Two worlds collide
chapter 4 spiritual guidance
A week had past since the leaders met with the pridelanders, the leaders and the medicine cats returned to their clans and told them about the pridelands. They were surprised to hear about lions, and all the other unusual animals. Most of the cats were a bit skeptic about talking birds and badgers, but they knew their leaders and medicines wouldn't lie to them. Especially with the confirmation from the warriors who accompanied them.
Bramblestar, Squirrelflight, Leafpool, Jayfeather, Alderheart, Lionblaze, Willowshine, Kestralflight Puddleshine and Graystripe came to the pridelands.
Simba, Nala, Kiara and Kovu and the lion guard were waiting for them at the bottom of pride rock.
"We brought the medicine cats Simba," said Squirrelflight bowing her head. "Just like you asked."
"Thank you Squirrelflight" said Simba appreciatively.
"I'm Willowshine," Willowshine said excitedly. "I'm Mothwing's apprentice, she sent me when I was told you wanted to see the medicine cats."
"Why did you want the medicine cats to come?" asked Leafpool.
"There's someone I want you to meet," said Simba with a smile. "His job is quite similar to what you do."
The royal family led the cats to a big tree. The cats all stopped in confusion, they wondered who this animal was.
Just then two animals came out of the tree, to the surprise of the cats they looked like twolegs, only with gray fur. The older one was male and had white hair on his head. The younger one was a female and looked around the same age as Kion and his friends. Though the hair on her head was light brown.
"This is Rafiki and his apprentice Makini," Simba introduced. "He's my advisor and the pridelands healer, just like what your medicine cats do."
"What are they?" asked Puddleshine with a weirded expression on his face.
"They look like twolegs with fur" said Leafpool in amazement.
"Twolegs?" asked Ono. "You mean like humans?"
Several cats nodded.
"I always though they were myths" said Ono breathlessly.
"Well, they're real where we're from," said Graystripe. "Some own cats, we call them kittypets."
The two animals walked up to the pridelanders and the cats.
"Bramblestar, Leafpool, Jayfeather," said Simba. "This is Rafiki and his apprentice Makini, he's the healer and knowledge keeper of the pridelands.
"Welcome leader of Thunderclan and medicine cats," said Rafiki bowing respectfully.
The cats dipped their heads in return.
"Simba's told us all about you," said Makini excitedly. "It's so wonderful to meet you."
"I would like the medicine cats to come in" said Rafiki.
The medicine cats exchanged glances for a minute and then followed the monkeys into the tree while Bramblestar, Squirrelflight, Lionblaze and Graystripe stayed outside with the royal family and the lion guard.
The cats looked around inside the cave, they were amazed to see paintings of trees, lakes and animals.
"What are all these strange markings?" asked Puddleshine.
"They're paintings," explained Rafiki. "All of these paintings tell the history of the Pridelands. There are paintings all over the Pridelands, including in Pride rock."
The medicine cats all starred around the cave in amazement. Even Jayfeather was impressed even though he couldn't see.
"My job is to advise the king, heal the sick and communicate with the lions of the past," explained Rafiki. "Makini will be the advisor to Kiara when she and Kovu become king and queen someday."
"That's kind of like what we medicine cats do," said Leafpool giggling softly. "Only we don't make paintings. "The cats of Starclan have the ability to walk in our dreams. Our job is to heal and advise the leader. Starclan can walk in the dreams of any cat, but they mostly do it with leaders and medicine cats."
"They send us prophecies and omens" added Kestralflight.
"You mean they can walk in your dreams," cried Makini excitedly. "That's so exciting."
Jayfeather rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"How do you put up with her as an apprentice?" he whispered to Rafiki.
"He could barely put up with me when I was an apprentice" chuckled Alderheart.
"She kind of reminds me of myself when I was an apprentice" said Willowshine.
"I know Makini can be talkative and enthusiastic," Rafiki mused. "But she is full of potential and learns well."
Meanwhile outside, the others were talking.
"My father used to be a kittypet before joining Thunderclan" said Squirrelflight.
"He was?" asked Nala.
