Well, the story didn't end here. It actually ends with an Epilogue so when the Epilogue happens then that means the story's done.
Two Molepelts? That would be weird if I didn't recall that there were also two Ashfurs. For as long as these Clans have been around, names are bound to repeat now and again... and I'm bound to be unaware of them repeating!
Chapter 21
Hawkpaw was stunned. What was Sol doing on their territory?
Sol's amber eyes flashed. "What am I doing here, you wonder?" he asked, a smirk on his face. "I'm here to see you, Hawkpaw."
Hawkpaw took a step back, unsure of what to do. Should he leap on Sol, and try to chase him off? No, that would be bad – Sol was a bigger cat than Hawkpaw, with more experience and he probably knew some dirty tricks. Hawkpaw would be mincemeat. Should he run for help?
… Should he stay?
He had to admit to himself that he was intrigued by the loner. Sol had had business with all the Clans – except possibly RiverClan – and none of that business had ended well. Yet he kept coming back, over and over again, as if his ultimate goal was something that could never be stopped. Even though he wasn't welcome, he did his best to prove that no cat could stop him from going where he pleased and doing what he liked.
Hawkpaw liked that part of the mottled tomcat.
"What do you want from me?" Hawkpaw wondered.
"Only to speak with you," Sol mewed. He adjusted himself on the pebbles. "Your Clan listened to my warning, but I'm no fool – I know they won't believe me. If they won't, then no other Clan will."
"You turned ShadowClan against StarClan!" Hawkpaw growled. "What did you expect us to do, shower you with fresh-kill?" The fur on his neck rose at the thought. "Tell me why I shouldn't chase you off!"
Sol's whiskers twitched. "For not being Clanborn, Hawkpaw, you show great loyalty to your Clan," he purred. "Even if they might not believe in your loyalty, that is admirable."
Hawkpaw's neck fur flattened. He knew that Hawkpaw was not Clanborn? How? He stared at the tom, his eyes narrowed. What dark tricks was he pulling in places that Hawkpaw could not see?
"I do not commune with StarClan," Sol confessed. "I do not even believe in them, and I do not approve of the Clans blindly following cats who live in the past, when they should be looking to their futures.
"Your futures are going to be short, though, if you don't listen to me," Sol went on. "Hawkpaw, the danger I described is real, and it is more dangerous than anything the Clans have faced before."
"Then don't talk to me," Hawkpaw told him. "I'm an apprentice – I can't do much of anything to stop the danger."
"Your dreams are confusing you," Sol accused. "Aren't they?"
Hawkpaw stopped short. How did he know so much?
Sol flicked his tail. "They will become clearer in time, and when the time comes you will know what you have to do," Sol promised. "When that time comes, bring the cat whose senses are closed to me. You will be directed to your salvation."
Hawkpaw flicked his ear. A pit opened in Hawkpaw's stomach – he looked so serious, it made Hawkpaw shudder. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "Who are you talking about?"
"You'll figure it out," Sol insisted. "I've been living with some loners in an abandoned Twoleg hutch upstream from your Clan's new border. The cats living there know the way to go – even if I am not there, ask for a cat named Knack. He will take you to the place where your Clan will find their hope again."
Knack? Hawkpaw thought. His head was a swirl of new information – how could he possibly remember it all?
"Trust me, Hawkpaw," Sol murmured, "this encounter may linger at the back of your mind… it may seem like it was lost… but when the time comes, you will remember what I have said. When that happens, it will be time for you and your companion to go and save your Clans."
"When will that be?" Hawkpaw wondered.
Sol looked him up and down, and then turned himself towards the lake again. "You're not old enough yet," he decided. "When you have the experience and skill to handle what lies ahead, you will remember… and you will know that it is time."
Hawkpaw's paws trembled, his mouth dry. Part of him screamed to run, to deny everything that Sol had said as some sort of scheme to manipulate him – and another part of him wanted to stay and beg for more information. To beg for Sol to help them now, because whatever horrible thing that was coming was something that Hawkpaw could feel in his bones and it didn't feel good.
Sol's amber eyes sparkled in the half-light. "Your Clan will be missing you, Hawkpaw," he decided. "Go home."
Despite his inner protests, Sol's words enveloped Hawkpaw. The young apprentice found himself turning and walking towards his camp. He blinked and then looked back, one last time.
Sol was gone.
"Guess what, Maplepaw!"
Maplepaw looked up from a large wad of moss. Spottedpaw was prancing towards her, her eyes sparkling in the half-light.
"Can it wait?" Maplepaw asked. "I… I need to finish up with the nursery." Jayfeather had ordered the nursery cleaned – especially now that it was confirmed that two of Daisy's kits were ill. Goldenkit and Dawnkit were confined to the medicine cat's den now, and Thornclaw hadn't been on a patrol for two days thanks to his worrying about them.
Jayfeather had asked Maplepaw to clean the nursery specifically – she had been on the patrol that had found the dead, rotting fox, and he wanted to know if the scent came up in the nursery. If it did, then the rest of the Clan would have to be alerted about the possibility of sickness – for now, Jayfeather had ordered everyone to secrecy… and it was killing Maplepaw to keep it from Spottedpaw.
"Can I help?" Spottedpaw asked.
Maplepaw shook her head.
Spottedpaw's whiskers twitched. Maplepaw knew she found it strange that she didn't want Spottedpaw's help, and Maplepaw hoped to StarClan that Spottedpaw wouldn't take offense.
The tortoiseshell shook her head, as if dismissing a fly from her shoulder. "Well… let me tell you something great before you start working," she insisted.
"OK," Maplepaw mewed. She hoped Spottedpaw didn't take long – she could feel Jayfeather's blind gaze from across the camp.
Spottedpaw looked about to burst with excitement. "You know how I didn't get to go to the last Gathering?" she mewed.
Maplepaw nodded.
"Well…" Spottedpaw took a breath. "I didn't want to go to my first Gathering without you. So guess what?"
Maplepaw blinked. "What?" she asked.
"You and I are going to our first Gathering together, tomorrow night!" Spottedpaw exclaimed. "Just you and me – Amberpaw and Dewpaw and Snowpaw are staying behind!"
Maplepaw felt excitement stir in her belly. Her first Gathering! She didn't think that it wouldn't happen – she hadn't been made an apprentice more than a moon ago. Had she really impressed Berrynose that much? Or perhaps what had happened at the Moonpool made Bramblestar want to take her along? Maplepaw didn't know the reason why and she didn't care – she was going to a Gathering, and with Spottedpaw to boot!
"Isn't that amazing?" Spottedpaw asked.
Maplepaw nodded furiously. "It's probably the most amazing thing ever!" she agreed. "I can't wait!"
Sol watched Hawkpaw disappear into the woods. Then, he turned to look at the lake. It glittered in the sunset, glowing like flame. His shadow in the water was faded and wobbling, and his amber eyes were tired.
"I did as you asked, Midnight," he breathed. "I've atoned."
He lifted his head back up, and saw the great badger there before him, standing on the water as if it were land. She looked at him with her beady, wise eyes.
"Great change coming, there is," Midnight declared. "The greatest. More strength the Clans will need, to face what is to come."
"Am I not done?" Sol asked. Oh, how he wanted to be done with the fighting and the manipulating and the hurting…
"Come," Midnight beckoned. "Let us go. Rest, we must… in case we are needed once more."
Sol nodded, and stood up. He padded out onto the water, feeling it cool and clear beneath his paws – no more supportive than hard-packed dirt.
Together, he and the badger walked off into the sunset.