Chapter 10

Brokenleg

That night finally came, after many restless days and nights. Brokenleg's heart pounded for those days and nights, her mind racing with the shadows and darkness chasing them. Pride for the apprentice she raised and taught battled fiercely with the wishes and desires in her own heart and mind. It wasn't set in stone, after all, Brokenleg held no connection to their ancestors. They didn't welcome her among the stars; they never would. She was born and trained to fight for her Clan, but she couldn't do that anymore. Jealousy burned in her belly for many moons after that fact; envious of her Clan-mates who could achieve that much. She found her purpose, but time was dwindling if Moonface and Breezeflame had done the one thing she couldn't do: teach Mosspaw about their ancestors and how to properly read their signs, omens, and understand their prophecies.

Brokenleg's usefulness as a medicine cat were hardly helpful. Sure she managed to memorize herbal remedies and what plants and berries to avoid. What was the point of that if she couldn't properly care for a Clan that avoided her like the plague? What was the point of being able to heal others if she couldn't tell them for sure if everything was truly laden with the path from the Stars themselves? The only thing she ended up useful for was raising a new proper healer; one that could see things no other cat could and have a belief strong enough to find that the end isn't truly a goodbye forever.

StarClan had turned their backs on Brokenleg when she tried to do every duty. She still went to those meetings, if only to swap remedies; and provide a shaky peace with the herbal specialists of the other two Clans. The rejection of her Clan was one thing, but the rejection of the stars had been just as brutal. Without their guidance and care, Brokenleg had to work twice as hard to keep the weakened foragers alive. To keep kits and queens from perishing. It was as though she was being punished!

Why wouldn't they punish you? You were a selfless SunClan cat once, weren't you? Something that not even SunClan were known for. A tiny voice in her mind seemed to whisper into her ears. You know what you have done for them to turn their back on you, so stop lying to yourself.

Brokenleg shook out her fur as she turned to Mosspaw, the silver and white patched tabby she-cat ensuring her fellow foragers were eating the best they could. In another Clan, would Brokenleg have kept her warrior name and been an elder? Would that have been a better life for her? Then again, she probably wouldn't have broken her leg to have it become lame to begin with, if it was the case. Was she still a proud SunClan cat or was she always destined to be a forager of sorts even in other Clans? In MoonClan would she have injured herself so badly in an accident to become an elder? In EarthClan, would she have been wounded in a battle against SunClan that she would be an elder as well? If she hadn't saved her mother and she was wounded later in life, would there still be any pride in being a SunClan cat?

The answer was in her mind already, horrifying and heart-wrenching. She didn't like the way her mind was working these days. The positivity she had for moons slowly dwindled when Mosspaw was chosen back in the nursey as a kit. Chipped away for so long as she tried so hard to heal. Her leg never could heal, she tried to accept that. However, her mind was a different beast. It was refusing to heal and remove the many negative answers in her head. Mosspaw was the best choice to be a healer. She excelled at learning everything, if she was ready, Brokenleg didn't want to be there to witness her pride and envy.

SunClan was robbed of one healer once in Brokenleg's life. There was no sense for them to be robbed of another. The jet-black she-cat was not safe to walk alone with Mosspaw. She knew that deep down and it hurt even more to not trust her own paws. Anger for a life she could not fulfill would only lead to tragedy. Nothing Brokenleg could do would ever change the truth. Those pale green eyes glanced at her, shining with worry. Brokenleg was a mentor first and foremost. She took a deep breath, willing the jealousy to the farthest reaches of her mind.

"Yes, Brokenleg?" Mosspaw mewed softly in greeting.

Blood roared in her ears, the shadows of her mind encasing her from the inside out as she spoke quite warmly. "I wished to give you my blessing for tonight. It is the least I can do as the former Head Forager."

Her apprentice blinked warmly, pale green eyes sparkling with pride. "Thank you," She breathed joyfully, "Thank you for being the best mentor I could have asked for."

