Next up are the first set of allegiances! I'll have them up later/tomorrow.
Also; made up the StarClan ceremony according to the medicine cat apprentice to medicine cat ceremony, just changed a few words/phrases. Enjoy!
Willowleaf bounded up to the Moonpool and felt as if sharp claws had gripped her in place.
Cloudheart was pinning Brackentail down to the ground, Darkpaw was sleeping at the Moonpool's side, and Shiningpaw was staring up at her. She only gave the deputy an anguished look before returning her gaze to Brackentail.
"Brackentail, how could you do this considering the circumstances of the Clans right now?" Willowleaf hissed, leaning down near the warrior's ear. Brackentail attempted to slash at her, but Cloudheart swiped him back down. The brown tabby groaned.
"What should we do with him, Willowleaf?" Cloudheart looked towards her. Shiningpaw still watched Brackentail, ignoring her mentor.
"It'll be my call." Willowleaf said roughly, and looked among the cats at the holy place.
"What about Stormstar?" Cloudheart asked, not in defiance, but as a suggestion.
"No, it'll take too long to drag this traitor back to camp. We'll take care of him now." Willowleaf hissed, and knocked Cloudheart out of the way. The medicine cat steadied himself and watched Willowleaf crouch down over Brackentail, keeping his throat pinned down.
She's going to kill him! Shiningpaw thought in horror. Willowleaf had always been rather tough, but Shiningpaw had never seen her decide to kill someone so easily before. And… it's all my fault…
"We'll tell Stormstar when we were deciding what to do with him a fox killed him." Willowleaf snorted, "He'll believe it."
Shiningpaw wanted to say a sharp retort to the deputy's words, but felt any courage to speak pushed back down her throat and into her stomach. She instead looked upwards at the blue sky, the red from the sunrise fading.
Spottedface had told her when she was a kit that Silverpelt still shines during the day, but its brightness simply cannot match up to the brightness of the sun. She tried to spot the twinkling signals of her warrior ancestors, but couldn't see any.
Darkpaw… I hope StarClan is telling you what to do! Shiningpaw thought in despair as she changed her vision to her sleeping friend.
Darkpaw blinked her eyes open and found herself in a place filled with stars. Cats walked by in the distance with stars in their pelts, and Darkpaw watched them in awe. One noticed her and dipped his head before walking on. Is this StarClan?
"Darkpaw, I'm glad you could make it." A voice purred from behind her. Darkpaw whirled about to see Jayfeather sitting with a familiar face.
"Scorchpaw!" Darkpaw mewed brightly, but the dead apprentice's face was grim.
"It's nice to see you again, Darkpaw. Unfortunately we can't waste time." He muttered, sadness vibrating from him.
"He's right. Let's get to business. Darkpaw, StarClan sees a great power within you, and we are determined to bring forth your power. Others have the potential to control this power, but you burn the strongest." Jayfeather explained.
"But what power is this?" Darkpaw asked, her eyes gleaming. Jayfeather ignored her and continued.
"We have a few things to do. First, Scorchpaw, I'm sorry your mentor couldn't have been here today." He addressed the rust colored apprentice.
"Spiritfeather… it's alright. She wasn't right in the head after the Dark Forest cats started appearing. She… lost faith." Scorchpaw said quietly. Jayfeather looked at him sympathetically.
"In replacement of Spiritfeather, I'll perform the ceremony."
Ceremony? The only ceremonies StarClan cats perform are the leader ceremonies. Darkpaw thought pensively, and focused on the two starry cats.
"Come forward, Scorchpaw." Jayfeather motioned with his tail, and the apprentice did so.
"I, Jayfeather, a medicine cat of StarClan, have called upon my comrades to look wisely at this apprentice whose life was ended too soon. He has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with the help of us all he will serve StarClan until he fades into the Nothingness." Jayfeather recited.
What is this ceremony? Darkpaw thought in bewilderment, recognizing only a few phrases. It seemed to be the medicine cat apprentice ceremony, but twisted. Is StarClan allowed to do this? No, I shouldn't doubt them… And Darkpaw realized that even StarClan was getting desperate.
"Scorchpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do." Scorchpaw's voice was strong.
"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Scorchpaw, from this moment you will be known as Scorchwind. StarClan honors your courage and your faith. You had saved Spottedface by driving away the Dark Warrior, Flash, and died in the process. Your skills shall be used to pass on knowledge to a new medicine cat, Darkpaw." Jayfeather finished.
The stars seemed to shout Scorchwind's name as Jayfeather put his muzzle to Scorchwind's head. Darkpaw only watched in awe.
Scorchwind turned to look at Darkpaw, and she suddenly felt smaller. Scorchwind had a new glaze in his eyes, one that was not there a moment ago. He was still the same cat, only his new name had made all the difference.