"Yes," added Graystripe proudly. "I was the first cat he met; I was out on a night patrol near an area where twolegs live when we were apprentices. His kittypet name was Rusty, but Bluestar changed it to Firepaw because his ginger pelt made him look like flames in the sun. And when we earned our warrior names, he became Fireheart. When Firestar became leader, I was the clan deputy before Bramblestar."
"What happened?" asked Beshte.
"There was a time the clans lived in another territory," explained Graystripe. "But then twolegs came and built a new thunderpath, a thunderpath is a path of burnt ash that twolegs ride these strange things on them. For the most part there's no harm in those monsters, but cats have to be careful crossing them, some cats have died from getting hit by them. The thunderpath they were building in the old forest was going to be built through the clans territory."
"How awful" said Kovu.
"How could they do that?" said Simba crossly.
"I suppose it's not entirely their fault," said Bramblestar. "Twolegs don't know about the clans."
Simba's expression calmed down; he knew Bramblestar was right.
"Twolegs aren't all that bad," added Graystripe. "I should know, I spent time with them."
"You did?" asked Bunga.
"The twolegs had captured some cats, including Leafpool," explained Graystripe. "Fortunately, Squirrelflight and I found them and were able to rescue them, but I wasn't so lucky while escaping and got captured by them. I spent some time as a kittypet before eventually escaping and returned to the clan. During my absence Bramblestar took my place as deputy."
"I didn't take his place right away," said Bramblestar modestly. "Firestar put off choosing another deputy for a while, he was determined that Graystripe was still alive. I was kind of surprised when he picked me as I hadn't had an apprentice yet. Rule 7 in the warrior code is that a cat can't become deputy without mentoring at least one apprentice. But Leafpool had received an omen from Starclan that showed brambles guarding the camp and the thorns looked like claws instead of thorns, so Firestar choose me."
"I had met a kittypet named Millie during my time in the twoleg place," said Graystripe. "She and I became mates and we had three kits, a son named Bumblestripe and two daughters, Blossomfall and Briarlight. Briarlight passed away a while back though, the second it I've lost."
"What do you mean?" asked Bunga sounding confused.
"There was another cat I was mates with before Millie," explained Graystripe. "Her name was Silverstream. She was a Riverclan cat, the daughter of Crookedstar. She and I had to keep it secret as relationships with cats from outside their birthclan is against the warrior code. Firestar was the only cat who knew about it, but then she died giving birth to our kits Stormfur and Feathertail and that was when the secret came out. I left Thunderclan to join Riverclan and watch my kits grow up."
"Why are you still in Thunderclan?" asked Kiara.
"I eventually rejoined," replied Graystripe. "Crookedstar died, and Leopardstar took over. She didn't like me very much, I warned Firestar about a fight with Thunderclan and she banned me. Bluestar begrudgingly accepted me back in the clan."
"Starclan told me about the twolegs back when I was a warrior," added Bramblestar. "They had chosen a cat in each clan to search for new territories. I was chosen along with Tawnypelt, Feathertail and a Windclan cat named Crowfeather (who was an apprentice at the time) to journey to the sea. Squirrelflight and Stormfur insisted on going too. We met Midnight, she's a badger."
"Wait," said Bunga. "This Midnight is a badger, and she told you all about the twolegs coming to the forest?"
"Midnight's not at all like the other badgers," said Bramblestar. "She's kind. She's quite mystical, she can talk to all animals and she can read the stars. She told us that we had to search for new territories. On our way back we traveled through some mountains and we met a tribe of cats called the tribe of rushing water, they're like the cats of the clans only they have different names and customs then we do. They were being invaded by this maneless lion."
"Probably a mountain lion," said Ono. "They don't have manes likes regular lions."
"Feathertail sacrificed herself to save the tribe," explained Graystripe. "And Stormfur fell in love with a she-cat in the tribe named Brooke and decided to stay."
"He and Brooke eventually returned in stayed in Thunderclan," added Squirrelflight. "But we went back to help them fight against rouges and Stoneteller, the leader and healer of the tribe allowed them to stay again."
"What happened to Briarlight?" asked Kion.
