Chapter 25
Ashwinter lay down and huffed quietly in her old nest. All the paraphernalia over Honeymallow and her was very tiring. Ashwinter was grateful the attention had turned to getting Honeymallow settled in the nursery. There was only one thing weighing down her mind. Equinoxmoon's absence ate at her heart. Ashwinter missed her brother terribly. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to slip into sleep. She was still awake when the other warriors slipped quietly into the den.
When Ashwinter opened her eyes, she found herself in StarClan. Swiftflight stood over her. Ashwinter sighed. She didn't especially like talking to her father. Swiftflight only rolled his yellow eyes at her annoyance.
" Are you going to explain my dream to me?" she asked bitterly.
" No," her father answered, " the dream is self-explanatory."
Ashwinter snorted. " Hardly."
Swiftflight gestured to her with his tail. " Walk with me."
Ashwinter reluctantly pounced up beside him.
" If you're not here to tell me about my dream, what am I here for?"
" To learn more about the prophecy," Swiftflight replied simply.
" Okay…"
" There is a war coming. The deadliest war than the cats of the Clans will ever see."
Ashwinter paused for a moment. " The prophecy says an enemy will prove Fire to Water. Is that enemy Scourge?"
Swiftflight nodded. " You now know who three of the cats mentioned in the prophecy are."
" And I'll need to just figure out who the others are?"
" Well, in a way yes."
Ashwinter cocked her head. " What do you mean in a way?"
" Nevermind."
Ashwinter reflected on the prophecy. " What's a solstice anyway?" she asked.
Swiftflight smiled. " A summer solstice is the longest day in Greenleaf and a winter solstice is the longest day in Leafbare."
Ashwinter nodded slowly. " Okay…so what's an equinox then?"
" Echosong never explained it?"
" I…probably wasn't listening."
Her father sighed quietly. " An equinox is the shortest day. Basically the opposite of a solstice."
" Why did you name Equinoxrise that? How did you know what it was?" Ashwinter asked.
" StarClan told us we needed to name him Equinoxkit. They told us it had to do with a prophecy," he answered.
" How did StarClan know?"
" Some watch Twolegs in they're spare time, which we happen to have a lot of."
Ashwinter shuddered. " I can't imagine why you'd bother."
Swiftflight smirked. " Don't ask me why they do it."
They walked in silence for a while. The forest shimmered around them.
" When is this battle going to come?" Ashwinter meowed.
Swiftflight hesitated. " Not for a while."
" Good," she replied softly before awaking.
Weak sunlight filtered through the reeds that made the warrior's den. Ashwinter stepped out into the empty camp clearing and scooped up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile. She chewed thoughtfully, thinking about her visit in StarClan. A battle was coming soon. A big one. The Clans better get their acts together before the biggest storm of rats yet turns up to turn them all into crowfood.