Chapter 8 ❖ Pebblepaw
Leaves swirled around the apprentice's form as he ran, falling back to the ground almost immediately afterwards as if never disturbed in the first place. Faint, grey clouds of mist appeared in front of his nose as he puffed from the effort of his movements, muscles straining beneath his fur. The ground underfoot felt unfamiliar, a combination of rustling leaves, soft moss and earth. Unaware of where he was, or where he headed, Pebblepaw pushed his way through the scraggly undergrowth.
Finally, he stopped at an oak, panting and out of breath. The tree loomed over him, taller than anything he had ever seen before. Its branches twisted and turned towards the heavens, almost bare of foliage in the cool leaf-bare air.
The surrounding trees were also bare, with the exception of a few with branches that hung lower to the ground. These ones - pines, if Pebblepaw remembered correctly - never lost their needles. The apprentice found it strange that trees should lose their covering before leaf-bare, thinking it made a lot more sense for them to keep it, in order to shelter themselves from the cold.
He scanned the surrounding forest, whiskers twitching as he picked up both familiar and unfamiliar scents. There was the scent of mouse, which made his mouth water, but also the smell of something sweet, a flower of some sort. Pebblepaw approached the flower, wondering if perhaps it could be used for medicinal purposes. It was bell-shaped and purple in colour, a tinge of green on its tiny form. On the same bush grew round, dark berries.
"Nightshade," said a voice from behind him, making him start. Turning quickly, he came face to face with a very familiar tortoiseshell.
"Sparrowstar?" he breathed. The former leader's green eyes sparkled mysteriously as she nodded her head. The apprentice, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, staggered towards her, pushing his nose into her shoulder.
"Nightshade," said another voice, causing Pebblepaw to step back. "Leaves a cat dead within the hour if ingested." A cat appeared next to Sparrowstar, this one a small, brown-furred tom. His amber eyes glowed from his dark face, fixing the medicine apprentice with a wise stare.
"This is Shortwhisker," Sparrowstar continued, eyes traveling between Pebblepaw and the tom. "I don't think any further introduction is required."
While Otterheart did not mention her mentor often, Pebblepaw knew much about him. The elders liked to tell stories about him, especially of his heroism in discovering coltsfoot as a cure for kittencough and his everyday kindness in ensuring the health of his Clanmates.
Shortwhisker chuckled at the awe in Pebblepaw's eyes. "Don't believe all the stories you hear about me. I was just a cat who lived to serve his Clan." The young apprentice averted his eyes, somewhat embarrassed.
"I've been watching you, you know," the old medicine cat added. "Your memory and organized mind surpass your young age. Don't let your weaknesses hold you back; you'd make a fine medicine cat someday." Pebblepaw felt a twinge of shame at the mention of his weaknesses and refused to meet Shortwhisker's eyes, though they shone with pride.
He turned to Sparrowstar instead. "Why are we here? What is this place?" His yellow eyes scanned the branches above once again, trying to remember the setting.
"You won't remember this forest," Sparrowstar purred, sitting down on the soft earth and curling her tail over her paws. "This was the original home of RockClan, before the Twolegs came to destroy it. Both Shortwhisker and I were born here and we thought that, perhaps, this might be the best place to bring you."
Pebblepaw's eyes widened. "Why would you need to bring me somewhere? I haven't left my nest in the medicine den, have I?"
"This is just a dream," Shortwhisker assured him. "We needed to speak with you."
"Why me?" the grey tom heard himself ask. "Otterheart is at Moon Cliffs tonight. Why not tell her?" He knew the question's answer, but asked it all the same.
Sparrowstar sighed. "Otterheart's faith in StarClan wavers, though it is slightly stronger now that I no longer run with RockClan. We - Shortwhisker and I - thought that a message of this caliber might be better suited for your ears."
Pebblepaw's eyes could not have grown any larger. "But I'm just an apprentice."
"'Just an apprentice', he says," Shortwhisker snorted. "From apprentices come great leaders, you know."