"There's no ceremony to make you my apprentice, Darkpaw, so I'll just have to train you along with Jayfeather through your dreams." Scorchwind said.
"Alright… but let me know something."
"Shoot." Jayfeather replied.
"We're in StarClan right now, right?"
"Right…"
"Where is the Place of No Stars? Why aren't you all doing something about it by yourselves?" Darkpaw fired two.
"We can't just waltz over there and defeat them!" Jayfeather hissed, but Scorchwind took a calmer approach.
"The Place of No Stars isn't terribly far, but the journey there is bad. The forest usually scares even the bravest of cats." He muttered, as if remembering something. Jayfeather's ears twitched.
"For that reason and more, we need StarClan's army to be greater than… his." Jayfeather faltered.
"His? Who's he?" Darkpaw wracked her brain for stories of Dark Forest cats.
"You'll know when it is time." Scorchwind responded. Jayfeather suddenly nudged his companion and motioned in another direction. Darkpaw turned and saw another starry cat approach. The cat was unknown to Darkpaw, but he nodded to the two medicine cats; a slow and powerful nod, before walking away. Scorchwind turned and followed the cat.
Jayfeather stayed behind and looked at Darkpaw gravely.
"Sprang from water, sprang from heart, if so the days ahead are dark. Sprang from darkness, aimed much higher, and then the days won't be so dire." Jayfeather boomed. Darkpaw felt different voices present in the prophecy, and as the words echoed throughout the clearing in StarClan, Darkpaw felt herself fading from the leafy forest.
She first saw the Moonpool, and then the sun's reflection in the water. Sunpool could have been appropriate!
And then she turned around and the humor was lost as she saw Willowleaf perched on Brackentail's neck.
"Brackentail!" Darkpaw gasped, but Shiningpaw waved her tail over her friend's mouth to silence her.
"Brackentail is a traitor. He wanted to kill you and Shiningpaw. We're putting an end to this here." Willowleaf growled, and bit into the brown cat's neck. Blood bubbled from his throat as the tom gurgled and spat blood onto the ground. He tried to speak, a sentence no one would ever know, and then his spasms died down until he was dead.
The four cats stood in silence as Brackentail's blood continued leaking on the grass and stone. The sun still shone, making the blood appear shiny.
Shiningpaw felt as if she was the one that had died. She felt as if it should have been her.
"Darkpaw, did you speak with StarClan?" Cloudheart looked towards Darkpaw expectantly. The apprentice nodded. "Even in the daytime?"
"Apparently so." She muttered.
"Well? What did they tell you?" Willowleaf demanded, her claws digging into Brackentail's side.
"Scorchpaw was there… but he's Scorchwind now." Darkpaw began.
"What? How did he get his full name?" Cloudheart was bewildered.
"A cat called Jayfeather gave it to him." Darkpaw replied, looking for a change in facial expression. Cloudheart's eyes widened and nodded excitedly.
"He was part of a prophecy long ago when the Dark Forest first rose up against the Clans." Cloudheart rambled, "I didn't know cats could receive new names while in StarClan; besides leaders, of course, but they aren't dead!"
While the ShadowClan medicine cat thought excitedly to himself, Darkpaw remembered the prophecy Jayfeather had given her.
"Jayfeather gave me a prophecy!" Darkpaw blurted out, and Cloudheart's focus changed. Willowleaf gave him a harsh look and then looked down at Darkpaw.
"Tell us when we get back to camp. Cloudheart, dispose of this traitor for us." Willowleaf said hurriedly and started to walk away.
"Wait, Willowleaf!" Darkpaw padded after her before giving a quick glance back at Cloudheart. Shiningpaw stared at Brackentail's body.
"It's not your fault, Shiningpaw." Cloudheart said softly. Shiningpaw sighed.
"I never got to say I was sorry… to Lionpaw… Brackentail hates me, wherever he is." Shiningpaw groaned, digging her claws into the dirt.
"Where Brackentail is, I don't know. It seems even StarClan is bending the rules now." Cloudheart replied, and then looked miserably down at the dead cat. He seemed to regret not speaking up as Willowleaf told him to rid of the body.
"I'll help you. We'll bury him." Shiningpaw suggested. It'll be kinder to bury him than dump him in a river.
"Thanks." Cloudheart looked relieved, and the two went to work digging a hole for the traitorous dead cat.
Sharpnose sniffed the air and looked outwards into the trees.
"What's wrong?" Spottedface buried her muzzle in her mate's fur.
"Nothing… I thought I smelled blood." Sharpnose mumbled.
"Oh, don't think like that! I bet Willowleaf caught some prey on the way back." Spottedface scolded.
"Right, just prey." Sharpnose replied, licking her fur. But it was cat blood…
Willowleaf and Darkpaw trotted back to the camp entrance.
