CHAPTER 18-The Liquid Dream

Dewstep's will seemed to be strong and unbroken, for after a week, he had made a full recovery. He still limped slightly in his hind leg, though.

Snowstorm took longer to heal, and even when he did, he still bore the many scars on his pelt.

I felt comforted, knowing that they were going to be alright.

After a few weeks, Bramblestar had sent a few warriors over to the fox burrow to spy on them, but we found out that the burrow was deserted. The foxes must have left many days ago, for their scent was mingled and stale.

The warriors also smelled something else that wasn't of fox, but it was so faint and vague that they couldn't detect what it was. I was just glad that the canines had finally gone.

Since I was still an apprentice, I trained with Millie every day. It got frustrating when I couldn't get the moves right, or when the prey escaped from my paws. Snowstorm stood with me every step of the way. Dewstep sat further away in silence, but I could still sense the strong waves of encouragement that he gave off, and that was enough for me.

The murmurings of the lost spirits had ceased, for some reason. I no longer heard them whispering in my ears at night. Perhaps it was because they began to doubt whether or not I was the cat from their prophecy. After all, I was just a simple cat, just Ashley, and I wasn't nearly as strong as Lionblaze, as smart as Briarlight, or as courageous and loyal as Bramblestar. In a way, I felt relieved. Ever since the spirits had stopped calling me, a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I no longer had to fulfill their prophecy; let some other cat do the job, someone who was a warrior and was far better than me.

But I can't help but be a little bit upset. Deep inside myself, I knew that I wanted to be a warrior. I didn't want to be an apprentice anymore. But I was only Ashley, just Ashley, a simple and humble person who was shy and quiet and tended to cry very easily. There was no hope of me ever being a warrior that was worthy of ThunderClan.

OoOoOooooOOOoOOoooOOoOoOOOOOOOoo

Something had woken me at midnight. I blinked the heavy sleep from my eyes and looked around the den. Snowstorm and Dewstep had moved to the warriors den, so I was alone in here except for Petalpaw, Streampaw, and Grasspaw, who had just recently been made apprentices. They were fast asleep.

But something had woken me. It was only a slight sound, a faint touch, a transparent brush of a soft wind, and I had instantly awakened. What was it?

The wind moaned gently. "Ashley…" it said. Or had I just imagined it?

I blinked in disbelief when the surroundings around me began to darken, and pretty soon, I was floating in a black, endless void. I looked around desperately. Was I dreaming?

"Ashley…" a voice said. The voice was cracked and faded, and sounded like static on a television. A transparent cat form slowly appeared in front of me. It looked distorted and slanted, as if I was peering at it through a dirty and foggy mirror in the bathroom after a shower.

It was a cat with a fire-colored pelt that had long sizzled down to a faintly pulsing pelt coated with stardust, and my eyes widened when I realized that it was Firestar.

The former Clan leader looked panicked and melancholy, for his ears were laid flat against his head and his fur was ruffled. He mewed, "StarClan's territory is collapsing." The voice was cracked and contorted until it was hardly a voice at all. I blinked in confusion.

The tom's edges were slightly blurry, and the dark void around me seemed to be slowly expanding. He said, "I don't have enough time right now to tell you how or why, but you need to journey to the mountains." What was he saying?

Firestar continued, "The Moonpool has been blotted out from us, so it's hard for StarClan to communicate with you. That's why I look so blurry and distorted."

His voice hardened. "But you must go to the mountains, for it is higher up in the sky, and therefore closer to the stars, and thus closer to StarClan. It will be easier for us to talk to you there. Find the Tribe of Rushing Water. We have told Stoneteller about you, and he will be expecting you to arrive. Go to the mountains. And don't tell your Clanmates, for they will think you are lying and prevent you from leaving. The prophecy will then be revealed to you once you arrive. You must go!" His voice faded into a wail, and something black and shadowy leaped across the void. He disappeared before I could see what it was.

My fur prickled with uncertainty. A high, needling voice whispered, "Don't leave without water, for it will help guide you."

The black void shifted and bent like liquid paper, and then, suddenly, I was back in the apprentice's den. I shook my head furiously, as if trying to empty my ears of the words.

Was it all just a meaningless dream? No, of course not. I was certain it was true.