Sparrowstar nodded in agreement. "And, as a former leader, I want my apprentices to remain strong and one day lead the Clan. I worry that they may not get the chance." She paused, and Pebblepaw narrowed his eyes as her form began to fade away.
"RockClan has been searching for a new home for quite some time and, even now, they are not safe. Yet, there is a way to secure the Clan's future, and it lies within this prophecy."
The tortoiseshell stood, taking a step towards Pebblepaw. Her green eyes were focussed on him, yet they had a far away look, as if she were seeing past his form.
"Clouds are swirling, a storm is near,
Sightless eyes watch the sun disappear.
Ash and smoke and water rise,
The air is suddenly filled with flies.
A fire rages, the heat unfelt,
The earth begins to shake and melt.
A cat approaches - friend or foe?
It is up to you to know.
A little rock wakes in strange dreams,
A small rodent is not what it seems.
A flower with a nose so keen,
An ember knows what you truly mean.
Two birds that will confuse all,
One with sight, the other with a call.
They are what you need to find,
If you wish for survival for your kind.
The time is near, do not wait,
Or you will leave it up to fate.
An enemy lurks, unseen, unheard,
It's intentions remain undeterred.
It comes from the outside, it might have appeared,
Yet, the one on the inside is to be most feared.
A battle that washes the canyon blood red,
Perhaps it was easier to move on instead?"
The scene before Pebblepaw's eyes began to shift, the brown trunk of the trees swirling before his eyes and becoming water. It flowed underneath his paws, glittering playfully as it washed him away. He found himself on an island not long after, its banks lined with cattails, their fuzzy brown heads swaying lightly in the breeze.
Then, those too disappeared, and became long stalks of grass that stretched on for as far as the apprentice could see. In the distance, a plume of smoke that grew larger and larger until the grass became red and crackled with murderous intent. Coughing and shrinking back from the heat of the flames, Pebblepaw leaped to his paws, turning away from the all-consuming fire.
Before him was a cave, dark and gloomy, the gray rock of it crumbling underneath the paws of a giant cat. It pulled its ears back at the sight of him and bared its yellow teeth, eyes narrowing as it leaped. When Pebblepaw looked once more, the gray of the cave had become the familiar red rock of the canyon.
His stomach filled with dread as his eyes surveyed his home. Instead of the solid red rock the apprentice knew, the canyon seemed to be moving, slowly melting down into a puddle of red. Not wanting to believe his eyes, Pebblepaw turned away, but the metallic taste filled his mouth all the same.
He could not get away, too paralyzed with fear to think clearly. The rock beneath his paws shifted, swallowing his paws up. He retched uncontrollably, fighting against the force that threatened to submerge him.
"Sparrowstar!" he cried. A sob wracked his chest as the blood continued to suck at him, pulling him in further and further.
"I'm here." The scene ended abruptly and Pebblepaw woke to the comfort of his den. The former leader stood before him, stars shimmering in place of her tortoiseshell pelt.
"I don't understand," Pebblepaw said, shaking. "You should have given this prophecy to Beetlewatcher. Shouldn't you be with him right now, giving him his nine lives?"
"Beetlestar is ready to lead his Clan," was her response. "The question is, are you ready to serve as its medicine cat?" The stars twinkled once before disappearing and, with one last flash of her green eyes, Sparrowstar vanished. This left Pebblepaw to stare out the entrance to his den, where the dark and heavy clouds hung in the sky, floating just above the canyon walls.
"Clouds are swirling, a storm is near," Pebblepaw said quietly, feeling the weight of the words on his tongue. As if in response, the sky rumbled.
A/N: A little bit of a shorter chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same! The prophecy is not structured how most Warriors prophecies are (which I'm sure most of you noticed). Is it a good kind of different or a bad one? Do I need to work on my prophecy/poetry writing skills? :P On another note, is it enticing and makes you want to know what it means? Any and all answers to these questions are much appreciated!
- Spirit