Brokenleg felt her heart crack into two all over again. She wanted to be proud, but it was so hard to be. she dug her claws into the earth to steady herself as she closed her eyes. "I'm proud to have had you as my first and only apprentice." She whispered solemnly. "You will do your part with pride and empathy, just as you always have."

.

That evening the shadows seemed much darker when Mosspaw slipped through the foliage alone. Leaving the little foragers camp behind as she went to become the official Head Forager of SunClan. Brokenleg's claws itched to sink into something, she wasn't quite sure what. Sharp pangs of grief of a life she could never have racked through her heart, it felt almost like thorns piercing into her flesh. Sorrow filled her, but it soon was bubbling and boiling into a rage unlike any other. She wasn't useless, not as much as her once beloved SunClan believed. She proved her worth by stepping up and becoming a Head Forager in their time of need.

Was it really their time of need? A small voice seemed to speak within her mind. You know why you don't trust your own paws; taught to fight the battles and wars for SunClan since you were six moons old.

She shook her fur out, trying to ignore the inkling of shrouded truth within her conscience. She knew full well how dangerous her paws can be in the wrong mindset. It was a fruitless war against herself, yet it was one she wanted to win most of all. She was better than the rest of her Clan, she held sympathy for those weakened around her with a desire to protect them.

Then why let defenseless Mosspaw travel alone? The same voice sneered, taunting her with a malicious tone. She would need a strong warrior to protect her, are you not still that warrior? Or perhaps, you are hiding from the truth like you always do?

The foragers around Brokenleg slowly retreated to their dens to rest. No prey had come to them for the evening, meaning SunClan either forgot about them or ate all of their scraps for once. The shadows of her mind only seemed to grow darker and darker. Hunger gnawed at her belly, but not as much as the hunger in her very blood. Every forager was weakened by this hunger, their ribs showing through their fur or in the way their skin clung to their boney frames. The horrid conditions only left them with barely the breadth of a single whisker of survival.

Brokenleg sat in the middle of the clearing, her pale blue eyes staring hollowly at the forager's camp entrance. None of them deserved to be treated this poorly. Yet, the pride of being in SunClan made them try to survive, the pride and childish wishes that their efforts would be seen as noble enough for the Clan to take them back into the main camp. It was unrequited as SunClan disowned them the moment their so-called "usefulness" ran out. While she beat the systematic rules before, she had now lost it all.

That was why she couldn't go with Mosspaw, she reasoned with herself. Her usefulness ran out and she would have to make do with it.

You can try to make do with it, but will it be enough or will you repeat the past again? The little voice in the back of her mind taunted harshly, making her ears flatten against her skull in response.

"She may still need me." She whispered softly, her mew cracking with the sudden loss. "That should be enough."

It won't ever be enough. She thought sadly, the tiny voice having fallen silent as its taunting and teasing had won. Brokenleg knew all the wrongs her paws could do. She can only try and hope that, somehow, Mosspaw's kindness can help defeat the brewing storm beneath her pelt.

A good Fighter-warrior knows when they need a helping claw, right?

.

The starry sky glittered high above with the half-moons face shining as it began its descent from its zenith. Brokenleg, cold and stiff in her joints, slowly rose to her paws. The leaves rustled ahead in the shadows as she tried to keep her legs steady; but they shook so hard she was trembling. She tried to think it was the cold, but deep down she knew it was far from just that. The entrance to the small camp shuddered as a familiar gray and white tabby pushed her way through. Pale green eyes seemed to sparkle with unspoken wisdom and power from the stars themselves, yet they also seemed shadowed with darkness.

"I waited for you." Brokenleg whispered, pride and pain cracking her voice. "I truly hope it has gone well."

"Thank you." She answered, a warmth in her mew, much like newleaf's first sunlight. "Moonface gave me my full medicine cat name. They said that StarClan decided I should be named Mosslight, to bring light to those who need it most with my compassion and unbridled trust."

"It's a beautiful name." The jet-black she-cat confirmed, almost stiffly. "It's been cold, maybe we can go to your den and you can tell me more if you are able."

Mosslight hesitated a heartbeat, searching her gaze before nodding. "Very well. You are free to stay in the den with me even after if you'd like."

