Hollystar nodded, trying to hide the sadness that had taken root in her soul. "We leave at noon. We will make this the final battle."
The sun beat down in all its smothering brilliance, as a haze had seemed to have taken over the valley by the Lake within the past few days. Humans in the surrounding area had noticed a slight mist growing and tumbling along the lake's shore, but generally wrote it off with their fancy words and patterns to explain the world away. Within the well-spaced trunks of the ThunderClan territory, a Clan lay divided, semi-broken and dazed on the floor of an old wooden structure. In this moment of what passed as tranquility, hunger ate at the stomachs of the thinning cats who sprawled on the floor in pants heaps. It had been three; four; five; days without food and very little water, and the lack of necessities for life were beginning to take their toll on the inhabitants of the mortal plain.
These marbled and striped cats rested in the shadows that they were bred for, a territory that they belonged to with their ancient birthrights. Their paws had adapted to become some and sensitive to feel vibrations through the packed leaves, their hunting still and patient. It had taken generations to perfect the Clan, molding it to its home in the Old Lands. With the Great Journey came a new change, the cats toughened and gained suitable skills for their home by the Lake. But it was now again time to move on, echoing the struggles of only a few generations before as the felines departed from the ill-fated land.
It had been almost a full day since Hollystar got any semblance of sleep—her eyes were as heavy as her parched tongue and her head felt inexplicably light. She observed members of her Clan coming and going, drinking from a filthy puddle that had been discovered under the basic frames of the Two-Leg Den. Lionblaze and Thornclaw had wandered off with moss, hoping to find a rivulet to sate their Clan; as it was the height of Greenleaf though, they were more likely to find nothing at all.
Letting her chin drift down onto her paws, Hollystar blinked slowly and ruffled her fur against the oppressive heat that was pressing her grungy pelt further into her wounds. Her once-shiny ebony fur had been coated with dust and blood, turning clumps of fur into hardened, muddy wads. 'I look like a Tribe cat,' she thought hazily, blinking again. She had refused the offerings of water and what meager food Bumblestripe had lured from the remote corners of the small safe area that the Two-Leg nest had become. It had to go to her warriors first—after all, if she died, hopefully she would return rejuvenated and strong. The thought made her grimace—what was it like dying after all? The aching pain that covered her body like a second coat seemed like the worst feeling she had ever experienced. The unwillingness of her muscles to move was unbearable; the fuzziness in her head frustrating; the lethargy in her very bones was disheartening. Finally letting her eyes slide shut, Hollystar felt her shallow breathing deepen just a bit, her consciousness slipping away into warm darkness.
"Hollystar." A voice whispered and the weary leader pricked one ear, opening a single leafy-green eye to look around. Her Clan lay around her in exhaustion and silence, not one cat looked up to meet her gaze. Dismissing it with a twitch of her whiskers, the she-cat began to fall asleep again- her limbs becoming heavier as her mind seemed to distance itself…
"Hollystar."
"What it is," she mumbled around her swollen, dry tongue. Snapping back into wakefulness, the she-cat pricked her ears without opening her eyes, waiting for the voice again.
"Hollystar. Open your eyes."
The ebony cat grunted and covered her face with her paw, feeling the fused pelt of her foreleg rub along her nose, upsetting the short bristling fur. "I don't want to speak with you again, let me rest," she gnarred at the voice, her ears flickering downward, though she peaked around her own dark fur to catch a glimpse of the soul that was disturbing her.
Before her stood a sturdy pale gray she-cat, two orange-amber eyes blinking at her and a sense of wisdom in the starry fur about the cat's appearance. She had never met this cat before, but the comforting and heady scent of ThunderClan reassured her that the she-cat was steadfast in her loyalty to their shared Clan.
Hollystar stretched, pulling her paws from her face and stretching out on the ground, her spirit detaching slowly from her body as she expected. Though weariness still tickled the back of her brain like an untouchable itch, the leader knew the spirit wouldn't just leave, and instead stood to meet her.