He wanted me to go to the Tribe of Rushing Water, to the mountains, where it was "closer to the stars, and thus closer to StarClan" so he had a better and clearer way of talking to me. He wanted to tell me a prophecy. But why had he chosen me? I was Ashley, just Ashley, a weak and puny apprentice. What did he want from me?

Don't leave without water, for it will help guide you.

What did that mean? Was I supposed to carry a moss soaked with water and bring it with me? But I couldn't carry it that far, and it would dry out before I arrived. Water must have some other meaning. But what?

The dream was real. I knew it was. I remembered how desperate and horrified Firestar had looked right before he faded, and he clearly needed me.

I wanted to tell my Clanmates about it, but they wouldn't believe me. I wanted to tell Snowstorm, but I knew he was terrible at keeping secrets. And I didn't trust Dewstep enough to tell him. I didn't know what to do.

OoOOoOOoOoOOoooOoooOoOoOoOoo

A phantom wind brushed against my legs as I gazed at the distant horizon. A tall, hazy shape was just visible far off in the distance, and its purple majesty stood soaring and tall just like any mountain would.

Firestar was insane. Of all the people, why did he have to choose me? I couldn't possibly make it that far.

I heard soft pawsteps behind me, and turned around to find Snowstorm. He smiled softly and closed his eyes to the feel of the wind brushing his fur.

"I noticed you've been acting different lately, "he said suddenly.

I shrugged.

He continued, "You've grown more quiet. Is there something on your mind?"

I shook my head, but couldn't tear my gaze away from the purple haze in the horizon line. I had an impulse to tell him everything, but instead, I said, "What do you think about humans?"

He tipped his head to one side. "Humans?"

"Er…Twolegs."

The tom mewed, "Well, I haven't actually seen one in real life. But I've heard stories about them from the elders." His eyes hardened. "I heard about how they tore up the Clan's old home in the forest."

"I think they're pointless creatures, really," he continued. "There's no sense in anything they do, as if they've got fluff for brains. They imprison cats and keep them as kittypets, destroy forests, and get in the way of things."

"Oh," I murmured. I was a little hurt. Did that mean that he would hate me if he found out that I was actually human?

I mewed softly, "W-well, they're not all that bad. Some of them treat their kittypets nicely, and they even try to help animals and preserve woodlands."

I continued to gaze at the mountains, wondering what they would look like up close.

Snowstorm noticed me and asked, "You do that a lot, lately. Staring at the mountains."

He smiled and mewed, "I'd like to go there someday. I've heard Bramblestar and Squirrelflight talk about it. I can almost imagine the feel of the rough stone under my paws, and the smell of the ancient rock and weather. I would like to climb to the tallest peak and look down at all of the lands."

He sighed.

I twitched my ear and looked at him. I had already made up my mind to journey to the mountains in a few days. He looked so eager to go there himself. I would feel guilty if I didn't bring him along.

I took a deep breath, and meowed, "Um, well…some days ago, Firestar came to me in a dream. He told me that the Moonpool was "blotched", so he couldn't communicate with me efficiently enough. He told me to go to the mountains, where it was closer to the stars, so he could tell me something."

Snowstorm blinked. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

He stared at me for a moment, and then said, "How come the Moonpool was blotched?"

I didn't know whether or not he was taking me seriously.

I mewed, "He said that he didn't have enough time to tell me. But he told me to go the mountains. I'm certain that the dream was true."

But a small, tiny seed of doubt nagged at me.

Snowstorm was silent for a few moments, and he stared at the purple mountains in the distance. He mewed, "If the dream had been real, and you did see Firestar, then I think we should do what he says." He grinned.

I couldn't believe my ears. He actually believed my farfetched story?

While I gaped at him in surprise, he stood up and asked, "Should I tell the Clan?"

"N-no. Firestar told me not to tell anyone."

"Alright, then. When are you planning on leaving?"

I hesitated. The idea seemed so overwhelming, all of a sudden. I couldn't imagine myself leaving the safety of the Clans and going out to face the world.

But I knew I had to do it.

But when should I leave? I had to go on the sunhigh patrol tomorrow, and I wouldn't be able to wake up in time in the mornings.

"Tomorrow night," I finally decided. The night of the Gathering. When everyone else left for the island, Snowstorm and I would stay in the camp and sneak off. That way, no one would notice right away that we were missing.

Do you think the action is going too fast or too slow, or is the pace just fine? And are any of the characters acting like Mary Sues?

Just wondering, cuz constructive criticism is always welcome.