"She died of a sickness that had been going," replied Graystripe. "She suffered a bit in life. A tree fell into our camp one day and she got hit. She lived, but her legs were damaged and she couldn't walk anymore."
The pridelanders all stared gravely at Graystripe.
"Cheetahs are very fast runners," said Fuli sympathetically. "I can't imagine not being able to even walk anymore."
"I'm really sorry about Silverstream and Feathertail and Briarlight Graystripe," said Simba. "I can't imagine what I'd do if I lost Kiara and Kion."
"Thanks Simba," said Graystripe bowing his head at the king.
"You know," said Lionblaze. "To tell the truth, me, Jayfeather and our sister Hollyleaf aren't supposed to really exist."
"What do you mean?" asked Kion in surprise.
"Leafpool is our mother," explained Lionblaze. "Medicine cats aren't really supposed to have kits, they aren't even supposed to mate."
"Why?" said Nala.
"Medicine cats are supposed to be looking after the clan," replied Bramblestar. "It's not an official rule in the warrior code, but it's still part of code."
"Leafpool was young," said Squirrelflight. "She wanted to experience love, she got close to Crowfeather and planned to runaway together, but she knew how much the clans needed them so they returned. But Leafpool had gotten pregnant, so I raised the kits. For the longest time I never told anyone, not even Bramblestar. We let the clan believe they were ours. But eventually the truth came out." She lowered her ears and looked down.
"There was a prophecy," continued Lionblaze. "There will be three kin of your kin who hold the power of the stars in their paws; Jayfeather and I were two of the cats. Jayfeather could see visions and read minds, and I had the power to not be hurt in battle."
The royal family and the lion guard stared in amazement by the story.
"What about Hollyleaf?" asked Kiara.
"We thought she was the third cat in the prophecy, but she wasn't," said Lionblaze. "It was Ivypool's sister Dovewing. They're Firestar's kin too."
"Firestar had a sister who was a kittypet," Squirrelflight jumped in. "When he told her about the clans, she gave him one of her kits Cloudtail; he and his mate Brightheart had a daughter named Whitewing, Dovewing and Ivypool are her daughters."
"Her power was that she could see and hear from all around the lake" said Lionblaze.
"I didn't know Ivypool had a sister," said Kiara.
"She became mates with Tigerstar and moved to Shadowclan" replied Bramblestar.
"What about Hollyleaf?" asked Bunga. "She's never been here before."
"She left the clan after the secret came out," explained Bramblestar. "She eventually returned after spending some time hiding in some tunnels near the Thunderclan camp. She died in the great battle. My father, the original Tigerstar continued to take over the forest beyond death. He and the other spirits of bad warrior cats attempted to destroy the clans, but all the clans and Starclan were able to defeat them. Firestar sacrificed himself to destroy Tigerstar for good. Hollyleaf was also one of the casualties in the battle."
The royal family and the lion guard all stared in horror about what the Thunderclan leader talked about. They could well remember about the troubles when Scar returned.
…
Back in the tree the medicine cats told Rafiki and Makini about the power of three prophecy and how Jayfeather and Alderheart had been at first reluctant about becoming medicine cats.
"How could you not wanna be medicine cats?" exclaimed Makini. "It's so exciting talking to spirits and healing the sick and hurt."
"You think I was excited that I had to become a medicine cat because I was born blind?" said Jayfeather in annoyance. "Starclan made me realize that my destiny was to be a medicine cat," he said calming down a bit. "I realized I was better suited for it, but some of us would rather be warriors."
"Yeah," added Alderheart. "I tried learning to be a warrior, but I wasn't so good at hunting and fighting. Leafpool and Jayfeather had a prophecy from Starclan that I was to learn to be a medicine cat."
"It seems Starclan has faith in all of you," said Rafiki. "Only us knowledge keepers and the lions in the pride can see the lions of the past. We can hear them in the wind. They usually only appear if they want to be seen."
"It's been nice meeting you," said Kestralflight getting up. "But we should be getting back to the clans."
"You're quite right," said Rafiki. "Your clans need you."
And with that the medicine cats went to out to get the others and head home.
