Chapter 14: The Fourth Star
As Frecklewish made her way back, something was pestering her mind. Would it really give me some relief if she were to tell me that Starclan planned my kits' demise and sent me on my killing spree, or would it make me spiral believing Starclan had forsaken me? Sometimes the truth is worse than the lie. She still didn't want me feeling like a monster. This was one of the first moral dilemmas she'd ever had difficulty with. In the end, she knew what she had to do. It was one of the things she hated others did, but now she understood why. She'd have to lie. Admittedly it would just be a lie of omission, but it still went against all she stood for. Honesty was her defining trait, so to lie would mean she found something worth so much more than her self-imposed moral principle. When she thought of me, she knew there are some cats worth bending or breaking the rules for.
I was still asleep when she returned, but she did witness something that gave her hope for this clan. Snowtuft was treating my wounds from my panic attack while keeping Foamkit entertained. There was so much he could have done with me and the kit given how vulnerable we were at that moment, but he instead acted as any normal caring cat would.
"Snowtuft?" Frecklewish asked toward the snow-white cat.
"Yes Frecklewish?" He replied seemingly at attention.
"Thank you for caring for Mapleshade. Things from the end of her life were rough on her. She's trying her best to stay strong, but these things are catching up to her."
Snowtuft's fur stood on end as he made the wrong assumption.
"She has an enemy?! I tried to scout around to find who attacked her, but there weren't any unusual scents. How did they sneak through?"
Frecklewish shook her head in response. "There was no enemy. Those wounds were technically self-inflicted. When a cat as powerful as Mapleshade starts hallucinating, the hallucinations are as real as any cat here. She's wracked by guilt because of a lie that Starclan cat told her. She believes she committed murder in cold blood."
Snowtuft was cleverer than she gave him credit for. "You say believes. Does that mean you've found something to tell otherwise?"
Frecklewish's honest nature prevented her from denying his claim. "Yes. After I told off that cat, he accidentally let slip that the one who told Mapleshade to commit murder was a Starclan cat. They pretended to be her kits and orchestrated the murders. With all that has happened, I don't think we can believe Starclan is perfect anymore. They've got at least one cat willing to trick a cat into murdering others by impersonating kits."
The words were carefully constructed as Frecklewish spoke. She had went out of her way to not directly lie but also ensure enough information was present to not be a compromising threat in the future. She said these words knowing I wasn't as asleep as I appeared. Snowtuft's presence had woken me initially and I remained in a fake sleep to gage his actions. In truth, it was a relief to find out I hadn't gone mad, but that left the question of who and why. Who asked me to murder those three and why did they ask at all? I rose to my paws shaking off the question. It didn't matter. I couldn't harm them given the barrier between lands. Even if I did, I'd be doing the same thing they tricked me into doing before.
I made myself known. "So, I wasn't crazy at all. I never expected Birchface to pull something like that on me, but he was always the cautious one. He could have been a good leader if he hadn't died so young."
The two turned to face me. Snowtuft looked a bit spooked how I'd risen without a sound, but Frecklewish gave me a knowing look.
"I think its time we gave Snowtuft our full trust. He's been treating me well despite how open I was after my breakdown."
Snowtuft's shock showed clearly on his face with a measure of embarrassment. He didn't mean to show his caring side, but apparently, we'd found him out.
"What do you…"
I interrupted him padding past saying, "Come on! We have a ceremony to perform."
I leapt onto my boulder letting out a yowl. "I call forth another meeting of the Unseen Stars!"
The action of calling the meeting was largely unnecessary since Splitpelt had seen me leave the nursery, but I felt keeping it as a practice or ritual was important. Splitpelt, Frecklewish, and Snowtuft sat at the base of the boulder awaiting my word.
"Splitpelt, Frecklwish. Please join me up here."
With that, the two leapt at my boulder, shelves of rock moved to give them the boost needed to reach the top. I stared down at Snowtuft whose nervous energy was palpable.
"Snowtuft. You've earned my trust. I've seen how you care for others despite how you try to hold up your facade. I've decided to grant you something that so far only my trusted have displayed so far."
With a dramatic flair, I raised my right paw calling forth a column of stone beneath Snowtuft. He was raised to match the boulder in height. A bridge formed between the two, and I proudly walked on it. I was almost nose to nose with Snowtuft.
"This ceremony is a first, but I hope it becomes common as we begin giving sanctuary to more cats. Snowtuft. I am going to bestow on you the power of creation. Noy, before we begin, would you rather have general creation like we have, or would you like to be specialized."
Snowtuft tilted his head at the question.
"Specialized?"
"Creation is a relatively broad power. We can do many things with it, but there in lies the problem. We have too much room. As a wise cat once said, restrictions breed creativity. If you become a specialist, you'll advance our ability to create as a whole. You'll be the one to discover the limits of what you can do with these powers. If you are willing, we'll give you the power of creation in specifically what you want."
Snowtuft, being pretty much a Shadowclan cat, knew his answer.
"I am willing to be a specialist. I desire power over the shadows themselves."
It was a strange request, but it would be a fine learning experience for all of us. Maybe with such a narrow field, he'd find something we completely overlooked.
"Very well."
I conjured a ball of light and then I made it cast shadows like trees being blown around in a windstorm. I pushed it forward until it touched Snowtuft. It flared out in a way I did not expect, but I guessed it was just Snowtuft's expectations granting the effect. The light and shadows condensed into Snowtuft. Like a streak of lightning, a black line sourced from his ear traced its way to his belly before stopping and fading into what appeared to be a scar. I instantly knew it would turn black when Snowtuft began using his powers. He was the type who would have a flair for the dramatic.
"It is done. Before you leave to experiment with your powers, we have one last thing to do."
This time I conjured a ball of light. I held it out for Snowtuft to take.
"Look to the three stars above. Those are ours. Those are the stars Starclan cannot see because they are ours. It is time. Cast your star into the sky for all of us to witness. You are now of the trusted."
Snowtuft gingerly took the ball of light, looking at it curiously and holding it as gently as he would a kit. He didn't so much as throw the ball but gently pushed it into the air. It drifted into the sky like a feather on the wind before stopping under the three existing stars. If one looked closely, they'd see that star has a faint line like Snowtuft's new marking.
I jumped down from the boulder watching Snowtuft.
"Aren't you going to lower the pillar?" Asked the white cat.
"After you get down. Think of it as your first test. How would you use shadows to get down or up to the figurehead stone?"
He jumped and a bed of darkness formed to cushion his fall. I secretively felt the bed before he freed himself from it. It was soft like fresh snow, but at the same time it felt immaterial for me, like I wouldn't be able to touch it without the belief I could. Snowtuft likely made it believing it would be an illusion to all but him. It was fascinating. Things could be on a by cat level of specifics. I'd have to experiment in my free time.