbled, half to herself and half to Tawnyspot. "Tawnyspot, getting no exercise is also bad for your kits. You have to walk around sometimes. You have barely left the nursery since you came back to RainClan bearing kits."
Tawnyspot looked down, ashamed. "All right," she meowed. "I'll go get us some food." With that, the dappled queen got to her paws and padded stiffly out of the thick brambles.
Skyfeather followed her shortly after. "I saved a thrush for you," Tawnyspot told her, pointing with her tail at the bird beside her.
Skyfeather mewed thanks and tucked into the meal. Icepool emerged from the medicine cat's den and trotted over to them. "Shouldn't you two be in the nursery? Tawnyspot, I don't think I've ever seen you in the clearing."
Tawnyspot flicked the medicine cat with her tail. "Shut up."
Icepool leaned down and picked two pieces of fresh-kill from the pile. "I have to bring this over to Moonflower," he mumbled over a mouthful of feathers. "She hasn't woken yet, and I want to get out of her fur before she makes me search for ticks."
Skyfeather decided not to question the young cat about his worries about the RainClan patrol that hadn't showed up. She didn't want him to feel overwhelmed with responsibilities.
"Tawnyspot, I'm going to nap in the sun today," Skyfeather meowed suddenly, still staring after Icepool. "Greenleaf is the chance to do that. Would you like to join me?"
Tawnyspot nodded. "I'd love to."
When the two queens finished eating and buried their scraps, they curled up just outside the nursery and began sharing tongues.
Even though Skyfeather couldn't be more content, her thoughts weren't completely free of Stormstar and the rest of RainClan. She still wondered when the patrol she sent out would come home, and she wondered what was taking Stormstar so long. She sent a silent prayer to StarClan before getting lost in the warm greenleaf sun.