Ch. 10 A New Spring
"What now?" Redmoon wondered, annoyed. She dropped the cobwebs at her feet and lashed her tail, ready to give the intruder a stern talking to. The last thing she needed was another cat bothering her. Before she could open her mouth, however, her brother's familiar scent filled her nostrils. Her heart sank when she saw him step into the medicine cat den. His tail was dragging along the ground, and he was staring at his paws. The young apprentice looked extremely depressed.
"Did our father really kill Willowbranch?" he asked, his somber amber eyes staring into hers. He seemed so sad, almost as if he was going to burst into tears at any moment.
Redmoon felt sick to her stomach. Could she really tell him the truth? Could she really lie to her brother? What would he think when he found out that she was the one who did it? She clawed at the ground, burying a few missed droplets of blood. "I-I wasn't there," she finally mewed, a shadow falling over her eyes. Suddenly the air around them felt colder.
Cloverpaw looked back at them both with furrowed brows, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She had no idea how to comfort these two cats. "Hazelpaw, did…didn't you want to show Redmoon your fighting moves?"
Hazelpaw lifted his gaze, his voice filled with forced enthusiasm. "Oh yeah, Ravenstorm finally taught me some new moves. Do you want me to show you them?"
Redmoon cocked her head to the side. In an exaggerated tone of voice, she asked, "Why would you want to show them to me? I'm not a warrior,"
Hazelpaw's eyes widened briefly at Redmoon's strange tone, but he continued, "I just thought that...that you would be interested," he said, his ears flattening against his head. "It might be useful during the next battle."
"Hazelpaw I'm BUSY." Redmoon hissed, her tail lashing back and forth. "We just got attacked, and here you are standing in my way. LEAVE."
"It doesn't have to be today." Hazelpaw looked uneasy, "a long time ago I promised I would show you."
Redmoon glanced over at Cloverpaw, who quickly snapped her head back to her work.
She narrowed her eyes. "I'm a medicine cat now. I didn't change, my role has." Her pelt hot with fury, Redmoon leaned back down to pick up the stick of cobwebs, clenching her jaws so tightly that it snapped.
Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light, and a powerful force swept Redmoon off her paws. The walls of the den shrank as they rapidly moved past her vision, fading away to where they can no longer be seen. In their place, trees began to sprout all around her, growing taller and their trunks growing wider. The lifeless trees, once a sign of leaf-bare, sprouted new leaves, twisting, and turning into thorny pine needles.
Even as she watched, warmth flooded her body, and the dreary sky became bright with light. The scene before her flowed and waved as if being reflected underneath the water's surface, with the barely visible ThunderClan camp right underneath. She could breathe perfectly fine, yet it felt strange as if she were breathing underwater. Even her paws no longer felt as if they had a grasp on the densely packed snow-covered camp of ThunderClan. Instead, she could feel the small little wisp of grass stems rubbing against her paw pads, and they felt warmer to the touch than usual. Where were they? Redmoon skewed her eyes, trying desperately to clear her foggy vision, but the flowing landscape was making it too difficult to see. Finally, the scent of pine needles grew stronger, and ShadowClan's musty scent rose to become the strongest of all. Is this StarClan? No, Redmoon realized with a sense of dread. It was ShadowClan, and they were under attack!
Cats she didn't recognize were launching themselves at one another, viciously fighting and ripping at each other's pelts. Redmoon tried to pick out her clanmates, yet they were too blurry to recognize, their scents jumbled together and buried underneath that of the enemy's camp. Suddenly, she spotted a flash of ginger fur in the distance. There was no mistake, it was her father! He looked healthy and strong, and any movement he made was absent from his old injury. He fought against the ShadowClan cats with the heart of a warrior, dodging flying claws with ease and throwing himself fearlessly at his opponents. This must've been his final battle, right before the incident that forced him into retirement forever! Redmoon shut her eyes tightly. She didn't want to see it! She didn't want to see him get hurt! Yet, she couldn't unsee it.