"Hello young one. I was known as One-Eye when I lived among my Clanmates. I lived to be a very old elder." The cat- One-Eye- sat down and wrapped her soft tail up against her paws, gazing at Hollystar. "I watched seasons come and go, and listened to the winds and the leaves and the things around us. Even when we moved to this new home we listened again to the whispers of the land, foretelling this moment." The spirit heaved a great sigh, and Hollystar dipped her head, staring at the dirt that surrounded her sleeping body. She knew it felt warm, but couldn't sense it when she visited this celestial plane, making her wonder how her ancestors connected at all with the earth surrounding them when it seemed so far away.
"When the land told us of what was to come, we created a plan, one that you have been introduced to." One-Eye smiled marginally "-partly. Your brother was an important vessel to carry these news, but he could not decrypt our meaning, even with his keen ears."
"Then tell me what is coming," Hollystar murmured. She was not defeated nor awed by this cat- these past days had proven that StarClan was as mortal in their plane as their descendants were by the Lake. Though they had the experience of centuries passed down between them, and the power of prediction, they seemed tired and worn out. Constant fighting had riddled Hollystar's nerves with sorrow and pain, hardening them until she felt next to nothing now as she stared patiently at the StarClan cat... "I- This war has consumed this life for me. I am willing to do anything to save my Clan- I just need to know how to win this."
"And you've done exceptionally well," One-Eye blinked kindly. "But there is something that you must know. StarClan cannot hold back the Dark Forest, and they are not confined to the Lake territory. Much like how your ancestors followed you across the mountains, the Dark Forest will stalk the Clans until there are no memories left of the cats that reside there. They will systematically stalk and destroy every cat with Clan blood until there is nothing left of our lives."
Hollystar hissed, fur trembling. "Then we'll run. We'll run and forget about the cats that are chasing us. There aren't that many left of us anyway…" She rambled, fear settling like a mist in her brain. There was no way that her Clan could continue running- it wasn't a lifestyle fit for a Clan- nor for any cat. "One-Eye, we can't live like that. There is no way we can continue…"
"Hush." One-Eye soothed, her eyes cryptic. "Little one, there is no reason to fear. StarClan will not let our children be hunted like rats. We have a plan for the territory, but you must never return." Standing suddenly, the cat approached Hollystar, making the living cat realize that she was about an ear taller than the spirit. "You must take the other Clans with you, and flee the Lake. We have enough cats to deal with the Dark Forest threat until we can eliminate them."
"What are you planning?" She muttered, and became unable to meet the intensity of the she-cat's eyes for another moment. With her head turned toward the side, she felt the brush of whiskers against her ear fur.
"With our numbers, we will wipe out the Dark forces. But we must act at a price. StarClan will remain here, and sever the bonds with the Clans as they wander. We have chosen a few familiar cats to wander with you, but the majority of StarClan and their knowledge will be sacrificed for your freedom."
The cat drew away, her eyes soft. Hollystar breathed in quickly, staring at the ground still. She blinked slowly, raising her head to stare at the spirit. "How can we lose- no! The entire reason I offered a retreat to my Clan was to save you! We would happily die as long as we know that you're fighting by our side. We can't just abandon our warrior ancestors!"
"Your sacrifice will not be in vain, young leader. We will fade from your mind though, as each of us die. Maybe your soul will remember us." The spirit sighed, upset but resigned to her fate.
"But our code- the bones of our existence even! - rely on you and your kin being able to guide us! What are we without our ancestors? You were the ones who stopped the original Clans from tearing themselves apart, convincing them to join together into the Clans there are today… we couldn't lose all those legends, all the memories that make us a Clan." Hollystar pushed, fur prickling uncomfortably. Would the legends fade as the cats that made them up died? That original tabby spirit that calmed the raging war in the Old Forest, had her spirit departed from the world yet? What would the Clans be without their rich histories and age-old feuds and alliances?
