Another chapter! Action and drama might be in this!! Also look forward to an Oakheart pov soon!! My favorite casanova is on the case to figure out what's going on and won't rest till he finds out the truth. A lot of assumptions going on!!
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It was as if they were all in silent vigil, as if someone had died with the way the entire patrol was so solemn, they were all pretty anxious to return to their Clan's. A harsh truth had been revealed to all of them that will forever change their lives and those of their Clanmates and the forest as a whole. Their faiths have all been shaken but not broken, they now had to figure out how to approach the situation, but nothing was yet decided.
Morningbreeze had left them to their thinking as her own private thoughts were pondering over what they would do from here. Having a strong connection with StarClan was important and through the medicine cats they would have a constant line of communication with Brambleberry and the rest of the ancestors that would surely be bullied into helping them.
Though it will take a big toll on the medicine cats, a direct consequence to the decisions that Morningbreeze was making. While the flame-pelted apprentice felt horrible for doing this to them, dropping overwhelming information about an evil dead group of cats training their Clanmates to take over the forest and destroy their way of life, it was essential to have their cooperation and aid in their fight against the rise of Mapleshade and the Dark Forest.
They were still coming to grips with this revelation and both Morningbreeze and Crookedstar were giving them all the time they needed to process the position they were in. But the somber tone took a turn when an unexpected downpour pelted down upon the traveling party. The cats scrambled to find shelter and found it in a miserable little shrub that hardly covered any of them.
Morningbreeze and Mosspaw were squashed up in the middle, both the smallest and easier to cover, but the rest were still being rained on, which made the newly made warrior feel guilty.
"We'll all catch our death standing here like this." Barkface off-pawed threw out, grumpy at the situation.
"Well what do you think we should do then, Barkface?" Mudfur rasped back, annoyed yet unbothered that his pelt was getting soaked.
"You can all take shelter in my barn if you'd like?"
Chills not caused by the rain traveled down Morningbreeze's back as anticipation filled the young she-cat's chest as the rest of the party startled at the sudden appearance of a long-furred black-and-white tom with kind blue eyes that were looking over the rain soaked cats with a bit of pity.
Barley.
Morningbreeze's gaze was fixated on the loner, blinking in surprise to see him as the thought of seeing him in this life again never occurred to her. The loner who had sheltered Ravenwing in a past life when he was chased out of ThunderClan under the threat of Tigerclaw plotting to kill him for knowing the truth about Redtail's death. Morningbreeze also recalled him helping save the Clan and provide important information as well, she felt as though she owed Barely a lot even if he hasn't done them in this life.
"Who are you?" Crookedstar growled, on the defensive at never having seen this cat before.What do you want?" The others were now tense by Barely's sudden unexpected presence. But Morningbreeze wasn't.
Morningbreeze pressed her body against Crookedstar's in a gesture for him to be calm, who sat beside her. There was no need to be so hostile towards this cat, because Morningbreeze knew him.
"It's okay," Morningbreeze meowed, giving Crookedstar a double meaning look with her eyes as she continued. "Let's hear him out."
Barely was unfazed by the hostile greeting. Instead he retained his kindness and repeated his offer, "I noticed all of you huddled out here. It's no place for any cat to be out here in this type of weather. I thought I'd offer you all shelter in my barn till the rain stops."
Crookedstar's eyes were filled with uncertainty, but all he whispered to Morningbreeze was, "Can we trust him?"
Morningbreeze gave Crookedstar a reassuring look and quietly whispered back. "I've met him in my past life and he helped me out a lot."
Crookedstar nodded, his eyes now burning with curiosity but he turned to accept Barely's offer. "We'd appreciate some shelter that doesn't consist of a badly bare bush."
"Then please follow me." Barely meowed as he took another look at the dripping cats.
Morningbreeze leaped at once to her paws, ready to get a move on, but the rest of the patrol hung back, reluctance and a bit of suspicion in their eyes.
"In my opinion, don't think--" Runningnose began to complain.
"I'm cold, wet and just want to get out of this rain. Let's go." Barkface meowed over what Runningnose was going to finish saying.
Mudfur blinked before growling to the remaining few hesitant party members. "We have to trust them," then the older medicine cat got up and gestured to Ravenwing, Runningnose and his apprentice Mosspaw to get up and come along.
Morningbreeze followed the loner. The rest of the patrol followed in line behind her and Crookedstar as Barely led the group of cats through a hedge that led into another field. In an overgrown corner, among the bramble and nettles, stood an abandoned Twolegs nest. The walls were full of holes where stones had fallen out, and only half the roof was left.
"I don't know how I feel about this." Ravenwing muttered, warily eyeballing the rundown barn.
"Don't worry," Barely meowed, circling around the patrol before brushing past Ravenwing, heading inside. "It's perfectly safe. You'll also find good eating as well. So feel free to hunt all you want."