"Watch out!" She warned, her voice coming out fuzzy and barely audible amidst the storm of raging cats. She took a desperate step forward, but every muscle screamed in agony, and she could barely lift her paw an inch off the ground. She had to warn him before it was too late!
Nearby she spotted Shadowspring stalking towards him in a hunter's crouch, her tortoiseshell pelt blending into the dead pine needles around her. Her tail flicked sharply, ready for the kill. Then suddenly, as Redmoon watched, she stood up, eyes wide, mouth falling open in absolute horror. "What have you done?"
Redmoon felt her heart beat out of her chest and she jerked her head around to match her gaze. From the corner of her eye, she could see him, her leader covered in blood.
"Redmoon! Redmoon wake up!"
What was that? Redmoon flicked her ears, trying to make out the voices that were echoing inside her mind. They seemed distant, and oddly out of place.
"You murderer!" Shadowspring wailed. Redmoon stood frozen unable to move, as Flamestar padded forward, dropping a bundle of fur at her paws.
Again, she heard those odd voices calling her name. They grew louder and clearer as she listened to them inside her mind. She closed her eyes, wincing in agony, and then opened them again.
The first thing Redmoon saw when she returned was Cloverpaw and Hazelpaw standing over her, their green and amber eyes filled with concern. Their fear scents hung heavy in the air, mixing with the faint scent of blood and herbs. She was suffocating.
"Redmoon are you okay?" Cloverpaw asked, her eyes as wide as pinecones. "You were gone for a long time. I thought you were never going to wake up!"
"I'm fine. I just- "Redmoon stared at her paws. It really couldn't be, could it? She rose to her paws. "Can you leave me alone please?"
Cloverpaw gave a short, understanding nod and then stepped out of the way, letting her pass.
When Redmoon got closer to the ferns, however, she suddenly brushed against Hazelpaw's dark tabby pelt, who had followed her to the den entrance. The tom bent his head low, and whispered, "Was it a prophecy about our father?"
Redmoon simply ignored him and stepped out into the snow-covered camp. She had to confirm it for herself. Everything felt so odd. The trees were no longer covered in leaves, and the snow stung her paw pads. Even the lingering scents of her clanmates and the forest felt wrong. She took a deep breath, taking in the fresh scent of oak, and listened to the mice tunneling underneath the snow.
Although the clearing was bustling with activity, her clanmates were sharing tongues and making minor repairs, the camp seemed so empty. At the battle, she was able to separate ThunderClan's scents from ShadowClan's, and yet the only cat she was able to recognize was her father.
From afar, Redmoon could see that Flamestar was arranging a hunting patrol, which consisted of Littleleaf, Flintfoot, and Dewpaw. Their eyes were glazed over, and they looked completely exhausted, which was no surprise considering the battle they had just fought. Flamestar looked like his usual self, not the cruel, blood-covered tom she had seen in her vision. Could what she had seen truly been him? Regardless, the clan had to be fed.
From behind her, Redmoon heard a rustling of leaves and the snow crunch underneath a pair of paw pads. Hazelpaw's voice rose from behind her. "Redmoon I…"
Redmoon flattened her ears. She didn't want to hear her brother apologize.
"I'm sorry." He mewed, padding over to sit next to her. "I know you're mad at me. I should have never asked."
Redmoon sighed, brushing her ginger tail against the withered ferns. "I think I'm the one who should apologize," she mewed. "I know you were just trying to keep your promise." She laid her head on her paws and closed her eyes, trying to shut out the world. She didn't want to think of her responsibilities anymore. She didn't want to think of Goldenear, Icebreath, or even the destroyed den. All she wanted to do was sleep. But she couldn't.
Something wasn't right about her vision. From her understanding, prophecies didn't work as if you were experiencing a battle. You either had a short cryptic image flash inside your mind, or a StarClan cat approaches you and gives you the prophecy themselves. But what she saw was something entirely different. Why would she have a vision that was taking place in ShadowClan?