"It will be hard to start over. But you must- you will be left with some of your legends: ideas passed through the generations of cats before you are not so easily erased. Certain names or actions may blur, even vanish completely, but you will make your own legends. You must reach deep within yourself to prove that ThunderClan will live after this Final War. You must raise a new generation on the wisps of memory that we will slowly expropriate from your mind, the toughest challenge that StarClan has ever posed to the Clans. Nothing like this will come before or after this time- as a child of legend, you were chosen from birth as this Clan's savior." One-Eye's fur ruffled with an imperceptible wind. "Your brothers were important, of course- they were our first line of defense to prevent this catastrophe. But you were chosen too- the blood of Firestar in you and the nobility of Brackenfur and Sandstorm. Your stubborn attitude from your own mother." A look of distaste crossed the older gray cat's face, but it quickly smoothed over again. "We knew that your dedication and hope would serve the Clans exclusively for this situation. You were born to be the leader of ThunderClan and bring them through this time. Hold your head high and trust in your decisions- you have StarClan's backings."
"So we are right to fight." Hollystar started bluntly, whiskers stretching. "If we all fought with you, all the Clans, we could beat the Dark Forest without you having to leave, right?"
"Little one…" The patience in One-Eye's voice was thinning quickly. "There is no way to save all of the members of StarClan. We will send with you the most important- The founders, the explorers, the recent dead. You will not be alone, but the stars will thin above you."
"I refuse to leave you to die." The black cat mewed, defiance roaring in her mind. "I will convince my Clan to fight, to save as many as possible...Wha…!" As the mortal cat continued speaking, the starry apparition had stepped forward, touching noses with the young cat. "Take your Clan and leave. That is our last wish. If you do not, ThunderClan will cease to be."
With those last few words, the StarClan cat turned and began pattering away, sparks emitting from her steps. Hollystar stumbled to her feet to follow, but the touch of the ghostly cat had sapped her strength, like touching the Moonstone, and sent her to her knees, head heavy with fatigue. Her eyesight blurred and darkened as she watched the StarClan warrior ascend into the heavens, possibly for the last time, before her head swam and the leader fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
The next thing Hollystar was conscious of was a paw prodding her in the side. When that failed to rouse her entirely out of her stupor, water abruptly splashed onto her head and ears, bringing her to wakefulness with a jolt. Lionblaze stood over her, a bundle of moss in his mouth, now half-wrung out. Bumblestripe looked down at his leader with concern on his striped face, which was relieved as she stumbled to her paws.
"Hollystar," He mewed, dipping his head respectively. "We brought water from the main stream not far away. The rest of the Clan has already had some- we were afraid to disturb you and we figured you would insist they would go before you." His amber eyes sparked with apprehension. "We're having trouble rousing Ivypool- it seems that sleeping in the sun has made her delirious, but she's still trapped in dreams. We gave her water but she spit almost all of it up."
Hollystar rose to her paws with as much dignity as she could muster after the rude awakening. She appreciated the order that came with the full report he was giving, and took the moss from Lionblaze with a short look, swallowing some of the lukewarm, dirty water. Though the green fronds tasted like dirt, it was better than nothing and her dry throat made her intensely aware of the need for water. "You were right," She responded as Bumblestripe finished, sitting quietly before her. "The Clan has to come first. Ivypool may not be long for this plane- Dovewing will have to let her go sometime soon. I'm not comfortable with leaving cats behind, but taking Ivypool with us slows the whole party and jeopardizes the lives of all the cats." she murmured decisively. With a hurried glance at Lionblaze again, she came to the conclusion that her brother could be privy to the information she had to share. "StarClan visited me in a dream," She started carefully, green eyes slitting carefully as she wondered whether to tell Bumblestripe of One-Eye's entire message. "They support our resolve to fight, but respect that the elderly and sick must wait elsewhere. Even StarClan isn't cruel to the weak and infirm."
The toms looked pleased with the news- the security of having the backing of their ancestors was reassuring. Hollystar felt a bit guilty knowing she would need to force cats into fighting with her, but there was no way that she would let StarClan go without a fight.