"Remember, if anyone asks, a fox got him." The deputy reminded sharply, and Darkpaw nodded.
"Darkpaw, you're back!" Quailpaw went to greet his littermate.
"Hey." Darkpaw said weakly, greeting the Clan.
"Where's Shiningpaw?" Spottedface asked worriedly as she saw no third cat trailing behind them.
"My apprentice is fine. She's with Cloudheart at the Moonpool still." Willowleaf grunted.
"Where's the traitor?" Raggedwing growled loudly from the medicine cat den. Deadpaw quietly told him to stay down or his wound would reopen.
"Do explain the situation, Willowleaf." Stormstar strolled out of his den and confronted the returning cats. Willowleaf told the Clan that Brackentail had attacked Raggedwing, and when the injured cat returned she had rushed out to find Cloudheart holding the traitor down. She then lied, saying that she had said Stormstar had to make the final decision, but as they were dragging him back to camp, a fox came and killed Brackentail.
Willowleaf also said that she had killed the fox so it wasn't a threat to the other cats, and that Cloudheart and Shiningpaw were burying his body. Darkpaw's opinion of the deputy changed negatively.
"Brackentail… a traitor?" Spiderclaw was almost sobbing. Berrypaw looked fallen. Darkpaw frowned, as she knew Berrypaw knew it was because of Lionpaw.
"We've lost another warrior, traitor or not. StarClan, why are you letting this happen?" Lightheart cried out, and the Clan panicked.
"Calm yourselves!" Willowleaf hissed, "Darkpaw has received a prophecy! Tell the Clan, Darkpaw!" The deputy prodded her in the side, and Darkpaw cleared her throat. The whole Clan was looking at her expectantly, hopefully.
"Jayfeather spoke to me. He told me, sprang from water, sprang from heart, if so the days ahead are dark. Sprang from darkness, aimed much higher, and then the days won't be so dire." She recalled.
"Sprang from darkness." Willowleaf repeated, and looked down at Darkpaw. "Is it talking about you? Or, 'the days ahead are dark', is that you?"
The Clan mumbled amongst themselves once more.
"Did you receive any other message from StarClan?" Hornetflight asked hopefully, but Darkpaw shook her head.
Darkpaw looked at Flamekit and Tigerkit playing innocently just outside the nursery. Flowerbelly was standing with them. While the Clan discussed the issue, Darkpaw walked up to the lone queen.
"What is it?" Flowerbelly mumbled.
"I saw Scorchpaw up in StarClan." She purred softly. Flowerbelly perked up and seemed grateful. "He's Scorchwind now, a medicine cat of StarClan."
Flowerbelly practically cried as she heard the news. She sufficed to give a hearty nod to Darkpaw, all of her thanks showing in her eyes.
"What should we do now?" Darkpaw heard cats say. Darkpaw thought the same thing.
Suddenly Shiningpaw walked back into camp. Berrypaw's face lit up and went to greet her. He pushed his father's treachery and death to the back of his mind.
"Hey Berrypaw." She mewed in greeting.
"Shiningpaw." A voice mewed coolly. Pondpaw stepped up to the two apprentices.
"Pondpaw." Shiningpaw replied.
"The gathering is coming up." Pondpaw noted.
"Yes, it is. What of it?" Berrypaw butted in. Quailpaw walked over to the three.
"We can discuss everything there." Quailpaw said. Pondpaw shot him a look before turning back to Shiningpaw.
"I hope we'll all be able to go, that's all." She purred, and then Pondpaw and Quailpaw trotted off.
"What were they talking about?" Shiningpaw questioned, looking towards Berrypaw. Berrypaw ignored the question.
"I guess you'll see at the gathering." He muttered, and slunk away. Shiningpaw stared after him, confused. What was it that was so important?
Darkpaw slid up to Shiningpaw and blinked knowingly.
"Don't be upset, Shiningpaw. We'll get through this whole thing together." Darkpaw mewed. She knew Shiningpaw had no idea about Pondpaw's idea to leave the Clans and form a new one. However, she was certain that once she learned of it, she'd never leave with the other apprentices. "Sisters have to stick together."
"Right… we'll stick together, Darkpaw." Shiningpaw replied with little thought, only wondering what could be in store.
And Scorchwind watched from the medicine cat's den, unseen by his father Raggedwing or any other cat. Stars lined his pelt as he sat, and then satisfied that it was all that could be done for now, he walked back to StarClan, waiting for dusk to fall for the next piece to be played.
How will the prophecy turn out? How will Shiningpaw react to Pondpaw's news? If you want to know, review and tune in next time to find out! Thanks everyone that has reviewed so far! Also pleaseee if you spot any inconsistencies, let me know!