Morningbreeze nudged Crookedstar, gesturing for him to take the lead to show the rest that it was safe. The huge, light brown tabby leader grumbled at being ordered around by a newly made warrior but took the lead all the same and slipped inside the barn first.
Slipping inside after her leader, a bit of melancholy over took the flame-pelted she-cat as she gazed around the shelter that was once familiar and home to a dear old friend of hers in a past life,the ground was bare except for patches where weeds had burrowed their way under the stone walls. The wind and rain found their way through the gaps in the walls and roof, but it was drier and more sheltered than anywhere outside. She watched as the rest of the group came sniffing cautiously around. As they began to settle themselves away from the dripping holes and drafty cracks, she glanced at Crookedstar, who now appeared relieved to be out of the storm. Morningbreeze tried not to be too smug about it.
"Do you have anything to eat?" Mosspaw piped up, appearing embarrassed as her words echoed through the large and rundown barn.
It was then that Morningbreeze's stomach growled and she realized just how hungry she was. None of them had eaten that day and were practically starving, or at least they felt that way. Morningbreeze turned expectantly at Barely, the black-and-white loner appeared considerate as his tail waved around at the interior of the barn. "Plenty of prey to go around. All of you can help yourself."
Collectively, there was a pleased call of thanks towards the loner, who shook off their praise and left them alone for now. "Well, you know how to hunt." Mudfur meowed to his apprentice, Mosspaw, "go try and catch you something."
Morningbreeze saw Mosspaw flash her mentor a thankful look and make her way towards the heaps straw where the squeaking of mice could be heard. Morningbreeze also saw Ravenwing and Runningnose doing the same. The flame-pelted she-cat warrior planned on joining them, but the newly made warrior caught the subtle flick of Crookedstar's tail gesturing towards her, beckoning her to come join him.
With a regretful look towards the pile of hay, Morningbreeze padded instead towards her leader, knowing they had a lot to discuss. Crookedstar was seated near the gap that they entered from, watching the rain pelt down upon the ferns and heather outside as they stayed safely dry inside, Morningbreeze joined him.
"We've discussed a lot of things with Brambleberry," Morningbreeze meowed as she sat beside her leader. "It's nice to know that she's helping us."
"Brambleberry would always care about the Clan and me," Crookedstar replied, "she's never the one to stay on the sidelines if she could help it."
Morningbreeze felt as if there was more to that statement than what she truly knew but the flame-pelted she-cat was content to know that Brambleberry was doing all she could to aid them.
"Though we've got more to discuss." Crookedstar continues sounding much more serious. "telling the medicine cat's was the first step in our plans. But what is going through their minds? Are they truly trustworthy? What will they say to their leaders or their Clanmates? What--"
Morningbreeze gently laid her crooked tail along her leader's lower back, silencing him for a moment. "They trust in StarClan as much as we do. They are all good cats that know each other and go beyond just their own Clans. They just need time to take it all in and I'm sure they will be willing to help us."
"We'll have to talk to them before reaching the territories." Crookedstar meowed, ending that portion of their discussion. "You said in your first life that you've fought against the Dark Forest and that it killed you. And now you're saying that the Dark Forest is building an army, filling their ranks with cats from all Clans, both dead and alive, that we need to do the same. Prepare alongside the other Clan's, but how will we do that?"
"Back in my first life, I never knew about the Dark Forest or their plot to take over the Clan's until it was almost too late. It was through my grandchildren that had been planning against the Dark Forest the whole time that they finally decided to tell me and the other Clan's and then we were just preparing to go to war a few days later. I didn't have time to plan or ally myself with the other Clans like they did. But this time we know ahead of time, we can take on the Dark Forest now before they can rise to power like they did in my last life. We don't know which is our enemy or who our allies are, but we're going to find out."
"And how are we going to figure that out?" Crookedstar growled as he stared off into the raging storm.
"By being patient and observing." Barkface rasped from behind them, startling the pair.
The short-tailed brown tom came to join them, gazing out into the rain as well.
"Barkface," Crookedstar greeted, although a bit uncomfortably.
"I've been thinking about a lot of the things you've said, about the Dark Forest wanting to destroy our Clan's and mold them into something unrecognizable. It's hard to believe that any of my Clanmates would be a part of such a thing." Barkface meowed, solemn. "I'm old, older than most cats in this forest, I've treated and helped birth many of my Clanmate's and to think they would actively support the destruction of all that we hold dear, to how we live our lives and what keeps us us is hard to swallow. I know that I'm biased, that I want to blindly turn away from these thoughts about my own Clan, but I'm a realist and I know that there are those types of cats in every Clan, even my own. But we should go pointing tails at each other just yet. We'll need patience and planning. I'm planning to tell Tallstar all this as soon as I get back to camp. I'm sure that he'll want to speak more about it to you as soon as I tell him everything."
Crookedstar nodded, appearing relieved. "I'll be sure to let my patrols know to expect you."
Barkface nodded once, before standing and going to settle down in some hay to rest. It left Morningbreeze feeling a little bit lighter knowing that they had the WindClan medicine cat on their side, and perhaps soon the support of his leader.