"I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome." She pointed out before letting the new healer lead the way. I'll stay near the den's entrance so I can let her have her space. She must be so tired after that trek, after all.

"I suppose, but there are some things I wish to talk to you about in private." Mosslight told her, her tone turning softer and more mysterious in a way. Before Brokenleg could say a word, the young healer added more information. "It's about Fireweed."

Brokenleg almost stood stock still. A name that had vanished for so long in her mind, a cat whose name had brought her only agony as the ginger tom shot down her ideas and thoughts on what MoonClan's healer had meant. His voice an angry snarl as he told her to just give in and accept the truth that she knows deep inside herself. Sorrow in his yellow eyes as he told her how he, himself, had wished he could help Brokenleg, but if she couldn't stop obsessing over her loss there was nothing he could do.

"What about Fireweed?" She asked softly, her tone far more hushed than it should have been.

"I saw him in StarClan." Mosslight answered, not questioning her prolonged silence as she slipped into the medicine den. "I know I should consult with other medicine cats, but I know you are intelligent, far more than any other here."

"Thank you for your trust in me, but it might be wiser to have talked with the others before you left." Brokenleg advised.

The gray and white tabby looked at her, her pale green eyes meeting her icy-blue ones. "Fireweed told me that a great change is coming and it begins in SunClan as a shadow and will leave the Clan in need of a guiding light."

"You must be that light." Brokenleg answered, a powerful feeling of worry starting to fill her chest. "But what will the shadow be?"

"I wouldn't be so sure." Mosslight answered thoughtfully, "You can be right, but it also can be possible that the light comes from anyone else. As for the shadow, it has to come from SunClan. I know our Clan has questionable morals and teachings compared to the other two Clans, but it makes it sound like a dark future for everyone even outside of our Clan."

The jet-black forager looked into the darkness of the den, trying to search for an answer from the top of her head. "Perhaps all three Clans need change for where they need it most. Whatever that may be in the eyes of StarClan."

"SunClan turns its back on those deemed useless when, from what I can see, they are still just as able as anyone else." Mosslight pointed out, "While the others care for their wounded and elders, letting them choose when to retire on their own terms and keep their names. As for the others, I'm not too familiar with them even with the gatherings going on."

"That does make it harder, everyone puts on a face to show their best traits then. SunClan never hides their shortcomings well, announcing the renaming of the critically injured and old as new so-called 'helpers' to the medicine cat." Brokenleg added in with a flick of her tail. "It's a wonder what goes on in MoonClan and EarthClan that can't always be seen. If something is so terribly wrong then why is change starting in SunClan for?"

"Well, what was the battle strategy that your father would implement?" The healer asked, her tone curious.

The black she-cat hesitated, she never liked to think about her absent family at all. However, she pushed past it to try and help figure out the truth. "To go after the group that shows weakness to send a message that they have been discovered."

"Then, would it mean SunClan turning their back on their own now-healthy warriors into starvation-like conditions would be a sign of the Clan's weakness? Making it a message that the others need to change in order to avoid whatever it may be?" Mosslight offered, her tone thoughtful and worried.

So, by that logic, SunClan's weakness is trying to shed what they consider weak by making them weaker on purpose? Brokenleg thought, trying to wrap her head around it. "How does it make SunClan weak to do that?"

"Less warriors to fight for SunClan means less warriors to protect it." Mosslight whispered, "Whatever that shadow will bring will more than likely leave SunClan so vulnerable that a single cat will be needed to save the entire Clan from ruin or possibly being eradicated."

"Who would that cat be?"

"I don't know." She confessed, looking away. "We need to keep our ears and eyes open, Brokenleg. The Stars seem furious and I would hate to see how much more furious they will become in the coming half-moons."

A shudder rippled through her pelt, every hair on it seeming to stand on end. Memories that were long buried in denial tried to resurface. Shattered fragments, like ice reflecting the parts of her past she refused to see again, started to glitter and show the shadows she had tried to run from for all these moons. Why else would the Stars be so angry? She thought, feeling the horror creeping over her. If it wasn't my fault- my own actions -then why would the Stars be so furious to begin with? Who else could have caused such an upset?