"Redpaw... I-I mean Redmoon, I know you don't want to listen to me," Hazelpaw mewed. "But I wanted to tell you anyway, about why I haven't been speaking to you. It wasn't because I was trying to ignore you."
Redmoon flicked her ear but remained silent. Why was he bringing all this up now?
"I know I'm going to sound selfish, and I understand completely if you want to continue hating me afterward," he mewed. "I just want to get it all out there."
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Ravenstorm's been running me ragged since my apprentice ceremony with hunting and fighting lessons. I haven't had time think, much less speak to you." he complained, his tail lashing, "and when I think I finally have the day off, he always sends me on mouse-brained duties, so by the time I get to the fresh-kill pile all I get is scraps!"
Redmoon's whisker twitched. Was he serious right now?
"But Redmoon," he stood up, facing towards her. "I put with it because I wanted to see you again! I thought that if I kept going on hunting parties and patrols, I would run into you while you were collecting herbs and we could sneak off, but I've never once seen you outside of camp."
He paused, almost as if he were waiting for a retort. For his sister to say something different to prove he was wrong, but Redmoon simply said nothing and kept her head down. He clenched his teeth. "And when I do see you, I get so jealous that I become angry because when I'm working my tail off, I would see you doing nothing. You think you could've at least taken the initiative for once and tried to talk to me!" he hissed. "And now that you've suddenly become a full-fledged medicine cat, you don't even care what I think!"
That wasn't true at all! Redmoon lifted her head, opening her mouth. She wanted to scream at him, tell him he was wrong, but she felt so emotionally drained, she couldn't think of what to say. "Hazelpaw I- "
"Don't." Hazelpaw turned away. "It's only a matter of time before the whole clan turns on us both."
She felt the hair on the back of her neck raise. "What are you talking about?"
"You heard what Flamestar said, he's no longer going to tolerate traitors or incompetence." He mewed darkly, "It is bad enough our father wanted us to inherit his role as leader, and now that he has killed Willowbranch, Flamestar is going to turn on us both! We are the kits of traitors!"
The image of Flamestar's jaws dripping with blood flashed through her mind. Could it really be possible? Would he really go as far as to punish a medicine cat and an apprentice because of the actions of their father? She felt a shiver run down her spine. Suddenly, this conversation wasn't about just their relationship anymore. It was about their lives. The vision wasn't just some fake prophecy, it was real, and what it foretold was more nightmarish than she could ever imagine. She rose to her paws, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Hazelpaw, the vision I saw was about Flamestar."
Hazelpaw sniffed. "What?"
She gave him an intense stare. "And what I saw was-"
Suddenly, Cloverpaw stepped out of the medicine cat den, interrupting them both. She was holding a new stick of cobwebs in her jaws. She laid it down in front of her. "I think Icebreath has been waiting long enough."
Redmoon shot a worried glance toward her brother and then rose to her paws.
"I better go now, before Ravenstorm comes looking for me." He mewed, touching noses with her. "It was nice seeing you again."
"Likewise," she mewed, purring as she did so. She watched him go, his tail streaming behind him. She sighed.
"Redmoon," Cloverpaw mewed, padding over to stand next to her. "You have to keep that prophecy a secret."
Redmoon glanced over at the young apprentice, her tail curling into a question mark. "Why?"
"If you don't keep it secret, bad things could happen," she warned, her voice barely above a whisper. A mysterious light glimmered in her green eyes, intensifying as the sun dipped below the horizon. The fading light cast long shadows across her face, obscuring most of her features and giving her an almost otherworldly appearance. If Redmoon hadn't known better, she would've mistaken Cloverpaw for a StarClan cat.
A chill crawled up her spine. She understood exactly what Cloverpaw meant. If news of the vision ever reached the rest of the clans, Flamestar would go ballistic. He might choose to exile her or even resort to violence to keep her quiet. She flattened her ears, her yellow graze drifting uneasily down to her paws. She was going to have to bear this burden alone. "Fine, I'll keep it a secret," she returned her gaze, determination burning in her eyes. "At least until Greenleaf."
When that time comes, she will decide on what to do next.