Crookedstar seemed more in thought now, and Morningbreeze found it best to leave him to those thoughts. Instead she made her way over to Mosspaw and Mudfur, where the two RiverClan medicine cats had a nice pile of mice between them.
"Can I have one of those?" Morningbreeze asked politely, getting an affirmative by Mosspaw.
"Sure. I've caught plenty enough to feed us all twice over!" The tortoiseshell-and-white medicine cat apprentice proudly announced, getting an agreeing nod from her mentor.
"This place is good for finding prey." Mudfur remarked, though less enthused and he was hardly eating. Just picking at the dead mouse that laid between his paws.
"But it's not a good juicy fish." Morningbreeze thru in, trying to lighten some of the depressive atmosphere. "We'll all soon be back at camp and go back to enjoying the things we enjoy."
"I doubt that very much." Mudfur said, sounding so old and unlike his usual sarcastic grumpy self.
"What do you mean, Mudfur?" Mosspaw asked, appearing baffled.
"Our Clan's will never be the same with what's to come. It will change how we look at one another, how we react and will also make us always have that little bit of doubt about ours and our faith in StarClan. Many will not like this, and it may even send others into a state of panic." Mudfur rasped, shocking the two she-cats.
"But we will pull through this." Morningbreeze quickly tried to assure both the alarmed apprentice and the pessimistic medicine cat.
"You think that, if it gives you comfort." Mudfur remarked. "But I need no omen of prophecy from StarClan to tell me that the future ahead is one filled with dark uncertainty."
"You're right it is uncertain," Morningbreeze replied slowly, "but we shouldn't give up hope just yet. After all, we still have a chance at defeating them. So long as we have each other and the other Clan's joining us."
"To think, after death it's supposed to put an end to battles and rivalry." Mudfur sighed.
"I hardly believe that StarClan gets along all the time, even after death." Morningbreeze teased lightly. "Just imagine seeing the cat that defeated you in a fight that was half your size, twice."
"I feel as though you're hinting at someone." Mosspaw meowed, whiskers twitching with interest as the medicine cat apprentice stuffed her face with her prey.
Morningbreeze thought back to her encounter with Dustpaw and wondered just what he had thought of being defeated by her not just once but twice. Morningbreeze liked to think it kept him up at night knowing that she beat him.
"Perhaps," Morningbreeze vaguely replied, her jade green eyes straying away from the two RiverClan cats to instead spy Ravenwing and Barely practically pressed nose to nose, quietly talking to each other. It appeared to be a private discussion and the flame-pelted warrior didn't want to interrupt them. And as for Runningnose, she spied ShadowClan's medicine cat snoring away in a pile of hay.
Morningbreeze then decided to settle down herself, the rain wasn't letting up and it was getting dark. Hopefully the Clan's would survive a night without their medicine cat's. As her eyes began to droop, through a haze of sleep, Morningbreeze thought for a moment that she saw a starry cat near the far wall of the barn.
But then again she might have just imagined it.
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Fun Facts
Apparently medicine cats have seizure-like effects when they have visions with StarClan that leave me heartbroken because I myself have seizures, but I also love it as well so I'm gonna throw that in from now on.
Brambleberry just has a way with words that get cats to do what she wants (a.k.a gaslighting the Silverpelt out of her fellow StarClan residence) so gonna get help from StarClan and we'll be seeing more of them soon!!! Maybe I'll even make a Brambleberry pov chapter? What do you guys think?
Yeah!!! Barely!! Couldn't not have him involved now could I? He's Ravenpaw/wings soulmate after all!!
Issues with my characters graduating from kit-apprentic-warrior is the name changes. I had to go back and redo all of Morningpaw's name into Morningbreeze!!! All. Of. Them!!!
Question: GojiBerry7 Can spirits heal in this au? Or will Brambleberry keep her scars? If not, I think the missing chucks in the the spirit cats are pretty cool.
Answer: Good question! I got inspired by watching a Warrior Cats AMV with a scenario where Warrior Cats of the Dark Forest retain their wounds on how they died and I thought that was interesting. And also if anyone has read the Last Hope (spoiler if not) StarClan and Dark Forest ancestors/spirits can apparently die! So I got to thinking, if they can die a second time, can't they also be irreversibly injured in their spiritual form? So yes, cat spirits can get shredded and injured just like their regular bodies, they can have a second death just like they have a second life after death. They can get injured and scarred and have their spiritual bodies destroyed but they cannot die until they are given a death blow. And a death blow is much more complicated in spiritual form, StarClan/Dark Forest cats can have tones of their spiritual bodies ripped away from them till there is nothing but a body outline filled with blank spaces but it has to be that final killing blow that wipes them out completely. (You might find examples of this by either reading the canon stories from The Last Hope or just read my Heart of Fire: Exile) I'll touch up more on this later on down the line! Thanks for the question!!!