"If there was something you ever wished to tell," Mosslight suddenly spoke, her mew pulling Brokenleg back into the present, "Please, tell me. I could never judge you." Her pale green eyes round with innocence.

"I don't have anything to tell you." The black she-cat replied, her tone hushed and almost hurt. To confess to her would be too much to burden her heart and shoulders. As a healer, she would want to fix it, but there is nothing to be fixed. My leg will never magically heal properly and my life will never go back to what it once was. If there was something to be fixed, I doubt she would be able to fix it anymore than MoonClan could have.

The silver and white tabby didn't seem to be happy about her answer, but the young healer turned away. "Very well." Her mew was listless, as though she, too, knew that Brokenleg had been beyond repair all this time.

A part of the forager wanted to ask what the Stars had shown her, but Brokenleg couldn't bring herself to. There was nothing either of them could do and it was most likely far out of Mosslight's power to stop it. With a soft sigh, Brokenleg made her nest and forced herself to lie in it. "I'll get back to work and make sure no one is suspicious."

"Right, just don't push yourself too hard." The young healer called after her.

Brokenleg huffed softly in amusement, slipping her way out of the medicine den and back into the Forager's clearing. Her heart ached, but she knew it wouldn't take too long now. The shadows in her mind encroached upon her as her mind began to race. She had to do something, something that could free the Foragers from being scrutinized any further by the main Clan. She had no choice and had to take it a step further, anything to save Mosslight from having to choose between SunClan and the Foragers in the future.

I made my den in the shadows and made my nest, now I have to lie in it and wait for those cursed-Stars to tell me I was wrong.

.

.

Mosslight sat alone, her heart heavy as she went over the visions she had seen leading up to her ceremony. A shadow of a cat with a fire that burned in her heart until it made their eyes glow an otherworldly light. Their eyes burning so bright that they were practically green before Fireweed's body lay bare on the ground before their bloodied paws. Another cat, one that Mosslight had never met before, lay there, their ribs showing through their thin light cream pelt and the way their throat and belly had been torn open by cruel claws.

Her horror only grew when Sparkkit was part of the pile of cats at the shadow-cat's paws. Sparkkit's healthy cream tabby pelt looking as it had when the young kit had grown still. This time, there were plants near the she-kit's mouth. Familiar white berries with beady black dots staring back with the familiar serrated leaves of water hemlock. Then another kit, one whose pelt she couldn't make out was nearby. Then older cats of varying ages were behind the shadowy cat.

The bloodshed was far from over and the vision clung to her like a burr. The cat stared at her before turning to the cats behind it. Horror filled her as a voice crashed through the nightmarish vision.

"There is a shadow in SunClan. Be not afraid, for its heart is weak to the light that will blossom after it's bloodshed." The voice whispered into Mosslight's pinned back ears. "A great change is coming, Mosslight. So great, that it begins in SunClan as a shadow and will leave the Clan in need of a guiding light."

I fear the shadow is already here. Mosslight thought solemnly. And there is nothing I can do to change the course that it is destined to follow.

Author Note:

Things might move a little more swiftly after this chapter for SunClan.

The A plot is very strong in this story and it isn't being left as a mystery as much as it was in the beginning.

I have planned for this line up for a long time (since 2019 at most!) and while I write at the seat of my pants for it, I hope it comes across as I always imagined it. If not, that's okay. That just means, next time I can write it even better.

[ Edit and Updates: ]
[ For Falling of the Stars there will be a small hiatus to replenish the chapters so I have a nice buffer again. Next month will have an update for sure. This should return by October the earliest and November the latest.
Night Spirits will also have a mini month to 2 month long hiatus after their chapter 10 as well to try and create such a buffer to make uploading easier after my computer was evil and made me lose over 2k words I spent on chapter 9.
During that, Rage of the Tides will update twice a week during the small breaks. ]

Anyways, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day, evening, or night. - NightSky